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US Point Person on Israel-Palestine Warns PA’s Standing Has ‘Never Been Worse’

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas receives US envoy for Palestinian and Israeli affairs Hady Amr. AFP file photo
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas receives US envoy for Palestinian and Israeli affairs Hady Amr. AFP file photo
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US Point Person on Israel-Palestine Warns PA’s Standing Has ‘Never Been Worse’

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas receives US envoy for Palestinian and Israeli affairs Hady Amr. AFP file photo
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas receives US envoy for Palestinian and Israeli affairs Hady Amr. AFP file photo

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israel and Palestinian Affairs, Hady Amr, warned Israeli authorities on Friday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) faces an unprecedented “difficult and dangerous” situation, both economically and politically.

Amr urged Israel to take steps needed to ensure the PA is reinforced, said well-informed sources under the conditions of anonymity.

Citing three Israeli officials who participated in talks with Amr, sources said the US official was “very worried” after early week discussions with PA officials in Ramallah.

After meeting PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Amr described never having seen the semi-autonomous government “in a worse situation.”

Last Sunday, President Joe Biden’s point man for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict visited Ramallah to talk to Palestinian representatives, then moved to Israel, where he met with officials from the foreign, finance, and the regional cooperation ministries in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Amr also met with the Israeli army’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Ghassan Alian.

The Israeli officials added that Amr told them that the combination of the financial and political crises puts the Palestinian Authority in a very precarious situation.

“It is like a dry forest waiting to catch on fire,” he said, according to sources.

Amr said the Palestinian administration could not afford to pay salaries because of the economic crisis, and the political turmoil in Palestine led to instability and a dangerous situation.

The US official suggested relatively rapid improvement steps Israel could take to help the Palestinian economy and the PA’s budget to improve the government’s standing.

According to sources, Israeli officials responded positively to Amr’s proposals, even though they tried blaming the coronavirus and lockdowns for exacerbating the PA’s financial crisis.

A source familiar with Amr’s talks said he stressed to both Palestinian and Israeli officials that he isn’t going to press them or beg for them to take steps, and they will have to work it out themselves.

“If you want the US to help, we will be happy to do it,” the envoy allegedly said.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

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 Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

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)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.