Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu hits out at ‘baseless and scandalous decision’
There is sufficient evidence to investigate alleged Israeli and Palestinian war crimes committed in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, the international criminal court has announced.
In a landmark decision, the ICC said it saw “no substantial reasons to believe that an investigation would not serve the interests of justice”.
Continue reading...Many of the restrictions were announced in early days of occupation of West Bank
Palestinians in the West Bank are still being prosecuted under military orders that were designed to keep the peace in the early days of an occupation and that have stifled civil rights in the territory for more than 50 years, a watchdog group says.
The restrictions, some of which are based on laws passed during the British colonial era, are regularly used to break up protests, close radio stations and arrest activists under charges such as “attempt[ing] to influence public opinion … in a manner that may harm public order,” according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
Continue reading...Two recent biographies of ‘Bibi’ pose fascinating questions regarding attitudes to Israel among American Jews
Like abortion and taxes, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel is one more flashpoint in America under Donald Trump. As millennials, minorities, women and liberals don’t readily cotton to the 45th president, their support for the Jewish state cannot be assumed. In the words of a recent Economist/YouGov poll: “When it comes to Israel, American views are partisan.”
Related: Free, Melania review: Trump book skips the birther question
Continue reading...Israel’s parliament votes on Wednesday to dissolve itself in a fresh bid to break political deadlock
Israel is set to hold a third round of elections within 12 months, after a deadline to form a government passed with no politician able to bring together the disparate parties.
A time limit to forge a majority coalition in the country’s parliament, the Knesset, expired at midnight on Wednesday, automatically triggering a fresh national ballot.
Continue reading...President also told Israeli American Council summit some Jewish people in the US don’t love Israel enough and attacked Ilhan Omar
If Jared Kushner cannot achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Donald Trump claimed on Saturday, “it can’t be done”.
The president also told the Israeli American Council national summit some Jewish people in America don’t love Israel enough, a remark some said was antisemitic, and attacked the Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar for what he called her “despicable rhetoric” about Israel.
Continue reading...The veteran Spanish socialist has a reputation for plain speaking, and a brief to build a more assertive EU
It has been called Europe’s “valley of tears”. But it isn’t in National Geographic; rather it is the monthly pilgrimage of the European Union’s 28 foreign ministers to Brussels or Luxembourg to discuss the woes of the world.
And the man who coined the phrase, Josep Borrell, a socialist veteran of Spanish politics, was not paying a compliment. He described the EU foreign affairs council as “more a valley of tears than a centre of decision-making” because “it’s where all the open sores of humanity come. They tell us their sufferings, we express our condolences and concern … but no capacity for action comes out of it and we just move on to the next one.”
Continue reading...From Israel’s hostility to Trump’s withdrawal of US funding, the UNRWA faces unprecedented challenges. Timely financial and diplomatic support is key
Today, on the 70th anniversary of its founding, the UN Relief and Works Agency, the UN’s main refugee agency serving Palestinians, is facing unprecedented challenges.
It has become a key battleground in Donald Trump’s war against multilateralism and his unilateral attempts to redefine the Middle East peace process along a track proposed by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Ron Wyden says hacking claims raise “serious national security issues”
An influential US senator has told the Guardian he is examining the possible hacking of US citizens with technology sold by the NSO Group and other foreign surveillance companies, an issue he said raised “serious national security issues”.
Ron Wyden’s remarks come just weeks after a lawsuit was filed by WhatsApp against NSO, alleging that the Israeli company’s malware was used against 1,400 WhatsApp users in 20 countries over a 14-day period this year.
Continue reading...Israeli opposition parties scramble to find legal channels to strip weakened PM of power
Benjamin Netanyahu’s political opponents have moved to capitalise on a series of damning bribery indictments levelled against the Israeli leader, hoping to further weaken him at one of the lowest points in his decades-long career.
The opposition Labor party was expected to file petitions to the high court of justice to force the country’s longest-serving prime minister to step down.
