The United States has again denied a visa to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials ahead of next week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York.Palestine is a non-member observer state at the UN. This status lets Palestinian officials take part in General Assembly debates and lets its leader address the body, but Palestine has no voting rights on resolutions.&nbsp;A similar decision by the Trump administration last year prevented Abbas, who regularly attends the UN General Assembly, from travelling to New York. He addressed the gathering through a video message instead.&nbsp;The US State Department did not name Abbas directly in its statement but said it would deny visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and officials of the Palestinian Authority (PA).&nbsp;The department said the decision was being taken “as a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace.”&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/europe-and-canada-stronger-together-carney-welcomes-eu-s-associate-membership-pitch-amid-strain-in-us-ties-1789640681791">'Europe and Canada stronger together': Carney ‘welcomes’ EU’s associate membership pitch amid strain in US ties</a><h3>US cites Palestinian actions</h3>The State Department said the PLO and PA had “once again, failed to live up to their commitments”.Washington accused the Palestinian organisations of taking steps to “internationalise the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”. It pointed to their actions at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).&nbsp;The US also accused the Palestinian leadership of trying to “bypass negotiations through seeking unilateral recognition”.&nbsp;Washington further said the Palestinian Authority continued to pay stipends to terrorists and “glorify acts of terrorism and terrorists in public pronouncements and school textbooks”.&nbsp;The US and Israel have also objected to the Palestinian Authority’s earlier system of payments to families of Palestinians who were imprisoned or killed, including those who carried out attacks against Israelis.&nbsp;The Palestinian Authority has since changed the system. It now says welfare payments are based on the needs of families rather than political affiliation or prisoner status.<h3>Palestinian Authority hits back</h3>The Palestinian Authority criticised the US decision and called it “an unjustified measure”. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the move was against efforts to rebuild trust, improve Palestinian-US relations and create the conditions needed to implement a two-state solution.&nbsp;The ministry also “expressed its astonishment at the US statement's disregard for the substantive reforms carried out by the State of Palestine”.&nbsp;It said these reforms included changes to the social welfare system as well as financial, administrative, educational and legal reforms “according to clear, transparent, and verifiable mechanisms.”The US decision also puts Washington at odds with several countries that have recognised a Palestinian state.&nbsp;France was among the countries that recognised Palestine at the United Nations last year. After a conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, 142 UN member states endorsed a declaration supporting a two-state solution.

The US has again denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials visas to attend the UN General Assembly, citing their failure to meet US commitments, while the Palestinian Authority called the decision “unjustified”.

The United States has again denied a visa to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials ahead of next week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York. Palestine is a non-member observer state at the UN. This status lets Palestinian officials take part in General Assembly debates and lets its leader address the body, but Palestine has no voting rights on resolutions. A similar decision by the Trump administration last year prevented Abbas, who regularly attends the UN General Assembly, from travelling to New York. He addressed the gathering through a video message instead. The US State Department did not name Abbas directly in its statement but said it would deny visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and officials of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The department said the decision was being taken “as a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace.” Also Read: 'Europe and Canada stronger together': Carney ‘welcomes’ EU’s associate membership pitch amid strain in US ties US cites Palestinian actions The State Department said the PLO and PA had “once again, failed to live up to their commitments”. Washington accused the Palestinian organisations of taking steps to “internationalise the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”. It pointed to their actions at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The US also accused the Palestinian leadership of trying to “bypass negotiations through seeking unilateral recognition”. Washington further said the Palestinian Authority continued to pay stipends to terrorists and “glorify acts of terrorism and terrorists in public pronouncements and school textbooks”. The US and Israel have also objected to the Palestinian Authority’s earlier system of payments to families of Palestinians who were imprisoned or killed, including those who carried out attacks against Israelis. The Palestinian Authority has since changed the system. It now says welfare payments are based on the needs of families rather than political affiliation or prisoner status. Palestinian Authority hits back The Palestinian Authority criticised the US decision and called it “an unjustified measure”. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the move was against efforts to rebuild trust, improve Palestinian-US relations and create the conditions needed to implement a two-state solution. The ministry also “expressed its astonishment at the US statement's disregard for the substantive reforms carried out by the State of Palestine”. It said these reforms included changes to the social welfare system as well as financial, administrative, educational and legal reforms “according to clear, transparent, and verifiable mechanisms.” The US decision also puts Washington at odds with several countries that have recognised a Palestinian state. France was among the countries that recognised Palestine at the United Nations last year. After a conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, 142 UN member states endorsed a declaration supporting a two-state solution.

