The EconomistNovember 23rd 2019 The world this week 92 occupied West Bank are con-
sistent with international law.
Most of Israel’s other allies
disagree. Past American ad-
ministrations largely dodged
the question. The decision will
have no immediate effect on
the ground, but it may embold-
en Israeli politicians who want
to annex the settlements.
Meanwhile, Benny Gantz
missed the deadline to form a
government in Israel, raising
the possibility of another
election, as Binyamin Netanya-
hu faced mounting legal woes.
Israel carried out air strikes in
Syria, hitting targets belonging
to the government and its
Iranian allies. The attacks were
in response to rockets fired at
Israel by Iranian forces.Escalating conflicts in Burkina
Faso, Maliand Nigerhave
created a humanitarian crisis
in which 2.4m people need
urgent food aid, said the un’s
World Food Programme. The
worst affected is Burkina Faso,wheremorethanhalfa million
peoplehavefledtheirhomes.Rumble about the jungle
The pace of deforestation of
the Brazilian Amazonin the
year to July reached its highest
level in a decade, said the
country’s space agency. It was
nearly 30% faster than in the
previous year. Environmental-
ists blame Brazil’s populist
president, Jair Bolsonaro, who
wants to open the region to
miners and ranchers.Following a wave of political
protests, Chile’sgovernment
agreed to hold a referendum in
April on whether the country
should write a new constitu-
tion. Chileans will be able to
decide what sort of body
should draft it and will also be
able to vote on the final text of
a constitution.The death toll in the unrest
leading up to and after Evo
Morales’s resignation as Boliv-ia’spresidentrosetoatleast 32
people.Securityforcesfiredon
pro-Moralesdemonstrators
whohadblockeda fuelplant
nearthecapital,LaPaz.The
protesterswanttheinterim
president,JeanineÁñez,to
resign.Theyalsowantnew
elections.A decreebythe
interimgovernmentappeared
toencouragethepolicetobe
overzealousintheireffortsto
quellprotests.Conservative v LabourBritain’stwo main party lead-
ers clashed in the first tele-
vised election debate. Thecourts rejected demands from
the Liberal Democrats and the
Scottish National Party that
they should be included. Boris
Johnson, the Conservative
prime minister, did slightly
better than Jeremy Corbyn, the
far-left leader of the Labour
Party. The Conservatives’ press
office altered its Twitter ac-
count to look like a fact-check-
ing service.Prosecutors in Sweden formal-
ly ended an investigation into
rape allegations made against
Julian Assange, the founder of
WikiLeaks, a website that
publishes official secrets. Mr
Assange remains in custody in
London while a case for his
extradition to America is
considered.Parliamentary elections were
held in Belarus, the former
Soviet republic whose presi-
dent, Alexander Lukashenko,
has been in uncontested power
for the past 25 years. The oppo-
sition won no seats at all.