Israel, US to sign revised agreements to allow funding research projects in West Bank
Israel said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Ambassador will sign amended scientific cooperation agreements on October 28 in the West Bank.
- World News
- 2 min read
Israel said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Ambassador will sign amended scientific cooperation agreements on October 28 at a “special ceremony” in the West Bank. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the amended agreements will effectively lift US ban on funding scientific research projects in the West Bank and Golan Heights, areas occupied by Israel in 1967.
The revised agreements “will expand scientific cooperation between Israel and the United States to Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement, referring to the West Bank using the biblical names.
Israel announced the signing of agreements a week before US presidential elections in which incumbent Donald Trump, according to the opinion polls, is trailing Democratic challenger Joe Biden. Trump administration has been aggressive about his foreign policy towards Israel by taking decisions against Palestinian interests. Last year, the US announced a reversal of its decades-long policy on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, calling the occupation not necessarily a violation of international law.
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Middle East peace plan
It was the second jolt to Palestinian quest for statehood after the Trump administration had decided to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move its embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo informed that the US no longer agrees with the 1978 State Department legal opinion that held the occupied territories “inconsistent with international law”.
In January, Trump unveiled the Middle East peace plan to resolve Israel-Palestine conflict but it was rejected by Palestinian leaders in its entirety. As per the proposed peace plan, the sovereignty of Israel over important settlement blocs in the West Bank will be acknowledged and the State of Palestine be created with its capital in east Jerusalem. Trump also brokered a peace deal to normalise diplomatic relations of Israel with the UAE and Bahrain.