The US has again denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials visas to attend the UN General Assembly, citing their failure to meet US commitments, while the Palestinian Authority called the decision “unjustified”.

US again denies visa to Palestinian president, officials to attend UN General Assembly

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday (Sep 5) denied that Israel was preparing to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza, following proposals by far-right Israeli ministers calling for the territory’s population to leave.“I can tell you categorically there is no plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will,” Huckabee told reporters while visiting Palestinian-Americans in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.His comments came days after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir proposed a plan to encourage the departure of 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in its first year, with the remaining population leaving over the next six years. Defence Minister Israel Katz had also said Israel was prepared to remove Palestinians by sea and land.<h2>Trump administration backs ‘choice’</h2>Huckabee said US President Donald Trump’s administration supported Palestinians having the option to leave Gaza voluntarily, while rejecting any suggestion of coercion.“There is an open-mindedness if people wish to leave, that they should have the right to leave,” he said, describing it as a “disgrace” to “incarcerate” Palestinians inside Gaza.“Nobody is suggesting there would be forced displacement – the Israelis are not, the Americans are not. I know of no one who supports that,” he added.Forced displacement of civilians from occupied territory is prohibited under international humanitarian law and can constitute a war crime. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, launched after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, has already displaced virtually the entire population at least once.<h2>Gaza plan remains contentious</h2>The issue has repeatedly sparked international alarm, particularly after US President Donald Trump earlier proposed temporarily relocating all Palestinians from Gaza and redeveloping the territory as a luxury resort. Trump later backed away from the proposal following strong opposition, including from Egypt.Huckabee’s remarks come ahead of Israel’s October 27 election, with polls indicating a closely fought contest involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government includes far-right ministers advocating tougher policies toward Gaza.

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee denies Israel plans to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza, as far-right ministers push relocation proposals and Trump’s administration backs voluntary departure.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday (Sep 5) denied that Israel was preparing to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza, following proposals by far-right Israeli ministers calling for the territory’s population to leave. “I can tell you categorically there is no plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will,” Huckabee told reporters while visiting Palestinian-Americans in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. His comments came days after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir proposed a plan to encourage the departure of 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in its first year, with the remaining population leaving over the next six years. Defence Minister Israel Katz had also said Israel was prepared to remove Palestinians by sea and land. Trump administration backs ‘choice’ Huckabee said US President Donald Trump’s administration supported Palestinians having the option to leave Gaza voluntarily, while rejecting any suggestion of coercion. “There is an open-mindedness if people wish to leave, that they should have the right to leave,” he said, describing it as a “disgrace” to “incarcerate” Palestinians inside Gaza. “Nobody is suggesting there would be forced displacement – the Israelis are not, the Americans are not. I know of no one who supports that,” he added. Forced displacement of civilians from occupied territory is prohibited under international humanitarian law and can constitute a war crime. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, launched after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, has already displaced virtually the entire population at least once. Gaza plan remains contentious The issue has repeatedly sparked international alarm, particularly after US President Donald Trump earlier proposed temporarily relocating all Palestinians from Gaza and redeveloping the territory as a luxury resort. Trump later backed away from the proposal following strong opposition, including from Egypt. Huckabee’s remarks come ahead of Israel’s October 27 election, with polls indicating a closely fought contest involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government includes far-right ministers advocating tougher policies toward Gaza.

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee denies Israel plans to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza, as far-right ministers push relocation proposals and Trump’s administration backs voluntary departure.

