Israel is pressing foreign donors to finance the construction of a web of roads through the occupied territories -- made necessary by the building of the vast "security" barrier and Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
The Israeli government seeks foreign funding to upgrade the back roads that Palestinians are forced to use -- after being banned from routes used by Jewish settlers. It also wants funding to build new roads which take account of the barrier and its settlements. The plan envisages roads that would run parallel to each other -- one for Jews, the other for Arabs.
European donors have recoiled from the proposal, in part because they are concerned that funding the new roads will breach July's International Court of Justice ruling against support for construction of the barrier. The court said it should be torn down because it breaches the Geneva conventions.
But diplomats say the US may be more willing to pay, given Washington's tacit endorsement of the barrier and support for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's latest plan to expand West Bank settlements while withdrawing settlers from Gaza.
Officials say the request was made last month at meetings with the World Bank after foreign pressure to ease up on the movement of Palestinians.
Israel said it was interested in "improving the transportation infrastructure to enable uninterrupted movement across the West Bank" but that it would require "extensive and complex construction with international assistance."
Some donors are also worried about the creation of a separate road network for Arabs that one Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem, has described as a form of apartheid.
B'Tselem says Israel bars from, or restricts Palestinians on, more than 700km of roads in the West Bank.
"By unlawfully discriminating against Palestinians, the Forbidden Roads Regime is reminiscent of the apartheid system that existed in South Africa. The regime violates fundamental principles of international law that are binding on Israel," the report says.
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
‘ATTACK ON CIVILIZATION’: The culture ministry released drawings of six missing statues representing the Roman goddess of Venus, the tallest of which was 40cm Investigators believe that the theft of several ancient statues dating back to the Roman era from Syria’s national museum was likely the work of an individual, not an organized gang, officials said on Wednesday. The National Museum of Damascus was closed after the heist was discovered early on Monday. The museum had reopened in January as the country recovers from a 14-year civil war and the fall of the 54-year al-Assad dynasty last year. On Wednesday, a security vehicle was parked outside the main gate of the museum in central Damascus while security guards stood nearby. People were not allowed in because
RSS