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The Israeli government approved 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, in what campaigners are calling the largest development of its kind in decades that will have a profound effect on Palestinian residents and further harm the prospect of a future Palestinian state.
The decision legalises nine outposts, typically home to the most violent and ideological edges of the country’s settler movement, and establishes settlements in remote areas of the northern West Bank where there is little to no permanent Israeli military presence. This includes a settlement on Mount Ebal, close to the major Palestinian city of Nablus, where settlers say there is a biblical alter.
Some of the new communities are on areas that were evacuated in 2005, when Israel evicted several communities in the north of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Settlers have repeatedly tried to re-enter the area and a law banning Israeli citizens from the region was revoked last year.
Lior Amihai of Israeli NGO Peace Now, which tracks settlements, told The National that the move “is very big in terms of changing the landscape of the West Bank”.
“It’s part of many other dramatic decisions that show the government is heading towards annexation and sovereignty over the occupied territories. It’s showing Palestinians, Israelis and the world that it doesn’t want to end this conflict,” he added.
Britain's Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer condemned the plan, calling it a "deliberate obstacle" to Palestinian statehood.
The decision was taken by the government two weeks ago, but Israel’s Defence Ministry publicly confirmed the move on Thursday, describing it as “a step that will change the face of the area and shape the future of settlement for years to come”.
Most of the international community views Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal.
New settlements along the border with Jordan will also be set, which the Defence Ministry said will bolster Israel’s security. The decision also includes settlements in the South Hebron Hills, in the south of the West Bank, which has seen a dramatic increase in attacks against Palestinian shepherding communities leading to major forced displacement in recent years.
Mr Amihai said the new settlements have three main purposes: to break the territorial continuity of the West Bank and therefore render a future Palestinian state unviable; suppress Palestinian development in communities that neighbour the illegal Israeli communities; and to “ethnically cleanse” through intimidation the Palestinian populations of smaller communities that border the settlements.
Israel’s settlement movement has been expanding its presence in the West Bank for decades, but received a massive boost when the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came into office in December 2022, based on a coalition that contains prominent settlers.
This includes Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds a position that is influential for the settlement issue in the Defence Ministry, who said the news marks “a deep strategic change".
“Settlement in the land that our ancestors inherited is a protective wall for the State of Israel and today we have taken a huge step for its strengthening. The next step is sovereignty,” he added.
Annexing the West Bank, which has already happened in East Jerusalem, is a primary goal of many Israeli settlers.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
HOW TO WATCH
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
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Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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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
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
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UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on animal trafficking
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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