UK backs Palestinian statehood as prime ministers meet in London

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Updated 29 April 2025
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UK backs Palestinian statehood as prime ministers meet in London

UK backs Palestinian statehood as prime ministers meet in London
  • Keir Starmer passes on to Mohammed Mustafa his ‘sincere condolences for the appalling loss of life in Gaza’ since 2023
  • UK announces $135 million aid package for Palestinians in support of humanitarian relief, economic development and reforms

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met his Palestinian counterpart, Mohammed Mustafa, in London on Monday as part of the UK government’s efforts to advance the cause of Palestinian statehood.

During their meeting, Starmer expressed his “sincere condolences for the appalling loss of life in Gaza,” where Israeli military actions since late 2023 has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians.

He said the UK will continue to press for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, and oppose the resumption of war in Gaza following the collapse of a previous truce in mid-March.

Mustafa, the first Palestinian Authority leader to visit Downing Street since 2021, also met Foreign Secretary David Lammy. They signed a memorandum of understanding “enshrining their commitment to advancing Palestinian statehood as part of a two-state solution,” the British Foreign Office said. The document confirmed the view that the PA is the “only legitimate governing entity” in the occupied Palestinian territories, which include Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

I reaffirm the UK’s commitment to recognizing a Palestinian state as a contribution to that process

Foreign Secretary David Lammy

It also stresses the need to reunify Gaza and the West Bank under the authority of the Ramallah-based PA, which is in turn required to commit to political and financial reforms.

Additionally, the UK announced a £101 million ($135 million) aid package for Palestinians to support humanitarian relief operations, economic development and reforms.

Lammy said Mustafa’s visit “marks a significant step in strengthening our relationship with the Palestinian Authority, a key partner for peace in the Middle East, at a critical moment.

“We will not give up on the two-state solution, with a Palestinian state and Israel living side-by-side in peace, dignity and security. I reaffirm the UK’s commitment to recognizing a Palestinian state as a contribution to that process.”

Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and launched a deadly attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, will have “no role” in the future of the Palestinian coastal enclave, he added.

The Foreign Office said: “Hamas must immediately release the (Israeli) hostages and relinquish control of Gaza,” and added that it will work with the PA on a joint plan for the future of Gaza, building on initiatives led by Arab countries.

France and Saudi Arabia will co-chair a meeting at the UN in June to garner support for recognition of Palestinian statehood. British MPs from the ruling Labour Party recently urged the Foreign Office to officially recognize a Palestinian state, and said the French-Saudi initiative presents an opportunity for the UK.

The Israeli government remains firm in its opposition to any recognition of a Palestinian state, and in June 2024 formalized this position with a parliamentary resolution. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government has taken steps to weaken the Western-supported PA, including the withholding of millions of dollars of Palestinian taxes collected by Israel on behalf of the authority.

Netanyahu, who rejects any role for the PA in the future of Gaza, criticized French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan for the Palestinian statehood conference. Of 193 UN members, 147 have officially recognized Palestinian statehood, including Spain, Ireland and Norway. France, Canada, the UK, Italy and Germany are among those yet to do so.

Mohammad Shtayyeh, a former prime minister, was the last Palestinian Prime Minister to visit the UK, when he traveled to the Scottish city of Glasgow in 2021 to participate in the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26.


Bangladesh consensus commission fails to find agreement

Muhammad Yunus, interim head of the Bangladesh government, attends the 55th annual WEF meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Muhammad Yunus, interim head of the Bangladesh government, attends the 55th annual WEF meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Updated 8 sec ago
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Bangladesh consensus commission fails to find agreement

Muhammad Yunus, interim head of the Bangladesh government, attends the 55th annual WEF meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
  • Contentious issues include whether a prime minister can serve more than two terms, and the process for selecting the president

