UN chief calls for independent investigation into mass graves
Guterres says he is “deeply alarmed” by reports of mass graves in several locations in Gaza. "There are competing narratives around several of these mass graves, including serious allegations that some of those buried were unlawfully killed,” he said.
“It is imperative that independent international investigators, with forensic expertise, are allowed immediate access to the sites of these mass graves, to establish the precise circumstances under which hundreds of Palestinians lost their lives and were buried, or reburied,” he continued.
“The families of the dead and missing have a right to know what happened. And the world has a right to accountability for any violations of international law that may have taken place.”
Last week, the secretary-general’s spokesperson said that a mandate from a United Nations body would be required for the organisation to take legal possession of any evidence collected during the discovery of the mass graves, in order for the UN to carry out its own investigation.
US rights group criticises antisemitism bill which cleared House Rules panel
DAWN has said that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which the US House of Representatives Rules Committee is trying to codify through a bill, is “problematic and contentious” and “is being used to stifle speech by Palestinians and Palestine advocates”.
Human rights and civil rights organisations, including Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), have said that the IHRA’s working definition of antisemitism has been misused to falsely label any criticism of Israeli government policies as antisemitic.
“Attempts to push criticism of Israel out of the legitimate discourse are particularly worrying at a time when US support for Israel is itself one of the most pressing foreign policy issues facing our nation,” said Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, director of research for Israel-Palestine at DAWN.
“The young people of this country deserve better than to be told that they are antisemites for questioning how and where their tax dollars and university tuition are invested.”
Israeli army again bombs southern Lebanon
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reports that Israeli warplanes carried out two attacks, one on the Wadi al-Asafir area, and another on the al-Maslkh neighbourhood of the southern Lebanese village of Khiam.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent confirmed the attack on Khaim.
Portuguese-flagged ship is hit in Arabian Sea
The container ship has come under attack by a drone in the far reaches of the Arabian Sea. That corresponds with a claim early Tuesday by Yemen’s Houthi rebels that they assaulted the ship there.
The attack on the MSC Orion, occurring some 600 kilometres (373 miles) off the coast of Yemen, appeared to be the first confirmed deep-sea assault claimed by the Houthis since they began targeting ships in November.
It suggests the Houthis have the ability to strike out potentially into the distances of the Indian Ocean as the rebels previously threatened in their continuing campaign over Israel’s war on Gaza.
Pro-Palestine protesters urge Olympic officials to limit Israel’s participation in Paris Games
About 300 people have rallied at the headquarters of the Paris Olympics’ organising committee, waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans against Israel’s “institutional participation” in the games as it continues its war on Gaza.
The protesters said that Israeli athletes should compete in Paris under a neutral flag, similar to the rules the International Olympic Committee applied to Russian athletes after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Israeli athletes will compete in Paris under their country’s flag.
The Olympic Games in Paris will take place from July 26-August 11.
Double standards.... I won't be watching the Olympics.
‘1 in 3 Palestinian child prisoners are in administrative detention’
Defense for Children International – Palestine has said that Israeli forces have dramatically escalated their military operations in the occupied West Bank in the last six months.
“DCIP has been monitoring Palestinian child administrative detainees since 2008, and the numbers have never been this high,” it said in a statement.
Sixty-one children are currently held by Israeli forces without charge or trial, equivalent to about one in three out of all Palestinian child detainees, the organisation said.
DCIP called administrative detention “a cruel tool” because the children and their lawyers aren’t privy to what are deemed “secret charges”.
Administrative orders can also be renewed indefinitely, “creating an unbearable environment of anxiety for parents and children who don’t know when they will be able to go home”.
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