[🇧🇩] Israel and Hamas war in Gaza-----Can Bangladesh be a peace broker?

[Saif]

Gaza matters and democracy is functional

THE Democracy Perception Index issued its 2024 report on May 8, revealing important and interesting shifts in global perceptions about democracy, geopolitics and international relations...

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Gaza matters and democracy is functional
Ramzy Baroud 28 May, 2024, 21:31

| Counter Punch/chuttersnap

THE Democracy Perception Index issued its 2024 report on May 8, revealing important and interesting shifts in global perceptions about democracy, geopolitics and international relations.

The conclusions in the report were based on the views of over 62 thousand respondents from 53 countries — roughly representing 75 per cent of the world's total population.

The survey was conducted between February 20th and April 15th, 2024, when the world was largely consumed by the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

It is important to note that the Index, though informative, is itself conceived in a biased context as it is the product of a global survey conducted by western-based companies and organizations.

In fact, the results of the Democracy Perception Index were published ahead of a scheduled 2024 Copenhagen Democracy Summit, whose speakers will include Hillary Clinton, US Republican senate leader Mitch McConnell and President of the European Council, Charles Michel.

The first speaker listed on the conference website is Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the founder and chairman of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation — which commissioned the Index.

All of this is reflected in the kind of questions which are being asked in the survey, placing greater emphasis on whether, for example, ties should be cut with Russia over Ukraine, and China over a war that is yet to take place in Taiwan.

These major shortcomings notwithstanding, the outcome of the research remains interesting and worthy of reflection.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Rafah on fire: Is the cult of the US and Israel above international law?

The world is now slowly opening its eyes to the genocide in Gaza, coming to terms with the need for Israel's accountability.

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Rafah on fire: Is the cult of the US and Israel above international law?

Fire rages on following an Israeli strike on an area designated as a safe zone for displaced Palestinians in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 26, 2024. PHOTO: REUTERS

On Tuesday, a new round of negotiations were reportedly set to start for a ceasefire to facilitate the exchange of detainees in Gaza. The talks were set to happen after a shocking, blood-soaked overnight attack by Israel in Rafah, where burnt bodies, including those of children, could be seen being pulled out by rescuers. In all the previous attempts made to reach temporary truces and a limited exchange of hostages and prisoners, there was a feverish race between the chances of success and failure. Benjamin Netanyahu has always been winning, and the mediators have been continuing the attempts without success.

But the horror in Rafah has sparked global outrage, as it should. The truth of Israel's cruelty is coming out day after day. UN Chief Antonio Guterres is set to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the strike that Netanyahu terms a "tragic mistake." When will this tyrant, Netanyahu, pay reparations for his lies that have killed thousands and thousands of innocents? The new attempt at a ceasefire will not be the last, but its failure will open new gates to continue the war, bleeding, destruction and funerals—not only for the Palestinians, but for Israel as well. The future is bleak and frightening.

On the optimistic side, the world is now slowly opening its eyes to the genocide in Gaza, coming to terms with the need for Israel's accountability, the need to recognise Palestinians' right to self-determination. All those who have unilaterally supported Israel are now shocked with the extent of its cruelty. After the strikes in Rafah, French President Emmannuel Macron said he was outraged. Germany, a staunch supporter of Israel, described the "images of charred bodies," as "unbearable."

Netanyahu and the US are becoming increasingly isolated. Prior to the Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, the US and Israel threatened anyone who attempted to end their megalomaniac killings of the Palestinians on Palestinian land.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Israeli airstrike on Rafah kills 12 Palestinians, Gaza medics say

Israeli forces killed at least 12 Palestinians in a dawn airstrike on Rafah in southern Gaza on Thursday and fighting raged in several other areas of the coastal enclave, Gaza medics said. Israel pressed on with its offensive on Rafah a day after saying its forces had taken control of a buffer zon

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Israeli airstrike on Rafah kills 12 Palestinians, Gaza medics say
REUTERS
Published :
May 30, 2024 19:55
Updated :
May 30, 2024 19:55

Palestinians make their way as they inspect the damages after Israeli forces withdrew from a part of Jabalia refugee camp, following a raid, in the northern Gaza Strip, May 30, 2024. Photo : Reuters/Osama Abu

Israeli forces killed at least 12 Palestinians in a dawn airstrike on Rafah in southern Gaza on Thursday and fighting raged in several other areas of the coastal enclave, Gaza medics said.