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s National Consensus Commission, tasked by the caretaker government to lead critical democratic reforms after a mass uprising last year, said Monday that political parties had failed to reach agreement.
The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by a student-led revolt in August 2024, ending her iron-fisted rule of 15 years.
Muhammad Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who is leading the caretaker government as its chief adviser until elections are held, has previously said he inherited a “completely broken down” system of public administration.
Yunus has said it required a comprehensive overhaul to prevent a future return to authoritarian rule. He set up six commissions to do that work, overseen by the Consensus Commission, which he heads.
Ali Riaz, the commission’s vice president, said that despite marathon efforts they had not reached a deal.
“It wasn’t possible to reach a consensus on several significant constitutional issues,” Riaz told reporters in Dhaka, saying talks stretched over 45 sessions.
“We have been discussing 166 recommendations with 38 political parties and alliances.”
Riaz, a political science professor at Illinois State University, said the teams would not give up.
“We are going to begin a second round of talks,” he said, adding that the country’s statistics bureau would “conduct a household survey to gauge public opinion.” The commission plans to include 46,000 families in the survey.
Contentious issues include whether a prime minister can serve more than two terms, and the process for selecting the president.
The procedure for appointing the chief of the interim government, and the duration of its tenure, has also divided parties, Riaz said.
Parties also debated recommendations to change the terms of the constitution from “secularism” to “pluralism.”
Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority nation, with Hindus accounting for less than a tenth of the population.
“Although most parties rejected the idea of pluralism, they recommended incorporating some form of protection for minorities,” he said.
Yunus warned on Saturday that political power struggles risked jeopardizing gains that have been made, carrying out two days of talks with more than 20 political party leaders.
Hasina’s rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
Her government was also accused of politicizing courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections to dismantle democratic checks on its power.
Yunus has said polls could be held as early as December but that holding them later — with the deadline of June 2026 — would give the government more time for reform.
On Saturday, Yunus met with the key Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), seen as the election front-runners, who are pushing hard for polls to be held by December.
The military insisted at a press conference on Monday that there was no division with Yunus.
It was the first address to the media since army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman gave an address to officers on May 21.
He said that elections should be held by December, aligning with BNP demands, according to Bangladeshi media and military sources.
“There is no rift between the government and the Bangladesh Army,” Lt. Col. Muhammad Shafiqul Islam told reporters.
“We share a cordial relationship and are working together for the sake of the country.”


India’s biggest Palestine art exhibition exposes life under Israeli occupation

“The Body Called Palestine” exhibition at Jawahar Bhawan, New Delhi, May 24, 2025. (AN photo)
“The Body Called Palestine” exhibition at Jawahar Bhawan, New Delhi, May 24, 2025. (AN photo)
Updated 26 May 2025
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India’s biggest Palestine art exhibition exposes life under Israeli occupation

“The Body Called Palestine” exhibition at Jawahar Bhawan, New Delhi, May 24, 2025. (AN photo)
  • 40 Palestinian artists contributed their work, including Sliman Mansour
  • ‘The Body Called Palestine’ focuses on themes of resistance, identity

NEW DELHI: From paintings and photographs to graffiti and posters, one of India’s biggest-ever showcases of Palestine-related art is now on view in central New Delhi, featuring works by Indian and Palestinian artists that highlight life under Israeli occupation.

“The Body Called Palestine” exhibition at Jawahar Bhawan — next to key government institutions —is a month-long show that will run until May 31.

Organized by the art collective Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust, it features 140 works focusing on themes of resistance, identity and solidarity with Palestine. Some 40 of the contributing artists are Palestinians, 30 are Indians, and others come from places such as the US, Poland, Egypt and Sweden.

“‘The Body Called Palestine’” is the largest-ever exhibition in India on Palestine,” Amit Mukhopadhyay, the art historian who curated the show, told Arab News.

“(It is) the largest in terms of size, in terms of the number of works, in terms of the number of artists.”

