Israel to stop Spanish consulate from providing services to Palestinians
Israel’s minister of foreign affairs, Israel Katz, said he has decided to “sever the connection” between Spain’s representation in Israel and Palestinians following Spain’s recognition of Palestinian statehood this week.
Katz said the move, which will also see the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem prohibited from providing services to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, also came in response to comments made by Spain’s deputy PM Yolanda Diaz who had said she wanted to “liberate Palestine from the river to the sea”.
Twenty-seven countries condemn closure of Al Jazeera in Israel
Governments of 27 members of the Media Freedom Coalition have published a statement criticising the shutdown of Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel.
The members of the coalition, which is a partnership that advocates for media freedom, said: “A free and diverse media landscape is crucial for democracies to function, especially in times of conflict, as people rely on independent information from multiple, reliable sources to stay informed and make their decisions.
“It is essential that all journalists be given unhindered access to cover events and developments as they unfold, so that they have the possibility to report and inform transparently and factually.”
It was signed by Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Lithuania, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Pro-Palestine protests outside US consulate in Jerusalem
EU’s Borrell says recognising Palestine ‘not a gift to Hamas’
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said recognising a Palestinian state was not a gift to Hamas.
On Wednesday, Ireland, Norway and Spain said they would recognise a Palestinian state on May 28, to help secure a halt to Israel’s Gaza offensive and revive peace talks that have stalled.
“Recognising the Palestinian state is not a gift to Hamas, quite the contrary,” he said. “The Palestinian Authority is not Hamas, on the contrary they are deeply confronted.”
He added the EU already talked to, met with and financed the Palestinian Authority. “Every time someone makes the decision to support a Palestinian state… the reaction of Israel is to transform it in an antisemitic attack,” he added.
EU’s Borrell warns Israel ‘not to threaten’ ICC judges
EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borell has urged Israel “not to threaten” judges of the ICC, whose chief prosecutor has sought an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
“I ask everyone, starting with the Israeli government, but also certain European governments, not to intimidate the judges, not to threaten them,” Borrell told Spanish public television channel TVE.
Earlier this week, Netanyahu, responding to a question about whether he would fear travelling internationally after a potential ICC warrant, said he would not and that the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, “should be concerned about his status”.
Khan says he was also warned by a senior Western official that the ICC should be “for Africa and for thugs like Putin”, not for the West and its allies.
