Gaza aid not reaching the population: UN

Gaza aid not reaching the population: UN
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid wait at the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on May 28, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 31 May 2024
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Gaza aid not reaching the population: UN

Gaza aid not reaching the population: UN
  • “The aid that is getting in is not getting to the people, and that’s a major problem,” Jens Laerke, spokesman for OCHA said
  • “We continue to insist that Israeli authorities’ obligation under the law to facilitate delivery of aid does not stop at the border“

GENEVA: The humanitarian aid allowed into the Gaza Strip is not getting to civilians in need, the United Nations said Friday, urging Israel to fulfil its legal obligations.
“The aid that is getting in is not getting to the people, and that’s a major problem,” Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, told a media briefing in Geneva.
He highlighted the role of the Israeli authorities at their Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point for aid into the besieged Palestinian territory since the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza was closed by the Israeli military on May 7.
“We continue to insist that Israeli authorities’ obligation under the law to facilitate delivery of aid does not stop at the border,” said Laerke.
“It does not stop when you drop off just a few meters across the border and then drive away, and then leave it to humanitarians to drive through active combat zones — which they cannot do — to pick it up,” he said.
“We need that safe and unimpeded access to get to the drop-off point so we can pick it up and get it to people.
“We want all parties to live up to their obligations under the law.”
The bloodiest-ever Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,224 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.


Pope meets Palestinian leader Abbas at the Vatican

Pope meets Palestinian leader Abbas at the Vatican
Updated 17 sec ago
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Pope meets Palestinian leader Abbas at the Vatican

Pope meets Palestinian leader Abbas at the Vatican
The pair, who have previously met several times, discussed peace efforts during a private half-hour audience according to the Vatican
Abbas then met the Holy See’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and the Vatican’s equivalent of a foreign minister, Paul Richard Gallagher

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, who has recently intensified criticism of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, on Thursday received Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, with whom he discussed the “serious” humanitarian situation.
The pair, who have previously met several times, discussed peace efforts during a private half-hour audience according to the Vatican, which released images of them smiling together.
Abbas then met the Holy See’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and the Vatican’s equivalent of a foreign minister, Paul Richard Gallagher.
The discussions focused on the Church’s assistance in “the very serious humanitarian situation in Gaza,” the hoped-for ceasefire, release of all hostages, and “achieving the two-state solution only through dialogue and diplomacy,” a Vatican statement said.
The meeting comes a few days after the release of a photo showing Pope Francis praying in front of a nativity scene at the Vatican, where the baby Jesus’s manger is covered with a black and white keffiyeh scarf, the symbol of Palestinian resistance.
The photo prompted a protest from the Israeli embassy to the Holy See, which asked for the keffiyeh to be removed, diplomatic and Vatican sources told AFP.
Francis has called for peace since Hamas’s unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, and the Israeli retaliatory campaign in Gaza.
In recent weeks he has hardened his remarks against the Israeli offensive.
At the end of November, he said that “the invader’s arrogance... prevails over dialogue” in “Palestine,” a rare position that contrasts with the tradition of neutrality of the Holy See.
In extracts from a forthcoming book published in November, he called for a “careful” study as to whether the situation in Gaza “corresponds to the technical definition” of genocide, an accusation firmly rejected by Israel.
Francis denounced an “immoral” use of force in Lebanon and Gaza at the end of September.
The Holy See has recognized the State of Palestine since 2013, with which it maintains diplomatic relations, and it supports the two-state solution.
Abbas is also due to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella in Rome.

Syria’s new government says to suspend constitution, parliament for three months

Syria’s new government says to suspend constitution, parliament for three months
Updated 12 December 2024
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Syria’s new government says to suspend constitution, parliament for three months

Syria’s new government says to suspend constitution, parliament for three months
  • Mohammed Al-Bashir named as the country’s transitional prime minister until March 1

DAMASCUS: Syria’s new government spokesman said on Thursday the country’s constitution and parliament would be suspended for the duration of the three-month transition period following president Bashar Assad’s ouster.
“A judicial and human rights committee will be established to examine the constitution and then introduce amendments,” Obaida Arnaout said.
The current constitution dates back to 2012 and does not specify Islam as the state religion.
Militants led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham seized the capital Damascus on Sunday, sending Assad fleeing into exile.
On Tuesday, they named Mohammed Al-Bashir, who headed the militants’ self-proclaimed “Salvation Government” in their northwestern bastion of Idlib, as the country’s transitional prime minister until March 1.
Arnaout said a meeting would be held on Tuesday “between Salvation Government ministers and the former ministers” of Assad’s administration to carry out the transfer of power.
“This transitional period will last three months,” he added in an interview with AFP. “Our priority is to preserve and protect institutions.”
Speaking at the state television headquarters, now seized by the new militant authorities, Arnaout pledged that they would institute “the rule of law.”
“All those who committed crimes against the Syrian people will be judged in accordance with the law,” he added.
Asked about religious and personal freedoms, he said “we respect religious and cultural diversity in Syria,” adding that they would remain unchanged.
The Sunni majority country was ruled with an iron fist by Assad, a follower of the Alawite offshoot of Shiite Islam who sought to project himself as a protector of minority communities.


