Drop West Bank annexation plan, Macron tells Netanyahu
French president asks Israeli PM not to annex Palestinian territory in the West Bank, warning that it would violate international law; Israel kills one more Palestinian
French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to annex Palestinian territory in the West Bank, warning that it would violate international law and threaten long-term peace efforts.
The two leaders spoke by phone on Thursday, and Macron’s office said in a statement on Friday that he told Netanyahu “to abstain from taking any measure to annex Palestinian territories.”
Macron also reiterated France’s commitment to Israel’s security and determination to work to calm tensions in the region.
Tensions have been high in the West Bank in recent weeks as Israel has vowed to proceed with plans to annex up to 30% of the occupied territory, in line with President Donald Trump’s Middle East initiative.
Netanyahu has appeared determined to carry out the plans, which have been welcomed by Israel’s religious and nationalist right wing but condemned by the Palestinians and the international community.
The international community has invested billions of dollars in promoting a two-state solution since the interim Oslo peace accords of the 1990s.
The UN secretary general, the European Union and leading Arab countries have all said that any Israeli annexation would violate international law and greatly undermine the prospects for Palestinian independence.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank.
Salfit Governor Abdallah Kmail said one of the men, 29-year-old Ibrahim Abu Yakoub, was killed and the other was wounded in the leg and taken to a hospital.
He said the two were walking through the village when the Israeli troops opened fire “for no reason.”
Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli security forces clashed with around 30 Jewish setlers overnight who were trying to rebuild an “unauthorised” outpost in a closed military zone.
Nearly 500,000 Jewish setlers live in the occupied West Bank, which Israel seized in the 1967 war and which the Palestinians view as the heartland of their future state. The territory is home to around 2.5 million Palestinians.
Hundreds of people gathered in the occupied West Bank on Friday for the funeral of the Palestinian man shot by Israeli soldiers a day earlier.
Separately, Israel has recorded its highest number of coronavirus infections over a 24-hour period, with nearly 1,500 new cases confirmed in the most recent daily count, the health ministry said on Friday.
Israel had won early praise for its virus containment efforts, but cases have surged since a broad re-opening began in May.
Netanyahu admited in a press conference that the decision to allow businesses, including bars and event spaces, to re-open may have been made “too soon.”
“I take responsibility for it,” he told reporters. From midnight ( 2100 GMT) on Wednesday to midnight on Thursday, the health ministry registered 1,464 new coronavirus infections — the highest single-day tally since Israel confirmed its first case on Feb.21.
The country of roughly nine million has now registered more than 35,500 cases, including 350 deaths.
Various restrictions have been re-imposed, including the closure of venues, clubs, bars, gyms and public pools.
Limits on the number of people allowed in restaurants and places of worship have also been reinstated.
Certain towns and city neighbourhoods across the country considered virus hotspots have been placed under more robust lockdowns.
Israel’s director of public health services, Siegal Sadetzki, resigned this week, blasting her superiors for ignoring her advice and steering Israel’s virus response off course.
“Despite repeated warnings in different forums, we are watching with frustration as our window of opportunity (to contain the virus) is running out,” Sadetzki said in a Facebook post announcing her resignation.
Experts charge that Israel let its guard down. Ran Balicer, a professor of public health and member of the national epidemic management team, said Israel reopened too quickly and slammed the brakes too late.