Israel’s security cabinet has approved plans that pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory

Trump White House voices opposition after Israel unveils plan to increase control over West Bank

A White House official has reiterated Donald Trump’s opposition towards Israel annexing the West Bank, after Israeli plans were announced that would pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The measures, announced on Sunday, included allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land directly, and extending greater Israeli control over areas where the Palestinian Authority exercises power. It was unclear when the new rules, approved by Israel’s security cabinet, would take effect but they do not require further approval.

As regional states and others condemned the plan, a White House official on Monday said that “a stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region.”

More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law. Around three million Palestinians live there.

Earlier, the UK called on Israel to reverse its decision, saying: “The UK strongly condemns the Israeli security cabinet’s decision yesterday to expand Israeli control over the West Bank.

“Any unilateral attempt to alter the geographic or demographic make-up of Palestine is wholly unacceptable and would be inconsistent with international law. We call on Israel to reverse these decisions immediately,” the statement added.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is scheduled to meet Trump in the US on Wednesday.

The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, said he was “gravely concerned” by the changes, and warned they were “eroding the prospects for the two-state solution”, his spokesperson said in a statement.

The West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state but is regarded by many on the religious right as Israeli land.

Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said on Sunday that the changes were aimed at “deepening our roots in all regions of the Land of Israel and burying the idea of a Palestinian state”.

Guterres called Israel’s actions “destabilising” and pointed to an international court of justice finding that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory was illegal.... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/10/trump-west-bank-occupation-white-house-opposition

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"Jews are not responsible for Israel's actions. Israel should not use them a shields, and no one should turn them into scapegoats. We reject any attempt to associate any religion with the crimes of state or non-state actors or individuals, whether Judaism, Islam or Christianity" Ambassador Riyad Mansour- of & for Palestine

At the General Assembly debate on the Question of Palestine, Ambassador Riyad Mansour said: "Everywhere in the region the same policy, land grab disguised under security pretexts. In Palestine, in Lebanon, in Syria. This is a recipe for perpetual occupation, perpetual bloodshed, perpetual war, instead of shared peace, shared security, shared prosperity.""

State of Palestine

@Palestine_UN

"There are two peoples here, and they will remain here. Only ending the occupation, and only recognizing the State of Palestine alongside Israel, will bring justice, peace, and security to all." איימן עודה أيمن عودة Ayman Odeh

איימן עודה أيمن عودة Ayman Odeh

@AyOdeh

Auto-translated by Grok

"They removed me from the plenum just because I raised the simplest demand, a demand that the entire international community agrees on: To recognize a Palestinian state. To recognize this simple reality: There are two peoples here, and neither is going anywhere."

  

איימן עודה أيمن عودة Ayman Odeh

@AyOdeh

·

Oct 13

כמות הצביעות במליאה בלתי נסבלת. להמליך את נתניהו על ידי חנפנות שלא נראתה כמותה, על ידי להקה מתוזמרת, לא פוטרת אותו ואת ממשלתו מהפשעים נגד האנושות שבוצעו בעזה, ולא מהאחריות על דמם של מאות אלפי קורבנות פלסטינים ואלפי קורבנות ישראלים. אבל רק בגלל הפסקת המלחמה והעסקה הכוללת אני כאן. ולכל אלה החיים בבועה המנותקת של הכנסת: למרות ממשלת ימין על מלא, למרות השימוש הציני ב-7 באוקטובר, ולמרות מלחמת ההשמדה, ממשלת הפשעים לא הצליחה לשנות את המשוואה הפשוטה: יש כאן שני עמים, והם יישארו כאן. רק סיום הכיבוש, ורק הכרה במדינת פלסטין לצד ישראל, יביאו צדק, שלום וביטחון, לכולם.

6:38 AM · Oct 13, 2025

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38.4K

Views

Auto-translated by Grok 

"The amount of hypocrisy in the plenum is unbearable. 

 

To crown Netanyahu through flattery the likes of which has never been seen, through an orchestrated group, does not absolve him and his government of the crimes against humanity committed in Gaza, nor of the responsibility for the blood of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian victims and thousands of Israeli victims. 

 

But only because of the ceasefire and the overall deal am I here. 

 

And to all those living in the disconnected bubble of the Knesset: despite a fully right-wing government, despite the cynical use of October 7, and despite the war of annihilation, the government of crimes has failed to change the simple equation: 

 

There are two peoples here, and they will remain here. Only ending the occupation, and only recognizing the State of Palestine alongside Israel, will bring justice, peace, and security to all."

