UN rejects ‘annexation’ proposals for Palestinian territories

UN rejects ‘annexation’ proposals for Palestinian territories
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk delivers a speech at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on Feb. 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 26 February 2025
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UN rejects ‘annexation’ proposals for Palestinian territories

UN rejects ‘annexation’ proposals for Palestinian territories
  • “We must resist any normalization of unlawful conduct, including proposals for annexation or forced transfer,” Volker Turk told the UN Human Rights Council
  • Such proposals “could threaten the peace and security of Palestinians and Israelis, and of the wider region“

GENEVA: The UN rights chief on Wednesday rejected as “unlawful” proposals for the annexation of or forced transfer from Palestinian territories, warning they posed a threat to the entire region.

“We must resist any normalization of unlawful conduct, including proposals for annexation or forced transfer,” Volker Turk told the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Such proposals “could threaten the peace and security of Palestinians and Israelis, and of the wider region,” he warned, insisting that “this is the moment for voices of reason to prevail.”

Turk did not give details, but there have been rising levels of violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and calls for annexation after Israel announced expanded military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly proposed emptying war-ravaged Gaza of Palestinians.

He has floated the idea of a US takeover of Gaza under which its Palestinian population would be relocated — a proposal met with widespread condemnation, but welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump later appeared to soften his plan, saying he was only recommending the idea, and conceding that the leaders of Jordan and Egypt — the proposed destinations for relocated Gazans — had rejected any effort to move Palestinians against their will.

But the US president’s official social media accounts on Wednesday posted an apparently AI-generated video depicting war-ravaged Gaza rebuilt into a seaside resort, replete with a towering golden statue of Trump himself.

Presenting a fresh report on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, Turk said Wednesday: “We urgently need to end the conflict.”

To do so, he said it was vital to hold accountable perpetrators of a vast array of abuses committed since the war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s deadly October 7, 2023 attacks inside Israel.

“Israel’s means and methods of warfare have caused staggering levels of casualties and destruction, raising concerns over the commission of war crimes and other possible atrocity crimes,” he said.

But he raised “serious doubts” about the Israeli justice system’s ability to deliver justice “notably in relation to the unlawful killing of Palestinians in Gaza or in the West Bank.”

He also noted that “Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups have taken, held, and tortured hostages in Gaza, and have indiscriminately fired projectiles into Israeli territory, amounting to war crimes.”

To his knowledge, none of these groups had taken measures to punish those responsible, he said, adding that such “impunity begets more violence.”

So to did “delegitimising and threatening international institutions that are there to serve people and uphold international law also harms us all,” he warned.

All violations and abuses need to be investigated independently, he said.

While Turk mentioned no names, earlier this month Washington sanctioned the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court Karim Khan over the ICC’s investigations targeting US personnel as well as alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

Khan was responsible for the request that led the ICC to issue arrest warrants late last year for Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant.


Turkiye, Britain sign accord allowing Ankara to be a user of Eurofighter jets

Turkiye, Britain sign accord allowing Ankara to be a user of Eurofighter jets
Updated 13 sec ago
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Turkiye, Britain sign accord allowing Ankara to be a user of Eurofighter jets

Turkiye, Britain sign accord allowing Ankara to be a user of Eurofighter jets
ISTANBUL: Turkiye and Britain have signed a memorandum of understanding to allow Ankara to be a user of Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, in a big step toward securing the procurement of the jets over which Turkiye has been negotiating for years.
Turkiye has been in talks to purchase 40 of the jets, which are built by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, represented by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.
Earlier, the Spiegel magazine reported that Germany had also cleared the way for the delivery of 40 jets to Turkiye, following a positive decision by the federal security council.

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 21 people, health authorities say

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 21 people, health authorities say
Updated 14 min 56 sec ago
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Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 21 people, health authorities say

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 21 people, health authorities say
  • Health authorities say Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 21 people. More than half of those killed late Tuesday and early Wednesday reportedly were women and children

GAZA: Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 21 people late Tuesday and early Wednesday. More than half of those killed were women and children, health authorities said.

Desperation is mounting in the Palestinian territory of more than 2 million, which experts say is at risk of famine because of Israel’s blockade and nearly two-year offensive. A breakdown of law and order has led to widespread looting and contributed to chaos and violence around aid deliveries.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in the Gaza Strip, mostly near aid sites run by an American contractor, the UN human rights office said Tuesday.

More than 100 human rights groups and charities signed a letter published Wednesday demanding more aid for Gaza and warning of grim conditions causing starvation.

More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

Here is the latest:

Overnight strikes kill at least 21

One Israeli strike hit a house Tuesday in the northwestern side of Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to the Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties.

The dead included six children and two women, according to the Health Ministry’s casualty list.

Another strike hit an apartment in the Tal Al-Hawa area in northern Gaza, killing at least six people. Among the dead were three children and two women, including one who was pregnant. Eight others were wounded, the ministry said.

A third strike hit a tent in the Naser neighborhood in Gaza City late Tuesday and killed three children, Shifa Hospital said.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes. It blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militants operate from populated areas.

Human rights groups and charities demand more Gaza aid

In the letter issued Wednesday by 109 human rights and charity groups, they warned of a dire situation pushing more people toward starvation. They said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, “waste away.”

The letter slammed Israel for what it said were restrictions on aid into the war-ravaged territory. It lamented “massacres” at food distribution points, which have seen chaos and violence in recent weeks as desperation has risen.

“The government of Israel’s restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,” the letter said.

The letter called for aid to be scaled up as well as for a ceasefire. `

Israel says that it has allowed the entry of thousands of trucks since May and blames aid groups for not consistently delivering goods.