‘There is no plan’: US envoy denies Israel’s forced Gaza displacement bid

A military court in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Monday sentenced six people, including a woman, to death by hanging for "collaborating" with Israel, authorities said.

In total 14 people were sentenced for "collaborating with the occupation," with six sentenced to be hanged and the rest sentenced to hard labour, the interior ministry in Gaza said.

The rulings came three weeks after eight people were killed when an alleged Israeli army cell in Gaza was uncovered on November 11, leading to a vicious fire fight.

Hamas fired hundreds of rockets at Israel in response, with the Jewish state striking dozens of targets in Gaza before a November 13 ceasefire agreement.

The six sentenced to death Monday were not directly related to the flareup, officials said.

Iyad al-Bozum, the spokesman of the interior ministry in Gaza, told AFP they were linked "to a communications and eavesdropping device planted by the (Israeli) occupation".&nbsp;

Six Hamas members were killed when the device apparently exploded after detection near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza in May.

Among those sentenced was a woman living inside Israel, named only as Amal, who was sentenced in absentia and is alleged to have encouraged her nephew in Gaza to collaborate with Israeli intelligence, according to the interior ministry.

Bozum hailed the rulings as a "clear message" to those who would cooperate with Israel.

"Collaborators must realise the (Israeli) occupation will not be able to protect them," he told a news conference.

The verdicts drew condemnation from Human Rights Watch.

"Rushing to sentence people to death smacks of militia rule, not the rule of law," said Omar Shakir, the watchdog's director for Israel and the Palestinian territories.

"The death penalty is a barbaric practice and always wrong, no matter the circumstance," he told AFP.

It was not clear when the executions of those in custody would take place.

According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, 28 executions have been carried out in Gaza since Hamas seized control of the coastal enclave in 2007 from rival faction Fatah.

In May 2017, Hamas security forces invited journalists to attend the hanging in Gaza City of three men convicted over the assassination of a senior military commander of the Islamist movement.

During the 2014 war with Israel, a firing squad from Hamas's armed wing killed six men accused of collaborating with the Jewish state.

Hamas and its allies have fought three wars with Israel since 2008 and the Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade.

Israel says the measure is necessary to isolate Hamas, though critics say they amount to collective punishment of the territory's two million residents.

A military court in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Monday sentenced six people, including a woman, to death by hanging for "collaborating" with Israel, authorities said.

A military court in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Monday sentenced six people, including a woman, to death by hanging for "collaborating" with Israel, authorities said. In total 14 people were sentenced for "collaborating with the occupation," with six sentenced to be hanged and the rest sentenced to hard labour, the interior ministry in Gaza said. The rulings came three weeks after eight people were killed when an alleged Israeli army cell in Gaza was uncovered on November 11, leading to a vicious fire fight. Hamas fired hundreds of rockets at Israel in response, with the Jewish state striking dozens of targets in Gaza before a November 13 ceasefire agreement. The six sentenced to death Monday were not directly related to the flareup, officials said. Iyad al-Bozum, the spokesman of the interior ministry in Gaza, told AFP they were linked "to a communications and eavesdropping device planted by the (Israeli) occupation". Six Hamas members were killed when the device apparently exploded after detection near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza in May. Among those sentenced was a woman living inside Israel, named only as Amal, who was sentenced in absentia and is alleged to have encouraged her nephew in Gaza to collaborate with Israeli intelligence, according to the interior ministry. Bozum hailed the rulings as a "clear message" to those who would cooperate with Israel. "Collaborators must realise the (Israeli) occupation will not be able to protect them," he told a news conference. The verdicts drew condemnation from Human Rights Watch. "Rushing to sentence people to death smacks of militia rule, not the rule of law," said Omar Shakir, the watchdog's director for Israel and the Palestinian territories. "The death penalty is a barbaric practice and always wrong, no matter the circumstance," he told AFP. It was not clear when the executions of those in custody would take place. According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, 28 executions have been carried out in Gaza since Hamas seized control of the coastal enclave in 2007 from rival faction Fatah. In May 2017, Hamas security forces invited journalists to attend the hanging in Gaza City of three men convicted over the assassination of a senior military commander of the Islamist movement. During the 2014 war with Israel, a firing squad from Hamas's armed wing killed six men accused of collaborating with the Jewish state. Hamas and its allies have fought three wars with Israel since 2008 and the Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade. Israel says the measure is necessary to isolate Hamas, though critics say they amount to collective punishment of the territory's two million residents.

