Tag Archive for Palestine

The International Atomic Energy Agency recognizes the ‘State of Palestine’

Since the Palestinian Authority has no nuclear reactors nor does the PA have sovereignty as an independent state, the absurdity of the recognition makes a mockery of the international organization.
– Emmanuel Nahshon, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said the agreement was a “violation of international conventions.”

By YOSSI MELMAN/MAARIV, JERUSALEM POST STAFF

 

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed an agreement to recognize Palestine, as a state as it joined the international body as a observer on Tuesday. While it is not a member, it can attend meetings as an observer, an IAEA spokesperson said.

The agreement, which was signed by the agency’s director general Yukiya Amano and the Palestinian Ambassador in Vienna Salah Abdul Shafi, gives the IAEA inspectors the ability to check the safety of radioactive materials and fissile nuclear materials, such as uranium. Continue Reading »

Palestinians say their right to UN statehood was ratified in 1947

Palestinian envoy to U.N. Riyad Mansour - YouTube screenshot

Having rejected the UN’s partition plan for statehood in 1947 and losing everything when the Arabs opted to declare war on Israel, now backtracking on that decision Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour declares, “We believe that our statehood, and our admission, is an innate right… It is not open for negotiation with anyone – nor will we ask for permission from anyone.”

By Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

 

The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations said Monday that the day will come when “obstacles” in the Security Council to full U.N. membership will be removed “but that day is not today.” Continue Reading »

UN passes resolution allowing Palestinians powers of full member in 2019

Only  US, Israel and Australia vote against United Nations General Assembly resolution allowing the Palestinian to participate fully in meetings as a legitimate state and join previously restricted international bodies.

By Reuters

 

The 193-member United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday allowed the Palestinians to act more like a full UN member state during meetings in 2019 when they will chair the group of 77 developing nations.

The United States, Israel and Australia voted against the move, which won 146 votes in favor. There were 15 abstentions and 29 countries didn’t vote.

“We cannot support efforts by the Palestinians to enhance their status outside of direct negotiations. Continue Reading »

French President Macron vows NOT to recognize ‘Palestine’

 

France’s new liberal president said he would rather maintain a good relationship with the State of Israel than “undermine stability” and recognize ‘Palestine.’

By Israel Today Staff

 

Palestinian Arabs probably celebrated the victory of Emmanuel Macron in France’s presidential election last week.

After all, his opponent, Marine Le Pen, made abundantly clear her frustration with, if not outright disdain for, the Islamic world.

Supporters of Macron celebrating his victory at the Louvre on 7 May – Photo: Lorie Shaull/Wikimedia

But there was another aspect to the election for Palestinians, who have in recent years tried to get France to take a central role in the Middle East peace process, confident that the liberal European power would be among the first to openly embrace a Palestinian state. Continue Reading »

Future Palestinian State Highly Likely To Be Oppressive Police State

 

If Abbas, who’s incidentally, now in his 12th year of a 4-year term as president of the PA, condones extrajudicial killings, arrests journalists who report on corruption, intimidate students with violence, and where embezzlement is SOP, how could one not see a future Palestinian State as an oppressive police state?

By Israel Today Staff

 

A Palestinian university student has provided further evidence that an independent Palestinian state would be an oppressive police state. In fact, it already is.

PA Police

Earlier this week, Emad Halayqa, a student at Beirzeit University in Ramallah, posted to Facebook that he would far rather be arrested by Israel than by the Palestinian Authority. Continue Reading »

When Palestinian leaders avoid sovereignty, only option is returning land to Jordan

 

Op-ed: Acknowledging the only viable option left for the Palestinian people is the return of 96% of the West Bank to Jordan is now, since every Palestinian leader has proven himself averse to actively running an independent state or founding a sovereign Palestinian country when time after time, opportunity was dismissed.

By Sever Plocker

 

With the 50th anniversary of the occupation of the West Bank coming up, the time has come to return to the idea which guided the opponents of annexation in the 60s and 70s—the Jordan Option, or the Jordanian-Palestinian option.

Who am I to decide whether or not the Palestinians have defining cultural and nationalistic characteristics to differentiate it from the rest of the Arab world? Continue Reading »

Israel Sends Delegate to Clarify Why Jerusalem Rejects ICC Authority To Investigate

Jerusalem explains its position how ICC does not hold jurisdiction to hear ‘non-state’ Palestine’s alleged war-crimes charges against Israel.

By i24news

 

Israel has decided to change its policy and begin talks with the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague regarding a preliminary investigation the ICC is conducting into last summer’s Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip, a senior Israeli official told the Israeli Haaretz paper.

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda – Photo: Peter Dejong (POOL/AFP)

The Israeli decision to be in contact with Gambian-born Fatou Bensouda is reportedly only to clarify its position that the ICC does not hold any authority to hear Palestinian complaints on the matter, the official said. Continue Reading »

Sweden Invites Abbas in Official ‘Royal’ State Visit After ‘Palestine’ Recognition

Stockholm officially invites PA President Abbas despite the fact that ‘Palestine’ doesn’t yet exist.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will visit Stockholm next month after Sweden became the first major state of the European Union to recognize the PA as “Palestine,” the Swedish government announced Friday.

