The UN agency for Palestinian refugees is fuelling "unrealistic" hopes of return after 70 years of exodus and is therefore helping keep the Mideast conflict alive, Switzerland's foreign minister has said.
The UN rights office said on Tuesday it seemed that any Palestinian protesting in Gaza, regardless of whether they pose an imminent threat, is "liable" to be killed by Israeli forces.
Switzerland signed off on a secret deal with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)in 1970 in a bid to prevent terrorist attacks on its soil, a new book suggests.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will next week address the United Nations' top human rights body in Geneva, the UN said on Tuesday, as a wave of violence in Israel continues despite international calls for calm.
The Swiss foreign ministry said on Wednesday it is in talks about holding an international conference sought by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas focusing on protecting civilians in Gaza.
The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has asked Swiss President Didier Burkhalter to organize an urgent conference regarding the current deadly conflict in the Middle East.
The Palestinian Authority has signed up formally to the Geneva Conventions, which set down the rules of warfare and humanitarian operations in conflict zones, the treaties' guardian Switzerland confirmed on Friday.
<p>Swiss supermarket chain Migros has announced that it will begin adding special labels to any products that come from "Occupied Palestinian Territories".</p>
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<p>The organisers of a €25,000 ($32,000) art prize said on Wednesday they have cancelled this year's competition after sponsors Lacoste objected to an entry by a Palestinian photographer.</p>
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