#UNSC / Security Council 'perhaps fatally' undermined by Gaza, Ukraine deadlock, says UN chief
"An all-out Israeli offensive on the city would not only be terrifying for more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering there; it would put the final nail in the coffin of our aid programmes."
#IsraelUsaHamasWar / Spanish, Irish leaders call on Ursula von der Leyen to review EU-Israel trade accord over human rights concerns [February 14]
Duo calls for “urgent review” of trade agreement between Israel and the #EU in light of #Rafah military operation.
[…] In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, the two leaders called for “an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its obligations, including under the EU/Israel Association Agreement, which makes respect for human rights and democratic principles an essential element of the relationship.”
[…] If Israel is found to be in violation, the agreement needs to be reconsidered, Sánchez and Varadkar argue.
#Gaza / UNRWA suspends aid to northern Gaza amid ‘collapse of civil order’
UNRWA has suspended aid deliveries to northern Gaza due to desperate and unsafe conditions caused by severe hunger and lack of food. People searching for food are stopping aid trucks and making deliveries impossible. UNRWA says this desperate behavior stems from exhaustion and hunger, not criminality.
UNRWA has not had permits from Israel to deliver aid to northern Gaza for over a month. Overall aid permitted into Gaza has drastically declined since October 2022. UN agencies have warned of impending widespread famine, especially in northern Gaza. Aid reaching the north has become very difficult.
World Food Programme convoys have been attacked and looted in chaotic conditions. WFP and UNRWA say very little aid is getting through, not enough to prevent famine.
#Palestine / Netanyahu's "day after" document is devoid of any vision, and captive to the concept of deepening the occupation (Jack Khoury)
After 15 years as prime minister, it is clearer than ever that #Netanyahu has no vision for a solution to the conflict. The poverty, military rule, and violent oppression that he perpetuates only sow hatred and fuel the next war.
[…] A leader with a real political plan for the Gaza Strip would not have revealed it in the dead of night, but would have presented it to the public live. Netanyahu has no good news to offer, since Israel has already tried everything: full control, arrests, assassinations and building fences – but did not make the Palestinian issue disappear. The time has come to recognize reality – there is another people that shares this land.
[…] Israel was hit hard by Hamas' surprise attack, and went to war on the basic rationale of self-defense and returning the captives. But what is actually happening is not a war against Hamas, but a war against the Palestinian people and the Palestinian narrative - a war of pure revenge without any vision. If Israel wants to dismantle Hamas, end UNRWA's role in Gaza, and change the curriculum, it must address the reasons for their existence, recognize that there is another public sharing this land - and present a vision that will allow the Palestinians the right to self-determination.
#IsraelUsaHamasWar / The captives who died in Gaza as a result of IDF activity
This article in "Ha-Makom" [Hebrew] alleges (based of intelligence information received) that #IDF strikes have led to the death of captives in #Gaza, claims the military did not fully disclose this to families, and argues more must be done to safeguard captives' lives as fighting drags on.
IDF attacked a building in Gaza where 3 Israeli captives were being held - Yossi Sharabbi, Itay Sivirsky and Noa Argaman - even though they had intelligence indicating captives were inside. As a result, the roof collapsed and Yossi was killed. The other two survived.
The military told Yossi's family they knew captives were in the area but didn't know their exact location. But the article claims the IDF knew captives were in that specific building yet still approved the strike.
The article details several other cases where IDF strikes apparently led to the death of captives in Gaza, though the military did not confirm this. These include Ron Shrman, Nik Bayzar and Eliyahu Toldano who died in a tunnel after it was bombed.
Other captives like Anbar Himan, Guy Ilouz and Mia Goren are believed to have died due to lack of medical care for their injuries while held by Hamas.
The families of some captives killed in Gaza say the IDF did not fully disclose the circumstances of their death. Some are still waiting for answers about what happened.
#IsraelUSAHamasWar / U.N. experts urge embargo on Israel for arms that would be used in Gaza
“International law does not enforce itself,” the experts said. “All States must not be complicit in international crimes through arms transfers. They must do their part to urgently end the unrelenting humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.”
