‘Largest’ cultural boycott against Israeli institutions launches: Statement

More than 1,100 authors have launched “a mass boycott of Israeli publishers complicit in the dispossession of the Palestinian people”, a coalition of solidarity groups has said in a press statement.

The declaration is the biggest cultural boycott against Israeli institutions in history, it said, adding that “signatories have stated that they cannot in good conscience engage with Israeli institutions without interrogating their relationship to apartheid and displacement”.

Signatories include winners of the Nobel Prize, Booker Prize, Pulitzer Prize, and National Book Award.

According to the statement, authors have joined the campaign launched more than 20 years ago by Palestinian civil society, which calls for “those working in cultural industries to refuse working with Israeli academic and cultural institutions that are complicit in Israel’s human rights abuses against the Palestinian people and upholding apartheid and genocide.”

See the letter and list of signatories here.

South Africa’s legal team says ‘intent is clear’ in Israel’s Gaza genocide

Last week, South African legal researchers were in an undisclosed location, racing against time to finalise hundreds of pages of evidence proving Israel’s intent to commit genocide in Gaza. Meanwhile, leaders in Israel gathered near the Gaza border, calling for the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip to be emptied of Palestinians.

During the “preparing to settle Gaza” conference, held at a restricted military zone in Be’eri, Israel, last Monday, Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was recorded calling for the “migration” of Gaza’s current inhabitants and the possibility of future Israeli settlement expansion there – something considered illegal under international law.

“[We will] tell them, ‘’e are giving you the chance, leave from here to other countries’,” Ben-Gvir said, while Israeli forces continued their more than yearlong bombardment of Gaza. “The Land of Israel is ours.”

South African diplomats assert statements like these offer undeniable evidence of Israel’s genocidal intent – something they must prove before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in an ongoing case.

South Africa files evidence of genocide by Israel with ICJ

South Africa filed evidence of a genocide committed by Israel in Gaza with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa has said in a statement.

The document “contains evidence which shows how the government of Israel has violated the genocide convention by promoting the destruction of Palestinians living in Gaza”, the presidency said.

In a case brought by South Africa, the ICJ is considering allegations that Israel is committing genocide in its war on Gaza. A preliminary ruling has already been made in that case, with the court ordering Israel to prevent and punish incitement to genocide and to increase provisions of humanitarian aid.

In May, the ICJ also ordered Israel to halt its offensive on Rafah, citing “immense risk” to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians taking shelter there. But Israel has continued its attacks on Gaza, including Rafah, in defiance of the United Nations court.

South Africa has said that according to the ICJ’s rules, the so-called Memorial, which is the document recording the main case of South Africa against Israel, may not be made public. In a statement, the South African presidency said the evidence is detailed in over 750 pages of text, supported by exhibits and annexes of more than 4,000 pages.

The Memorial contains evidence that shows how Israel has violated the genocide convention. This includes:

Israeli bombing kills Palestinian in Gaza’s Nuseirat

One person has been killed and several others wounded in an Israeli attack on a home belonging to the Abu Amuna family in the central Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Wafa news agency.

The bombing came as Israeli forces continued to strike Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Shujayea in the besieged north.

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are also reporting that Israeli soldiers are blowing up houses in the southern city of Rafah. Israeli troops have yet to withdraw from Rafah despite promising that the ground invasion that began on May 6 would be a “limited” operation.

Three killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza’s Shujayea

Our colleagues are reporting that an Israeli attack on a group of people in the Shujayea neighbourhood in Gaza City has killed at least three people.

‘Israeli attacks seek to make Shujayea uninhabitable’

There has been a significant change in the strategy of the Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip. The Shujayea neighbourhood in northern Gaza has been relentlessly targeted and hit by the Israeli military multiple times in the last year, including recurrent ground invasions. More than 80 percent of the population has been driven out of the area and internally displaced. There are only a few intact buildings in the area.

The patterns of the attacks these days suggest that the Israeli military is more interested in leaving a huge level of destruction in these buildings. They want to make the whole area uninhabitable by targeting residential buildings, public facilities and evacuation centres – whatever is left of them. The army seeks to destroy them in a way to prevent people from coming back to these areas.

Not only Shujayea, but many areas across Gaza are becoming largely uninhabitable.

At least 1,000 Palestinians killed in Israel’s 24-day siege of northern Gaza

The Israeli attacks have dropped in northern Gaza as of the early hours of this morning compared with the past few days. Part of the reason is the tactical withdrawal of the Israeli military.

To put things in context, the Israeli army operates aggressively for a few days in areas and then pulls back in a tactical move to come back later. This is largely noticed by the residents who went to inspect their homes and other buildings.

In the last 24 days of the army operation in northern Gaza, close to 1,000 people have been killed, according to health authorities. The majority of these victims were women and children – the same pattern we see across Gaza. There are also people missing and trapped under the rubble.

Israeli forces carry out raids, arrest men in Bethlehem, Nablus: Report

Israeli troops have arrested four Palestinians in the West Bank governorates of Bethlehem and Nablus, according to the Wafa news agency.

