Group: Israel May Built 73,000 New Settlement Homes
The Israeli group Peace Now says Israeli authorities are considering plans for 73,000 new housing units in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that if all of the units are built, it would mean a 100 percent increase in the total number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Hagit Ofran of Peace Now: “We believe that if such plans are going to be implemented, this could really prevent a two-state solution and actually any solution to our conflict. And this is why we call the new government not to approve any new construction anywhere in the West Bank whatsoever.”
Donors Pledge $5.2 Billion at Gaza Reconstruction Conference
International donors pledged $5.2 billion Monday at a conference to rebuild the devastated Gaza Strip, but not all of the money will go to Gaza. The Obama administration offered up $900 million, but only $300 million is directed for humanitarian relief for the people of Gaza. The rest of the money will go to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Hamas spokesperson Mushir al-Masri criticized the international community for not directing more of the money to rebuild Gaza.
Mushir al-Masri: "We would like to stress that the rebuilding of Gaza should not be politicized, and this cause needs to be placed in its correct context—the welfare and humanitarian one. What happened in this conference was directing the rebuilding funds to the wrong people. But we would like to stress that what is most important is opening the crossings and ending the siege that has been placed on the Gaza Strip.”
UN Commissioner Urges US to Attend Racism Conference
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, has criticized the United States, Canada and Israel for threatening to boycott next month’s World Conference Against Racism conference in Geneva.
Navanethem Pillay: “Narrow, parochial interests and reflexive partisanship must be cast aside in the interest of a greater common good. Let me underscore that a failure to do so may reverberate negatively on the full spectrum of human rights work and mechanisms for years to come. We need to prevent the acrimony of the past from encumbering the fight against intolerance, which is—and I’m sure we all agree—both of urgent concern and in the best interest of everyone.”
The Obama administration said the US won’t attend unless the conference’s final document drops all references to Israel and reparations for slavery.
Supreme Court Rejects Appeals in Agent Orange Cases
The Supreme Court has rejected appeals in three separate cases by American and Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange who were trying to sue Monsanto, Dow Chemical and other companies that made the toxic chemical defoliant used in the Vietnam War. Agent Orange has been linked to cancer, diabetes and birth defects among Vietnamese soldiers and civilians and American veterans.
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