Israel pressed on with its offensive on Rafah a day after saying its forces had taken control of a buffer zone along the nearby border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, giving it effective authority over Gaza's entire land frontier.

It said the buffer zone's capture had cut off a route used by the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas to smuggle arms into Gaza during more than seven months of war, which has laid waste to much of the territory and raised fears of famine.

Gaza medical sources said the 12 Palestinians, whom it said were civilians, had been killed and an unspecified number of others wounded in an Israeli airstrike as they tried to recover the body of a civilian in the centre of Rafah.

Another Palestinian civilian was killed in an airstrike on Al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City in the north of the densely populated enclave, the medics said.

Israel reported clashes in southern, central and northern Gaza but did not immediately comment on the reported deaths in Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians took refuge earlier in the war.

Israel has kept up raids on Rafah despite an order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the top UN court, to halt its attacks. Israeli forces say they are trying to root out Hamas fighters and rescue hostages being held there, and the ICJ also called for the release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas.

More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's air and land war in Gaza, with 53 of those killed in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run enclave's health ministry said.

Israel launched its offensive after Hamas fighters crossed from Gaza into southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year, killed 1,200 people and abducted more than 250, according to Israeli tallies.

The Israeli military said a soldier had been killed in fighting in northern Gaza, bringing to 292 Israel's combat losses since its first Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 20.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Biden presents new Israel ceasefire plan, calls on Hamas to accept

US President Joe Biden on Friday said Israel had proposed a Gaza ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages, and called on Hamas to agree to the new offer, saying it was the best way to end the conflict

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Biden presents new Israel ceasefire plan, calls on Hamas to accept

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the Middle East in the State Dining room at the White House in Washington, US, May 31, 2024. Photo: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein

US President Joe Biden on Friday said Israel had proposed a Gaza ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages, and called on Hamas to agree to the new offer, saying it was the best way to end the conflict.

"It's time for this war to end and for the day after to begin," said Biden, who is under election-year pressure to stop the Gaza conflict, now in its eighth month.

Talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar and others to arrange a ceasefire between Israel and the militant Hamas movement in the Gaza war have repeatedly stalled, with both sides blaming the other for the lack of progress.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli prime minister's office or from Hamas on Biden's remarks.

The new proposal Biden laid out on Friday is made up of three phases; the first would be a ceasefire lasting for six weeks.

During this time, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza and hostages, including the elderly and women, would be exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Palestinian civilians would return to Gaza, including northern Gaza, and 600 trucks would bring humanitarian aid into Gaza each day, Biden said.

In the second phase, Hamas and Israel would negotiate terms of a permanent end to hostilities. "The ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue," the president said.

The third phase would include a major reconstruction plan for Gaza.

The proposal has been relayed to Hamas by Qatar, Biden said.

The president called on those in Israel who were pushing for "indefinite" war to change their minds.

"I know there are those in Israel who will not agree with this plan. And will call for the war to continue indefinitely. Some are even in the government coalition. They've made it clear. They want to occupy Gaza. They want to keep fighting for years and hostages are not a priority for them. Well, I've urged leadership in Israel to stand behind this deal, despite whatever pressure comes," Biden said.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.
​

 

[Saif]

Gaza pounded after Biden pushes Israeli ceasefire plan

Israeli forces hammered Rafah in southern Gaza with tanks and artillery Saturday, hours after US President Joe Biden said Israel was offering a new roadmap toward...

www.newagebd.net

Gaza pounded after Biden pushes Israeli ceasefire plan
Agence France-Presse . Rafah 02 June, 2024, 01:11

Israeli forces hammered Rafah in southern Gaza with tanks and artillery Saturday, hours after US President Joe Biden said Israel was offering a new roadmap towards a full ceasefire.

Shortly after Biden's announcement, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted his country would still pursue the war until it had reached all its aims.

He reiterated that position on Saturday, saying that 'Israel's conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas's military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel'.

Hamas, meanwhile, said it 'views positively' the Israeli plan laid out by Biden.

In his first major address outlining a possible end to the nearly eight-month war, the US president said Israel's three-stage offer would begin with a six-week phase that would see Israeli forces withdraw from all populated areas of Gaza.

It would also see the 'release of a number of hostages... in exchange for (the) release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners'.

Israel and the Palestinians would then negotiate for a lasting ceasefire—but the truce would continue so long as talks are ongoing, Biden said.

