UN warns of disturbing ‘pattern’ of Israeli attacks on medical facilities in Gaza

CAIRO/ANKARA: Fifteen Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel under the Jan. 19 ceasefire agreement with Hamas arrived in Türkiye on Tuesday after being deported first to Egypt, the Turkish foreign minister and the Hamas prisoners media office said.
Among dozens of such former prisoners, they are the first to be taken in by a third country other than Egypt under the terms of the ceasefire, which bar prisoners convicted by Israel of violent attacks from returning to the Palestinian Territories.
Palestinians view those jailed for fighting Israel as resistance heroes.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the 15 former prisoners had arrived via Egypt, after Ankara responded positively to a request under the ceasefire deal provisions.
“We think it would be beneficial for some regional countries to take a role in this matter... Egypt and Qatar would play a role in that respect,” Fidan said at a joint press conference in Ankara with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty.
The first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza has led to Hamas’ release of 18 hostages and Israel’s release of 583 jailed Palestinians, of whom at least 79 were sent to Egypt.
As well as Türkiye, some may be sent on to Algeria or Qatar, Hamas sources say.
Fidan rejected criticism by what he called “Zionist circles” of Turkiye’s decision to take in the former Palestinian prisoners, saying Ankara was acting to help end “the humanitarian drama in Gaza.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to discuss the situation in Gaza and other regional issues with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday.
The Gaza war started with a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, on Israel that killed 1,200 people, and saw more than 250 taken as hostages, according to Israeli tallies. The Israeli military campaign has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians and left the enclave in ruins, Gaza authorities say.

LONDON: More than 160 NGOs, civil society groups and trade unions have urged the EU to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories.

The appeal came in a letter addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

She was urged to take action to ensure that Europe complies with international law by ending its support for Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise.

It comes amid renewed international attention on the Palestinian question in the wake of the Gaza ceasefire.

Palestinians “continue suffering” in the enclave despite the “fragile” ceasefire, while in the West Bank Israeli authorities have “expanded their illegal settlements and intensified their repression of Palestinians,” Human Rights Watch said.

EU member states have repeatedly condemned Israeli settlements through unanimous voting. Two rounds of targeted sanctions against Israeli settlers were also launched by the bloc.

Last July, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation is illegal, and called for the dismantling of settlements.

States have an obligation to prevent trade “that assists in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” the court said.

Existing EU policies breach this obligation, groups said in the letter, warning that goods exported from Israeli settlements are not excluded from entering the European market.

HRW said: “Amid sharp divisions, the EU has been unable to adopt measures that respond to Israel’s war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide in Gaza.

“But the bloc should at least be coherent with its own statements, and live up to its obligations under international law, by banning trade and business with settlements, which are inexorably linked to egregious rights abuses.”