Palestinian president gives Israel one year to end its occupation or risk withdrawal of recognition

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas remotely addresses the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in a pre-recorded message, Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, at UN headquarters. (AP)
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Updated 25 September 2021
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Palestinian president gives Israel one year to end its occupation or risk withdrawal of recognition

  • Abbas said Israel was “destroying the prospect of a political settlement based on the two-state solution” through its settlements on West Bank land
  • Most countries view the settlements as illegal, a position Israel disputes

WASHINGTON D.C.: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has given the Israeli government one year to withdraw from the occupied territories of West Bank and Jerusalem or face the prospect of the Palestinians withdrawing their recognition of Israel.

Abbas said that the Palestinians would otherwise seek a legal judgment from the International Court of Justice against Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The Palestinians stood ready to finalize the borders between the prospective Palestinian state and Israel and finish negotiations over other lingering final status issues such as the return of refugees and the status of occupied Jerusalem, he said.

Abbas, who delivered a prerecorded statement from Ramallah to the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, said that the Palestinians had had enough of Israel’s 54-year occupation of Palestinian lands. He said after decades of peace negotiations with Israel, the Palestinians still had no Israeli peace partner interested in ending the conflict.

Israel occupied the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, where Palestinians hope to establish their state, during the 1967 war after defeating the armies of Jordan, Egypt and Syria.

Abbas said that the Palestinians had honored all their agreements with Israel and committed to a peaceful end to the conflict, especially after signing the Oslo accords between Israel and the Palestinians in 1993.

He said that Israel had not only not honored its agreements with the Palestinians, but undermined the prospect of a two-state solution by building illegal settlements to increase the Israeli-Jewish population in the occupied territories in violation of international law.

The Oslo accords stipulated the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from the West Bank and Gaza within several years of the agreement. It also committed Israel to negotiate the final status of occupied East Jerusalem, the establishment of a Palestinian state and the right of return of Palestinian refugees no later than one year after the final status negotiations that started in 1999.

Abbas said that Israel had since rejected and refused to implement all of the peace proposals and agreements it signed with the Palestinians, including the Oslo accord.

“Contrary to past agreements and to the principles of international law, Israel is forcing the Palestinians out of their homes in Jerusalem, especially the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood,” he said. “Israel is committing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and this is considered a crime according to international law.”

The Palestinian leader chastised the UN and members of the international community for not holding Israel accountable for its actions, which made it think of itself as a country above the law.

Abbas also criticized the US and European countries, without naming them, for recognizing the Israeli occupation and its system of “apartheid” while boasting that they shared “the same values with it.”

“What kind of shared values are they talking about?” he asked. Abbas praised the American administration of president Joe Biden, describing his ties with the US government as “constructive dialogue.”

He said that current talks with US envoys revolved around the American government guarantee of an Israeli commitment to enforce its signed agreements with the Palestinian government.

On the domestic front, Abbas said that he had not canceled the Palestinian legislative elections, which were due to take place last May, but rather “postponed” them. He said that he decided against holding the slated elections because Palestinians in Jerusalem would not be able to vote due to Israeli objections.

In an apparent criticism of his main Palestinian rival, Hamas, Abbas told the international community that the Palestine Liberation Organization, which he is chairman of, was the only representative of the Palestinian people.

Abbas, who is also the chairman of the Palestinian Authority that administers the Palestinian cities in the West Bank, has been the subject of criticism and protests by Palestinian citizens. In recent months, Palestinian protesters have demanded his resignation over claims of corruption, human rights violations and security collaboration with Israel.


Palestinian Authority calls on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu

Updated 6 sec ago
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Palestinian Authority calls on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu

  • The governing body of the International Criminal Court voiced regret and concern over Hungary’s announcement that it was leaving the court, saying any departure harmed a “shared quest for justice”

