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SvennoJ on 28 February 2024
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US Congress members pen letter calling for full UNRWA funding

Congressperson Pramila Jayapal, head of the Progressive Caucus, has penned a letter calling for the full restoration of US funding for UNRWA, which was pulled over Israeli allegations that several of its employees had taken part in the October 7 attacks. Israel has not provided evidence for its claims more than a month after initially making them.

Assistance groups say that UNRWA plays an indispensable role in humanitarian operations in Gaza, and the decision of key donors such as the US to freeze assistance as the strip reels under extreme shortages of food, medicine, shelter, and water has been criticised.

The letter was also signed by representatives Andre Carson and Jamie Raskin.

“I’m leading a call w/@RepAndreCarson & @RepRaskin to fully fund UNRWA, a vital agency that supports the welfare and survival of Palestinians,” Jayapal said in a social media post.

“Prohibiting U.S. funding for UNRWA is irresponsible and unacceptable. We must do all we can to push humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

Rights groups say UK arms transfers to Israel may violate international law

Eight nongovernmental organisations, including the watchdog group Human Rights Watch, have released a joint statement expressing concern that the United Kingdom has not suspended arms transfers to Israel amid persistent allegations of human rights abuses by the Israeli military in Gaza.

“As UK and international organisations working in and on the Occupied Palestinian Territory we are deeply concerned that the UK government still refuses to suspend arms transfers to Israel despite the clear risk that UK-licensed equipment might be used to carry out or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), including war crimes, amid the hostilities between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups that escalated following the 7 October Hamas-led attacks,” the statement reads.

Michigan vote ‘true rejection of Biden’s disastrous policies’ on Gaza

Palestinian-American comedian and organiser Amer Zahr calls the result “historic”, adding that the vote is a “true rejection of Biden’s disastrous policies of support for the genocide in Gaza”. More than 101,000 people voted uncommitted in Michigan state’s Democratic Party primary in a protest campaign against US President Joe Biden’s support for Israel.

“Now, the work continues. We must stay the course of denying Biden our votes. For the martyrs in Gaza. For our dignity. Otherwise, we turn into Ted Cruz, and nothing matters,” Zahr told Al Jazeera in a statement, referring to the Republican senator who endorsed Donald Trump in 2016 after the former US president insulted his wife.

Syrian state media reports apparent attack near Damascus

The country’s official news agency SANA said Syrian air defences confronted “hostile targets” over the capital area. Earlier, state-run Al-Ikhbariyah TV also said sounds of explosions had been heard above Damascus.

The Syrian Defence Ministry says Israel launched an air attack from the occupied Golan Heights, targeting areas in the Damascus countryside. “Our air defences confronted the missiles of the attack and downed most of them,” it said. The ministry added that the raids only caused material damage.

For the past few years, Israel has regularly carried out air raids on Iran-linked targets in Syria.

Finally a smart move

Israeli war cabinet backtracks on Al-Aqsa Mosque restrictions

Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reports that the war cabinet stripped far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of the power to manage the site during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The report also said that the war cabinet had decided not to impose broad-ranging restrictions on entry to the compound during Ramadan, preferring instead to let police manage entry and exit from the mosque.

We reported last week on comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office saying that Israel would implement some restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem during Ramadan according to “security needs”.

On X, Ben-Gvir fumed at the report, saying that he expects Netanyahu to deny the facts of it, and that the powers in question should belong to his office.

Israel continues to deny its responsibility to Palestinians: NGO

Tania Hary, executive director at Gisha-Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, says that the Israeli government continues to “sow chaos and deny its responsibility to the population” as public order in Gaza disintegrates with growing desperation and starvation.

“The ICJ [International Court of Justice] provisional measure states that Israel must ‘take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services’ not taunt, mock and endanger humanitarians trying to provide aid to 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza,” Hary says.

This comes in response to Israel blaming the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) for “logistical failures” that it says have led to low amounts of humanitarian aid being delivered to people in the besieged coastal enclave.

“Aid agencies, all those operating in the Strip, not just Israel’s scapegoat, UNRWA, report that they are not receiving proper deconfliction coordination, come under attack and can’t deliver aid safely,” Hary adds.