Among the displayed works is “Searching for Life” by Sliman Mansour, a leading figure among contemporary Palestinian artists. Painted in 2024, it shows three women carefully brushing through the rubble. They are surrounded by destruction and fire in the background — evoking the Gaza Strip, where in the past 19 months Israeli forces have killed tens of thousands of people and reduced much of the region’s cities to rubble.

“Searching for Life” — a 2024 painting by Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour features in “The Body Called Palestine” exhibition at Jawahar Bhawan, New Delhi, May 1-31, 2025. (Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust)


“The Wave,” by sculptor Abdul Rahman Katanani, is a 3-meter-high wave made from barbed wire, representing the Gaza Sea.

“Homes for The Disembodied,” an installation by Mary Tuma, shows five flowing black dresses made from one piece of chiffon — a memorial to the Palestinians displaced from Jerusalem who were unable to return to their homes before their death.

“Palestinian artists display the violence of life under occupation and subjugatory difference. The nostalgia and the desire to return to their homeland, the human emotions of alienation, loss, grief, anger, all are reflected in their artistic language and practice,” Mukhopadhyay says in his curator’s note for the exhibition.

“This expression and language of art may not be similar to any previously existing language system of the world.”

Many of the participating Palestinian artists were only able to submit their work digitally.

“Their houses and their residential areas and their villages are constantly being bombed ... It was impossible for them to send their physical works to us,” trust member Suhail Hashmi told Arab News.

It did not deter the organizers from displaying them. SAHMAT has prepared huge printouts to present them properly and include as many voices as possible.

“The world has to know, and people in India have to know, the great injustice that is being done to the Palestinian people — how barbaric this continuous, ongoing onslaught on unarmed people is,” Hashmi said.

“When we were fighting for our freedom, people all over the world supported our struggle. It is important for us to support anybody, anywhere in the world, fighting for freedom and the right to live peacefully. And the more people know what is going on, there will be at least some reaction.”

Vijendra Vij, an Indian artist who has contributed to the exhibition, based his work on the Palestinian poetry of Taha Muhammad Ali, Khaled Juma, Ghassan Zaqtan and others who have been translated into Hindi.

A painting by Indian artist Vijendra Vij features in “The Body Called Palestine” exhibition at Jawahar Bhawan, New Delhi, May 1-31, 2025. (Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust)



“When I read the poetry of all these poets, they recall the people, places and experience of left-behind homes, trees, fruits, flowers, the earth, the sea, the sky, colors and scents. Even after decades of hard work and attainment of comfort and professional success, the enduring connection to Palestine remains unbroken. That is behind the inspiration of (my) work,” he said.

The works have generally received emotional responses, with fear and anger followed by thoughtful observation.

“If you look at some of the works that are quite graphic, you see a bit of fear, you fear for yourself, and you also feel extremely despondent about how people are actually going through those situations,” said Saurabh Wasan, an art manager in Delhi.

“Exhibitions like this are very important and very much needed ... in whatever small way, we’re kind of keeping their voices going. Their voices are still being heard.”


Macron’s office downplays plane incident with wife

Macron’s office downplays plane incident with wife
Updated 26 May 2025
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Macron’s office downplays plane incident with wife

Macron’s office downplays plane incident with wife
  • Footage shot by the Associated Press news agency in Hanoi circulated rapidly online

HANOI: French President Emmanuel Macron’s office on Monday downplayed an incident in which his wife appeared to push his face away as he arrived in Vietnam to begin a Southeast Asian tour.

Footage shot by the Associated Press news agency in Hanoi on Sunday evening shows Macron’s plane door opening to reveal him.

His wife Brigitte’s arms emerge from the left of the open doorway, she places both hands on her husband’s face and gives it a shove.

The president appears startled but quickly recovers and turns to wave through the open door. She remains concealed by the aircraft body, making it impossible to see her facial expression or body language.

The couple proceed down the staircase for the official welcome by Vietnamese officials, though Brigitte Macron does not take her husband’s offered arm.

