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Iran to hold funeral for slain supreme leader on July 4-9

Iran will hold funeral procedures for the country's slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei between July 4 and July 9, Iranian state media reported on Saturday. The program will include a farewell ceremony in the capital Tehran on July 4-5. Then, funeral ceremonies will be held in Tehran on July 6 and in Qom on July 7. Read More: PM Shehbaz says US and Iran expected to sign initial deal within 24 hours On July 9, Khamenei will be buried in the Imam Reza Shrine in the city of Mashhad following a funeral ceremony there on July 18. Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes that began against Iran on February 28. The attacks have also killed several senior Iranian military commanders and government officials. A Pakistan-brokered ceasefire took effect on April 8, and efforts to reach a broader agreement have since continued. from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/cxUNVYH

Israeli, Palestinian civil society meet in France as two-state solution dims

Israeli and Palestinian civil society groups will meet in France on Friday to urge the international community not to abandon a two-state solution, as Paris seeks to keep the issue alive amid the Middle East war. The meeting, attended by foreign ministers and senior officials from dozens of countries, marks one year since the United Nations-backed New York Declaration, which set out a roadmap toward Palestinian statehood and prompted around a dozen countries, including France, Britain and Canada, to recognise a Palestinian state. "Given the current situation in the region, marked by seemingly endless conflicts, too many civilian casualties and a cycle of violence, and in light of the stalled implementation of the Gaza ceasefire ... we believe this conference is now more essential and urgent than ever,” France's Foreign Ministry spokesperson told reporters on Thursday. Read: Israel has become world’s most boycotted state: report The gathering will end with an eight-point “Call for Action” urging a permanent ceasefire, a halt to settlements, Gaza reconstruction, governance reforms and stronger international backing for civil society. It will be delivered to the G7 leaders who meet in the French Alps from Monday. "The region continues to fracture. Gaza is devastated, Israel remains under threat. Settler terrorism, settlement expansion, and de facto annexation and threats to the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine the viability of a future Palestinian state," according to the action plan seen by Reuters. "Israelis and Palestinians alike remain trapped in fear, insecurity, and trauma. We return because, as the G7 convenes in Évian, this conflict risks once again being set aside. The window for a solution remains open; but it is narrowing." Anger in west over settler violence The conference comes amid escalating violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and underscores anger in many Western countries toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which has expanded settlements. Diplomats say that expansion is aimed at undermining prospects for a Palestinian state. A key concern is Israel’s plan to build a settlement east of Jerusalem, known as the E1 project, which would bisect the West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, fragmenting territory Palestinians seek for an independent state. Read More: UN sees 'ethnic cleansing' in West Bank Britain, Canada, France and Norway announced new coordinated sanctions on Tuesday against Israeli networks involved in financing, enabling and carrying out violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israel and the United States declined to attend the meeting. "The ambassador was invited but will not attend the conference, as it has nothing to do with promoting peace," the Israeli embassy said in a statement. "France cannot act as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians. Regarding the two-state solution, the ambassador recalls that the Palestinians have rejected proposals to establish a Palestinian state on five occasions."

from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/hFqKVz5

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