US Speaker of the House calls West Bank 'rightful property of Jewish people' during visit
A photo posted on X by Israel Hayom showed settlement mayor Yair Chetboun with Mr Johnson and the Speaker's wife after apparently having planted a tree. Mr Johnson is the highest-ranking US official to visit an Israeli settlement.
Marc Zell, chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel, said in a post on X that Mr Johnson had called the West Bank - which he referred to by its biblical name of "Judea and Samaria" - 'the rightful property of the Jewish people'.
The Speaker was originally scheduled to visit Israel at the end of June, but that was derailed by the air war between Israel and Iran. The private visit was organised by a pro-Israel advocacy group, Axios reported, quoting Israeli officials.
He was accompanied on his visit to Israel by a group of Republican members of Congress. The group held a meeting with Defence Minister Israel Katz, who thanked them for their 'unwavering support and moral clarity in standing with Israel against its enemies'. Mr Johnson's office did not immediately respond to The National' s request for comment.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the visit, calling it 'a blatant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and the Arab and US efforts to stop the war, halt the cycle of violence, and achieve calm'.
The ministry said the visit was a 'clear contradiction with the declared US position regarding settlements and settlers' attacks'. It added that it views the visit as 'an encouragement of settlement crimes, settlers' actions, and the confiscation of Palestinian lands.
Mr Johnson, a Republican and supporter of US President Donald Trump, has frequently voiced strong support for Israel. While American politicians have visited Israeli settlements in the past, this is the first time a Speaker of the House – third in line of the presidential succession – has done so. Former secretary of state Mike Pompeo visited a winery in the West Bank in 2020.
Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories are considered to be illegal under international law. Under former president Joe Biden, the US described settlements as 'illegitimate' and imposed sanctions on several Israeli settlers, freezing their US assets and barring Americans from dealing with them following growing reports of violence by settlers against Palestinians – including American citizens. Mr Trump reversed those sanctions soon after taking office.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
42 minutes ago
- The National
Syria secures funds for Airbus jets amid Damascus airport expansion plans
Syria secured financing to modernise the fleet of national carrier Syrian Airlines with Airbus planes as it redevelops Damascus International Airport, as interest from foreign investors in its post-war economy increases. The Syrian government signed an initial pact for $250 million in financing to buy up to 10 Airbus A320 narrow-body planes for Syrian Airlines with a consortium of companies led by Qatar's UCC Holding. The purchase is "aimed at enhancing the fleet and increasing the competitiveness of the national carrier", UCC Holding said. Airbus declined to comment on the deal. "As a general rule, we never discuss any discussions we may or may not have with our airline customers," a representative told The National. The funding is part of a wider $4 billion initial agreement to redevelop the Damascus airport with UCC Holding and US-based Assets Investments, as well as Turkish companies Cengiz, Kalyon and airport operator Tav. This was part of an announcement of 12 major strategic projects valued at $14 billion. Once finalised, the deal would help revitalise Syria's long-neglected aviation sector after years of civil war that has left its infrastructure in a dire state. Aviation potential Aviation authorities in Gulf states have been lobbying the International Air Transport Association and the UN aviation body ICAO to "play a pivotal role" in developing Syria's aviation industry, underscoring its importance to the region, and in ensuring that "no state is left behind", Kamil Al Awadhi, regional vice president of Africa and Middle East at Iata, told The National. Asked about the potential for Syria's aviation industry to develop once US and European sanctions lift, Mr Al Awadhi said: "If everything went well, it will go boom." However, the scope of growth depends on the amount of investment that goes into upgrading the Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), airports, ground handling capabilities, improving regulations and restructuring airlines, he said. Another factor in the growth of Syria's air travel industry will be foreign countries easing visa rules to allow more Syrians to travel, he added. An increasing number of international airlines – including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines – have resumed flights to Damascus. Airlines – especially state-owned Syrian Air and private operator Cham Wings – have long operated with an ageing fleet under a severe shortage of parts, often relying on black-market channels or cannibalising grounded planes. Sanctions relief would, for the first time in years, allow these airlines to legally source OEM (original equipment manufacturer)-certified parts from Airbus, Boeing and their tier-one suppliers, which could significantly improve safety standards and reliability, Linus Bauer, founder and managing director of consultancy BAA & Partners, told The National. In the medium to long term, sanctions relief could re-enable commercial aircraft orders with major OEMs, which were previously blocked due to US components being embedded in virtually all commercial jets, he said at the time. Syrian Airlines has a fleet of 12 planes, including Airbus A320s and larger A340s, though most of the planes are listed as parked, Bloomberg reported, citing tracking website Planespotters. The Damascus airport expansion project follows on the heels of several multibillion-dollar deals that Syria has signed with regional countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia to build everything from power stations to subways.
