During a visit to Israel yesterday, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the West Bank separation barrier violates international law.
"A country has the right to build a fence on its own territory, but we believe the route of this fence is contrary to international law," Solana said during a joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
Solana's comments came just two days after the EU infuriated Israeli leaders by supporting a UN General Assembly resolution calling on Israel to tear down the barrier in compliance with a world court ruling.
PHOTO: AFP
"The government and people of Israel are deeply disappointed by Europe's decision to vote with the Palestinians and against the fence," Shalom said.
"The EU should be engaged in promoting Palestinian reform in Gaza and Ramallah, not Palestinian manipulation in the UN," Shalom said, adding that Europe's vote "encourages the Palestinians to continue their evasion of responsibility" on fighting terror.
Israel has long accused the EU of being unbalanced and has pushed Europe to the sidelines of Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking efforts.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon refused to meet with the Quartet -- made up of envoys from the US, Europe, the UN and Russia. Sharon's spokesman said at the time that Israel would not discuss peacemaking or security issues with Europe.
Solana and Shalom met for an hour before the news conference amid an atmosphere of rising tensions between Israel and Europe. Israeli media reported that Israel blamed France for persuading EU countries to support the resolution.
"The fence goes through occupied territories and from the very beginning we have been against that, it's no surprise," Solana said.
"The security of Israel and the protecting of the Israeli people is something we have always supported and we'll continue to support," he said.
Shalom said Israel had hoped the meetings with Solana would focus on improving Israeli-European relations but were redirected because of the UN vote.
"This visit is now taking place in the shadow of Europe's vote ... Much of our time today was spent in a frank discussion of the issue," Shalom said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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