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SvennoJ on 12 February 2024
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Belgium receives no clarification from Israel on Gaza building bombing

A building containing the offices of the Belgian Agency for Development Cooperation in Gaza was destroyed in suspected Israeli strikes on Gaza City two weeks ago. The Israeli ambassador to Belgium had promised an investigation at the time. Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez said her country still has not received a response from Israel.

Eleven rights groups urge EU countries to publicly support ICJ provisional measures

The human rights organisations have penned a letter to 16 EU countries urging them to ensure that Israel complies with the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) provisional measures against genocide. “The EU and member states’ answer has been unsatisfactory. Not enough European states have declared their intention to adhere to the legal obligations instituted by the provisional measures or ensure that Israel applies them,” the organisations said.

On January 26, the ICJ determined a plausible risk of Israel committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The provisional measures ordered Israel to take measures to prevent genocidal acts and ensure the provision of immediate humanitarian aid to Gaza. Additionally, Israel was told to report back to the court within a month on its implementation of the measures.

The groups further said: “The comparison with the wide support given by EU member states to the preliminary rulings of the ICJ in the context of the wars in Ukraine and in Myanmar have not escaped Palestinian eyes. The difference in treatment between Ukraine and Palestine has led many to note that Europe is operating with a clear double standard concerning the application of the Genocide Convention.”

EU’s foreign policy chief suggests US rethink military aid to Israel

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has suggested the US rethink its military aid to Israel due to the high number of civilian casualties in the war on Gaza. Borrell recalled that Biden said last week that Israel’s onslaught on Gaza had been “over the top” and US officials had repeatedly said that too many civilians are being killed in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“Well, if you believe that too many people are being killed, maybe you should provide less arms in order to prevent so many people being killed,” Borrell told reporters after a meeting of EU development ministers in Brussels. “If the international community believes that this is a slaughter, that too many people are being killed, maybe we have to think about the provision of arms,” he added.

‘Ceasefire has to be achieved as soon as possible’: WHO surgeon

Dr Athanasios Gargavanis, a trauma surgeon and emergency officer for the UN agency, says a ceasefire is needed now so “health workers are able to deliver at the best of their capacities”. “We are here to support the health system that’s suffering, not only because of the chronic blockade and this actual war, but also from the movement of population that impedes health workers to do their work at the best possible way,” Gargavanis said in a video posted on social media.

Majority of Americans favour permanent ceasefire in Gaza: Survey

The US-based Institute for Social Policy and Understanding has found that the majority of Muslim, Catholic, and Protestant Americans – among them white Evangelical and non-affiliated Americans – favour a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Though just shy of a majority, Jewish Americans are more likely to favour (50 percent) than oppose (34 percent) a cessation in violence.

However, views on where to lay the blame are divided.

A majority of Jews (65 percent) and white Evangelicals (51 percent) blame Hamas for the ongoing violence, and a plurality of Catholics (47 percent) agree. Muslims are roughly four times as likely to blame the Israeli government (40 percent) for the war.

The survey also found that:

  • Jewish and Muslim Democrats, like Democrats in the general public, favour an end to the war on Gaza.
  • The majority of young Americans favour a cessation in the violence.

ICC prosecutor ‘concerned’ by Rafah bombing

Karim Khan, prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), says he is “deeply concerned” by Israel’s bombardment of Rafah as well as reports of an anticipated Israeli ground offensive there. “My Office has an ongoing and active investigation into the situation in the State of Palestine. This is being taken forward as a matter of the utmost urgency, with a view to bringing to justice those responsible for Rome Statute crimes,” Khan said in a social media post.

“All wars have rules and the laws applicable to armed conflict cannot be interpreted so as to render them hollow or devoid of meaning. This has been my consistent message, including from Ramallah last year. Since that time, I have not seen any discernible change in conduct by Israel.” The ICC official also reiterated his call for the immediate release of those who continue to be held captive in Gaza.