
Live Trump ‘would back more Israeli strikes if Iran moves towards bomb'
10:36AM
US citizen killed in West Bank settler attack
A Palestinian American man was beaten to death by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and a second man was shot dead, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement.
US citizen Sayafollah Musallet, 20, also known as Saif, was severely beaten in the incident on Friday evening in Sinjil, north of Ramallah, the ministry said. Hussein Al-Shalabi, 23 was shot in the chest.
Musallet's family, from Tampa Florida, said in a statement that medics tried to reach him for three hours before his brother managed to carry him to an ambulance, but that he died before reaching the hospital.
'This is an unimaginable nightmare and injustice that no family should ever have to face. We demand the US State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes,' the family statement said.
The Israeli military said Israel was probing the incident in the town of Sinjil. It said confrontations between Palestinians and settlers broke out after Palestinians threw rocks at Israelis, lightly injuring them.
The military said forces were dispatched to the scene and used non-lethal weapons to disperse the crowds.
10:31AM
In pictures
10:19AM
Latest strikes kill 14 Palestinians
Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 14 Palestinians were killed in the latest wave of Israeli strikes across the territory on Saturday.
More than 30 people were killed on Friday, including 10 people who were waiting for aid handouts, the agency said.
The Israeli military on Saturday said it had attacked 'approximately 250 terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip' in the last 48 hours.
10:15AM
Gaza ceasefire talks held up by Israel withdrawal plans
Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza are being held up by Israel's proposals to keep troops in the territory, Palestinian sources with knowledge of the discussions told AFP on Saturday.
One Palestinian source said Israel's refusal to withdraw all of its troops from Gaza was holding back progress on securing a deal.
'The negotiations in Doha are facing a setback and complex difficulties due to Israel's insistence, as of Friday, on presenting a map of withdrawal, which is actually a map of redeployment and repositioning of the Israeli army rather than a genuine withdrawal,' the source said.
Hamas has said it wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, which is home to more than two million people.
The source said, however, that the Israeli delegation presented a map at the talks which proposed maintaining military forces in more than 40 per cent of the Palestinian territory.
'Hamas's delegation will not accept the Israeli maps... as they essentially legitimise the reoccupation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip and turn Gaza into isolated zones with no crossings or freedom of movement,' the source added.
A second Palestinian source said 'some progress' had been made on plans for releasing Palestinian prisoners and getting more aid to Gaza.
But they accused the Israeli delegation of having no authority, and 'stalling and obstructing the agreement in order to continue the war of extermination'.
10:12AM
Gaza ceasefire talks 'on verge of collapse'
The Gaza ceasefire talks are 'on the verge of collapse' with Palestinian officials accusing Israel of deliberately stalling progress and 'buying time.'
Delegations from both sides began discussions in Qatar last Sunday to try to agree on a temporary halt to the 21-month conflict sparked by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 living hostages would be released if an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire were reached.
But one senior official told the BBC that Israel deliberately stalled process by sending a delegation to Doha with no real authority to make decisions on key points of contention. They also said that Israel was only attempting to create a positive diplomatic backdrop for the visit to Washington.
'They were never serious about these talks,' one senior Palestinian negotiator told the BBC. 'They used these rounds to buy time and project a false image of progress.'
The two sides remain deeply divided on several contentious issues, in particular, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and humanitarian aid distribution.
