Ireland is the first EU country to declare that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories amount to de facto annexation.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Israel, where Iran, China and the annexation of occupied Palestinian territories is on the agenda. Europe is optimistic about a summer travel season. But Lebanon, facing a potential resurgence of the novel coronavirus, has locked down. And Malaysia is applying lessons from its experience with the Nipah virus. In Shanghai, Disneyland is reopened — but pandemic precautions are making their mark on the magical place.
Palestinian officials are hoping that the nearly-completed restoration will boost tourism at a time when the West Bank remains under Israeli occupation, plagued by a political stalemate and hobbled by high unemployment.
Former US ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, spoke with Marco Werman about the US' decision to recognize Israeli settlements in the West Bank as legal. He explains the ramifications this decision could have for peace in the region.
Airbnb announced plans to delist rentals in the occupied West Bank in November, but was quickly engaged in lawsuits that alleged discrimination. The vacation website has reversed their decision, but is again fielding blowback.
“The abolition [of UNRWA] means erasing the existence of the refugee issue. We say to them that we insist on the existence of the agency as long as the issue of refugees is not resolved," says Taha al-Biss, leader of the al-Amari refugee camp in the West Bank.
Airbnb has announced it will remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move Israel called a "wretched capitulation" to boycotters and Palestinians hailed as a step toward peace.
Israel's Supreme Court rejected petitions to prevent the move, siding with the authorities which say the village was built without the required permits. Palestinians say such documents are impossible to obtain.
Washington's move against UNRWA was the latest in a series of US and Israeli policy decisions that have angered Palestinians and raised international concern.
The 10.5 tons of mail had been held in Jordan since 2010 because Israel would not permit direct transfer to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Palestinian officials said.
Speakers are asked to avoid controversial subjects like politics, religion and race, and so far Toastmasters Ramallah has followed the custom. But it's getting harder to do that, members say.