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  • Le préfet de l’Isère interdit une conférence avec l’avocat franco-palestinien Salah Hamouri
    Par MEE | Mercredi 31 janvier 2024 | Middle East Eye édition française
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/actu-et-enquetes/le-prefet-de-lisere-interdit-une-conference-avec-lavocat-franco-pales

    C’est sous les applaudissements du public qui, debout, scandait « Solidarité avec le peuple palestinien », que la conférence-débat « Pas de paix sans justice » sur la situation en Palestine a pu se tenir, mardi 30 janvier, dans la salle des fêtes d’Échirolles (Isère).

    Organisée par l’Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS) avec le soutien de la coordination Palestine-Isère, elle était animée par Salah Hamouri, 38 ans, activiste et avocat franco-palestinien, et Alain Gresh, directeur du journal en ligne Orient XXI.

    Pourtant, comme le rapportent sur Facebook Sarra Grira, rédactrice en chef d’Orient XXI, et sur X, Taoufiq Tahani, le président d’honneur de l’AFPS, quinze minutes après l’ouverture des portes, les organisateurs ont été informés d’une interdiction de la conférence par le préfet Louis Laugier.

    L’information a aussi été rapportée par le quotidien Le Dauphiné libéré, qui cite la justification de la préfecture : « la vigilance accrue des services de l’État sur l’agglomération grenobloise relative à des actes de malveillance et des actes antisémites directement corrélés avec le conflit au Proche-Orient » mais aussi la crainte « d’incidents et de confrontations ».

    La semaine dernière, Salah Hamouri a aussi tenu des conférences à Stains (Seine-Saint-Denis) et à Gennevilliers (Hauts-de-Seine), commune dont il est citoyen d’honneur.

    Toujours selon le quotidien, le Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France (CRIF) Grenoble-Dauphiné, présidé par l’avocat Hervé Gerbi, s’est « félicité » ce mardi soir de cette interdiction. (...)

  • War on Gaza: Israeli board game calls on players to ’Come Build Your House in Gaza!’
    By MEE staff | 31 January 2024 18:30 GMT | Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-israeli-baord-game-calls-players-come-build-your-house-gaza

    "Come Build Your House in Gaza!" on display at the Victory of Israel conference in Jerusalem, on 28 January 2024 (Oren Ziv/MEE)

    Delegates at an Israeli conference calling for the re-settlement of Israelis in Gaza were handed a board game that seemingly allowed players to map out where they would establish homes in the enclave after it was conquered.

    The game, titled, “Come Build Your House in Gaza!” shows a layout of Gaza separated into different neighbourhoods with Hebrew names and explanations of the meaning behind each of them.

    It was seen at the Victory Of Israel conference, an event hosted in Jerusalem on Sunday by right-wing Israeli politicians, campaigners and religious figures calling for the building of Israeli settlements in Gaza after the end of the war.

    The conference was attended by 11 cabinet ministers and 15 coalition members of parliament.

    Players of the game are invited to place wooden house-shaped blocks, with their names written on stickers, on the neighbourhoods they want to settle in.

  • Netanyahu says Unrwa’s mission must be ’terminated’
    31 January 2024 18:52 GMT| Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/netanyahu-says-unrwas-mission-must-be-terminated

    After alleging that several Unrwa staff members were involved in the 7 October attack, causing countries including the US to suspend funding to the group, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now calling for the aid agency’s mission to be eliminated.

    The call comes in contradiction with Israel’s close ally, the US, which has said that the agency’s mission to provide aid to Palestinians is vital.

    “It’s time for the international community and the UN itself to understand that Unrwa’s mission must be terminated,” Netanyahu said to visiting UN delegates, according to a statement from his office.

    “It seeks to preserve the issue of Palestinian refugees. We must replace Unrwa with other UN agencies and other aid agencies, if we want to solve the Gaza problem as we plan to do.”

