Pro-Palestinian activists who organised a “flytilla” to Israel in order to travel to the West Bank and demonstrate against Israeli policies have been arrested after arriving at Ben Gurion international airport. Many members of the Welcome to Palestine campaign had already been prevented by authorities across Europe from boarding flights bound for Israel.
Tag Archive for 'Middle East'
The Palestinians will not accept anything less than full UN membership and do not want an upgrade to an observer state in the world body, their foreign minister said.
Riyad al-Malki’s remarks on Thursday suggested the Palestinians would not seek such an upgrade once their bid for full state membership meets its widely expected fate; failure due to opposition from the United States and other governments.
Malki told journalists in Ramallah the Palestinians could have won observer state status long ago and were not interested in it now. They currently hold the status of observer entity.
Husam Zumlot, a member of the Palestinian official delegation to the UN, talks about the Palestinian bid for UN membership. He describes the Israeli prime minister’s call for talks as a propaganda stunt.
Israel has carried out air strikes over Gaza after a series of attacks in southern Israel killed at least eight people. The air strikes killed at least six people, including five members of the Hamas-linked Popular Resistance Committees and a young boy.
The air raid came in response to an attack on vehicles heading towards the Israeli resort of Eilat on Thursday.
While diplomatic discussions are beginning between the US and Israel in Washington, on the ground Israel is grinding on with construction on occupied Palestinian land. Why Israel continues to cement its occupation, if it’s supposed to give the land back?
