STA, 10 July 2019 - The 15th Grossmann Fantastic Film and Wine Festival will kick off on 16 July, featuring 35 full-length films, 12 documentaries and 43 short films from 38 countries. Guests of honour will be Israeli-American director Sam Firstenberg and Swedish actress Christina Lindberg.

Firstenberg is a legendary film-maker of the 1980s action films, famous for making low-budget B-films of various genres, including horror and science fiction, while Lindberg is one of the most iconic stars of exploitation films of the 1970s.

One of her controversial characters served as an inspiration for a character in Quentin Tarantino's film Kill Bill, with the acclaimed director considering Lindberg his muse.

Related: Film under the stars at Ljubljana Castle

The guests of honour will receive awards for outstanding contribution to genre films at the festival's closing ceremony on 20 July, with retrospective screenings paying homage to both of them.

Six feature films will be competing for the festival's main award, the Vicious Cat, said programme manager Tomaž Horvat, adding that most screenings will be attended by the films' directors as well.

One of the programme's highlights will be the Slovenian first showing of the sequel Iron Sky: The Coming Race by Finnish director Timo Vuorensola, which blurs the lines between comedy, action film and science fiction. The famous Slovenian group Laibach wrote the score for the film and two of its members will be at the screening along with the director.

Seven films will be in the running for the Noisy Cat award for the best musical documentary, while 13 shorts from around the world will compete for the Slak's Vicious Cat award.

This year's record number of guests includes Austrian director Severin Fiala, who will present The Field Guide to Evil, a collection of horror stories, and Croatian director Predrag Ličina, who will introduce his film The Last Serb in Croatia, the first Croatian zombie comedy.

Another highlight will be the US documentary George Romero - An Independent Man, portraying Romero's journey of being an independent film-maker in the mainstream film world.

According to Horvat, Ljutomer, a north-eastern Slovenian town, is becoming too small for the popular festival. A couple of additional performances will be thus staged in the near-by town of Ormož this year.

The programme will also include workshops, concerts, a theatrical performance, book presentations and wine tastings.

The festival is named after Slovenia's first amateur film-maker, the Ljutomer-based lawyer Karol Grossmann (1864-1929), who shot his first two short films in the town in 1905.

More details can be found at the festival’s website

http://www.grossmann.si/

Keep up with the daily news in Slovenia by checking the morning headlines here

This schedule was prepared by the STA

MONDAY, 15 July
        LJUBLJANA - North Macedonia President Stevo Pendarovski will start a two-day official visit to Slovenia.
        LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Home Policy Committee will discuss joint police patrols on the Slovenian-Italian border.
        LJUBLJANA - The National Council will vote on a veto filed against changes to the act regulating funding of private primary schools.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar will attend a session of the EU's Foreign Affairs Council and Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec will be on hand for a session of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council.
        
TUESDAY, 16 July
        LJUTOMER - The start of the 15th Grossman Festival of Fantastic Film and Wine; until 20 July.

WEDNESDAY, 17 July
        MARIBOR - The existing lease for Maribor Airport expires and the Infrastructure Agency will provisionally take over the management of the airport infrastructure.

THURSDAY, 18 July
        HELSINKI, Finland - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar will attend a session of the EU's Justice and Home Affairs Council. A meeting with Italian counterpart Matteo Salvini is also planned.
        LJUBLJANA - Weekly cabinet session.

FRIDAY, 19 July
        No major events scheduled.

SATURDAY, 20 July
        No major events scheduled.

SUNDAY, 21 July
        No major events scheduled.

STA, 8 July 2019 - Slovenia reiterated its stance that by not implementing the 2017 border arbitration award, Croatia is violating EU law, as it presented its view in an oral hearing of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) about the admissibility of Slovenia's lawsuit against Croatia.

The court convened on Monday to deliberate on Croatia's December 2018 arguments that border arbitration between Slovenia and Croatia does not fall under the ECJ's jurisdiction, because borders are a matter of international rather than EU law.

The EJC advocate general will present his legal opinion on the case on 6 November.

Presenting Croatia's stance to ECJ judges, lawyer Jemima Stratford said the case did not fall under the court's jurisdiction and the court should not interfere in bilateral disputes.

Bilateral territorial disputes are outside the EU court's jurisdiction, even if they have a bearing on the implementation of EU law, she said.

She added that the only possible legal basis for the legal action would be Article 273 of the Lisbon Treaty.