The US leader urged Hamas to accept the Israeli offer.

'It's time for this war to end, for the day after to begin,' he said.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken called his counterparts from Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on Friday to press the deal.

UN chief Antonio Guterres 'strongly hopes' the latest development 'will lead to an agreement by the parties for lasting peace', his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said the offer 'provides a glimpse of hope and a possible path out of the war's deadlock', while EU chief Ursula von der Leyen welcomed a 'balanced and realistic' approach to end the bloodshed.

Saudi Arabia stressed its 'support for all efforts aimed at an immediate ceasefire' and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

Indonesia, meanwhile, said it was ready to send 'significant peacekeeping forces' and medical personnel to Gaza if a ceasefire is agreed.

But Netanyahu took issue with Biden's presentation of what was on the table, insisting on Friday the transition from one stage to the next was 'conditional' and crafted to allow Israel to maintain its war aims.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Egypt to host talks with Israel, US over Rafah crossing

Egypt will host Israeli and US officials on Sunday to discuss the reopening of the Rafah crossing, a vital conduit for aid into the besieged Gaza Strip...

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Egypt to host talks with Israel, US over Rafah crossing
Agence France-Presse . Cairo 02 June, 2024, 02:07

Members of the NYPD detain people at the Brooklyn Museum where Pro-Palestinian demonstrators associated with the 'Within Our Lifetime' protest group rallied on Friday in New York City. Demonstrators started at Barclays Center and marched to the Brooklyn Museum where they occupied the inside lobby and the outside demanding that the Brooklyn Museum divest from investments in Israel. | AFP photo

Egypt will host Israeli and US officials on Sunday to discuss the reopening of the Rafah crossing, a vital conduit for aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, Egyptian state-linked media said.

Al-Qahera News, which has links to Egyptian intelligence, quoted on Saturday a unidentified senior official as saying Cairo was demanding 'a total Israeli withdrawal' from the terminal on Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

'An Egyptian-American-Israeli meeting is scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday) in Cairo to discuss the reopening of the Rafah crossing', the official said.

The crossing has been closed since Israeli forces seized its Palestinian side in early May, reducing aid flows into the war-torn territory to a trickle.

Since then, Egypt and Israel have blamed each other for the blocking of aid deliveries through Rafah. The Egyptian authorities have refused to coordinate with the Israelis, preferring to work with international or Palestinian bodies.

After talks with US President Joe Biden last month, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi agreed to temporarily divert UN aid to the Kerem Shalom crossing, near Rafah but on Gaza's border with Israel.

Biden on Friday revealed a multi-phase plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip proposed by Israel, saying it was 'time for this war to end'.

The official quoted by Al-Qahera said that Egypt was undertaking 'intensive efforts' to 'resume negotiations' for a truce 'in light of the recent American proposition'.​

 

[Saif]

ফিলিস্তিনের প্রতি সংহতি, যুক্তরাজ্যের ‘ডক্টরেট’ ডিগ্রি ফিরিয়ে দিলেন শহিদুল আলম

২০২২ সালের ৮ জুলাই লন্ডনের রয়্যাল ফেস্টিভাল হলে তিনি এই ডিগ্রি গ্রহণ করেন।

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ফিলিস্তিনের প্রতি সংহতি, যুক্তরাজ্যের 'ডক্টরেট' ডিগ্রি ফিরিয়ে দিলেন শহিদুল আলম
২০২২ সালের ৮ জুলাই লন্ডনের রয়্যাল ফেস্টিভাল হলে তিনি এই ডিগ্রি গ্রহণ করেন।

আলোকচিত্রী শহিদুল আলম। ছবি: সংগৃহীত

ফিলিস্তিনের প্রতি সংহতি জানিয়ে যুক্তরাজ্যের ইউনিভার্সিটি অব আর্টস লন্ডনের (ইউএএল) সম্মানসূচক 'ডক্টরেট' ডিগ্রি ফিরিয়ে দিয়েছেন আলোকচিত্রী ও মানবাধিকারকর্মী শহিদুল আলম।