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Macron introduces new French visa restrictions against Algeria
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for "more firmness" towards Algeria and announced new measures against the country, marking a new stage in the diplomatic crisis between Algiers and its former colonial power. In its latest punitive act, Macron said France will suspend visa exemptions for Algerian diplomats and officials, which had been part of a 2013 agreement. The states have been embroiled in an unprecedented row for over a year, resulting in the expulsion of officials on both sides, the recall of ambassadors and restrictions on officials holding diplomatic visas. An important source of tension has been the imprisonment by Algeria of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal. An Algerian court handed Sansal a five-year sentence for "undermining the integrity of Algerian territory" over statements made to a far-right media outlet in France, in which Sansal suggested Moroccan territory had been acquired by Algeria during the colonial period. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Separately, French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes was also sentenced to seven years in prison in Algeria for 'condoning terrorism', after he interviewed a sports club manager from Kabylia who also leads the pro-independence Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia (MAK). "Algerian authorities have deliberately chosen not to respond to our repeated calls over the past few months to work together in the interest of our two nations," Macron said, adding that France had no choice but to toughen its stance. France to recognise Palestinian state at UN General Assembly in September Read More » "France must be strong and command respect," the president wrote in a letter to his prime minister, published by Le Figaro on Wednesday. "It can only obtain this from its partners if it itself shows them the respect it demands. This basic rule applies to Algeria as well." Macron further cited Algeria's "non-compliance with its obligations" regarding migration, as well as "the cessation of cooperation between the 18 Algerian consulates present on our soil and state services". The president also asked his interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, to quickly "find ways and means [to ensure] useful cooperation with his Algerian counterpart". A hardliner on Algiers, Retailleau has said "the diplomacy of good intentions had failed". Retailleau is seen as a rightward force on Macron and has lobbied the French president to take a tougher stance on the deportation of unauthorised Algerian migrants in France. Macron has chosen 'rupture' While the Algerian authorities have not yet responded, media outlets in the North African state have criticised Macron's statements and his decision to 'opt for escalation'. They said visa restrictions could have a serious impact on mobility between the two countries, affecting Algerians going to France for study, work or family reasons, as well as French businesses in Algeria. France and Algeria rocked by 'most serious' diplomatic crisis since end of colonial rule Read More » Journalist Khaled Drareni, the Reporters Without Borders representative for North Africa, accused Macron of having "sided with his interior minister's outrageous remarks on the Algerian issue, trampling on the hopes of easing tensions between Algiers and Paris". "To those who still believed in normalisation, he has presented a clear political choice: that of rupture. "The official justifications - lack of migration cooperation, expulsions of diplomats - don't hold water. They are excuses. The real reason is the absence of a [Algerian] presidential pardon for Boualem Sansal. It was necessary to have the courage to say so clearly," Drareni wrote on X. Drareni also blamed the French presidency for having "abandoned the truth". The journalist was referring to Macron's remarks as reported by Le Monde in October 2021, where he accused the Algerian "politico-military" system of serving its people an "official history" that "is not based on truths", and asked if "there was an Algerian nation before French colonisation". These remarks sparked anger among Algerian authorities, already irritated by an earlier French decision to restrict the issuing of visas for Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, in the face of the refusal by those states to repatriate their illegal immigrants from France.
Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Trump says 'important' for Middle Eastern countries to join Abraham Accords
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday it was important that Middle Eastern countries join the Abraham Accords, saying it will ensure peace in the region. "Now that the nuclear arsenal being 'created' by Iran has been totally OBLITERATED, it is very important to me that all Middle Eastern Countries join the Abraham Accords," Trump wrote in a social media post. As part of the Abraham Accords, signed during Trump's first term in office, four Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalise diplomatic relations with Israel after US mediation. Efforts to expand the accords have been complicated by a soaring death toll and starvation in Gaza.