The video clip circulated rapidly online, promoted particularly by accounts that are habitually hostile to the French leader.

Macron’s office initially denied the authenticity of the images, before they were confirmed as genuine.

A close associate of the president later described the incident as a couple’s harmless “squabble.”

Another member of his entourage played down the significance of the incident.

“It was a moment when the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by joking around,” the second source told reporters.

“It’s a moment of togetherness. No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists,” the source added, blaming pro-Russian accounts for negative comments about the incident.

Vietnam is the first stop on an almost week-long tour of Southeast Asia for Macron where he will pitch France as a reliable alternative to the United States and China.

He will also visit Indonesia and Singapore.


Finland summons Russian ambassador over suspected airspace violation: ministry

Finland summons Russian ambassador over suspected airspace violation: ministry
Updated 26 May 2025
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Finland summons Russian ambassador over suspected airspace violation: ministry

Finland summons Russian ambassador over suspected airspace violation: ministry

HELSINKI: Finland’s foreign ministry said on Monday it had summoned the Russian ambassador over suspicions that two Russian military aircraft violated its airspace last week.
Finland, which dropped decades of military non-alignment to join NATO in 2023, following Russia’s fully-fledged invasion of Ukraine, has a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia.
The defense ministry reported on Friday there had been a suspected airspace violation off the coast of Porvoo, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the capital, Helsinki.
It said an investigation into the incident was ongoing.
“The foreign ministry of Finland has today summoned the ambassador of Russia and requested an explanation regarding the suspected violation of airspace,” the ministry said in a post on X.
Moscow has repeatedly warned Finland of repercussions since it joined NATO.
Last week, Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen told AFP that Finland was “closely monitoring and assessing Russia’s activities and intentions.”
He was commenting after the New York Times published satellite images appearing to show an expansion of Russian military infrastructure near the border.
Hakkanen said in an email that Russia’s moves “to strengthen its armed forces have not come as a surprise to Finland.”
Helsinki has increased its military investments and preparedness since joining NATO.
In April, it announced it would boost defense spending to at least three percent of GDP by 2029 and reform its defense forces to tackle security threats.


UN experts urge release of Azerbaijani rights defender

UN experts urge release of Azerbaijani rights defender
Updated 26 May 2025
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UN experts urge release of Azerbaijani rights defender

UN experts urge release of Azerbaijani rights defender
  • Mammadli risks up to eight years behind bars on smuggling charges, which rights groups claim are bogus

GENEVA: Four UN special rapporteurs on Monday demanded the release of Azerbaijani rights defender and climate advocate Anar Mammadli, who has been in detention for more than a year.
Mammadli was detained on April 29, 2024. His arrest was one of a series which critics said undermined Azerbaijan’s credibility as a host of the United Nations COP29 climate change conference in November last year.
Mammadli chaired the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center, which reported irregularities during the February 2024 presidential elections in the tightly controlled, oil-rich nation.
His arrest also came after he participated in events at the UN Human Rights Council, the special rapporteurs said in a statement.
“Defending human rights should never be considered a crime,” the experts said.
“There are serious concerns that Mammadli’s detention and prosecution may be in retaliation for his human rights work and his engagement with UN mechanisms,” they said.
Mammadli risks up to eight years behind bars on smuggling charges, which rights groups claim are bogus.
“Civic participation, independent election monitoring, and cooperation with international mechanisms are the foundation of democratic societies,” the experts said.
“Criminalizing these activities undermines the rule of law.”
The statement was issued by the special rapporteurs on human rights defenders, on freedom of peaceful assembly, the right to freedom of opinion and on health.
They called on Azerbaijan to respect due process, guarantee Mammadli’s fundamental rights and provide him with appropriate medical care.
They also urged Baku to end all forms of intimidation against rights activists.
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to report their findings. They do not speak for the United Nations itself.