PKK calls for unity against the KDP's collaborative betrayal

Saying that the KDP is in an attitude that betrays the interests of the Kurdish people, PKK called on the people, all intellectuals and academics of Kurdistan, parties and organisations to unite in the line of patriotism against the collaborative line.


ANF
BEHDINAN
Wednesday, 17 July 2024

The Foreign Relations Committee of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) released a statement calling for action against the collaboration of the KDP, the ruling party in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq), with the Turkish state that has been conducting an invasion campaign in the region as part of its genocidal campaign against the Kurdish people.

The statement released by the PKK Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday reads as follows:

"The KDP is in an attitude that openly betrays the interests of the Kurdish people by developing the most disgusting conspiracy, propaganda and plans of all time. The KDP has fallen into such a characterless situation that it can take part in the war against the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla in fateful unity with the fascist AKP-MHP regime, which perpetrates genocide against the Kurdish people, subjects them to massacre, forced migration, immoral and inhuman insults and humiliating practices on the corpses and cemeteries of the martrys, the most valuable sanctities.

It is definitely the KDP that attracted the occupying-genocidal Turkish state to southern Kurdistan and paved the way for occupation and annexation. The destruction of nature in Kurdistan, forced displacement of people, burning and ruining of villages are all the results of the joint concept created by the collaborator KDP and the Turkish state.

The KDP does not only act together with the occupying Turkish state in the military field. At the same time, it legitimises the Turkish state's invasion and annexation of southern Kurdistan, shamelessly negotiates with many circles for this purpose, and uses all its diplomatic means to this end.

The KDP is trying to defame the PKK through propaganda based on lies, deceit and intrigue, thus changing the agenda and trying to cover up its crimes. Our people know very well that the PKK is a women's libertarian, ecological and democratic social movement. They also know very well the KDP's masculine mentality, its anti-woman character and its hostility toward ecology and nature. Now, without blushing or feeling ashamed, the KDP is still in a state of carelessness, blaming the PKK for the fires that broke out in Hewlêr (Erbil) and Kirkuk. However, it has been confirmed by some concrete information and documents that these fires were set with the co-operation of MIT (Turkish intelligence) and Parastin (KDP intelligence). The occupying Turkish state bombs and burns the villages and forests of southern Kurdistan every day, every hour. The KDP is an accomplice in this.

The so-called Kurdistan Region Security Council, which is in essence the security council of the Barzani family, holding the PKK responsible for the explosive planted in the car of Ekrem Salih, one of the KDP officials, is a deliberate, purposeful and despicable accusation. We express our clear and unequivocal rejection of this unjust and baseless accusation. After this statement by the KDP, which has gone out of its mind to the point of threatening the administration of our party, the KDP will definitely be responsible for any incident that will happen to any of our comrades anywhere in southern Kurdistan.

Our people and we know very well that many revolutionaries and patriots were murdered in different parts of southern Kurdistan on different dates with the co-operation of MİT and Parastin. The Kurdish people know very well that the murderers who committed these murders freely fled to Hewlêr thanks to the opportunities created by Parastin. It is certain that Parastin is responsible for these murders.

The Kurdish people are going through a very important, historic and critical period. Our patriotic people, all intellectuals and academics of Kurdistan, all patriotic and revolutionary parties and organisations must unite in the line of patriotism against the collaborative line of treason represented by the KDP. On this basis, they should act knowing that only the existence, freedom and gains of our people can be protected.”

A Turkish torturer at the UN Committee against Torture sessions

The sessions of the UN Committee against Torture continue. Rüştü Yılmaz, a notorious torturer, is also attending the sessions on behalf of the Turkish state delegation.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 18 July 2024

The 80th session of the United Nations Committee against Torture continues at the Palais de Wilson of the UN Geneva Office. Within the scope of the sessions, human rights violations, torture and isolation in Turkey are being discussed and debated. In addition to the rapporteurs of the UN Committee against Torture, representatives of non-governmental organisations who have written reports on Turkey are also attending the sessions, as well as a delegation on behalf of the Turkish state.

