‘Stop this war now,’ Slovenian PM tells Israel’s Netanyahu

Slovenia Prime Minister Robert Golob addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP)
Slovenia Prime Minister Robert Golob addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 27 September 2024
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‘Stop this war now,’ Slovenian PM tells Israel’s Netanyahu

‘Stop this war now,’ Slovenian PM tells Israel’s Netanyahu
  • Addressing UN General Assembly, Robert Golob demands Israel ‘stop the bloodshed, end the occupation’
  • Sudan experiencing ‘man-made humanitarian catastrophe’ with millions displaced

LONDON: Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob on Friday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, telling his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to “stop this war now.”

Golob was addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, with Slovenia having assumed the presidency of the UN Security Council on Sept. 1. 

During the speech, he left no room for doubt, thumping the lectern as he said: “I want to say this out loud and clear to the Israeli government: Stop the bloodshed, stop the suffering, bring the hostages home and end the occupation.”

He told the UNGA that the UNSC is finding itself unable to respond “in an effective way to major conflicts such as Gaza, Ukraine or Sudan,” adding that the council needs reform.

“In Gaza, almost four months since the council’s resolution on (a) ceasefire and hostage release, the deal is nowhere close,” Golob said.

“As the (UN) secretary-general (Antonio Guterres) said yesterday … people in Gaza are existing, not living, existing among lakes of sewage, piles of rubbish and mountains of rubble. The only certainty they have is that tomorrow is going to be worse.

“In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, violence and dehumanization of Palestinians is increasing and has reached a boiling point.

“All this is taking us further away from the two-state solution with Israelis and Palestinians living side-by-side in peace and security. 

“(The) escalation of (the) Gaza crisis into the region is now a reality. The region is (on) the brink of an abyss. De-escalation is urgently needed, starting with the ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon.”

Golob also highlighted the civil war in Sudan, saying: “We’re witnessing a man-made humanitarian catastrophe, with millions displaced and in desperate need of humanitarian aid. At the same time, we’re seeing (an) atrocity happening again in Darfur.”

He blamed the five permanent members of the UNSC for “misusing veto power and putting national interest first,” adding: “We urgently need a council that’s a true representation of the international community, a council that’s fit for the world of today.

“We need to ensure that the distribution of the seats is fair. The council needs stronger voices of the regions that have been underrepresented, such as (the) African continent.”

Golob added that the “erosion of respect for international humanitarian law” is making it harder for humanitarian work to be carried out.

“In Gaza, humanitarians aren’t just occasional collateral victims — they seem to have become a deliberate military target,” he said.

“There’s no other explanation for the highest number of humanitarian workers being killed last year, of whom the vast majority (were) in Gaza.

“The sense of impunity for crimes in Gaza is putting humanitarian organizations under stress elsewhere. This is undermining the very essence of the UN.”

Golob also addressed climate change and the measures being taken to halt its effects across the world, especially threats to water supplies, including the use of supercomputers and artificial intelligence.

“Unfortunately, people suffering from armed conflicts don’t have the luxury of high-tech solutions. More often than not, they’re denied basic access to clean drinking water,” he said.

“Even more, we’re increasingly seeing how access to water is becoming weaponized in Yemen, Somalia, Gaza and Sudan.”

Golob spoke about how children disproportionately suffer as a result of climate change and conflict, once again highlighting the dire situation of young people in Gaza.

“Slovenia is offering concrete help with the foundation Let Them Dream, which is dealing with the rehabilitation of children from Gaza,” he said.

“It’s an extremely noble and human project which was launched years ago and has already helped hundreds of children from Gaza who came for rehabilitation in Slovenia, and will continue to do so. Sadly, some of these kids are now already the victims of recent aggression on Gaza.”

Golob concluded his address by telling delegates about an experience earlier this week when he met two young “courageous” Palestinian girls at an event hosted by Save the Children.

“They spoke about their challenges in life. They spoke about their feelings. They spoke about their plans for the future. And despite all of the destruction, dehumanization and fear, there was no anger nor hate in their stories,” he said.

“They just had this enormous wish to live a normal, decent life. They just had this enormous wish to be able to educate and study in order to be able to contribute back to their community.

“One wants to become a doctor, the second wants to become a humanitarian worker. Today, I fulfill my promise to them, and I bring their story to the General Assembly.”


