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SvennoJ on 08 March 2025
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‘Donald Trump is threatening to kill my family. Will the world stop him?’

“To the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!”

These were not the words of some far-right provocateur lurking in a dark corner of the internet. They were not shouted by an unhinged warlord seeking vengeance. No, these were the words of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, the most powerful man in the world. A man who, with a signature, a speech or a single phrase, can shape the fate of entire nations. And yet, with all this power, all this influence, his words to the people of Gaza were not of peace, not of diplomacy, not of relief – but of death.

Amnesty slams Switzerland for cancelling Geneva Conventions meeting on Palestine

The prominent rights group says the cancellation of the meeting, which was set to discuss the application of the Geneva Conventions to the occupied Palestinian territory, is “another blow to international law and a betrayal of victims of unlawful killings”.

The meeting was set to take place on Friday, but Switzerland cancelled it at the last minute, citing disagreements between the participating countries on a draft declaration.

“Instead of showing their commitment to upholding human rights and international law, states have callously squandered a crucial opportunity to agree on key measures to enforce the application of international humanitarian law in the [occupied Palestinian territory],” said Agnes Callamard, the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

The move demonstrates “a chilling indifference to the fate of all civilians, and particularly of Palestinians, as Israel has once again blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid to Gaza and is forcibly displacing thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank”, she said.

Callamard added that the draft declaration circulated by Switzerland failed to meet “basic demands around the respect for international humanitarian law” and “shamefully failed to acknowledge” an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declaring Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, unlawful.



Qatar calls for IAEA oversight of Israel’s nuclear facilities

Qatar has called “for intensified international efforts to bring all Israeli nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)” and for Israel to join the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) treaty.

Qatar’s ambassador, Jassim Yacoub Al Hammadi, issued the call during an IAEA meeting on Israel’s nuclear capabilities and the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, in Vienna.

Al Hammadi “pointed out that all Middle Eastern countries, except Israel, are parties to the NPT and have effective safeguard agreements with the agency”.

He noted that Israel is continuing its “aggressive policies” in the occupied Palestinian territory, including “increasing extremist calls for the forced displacement of the Palestinian people, intensifying military operations against cities and refugee camps in the West Bank, blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, and maintaining restrictions on UNRWA”.

Under the NPT, which came into force in 1970, only the US, UK, Russia, China, and France are recognised as nuclear states.

The Federation of American Scientists estimates that Israel has about 90 nuclear warheads in what the federation says is one of the world’s most secretive nuclear programmes.