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Macron Asks Israel to Drop Annexation Plans

FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron attends a virtual meeting with European leaders to discuss the bloc's budget and recovery fund, in Paris, France June 19, 2020. Eliot Blondet/Pool via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron attends a virtual meeting with European leaders to discuss the bloc's budget and recovery fund, in Paris, France June 19, 2020. Eliot Blondet/Pool via REUTERS
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Macron Asks Israel to Drop Annexation Plans

FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron attends a virtual meeting with European leaders to discuss the bloc's budget and recovery fund, in Paris, France June 19, 2020. Eliot Blondet/Pool via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron attends a virtual meeting with European leaders to discuss the bloc's budget and recovery fund, in Paris, France June 19, 2020. Eliot Blondet/Pool via REUTERS

Emmanuel Macron asked Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from annexing Palestinian territory during a telephone call between the two leaders, the French president's office said on Friday.

Macron "emphasized that such a move would contravene international law and jeopardize the possibility of a two-state solution as the basis of a fair and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians", his office said in a statement after the call on Thursday.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, France, Germany and Jordan on Tuesday urged Israel to abandon plans to begin annexing settlements in the West Bank, warning such action could have "consequences" for relations.

"We concur that any annexation of Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 would be a violation of international law and imperil the foundations of the peace process," the ministers said in a statement after a joint video conference.

Netanyahu’s government had set July 1 as the date when it could begin to annex Jewish settlements in the West Bank as well as the strategic Jordan Valley.

The move was endorsed by a Middle East plan unveiled by US President Donald Trump in January.

Netanyahu's office made no announcement on July 1 as expected, but said talks were continuing with US officials and Israeli security chiefs.

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Arab World

EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
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EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.

Arab World

Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

 

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

 

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

 

 

 

 

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.