Israel has killed at least 35,857 Palestinians — mostly innocent babies, children, and women — and wounded 80,293 in its 232-day war on Gaza, while 10,000+ are feared dead beneath the rubble of their shattered homes.
Saturday, May 25, 2024
0915 GMT — Palestinian factions have urged the prompt and genuine implementation of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decisions, stressing the need to avoid delays or obstructions that could absolve Israel of its responsibilities.
The National and Islamic Forces Committee, which represents the majority of Palestinian groups, issued a statement in support of the top UN court decision.
“The fascist aggression against the city of Rafah and all parts of Gaza and the Palestinian Territory must be stopped, and the Nazi occupation army must withdraw completely,” the committee said.
It urged all parties to “seriously and genuinely work to implement the decisions of the International Court of Justice, without procrastination or delays that could absolve the occupation of its responsibilities under various pretexts.”
It asked all parties to ensure “the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Rafah crossing” and to reopen it as a “solely Palestinian-Egyptian crossing in accordance with the agreed-upon mechanisms.”
The committee cautioned “against any attempts to circumvent the decision of the International Court of Justice or legitimise the siege and occupation.”
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0830 GMT — Italy to resume funding UN agency aiding Palestinians
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that Rome would resume funding for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), at a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa.
“Italy has decided to resume financing specific projects intended for assistance to Palestinian refugees but only after rigorous controls that guarantee that not even a penny risks ending up supporting terrorism,” he said.
Mustafa was also scheduled to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on what was his first trip to Europe since being appointed by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in March.
Tajani, whose country holds the G7 presidency this year, offered his government’s “full support” to the Palestinian Authority.
“We are also committed as a G7 presidency to working towards a period of peace. We strongly ask for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” he said.
0900 GMT — Australia urges Israel to ‘abide by’ ICJ’s ruling on Gaza
A senior Australian minister has urged Israel to “abide by” the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to halt its military assault on southern Gaza.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Australia’s position on Rafah is “crystal clear,” describing the situation as a “humanitarian disaster,” with the potential to worsen, local broadcaster SBS News reported.
“We have been very consistent that Rafah should not be attacked,” Brown said in Sydney.
“We are very consistent that the binding rulings to the ICJ should be abided by all parties, including Israel. Either you comply with international law or you don’t.
“Australia believes international law should be complied with, Australia believes the binding rulings should be complied with and we believe Rafah should not be invaded by Israel.”
0755 GMT — G7 finance leaders to call on Israel to maintain Palestinian bank links
G7 finance leaders will call on Israel to maintain correspondent banking links between Israeli and Palestinian banks to allow vital transactions, trade and services to continue, according to a draft joint statement seen by Reuters.
The statement, to be released at the end of a Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors’ meeting in northern Italy, also calls for Israel “to release withheld clearance revenues to the Palestinian Authority, in view of its urgent fiscal needs”.
The statement echoes a warning from US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said the failure to renew a soon-to-expire banking waiver would cut off a critical lifeline for the Palestinian territories amid a devastating war in Gaza.
“We call on Israel to take the necessary measures to ensure that correspondent banking services between Israeli and Palestinian banks remain in place, so that vital financial transactions and critical trade and services continue,” the draft statement said.
0400 GMT — Israel bombs Rafah after top UN court orders it to halt assault
Israel has bombed Gaza, including Rafah, a day after the top UN court ordered it to halt military operations in the southern city as efforts get underway in Paris to seek a ceasefire.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) also demanded the immediate release of all hostages still held in Gaza, hours after the Israeli military announced troops had recovered the bodies of three more of the captives from northern Gaza.
The Hague-based court, whose orders are legally binding but lack direct enforcement mechanisms, also ordered Israel to keep open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which it closed earlier this month at the start of its assault on the city.
Israel gave no indication it was preparing to change course in Rafah, insisting that the court had got it wrong.
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas welcomed the ICJ ruling on Rafah but criticised its decision to exclude the rest of war-torn Gaza from the order.
2341 GMT — Pakistan, Maldives, Malaysia welcome new ICJ ruling against Israel
Pakistan, Maldives and Malaysia welcomed a new ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel regarding Gaza.
“UN Security Council and the international community should make efforts to implement the ICJ order to stop Israeli operations in Gaza,” Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement.
Implementing the order to stop the Israeli military operations “will pave the way for peace in the world,” he said.
The ICJ amended an earlier order and demanded Israel immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where Tel Aviv sent forces May 6.
2251 GMT — Blinken reiterated US position on Rafah in call with Israel’s Gantz, State Dept says
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated President Joe Biden position on “a major Rafah operation” when he spoke with Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, the US State Department said.
Blinken also discussed importance of Israel and Egypt concluding talks to reopen Rafah the crossing as soon as possible, the department said in a statement.
2223 GMT — NYC college suspends officer who told pro-Palestine protester ‘I support killing all you guys’
A campus safety officer at a public college in New York City has been suspended after footage circulated online showing him cursing at pro-Palestinian protesters during a graduation ceremony and saying he supported killing them all, the school confirmed.
An unidentified protester filmed the officer at Thursday’s graduation for the College of Staten Island, part of the public City University of New York system that was rocked by a recent police crackdown on campus protests.
In a highly edited video shared by Instagram accounts affiliated with student protest organizers, a demonstrator can be heard yelling at the officer, “You support genocide!”
“Yes I do, I support genocide,” says the officer. “I support killing all you guys, how about that?” In another clip posted in the video, the officer can be heard hurling an expletive at another protester, followed by “your mother.”
2200 GMT — Arab diplomats, Macron discuss ways to stop Israel’s war on Gaza
France’s president, Qatar’s prime minister and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan have held talks on Israel’s Gaza war and ways to set up a Palestinian state alongside Israel, the French presidency said.
French President Emmanuel Macron organised the meeting amid growing international concerns over Israel’s genocidal war. It came a few hours after the UN’s top court ordered Israel to halt its invasion in the Gaza city of Rafah.
Efforts to revive a “two-state” solution to the wider Middle East conflict and humanitarian efforts for Gaza dominated the talks.
The officials discussed “all the levers that could be activated in order to obtain the reopening of all crossing points” into Gaza, said an Elysee palace statement.
2048 GMT — UCLA police make first arrest in mob attack on pro-Palestine encampment
Three weeks after a mob attacked pro-Palestine activists encamped at the University of California, Los Angeles, police have made their first arrest in the violence, a man they say was seen in video footage beating victims with a wooden pole.
The suspect, identified as Edan On, 18, was taken into custody on Thursday in the city of Beverly Hills and booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, the UCLA Police Department said in a statement.
The man, who police said had no affiliation with UCLA, was reported by local media to be a Beverly Hills High School student.
His arrest was the first by police in their investigation of the violence that flared on campus between pro-Palestine activists occupying a tent camp to protest Israel’s war in Gaza, and a group who attacked them late on the night of April 30.
The masked assailants, described by university officials and police as “instigators,” stormed the protest site with clubs and poles, sparking a pitched skirmish in which both sides traded blows and doused each other with pepper spray.
2106 GMT — White House, on ICJ ruling, says it has been ‘clear and consistent’ on Rafah
The White House has said it has been “clear and consistent” on its position on Rafah after the United Nation’s top court ordered Israel to halt its invasion in the area.
The US says a full invasion in Rafah would be a humanitarian disaster, but it has continued to supply Tel Aviv with lethal weapons that Israel uses on the besieged Palestinians.
Legal experts say Israel must fully comply with ICJ’s Rafah order, and its allies such as US and UK must suspend all arms sales to Tel Aviv as ignoring world court’s ruling risks “genocide” complicity.