Jordan to take sick Gaza kids as Trump pushes takeover plan

Jordan to take sick Gaza kids as Trump pushes takeover plan
Updated 14 sec ago
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Jordan to take sick Gaza kids as Trump pushes takeover plan

Jordan to take sick Gaza kids as Trump pushes takeover plan
  • Jordan would take in some 2,000 sick children from war-torn Gaza
  • US president called it a 'beautiful gesture' and said he didn’t know about it before the Jordanian monarch’s arrival at the White House

WASHINGTON: Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday told Donald Trump that his country would take in some 2,000 sick children from war-torn Gaza, as the US president pushed his plan to take over the territory and push out Palestinians.
Speaking at the White House, King Abdullah added that Egypt would present a proposal on how countries in the region could “work” with Trump on the plan, despite Arab nations and the Palestinians having rejected it outright.
“I think one of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state, that is possible,” King Abdullah said as Trump welcomed him and Crown Prince Hussein in the Oval Office.
Trump called it a “beautiful gesture” and said he didn’t know about it before the Jordanian monarch’s arrival at the White House.
The US president meanwhile backed down on a suggestion that he could withhold aid for Jordan and Egypt if they refused to take in more than two million Palestinians from Gaza.
“I think we’ll do something. I don’t have to threaten that, I do believe we’re above that,” Trump said.
Trump stunned the world when he announced a proposal last week for the United States to “take over” Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” — but only after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, with no plan for them ever to return.
Jordan’s King Abdullah was repeatedly pressed by reporters on whether he supported the plan, but said only that Egypt was coming up with a response and that Arab nations would then discuss it at talks in Riyadh.
“The president is looking at Egypt coming to present that plan... (then) we will be in Saudi Arabia to discuss how we should work with the president and with the United States,” King Abdullah said.
“The point is, how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody," he added.


UN experts warn Trump Gaza plan would return world to ‘dark days of colonial conquest’

UN experts warn Trump Gaza plan would return world to ‘dark days of colonial conquest’
Updated 21 min 11 sec ago
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UN experts warn Trump Gaza plan would return world to ‘dark days of colonial conquest’

UN experts warn Trump Gaza plan would return world to ‘dark days of colonial conquest’
  • Call for US to facilitate permanent ceasefire, resume UNRWA funding, and compensate Palestinians for damage caused by US weapons
  • US should pressure Israel to pay for reconstruction and reparations, hold perpetrators of atrocities accountable, and support Palestinian statehood, experts say

NEW YORK: A group of more than 30 independent UN experts on Tuesday denounced threats by US President Donald Trump to “take over” and “own” Gaza, warning that such a move would usher in a new era of “predatory lawlessness.”

Referring to Trump’s suggestion that Gaza’s Palestinian population could be relocated through the use of military force if required, the experts said: “Such blatant violations by a major power would break the global taboo on military aggression and embolden other predatory countries to seize foreign territories, with devastating consequences for peace and human rights globally.”

They added that implementing the US proposal would “shatter the most fundamental rules of the international order and the United Nations Charter since 1945, which the US was instrumental in creating to restore peace after the catastrophic Second World War and Holocaust.

“It would return the world to the dark days of colonial conquest.”

The experts underscored that it was clearly unlawful to invade and seize foreign land by force; to forcibly expel inhabitants; and to deny the Palestinian people their fundamental right to self-determination, which includes keeping Gaza as part of a sovereign Palestinian state.

“Such violations would replace the international rule of law and the stability it brings with the lawless ‘rule of the strongest’.”

The experts include Ben Saul, the special rapporteur on the promotion of human rights while countering terrorism; Francesca Albanese, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian territories, and George Katrougalos, an independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order.

They said that just as more than 50 years of Israeli occupation of Palestine had failed to bring peace or security to either Israel or Palestine, a US occupation would have the same disastrous outcome, driving endless war, death, and destruction.

The mass deportation of civilians from occupied territories was classified as a war crime under the 1949 Geneva Conventions following the Second World War to prevent the repetition of actions such as Nazi Germany’s forced expulsion of populations from European nations.

“The US proposal would accelerate forced displacement of Palestinians from their lands, which began in the 1947-48 Nakba, and has since included home demolitions, evictions, destruction and theft of natural resources and the criminal building of illegal Israeli colonial settlements,” the experts warned.

During his previous term, Trump unlawfully acknowledged Israel’s illegal annexations of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, actions that have been condemned by the International Court of Justice, the UN General Assembly, the Security Council, and a vast majority of countries.