The Turkish delegation, chaired by Ambassador Kıvılcım Kılıç from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, includes some remarkable names. One of the members of the delegation is Rüştü Yılmaz, who was appointed as the 1st Legal Counsellor of the Ministry of Interior while serving as chief inspector of police after Ali Yerlikaya was appointed by Erdoğan to replace Süleyman Soylu. Rüştü Yılmaz is a member of the Turkish delegation at the Palais de Wilson of the UN Geneva Office in his capacity as Chief Legal Counsellor of the General Directorate of Security of the Ministry of Interior. Yılmaz was the police chief between 2015 and 2021, who established a 6-person torture team in Urfa.

When Erdoğan decided to end the ‘Resolution Process’ immediately after the elections in June 2015 in order to implement the so-called ‘Decomposition Plan’, he claimed that the PKK was responsible for the murder of two police chiefs in the Ceylanpınar district of Urfa. At the time, many people who were later found to be innocent in the subsequent trials signed statements prepared by the police after torturous interrogations. One of the people most frequently mentioned in the judgement process known as the ‘Ceylanpınar Trial’ was Rüştü Yılmaz, the head of the Intelligence Branch in Urfa. The defendants in the Ceylanpınar Trial testified that they had been tortured by Rüştü Yılmaz and that they had been forced to take the blame.

Rüştü Yılmaz's crimes include not only the preparation of the Ceylanpınar Conspiracy. When he was in charge of intelligence, he was among those who turned a blind eye to the reckless use of the borders of Urfa by ISIS gangs and organised the transfer of weapons to them via these borders. On 15 July 2016, in the aftermath of the coup attempt, some former members of the pro-sect police force said that Rüştü Yılmaz was also the person who had hindered the investigations against ISIS.

The Suruç Massacre also took place when Rüştü Yılmaz was the director of intelligence in Urfa. ISIS members came from Adıyaman and carried out a suicide attack in Suruç, as well as a bomb attack on the HDP rally in Diyarbakır on 5 June 2015. The lawyers stated that Rüştü Yılmaz turned a blind eye to the ISIS gangs moving to the attack sites and detonating the bombs in both attacks and filed a criminal complaint against him on the grounds of negligence of duty.

However, these criminal complaints were not processed and decisions were taken in favour of Yılmaz, preventing the prosecution of state officials. It was also seen in many investigation files that Rüştü Yılmaz was the person who paved the way for ISIS gangs into Urfa, Diyarbakır and Antep, where attacks took place, or were sent to other cities in Turkey or North Kurdistan through these cities. Although Rüştü Yılmaz's name was mentioned in many of these attacks, which resulted in nearly 800 casualties, not a single investigation was opened against this person because the necessary legal permissions were not granted by the ministry.

Rüştü Yılmaz was specially assigned to perpetrate torture after the ‘coup attempt’. Yılmaz, who was on duty in Urfa in the mentioned period of time, formed a special team of 6 people and tortured the supporters of the (Gülen) Sect and members of the HDP.

Rüştü Yılmaz, who committed countless crimes of torture and inhuman massacres, was first appointed as chief inspector of police. In 2023, he was appointed as the 1st Legal Advisor of the Ministry of Interior by a decree signed by Erdoğan. The same Rüştü Yılmaz is attending the 80th session of the United Nations Committee against Torture, where Turkey's torture crimes are discussed, representing the Turkish delegation.

WWIII

Denmark can accommodate 60% of its population in underground bunkers in case of war, disaster: Report

3.6M people can be sheltered in underground bunkers, Danish daily reports

Ebad Ahmed |18.07.2024 - TRT/AA


PRAGUE

Denmark has space to accommodate at least 3.6 million people in underground bunkers if it ever needs to shelter people in the event of war or disaster, a local news media outlet reported on Thursday.

The underground shelters and bunkers would cover around 61% of the Danish population, the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten said, adding that the authorities have been expanding the space for the shelters for the last two years.

