New Israel FM says Palestinian state not ‘realistic’

Update Israel’s new Foreign Minister Gideon Saar speaks during a hand over ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem on November 10, 2024. (AFP)
Israel’s new Foreign Minister Gideon Saar speaks during a hand over ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem on November 10, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 11 November 2024
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New Israel FM says Palestinian state not ‘realistic’

Israel’s new Foreign Minister Gideon Saar speaks during a hand over ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem.
  • “I don’t think this position is realistic today and we must be realistic,” the newly appointed minister said
  • A Palestinian state would be “a Hamas state,” Saar added

JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Monday rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state as a “realistic” goal, after Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas reiterated his commitment to a “sovereign” country.
“I don’t think this position is realistic today and we must be realistic,” the newly appointed minister said in response to a question about the creation of a Palestinian state in exchange for a normalization of ties between Israel and Arab countries.
The normalization drive was a part of the 2020 Abraham Accords overseen by Donald Trump, and the process could resume after the president-elect returns to the White House in January.
A Palestinian state would be “a Hamas state,” Saar added of the Palestinian militant group in Gaza with which Israel has been at war for more than a year.
Abbas, in comments carried by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, said Sunday that “security and stability” could only be achieved with the establishment of “sovereignty and independence on the land of the Palestinian state.”
The Palestinian Authority leader was speaking ahead of the 20th anniversary Monday of the death of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Abbas also reaffirmed his push for “peace, and we will continue to work to achieve it.”
As Saar spoke in Jerusalem, Arab and Muslim leaders gathered in Saudi Arabia for a summit addressing the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, where Israel is also fighting Hamas ally Hezbollah.
A draft resolution at the summit stressed “firm support” for “national rights” for the Palestinian people, “foremost among which is their right to freedom and to an independent, sovereign state.”
The war in Gaza erupted with Hamas’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year, which resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed more than 43,603 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran, began firing on Israel after the October 7 attack.
The regular cross-border exchanges escalated in late September when Israel intensified its air strikes and later sent ground troops into southern Lebanon.


Amnesty report says Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza

Amnesty report says Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza
Updated 27 sec ago
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Amnesty report says Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza

Amnesty report says Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza
THE HAGUE: Amnesty International accused the state of Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza war in a report published on Thursday, an allegation Israel angrily denied.
The London-based human rights group said it reached the conclusion after months of analysing incidents and statements of Israeli officials. Amnesty said the legal threshold for the crime had been met, in its first such determination during an active armed conflict.
The 1948 Genocide Convention, enacted in the wake of the mass murder of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust, defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".
Israel has repeatedly rejected any accusation of genocide, saying it has respected international law and has a right to defend itself after the cross-border Hamas attack from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023 that precipitated the war.
"The deplorable and fanatical organisation Amnesty International has once again produced a fabricated report that is entirely false and based on lies," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote on X.
Israel launched its air and ground war in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities across the border 14 months ago, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
"The genocidal massacre on October 7, 2023, was carried out by the Hamas terrorist organisation against Israeli citizens," Marmorstein said.
Gaza's Health Ministry says that Israel's military campaign since then has killed more than 44,500 Palestinians and injured many others.
Palestinian and U.N. officials say there are no safe areas left in Gaza, a tiny, densely populated and heavily built-up coastal territory. Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been internally displaced, some as many as 10 times.
Amnesty's report came just two weeks after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. They have both denied the allegations.

'THERE IS NO DOUBT'
Presenting the report to journalists in The Hague, Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard said the conclusion had not been taken "lightly, politically, or preferentially".
She told journalists after the presentation: "There is a genocide being committed. There is no doubt, not one doubt in our mind after six months of in-depth, focused research."
Amnesty said it concluded that Israel and the Israeli military committed at least three of the five acts banned by the 1948 Genocide Convention, namely killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about a protected group's physical destruction.
These acts were done with the intent required by the convention, according to Amnesty, which said it reviewed over 100 statements from Israeli officials.
The Israeli military accuses Hamas of planting militants within populated neighbourhoods for operational cover, which Hamas denies, while accusing Israel of indiscriminate strikes.
Callamard said Amnesty had not set out to prove genocide but after reviewing the evidence and statements collectively, she said the only conclusion was that "Israel is intending and has intended to commit genocide".
She added: "The assertion that Israel's war in Gaza aims solely to dismantle Hamas and not to physically destroy Palestinians as a national and ethnic group, that assertion simply does not stand up to scrutiny."
Amnesty urged the ICC prosecutor to investigate alleged genocide. The office of the prosecutor said in a statement that it is continuing investigations into alleged crimes committed in the Palestinian territories and is unable to provide further comment.

