PALESTINE

Thu 28 Mar 2024 8:39 am - Jerusalem Time

Israel is preparing for the Rafah operation, and Hamas calls for holding Israel accountable

On the 174th day of the Israeli war on Gaza, the Israeli bombing of multiple areas in northern, central and southern Gaza continued, with 3 Palestinians killed and 20 others injured, while the Israeli Channel 12 said that the army had begun preparations to launch an operation in Rafah in the event of the collapse of the negotiations.


It added that the Israeli army began steps to isolate the city of Rafah and evacuate civilians.


It said that Netanyahu ordered the purchase of 40,000 tents from China to set up in Gaza in preparation for the ground operation in Rafah. The tents will be transferred upon their arrival from Israel to the Gaza Strip. Clear spots will be identified in the Strip - where tents will be set up and refugees will stay.


On the other hand, the Israeli army announced that a sergeant in the Givati Brigade and another soldier were killed, and a third soldier was seriously injured in the Gaza battles.


For its part, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said, “The scenes broadcast by Al Jazeera of the killing of civilians in cold blood are further evidence of the extent of fascism and criminality in Zionist behavior,” and called for international action to stop “the systematic killing of our people and hold this rogue entity accountable.”


PALESTINE

Thu 28 Mar 2024 12:04 am - Jerusalem Time

Most Americans disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza: Poll


Poll shows ‘clear disconnect’ between President Joe Biden’s policies and US public, especially Democrats, analyst says.

 A majority of Americans disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza, a new poll has shown, as the Israeli military continues to pound the besieged Palestinian enclave and imposes a siege that has created a hunger crisis.

The Gallup poll released on Wednesday found that 55 percent of respondents disapproved of the Israeli military’s actions in the Gaza Strip, up from 45 percent who said they disapproved in November, a month after Israel began its operation.

Among Democratic Party voters, the percentage was even higher, with 75 percent of respondents expressing a negative view of Israel’s actions, while 60 percent of independents also said they disapproved.

“The Gallup poll reflects a clear disconnect between the Biden administration’s policies and the views of a majority of Americans, particularly Democrats, on Israel’s actions in Gaza,” said Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at Democracy for the Arab World Now, a think-tank in Washington, DC.

“This divergence suggests a pressing need for the administration to realign its foreign policy with the values and expectations of its constituents,” Jarrar told Al Jazeera in an email.

“Such a substantial gap in approval should be another reason for the administration to end its ongoing support to Israel’s genocide.”

  The findings of the poll, which was conducted earlier this month, come as Israel has intensified its bombardment of parts of the Gaza Strip despite growing international demands for a lasting ceasefire to end the war.

US President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has also faced protests and public anger over his staunch support for Israel and refusal to withhold foreign aid to the Israeli government until it complies with international human rights norms.

Earlier this week, the Biden administration abstained from a United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolution instead of using its veto, a move that experts said highlighted Biden’s frustrations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But Washington continues to provide weapons and public support to Israel, and senior US officials have downplayed the importance of the UN Security Council measure.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said on Wednesday that Israeli attacks on the territory over the past 24 hours had killed at least 76 Palestinians, raising the total to at least 32,490 Palestinians killed since Israel began its assault following Hamas’s October 7 attack that left 1,139 Israelis dead.

Israel also continues to block humanitarian aid deliveries to the enclave, which is facing shortages of food, clean water and other supplies.

A UN expert warned this week that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The Israeli government rejected those allegations.o Duration 02 minutes 08 seconds02:08

Against that backdrop, Biden’s approval rating for his handling of the situation in the Middle East sits at 27 percent, according to another Gallup poll released last week.

Among Democrats, the approval rating was 47 percent, compared with 16 percent and 21 percent among Republicans and independents, respectively.

“Democrats’ widespread opposition to Israel’s actions underscores the difficulty of the issue for President Joe Biden among his most loyal supporters,” Gallup said on Wednesday.

“Some Democratic critics believe Biden has been too closely aligned with Israel by not taking stronger actions to promote a ceasefire and to assist Palestinian civilians caught in the war zone.”

Biden has faced a growing protest movement over his Gaza policy as he campaigns for re-election in November against his predecessor and the Republicans’ presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

Groups have urged Democratic voters to cast “uncommitted” ballots during several state primaries so far this year, including in the key US swing state of Michigan.

Earlier this month, organisers of the so-called Listen to Michigan campaign announced plans to take their movement national.

“Today, we launched our national movement to let you all know uncommitted voters aren’t going anywhere, and we aren’t backing down until we achieve a permanent ceasefire,” Layla Elabed, a key organiser, told reporters.


SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

OPINIONS

Wed 27 Mar 2024 11:58 pm - Jerusalem Time

No to a second Nakba

Editorial

Israel expelled the majority of the Palestinian population from their homes in the northern Gaza Strip in the first weeks of the war, under the pretext of preserving their safety during the ground invasion (“maneuver”) of the Israeli army in its war against Hamas. 


While the new refugees were congregating in Rafah, Israel destroyed a large part of Gaza City and its suburbs, demolishing homes, shops, schools, universities and government institutions. The one-kilometre-wide area of the Gaza Strip along the border has undergone a “clearance” process, removing houses, roads and trees, in order to use the area in a safe manner in the future and prevent Palestinians from entering it. 

The Israeli army built a road to divide the Strip into two parts, along which a type of border crossing will be established between the north and south of the Strip.

The Palestinians who remained in the northern Gaza Strip are clinging to their destroyed homes, and are at risk of starvation, despite UN warnings, and Israel refuses to transfer supplies to them, via the shorter route, through the closed Erez crossing. 

As for the negotiations with Hamas regarding the ceasefire deal and the exchange of kidnapped persons and prisoners, Israel refused to allow the return of all refugees to the northern Gaza Strip, and only allowed the return of women and children in the first stage. There are increasing voices in Israel calling for turning the occupation of the northern Gaza Strip into a permanent reality, similar to the situation in the West Bank, and establishing settlements for Jews in place of Palestinian villages and cities that were destroyed in the war.

Today, these votes are shared by far-right parties, such as “Jewish Power” and “Religious Zionism,” and a large number of members of the Likud Party. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who declared at the beginning of the war his opposition to Jewish settlement in Gaza, is now talking about a continued presence in the Strip, and opposes the establishment of any Palestinian authority there on “the day after the war.”

The decision to expel the residents, destroy their homes, expose the border area, and build the road separating the north from the south, was taken in closed rooms, and in light of the ambiguity of war, and calls for revenge against the Palestinians for the “massacre” of October 7 in the cover settlements. 

The government and the army have refrained from informing the public about this, and most information about the situation on the ground is obtained from international bodies and media, or from satellite images. The more time passes, the greater the impression that expulsion and destruction will become a permanent reality, and that the residents of the northern Gaza Strip will become refugees like their fathers, the refugees of the 1948 Nakba.

This war, whose purpose was to eliminate Hamas and return the kidnapped people to Israel, and these two goals were not achieved even after five months, must not turn into a second Nakba for the Palestinians. Israel's future, security and prosperity lie in coexistence with the Palestinians and with all neighboring Arab countries, not in creating a new wave of refugees who will swear revenge. 


The continuation of the occupation and the establishment of settlements in the Gaza Strip constitute a war crime and a moral crime. They will deepen the conflict and make Israel an isolated state in the world.

PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 11:57 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israeli Strikes on Rafah Raise Fear Ground Assault Could Begin


Israel bombed at least four homes in Rafah on Wednesday, raising new fear among the more than a million Palestinians sheltering in the last refuge on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip that a long-threatened ground assault could be coming.

One of the airstrikes killed 11 people from a single family, health officials said.

Mussa Dhaheer, looking on from below as neighbors helped an emergency worker lower a victim in a black body bag from an upper storey, said he had awakened to the blast, kissed his terrified daughter, and rushed outside to find the destruction. His father, 75, and mother, 62, were among the dead.

"I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say. I can't make sense of what happened. My parents. My father with his displaced friends who came from Gaza City," he told Reuters.

"They were all together, when suddenly they were all gone like dust."

At another bomb site, Jamil Abu Houri said the intensification of air strikes was Israel's way of showing its disdain for a UN Security Council resolution last week demanding an immediate Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

Next up, he fears a ground assault on Rafah, which Israel has threatened for weeks to carry out despite pleas from its closest ally Washington that this would wreak a humanitarian disaster.

"The bombing has increased, and they have threatened us with an incursion, and they say that have been given the green light for the Rafah incursion. Where is the Security Council?" Abu Houri said.

"Look at our little ones. Look at our children. Where should we go? Where should we go?"

Another Israeli airstrike in Rafah on Wednesday afternoon killed four Palestinians including a woman and a child and injured other residents, Gaza health authorities said.

Just west of Gaza City in the enclave's north, seven people were killed in an airstrike on a house, health officials said.

The Israeli military says it is targeting armed Hamas militants who use civilian buildings, including apartment blocks and hospitals, for cover. Hamas denies doing so.

West Bank violence

Separately, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where bloodshed has worsened in parallel with the Gaza war, three Palestinians were killed and four wounded by Israeli fire during a raid in Jenin overnight, the Palestinian health ministry said.

At least 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's air and ground offensive into Hamas-run Gaza, according to the health ministry there, with thousands of other dead believed buried under rubble and over 80% of the 2.3 million population displaced, many at risk of famine.

