Israel approves some fuel for UN trucks in Gaza

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in the hospital in Khan Younis, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. (AP)
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Updated 15 November 2023
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Israel approves some fuel for UN trucks in Gaza

  • The United States pressured the UN to accept the fuel, the source added

BEIRUT: Israel has given approval for 24,000 liters of diesel fuel to be used by trucks for United Nations operations in the Gaza Strip, a humanitarian source said on Tuesday.
The fuel is only meant for UN trucks, and not for hospitals, the source said. The United States pressured the UN to accept the fuel, the source added.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

 

 


Saudi Arabia slams Israel’s move to annex Palestinian land and block ‘two-state’ solution

Updated 15 August 2025
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Saudi Arabia slams Israel’s move to annex Palestinian land and block ‘two-state’ solution

  • Saudi foreign ministry called on the the international community “to assume its legal and moral responsibilities” and “protect the Palestinian people” 
  • “It must also compel Israel to stop its aggression against Gaza” ... “and to halt its crimes against the Palestinian people,” the ministry said in a statement

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Friday condemned moves by Israeli authorities to push ahead with construction of settlements around the occupied city of Jerusalem.

In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs also denounced pronouncements by Israeli officials to block internationally backed efforts to create a sovereign Palestinian state as part of a solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel’s moves to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state “is a violation of international law, the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of their sovereign state,” the statement said. 

“These decisions and statements confirm the continuation of the illegal expansionist policies of this Israeli government, its obstruction of the peace process, and the serious threat to the possibility of a two-state solution,” the statement said.

Earlier Thursday, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that work would start on a long-delayed settlement that would divide the West Bank and cut if off from East Jerusalem. 

“Whoever in the world is trying to recognize a Palestinian state today will receive our answer on the ground. Not with documents nor with decisions or statements, but with facts. Facts of houses, facts of neighborhoods,” Smotrich was reported as saying.

Smotrich’s office later doubled down by saying the move would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.

Israeli media on Thursday also reported that Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has vowed that Israel “will not allow” the implementation of the two-state solution, which allows the creation of a Palestinian state standing side-by-side with Israel.

“A Palestinian state in the heart of the land of Israel would indeed be a solution — a solution for those seeking to destroy us. We will not allow that to happen,” Sa’ar said in a statement from his office and carried by the Times of Israel.

“If large countries like France and Canada wish to establish a Palestinian state within their own territory, they can — they have plenty of space. But here, in the land of Israel, it will not happen,” Sa’ar further reported as saying.

France and Canada had recently announced plans to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state next month amid Israeli defiance of international calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and to allow humanitarian agencies to their work. Britain also threatened to follow suit unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Hamas, improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza, and work toward a long-term peace framework.

Call for immediate action

In view of the recent moves by Israeli officials, Saudi Arabia urged the international community “to assume its legal and moral responsibilities, protect the Palestinian people, and fulfill their legitimate rights, including recognition of the Palestinian state.”

“It must also compel Israel to stop its aggression against Gaza and its illegal violations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and to halt its crimes against the Palestinian people, particularly those amounting to genocide, and hold the perpetrators accountable,” the statement said.

“The Kingdom renews its categorical rejection of Israeli policies based on settlement expansion, forced displacement, and the denial of the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights. 

”It calls on the international community, especially the permanent members of the Security Council, to take immediate action to compel the Israeli occupation authorities to end their crimes against the Palestinian people and the annexation of Palestinian territory and to comply with UN resolutions and international law,“ the statement further said.


EU, Norway, rights groups rap West Bank settlement plan

Updated 15 August 2025
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EU, Norway, rights groups rap West Bank settlement plan

  • Palestinians fear land fragmentation will rob them of any chance to build a state of their own in the area

MAALE ADUMIM: Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced work would start on a long-delayed settlement that would divide the West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, a move his office said would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.