 

איימן עודה أيمن عودة Ayman Odeh

@AyOdeh

·

Oct 13

Auto-translated by Grok

 

"We struggled for two years for this moment, for the cessation of war and a comprehensive deal. 

 

We are happy, but our joy is tinged with pain, from the horrific crimes that were caused, and the tunnels of blood that our land has absorbed. 

 

We deserve to smile. The families deserve to rejoice. 

 

But we must gather strength to continue the struggle for the noblest cause of all, achieving comprehensive peace, based on ending the occupation and respecting the rights of both peoples. 

 

Because we were all born free

 

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Two Israeli lawmakers – Ayman Odeh and Ofer Cassif, members of the left-wing Hadash Party – interrupted the US president’s address, chanting slogans demanding recognition of Palestinian statehood and denouncing the Gaza genocide, according to the Anadolu news agency.

"Statehood cannot be declared in press releases while genocide burns Gaza and land is stolen daily in the West Bank. Recognition of Palestine is hollow if it ignores the uprooting of people and the violence that became a daily reality. Better to first recognize the atrocities and confront injustice than to offer symbolic statehood to a people whose very existence is already rooted in their land yet their land, and their lives are under attack." Sliman Mansour of Palestine

                 A caricature that was published in Al Fajr English language newspaper in the 1990’s.

sliman.mansour

Statehood cannot be declared in press releases while genocide burns Gaza and land is stolen daily in the West Bank. Recognition of Palestine is hollow if it ignores the uprooting of people and the violence that became a daily reality. Better to first recognize the atrocities and confront injustice than to offer symbolic statehood to a people whose very existence is already rooted in their land yet their land, and their lives are under attack.

"Recognizing a Palestinian state is a limited but welcome step that addresses an enduring blind spot: Palestinian rights cannot be conditioned on Israeli interests" Noam Sheizaf in The Guardian

 "... Since the Oslo process in the 1990s, much of the world has accepted the Israeli framing: Palestinian rights would be recognized only after a peace process was completed. In other words, rights were treated as conditional on Israeli interests – a prize to be granted at the end rather than a foundation to guide negotiations. This is the root of past failures. But if rights become the starting point, then the two peoples could finally choose their political future: one state, two, or some in-between like a federation. No choice would need to be final; states can divide or unite, agreements can evolve. The very idea of a definite end point is an illusion.

Recently, there are signs that the west is opening its eyes to the horror in Gaza, mainly due to sustained civil society activism. It is not surprising that the United States is mounting unprecedented opposition to the countries deciding to recognize Palestine, including by withholding visas from Palestinian officials seeking to travel to the UN. For Washington too, Palestinians exist only on Israel’s terms. So far, the countries leading the recognition effort are not deterred; pushing against American hegemony over diplomacy is another positive byproduct of recognition.

As limited as the recognition of Palestine – a state with no territory or sovereignty – is, it is a step in the right direction, because it re-establishes the existence and the rights of Palestinians as individuals and as a collective. It finally moves up the end goal, which should have been a precondition to the talks all along. More urgently, it strengthens the Palestinian case in international institutions and further justifies the demand for sanctions that could end the war.

Steps against Israeli ministers who advocate ethnic cleansing and genocide, as some countries are considering, are another positive development. More should follow, and more rapidly; as the destruction of Gaza is happening now...."  ... READ MORE   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/sep/14/how-to-burst-the-israeli-bubble

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How to burst the Israeli bubble

Noam Sheizaf

Recognizing a Palestinian state is a limited but welcome step that addresses an enduring blind spot: Palestinian rights cannot be conditioned on Israeli interests

Sun 14 Sep 2025 09.00 EDT

Sept. 12th, 2025: UN General Assembly ADOPTS resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution

UN General Assembly ADOPTS resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution 

Voting result 

In favor: 142 

Against: 10 

Abstain: 12

Susan Muaddi Darraj explains a crucial point about Israel, Palestine, & America... #LandTheft

Illegal Israeli Settlement Fortresses in the Occupied West Bank where a fully sovereign and free Palestinian State was supposed to be

Please understand that this is not a religious issue

Susan Muaddi Darraj

"Friends, please allow me to explain a crucial point. 

 

Israel has been building illegal cities (settlements) on Palestinian land for decades - Palestinian land that is supposed to be part of a future Palestinian state. The world has condemned the building of these cities, but Israel keeps building them. 

 

In order to build them, they steal land from Palestinian residents and families. It's been ongoing, even though I can remember presidents as far back as Ronald Reagan strongly condemning Israel for this policy. 

 

The policy is obviously aimed at pushing people out, at emptying Palestinian land of its Palestinian residents, people who have inhabited that land for thousands of years.

