More global condemnation of Israel’s West Bank plans
We have more reactions to Israel’s push to deepen control over the occupied Palestinian territory:
- Austria: The Foreign Affairs Ministry slammed the recent measures approved by Israel’s security cabinet as a violation of international law. “Working towards a two-state solution, in which Israelis and Palestinians live side-by-side, is the only way to achieve sustainable peace,” it said.
- Cuba: Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Parrilla says Israel’s “policies of annexation” and illegal settlement expansion flout international law and UN resolutions. “These measures undermine the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, seek to prevent the recognition of an independent Palestinian State, and jeopardise efforts toward peace in the Middle East,” he said on X.
- Ireland: Helen McEntee, the minister of foreign affairs for the Republic of Ireland, says Israel’s recent attempts to deepen control over the West Bank “are part of an established pattern to create a new status quo in the occupied Palestinian territory”. “Unilateral actions such as these increase tensions and put at risk the ceasefire in Gaza as well as international efforts to secure peace and stability,” McEntee said in a statement denouncing the measures as a violation of international law.
- Italy: European Parliament member from Italy Cecilia Strada tells Al Jazeera, “What Israel is doing in the West Bank and Gaza is a violation of international law.” “Double standards are driving the European Union’s stance on what is happening in the West Bank and Gaza”, she said. “The European Union must pressure Israel to respect Palestinian rights.”
- Germany: “Israel remains an occupying power in the West Bank, and as an occupying power it is a violation of international law to build settlements, including transferring certain administrative functions to civilian Israeli authorities,” a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Berlin.
Israeli settlers injure three Palestinians near Bethlehem
Three Palestinians were injured Wednesday evening when a group of Israeli settlers stormed the al-Malha area near the city of Bethlehem and attacked residents.
In the meantime, the Israeli forces have stormed the town of Zaatara, east of Bethlehem, and taken up positions across its neighbourhoods, reports the Wafa news agency.
Israeli forces shoot and injure young Palestinian near Hebron: Report
Israeli forces stationed at a checkpoint at the southern entrance to Hebron opened fire and injured a young Palestinian, Wafa news agency reports.
Palestinian prisoners group says deportations set ‘dangerous precedent’
The Palestinian Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society have issued a statement saying that the Israeli move to deport Palestinians convicted for attacks and strip them of their citizenship has set a “dangerous precedent”.
The groups said the decision announced on Tuesday to deport two Palestinian residents of occupied East Jerusalem was based on a “racist law” approved in February 2023, which is “aimed at undermining the Palestinian presence in the 1948 territories and in the city of Jerusalem”.
The statement added that Netanyahu and his government “do not conceal their intention to displace and expel Palestinians”.
