Connect with us

World

UK, Australia, Canada Recognise Palestinian State, US, Israel Kick

Published

on

Britain, Australia, and Canada have recognised a Palestinian State in a seismic shift in decades of Western foreign policy, triggering swift Israeli anger.

Portugal was also to recognise Palestinian statehood later Sunday, as Israel came under huge international pressure over the war in Gaza triggered almost two years ago by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

“Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a message on X.

Britain and Canada became the first G7 countries to take the step, with France and other nations expected to follow at the annual UN General Assembly, which opens Monday in New York.

“Canada recognises the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X.

It is a watershed moment for Palestinians and their decades-long ambitions for statehood, with the most powerful Western nations having long argued it should only come as part of a negotiated peace deal with Israel.

But the move puts those countries at odds with the United States and Israel, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacting angrily and vowing to oppose it at the UN talks.

Calls for a Palestinian state “would endanger our existence and serve as an absurd reward for terrorism,” Netanyahu said Sunday.

A growing number of longtime allies have shifted positions, as Israel has intensified its Gaza offensive, vowing to eliminate the Hamas Palestinian militants.

The Gaza Strip has suffered vast destruction, a spiraling death toll, and a lack of food that has sparked a major humanitarian crisis since the start of the conflict, which has drawn an international outcry.

The UK government has come under increasing public pressure to act, with thousands rallying every month on the streets. A poll released by YouGov on Friday showed two-thirds of young Britons aged 18 to 25 supported Palestinian statehood.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy acknowledged at the UN in July that “Britain bears a special burden of responsibility to support the two-state solution”.

Over a century ago, the UK was pivotal in laying the groundwork for the creation of the state of Israel through the 1917 Balfour Declaration.

Three-quarters of UN members already recognise Palestinian statehood, with over 140 of the 193 having taken the step.

Starmer said in July that his Labour government intended to recognise a Palestinian State unless Israel took “substantive” steps, including reaching a ceasefire in Gaza, getting more aid into the territory, and confirming it would not annex the West Bank.

Starmer has also repeatedly called on Hamas to release the remaining hostages they captured in the 2023 attack, and is expected to set out new sanctions on the Palestinian militants.

Lammy told the BBC on Sunday that the Palestinian Authority — the civilian body that governs in areas of the West Bank — had been calling for the move for some time, “and I think a lot of that is wrapped up in hope”.

“Will this feed children? No, it won’t, that’s down to humanitarian aid. Will this free hostages? That must be down to a ceasefire,” he said.

But Lammy said it was an attempt to “hold out for” a two-state solution.

Palestinian foreign minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin told AFP last week: “Recognition is not symbolic.”

“It sends a very clear message to the Israelis on their illusions about continuing their occupation forever,” she added.

Hamas’s 2023 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 65,208 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

Portugal said that it would also formally declare its recognition in New York on Sunday.

“By acting now, as the Portuguese government has decided, we’re keeping alive the possibility of having two states,” Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said.

– AFP –

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

World

Trump Declares Trade War on Nations Imposing Digital Tax on US Tech Firms

Published

on

By

U.S. President, Donald Trump, has threatened to impose a 100 per cent tariff on imports from any country that introduces a digital services tax (DST) targeting American technology companies.

In a statement posted on his Truth Social platform on Friday, Trump warned that countries introducing or maintaining digital services taxes on U.S. tech firms would face immediate retaliatory tariffs on all goods exported to the United States.

“Any country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any Goods sent to the United States of America,” Trump declared, insisting that digital services taxes unfairly single out American businesses and undermine U.S. economic interests.

The latest warning is aimed primarily at several European countries that have adopted or are considering digital services taxes on multinational technology companies such as Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft.

Washington has long argued that such taxes disproportionately target U.S.-based firms while discriminating against American innovation.

Trump also asserted that the proposed 100 per cent tariff would supersede existing and future trade agreements, signalling a more confrontational trade policy if countries proceed with taxing revenues generated by U.S. technology giants within their borders.

France became the first major economy to introduce a digital services tax in 2019, prompting repeated threats of retaliatory tariffs from Washington.

Other countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Canada, have either implemented or proposed similar measures while negotiations continue under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to establish a global framework for taxing multinational corporations.

The OECD’s two-pillar international tax agreement was designed to reduce unilateral digital taxes by allocating a greater share of multinational profits to countries where earnings are earned while establishing a global minimum corporate tax.

Continue Reading

World

US Govt Releases Names of Terrorism Financiers Amid Growing Insecurity

Published

on

By

A fresh spotlight was cast on terrorism financing and security threats on Tuesday as the United States sanctioned a Lagos-based alleged ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) financier.

