5 h. ago Yes, Israel’s plan for Rafah would be a crime – but international law has never protected Gaza | Raja Shehadeh

Palestinians continue to hold on to the practice we call sumoud – refusing to give up or leave – despite the world turning its back on usOver the past 21 long months of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, voices all over the world have decried the demise of international law and the rule-based order. And indeed, the facade of Israel’s adherence to international law has vanished and policies that constitute war crimes are now brazenly declared.This week, Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, has shared plans to forcibly move Palestinians into a camp in the ruins of Rafah. Once they enter, they cannot leave. In other words, a concentration camp, which by definition is an internment centre for members of a national group (as well as political prisoners or minority groups) on the grounds of security or punishment, usually by military order. Michael Sfard, an Israeli human rights lawyer, was quoted in the Guardian as saying that Katz “laid out an operational plan for a crime against humani...

Politics

35 h. ago Attorney General Lord Hermer 'asks civil servants to snitch on ministers to give himself effective veto over Government policies'

Attorney General Lord Hermer has issued guidance to government lawyers stressing the importance of following international law including what has been branded a 'snitch clause'.

Politics

36 h. ago Israeli strike kills 10 children queuing at Gaza medical clinic, officials say

Aid groups call strike ‘blatant violation of international humanitarian law’ while ceasefire talks continue

Events

40 h. ago Israeli strike kills at least 15 people queueing outside medical point in Gaza

Ten children among the dead in attack that NGO says was ‘blatant violation of international humanitarian law’At least 15 people, including 10 children, have been killed by an Israeli strike as they queued outside a medical point in central Gaza, amid intensifying Israeli attacks that left 82 people dead across the strip.The uptick in Israeli bombing came as negotiators said a Gaza ceasefire deal was in sight, but not yet achieved. Continue reading...

Events

40 h. ago Israeli strike kills at least 10 children queueing for medical treatment in Gaza

Children among at least 15 killed in attack that NGO says was ‘blatant violation of international humanitarian law’At least 15 people, including 10 children, have been killed by an Israeli strike as they queued outside a medical point in central Gaza, amid intensifying Israeli attacks that left 82 people dead across the strip.The uptick in Israeli bombing came as negotiators said a Gaza ceasefire deal was in sight, but not yet achieved. Continue reading...

Events

48 h. ago Attorney General Lord Hermer accused of handing himself 'effective veto' over government policy

Lord Hermer has issued guidance to government lawyers stressing the importance of following international law.

Politics

59 h. ago Landmark ruling finds Russia shot down MH17 with 38 Australians on board

Europe’s top human rights court finds Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down by Russia in July 2014Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastEurope’s top human rights court delivered damning judgments Wednesday against Russia in four cases brought by Kyiv and the Netherlands, finding Moscow shot down flight MH17, killing all passengers, including 38 Australians.Judges at the European court of human rights ruled that Russia was responsible for widespread violations of international law, from shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014 to the murder, torture, rape, destruction of civilian infrastructure and kidnapping of Ukrainian children after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of 2022.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Politics

64 h. ago European court finds Russian responsible for international law violations. Here’s the key takeaways

The European Court of Human Rights has delivered damning judgments against Russia

Society

3 d. ago Trump is bullying Canada over ‘digital taxes’ and Canada caved | Joseph Stiglitz

The question now: will countries cave in to these threats or stick together and collect the billions they are rightly owed?Donald Trump’s announcement calling off trade talks with Canada over its digital tax – and that he would impose retaliatory tariffs – demonstrates, once again, not only the president’s ignorance of economics and willful disregard of international norms and the rule of law, but also his willingness to use brute power to get whatever he and the oligarchs who support him want.He was wrong in labeling the tax as outrageous and “a direct and blatant attack on our country”. It is actually an efficient tax, well designed to ensure that the technology companies – the profits of which benefit the tech oligarchs who have come to dominate US policy – pay their fair share of taxes.Joseph E Stiglitz is a Nobel laureate in economics, university professor at Columbia University and chief economist of the Roosevelt InstituteAnya Schiffrin, senior lecturer at Columbia University...

