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Forums - Politics - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ on 24 February 2025

Merz says Netanyahu can visit Germany despite ICC warrant

Friedrich Merz, who is expected to be Germany’s next chancellor, says he would make sure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can visit Germany despite an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court.

“I have promised myself that we will find a way to ensure that he can visit Germany and leave again without being arrested,” Merz said from Berlin.

ICC: States cannot unilaterally ‘determine soundness’ of its rulings

Earlier we reported on Germany’s election winner Friedrich Merz saying he plans to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the country – despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) war crimes warrant for his arrest, which Merz said does not apply.

The ICC responded by saying states have a legal obligation to enforce its decisions, and any concerns they may have should be addressed with the court in a timely and efficient manner.

“It is not for states to unilaterally determine the soundness of the court’s legal decisions,” said the ICC.

Israel rejects the jurisdiction of the court and denies war crimes were committed during its devastating war on Gaza.

Germans feel a special responsibility towards Israel because of the legacy of the Holocaust, and Merz has made clear he is a strong ally. But Germany also has a strong tradition of support for international justice for war crimes.




NGO urges ICC to probe Biden for alleged complicity in Gaza war crimes

Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate former US President Joe Biden for possible complicity in war crimes related to Israel’s war on Gaza.

DAWN also asked the ICC to investigate former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The three should be investigated “for their accessorial roles in aiding and abetting, as well as intentionally contributing to, Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza”, DAWN said in a 172-page report to the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan.

Their alleged support includes at least $17.9bn of weapons transfers, intelligence sharing, targeting assistance, diplomatic protection and official endorsement of Israeli crimes, “despite knowledge of how such support had and would substantially enable grave abuses”, the document said.



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SvennoJ on 24 February 2025

Twenty arrested at Denmark protest to stop military shipments to Israel

Danish police announced the arrests of 20 people at a protest demanding that maritime transport company Maersk stop delivering military equipment to Israel.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was among the protesters who gathered at Maersk’s headquarters in Copenhagen. Police used batons and tear gas to disperse dozens of protesters.

“We are here to demand that Maersk must stop all the transportation of weapons and weapon components to Israel,” Thunberg said in a video posted on social media. “They must terminate all contract and investment that supports the genocide and occupation of Palestine.”

Maersk said the cargo did not contain “weapons or ammunition”.

“These shipments contain military-related equipment and are derived from US policy under the US-Israeli security cooperation program,” the company said. “The cargo has been screened and complies with applicable laws.”




Pro-Palestine EU lawmaker barred from entering Israel

Israel has announced it will deny entry to European Parliament member Rima Hassan, who is en route from Belgium, because of her support for Palestinians.

“Hassan, who is expected to land from Brussels in the coming hour, consistently works to promote boycotts against Israel in addition to numerous public statements both on social media and in media interviews,” Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel’s office said in a statement.

Hassan is a French national of Palestinian origin known for her support of the Palestinian cause and for speaking out against Israel’s war on Gaza.


What Israeli law allowed the ban of critical EU lawmaker?

  • Israeli legislators passed a law this month that prohibits entry to the country for people who have expressed support for the international prosecution of Israeli soldiers over their conduct in Palestine.
  • The law, which affects non-citizens and non-residents of Israel, builds on previous legislation that denied entry to anyone calling for a boycott of Israel. The law also bans entry to Holocaust deniers.
  • The original law was seen by opponents as an attempt by Israel to silence critics. It was used on multiple occasions to bar entry to activists who support the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, known as BDS.
  • Supporters portray BDS as nonviolent activism based on a similar campaign against apartheid South Africa. Israel views the movement as an attack on its very legitimacy and accuses some of its organisers of anti-Semitism, allegations they deny.



‘Israel is a rogue state,’ says barred EU politician

Israel has now banned another European Union parliamentarian from entering the country. The government gave no reasons why Lynn Boylan, who chairs the European Parliament EU-Palestine delegation, was denied entry.

“This utter contempt from Israel is the result of the international community failing to hold them to account,” Boylan said in a statement. “Israel is a rogue state, and this disgraceful move shows the level of utter disregard that they have for international law. Europe must now hold Israel to account.”

Boylan said she planned to meet with Palestinian Authority officials, representatives of civil society organisations, and people living under Israeli occupation.