The article enables EU members to bring a dispute before the ECJ in a consensual manner. It relates to disputes which are not strictly EU law, but are relevant for member states and the EU.

Stratford explained that Croatia did not recognise the border arbitration award because it had withdrawn from the arbitration process before it was declared.

Although Slovenia claims the arbitration award is a fact, it is also a fact that the award is not being implemented on the ground, she added.

Croatia therefore believes Slovenia is creating a fictitious dispute, she said, adding Croatia and Slovenia were acting in line with their respective legal understanding of their borders.

The apple of contention is therefore the course of the border, not the interpretation of EU law, Croatia's representative said.

Presenting Slovenia's stance, agent Maja Menard said the lawsuit was not about the border, because the border had been set in the 2017 award, which was final and self-implementable, and the two countries were obliged to respect it.

Menard also reiterated that by not recognising the arbitration award, Croatia was violating EU rules and policies.

In the lawsuit, which is based on Article 259 of the Lisbon Treaty, Slovenia proposes the ECJ establish that Croatia violated Articles 2 and 4, which stress the importance of the rule of law and sincere cooperation between member states.

Slovenia also claims Croatia is violating the common fisheries policy, Schengen rules about the free movement of people and a directive on maritime spatial planning.

Menard stressed that a decision of international law was in the ECJ's jurisdiction if the decision was necessary to interpret EU law, to which it referred.

Following the presentation of both countries' positions, judges asked several questions, many about a note concerning the border arbitration in Croatia's EU accession agreement.

The note in annex 3, chapter 5, refers to fisheries, saying the fisheries regimes will start applying when the arbitration award reached on the basis of the arbitration agreement signed by Slovenia and Croatia on 4 November 2009 is fully implemented.

Judge rapporteur Christopher Vajda thus asked Croatia about it in relation to the country's argument that the ECJ had no jurisdiction in the case.

Stratford said the note merely set the time frame of the implementation of the fisheries regime.

But Slovenia's lawyer Jean-Marc Thouvenin explained the note introduced the arbitration agreement and what stemmed from it into EU law, which made it part of EU law.

Italian judge Lucia Serena Rossi said this was really just a note, but a very important one. As such it is part of primary EU law and thus falls under the ECJ's jurisdiction.

Once the two-and-a-half-hour oral hearing was over, Advocate General Priit Pikamäe announced he would present his submissions - his independent legal opinion - on 6 November.

If the lawsuit is admitted, the court will start to deliberate on its content.

Speaking to the press after the hearing, Marko Vrevc from Slovenian Foreign Ministry said he would be surprised if the court decided not to admit the lawsuit.

Menard said the hearing had gone according to plans and the debate had been intense as expected. She has a positive feeling about it since Slovenia had an opportunity to answer the judges' questions in detail.

The agent expects the court's decision on the admissibility at the start of 2020.

She was also not surprised Croatia had referred to Article 273 during the hearing, noting this implied "a quasi arbitration process which requires both sides' consent, but we insist the border dispute is settled, so we need no consensus on another attempt to solve it".

STA, 13 July 2019 - The 29th season of the Slovenian football premier league will get under way today, featuring Maribor as the defending champion and nine more teams looking to upset the most dominant team in the history of Slovenian club football.

Maribor have won 16th Slovenian league titles so far and are followed by Olimpija of Ljubljana, which has restored its status as a serious rival in recent years, managing to snatch the title in 2016 and 2018.

While things were also fairly close in the last season, a strong challenge by Olimpija is looking somewhat less likely ahead of the new session, with Maribor having acquired the Ljubljana team's leading scorer and the no. 2 scorer overall in the last season Rok Kronaveter.

Maribor, who have successfully began their qualifying campaign for the Champions League, already have the league's top scorer, Luka Zahović, the son of Slovenia's former international star Zlatko Zahović. What is more, the team has been joined by the fourth best scorer of the league in the last season, midfielder Rudi Požeg Vancaš.

"I'm happy with the roster. It clearly has quality and can meet the demands we have," Maribor's head coach Darko Milanič told the press. He said the goal was to repeat the last season, when Maribor also made it to the final of the Slovenian Cup competition and to the third round of qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.

The Cup was won by Olimpija, which lost its first qualifying match for the Europa League on Thursday and has mostly been making headlines in recent weeks over reports its owner Milan Mandarić is about to sell the club to an Italian businessman.