The review of underground bunkers, including public shelters and annexes in homes like extra rooms underneath garages, was launched in 2022 in light of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Some safe rooms are being used for other purposes in peacetime and would have to be prepared for emergency use in times of potential crisis, according to the review.

Earlier, a statement issued by the Danish Foreign Ministry said: “The current military security assessment does not indicate that there is a military threat against Denmark. As shelters are foreseen to be used by citizens in connection with war acts in Denmark, there is not an acute need for preparing shelters and safe rooms.”

However it cautioned its citizens that if a nuclear emission spreads from the war-hit Ukraine to Denmark, the people should go indoors to avoid the risk of radiation. “In a situation with nuclear emissions, shelters will not provide extra protection,” the statement added.

The ministry informed that the Danish municipalities are responsible for public shelters, whereas the responsibility for safe rooms is with the owner of a building under the supervision of the municipalities in connection with making the safe rooms ready for use.

Oil and gas will be around ‘for quite some time’

BY CHARLES ELLINAS
18TH JULY 2024
FINANCIAL MIRROR

The OPEC+ group of oil producers has extended its production cuts totaling 3.66 mln bpd until 2025, maintaining a controlled supply while taking advantage of the current price of the benchmark Brent crude at over $85/barrel.

OPEC forecasts that cumulative oil-related investment requirements from now until 2045 will amount to about $14 trln, or around $610 bln a year.

The cartel says that securing this vital funding is essential to maintaining security of supply and avoiding unwanted volatility.

Almost all major banks and lenders are of the view that oil and gas will be around “for quite some time” and back an orderly transition.

Barclays has become the latest major international lender to backtrack on oil and gas.

Its CEO, CS Venkatakrishnan, told Bloomberg on 25 June that banks can’t go “cold turkey” on oil and gas industry without energy security risks. He said that calls for banks to abandon oil and gas are unrealistic.

Oil and gas companies, such as Shell and BP, have also been backtracking on energy transition commitments and are increasing their oil and gas investments.

Global energy investment is set to exceed $3 trln in 2024 for this first time, led by the growth of clean energy, with oil and gas investment growing back to its pre-crisis levels.

BP is a shadow of the mighty oil behemoth it once was and is living on borrowed time. Six months since it appointed a new CEO with the promise of “growing the value”, its market cap has slumped to a two-year low of around £75 bln. Bloomberg is warning that it is “time to change, or else”.

According to BP’s 2024 Energy Outlook, oil demand will peak by the mid-2030s and then decline more than 20% by 2050, under current trends.

BP’s Outlook has revised higher all its forecasts for oil, natural gas and coal consumption. What is worrying is that it anticipates that coal demand in its “current trajectory” scenario would be higher in 2050 than it was in 2000.

OPEC forecasts that India will be the single largest and fastest driver of global energy demand growth, with its needs increasing by 19.3 mln barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) by 2045, almost 30% of non-OECD energy demand growth.

The world’s largest oil company, Saudi-owned giant Aramco, bought a 10% stake in Horse Powertrain, a company co-owned by Renault and Volvo-parent Geely, dedicated to building fuel-based engines, betting on the enduring power of petrol.

Aramco said that combustion engines will be around for “a very, very long time”.

The oil industry eyes petrochemicals profits amid uncertain fossil fuel demand. Oil and gas majors are preparing for a world in which transport fuels are no longer a big driver of growth, but petrochemicals are.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that oil demand will grow to 105.45 mln barrels per day in 2030, from 102.24 mln bpd last year. Within that growth, 2.8 mln bpd, accounting for more than 85% of the overall increase in demand, will come from petrochemicals.

Italian energy giant Eni plans to divest at least some of its oil and gas assets in the coming years, aiming to reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 35% by 2030, 80% by 2040 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Press reports suggest that assets that could be candidates for this divestment plan may include some operations in Alaska, Indonesia and Cyprus.
Natgas demand fluctuates

BP’s Energy Outlook also states that the global LNG demand outlook changes drastically depending on the pace of energy transition.

Under “current trends,” LNG trade set to nearly double by 2050, driven by demand from emerging nations.