She is a member of the Sinn Fein party in Ireland, which has been among the most vocal countries in criticising the Israeli government over its treatment of Palestinians. Earlier, EU lawmaker Rima Hassan was also refused entry at Ben-Gurion airport and ordered to return to Europe.



SvennoJ on 24 February 2025

Israel votes against UNGA resolution on Russia invasion of Ukraine

Israel voted against a UN General Assembly resolution designating Russia as “an aggressor state” while demanding the withdrawal of its troops from Ukraine.

Israel was among 18 countries including the United States, Russia, and North Korea to vote against it.

For the past two years, Israel voted in favour of UN resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as did the US under the Biden administration.

The United States for decades has repeatedly voted against any resolutions denouncing Israel for its decades-long attacks and occupation of Palestinian territory.


Israel: Relations with EU should not be ‘held hostage’ over Palestine

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says he does not want his country’s relationship with Europe to be “held hostage” by views on the conflict with Palestinians.

Saar held talks with senior European officials in Brussels as the bloc considered a role in the reconstruction of Gaza following last month’s fragile ceasefire deal.

“Israeli-EU relations must not be held hostage to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Saar said in a news conference.

Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, outlined a range of worries about the situation in war-battered Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

“We have constantly called on all parties, including Israel, to respect international humanitarian law,” she said, adding that Europe “cannot hide our concern when it comes to the West Bank”.


EU raises ‘concerns’ over Israel’s West Bank assault

The European Union raised with Israel its ongoing raids and forced evacuations in the occupied West Bank as well as the fragile ceasefire in Gaza at a meeting with the country’s foreign minister in Brussels.

“We are closely watching developments and cannot hide our concern when it comes to the West Bank,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

Israel said on Sunday that its troops would remain for many months in refugee camps in the northern West Bank after 40,000 Palestinians living there were displaced by an intensifying, weeks-long military incursion.

The expansion of Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank comes as tensions surge over a fragile truce deal in Gaza, which has largely halted more than 16 months of devastating war.



SvennoJ on 24 February 2025

United Kingdom says it’s committed to Gaza truce, two-state solution

The UK Foreign Office minister for Africa, UN, Commonwealth, and human rights highlighted the need to continue the fragile ceasefire in Gaza between Hamas and Israel.

“We have gathered today against the backdrop of an increasingly volatile and uncertain world. Conflicts and geopolitical tensions are robbing people across the world of their most basic rights,” Lord Ray Collins said in his address at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“That is why the ceasefire in Gaza must be fully implemented,” Collins said. “We want to see an end to the conflict with every hostage released and vital aid reaching Gaza, leading to a credible process towards a two-state solution.”


No solution other than two-state solution: EU foreign policy chief

There can be no other solution other than a two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says.

“We support the Palestinian Authority and its return to Gaza. We support the return of every displaced Palestinian for whom Gaza is their home,” Kallas told a news conference after a meeting of EU-Israel Association Council.

“When the time comes, the EU will also support Gaza’s reconstruction together with the regional actors. Palestinians must be able to live in Gaza.”



SvennoJ on 24 February 2025

Israeli military attacks alleged rocket launch sites in Gaza

Fighter jets bombed two rocket launch sites in Gaza including one that fired a projectile earlier today, the Israeli army says.

“Earlier today, a projectile launch that fell inside the Gaza Strip was identified. A short while ago, the [military] struck the launch site from which the projectile was fired, as well as an additional launch site in the area,” the army said in a statement.



Arrested Gaza man dies in Israeli prison

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society says Gaza resident Musab Haniyeh, 35, has died in an Israeli prison.

The Israeli army in a response confirmed Haniyeh’s death in January but made no mention of the cause.

He did not suffer from any health problems before his arrest, according to his family. The rights group said Haniyeh was arrested from Hamad City on March 3, 2024.

“The occupation indicates that an investigation is under way in an attempt to evade any international accountability,” the prisoners’ group said in a statement.

Red Cross warns of humanitarian crisis in occupied West Bank

The impact on civilians of the ongoing Israeli military incursions across the occupied West Bank is “deeply” concerning, the International Committee of the Red Cross says.

Thousands of displaced Palestinians are taking shelter in crowded mosques and schools after being forced to flee by Israeli soldiers.

