Israel-US

The US and Israel kick up a fake storm over Unesco

At first glance, the decision by the Trump administration to quit the United Nation’s cultural agency seems strange. Why penalise a body that promotes clean water, literacy, heritage preservation and women’s rights? Washington’s claim that the Unesco is biased against Israel obscures the real crimes the agency has committed in US eyes.

Inside the US fight to fix Israel’s global standing

The Trump administration is using unprecedented threats and financial "blackmail" against the United Nations and its agencies to end their focus on human rights abuses by Israel, according to analysts and Palestinian leaders. They accuse the US of leading the campaign of intimidation to forcibly rehabilitate Israel's international standing.

Israel tells Palestinians: ‘Al-Aqsa is no longer yours’

Palestinian leaders have denounced new construction projects they say will further tighten Israel's grip on occupied East Jerusalem and its holy places, including the incendiary site of Al-Aqsa mosque. The most elaborate plan is for a cable car intended to bring thousands of visitors an hour to the Western Wall and its Jewish prayer plaza, immediately below the compound containing Al-Aqsa.