“If the US president is genuinely concerned for the welfare of Palestinians, the US should broker a lasting ceasefire, resume funding to UNRWA, compensate Palestinians for damage resulting from US weapons and munitions supplied to Israel despite the serious risk of violations of humanitarian law, and end arms transfers. It should also pressure Israel to fund reconstruction and provide reparation for violations, pursue accountability for perpetrators of international crimes, and meaningfully support Palestinian statehood,” they said.

The experts said that if the US president truly cares about the well-being of Palestinians, the US should facilitate a lasting ceasefire, resume funding to UNRWA, compensate Palestinians for the damage caused by US weapons and munitions provided to Israel despite the significant risk of humanitarian law violations, and halt arms transfers.

They added that the US should also urge Israel to finance reconstruction, offer reparations for violations, seek accountability for those responsible for international crimes, and genuinely support Palestinian statehood.

Israeli military action in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of over 48,100 Palestinians and left 110,000 injured, mostly women and children. The attacks have rendered 85 percent of the population, roughly 1.9 million people, homeless, and without access to sufficient food, water, and other basic needs. They have also severely damaged or destroyed most homes, agricultural land, public infrastructure, and caused extensive environmental harm.


Kuwait sends 22nd relief plane to Syria

Kuwait sends 22nd relief plane to Syria
Updated 11 February 2025
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Kuwait sends 22nd relief plane to Syria

Kuwait sends 22nd relief plane to Syria
  • Kuwaiti air bridge to deliver aid to Damascus beyond the month of Ramadan
  • 10 tons of food aid brings total relief supply to 591 tons

LONDON: The 22nd Kuwaiti relief plane arrived at Damascus International Airport, delivering essential aid to Syria as part of Kuwaiti efforts to alleviate the Syrian crisis.

An air force plane delivered 10 tons of food aid, which was organized by the Kuwait Red Crescent Society in cooperation with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, the Kuwait News Agency reported late on Monday.

The Kuwait Red Crescent is working with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to deliver food and shelter materials as part of an air bridge planned to operate between Kuwait and Syria beyond the month of Ramadan, which starts in March.

Kuwaiti aid provided to Syria through the air bridge has reached 591 tons of various relief supplies, the KUNA added.


Israel orders beefed up troops around Gaza as ceasefire shows signs of faltering

Israeli soldiers gather on top of a tank on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, as seen from Israel, February 11, 2025.
Israeli soldiers gather on top of a tank on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, as seen from Israel, February 11, 2025.
Updated 11 February 2025
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Israel orders beefed up troops around Gaza as ceasefire shows signs of faltering

Israeli soldiers gather on top of a tank on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, as seen from Israel, February 11, 2025.
  • Netanyahu also ordered officials “to prepare for every scenario if Hamas doesn’t release our hostages this Saturday,” according to the official

JERUSALEM: An Israeli official says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday ordered the army to add more troops in and around the Gaza Strip after Hamas threatened to call off the next scheduled release of hostages.
Netanyahu also ordered officials “to prepare for every scenario if Hamas doesn’t release our hostages this Saturday,” according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting. The official was not clear if Netanyahu’s order referred to the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza, or just the three scheduled for release on Saturday.
Israel had signaled Monday it planned to reinforce defenses along the Gaza border. The all-scenario plan was announced during a four-hour meeting between Netanyahu and his Security Cabinet that focused on Hamas’ threat, which risks jeopardizing the three-week-old ceasefire.
So far, Hamas has released 21 hostages in a series of exchanges for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. But it said Monday — and reiterated Tuesday — that it planned to delay the next release of three more hostages after accusing Israel of failing to meet the terms of the ceasefire, including by not allowing enough tents and other aid into Gaza.
President Donald Trump has said Israel should cancel the entire ceasefire if all of the roughly 70 hostages aren’t freed by Saturday. Hamas brushed off his threat on Tuesday, doubling down on its claim that Israel has violated the ceasefire and warned that it would only continue releasing hostages if all parties adhered to the ceasefire.
Trump is hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday as he escalates pressure on the Arab nation to take in refugees from Gaza — perhaps permanently — as part of his audacious plan to remake the Middle East.
Palestinians and the international community have seethed over Trump’s recent comments that any Palestinians potentially expelled from Gaza would not have a right to return.
During the first six-week phase of the ceasefire, Hamas committed to freeing 33 hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, while Israel said it would release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The sides have carried out five swaps since Jan. 19.
The war could resume in early March if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for the return of all remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the truce.
But if Israel resumes the war, it will face a drastically different battlefield. After forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to evacuate to southern Gaza in the early stages of the war, Israel allowed many of those displaced people to return to what is left of their homes, posing a new challenge to its ability to move ground troops through the territory.


