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.
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) purge of his most senior general is driven by his effort to both secure “total control” of his military and root out corruption, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said told Bloomberg Television yesterday. The probe into Zhang Youxia (張又俠), Xi’s second-in-command, announced over the weekend, is a “major development,” Perdue said, citing the family connections the vice chair of China’s apex military commission has with Xi. Chinese authorities said Zhang was being investigated for suspected serious discipline and law violations, without disclosing further details. “I take him at his word that there’s a corruption effort under
China executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” of telecom scam operations, state media reported yesterday, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry. Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world. Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work. In the past few years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation
RSS