The war erupted after Hamas gunmen broke through the border on Oct. 7 and rampaged through nearby communities, killing 1,200 people and abducting 253 hostages according to Israeli tallies.

Israeli forces just north of Rafah kept the two main hospitals in Khan Younis, Al-Amal and Nasser Hospital, under a blockade imposed late last week. In the north, they were still operating inside Al Shifa, the enclave's largest hospital, which they stormed more than a week ago.

Israel says the hospitals have been lairs for Hamas gunmen, which Hamas and medical staff deny. The Israeli military has said it killed and captured hundreds of fighters in a battle in Al Shifa. Hamas says civilians and medics were rounded up.

Gaza's health ministry said wounded people and patients were being held inside Al Shifa's human resources department that was not equipped to provide them with healthcare.

Residents living nearby have reported hearing explosions in and around Al Shifa and columns of smoke coming from buildings inside the premises.

"A war zone, this is how it looks in and around Al Shifa," Mohammad Jamal, 25, who lives one km (less than one mile) away from Al Shifa, said via a mobile phone chat app.

"Explosions never stop, we see lines of smoke coming from inside, no one moves even in streets that are hundreds of meters away because of Israeli snipers on rooftops of buildings."

International mediation has failed to secure a ceasefire and exchange of prisoners so far as the two sides stick to irreconcilable demands. Hamas wants an end to the war and total Israeli withdrawal from Gaza while Israel has vowed to keep fighting until its foe is eradicated.

Military plans

Meanwhile, Israel has asked to reschedule a meeting with US officials to discuss its military plans in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, a US official said on Wednesday, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly scrapped the planned talks.

Netanyahu called off a planned visit to Washington by a senior Israeli delegation after the US allowed passage of a Gaza ceasefire resolution at the United Nations on Monday, in a move that appeared to reflect growing US frustration with the Israeli premier.

US officials said the Biden administration was perplexed by the Israeli cancellation and considered it an overreaction to the Security Council resolution, insisting there had been no change in policy.

On Wednesday, a US official said Netanyahu's office "has said they'd like to reschedule the meeting dedicated to Rafah. We are now working with them to set a convenient date."

Netanyahu is considering sending a delegation for a White House meeting on Rafah as early as next week, but the scheduling is still being worked out, an Israeli official in Washington told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli prime minister's office.

The planned talks are expected to focus on Israel's threatened offensive in Rafah, the last relatively safe haven for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

The White House said last week it intended to share with Israeli officials alternatives for eliminating Hamas without a ground offensive in Rafah that Washington says would be a "disaster."

 

ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 27 Mar 2024 11:51 pm - Jerusalem Time

Sanders: Israel is turning into a religious fundamentalist state

US Senator Bernie Sanders said on Wednesday that Israel is currently considered a right-wing state that is increasingly turning into a religious fundamentalist state.


Sanders pointed out, in an interview on social media, that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and US President Joe Biden are the reason why few Democrats are publicly calling for making aid to Israel conditional.


The independent US senator from Vermont has repeatedly criticized the unlimited US support for Israel in its war on Gaza, and called for it to stop supplying Tel Aviv with money and weapons if it does not put an end to the humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip.


He also previously called on the Biden administration to express its opposition to the behavior of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.


Last January, Sanders said that the United States is complicit in the nightmare experienced by the Palestinian people.


Source: American press

PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 11:39 pm - Jerusalem Time

International newspapers: Re-settlement in Gaza is a war crime, and America demands an end to Israel’s madness

International newspapers and news websites covered extensively the repercussions of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, the resulting humanitarian crisis that reached the point of famine, and the escalating dispute between Tel Aviv and Washington.


The American newspaper "Los Angeles Times" said in its editorial that famine in Gaza is imminent, noting that "the killing of more than 32,000 Palestinians, and the grief and misery experienced by the survivors, is not only tragic, but unjustified."


The newspaper demanded, “The United States immediately uses its influence to end this madness, and then the floating port ordered by US President Joe Biden can be built, and its completion will take a few weeks.”


The American newspaper "The New York Times" touched on the demands of the authorities in Gaza "to stop airdrops and increase aid deliveries by land."


It indicated that this claim came after eyewitnesses reported that 12 people drowned off the northern coast, while trying to retrieve aid dropped in the sea, adding that it is not clear which country is responsible for the airdrop operation in question.


Security Council resolution

As for the Chinese Global Times editorial, it said that no party should ignore the UN Security Council’s decision to cease fire in Gaza, because these decisions are binding on all countries, and the United States should take the initiative to implement it.