The team's coach Safet Hadžić in confident nonetheless: "I'm very happy with the preparations... perhaps I still expect a reinforcement in a position or two, but momentarily all is ok. We're a club that is chasing the title, but we should not underestimate the other teams. Domžale and the rest are not naive."

Domžale, whose two titles date back to 2007 and 2008, is indeed looking as a potential challenger, having reinforced the team significantly. The club leadership says the goal is to advance step by step and get close to Maribor and Olimpija.

The new season will be opened today at 6pm by the Tabor Sežana - Aluminij encounter, while Maribor will also play, against Triglav at 8.15pm.

A total of 36 rounds will be played until 16 May, with a winter break scheduled between 14 December and 22 February. All the matches will be broadcast by TV Slovenija or Planet TV.

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also ollow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here

Visiting Ljubljana? Check out what's on this week, while all our stories on Slovenia, from newest to oldest, are here

This summary is provided by the STA:

Slovenian MEPs from EPP will back von der Leyen, others yet to decide

LJUBLJANA - Ursula von der Leyen, the candidate for European Commission president, enjoys the support of the four Slovenian MEPs of the European People's Party (EPP) ahead of Tuesday's vote in the European Parliament. The remaining four Slovenian MEPs, coming from the ranks of liberals and social democrats, are still undecided. Klemen Grošelj (RE/LMŠ) said the RE had sent von der Leyen a list of its conditions for support, while the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) is waiting for von der Leyen's detailed views on the rule of law, Schengen zone and border controls within the zone, said Tanja Fajon (S&D/SD).

Parliament backs inquiry into prosecution of national councillor

LJUBLJANA - Acting on a proposal by the upper chamber of parliament, the lower chamber established an inquiry commission which will examine public office holders' potential responsibility for the criminal prosecution of councillor Franc Kangler. Kangler, a member of the upper chamber, had been prosecuted for several crimes when he was mayor of Maribor, but has been acquitted in many of the cases, often on procedural grounds. The move was welcomed by the opposition Democrats (SDS), New Slovenia (NSi) and National Party (SNS), while all other parties find it unacceptable and may not participate in the commission, which could prevent the commission from being appointed in the first place.

Slovenia to fully transpose PNR directive

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed amendments to the police tasks and powers act and aviation act, in a bid to fully transpose the EU directive on the use of passenger name record (PNR) data. Some PMs raised concerns about possible abuses. Interior Ministry State Secretary Sandi Čurin said the main goal of the amendments is to fully transpose the EU directive on the use of passenger name record data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime.

Legislation proposed to overhaul rules on MPs

LJUBLJANA - A cross-partisan group of parliamentary factions representing more than two-thirds of MP tabled legislative amendments that would reform the status of MPs, including when they are deemed to be engaged in work incompatible with the office of MP. Under amendments to the act on MPs, deputies would be subject to the provisions of the act on integrity and the prevention of corruption. Instead of specifying when exactly an MP's term terminates in the event they are engaged in an activity that is incompatible with the office, the act on MPs would thus simply defer to the act on integrity and the prevention of corruption.

SDS and NSi want top court to review taxation of workers commuting abroad

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) joined the initiative of Slovenian workers who commute to Austria for a constitutional review of what they see as discriminatory income tax legislation. While the union of Slovenian migrant workers asked the top court to review the income tax act in November 2018, Franc Breznik of the SDS told the press that the two parties urged the court to give the matter absolute priority treatment.

Bill curbs realtors' rental fees

LJUBLJANA - A bill to limit commission fees for leasing real estate and other costs which real estate agencies can charge their clients was endorsed by the National Assembly amidst protests by real estate agencies, which have threatened to petition the Constitutional Court. Under the changes to the act on real estate agency tabled by the Left, landlords would fully pay the commission fee charged by a real estate agency for a service commissioned by them. This means tenants would no longer shoulder part of the fee, tackling one of the biggest complaints by individuals - the fact that tenants pay a fee for a service they have not commissioned.

Bill compensating owners of border fence plots passed

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed legislative amendments that speed up procedures to compensate owners of land along the border with Croatia on which the government has erected, or will erect, a border fence. Existing legislation makes it possible to compensate land owners, but since the border fence was first erected in 2015 it has turned out that such procedures are lengthy and complex. The amendments to the border control act simplify the procedure and institute a single rate of compensation for all land, currently affecting almost 3,000 plots subject to ten-year easement due to the border fence. The annual cost is estimated at roughly EUR 35,000.