This came as troops neutralised suspected ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) operatives and the Federal Government deepened counterterrorism cooperation with international partners.

The United States imposed sanctions on Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad and three bureaux de change linked to him over accusations of facilitating funds for the terrorist group.

The sanctions, announced under Executive Order 13224, form part of a broader action targeting ISIS financial networks operating across Europe, the Middle East and West Africa.

Muhammad, 35, also known as Adamu Mukhtar and Muhammad Mukhtar, was identified as a key facilitator for ISIS-West Africa. He was listed with an address in Agege, Lagos State.

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Muhammad allegedly served as a conduit for ISIS financing through bureaux de change operating in Lagos and Kano states.

The three businesses sanctioned alongside him are Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited and Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited, both based in Lagos State, as well as Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited in Kano State.

The U.S. authorities said the sanctions targeted a network spanning France, Turkiye, Syria and Nigeria that allegedly supports ISIS operations, finances attacks and assists the group’s affiliates.

According to OFAC, the network includes a France-based facilitator accused of providing information on explosives to ISIS supporters and a Syria-based operator who allegedly used cryptocurrency to transfer funds to ISIS associates in several countries, including the United States.

Announcing the sanctions, U.S. State Department spokesperson Thomas “Tommy” Pigott said the measures were aimed at disrupting the terrorist group’s financial operations worldwide.

“Under the leadership of President Trump, the United States is dismantling ISIS’s ability to finance terrorism around the world.

“We are cutting off the financial lifelines that enable ISIS to fund attacks, support its regional affiliates, and threaten civilians, including religious minorities,” Pigott said.

He added that the actions reflected sustained U.S. efforts to weaken ISIS, which he said had increasingly decentralised its operations and relied on financial intermediaries to sustain its global network.

The U.S. government also reaffirmed its security partnership with Nigeria, citing Abuja’s role in the May 16, 2026, operation that resulted in the killing of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as the second-highest-ranking ISIS official.

Washington pledged to continue deploying diplomatic and legal measures against ISIS and its supporters.

“We will continue to use every diplomatic and legal tool available to hold ISIS and its supporters accountable wherever they operate and however they move money.

“We remain fully committed to protecting American lives, defending religious minorities, and working with international partners to eliminate the threat that ISIS poses to global peace and security,” the Department said.

The sanctioned individuals and entities have been added to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals list, a designation that freezes any assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits American individuals and organisations from conducting transactions with them.

ISIS was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organisation in 2004 and was later classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the United States in the same year.

The Guardian

Continue Reading

World

US Will Not ‘Rush into a Deal’ with Iran, Trump Declares

Published

on

By

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has told US negotiators “not to rush into a deal” with Iran, amid anticipation — and mounting criticism — of an agreement to end the war in the Middle East.

“The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.

“The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”

The United States has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports since April 13 after Tehran virtually halted traffic through the economically vital Strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began February 28.

“Both sides must take their time and get it right,” Trump wrote in the same Truth Social post, while slamming the 2015 nuclear deal that former president Barack Obama agreed with Iran.

“Our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one. They must understand, however, that they cannot develop or procure a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb,” Trump wrote.

While the White House has not released aspects of the deal, Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Saturday on state television that the two sides were nearing a “a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement composed of 14 clauses,” in “a trend toward rapprochement.”

Several voices, notably among Republican lawmakers close to Trump, expressed fears of an agreement favorable to Iran as supposed aspects of the deal that began to leak.

According to news outlet Axios, a possible agreement would extend the current ceasefire by 60 days, during which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened, Iran would freely sell oil, and negotiations would be held on Iran’s nuclear program.

The top Republican senator overseeing defense policy, Roger Wicker, said that agreeing to a “rumored 60-day ceasefire” with Iran would mean, “everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!”

Fellow Republican senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham also voiced opposition to Iran soon gaining benefits such as the ability to sell its oil freely.

“If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’ — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,” Cruz, a Republican from Texas, wrote on X.

Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina, said the deal “doesn’t make sense to me.”

“We were told about 11 weeks ago by (Secretary of Defense Pete) Hegseth and the Department of Defense that they had obliterated Iran’s defenses, and it was just a matter of time before we had the nuclear material. Now we’re talking about a posture where we may accept the nuclear material remaining in Iran. How does that make sense at all?” Tillis said on CNN’s “State of the Union” morning program.

AFP

Continue Reading

Trending