Egypt gas output is below 5 bln cfd for the first time since 2017. It’s not only top producer Zohr which is in decline, output at BP’s Raven, the country’s number two gas and top condensate producer, has halved over the past 18 months.

This is leading to curtailment of electricity and blackouts, while the energy crisis could spur a transition to renewables.

Karim Badawi has been appointed as Egypt’s new Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. He has replaced Tareq El Molla.

Egypt has announced a new plan to explore offshore and onshore areas looking for new oil and gas reserves, with companies agreeing to invest around $200 mln.

Yet, it is unlikely the Egyptian energy crisis will be solved soon and criticism is growing on a daily basis.

Maintenance of Israel’s gas fields is worsening Egypt’s energy crisis, displaying the high level of dependency reached by Cairo on its neighbours. Egypt is rushing to buy LNG cargoes to avoid widespread blackouts this summer.

Meanwhile, in a bid to improve energy security and strengthen diplomatic ties, Israel’s government has approved plans to more than double the country’s natural gas exports.

It plans to gradually expand the offshore Leviathan basin’s production to 21 bcm annually from 12 bcm currently, with most of that going to Egypt.

Shell’s bet on gas boom is taking shape with a string of deals that have replaced the LNG volume it lost after exiting Russia in 2022. This includes investment in ADNOC’s Ruwais LNG project in Abu Dhabi.

Middle East oil and gas producers are going global in pursuit of natural gas. State-owned companies still see a future for gas to fill any gaps left by renewable sources. They see natural gas as a destination, not so much a transition fuel.

The 2024 Athens Energy Forum, questioned what is the future of natural gas in Greece, or for that matter in Europe?

This must be made clear with clear policies. Otherwise uncertainty risks thwarting future investment, potentially creating problems down the line.

Not all can stay: Canada rethinks long-term visa for international students

Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said a study visa wasn't a promise for a long-term stay in Canada. He said international students should study in Canada and return to their native countries. His remarks come amid a cap on visas for international students by the Justin Trudeau government.




Canada is reconsidering the number of long-term visas issued to international students amid rising unemployment and high cost of living. (Photo: Immigration.ca)


India Today World Desk
New Delhi,

UPDATED: Jul 18, 2024 
Written By: Priyanjali Narayan

In Short

Canada says international students shouldn't see study visas as permits for long-term stay

Officials are looking at the pool of international students to see who to keep, and who not to

The government plans to match students' degrees with employment opportunities hereafter


Canada has a message for its international students: you all might not be welcome. This comes at a time when Canada is reviewing how many long-term visas it grants to foreign students as it plans to slow down immigration amid a record rise in its population. Many officials are trying to match the labour market demands with the foreign students, Immigration Minister Marc Miller told Bloomberg. This can be a concern for Indian students, who form the biggest cohort of international students in Canada.

Canada has always encouraged universities and colleges to bring in educated and working immigrants, but now it is putting a stop to a degree implying a future job and even citizenship, Marc Miller told Bloomberg.

People should come to Canada and think of going back home is the current stance of the Canadian Minister.

He said a study visa was not a promise of long-term stay in Canada.

“That should never be the promise. People should come here to educate themselves and perhaps go home and take those skills back to their country,” he said. “That hasn’t always been the case recently.”

Due to such measures, the number of Indian students seeking a Canadian visa has also reduced.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is facing immense pressure over the rise in the cost of living, competition for housing, which is not readily available and a higher rate of unemployment.

CANADA IS CUTTING DOWN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT VISAS

Canada has already taken measures to deal with this crisis. It has put a cap on the number of international students' visas. It plans to issue 300,000 visas this year, as opposed to 437,000 last year.

Officials are looking at the pool of students they plan to keep and the ones they plan to send back to their home countries.

Canada plans to do a better job of assuring jobs for international students which aligns with the subject they have studied, said Miller. There is a conversation around labour needs and "how we match post-graduate work permits to an increasingly contracting shortage of labour” in Canadian provinces.

“The logic for having uncapped or uncontrolled draws from abroad is no longer there.”

