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Palestinian PM Calls on US Administration to Curb Israeli Settlement Expansion

Israeli security forces surround activists protesting settlements in Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem. (AFP)
Israeli security forces surround activists protesting settlements in Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem. (AFP)
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Palestinian PM Calls on US Administration to Curb Israeli Settlement Expansion

Israeli security forces surround activists protesting settlements in Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem. (AFP)
Israeli security forces surround activists protesting settlements in Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem. (AFP)

Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh called on the US administration to act quickly and forcefully to curb the Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, including Jerusalem.

Speaking at a weekly cabinet meeting, Shtayyeh warned that the “colonial settlement expansion in the occupied territories” is very dangerous and will undermine international efforts to establish the Palestinian state according to the June 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital.

He also condemned the ongoing Israeli violations of the sanctity of al-Aqsa Mosque, and the daily attacks by police on worshipers in Jerusalem, noting that the raids are part of a larger plan that aims to divide the Muslim holy place.

Last year, Israel pushed plans to build 12,159 settlement units, a record number according to the Israeli B'Tselem organization.

Israeli MP of the Zionist party, Orit Struck, presented on Sunday a draft law to legitimize settlement outposts in the West Bank. The law was approved in the first reading before the dissolution of the 23rd Knesset (parliament).

There are about 130 settlement outposts in the West Bank, inhabited by about 25,000 settlers, most of whom are extremists.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the bill, saying it is a serious test for the administration of US President Joe Biden.

It explained that legitimizing outposts aims to convert them into settlements at the expense of Palestinian land, which means stealing more territories, whether to build new settlement units or pave roads connecting them with nearby settlements.

The Ministry warned that these outposts are used to launch the activities of the so-called “hilltop youth”, which continues to terrorize Palestinians and attack their lands and properties.

Introducing this bill again at this particular time stems from the Israeli right-wing’s belief that they have the opportunity to pass it and implement it in light of the majority they won in the recent elections, according to the Ministry.

It warned that passing this law would be a dangerous escalation in settlement activities and operations.

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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.