    #UNRWA

  • What Israel has done following the ICJ ruling?
    30 January 2024 08:54 GMT | Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/what-israel-has-done-following-icj-ruling

    The Palestinian mission to UN has highlighted the latest report by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor detailing how Israel continues to ignore the interim rulings handed out by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week:

    These are some of the findings from Euro-Med that Israel did within 48h of the ICJ ruling:

    killed 373 Palestinians and injured 643 others
    targeted hospitals and established a new checkpoint in Khan Younis
    destroyed entire residential blocks near the fence with Gaza to create a “buffer zone”
    killed Palestinians who were waiting for aid trucks
    allowed entry of only 87 aid trucks, less than half before the ICJ rulings

    #Génocide

    • [En direct] Trois Palestiniens tués dans un hôpital à Jénine, la bande de Gaza bombardée sans relâche
      Publié le : 30/01/2024
      https://www.rfi.fr/fr/moyen-orient/20240130-en-direct-la-bande-de-gaza-bombard%C3%A9e-par-isra%C3%ABl-sans-rel%C3%A

      Ce qu’il faut retenir :

      ■ La ville de Khan Younès, au sud de la bande de Gaza, est bombardée sans relâche depuis des semaines. Les hôpitaux, sous pression, sont au centre des préoccupations.

      ■ L’armée israélienne poursuit également ses raids meurtriers en Cisjordanie occupée. Ses soldats ont tué ce mardi trois Palestiniens dans un hôpital de la ville de Jénine, les accusant d’être des terroristes.

      ■ Les craintes d’une plus importante extension du conflit ont ressurgi après la mort de trois soldats américains tués en Jordanie dans une attaque de drone ce week-end, imputée par Washington à des groupes pro-Iran, sur fond de tensions au Yémen, en mer Rouge, en Irak, au Liban et en Syrie.

      ■ Le chef de l’ONU va recevoir ce mardi à New York les « principaux donateurs » de l’agence des Nations unies pour les réfugiés palestiniens (Unrwa), dont 12 employés sont accusés d’être impliqués dans l’attaque du Hamas le 7 octobre en Israël, a annoncé lundi le porte-parole d’Antonio Guterres.

      ■ Les négociations se poursuivent en vue d’une trêve. Un cadre pour une trêve accompagnée de nouvelles libérations d’otages va être transmis au Hamas, a annoncé lundi à Washington le Premier ministre du Qatar, Mohammed ben Abdulrahmane Al-Thani.

      ■ Selon le dernier bilan du ministère de la Santé du Hamas, lundi 29 janvier, 26 637 personnes ont été tuées à Gaza depuis le début de la guerre, le 7 octobre dernier. Les morts sont en majorité des femmes, des adolescents et des enfants. On dénombre 65 387 blessés.

  • Israel, Unrwa and the West: A history of claims and cuts
    By Alex MacDonald | Published date: 29 January 2024 | Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/unrwa-budget-cuts-history-israel-west

    Palestinian refugees queue for food distributed by the UN Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian refugees at a camp in Gaza, 9 November 1956 (Rene Jarland/AFP)

    . (...) Such claims are heavily disputed by Unrwa and the UN more broadly, and with 13,000 staff in Gaza alone, the survival of the organisation could mean life or death for many of the enclave’s inhabitants.

    The campaign against Unrwa by Israel and its allies did not begin after 7 October, however, as Katz admitted.

    Middle East Eye takes a look at some of the earlier attempts to undermine the refugee agency:
    Why all the hostility?

    With more than 30,000 staff members, Unrwa is the largest UN body, operating across Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories.

    Although initially created as a temporary measure to aid the displaced Palestinian people, the decades-long failure to resolve the refugee crisis meant many of the camps serviced by Unrwa have developed into full-blown neighbourhoods with permanent facilities, religious and educational bodies and essential services.

    Unrwa remains at the heart of these neighbourhoods, with 99 percent of its staff recruiting from the local population.

    The existence of a separate specific body for Palestinian refugees apart from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has long been criticised by Israel, with officials arguing that it has helped prevent the integration of the refugees in other Arab countries. (...)

    #UNRWA

  • ’What can we say to make it look like Israel is not committing war crimes?’: Dutch prime minister
    25 January 2024 | Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/what-can-we-say-make-it-look-israel-not-committing-war-crimes-dutch

    The outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte asked the country’s legal affairs ministry: “What can we say to make it look like Israel is not committing war crimes?”

