Displaying items by tag: Palestine

Leaders of over fifty countries condemned US president Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and called on the world to respond by recognising East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine at an Istanbul summit. They added, ‘We invite the Trump administration to reconsider its unlawful decision that might trigger chaos in the region, and to rescind its mistaken step’. Turkish President Erdogan also said, ‘It is out of the question for a biased US to mediate between Israel and Palestine; that period is over. We need to discuss who will be a mediator from now on.’ There have been riots and protests by Palestinians ever since Trump’s decision. On 14 December undercover police officers arrested rioters outside Ramallah. See

Prime Minister Theresa May hosted her Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration. It was a British pledge that paved the way for Israel's creation by supporting a Jewish national home in Palestine. Israel and Jewish communities view the pledge as momentous, while Palestinians regard it as an historical injustice. The UK has rejected calls to apologise for their actions and support of Israel as a nation and has said it is proud of its role. Mr Netanyahu had dinner with Mrs May and the shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a long-time critic of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians, declined an invitation to attend. The Balfour Declaration was meant to bring peace between two peoples, but 100 years later there is still no peace.

Palestinian women are scoring a sweet victory against gender discrimination in the West Bank by breaking with tradition and working alongside men at the largest pastry factory in Nablus. They are ignoring prejudices and competing with men for jobs that traditionally belonged to men. However the women only earn half of the amount of the men, even though they have proved to be more competent than the men. Now the factory, supported by women’s rights organisations, plan to provide pastry courses for other women who want to work.