WAR CRIMINAL RHETORIC

Israel’s Ben-Gvir renews call to kill Palestinian detainees, restrict movement in West Bank

Israel’s national security minister calls for occupying more Palestinian lands

Khaled Yousef |01.09.2024 - TRT/AA


JERUSALEM

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir renewed his call Sunday for restricting the movement of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and advocated for the killing of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.

In a post on his X account, Ben-Gvir called for “increasing the number of military checkpoints in the West Bank and halting the movement of Palestinians on its streets.”

His call followed the death of three police officers in a shooting attack near Hebron in the southern West Bank early Sunday.

"The right of Israelis to live takes precedence over the freedom of movement of Palestinian Authority residents," Ben-Gvir said as he inspected the site of the attack.

The extremist minister also called for adding the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners to the agenda of the Israeli security cabinet meeting on Sunday.

While calling for occupying more Palestinian lands and establishing a Jewish-only settlement in Gaza, Ben-Gvir accused the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority of “inciting terrorism and paying salaries to those who kill Jews.”

His call came as Israel continued a large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank, killing at least 26 Palestinians, arresting dozens, and inflicting huge financial losses on the territory.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 676 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 5,600 injured and 10,400 others detained in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala

Finland slams Israel's forced eviction of Palestinians in West Bank as against 'international law'

'We are concerned by the increased violence in the West Bank and are monitoring the situation closely,' says Finnish Foreign Ministry

Leila Nezirevic |30.08.2024 - TRT/AA

Forces block medical team to enter of the area as they patrol the streets and avenues of the refugee camp in Jenin, West Bank on August 31, 2024.

LONDON

The Finnish Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned Israel's military assault on the occupied West Bank, saying forced evictions of Palestinians "are against international law."

The escalation of Israeli military offensives in Jenin is exacerbating an already fragile situation, it said.

“The expansion of settlements as well as the alarmingly increased settler violence and forced evictions of Palestinians are against international law and run counter to international efforts to de-escalate the situation,” the Foreign Ministry responded to Anadolu's questions via email.

The ministry’s comments come after Israel faced a backlash from European Union and US, with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell saying on Thursday that he will urge all 27 member states in the bloc to support sanctions against Israeli ministers accused of spreading hatred toward Palestinians.

“We are concerned by the increased violence in the West Bank and are monitoring the situation closely. We urge all parties to de-escalate the situation and refrain from provocative actions and statements.

“The EU has adopted sanctions against violent settlers and is providing an emergency financial support package of 400 million euros to address the Palestinian Authority’s financial needs and to support its reform agenda,” the ministry said.

On Wednesday, the Israeli army began military raids in the occupied territories, described as the largest attack on the West Bank since 2002.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Israel launched its brutal war on Gaza Strip on Oct. 7.

More than 40,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, while over 93,000 others are injured, according to Gaza’s local health authorities.

Nearly eleven months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on 6 May.

UN rapporteur rejects Israel's military offensive in West Bank as 'self-defense,' citing ICJ ruling

'This claim has no validity,' Francesca Albanese says in response to Israel's attempt to justify its military offensive in occupied West Bank which claimed 19 Palestinian lives as of Friday

Mohammad Sio |30.08.2024 -



ISTANBUL

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories on Friday sharply criticized Israel for attempting to justify its military offensive in the occupied West Bank, saying Tel Aviv cannot claim self-defense for its occupation and actions in the region.

Since early Wednesday, the Israeli army has been conducting a large-scale and ongoing military offensive in the cities of Tulkarm, Jenin, and Tubas in the northern West Bank, which is the most extensive since 2002.

As of Friday afternoon, at least 19 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military assaults.

"Israel claims that what it is doing in the West Bank is justified under the law of self-defense," Francesca Albanese said in a statement on X, rejecting it with the words: "This claim has no validity."

She highlighted that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled 20 years ago that Israel could not invoke self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter to justify constructing the Wall in occupied Palestinian territory.

Albanese further highlighted that the ICJ recently reaffirmed its position, indicating that “Israel’s very presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is itself unlawful.”

She argued that Israel’s occupation could not be justified by any claim of “self-defense,” adding, “As an ongoing unlawful use of force, Israel’s occupation of the occupied Palestinian territories cannot be justified by any claim of self-defense.”

The UN official condemned Israel's manipulation of international law, saying, “Israel’s perversion of the law on self-defense must be recognized for what it is: a brazen attempt to provide an imprimatur of ‘legality’ to the maintenance of its unlawful aggression against the territorial integrity and political independence of the State of Palestine.”

Albanese stressed that Israel withdraw from the occupied territories to achieve genuine security, adding, “If Israel truly wants to achieve its claimed security, the best and most obvious way to do that would be to cease its colonization of another people’s land, withdraw from all of it, and make appropriate reparation for damage caused (as requested by the ICJ), while being sure to apologize to its victims on the way out.”

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 673 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 5,400 others injured, and over 10,300 arrested in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

UN rights office condemns Israeli minister’s call to displace people from West Bank
These statements only serve to escalate already ‘very dire situation,’ says spokesperson

Beyza Binnur Donmez |30.08.2024 - 

Israeli army patrols at the streets during raid on Nur Shams near the city of Tulkarm after launching a large-scale military offensive in the West Bank, on August 29, 2024.


