Since then, nothing … (UN) By John V. WhitbeckDear President Abbas, There was visible and audible euphoria at the UN General Assembly in September when you announced Palestine’s application for UN membership, at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters in October when Palestine was admitted as a member state and at UNESCO again in December when the [...]
The UN must be reformed to live up to its own ideals. (UN) By Ramzy Baroud Theodore MacDonald was too ill to attend the launch of his book, Preserving the United Nations; Our Best Hope for Mediating Human Rights. Less than three weeks later, on March 7, 2011, the longtime champion of human rights [...]
Israel is said to be speeding up its building of settlements after Palestinians won membership in UNESCO [Reuters] The Jerusalem municipality has approved the construction of 130 new homes in illegal settlements in the east of the city. The homes are to be built in Gilo neighbourhood on land captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. Municipal [...]
UNESCO Director Bokova, left, was joined by Palestinian President Abbas at Tuesday’s flag raising in Paris [Reuters] Palestinians have raised their flag at the headquarters of the UN cultural agency in Paris in a historic move and symbolic boost for their push for an independent state. Cheers rose alongside the red, black, white and green flag during [...]
Government salaries for November will be paid on time, officials said, after Israel released frozen tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority that had threatened to bankrupt public coffers.(MaanImages/Hatem Omar, File) BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Government salaries for November will be paid on time after Israel released frozen tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority, a PA spokesman [...]
Image via Wikipedia Israeli FM Condemns Decision to Stop Confiscating Palestinian Funds New Eviction Looms in Occupied East Jerusalem by Jason Ditz, November 30, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Israel’s government announced today that it intends to soon end its policy of seizing Palestinian tax dollars [...]
PLO official Nabil Shaath said that Sweden will stand by Palestinians at the UN, after meetings with officials in the country on Thursday. (MaanImages/Haytham Othman, File) BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — PLO official Nabil Shaath said that Sweden will stand by Palestinians at the UN, after meetings with officials in the country on Thursday. Shaath said the [...]
NEW YORK (Ma’an) — For the first time, the Palestinian flag will be raised this week in front of the UNESCO building in Paris acknowledging Palestine‘s admission, the ambassador to the UN said Wednesday. Riyad Mansour says Elias Sunbor, the Palestinian envoy in Paris, will raise the flag Thursday. Mansour told Ma’an the leadership in [...]
Israeli FM Rules Out Future Negotiation With Palestinians Insists Israel Will Continue to Withhold Tax Funds by Jason Ditz, November 23, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Speaking today in a meeting with his Montenegrin counterpart, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman ruled out any future negotiations with the upcoming Palestinian unity government, saying Israel won’t [...]
The former Director General of UNESCO Koichiro Matsuura walks outside the Church of the Nativity during his visit to the West Bank city of Bethlehem on June 15, 2008. (MaanImages/Haytham Othman, File) By Andreas Hackl RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — UNESCO could help restore the Palestinian Authority‘s cultural presence in Jerusalem, the president of the Palestinian [...]
Delegates applaud after the vote at the UNESCO headquarters where the United Nations’ cultural agency decided to give the Palestinians full membership of the body during the 36th session of UNESCO’s General Conference in Paris on Oct. 31, 2011. (REUTERS/Benoit Tessier) TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — An Israeli diplomatic cabinet on Monday is expected [...]
Laborers work at a construction site of new housing units in Givat Zeev Israeli settlement in the West Bank, north of Jerusalem. (AFP/File Menahem Kahana) JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel is to invite tenders for the construction of more than 800 new homes in two settlement neighborhoods of annexed East Jerusalem, a housing ministry spokesman [...]
Qais Abu Laila on Monday accused Israel of trying to choke the Palestinian Authority by withholding its tax revenue. (MaanImages/Rami Swidan, File) RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Lawmaker Qais Abu Laila on Monday said Israel was trying to “choke” the Palestinian Authority by withholding its tax revenue. Israel’s cabinet voted Monday to continue its freeze on [...]
The Palestinian admission to UNESCO is no ‘tragedy’. (UN) By Clive Hambidge The UN Cultural organisation (UNESCO) voted strongly in favour of membership for the Palestinians. A vote opposed by Israel. There were 173 countries that voted, 107 in favour, 14 opposing and 52 abstaining. Great Britain was one of those in [...]