    The revelations have only recently come to light and were reported by NRC, the newspaper of record in the Netherlands.

    A group of government officials and diplomats has submitted evidence to The Hague regarding comments made by the Dutch prime minister.

    In November last year, the Netherlands decided to continue deliveries of parts for Israeli fighter jets despite official warnings that Israel may be committing “serious violations of humanitarian law of war”.

    According to NRC, Rutte’s intervention in support of Israel is driven by his own political ambitions and the need to appeal to the US administration, in the hope that he succeeds Jens Stoltenberg as secretary general of Nato next summer.

    #Complice_génocide

  • War on Gaza: Palestinians forced to mix animal fodder with flour to make bread
    By Mohammed al-Hajjar and Ahmed Al-Sammak in Gaza and Lubna Masarwa in Jerusalem and Nadda Osman in London | 27 January 2024 09:25 GMT | Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-palestinians-forced-mix-animal-fodder-flour-make-bread

    Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to resort to extreme measures amid growing starvation as a result of Israel’s relentless bombardment and a full siege imposed since October.

    Many families across the besieged enclave had to mix various ingredients into flour to make bread using traditional methods, due to the scarcity of food.

    Families have been forced to use animal fodder and bird feed baked into their bread, sometimes causing medical problems, particularly in young children.

    Abu Alaa, an owner of a mill in central Gaza, said that the food available to people is inedible.

    “Something should be done about this urgently,” he told Middle East Eye.

    #famine

  • Israeli ministers attend ’Return to Gaza Conference’, speak in support of resettlement
    By MEE staff | 28 January 2024 19:48 GMT | Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-ministers-attend-return-gaza-conference-speak-support-resettl

    Thousands, including ministers from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party, gathered in Jerusalem on Sunday for a conference calling to resettle the Gaza Strip.

    At least 12 Israeli ministers participated in the conference about rebuilding Israeli settlements in Gaza and encouraging displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, Israeli journalist Barak Ravid reported.

    Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich and several others from Netanyahu’s Likud party gave “supportive speeches”, he said.

    Itay Epshtain, a special advisor for the Norwegian Refugee Council, shared a video in which national security minister Ben-Gvir and minister of finance Smotrich stood arm-over-shoulder, dancing at the conference.

    The human rights lawyer said that the image “would form part of the compelling evidence of noncompliance” with the International Court of Justice’s recent order to take all measures within its power to prevent acts of genocide and to punish acts of incitement. (...)

    • 29 janvier 2024 – 15h35 – RFI
      https://www.rfi.fr/fr/moyen-orient/20240129-en-direct-gaza-intens%C3%A9ment-bombard%C3%A9-isra%C3%ABl-l-aide-%C3%A0

      « Émigration volontaire » des Palestiniens, Itamar Ben-Gvir persiste et signe

      Le ministre israéien de la Sécurité nationale, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a maintenu ce lundi qu’il soutenait l’encouragement à l’émigration volontaire des Palestiniens comme « la solution la plus morale et la plus logique », rapporte Al Jazeera. « Nous ne cesserons de le répéter, l’émigration volontaire est à l’ordre du jour. J’offrirais à toutes les nations du monde de financer les Gazaouis pour qu’ils puissent immigrer volontairement vers d’autres pays », a lancé M. Ben-Gvir à une réunion partisane au Parlement, la Knesset. Et de défendre l’implantation durable des Israéliens dans la bande de Gaza : « Nous installerons des bases et, dans un premier temps, nous encouragerons l’émigration – des centaines de milliers à travers un projet pilote – et nous les transférerons simplement vers des pays plus sûrs. À celui qui me demande "que dira La Haye ?", je dis : "Nous nous engageons uniquement envers les soldats israéliens et envers l’État d’Israël". »

      Ses remarques font suite à sa participation dimanche à une conférence d’extrême droite appelant à la réinstallation de la bande de Gaza et au transfert de la population palestinienne qui y vit. La conférence a réuni des milliers de participants, dont des ministres et des membres de la Knesset.

