The Trump administration has dropped any reference to the Golan Heights as being “occupied” by Israel in its latest Global Human Rights Report.
The State Department said the area was "Israeli-controlled", in a yearly report that outlines the human rights situation around the world.
For the second year, the report also does not use the word "occupied" in the sections relating the West Bank and Gaza.
The State Department said it did not consider this phrasing to represent a policy change, saying the report focuses on human rights rather than legal issues.
The US ambassador to the Bureau of Human Rights, Michael Kozak, said “occupied” was not a human rights term.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war.
Many UN resolutions have declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories to be illegal.
UN Resolution 2334 adopted in 2016 states that Israeli settlement activity is a "flagrant violation" of international law and has "no legal validity".
Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s executive committee, said that “complicity in Israeli crimes is criminal” in a tweet that tagged US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the US special representative for international negotiations, Jason Greenblatt.
The US State Department said: “Authorities subjected non-Israeli citizens in Jerusalem and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights to the same laws as Israeli citizens.”
US President Donald Trump moved the US Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem last year, prompting weekly Friday protests on the Gaza Strip.
Mr Trump also stopped funding the UN aid agency supporting Palestine.
In March, the State Department said it would merge its Palestinian mission with the Israeli embassy. The Trump administration also closed Palestine's office in Washington.
Israel has been lobbying the Trump administration to recognise the annexed Golan Heights as Israeli territory.
But a senior US official told The National that any such decision would be made by Mr Trump, who has not yet done so.
Last January, National Security Adviser John Bolton discussed the annexation of Golan on his trip to Israel and meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who urged Mr Bolton to officially recognise Israel's sovereignty of the area.
Although his tour of the Golan was cancelled Because of poor weather, other senior US political figures have visited in recent months.
Several bills are also due for a vote in Congress to recognise the area as Israeli territory.
Undisputed control of the region would give Israel a better chance to stop its main enemies, Iran and Hezbollah, from entrenching themselves there.
Israel's army said yesterday that it uncovered a unit from Hezbollah across the ceasefire line in the Syrian Golan Heights.
The unit, it claimed, was led by a commander who had been jailed over an attack on US forces.
With President Bashar Al Assad regaining control of southern Syria with the help of Russia and Hezbollah's backer Iran, Israel is concerned a front could be established there.
Hezbollah, from neighbouring Lebanon, has also supported Mr Al Assad in Syria's civil war.
The group is among Israel's main enemies and the two fought a war in 2006.
The State Department’s annual report also heavily criticised Iran for contributing to human rights abuses in Syria through its military support for Mr Al Assad and Hezbollah forces.
It also decried Iran's aid to Iraqi militia groups and its support for the rebels in Yemen, where it directed authorities in Houthi-controlled areas to harass and detain Bahais because of their religious affiliation.
The report singled out the Iraqi Popular Mobilisation forces, and said “civilian authorities did not maintain effective control over some elements of the security forces, particularly certain units of the PMF that were aligned with Iran".
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if you go
The flights
Emirates offer flights to Buenos Aires from Dubai, via Rio De Janeiro from around Dh6,300. emirates.com
Seeing the games
Tangol sell experiences across South America and generally have good access to tickets for most of the big teams in Buenos Aires: Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Independiente. Prices from Dh550 and include pick up and drop off from your hotel in the city. tangol.com
Staying there
Tangol will pick up tourists from any hotel in Buenos Aires, but after the intensity of the game, the Faena makes for tranquil, upmarket accommodation. Doubles from Dh1,110. faena.com
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
more from Janine di Giovanni
Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (PA) Group 1 | US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) Listed | $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) Conditions | $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (D) | 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
More on Quran memorisation:
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Poacher
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In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
