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

[Saif]

Hamas, Fatah agree on joint committee to run post-war Gaza

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party have agreed to create a committee to jointly administer post-war Gaza, negotiators from both sides said on Tuesday...

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Hamas, Fatah agree on joint committee to run post-war Gaza
Agence France-Presse . Cairo 03 December, 2024, 23:13

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party have agreed to create a committee to jointly administer post-war Gaza, negotiators from both sides said on Tuesday.

Under the plan, which needs Abbas’s approval, the committee would be composed of 10 to 15 non-partisan figures with authority on matters related to the economy, education, health, humanitarian aid and reconstruction, according to a draft of the proposal seen by AFP.

Following talks in Cairo brokered by Egypt, the two rival Palestinian movements agreed the committee would administer the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, the territory’s only one not shared with Israel.

Fatah’s delegation, led by central party committee member Azzam al-Ahmad, will return to Ramallah Tuesday to seek Abbas’s final approval, the negotiators said.

Wassil Abu Yussef, member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation which includes Fatah, will convene later Tuesday to decide whether to approve the committee arrangement or not.

Hamas’s delegation was led by politburo member Khalil al-Hayya.

However, Jibril Rajoub, Fatah’s number three and secretary-general of its central committee, expressed doubts the deal would ever get over the line.

‘What committee is this? It is wrong to even discuss this issue,’ Rajoub told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah Tuesday, adding it would bring ‘division’.

Rajoub said that he did not favour any deal that would lead to separate political systems in Gaza and in the occupied West Bank, which Fatah rules under the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority.

‘We want one government, one security apparatus, and one unified policy. Any discussion or effort outside of this framework is a mistake,’ he said.

‘We will not be part of any step that entrenches division or aligns with the path Netanyahu desires,’ he added.

Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian political analyst and former minister and diplomat, also expressed doubts.

‘Gaza is now under complete Israeli control, and there is little significance for any arrangement that does not take into consideration the Israeli presence there,’ he said.

Should the agreement actually be implemented, he said its value would depend on whether Israel maintains a military presence in the Gaza Strip.

If the deal is applied while Israel retains control of Gaza, Khatib said, ‘then I don’t think this agreement is good, because this will release Israel from its duties as an occupier.’

The agreement’s announcement comes at a time of renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war between Hamas and Israel, which has devastated the Gaza Strip.

According to UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, the situation in the territory is ‘horrific and apocalyptic’.

The truce efforts, led by the United States in coordination with Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, come in the wake of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

As the administration of US president Joe Biden prepares to hand over power in January to president-elect Donald Trump, Palestinians face intense US pressure to ensure that Hamas will have no role in Gaza once the war ends.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, one of the most right-wing in Israel’s history, made Hamas’s destruction in Gaza one of its main war objectives.

It has repeatedly expressed strong opposition to the Palestinian Authority playing a major role in the Gaza Strip after the war.

It has also categorically refused any semblance of a return to the status quo ante, where Hamas ruled Gaza.

The war began on October 7, 2023, sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in the Gaza Strip has resulted in at least 44,466 deaths, mostly civilians, according to data from Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which the UN considers reliable.​

 

[Saif]

Israel treating Palestinians ‘as a subhuman group'

Says Amnesty Int'l, accuses Israel of 'committing genocide' in Gaza

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Israel treating Palestinians ‘as a subhuman group'
Says Amnesty Int'l, accuses Israel of 'committing genocide' in Gaza

Amnesty International yesterday accused Israel of "committing genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war last year, saying its new report was a "wake-up call" for the world.

The London-based rights organisation said its findings were based on satellite images documenting devastation, fieldwork and ground reports from Gazans as well as "dehumanising and genocidal statements by Israeli government and military officials".

Israel angrily dismissed the findings as "entirely false", denouncing the report as "fabricated" and "based on lies".

Amnesty chief Agnes Callamard accused Israel of treating the Palestinians in Gaza "as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them.

"Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now," she said in a statement.

The Palestinian group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a deadly Israeli military offensive on Gaza as Israeli officials vowed to crush the militant group.

The Hamas attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.

Since then at least 44,580 people have been killed in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.

Independent UN rights experts have accused Israel several times of genocide, and South Africa dragged the country to the UN's top court in December 2023 accusing Israel of "violating the genocide convention by promoting the destruction of Palestinians living in Gaza" in a case which is still ongoing.

But Israeli officials have repeatedly and forcefully denied all such allegations, accusing Hamas of using civilians as human shields.

"The deplorable and fanatical organisation Amnesty International has once again produced a fabricated report that is entirely false and based on lies," Israel's foreign ministry said.

"Israel is defending itself... acting fully in accordance with international law", it added.

But Callamard insisted at a press conference in The Hague that "the existence of military objectives does not negate the possibility of a genocidal intent."

She said Amnesty had based its findings on the criteria set out in the UN Convention on the Prevention of Genocide.

But an Israeli army spokesperson said the report's claims "fail to account for the operational realities faced by the IDF.

"The IDF takes all feasible measures to mitigate harm to civilians during operations. These include providing advance warnings to civilians in combat zones whenever feasible and facilitating safe movement to designated areas."

Amnesty's 300-page report points to "direct deliberate attacks on civilian and civilian infrastructures where there was no Hamas presence or any other military objectives" as well as the blocking of aid deliveries, and the displacement of 90 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million people.

