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SvennoJ on 19 February 2024
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Amnesty says Israel must end ‘perpetual occupation’ of Palestinian territories

The global human rights watchdog Amnesty International says the Israeli occupation has been characterised by “widespread and systematic human rights violations”. “The occupation has also enabled and entrenched Israel’s system of apartheid imposed on all Palestinians,” Amnesty chief Agnes Callamard said in a statement. “Over the years, Israel’s military occupation has evolved into a perpetual occupation in flagrant violation of international law.”

‘Steep rise’ in malnutrition in Gaza reported

An analysis by the Global Nutrition Cluster, which monitors the nutritional needs of populations under emergency circumstances, has found that nearly 16 percent of children under the age of 2 in northern Gaza are “acutely malnourished”. Before the war, that figure was 0.8 percent for children under the age of 5. “Such a decline in a population’s nutritional status in three months is unprecedented globally,” its report reads.

“The Gaza Strip is poised to witness an explosion in preventable child deaths, which would compound the already unbearable level of child deaths in Gaza,” UNICEF official Ted Chaiban said in a news release. UNICEF is the lead agency in the Global Nutrition Cluster. The report also found that at least 90 percent of children under 5 were affected by one or more infectious diseases and 70 percent have had diarrhoea in the past two weeks.

More than 95 percent of households said that adults were restricting the amount of food they eat so children would have more, and 64 percent of households said they were eating only one meal a day. According to the report, “95 per cent of pregnant and breastfeeding women face severe food poverty.”

Famine is spreading in Gaza because of the Israeli siege, which is severely restricting the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory.



Consequences of Israeli operation in Rafah would be disastrous: UN

Sigrid Kaag, the United Nations senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, says the crowded city of Rafah “is not intended for a million people in shelters, in random sort of plastic-sheeted constructions”.

“Health conditions are very worrisome. We know that aid is not sufficient. It’s harder and harder to distribute,” she says.




EU countries, except Hungary, urge ‘immediate’ pause in Gaza war

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said 26 European countries — every EU member with the exception of Hungary — have together issued a statement calling for an “immediate” pause in the fighting in Gaza. “We ask the Israeli Government not to take military action in Rafah that would worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian situation and prevent the urgently needed provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance,” the statement says.

While European nations have expressed firm support for Israel throughout its war in Gaza, some have started to temper their rhetoric with concern over deteriorating humanitarian conditions and criticism of Israel’s campaign, one of the most destructive in modern history. The European statement calls for an “immediate humanitarian pause that would lead to a lasting ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian assistance”.




US proposes UNSC resolution calling for temporary ceasefire in Gaza

The United States has proposed a UN Security Council resolution that would underscore the body’s “support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable”, according to the text seen by Reuters news agency. The draft text also “determines that under current circumstances a major ground offensive into Rafah would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement including potentially into neighboring countries”.

It was not immediately clear when or if the draft resolution would be put to a vote. The draft resolution comes after Algeria requested that the 15-member council vote on Tuesday on its proposal, which would demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war.

UN Security Council resolution proposed by US ‘significant’

A new US draft resolution before the UN Security Council includes some of the toughest language issued by Washington so far, calling for a temporary ceasefire and saying an Israeli assault on Rafah under the current circumstances would have “serious implications” for regional security. The US measure “is significant because Israel did not want the word ‘ceasefire’ in any resolution, and now it’s the US that’s proposing it”, Al Jazeera diplomatic correspondent James Bays reported from UN headquarters in New York City.

“Of course, other countries wanted the words ‘immediate ceasefire’ and wanted the Security Council to order it, so it probably doesn’t go so far as some other council members would like,” Bays added. “The second thing in this resolution I think is very significant is the US issuing this warning to Israel not to launch a ground offensive into Rafah.”

Despite reports of a growing divide between Netanyahu and Biden, the US has continued to send Israel weapons for its war on Gaza.

Palestinian FM says ICJ case could bring greater recognition of Israeli apartheid

Riad Malki says a recognition by the UN’s top court of Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories could be a “historic” decision that would place the close relations between Israel and countries like the US under greater pressure.

“Israel’s prolonged occupation has to be recognised; Israeli colonialism and the system of apartheid, have to also be recognised,” Malki told Al Jazeera. “And as such, we expect a huge – if not historic – decision that will expose Israel’s reality and force many countries that have been aligning themselves with Israel to reconsider their relationship and their position.”

Palestinians say ICJ is ‘important platform’ in ‘toolbox’ against occupation

While many Palestinians have celebrated efforts to hold Israel accountable through international forums, including the ICJ, they also note that such efforts are not sufficient to deliver an end to the occupation on their own.

“The ICJ is an important political platform. Any international platform that we can get, any tool in our toolbox to defend our rights, is important,” advocate Inez Abdel Razek told Al Jazeera from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

“However, we’ve seen it before. In 2004, they ruled against the apartheid wall, saying the wall is illegal. Since then, the situation on the ground has completely worsened. The settlements, the colonisation, has moved forward. So I think it’s about how can we use different tools in our box without them being solutions?”