In Bethlehem, Palestinians bring back soils on World Environment Day
Palestinians at the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability at Bethlehem University marked this year’s World Environment Day by restoring soils and planting flowers.
“Palestine faces significant environmental challenges caused by colonisation, overexploitation, habitat destruction, pollution and invasive species,” the institute said in a statement.
“We are the generation that can make peace with land,” the statement added. “Our Land. Our Future.”
The UN estimates that a third of Gaza’s agricultural land was damaged between October 2023 and February 2024, while Israel controls freshwater sources in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Israeli judge quits ICJ panel, citing personal reasons
Aharon Barak, a former president of Israel’s Supreme Court, resigned from his role as ad hoc judge on an International Court of Justice panel weighing a genocide allegation filed over the country’s war in Gaza.
In a resignation letter dated June 4 and republished by Israeli media, Barak, 87, cited unspecified personal and family reasons for his decision.
Under the ICJ’s rules, a state that does not have a judge of its nationality already on the bench can choose an ad hoc judge to sit in on their case. It was not immediately clear who Israel might appoint to replace Barak.
In a statement thanking Barak for his service in The Hague, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said: “We will continue to stand steadfast against the evil, hypocrisy and libels cast against the State of Israel and [the Israeli army].”
US' hopes and prayers, keep wasting tax dollars. The weather is only going to get more rough.
US hoping to ‘re-anchor’ Gaza pier repaired by end of week
The US-built pier anchored on the coast was severely damaged in rough seas at the end of May just a few days after it was completed.
“We’re hoping we will be able to re-anchor the pier into Gaza at the end of the week,” US Department of Defence spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said. “As soon as the temporary pier is re-anchored to the beach in Gaza, we expect aid to flow pretty immediately.”
Aid groups have criticised the pier as a costly and ineffective distraction from the fact that land deliveries are the most efficient way to help Gaza. Israel continues to restrict humanitarian relief from entering the territory as severe hunger spreads.