GENEVA

The UN human rights office on Friday condemned an Israeli minister’s call to displace people from the West Bank, saying these statements only serve to escalate an already “very dire situation.”


“On these statements that have been made by some officials that may amount to incitement to commit human rights violations, we roundly condemn these statements,” spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a UN briefing in Geneva in response to Anadolu’s question.

On Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for applying Gaza-style measures in the northern West Bank, including temporary evacuations of Palestinians, amid a major military operation in the area, the largest in two decades.

“These can only serve to escalate an already very dire situation,” Shamdasani said.


She said that the office is “extremely concerned” about the “catastrophic” situation.


Recalling the “long-standing impunity” in the West Bank for violations that have been committed against Palestinians, she stressed that there has been settler violence, violence by Israeli security forces, hundreds of arbitrary detentions of Palestinians, however “very little accountability.”


“What that does is it creates a climate of impunity,” she said.

“So, the situation was already very, very volatile, and what we've seen in the past few days is a real deepening of this, as we said, catastrophic situation,” she warned.

“We've seen raids, we've seen killings. We've also seen damage to infrastructure, essential infrastructure, including water supplies of the communities that reside there,” Shamdasani said.


She called on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law as the occupying power.


“Israeli security forces use of airstrikes and other military weapons and tactics violates human rights norms and standards applicable to such law enforcement operations, and any unlawful killings must be thoroughly independently investigated, and those responsible must be held to account,” she said.

West Bank assault: ‘Israel accelerating ethnic cleansing for absolute and permanent control’

Israeli government has very clearly spelled out that its overarching goal is the annexation of the West Bank, says political analyst Nour Odeh

Rabia Ali |30.08.2024 -  TRT/AA

Israeli forces detain a Palestinian a raid on Al-Faria Refugee Camp near the city of Tubas, West Bank on August 28, 2024.

‘The whole of the West Bank is on the Israeli right-wing radar. They want it all,’ says OdehWe are seeing the ‘Gaza-fication’ of the West Bank and an attempt to turn Gaza into the West Bank, says Palestinian analyst‘Israel’s war on the Palestinians is comprehensive. It doesn’t distinguish between Palestinians depending on where they live,’ says Odeh

ISTANBUL

Israel is carrying out a major military assault on the occupied West Bank, just miles away from Gaza, where its deadly offensive has already killed and wounded over 135,000 Palestinians.

Since Wednesday, hundreds of Israeli soldiers, armored vehicles, drones, fighter jets and bulldozers have been deployed in northern parts of the West Bank, particularly targeting the cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas.

This is Israel’s largest military operation in the West Bank in more than two decades. Its forces have killed and wounded scores of Palestinians in the past two days, adding to the over 6,000 casualties in the occupied territory since the Gaza war began on Oct. 7.

They have also destroyed several Palestinian homes and properties, along with critical infrastructure including roads, water and sewage networks, and electricity poles.

For Palestinian political analyst Nour Odeh, the major escalation in the West Bank is a clear reflection of an Israeli mentality seeking “absolute and complete control that is permanent.”

“It is very clearly spelled out in the Israeli government program, which says that the overarching goal of the government is the annexation of the West Bank,” Odeh told Anadolu.

She dismissed Israeli attempts at “framing this assault as a response to escalating attacks by Palestinian fighters.”

“Strategically and realistically, this is not about combating Palestinian resistance, which is nominal in the West Bank. It is extremely limited and with very little effect on Israel per se, in comparison with what is happening in Gaza,” she said.

‘Accelerating steps to facilitate ethnic cleansing’

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has called on the army to replicate measures it has taken to devastating effect in Gaza, saying in a Wednesday statement that the West Bank operation involves the “temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents.”

“When you hear the Israeli foreign minister saying … we need to strike the way we’re fighting in Gaza, that gives an idea of the mindset that is operating or making these decisions,” said Odeh.

“That’s why you see the Israeli army obstructing paramedics, surrounding hospitals, deciding who gets treatment ... destroying civilian infrastructure, cutting off water and electricity, and so on. You see a ‘Gaza-fication’ almost, if you will, of the West Bank.

“In the reverse, there is an attempt to turn Gaza into the West Bank … by dissecting it, by fragmenting it, obstructing movement from north to south, and by talking about the appointment of a military ruler.”

What Israel is doing in the West Bank, she said, is “accelerating steps to facilitate ethnic cleansing, to drive out as many Palestinians as possible from their homes and communities.”

“They (Israeli officials) do not mince their words about that, and this does not target one area specifically in the West Bank. The whole of the West Bank is on the Israeli right-wing radar. They want it all,” she said, reiterating that their objective is “ultimate control.”

“Militarily, Israel has supreme rule over the West Bank, over the movement of Palestinians, the movement of goods in Palestine, the supply of water. They control every aspect of life,” Odeh asserted.

Israel’s current escalation is “paving the way to not just decimating heavily populated population centers like Tulkarem, Jenin and others, but also facilitating the reconstruction of settlements in those areas, especially in Jenin, where there are very few settlements,” she added.

