UN says lawlessness in Gaza impedes aid via Kerem Shalom despite Israel’s military pause

UN says lawlessness in Gaza impedes aid via Kerem Shalom despite Israel’s military pause
A truck carrying aid for delivery into Gaza drives through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, June 17, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 19 June 2024
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UN says lawlessness in Gaza impedes aid via Kerem Shalom despite Israel’s military pause

UN says lawlessness in Gaza impedes aid via Kerem Shalom despite Israel’s military pause
  • The UN welcomed the move, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Tuesday

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations said on Tuesday it has been unable to distribute aid in the Gaza Strip from the Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing because of lawlessness and panic among hungry people in the area, despite Israel’s daytime pause in military activity.
Israel’s military said on Sunday there would be a daily pause in its attacks from 0500 GMT until 1600 GMT until further notice along the road that leads from Israel via the Kerem Shalom crossing to the Salah Al-Din Road and northwards in Gaza.
The UN welcomed the move, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Tuesday, but added that “this has yet to translate into more aid reaching people in need.” He said the area between Kerem Shalom and the Salah Al-Din road was very dangerous.
“Fighting is not the only reason for being unable to pick up aid ... The lack of any police or rule of law in the area makes it very dangerous to move goods there,” he said.
“But we are ready to engage with all parties to ensure that aid reaches people in Gaza, and we’ll continue to work with the authorities and with security forces, trying to see what can be done to have security conditions,” Haq said.
“When aid gets to a place, people are starving, and they’re worried that this may be the last food that they see,” he said. “They have to be assured that there’s going to be a regular flow of goods so that there’s not a panic when we get to the area.”
The United Nations and aid groups have long complained of the dangers and obstacles to getting aid in and distributing it throughout Gaza, where the UN had warned a famine is looming.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began more than eight months ago, aid for 2.3 million Palestinians has primarily entered through two crossings into southern Gaza — the Rafah crossing from Egypt and the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel.
But deliveries were disrupted when Israel stepped up its military operations in Rafah last month with the stated aim of routing remaining units of Hamas fighters. Egypt closed the Rafah crossing due to the threat posed to humanitarian work and has routed a backlog of aid and fuel via Kerem Shalom.
Haq said on Tuesday that the Rafah crossing remained closed and there was limited access via Kerem Shalom. In Gaza’s north, he said the Erez crossing was not accessible due to an escalation of fighting, while the West Erez and Zikim crossings were operational.


South Sudan clashes kill 30: local official

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South Sudan clashes kill 30: local official

South Sudan clashes kill 30: local official
The attack in northern Ruweng Administrative Area began earlier in the week
Local media reported that some of those killed were members of the armed groups

JUBA: At least 30 people were killed when a northern South Sudanese town was briefly overrun by an armed youth group, a local official said Thursday, following a cattle raid.
Clashes involving pastoralists and settled farming communities are common in the world’s youngest country, but this incident comes as tensions rise over South Sudan’s fragile political situation.
The attack in northern Ruweng Administrative Area began earlier in the week when a group of armed youth stole lambs before they were scared off by security forces, said Simon Chol Mialith, the local Minister of Information.
The following day, he told AFP, the group returned in greater numbers and attacked Abiemnom, and although “the youth and the security forces tried to defend the town, they were overrun by the Mayom armed youth.”
On Wednesday the South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) drove the group from the settlement, Mialith said, where calm has now been restored.
“The number has risen to 30 people confirmed dead and over 40 persons wounded,” he said, without giving further details.
Local media reported that some of those killed were members of the armed groups, but AFP was unable to confirm this.
The incident comes as forces allied to President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar clash across the country, sparking regional concern and threatening a fragile peace deal in 2018 that ended a five-year civil war.
South Sudan has been bedevilled by instability and insecurity since independence in 2011, and despite its natural oil resources remains deeply impoverished.