Slovenia wants stronger ties with Friuli-Venezia Giulia

TRIESTE, Italy - The need to strengthen economic cooperation with Friuli-Venezia Giulia topped the agenda as Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek paid a visit to the northern Italian region. Počivalšek held talks Sergio Emidio Bini, the regional minister of economy and tourism, as well as Illycaffe officials the representatives of Slovenian economic organisations and companies in the region. The plan is to intensify cooperation in tourism, innovations and digitalisation. Meetings at the expert level will continue in autumn.

Ljubljana slated to become world's fastest-warming city

LJUBLJANA - Ljubljana, a city situated on the meeting point of two climate zones most affected by global warming - northern Mediterranean and the Alpine region, is to become the fastest-warming city in the world, a projection by Swiss institute Crowther Lab shows. In line with the projection, temperatures in the Slovenian capital in the warmest month of the year will go up by 8 degrees Celsius by 2050, while the average annual temperatures are to rise by 3.5 degrees. Central Europe and the Balkans are expected to see the most notable temperature raises, so the climate in the region is expected to resemble that of Texas cities in the US, the study shows.

Judiciary calls for new offices for Ljubljana courts

LJUBLJANA - Supreme Court president Damijan Florjančič urged PM Marjan Šarec in an open letter to find a permanent solution to the lack of space for courts in Ljubljana. He believes a new courthouse is urgently needed for first-instance courts. He said the landlord had terminated the contract for the offices of the Ljubljana District Court's department dealing with while-collar crime. The department will have to leave its offices in Miklošičeva Street by August 2020.

Medical Chamber hails choice of Poklukar for new UKC Ljubljana head

LJUBLJANA - The Medical Chamber welcomed the decision of the governing board of UKC Ljubljana to select Janez Poklukar, a doctor who has been successfully managing the Jesenice hospital, for the new director general of Slovenia's largest hospital. While Poklukar still needs a nod from Health Minister Aleš Šabeder, the Medical Chamber hailed the choice "of a candidate who has proven himself with results... as opposed to somebody who is politically likeable as is all too often the case with appointments of directors at public institutions".

Cargo transported by Slovenian trains last year flat over 2017

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian freight trains transported some 21.3 million tonnes of cargo last year by doing 5.15 billion tonne-kilometres, which is roughly equal to 2017. The majority of the cargo (86%) was transported internationally, including transit, data from the Statistics Office show. Freight trains mostly carried so-called other cargo or unidentifiable cargo in containers as well as mixed cargo; this amounted to 6.62 million tonnes or some 36% of all the cargo transported last year.

If you're learning Slovenian then you can find all our dual texts here

STA, 12 July 2019 - Ljubljana, a city situated on the meeting point of two climate zones most affected by global warming - northern Mediterranean and the Alpine region, is slated to become the fastest-warming city in the world, a projection by Swiss institute Crowther Lab shows.

In line with the projection, temperatures in the Slovenian capital in the warmest month of the year will go up by 8 degrees Celsius by 2050, while the average annual temperatures are to rise by 3.5 degrees.

Central Europe and the Balkans are expected to see the most notable temperature raises, so the climate in the region is expected to resemble that of Texas cities in the US, the study shows.

According to climatologist Aljoša Slameršak, Crowther Lab projections are very much in line with the forecasts the Slovenian Environment Agency presented last year. The estimate for Ljubljana's hottest month might be somewhat more drastic but not impossible, Slameršek told the newspaper Dnevnik.

"We must take into account the climatology of cities, which differs from the climatology of the wider area. With a concentration of unnatural surfaces we get heat island effects in the cities," he explained.

Ljubljana is expected to see the biggest rise in average summer months temperatures among all 520 cities included in the Crowther Lab survey. One-quarter of the cities are projected to see drastic changes.

According to the projections, the weather in Ljubljana in 2050 will resemble that in Virginia Beach, US.

The Slovenian capital would be affected by global warming so severely because Slovenia is the meeting point of two climate zones that are most affected by global warming - northern Mediterranean and the Alpine region.

This means more rain, more dry spells and above-average temperature rise, Slameršek told Dnevnik, adding that up to three long heat waves per summer would become common place with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees.