#IsraelUSAHamasWar / U.N. rights chief deplores 'entrenched impunity' in Israel-Hamas war
"The entrenched impunity that OHCHR (the U.N. rights agency) has reported on for many years cannot persist," High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a report on the situation in Gaza and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
#Analysis / Generation Z around the world sees what is hidden from young people in Israel [Or-el Tamari]
[...] The accusations that young people around the world are ignorant, and that their support for Palestinians is just a "trend" that confirms their progressiveness, are an attempt to reinforce the supposed superiority of Israeli youths, who allegedly know the Palestinian arena much better than their global peers.
[...] But before we criticize what is happening in the world, we should look at ourselves, Israelis, and see our role in Israel being portrayed globally, long before the current war, as a criminal and occupying state. We turned a blind eye, ignored Jewish-white supremacy, and did not make the connection to the regime change. We gave the green light to the ongoing occupation and dehumanization of Palestinians, which has reached disturbing dimensions in recent months.
[...] While in Israel the media largely ignores what is happening in the West Bank and Gaza, globally, and especially among youth, people see the occupation daily. On social media they are exposed to the reality of Palestinian life under settler violence, see pictures from refugee camps in Gaza, read about the humanitarian catastrophe.
[...] Often when I spoke to peers abroad they confronted me with videos of arrests and shootings of minors, soldiers calling to expel Gaza residents, a soldier saying the "new Jew looks the enemy in the eye and then cuts off his head".
[...] Meanwhile, in a parallel universe, Israeli youth are exposed to nationalist influencers brought to Gaza by the IDF, presenting a destroyed kitchen as an "Arab-Nazi kitchen with an oven for burning people". They see singers chanting to bomb Gaza, saying it is a "whore" and "garbage". https://kolektiva.social/@oatmeal/111971880313732554
#Analysis / Generation Z around the world sees what is hidden from young people in Israel [Or-el Tamari]
Or-el Tamari is a 20 y/o freelance journalist
[...] The accusations that young people around the world are ignorant, and that their support for Palestinians is just a "trend" that confirms their progressiveness, are an attempt to reinforce the supposed superiority of Israeli youths, who allegedly know the Palestinian arena much better than their global peers.
[...] But before we criticize what is happening in the world, we should look at ourselves, Israelis, and see our role in Israel being portrayed globally, long before the current war, as a criminal and occupying state. We turned a blind eye, ignored Jewish-white supremacy, and did not make the connection to the regime change. We gave the green light to the ongoing occupation and dehumanization of Palestinians, which has reached disturbing dimensions in recent months.
[...] While in Israel the media largely ignores what is happening in the West Bank and Gaza, globally, and especially among youth, people see the occupation daily. On social media they are exposed to the reality of Palestinian life under settler violence, see pictures from refugee camps in Gaza, read about the humanitarian catastrophe.
[...] Often when I spoke to peers abroad they confronted me with videos of arrests and shootings of minors, soldiers calling to expel Gaza residents, a soldier saying the "new Jew looks the enemy in the eye and then cuts off his head".
[...] Meanwhile, in a parallel universe, Israeli youth are exposed to nationalist influencers brought to Gaza by the IDF, presenting a destroyed kitchen as an "Arab-Nazi kitchen with an oven for burning people". They see singers chanting to bomb Gaza, saying it is a "whore" and "garbage". https://kolektiva.social/@oatmeal/111971880313732554
#UN / Intelligence report says Washington can’t verify Israeli assertions about widespread links to militant groups
Who could see this coming? At the rate IDF claims are being refuted, couple of days or a little bit longer after the initial claims are published, everything Israel is claiming needs to be double checked.
[…] The new intelligence assessment, as described by the officials, doesn’t dispute Israel’s allegations of links between some staff at Unrwa and militant groups, but it provides a more measured appraisal of Israel’s assertions than public statements by U.S. and Israeli officials.
[…] In the new report, which was completed last week, the U.S.’s National Intelligence Council, a group of veteran intelligence analysts, said it assessed with “low confidence” that a handful of Unrwa staffers participated in the Oct. 7 attack, those familiar with the findings said.
