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WORLD NEWSWednesday 3 January 2018

New Israeli law would make it harder to divide Jerusalem

By ILAN BEN ZION part of Jerusalem without lem’s Jewish majority. They estinians want east Jerusa- city’s status should be de-
Associated Press approval of at least 80 of would be turned into sepa- lem, which Israel captured cided in peace negotia-
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s the legislature’s 120 mem- rate municipalities under Is- in the 1967 war and an- tions.Palestinian President
parliament passed a law bers. But the law itself can raeli control. nexed in a move not rec- Mahmoud Abbas called
on Tuesday requiring a su- be overturned with a simple The Knesset approved the ognized internationally, to the legislation “tantamount
permajority to relinquish majority, making it largely legislation in a 64-52 vote be the capital of their fu- to declaring war on the
control over any part of Je- symbolic. early Tuesday, with oppo- ture state. Tensions rose af- Palestinian people.”
rusalem, a move that could The law also permits the sition politicians saying it ter President Donald Trump “This vote clearly indicates
hamstring the city’s division government to remove would make it even harder declared Jerusalem to be that the Israeli side has of-
in any future peace deal. outlying Palestinian neigh- to make peace with the Israel’s capital last month, ficially declared the end of
The amendment bars the borhoods from the city, a Palestinians. breaking with decades of the so-called political pro-
government from ceding move promoted by hard- Israel claims all of Jerusa- U.S. policy and an interna- cess and has already be-
Israeli sovereignty over any liners to preserve Jerusa- lem as its capital. The Pal- tional consensus that the gun to impose dictatorial

Pakistan fires back after ‘incomprehensible’ Trump tweet

A man reads a local newspaper carrying news about a tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump National Security Commit- mittee statement said Paki-
at a newsstand in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. Trump slammed Pakistan for ‘lies tee meeting, which was at- stan is among the coun-
& deceit’ in a New Year’s Day tweet that said Islamabad had played U.S. leaders for ‘fools’. ‘No tended by Pakistan’s prime tries hardest hit by terrorist
more,’ Trump tweeted. minister and the power- attacks, having lost thou-
ful army chief of staff, said sands of civilians and sol-
(AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) the U.S. was scapegoating diers to the violence that
Pakistan for its own failure has convulsed the region
By KATHY GANNON sador to complain but ishly” given Pakistan more to bring peace to Afghani- since the Sept. 11 attacks.
Associated Press stopped short of demands than $33 billion in aid in the stan after 16 years of war. Defense analyst and re-
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Paki- by protesting Islamic groups last 15 years and had got- Pakistan and Afghanistan tired Pakistani Gen. Talat
stan fired back Tuesday af- to expel the envoy. ten nothing in return but have long accused each Masood said vilifying Paki-
ter President Donald Trump The latest round of tit-for-tat “lies & deceit.” other of harboring militants, stan won’t bring stability to
accused it of harboring attacks between the two He also reiterated long- and have exchanged lists the region and belittles the
terrorists, calling his New reluctant allies, neither of standing allegations that of wanted terrorists they losses Pakistan has suffered.
Year’s Day tweet “com- whom trusts the other, was Pakistan gives “safe haven want apprehended and “The people of Pakistan,
pletely incomprehensible.” ignited by Trump’s tweet to the terrorists we hunt in returned. Afghanistan has the government of Paki-
The government sum- on Monday. Afghanistan.” also provided what it says stan (has) been really seri-
moned the U.S. ambas- He said the U.S. had “fool- A statement issued after a are the locations of mili- ously affected and its con-
tant camps inside Pakistan. sequences are felt every
Pakistan denies support- day,” said Masood. “Amer-
ing militants, pointing to its ica needs Pakistan. Without
own war against extrem- the help of Pakistan, it can
ist groups battling to over- never have stability in the
throw the government. It region.”
blames the burgeoning Michael Kugelman, dep-
insurgency in Afghanistan uty director of the Wilson
on runaway corruption, in- Center’s South Asia pro-
fighting that has paralyzed gram, said withholding aid
the Kabul government and to Pakistan is unlikely to
record drug production. deter Pakistani support for
Pakistan says the chaos insurgents it sees as neces-
next door has spawned a sary to protect its security
proliferation of insurgent interests. Pakistan has long
groups, including an Islam- supported Islamic militants
ic State affiliate that has at- battling India in the dis-
tacked it from hideouts in puted Kashmir region, and
Afghanistan. has close ties to the Afghan
The National Security Com- Taliban.q

Egypt hangs 4 convicted militants, renews state of emergency

By SAMY MAGDY deadly bombings target- mainly targeting security 19 the number of convict- ror case in 2015 after being
Associated Press ed two churches in April. forces and the country’s ed militants executed over convicted by a military tri-
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt on A decree issued by Abdel- Christian minority. the past week. bunal.
Tuesday executed four al- Fattah el-Sissi, Egypt’s gen- The 2015 attack took place Authorities executed 15 Eleven Egyptian rights
leged Islamic militants fol- eral-turned-president, ex- outside a stadium in the militants on Dec. 26 after groups have condemned
lowing their conviction by tended the state of emer- Nile Delta city of Kafr el- a military court convicted the latest executions, say-
a military tribunal in the kill- gency for three months. Sheikh as the military ca- and sentenced them to ing the legal process is
ing of three military acad- Egypt has struggled to dets were waiting for a bus death over a 2013 attack flawed. They protested the
emy students in a 2015 combat an Islamic State- to take them to the acad- on a military checkpoint expanded jurisdiction of
bomb attack. led insurgency based in emy.Tuesday’s executions in the Sinai Peninsula that military courts and the “po-
Authorities also renewed a the northern Sinai Penin- by hanging at a prison in killed an officer and eight litical use” of capital pun-
nationwide state of emer- sula that has carried out the Mediterranean port soldiers. Six militants were ishment, calling for an end
gency first imposed after attacks across the country, city of Alexandria bring to hanged in a separate ter- to the death penalty.q