The newspaper asked, "If Security Council resolutions are not binding, as the US ambassador claimed, why does Washington resort to repeatedly vetoing them?"


The British Guardian newspaper considered in its editorial that the United States’ abstention from voting against the Security Council resolution on Gaza - last Monday - was an important symbolic moment.


It added, "But it seems that little change will result from this, unless the United States takes substantive measures, because complaining about human suffering is meaningless when it continues to provide the weapons that caused the disaster."


For its part, the American magazine "National Interest" published an article by researcher Leon Hadar, in which he said that moderate politicians in Israel must understand that if they fail to convince the majority of Israelis that an independent Palestinian state will not pose any threat to Israel, then the United States is unable to perform this task on their behalf.


He also explained that the idea that Biden would come to the aid of those seeking to remove Netanyahu from power “is just wishful thinking.”


'Diplomatic error'

In its editorial, the Hebrew newspaper "Jerusalem Post" considered the decision of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel the visit of a high-level delegation to the United States a major diplomatic error and a short-sighted step.


It added that the decision indicates that a missed opportunity for Israel deprives it of influencing opinions, and prevents it from clarifying its position directly to the United States and exploring alternative strategies for the complex situation in Gaza.


As for the Hebrew newspaper "Haaretz", it stressed in its editorial that Israel's war on the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) should not turn into a second Palestinian Nakba, because that generates revenge.


“The prolonged occupation and construction of settlements in Gaza would constitute a war crime and a moral crime, which will only exacerbate the conflict and make Israel hated around the world,” she added.


Source: American press + Israeli press + British press + Chinese press

PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 11:36 pm - Jerusalem Time

Poll: Americans Shifted to disapproval of Israeli military action in Gaza

PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 11:31 pm - Jerusalem Time

Gaza Health: 76 killed in 24 hours and 32,490 since the start of the war

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced today, Wednesday, that the death toll from the Israeli aggression had risen to 32,490 people and 74,889 injuries since the seventh of last October.


The Ministry of Health indicated that Israeli army committed 8 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, including 76 killed and 102 injuries during the past 24 hours.


It pointed out that a number of victims are still under rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them.


Israeli aircraft continued their bombing of various areas of the Gaza Strip on the 173rd day of the war, leaving dozens killed and hundreds wounded.



ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 27 Mar 2024 10:21 pm - Jerusalem Time

Washington: We have alternatives to the military operation in Rafah, and the negotiations are not over

The US State Department said that Washington still believes that negotiations between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) can continue, pointing to alternatives to a military operation that could eliminate the remaining leaders of the movement.


US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Wednesday that the department does not believe that negotiations between Israel and Hamas regarding the detained prisoners have ended.


He pointed out that the negotiations on a humanitarian truce in Gaza have not ended and have not reached a dead end.


He added that Washington believes that there is a possibility of continuing talks on the release of Hamas prisoners.


In response to a question from reporters whether a limited military operation in Rafah could eliminate the remaining Hamas leaders, Miller said, “Yes.”


The Foreign Ministry said that it has ideas about alternatives to the military operation in Rafah that could lead to the elimination of Hamas brigades there, she said.


The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said - today, Wednesday - that indirect negotiations are continuing between Israel and the Hamas movement to reach an agreement to exchange prisoners and ceasefire, while the main dispute centers on the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip.


Yesterday, Tuesday, Qatar clarified that talks are still ongoing between the parties at the level of technical teams, adding that there is no timetable for negotiations.


Last Monday, Hamas held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for the failure of the negotiations, and said that it informed the mediators of its adherence to the vision it presented on March 14.


This vision includes 4 main points: a comprehensive ceasefire, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced, and a real exchange of prisoners.


Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, leaving tens of thousands of civilians killed and wounded, most of them children and women, and massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly, according to Palestinian and UN data.


Israel continues this war despite the issuance of a resolution by the UN Security Council, last Monday, for an immediate ceasefire during the month of Ramadan, and also despite being tried for the first time before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing genocide.



PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 9:54 pm - Jerusalem Time

Netanyahu: Military pressure will lead us to release the kidnapped people in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that military pressure will lead to the release of detainees held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.


This came while he received, in his office in West Jerusalem, a delegation of members of the US Congress, which included Republican and Democratic legislators, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.


Netanyahu said: “It is very important to maintain bipartisan support at all times, especially in these difficult times.”


He claimed that "Iran has officially launched a campaign with Hezbollah, which also applies to Hamas, the Houthis, and others, requiring their official policy to shift from an ideological position to destroy Israel, to a long-term practical plan to destroy it."


Netanyahu continued: “We must win, but this does not eliminate other needs (representing) how to deal with Hezbollah and Iran, and prevent them from obtaining nuclear weapons, and how to prevent militias from launching missiles at Israel from Yemen or Baghdad.”