রোববার দৃক পিকচার লাইব্রেরি লিমিটেডের এক সংবাদ বিজ্ঞপ্তিতে এ তথ্য জানানো হয়েছে।

এতে বলা হয়, ফটোগ্রাফি ও অ্যাক্টিভিজমে অসামান্য অবদানের স্বীকৃতিস্বরূপ ইউনিভার্সিটি অব আর্টস লন্ডন শহিদুল আলমকে একটি সম্মানসূচক ডক্টরেট প্রদান করে। ২০২২ সালের ৮ জুলাই লন্ডনের রয়্যাল ফেস্টিভাল হলে তিনি ডিগ্রিটি গ্রহণ করেন।

বিজ্ঞপ্তিতে শহিদুল আলম বলেন, 'সেসময় আর্ট এবং ডিজাইনের ক্ষেত্রে ইউএএল ছিল বিশ্বের শীর্ষ দুই বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের একটি। আমি আনন্দের সঙ্গে ইউএএলের চ্যান্সেলর গ্রেসন পেরির কাছ থেকে ডিগ্রিটি গ্রহণ করেছিলাম, কারণ ইউএএল একাডেমিক স্বাধীনতা এবং মতপ্রকাশের স্বাধীনতার প্রতি প্রতিশ্রুতিবদ্ধ ছিল। গ্রেসন পেরির ভাষায়, বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়টি ছিল বিশ্বে ক্ষমতাশালীদের অশান্তি তৈরি করার বড়সড় কারখানা।'

তিনি বলেন, 'পরবর্তীতে যদিও বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের ভাইস চ্যান্সেলরের দায়িত্ব গ্রহণ করেন জেমস পুরনেল নামে একজন স্বীকৃত জায়নবাদী, কিন্তু ইউএএলের শিক্ষার্থীরা ফিলিস্তিনের সঙ্গে সংহতি প্রদর্শন ও বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় প্রশাসনকে গাজায় যুদ্ধবিরতির আহ্বান জানানোর দাবিতে ব্রিটেনের শিক্ষার্থীদের মধ্যে এগিয়ে আছে দেখে আমি আশ্বস্ত হয়েছিলাম।'

শহিদুল আলম জানান, এই স্বস্তি কেটে যায় যখন তিনি দেখেন যে, ইউএএল প্রশাসন এবং বিশেষ করে বর্তমান ভাইস চ্যান্সেলর শিক্ষার্থীদের অবস্থান থেকে যোজন যোজন দূরে।

তিনি বলেন, 'শিক্ষার্থীরা বারবার বলছেন তাদের কণ্ঠরোধ করা হচ্ছে, তাদের ছকে ফেলা হচ্ছে, তারা উপেক্ষিত। শিক্ষার্থীরা বলছেন পুমা, করনিট, এলভিএমএইচ, লো'রেলসহ ইসরায়েল ওশানোগ্রাফিক অ্যান্ড লিমনোলজিক্যাল রিসার্চ, শেনকার ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং এবং বেজালেল একাডেমি অব আর্টস অ্যান্ড ডিজাইনসহ অন্যান্য ইসরায়েলি বা ইসরায়েল-অনুষঙ্গী সংস্থা এবং প্রতিষ্ঠানের সঙ্গে পার্টনারশিপের মাধ্যমে ইউএএল ইসরায়েলের দখলদারিত্ব, বর্ণবাদ এবং চলমান গণহত্যার অংশীদার। তারা এই অংশীদারত্বের অবসান দাবি করছে।'

শহিদুল আলম বলেন, 'এই পরিপ্রেক্ষিতে আমি ইউনিভার্সিটি অব আর্টস লন্ডনের সঙ্গে যুক্ত থাকতে চাই না।'

সম্মানসূচক 'ডক্টরেট' ডিগ্রি ফিরিয়ে দেওয়ার বিষয়টি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়কে আনুষ্ঠানিকভাবে জানিয়েছেন বলেও উল্লেখ করেন তিনি।​

 

[Saif]

Palestinian mothers search for milk

Amira al-Taweel scoured pharmacies in northern Gaza for milk to feed her child, but could not find a single bottle to satisfy his hunger.

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malnutrition hits Gaza
Palestinian mothers search for milk

People take part in a pro-Palestinian rally in Banda Aceh, Indonesia yesterday, as Israel continues to pound Gaza Strip. Photo: REUTERS

Amira al-Taweel scoured pharmacies in northern Gaza for milk to feed her child, but could not find a single bottle to satisfy his hunger.

"Youssef needs treatment and milk, but there' none available in Gaza," the 33-year-old mother told AFP at Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in central Gaza where her son was admitted suffering from malnutrition.