All of this is happening on “the heels of two record-breaking years of Israeli violence in the West Bank, breaking the record of the number of Palestinians killed, the number of homes demolished, the numbers of land confiscated,” she continued.

Since Oct. 7, Israel has killed at least 670 Palestinians and wounded nearly 5,400 others in the West Bank, apart from arresting some 10,300 more.

Expansion of settlements, which are all illegal under international law, has also been ramped up, along with the seizure of Palestinian land.

Last month, Israel approved the largest land seizure in the occupied West Bank since the Oslo Accords, with Israeli anti-settlement watchdog PeaceNow warning that “the year 2024 marks a peak in the extent of declarations of state land.”

“They’ve taken over more land than they’ve done since the beginning of the Oslo process,” said Odeh, a former spokesperson of the Palestinian Authority.

“It really speaks to the program of the Israeli government and what it intends to do, which is to completely take over the West Bank … For that complete takeover, it considers settlement construction and expansion to be a high national goal.”

‘Irreversible and complete colonization’

​​​​​​​In a landmark advisory opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The ICJ is also separately evaluating Israel’s actions in Gaza, a case brought by South Africa, to determine whether they constitute a genocide. The court’s deliberations are expected to take years to conclude.

“What is, I think, interesting and ironic at the same time about everything that is happening, is that it has pushed the highest court of the world … to not only declare that the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza is illegal, but that it must end and it must be dismantled in all its manifestations, including the military presence and the settlements, which are a war crime,” said Odeh.

“They (ICJ judges) even talk about Israeli settler attacks, and they consider it to be part of the structure of violence and the illegal structure of occupation that employs extreme violence and racism against Palestinians in order to entrench control.”

Another aspect addressed by the ICJ was the complicity of countries and their obligation “to stop aiding or abetting, in any way, the continued illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and the continuous military assault on Palestinians, which is a necessary component of maintaining this occupation,” she added.

Odeh said that while some countries might be saying the rights things now instead of staying silent or completely buying into the Israeli narrative, the crucial thing remains concrete action to pressure Israel.

“As long as there are no actions, the right actions, Israel will not feel any pressure to cease its military assault in the West Bank, to stop its genocide in Gaza, to rein in the settlers, to stop taking over land,” she said.

“This will continue on the path that the Israeli right has started, which is irreversible and complete colonization.”

Odeh also urged caution against Israel’s “masterful attempt at fragmenting the picture.”

“I think it’s important to call out what the overall Israeli actions are, and to always remember that Gaza and the West Bank are not two separate worlds or two separate entities,” she said.

“Israel’s war on the Palestinians is comprehensive. It doesn’t distinguish between Palestinians depending on where they live. We are equal targets in the Israeli right-wing mind, and everybody is a target for ethnic cleansing and forced displacement, because the ultimate goal of this government, and of the political reality that it represents, is Palestine without the Palestinians.”

JENIN IS A CITY NOT A CAMP

Israel destroyed 70% of Jenin's streets, infrastructure, says municipality

'Water has been cut off from 80% of the city and the entire camp due to the destruction of networks,' says Jenin Municipality official

Awad Rjoob |01.09.2024 - 



RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army destroyed about 70% of the streets and infrastructure in Jenin city in the northern West Bank during its ongoing military offensive for the fourth consecutive day, the local municipality said on Saturday.

“The occupying (Israeli) forces have demolished more than 70% of the city's streets completely (...) to a depth of approximately one to one-and-half meters, which has led to the destruction of water and sewage networks, as well as communication and electricity cables, in the areas that were demolished, initially estimated to cover 20 kilometers,” the Palestine news agency Wafa reported, citing Bashir Matahen, the director of Public Relations and Media at the Jenin Municipality.

He noted that “water has been cut off from 80% of the city and the entire camp due to the destruction of networks and the inability of technical teams to reach these networks to redirect them to other areas.”

Matahen continued: “The municipality teams are unable to access the damaged network areas despite their attempts, during which they were subjected to gunfire from the occupying (Israeli) forces.”

He also pointed out that the Israeli forces “have burned parts of the central vegetable market in the city, and initial estimates of the damage to the market and its commercial shops indicate that they have suffered severe damage, in addition to the destruction of hundreds of homes and vehicles.”

On Wednesday, the Israeli army launched its largest military offensive since 2002 in the cities of Tulkarm and Jenin, as well as in the Al-Fara refugee camp near Tubas, killing 22 Palestinians, according to Palestinian figures.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in over 40,600 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 675 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 5,400 injured, and over 10,300 arrested in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala

Two Israelis killed in West Bank shooting amid deadly Jenin raids

Man and woman killed, third man critically injured in checkpoint shooting near Tarqumiyah, south of Hebron.

Hebron shooting [Screengrab/Al Jazeera]

Published On 1 Sep 2024

At least two Israeli security personnel have been killed and another injured in a shooting at a checkpoint in Hebron, as Israel brought reinforcements in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin as part of its ongoing deadly raids.

The shooting took place as the Israeli army continued its deadly assault on Jenin for a fifth consecutive day killing at least 24 Palestinians. Israel has killed more than 500 people as it intensified operations in the West Bank since it launched war on Gaza on October 7. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 11 months.

