OIC rights’ body rejects Trump’s Middle East peace plan

OIC rights’ body rejects Trump’s Middle East peace plan
Trump's plan has been rejected by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas, which rules Gaza. (AFP)
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Updated 30 January 2020

OIC rights’ body rejects Trump’s Middle East peace plan

OIC rights’ body rejects Trump’s Middle East peace plan
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it the "deal of the century."

JEDDAH: A human rights body at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has rejected US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan.

His plan includes a Palestinian state and the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over West Bank settlements. The US leader said Jerusalem would remain Israel’s “undivided” capital, but that the Palestinian capital would “include areas of East Jerusalem.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it the "deal of the century."

Trump's plan has been rejected by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas, which rules Gaza.

The OIC’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) said that a peace initiative would only succeed when it followed the “inalienable right to self-determination” of Palestinians guaranteed by international law and UN resolutions. Any peace process needed to have the full involvement of the Palestinians, who were the aggrieved party, it added.

It reiterated its view that any unilateral act to alter the demographic, geographic and historical status of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) not only contravened international law including the Fourth Geneva Convention, it would go against against several UN Security Council, General Assembly and Human Rights Council Resolutions, which affirmed the status of Al-Quds as an occupied territory under Israel since 1967.

The commission welcomed statements from the UN and the OIC, giving its full support to a two- state solution that must help Palestinians to establish their own independent, viable and contiguous state in pre-1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital including their “unquestionable right” to return to their homes and property, as decided in UN resolutions and guaranteed by international law.
 


Israel says it has established diplomatic ties with Bhutan

Updated 16 min 16 sec ago

Israel says it has established diplomatic ties with Bhutan

Israel says it has established diplomatic ties with Bhutan
  • Bhutan has full diplomatic ties with only 53 countries, Israel’s foreign ministry said
  • The agreement follows several years of secret contacts between Israel and Bhutan with the aim of establishing relations

TEL AVIV: Israel established diplomatic relations on Saturday with Bhutan, a majority-Buddhist nation neighboring India, the Israeli foreign ministry said.
Israel’s new relations with the relatively-isolated Himalayan nation did not appear to be related to its budding ties under US-sponsored accords with Arab and Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa.
The agreement follows several years of secret contacts between Israel and Bhutan with the aim of establishing relations, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“Israel’s circle of recognition is growing and expanding. The establishment of relations between us and the Kingdom of Bhutan will serve as another milestone in deepening Israel’s ties in Asia,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said.
Bhutan has full diplomatic ties with only 53 countries, Israel’s foreign ministry said.
A signing ceremony was held between the Israeli and Bhutanese ambassadors to India on Saturday, the foreign ministry said. The countries agreed to formulate a joint work plan in the areas of water management, agriculture, health care and other areas, it added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the agreement, adding: “We are in contact with other countries that want to join and establish relations with us.”
The move comes two days after Israel and Morocco agreed to normalize ties in a deal brokered with US help, making it the fourth Arab country — after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan — to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months.