LONDON: The British Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt condemned the advancement of plans by Israel for 1,122 settlements across the West Bank.
Burt said that “The UK strongly condemns the advancement by the Israeli authorities of plans and tenders for settlement units across the West Bank. We call on Israel to reconsider these proposals. Settlements are illegal under international law and undermine the physical viability of the two-state solution.”
Israel approved on Tuesday 1,122 new settlement units throughout the West Bank, and published tender announcements for 651 units, Israeli NGO Peace Now said.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Thursday: “President (Donald) Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital did not only disqualify the US from playing any constructive role toward achieving peace, but it provided the extremist Israeli government with an opportunity and the green light to speed up its plans for the dispossession of the Palestinian people.”
Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) executive committee, told Arab News: “This is settler colonialism on the rampage. Israel is sealing the fate of the West Bank and Palestinian statehood unilaterally while the world seems to be helpless and hapless. Israeli arrogance of power and impunity is shameful indeed.”
UK slams Israeli move to build 1,122 new settlements
UK slams Israeli move to build 1,122 new settlements
Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham
- Trump’s former chief strategist called for the senator to be registered as a foreign agent
DUBAI: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called on Tuesday for US Senator Lindsey Graham to be registered as a foreign agent of the Israeli government, escalating a growing conservative backlash against the senator’s vocal support for Israel.
Speaking on his podcast “War Room,” Bannon said Graham should be “pulled off of television,” adding: "This is dangerous… because you have guys like Lindsey Graham and dozens more that are doing the wrong thing.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Graham said: “To all the antisemites, to all the isolationists… I’m not with you, I’m with Israel, I will be with Israel to our dying day.”
Graham also urged Gulf Arab states to join military action against Iran. “What I want you to do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, [is] step forward and say, ‘this is my fight too, I join America, I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” he said.
In a post on X, Graham questioned the value of a US defense agreement with Saudi Arabia following the evacuation of the American embassy in Riyadh, writing: “Why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, responded to Graham’s comments in a Sky News interview, saying: “He flip flops so much, it’s actually entertaining.”
“On one hand, he says he will never set foot in Saudi Arabia. The next day, he’s here signing multimillion-dollar deals.”
“I don’t think anyone here takes him seriously,” Abbas added.
He warned Graham to be careful what he wished for: “Do you really want Saudi Arabia involved in this war putting our oil facilities at risk or do you want us stabilizing the energy markets?”
Graham pressed further, warning that inaction would carry a price. “Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”
“Hopefully this changes soon. If not, consequences will follow.”
Graham's remarks drew sharp criticism from Bannon and others including podcast host Megyn Kelly.
She questioned on X whether Graham was overstepping his authority as a senator, writing: “When did Lindsay Graham become our president?”
Kelly also said Graham had threatened Lebanon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Spain within a 24-hour period.
The problem with Graham “isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him,” she said in another post.