The Palestinian government, allies, and campaign groups condemned the scheme, calling it illegal and saying the fragmentation of territory would rip up peace plans for the region.
Standing at the site of the planned settlement in Maale Adumim on Thursday, Smotrich, a settler himself, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump had agreed to the revival of the E1 development. However, there was no immediate confirmation from either.
“Whoever in the world is trying to recognize a Palestinian state today will receive our answer on the ground, not with documents nor with decisions or statements, but with facts. Facts of houses, facts of neighborhoods,” Smotrich said.
Israel froze construction plans at Maale Adumim in 2012, and again after a revival in 2020, because of objections from the US, European allies, and other powers who considered the project a threat to any future peace deal with the Palestinians.
Restarting the project could further isolate Israel, which has watched some of its Western allies condemn its military offensive in Gaza and announce they may recognize a Palestinian state.
Palestinians fear the settlement building in the West Bank — which has sharply intensified since the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that led to the Gaza war — will rob them of any chance to build a state of their own in the area.
In a statement headlined “Burying the idea of a Palestinian state,” Smotrich’s spokesperson said the minister had approved the plan to build 3,401 houses for Israeli settlers between an existing settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
In Maale Adumim, Smotrich said the plan would go into effect on Wednesday.
Breaking the Silence, an Israeli rights group established by former Israeli soldiers, said what it called a land grab “will not only further fragment the Palestinian territory, but will further entrench apartheid.”
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the Palestinian president’s spokesperson, called on the US to pressure Israel to stop settlement building.
“The EU rejects any territorial change that is not part of a political agreement between the involved parties. So annexation of territory is illegal under international law,” European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper said.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said the move by Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist in the ruling right-wing coalition who has long advocated for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, showed that Israel “seeks to appropriate land owned by Palestinians in order to prevent a two-state solution.”
Peace Now, which tracks settlement activity in the West Bank, said there were still steps needed before construction. 
However, if all goes through, infrastructure work could begin within a few months, and house building could start about a year later.
“The E1 plan is deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution. We are standing at the edge of an abyss, and the government is driving us forward at full speed,” Peace Now said in a statement.
Consecutive Israeli governments have initiated, approved, planned, and funded settlements, according to Israeli rights group Yesh Din.
Some settlers moved to the West Bank for religious or ideological reasons, while lower housing costs and government incentives drew others. 
They include American and European dual citizens.
Palestinians were already demoralized by the Israeli military campaign, which has killed more than 61,000 people in Gaza, according to local health authorities, and fear Israel will ultimately push them out of that territory.
About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. 
Israel annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognized by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank. 
The UN and most world powers say settlement expansion has eroded the viability of a two-state solution by fragmenting Palestinian territory. 
The two-state plan envisages a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, existing side by side with Israel.
Most of the global community considers all settlements illegal under international law.
Israel rejects this interpretation, saying the West Bank is “disputed” rather than “occupied” territory.
Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand imposed sanctions in June on Smotrich and another far-right minister who advocates for settlement expansion, accusing both of them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. 


UAE joins Jordan, EU countries in Gaza humanitarian airdrops

Updated 14 August 2025
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UAE joins Jordan, EU countries in Gaza humanitarian airdrops

  • Action is 71st of Operation Birds of Goodness, part of UAE’s Operation Chivalrous Knight 3 to help Palestinians
  • Aid includes essential food supplies donated by Emirati charities

LONDON: The UAE and Jordan, alongside Germany, Italy, Belgium, and France, carried out humanitarian airdrops on Thursday to help deliver relief to the 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The aid airdrop was the 71st of Operation Birds of Goodness, part of the UAE’s Operation Chivalrous Knight 3 in support of Palestinians facing Israeli attacks, reported the Emirates News Agency.

The aid included essential food supplies which had been donated by charities in the UAE. Since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict in late 2023, the UAE has delivered 3,956 tonnes of various items, including food and essential supplies.

The initiative underscores the UAE’s commitment to supporting the Palestinian people, enhancing resilience, and promoting humanitarian assistance in crisis areas, added WAM.


Turkiye reports mass return by Syrians

Updated 14 August 2025
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Turkiye reports mass return by Syrians

  • Turkiye’s interior ministry said 411,649 Syrians had so far returned
  • Around 2.5 million Syrian refugees still live in Turkiye

ISTANBUL: More than 410,000 Syrians who fled to Turkiye during the rule of Bashar Assad have returned home since he was overthrown in December, the government announced Thursday.
Turkiye’s interior ministry said 411,649 Syrians had so far returned, the rate picking up in recent weeks, with the immigration service recording 140,000 returns since mid-June.
In June Filippo Grandi, head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), said 600,000 Syrians had returned homme from neighboring countries.
Syria has seen outbreaks of violence in recent weeks, testing the authorities’ ability to contain inter-religious strife after the fall of Assad.
Around 2.5 million Syrian refugees still live in Turkiye, according to the latest figures, released in early August.
In 2021, Turkiye said up to 3.7 million Syrians had taken refuge in the country.


Sudan army chief rules out any compromise with RSF paramilitaries

Updated 14 August 2025
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Sudan army chief rules out any compromise with RSF paramilitaries

  • Sudan’s war, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million
  • So far, mediation efforts led by Washington and Riyadh have failed to secure a ceasefire in Sudan

PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s army chief on Thursday vowed there would be no compromise with paramilitary forces who have been at war with the regular army for more than two years amid a deepening humanitarian crisis.
Speaking on the centenary of the Sudanese armed forces, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan renewed his commitment to the “battle for dignity, to defeat the rebellion, and to make neither compromise nor reconciliation, whatever the cost.”
The remarks come just days after a confidential meeting in Switzerland between Burhan and US Africa envoy Massad Boulos.
According to two Sudanese government sources, the pair discussed a new US peace plan. So far, mediation efforts led by Washington and Riyadh have failed to secure a ceasefire.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have attempted to establish a parallel administration in western Sudan, on territory under their control.
The United Nations Security Council strongly condemned the move on Wednesday, calling it “a direct threat to Sudan’s unity and territorial integrity.”
Sudan’s war, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and plunged the nation into the world’s worst hunger and displacement crisis.
The European Union on Thursday called on all parties in the civil war in Sudan to “urgently” allow the entry of international aid, as the country weathers its worst outbreak of cholera in years.
“Civilians must be protected, and humanitarian access must be granted,” the EU said in a joint statement also signed by countries including Britain, Canada and Japan.