Continue reading...The Israeli prime minister said he would not resign despite being charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in a corruption scandal that he denounced as an 'attempted coup'. Netanyahu was indicted for bribery, fraud and breach of trust on 21 November – the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has been charged with a crime
Continue reading...Attorney general announces charges as crisis deepens for longest-serving leader
Israel’s attorney general has indicted Benjamin Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, in a damning blow to the prime minister as he fights for his political survival.
Avichai Mandelblit charged the 70-year-old leader on Thursday in all three major corruption cases for which he was investigated. It was the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has been charged with a crime.
Continue reading...The day before US secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s announcement that the United States now considers the Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be legal, I accompanied an American group of writers on a tour of the settlements around Ramallah.
It was organised by Breaking the Silence, a group formed by Israeli veterans who oppose the occupation. Yehuda Shaul, the co-founder of the organisation, led the tour. He said that, from 1967 on, the settlement project was state-driven, neither prompted nor led by the settlers. Since then, the US position had been that settlement building in the occupied territories was contrary to international law. And yet no material action has ever been taken by any US administration to force Israel to stop building – except for one moment, in 1991, when president George Bush refused to provide a guarantee for $10bn in loans to Israel over settlement expansion. So what is new about Trump’s announcement?
Continue reading...Benny Gantz’s lack of success pushes country closer to third round of elections in a year
Israel’s opposition leader, Benny Gantz, has failed to form a government, increasing the likelihood of the country holding an unprecedented third round of elections.
Gantz had close to a month to forge a coalition after the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, failed to do so. Neither leader won a clear majority during a September election and both have sought to stall each other’s play for power.
Continue reading...The secretary of state’s announcement that the US no longer considers Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land to be illegal is appalling. It is also the dismal culmination of the Trump administration’s record.
Washington has done all it can to aid Israel’s rightwing government, punish Palestinians and bury the two-state solution: moving its embassy to Jerusalem, ending funding to the UN Palestinian refugee agency, and recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Continue reading...US said on Monday Israeli settlements on West Bank were no longer considered illegal
Jordan has accused the US of entrenching the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, after Washington announced it did not consider Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank to necessarily be illegal.
Ayman Safadi, the Jordanian foreign minister, criticised the US decision, saying settlements “kill the two-state solution”, the most widely accepted blueprint for Middle East peace.
“Entrenching the occupation and its injustice, and violating the resolutions of international legitimacy will not achieve peace, and will not guarantee security and stability,” he said, according to state media.
“Nothing changes the illegal reality of settlements that the international community is unanimous in condemning,” he added.
Secretary of state announces major shift in US foreign policy, while House investigating whether Trump lied to Robert Mueller – follow live
The US official who overheard a key phone conversation between Eu ambassador Gordon Sondland and Donald Trump will testify publicly as part of the House impeachment inquiry, according to CNN.
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Continue reading...The US has effectively backed Israel's right to build settlements on the occupied West Bank by abandoning its four-decade position that they were 'inconsistent with international law'
US says Israeli settlements no longer considered illegal in dramatic shift
Continue reading...Declaration marks rejection of 2016 UN resolution that settlements on the West Bank are a ‘flagrant violation’ of international law
The US has declared that Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land are not necessarily illegal, in a dramatic break with decades of international law, US policy and the established position of most US allies.
“Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace,” said Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state. “The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace.”
Continue reading...Commander killed in Gaza and political leader targeted in Syria, in sudden surge of violence
Related: Israel-Hamas relations: a predictable but fatal dance
Israel has launched airstrikes against two senior figures from the militant group Islamic Jihad in Gaza and Syria, in rare targeted assassination attempts that immediately prompted rounds of retaliatory rocket fire from Gaza.
Continue reading...European court of justice says origin must be identified in decision likely to anger Israel
The European Union’s top court has ruled that EU countries must oblige retailers to identify products made in Israeli settlements with special labels, in a ruling likely to spark anger in Israel.
The European court of justice (ECJ) said in a statement that “foodstuffs originating in the territories occupied by the state of Israel must bear the indication of their territory of origin”.
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