“With many homes damaged or destroyed, people are struggling to access basic needs such as clean water, food, medical care, and shelter,” it said.




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SvennoJ on 24 February 2025

Israeli army assault spreads in occupied West Bank

Israeli forces raided the Palestinian village of Kafil Haris as troops pushed further south in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reports.

Israeli troops searched several homes but made no arrests during the latest incursion.

Kafil Haris is 6km (3.2 miles) west of the town of Salfit and 18km (8.2 miles) south of Nablus city, in the Salfit governorate.


Israel’s strategy unclear in assault on occupied West Bank

The monthlong incursion in the northern West Bank has been one of the biggest in decades, involving several brigades of Israeli troops backed by drones, helicopters and heavy battle tanks.

“There is a broad and ongoing evacuation of the population, mainly in the two refugee camps, Nur Shams, near to Tulkarem, and Jenin,” said Michael Milshtein, a former military intelligence official.

“I don’t know what the broad strategy is but there’s no doubt at all that we didn’t see such a step in the past,” said Milshtein, who now heads the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies.


‘Jenin is a repeat of what happened in Jabalia’

The Israeli army is setting up a base in the Jenin camp as it prepares for a long-term deployment in the occupied West Bank, an official says.

“Jenin is a repeat of what happened in Jabalia,” said Basheer Matahen, a spokesperson for the Jenin municipality, referring to the refugee camp in northern Gaza that was levelled by the Israeli army. “The camp has become uninhabitable.”

He said at least 12 bulldozers were at work demolishing houses and infrastructure in the camp, once a crowded township that housed descendants of Palestinians who fled their homes or were driven out in the 1948 war in what Palestinians call the ‘Nakba’ or catastrophe during the establishment of Israel.

Army engineering teams could be seen making preparations for a long-term stay, bringing water tanks and generators to a special area of almost 1 acre (0.4 hectares) in size, Matahen said.


Israeli army storms village in occupied West Bank

Israeli forces raided the village of Wadi al-Far’a, 6km (2.8 miles) south of Tubas, in the occupied West Bank’s northeast, the Wafa news agency reports.

Israeli troops entered the village from the Hamra checkpoint in military vehicles.

In a separate report, the Palestinian news agency said Israeli settlers installed surveillance cameras near the Palestinian communities of Ein al-Hilweh and al-Hamma, also in the Tubas governorate.

Israel accused of destroying homes so Palestinians leave West Bank

Palestinians say the real intention of Israel’s ongoing military attack on the Palestinian territory appears to be a large-scale, permanent displacement of the population by destroying homes and making it impossible for them to stay.

“Israel wants to erase the camps and the memory of the camps, morally and financially. They want to erase the name of refugees from the memory of the people,” said Jenin refugee camp resident Hassan al-Katib, 85.

Al-Katib lived in the camp with 20 children and grandchildren before abandoning his home and all his possessions during the monthlong Israeli incursion. An estimated 40,000 people have been forced from their homes in the occupied West Bank.


Explosion as Israeli forces target West Bank agriculture warehouse

Israeli forces have blown up an agricultural facility in Qabatiya town, south of Jenin, the Wafa news agency reports.

Citing local sources, Wafa said a loud explosion was heard, followed by columns of smoke rising from the Jabal al-Zakat area. No injuries were reported.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced across the West Bank since the Israeli military launched its heightened offensive last month. The operation began shortly after a Gaza ceasefire deal came into effect on January 19.



SvennoJ on 25 February 2025

Main events from February 24th

  • Israeli forces have stormed the Imam Ali Mosque on al-Mamoun Street in the city of Nablus, blowing off its doors and confiscating surveillance camera footage, according to the Quds News Network.
  • Saudi Prince Khalid bin Salman says he and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth met in Washington, DC, on Monday, and “explored ways to bolster our defence cooperation”.
  • US Senator Chris Van Hollen has condemned Trump’s decision to rescind a Biden-era order that required the US government to report potential violations of international law involving US-supplied weapons by allies, including Israel.
  • The Palestinian Water Authority and UNICEF have begun operating 13 mobile desalination stations in Gaza, where displaced families are enduring a dire water crisis after Israeli forces destroyed 85 percent of the enclave’s water and sanitation facilities.
  • Israel told mediators it would release 620 Palestinian prisoners, who were supposed to be released last Saturday, if Hamas hands over the bodies of four Israeli captives later this week “without a humiliating ceremony”, Ynet News reports.

