Israeli soldiers take up position during clashes with Palestinian protesters in the West Bank City of Hebron on Tuesday. EPA
Israeli soldiers take up position during clashes with Palestinian protesters in the West Bank City of Hebron on Tuesday. EPA
Israeli soldiers take up position during clashes with Palestinian protesters in the West Bank City of Hebron on Tuesday. EPA
Israeli soldiers take up position during clashes with Palestinian protesters in the West Bank City of Hebron on Tuesday. EPA

Egypt, France, Germany and Jordan warn Israel on annexation


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Egypt, France, Germany and Jordan warned Israel on Tuesday against annexing parts of the Palestinian territories, saying that doing so could have consequences for bilateral relations.

In a statement distributed by the German Foreign Ministry, the countries, which include two of Israel's leading partners in the Middle East, said their foreign ministers had discussed how to restart talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

They, along with most other European countries, oppose Israeli plans that envisage annexing parts of the occupied West Bank as part of a deal being promoted by US President Donald Trump's administration.

The Palestinian Authority, which wants the occupied West Bank for a future Palestinian state, opposes the move. The United States has yet to give its approval to the annexation plans.

"We concur that any annexation of Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 would be a violation of international law and imperil the foundations of the peace process," the European and Middle Eastern foreign ministers said after their video conference.

"We would not recognise any changes to the 1967 borders that are not agreed by both parties in the conflict," they added. "It could also have consequences for the relationship with Israel."

Israel declined to comment. But in a separate statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he had told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday that he was committed to Mr Trump's "realistic" plan for the region.

"Israel is prepared to conduct negotiations on the basis of President Trump's peace plan, which is both creative and realistic, and will not return to the failed formulas of the past," Mr Netanyahu's statement said.

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

US tops drug cost charts

The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.

Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.

In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.

Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol. 

The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.

High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.