 

It is not a myth or a lie that we are indigenous to the land. As an example, Palestinian Christians have baptismal records proving their existence in Palestine for at least a couple of hundred years. 

 

So now, Israeli companies are holding real estate sales IN THE UNITED STATES to sell homes to Americans in these illegal settlements. It's like selling a vacation home to someone that has been built on the wreckage of someone else's stolen land. This comes after the recent news that Netanyahu approved the building of 30,000 new homes built illegally on Palestinian land. 

 

Please understand that this is not a religious issue. This is an issue about ongoing land theft! 

 

Please understand what is happening."

 "A for-profit company renting out a Teaneck synagogue on Sunday to pitch real estate deals in Israel ― including some in the occupied West Bank ― has drawn calls for protests and investigations after one of the region’s most outspoken Jewish critics of Israel cried foul." A pitch for West Bank real estate is prompting protest and fear in Teaneck [New Jersey]

Palestinians Get Approval to Fly Flag at United Nations in a bid for statehood... "It is a symbolic thing, but another step to solidify the pillars of the state of Palestine in the international arena," said Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian representative to the UN.

Palestinian man holds a flag during a protest outside the Damascus Gate, east Jerusalem in support of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' bid for statehood

Palestinian flag set to fly at UN New York HQ

In Paris, Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah on Thursday called the flag vote "a step on the road towards Palestine becoming a full member of the United Nations."

Mansour [Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian representative to the UN] said the initiative had the potential to "give our people some hope that the international community is still supporting the independence of the state of Palestine.

"Things are bleak, gloomy, the political process is dead, Gaza is being suffocated. This flag resolution is like the small light of a candle to keep hope alive for the Palestinian people."

NYTimes report: Palestinians Get Approval to Fly Flag at United Nations

UN tells Israel, Palestinians to stop unilateral actions

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Cairo October 2014

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 http://news.yahoo.com/un-tells-israel-palestinians-stop-unilateral-actions-205940616.html

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged Israel and the Palestinians on Tuesday to move away from unilateral actions stoking tensions and make the "tough compromises" needed to end their decades-old conflict.

Ban spoke to the UN Security Council after returning from a visit to the Middle East where he saw first-hand the destruction in Gaza wrought by the 50-day war between Israel and Hamas militants.

"Leaders on both sides must overcome their differences and dispense with the unilateral initiatives that serve only to fuel mistrust and polarization," the secretary general said.

The appeal came after Palestinian youths attacked an apartment building taken over by Jewish settlers in east Jerusalem and as the Palestinians pushed for a divisive UN resolution on ending the Israeli occupation in 2016. 

UN diplomats say the draft resolution stands no chance of being adopted, but they appear at a loss to point a way forward to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Describing the two-state solution as the "only viable option" for peace, Ban said: "It is time for courage and vision to make the tough compromises that are needed now. I challenge both sides to rise to the occasion."

Illegal Israeli settlements

The UN chief called on Israel to reverse settlement activity which he emphasized were "illegal" and expressed concern over clashes sparked by Jewish visits at holy sites in Jerusalem. 

"International law is clear: settlement activity is illegal. It runs totally counter to the pursuit of a two-state solution," he said.

Israeli police have vowed to restore order following clashes between Palestinian youths over recent Jewish visits to the Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest site.

In his address to the council, Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour said the "time is past due to acknowledge that Israel, the occupying power, rejects peace and is deliberately destroying the two-state solution."

Mansour appealed to the 15-nation council to support the draft resolution on setting 2016 as the date for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza, and to set a course for Palestinian statehood.

He invited the council ambassadors to visit Gaza, as Ban did last week, and emphasized the "centrality" of the United Nations in the search for peace after US efforts to re-start peace talks failed. 

Israeli Deputy Ambassador David Roet took a swipe at European countries that have moved toward recognition of Palestinian statehood, saying such actions would not advance peace.

"By prematurely recognizing a state of Palestine, European governments are sending a message that Palestinians do not need to make hard choices and they are undermining efforts to bring about a real and lasting change in our region," he said.

Gaza ceasefire talks are due to resume next week in Cairo to address Palestinian calls for ending the Israeli blockade and Israeli demands for disarming Hamas.

Israel is Transforming Jerusalem into Jewish city, says Ashrawi

Dr. Ashrawi Receives the HCEF 2014 Path of Peace Award On October 17, PLO Executive Committee Member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, traveled to Washington D.C. to accept the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) 2014 Path of Peace award. In her acceptance speech, she described the award as a "humbling and empowering honor."

