Israeli lawmakers pass symbolic motion on occupied West Bank annexation
The non-binding vote in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, was backed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, as well as some opposition lawmakers.
They said that annexing the West Bank 'will strengthen the state of Israel, its security and prevent any questioning of the fundamental right of the Jewish people to peace and security in their homeland.'
'Sovereignty in Judea and Samaria' -- the name Israel uses for the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967 -- was 'an integral part of the realization of Zionism and the national vision of the Jewish people,' the text stated.
It passed by a vote of 71 to 13, with 36 other lawmakers absent.
Hussein al-Sheikh, deputy to Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, said the motion was 'a direct assault on the rights of the Palestinian people' that 'undermines the prospects for peace, stability and the two-state solution.'
'These unilateral Israeli actions blatantly violate international law and the ongoing international consensus regarding the status of the Palestinian territories, including the West Bank,' he wrote on X.
Some 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, which is home to around three million Palestinians.
Israeli settlement there is regularly condemned by the UN and is considered illegal under international law.
It is seen as one of the main obstacles -- along with ongoing violence between the two sides -- to a lasting peace agreement through the creation of a viable Palestinian state with authority over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Pakistan hopes for ‘meaningful outcomes' ahead of high-level UN summit on Palestine today
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has expressed the hope for achieving 'meaningful outcomes' ahead of a high-level United Nations summit on Palestine scheduled to convene today, Monday, at New York. The event — officially titled the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution — will be co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France from July 28-29. The conference arrives amid worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza and a historic diplomatic shift: France's decision to formally recognize Palestine as a state. Israel's war on Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023. The conference takes place a day after Israel declared a 'tactical pause' in fighting in parts of Gaza on Sunday and said it would allow the UN and aid agencies to open secure land routes to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. Dar spoke to Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday to discuss the 'grave' humanitarian situation in Gaza impacting millions of Palestinians, Pakistan's foreign office said on Sunday. 'He expressed the hope of achieving meaningful outcomes from the high-level international conference on Palestine and implementation of the two-state solution scheduled to be held in New York tomorrow,' the foreign office said. The two diplomats also exchanged views about a 'high-level visit' to Pakistan in the near future, the statement said without elaborating further. One of the most consequential developments ahead of the conference is French President Emmanuel Macron's July 24 announcement that France will formally recognize Palestine, with the official declaration to be made at the UN General Assembly in September. Analysts say France's move could tip the balance internationally. Already, 147 of 193 UN member states — nearly 75 percent — recognize Palestine, including nearly all of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. France would be the first G7 country to join that group. The US, Canada, Australia, Germany, and the UK still do not, citing the need for direct negotiations with Israel. The conference will convene foreign ministers and diplomats from dozens of countries and will build upon the work of eight working groups, each focusing on areas such as security, humanitarian aid, and post-war reconstruction. A follow-up summit is planned in September at the UN General Assembly, to be co-chaired by President Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
UN rights chief warns world inaction on Gaza could amount to complicity in war crimes
NEW YORK CITY: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Sunday issued a stark appeal ahead of the High-Level Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine, urging governments to exert maximum pressure on Israel to end what he described as a 'carnage' in Gaza and warning that inaction could amount to complicity in international crimes. In a video statement released from Geneva, Türk called for 'immediate steps by Israel to end its unlawful continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory,' and urged all parties to work towards tangible progress on implementing a two-State solution. The event, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France and officially titled the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, is being described as both urgent and historic. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher on Sunday warned that humanitarian crisis in Gaza is dire, with widespread hunger, children wasting away, and people risking their lives just to access food. While Israel's recent move to ease restrictions and allow more aid through is a step forward, Fletcher said it is not nearly enough. Vast quantities of aid, safe access routes, consistent fuel supplies, and protection for civilians are urgently needed to prevent further catastrophe. A sustained, immediate humanitarian response and a permanent ceasefire are critical. Turk said: 'This Conference must deliver concrete action,' he said, appealing to participating governments to 'put all possible pressure on the Israeli government to end the carnage in Gaza — permanently.' Turk cautioned that 'countries that fail to use their leverage may be complicit in international crimes.' Describing the situation in Gaza and the West Bank as an 'unspeakable tragedy,' Türk said that daily violence and destruction were fueling the 'dehumanization of Palestinians.' He condemned Israeli plans that he said amounted to consolidating the annexation of the West Bank and forcing Palestinians out of Gaza. 'Every day, we see actions and hear about plans (to) crowd extremely exhausted and hungry people into ever-smaller areas of the territory, after repeated displacement orders by the Israeli military,' he said. 'These steps put the two-state solution even further out of reach.' 