The US has warned Israel against letting the Palestinian economy collapse into “desperation” in the occupied West Bank, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was urged by one of his ministers to annex most of the territory.
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said “if the Palestinian economy were to completely collapse, it won’t be a winning deal for anyone”. He told US media outlet Axios: “Desperate people do desperate things.”
The warning by the ardently pro-Israel envoy comes as the West Bank endures Israeli military occupation and settler violence, often overlooked with the world’s attention on Gaza.
Israel’s far-right government contains a number of leaders attached to the settler movement occupying senior positions, for whom Palestinian economic collapse is seen as a precondition to a large-scale military takeover by Israel.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has taken dramatic steps to undermine the West Bank economy, including withholding vast sums of tax revenue used by the Palestinian Authority to pay public sector salaries.
On Wednesday, Mr Smotrich called on Mr Netanyahu to accept a plan to annex most of the occupied West Bank, saying it would prevent the establishment of “a terrorist state in the heart of the country”.
He claimed there was “broad consensus” in Israel for the plan, which he presented in Jerusalem alongside a prominent settler leader.
A map circulated proposes Israel taking the vast majority of the region, excluding six Palestinian urban areas, which are disconnected from each other.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the plan, calling it “an extension of a series of provocative calls” by Israeli officials to destroy the prospects of a two-state solution.
Mr Smotrich has also supported a ban on Palestinians from the West Bank crossing daily into Israel for work. A huge network of checkpoints and barriers, along with settler violence, have reduced people’s ability to move around.
Mr Huckabee said he has been negotiating a deal to release tax revenue in talks with Mr Smotrich in Israel and Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh in Ramallah.
The ambassador’s comments come as a crisis between Israel and some of its closest allies deepens over an international push to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly this month. This has increased calls within Israel for it to declare sovereignty over the West Bank, possibly in phases.
There has been increasing concern internationally that Mr Netanyahu is preparing to annex the area, which would put an end to the two-state solution, the preferred route to ending the Palestine-Israel conflict of most of the international community.
Such a declaration would signal that Israel is definitively moving away from a two-state solution, which is the desired route to ending the Israel-Palestine conflict across most of the international community.
Belgium on Tuesday became the latest country to say it will recognise Palestine, shortly after others including the UK, France and Canada.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar called Belgium's decision “very strange, which was taken under pressure”.
“The question of whether a Palestinian state will exist or not is not linked to the decision of the government in Brussels, but rather to the decisions of the government in Jerusalem,” he added, in an interview with Belgium's Sudinfo newspaper.
Two Israeli officials told CNN that Israel is weighing whether to annex parts of the West Bank in response to the wave of recognition.
Israel has taken other actions in recent weeks that undermine the prospect of a Palestinian state, in particular approving construction of E1 – a new illegal settlement with thousands of homes near Jerusalem. The settlement would divide the West Bank in two and separate it from East Jerusalem, making a Palestinian state unviable, critics say.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
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Emirates exiles
Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.
Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.
Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.
Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.
Schedule:
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
