Latest news with #PalestineLiberationOrganization
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Arab ministers condemn Israel's ‘ban' on planned West Bank visit
agencies West Bank The foreign ministers of five Arab countries who had planned to visit the occupied West Bank this weekend have condemned Israel's decision to block their plans. The ministers condemned 'Israel's decision to ban the delegation's visit to Ramallah [on Sunday] to meet with the president of the State of Palestine, Mahmud Abbas', the Jordanian foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were expected to take part in the meeting alongside Turkiye. Israel late on Friday said it will not allow the meeting of Arab foreign ministers, who would have required Israeli consent to travel to the occupied West Bank from Jordan because Israel controls the Palestinian territory's borders and airspace. 'The Palestinian Authorityintended to host in Ramallah a provocative meeting of foreign ministers from Arab countries to discuss the promotion of the establishment of a Palestinian state,' the Israeli official said late on Friday. 'Israel will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security.' In a post on X, Hussein Al Sheikh, the deputy chair of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said Israel's decision is a 'dangerous escalation that reflects arrogant, provocative, and unprecedented behavior'. 'We are examining, along with our Arab brothers, how to respond to this decision,' he wrote. The Israeli move came ahead of an international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, due to be held in New York on June 17-20 to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood. Israel has come under increasing pressure from the United Nations and European countries which favour a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, under which an independent Palestinian state would exist alongside Israel. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that recognising a Palestinian state was not only a 'moral duty but a political necessity'. Last week, Israeli forces opened fire near a diplomatic convoy near Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, triggering an international outcry. The convoy included diplomats from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Russia and China. The Israeli military claimed its soldiers fired 'warning shots' after the group deviated from an agreed-upon route. Israel has also allowed the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, with the government announcing plans to establish 22 new settlements, including retroactively legalising a number of unauthorised outposts. The move has been condemned by Palestinian officials and global human rights groups. The International Court of Justice declared last July that Israel's longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, at least 972 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and settlers across the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 were taken captive. Since then, at least 54,381 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip and 124,054 wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The Strip's Government Media Office has updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
Egypt Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Israel approves biggest expansion of West Bank settlements in decades
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as in East Jerusalem and the occupied Golan Heights, are considered illegal under international law. For months, Israel's military has carried out a massive operation in the West Bank, deploying tanks to the territory for the first time in decades and displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians. In February, Katz ordered the military 'to prepare for a prolonged presence' as the military evacuated Palestinian refugee camps. Within the last several weeks, Israeli forces have carried out multiple waves of raids and arrests across the West Bank. He added the new settlements are 'illegal under international law, further imperil the two-state solution, and do not protect Israel.' The decision this week to expand settlements sparked international criticism. The United Kingdom's minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Hamish Falconer, called the move a 'deliberate obstacle to Palestinian statehood.' Jordan's foreign ministry also lambasted the move, saying in a statement that it 'represents a deliberate disregard for ongoing international calls to halt settlement activity and violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.' 'All Israeli actions and decisions in the West Bank are illegal and illegitimate,' the statement added. Earlier this month, France joined the UK and Canada to threaten 'concrete actions,' including targeted sanctions against Israel, if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government did not allow far more aid into Gaza and cease settlement expansion in the West Bank. Peace Now blasted the government for making such a decision in the midst of a war. 'The government is making clear – again and without restraint – that it prefers deepening the occupation and advancing de facto annexation over pursuing peace,' the organization said. 'The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: the annexation of the Occupied Territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal.' The Oslo Accords, signed in 1993 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), were designed to pave the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state and the realization of a two-state solution.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Israel approves biggest expansion of West Bank settlements in decades
Israel approved a massive expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank this week in a move described as a continuation of de facto annexation of the territory. Peace Now, an Israeli non-governmental organization that tracks settlements, said it was the largest expansion of settlements since the signing of the Oslo Accords more than 30 years ago. Israel will establish 22 new settlements, including deep within the West Bank and in area from which the country had previously withdrawn, as part of the new security cabinet decision, according to a joint statement from Defense Minister Israel Katz and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. 'All the new communities are being established with a long-term strategic vision, aimed at reinforcing Israeli control of the territory, preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, and securing development reserves for settlement in the coming decades,' the statement said. Peace Now blasted the government for making such a decision in the midst of a war. 'The government is making clear - again and without restraint - that it prefers deepening the occupation and advancing de facto annexation over pursuing peace,' the organization said. 'The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: the annexation of the Occupied Territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal.' Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as in East Jerusalem and the occupied Golan Heights, are considered illegal under international law. The Oslo Accords, signed in 1993 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), were designed to pave the way to the establishment of a Palestinian state and the realization of a two-state solution. For months, Israel's military has carried out a massive operation in the West Bank, deploying tanks to the territory for the first time in decades and displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians. In February, Katz ordered the military 'to prepare for a prolonged presence' as the military evacuated Palestinian refugee camps. Within the last several weeks, Israeli forces have carried out multiple waves of raids and arrests across the West Bank. Peace Now said 12 of the new settlements will be the legalization of illegal outposts. Outposts are illegally established by Jewish settlers without approval from the government with the intention to push for formal recognition and legalization. Another nine of the settlements will be entirely new, while the final one will be the conversion of an existing neighborhood to an independent settlement, according to Peace Now. Two of the settlements in the new plan were evacuated during the disengagement from parts of the West Bank in 2005, which forbade Israelis from establishing a civilian presence in those areas. That law was overturned by the current right-wing Israeli government. Smotrich gloated about the new settlements, making clear his goal was annexation. 'The next step – sovereignty! We did not take a foreign land, but the inheritance of our ancestors,' he said in a statement. Earlier this month, the security cabinet approved a land registration process for Area C of the West Bank, which is under Israeli civil and security control. Peace Now called the move 'a mega theft of Palestinian lands.'