      15h25

      L’Allemagne condamne la tenue dimanche d’une conférence en Israël pour discuter de colonies à Gaza

      Berlin condamne l’organisation dimanche à Jérusalem-Est d’un rendez-vous d’extrême droite auquel ont participé des ministres et qui visaient à discuter d’une réintroduction des colonies dans l’enclave. Aux yeux du porte-parole du ministère fédéral allemand des Affaires étrangères, Sebastian Fischer, « de telles considérations visant à expulser la population palestinienne de Gaza et à y reconstruire les colonies israéliennes sont totalement inacceptables. Elles contribuent à aggraver la situation dans le conflit actuel et violent clairement le droit international. » « Nous condamnons dans les termes les plus fermes la participation d’une partie du gouvernement israélien à cette conférence de réinstallation et rejetons clairement les déclarations qui y ont été faites », conclut-il.

      The German Foreign Ministry rejects all considerations about a possible Israeli resettlement of #Gaza and about any form of transfer of the Palestinian population. They aggravate the current conflict and violate international law. @GermanyDiplo
      — Steffen Seibert (@GerAmbTLV) January 29, 2024

  • US representatives urge Biden, Government Accountability Office to review US arms transfers to Israel
    24 January 2024 21:45 GMT | Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/us-representatives-urge-biden-government-accountability-office-review

    US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, along with other representatives, sent a letter Wednesday to President Biden and the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), calling for an evaluation of the State Department’s adherence to the Leahy Laws and Biden’s Conventional Arms Transfer policy in relation to security aid provided to the Israeli government.

    At a press conference on 5 January, a National Security Council spokesperson said that the US government has yet to undertake an official assessment of Israel’s adherence to international law since the onset of the Gaza war.

    In response, several representatives of Congress are urging Biden and the GAO to perform their necessary oversight roles to confirm compliance with legal standards in US arms transfers.

    “If human rights for all people is a principle that this administration would claim to uphold internationally, then you must conduct assessments as to the State Department’s compliance with both of the Leahy Laws and your own Conventional Arms Transfer policy as it pertains to security assistance to Israel. We demand you immediately take the aforementioned steps to enforce these policies without delay,” the letter said.

    #IsraelUSA

    ““““““““““““““““““““““
    https://disarmamenthandbook.org/fr/manuel/bonnes-pratiques-parlementaires-recommandations-et-exemples/un-desarmement-qui-sauve-des-vies/les-armements-classiques-et-le-commerce-des-armes

    Les lois Leahy (États-Unis)

    Les États-Unis ne sont pas partie au Traité sur le commerce des armes* et ne sont donc pas liés par ses dispositions. Toutefois, le Congrès a voté des mesures qui limitent le soutien militaire et financier des États-Unis aux forces militaires et de sécurité étrangères impliquées dans une violation flagrante des droits de l’homme. Les plus importantes d’entre elles sont les lois Leahy, du nom du sénateur Patrick Leahy.

    Il s’agit de dispositions règlementaires directement applicables au Département d’État et au Département de la défense. Ces deux ministères prennent très au sérieux le respect de ces textes, comme en attestent les dispositions d’application détaillées y afférentes. Ces textes sont toutefois applicables aux opérations gouvernementales, et non aux ventes d’armes.

    * Les États-Unis avaient signé le Traité sur le commerce des armes en 2013 durant l’Administration du Président Obama, mais l’administration suivante s’est retirée du traité en 2019, précisant dans une lettre au Secrétaire général de l’ONU que les États-Unis n’avaient aucunement l’intention de devenir partie à ce traité.

  • Hamas says 7 October attacks ’necessary step’
    21 January 2024 16:46 GMT| Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/hamas-says-7-october-attacks-necessary-step

    Palestinian group Hamas said on Sunday that its 7 October attacks in southern Israel were a “necessary step” against Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

    But the group admitted in a 16-page report about the attack that “some faults happened… due to the rapid collapse of the Israeli security and military system, and the chaos caused along the border areas with Gaza”.

    The document was the group’s first public report released in English and Arabic explaining the background to the attack, when the militants broke through Gaza’s militarised border. The attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people and the taking of around 250 hostages.

    The militant group said the attack was “a necessary step and a normal response to confront all Israeli conspiracies against the Palestinian people”.

    “If there was any case of targeting civilians it happened accidently and in the course of the confrontation with the occupation forces,” Hamas said in the report.