Politics

4 d. ago No breakthrough on Middle East peace as Trump and Netanyahu meet

US president hails ‘tremendous success’ with Israel and claims progress on plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza

Politics

4 d. ago Governments like mine have a duty to stand up to Israel. Far too many have failed | Gustavo Petro

Without decisive action, we risk stripping the global legal order of its remaining protections for less-privileged nationsGustavo Petro is the president of ColombiaOver the past 600 days, the world has watched Benjamin Netanyahu lead a campaign of devastation in Gaza, the escalation of regional conflict, and a reckless abandonment of international law at large.Governments such as mine cannot afford to remain passive. In September 2024, when we voted for the United Nations general assembly resolution on Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, we assumed concrete obligations – investigations, prosecutions, sanctions, asset freezes, and cessation of imports and arms. That resolution set a deadline of 12 months for Israel to “bring to an end without delay its unlawful presence”. One hundred and twenty-four states voted in favour, including Colombia. The clock is now ticking.Gustavo Petro is the president of Colombia Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Israeli plan for forced transfer of Gaza’s population ‘a blueprint for crimes against humanity’

Defence minister orders IDF to ready ‘emigration plan’ for all Palestinians in Gaza in what legal expert calls blueprint for a crime against humanityIsrael’s defence minister has laid out plans to force all Palestinians in Gaza into a camp on the ruins of Rafah, in a scheme which legal experts and academics described as a blueprint for crimes against humanity.Israel Katz said he has ordered Israel’s military to prepare for establishing a camp, which he called a “humanitarian city”, on the ruins of the city of Rafah, Haaretz newspaper reported. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Tony Blair think tank 'involved in talks over plan for Gaza Riviera holiday destination' with staff saying Israeli attacks created redevelopment 'opportunity'

Staff from the former Labour prime minister's Institute for Global Change said the damage caused by months of Israeli attacks had created a 'once-in-a-century opportunity' to redevelop it.

Events

8 d. ago Israel says Trump’s plan to resettle nearly two million Palestinians from Gaza is ‘still active’

The White House did not deny that president’s plan to transfer nearly 2 million Palestinians out of Gaza was still a possibility when asked by The Independent

Politics

9 d. ago Israeli military used 500lb bomb in strike on Gaza cafe, fragments reveal

Exclusive: Experts say use of heavy munition in Monday’s strike that killed dozens may constitute a war crimeThe Israeli military used a 500lb (230kg) bomb – a powerful and indiscriminate weapon that generates a massive blast wave and scatters shrapnel over a wide area – when it attacked a target in a crowded beachfront cafe in Gaza on Monday, evidence seen by the Guardian has revealed.Experts in international law said the use of such a munition despite the known presence of many unprotected civilians, including children, women and elderly people, was almost certainly unlawful and may constitute a war crime. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Labour welfare bill latest: Top barrister warns Starmer benefit cuts could break international law

MPs debating second reading of bill in Commons ahead of crunch vote

Events

1 week ago UN expert urges criminalizing fossil fuel disinformation, banning lobbying

Rapporteur calls for defossilization of economies and urgent reparations to avert ‘catastrophic’ rights and climate harmsA leading UN expert is calling for criminal penalties against those peddling disinformation about the climate crisis and a total ban on fossil fuel industry lobbying and advertising, as part of a radical shake-up to safeguard human rights and curtail planetary catastrophe.Elisa Morgera, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and climate change who presents her damning new report to the general assembly in Geneva on Monday, argues that the US, UK, Canada, Australia and other wealthy fossil fuel nations are legally obliged under international law to fully phase out oil, gas and coal by 2030 – and compensate communities for harms caused. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Countries should keep their statehood if land disappears under sea, experts say

Long-awaited ILC report examines what should happen to vulnerable countries as sea levels riseStates should be able to continue politically even if their land disappears underwater, legal experts have said.The conclusions come from a long-awaited report by the International Law Commission that examined what existing law means for continued statehood and access to key resources if sea levels continue to rise due to climate breakdown. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Labour law chief says international law 'at heart of UK foreign policy under Starmer' amid row over tepid support for US attack on Iran's nukes

Lord Hermer said ministers were 'united' on the need to comply with 'with all forms of law', saying it was vital to revitalising the UK on the world stage.

Events

2 w. ago Macron labels Trump's Iran air strikes 'illegal', pressures Starmer to take a stand

Emmanuel Macron has hit out at Donald Trump's air strikes on Iran, branding them 'illegal' and deepening the row over whether the US action broke international law

Events