He explained, "Our goal is to destroy the military and authoritarian capabilities of Hamas in Gaza."


Netanyahu pointed out, "The second goal is to release the kidnapped people, and military action is what creates pressure to release the kidnapped ones."


For days, the Qatari capital, Doha, has been witnessing indirect negotiations between Israel and the Hamas movement, mediated by Qatari and Egyptian, but they have not yet led to reaching a prisoner exchange deal.


The Israeli Prime Minister continued: “The third goal is to create a situation in which Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel. These are the goals.”


The meeting was attended by Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, National Security Council Chairman Tzachi Hanegbi, and Netanyahu's political advisor Ofir Falk, according to the statement.


While the congressional delegation included Representatives: Brad Schneider, Jim Costa, Debbie Lesko, Juan Vargas, Valerie Fauci, Cathy Manning, Marilyn Strickland, Norma Torres, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, in addition to other senior officials from the Israel lobby in the United States (US Public Affairs Committee Israeli) known by the abbreviation "AIPAC".


For its part, the Hebrew Channel 7 said: The American delegation arrived in Israel at the initiative of AIPAC.


While the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted Netanyahu during his meeting with the American delegation as saying, “Israel will win the war with the support of US President (Joe) Biden, which support we greatly appreciate,” he claimed.


Relations between Tel Aviv and Washington are witnessing increasing tension, which reached its peak on Monday, with the latter abstaining from using its veto within a resolution adopted by the UN Security Council calling on Israel to cease fire in the Gaza Strip during the month of Ramadan, as 14 countries voted in favor of the resolution and the United States abstained from voting. 


In response, Netanyahu announced the cancellation of sending his country's delegation to Washington in protest against its failure to veto the draft resolution.


A delegation including Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi was scheduled to leave for Washington in the coming days, to discuss a possible Israeli ground operation in Rafah, to which Washington has repeatedly announced its objection.

PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 8:39 pm - Jerusalem Time

Yedioth Ahronoth: The War Council meets to discuss Hamas’ response in the negotiations

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that the Israeli War Council will hold a session this evening, Wednesday, to discuss the response of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to the proposed prisoner exchange deal, while Israeli reports indicate that the main dispute is currently focused on the return of displaced Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip.


Earlier today, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel are still continuing to reach an agreement to exchange prisoners and ceasefire, despite reports that Tel Aviv has summoned its negotiating delegation from the Qatari capital, Doha.


The Broadcasting Corporation quoted unnamed Israeli sources as saying, “Despite Hamas’s negative response to the proposal related to the prisoner exchange deal, negotiations with the movement are continuing.”


A foreign source told the Commission that the main point of disagreement revolves around the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, but a settlement can still be reached.


At the same time, an Israeli source said that reaching a compromise on the return of the displaced was possible, but the Israeli delegation was not authorized to resolve the issue, he said.


Yesterday, Tuesday, the Qatari Foreign Ministry announced that talks are still ongoing between the parties at the level of technical teams, and clarified that there is no timetable for negotiations.


Indirect negotiations are being conducted between Hamas and Israel through Qatari and Egyptian mediation, with the participation of the United States, in light of the continuation of the Israeli war on Gaza since last October.


The bombing forced about two million Palestinians to flee their areas in the Gaza Strip, which has been besieged by Israel for 17 years and is inhabited by about 2.2 million people in catastrophic conditions.


Hamas sticks to its position

For his part, the head of the Hamas movement abroad, Khaled Meshaal, confirmed that “the movement’s leadership is waging a negotiating battle no less fierce than the battle of the field, and God willing, we will defeat them in the field and in the negotiating battle.”


Meshaal added - in a speech he gave during an event in Jordan - that the movement insists in the negotiations on “stopping the aggression, withdrawing from Gaza, returning the displaced to their places, especially in northern Gaza, and providing all necessary relief, shelter, reconstruction, and ending the siege.”


He continued, "We will not release their prisoners until we achieve these goals and manage the negotiating battle firmly."


Hamas said that the basic principles underlying its vision of the negotiation file, which it presented to the mediators in Egypt and Qatar, are based on five main points: a ceasefire, an unconditional return of the displaced, the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from Gaza, the entry of aid and relief materials, and reconstruction.


A truce was previously held between Hamas and Israel for a week from November 24 to December 1, 2023, during which there was a ceasefire, an exchange of prisoners, and the entry of limited humanitarian aid into Gaza.

PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 7:39 pm - Jerusalem Time

A young man died from his wounds as a result of an Israeli bombing of the Jenin camp

A young man was killed this Wednesday evening, as a result of his critical injury, as a result of an Israeli drone bombing on the Jenin camp in the morning.


