Category Archives: Israel

Australia backs UN resolution recognising ‘permanent sovereignty’ of Palestinians in major departure

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Vote cast with 158 other countries to recognise ‘permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory’

Australia has backed in a United Nations resolution to recognise the “permanent sovereignty” of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, marking a major departure from its previous position.

At a UN committee vote on Thursday, Australia voted with 158 other countries, including the UK and New Zealand, on a resolution to recognise the “permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources”.

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Israel accused of crimes against humanity over forced displacement in Gaza

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Human Rights Watch says it has evidence that suggests ‘the war crime of forcible transfer’ of civilians

Israel is using evacuation orders to pursue the “deliberate and massive forced displacement” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, according to a report by Human Rights Watch, which says the policy amounts to crimes against humanity.

The US-based group added it had collected evidence that suggested “the war crime of forcible transfer [of the civilian population]”, describing it as “a grave breach of the Geneva conventions and a crime under the Rome statute of the international criminal court”.

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Amsterdam police detain pro-Palestine protesters defying ban

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Dozens held under emergency measures imposed after violence that erupted around football match

Police have detained pro-Palestinian protesters rallying in central Amsterdam in defiance of a ban imposed after violence stemming from a football match between Ajax and Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Dozens of demonstrators, some with Palestinian flags, chanted “Amsterdam is saying no to genocide” and “Free Palestine”.

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US wants Gaza fighting pause, Blinken says, but will not limit arms transfers despite Israel missing aid deadline – as it happened

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The US wants real and extended pauses in fighting in Gaza so assistance can get to people who need it, US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, told reporters on Wednesday.

More details to follow …

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Unrwa shutdown by Israel would add to Gaza suffering, says top official

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Sam Rose warns of severe consequences amid weakened US stance and points to ICJ demand to protect aid efforts

Israel’s plan to close the UN Palestinian relief agency, Unrwa, within three months is impossible and unrealistic without causing further untold suffering to the Palestinian people, its director of operations in Gaza has warned.

Just returned from Gaza, where he said he had seen levels of suffering unprecedented since the war started, Sam Rose warned that Unrwa could collapse, with severe implications for schools and hospitals not just in Gaza but in the West Bank if Israel went ahead with its plan.

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Trump picks Huckabee as Israel envoy and Fox News host as defense secretary

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Pete Hegseth tapped for key role and Kristi Noem for homeland security amid flurry of nominations

Donald Trump has chosen the former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee as the next US ambassador to Israel and a Fox News host to be his new defense secretary.

Huckabee has a track record of hardline, occasionally provocative, pro-Israel rhetoric and previously said Israel has a rightful claim to the West Bank, which he refers to by its Hebrew and biblical name of Judea and Samaria.

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Aid groups accuse Israel of ignoring US ultimatum on ‘apocalyptic’ Gaza crisis

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US may soon impose sanctions as organisations say Israel has failed to help relieve dire humanitarian situation

A coalition of international aid organisations have accused Israel of ignoring a US ultimatum that threatened sanctions if Israel did not implement a series of measures to counter the acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The 30-day ultimatum– due to expire on Tuesday or Wednesday – was delivered on 13 October, and almost none of its demands have been met, the humanitarian groups say.

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‘Toxic cocktail’ led to Amsterdam violence, mayor says

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Antisemitism, hooliganism and anger over Gaza war all factors in trouble that broke out last week, report says

The violence that erupted in Amsterdam last week was sparked by “a toxic cocktail” of hooliganism and antisemitism, according to a detailed report published by the city’s mayor.

The city remains gripped by high tensions days after violence flared around a football match last Thursday between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

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Aid entering Gaza is lowest in months, says Unrwa, as US deadline approaches – Middle East crisis, as it happened

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Images sent over the news wires show smoke billowing over Beirut after Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital.

Lebanese media is reporting that two people have been killed and six wounded in an Israeli airstrike on Hermel, which is in the north-east of the country near the border with Syria.

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Israel says ‘certain progress’ made in Lebanon ceasefire talks

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Foreign minister says talks continuing over Israel’s stated objectives of pushing Hezbollah away from Israeli border

Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said on Monday that “certain progress” had been made on ceasefire talks in Lebanon, where Israel has been engaged in fighting Hezbollah for more than 13 months.

“We will be ready to be there if we know, first of all, that Hezbollah is not on our border, is north of the Litani River, and that Hezbollah will not be able to arm with new weapons systems,” Saar said.