Crowther Lab made its projections based on the assumption that countries will not implement the Paris climate deal in full and climatologists stress that such scenarios could still be avoided with immediate and radical action.

"Bad news is that Slovenia cannot affect climate change one bit by reducing its emissions. We are mainly dependant on the European climate policy," Slameršek said.

More on this story can be found here

STA, 12 July 2019 - A bill to limit commission fees for leasing real estate and other costs which real estate agencies can charge their clients was endorsed by the National Assembly on Friday amidst protests by real estate agencies, which have threatened to petition the Constitutional Court.

Under the changes to the act on real estate agency tabled by the Left, landlords would fully pay the commission fee charged by a real estate agency for a service commissioned by them.

This means tenants would no longer shoulder part of the fee, tackling one of the biggest complaints by individuals - the fact that tenants pay a fee for a service they have not commissioned.

A cap would also be imposed on the commission fee that can be charged by apartment rental agencies to landlords. The capped amount would correspond to one monthly rent but would not be lower than 150 euros.

The restrictions apply only to rental to individuals, business-to-business transactions are exempted.

The Left believes tenants in apartments leased at market prices should benefit the most since they will no longer have to pay commission fees for the services they have not commissioned and since landlords would be encouraged to rent out their apartments for longer periods.

The bill also introduces EU rules in acquiring qualifications for a real estate agent; Slovenia had already received a warning about a delay from the European Commission.

While the motion received wholehearted support from the government and the Consumer Protection Association, businesses have been up in arms over what they say is encroachment on the free market.

Representatives of real estate agents, who even took out whole-page ads in newspapers to protest the bill, said it was inadmissible for anyone to limit the price of a service available on the free market.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) has said there is enough competition on the market and citizens are not obliged to use this service.

Fewer than 50% of real estate transactions are made through real estate agents, which GZS sees as proof that tenants are not forced to shoulder the commission fee for the service.

The GZS's section of real estate agents has said it will report Slovenia to the European Commission and probably ask the Constitutional Court to review the bill.

STA, 11 July 219 - The Public Administration Ministry has laid the groundwork for the erection of another 40 kilometres of border fence. It would not reveal, however, where the fence will be placed.

The new fence will be supplied and set up by the Serbian company Legi-SGS for EUR 4.8 million.

The fence alone will cost EUR 4.56 million, and the pillars, fittings and installation another EUR 273,000, shows the result of an open call released on Wednesday.

The ministry looked for the best bidder with two calls for applications, and the Belgrade-based Legi-SGS was picked as the best bidder in both.

The ministry would not reveal where the border fence will be placed. It says this is confidential.

It did say, however, that additional fence would be erected in places where this is required to prevent illegal migration and protect locals and their assets. In some places, the new fence is needed because the old one is damaged.

The specific decisions on when, where and how much fence is needed are made based on the proposal of the Slovenian police, the ministry said.

STA, 11 July 2019 - Although there are no courses and exams at Slovenian universities during the summer break, several faculties organise a number of activities, with summer schools for students from around the globe becoming increasingly popular.

It is the summer schools organised by the University of Ljubljana's Faculty of Economics and Faculty of Arts that have the longest tradition and attract many students.

The Faculty of Economics launched the 20th Ljubljana Summer School this week, termed Take the Best from East and West.

Interest in it growing, so over 400 students from more than 90 higher education establishments from almost 40 countries are attending.

While the first summer school in 2000 featured 35 students from five countries, the faculty has hosted more than 4,000 students since then.

This year's three-week programme features 30 internationally acclaimed lecturers teaching 25 courses.

The faculty says its summer school is one of the largest summer schools of business and economics in Europe.

Courses, held in English, are also open to Slovenian students and all those who wish to improve their knowledge of various aspects of economics.

While one segment offers graduate and post-graduate courses in business, economic and business law, and business English, the other one focuses on Slovenian culture.

Apart from getting an unforgettable experience, students take an exam at the end of the summer school to get additional credit points they can use at their faculties.

Having just completed the the Faculty of Social Sciences' summer school, Angelika Lomat, a Belarus studying in Poland, says it was an exceptional experience.

The 4th Academia Aestiva Internationalis, which was attended by 20 students from eleven countries, was her first summer school "an experience I'd like to repeat".

"It was an incredible opportunity to meet experts from different areas and share your own experience with students from other countries," she has told the STA.