Mahmoud Abbas – Photo: Reuters

“The visit of president Abbas, by invitation from the prime minister, is confirmed for February 10,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Ulla Jacobson told AFP. “He will also meet the foreign minister, the king and the archbishop.”

She said the agenda would include the Arab-Israeli peace process and “what Sweden can offer after (its) recognition” of “Palestine” in October.

Continue Reading »

Israel refuses UN official entry to Palestinian Authority: She requested visa to ‘Palestine’

Foreign Ministry official explained to Rashida Manjoo, the UN’s special rapporteur on violence against women, that there’s no such country called Palestine.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF

 

Israel has denied an entry request by a United Nations Human Rights Commission investigator on women, after she asked for permission to visit “Palestine.”
Continue Reading »

PA Foreign Minister Reports UN Resolution to be Put Off Until 2015

Palestinian Authority FM reveals Arab League ambassadors mulling unilateral resolution demanding Israel’s withdrawal & UN recognition is likely to be postponed yet again.

By Ari Yashar

 

The council of Arab UN ambassadors gathered on Monday to discuss the Palestinian Authority (PA) resolution set to be proposed at the UN Security Council, unilaterally demanding recognition and Israeli withdrawals – however, the vote on the resolution set for Monday looks to be postponed yet again.

Last Friday PA chief negotiator Saeb Erekat announced that the vote would be held that day, or at the latest this Monday. But according to PA foreign minister Riyad Al-Maliki, the vote doesn’t seem likely until the new year begins.

Continue Reading »

Irish lower house passes non-binding motion recognizing Palestine with Jerusalem as capital

The Irish gov’t said it will take such steps only if coordinated with Ireland’s allies in the EU. A gov’t source reported Dublin fears unilateral moves may be counter-productive.

By i24news

 

 

The Irish lower house of parliament on Wednesday passed a non-binding motion, proposed by the opposition calling on the parliament to recognize Palestine as a state.

Irish parliament – Photo courtesy: Wikipedia Commons

The motion calls on the government to “officially recognize the State of Palestine, on the basis of the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital, as established in UN resolutions, as a further positive contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Continue Reading »

Vote on Palestine recognition by EU Parliament postponed

The postponement is due in part to Germany’s opposition to recognizing a Palestinian state prior to peace with Israel.

By HERB KEINON

 

A vote by the European Parliament in Strasbourg over whether to recognize a Palestinian state was postponed Tuesday from later this week to mid-December.

eu flag (european union)

EU flags – Photo: REUTERS

Israeli diplomatic officials said the move was pushed off from Thursday for three reasons: difficulties have emerged between the various parties regarding the language of the resolution; opposition by some members of the various parties – especially from Germany – to the resolution; and intensive work by Israeli diplomats in Brussels to postpone the vote, hoping to gain more time to change minds.

Continue Reading »

No EU recognition of Palestine without Germany

Chancellor Angela Merkel opposes unilaterally recognizing Palestinian state, reiterating that Germany will not follow the other European nations that have already done so.

By News Agencies & Israel Hayom Staff

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has underlined Germany’s opposition to recognizing a Palestinian state after lawmakers elsewhere in Europe backed such a move.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel – Photo: Reuters

Sweden’s new government officially recognized a Palestinian state on Oct. 30. Last Tuesday, Spain’s parliament approved a nonbinding resolution recognizing a Palestinian state, following similar motions in Britain and Ireland. Germany, Israel’s closest European ally, has made clear it will not follow that lead.

Continue Reading »

Sweden’s new center-left gov’t officially recognizes a Palestinian state

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s Foreign Minister described Sweden’s official recognition as “a miserable decision that strengthens the extremist elements & Palestinian rejectionism.”

AP, Reuters

 

 

STOCKHOLM – Sweden’s center-left government on Thursday officially recognized the state of Palestine, becoming the first major European country to do so.

The new center-left Swedish government (Photo: AP)

The new center-left Swedish government – Photo: AP

The EU member country joined only two other Western European countries — Malta and Cyprus — that have officially recognized a Palestinian state.

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said the Scandinavian country had decided on the move because the criteria of international law required for such recognition had been fulfilled. Continue Reading »

Israel condemns Sweden’s premature Palestinian declaration, admonished envoy

Foreign ministry summons Swedish envoy for reprimand after newly elected prime minister gave assurances he’ll recognize Palestine as a state in upcoming inauguration speech.

By Itamar Eichner

 

Sweden’s ambassador to Israel has been summoned for a reprimand meeting on Monday at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, after Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven announced on Friday his intention to recognize Palestine.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven (Photo: Reuters)

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven – Photo: Reuters

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Saturday night that Lofven’s announcement was unfortunate as he “likely has yet to have enough time to delve into matters and understand that the side which has been a spoiler for the past 20 years to advancing an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians – is the Palestinians.” Continue Reading »