CNN
4 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Israel approves biggest expansion of West Bank settlements in decades
Israel approved a massive expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank this week in a move described as a continuation of de facto annexation of the territory. Peace Now, an Israeli non-governmental organization that tracks settlements, said it was the largest expansion of settlements since the signing of the Oslo Accords more than 30 years ago. Israel will establish 22 new settlements, including deep within the West Bank and in area from which the country had previously withdrawn, as part of the new security cabinet decision, according to a joint statement from Defense Minister Israel Katz and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. 'All the new communities are being established with a long-term strategic vision, aimed at reinforcing Israeli control of the territory, preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, and securing development reserves for settlement in the coming decades,' the statement said. Peace Now blasted the government for making such a decision in the midst of a war. 'The government is making clear - again and without restraint - that it prefers deepening the occupation and advancing de facto annexation over pursuing peace,' the organization said. 'The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: the annexation of the Occupied Territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal.' Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as in East Jerusalem and the occupied Golan Heights, are considered illegal under international law. The Oslo Accords, signed in 1993 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), were designed to pave the way to the establishment of a Palestinian state and the realization of a two-state solution. For months, Israel's military has carried out a massive operation in the West Bank, deploying tanks to the territory for the first time in decades and displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians. In February, Katz ordered the military 'to prepare for a prolonged presence' as the military evacuated Palestinian refugee camps. Within the last several weeks, Israeli forces have carried out multiple waves of raids and arrests across the West Bank. Peace Now said 12 of the new settlements will be the legalization of illegal outposts. Outposts are illegally established be Jewish settlers without approval from the government with the intention to push for formal recognition and legalization. Another nine of the settlements will be entirely new, while the final one will be the conversion of an existing neighborhood to an independent settlement, according to Peace Now. Two of the settlements in the new plan were evacuated during the disengagement from parts of the West Bank in 2005, which forbade Israelis from establishing a civilian presence in those areas. That law was overturned by the current right-wing Israeli government. Smotrich gloated about the new settlements, making clear his goal was annexation. 'The next step – sovereignty! We did not take a foreign land, but the inheritance of our ancestors,' he said in a statement. Earlier this month, the security cabinet approved a land registration process for Area C of the West Bank, which is under Israeli civil and security control. Peace Now called the move 'a mega theft of Palestinian lands.'
Nahar Net
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Salam attends 1st Lebanese-Palestinian committee meeting on disarming camps
by Naharnet Newsdesk 23 May 2025, 13:05 A joint Lebanese-Palestinian committee convened Friday to discuss the mechanism for disarming Palestinian camps, after Lebanese and Palestinian leaders agreed in Beirut to remove weapons that aren't under the authority of the Lebanese state, including in the camps. Lebanon's Director of General Security Hassan Choucair, chairman of the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee Ramez Dimashqieh, and Palestinian Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Azzam al-Ahmad attended the meeting. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who met Thursday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also attended the meeting, saying the decision to disarm camps will have a positive impact on the humanitarian and socio-economical conditions of the Palestinian refugees. He urged for a swift implementation of the decision through practical steps and for setting a clear timeline for the disarmament of the camps. The committee said in a statement that the meeting discussed ways to implement the disarmament decision and to reinforce the coordination between the Lebanese and Palestinian authorities. The participants agreed to set a timetable with practical steps to enhance the economic and social rights of Palestinian refugees and to intensify meetings in order to expedite the implementation of the disarmament decision.
