US says stable West Bank in line with Trump goal for regional peace
Asked about Smotrich's statement that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed to the revival of the so-called E1 development, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said the U.S. remained focused on ending the war in Gaza and ensuring Hamas will never govern that territory again.
"A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration's goal to achieve peace in the region," the spokesperson said, while referring to the Israeli government for further information.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LBCI
8 hours ago
- LBCI
With US backing, Israel moves to divide West Bank and expand settlements
Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Mariella Succar With full U.S. support, the Israeli government is moving forward with a plan considered the most dangerous yet for derailing the Palestinian state project. The government is expected to give final approval next week for construction plans in the E1 area. The plan would divide the West Bank into two sections, separating the north from the south, forming the backbone of efforts to eliminate the idea of a Palestinian state. The government's approval comes after years of delays due to international pressure and the dramatic, irreversible implications for the future of the territories under Israeli occupation. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich promoted his settlement plan, stating that a key condition of his coalition is to impose full Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank and link settlement activity there with Gaza. He argued that one of the objectives of the Gaza war is to re-establish settlements in the Strip as a condition for victory, asserting that such a plan would permanently end the idea of a Palestinian state. Smotrich, who described any support for a Palestinian state as 'suicidal' for Israel, revealed the start of a plan to expand the Ma'ale Adumim settlement and link it with Jerusalem, as a strategic step to consolidate Israeli control over the West Bank. Meanwhile, the Israeli government, through its relevant institutions, has issued orders to seize thousands of dunams of Palestinian land and allocated billions of shekels for investment in these territories. The plan aims to settle one million new Israeli settlers in the West Bank as part of what has been described as continuous Jewish construction to eliminate the Palestinian state project.
L'Orient-Le Jour
8 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
William Noun summoned over 'sectarian incitement' and 'alleged violation of Israel boycott law'
The Central Criminal Investigation Department summoned activist William Noun, brother of a victim of the Aug. 4, 2020, Beirut Port explosion, for questioning on Tuesday at noon at the Justice Palace, following a complaint accusing him of inciting sectarian strife and violating Lebanon's law on dealings with Israel, Noun told L'Orient Today Friday. The complaint, sent to L'Orient Today by Noun on Friday, was filed by Hassan Ibrahim, a lawyer reportedly close to Hezbollah, after a speech Noun delivered during the fifth anniversary commemoration of the Beirut port explosion on Aug. 4. Speaking to L'Orient Today Friday, Noun said: "They accused me of sympathizing with Israel, which isn't even true because I didn't even use the word Israel. And if I were to mention it, I would mention it negatively. Accusing me of collaborating with Israel is something funny. Inciting sectarian violence is part of what they have said against me." L'Orient Today viewed the video of his remarks and was able to confirm that Noun did not mention Israel. The complaint alleges that during his speech, audience members began chanting 'Hezbollah is a terrorist organization,' to which Noun responded that "there is no one left of them," in apparent reference to losses Hezbollah suffered during its 2024 war with Israel. According to the plaintiff, Noun was 'clearly alluding to the resistance's 5,000 martyrs who fell during the Israeli war against Lebanon.' At the end of his speech, Noun said, 'Just because Hassan Nasrallah has died doesn't mean all his sins are forgiven.' In his complaint, Ibrahim argued that Noun 'expressed dangerous empathy with the Israeli enemy, provoking the popular base of the resistance, which makes up at least half of the Lebanese population, among whom it is rare to find a family that has not offered a martyr during the brutal aggression that Lebanon endured.' Ibrahim said that this statement referred to 'Hezbollah martyrs who were killed during the war and after the cease-fire on Nov. 27, which Israel is not abiding by.' On his Facebook page, Ibrahim added, "Those martyrs are our friends, relatives, and school friends, and their legacy should be respected," alongside a photo of the complaint. The complaint accuses Noun of making inflammatory remarks at a sensitive national moment, stating that his comments "incite sectarian and partisan divisions," particularly given his different sectarian background from those he criticized. It further claims his language "resembles that of the Israeli enemy" and violates Lebanon's boycott law. The filing also pointed to Noun's affiliation with a political group critical of Hezbollah, suggesting he supports a 'hostile approach to the resistance,' and warns that accusing Hezbollah of involvement in the port explosion is a 'serious and dangerous' allegation that could undermine civil peace.
L'Orient-Le Jour
12 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Israeli far-right minister confronts prominent Palestinian inmate
Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, published a video on Friday showing him confronting the most high-profile Palestinian detainee in Israeli custody in his prison cell. Marwan Barghouti, a leading member of the Palestinian Fatah party, has spent more than 20 years behind bars after being sentenced for his role in anti-Israeli attacks in the early 2000s. In the clip published by Ben Gvir on X, the minister and two other individuals, including a prison guard, surround Barghouti in a corner of his cell. "You will not defeat us. Whoever harms the people of Israel, whoever kills children, whoever kills women... we will erase them," Ben Gvir says in Hebrew. Barghouti tries to respond but is interrupted by Ben Gvir, who says: "No, you know this. And it's been the case throughout history." The video does not specify where Barghouti is currently being held. Contacted by AFP, sources close to Ben Gvir said the meeting took place "by chance" in Ganot prison in southern Israel during an inspection visit by the minister, but they would not say when the footage was filmed. "This morning I read that various 'senior officials' in the Palestinian Authority didn't quite like what I said to arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti -- may his name be erased," Ben Gvir said in the post accompanying the video on Friday morning. "So I will repeat it again and again, without apology: whoever messes with the people of Israel, whoever murders our children, whoever murders our women – we will wipe them out. With God's help." Barghouti, who is now in his sixties, was arrested in 2002 by Israel and sentenced to life in 2004 on murder charges. Israel considers him a "terrorist" and convicted him over his role in the second intifada, or uprising, from 2000-2005. He often tops opinion polls of popular Palestinian leaders and is sometimes described by his supporters as the "Palestinian Mandela." In a statement released by the state-run Palestinian news agency Wafa, the Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry denounced the confrontation as "an unprecedented provocation." Responding to the video in a post on X, the Palestinian mission to the United Nations said Barghouti was "enduring extremely harsh humanitarian conditions in his solitary confinement cell." It added that he had "lost more than half his weight due to deliberate medical neglect and mistreatment." "At the same time, extremist Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir continues to directly threaten him in an attempt to break his will and resilience." Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas's political bureau, expressed solidarity with Barghouti and said "there is no meaning of savagery left that has not been embodied by" Ben Gvir.