Israeli national emergency service Magen David Adom said on Sunday that a man and a woman were killed and that a third man in his 50s was being transferred to hospital in critical condition following the attack near the Tarqumiyah checkpoint, south of Hebron.

The Israeli army said it was conducting raid on the Palestinian village of Idna close to the scene of the shooting.

The Maariv newspaper reported that the three casualties were policemen working at the Hebron station who were shot at from a Palestinian car driving past.

“Attacks so far have been centered around the northern West Bank and in the Jordan Valley area and now we see more of them coming from the south of the West Bank,” Al Jazeera’s Niba Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, said.

Meanwhile, Israeli siege on the city of Jenin has left Palestinians with no food, water, electricity and internet access.

Israeli forces stormed northern cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas backed by tankers, drones and bulldozers as part of its largest operations in the West Bank since the second intifada in 2002.

The Israeli army maintains that its intent is to target armed groups there to prevent future attacks. Gun battles have been reported in several locations and Hamas said at least 10 of its fighters, including a top commander, were killed this week.

However, the trail of destruction the Israeli army left behind from areas it has withdrawn from, including Tulkarem and Tubas, have raised concerns among residents that the army’s intent is to extend the war in Gaza into the West Bank and to push Palestinians out of their homes.

The Israeli army has severely destroyed infrastructures, water pipelines, and the electricity system.

Polio vaccine campaign begins in Gaza a day before fighting is expected to pause

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

September 1, 2024 

i


A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

JERUSALEM--A campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio and prevent the spread of the virus has begun, the Health Ministry said Saturday, as Palestinians in the Hamas-governed enclave and the occupied West Bank reeled from Israel's military offensives.

Meanwhile, Israel's military late Saturday in a terse announcement said it had “located a number of bodies during combat” in Gaza. The army was trying to identify the bodies, including whether they were hostages, but said the process would take several hours. “We ask to refrain from spreading rumors,” it said. There were no further details.

A small number of children in Gaza received vaccine doses a day before the large-scale rollout and limited pauses in the fighting agreed to by Israel and the U.N. World Health Organization. Associated Press journalists saw about 10 children receiving doses at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

“There must be a cease-fire so that the teams can reach everyone targeted by this campaign,” said Dr. Yousef Abu Al-Rish, Gaza's deputy health minister, describing scenes of sewage running through crowded tent camps. Polio is spread through fecal matter.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in a statement said “Israel will allow a humanitarian corridor only” and “areas will be established that will be safe for administering the vaccines for a few hours.”

Israel said the vaccination program would continue through Sept. 9 and last eight hours a day. It will allow health workers to administer vaccines with the aim of reaching some 640,000 Palestinian children.

The vaccination campaign comes after the first polio case in 25 years in Gaza was discovered this month. Doctors concluded a 10-month-old had been partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus after not being vaccinated due to fighting. Most people who contract the disease do not experience symptoms, and those who do usually recover in a week or so. But there is no cure.

“I was terrified and waiting for the vaccination to arrive and for everyone to receive it,” said Amal Shaheen, whose daughter received a dose Saturday.

Healthcare workers in Gaza have warned of the potential for a polio outbreak for months. The territory's humanitarian crisis has deepened during the war that broke out after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants.

The ministry said hospitals received 89 dead on Saturday, including 26 who died in an overnight Israeli bombardment, and 205 wounded — one of the highest daily tallies in months.

Meanwhile, parts of the West Bank remained on edge as Israel's military continued its large-scale military campaign, the deadliest since the Israel-Hamas war began.

Two car bombs exploded in Gush Etzion, a bloc of Israeli settlements. Israel's military killed both attackers after the explosions in a compound in Karmei Tzur and at a gas station, Israel's military said. The military later said a soldier died Saturday during “operational activities” in Jenin, without details, and another was severely injured.

Hamas did not claim the attackers as its fighters but called it a “heroic operation." The militant group said earlier this month after a bombing in Tel Aviv it would continue such attacks.

Israel continued its large-scale raid — including destruction of infrastructure, airstrikes and gunbattles — into urban refugee camps in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarem, in the northern West Bank. Israel's incursion started Tuesday, causing alarm among the international community that the war might widen beyond Gaza.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders in a statement said it was alarmed by the scale and intensity of Israel's incursion and asserted that Israeli forces have “obstructed access to health facilities and blocked — and even targeted — ambulances.”

Israel's military on Saturday said 23 militants had been killed since the incursion, including 14 in the Jenin area.

Some people fled Jenin. Holding a baby, Oroba al-Shalabi said Israeli gunfire had pelted her windows.

“We began screaming that we had small children, but they (the Israeli soldiers) didn’t respond at first. The more we screamed, the more they shot at the house, shattering the TV and the windows around us,” she said.

The family cowered in their kitchen until soldiers entered, she said, separating women and children from the men and searching everyone’s phones before letting her flee.

Israel has described the West Bank operation as a strategy to prevent attacks on Israeli civilians, which have increased during the war in Gaza including near settlements that the international community largely considers illegal. The Palestinian Health Ministry noted a surge in Palestinian deaths by Israeli forces, with at least 663 in the West Bank since the war began.