According to local sources, the young man, Walid Louay Walid Al-Osta (19 years old), from the city of Nablus, died as a result of his critical injury as a result of the Israeli march’s bombing of the camp.


ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 27 Mar 2024 7:16 pm - Jerusalem Time

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Britain discuss developments in Gaza

On Wednesday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan discussed with his British counterpart, David Cameron, developments in the Gaza Strip.


This came in a phone call during which the two ministers reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries, and regional and international issues of common interest, according to a statement by the Saudi Foreign Ministry.


The statement stated that the Saudi minister received a phone call from his British counterpart, David Cameron.


He added that during the call, bilateral relations between the two countries and regional and international issues of common interest were discussed, especially developments in the Gaza Strip.


Earlier Wednesday, the Saudi Foreign Minister also discussed with his French counterpart, Stephane Ségornet, developments in Gaza and “the efforts made regarding them.”


On Monday evening, the UN Security Council issued a resolution for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during the month of Ramadan, “in a step towards a permanent and sustainable ceasefire.”

PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 3:51 pm - Jerusalem Time

Euro-Med documents the execution of 13Palestinian children by “Israel” in Al-Shifa Hospital

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said that it documented the execution of 13 Palestinian children by the Israeli army in the Al-Shifa Medical Complex and its surroundings in Gaza City, in flagrant violation of the rules of international humanitarian law.


The Observatory added that these actions constitute “war crimes and crimes against humanity in and of themselves, and come in the context of the murders committed by Israel in implementation of the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”


According to the Observatory, the occupation army committed and continues to commit horrific crimes systematically during its military operations for more than a week inside and around Al-Shifa Hospital, including premeditated killings and extrajudicial executions against Palestinian civilians.


The Observatory reported that its field team received identical testimonies and testimonies regarding executions and murders against Palestinian children between the ages of 4 and 16 years, some of them while they were besieged by the Israeli army with their families inside their homes, and others during their attempt to flee along paths that the Israeli army had specified for them in advance, after the they were forced to move from their homes and places of residence.


“Islam Ali Saloha,” a resident of the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital, said that Israeli forces killed his son, the child “Ali” (9 years old), and the child “Saeed Muhammad Sheikha” (6 years old) in front of their families and the residents of the area after deliberately targeting them with live bullets.


At dawn on March 18, the Israeli army began a comprehensive military operation in which it transformed the Al-Shifa Medical Complex into a military barracks, and the surrounding area and the streets leading to it into a military zone and a war zone.


The Euro-Mediterranean Monitor urged the United Nations Special Rapporteur on arbitrary or extrajudicial executions to take urgent action to investigate and document the killings committed by Israeli forces in the Al-Shifa Complex and its environs.


The Observatory reminded of the need to ensure the protection of Palestinian children who are at greater risk and who no longer enjoy any type of protection assigned to them under international law.

PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 3:48 pm - Jerusalem Time

UN Rapporteur: I was threatened since the beginning of preparing my report on the genocide in Gaza

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, said that she had been subjected to attacks and received numerous threats since she began her mission to prepare a report on Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip.


Albanese confirmed, during a press conference about her report submitted to the Human Rights Council on the devastating Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, that after 5 months of analyzing the massacres carried out by Israel in Gaza, the reports confirm the presence of elements indicating that Israel is committing the crime of genocide in Gaza. Its elements have been completed.


She said that Israel is carrying out three acts that fall within the framework of genocide, which are killing Palestinians in Gaza, displacing them, and imposing living conditions that lead to partial or complete physical destruction against them.


She stressed that Israel is using banned weapons against the Palestinians in Gaza and is starving them, "and this is a set of war crimes that have never occurred before in the occupied Palestinian territories."


She said that what Israel is doing in Gaza is creating conditions that make life impossible for the Palestinians, and that what Israel is committing reflects its intention to destroy everything, which is classified as a crime of genocide.


She pointed out that Israel said that its goal was to destroy the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), but its actions led to the killing of many Palestinian civilians.


A call to stop Israel's crimes

The UN rapporteur called on the world to confront Israel's brutality and force it to abide by international law, and stressed that Israel has manipulated international humanitarian law to justify the violations it is committing in Gaza.


She also confirmed that the Palestinian people have lived through practices that pave the way for genocide since 1947, and added, "We need more research to determine whether what happened in 1948 was genocide," in reference to the Palestinian Nakba.


Albanese stressed, during a symposium at the United Nations in Geneva - yesterday, Tuesday - on the sidelines of the work of the Human Rights Council, that Israel has been committing many crimes and violations that have been continuing for decades against the Palestinians, including the crime of apartheid.


The UN rapporteur called for all necessary measures to be taken to defend the Palestinians’ right to life and to end crimes against them.