The number of people with such visas has grown rapidly in Canada. The visa holders were 78% more in 2022 than in 2018.

Study visas have been seen as an easy and less costly way of getting permanent residency in the North American country that has a relatively easier citizenship process.

By capping study visas for international students, Canada is trying to reduce the number of people seeking permanent residency and citizenship in the country.

The government is also looking at how a sperate programme focused on bringing temporary foreign workers has been used and even abused, said Miller. The plan is to reduce immigrants from 7% to 5% now.

CANADA BEING SEEN AS LESS WELCOMING: MARC MILLER

“Canada is now being seen as less welcoming as it has been before” for students, said Marc Miller.

A study visa “is less and less being seen as a cheap way to attain permanent residency or entry into Canada, and more of a qualitative proposition — which is where we want to see it go back, to its original intent".

Miller was, however, worried about signs of racism in the country.

“We’ve built a very important consensus around immigration in Canada, but that’s being chipped away at.”

The drop in the number of students being given a student visa, along with the rise in sentiments of racism towards immigrants can be a big problem for the Canadian government to grapple with.

Trump Organization announces deal to build Dubai tower

COMING SOON GAZA BEACH FRONT HOTEL

AFP Published July 18, 2024

DUBAI: The Trump Organization on Thursday announced a deal to partner with a Saudi developer to build a high-rise tower in the UAE business hub of Dubai, its latest project in the oil-rich Gulf.

Trump Tower Dubai will target “the Dubai luxury market,” real estate developer Dar Global said in a press release, adding that the location and design would be unveiled by the end of the year.

The development will include a Trump hotel and branded residential units, said Dar Global, the international subsidiary of Saudi developer Dar Al Arkan.

Dubai’s high-end property sales undented by drop in listings, consultancy says

The announcement came a little over two weeks after Dar Global announced a separate deal with the Trump Organization to build a high-rise tower in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.

It is also developing a Trump hotel and luxury villas in the capital of neighbouring Oman, with completion expected in 2028, according to the firm’s website.

Former President Donald Trump entrusted the management of his real estate empire to his sons after taking office in 2017, although he held onto his shares in the Trump Organization.

Real estate developer announces AED210mn mall in Dubai for 2026

His foreign business dealings prompted critics to sound the alarm about possible conflicts of interest, including in a 2022 Congressional report that found the foreign governments of six countries – the United Arab Emirates among them – spent more than $750,000 at a Trump-owned hotel in Washington while trying to influence his administration in 2017 and 2018.

Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee in this year’s presidential election, cultivated close ties with Arab Gulf states during his term, choosing Saudi Arabia for his first foreign trip.

“We are proud to expand our presence in the region further through the launch of our iconic Trump Tower Dubai,” Eric Trump, the former president’s son and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, said in a statement.

West’s failure to stop conflict in Middle East has angered the young: Ng Eng Hen

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen (left) speaking at the opening night of the Aspen Security Forum on July 17. 

PHOTO: MINDEF

Mike Yeo
ST Correspondent
JUL 18, 2024

SINGAPORE - The West’s role in the Middle East has incensed the young in many countries around the world, and not just among Muslims, Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said at a security forum in the United States.

It risks radicalising another generation of would-be terrorists in Gaza and elsewhere, he added, pointing out that America also risks losing political support across the world.

Dr Ng made these comments on July 17 at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, during a chat with editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy magazine Ravi Agarwal.


The Defence Minister was responding to a question about what the mood was like among Muslims in Singapore and its neighbouring countries over the war in Gaza.

Dr Ng also touched on US-China relations and China’s actions in Asia, where he called its assertiveness in the South China Sea “bad foreign policy”, and that it will have to find a way to undo it.

The Aspen Security Forum is a national security and foreign policy conference for professionals and officials in these fields.

Anger over Gaza

On the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Dr Ng was asked about the mood among Muslims in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia about the West’s role in it.

He used one word to describe the mood – “anger”.

He added that the anger was not confined to only Muslims, and was also prevalent among the young in many countries, including Singapore, who are particularly incensed about the violence and the fact that nothing seems to be done to stop it.