Palestinians have been subjected to "malnutrition, hunger and diseases" and exposed to a "slow, calculated death", Amnesty said.

The rights group, which is also due to publish a report on the crimes committed by Hamas, cited 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".

The Amnesty report also referenced dozens of calls by Israeli officials and soldiers for the annihilation, destruction, burning or "erasure" of Gaza.

Such statements highlighted "systemic impunity" as well as "an environment that emboldens... such behaviour".

"Governments must stop pretending that they are powerless to terminate Israel's occupation, to end apartheid and to stop the genocide in Gaza," said Callamard.

"States that transfer arms to Israel violate their obligations to prevent genocide under the convention and are at risk of becoming complicit," she added.​

 

[Saif]

Qatar resumes Gaza mediation

Qatar has resumed its role as a mediator in efforts to secure a truce in the Israel-Hamas war following a brief suspension, a source with knowledge of the talks said on Thursday...

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Qatar resumes Gaza mediation
Agence France-Presse . Doha, Qatar 06 December, 2024, 00:02

Qatar has resumed its role as a mediator in efforts to secure a truce in the Israel-Hamas war following a brief suspension, a source with knowledge of the talks said on Thursday.

The Gulf emirate, along with the United States and Egypt, had been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release after nearly 14 months of war.

In November, Doha announced it had put its mediation on hold, saying it would resume when Hamas and Israel showed ‘willingness and seriousness’.

The source, speaking to AFP on Thursday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of talks, said that Qatar has now ‘returned to mediation’, without elaborating on any recent meetings between officials.

The war has raged since Palestinian militant group Hamas staged the deadliest ever attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The attack on southern Israel resulted in 1,208 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 44,580 people in the Gaza Strip, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

During the October 7 attack, Palestinian militants also seized 251 hostages, 96 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Scores of hostages were released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails during a one-week pause in fighting brokered by Qatar last year.

Since then, successive rounds of negotiations have made no headway.

US president-elect Donald Trump on Monday warned on social media of unspecified massive repercussions if hostages are not released by the time he takes office next month.

Trump has vowed staunch support for Israel and promised to reign back on occasional criticism voiced by outgoing president Joe Biden’s administration.

The president-elect has also indicated desire to secure deals on the world stage.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump on Tuesday for his ‘strong statement’ on social media.​

 

[Saif]

Israel accused of genocide in Gaza

Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israel of ‘committing genocide’ against Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war last year, saying its new report was a ‘wake-up call’ for the international community.

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Israel accused of genocide in Gaza
Agence France-Presse . The Hague 05 December, 2024, 22:38

A boy cries as he holds the shoes of a toddler who was killed from shrapnel following an Israeli strike in Gaza City, at Al-Ahli Arab hospital, also known as the Baptist hospital on Thursday, as the war between Israel and Hamas continues. | AFP photo

Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israel of ‘committing genocide’ against Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war last year, saying its new report was a ‘wake-up call’ for the international community.

The London-based rights organisation said its findings were based on ‘dehumanising 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 on Gaza as Israeli officials vowed to crush the militant group.

A total of 1,208 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, were killed during the Hamas attack, according to an AFP tally based on official data.

Since then at least 44,532 people have been killed in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.

‘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 said at a press conference in The Hague.

She said the organisation had based its findings on the criteria set out in the UN Convention on the Prevention of Genocide.

Israel has repeatedly and forcefully denied allegations of genocide, accusing Hamas of using civilians as human shields.

But Amnesty’s 300-page report points to ‘direct deliberate attacks on civilian and civilian infrastructures where there was no Hamas presence or any other military objectives, the use of heavy explosive weapons with a wide radius of destruction in densely populated residential areas,’ the blocking of aid deliveries, and the displacement of 90 per cent of Gaza’s 2.4 million people.

In the days after the October 7 attack, Israel imposed a ‘total siege’ on Gaza, with the slogan: ‘No electricity, no water, no gas’. Limited supplies have been allowed in since then.

Palestinians have been subjected to ‘malnutrition, hunger and diseases’ and exposed to a ‘slow, calculated death’, Amnesty said.

The rights group, which is also due to publish a report on the crimes committed by Hamas, cited 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’.

The Amnesty report also referenced dozens of calls by Israeli officials and soldiers for the annihilation, destruction, burning or ‘erasure’ of Gaza.

Such statements highlighted ‘not only systemic impunity but also the creation of an environment that emboldens such behaviour.’

‘Governments must stop pretending that they are powerless to terminate Israel’s occupation, to end apartheid and to stop the genocide in Gaza,’ said Callamard.

‘States that transfer arms to Israel violate their obligations to prevent genocide under the convention and are at risk of becoming complicit,’ she added.​

 

[Saif]

Israeli strike kills 17 people in central Gaza

Gaza's civil defence agency said that 17 people were killed in an Israeli strike on Friday on a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza

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Israeli strike kills 17 people in central Gaza

Reuters file photo

Gaza's civil defence agency said that 17 people were killed in an Israeli strike on Friday on a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

Civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP 17 people were killed in the strike, which occurred in the early evening.

Medical sources at Al-Awda hospital told AFP that 14 bodies had arrived at the facility from the camp.

The Israeli military did not reply to a request for comment.

Bassal added that nearby hospitals had received 39 wounded with rescue work ongoing at the scene of the strike, which "damaged multiple neighbouring houses".​