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http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=26831

RAMALLAH, October 21, 2014 (WAFA) - PLO Executive Committee Member, Hanan Ashrawi, said that Israel’s illegal steps in Jerusalem are “transforming it into an exclusively Jewish city” where Palestinian Christians and Muslims have become temporary residents in their own homeland.

“Israel is annexing Jerusalem and destroying the authenticity and character of the occupied city with its oppressive and severe laws,” said Ashrawi during a keynote speech delivered on October 18th in Washington.

The speech entitled, “Framing the Current Issues in Palestine,” discussed the escalation of Israeli violations of international law and Palestinian human rights, and the status of Jerusalem and its Muslim and Christian Palestinian population.

Ashrawi stressed that “without Jerusalem as our capital, there can be no Palestinian state or chances for peace or stability.”

“With its illegal measures of demolishing Palestinian houses, evicting Palestinians from their ancestral homes, revoking Palestinian IDs and constructing settlements and apartheid walls, Israel is transforming Jerusalem into an exclusively Jewish city where Palestinian Christians and Muslims have become temporary residents in their own homeland,” added Ashrawi.

She further discussed the current facts on the ground, future Palestinian political initiatives, including the Palestinian bid at the United Nations, the domestic reconciliation process and future prospects for elections, as well as the tragic situation of the Palestinians and Israel’s most recent campaign of aggression and terror in Gaza.

Ashrawi accepted the 16th Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) 2014 Path of Peace award, which she described as a “humbling and empowering honor.”

T.R/M.H

UK Parliament votes to recognize Palestinian state

UK MPs receive 136,000 emails on Palestine before elections

 

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http://news.yahoo.com/uk-parliament-votes-recognize-palestinian-state-214234377.html

LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers voted Monday in favor of recognizing Palestine as a state, a symbolic move intended to increase pressure for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Related Stories

1. UK lawmakers pass symbolic motion on Palestinian state Reuters
2. British MPs pass non-binding vote to recognise Palestine AFP
3. UK lawmakers pass symbolic motion to recognise Palestine as a state Reuters
4. British MPs to hold vote on recognising Palestine AFP
5. UK PM Cameron to abstain in symbolic vote on Palestine status Reuters

Legislators in the House of Commons voted 274 to 12 to support a motion calling on the British government to "recognize the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel."

Prime Minister David Cameron and other government leaders abstained, and more than half of the 650 Commons members did not participate in the vote.

But the motion had support from both government and opposition lawmakers, who said it could help kick-start the peace process following a summer war in Gaza that claimed the lives of more than 2,100 Palestinians, the majority civilians, and more than 70 Israelis, most of them soldiers.

Labour Party legislator Grahame Morris said recognizing a Palestinian state could help break the impasse in peace negotiations before it was too late.

Otherwise, he said, "any hope of a two-state solution — the only viable solution — will have disappeared altogether."

Conservative lawmaker Nicholas Soames — grandson of World War II Prime Minister Winston Churchill — said that "to recognize Palestine is both morally right and is in our national interest."

The government said the vote would not change Britain's official diplomatic stance. Middle East Minister Tobias Ellwood said the U.K. would recognize Palestinian statehood when it would help bring about peace...READ MORE

UK MPs To Vote On Recognition Of Palestine... "Dr Hanan Ashrawi, executive committee member of the PLO, told Sky News the Palestinian cause must be "rescued" to prevent jihadists [from] using it to fuel radicalisation and further extremism in the region."

UK MPs To Vote On Recognition Of Palestine

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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/british-mps-urged-recognise-palestine-001441519.html#STbzRqG

A leading Palestinian politician has urged British MPs to vote in favour of recognising a Palestinian state when the issue is debated in Westminster later today.

Dr Hanan Ashrawi, executive committee member of the PLO, told Sky News the Palestinian cause must be "rescued" to prevent jihadists using it to fuel radicalisation and further extremism in the region.

In reference to the growing influence of groups like Islamic State, she said: "The Palestinian question has always been appropriated by others, and I've always said we need to rescue it from being 'up for grabs' by those looking for a cause, or who are trying to borrow our constituency or our legitimacy.

"It is imperative we remove one core issue from the region that has constantly fed… and send a clear message to the whole region and the rest of the world that justice can prevail and that we can make peace."

The debate in the House of Commons has been tabled by MP Grahame Morris, chair of the Labour Friends of Palestine.

"Not only is statehood the inalienable right of the Palestinian people, but recognising Palestine will breathe new life into a peace process that is at an impasse," Mr Morris told Reuters.

The Westminster vote will not be binding on the UK Government and is unlikely to change official policy, which states recognition of a Palestinian state must follow a bilateral negotiated process with Israel.

