Kuwait says following Gaza’s famine announcement ‘with great concern’
Kuwait has denounced the “policy of starvation, oppression, and displacement” pursued by Israel against civilians in Gaza.
The country’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Israel’s policy is “in blatant violation of international law and international humanitarian law”, as well as UN Security Council resolutions and in disregard of relevant international legitimacy resolutions.
Kuwait called on the international community and the Security Council to take action “to allow the urgent entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, to halt the genocide being perpetrated against the brotherly Palestinian people, and to hold the occupying power accountable for the crimes it commits against humanity”.
Dutch foreign minister resigns after failing to secure Israel sanctions
After a two-day, very heated debate in the Dutch Parliament, Caspar Veldkamp – the acting foreign minister – decided to resign.
He was increasingly getting frustrated by the fact that he wanted to push for more sanctions against Israel … but the other ministers, his colleagues, were against it. He also came under increasing pressure from lawmakers, especially from the opposition in Parliament, who have been really requesting stricter sanctions against Israel.
The minister announced a few weeks ago travel bans for two Israeli ministers. But he said that now, with the attacks on Gaza City and the increasing aggression from Israel, the Dutch government should be doing more.
He has also been pushing for the suspension of the trade agreement that the EU has with Israel, and also, increasingly, he became frustrated because Germany was blocking that.
‘History will never forgive us’: Amnesty International
Amnesty International has warned that “with every hour that passes without decisive international action, more Palestinian lives are lost, and Gaza City edges closer to complete annihilation”.
Erika Guevara Rosas, the group’s senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns, said in a statement that today’s famine declaration is “a scathing indictment of the failure of states to press Israel into ending its genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip”.
“This famine is the direct consequence of Israel’s deliberate campaign of starvation in Gaza,” she said.
“The deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid, the destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure, and the direct killings of civilians are a clear manifestation of how Israel is inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza as part of its ongoing genocide.”
She added: “History will never forgive us for standing by as emaciated children die, while food remains just miles away, yet blocked by Israel.”