She added, "I find reasonable reasons to believe that the minimum threshold indicating the commission of the crime of genocide against the Palestinians as a group in Gaza has been met."


Killing, harming and subjugating

In her report, the UN rapporteur enumerated three types of acts of genocide: “killing members of the group, causing serious harm to the physical or mental integrity of members of the group, and deliberately subjecting the group to living conditions that would lead to complete or partial physical destruction.”


Hamas said that the statements of the UN rapporteur on genocide are additional confirmation from a senior UN official.


The movement added - in a statement - that this puts the international community and the United Nations before a real test to protect humanity, and to stand up to their responsibilities to prevent acts of genocide that humanity exceeded decades ago.


The movement called on the International Criminal Court "to move beyond the silence and take urgent action to hold the occupation leaders accountable for the genocide and ethnic cleansing they are committing against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip in full view of the world."


Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip for more than 5 months, leaving more than 32,000 martyrs and about 75,000 wounded, most of whom are children and women, amid warnings from international organizations of famine, especially in the northern Gaza Strip, as a result of the occupation restricting the entry of aid.


For its part, Israel rejected the findings of the Special Rapporteur.


Agence France-Presse quoted an American official - in response to the report of the UN rapporteur - that the United States has no reasons to believe that Israel committed acts of genocide in Gaza.


The American official said that his country reaffirms its long-term rejection of the mandate given to this special rapporteur who is biased against Israel, as he described it.

PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 3:46 pm - Jerusalem Time

Netanyahu: Washington’s failure to use its veto encouraged Hamas to rely on international pressure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Wednesday with US Senator Rick Scott in his office in Jerusalem.


Netanyahu touched on Washington's decision not to use its veto on a resolution calling for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, saying that "this encouraged Hamas to adopt a tougher stance and rely on international pressure that may hinder Israel from freeing its kidnappers and destroying Hamas."


He pointed out, "The decision I took not to let the Israeli delegation travel to Washington was a message to Hamas, so that they do not rely on this pressure. This will not work."

PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 2:02 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israel withdraws its negotiators from Qatar and blames the Security Council resolution

Israel withdrew its negotiators from Qatar, blaming the failure to reach a hostage deal with Hamas on a UN Security Council resolution that called for a ceasefire during Ramadan in Gaza.


Hamas officials said on Monday that the Palestinian movement is still seeking to reach a hostage agreement that includes a permanent ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a position that Israel has repeatedly rejected.


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement, "Hamas' position clearly shows its absolute lack of interest in a negotiated agreement and attests to the damage caused by the UN Security Council resolution."


The statement from Netanyahu’s office added: “Hamas has once again rejected the American settlement proposal and repeated its extreme demands: an immediate halt to the war, the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip, and keeping its administration in place so that it can repeat the October 7 massacre as it promised to do over and over again.” .


The United States rejected the claim that the Security Council resolution was responsible. State Department spokesman Matt Miller said Netanyahu's position was "inaccurate in almost every respect, and unfair to the hostages and their families." He said that Hamas prepared the statement before the Security Council resolution was issued.


Netanyahu and other Israeli officials are angry with the United States for not blocking the Security Council resolution. The United States abstained from voting, but it had previously used its veto power against three resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.


The United States downplayed the importance of the resolution, saying it was "non-binding" and would not affect Israeli military operations. The United Nations and other member states have disputed the US claim, saying the resolution is binding and must be followed.


In response to the United States not vetoing the resolution, Netanyahu canceled a delegation to the United States that was supposed to discuss Israeli plans to attack Rafah. Despite the disagreement, there is no indication that the United States will change its policy of unconditional military support for the slaughter and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza.

PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 11:37 am - Jerusalem Time

Israeli Broadcasting Corporation: The main dispute with Hamas relates to the return of the displaced.. Details

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said, on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, that indirect negotiations are continuing between Israel and the Hamas movement to reach an agreement to exchange prisoners and ceasefire, while the main dispute centers on the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip.


This comes the day after Israeli media reports that the negotiations had reached a dead end, and that Tel Aviv had summoned its negotiating delegation from the Qatari capital, Doha.


Truce negotiations in Gaza are continuing


The Broadcasting Corporation quoted unnamed sources in Israel that “despite Hamas’s negative response to the proposal regarding an exchange deal (for prisoners), negotiations with the movement are continuing,” while a senior Israeli official said that “the United States is continuing to communicate with the Egyptian and Qatari mediators.” 


A major point of contention in the truce negotiations


An informed foreign source, who was not named by the Commission, said, “The main point of disagreement revolves around the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, but it is still possible to reach a settlement.”

