Republican U.S. senators introduced the first efforts to penalize the Palestinians and the United Nations should the body affirm enhanced Palestinian status. Language proposed this week as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act would cut assistance to the Palestinians by 50 percent and U.S. fees to the United Nations by the same amount…
The last days of November 2012 were an awkward time for Israel in the international arena. After years of presenting itself as the reasonable party in the conflict, saddled with a Palestinian negotiating partner that won’t negotiate, its ruling Likud party wound up a two-day Knesset primary vote on November 26 by choosing a slate…
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has broken ranks with official policy by saying that he sees “no reason to oppose” the Palestinian bid for UN recognition. Olmert says that the General Assembly decision, expected on Thursday, “lays the foundation for the idea” of a two-state solution. “I believe that the Palestinian request…is congruent with…
The announcement, made by Laurent Fabius, France’s foreign minister, that his government will support the Palestinian Authority’s bid for “non-member observer status” at the United Nations next week is hardly news, but nevertheless newsworthy. The news, of course, has been in the offing for quite some time. France’s Socialist Party, which has historically enjoyed closer…
Britain said on Wednesday it would support a Palestinian bid for a diplomatic upgrade at the United Nations if it were assured that the Palestinians would return to peace talks and would not pursue Israel through the International Criminal Court. The United Nations is due to hold a vote on Thursday on an upgrade of…
France said on Tuesday it would vote in favour of Palestinian non-member status at the United Nations, an important boost in Palestinian efforts to secure greater international recognition. The Palestinians have lobbied for support from European countries for their bid at watered-down statehood at the U.N. set for two days time. While Israel has lobbied…
The Islamist group Hamas said on Monday it was backing President Mahmoud Abbas’s attempt to win more clout for Palestinians at the United Nations, the latest sign of a rapprochement between the political rivals. The Palestinians are registered as an observer entity at the U.N. and Abbas wants to see them upgraded to a “non-member…
Six world powers agreed on Wednesday to seek renewed talks with Iran as fast as possible, reflecting a heightened sense of urgency to resolve a long rift over Tehran’s disputed nuclear activity and avert the threat of war. Their call coincided with growing evidence of Iran expanding nuclear capacity in an underground bunker virtually impervious…
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