Palestinian PM calls on UNESCO to prevent Israeli settlement in historic village

A Palestinian demonstrator rallies against settlers' visit to historical sites in the Palestinian village of Sebastia, Nablus. (File/AFP)
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Updated 08 May 2023
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Palestinian PM calls on UNESCO to prevent Israeli settlement in historic village

  • Shtayyeh said settlement expansion was a continuation of the Nakba

RIYADH:  Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on UNESCO to place pressure on Israel to stop its development of a settlement near the historic village of Sebastia in Nablus, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.  

During a weekly session convened by the Palestinian government, Shtayyeh warned of the consequences of the settlement plan on historical landmarks, including a building in Hebron.

Shtayyeh said that the settlement development is a continuation of the Nakba, or “Catastrophe,” which resulted in the mass displacement of Palestinians.  

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, which will be commemorated for the first time by the UN at its headquarters in New York. 

The commemoration will witness the participation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who expressed optimism that it would mark the start of an effective international response to the “ethnic cleansing” that the occupation is committing against the Palestinian people.
 


Trump offers to mediate Egypt-Ethiopia dispute on Nile River waters

US President Donald Trump and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. (REUTERS)
Updated 17 January 2026
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Trump offers to mediate Egypt-Ethiopia dispute on Nile River waters

  • Egypt says ​the dam violates international treaties and could cause both droughts ⁠and flooding, a claim Ethiopia rejects

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump offered on Friday to mediate a dispute over Nile River ​waters between Egypt and Ethiopia. “I am ready to restart US mediation between Egypt and Ethiopia to responsibly resolve the question of ‘The Nile Water Sharing’ once and for all,” he ‌wrote to ‌Egyptian President ‌Abdel ⁠Fattah El-Sisi ​in ‌a letter that also was posted on Trump’s Truth Social account.
Addis Ababa’s September 9 inauguration of its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has been a source of anger ⁠in Cairo, which is downstream on the ‌Nile.
Ethiopia, the continent’s second-most ‍populous nation ‍with more than 120 million people, ‍sees the $5 billion dam on a tributary of the Nile as central to its economic ambitions.
Egypt says ​the dam violates international treaties and could cause both droughts ⁠and flooding, a claim Ethiopia rejects.
Trump has praised El-Sisi in the past, including during an October trip to Egypt to sign a deal related to the Gaza conflict. In public comments, Trump has echoed Cairo’s concerns about the water issue.