Ireland approves Palestinian ambassador for first time
The Republic of Ireland has confirmed the appointment of a full Palestinian ambassador for the first time, after Dublin formally recognised a Palestinian state earlier this year.
Senior ministers confirmed that Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid would step up from her current position as Palestinian head of mission to Ireland.
In May, Ireland said it was recognising Palestine as “a sovereign and independent state” comprising Gaza and the occupied West Bank and agreed to establish full diplomatic relations.
European companies step back from Israel-linked finance
Several of Europe’s biggest financial firms have cut back their links to Israeli companies or those with ties to the country, a Reuters news agency analysis of filings shows.
While banks and insurers are often vocal about their environmental and governance aims, they are less forthcoming about disclosing their potential exposure to war.
UniCredit put Israel on a “forbidden” list as the conflict escalated in October last year, according to a source familiar with the matter, confirming a study by Dutch NGO PAX.
While in line with the Italian bank’s defence-sector policy of not directly financing arms exports to any country involved in conflict, it goes beyond Italy’s guidelines on arms exports to Israel.
Norwegian asset manager Storebrand and French insurer AXA have sold shares of some Israeli firms, including banks.