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ICC prosecutor to face external investigation into sexual misconduct claims

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Allegations against Karim Khan to be examined by outside body ‘to ensure fully independent, impartial and fair process’

The chief prosecutor of the international criminal court will face an external investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, the court’s governing body has said.

In a statement, the president of the body that oversees the ICC said the inquiry would examine the allegations against Karim Khan, which related to his alleged conduct towards a woman who worked for him.

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Middle East crisis: Iran says ‘world is waiting’ for Trump administration to stop wars in Lebanon and Gaza – as it happened

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Lebanon’s National News Agency reports Israeli planes carried out airstrikes again overnight on locations in the south of the country. There are, as yet, no reports of any casualties.

Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the news wires from the Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel.

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Macron to attend ‘high-risk’ France-Israel football match

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French president offers ‘fraternity and solidarity’ as Israel discourages wearing of ‘Jewish symbols’ abroad

Emmanuel Macron will attend the France-Israel football match at the Stade de France on Thursday in a gesture of “fraternity and solidarity” after attacks on Jewish fans in Amsterdam last week.

Thousands of extra police will be on duty for the game taking place against a backdrop of high tension caused by the conflict in Gaza.

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Aid to Gaza falls to lowest level in 11 months despite US ultimatum to Israel

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US government wrote to Israel a month ago threatening sanctions if there was no increase in humanitarian supplies

The amount of aid reaching Gaza has dropped to the lowest level since December, official Israeli figures show, despite the US having issued a 30-day ultimatum last month threatening sanctions if there was no increase in humanitarian supplies reaching the territory.

The ultimatum was delivered on 13 October, so will expire on Tuesday or Wednesday. It is unclear what measures Israel’s apparent failure to fulfil US demands will trigger, but they may include a temporary halt to the supply of some munitions or other military assistance.

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First charges over violence linked to football match in Amsterdam

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City’s police chief says ‘incidents on both sides’ led to violent unrest as ‘around 40’ fined and released

Authorities have released details of the 62 people arrested after violent attacks took place around the football match between Amsterdam’s Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday night.

Violence after the game – described by the Amsterdam mayor, Femke Halsema, as “hit and run attacks” on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters by “boys on scooters” – provoked international horror.

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Dozens killed as Israeli strikes destroy home, Gaza officials say

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Gaza’s civil defence agency says 25 people killed, including 13 children, as Israel continues attacks in north of territory

Israeli warplanes carried out more strikes in northern Gaza on Sunday, reportedly destroying a home in the Jabaliya area that had been under siege for weeks, killing and wounding dozens, including many women and children.

The death toll is one of the biggest in a single strike so far in Jabaliya, where hundreds of people have died since a major Israeli operation in the area began last month.

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More arrests expected in Amsterdam over violence on Israeli football fans

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Four suspects still held on suspicion of violent acts and 50 people fined after attacks on football fans

Amsterdam police expect to make more arrests after what authorities called “hateful antisemitic violence” against Israeli football fans, prosecutors said on Saturday.

Four suspects remained detained on Saturday on suspicion of violent acts, including two minors, and 40 people had been fined for public disturbance and 10 for offences including vandalism, prosecutors said.

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Trump’s win boosts chances of Netanyahu remaining in power until Israel’s 2026 elections

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Wars in Gaza and Lebanon set to intensify after Israeli PM’s position is reinforced by Trump’s victory and ousting of defence minister

Benjamin Netanyahu is set to stay in power in Israel until elections due in 2026 and possibly longer, analysts and officials now believe, after a tumultuous week in which the 75-year-old veteran politician successfully fired his defence minister and was boosted by the results of the US election.

Netanyahu’s newly reinforced position could lead to further intensification of Israel’s campaign in Lebanon, and prolong the conflict in Gaza, critics fear – although the incoming US president Donald Trump has said he wants to swiftly end both wars.

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Middle East crisis: Amsterdam officials ban protests after violence; Hamas says it has ‘not received’ request to leave Qatar – as it happened

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Israeli air strikes on the Lebanese coastal city of Tyre have now killed seven people.

Reuters reported that Lebanon’s health ministry said the death toll has risen from three to seven after the attack on Friday.

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Qatar halts Israel-Gaza ceasefire mediation over lack of ‘good faith’

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Gulf state’s government is stopping mediation efforts until warring parties show a ‘sincere willingness’ to reach a deal

The Qatari government has informed the US and Israel it will stop mediation efforts to halt the conflict in Gaza because it no longer thinks the parties are negotiating in good faith.

The Gulf state has concluded that talks have become a political football, and its efforts to facilitate them were generating criticism towards it, according to a diplomatic source briefed on the situation.

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