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The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
EU risks breaking international law over Israel gas deal, say campaigners
The EU is 'trampling over Palestinian rights' and risks breaching international law, over an energy deal signed with Israel to bring more gas to Europe, a campaign group has said. A report by Global Witness shared exclusively with the Guardian concludes that the EU could be 'complicit in breaches of international law' over a 2022 energy deal linked to gas imports from a pipeline said to traverse Palestinian waters. The NGO has called on the EU to cancel all gas imports linked to the East Mediterranean Gas (EMG) pipeline and terminate the 2022 deal, which was also signed with Egypt. The spotlight on the EU's energy ties with its Middle Eastern ally comes after the European Commission concluded there were 'indications' Israel was in breach of human rights obligations over the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of its war in Gaza and rampant Israeli settler violence in the West Bank. While the EU is facing growing calls to cancel completely or in part its trade and cooperation agreement with Israel, Europe's energy relationship with Israel has attracted little attention, notably a gas deal that appears to have been automatically rolled over last month. The European Commission signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Israel and Egypt in June 2022, with the aim of 'enabling a stable delivery of natural gas to the EU'. It was sealed a few months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as the EU was racing to secure alternative energy suppliers. Global Witness contends that the EMG pipeline, which runs parallel to the Gaza coastline, plays an important role in enabling gas exports to Europe from Egypt. The 56-mile (90km) pipeline transports gas from Ashkelon in Israel to Arish in Egypt, where it is then processed into liquefied natural gas for export, including to Europe. The NGO claims the EMG pipeline runs through Palestinian waters. Its work is guided by a legal opinion drafted pro bono by two barristers at the London-based Garden Court Chambers. Zehrah Hasan, a human rights barrister and co-author of the opinion, told the Guardian: 'Israel unilaterally constructed and operated the pipeline without the consent of the Palestinian authorities, and Palestine hasn't been afforded the opportunity to stipulate any financial, environmental or regulatory conditions. 'So in our view that was another example of how Israel is very likely breaching international law in its continued denial of Palestinian sovereignty. 'There's a very strong basis to contend that the EU is likely in violation of customary international law and EU law by signing and continuing the MoU.' Hasan has a Palestinian flag on her social media profile, but is said to have carried out the work in line with her regulatory duties to act independently. Israel has previously described Palestine's claimed maritime zone as 'legally invalid'. Israel's mission to the EU in Brussels and foreign ministry in Jerusalem did not respond to requests for comment. Nor did Palestine's mission to the EU. Gleider Hernández, a professor of public international law at KU Leuven, who was not involved in the study, told the Guardian that he believed Global Witness 'arrive at what is probably the correct conclusion' about a risk of breaching international law. He cautioned, however, that the analysis relied on Palestine's statehood being established. Irrespective of Palestinian statehood, he pointed to Israel's obligations as an occupying power under the fourth Geneva convention not to exploit the territory purely for its own benefit, ignoring the inhabitants. He said: 'In building a pipeline in the area concerned, Israel is probably committing an unlawful act … And then the question becomes … is the EU breaching one of its obligations vis-à-vis international law by having signed the MoU. And there, I think so … Even though the gas would not be directed to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, it would constitute a sort of toleration of Israel's misuse of its prerogatives as the occupying power.' The law professor also pointed to the landmark opinion from the UN's international court of justice (ICJ) in July 2024 that ordered Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories as soon as possible. In that non-binding opinion, the court called on other countries not to recognise the occupation as lawful or assist it. 'Thus the construction of [the pipeline] very well may be a breach of the obligations identified by the court also with respect to third actors such as the EU,' he said. The situation, he added, 'did not become unlawful in 2024', but 'the international court simply recognised the situation of illegality that had been in existence for some time before then'. As to whether the EU should have signed the agreement in 2022, he said: 'I would have said don't do it.' Barry Andrews, an Irish centrist MEP, who chairs the European parliament's development committee, told the Guardian via email: 'Given Israel's persistent illegal occupation of Palestine, the legal warnings of the international court of justice in its advisory opinion issued last year and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the EU risks being in breach of its international legal obligations by continuing with this energy cooperation.' Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion He called for an urgent review of the MoU 'with a view to suspension, reaffirming our commitment to upholding international law and human rights'. Sarah Biermann Becker, a senior investigator at Global Witness, said: 'Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU has tried to position itself as a defender of human rights, but its continued business with Israel exposes a deplorable double standard.' She accused the EU of 'pursuing a gas deal that tramples over Palestinian rights' and which 'effectively helps bankroll Israel's genocide on Gaza'. The ICJ is considering the charge that Israel has committed genocide, and the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has used the term since January 2024. The criticism of the energy deal comes before an EU meeting on 15 July when foreign ministers expect an update from the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, on her talks with Israel's government. Kallas said she would talk to her Israeli counterpart about the findings of the unprecedented review of the EU-Israel association agreement. Since the EU found 'indications' of human rights violations, Israel has ramped up its offensive, adding to the death toll that now stands at more than 57,000 people, mostly civilians. The retaliatory war was launched after Hamas militant attacks on 7 October 2023 killed 1,219 people and took 251 hostage. Since then nearly the entire 2.3 million population of Gaza has been displaced and the territory reduced to ruin. The MoU was due to be extended automatically in mid-June this year. The European Commission did not respond to repeated questions about the agreement. Announcing the trilateral deal in June 2022, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she was 'grateful that Israel will increase its supply of energy to the EU'. Israel's then energy minister, Karine Elharrar, hailed the agreement as historic and said it enabled Israel 'for the first time to export Israeli natural gas to Europe'. It was, she said, 'another step towards positioning Israel as a natural gas superpower' and 'a diplomatic lever'. Between 2020 and 2024 nearly 9bn cubic metres of LNG was exported from Egypt to Europe, according to Global Witness analysis of Rystad Energy data. Spain, Italy and France were the top importers of the gas, buying around half, worth $9bn. The campaign group argues that most Israeli gas to Egypt goes via the EMG pipeline, as it is the most direct route with the biggest capacity. While it is not possible to trace the exact molecules from Israel to the EU, Global Witness contends that additional gas from Israel to Egypt enables exports to the EU. The MoU shows an intention, the NGO states, 'to further support and enable the export of Israeli gas to the EU'. Gas flows have continued largely uninterrupted during the massive upsurge in violence. Israel suspended operations at two gas fields supplying Egypt and Jordan last month, hours after launching surprise airstrikes against Iran. Operations were resumed nearly two weeks later.


Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
UK special forces carry out secret 'kill' operation against top Isis bomb-maker in Syria ahead of visit by David Lammy
British special forces mounted a secret 'kill' operation against Islamic State's top bomb-maker in Syria ahead of David Lammy 's visit, security sources have said. Abu Hasan al-Jazrawi, who was the mastermind behind 'Mad Max' suicide truck attacks on Western forces in the region, was killed on his motorbike after a Hellfire missile was unleashed from a remote-controlled Reaper drone. The 'kill' was ordered on June 10 – three weeks later, the Foreign Secretary became the first British minister in 14 years to visit the country, where he pledged a £94.5 million package in support of Syria's new government under president Ahmed al-Sharaa. Al-Jazrawi was not linked to any direct threat to Mr Lammy but he was thought to be behind a failed attack on Damascus's Shia Sayyida Zaynab shrine in March – and plotting fresh attacks. An intelligence source said: 'The country is a safer place with him gone. An attack on the FS [Foreign Secretary] would be an attack on all of us'. Last night, a No 10 source played down claims the strike had been specifically authorised by the Prime Minister, saying that under Operation Shader – the name given to the UK's participation in the battle against Islamic State – decisions over such 'kills' were delegated to the commanders. Al Jazrawi was tracked by British and American special forces to a bunker near Aleppo in western Syria. Thought to have been related to Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, the leader of Islamic State in Syria, he adopted various aliases as he plotted his attacks. He created the 'Mad Max' – a reference to the Hollywood action films – suicide trucks packed with explosives and covered in steel plates which were used against Iraqi and US forces during the battle for Mosul in 2017. He is also thought to have been behind the bombing of the Christian St Elias Church in Damascus in June which killed 25 worshippers. A military source said: 'There is no indication the terrorists knew the Foreign Secretary was visiting, although it had been arranged weeks in advance and could have been leaked. 'This was a strategic initiative to protect our allies in the region and disrupt any possible attack during the minister's visit.' During his trip Mr Lammy said: 'There is renewed hope for the Syrian people, It is in our interests to support the new government to deliver their commitment to build a stable, more secure and prosperous future for all Syrians.' The first RAF Reaper MQ-9 took to the skies in Helmand, Afghanistan, in 2008. They were initially operated from the US Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, before control was switched to the UK's 13 Squadron who are based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. A Reaper drone, which is laser-guided with a range of 12,000 yards, can carry eight Hellfire missiles.


