The Latest: Israel PM praises Pence speech, approach to Iran
The Latest on Vice President Mike Pence's visit to Israel (all times local):
9:15 p.m.
Israel's prime minister is praising U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's speech to the Knesset as a "powerful expression of the enduring bond between our two countries," and notes their shared work to prevent Iran from destabilizing the region.
Benjamin Netanyahu says the two leaders discussed "common challenges and common opportunities" in the Middle East, including Iran. He says the Trump administration is "on the right side of history" by opposing the Iran nuclear deal.
Netanyahu is urging world leaders to seize the opportunity created by Trump to "correct the failings" of the deal.
Pence says both countries recognize the "rise of the common threat in Iran" and look forward to a broader reconciliation across the Middle East.
———
8:15 p.m.
The Foreign Press Association in Israel is speaking out against an Israeli demand to strip-search a Finnish journalist covering the visit by Vice President Mike Pence.
The woman says she was taken behind a curtain on Monday at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, where she says she was questioned, patted down, and then asked to remove her bra for an inspection. She says she refused and was barred from covering the event.
The woman, who was born and raised in Finland, believes she was singled out because her father is Palestinian.
The FPA, which represents some 400 journalists working for international media in Israel and the Palestinian territories, accused Israel of ethnic profiling. It calls the Israeli practice of strip-searching journalists a "mark of shame" aimed at intimidating reporters.
———
6:05 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence says the "door's open" for the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table with Israel on a peace agreement.
Pence spoke to The Associated Press in an interview following his address to the Knesset on Monday. He says the U.S. is hopeful that the Palestinian Authority "will be encouraged to return to the table."
Palestinian leaders have assailed the U.S. for its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, saying it is no longer impartial. They have rejected the U.S. role in future peace talks.
Pence says President Donald Trump made clear in December that the U.S. would respect "the status quo" with regard to holy sites and that boundaries in the Holy Land would be subject to negotiations.
———
4:30 p.m.
The Palestinians have issued an angry reaction to Vice President Mike Pence's speech to the Israeli parliament, saying it was a "gift to extremists."
Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said Pence's speech on Monday "has proven that the U.S. administration is part of the problem rather than the solution."
Pence repeated the Trump administration's controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and said the American Embassy will be moved to the city next year, earlier than previously expected.
The U.S. decision upended decades of American policy, and the stance of the international community, that the fate of Jerusalem be settled through negotiations.
The Palestinians claim Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital and accuse the U.S. of siding with Israel on the most sensitive issue in their conflict.
———
3:20 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence is calling the Iranian nuclear deal a "disaster" and says the Trump administration will no longer certify it.
Instead, Pence told the Israeli parliament on Monday that the administration is "committed to enact effective and lasting restraints on Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs."
Pence has received a warm welcome in Israel, which has praised the American decision last month to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is among the fiercest opponents to the nuclear accord the Obama administration reached with Iran, saying it could pave a path for the Islamic Republic acquiring a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel's existence.
Pence says that the deal is not fixed and that in the coming months, the United States will "withdraw from the deal."
2 opmerkingen:
A room full of fascists............https://www.rt.com/news/416641-pence-speech-knesset-brawl/
"Volgens Zijlstra mag de vluchtelingenorganisatie hierdoor niet in acute geldproblemen komen. "Als het geld daar op is krijgen we een situatie dat mensen op de loop gaan, en de kans is vrij groot dat ze dan deze kant uit komen", zei hij. "Dit is dus ook in ons eigen belang, wil ik maar tegen de PVV zeggen." https://nos.nl/artikel/2213423-zijlstra-is-aanvallen-over-palestijnen-op-zijn-collega-kaag-zat.html
Het belang van financiële hulp aan de Palestijnen is er volgens Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Halbe Zijlstra dus primair om er voor te zorgen "dat ze niet op de loop gaan" en dat ze niet "deze kant uit komen".
Een reactie posten