Israel freezes UNESCO funding as a response to the Palestine acceptance into that UN body.
Palestinians go to the UN and ask for actions against Israel for what they portray as provocative actions.
Even with a 'peace plan' in place, Syrian activists say at least another ten people were killed today by government troops.
The US and France, both attending the G20 meeting in Cannes, again rapped Iran's knuckles over their nuclear obligations. While they talked, Israel did an emergency civil defense drill Thursday, mimicking a foreign missile attack.
In the two weeks since Tunisia's election, many Tunisians express confusion about the direction the country will be led, now an islamist party holds the reins of power.
Details after the break.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his government to freeze the country's $2 million annual funding of UNESCO after the organization recognized the Palestinian Authority's political status and granted it full membership.
Thursday's decision came two days after the Israeli Cabinet announced it would expedite construction of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank and suspend the transfer of tax revenue it collects for the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian United Nations observer Thursday urged the U.N. Security Council to take action against Israel for accelerating settlement building and what he said was “illegally hijacking” Palestinian tax revenue.
Riyad Mansour warned that if Israel's actions are not stopped immediately, the region may see further “escalation and provocation.” He described events between Israel and the Palestinians as “very volatile.”
On Monday, the United States announced it would stop funding UNESCO, including a planned $60 million transfer to the U.N. cultural agency this month. Canada is halting voluntary contributions to the agency but will not be cutting federal funds.
Israel and the U.S. strongly opposed the Palestinian UNESCO bid. They say the only way for the Palestinians to attain internationally recognized statehood is after a deal is reached through direct talks with the Israelis.
The United States criticized UNESCO's vote as “premature,” saying it undermines the international community's goal of a comprehensive Middle East peace plan. The agency draws nearly a quarter of its funding from the U.S.
Palestinians
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations says his government will ask the U.N. Security Council to take action against Israel’s withholding of some $100 million in tax payments to the Palestinian Authority and its decision to add 2,000 more settlement units. The Israeli move follows the Palestinians' admission into a U.N. agency on Monday.
Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour told reporters Thursday that his government sent a letter to the Security Council - the U.N.’s most powerful body - on Wednesday saying the Israeli actions were provocative and an act of retaliation for Palestinian actions that were fully within their legal rights.
Ambassador Mansour said the Palestinians want the Security Council to issue a formal response to the Israeli actions.
“We want the Security Council to react to this latest escalation and provocation with a view of stopping it and containing it," said Ambassador Mansour. "Because you all know if it is not contained it might lead to further escalations and provocations, and the situation is very volatile in our region.”
It was not immediately clear what action the council might consider. In February, the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution condemning all Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory as illegal, saying that while it agreed that settlements are illegitimate, the resolution harmed chances for peace talks.
Syria
Activists say Syrian security forces killed at least 10 people on Thursday, a day after the government agreed to a plan that calls for an end to violence against opposition demonstrators.
The activists say Syrian troops targeted citizens in the flashpoint city of Homs. At least some of the deaths came after troops attacked with heavy artillery fire in the Baba Amr district. The accounts could not be independently verified.
Activists say anti-government protesters held rallies in several regions across the country on Thursday. The opposition Local Coordination Committees said troops made arrests and used force to disperse students demonstrating against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Daraa, Aleppo, Kafrouma and Damascus.
Thursday's deaths and military actions cast doubt on a quick implementation of the Arab League plan.
Members of the opposition Syrian National Council met with the Arab League chief in Cairo Thursday. The Arab plan calls for a dialogue with the Syrian opposition within two weeks.
Syrian National Council member Samir al-Nashar, however, said the group did not talk about possible discussions with the Syrian government during the Arab League meeting.
Instead, he said the SNC asked that President Assad step down and then offered to "engage in negotiations" to move from an authoritarian government to a democratic one.
A Syrian opposition leader based in France, Burhan Ghalioun, said Thursday he believes Syria will not respect the clauses of the plan. He says the Syrian government only accepted the initiative out of fear of Arab and international isolation.
Iran
U.S. President Barack Obama says Iran's nuclear program poses a "continuing threat" and that he and France's president agree on the need to maintain "unprecedented international pressure" on Tehran to meet its nuclear obligations.
Obama commented Thursday after meeting with French leader Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of a summit of the world's leading 20 economies in the French resort city of Cannes.
Obama says he and Sarkozy discussed Iran in talks that covered a wide range of security issues.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is due to release a report on Iran's nuclear program next week. Reuters news agency says the report is expected to provide details suggesting a military dimension to the program.
Iran, which is under U.N. sanctions for its nuclear program, says its nuclear activities are peaceful. An Iranian envoy to the U.N. accused Western powers of trying to use the IAEA as a political tool.
Reuters reported on Thursday that Iran's foreign minister, during a visit to Libya, warned the United States about entering a "collision course" with Iran on the nuclear issue.
Israel, meanwhile, held an emergency civil defense drill Thursday, mimicking a foreign missile attack, as Israeli media reports speculated on the possibility of an Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
Speculation rose this week after reports that Israeli leaders were seeking a timetable for a possible strike on Iran.
Israel test-fired a missile Wednesday that Israeli media said was capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. There were also reports of an Israeli air force exercise over the Mediterranean Sea.
Tunisia
It has been nearly two weeks since Tunisia’s Ennahda Party won 90 out of 127 seats on the new National Constituent Assembly, yet many Tunisians continue to express confusion over what impact this will have on the country.
Secular Tunisians worry that party leader Rachid Ghannouchi intends to impose sharia and forever impede freedoms Tunisians have enjoyed for decades. Some conservative Muslims have renounced Ghannouchi as a traitor to Islam for his liberal stand on alcohol and the hijab. Meanwhile, many progressive Muslims are wondering whether Ghannouchi may be the reformist they have long hoped for. The Arab Spring has brought in much-needed political reforms; will it also usher in a “new” Islam?
Secularists are still scratching their heads: How, exactly, did Islamists perform so well in the election. Anna Mahjar-Barducci is a Moroccan-Italian journalist, author and avowed secularist. She says she doesn’t regard the results as a “victory” by Ennahda, but a “failure” by secular political parties - 80 of them - who, she says “wasted valuable time” bickering about who should lead what.
“Tunisians have too many political parties,” she said. “When you have too many parties competing, you disperse the vote. It was a naïve way to approach a political election.”
Erik Churchill, an independent consultant and journalist who lives in Tunisia and has tracked the elections.
“After 50 years of imposed secularism,” Churchill said, “many Tunisians responded positively to Ennahda's message that Islam can play a more active role in people's lives. Likewise, their campaign differed from their secular opponents’ campaigns. Ennahda emphasized grassroots approaches, which went over very well in rural areas.”
Ghannouchi also holds moral appeal, appearing as a breath of fresh air in the wake of the corruption and moral excesses of the former regime.
After decades of corruption and repression, Tunisians most fear a return to political oppression of any kind - secular or religious. Some worry that the Ennahda win could eventually open the door to strict Islamic jurisprudence, restrictions on dress and socialization. Secular Tunisian women are nervous about the possible return of the hijab, polygamy or inequality in the workplace, all prevalent in more conservative Islamic societies.
All content based on VOA News reports.