Israel's war hysteria
Live Reporting
How the Arab world will enable Palestine to win its war of liberation.
Israel’s war on Gaza has become Palestine’s Liberation War.
The brutality of the war and blatant disregard for international law have shaken global politics to the core.
But with Arab unity, Palestine will win its liberation, paving the way to peace and security in the Middle East through a two-state solution.
The Arab nations, with impressive unity, are circumventing US resistance. After a meeting of the Arab League in Bahrain in mid-May, the Arab world is working towards a global conference to implement the two-state solution.
Worms, insects infest Gaza bound food stuck rotting in Egypt
Some of the food supplies waiting to enter Gaza from Egypt started to rot due to the earlier closure of the Rafah border crossing.
Rafah is a main entry point for humanitarian relief as well as some commercial supplies before Israel stepped up its military offensive and took control of the crossing from the Palestinian side.
One truck driver, Mahmoud Hussein, said his goods had been loaded on his vehicle for a month, gradually spoiling in the sun. Some of the foodstuffs are being discarded, while others sold off cheap.
US Senator Bernie Sanders says US ignores crimes in Gaza at its peril
Sanders warned the US that if it ignored the “crimes against humanity” being committed in Gaza, it would not have any credibility to criticise “the actions of any country, no matter how terrible those actions may be”.
In a post on social media accompanied by a video of the Vermont senator making a speech, Sanders said the US “claims to be the leader of the free world”.
“At our best, we try to mobilise countries to uphold international law and prevent crimes against humanity,” he said.
“How will the United States be able to criticise any country in the world? Whether it is Russia, China, Saudi Arabia or anyone else, any other country in the world, if we pretend [about] that what is happening in Gaza. If we actually believe what Netanyahu is saying,” he said.
UN chief expects Israel to comply with ICJ order: Spokesperson
A spokesman for Antonio Guterres said the UN’s secretary-general “trusts” that Israel will comply with the International Court of Justice’s orders and end its attack on Rafah, open Gaza’s border crossings to allow entry of humanitarian aid, and allow access to Gaza for war crimes investigators.
Guterres also expects that the other “parties” – a reference to Palestinian armed groups – will implement the ICJ’s repeated call for the immediate release of Israeli captives held in Gaza, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
UN member states have a duty to follow Security Council decisions and court orders, he said.
“The secretary-general has no crystal ball,” Dujarric told reporters. “Whether or not they choose to do so is a question you need to ask them.”
In accordance with the ICJ statute, Dujarric said the secretary-general will now transmit the ICJ’s provisional measures regarding Israel to the UN Security Council.
Guterres later posted on social media the message that “protecting civilians is not negotiable”.
World reacts to ICJ’s order for Israel to stop Rafah offensive
The International Court of Justice, the UN’s top court, has ordered Israel to “immediately” halt its military assault on Rafah in southern Gaza.
Reed Brody, a war crimes prosecutor and author of “To Catch a Dictator”, told Al Jazeera that the move is “huge” and the ICJ has “really stepped up” to address the reality on the ground in the Gaza Strip.
Former Italian MP hangs Palestinian flag from Italian parliament
Former Italian Member of Parliament Stefano Apuzzo has been filmed hanging a Palestinian flag from the Italian parliament in Rome in protest of Israel’s war on Gaza.
In footage of the incident, Apuzzo can be seen climbing out of a window at the Palazzo Montecitorio, home to the lower house of the Italian Parliament, and onto a balcony, where he unfurls a Palestinian flag.
“Enough with the use of Italian weapons in genocide in Gaza. There are 35,000 dead in Gaza,” Apuzzo shouts from the balcony.
Israel balks at World Court’s order to halt Rafah attack
Israel’s war cabinet minister, Benny Gantz, brushed aside the court order for Israel to immediately cease its assault on Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are in the line of fire.
“The State of Israel is committed to continue fighting to return its hostages and promise the security of its citizens – wherever and whenever necessary – including in Rafah,” said Gantz after the International Court of Justice ruling.
Israeli lawmaker Danny Danon, a former Israeli UN envoy, said: “As ICJ judges in The Hague deliberate in comfort and return to their families, 125 hostages languish in tunnels. Israel will not cease the war until our hostages are brought back home and Hamas is completely defeated.”
Before the ruling, an Israeli government spokesperson said: “No power on Earth will stop Israel from protecting its citizens and going after Hamas in Gaza.”
‘End this nightmare,’ says UN aid chief
Martin Griffiths, the UN’s chief of emergency humanitarian relief, says Israel’s war on Gaza has been “a tragedy beyond words”.
“At a time when the people of Gaza are staring down famine; when hospitals are attacked and invaded; when aid organizations are blocked from reaching people in need; when civilians are under bombardment from north to south; it is more critical than ever to heed the calls made over the last seven months:
“Release the hostages. Agree a ceasefire. End this nightmare.”
The European Union is studying whether it could play a role in monitoring the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt after Israel’s war with Hamas ends.
The UN Security Council has adopted a Swiss-sponsored resolution calling for the protection of humanitarian workers and UN personnel in conflicts.
Judges at the International Court of Justice have ordered Israel to halt its attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, citing “immense risk” to the Palestinian population.
Israel insists Rafah operation does not risk 'destruction of Palestinians'
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel said Friday (May 24) that its military operations in Gaza's far-southern city of Rafah do not "risk the destruction of the Palestinian civilian population" after the top UN court ordered it to stop them.
The International Court of Justice ruled on Friday that Israel must halt activities "which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part".