[…] The report also notes what it says is Israel’s longstanding dislike of the U.N. agency, two of those familiar with the document said.
[…] “There is a specific section that mentions how Israeli bias serves to mischaracterize much of their assessments on Unrwa and says this has resulted in distortions,” one person familiar with the report said.
The U.S. assessment also says that the reality of Hamas’ control in Gaza means that the U.N. agency has to interact with the group to deliver humanitarian relief, but that that doesn’t mean that the agency is collaborating with the militant group, the person said.
#IsraelUSAHamasWar / UK to consider suspending arms exports to Israel if Rafah offensive goes ahead
For what ever it’s worth:
[…] Ministerial sources said that while no decision had been made about a suspension of arms export licences, the #UK had the ability to respond quickly if the legal advice to ministers said that #Israel was in breach of international humanitarian law.
[…] An article in the treaty obligates states not to authorise any transfer of conventional weapons if they know that those weapons will be used to commit acts of #genocide or crimes against humanity.
#Israel / Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich tells Israelis that returning the captives is "not the most important thing"
In an interview on Kan Bet network, #Smotrich was asked whether returning the captives is the most important thing - and he replied: "No, it's not the most important thing. Why make it a competition? What's important now? #Hamas must be destroyed."
"A vote in favor of this draft resolution is support to the Palestinians right to life. Conversely, voting against it implies an endorsement of the brutal violence and collective punishment inflicted upon them," Algeria's U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama told the council before the vote.
"A vote in favor of this draft resolution is support to the Palestinians right to life. Conversely, voting against it implies an endorsement of the brutal violence and collective punishment inflicted upon them," Algeria's U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama told the council before the vote.
Israeli soldiers reminding themselves of their mission statement: "occupation, expulsion, settlement" - effectively describing #EthnicCleansing. Is this IDF's actual mission in Gaza?
At least, it should raise concerning questions. If this is what SOME soldiers believe their role to be, how does it impact their treatment of the local Palestinian population? Does it translate into a mentality of killing as many as possible?
The soldier's use of the #Hebrew name for the month also suggests he likely comes from the nationalist-religious camp. This segment of the population is known for a zealous ideological commitment to settling all of historic #Palestine.
So both the words expressed and background of the soldier point to an extremely troubling mindset among a portion of #IDF troops tasked with engaging with Palestinians. A mindset that at its core endorses and perpetrates systemic ethnic cleansing.
#IsraelUsaHamasWar / 26 EU countries warn Israel against 'catastrophic' Rafah offensive
[...] The statement was issued in the name of "Foreign Ministers of 26 Member-States of the European Union" and diplomats said #Hungary - a close ally of the Israeli government - was the sole country that did not sign up.
"an immediate humanitarian pause that would lead to a lasting ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian assistance".
Addis Ababa, African Union summit / Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accused Israel Sunday of committing “genocide” against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip
“What’s happening in the Gaza Strip isn’t a war, it’s a genocide,”
“It’s not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It’s a war between a highly prepared army and women and children,”.
Lula condemned Hamas’s 7 October attack on #Israel as a “terrorist” act but he has since grown vocally critical of Israel’s retaliatory military campaign.
#Netanyahu: "The comparison between Israel and the Nazi Holocaust and Hitler crosses a red line […] It trivializes the #Holocaust and attempts to hurt the Jewish people and Israel's right to defend itself."
#Netanyahu himself was accused of holocaust denialism when he suggested in the past the Palestinian National leader, Amin al-Husseini influenced the Germans toward the Final Solution.
He’s also responsible for this buffoon (attached photo) seen at the Security Council meeting on the Israel-Hamas war at U.N. headquarters on October 30, 2023 in New York City.
Yad Vashem chair Dani Dayan criticized his display, saying it “disgraces both Holocaust victims and the state of Israel” because Israel, unlike the Jews of the Holocaust, has the capacity to defend itself.
