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SvennoJ on 05 May 2025
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Israeli aid distribution plan violates ‘humanitarian principles’

Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, says an Israeli plan to take over the distribution of humanitarian aid to the coastal enclave at hubs controlled by the Israeli army goes against long-established norms.

“We cannot and will not do something which is fundamentally against humanitarian principles,” Egeland said.

“The United Nations agencies, all other international humanitarian groups and NGOs have said no to be part of this idea coming from the Israeli cabinet and from the Israeli military.”

Egeland said the Israeli government wanted to “militarise, manipulate, politicise the aid by allowing only aid to a few concentration hubs in the south, a scheme where people will be screened where it’s a completely inoperable system”.

“That would force people to move to get aid, and it would continue the starvation of the civilian population. We will have no part in that. If one side in a bitter armed conflict tries to control, manipulate, ration aid among the civilians on the other side, it is against everything we stand for.”

The Israeli plan comes as Israel’s blockade of all food deliveries enters its ninth week.



Finland ‘deeply concerned’ over Israeli plans to expand operations

Finland has been increasingly critical of Israel’s war in Gaza, with Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen saying in January that Israel’s claims of self-defence no longer carried weight and that “enough is enough”.

Valtonen has now responded to Israel’s latest plans, writing on X that she is “deeply concerned about Israeli plans to expand its military operation in Gaza”.

“I once again urge all parties to return to a ceasefire, and Hamas to immediately release the remaining hostages,” she wrote. “Israel must ensure unimpeded access of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”



Dutch police arrest pro-Palestine protesters at WWII anniversary event

Five pro-Palestine demonstrators have been detained during a memorial in Wageningen, central Netherlands.

The arrests were for disturbing public order, a police spokesperson said. As the city marked the 80th anniversary of Dutch liberation at the end of World War II in Europe, about 250 protesters gathered to voice opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza.

They held signs reading, “Not then, not now, never again” and “Don’t give hate power”.

They also held an 80-metre (262-foot) long red banner with text describing it as a symbol of “the red line the government refuses to draw”, referring to the Dutch leadership that continues to provide military support to Israel.