At least 30 people were killed when a northern South Sudanese town was briefly overrun by an armed youth group, a local official said Thursday, following a cattle raid. (AP/File)

Palestinian Authority calls on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu

Palestinian Authority calls on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu
Updated 14 min 27 sec ago
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Palestinian Authority calls on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu

Palestinian Authority calls on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu
  • The governing body of the International Criminal Court voiced regret and concern over Hungary’s announcement that it was leaving the court, saying any departure harmed a “shared quest for justice”

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Authority has urged Hungary to arrest visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under an International Criminal Court warrant over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
“The ministry calls on the Hungarian government ... to comply with the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant by immediately handing Netanyahu over to bring him to justice,” the Ramallah-based Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement hours after Hungary announced it would withdraw from the ICC.
The governing body of the International Criminal Court voiced regret and concern over Hungary’s announcement that it was leaving the court, saying any departure harmed a “shared quest for justice.”
“When a state party withdraws from the Rome Statute (that established the ICC), it clouds our shared quest for justice and weakens our resolve to fight impunity,” the presidency of the Assembly of State Parties said in a statement.
The court is “at the center of the global commitment to accountability,” and the international community should “support it without reservation,” the statement added.
“Justice requires our unity.”
The governing body also extended an olive branch to Hungary, which earlier Thursday announced it was starting the one-year process to withdraw from the ICC.
Every court member “has the right to voice its concerns before the Assembly,” it said.
“The presidency strongly encourages Hungary to have a meaningful discussion on this issue.”
In the meantime, the body urged Hungary to “continue to be a resolute party to the Rome Statute.”
Budapest said it was quitting the ICC just as Prime Minister Viktor Orban hosted Netanyahu.

 


Israeli military says it holds special probe into Gaza aid worker deaths

Israeli military says it holds special probe into Gaza aid worker deaths
Updated 03 April 2025
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Israeli military says it holds special probe into Gaza aid worker deaths

Israeli military says it holds special probe into Gaza aid worker deaths
  • The military’s Southern Command had transferred the investigation to a general staff mechanism outside the chain of command
  • Israel has not directly addressed the accusation that its forces deliberately killed health workers

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military is conducting an investigation into an incident in Gaza in which a number of emergency and aid workers were killed, a military spokesperson said on Thursday, rejecting a description of the incident as an “execution.”
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said the military’s Southern Command had transferred the investigation to a general staff mechanism outside the chain of command to establish what happened and “hold accountable people if we need to.”
Last month, the bodies of 15 workers from the Red Crescent, Palestinian Civil Defense and United Nations were found buried in a shallow grave at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, close to their wrecked vehicles.
Israel has not directly addressed the accusation that its forces deliberately killed health workers but the military has described an incident on March 23, when it said its troops fired on vehicles bearing Red Crescent markings near Rafah, killing nine members of militant groups.
“Our initial investigation found that there were terrorists in these cars, using those Red Crescent cars,” Shoshani told a briefing with journalists.
Asked how the troops knew that there were militants in the cars, he said: “It is based on different ways of intelligence and also based on the information gathered on the ground at the time of the event.”
He said troops later also fired on other unmarked vehicles that approached without emergency lights or prior coordination.
“I can’t go into the reasoning and what they did because this is under investigation,” Shoshani said. “We will investigate this incident and once we have the answers, we’ll put them out clearly and communicate everything we know and everything we’ve found,” he said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent, which said eight of its staff had been killed in the incident, said Israel had targeted the group and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
The medical team had been sent into Rafah as Israeli forces were advancing into the area after resuming operations in Gaza on March 18, following a two month-long truce, UN officials have said.
When the bodies were found, they were still in their medical uniforms and wearing gloves.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the people had been killed by Israeli forces and demanded “answers and justice.”
Shoshani denied reports that some bodies in the grave had been found with hands tied, and rejected the term “execution” to describe what happened during what he called “an operational event.”
“Not an execution,” he said.


