India releases $2.5m in funding to UNRWA: Report
India has released $2.5m, a second tranche of funding, to UNRWA, fulfilling its annual contribution of $5m for 2024-2025, Wafa reports.
In a press release, the Representative Office of India in Ramallah said New Delhi had provided financial support of $40m for the UN agency’s core programmes and services, including education and healthcare to Palestinian refugees.
The release said that in addition to financial assistance, India continues to provide humanitarian aid, including medicine, to UNRWA to assist the agency in helping Palestinians.
Bernie Sanders pushes to block US arms sale to Israel
The Senate will vote this week on bills to block a $20bn arms deal with Israel, an effort that advocates say will set a precedent in congressional efforts to halt weapons transfers to the US ally.
The effort is unlikely to pass in the mostly pro-Israel chamber, but it has been garnering support from rights groups and a growing number of Democratic lawmakers.
The resolutions send a message to Biden, Trump and Netanyahu that the “status quo is unacceptable”, says Hassan El-Tayyab, an advocacy organiser at the Friends Committee on National Legislation.
US pressed on response to killing of Turkish-American activist
The US wants Israel to complete its probe into the killing of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi before determining any potential next steps.
“We want to see the end of the [Israeli] investigation before we speak to that, which does not mean that it is an open-ended timeline,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said during a daily press briefing.
His remarks came in response to a question about whether the State Department plans to take any action regarding Ezgi Eygi’s killing instead of waiting for Israel to conclude the investigation, which has been going on for more than two months.
“We continue to press the government of Israel to conduct its investigation and to brief us on the results of that investigation. We want to see the investigation be thorough, and then when we see the results, of course, we want to speak to them at that time as well as any additional steps that may or may not be warranted,” Miller said.
An Israeli soldier fatally shot Ezgi Eygi, 26, in September at a demonstration in the occupied West Bank against Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi
Did they finish the probe into the killing of Hind Rajab yet?