'Children are starving and dying in front of our eyes,' Turk said, calling Gaza 'a dystopian landscape of deadly attacks and total destruction.' He strongly criticized what he described as the failure of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, supported by the United States and Israel, saying its chaotic, militarized distribution centers 'are failing utterly to deliver humanitarian aid at the scope and scale needed.' According to figures from Gaza's Health Ministry, Turk said, over 200,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured since October 7, about ten percent of the territory's population. He also noted that more than 1,000 people have died since May while trying to access food, and that over 300 humanitarian workers have been killed by Israel. 'All countries have an obligation to take concrete steps to ensure that Israel, the occupying power in Gaza, complies with its obligations to ensure that sufficient food and lifesaving necessities are provided to the population,' he said. Turning to the occupied West Bank, Türk accused Israeli security forces and settlers of 'continuing to kill Palestinians, demolish houses, cut off water supplies, and consolidate systems of oppression and discrimination.' While condemning the October 7 attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian groups and recognizing the trauma inflicted on Israel, Turk reiterated his long-standing condemnation of the scale of Israel's military response in Gaza. He said he has warned repeatedly of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the need to prevent genocide, echoing concerns raised by the International Court of Justice. 'The people of the world will judge this Conference on what it delivers,' he warned. Turk renewed calls for an 'immediate, permanent ceasefire,' the 'unconditional release of all hostages and all others arbitrarily detained,' and for 'massive' humanitarian aid to be delivered to Palestinians 'wherever they are.' He concluded by expressing the UN human rights office's readiness to support Palestinian state-building efforts grounded in human rights and the rule of law, and emphasized the future importance of victim support and accountability.
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
The UN, the Palestinians, Israel and a stalled two-state solution
UNITED NATIONS: Ever since the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states in 1947, the United Nations has been inextricably linked to the fate of Palestinians, with the organization meeting this week hoping to revive the two-state solution. Here is a timeline on the issue: In November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 dividing Palestine — which was then under British mandate — into Jewish and Arab states, with a special international zone for Jerusalem. Zionist leaders accepted the resolution, but it was opposed by Arab states and the Palestinians. Israel declared independence in May 1948, triggering the Arab-Israeli war which was won convincingly by Israel the following year. Around 760,000 Palestinians fled their homes or were expelled — an event known as the 'Nakba,' Arabic for 'catastrophe,' which the United Nations only officially commemorated for the first time in May 2023. In the aftermath of the Six-Day War of 1967, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 242, which called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from territories occupied during the conflict, including the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. But linguistic ambiguities between the English and French versions of the resolutions complicated matters, making the scope of the required withdrawal unclear. In November 1974, Yasser Arafat, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), gave his first speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, saying he carried both 'an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun.' Days later, the UN General Assembly recognized the Palestinians' right to self-determination and independence. It granted UN observer status to the PLO as a representative of the Palestinian people. One of the strongest peace initiatives did not come from the United Nations. In 1993, Israel and the PLO — which in 1988 unilaterally declared an independent State of Palestine — wrapped up months of secret negotiations in Norway's capital Oslo. The two sides signed a 'declaration of principles' on Palestinian autonomy and, in 1994, Arafat returned to the Palestinian territories after a long exile and formed the Palestinian Authority, the governing body for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. UN Security Council decisions on how to treat the Palestinians have always depended on the position of the veto-wielding United States. Since 1972, Washington has used its veto more than 30 times to protect its close ally Israel. But sometimes, it allows key resolutions to advance. In March 2002, the Security Council — at Washington's initiative — adopted Resolution 1397, the first to mention a Palestinian state existing alongside Israel, with secure and recognized borders. In December 2016, for the first time since 1979, the Council called on Israel to stop building settlements in the Palestinian territories — a measure that went through thanks to a US abstention, just before the end of Barack Obama's White House term. And in March 2024, another US abstention — under pressure from the international community — allowed the Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire amid Israel's offensive on Hamas in Gaza, sparked by the militants' October 7 attack. That measure came after the United States blocked three similar drafts. In 2011, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas initiated the process of requesting membership of the State of Palestine to the UN, which required a positive recommendation from the Security Council, followed by a favorable vote from the General Assembly. In the face of opposition from the United States, the process was halted even before a vote in the Council. The following year, the General Assembly granted the Palestinians a lower status as a 'non-member observer State.' In April 2024, the Palestinians renewed their request to become a full-fledged member state, but the United States vetoed it. If the Palestinian request had cleared the Security Council hurdle, it would have had every chance of being approved by the necessary two-thirds majority in the Assembly. According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. In the absence of full membership, the Assembly granted the Palestinians new rights in 2024, seating them in alphabetical order of states, and allowing to submit resolution proposals themselves for the first time.
