British Minister of State for Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt
The U.K. government has voiced its condemnation to the Israeli government’s announcement of plans to construct more units in the West Bank, according to a statement.
“Yesterday’s announcement of plans to construct over 1,000 units on the West Bank, and last week’s tendering for 1,100 more, continues policies that are rightly condemned internationally,” Alistair Burt, minister for the Middle East, said in a statement issued on Thursday.
“The U.K. echoes this condemnation today,” he added.
Describing the settlements as “illegal under international law,” Burt said they “remain one of the obstacles to a viable two-state solution.”
Israel on Tuesday announced plans to build 650 new settler units in the central West Bank, according to Hebrew-language daily Israel Hayom.
On Wednesday, the Israeli government advanced plans for the construction of more than 1,000 housing units.
The new housing units will be built in the Jewish-only Beit El settlement, which is located adjacent to the West Bank city of Ramallah.
The new units are ostensibly meant to compensate Jewish settlers evacuated earlier from illegal settlement outposts elsewhere in the West Bank.
“I call on Israel to halt such counterproductive action, and for all parties to commit to further efforts to de-escalate current tensions and create the right environment for a just and lasting peace,” Burt said.
According to Palestinian figures, more than 700,000 Jewish settlers now live on 196 settlements (built with Israeli government approval) and more than 200 settler outposts (built without its approval) across the occupied West Bank.
Israel’s continued policy of unbridled settlement-building is seen as the main obstacle to resuming Palestine-Israel peace talks, which broke down in 2014.
Israel’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan stated that Israel has eased the criteria for the obtainment of personal gun permits, which is expected to lead to hundreds of thousands of Israelis applying for a license.The law is for new license applicants and holders of existing licenses.Israel Defense Forces infantry-unit veterans and active police officers will also be able to apply for gun permits with an easy process.“The more citizens carrying guns, the better”In a statement Erdan said, “Many citizens have saved lives during terror attacks, and in the era of ‘lone-wolf’ attacks, the more qualified gun-carrying citizens there are, the better the chance to stop terror attacks without casualties and reduce the number of casualties.”According to the new gun regulations that went into effect on Monday, Israelis who have held a firearm permit for 10 years and more will be able to keep their guns permanently without any periodic test.Some Israel police volunteers and rescue organization members will also be eligible for permits.Speaking to Haaretz daily and supporting the new gun policy Knesset's Gun Lobby head Likud MK Amir Ohana said, "A civilian carrying a weapon is more of a solution than a threat, and doubles as assistance for the security forces." There were those who opposed the regulation as well: Joint List MK Dov Henin slammed the policy saying, “Welcome to the war zone,” he said. “More weapons mean more violence, more accidents, and more wounded and dead. The trend should be the opposite: a reduction in the presence of weapons in the civilian space in Israel – which is too high, and certainly not an expansion of it.”As a result of the new weapons policy, it is expected that more than 500,000 Israelis will be eligible to receive permits to buy and carry handguns.Israel closes Erez crossing with GazaPalestinian president vows to appeal Israel’s law at UN
Israel eases arms regulations allowing hundreds of thousands to carry guns
Israel on Tuesday announced plans to build 650 new settler units in the central West Bank, according to Hebrew-language daily Israel Hayom.The new housing units will be built in the Jewish-only Beit El settlement, which is located adjacent to the West Bank city of Ramallah.The new units are ostensibly meant to compensate Jewish settlers evacuated earlier from illegal settlement outposts elsewhere in the West Bank.According to Palestinian figures, more than 700,000 Jewish settlers now live on 196 settlements (built with the Israeli government’s approval) and more than 200 settler outposts (built without its approval) across the occupied West Bank.Israel’s continued policy of unbridled settlement building is seen as the main obstacle to resuming Palestine-Israel peace talks, which broke down in 2014.
Israel to build 650 new settlement units in West Bank
A senior Iranian cleric warned Washington on Wednesday that if it attacked Iran, the United States and allied Israel would be targeted, as a war of words escalated after the reimposition of the U.S. sanctions on Iran.Ahmad Khatami also told worshippers attending Eid prayers in Tehran that President Donald Trump’s offer of talks with Iranian leaders was unacceptable, as the U.S. leader wanted Tehran to concede on its missile programme and regional influence."Americans say you should accept what we say in the talks. So this is not negotiation, but dictatorship. The Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation would stand up against dictatorship," Khatami was quoted as saying by Mizan news agency."The price of a war with Iran is very high for America. They know if they harm this country and this state in the slightest way, the United States and its main ally in the region, the Zionist regime (of Israel) would be targeted," Khatami said.Khatami did not elaborate which forces would carry out such attacks, but Iran has said it could target Israeli cities with its missiles if it is threatened. Iran also has proxies in the region, including Lebanon's Hezbollah group.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic's military prowess was what deterred Washington from attacking it, and vowed to boost Iran's military might.The Trump administration slapped sanctions back on Iran this month after withdrawing from the 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran, saying it was too soft on Tehran and would not stop it developing a nuclear bomb.Washington imposed new sanctions in August, targeting Iran's car industry, trade in gold and other precious metals, and purchases of U.S. dollars. Trump has said the United States will issue another round of tougher sanctions in November that will target Iran's oil sales and banking sector.Trump's national security adviser told Reuters on Wednesday that the U.S. president wanted maximum pressure on Iran."There should not be any doubt that the United States wants this resolved peacefully, but we are fully prepared for any contingency that Iran creates,” John Bolton said.Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected Trump's offer of unconditional talks on a new nuclear deal, prompting Trump to tell Reuters in an interview on Monday: "If they want to meet, that's fine, and if they don't want to meet, I couldn't care less." Rouhani says US doesn't dare to attack IranIran to continue cooperating with Turkey: FM spokesmanIran says France's Total has officially left South Pars deal
Iran cleric says Israel and US will be targeted if Washington attacks
Israel on Sunday closed the Erez crossing with the blockaded Gaza Strip, according to a Palestinian official."Israeli authorities informed us of the sudden closure of the crossing to passengers, except for humanitarian cases,” Mohammed al-Maqadma, a media officer in the Palestinian Authority-affiliated civil affairs department, told Anadolu Agency.He said Israel cited the staging of naval rallies along Gaza’s northern border with Israel for the closure of the terminal.Dozens of boats set sail from the Gaza Strip on Saturday toward the strip’s northern border with Israel as part of efforts to pile pressure on Israel to break Israel’s 11-year blockade on the seaside enclave.Blockaded by Israel -- by air, land and sea -- since 2007, the Gaza Strip has seven border crossings linking it to the outside world.Six of these, including the Erez crossing, are controlled by Israel, while the seventh – the Rafah crossing -- is controlled by Egypt, which keeps it tightly sealed for the most part since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in a 2013 military coup.Israel sealed four of its commercial crossings with Gaza in June 2007 after Palestinian resistance movement Hamas wrested control of the strip from the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.
Israel closes Erez crossing with Gaza