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Authority has urged Hungary to arrest visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under an International Criminal Court warrant over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
“The ministry calls on the Hungarian government ... to comply with the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant by immediately handing Netanyahu over to bring him to justice,” the Ramallah-based Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement hours after Hungary announced it would withdraw from the ICC.
The governing body of the International Criminal Court voiced regret and concern over Hungary’s announcement that it was leaving the court, saying any departure harmed a “shared quest for justice.”
“When a state party withdraws from the Rome Statute (that established the ICC), it clouds our shared quest for justice and weakens our resolve to fight impunity,”
the presidency of the Assembly of State Parties said in a statement.
The court is “at the center of the global commitment to accountability,” and the international community should “support it without reservation,” the statement added.
“Justice requires our unity.”
The governing body also extended an olive branch to Hungary, which earlier Thursday announced it was starting the one-year process to withdraw from the ICC.
Every court member “has the right to voice its concerns before the Assembly,” it said.
“The presidency strongly encourages Hungary to have a meaningful discussion on this issue.”
In the meantime, the body urged Hungary to “continue to be a resolute party to the Rome Statute.”
Budapest said it was quitting the ICC just as Prime Minister Viktor Orban hosted Netanyahu.

 


Israeli military says it holds special probe into Gaza aid worker deaths

Updated 03 April 2025
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Israeli military says it holds special probe into Gaza aid worker deaths

  • The military’s Southern Command had transferred the investigation to a general staff mechanism outside the chain of command
  • Israel has not directly addressed the accusation that its forces deliberately killed health workers

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military is conducting an investigation into an incident in Gaza in which a number of emergency and aid workers were killed, a military spokesperson said on Thursday, rejecting a description of the incident as an “execution.”
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said the military’s Southern Command had transferred the investigation to a general staff mechanism outside the chain of command to establish what happened and “hold accountable people if we need to.”
Last month, the bodies of 15 workers from the Red Crescent, Palestinian Civil Defense and United Nations were found buried in a shallow grave at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, close to their wrecked vehicles.
Israel has not directly addressed the accusation that its forces deliberately killed health workers but the military has described an incident on March 23, when it said its troops fired on vehicles bearing Red Crescent markings near Rafah, killing nine members of militant groups.
“Our initial investigation found that there were terrorists in these cars, using those Red Crescent cars,” Shoshani told a briefing with journalists.
Asked how the troops knew that there were militants in the cars, he said: “It is based on different ways of intelligence and also based on the information gathered on the ground at the time of the event.”
He said troops later also fired on other unmarked vehicles that approached without emergency lights or prior coordination.
“I can’t go into the reasoning and what they did because this is under investigation,” Shoshani said. “We will investigate this incident and once we have the answers, we’ll put them out clearly and communicate everything we know and everything we’ve found,” he said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent, which said eight of its staff had been killed in the incident, said Israel had targeted the group and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
The medical team had been sent into Rafah as Israeli forces were advancing into the area after resuming operations in Gaza on March 18, following a two month-long truce, UN officials have said.
When the bodies were found, they were still in their medical uniforms and wearing gloves.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the people had been killed by Israeli forces and demanded “answers and justice.”
Shoshani denied reports that some bodies in the grave had been found with hands tied, and rejected the term “execution” to describe what happened during what he called “an operational event.”
“Not an execution,” he said.


Jordan’s King Abdullah meets Bulgarian president in Sofia to discuss Middle East security

Updated 03 April 2025
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Jordan’s King Abdullah meets Bulgarian president in Sofia to discuss Middle East security

  • King praised Bulgaria’s contributions to regional stability through its NATO and European Union membership
  • Both leaders stressed the urgent need to reinstate a ceasefire in Gaza

LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in Sofia on Thursday, where the two leaders discussed strengthening relations and addressing key challenges in the Middle East region.

During the expanded meeting at the Presidential Palace, King Abdullah emphasized Bulgaria’s important role in hosting the latest round of the Aqaba Process meetings in partnership with Jordan.

He noted that the discussions were particularly relevant given the current global security landscape, Jordan News Agency reported.

The king praised Bulgaria’s contributions to regional stability through its NATO and European Union membership, highlighting the alignment of views between the two nations on shared geopolitical challenges.

He also underscored the importance of fostering deeper cooperation and understanding between Jordan and Bulgaria.

Radev also stressed the significance of the Aqaba Process meetings in tackling critical security issues such as counterterrorism and radicalization, which are pressing concerns in both the Balkan region and the Middle East.