And he warned that the US could lose political support along with some of its soft power in the world because of this.

The anger among the young towards the situation in the Middle East is difficult for countries to address, whether they had Muslim populations or not.

One of the effects is that it would likely have radicalised another generation of would-be terrorists in Gaza and elsewhere, said Dr Ng.

As an example, he pointed to the July 15 announcement by the Internal Security Department (ISD) that two people in Singapore, including a 14-year-old boy, were issued restriction orders after they were found to be self-radicalised.

Dr Ng added the wider issue for the Middle East is that the Gaza conflict has made it difficult for the more progressive Arab states to resume ties with Israel as they seek to balance their interest against Iran.

He noted that the Abraham Accords – bilateral agreements the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed separately with Israel to normalise relations between the countries – have likely been upended as a result.

Bad foreign policy decision

Asked for his observations on China and its perspective on the world and how that affects its actions, Dr Ng said a lot of how it has acted over the past three decades makes sense, given its position.

For example, the extensive building of military facilities – including airbases and harbours on the reclaimed islands in the South China Sea, which have since been used to support its military and paramilitary forces – makes perfect strategic sense.

“From their point of view, (they would have said,) ‘If I could do it, I would’, and they did”, said Dr Ng.

But he called this a bad foreign policy choice by China, even though it has allowed the Chinese to move forward their defence line several hundred kilometres forward of its land borders, despite an international arbitral tribunal ruling that China could not claim any territory or waters beyond beyond some of its geographical features.

The 2016 ruling was the result of a case brought on by the Philippines, a rival claimant to the ownership of part of the islands and reefs of the South China Sea, to determine the status of the islands and features under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Dr Ng also revealed that in his private conversations with the Chinese, they had said that China is not claiming all of the waters and features in the South China Sea, although this ran counter to their public pronouncements.

He was likely referring to the nine-dash line on Chinese maps of the South China Sea which underpins China’s claim to the ownership of up to 90 per cent of the disputed waters.

“How to roll back (the claims) is something that they (China) need to deal with,” he said.

OPINION

US Policy Towards the Gaza Crisis has been an Absolute Failure at Virtually Every Level

By Mouin Rabbani

Credit: UNOCHA A mosque in Gaza City lies in ruins.

MONTREAL, Canada, Jul 18 2024 (IPS) - Usama bin Laden once claimed that the seeds of 9/11 were planted in 1982 as he watched the scenes of mass slaughter emerging out of Beirut’s Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps, the bloody conclusion of that summer’s US-supported Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

Either Bin Laden’s statement was accurate, or he recognized that appealing to the widespread outrage generated by Western support for Israel’s serial atrocities was the most effective way to generate popular and organizational support for his extremist project.

Bin Laden’s successors are no doubt doing everything they can to capture similar outrage throughout the region about Israel’s genocidal onslaught against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. But they will encounter significantly greater challenges deploying it for their own purposes.

The difference between 2024 and 1982 is the overwhelming evidence of popular Western rejection of the policies of their governments. In public opinion polls, in mass demonstrations easily rivalling those organised against the illegal 2003 Anglo-American invasion of Iraq, in the numerous campus encampments, and, as the recent Letter of Dissent shows, extending even to government bureaucracies and political appointees.

The distinction between ruler and ruled, government and governed, has rarely been more clearly exposed.

The Letter of Dissent makes indisputably clear that US policy towards the present crisis has been an absolute failure at virtually every level. Not only has it failed to achieve any of its objectives and further consolidate Western hegemony in the Middle East, but it has made the US government directly and actively complicit in the genocide currently before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

As the signatories note, the US is “wilfully” violating not only international laws that are binding upon Washington, but is similarly and knowingly violating US domestic law in its fanatic determination to see Israel’s mass atrocities through to the bitter end.

Tellingly, and quite accurately, they also point out that the Biden administration’s determination to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his ultra-rightist, annexationist government has led to the suppression of basic constitutional freedoms within the United States.

