3 w. ago Israel has no duty to allow UN aid agency into Gaza, says US state department lawyer

Joshua Simmons tells international court of justice that Israel’s concerns about Unwra are ‘credible’Israel’s urgent security needs override its obligations to provide aid to Palestinians in Gaza, a US state department lawyer has told the international court of justice (ICJ).Joshua Simmons spoke as the United Nations’ top court hears a case on Israel’s ban on cooperation with Unwra, the UN’s main agency for Palestinians. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Middle East crisis live: US backs Israel’s stance on Unrwa at ICJ hearing

US official tells international court of justice about ‘serious concerns’ over agency’s impartialityThere is now a live feed from the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague, where the US is giving evidence (see 8.52am). You may need to refresh the blog to see it.An Iranian man convicted of espionage and intelligence cooperation with Israel was executed on Wednesday, Iranian state media reported. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Israel attacking framework for international law compliance, ICJ hears

Court considering if Israel acted unlawfully by cutting ties with Unwra with claim it is ‘starving, killing and displacing Palestinians’Israel appears set on destroying the framework created to ensure compliance with international law in a way that will have profound consequences that reverberate far beyond Palestine, the international court of justice has heard.The warning was made at the start of five days of proceedings in The Hague that may prove critical to Israel’s future within the world body. The UN’s top court will hear from dozens of nations and organisations in order to draw up an advisory opinion on Israel’s humanitarian obligations to Palestinians more than 50 days into its total blockade on aid entering Gaza. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Israel seems set on destroying system of international law compliance, ICJ hears

Country accused of obstructing UN as court considers its decision to end cooperation with Unrwa Israel appears set on destroying the framework created to ensure compliance with international law in a way that will have profound consequences that reverberate far beyond Palestine, the international court of justice has heard.The warning was made at the start of five days of proceedings in The Hague that may prove critical to Israel’s future within the world body. The UN’s top court will hear from dozens of nations and organisations in order to draw up an advisory opinion on Israel’s humanitarian obligations to Palestinians more than 50 days into its total blockade on aid entering Gaza. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Israel’s ban on working with Gaza aid agency threatens aims of UN, ICJ hears

Court considering if Israel acted unlawfully by cutting ties with Unwra with claim it is ‘starving, killing and displacing Palestinians’The very nature of the UN is threatened by Israel’s refusal to accept the rights of its agencies to operate freely in the occupied Palestinian territories, the international court of justice has heard.The statement was made at the start of five days of proceedings in The Hague that may prove critical to Israel’s future within the world body. The UN’s top court will hear from dozens of nations and organisations in order to draw up an advisory opinion on Israel’s humanitarian obligations to Palestinians more than 50 days into its total blockade on aid entering Gaza. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Middle East crisis live: Israel has turned Gaza into a ‘mass grave’, top UN court hears

ICJ holding hearing about Israel’s obligation to facilitate aid to Gaza and the West Bank amid the outlawing of UnrwaTehran has accused Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to dictate US policy in negotiations after the Israeli prime minister repeated calls for Iran’s entire nuclear infrastructure to be dismantled.The US and Iran have so far held three rounds of indirect talks, mediated by Oman, aimed at sealing a deal that would block Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon but also lift crippling economic sanctions imposed by Washington.Israel’s fantasy that it can dictate what Iran may or may not do is so detached from reality that it hardly merits a response. What is striking, however, is how brazenly Netanyahu is now dictating what President Trump can and cannot do in his diplomacy with Iran Continue reading...

Events