Reflecting on more than six decades of Jordan-Bulgaria relations, Radev praised the strategic partnership built between the two countries and also acknowledged Jordan’s leading role in advancing peace and stability in the Middle East, emphasizing the shared responsibility of both nations in promoting regional security.

The Bulgarian president lauded Jordan’s efforts to push for an end to the conflict in Gaza, while also continuing humanitarian aid delivery, and advocating for a political resolution.

He reaffirmed Bulgaria’s support for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through a two-state solution.

Both leaders stressed the urgent need to reinstate a ceasefire, facilitate humanitarian aid, and de-escalate tensions in the West Bank.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Jordan’s ambassador to Bulgaria, Mutaz Khasawneh, also attended the meeting.

Upon his arrival in Sofia, King Abdullah was welcomed with an official ceremony at Alexander Nevsky Square, where he laid a wreath at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier.


Appeal in Algeria against jail term for writer Sansal

Updated 03 April 2025
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Appeal in Algeria against jail term for writer Sansal

  • Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists
  • Sansal was arrested in November and stood trial for undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity

ALGIERS: The prosecutor’s office in Dar El Beida near Algiers has appealed against a five-year jail sentence imposed on French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, the Algiers bar association told local media.
Sansal, whose case has been at the heart of a diplomatic storm with France, is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists.
“Boualem Sansal and the prosecutor’s office appealed the day before Eid Al-Fitr,” marking the end of the month of Ramadan, which was celebrated Monday in Algeria, said Mohamed Baghdadi, an article on the TSA website said.
The writer’s French lawyer Francois Zimeray told AFP on Wednesday that Sansal had appealed, but that this did not prevent him from being pardoned if the appeal was withdrawn.
Sansal was arrested in November and stood trial for undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity, after saying in an interview with a far-right French media outlet that France unfairly ceded Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial era.
The statement echoed a long-standing Moroccan claim, and was viewed by Algeria as an affront to its national sovereignty.
On March 27, a court in Dar El Beida sentenced him to a five-year prison term and fined him 500,000 Algerian dinars ($3,730).
According to his French publisher, Sansal is 80 years old.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron urged his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune to show “mercy and humanity” toward Sansal.
Baghdadi was quoted by TSA as saying that a pardon is “only possible once the final sentence” is pronounced.
“The case can be judged quickly” and a pardon granted afterwards, Baghdadi added, emphasising that Tebboune is “sovereign in his decisions.”
The date for the appeal has not yet been set, according to TSA.
Sansal’s conviction and sentence further frayed ties between Paris and Algiers, already strained by migration issues and Macron’s recognition last year of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which is claimed by the Algeria-backed pro-independence Polisario Front.


Israeli action in Gaza leaves more than 39,000 Palestinian children orphaned

Updated 03 April 2025
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Israeli action in Gaza leaves more than 39,000 Palestinian children orphaned

  • 17,000 children have lost both parents
  • Child labor, exploitation fears due to lack of adequate education, social support

LONDON: The Israeli onslaught in the Gaza Strip has orphaned thousands of Palestinian children — many of them losing both parents — which has left them with no means of support and no access to education.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday that at least 39,384 children in the Gaza Strip have become orphans during the 534 days of Israeli attacks since October 2023, with 17,000 children losing both parents.

The PCBS reported that these children face a harsh reality, struggling to survive without support. Many are forced to live in tattered tents or destroyed homes, with little access to social services or psychological support.

Palestinian children, including orphans, endure profound mental disturbances daily, such as depression, isolation and fear, due to a lack of safety and proper guidance, the PCBS said. It warned that they are vulnerable to child labor and exploitation in a harsh environment due to the lack of adequate education and social support.

The education system in the Gaza Strip has been devastated by the conflict, which has destroyed 111 schools with another 241 severely damaged.

Additionally, 89 schools operated by UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) have been bombed or damaged, preventing 700,000 students from accessing education for the current academic year, the PCBS added. Some UNRWA schools have been turned into humanitarian shelters for entire communities in Gaza.

Israel resumed intense bombing of Gaza in March and launched a new ground offensive, ending a ceasefire lasting nearly two months. At least 1,066 people have died in Gaza since Israel resumed its military operations, according to the local health ministry.