#Israel / The Israeli High Court rejected outright a petition filed by 62 families of Gazan which sought information about their loved ones
Just another reminder how the Israeli courts enable policies that might be seen as violations of international law regarding detention and occupation.
The Israeli High Court rejected outright a petition filed by 62 families of Gazan residents held in Israel as security prisoners, which sought information about their relatives. The court dismissed the case on procedural grounds, arguing that these involve separate matters pertaining to different detainees, with distinct factual backgrounds for each individual.
#Palestine / Russia has invited representatives of all Palestinian factions to meet in Moscow on February 26
With the United States firmly aligned with Israel in the ongoing conflict with Hamas, Russia may see an opportunity to expand its influence in the region. The Kremlin could leverage America's partisanship to portray itself as a more neutral arbiter in Middle Eastern affairs. Russia has already offered to mediate talks between Israel and Hamas. By inserting itself diplomatically, Russia potentially stands to gain greater sway over key regional issues, from the Iran nuclear deal to the Syrian civil war. With U.S. credibility damaged by its explicit support for one side, Moscow may seek to exploit cracks in America's regional hegemony.
PM Mohammad #Shtayyeh addressed the Munich Security Conference: saying "Russia has invited all Palestinian factions to meet in Moscow on the 26th of this month […] We'll see if Hamas is ready to join us on the ground." as reported by https://www.albawaba.com and other outlets.
#IsraelUsaHamasWar / Humanitarian agencies and human rights organizations issue urgent joint statement on Rafah
Humanitarian agencies and human rights organizations have issued an urgent joint statement warning of "catastrophic" consequences if Israel launches a ground offensive in Rafah, Gaza. They also criticize the silence and material support for Israel's operations by powerful nations.
The statement was signed by CEOs of #Oxfam, #Amnesty International, #ActionAid, War Child, Danish Refugee Council, and Handicap International.
The statement says over 1.5 million people are sheltering in #Rafah as a last resort, with over half a million of them children. A ground offensive would kill thousands more civilians.
They accuse #Israel of forcibly displacing people to Rafah and then planning to attack it, as well as collectively punishing civilians by denying aid.
The statement also refers to a recent #ICJ ruling ordering Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid, which has not happened. It calls for an immediate ceasefire, release of detainees, and full humanitarian access to Gaza.
The agencies say the offensive has made it virtually impossible to deliver humanitarian aid in Gaza.
#Rafah / Israel struck Palestinian police escorting Gaza aid, says US envoy
David Satterfield, a top U.S. diplomat, said Israeli forces killed Palestinian police officers who were escorting a UN aid convoy in #Gaza on February 10.
Since then, Palestinian police have refused to escort aid convoys due to threats from criminal gangs in Gaza, severely hampering humanitarian deliveries.
#Israel has not yet commented on Satterfield's claim that they killed police escorting the convoy. Israel said at the time they struck #Hamas militants.
#IsraelUSAHamasWar / US Plans to Send Weapons to Israel Amid Biden Push for Cease-Fire Deal
Delivery would include bombs, precision-guidance kits and bomb fuses
[…] An assessment of the proposed arms transfer drafted by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, said the Israeli government requested “rapid acquisition of these items for the defense of Israel against continued and emerging regional threats.”
[…] The assessment said there were no potential human rights concerns with the sale. “Israel takes effective action to prevent gross violations of human rights and to hold security forces responsible that violate those rights. In the past, Israel has been a transparent partner in U.S. investigations into allegations of defense article misuse,” the assessment says.
#MediaBias / Jewish Insider wants WAPO's coverage of the Middle East to be more like that of NYT and WSJ ... 🤔
Jewish Insider claims the Washington Post is "under fire" for "repeated anti-Israel bias, systemic sloppiness in Middle East coverage."
The "fire" seems to be repeated claims by sources such as Jewish Insider editors themselves, Time of Israel and organizations such as #ADL, #CAMERA and few others.
No need to remind anyone who or what #ADL is and how it operates https://droptheadl.org/, but CAMERA (so called "Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America") is possibly even worse.
