The leader of the European Union’s foreign policy has said on Sunday that Israel needs to follow the decisions of the United Nations’ top court and stop its attack in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. They also asked if the authorities in the West Bank are involved in violence against Palestinians.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa got attention from two EU nations and Norway, who promised to recognize a Palestinian state. Josep Borrell urged Israel to stop withholding tax money meant for the Palestinian authorities.
At the end of the week, many people asked for Israel to change how it fights against Hamas in Gaza. The international community is putting pressure on Israel through court and diplomacy.
Borrell said that Israel has pushed the Palestinians to the edge of a disaster because the situation in Gaza is really bad. The West Bank is in danger and could explode at any moment.
While many people are focused on Gaza, we should also pay attention to what is happening in the West Bank where the Palestinian Authority is located.
We are seeing a lot more violence happening in a cycle. Extremist settlers are attacking aid going to Gaza without any care, and it’s hurting a lot of people. And they have a lot of weapons. “And the question is, who is giving them weapons. And who is not stopping this attack from happening,” Borrel asked.
Rights groups and Palestinians say Israeli forces protect armed settlers who attack Palestinian towns and nomadic communities.
Borrell said that the violence from the settlers is happening at the same time as Israel is building more settlements and taking more land.
Borrell also disagreed with Israel’s threats to cut off money to the Palestinians. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would stop giving money to the Palestinian Authority from taxes. This could make it hard for them to pay their employees.
In the 1990s, Israel collected taxes for the Palestinians, and then used the money to put pressure on the Palestinian Authority. After the attack by Hamas on Oct 7 that started the war in Gaza, Smotrich stopped sending money. But Israel decided to send the money to Norway, and Norway then sent it to the PA. Smotrich said on Wednesday that he was stopping that agreement.
Borrell said that money that has been unfairly kept should be given back. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide was beside him when he said this.
Eide was in Brussels to give important papers to Mustafa before Norway formally recognizes Palestine as a state. This action has made Israel very angry, even though it does not have much impact.
Norway, Spain and Ireland will officially recognize a Palestinian state on Tuesday. These countries have been friendly with both Israelis and Palestinians and have supported the idea of a Palestinian state for a long time.
The three nations’ decision to support Palestinian officials is good news for them. They have been trying for many years to create their own country in east Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. These areas were taken over by Israel in the Mideast war in 1967 and they still control them.
âRecognition is really important to us. “It’s the most important thing anyone can do for the Palestinian people,” Mustafa said. “This is really good for us. ”
Around 140 countries, which is more than two-thirds of the United Nations, acknowledge that there is a Palestinian state. However, most of the 27 EU nations still do not recognize it. Some people have said they will know it when the time is good.
The EU, the United States, and Britain, and others support the idea of a separate country for Palestinians next to Israel. They believe it should happen as part of a peaceful agreement.
Belgium, who is in charge of the EU right now, said that the Israeli hostages held by Hamas should be released first and the fighting in Gaza should stop. Other governments support a new plan for two separate states, even though talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down 15 years ago.
On Sunday, Israel was told by the United Nations to stop fighting in Gaza. This put more pressure on Israel, which is already feeling isolated.
A few days ago, the boss lawyer for the International Criminal Court asked to arrest Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Hamas officials.
The fighting in Gaza began when Hamas fighters crossed the border and attacked, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 people as hostages. Israel’s recent attack has led to the deaths of over 35,000 Palestinians, says Gaza’s Health Ministry. It has also created a major crisis and a severe food shortage.
Tag: UN Court
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Israel must give reverence to UN court – EU Foreign Chief
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US couple in Uganda to pay $26,000 as charges for child cruelty
A Ugandan court has ordered a US couple, Nicholas and Mackenzie Spencer, to pay approximately $26,000 (£20,700) in compensation to their foster child after convicting them of cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment.
This compensation resulted from a plea deal that led to the court dropping more severe charges of aggravated trafficking and torture.
If convicted on these charges, the couple could have faced life imprisonment or the death penalty.
The Spencers were arrested last year and charged with torturing a 10-year-old boy over a two-year period. The charges stemmed from a police report filed by the child’s nanny, alleging that the couple repeatedly subjected the child to inhumane treatment.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, the couple pleaded guilty to the charges of cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment, working without permits, and staying in Uganda unlawfully. As a result, they were fined 4.86 million Ugandan shillings ($1,285).
However, this ruling has sparked outrage among some child rights activists who view it as “a mockery of justice.” Proscovia Najjumba, an activist, questioned how the court allowed the couple to avoid more severe consequences, given that they admitted to “mistreating a child.”
Court documents revealed that the couple subjected the child to cold food, had him sleep on a bare wooden platform without bedding, and forced him into an “awkward position.”
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Félicien Kabuga unfit to stand trial for Rwanda genocide case, UN Court says
A United Nations court has declared that an 88-year-old Félicien Kabuga, accused of being a significant financier of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, is not fit to stand trial.
Félicien Kabuga’s defense lawyers had presented arguments stating that he suffers from dementia.
After evading capture for 26 years, Kabuga was apprehended in Paris in 2020, reportedly having moved around various locations in East Africa during that time. He stands accused of providing financial support to ethnic Hutu militias responsible for the brutal killings of approximately 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Kabuga has consistently denied these charges.
This ruling marks the first instance where a court has made such a decision in the long-standing effort to hold Rwandan genocide suspects accountable for their actions.
The judges presiding over the UN war crimes court in The Hague have ruled that Mr. Félicien Kabuga is incapable of actively participating in his trial and is highly unlikely to regain fitness in the future. In light of this, they have proposed an alternative legal procedure that closely resembles a trial but does not allow for a conviction.
In March, the court had temporarily halted Mr. Kabuga’s trial to facilitate a thorough assessment of his health. While his age is subject to some dispute, court documents state that he is 88 years old.
It is alleged that Mr. Kabuga utilized his significant fortune amassed from the tea trade in the 1970s to purchase machetes, which were subsequently distributed to Hutu death squads. Additionally, as a wealthy businessman, he stands accused of using his radio station to broadcast inflammatory hate speech, urging Hutus to carry out acts of violence against Tutsis and exacerbating the genocide.
After years of evading capture, French investigators eventually located Mr. Kabuga residing in an apartment in Paris under a false identity. The United States had previously offered a reward of $5 million (£4.1 million) for information leading to his arrest.