Syria families reunite after years as militants take Aleppo

Syria families reunite after years as militants take Aleppo
Updated 32 min 5 sec ago
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Syria families reunite after years as militants take Aleppo

Syria families reunite after years as militants take Aleppo
  • The fall of Syria’s second city, Aleppo, to Islamist-led militants has brought flight and displacement for some, but for others like Bahria Bakkur, it has led to long-awaited reunions

ALEPPO:The fall of Syria’s second city, Aleppo, to Islamist-led militants has brought flight and displacement for some, but for others like Bahria Bakkur, it has led to long-awaited reunions.
After almost a decade apart, 43-year-old Bakkur was finally able to embrace her son, separated when government forces reclaimed control of their city.
The Islamist-led militants’ lightning assault on Aleppo has revived a war that had been mostly dormant for years.
The fighting in northern Syria since last week has killed hundreds and heightened concerns for civilians, but for Bakkur, it meant being with her son again.
“I wasn’t expecting this to happen. I thought I would die before getting to see him,” said Bakkur, tears in her eyes.
She last saw her son Mohammed Jomaa, now 25 years old and a father of four, in 2016, when Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces retook Aleppo’s eastern districts after a brutal siege.
Jomaa was one of tens of thousands who had fled the city earlier in the war, only to return in recent days.
“It’s an indescribable joy,” he said. “I still can’t believe I’m back in Aleppo.”


Since leaving Aleppo, Jomaa spent several years in rebel-held Afrin, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from his family home.
“We knew that we couldn’t stay in Aleppo because we were labelled ‘terrorists’. We were trapped and had to leave Aleppo,” said Jomaa, donning a military vest and a traditional red-and-white keffiyeh scarf.
His mother said she was “counting the minutes and the hours until I see him.”
“Praise God, I’ve seen him. It’s like the entire world is smiling at me.”
In some parts of the city, the streets are quiet and residents are anxious, fearing the situation could deteriorate.
The United Nations said on Wednesday that 115,000 people had been “newly displaced across Idlib and northern Aleppo” by the fighting.
UN envoy Geir Pedersen said that the latest “developments have provoked different reactions among the Syrian people — a grave threat for some, a signal of hope for others,” urging the protection of civilians.
For Jomaa, the joy of reuniting with his family was incomplete.
He said his father was detained by regime forces after they had regained control of Aleppo in 2016, and since then, “we don’t know anything about him.”
“I only wish my dad would come back.”
Just outside the house, relatives and neighbors came to greet Jomaa upon his return, though the conversation quickly turned to the latest news from the battlefield.


Ahmed Orabi, 35, has also returned home to Aleppo, reunited with his young daughter.
Seven years ago, they fled to Idlib province, where many people were displaced to from elsewhere in Syria.
But escalating air raids had again forced Orabi’s wife to seek safety, returning to her family in Aleppo along with their daughter, Acil.
Orabi, an opposition media activist, did not want to stay far from his family and hometown for so long, but could not return so long as Aleppo was under Assad’s control.
“Coming back was like a dream,” he said.
“When the battles started, I didn’t wait. I wanted to see my daughter... I decided to go to her.”
Though “the road wasn’t completely clear,” Orabi said he made it to the neighborhood where his daughter lived.
“I called out her name” and “once I saw her, it was such a beautiful moment,” he said.
He regrets the years spent apart, but is now trying to make up for lost time.
“I didn’t know how being a father felt like — I couldn’t hug her in my arms and kiss her.”
With the family back together in Aleppo, Orabi took his daughter to a public park where they can play and create memories together.
“As a father, these are the happiest moments,” he said.


Amnesty says Israel carrying out ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Amnesty says Israel carrying out ‘genocide’ in Gaza
Updated 05 December 2024
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Amnesty says Israel carrying out ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Amnesty says Israel carrying out ‘genocide’ in Gaza
  • Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as subhuman group unworthy of human rights, says Amnesty 
  • Rights group releases 300-page report featuring satellite images showing devastation in Gaza, ground reports