Egyptian activist locks nation’s embassy gates in The Hague to protest Gaza siege

Egyptian activist locks nation’s embassy gates in The Hague to protest Gaza siege
Updated 23 July 2025
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Egyptian activist locks nation’s embassy gates in The Hague to protest Gaza siege

Egyptian activist locks nation’s embassy gates in The Hague to protest Gaza siege
  • Anas Habib accuses Cairo of Rafah crossing closure that prevents aid reaching starving Palestinians

AMSTERDAM: An Egyptian activist on Tuesday locked the outer gates of his country’s embassy in The Hague to protest Cairo’s alleged closure of the Rafah crossing which has prevented aid from entering Gaza for besieged Palestinians.

Livestreaming his actions, content creator and social media personality Anas Habib locked two sets of gates at the embassy with what appears to be bike locks.

Habib said his actions were symbolic and he wanted to draw attention to the ongoing siege of Gaza that was resulting in the starvation of Palestinians.

“It’s been two years of us hearing this same excuse, it’s closed from their side and not ours, they couldn’t handle a lie and a siege for one second, imagine how everyone in Gaza is feeling hearing your lies every day for the past two years,” he said.

“I’ll stay standing here until the police arrive, because I won’t open it until Gaza is opened. Let them break the lock themselves,” Habib said.

There has been no response yet from the Egyptian government to Habib’s actions and the video which has gone viral on social media.

Egypt has reportedly in the past pointed out that the Rafah crossing has been closed on the Gaza side by the Israeli military.


UN urges peaceful settlement of disputes as UN chief points to ‘the horror show in Gaza’

UN urges peaceful settlement of disputes as UN chief points to ‘the horror show in Gaza’
Updated 23 July 2025
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UN urges peaceful settlement of disputes as UN chief points to ‘the horror show in Gaza’

UN urges peaceful settlement of disputes as UN chief points to ‘the horror show in Gaza’
  • In urging greater efforts to pursue global peace, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council: “Around the world, we see an utter disregard for — if not outright violations of — international law” as well as the UN Charter

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council urged the 193 United Nations member nations on Tuesday to use all possible means to settle disputes peacefully. The UN chief said that is needed now more than ever as he pointed to “the horror show in Gaza” and conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti and Myanmar.

The vote was unanimous on a Pakistan-drafted resolution in the 15-member council.

In urging greater efforts to pursue global peace, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council: “Around the world, we see an utter disregard for — if not outright violations of — international law” as well as the UN Charter.

It is happening at a time of widening geopolitical divides and numerous conflicts, starting with Gaza, where “starvation is knocking on every door” as Israel denies the United Nations the space and safety to deliver aid and save Palestinian lives, Guterres said.

Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff as part of its war with Hamas and blames UN agencies for failing to deliver food it has allowed in.

In conflicts worldwide, “hunger and displacement are at record levels” and security is pushed further out of reach by terrorism, violent extremism and transnational crime, the secretary-general said.

“Diplomacy may not have always succeeded in preventing conflicts, violence and instability,” Guterres said. “But it still holds the power to stop them.”

The resolution urges all countries to use the methods in the UN Charter to peacefully settle disputes, including negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, referral to regional arrangements or other peaceful means.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who chaired the meeting, cited “the ongoing tragedies” in Gaza and between Pakistan and India over Kashmir, one of the oldest disputes on the UN agenda, that need to be resolved peacefully.

“At the heart of almost all the conflicts across the globe is a crisis of multilateralism; a failure, not of principles but of will; a paralysis, not of institutions but of political courage,” he said.

The Pakistani diplomat called for revitalizing trust in the UN system and ensuring “equal treatment of all conflicts based on international law, not geopolitical expediency.”

Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the Trump administration supports the United Nations’ founding principles of saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war and working with parties to resolve disputes peacefully.

Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, she said, the US has delivered “deescalation” between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, and Congo and Rwanda.

The US calls on countries involved in conflicts to follow these examples, Shea said, singling out the war in Ukraine and China’s “unlawful claims” in the South China Sea.

The war in Ukraine must end, she said, and Russia must stop attacking civilians and fulfill its obligations under the UN Charter, which requires all member nations to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every other country.

“We call on other UN member states to stop providing Russia with the means to continue its aggression,” Shea said.

 


Palestinian teen succumbs to wounds from Israeli gunfire near Jenin

Palestinian teen succumbs to wounds from Israeli gunfire near Jenin
Updated 22 July 2025
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Palestinian teen succumbs to wounds from Israeli gunfire near Jenin

Palestinian teen succumbs to wounds from Israeli gunfire near Jenin
  • Ibrahim Majed Ali Nasr was shot by Israeli live ammunition when forces entered the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin city
  • His killing raises the Palestinian death toll in Jenin governorate to 43 since the Israeli military assault began on Jan. 21

LONDON: A 16-year-old Palestinian died from injuries sustained earlier on Tuesday evening after being shot by Israeli forces during a raid in the northern occupied West Bank.

Ibrahim Majed Ali Nasr was shot by Israeli live ammunition when forces entered the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin city.

The teenager was shot in the chest, suffering a life-threatening injury, while another young man was injured in the leg, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Nasr was later declared dead at the hospital in Jenin.

Israeli forces raided a house, with no detentions reported, in Qabatiya on Tuesday evening.

Nasr’s killing raises the Palestinian death toll in Jenin governorate to 43 since the Israeli military assault began on Jan. 21. Dozens more have been injured or detained, the Palestine News Agency reported.