In central Gaza, Israeli airstrikes hit a multi-story building housing displaced people in and around Nuseirat, a built-up refugee camp, in Khan Younis and in Gaza City, officials at area hospitals said. The Health Ministry announced a “repeated attack” on al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City. There were no immediate details, and the Israeli military didn’t comment.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to mediate a cease-fire that would see the remaining hostages released. But the talks have repeatedly bogged down as Netanyahu has vowed “total victory” over Hamas and the militant group has demanded a lasting cease-fire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory.

Israelis gathered again Saturday night to rally against the government and urge a deal to bring remaining hostages home.

“Why are they still in Gaza?” the crowd chanted.

Several Palestinians killed, injured in Israeli airstrike near Baptist Hospital in Gaza

'An Israeli airstrike targeted the vicinity of the Baptist Hospital, resulting in casualties and causing damage to the building,' medical source tells Anadolu

Nour Abuaisha |01.09.2024 -

Israel carried out airstrike despite UN warning of potential consequences if military offensive on Gaza continues during polio vaccination campaign

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Several Palestinians were killed and injured in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday evening that targeted the area surrounding the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City but also caused damage to the health facility.

Israeli fighter jets carried out bombing hours after the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the launch of a polio vaccination campaign in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

“An Israeli airstrike targeted the vicinity of the Baptist Hospital, resulting in casualties and causing damage to the building,” a medical source told Anadolu.

The attack caused fear and panic among residents and hospital staff, eyewitnesses also told Anadolu. The injured were later evacuated.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Civil Defense said in a statement that “martyrs and wounded fell as a result of an Israeli airstrike on land adjacent to the laboratory section of the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City.”

Israel carried out the airstrike despite the UN warning of potential consequences if a military offensive on Gaza continues during the polio vaccination campaign.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in nearly 40,700 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 94,000 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala

In Malawi, a budding musician defies old age, discrimination

September 01, 2024 3:00 AM
By Lameck Masina
VOA

Jetu, wearing clothing designed by House of Xandria, poses during a World Elder Abuse Awareness Day event in Blantyre, Malawi, on July 5, 2024.

Blantyre, Malawi —

A 72-year-old woman has shot to music stardom in Malawi, challenging societal norms in a country where elderly people are often abused, tortured or even killed over false accusations of witchcraft.

Christina Malaya, now popularly known by her stage name, Jetu, is breaking the internet with her amapiano-style tracks.

Jetu started her music career last year, at the age of 71 — soon after the death of her husband, in central Malawi, where she was staying.

Relatives suggested she go to Blantyre to stay with grandchildren. Those grandchildren were “doing music,” she said, and asked her to join them as a way to overcome her loneliness and boredom.

Under the management of her grandson, musician Blessings Kazembe, popularly known as Emmu Dee, Jetu has released three powerful singles: “Wakalamba Wafuna,” “Chakwaza” and “Simunatchene.”



Her fans and admirers have crowned her the Malawian queen of amapiano — a subgenre of South African house music — which dominates the music scene in Malawi.

Jetu is excited that music has allowed her to go places she never dreamed of visiting, including Johannesburg and Cape Town when she performed in South Africa in June.

Her talent has earned her recognition as an ambassador for elderly people in Malawi, helping to reduce attacks and killings. Older people in Malawi are faced with attacks and killings on suspicion of practicing witchcraft even though Malawi law does not recognize witchcraft.

Andrew Kavala, executive director of the Malawi Network of Older Persons' Organizations, told VOA that in 2023, his organization recorded 25 killings and 87 cases of violence, including setting fire to homes and assault. That was up from 2022’s 17 deaths.

So far in 2024, he said, 17 elderly people have been killed and 89 have been abused.

Kavala said his organization chose Jetu as an ambassador for elderly Malawians because of her strong appeal to youth, who studies show make 86% of the witchcraft accusations.

“We are trying to explore means through which Jetu can use her platform to convey the message to the youth, ‘Stop bullying, stop abusing elderly persons,’” he said.

Malawi’s youthful and renowned fashion designer Xandria Kawanga, owner of the House of Xandria fashion brand, has started to dress Jetu for events.

“Most people at her age have already given up or they feel they cannot do anything, entertainment or arts, because they are old now,” Kawanga said “So, I thought one of the best ways [to help] is to complement her art and to give her that push.”

Jetu and her grandson/manager, Emmu Dee, are working to promote their new song, which has a video that was was produced this month.

57 Civilian Deaths, Including 13 Children and Six Women, as well as Six Deaths due to Torture, Documented in Syria in August 2024

01-Sep-2024


Syrian Regime Forces Commit Two Massacres in Eastern Rural Deir Ez-Zour Governorate, Killing Multiple Children and Women




Press release: (Download the full report below)

The Hague – The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) revealed in its latest report, released today, that 57 civilians were killed in Syria in August 2024, including 13 children and six women, as well as six individuals who died due to torture.

The 23-page report provides a summary of the civilian deaths that occurred in August 2024, shedding light particularly on victims who died due to torture, as well as documenting the massacres perpetrated by the parties to the conflict and controlling forces in Syria which the SNHR team was able to document during this period. The report also outlines the most notable incidents that took place during the month, in addition to summarizing the action taken by SNHR in regard to the issue of extrajudicial killings in Syria, as well as providing details of the attacks carried out against vital facilities during this month.

