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US Says Attack on West Bank Palestinian Church Was ‘Act of Terror’
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called on Saturday for the perpetrators of an attack on a Palestinian church in the West Bank blamed on Israeli settlers to be prosecuted, calling it an “act of terror.”
Huckabee said he had visited the Christian town of Taybeh, where clerics said Israeli settlers had started a fire near a cemetery and a 5th-century church on July 8.
“It is an act of terror, and it is a crime,” Huckabee said in a statement, “Those who carry out acts of terror and violence in Taybeh – or anywhere – (should) be found and be prosecuted. Not just reprimanded, that’s not enough.”
Israel’s government has not commented on the incident, but has previously denounced such acts.
On Tuesday, Huckabee said he had asked Israel to “aggressively investigate” the killing of a Palestinian American beaten by settlers in the West Bank, similarly describing it as a “criminal and terrorist act.”
Huckabee is a staunch supporter of Israeli settlements and his comments are a rare and pointed public intervention by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Trump in January rescinded sanctions imposed by the former Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of being involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Settler attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank have risen since the start of Israel’s war on the Hamas terror group in Gaza in October 2023, though violence has long simmered there.
The United Nations’ highest court said last year that Israel’s settlements in territories it captured in the 1967 Middle East war, including the West Bank, were illegal.
Israel disputes this, citing biblical and historical ties to the land as well as security needs.
The post US Says Attack on West Bank Palestinian Church Was ‘Act of Terror’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Revokes Palestinian Officials’ Visas Ahead of UN Meeting, State Dept Says
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas looks on as he visits the Istishari Cancer Center in Ramallah, in the West Bank, May 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman
The US is denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September, the State Department said on Friday.
The department did not name the officials targeted. It was unclear whether Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is planning to travel to New York to deliver an address to the late September gathering, was included in the restrictions.
The Palestinians’ ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters that they were checking exactly what the US move means “and how it applies to any of our delegation, and we will respond accordingly.”
Abbas’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US restrictions follow the imposition of US sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization in July, even as other Western powers move toward recognition of Palestinian statehood.
In a statement, the State Department said that “it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace.”
Officials with the Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in much of the West Bank, reject that they’ve undermined peace prospects.
Under the 1947 UN “headquarters agreement,” the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, terrorism, and foreign policy reasons.
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN would not be included in the restrictions. It did not elaborate.
Close US allies Canada, Britain, Australia, and France in recent weeks announced or signaled their intention to recognize a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly meeting.
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Turkey Bars Israeli Ships From Its Ports, Restricts Airspace
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a press conference following the inaugural meeting of the Balkans Peace Platform, a Turkish-led initiative aimed at fostering dialogue and cooperation across the Western Balkans, in Istanbul, Turkey, July 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Murad Seze
Turkey has decided to bar Israeli vessels from using its ports, forbid Turkish ships from using Israeli ports, and impose restrictions on planes entering Turkish airspace, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday.
He provided few details in comments to parliament which appeared to summarize steps that Turkey has already taken against Israel over the war in Gaza or has started to implement.
Turkey has fiercely criticized Israel’s offensive in Gaza and accuses it of committing genocide in the Palestinian enclave, a charge that Israel denies. Ankara has halted all trade with Israel, called for international measures against it, and urged world powers to stop supporting Israel.
Sources told Reuters last week that Turkish port authorities had also started informally requiring shipping agents to provide letters declaring that vessels are not linked to Israel and not carrying military or hazardous cargo bound for the country.
A source had also said that Turkish-flagged ships would be prohibited from calling at Israeli ports.
“We have totally cut our trade with Israel, we have closed off our ports to Israeli ships and we are not allowing Turkish vessels to go to Israel’s ports,” Fidan told an extraordinary parliamentary session on Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
“We are not allowing container ships carrying weapons and ammunition to Israel to enter our ports, and airplanes to go into our airspace,” he added, without giving details.
Fidan also said Turkey had presidential approval to carry out air drops of aid to Gaza.
“Our planes are ready, once Jordan gives its approval, we will be in a position to go,” he told lawmakers.
The Israeli government did not immediately comment on his remarks.
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UK Blocks Israeli Officials From Its Biggest Defense Show
Visitors look at ammunition on display at the Defense and Security Equipment International trade show in this file photo in London, Britain, Sept. 12, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Britain has barred Israeli officials from its biggest defense trade show over its escalation of the war against Hamas in Gaza, its latest effort to pressure a historically close ally over the conflict.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government said in July it would recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel took steps to relieve suffering in the enclave and met other conditions, enraging the Israeli government.
Israel’s Ministry of Defense said that as a result of the trade fair ban it would not run its national pavilion as it has done previously at London’s Defense & Security Equipment International (DSEI) event.
Israeli defense companies, such as Elbit Systems, Rafael, IAI, and Uvision, will still be able to attend.
Britain’s move had echoes of a dispute at the Paris Air Show three months ago, when France blocked off with black partitions the stands of Israeli defense companies after they refused to remove attack weapons from display, sparking a furious response from Israel.
A British government spokesperson said on Friday that the Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza was wrong.
“As a result, we can confirm that no Israeli government delegation will be invited to attend DSEI UK 2025.”
“There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” the spokesperson added.
Israel said Britain’s decision was a “regrettable act of discrimination” and “introduces political considerations wholly inappropriate for a professional defense industry exhibition.”
The four-day show, due to open on Sept. 9, features national delegations and private companies, who showcase military kit and weapons at London’s Excel center. The event takes place every other year.
DSEI is organized by a private company, Clarion Defense and Security, but with backing from the British government and the military.