    “Many Israelis were killed by the Israeli army and police due to their confusion.”

    In the statement, Hamas urged “the immediate halt of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the crimes and ethnic cleansing committed against the entire Gaza population”.

    “We stress that the Palestinian people have the capacity to decide their future and to arrange their internal affairs,” the statement said, adding that “no party in the world” had the right to decide on their behalf.

    #7oct23

    • 21 janvier 2024 - 17:45 GMT
      https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/21/israels-war-on-gaza-live-deadly-israeli-attacks-across-gaza

      Hamas issues report on events of October 7

      The Palestinian group has released a report explaining the motives of the attack. Here are some of the key points the group raised:

      The report stresses the historical context of the conflict and the injustices that Palestinians have endured for decades, saying that Israel has been intensifying its abuses under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government. It adds that the October 7 attack was a “natural response” to the Israeli push to liquidate the Palestinian cause.
      Hamas rejects accusations that it deliberately targeted civilians during the attack – in which almost 1,140 people were killed, including 700 civilians – pointing to media reports about Israeli troops targeting cars and homes with Israelis inside. But the report acknowledges that disorder had ensued during the attack as the Israeli security apparatus collapsed swiftly around Gaza.
      The report urges an investigation into “all crimes in occupied Palestine” by the International Criminal Court, calling on its prosecutor to “immediately” start a probe on the ground.
      The Palestinian group reiterates that it is in a conflict against Israel, not against Jews because of their religion.
      Hamas calls for ending Israel’s offensive on Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory, saying that Palestinians should be able to decide their own future.

    • 21 janvier 2024 | 14h35
      https://www.rfi.fr/fr/moyen-orient/20240121-en-direct-netanyahu-oppos%C3%A9-souverainet%C3%A9-palestinienne-%C3%A0-

       : Le Hamas rejette « tout projet international ou israélien visant à décider de l’avenir de la bande de Gaza »

      Le mouvement islamiste a exigé ce dimanche que « l’agression israélienne » au sein de l’enclave cesse, et a déclaré que seul le peuple palestinien doit décider de l’avenir de Gaza. « Nous rejetons catégoriquement tout projet international ou israélien visant à décider de l’avenir de la bande de Gaza », écrit le Hamas dans un document explicatif revenant par ailleurs sur son attaque perpétrée le 7 octobre sur le sol israélien.

      Dans le document, le mouvement islamiste palestinien considère que l’attaque du 7 octobre contre Israël était « une étape nécessaire » et une « réponse normale » face à « tous les complots israéliens contre le peuple palestinien ». Selon le Hamas, dans le « chaos » autour de la frontière entre Israël et la bande de Gaza, « peut-être que des erreurs ont eu lieu », mais la formation nie avoir visé des civils, si ce n’est « par accident, et au cours de confrontations avec les forces d’occupation ».

      Mille cent quarante personnes ont été tuées, rappelle l’Agence France-Presse, lors de cette attaque sans précédent en Israël. Il s’agissait en majorité de civils, selon un décompte de l’AFP à partir de données officielles israéliennes, notamment plus de 360 festivaliers à Réïm.

  • « La scène était horrible » : comment Israël a tué des Palestiniens qui attendaient des camions de ravitaillement à Gaza
    Par Correspondants de MEE à GAZA, Palestine occupée | Jeudi 18 janvier 2024 | Middle East Eye édition française
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/reportages/gaza-israel-tue-des-palestiniens-qui-attendaient-des-camions-ravitail

    C’était censé être un lieu où les Palestiniens déplacés pouvaient se rassembler pour obtenir les vivres dont ils avaient désespérément besoin dans le nord de Gaza.

    Mais des témoins oculaires ont raconté à Middle East Eye que le 11 janvier, une foule nombreuse qui attendait un camion de ravitaillement dans la rue al-Rasheed a été la cible de tirs de l’armée israélienne, qui ont fait des dizaines de morts et de blessés.

    Des chars et des quadricoptères israéliens ont mitraillé la foule. Muhammad al-Salim, 27 ans, a été témoin du massacre et raconte à Middle East Eye qu’il a vu de nombreux corps éparpillés dans la rue.