However, Dr Ashrawi said it was nonetheless "a very significant moment".

She said: "It is the beginning of a process of genuine consideration of the historical responsibility of the British towards Palestine, dating back to 1917, and we believe this process of rectification has to start.

"It is about time … not just as a way of doing justice to Palestine and respecting international law, but as a way of trying to rescue the chances of peace, which are disappearing rapidly."

The debate comes after Sweden's new government said it intended to officially recognise Palestine, a move that has...READ MORE

My letter to Ma'an News RE Salaita & Analysis: On the incivility of Palestinians By Heike Schotten

Palestinian girls walk past the rubble of a building that was destroyed  during the Israeli army summer's military offensive on the Gaza Strip, on Oct. 2, 2014, in Khan Younis (AFP/Said Khatib, File) UNRWA to make biggest ever Gaza aid plea

RE Analysis: On the incivility of Palestinians By Heike Schotten,
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=730563

Dear Editor,

No wonder America's mainstream media shies away from more fully covering the Israel-Palestine conflict... as all the world's eyes are on Palestinian statehood, American's loudest activists for Palestine are doing everything but promoting support for Palestinian statehood. 

I feel deep sorrow for all the children of Palestine, not just the ones killed in and by the Israel-Palestine conflict, but also the ones stuck living in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict with all its many dangers and negative ramifications.

Salaita is not stuck in stateless limbo. 

Salaita has the freedom to find another job, whereas countless Palestinians do not have that freedom.

Salaita is free to travel, and free to keep his own children safe from Israeli bullets and bombs, whereas countless Palestinians do not have that freedom.

Salaita is a grown man making his own choices, living in a safe and secure, fully sovereign nation state where you are free to speak out, but so is everyone else:

MAYBE Zionists once 'owned' the conversation, and MAYBE Zionists did help prod the university to reconsider the wisdom of hiring Salaita, but in the age of the internet with blogs, online journals, comment sections, facebook, tweets, and forwards Zionists most certainly do not own the conversation, although they do tend to make many intelligent and diplomatic contributions in many forums.

I think Ma'an news, which is supposed to be about and for Palestine, should look for and publish pro-Palestine writers who actually support statehood and diplomacy for Palestine. 

My personal favorites to follow are the folks at ATFP - the American Task Force on Palestine.  As Hussein Ibish says in his most recent article: Hisham, Hope and Despair..."The crucial point is that the one thing that is certain is that the choices that we make individually and collectively will have a direct and profound impact on the short, medium and long-term outcomes. And, therefore, our choices must be carefully considered, deliberate and purposive, while apathy and inaction are not options." 
 https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/564209-hisham-hope-and-despair

And as ATFP's (born in Jerusalem) founder Ziad Asali wisely points out with a pertinent twitter retweet on the same basic topic: To promote the values of dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect, among religions and cultures... Let’s teach our youth to build, not destroy

 http://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/2014/10/to-promote-values-of-dialogue-tolerance.html

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab,
American homemaker & poet

Ashrawi: The recognition of Palestine is Human, Moral, Legal, and Political Imperative

WAFA IMAGES 2014/9/25

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http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=26735

RAMALLAH, October 9, 2014 – (WAFA) – PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi stated Thursday that the recognition of Palestine is a human, moral, legal and political imperative.

The PLO Executive Committee Department of Culture and Information said in a press release that a few days ahead of the British parliamentary vote on the recognition of the State of Palestine, Ashrawi met with correspondents from British media outlets in Palestine to reiterate the official call of the PLO for all states to recognize the State of Palestine as a “human, moral, legal, and political imperative.”

Ashrawi said: “We welcome and appreciate the initiative of a group of British parliamentarians to ask their government to recognize the State of Palestine.  If the British parliament vote reflects British public opinion, it will support the motion.  This would be the first clear step taken by the UK as part of the process of historical rectification of the disastrous consequences of the Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate over Palestine that ended in 1948 with the creation of the State of Israel.”

“During the past few weeks we have received many messages from British friends representing political parties, civil society, churches, and others in support of the motion to recognize the State of Palestine.  We call upon all of them to pursue such efforts in order to obtain a victory on October 13 for the universal cause of justice in the British Parliament. Regardless of the non-binding nature of the vote, it will have a significant impact on the British government’s policies and upcoming decisions on Palestine,” added Ashrawi.

Ashrawi expressed her utter rejection of “the position of those who insist that Palestinian sovereignty is subject to Israeli approval”, concluding: “our independence is a natural right as per international law, and it high time for freedom and justice to prevail.”

K.F./ T.R.