Palestinians slam Brazil leader’s plan for embassy

Asenior Palestinian official yesterday condemned Brazilian farright President-elect Jair Bolsonaro’s announcement that he would move his country’s Israel embassy to occupied Jerusalem.

“These are provocative and illegal steps that will only destabilise security and stability in the region,” Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s executive committee, told AFP.

Brazilian president-elect Jair Bolsonaro had earlier tweeted that “as previously stated during our campaign, we intend to transfer the Brazilian embassy from Tel Aviv to [occupied] Jerusalem.”

“Israel is a sovereign state and we shall duly respect that,” he said.

Egypt delegation in Gaza

An Egyptian security delegation visited protests along the Gaza-Israel border yesterday, organisers said, as it sought to broker a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas said protests along the Gaza-Israel border fence have been scaled down to give diplomatic efforts a chance.