Security sources told the agency that an 18-year-old man was taken from the village of ash-Shawawra and a 26-year-old was arrested in the town of al-Ubeidiya after their homes were searched. In Nablus, two other young men were arrested in the village of Yatma, Wafa reported quoting local sources, without mentioning their ages.

Twelve Palestinians arrested in occupied West Bank

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society have reported that arrests took place in the governorates of Hebron, Nablus and Bethlehem.

Since October 7 last year, more than 11,500 Palestinians have been arrested in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the organisations.

US warns Iran of ‘severe consequences’ if it further attacks

The US has warned Iran at the United Nations that if it undertakes any further retaliatory acts against Israel or US personnel in the region, “there will be severe consequences”.

“We will not hesitate to act in self-defence. Let there be no confusion. The US does not want to see further escalation. We believe this should be the end of the direct exchange of fire between Israel and Iran,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

US ‘complicit in Israeli aggression’: Iran’s UN envoy

Amir Saeid Iravani has told the UN’s Security Council that the US government is “complicit in Israeli aggression and will bear its consequences”.

The envoy also said that Iran “reserves its inherent right to respond at a time of its choosing” to Israel’s attack on Saturday.

Death toll rises in Lebanon’s Baalbek

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says that Israeli strikes have killed at least 60 people in Baalbek in the eastern Bekaa Valley.

The ministry added that:

Main points on October 28th

Lots of "hearts and prayers" for UNWRA.

It didn't come out of the blue though, the 2 bills were passed on Oct 6.
"Two bills passed on 6 October by the Knesset’s foreign affairs and defence committee will probably go to the Knesset plenum by 28 October"

Everyone saw it coming, but let it go on anyway.

‘Terrible decision’: UN ambassadors condemn Israel’s UNRWA ban

Wide condemnation from top to bottom without a doubt. This decision by Israel’s parliament actually came down as the UN Security Council was meeting about Israel’s strikes over the weekend on Iran.

Many of the ambassadors were getting the news about the parliamentary decision on their cell phones on WhatsApp messages. So, as they left that meeting, I asked several of them who would talk to us.

The Chinese ambassador to the UN said that it was a very bad decision. He condemned it and said Israel needs to rethink this.

The Russian ambassador to the UN as well. He said that this decision by the Israeli parliament makes things even more complicated, particularly in Gaza. He also said it was a terrible decision.

Barbara Woodward, the UK’s ambassador to the UN, actually made comments about it in the Security Council chamber.

Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain decry Israel’s UNRWA ban

The governments of the four European countries – all of which have recognised Palestinian statehood – issued a joint statement condemning the Knesset’s targeting of the agency.

“UNRWA has a mandate from the United Nations General Assembly,” the statement said. “The legislation approved by the Knesset sets a very serious precedent for the work of the United Nations and for all organizations of the multilateral system.”

The four countries said they would “continue to work with donor and host countries to ensure the viability of UNRWA’s work and its humanitarian role”.

Jordan says Israel’s UNRWA ban ‘illegal and invalid’

Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs “strongly condemned” the Israeli move, describing it as a “flagrant violation of international law and the obligations of Israel as the occupying power” in Palestine, according to the Petra news agency.

Sufyan Al-Qudah, a spokesman for the ministry, called for immediate action to protect the Palestinian people and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), warning that the Israeli campaign “aimed at assassinating UNRWA politically” would have “catastrophic consequences”.

He also said that “Israel’s attempts to target UNRWA and its symbolism, which emphasises the right of Palestinian refugees to return and compensation in accordance with international law, are doomed to failure”.

WHO chief says Israel’s UNRWA ban ‘intolerable’

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said UNRWA has been an “irreplaceable lifeline” for the Palestinian people for the past seven decades.

“UNRWA was created by the UN member states. Today’s decision by the Israeli parliament barring UNRWA from its life-saving and health-protecting work on behalf of millions of Palestinians will have devastating consequences,” he said in a post on X.

“This is intolerable. It contravenes Israel’s obligations and responsibilities, and threatens the lives and health of all those who depend on UNRWA.”

Australia ‘opposes’ Israel’s UNRWA ban

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said UNRWA does life-saving work and that her government opposes the Israeli Knesset’s decision to “severely restrict” the agency’s operations.

“Australia again calls on Israel to comply with the binding orders of the ICJ to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance at scale in Gaza,” she wrote on X.

UNRWA does life-saving work.

Australia opposes the Israeli Knesset’s decision to severely restrict UNRWA’s work.

On Sunday, Australia joined Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the UK to urge Israel's Knesset not to proceed with this legislation.

— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) October 28, 2024

UN chief slams Israel’s ‘unacceptable’ ban on UNRWA

Antonio Guterres said he was deeply concerned by the Israeli legislation banning UNRWA, adding that the implementation of these laws would be “detrimental” to the resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

“There is no alternative to UNRWA,” the UN chief said in a statement.

“The implementation of the laws could have devastating consequences for Palestine refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which is unacceptable,” he continued.

“I call on Israel to act consistently with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and its other obligations under international law, including under international humanitarian law and those concerning privileges and immunities of the United Nations. National legislation cannot alter those obligations.”