Jordan’s King Abdullah meets Bulgarian president in Sofia to discuss Middle East security

Jordan’s King Abdullah meets Bulgarian president in Sofia to discuss Middle East security
Updated 03 April 2025
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Jordan’s King Abdullah meets Bulgarian president in Sofia to discuss Middle East security

Jordan’s King Abdullah meets Bulgarian president in Sofia to discuss Middle East security
  • King praised Bulgaria’s contributions to regional stability through its NATO and European Union membership
  • Both leaders stressed the urgent need to reinstate a ceasefire in Gaza

LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in Sofia on Thursday, where the two leaders discussed strengthening relations and addressing key challenges in the Middle East region.

During the expanded meeting at the Presidential Palace, King Abdullah emphasized Bulgaria’s important role in hosting the latest round of the Aqaba Process meetings in partnership with Jordan.

He noted that the discussions were particularly relevant given the current global security landscape, Jordan News Agency reported.

The king praised Bulgaria’s contributions to regional stability through its NATO and European Union membership, highlighting the alignment of views between the two nations on shared geopolitical challenges.

He also underscored the importance of fostering deeper cooperation and understanding between Jordan and Bulgaria.

Radev also stressed the significance of the Aqaba Process meetings in tackling critical security issues such as counterterrorism and radicalization, which are pressing concerns in both the Balkan region and the Middle East.

Reflecting on more than six decades of Jordan-Bulgaria relations, Radev praised the strategic partnership built between the two countries and also acknowledged Jordan’s leading role in advancing peace and stability in the Middle East, emphasizing the shared responsibility of both nations in promoting regional security.

The Bulgarian president lauded Jordan’s efforts to push for an end to the conflict in Gaza, while also continuing humanitarian aid delivery, and advocating for a political resolution.

He reaffirmed Bulgaria’s support for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through a two-state solution.

Both leaders stressed the urgent need to reinstate a ceasefire, facilitate humanitarian aid, and de-escalate tensions in the West Bank.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Jordan’s ambassador to Bulgaria, Mutaz Khasawneh, also attended the meeting.

Upon his arrival in Sofia, King Abdullah was welcomed with an official ceremony at Alexander Nevsky Square, where he laid a wreath at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier.


Appeal in Algeria against jail term for writer Sansal

Appeal in Algeria against jail term for writer Sansal
Updated 03 April 2025
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Appeal in Algeria against jail term for writer Sansal

Appeal in Algeria against jail term for writer Sansal
  • Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists
  • Sansal was arrested in November and stood trial for undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity

ALGIERS: The prosecutor’s office in Dar El Beida near Algiers has appealed against a five-year jail sentence imposed on French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, the Algiers bar association told local media.
Sansal, whose case has been at the heart of a diplomatic storm with France, is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists.
“Boualem Sansal and the prosecutor’s office appealed the day before Eid Al-Fitr,” marking the end of the month of Ramadan, which was celebrated Monday in Algeria, said Mohamed Baghdadi, an article on the TSA website said.
The writer’s French lawyer Francois Zimeray told AFP on Wednesday that Sansal had appealed, but that this did not prevent him from being pardoned if the appeal was withdrawn.
Sansal was arrested in November and stood trial for undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity, after saying in an interview with a far-right French media outlet that France unfairly ceded Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial era.
The statement echoed a long-standing Moroccan claim, and was viewed by Algeria as an affront to its national sovereignty.
On March 27, a court in Dar El Beida sentenced him to a five-year prison term and fined him 500,000 Algerian dinars ($3,730).
According to his French publisher, Sansal is 80 years old.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron urged his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune to show “mercy and humanity” toward Sansal.
Baghdadi was quoted by TSA as saying that a pardon is “only possible once the final sentence” is pronounced.
“The case can be judged quickly” and a pardon granted afterwards, Baghdadi added, emphasising that Tebboune is “sovereign in his decisions.”
The date for the appeal has not yet been set, according to TSA.
Sansal’s conviction and sentence further frayed ties between Paris and Algiers, already strained by migration issues and Macron’s recognition last year of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which is claimed by the Algeria-backed pro-independence Polisario Front.