That campaign, which has involved Ivy League presidents being forced to resign, students and faculty punished for condemning a foreign state, journalists losing their jobs, and much else, has far exceeded anything observed during the US wars against Vietnam, Afghanistan, or Iraq.

Calling for the destruction of the United States is, it seems, constitutionally protected speech, but this right that does not extend to calling for the dismantling of a genocidal, supremacist regime located thousands of miles away.

Civil servants, even senior ones, generally have at best marginal influence on policy, particularly in a plutocracy like the United States. In the current context, where US Middle East policy is the personal preserve of Biden, Blinken, Sullivan, McGurk, and very few others, their influence is non-existent.

This explains why the signatories felt they were left with no option other than to resign. To have done otherwise would have made them complicit in their government’s policies, including its participation in Israeli crimes and ceaseless efforts to ensure Israeli impunity for atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The moral and political choice they have made, which must have been agonizingly difficult and exceptionally simple in equal proportion, is one to be admired.

Mouin Rabbani is Co-Editor of Jadaliyya, Non-Resident Fellow with the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS), and Non-Resident Fellow at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN).

IPS UN Bureau

 F FOR FAIL

US military ends Gaza floating aid pier mission

By David Gritten, BBC News
Centcom
The US military said more than 9,000 tonnes of aid were delivered via the floating pier over two months


The US military has ended its mission to operate a temporary floating pier to deliver more aid to the Gaza Strip, after it was beset by weather, technical and security problems.

Supplies from Cyprus would now by shipped by US vessels to the Israeli port of Ashdod and then transported by lorry to northern Gaza via an Israeli-controlled crossing, the deputy head of Central Command said.

Vice-Adm Brad Cooper insisted the pier had enabled a “surge” in aid deliveries, noting that more than 9,000 tonnes had been delivered over two months.

However, it was operational for only about 20 days and had been out of action since 28 June because of bad weather.

The UN and other humanitarian organisations have said the total delivered via the pier represents a tiny fraction of the aid required by the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza. They say 500 lorries of aid and commercial supplies - equivalent to 10,000 tonnes - are needed daily.

They have also consistently stated - and the US has acknowledged - that the most effective and efficient way to get aid into Gaza is through land routes.

Adm Cooper told reporters that the pier mission had been a "historically unprecedented operation to deliver aid into an active combat zone without any US boots on the ground”.

"Our assessment is that the temporary pier has achieved its intended effect to surge a very high volume of aid into Gaza and ensure that aid reaches the civilians in Gaza in a quick manner," he said.

He also argued that the mission had been cost-effective, saying it had cost less than the initial estimate of $230m (£177m).

The admiral said Israel was fully supportive of the US decision to end the pier mission and “transition” to the port of Ashdod, which is only 30km (19 miles) from northern Gaza.

Sonali Korde of USAid’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance said: “The key challenge we have right now in Gaza is around the insecurity and lawlessness that is hampering the distribution once aid gets into Gaza and to the crossing points.”

US says Gaza's floating aid pier to shut down soon

US Gaza pier knocked out of action by heavy seas

Can US floating pier improve Gaza’s critical aid pipeline?

When the pier began operating in mid-May, US official suggested it would remain in place until August or September.

But after stormy weather in late May, four landing craft involved in the operation broke loose and were washed ashore. Parts of the pier also had to be taken to Ashdod for repairs.

The whole structure had to be moved to Ashdod three more times over the next month because of bad weather and maintenance before the US military decided to end the mission.

The US was also forced to deny what it said were fake social media reports that Israel had used the pier for a hostage rescue mission in central Gaza on 8 June.

However, resulting security concerns led the UN World Food Programme to stop collecting aid from the holding area next to the pier, leading to thousands of pallets of supplies building up. Eventually, contractors were hired to move the aid to warehouses so it would not spoil.

Last week, US President Joe Biden expressed disappointment with the pier mission, saying: “I was hopeful that would be more successful.”

Mr Biden announced that the pier would be constructed in March, in response to a UN-backed assessment which warned that famine was “imminent” in northern Gaza.

