Israel openly planning ‘criminal action’: Palestine’s UN envoy
Earlier we reported that Israel’s war cabinet met to discuss “steps to strengthen settlements” in the occupied West Bank, in response to more countries recognising Palestinian statehood, in part due to the Palestinian Authority’s advocacy at the United Nations.
Majed Bamya, the State of Palestine’s deputy permanent observer to the UN, has responded in a post on X.
- The Israeli government “feels entitled to impose sanctions on Palestine and the rest of the world for their legitimate action”.
- The Israeli government is “openly committing to undertake criminal action in response to lawful and peaceful action taken” by sovereign states to recognise the State of Palestine.
- States are recognising Palestine to show their commitment to Palestinians’ right to self-determination and to the rule of international law.
- They are also showing commitment to the two states of Palestine and Israel “living side by side in peace and security, in line with UN resolutions”.
- The Israeli government “expresses outrage at the very thought of ever being held accountable for its crimes”.
Israeli MPs lobby for Gaza resettlement: Report
Several far-right Israeli MPs say they will launch an official lobby advocating for resettling Gaza, saying they believe it is the only way to “protect Israel’s security”, reports Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.
The lobby, led by Limor Son Har-Melech of the ultra-nationalist Otzma Yehudit party and Zvi Sukkot of the Religious Zionism party, will be established tomorrow in Israel’s Knesset, according to Haaretz.
“Only by a dense presence of Jewish settlements throughout Gaza will it be possible to prevent the continuation of terrorist threats and deter the enemy”, said a press release by Son Har-Melech and Sukkot, cited by Haaretz.
They claim a push to resettle Gaza will also pressure Hamas to release Israeli captives.
“If Hamas realises that in addition to [losing] rule in Gaza, it is also on its way to losing land in Gaza, it will be pushed into a corner and agree to the release,” their press statement claimed.