This report draws upon the constant daily monitoring of news and developments by SNHR’s team, and on information supplied by our extensive network of dozens of varied sources, as well as on the analysis of a large quantity of pictures and videos.

The report emphasizes the Syrian regime’s continuing absolute failure to register the deaths of any of the hundreds of thousands of citizens it has killed since March 2011 in the civil registry’s official death records. It explains that the regime exerts absolute control over the issuance of death certificates, which are not made available to any of its victims’ families, including those of the missing and forcibly disappeared, whether these victims were killed by the Syrian regime or by other affiliated parties. The regime only allows death certificates to be issued for those who meet the narrow criteria set by itself and its security services. The report further reveals that the vast majority of victims’ families are unable to obtain death certificates from the Syrian regime, for fear of linking their name with that of a person who was detained by the regime and killed under torture, meaning that he or she was a dissident who opposed the regime, or that their loved one might be registered as a ‘terrorist’ if they are wanted by the security services; additionally, many victims’ families have been forcibly displaced outside the areas controlled by the regime.

The report further reveals that on August 10, 2022, the regime government’s Minister of Justice issued Circular No. 22 specifying the procedures for the conduct of proceedings related to registering deaths within Sharia courts. The circular included new conditions stipulating that five items of evidence must be submitted to and approved by the relevant judges in proceedings related to registration of deaths. It also requires that all relevant courts involved in death registration cases comply with the circular’s content. The circular also imposed security clearance conditions on judicial authorities to register death cases, increasing the security services’ intrusion into these legal procedures.

The report documents the killing of 57 civilians, including 13 children and six women (adult female), in August 2024 at the hands of the parties to the conflict and controlling forces in Syria. Of the 57 civilians killed during this month, 21 civilians, including six children and five women, were killed by Syrian regime forces, while Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) killed one civilian. The report adds that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) killed four civilians, including two children and one woman. Finally, 31 civilians, including five children, were killed by other parties.

As the report further reveals, Deir Ez-Zour governorate saw the highest number of civilian deaths in August, accounting for about 39 percent of the total. Of all the victims killed in Deir Ez-Zour this month, 13 were killed by regime forces. Deir Ez-Zour was followed by Daraa, which accounted for about 35 percent with 17 civilian deaths.

On the subject of deaths due to torture, the report reveals that six people were documented as dying due to torture in Syria in August 2024 at the hands of regime forces.

Moreover, the report notes that SNHR documented two massacres that were committed by regime forces in the month of August. This brings the total number of massacres documented since the start of 2024 to 11.

The report further reveals that SNHR documented at least seven attacks on vital civilian facilities in July 2024 by the parties to the conflict and controlling forces in Syria, including five attacks by regime forces, while the remaining two were carried out by all armed opposition factions/SNA.

The report additionally notes that the evidence collected by SNHR indicates that some of the attacks documented in the report were deliberately directed against civilians and civilian objects. These attacks, along with instances of indiscriminate bombardment, also resulted in the destruction of more vital facilities and other buildings. Moreover, the report notes, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the war crime of attacking civilians has been committed in many cases.

As the report also notes, the use of remote bombardment to target densely populated areas reflects a criminal mindset on the regime’s part, showing that it is intent on deliberately inflicting the greatest possible number of deaths, in clear contravention of international human rights law and flagrant violation of the Geneva IV Convention, Articles 27, 31, and 32.

The report further notes that no warnings have been given by Syrian regime forces, Russian forces, or US-led International Coalition forces before carrying out any of their attacks, as required by international humanitarian law. This has been the case since the beginning of the popular uprising in Syria, which shows an utter disregard for the lives of civilians in Syria.

Moreover, it is clear from the volume of violations, their repeated nature, and the excessive level of force used, as well as the indiscriminate manner of the bombardment and the coordinated nature of the regime’s attacks, that they must be the result of orders from the higher echelons of power in accordance with a state policy.

All armed opposition factions/SNA forces, meanwhile, have violated Security Council resolution 2139 through attacks that constitute violations of customary international humanitarian law, resulting in collateral civilian deaths and injuries.

The report calls on the UN Security Council to take additional steps following its adoption of Resolution 2254 and stresses the importance of referring the Syrian dossier to the International Criminal Court, adding that all those involved in perpetrating crimes against humanity and war crimes should be held accountable.

The report also urges all relevant United Nations agencies to make far greater efforts to provide food, medical, and humanitarian assistance in areas where fighting has ceased, and in internally displaced persons’ camps, and to follow up on payment with those states that have pledged voluntary contributions.

The report additionally calls for the implementation of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ doctrine (R2P) after all political channels have proved fruitless throughout all the agreements reached, as well as the Cessation of Hostilities statements, and Astana agreements that followed, stressing the need to resort to Chapter VII, and to implement the norm of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ doctrine, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly.

The report further recommends that the international community should work to launch projects to create maps revealing the locations of landmines and cluster munitions in all Syrian governorates. This, it notes, would facilitate the process of clearing these lethal munitions, as well as educating the population about their locations.