    « À 9 heures du matin, mes deux cousins et moi-même sommes allés rue al-Rasheed après que des voisins nous ont informés que des camions transportant de la farine allaient passer », raconte-t-il.

    « Nous y sommes arrivés à 10 heures du matin parce que la plupart des rues sont détruites et jonchées de décombres, ce qui empêche les voitures de circuler. »

    « Lorsque nous sommes arrivés rue al-Rasheed, il y avait déjà des centaines de personnes qui attendaient. »

    « Quand nous avons traversé le rond-point de Nabulsi, un char de l’armée israélienne est apparu de derrière une butte de sable et a commencé à tirer sur les gens au hasard. »

    « Au même moment, des quadricoptères ont commencé à nous attaquer, nous et les centaines de personnes, y compris des enfants, qui se trouvaient près de nous. »

    Muhammad al-Salim dit avoir vu deux filles devant lui touchées par des balles et les personnes qui se trouvaient à l’avant de la file se faire tirer dessus et mourir sous les tirs des chars et des quadricoptères.

    Il estime avoir vu plus de 50 morts et blessés, et des centaines de personnes parmi la foule s’enfuir dans les rues étroites adjacentes à la rue al-Rasheed pour échapper à la pluie de balles et d’obus. (...)

  • Evening recap
    19 January 2024 23:57 GMT | Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/evening-recap-37

    After eight days of blackout, internet services are gradually being restored to Gaza on Friday. The ability for the enclave’s residents to have telecommunications access was celebrated by many.

    But also, it allowed the world to get a fuller image of the carnage left by Israeli forces over the past week in Gaza.

    Earlier this month, Israel has said it shifted to a lower intensity phase of its war in Gaza, however daily tallies of the Palestinian death toll remain high. For example, these were the death tolls each day this past week.

    Monday: 132 Palestinians killed
    Tuesday: 158 Palestinians killed
    Wednesday: 163 Palestinians killed
    Thursday: 172 Palestinians killed

    Here’s an overview of today’s developments:

    The UK’s foreign secretary recommended arms sales to Israel despite “serious concerns” that Israel breached international law in Gaza. Read more on that here.
    Ajith Sunghay, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in occupied Palestine, said the treatment of some Palestinians from Gaza detained by Israel may amount to torture.
    A group of 60 lawmakers are urging Biden to reaffirm that the US strongly opposes “the forced and permanent displacement” of Palestinians from Gaza.
    Biden remains opposed to a ceasefire, according to a White House spokesperson.
    A White House spokesperson also said that the US has conducted three more strikes against the Houthis.
    A Palestinian American teenager was killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank. The US said it was “seriously concerned” about the news.
    Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the UN refugee agency for Palestinians, said the West Bank is witnessing its highest levels of violence yet.

  • Israel has violated international law by bombing Gaza: UN special rapporteur
    19 January 2024 12:38 GMT | Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/israel-has-violated-international-law-bombing-gaza-un-special-rapport

    The UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, has told a press conference in Spain that Israel has violated international law with its brutal bombing of the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 24,700 Palestinians.

    “Israel has done a number of things that are largely illegal,” Albanese said at a press conference in Madrid. “International humanitarian law must be respected to protect people not participating in combat: Civilians, prisoners of war, the sick and the wounded," she said.

    “This means distinguishing between combatants and civilians, and ensuring that military attacks are proportionate to avoid excessive harm to civilians.

    “Instead, what happened was more than 100 days of heavy bombing. In the first two weeks, 6,000 bombs were used weekly, bombs each weighing 2,000 pounds [about a tonne], in very crowded areas,” she added.

  • US Senate rejects bill to condition Israeli aid, limiting Gaza pushback
    By MEE staff | Published date: 17 January 2024 | Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-senate-overwhelming-rejects-resolution-could-cut-israeli-aid-under

    The US Senate overwhelmingly rejected a resolution introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders that would have required the State Department to report to Congress any evidence of human rights violations by Israel in Gaza, potentially curtailing US military assistance to Israel.

    The vote on Tuesday night is one of the clearest signals yet that despite widespread public criticism of Israel, US lawmakers in both parties are unwilling to censure Israel.