Gaza court sentences 6 people to hang for 'collaborating' with Israel

More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails started a hunger strike on Monday&nbsp;Aprill 17, the Palestinian Prisoners Day, demanding better detention conditions. They request to be allowed&nbsp;more family visits, an&nbsp;end to to be put to both solitary confinement and&nbsp;the practice of detention without trial, and&nbsp;more access to healthcare and education.&nbsp;

One&nbsp;major issue&nbsp;facing&nbsp;Palestinian prisoners from Gaza and West Bank in jails located inside Israel&rsquo;s borders is that they don&#39;t get&nbsp;easy and regular access to their&nbsp;families. Due to security procedures, crossing the many checkpoints dividing Palestinian territories and Israel is not easy, or is&nbsp;refused altogether. At times it happens that family members who are willing to meet their relatives do not reach in time or are not allowed to cross, resulting in a senseless psychological stress both for them and the detainees. The human rights focused NGO Amnesty International recently issued a <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/04/israel-must-end-unlawful-and-cruel-policies-towards-palestinian-prisoners/" target="_blank">report </a>on this matter.

Shortly after the beginning of the hunger strike, thousands of Palestinian activists demonstrated in several cities to show their support to the inmates&rsquo; cause. The biggest solidarity demonstration was held in Ramallah, where some 2,000 people took to the street.

Palestinian inmates declared that the hunger strike won&rsquo;t end until the prisons&rsquo; management&nbsp;meets all their requests. Their protest is expected to involve more than 2,000 detainees.&nbsp;

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Palestinian political prisoners. (WION)
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The strike was called by&nbsp;Marwan Barghouti--a 58-year-old prominent member of Fatah&nbsp;who led the first and the second intifada and is currently serving five life sentences for murder.

Reuters reported that after the beginning of the strike, Barghouti was moved to another jail and held in solitary confinement. The New York Times informed that not only was he&nbsp;accused of&nbsp;leading&nbsp;the protest, he has also been accused of smuggling out a pamphlet which they decided to carry as an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/16/opinion/palestinian-hunger-strike-prisoners-call-for-justice.html?_r=0" target="_blank">opinion piece</a>. Barghouti&rsquo;s document explains his&nbsp;reasons behind the protest.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented scathingly on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, saying that&nbsp;&ldquo;calling Barghouti a &#39;political leader&#39; is like calling Assad a &#39;pediatrician&#39;. They are murderers and terrorists. We will never lose our sense of clarity because we are on the side of justice and they are on the side that is neither just nor moral&rdquo;.

The Israeli public security minister Gilad Erdan denied&nbsp;any allegation of mistreating&nbsp;prisoners, and declared that the hunger strike is &quot;prompted by internal Palestinian politics and therefore includes unreasonable demands.&rdquo;

Israel&rsquo;s foreign ministry went even further, stating that &quot;the Palestinian prisoners are not political prisoners. They are convicted terrorists and murderers. They were brought to justice and are treated properly under international law&rdquo;.

Under Israeli prison law, voluntarily refusing food is a punishable offence and a hunger strike is considered an illegal action. The Israeli outlet&nbsp;Haaretz published a statement&nbsp;by the country&rsquo;s prison service, saying: &ldquo;The Israel Prison Service has a great deal of experience in coping with hunger strikes, and it has the ways and the means to deal with them. It should be noted that the Prison Service does not conduct negotiations with prisoners.&rdquo;

The detainees&rsquo; political action comes at a critical time for Israel, which will witness the 50th anniversary of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip occupation in June. The&nbsp;Palestinian authority&nbsp;has said&nbsp;that&nbsp;the hunger strike is uniting prisoners from the two rival factions of Fatah and Hamas, which is currently governing the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian President and Hamas leader Mahmoud Abbas declared that his organisation has all the intention to support the prisoner&rsquo;s struggle, which is among their top priorities.