The latest assessment, from the end of June, said the available evidence did not indicate a famine was occurring there, citing an increase in the amount of food and other aid allowed in.

However, it warned that 495,000 people across Gaza were still facing “catastrophic levels” of hunger and that a “high risk” of famine would persist as long as the war between Israel and Hamas continued and humanitarian access was restricted.

UN officials blame the situation on Israeli military restrictions on aid deliveries, the continuing hostilities and the breakdown of law and order.

Israel insists that there are no limits to the amount of aid that can be delivered into and across Gaza and blames UN agencies for failing to distribute supplies. It also accuses Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.

Israel-Hamas conflict: What went wrong with US military's Gaza floating aid pier

The US officially shuts down the floating pier

Web Desk Updated: July 18, 2024

(File) The image shows the US military and Israel Defence Forces placing the Trident Pier on the coast of Gaza Strip | AP

The Gaza’s floating aid pier, which was constructed at a cost of around $230m, has been formally shut down by the US military. The floating pier, installed in May this year, ceased to function in June. With the floating aid pier shutting down, now the focus has shifted to Israel’s Ashdod Port.

When US President Joe Biden announced the flagship scheme in March, voices of dissent had erupted. The Republicans criticised it as a “political stunt” by Biden. Many experts also were sceptical regarding the geographical pattern of the region.

US military was forced to end its efforts to ship humanitarian aid to Palestinians via the floating pier due to challenging weather conditions and security problems. In late May, stormy weather that hit the region destroyed four small landing craft that was used in the operation. Later, the military took the decision to shift the pier to Ashdod Port.

Though the pier was re-anchored on June 19, operations paused again for less than a week.

When the floating pier was constructed, Biden had said that it would “enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.”

Around 1,000 US troops were deployed to establish the pier. The pier was operational for about 20 days and more than 20 million aid was delivered before it ended its operations.

According to US officials, the pier has been a success in delivering badly needed food aid to the territory.

“The maritime surge mission involving the pier is complete. So there’s no more need to use the pier,” Navy Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the deputy commander of US Central Command, told a news briefing.

Cooper also added that at least 5 million pounds of aid, which are on ships or either in Cyprus, will be going to Ashdod in the coming days, he added.

“Our assessment is that the temporary pier has achieved its intended effect to surge a very high volume of aid into Gaza and ensure that aid reaches the civilians in Gaza in a quick manner,” Cooper said.

Cooper said the United States had so far delivered more than 1 million pounds of aid through Ashdod. “We look forward to millions more pounds of aid going through that pathway,” he said.

He added that it was due to rough seas, the aid supply had moved to Ashdod port. The UN World Food Programme also paused operations at the pier in June because of security concerns, causing aid to pile up on the Gaza shore.

Israel has bombed 8 schools in the Gaza Strip in the past 10 days, says UNRWA head

July 18, 2024 

Palestinians inspect a damaged school after Israeli fighter jets hit United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school, killing and injuring many in Nuseirat Refugee Camp of Deir al-Balah, Gaza on July 15, 2024 [Hassan Jedi/Anadolu Agency]


The Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Wednesday that Israel has bombed at least eight schools in Gaza in the past ten days, six of which belong to the agency.

“An almost daily occurrence…” said Philippe Lazzarini on X. “The war robbed the girls and boys in #Gaza of their childhood and education.”

Schools, he added, must never be used for fighting or military purposes by any party to the conflict. “Schools are not a target. The blatant and constant disregard of international humanitarian law continues unabated. All rules of war have been broken in #Gaza.”

The UNRWA chief reiterated his demand for an immediate ceasefire. “Losing our common humanity must not become the new norm,” Lazzarini added.

The post was accompanied by pictures showing the destruction caused to an UNRWA school as a result of Israeli bombing. The school was targeted despite it being crowded with displaced Palestinians who took refuge in the building.

The occupation army has targeted UNRWA schools and other facilities from the very beginning of its military offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza, in clear violation of international humanitarian laws and conventions. At least 190 UN staff have been killed by Israel since last October alone.