Times
5 hours ago
- Times
The IDF soldiers defying Netanyahu's expulsion zone in Gaza
When the Israeli soldier first entered Gaza, he believed the war was righteous. But with each passing deployment, Avshalom Zohar Sal's missions made less and less sense to him and the war goals grew murkier and murkier. 'What I saw the first time I entered was not what I encountered the second time, nor the third nor the fourth,' he said. 'Every time, Gaza looked different, the mission looked different, and my personal feelings were different.' The step that Sal, 28, then took has put him at the heart of an extraordinary power struggle in Israel. He and two friends, reservists serving in the war, hired lawyers to petition the High Court to rule on whether Israel's actions in Gaza nearly two years after the atrocities of October 7, 2023, had become a violation of international law. The appeal is a 'last resort' for the petitioners, who 'suspect that the leaders of the state and the army are asking them to be partner to a war that has forced displacement, forced transfer and even the expulsion of thousands, millions of citizens at its core'. At the same time Binyamin Netanyahu 's government was drawing up a plan to transfer part of the population of southern Gaza into an enclosed camp containing only vetted civilians. Anyone outside of the 'humanitarian city', which could include up to 600,000 people, would then be considered a terrorist and a potential target of Israeli fire. Two months after the petition was lodged, the office of Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, the chief of staff, issued his response last weekend, stating that the 'concentration and movement of the population are not part of the objectives of the war, and that the IDF certainly does not force the population to move inside or outside the Gaza Strip'. The refusal marked an unprecedented red line through the defence ministry's blueprint and reportedly led to a heated exchange between Zamir and Netanyahu during a war cabinet meeting. Israel's acknowledged war goals are to destroy Hamas and free the remaining hostages taken on October 7, when about 1,200 people were killed in Israel. 'If the mission is now, expulsion, occupation and Jewish settlement, like they are discussing, then it's an illegal one and I will not do it,' said Sal. 'This will either lead to an unprecedented confrontation between the army and state, the likes of which we've never seen before, or the army will bow and salute the order, and carry out a plan that will harm Israel for generations to come.' Gazans at al-Shifa hospital mourn relatives killed by Israeli bombing on Saturday MAJDI FATHI/NURPHOTO/SHUTTERSTOCK More than 56,000 people have died in the conflict, according to the Hamas-run health ministry and charities say that a large proportion of Gaza's 2.3 million people are at risk of starvation because of Israeli restrictions on food and medicine. A report based on interviews with soldiers by +972 Magazine in Israel said that civilian evacuations in Gaza are sometimes enforced by drones used to bomb civilians to force them to leave their homes or prevent them from returning to evacuated areas. Negotiations are continuing over a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which would allow the release of some of the hostages still held in Gaza. It had been hoped that a deal would be struck last week. • Israel Katz, the defence minister, has said that he planned to use that time to build an encampment for civilians in the largely destroyed city of Rafah, where Israeli troops will remain stationed, one of the sticking points of the deal. It was Katz's earlier offer for Palestinians to 'voluntarily emigrate' with no return date, that persuaded Sal and his friends to submit their petition. The deadline for his ministry to issue a response passed on Thursday. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) say there is no disagreement between the government and the army. A senior general said that civilians would be moved according to international law the same way they have been moved throughout the war: by issuing evacuation orders to numbered blocks that correspond with certain areas and turning those areas into active combat zones, giving civilians 24-72 hours to clear out or else be considered an active threat. The transfer of the Gazan population is not a war goal, said Brigadier General Oren Solomon, because the war goal is to eliminate Hamas. But the way to do it is to separate the general population from the terrorists by building several camps. 'We don't go against the political directives. We act on them. The debate is over how it will happen, and we know that we can't just make one place. We understand that the humanitarian city can't take the entire population, so we must make a few like that,' Solomon said. ABDALHKEM ABU RIASH/ANADOLU/GETTY IMAGES The pilot plan is to move 600,000 Palestinians in the tent city of Al-Mawasi, a narrow strip of coastal land where thousands of homeless Palestinians reside. Israel says Hamas are hiding among the displaced civilians, and so Al-Mawasi must be cleared out and the civilians checked and moved to the 'sterile' zone with 'tents, water, medical care, food — all without being stolen by Hamas'. The plan has been discussed in the Israeli media, but there has been little reaction from mainstream society, which remains traumatised by October 7. 'The sentiment of the majority of the population are indifferent to the humanitarian situation in Gaza,' said Idit Shafran Gittleman, a former director of the military and society programme at the Israel Democracy Institute. 'Their main thought is, 'Don't give us October 7 again. Do whatever you need to do so we can live here without this fear of October coming again.'' She does not see a scenario where there is mass refusal to serve, nor a situation where the prime minister will sack the new army chief. If the plan is passed through the cabinet, the army must enact it. However, the legal apparatus — including a court ruling against the transfer brought on by Sal's petition — may stop the plan in its tracks. It has come at a personal cost for the educator and reservist, who is about to move in with his girlfriend to a kibbutz on the Gaza border. 'People will see this and call me a traitor from one side, and a Palestinian child killer on the other,' Sal said. 'No one thinks about this situation that I find myself in as an Israeli citizen. I am different from what the government purports to represent, that I possess values rooted in Judaism and Israel that are completely anti-war.'