France, Germany, Italy and Spain have called on Israeli authorities to stop the construction of new housing in East Jerusalem.
The foreign ministries of the European countries said in a statement the hundreds of new buildings would “constitute an additional obstacle to the two-state solution".
The statement comes on the day Israeli forces carried out a predawn raid to evict Palestinians from their homes, before demolishing the property in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem.
On Wednesday, heavily armed police guarded the site opposite the British consulate in Sheikh Jarrah, where mass protests erupted last year over the eviction of Palestinian residents.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the bulldozing of the property as a “heinous crime”.
Israeli forces arrived at the site on Monday to evict the Palestinian residents following a decision by the Jerusalem municipality to expropriate the land.
Earlier in January, Israeli authorities approved plans for the construction of around 3,500 homes in East Jerusalem, nearly half of which are to be built in the controversial areas of Givat Hamatos and Har Homa.
The European countries said building in this area would further disconnect the West Bank from East Jerusalem and that these settlements are a violation of international law.
The Israeli ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City, in a 1967 war and later annexed it, a move not recognised internationally.
Palestinian home destroyed in Sheikh Jarrah — in pictures
Palestinians want East Jerusalem for the capital of a state they seek in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which shares a boundary with the city, and the Gaza Strip. Israel views the entire city as its indivisible capital.
Most world powers deem the Israeli settlements illegal for taking in territory where Palestinians seek statehood.
It comes on the day Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki accused US President Joe Biden on Wednesday of moving too slowly to reverse the Trump administration’s adverse policies against Palestinians.
He criticised Mr Biden for not using Washington’s special relationship to pressure Israel to abandon “its rejection of a two-state solution and peace negotiations.”
Mr Malki told the UN Security Council there were hopes that the end of Donald Trump’s administration and Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli government “would be enough to pave the way for renewed momentum for peace”.
The Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Paris%20Agreement
%3Cp%3EArticle%2014%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E1.%20%5BThe%20Cop%5D%20shall%20periodically%20take%20stock%20of%20the%20implementation%20of%20this%20Agreement%20to%20assess%20the%20collective%20progress%20towards%20achieving%20the%20purpose%20of%20this%20Agreement%20and%20its%20long-term%20goals%20(referred%20to%20as%20the%20%22global%20stocktake%22)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E2.%20%5BThe%20Cop%5D%20shall%20undertake%20its%20first%20global%20stocktake%20in%202023%20and%20every%20five%20years%20thereafter%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Scores
Day 2
New Zealand 153 & 56-1
Pakistan 227
New Zealand trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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South Korea
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