The inmates&rsquo; unity is most likely due to the high consideration&nbsp;Barghouti enjoys among the Palestinian population. Many see him as capable of dethroning the 82-year-old Mahmoud Abbas and running as the next presidential candidate. This strike could definitely help Barghouti to strengthen his position in order to gather consensus for the next election and end the Hamas-led government.

Given all the implications, the strike seems destined to last long.

(WION)

More than 1,000 inmates are on the strike called by Marwan Barghouti?who is serving 5 life sentences for murder?demanding better conditions

More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails started a hunger strike on Monday Aprill 17, the Palestinian Prisoners Day, demanding better detention conditions. They request to be allowed more family visits, an end to to be put to both solitary confinement and the practice of detention without trial, and more access to healthcare and education. One major issue facing Palestinian prisoners from Gaza and West Bank in jails located inside Israel’s borders is that they don't get easy and regular access to their families. Due to security procedures, crossing the many checkpoints dividing Palestinian territories and Israel is not easy, or is refused altogether. At times it happens that family members who are willing to meet their relatives do not reach in time or are not allowed to cross, resulting in a senseless psychological stress both for them and the detainees. The human rights focused NGO Amnesty International recently issued a report on this matter. Shortly after the beginning of the hunger strike, thousands of Palestinian activists demonstrated in several cities to show their support to the inmates’ cause. The biggest solidarity demonstration was held in Ramallah, where some 2,000 people took to the street. Palestinian inmates declared that the hunger strike won’t end until the prisons’ management meets all their requests. Their protest is expected to involve more than 2,000 detainees. Palestinian political prisoners. (WION) × The strike was called by Marwan Barghouti--a 58-year-old prominent member of Fatah who led the first and the second intifada and is currently serving five life sentences for murder. Reuters reported that after the beginning of the strike, Barghouti was moved to another jail and held in solitary confinement. The New York Times informed that not only was he accused of leading the protest, he has also been accused of smuggling out a pamphlet which they decided to carry as an opinion piece. Barghouti’s document explains his reasons behind the protest. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented scathingly on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, saying that “calling Barghouti a 'political leader' is like calling Assad a 'pediatrician'. They are murderers and terrorists. We will never lose our sense of clarity because we are on the side of justice and they are on the side that is neither just nor moral”. The Israeli public security minister Gilad Erdan denied any allegation of mistreating prisoners, and declared that the hunger strike is "prompted by internal Palestinian politics and therefore includes unreasonable demands.” Israel’s foreign ministry went even further, stating that "the Palestinian prisoners are not political prisoners. They are convicted terrorists and murderers. They were brought to justice and are treated properly under international law”. Under Israeli prison law, voluntarily refusing food is a punishable offence and a hunger strike is considered an illegal action. The Israeli outlet Haaretz published a statement by the country’s prison service, saying: “The Israel Prison Service has a great deal of experience in coping with hunger strikes, and it has the ways and the means to deal with them. It should be noted that the Prison Service does not conduct negotiations with prisoners.” The detainees’ political action comes at a critical time for Israel, which will witness the 50th anniversary of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip occupation in June. The Palestinian authority has said that the hunger strike is uniting prisoners from the two rival factions of Fatah and Hamas, which is currently governing the Gaza Strip. Palestinian President and Hamas leader Mahmoud Abbas declared that his organisation has all the intention to support the prisoner’s struggle, which is among their top priorities. The inmates’ unity is most likely due to the high consideration Barghouti enjoys among the Palestinian population. Many see him as capable of dethroning the 82-year-old Mahmoud Abbas and running as the next presidential candidate. This strike could definitely help Barghouti to strengthen his position in order to gather consensus for the next election and end the Hamas-led government. Given all the implications, the strike seems destined to last long. (WION)

Palestinians in Israeli jails start hunger strike