The report additionally calls on the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) to launch investigations into the cases included in this report and previous reports and confirms the SNHR’s willingness to cooperate and to provide further evidence and data in any such investigations, as well as calling on the commission to focus on the issue of landmines and cluster munitions in its next report.

The report also stresses that the Syrian regime must stop the indiscriminate shelling and targeting of residential areas, hospitals, schools, and markets, as well as ending its acts of torture that have caused the deaths of thousands of Syrian citizens in detention centers and complying with UN Security Council resolutions and customary humanitarian law.

Lastly, the report reiterates SNHR’s appeal to all the parties to the conflict to provide detailed maps of the locations where they have planted landmines, especially those present in civilian locations or areas near residential communities, in addition to making several other recommendations.


Download the full report

WWIII

China comes under fire in latest South China Sea clash with Philippines

A screenshot taken from video footage shows a China Coast Guard ship colliding with the Philippine Coast Guard's BRP Teresa Magbanua near the Sabina Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Saturday. | Philippine Coast Guard / via AFP-JIJI

By Kathleen Benoza
STAFF WRITER

JAPAN TIMES
Sep 1, 2024

Beijing has come under fire from Tokyo and Washington after a China Coast Guard vessel repeatedly struck a Japanese-made Philippine Coast Guard ship over the weekend in a flash point area of the disputed South China Sea.

The clash Saturday — the fifth such incident in August between China and the Philippines — occurred at the Sabina Shoal, located around 110 nautical miles (204 kilometers) from the Philippine coast, well within Manila’s exclusive economic zone. The shoal is claimed by both Beijing and Manila despite Hainan Island — the nearest Chinese landmass — being around 1,200 km away.

The Philippines has kept the 97-meter BRP Teresa Magbanua patrol vessel in the area since April 15. The construction of the ship, a Japan-made 97-meter vessel, was partially funded by an official development assistance loan by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The Philippine ship was “directly and intentionally” struck three times by a China Coast Guard vessel, resulting in what appeared to be significant damage, images posted by Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela to his X account showed.

Tarriela stated that the Magbanua was initially surrounded in close proximity by multiple Chinese vessels, including maritime militia, and that the China Coast Guard ship had appeared to target the Magbanua in an “unprovoked” ramming while the Philippine vessel was on the move around the shoal.

The China Coast Guard said in a statement Saturday that the Magbanua had been “illegally lingering” at the Sabina Shoal — known by Beijing as Xianbin Reef and as Escoda Shoal by Manila — and added that the Philippine vessel had “weighed anchor and continued maneuvering provocatively within the lagoon of the reef.”

The statement claimed that the Chinese vessel had “lawfully issued verbal warnings and conducted monitoring and control measures” and that the Philippine vessel intentionally collided with the China Coast Guard ship.

“The responsibility lies entirely with the Philippine side,” China Coast Guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said. “We again sternly warn the Philippines to face reality and abandon illusions; the only correct course of action is for them to withdraw immediately.”

Philippine spokesman Tarriela stated that Manila has no intention of removing its vessel from the area "despite the harassment, the bullying activities and escalatory action of the Chinese coast guard."

Kazuya Endo, the Japanese ambassador to the Philippines, said in a post on his official X social media account that Tokyo — a “stakeholder” in the South China Sea — had expressed “serious concern” over the “repeated incidents” and that it “opposes any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.”



A screenshot taken from video footage shows a collision between one of its vessels and a China Coast Guard ship on Saturday, near the Sabina Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea. | Philippine Coast Guard / via AFP-JIJI

Beijing was quick to criticize Endo — who has been outspoken in his support for Manila in the South China Sea — with a spokesperson from China’s Embassy in the Philippines calling his criticisms “unprincipled” and riddled with “habitual bias.”

Chinese state-run media has lambasted Japan and the U.S. as “the real instigators behind the rising South China Sea tensions,” alleging that the two countries are attempting to “further escalate” the dispute “so that they can drag all regional countries into a united front against China.”

Beijing asserts control over nearly the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims from the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. The strategic waterway, through which $3 trillion in trade flows annually, is also thought to be abundant in oil, natural gas, and fish.

China has deployed what the Philippines says is an "excessive force" of 40 naval and coast guard vessels to the area of Sabina Shoal. This buildup aims, in part, to block the Philippines from resupplying the Magbanua. The move has heightened suspicions on both sides that the other may attempt to seize control of and build on the atoll.

China’s move to block access has not only halted Manila’s sea resupply missions but also resulted in severe damage to several vessels from collisions and water cannon attacks.

In a statement Saturday expressing its support for the Philippines, the U.S. condemned the “dangerous and escalatory actions” by Beijing “against lawful Philippine maritime operations” near Sabina Shoal, adding that China’s growing assertiveness in enforcing its claims of territorial sovereignty “threaten the freedoms of navigation and overflight of all nations.”

‘Why the loyalty check?’: Chinese-Filipinos fear prejudice fuelled by Alice Guo case, South China Sea dispute

There are 1.2 million Tsinoys or Filipinos of Chinese ancestry in the Philippines.

 ST PHOTO: MARA CEPEDA

Mara Cepeda
Philippines Correspondent
Sep 02, 2024,

MANILA – The curious case of a former Philippine town mayor who fled the country after being accused of being a Chinese spy and crime boss is stoking fears of discrimination among Chinese-Filipinos.

