US Secretary of State Marco Rubio late on Wednesday warned that moves by the Israeli parliament toward the annexation of the West Bank could threaten US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, which has yielded a shaky ceasefire so far.
“That’s a vote in the Knesset, but obviously I think the president’s made clear that’s not something we’d be supportive of right now, and we think it’s potentially threatening to the peace deal,” Rubio told reporters before leaving for Israel.
Rubio’s visit is the latest by a senior US official seeking to keep alive the brittle truce between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas after two years of devastating war that has upended the Middle East.
Photo: AFP
Repeated bouts of gunfire and explosions have shaken the deal and the two sides have traded blame for violations of its first phase, which has seen the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a handover of bodies of some deceased hostages and a partial pullout of Israeli troops.
Witnesses reported almost constant heavy gunfire and tank shelling overnight in eastern areas of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and also east of Gaza City in the north of the Palestinian enclave.
“Gunfire and explosions almost didn’t stop until the morning, my three children woke up and asked me if the war had come back,” said Mohammad Abu Mansour, 40, a farmer living in central Gaza Strip.
“When is this all going to end and we regain our normal lives without fears?” he said in a chat message.
Rubio was visiting Israel to support the implementation of Trump’s 20-point plan to end Gaza’s war and pave the way toward reconstruction, stable governance and possible steps toward Palestinian statehood, the US Department of State said.
A bill applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, a move tantamount to annexation of land that Palestinians want for an independent state, won preliminary approval from Israel’s parliament on Wednesday.
About 700,000 Jewish settlers live in settlements across the West Bank. The UN and much of the international community consider the settlements illegal under international law.
The vote was the first of four needed to pass the law and coincided with US President J.D. Vance’s visit to Israel, a month after Trump said that he would not allow Israel to annex the territory it took in the 1967 Middle East war.
Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice on Wednesday said in an advisory opinion that Israel is obligated to ensure that the basic needs of the civilian population in Gaza are met.
The panel of 11 judges added that Israel has to support relief efforts provided by the UN in the Gaza Strip.
“As an occupying power, Israel is obliged to ensure the basic needs of the local population, including the supplies essential for their survival,” presiding Judge Yuji Iwasawa said.
He added that basic needs include food, water, shelter, fuel and medical services.
VAGUE: The criteria of the amnesty remain unclear, but it would cover political violence from 1999 to today, and those convicted of murder or drug trafficking would not qualify Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons. The measure had long been sought by the US-backed opposition. It is the latest concession Rodriguez has made since taking the reins of the country on Jan. 3 after the brazen seizure of then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Rodriguez told a gathering of justices, magistrates, ministers, military brass and other government leaders that the ruling party-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly would take up the bill with urgency. Rodriguez also announced the shutdown
Civil society leaders and members of a left-wing coalition yesterday filed impeachment complaints against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, restarting a process sidelined by the Supreme Court last year. Both cases accuse Duterte of misusing public funds during her term as education secretary, while one revives allegations that she threatened to assassinate former ally Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The filings come on the same day that a committee in the House of Representatives was to begin hearings into impeachment complaints against Marcos, accused of corruption tied to a spiraling scandal over bogus flood control projects. Under the constitution, an impeachment by the
Exiled Tibetans began a unique global election yesterday for a government representing a homeland many have never seen, as part of a democratic exercise voters say carries great weight. From red-robed Buddhist monks in the snowy Himalayas, to political exiles in megacities across South Asia, to refugees in Australia, Europe and North America, voting takes place in 27 countries — but not China. “Elections ... show that the struggle for Tibet’s freedom and independence continues from generation to generation,” said candidate Gyaltsen Chokye, 33, who is based in the Indian hill-town of Dharamsala, headquarters of the government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). It
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