"To its supporters, CAMERA is figuratively - and perhaps literally - doing God's work, battling insidious anti-Israeli bias in the media. But its detractors see CAMERA as a myopic and vindictive special interest group trying to muscle its views into media coverage. ... To many in the media CAMERA is ... an advocacy group trying to impose its pro-Israeli views on mainstream journalism." --- The Boston Globe, Mark Jurkowitz observed https://web.archive.org/web/20090213190540/http://www.hnn.us/comments/8390.html
The most relevant part in the WAPO's editor's note, later added to the article, states:
"The article incorrectly said that all Palestinian mothers who received authorization to leave Gaza for humanitarian reasons had to return to Gaza to reapply after their permits expired. In fact, it was not always necessary for mothers to return to Gaza."
They also mention addition of comments from Israeli officials.
"Some" is not none, but WAPO correcting itself should be praised. Jewish Insider and the other critics mentioned though want to discredit yet another publication documenting Israel's #WarCrimes in Gaza.
Jewish Insider seem to claim that WAPO's coverage of Israel must be biased, because its tone and findings seem to be very different from that of NYT and WSJ. But, is that a bad thing?
Considering the NYT exploitative coverage of the unconfirmed systematic rape by Hamas militants (in which its reporter misled one of the victims' family) and the hit job on #UNRWA the #IDF ran in the WWSJ, the Washington Post has really nothing to apologize for.
[cont'd] "turn the strip into a slaughterhouse": #NYT investigating Israeli reporter who liked tweet calling to turn Gaza into 'slaughterhouse'
Schwartz began writing for the newspaper last November and focused mainly on the reactions of the Israeli public to the October 7 attack and the war that broke out as a result.
Israeli sources are concerned that the newspaper's decision to question the investigative report on #Hamas terrorists' sexual violence on October 7 due to reporter Anat Schwartz's involvement, could aid deniers in discrediting the credibility of reports about Hamas' sexual assaults.
Reminder: Israel’s next legal battle at the #ICJ will be a hearing on the UN's request to examine the legality of the occupation in the West Bank. Finally 🙄
The public hearing on the request, filed on Palestinian initiative, will take place Monday, 19 February 2024 in The Hague. An opinion is expected to be published towards the end of the year.
What it’s about:
#Wikipedia: “Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem” (Request for Advisory Opinion) is a proceeding in the International Court of Justice (#ICJ), stemming from a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (#UNGA) in December 2022, requesting the Court to render an advisory opinion.
The assessment among Israeli experts is that in the best case it will be decided that #Israel is severely violating the laws of occupation, and in the worst case that Israel is guilty of #apartheid or that Israel must immediately evacuate the territories.
One possibility is that the UN will adopt it, and then the Palestinians or various countries will try to promote practical steps to implement it. These steps can be far-reaching. Countries can act accordingly, and take economic and other measures against the State of Israel.
#ICJ / US says court should not order Israel's unconditional pullout
Richard Visek, acting legal adviser at the U.S. State Department, told the court in The Hague: "Any movement towards Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza requires consideration for Israel's very real security needs,"
#IDF / Tuning out a #genocide to practice some #yoga in Beit Hanoun (بيت حانون)
Ynet host asking [not sarcastically, as far as I can tell]: How does this moment of quiet feel, with the cannons rumbling around?
[…] Surrealistic completely. It's to sit inside a house in #Gaza, explosions around, noise and chaos and the radio in the background. But precisely inside this, the consciousness knows this is what it needs now and it tunes in, and this is the ability to practice yoga and meditation. It doesn't matter where you are, it's being attentive to yourself."
[…] I also come from the worlds of #Judaism and #yoga, and it is told about King David that he had exactly these two poles, that he knew both when to be in war and be a fighter and do what's needed in war as well as to be very, very gentle and sensitive and write Psalms and write poetry.
[…] I draw from this connection and from his character, within the context we are in, and also when I'll need to return to war, with God's help I will also do so.
Sikha Mekomit presents extensive evidence that looting of Palestinian property by Israeli soldiers was widespread and tolerated by commanders during recent #Gaza operations. in addition to individual soldiers looting, the military's "spoils of war" unit officially confiscates cash and other assets.