Image Credit: Luis Vazquez/Gulf News By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News In his October 10 column for Israel’s Ynetnews, Guy Bechor reached a bewildering conclusion. “Israelis were the first ones of all people to raise the delegitimisation argument: Israel would turn into the new South Africa as result of its isolation in the western [...]
America blackmails UNESCO over Palestine 1 November 2011 One hundred and seven countries voted for a bill granting Palestine full membership of UNESCO. Regrettably, the United States, Britain, and Canada were among the countries that voted against the bill, surrendering to Israeli dictates in this regard. The US Administration exerted great efforts [...]
PARIS (Reuters) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy told US President Barack Obama last week he was fed up with dealing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and considered him a liar. Sarkozy made the comment during a private conversation with Obama during a G20 summit in the French riviera town of Cannes last [...]
UNESCO delegates applaud after the General Conference admits Palestine as UNESCO member state in Paris [EPA] It may not ease the daily pain of occupation and blockade or the endless anguish of refugee status and exile or the continual humiliations of discrimination and second class citizenship, but the admission of Palestine to membership in UNESCO [...]
US, EU condemn Israeli settlement moves PCBS predicts demographic explosion in Gaza Bitter olive harvest adds to animosity In Israel, speculation over strike on Iran grows Settlers ‘torch tractor’ near Nablus PA sends medicine to Gaza Israeli forces detain 12 Palestinians overnight Fatah committee to review fate of PA Hamas applauds Palestine’s admission to [...]
Palestinian laborers work on a construction site in a settlement near Jerusalem known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim November 2, 2011. (REUTERS/Baz Ratner) WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The United States is expected to voice deep disappointment at Israel’s speeding up of settlement building following UNESCO’s decision to grant [...]
Hamas wants Abbas to completely abandon negotiations with Israel. GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas on Wednesday urged President Mahmoud Abbas to abandon negotiations with Israel after its government announced it would punish Palestinians for joining UNESCO. Israel decided Tuesday to accelerate illegal settlement construction in the West Bank and withhold Palestinian tax revenue from [...]
New Jewish homes will be built in East Jerusalem and the West Bank settlements of Gush Etzion, pictured, and Ma’ale Adumim. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP Israel is to expedite the construction of about 2,000 homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in response to the Palestinians‘ successful bid to join Unesco. Israel [...]
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – Sanctions against the Palestinian Authority, which the Israeli government is said to be considering, would be a clear violation of international conventions and initiatives, a political adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday. Nimir Hammad says that as Israel is reported to be considering sanctions because Palestine won membership in UNESCO [...]
Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki delivers a speech on Oct. 31 at the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris. (AFP/Miguel Medina) WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The United States said on Monday it had stopped funding UNESCO, the UN cultural agency, following its vote to grant Palestine full membership. US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told [...]
The Unesco executive meets in Paris. It decided on Monday to accept Palestinian membership. Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters Controversial move endorsed in UN cultural agency vote despite US threat of withholding £50m in funds reddit this Associated Press in Paris guardian.co.uk, Monday 31 October 2011 13.11 GMT Article history Palestine has become a full member [...]
President Mahmoud Abbas holds up a copy of the letter that he had just delivered to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon requesting full UN representation for a Palestinian state, during his address before the 66th UN General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 23. (Reuters/Mike Segar) By John Quigley and Gabi Fahel [...]
A Palestinian scout marching band plays at Manger Square in front of the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem September 18, 2011, as Palestinians begin to celebrate ahead of their bid for statehood at the United Nations on Friday. (Reuters/Ammar Awad) By Tom Perry RAMALLAH (Reuters) — The Palestinians [...]
I Weep for My Nation, Mr. President By Katherine Barwick Dear Mr. President, I am neither an expert on history nor a political activist; I am just an average American who is gravely concerned about the direction I see my country taking. I know you inherited a snake-pit of problems when you first took the [...]
Palestinians held a rally outside UNESCO in Gaza City in support of Palestine‘s UN bid last month [Reuters] Palestine has won a first diplomatic victory in its quest for statehood when the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation [UNESCO] executive committee backed its bid to become a member of the cultural body with the rights [...]