The Israeli bombing forced about two million Palestinians to flee their areas in the Gaza Strip, which has been besieged by Israel for 17 years and is inhabited by about 2.3 million people in catastrophic conditions.


According to an informed Israeli source, “reaching a compromise regarding the return of the displaced was possible, but the (Israeli) delegation was not authorized to resolve the issue.”


Earlier, the Hamas resistance movement held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for the failure of the negotiations, and said that it informed the mediators of its adherence to the vision it presented on March 14.


This vision includes 4 main points: a comprehensive ceasefire, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced, and a real exchange of prisoners.


Tel Aviv holds at least 9,100 Palestinians in its prisons, and estimates that there are about 134 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, while Hamas announced that 70 of them were killed in random Israeli raids.


Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, leaving tens of thousands of civilian casualties, most of them children and women, and massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly, according to Palestinian and UN data.


Israel continues this war despite the issuance of a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire during the month of Ramadan, and despite being tried for the first time before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing “genocide.”




PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 11:34 am - Jerusalem Time

Hebrew newspaper: Israel is exposed to sanctions if it ignores the UN Security Council resolution

International law experts said on Tuesday that Israel would be subject to sanctions if it ignored the UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.


According to their statements to the Hebrew newspaper "Haaretz", Israel's failure to comply with the resolution may encourage countries to impose sanctions on it.


In turn, Dr. Tamar Hostovsky Brands from the Academic College in Kiryat Ono (centre) said: “It was countries, not the Security Council, that imposed the sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, including severing economic relations, severing aviation relations, and isolating it from the banking system.” According to the newspaper.



She added, "These are dangerous measures that Israel will find very difficult to accept."


She pointed out that “the resolution taken in the Security Council, the orders issued against Israel by the Court of Justice in The Hague, and the advisory opinion that the Court will issue in The Hague regarding the legal consequences of Israeli actions in the Palestinian territories, all of these matters together create an image of a state that does not respect the law.” International".


As for Professor Eliav Lieblich from Tel Aviv University, he believes that if Israel does not comply with the Security Council resolution, its isolation in the world will increase, according to the same source.


He explained that "non-compliance will push other countries to consider imposing sanctions on Israel, for example: stopping the transfer of weapons to it."


But Dr. Roi Schendorff, former deputy judicial advisor to the occupation government for international affairs, believes that the whole matter on the international arena is a “political issue,” and according to him, “if countries want to, they can move against Israel, as they could have moved even before the decision.” 


Security Council resolution

On Monday evening, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during the month of Ramadan, after 14 countries voted in favor of the resolution presented by 10 elected members of the Council, while the United States abstained from voting.


He also called for the "immediate and unconditional release of all hostages," as well as guaranteed access to humanitarian aid, medical and other humanitarian needs.


This comes at a time when the Israeli army has been waging, since October 7, a devastating war on Gaza that has left tens of thousands dead and wounded, most of them children and women, according to Palestinian sources, which necessitated Tel Aviv’s trial before the International Court of Justice on the grounds of “genocide.” 




PALESTINE

Wed 27 Mar 2024 11:29 am - Jerusalem Time

A lawsuit was filed against the British Foreign Office over its suspension of funding for UNRWA

The International Center for Justice for Palestinians (ICGB) announced its intention to file a lawsuit against the British Foreign Office, due to London’s decision to suspend funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).


The center - which is based in Britain - explained in a statement that the complaint will be submitted by the law firm Bindmans LLP on behalf of a British citizen of Palestinian origin seeking to protect his family registered with UNRWA.


The statement indicated that the International Center for Justice would provide evidence and financial support for the lawsuit, and that a letter had been submitted to the British Foreign Office demanding the possibility of raising the decision to suspend aid to UNRWA to court.


He added that the plaintiff asked the government to withdraw the decision and resume funding for UNRWA, and to give it until the second of next April to make that decision, otherwise a “judicial review” will begin.


Decision 'without evidence'

The statement explained that the British government - which suspended its funding to the UN agency on January 27 - took this decision without taking into account evidence, responsibilities and international obligations.


He also pointed out that the family of the British citizen of Palestinian origin resides in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, and that they depend entirely on UNRWA aid, and now face great challenges in securing their basic needs.


The statement stated that the complaint accuses Israel of potentially being “complicit” in openly violating the articles of the Genocide Convention and the Geneva Convention.


Since January 26, 18 countries and the European Union have suspended their funding for UNRWA, against the backdrop of Israeli accusations against agency employees of participating in the attack on settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip on October 7, before some countries retracted this decision. At the same time, the agency announced that it was investigating these allegations.


UNRWA was established by a decision of the United Nations General Assembly in 1949, and was mandated to provide assistance and protection to refugees in its five areas of operations - Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip - until a just solution to their issue is reached.