Middle East - Israel - US Relations: Netanyahu’s annexation plan threatens Palestinian, Israeli economies already struggling after Covid-19

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to begin annexing parts of the West Bank as soon as July 1 threatens to have severe repercussions on both the Palestinian and Israeli economies, which are already struggling from the effects of a global pandemic.

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Netanyahu’s annexation plan threatens Palestinian, Israeli economies already struggling after Covid-19

Britain: Deputy Prime Minister Clegg:" time to back Palestine state

Nick Clegg has called on David Cameron to recognise a Palestinian state in response to a new hard-line stance from Israel.

The Deputy Prime Minister said Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to rule out a two-state solution during his successful election campaign was "extremely worrying".

He suggested that unless the Israeli leader backed down the UK should follow through on an indicative vote by MPs last October and formally recognize Palestine

Asked about Mr Cameron's position, Mr Clegg replied: "He needs to ask himself, the Conservatives need to ask themselves, what on earth is the consistency with the long held Conservative Party view, Labour Party view, Liberal Democrat Party view, and the international view reflected by the comments from the White House over the last 24 hours that a two state solution remains the only viable route for peace and security for the people of Israel and the people of the region as a whole?

MPs backed recognizing Palestine by a margin of 274 to 12 in October.

Read more: Clegg: time to back palestine state | Daily Mail Online

Middle East - srael: In pictures: Bittersweet election win for Arab Israelis

Celebrations at the Joint List’s headquarters over becoming the third-largest political force in Israel after Tuesday’s elections were muted by concern over the re-election of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the prospect of business as usual.

By winning 14 seats in the new parliament, the Joint List alliance of three Arab-Israeli parties and Hadash (the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality), a Jewish-Arab leftist party, has nevertheless achieved its goal of becoming a significant political force in the country.

"It's the end of the dream for Netanyahu and [Foreign Minister Avigdor] Lieberman of an Israel without Arabs. With the results from this evening we are now clearly present on the political map of the country," Imad Abu Ahmad, an architect and a Hadash activist, told FRANCE 24 in the great hall of Abu Maher in Nazareth.

The Joint List's new political weight in the 120-seat Knesset should allow this formerly marginalised community to advance its two main goals: to establish a real equality between Jewish and Arab citizens in Israel and the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank.

Read more: Middle East - In pictures: Bittersweet election win for Arab Israelis - France 24