As Israeli tanks roll into Jenin, Palestinians prepare for lengthy invasion

A crowd of people gathered to watch two huge armoured bulldozers rumble into the Jenin refugee camp, tearing apart the asphalt to clear a path for three Israeli tanks.

“This is the first time I’ve seen a tank with my own eyes,” a young man said, his voice a mixture of awe and disbelief, as the sun set over one of the entrances to the camp on Sunday.

Before him, two huge bulldozers rumbled forward, destroying more of the road underneath them. The refugee camp, nearly emptied after weeks of relentless attacks, was bracing for yet another military incursion.

Ahmed, born in Jenin in 2003 at the height of the second Intifada, had witnessed military incursions before. But Israeli tanks had not been seen on the streets of Jenin since 2002, when that uprising began – and it looks like the Israelis are planning to linger.

Ahmed stood among a group of young men and boys on Haifa Street, near one of the camp’s entrances.

“It won’t be easy for them to stay,” he muttered, as the heavy machinery continued its work.




SvennoJ on 25 February 2025

Six children in Gaza die from cold amid aid blockade

At least six children have died due to the severe cold in the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources.

Five of them died in the Friends of the Patient Hospital in the Remal neighbourhood of Gaza City, while the sixth child died in the city of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.

One of the victims, a baby girl called Sham, was just a few days old.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians across Gaza are living among the rubble of their destroyed homes, while strong winds and heavy rains have turned makeshift shelters into barely liveable spaces.

The humanitarian crisis is being worsened by Israel’s blockade on aid and mobile homes.


‘Children coughing and vomiting all night’ amid winter cold in Gaza

The freezing weather has been only adding to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced families across Gaza.

Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalil spoke to a family of eight in the Shujayea neighbourhood in Gaza City who have been forced to survive in a tent after finding their home destroyed by the Israeli military.

“Living in a tent is really hard. A day ago, we were all soaked in rain water. The ground is still wet and cold and our young children cannot endure it,” Ghassan Alsosi said.

“They have been coughing and vomiting all night long. I’m helpless, especially because there’s no medicine available. My children are in pain and I’m helpless. I cannot afford to buy them clothes or blankets.”

Manal Alsosi, Ghassan’s wife, said the family cannot endure living like this much longer.

“We need cover and medicine, at least for the vulnerable children. A tent does not protect you from the cold or the rain in winter. We are suffering day and night,” she said.


Children dying from ‘cold injury’

I’ve just visited the Friends of the Patient medical facility in the heart of Gaza City and could clearly see how children are bearing the brunt of the suffering due to the shattered infrastructure and unreliable electricity.

Nine cases from Gaza City arrived in the hospital in the past few days suffering from severe cold or “cold injury” as it was described by doctors at the hospital.

Five of these have already died: Three in the first hours of their arrival and two earlier this morning. There’s one more fatality in Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Three have recovered, but are still in need of shelter, warmth and a proper place to provide them with the necessary protection.

Doctors confirmed that these newborn babies arrived to the hospital not suffering from any particular diseases. They were simply born and their family had no way to keep them warm – and this has been the case for the past few days since the cold weather struck the area.

Meanwhile, the source of power inside the hospital can shut down at any moment due to the shortage of fuel coming to medical facilities across the Gaza Strip.


Israeli army fires on vessels off Gaza coast

The military says it fired salvos twice at boats, forcing them to return to the shore.

In a separate statement, the military also said Israeli troops opened fire to repel people who “posed a threat to them” in Gaza. It’s unclear if there were any casualties.

The Israeli army “calls on Palestinian civilians to obey … instructions, not approach the forces deployed in the area, and to pass through the agreed checkpoints”, it said.



SvennoJ on 25 February 2025

Israeli assault on Tulkarem camp displaces 12,000: Official

The Israeli army’s ongoing offensive on the Tulkarem refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank has forced 12,000 Palestinians from their homes, according to a local official.

“The occupation authorities are still occupying and besieging the Tulkarem camp and displacing its residents at gunpoint,” Deputy Governor Faisal Salama said in a statement.

