States helping Israel’s occupation may be ‘complicit’: UN experts
UN experts say countries enabling Israel’s “unlawful occupation” of the occupied Palestinian territory and assisting it despite warnings of war crimes and possible genocide in Gaza should be deemed “complicit”.
“Israel’s internationally wrongful acts give rise to state responsibility, not only for Israel, but for all states,” said Navi Pillay, head of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry.
The commission has published a new legal position paper spelling out specific actions required following a recent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declaring Israel’s occupation since 1967 “unlawful”.
It also examines the implications of last month’s UN General Assembly vote demanding the occupation end within a year.
Belgian soldier under investigation for possible war crimes in Gaza: Report
The Belgian prosecutor’s office says it has launched an investigation into possible war crimes committed by a Belgian soldier fighting for Israel in Gaza, US publication Politico reports.
The news site said the probe focused on a Belgian member of an elite unit of the Israeli military.
Citing multiple reports in local media, Politico said the man is a dual Belgian-Israeli citizen in his 20s from the Brussels municipality of Uccle who serves the Israeli army in the “Refaim” sniper unit.
It said the unit, which has been operating in the besieged enclave since October 2023, consists of 21 people, including three Americans, two French, a German, an Italian and a Belgian man.
Trump says US should not restrain Israel
Former US President Donald Trump says the killing of Hamas’s leader has increased the likelihood of a peaceful solution to Israel’s war on Gaza.
When asked if Sinwar’s demise had made peace easier or more difficult, he replied, “I think it makes it easier. I’m glad that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] decided to do what he had to do.”
Trump said US President Joe Biden has been “trying to hold him back,” referring to Netanyahu and that he “should be doing the opposite, actually”.
Trump frequently touts himself as a supporter of Israel, pointing to his decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem and his administration’s role in brokering the 2020 Abraham Accords, which saw Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, normalise ties with Israel. Palestinians have long opposed these policies.