Syria’s new government thanks countries that reopened missions

Syria’s new government thanks countries that reopened missions
Updated 12 December 2024
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Syria’s new government thanks countries that reopened missions

Syria’s new government thanks countries that reopened missions
  • Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman and Italy resumed activities of their diplomatic missions in Damascus
  • The militant offensive stunned the world and brought an end to more than a half a century of brutal rule by the Assad clan

DAMASCUS: Syria’s new government thanked eight countries on Thursday for swiftly reviving their diplomatic missions after a lightning militant offensive ousted president Bashar Assad at the weekend.
The offensive, which took less than two weeks to sweep across Syria and take the capital Damascus, stunned the world and brought an end to more than a half a century of brutal rule by the Assad clan.
The militants, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), appointed an interim prime minister on Tuesday to lead the country until March.
The new government’s department of political affairs issued a statement thanking Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman and Italy “for resuming the activities of their diplomatic missions in Damascus.”
Italy had reopened its embassy in Damascus before Assad’s fall.
After the militants took Damascus, an “armed group” entered the residence of Italy’s ambassador in Damascus and stole three cars, the Italian government said on Sunday.
The new government also said it had received “direct promises” from Qatar and Turkiye “to reopen their embassies in Syria” adding it hoped to “build good relations with all countries that respect the will of the people, the sovereignty of the Syrian state.”
Many embassies had shut their doors as militants advanced toward Damascus.
Gulf states had severed diplomatic ties with Syria, closing their embassies in the aftermath of Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 2011 that triggered the civil war.
Most have restored relations since 2018, with the exception of Qatar.
Qatar announced on Wednesday it would “soon” reopen its embassy in Damascus, closed in 2011.
The move aimed to “strengthen the close historical fraternal ties between the two countries,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said.
The Gulf country also sought to “enhance coordination with relevant authorities to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid currently provided by Qatar to the Syrian people” via an air bridge, it added.
Doha had supported opposition factions early in the war and remained a fierce critic of Assad while also calling for a diplomatic solution.
Turkiye has backed some Syrian militant groups since the start of the civil war.
The war killed more than 500,000 people and forced half the population to flee their homes, with six million of them seeking refuge abroad.


Ireland to ask ICJ to widen genocide definition over Gaza war

Ireland to ask ICJ to widen genocide definition over Gaza war
Updated 12 December 2024
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Ireland to ask ICJ to widen genocide definition over Gaza war

Ireland to ask ICJ to widen genocide definition over Gaza war
  • Dublin ‘concerned’ that ‘narrow interpretation’ leading to ‘culture of impunity’
  • Amnesty International, which accuses Israel of genocide, hails move as ‘glimmer of hope’

LONDON: The Irish government will ask the International Court of Justice to expand its definition of genocide over Israel’s “collective punishment” of civilians in the Gaza Strip, Sky News reported on Thursday.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin said his government is “concerned” that a “narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide” is leading to a “culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized.”

He added that there has been “collective punishment of the Palestinian people through the intent and impact of military actions of Israel in Gaza,” and that the Irish government “prioritizes the protection of civilian life.”

Ireland is set to link the request to the case brought by South Africa to the ICJ under the UN Genocide Convention, as well as a case brought by Gambia against Myanmar.

“By legally intervening in South Africa’s case, Ireland will be asking the ICJ to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a state,” Martin said.

“Intervening in both cases demonstrates the consistency of Ireland’s approach to the interpretation and application of the Genocide Convention.”

The convention identifies the practice as the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” by killing, inflicting physical and mental harm, and imposing destructive conditions. Collective punishment is not currently part of the criteria.

Israel has also been accused of committing genocide by Amnesty International, which said the country has repeatedly attacked Palestinians, destroyed infrastructure and limited civilians’ access to food, water and medicine.

Amnesty’s executive director in Ireland, Stephen Bowen, called Dublin’s actions a “glimmer of hope,” adding: “Those like Ireland who have called for a ceasefire must join with other like-minded states to create this common platform to end the genocide.

“They must be resolute; they must be relentless; they must be loud, clear, visible. This is genocide. This must stop.”


G7 ready to support political transition in Syria – statement

G7 ready to support political transition in Syria – statement
Updated 12 December 2024
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G7 ready to support political transition in Syria – statement

G7 ready to support political transition in Syria – statement
  • G7 leaders called on ‘all parties’ to ‘preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and national unity, and respect its independence and sovereignty’

ROME: Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies “stand ready to support a transition process that leads to credible, inclusive, and non-sectarian governance” in Syria, a statement said on Thursday.
The G7 said a political transition after the end of Bashar Assad’s 24-year authoritarian rule had to ensure “respect for the rule of law, universal human rights, including women’s rights, the protection of all Syrians, including religious and ethnic minorities, transparency and accountability.”
“The G7 will work with and fully support a future Syrian government that abides by those standards and results from that process,” the statement added.
The leaders also called on “all parties” to “preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and national unity, and respect its independence and sovereignty.”