The Faculty of Arts, or its Centre for Slovenian as a Second and Foreign Language, has organised the Slovenian language summer school for the 38th year running.

More than 100 foreigners from 32 countries could choose a two- or a four-week Slovenian language course to improve their reading, writing and speaking skills.

The faculty's department of Slavic studies meanwhile organised the 55th seminar of Slovenian language, literature and culture.

Since the century of the University of Ljubljana and of Prekmurje's reunification with Slovenia is observed in 2019, the seminar's focus is on 1919 as reflected in the language and culture.

The seminar has brought together students, university teachers, Slavic studies experts, translators and other scholars from 26 countries.

Slovenian language courses are also organised at the University of Primorska, which is based in the coastal town of Koper.

Its Faculty of Humanities has organised the 26th summer course of Slovenian language dubbed Hallo, Slovenia's Mediterranean Calling!, offering not only language studies and an insight into Slovenian culture but also two relaxed weeks at the seaside.

STA, 11 July 2019 - Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki told the STA he was optimistic about Slovenia recognising Palestinian independence, expecting Slovenia to make this step along with a number of other EU countries. However, he pointed out there was currently little chance of restarting the peace process with Israel.

Malki said he was disappointed when Slovenia changed its mind about recognising Palestine last year after the decision to do that had already been reached.

"I remember we were in Brussels when the former foreign minister met with our President Mahmud Abas and told him Slovenia was going to recognize Palestine," said the minister, adding that they were very pleased about the step and started celebrating, but Slovenia decided to take a step back.

Palestinian expectations then became more realistic, with Palestine starting to understand the complexity of this process and also the effects of the pressure from Israel and the US.

Wednesday's talks with Foreign Minister Miro Cerar and Speaker Dejan Židan made Malki realise that together they could create the right kind of atmosphere for reaching the recognition decision.

He said that in the upcoming weeks he would strengthen the efforts aimed at establishing conditions in which Slovenia could recognize Palestinian independence along with several other EU countries, adding that would be beneficial to all, "not only Slovenia but also for other countries who are a little bit hesitant and who are looking for other countries to do the same".

According to him, Palestinians would deeply appreciate Slovenian recognition of their independence also because they regard Slovenia as "a country which understands what it means to be independent and has strived for its own freedom and independence", as well as a country which has supported Palestine since its own independence.

"The moment Slovenia will announce its recognition of the state of Palestine, it's going to be a national celebration in Palestine," said Malki.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian minister is not particularly optimistic in terms of the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As long as Israel will have a "fascist, extreme right, radical government" and as long as the US administration will continue supporting this government and illegal settlers and disregarding international law and UN resolutions, there are no chances of restarting the process, said Malki.

According to him, Palestinians would support the replacement of the US as a mediator in the process; however, they are aware that the US cannot be completely excluded from the negotiations. But they cannot have an exclusive role any more, said Malki.

He called for a bigger role of the EU in the negotiations. According to him, Europe understands the Middle East situation and has "vested interests to see peace and prosperity in the Middle East".

However, Malki believes Israel would not accept that. "Israel wants the US alone to play that role, but we cannot allow that, so we have to reach a compromise," said the minister, adding that such compromise could include the US, EU and other countries as participants in the negotiations.

Malki described the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories as very difficult, highlighting that such state of affairs has been going on for more than 50 years.

According to him, the Israeli occupation is not only military but also economic and social.

"You cannot dig a well without getting Israeli permits. You cannot get electricity without Israeli permits. Our internet - we get it directly from Israel," said Malki, pointing out that Palestinians only recently got 3G, when people in some places already have 5G, while in Gaza only the 2G network is available.

"If we want to travel abroad, we have to go through Israeli military control. If they decide you're not allowed to travel, then you cannot really go anywhere. There are more than 600 checkpoints dispersed around in the West Bank, meaning that on average there is a checkpoint every four or five kilometres."

Malki pointed out that if one travels from one city to another, a distance of some 30 km, they have to go through 2-3 checkpoints. "You don't know if you can cross, you don't know if you can get where you are going on time."

"You go to sleep and you don't know if Israeli soldiers will break into your home at 3 or 4 in the morning just to remind you they're the ones in control or to look for somebody or something or even to take one of your children for interrogation.

"When your kids leave in the morning for school, you don't know if they will come back," said Malki and added that Jewish settlers, pushing Palestinians off their land make life in the occupied territories even harder.