THE HAGUE: Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israel of “committing genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war last year, saying a new report was a “wake-up call” for the international community.
The London-based rights organization said its findings were based on “dehumanizing and genocidal statements by Israeli government and military officials,” satellite images documenting devastation, fieldwork and ground reports from Gazans.
“Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” Amnesty chief Agnes Callamard said in a statement.
“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now,” she added.
The Palestinian group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack inside southern Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a deadly Israeli military offensive as Israeli officials vowed to crush the militants.
Israel has repeatedly and forcefully denied allegations of genocide, accusing Hamas of using the Palestinian people as human shields.
“There is absolutely no doubt that Israel has military objectives. But the existence of military objectives does not negate the possibility of a genocidal intent,” Callamard told AFP at a press conference in The Hague.
The 300-page report points to incidents where there “was no Hamas presence or any other military objectives.”
It cites 15 air strikes in Gaza between October 7, 2023 and April 20, which killed 334 civilians including 141 children, for which the group found “no evidence that any of these strikes were directed at a military objective.”
In addition to tens of thousands of deaths and physical and psychological trauma, the report also points to the conditions on the ground, where it said Palestinians are subjected to “malnutrition, hunger and diseases” and exposed to a “slow, calculated death.”
“States that transfer arms to Israel violate their obligations to prevent genocide under the convention and are at risk of becoming complicit,” Callamard added during the press conference.
Since the start of the war, at least 44,532 people have been killed in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.
Amnesty International has also announced that it will publish a report on the crimes committed by Hamas during the October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, which includes hostages killed in captivity.
Hamas also seized 251 hostages during the attack, some of whom were already dead. Of those, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli army says are dead.


Amnesty says Israel carrying out ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Amnesty says Israel carrying out ‘genocide’ in Gaza
Updated 27 min 57 sec ago
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Amnesty says Israel carrying out ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Amnesty says Israel carrying out ‘genocide’ in Gaza

THE HAGUE: Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israel of “committing genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war last year, saying a new report was a “wake-up call” for the international community.
The London-based rights organization said its findings were based on “dehumanizing and genocidal statements by Israeli government and military officials,” satellite images documenting devastation, fieldwork and ground reports from Gazans.
“Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” Amnesty chief Agnes Callamard said in a statement.
“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now,” she added.
The Palestinian group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack inside southern Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a deadly Israeli military offensive as Israeli officials vowed to crush the militants.
Israel has repeatedly and forcefully denied allegations of genocide, accusing Hamas of using the Palestinian people as human shields.
“There is absolutely no doubt that Israel has military objectives. But the existence of military objectives does not negate the possibility of a genocidal intent,” Callamard told AFP at a press conference in The Hague.
The 300-page report points to incidents where there “was no Hamas presence or any other military objectives.”
It cites 15 air strikes in Gaza between October 7, 2023 and April 20, which killed 334 civilians including 141 children, for which the group found “no evidence that any of these strikes were directed at a military objective.”
In addition to tens of thousands of deaths and physical and psychological trauma, the report also points to the conditions on the ground, where it said Palestinians are subjected to “malnutrition, hunger and diseases” and exposed to a “slow, calculated death.”
“States that transfer arms to Israel violate their obligations to prevent genocide under the convention and are at risk of becoming complicit,” Callamard added during the press conference.
Since the start of the war, at least 44,532 people have been killed in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.
Amnesty International has also announced that it will publish a report on the crimes committed by Hamas during the October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, which includes hostages killed in captivity.
Hamas also seized 251 hostages during the attack, some of whom were already dead. Of those, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli army says are dead.


Palestinians accuse Israeli forces of raiding West Bank hospital

Palestinians accuse Israeli forces of raiding West Bank hospital
Updated 05 December 2024
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Palestinians accuse Israeli forces of raiding West Bank hospital

Palestinians accuse Israeli forces of raiding West Bank hospital
  • Israeli authorities confirmed the raid in which they apprehended a Palestinian injured in an Israeli strike
  • Israelis accuse him of being ‘the third member of a terrorist cell that carried out a shooting’ at Mehola junction

NABLUS, Palestinian Territories: The Palestinian health ministry in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday condemned a raid by Israeli forces on a hospital in Nablus and the arrest of an injured patient.
Israeli authorities confirmed the raid on Wednesday evening in which they apprehended a Palestinian injured in an Israeli strike the day before.
The health ministry in a statement called the raid “a flagrant violation of all international laws and conventions that stipulate the protection of treatment centers and patients.”
The detained Palestinian is from near Tubas in the northern West Bank, where he was targeted in an Israeli strike on Tuesday that the Israeli military said killed three other Palestinians.
Medical sources confirmed the man’s identity to AFP and that he was injured in the strike.
In a joint statement, the Israeli military, the Shin Bet security service and the Israeli police announced that they had arrested the man at a hospital in Nablus.
They accused him of being “the third member of a terrorist cell that carried out the shooting attack” at Mehola junction in August in which an Israeli was killed. They also accused him of planning to carry out further attacks and posing “an imminent threat to Israeli civilians.”
The Palestinian health ministry called on “international institutions” and the Red Cross to “intervene immediately to stop the occupation’s attacks on treatment centers and staff, demanding immediate protection for the health system and all its components.”
The Israeli organizations said: “The security forces will continue to operate wherever necessary to thwart terrorism in the area and to maintain the safety of Israeli civilians.”