Egyptians furious over Trump’s Gaza plan, downplay aid threat

People walk past the heavily-damaged Commodore Hotel in western Gaza City, on February 11, 2025, amid current ceasefire deal.
People walk past the heavily-damaged Commodore Hotel in western Gaza City, on February 11, 2025, amid current ceasefire deal.
Updated 11 February 2025
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Egyptians furious over Trump’s Gaza plan, downplay aid threat

People walk past the heavily-damaged Commodore Hotel in western Gaza City, on February 11, 2025, amid current ceasefire deal.
  • Hashtag “on the shoe” — common Egyptian phrase meaning “we could not care less” — began to trend in response to what many saw as intimidation attempt

CAIRO: Egyptians reacted with fury on Tuesday to US President Donald Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan, while downplaying his threat to cut aid to both countries if they refuse.
The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper ran a front-page headline declaring “Egypt urges the world to end historical injustice against the Palestinian people,” while the private daily Al-Masry Al-Youm wrote, “Palestinian anger: Gaza is not for sale.”
On X, the hashtag “on the shoe” — a common Egyptian phrase meaning “we could not care less” — began to trend in response to what many saw as an attempt at intimidation.
The phrase can be traced back to a historic speech by late president Gamal Abdel Nasser, who dismissed US aid threats during Egypt’s wars with Israel.
On Monday, a strongly worded statement from Egypt’s foreign ministry rejected “any compromise” that could infringe on Palestinians’ rights, including to remain on their land.
The statement followed a meeting in Washington between Egypt’s foreign minister Badr Abdelatty and his US counterpart Marco Rubio.
During a phone call with the Danish prime minister on Tuesday, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that the establishment of a Palestinian state is “the only guarantee for achieving lasting peace” in the region.
The Egyptian leader also called for the reconstruction of Gaza “without displacing” its residents, according to a statement from his office.
Trump, speaking on Monday, said the United States could “conceivably” halt assistance to Egypt and Jordan unless they agree to take in Palestinians from Gaza — a proposal Cairo and Amman have repeatedly rejected.
The US provides its regional ally Egypt with around $1.3 billion in military aid annually, making it one of the country’s largest foreign donors.
According to US government data, Egypt received roughly $1.5 billion in both military and economic assistance from the United States last year.
Hussein Haridi, a former diplomat and assistant foreign minister, downplayed the significance of US aid, arguing that it would not sway Egypt’s position on Gaza.
“This small amount (about $200 million) in economic aid will not affect the Egyptian economy,” Haridi told AFP.
“Regardless of its impact, we will not bow to Trump’s threats,” he said.
Haridi also said that Trump had little understanding of “the true character of Egyptians” and the country’s historical role in defending Arab interests and in particular the Palestinian cause.
“We do not care about Trump’s threats. Egypt is fully prepared to confront them and these threats will backfire on US interests in the region.”
“This is not just El-Sisi’s stance or the Egyptian government’s stance — it is the stance of the Egyptian people,” he added.
Gamal Bayoumi, a former diplomat and assistant foreign minister, meanwhile, told AFP that Egypt has made its stance clear: any attempt to force Palestinians out of Gaza “will be considered an act of war.”
Bayoumi added that Egypt was well prepared for any measures Washington might take, including a potential halt to financial assistance.
Among ordinary Egyptians, the Trump plan provoked outrage.
“After bombing and killing them, they now want to displace them?” said Samir Gomaa, a 71-year-old garage owner in Cairo.
“This is Palestinian land. Who in their right mind sells land that isn’t theirs and turns it into a tourist project?,” Gomaa told AFP.
Despite Egypt’s economic struggles, including soaring inflation and mounting debt, many citizens expressed support for El-Sisi’s stance.
“Our president is a hero for saying no, even though we’re struggling with inflation,” said Mohamed Abdel Tawab, 53, a paper trader.
“The Arab world will rebuild Gaza and Egypt will stand firm,” he said.
Since early in the Gaza war, which began in October 2023 with Hamas’s attack on Israel, officials and lawmakers in Egypt have repeatedly warned against any attempts to alter the region’s demographics, seeing it as a national security threat.