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Two ex-leaders fear disappearance of Palestinian territories

JERUSALEM: Two former heads of government from the Elders group of international figures, founded by Nelson Mandela, warned on Friday of the potential disappearance of the Palestinian territories and called for an end to Israeli impunity. The call from former Ireland president Mary Robinson and ex-New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark came after they visited Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, Jordan and Lebanon. They said in a statement that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was seeking “to make Palestine disappear physically, economically, culturally and politically”. Speaking to journalists in Jerusalem, they said the international community must do more to end Israeli impunity in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Palestinians seek as the future capital of a sovereign state. “I think if we were to summarise the key message that we’ve heard across civil society, both in the West Bank and here, as to what are they looking for, it’s accountability and no impunity,” said Clark. Robinson said she was “ashamed” that the European Union had not taken a firmer stance on the issue, calling for Brussels to suspend the trade component of its association agreement with Israel and to ban the trade of products from Israeli settlements. The pair said they had observed a deterioration of the situation in occupied West Bank since a previous mission in 2023, and warned that continued settlement expansion would result in “Palestine disappearing before our eyes”. Since taking office, Netanyahu’s government has approved the establishment of 102 settlements in the occupied territory, according to Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now. And since the Gaza conflict began in 2023, the United Nations has reported a sharp rise in settler violence, while some Israeli ministers call for the annexation of all or part of the occupied West Bank. Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the occupied territory, among some three million Palestinians. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. During their visit, the former leaders met Israeli President Isaac Herzog. “We disagreed on a number of points,” said Robinson. Israeli parliament dissolved in run-up to elections Israel’s parliament voted to dissolve itself on Friday as the country gears up for October elections, wrapping up a last-minute legislative blitz by the government aimed at pleasing allies. The vote, endorsed by 62 of the Knesset’s 120 members, cleared the way for polls on Oct 27 in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking another term despite waning popularity. His government has pushed through a number of contentious bills in recent days aimed at shoring up its position and satisfying allies in the ultra-Orthodox community. The ruling coalition passed a ream of bills in a marathon final session, including legislation stripping powers from the attorney general, freezing arrests of draft dodgers, and expanding government oversight of the media. With the bill that gave the green light to its dissolution, it also approved an increase in funding for political parties. Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2026