World

Blinken discusses Palestinian Authority reform with Mahmoud Abbas

In a further step to strengthen bilateral relations, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the need for reform in the Palestinian Authority in a phone call on Monday with President Mahmoud Abbas, the State Department said.

President Joe Biden has sought to repair ties weakened when his predecessor, President Donald Trump, slashed aid to Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza and closed a US consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem.

The Biden administration has restored aid and pledged to reopen the consulate over Israeli objections, while urging Abbas, 86, to change several policies including payments his self-rule authority makes to Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Briefing reporters on Monday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price did not mention the prisoner stipends but said Blinken and Abbas discussed “the need for reform within the Palestinian Authority.”

The two also discussed “the need to improve quality of life for the Palestinian people in tangible ways,” Price said.

In a readout of the phone call, Abbas' office did not mention any discussion of reform within the authority, which exercises limited self-rule in West Bank territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

Abbas told Blinken that Israel must “stop the abuse of prisoners and … the withholding of taxes.” Israel in 2018 began deducting the value of the prisoner stipends from taxes it collects on the Palestinian Authority's behalf and transfers to it monthly.

Israel and the US say the stipends, dispersed monthly to prisoners, their relatives and the families of Palestinians killed for allegedly carrying out attacks, encourage further violence.

The Palestinians consider them a form of welfare for inmates and families they regard as national heroes.

Palestinian-American gets 2 life terms for Israeli teen’s murder

Israel probes death of 80-year-old Palestinian-American who was detained

World

Israel has not met requirements to join Visa Waiver Program: US

Israel has not met eligibility requirements to join the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP), the US State Department said on Wednesday, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected his country to join soon.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Israel is yet to grant free passage for Palestinian-Americans at its airports and into the occupied West Bank, which Washington says is required for Israel to meet the condition of reciprocity to join the program, which would allow Israelis visa-free access to the United States.

Israel “still has significant work to complete on a short timeline to meet all program requirements” by the end of the fiscal year on September 30, deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said by email.

The apparent discord came as tensions spiked between the allies over a contested Israeli judicial overhaul plan.

Netanyahu said earlier on Wednesday that new legislation meant Israel would join in September, and that Israel would in the coming months address outstanding requirements, which it did not detail.
It was unclear if Israel planned to change its approach to Palestinian-Americans.

“Participation in the VWP requires that Israel provide equal treatment and entry rights to all US citizens and nationals, at Israel’s ports of entries and checkpoints, just as the United States would grant such visa-free travel privileges to Israeli citizens,” said the State Department's Patel.

“This includes Palestinian-Americans, including those on the Palestinian Authority population registry.”

Before Netanyahu's announcement, his national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, said on Twitter that parliament was due to ratify the last of four bills “that will advance us toward getting the US visa waiver for the citizens of Israel.”

That appeared to refer to the Knesset plenum’s approval in final readings on Wednesday of a law setting up a new national immigration database linked with airline passenger manifests.

Washington had previously called for greater access to databases in Israel about its travelers to the United States.

White House: US doesn’t believe civil war will break out in Israel

Israel’s President Herzog urges immediate halt to judicial overhaul

World

Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan appointed as UAE VP

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has appointed Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the country’s vice president and Minister of Presidential Court, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Wednesday.

Sheikh Mansour was appointed alongside current VP Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, according to WAM.

World

Top US general warns of high ammo use in event of major war

America’s top military officer warned Wednesday that war between the United States and another major power would see “off the charts” munitions consumption and said there is work to be done to ensure the country is prepared.

Ukraine and Russia have fired huge amounts of artillery ammunition since Moscow invaded its neighbor in February 2022, sparking concerns about the amount the United States — which has supplied large amounts of shells to Kyiv — has on hand.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

A “big lesson learned comes out of Ukraine, which is the incredible consumption rates of conventional munitions in what really is a limited regional war,” General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee.

“If there was a war on the Korean peninsula or a great power war between United States and Russia, United States and China, those consumption rates would be off the charts,” he said.

“We’ve got a ways to go to make sure our… stockpiles are prepared for the real contingencies.”

Milley’s remarks came a day after Undersecretary of the Army Gabe Camarillo said the United States aims to greatly expand the production of artillery shells.

“We’re… investing in production capacity — $1.45 billion to expand the 155 mm artillery production from 14,000 a month to over 24,000 later this year, which includes a sixfold increase in production capacity by FY28 to over 85,000 units per month,” he said at an Association of the United States Army symposium.

The country is also seeking to increase production of Javelin launchers and missiles as well as ammunition for HIMARS precision rocket launchers — equipment that has played a key role in Ukraine’s fight against Russian troops, Camarillo said.