“The Israeli forces are still wreaking havoc in the houses, streets, alleys, and all facilities in the camp,” he added.

Salama said 40 buildings in the camp comprising 100 residential apartments have been destroyed by Israeli forces since their raids began last month after the start of the ceasefire in Gaza.

“The Israeli army burned 10 houses and demolished nearly 300 shops in the camp,” he added.


Israel demolishes more homes in occupied West Bank amid raids

Israeli forces demolished two mobile homes in the al-Bustan neighbourhood of Silwan town, located south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

Local sources cited by the Wafa news agency said 10 Palestinians from two families lived in the mobile homes, after Israeli authorities demolished their homes in the same neighbourhood three months ago.

Israeli forces also stormed the eastern area of the town of al-Issawiya, northeast of the occupied East Jerusalem, and bulldozed a house, agricultural greenhouses and livestock pens and uprooted trees.

The demolitions come amid a series of Israeli raids in Hebron and in Nablus, where more military vehicles were deployed.


Israeli settlers injure disabled Palestinian in Jordan Valley

A group of Israeli settlers has injured a disabled Palestinian while he was grazing his livestock in Khirbet Ibziq in the occupied West Bank’s northern Jordan Valley.

A local official in Tubas told the Wafa news agency that the settlers attacked the 20-year-old shepherd and injured him in the thigh. The Palestine Red Crescent Society confirmed that its crew transported the man to hospital after he was stabbed.


Israeli forces storm Nablus, wound elderly Palestinian man

The Israeli army continues to storm the city of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, with military reinforcements and a heavy deployment of forces in the western area of the Old City.

The target of the raid was not immediately known.

Sources told Al Jazeera that an elderly Palestinian man has been transferred to hospital to receive treatment after Israeli forces opened fire and wounded him in the waist.

Israeli soldiers also fired tear gas at journalists and medical crews in the vicinity of the Old City in an attempt to disperse them and keep them away from the area.


Israeli army blocks Palestinians from re-entering Jenin refugee camp

The Israeli army barred displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank.

An Anadolu news agency cameraman captured scenes of Palestinian families attempting to return to Jenin surrounded by a heavy Israeli military presence, including tanks stationed in the area.

Abir Gazawi, a Palestinian woman displaced from the camp for 35 days, said she tried to return to her home in the camp to collect some personal items ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins in early March, but Israeli troops prevented her from doing so.

“I tried to enter the camp today with 10 of my friends to gather some belongings and personal papers before Ramadan, but we were surprised by the huge presence of the occupation forces,” said Gazawi.

The army detained her and her friends for an hour-and-a-half before preventing them from entering.



SvennoJ on 25 February 2025

Hamas: Agreement reached over Israeli delay in Palestinians’ release

The Palestinian group says a delegation in Egypt has made some progress towards the implementation of a ceasefire agreement.

“The Hamas leadership delegation – headed by Dr Khalil al-Hayya – concluded its visit to Cairo where it met with Egyptian officials. Discussions were held on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, the exchange of prisoners, and the prospects for the second phase of negotiations. The delegation of the movement’s leadership stressed its clear position on the necessity of full and precise commitment to all its provisions and stages,” the group said in a statement.

“An agreement was also reached to resolve the problem of delaying the release of Palestinian prisoners who were supposed to be released in the last batch, so that they would be released simultaneously with the bodies of the Israeli prisoners who were agreed to be handed over during the first stage, in addition to the corresponding Palestinian women and children.”

Israeli air strike kills two in eastern Lebanon: Report

Two people have been killed and two wounded in an Israeli air raid in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen news channel reports. The Israeli army has not yet commented.

Israel and Hezbollah traded fire for more than a year after the Lebanese group started attacking its southern neighbour in October 2023 in support of ally Hamas in Gaza.

The hostilities morphed into a two-month all-out war that ended with a ceasefire in November.

Israeli air strikes hit military positions south of Damascus: Reports

Syrian media report a series of air raids on buildings south of the capital, Damascus.

A large explosion and fire were reported after an air attack in the al-Kiswah suburb.

On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not allow Syria’s new army to “enter the area south of Damascus” as his government made clear Israeli forces would stay in parts of southern Syria for an indefinite period.