I've Lost Family To War In Gaza. Relief For Palestinians Looks Bleak: Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib
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The Hill
9 minutes ago
- The Hill
Israel announces West Bank settlement that rights groups say could imperil Palestinian state
MAALE ADUMIM, West Bank (AP) — Israel's far-right finance minister announced a contentious new settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday which Palestinians and rights groups worry will scuttle plans for a future Palestinian state by effectively cutting the West Bank into two separate parts. The announcement comes as many countries said they would recognize a Palestinian state in September. 'This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize,' said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. 'Anyone in the world who tries today to recognize a Palestinian state – will receive an answer from us on the ground,' he said. Development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to U.S. pressure during previous administrations. On Thursday, Smotrich praised President Donald Trump and U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee as 'true friends of Israel as we have never had before.' The E1 plan has not yet received its final approval, which is expected next week. The plan includes around 3,500 apartments to expand the settlement of Maale Adumim, Smotrich said. While some bureaucratic steps remain, if the process moves quickly, infrastructure work could begin in the next few months and construction of homes could start in around a year. Rights groups swiftly condemned the plan. Peace Now called it 'deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution' which is 'guaranteeing many more years of bloodshed.' The announcement comes as the Palestinian Authority and Arab countries condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement in an interview on Tuesday that he was 'very' attached to the vision of a Greater Israel. He did not elaborate, but supporters of the idea believe that Israel should control not only the occupied West Bank but parts of Arab countries.
The Hill
9 minutes ago
- The Hill
Aid groups call on Israel to end ‘weaponization' of aid in Gaza
JERUSALEM (AP) — More than 100 nonprofit groups warned Thursday that Israel's rules for aid groups working in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank will block much-needed relief and replace independent organizations with those that serve Israel's political and military agenda — charges that Israel denied. A letter signed by organizations including Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and CARE accused Israel of 'weaponizing aid' as people starve in war-torn Gaza and using it as a tool to entrench control. The groups were responding to registration rules announced by Israel in March that require organizations to hand over full lists of their donors and Palestinian staff for vetting. The groups contend that doing so could endanger their staff and give Israel broad grounds to block aid if groups are deemed to be 'delegitimizing' the country or supporting boycotts or divestment. The registration measures were 'designed to control independent organizations, silence advocacy, and censor humanitarian reporting,' they said. The letter added that the rules violate European data privacy regulations, noting that in some cases aid groups have been given only seven days to comply. COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, denied the letter's claims. It alleged the groups were being used as cover by Hamas to 'exploit the aid to strengthen its military capabilities and consolidate its control' in Gaza. 'The refusal of some international organizations to provide the information and cooperate with the registration process raises serious concerns about their true intention,' it said in a statement on Thursday. 'The alleged delay in aid entry … occurs only when organizations choose not to meet the basic security requirements intended to prevent Hamas's involvement.' Israel has long claimed that aid groups and United Nations agencies issue biased assessments. The aid groups stressed on Thursday that most of them haven't been able to deliver 'a single truck' of life-saving assistance since Israel implemented a blockade in March. A vast majority of aid isn't reaching civilians in Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed, most of the population has been displaced and famine looms. U.N. agencies and a small number of aid groups have resumed delivering assistance, but say the number of trucks allowed in remains far from sufficient. Meanwhile, tensions have flared over Israel and the United States backing the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to serve as the main distributor of aid in the besieged territory. The American contractor, meant to replace the traditional U.N.-led aid distribution system in Gaza, has faced international condemnation after hundreds of Palestinians were killed while trying to get food near its distribution sites. Israel has pressed U.N. agencies to accept military escorts to deliver goods into Gaza, a demand the agencies have largely rejected, citing their commitment to neutrality. The standoff has been the source of competing claims: Israel maintains it allows aid into Gaza that adheres to its rules, while aid groups that have long operated in Gaza decry the amount of life-saving supplies stuck at border crossings. 'Oxfam has over $2.5 million worth of goods that have been rejected from entering Gaza by Israel, especially WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) items as well as food,' said Bushra Khalidi, an aid official with Oxfam in Gaza. Aid groups' 'ability to operate may come at the cost of their independence and ability to speak out,' she added.
Boston Globe
9 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Israel announces West Bank settlement that rights groups say could imperil Palestinian state
'This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize,' said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. 'Anyone in the world who tries today to recognize a Palestinian state – will receive an answer from us on the ground,' he said.