"I feed him, but no milk as it's not available. I feed him wheat (flour) which makes him bloated," she said, as Youssef lay on a narrow bed, his frail body receiving desperately needed medication through intravenous tubes in his feet.

At least 32 people, many of them children, have died of malnutrition in Gaza since the Israeli offensive began on October 7.

But aid agencies warn that the situation is even worse when it comes to children. On Saturday, the World Health Organization said that more than four in five children had gone a whole day without eating at least once in 72 hours.

The rise in malnutrition among Gaza's children is largely a result of humanitarian aid that enters the Palestinian territory not reaching its intended destination, aid agencies said.

At Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, mothers were concerned about their malnourished children.

After Youssef and another baby boy, Saif, were admitted, their mothers sat next to them, worrying about how long they could survive on the food the hospital provides.​

 

[Saif]

More than half of Gaza structures damaged

Some 55 percent of all structures in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed, damaged or possibly damaged since the Israeli offensive began in the Palestinian territory eight months ago, according to preliminary satellite analysis by the UN.

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More than half of Gaza structures damaged
Says UN after preliminary satellite data analysis

Palestinian sisters Samar and Sahar cry as they search for their missing mother Amira Al-Breim at the rubble of a house hit in an Israeli strike, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday. Photo: REUTERS

Some 55 percent of all structures in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed, damaged or possibly damaged since the Israeli offensive began in the Palestinian territory eight months ago, according to preliminary satellite analysis by the UN.

The analysis showed more than 137,000 buildings affected, UNOSAT, the United Nations satellite analysis agency, said on X, formerly Twitter.

The estimate is based on a satellite image taken on May 3, and compared with images taken in May a year earlier, last September, and on October 15.

The fresh satellite image was also compared to images taken during several dates in November, then again during the first months of this year, UNOSAT said.

The analysis showed more than 137,000 buildings affected: UNOSAT

"According to satellite imagery analysis, UNOSAT identified 36,591 destroyed structures," the agency said in a statement.

In addition, it said it had seen "16,513 severely damaged structures, 47,368 moderately damaged structures, and 36,825 possibly damaged structures for a total of 137,297 structures".

"These correspond to around 55 percent of the total structures in the Gaza Strip and a total of 135,142 estimated damaged housing units," it said.

UNOSAT said the image comparisons showed the governorates of Deir Al-Balah, in the centre, and Gaza, in the north, had suffered the worst damage between April 1 and May 3.

Comparing satellite images on those dates indicated that an additional 2,613 structures had been damaged in Deir Al-Balah, while another 2,368 had been damaged in Gaza governorate in just over a month.

People inspect a damaged building amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in Houla village near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon yesterday. Hezbollah said yesterday it had launched a squadron of drones towards the headquarters of the Israeli military's Galilee formation. Photo: REUTERS

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/world/israels-attack-on-palestine/news/us-lawmakers-advance-bill-sanction-icc-over-israel-probe-3627166

US lawmakers advance bill to sanction ICC over Israel probe

The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019. File Photo: Reuters/Piroschka van de Wouw

The US House of Representatives voted Tuesday to advance a largely symbolic bill calling for sanctions on the International Criminal Court after its prosecutor applied for an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Hague-based court's prosecutor has said Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant should be arrested on charges relating to the war in Gaza, along with three leaders of militant group Hamas.

The US House's Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act -- backed by almost every Republican and around a fifth of the Democrats -- would bar US entry for ICC officials involved with the case, revoking their visas and restricting any US-based property transactions.

"Today's vote draws a line in the sand for lawless action by ICC officials," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement.

"The US firmly stands with Israel and refuses to allow international bureaucrats to baselessly issue arrest warrants to Israeli leadership for false crimes."

The legislation is considered a "messaging bill," however, as it is unlikely to be taken up by the Democratic-run Senate and could be vetoed in any case by President Joe Biden, who has said he "strongly opposes" it.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said last month he was seeking warrants for the two Israelis -- as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif -- on suspicions of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The ICC's 124 member states will ultimately decide whether to enforce any warrants issued by its judges. Neither Israel nor the United states are members.

While the White House has criticized the ICC, and Biden called the application for arrest warrants "outrageous," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said last week that sanctions were not "the right approach."

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller reaffirmed the policy on Tuesday, telling reporters ahead of the vote: "Our position as the administration is we don't support sanctions. We don't believe it is appropriate at this time."

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