Latest news with #West Bank
Arab News
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
British charities funded illegal Israeli settlement in West Bank
LONDON: Two charities in the UK sent millions of pounds to a school in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, The Guardian reported on Friday. Kasner Charitable Trust sent around £5.7 million ($7.66 million) to Bnei Akiva Yeshiva high school in Susya via another charity, UK Toremet. The Susya settlement was established around 1983 south of the city of Hebron. It was founded next to the Palestinian village of Khirbet Susiya, which was declared an archaeological site by Israel three years later and had all its residents evicted. Settlement expert Dror Etkes told The Guardian: 'The school is likely the largest single source of employment in the settlement, and constitutes one of the main elements of the entire settlement's existence.' Baroness Warsi, the former Conservative chair, told The Guardian: 'It's appalling that any British national should be engaged in funding illegal settlements on occupied land — and it's even more disturbing that this is being subsidised by all of us taxpayers.' She added: 'Serious action must be taken so that settlements which are illegal under international law, and at the heart of a regime of discrimination and displacement, cannot benefit from charitable donations.' Labour MP Andy McDonald said: 'The government must urgently take the steps necessary to ban the use of funds originating from the UK being used to support any aspect of the illegal occupation.' He added: 'Donations to illegal settlements should invalidate charitable status and result in individual prosecutions. If legislation is needed, we must do it.'
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Merz tells Netanyahu he hopes for ‘speedy' Gaza ceasefire
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call on Friday that he hoped for a 'speedy ceasefire' in war-torn Gaza, Berlin said. Merz also 'stressed that the urgently needed humanitarian aid must now reach the people in the Gaza Strip in a safe and humane manner' and that the 'disarmament of Hamas was imperative', his office said in a statement. 'The chancellor expressed his hope for a speedy ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. All remaining Hamas hostages, including those with German citizenship, must be released immediately.' The statement added that Merz 'advocated for finding a viable post-war order for Gaza that takes into account Israeli security needs and the Palestinian right to self-determination.' The chancellor also 'emphasized that there should be no steps towards annexing the West Bank.' Speaking earlier at a Berlin press conference, Merz labelled the events in Gaza as 'no longer acceptable.' He also emphasized Germany's commitment to Israel's security, saying: 'We are doing everything we can to do justice to both sides, it is clear where we stand. 'But we also see the suffering of the Palestinian population and are trying to do everything possible to provide humanitarian aid here as well.' More than 21 months of war have created dire humanitarian conditions for Gaza's population, displacing most residents at least once and triggering severe shortages of food and other essentials. The war was triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 58,667 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Slovenia bars far-right Israeli ministers for ‘genocidal statements'
Slovenia has banned far-right Israeli cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country. Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon declared the pair personae non gratae on Thursday in what she said was a first for a European Union country. 'We are breaking new ground,' she said. In a statement, the Slovenian government accused Israel's National Security Minister Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Smotrich of inciting 'extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians' with 'their genocidal statements'. It also noted that both cabinet ministers 'publicly advocate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the forced evictions of Palestinians, and call for violence against the civilian Palestinian population'. There was no immediate reaction from Israel's government. Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, key coalition partners in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, have drawn international criticism for their hard-line stance on the Gaza war and on illegal settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. Smotrich, who lives in a West Bank settlement, has supported the expansion of settlements and has called for the territory's annexation. Settlements are illegal under international law. Last July, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel's continued presence in occupied Palestinian territory was unlawful, a decision Israel has ignored. Smotrich has previously called for 'total annihilation' in Gaza and said that a Palestinian town in the West Bank should be 'wiped out'. Ben-Gvir was an open admirer of Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli who massacred 29 Palestinians as they prayed in Hebron in 1994. He has been convicted multiple times by Israeli courts for 'incitement to racism'. Despite the ministers' positions, Netanyahu relies heavily on support from the two and from their factions in parliament for the survival of his government. On May 21, Slovenia's President Natasa Pirc Musar told the European Parliament that the EU needed to take stronger action against Israel, condemning 'the genocide' in Gaza. Fajon said Slovenia had decided to make the move after EU foreign ministers did not agree on joint action against Israel over charges of human rights violations at a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday. She said other measures were being prepared, without going into detail. In June, Britain, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Canada imposed sanctions on the two Israeli ministers, accusing them of inciting violence against Palestinians. Last year, Slovenia announced it was recognising a Palestinian state, following on the heels of Norway, Spain, and the Republic of Ireland.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Huckabee Calls Death of Palestinian-American in West Bank ‘Terrorism'
The United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, on Tuesday called on the Israeli authorities to 'aggressively investigate' the death of a 20-year-old Palestinian-American citizen in a clash on Friday with Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, calling his killing a 'murder' and a 'criminal and terrorist act.' Mr. Huckabee, who has been vocal about his support for settlement in the occupied West Bank — which is widely viewed as illegal in the international community — used uncharacteristically strong language in his statement condemning the death of Sayfollah Musallet, a young Floridian who had been visiting his family in the area. 'There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act,' Mr. Huckabee said. The ambassador's demand comes amid a rise in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank during the war with Hamas in Gaza. Mr. Musallet was one of two Palestinian men who died in the violence near the northern West Bank town of Sinjil on Friday. The other, Mohammad Shalabi, 23, was shot during a confrontation between settlers and Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, though it was not clear who had shot him as armed settlers and soldiers had both been present on the scene. The Israeli military has neither confirmed nor denied the two deaths, saying only that there had been a violent exchange between Palestinians and Israeli civilians near Sinjil, and that the domestic intelligence agency and police were looking into reported casualties. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has confirmed Mr. Musallet's death, as well as his American citizenship. Exactly how Friday's clash unfolded is unclear. The Israeli military has said that confrontations began when Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli civilians, slightly injuring two Israelis. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Orthodox leaders demand Israel investigate settler violence near West Bank church
The most senior church leaders in Israel and the Palestinian territories gathered in the West Bank village of Taybeh on Monday to denounce rising settler violence against Palestinians and Palestinian property in the area. (AP video shot by Fernanda Pesce)
