New York // European nations dealt a double diplomatic blow to Israel yesterday as Palestinians prepared to submit a resolution to the UN Security Council to rally international support for statehood.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution supporting statehood for Palestine, although it stopped short of recognising a Palestinian state.
In Geneva, in a stinging rebuke to Israel’s settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the international community said it breached Israel’s responsibilities as an occupying power.
The declaration adopted by the conference of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which governs the rules of war and military occupation, emphasised a prohibition on colonising occupied land and insisted that international humanitarian law be obeyed in areas affected by the conflict between Israel and Palestinians. It called for “all serious violations” to be investigated and those responsible for breaches to be brought to justice.
“This is a signal and we can hope that words count,” said the Swiss ambassador Paul Fivat, who chaired the meeting.
Palestinians were last night preparing to submit an Arab-backed draft resolution to the UN Security Council that would set a two-year deadline for the recognition of a Palestinian state by Israel. The original Palestinian text also called for a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories occupied since 1967, without land swaps, by November 2016.
The draft had little chance of passing a vote and may have been intended to pressure the US to agree to a more moderate position.
Such a compromise resolution was drafted by France, which has taken the lead in mediating between the Palestinians and international community as Ramallah pushes for an accelerated path to statehood via the UN after the collapse of a US-brokered peace process.
The Palestinian move capitalised on the role of European countries who have taken the lead in pushing for international peace talks after repeated US failures.
The French version would force the immediate resumption of peace talks that would include European and key Arab countries, rather than just the US, which is perceived to have been biased towards Israel.
It would also set a two-year timeframe for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The French draft does not set a deadline for Israel’s withdrawal, and does not include the US-backed Israeli demand that the Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state.
The Palestinian draft was being submitted by Jordan, a non-permanent council member, with “French ideas incorporated in the text”, according to an Arab diplomat at the UN.
The Palestinian foreign minister, Riyad Al Malki, said the draft “could be put to a vote 24 hours after” it was submitted. It is likely that a vote will be delayed so that the Europeans, Palestinians and Arab countries can continue to try and bridge their differences with Washington.
The US would be likely to veto any resolution that imposes a deadline on Israel, even a deadline for talks rather than withdrawal, and that is put to a vote before Israeli elections in March.
After a whirlwind three-day trip to Europe to discuss the issue with officials from all sides, Mr Kerry said on Tuesday that nothing must be done that “might be perceived as interfering” with the Israeli polls, or that might embolden right-wing hardliners in Israel.
The US opposition to an immediate resolution is an effort to reduce the growing pressure on its close ally Israel, analysts said, and Washington might then use the extra time to negotiate a resolution with fewer conditions that it would either support or not veto.
The Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas told the UN General Assembly in September that he would seek an accelerated path to statehood at the UN.
European countries led by France stepped in to bridge the differences with their own draft resolution.
“France’s goal remains to bring the international community together to support the peace process and to reach a consensus resolution in the council,” a spokesman for the French mission said.
European diplomats on the Security Council say the US has yet to negotiate over the compromise draft.
In parallel to the moves at the UN, European diplomats were engaged in discussions on how to “make life less troublesome for Hamas” so that the Islamist group that controls Gaza would not actively oppose the Palestinian Authority’s UN strategy, said Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine.
The second-highest EU court ordered the union to remove Hamas from its list of terrorist organisations on Wednesday. Although the EU protested and said it might appeal, the court decision could make the US and Israelis more intransigent on a resolution.
The European Parliament vote yesterday to adopt a resolution supporting the principle of Palestinian statehood follows Sweden’s decision in October to recognise Palestine as well as non-binding parliamentary votes in the UK, Ireland and France in support of recognition.
tkhan@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting from Associated Press and Aggence France-Presse
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
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Power: 424hp
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Friday’s fixture
6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta
6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman
9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas
9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
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Sri Lanka Test squad:
Dimuth Karunaratne (stand-in captain), Niroshan Dickwella (vice captain), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Janith Perera, Milinda Siriwardana, Dhananjaya de Silva, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne, Mohamed Shiraz, Lakshan Sandakan and Lasith Embuldeniya.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
