It's considered a rare punishment of Israelis by the US and comes as settler violence is on the rise. The World's Marco Werman spoke with Hadar Susskind, president and CEO of Americans for Peace Now, about the history of the settlers and their political influence with current government.
President Donald Trump hosted a signing ceremony on Tuesday with Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. The new alliances have left some Palestinians wondering if it’s time for new leadership.
Under a United States peace plan unveiled earlier this year, Israel had the US's green light to annex large parts of the West Bank. If that happens, life for the Palestinians and Israeli settlers who live there could get even more complicated.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Israel, where Iran, China and the annexation of occupied Palestinian territories is on the agenda. Europe is optimistic about a summer travel season. But Lebanon, facing a potential resurgence of the novel coronavirus, has locked down. And Malaysia is applying lessons from its experience with the Nipah virus. In Shanghai, Disneyland is reopened — but pandemic precautions are making their mark on the magical place.
Palestinian officials are hoping that the nearly-completed restoration will boost tourism at a time when the West Bank remains under Israeli occupation, plagued by a political stalemate and hobbled by high unemployment.
Former US ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, spoke with Marco Werman about the US' decision to recognize Israeli settlements in the West Bank as legal. He explains the ramifications this decision could have for peace in the region.
Airbnb announced plans to delist rentals in the occupied West Bank in November, but was quickly engaged in lawsuits that alleged discrimination. The vacation website has reversed their decision, but is again fielding blowback.
“The abolition [of UNRWA] means erasing the existence of the refugee issue. We say to them that we insist on the existence of the agency as long as the issue of refugees is not resolved," says Taha al-Biss, leader of the al-Amari refugee camp in the West Bank.
Airbnb has announced it will remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move Israel called a "wretched capitulation" to boycotters and Palestinians hailed as a step toward peace.
Israel's Supreme Court rejected petitions to prevent the move, siding with the authorities which say the village was built without the required permits. Palestinians say such documents are impossible to obtain.
Washington's move against UNRWA was the latest in a series of US and Israeli policy decisions that have angered Palestinians and raised international concern.