    The Senate voted 72 to 11 to kill the resolution which was forced to a vote on the Senate floor by Sanders.

    Republican Senator Rand Paul joined Sanders and nine other Democrats voting to keep the resolution alive, including Jeff Merkley; Chris Van Hollen; Martin Heinrich; Laphonza Butler; Edward Markey; Ben Ray Lujan; Mazie Hirono; Peter Welch; and Elizabeth Warren.

    While the vote underscores the divide that has emerged between moderate and progressive Democrats over Gaza, it also shows how support for Israel continues to dominate within the party, at least in Congress. US lawmakers continue to view the war in Gaza in the context of the US’s wider confrontation with Iran.

    • 17 janvier 2024 | 22:05 GMT
      Analysis : Advocate decries failure of US Senate resolution to probe Israeli abuses
      https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/17/israels-war-on-gaza-live-brutality-of-gaza-crisis-unprecedented-un

      Annie Shiel says a Bernie Sanders-proposed Senate resolution, which was rejected by US lawmakers last night, asked a “very simple question” about Israel’s compliance with existing laws.

      The failure of the measure, which would have required the State Department to produce a report on possible Israeli abuses in Gaza, signals unequivocal support for Israel in Congress.

      “This resolution was the first Senate vote on critical oversight questions regarding US military aid to Israel amid catastrophic civilian harm in Gaza,” Shiel, US advocacy director at the group Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), told Al Jazeera.

      “And it was one that asked a very simple question – do Senators want more information on Israel’s compliance with international law and the ways it has used US arms and other military assistance?”

      US law prohibits security assistance to countries engaged in gross human rights violations.

      Shiel called the 72-to-11 vote to block the resolution “deeply disappointing”.

  • Gaza death toll rises to 24,285
    16 January 2024 11:04 GMT | Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/gaza-death-toll-rises-24285

    The number of Palestinians killed by Israel has risen to 24,285, Gaza’s health ministry said on Tuesday

    At least 61,154 others have been wounded since the start of Israel’s attacks on 7 October.

    According to the ministry, Israeli forces committed “15 massacres against families” in the Gaza Strip, killing 158 people and injuring 320 others during the past 24 hours

    • Les récentes révélations selon lesquelles Israël dispose d’une base secrète à Erbil, capitale de la région kurde d’Irak, ne devraient surprendre personne.

      L’information a été dévoilée à la suite du lancement par l’Iran de missiles balistiques contre cette base il y a une dizaine de jours, prétendument en représailles à une attaque israélienne contre une usine iranienne de drones militaires à Kermanshah.

  • UN official ’deeply alarmed’ by Israeli plans for Palestinian transfer
    12 January 2024 20:58 GMT | Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/un-official-deeply-alarmed-israeli-plans-palestinian-transfer

    The UN humanitarian coordinator said he was “deeply alarmed” on Friday over recent remarks by Israeli officials regarding “plans to encourage the mass transfer” of Palestinian civilians from Gaza to other nations, and reiterated calls for a ceasefire.

    “Unless we act, it will become an indelible mark on our humanity,” Martin Griffiths, the UN undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, said in a briefing to the UN Security Council.

    “I reiterate my call for this council to take urgent action to bring this war to an end,” he added.

  • Israel’s mass murder of Palestinians in Gaza began seven decades ago
    Joseph Massad | 26 December 2023 17:23 GMT

    Israel’s ongoing genocidal assault on Palestinian civilians in Gaza is part of a long and brutal history that goes back to 1951 | Middle East Eye
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-mass-murder-palestinians-gaza-began-seven-decades-ago

    The US, EU, and UK do not tire of defending Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people with the cliched incantation that “Israel has the right to defend itself”.

    In August 2022, Israel bombed Palestinians in Gaza over three days, killing 49 people, including 17 children. The US and the EU’s response to the massacre was to declare emphatically their support for “Israel’s right to defend itself” and mutedly to regret the death of Palestinian civilians.

    That was the last major massacre Israel committed in Gaza before its current genocidal war, but it certainly was not the first. For that, we must go back to 1951, when Israel began to raid the Gaza Strip.(...)