Locally called Chinoys or Tsinoys, Filipino nationals who are of Chinese ancestry fear that the case of former Bamban mayor Alice Guo is fanning the flames of Sinophobia amid Manila’s dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea.

Filipinos’ social media feeds have been flooded with memes and videos criticising her alleged links to the country’s online casino industry, or Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) – mostly Chinese-backed and now banned.

Filipinos were even more outraged when Guo, who is believed to be a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping, escaped from the Philippines in August despite facing multiple probes for her alleged links to crime syndicates.

Historian Meah Ang See, a Chinese-Filipino, told The Straits Times that some Tsinoys have already been experiencing what she described as microaggression from fellow Filipinos. The latter have teased them about whether they know Guo personally or have anything to do with Pogos.

Ms Ang See was formerly director of the Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran organisation, which advocates for Tsinoys’ integration into Philippine society. She is also a former president of Bahay Tsinoy, a museum on the ethnic Chinese people’s contributions to Philippine history.

“We’re not Pogos. We are living our lives as Filipinos. We definitely are Filipino citizens. We are legal. We are not involved in crime,” she added.

Some netizens mocked Guo’s accent and looks in posts about her evasive answers when she faced Filipino senators for the first time in May.

“She sounds like she works at the Shenzhen sorting centre,” one Facebook user wrote, in reference to a distribution compound in China where Filipinos’ orders from Chinese e-commerce shops are usually packed before shipment.

For Chinese-Filipino author and podcaster Cedric Cheng, comments like this indicate that some Filipinos are still unable to distinguish between Tsinoys and Chinese nationals living or working in the Philippines.

In an episode of the Now Steaming: Conversations On Tsinoy Life podcast on Aug 5, he said Guo’s case has sparked a “new wave of Sinophobia” online and could lead to “hostile interactions” against Tsinoys offline.

Ms Ang See said there are some 1.2 million Tsinoys, which is about 1 per cent of the Philippines’ total population. This tally does not include the Chinese nationals working in the Philippines, whose number is not readily available.

The Tsinoy community has contributed much to the nation’s history since the first wave of Chinese immigrants moved to Manila from Fujian province in the 1500s.

Chinese influence has since seeped through Philippine cuisine, culture and traditions. The oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594, is located in the heart of the capital Manila, drawing millions of visitors each year for its Chinese-Filipino food and Chinese New Year festivities.

Despite these rich ties, anti-Chinese sentiments have been growing among Filipinos in recent years as Beijing ramped up its aggressive actions against Philippine ships in the disputed South China Sea.

These sentiments, coupled with anger over the Guo case, have spilt over to confront some Tsinoys. Some have been asked which side they would support should war erupt between the Philippines and China over the disputed waterway.

Filipinos’ social media feeds have been flooded with memes and videos criticising former Bamban town mayor Alice Guo’s alleged links to the country’s online casino industry. She has fled the country. 

PHOTO: SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES


In the same Now Steaming podcast episode, Tsinoy broadcaster Kimberly Mas shared that her cousins were recently at a shopping mall when a male Filipino came up to them and said the “West Philippine Sea is ours” before running away.

The West Philippine Sea is Manila’s official term for the eastern parts of the South China Sea that lie within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, but China is also claiming them.

“My cousins didn’t respond. They just let it go,” said Ms Mas. “But if I were them, I would have told the guy: ‘Yeah, it is ours.’”

It is a scenario all too familiar for Tsinoys given recent tensions between the Philippines and China, said Ms Ang See.

“We’re Filipino. Why are you even asking us about loyalty? That should be automatic,” she added. “So now Tsinoys are rethinking our position in Philippine society. Are we really accepted?”

But for Dr Sidney Bata, Chinese studies programme director at Ateneo de Manila University, comments like this highlight Filipinos’ growing distrust of China, given its actions towards the Philippines in the sea dispute.

A March 2024 survey by local pollster OCTA Research showed that 91 per cent of 1,200 Filipino respondents said they distrust China, up from 58 per cent in 2022.

“I don’t think it’s racism. I think the conversations now are only having undertones of it because people are becoming distrustful (of China) first. People are angry by these things happening (in the South China Sea),” said Dr Bata.

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In recent months, China has been obstructing Philippine ships sending supplies to a World War II-era warship grounded at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. A skirmish between the China Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy in these waters in June caused one Filipino soldier to lose a thumb.

Dr Bata added that this distrust may also be rooted in the Philippines’ colonial past, having been conquered by Spain, the United States and Japan. The Filipinos’ anger is now directed at China because it has been deemed the Philippines’ modern-day aggressor.

As emotions continue to run high amid the manhunt for Guo, the crackdown on Pogos and geopolitical tensions with Beijing, Tsinoys can only hope that their countrymen would focus more on the facts when discussing these issues.

Ms Ang See said Tsinoys’ Chinese ethnic heritage should be kept out of the conversation.

“When you say that anything Chinese is now illegal, what about us Chinese-Filipinos? What about the Chinese nationals who are following our laws? It’s like you’re lumping everyone together,” she added.

“That’s what we want to separate.”