US urges UN Security Council to adjust sanctions on Syria
After 13 years of civil war, Syria's President was ousted in December in a lightning offensive by insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Formerly known as the Nusra Front, HTS was al Qaeda's official wing in Syria until breaking ties in 2016. Since May 2014, the group has been on the United Nations Security Council's al Qaeda and Islamic State sanctions list and subjected to a global asset freeze and arms embargo.
A number of HTS members are also under U.N. sanctions - a travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo - including its leader, Ahmed Sharaa, who is now Syria's interim president.
The United States is working with Security Council members to review Syria-related sanctions, acting U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea said on Monday.
"The Syrian government has made a clear commitment to combat al Qaeda and ISIL (Islamic State), and both groups are equally clear that they oppose the new government and are threatening to destroy it. Council members should not take those threats lightly," she told a Security Council meeting on Syria.
"The Council can – and must – adjust its sanctions so the Syrian government can prevail in the fight against terrorism, while keeping the most dangerous and unrepentant actors designated," she said.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a major U.S. policy shift in May when he said he would on Syria.
United Nations sanctions monitors have seen no "active ties" this year between al Qaeda and the Islamist group leading Syria's interim government, according to an unpublished U.N. report, a finding that could strengthen the U.S. push to ease some U.N. sanctions on Syria.
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The Guardian
29 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff visits Gaza aid ‘death trap'
Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff has visited Gaza and been shown one of the controversial food distribution sites around which hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. Witkoff, the US president's special envoy for the Middle East, had earlier met the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, amid mounting international horror over conditions of starvation in Gaza occurring after months of Israeli-imposed aid restrictions. Witkoff – a former real estate lawyer with no background in foreign policy or humanitarian aid – wrote on X that he had spent more than five hours inside Gaza in order to gain 'a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza'. Chapin Fay, a spokesperson for the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), said the visit reflected Trump's understanding of the crisis and that 'feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority'. The apparent absence of senior international aid officials during a visit accompanied by senior Israeli figures raises questions over the credibility of Israeli and US plans to increase aid flows amid the continuing debacle around the GHF operations. Trump echoed his intention to increase aid reaching Gaza in a phone call with the US news site Axios, saying: 'We want to help people. We want to help them live. We want to get people fed. It is something that should have happened long time ago.' It remains unclear whether Trump intends to double down on an expansion of the GHF operations or envisages a new way of doing things. Hours after Witkoff's visit to the site in Rafah, Palestinian medics reported Israeli forces had shot dead three Palestinians near one of the group's other sites on the southern edge of Gaza City – although it was not clear whether it was the same location. Witkoff visited as Human Rights Watch described the sites run by the GHF as 'death traps' which had become the scene of regular 'bloodbaths'. The UN has said that Israeli forces have killed almost 900 Palestinians who were attempting to reach the sites. Belkis Wille, the associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch, said on Friday: 'US-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.' Coverage of the war in Gaza is constrained by Israeli attacks on Palestinian journalists and a bar on international reporters entering the Gaza Strip to report independently on the war. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza since 7 October 2023, unless they are under Israeli military escort. Reporters who join these trips have no control over where they go, and other restrictions include a bar on speaking to Palestinians in Gaza. Palestinian journalists and media workers inside Gaza have paid a heavy price for their work reporting on the war, with over 180 killed since the conflict began. The committee to protect journalists has determined that at least 19 of them 'were directly targeted by Israeli forces in killings which CPJ classifies as murders'. Foreign reporters based in Israel filed a legal petition seeking access to Gaza, but it was rejected by the supreme court on security grounds. Private lobbying by diplomats and public appeals by prominent journalists and media outlets have been ignored by the Israeli government. To ensure accurate reporting from Gaza given these restrictions, the Guardian works with trusted journalists on the ground; our visual teams verify photo and videos from third parties; and we use clearly sourced data from organisations that have a track record of providing accurate information in Gaza during past conflicts, or during other conflicts or humanitarian crises. Emma Graham-Harrison, chief Middle East correspondent She added: 'Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are now gunning them down almost every day as they desperately seek food for their families.' The UN said on Friday that Israeli forces had killed 1,353 Palestinians who were waiting for food – 859 around GHF sites and another 514 along the route of UN aid convoys. The health ministry in Gaza said that 83 people had been killed and 554 wounded by IDF fire in the territory in the past 24 hours. According to the announcement, 53 were killed and more than 400 were wounded while seeking humanitarian aid. A UN spokesperson said Israeli policies had led to the widespread desperation in Gaza that meant arriving UN trucks were overwhelmed and stripped before they could reach warehouses. The UN says longstanding Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid has created an unpredictable environment, and that means, while a pause in fighting might allow more aid in, Palestinians are not confident aid will reach them. Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), said: 'This has resulted in many of our convoys offloaded directly by starving, desperate people as they continue to face deep levels of hunger and are struggling to feed their families. The only way to reach a level of confidence is by having a sustained flow of aid over a period of time.' While a number of countries have resumed airdrops of aid into Gaza in recent days, aid experts have warned that the amount of food that can be dropped by air is insufficient to counter starvation inside the Palestinian territory. On Friday, Hamas released a brief video of an emaciated and bearded Israeli hostage held in a narrow concrete tunnel in Gaza. Israeli media identified as Evyatar David, who was seized at the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023. Of the 251 hostages taken during the Hamas attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Israeli officials have said that if there is no progress in the coming days on a deal with Hamas to release the hostages, Israel will expand its operations in Gaza. International humanitarian agencies and experts say that famine has gripped Gaza after Israel blocked food from entering the territory for two and a half months starting in March. Since it eased the blockade in late May, Israel has only allowed in a trickle of aid trucks for the UN, about 70 a day on average, according to Israel's own figures. That is far below the 500-600 trucks a day that UN agencies say are needed – the amount that entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year. While Netanyahu and other officials have claimed that there is 'no hunger in Gaza' or that it is the fault of Hamas looting or the UN's failings, incontrovertible evidence has been offered by the UN's food security monitor of the spread of famine amid Israel's choking of the entry of aid, a policy critics say amounts to the crime of using starvation as a weapon.
BBC News
42 minutes ago
- BBC News
Putin not swayed by Trump's Ukraine war ultimatum
Russian President Vladimir Putin has voiced hopes for further peace talks with Ukraine - but stressed his troops were "advancing on the entire front line", despite the threat of tougher US sanctions if a ceasefire was not agreed upon."All disappointments arise from inflated expectations," Putin said, in an apparent reference to Trump's "disappointment" with the Russian leader for not bringing an end to the a day after one of the deadliest Russian air attacks on Kyiv, he repeated his demands for Ukrainian neutrality and recognition of the occupied territories, which Ukraine views as a President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to meet Putin "any time". Speaking on Friday at the Valaam Monastery on an island in north-western Russia, Putin said he expected negotiations with Ukraine to continue, adding that he viewed "negotiations positively".But in a veiled reference to growing pressure from Ukraine and its Western allies to agree to a long-term ceasefire, he said: "As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations."Our enemies and ill-wishers... now have one fiery passion: to stop our advance [on the front line in Ukraine] at any cost".Ukraine and its allies have repeatedly accused Russia of stalling peace negotiations and rejecting any meaningful ceasefire, saying Moscow is trying to seize more Ukrainian rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, Turkey, in recent months ended without any major breakthrough. The two sides, however, agreed to swap several thousands of prisoners of shortly after Putin's comments, Zelensky questioned whether Russia was showing "serious readiness to end the war with dignity and establish a truly lasting peace" or whether it was "just an attempt to buy more time for war and postpone sanctions". In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its deadly drone and missile strikes on Thursday, at least 31 people - including five children - were killed in a Russian aerial assault on the Ukrainian capital. US President Donald Trump condemned Russia's actions, threatening new sanctions."Russia, I think it's disgusting what they're doing," he told in July Trump announced his original 50-day deadline for Russia to end the war, Putin didn't react. When that was reduced to 10-12 days, Putin said on Friday the Kremlin leader left little doubt that he would not be swayed by a White House ultimatum. Trump may claim to be "disappointed" with Putin for not making peace - but the Russian leader is guest on the Valaam island, Belarus' authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, was more direct in his dismissal of Trump's deadline."50 days, 60 days, 10 days. You don't do politics like that," Lukashenko shows that, for Trump, deadlines are not set in stone. But on paper, at least, his latest deadline expires on 8 August. If by then Russia hasn't signed up to a ceasefire in Ukraine, it will face more sanctions – so in theory will countries that buy Russian judging by what the Russian state media has been saying in recent days, many in Moscow doubt the White House will go through with its threat of tougher more, from what Putin said on Friday about Russia advancing along the entire front line in Ukraine, he clearly believes a ceasefire now is not in Moscow's best officials on Friday said Kyiv had received "positive signals" from the US about potential new sanctions.A day earlier, senior US diplomat John Kelley told the UN Security Council that Russia and Ukraine "must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace"."It is time to make a deal," he special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is currently in Israel, would visit Russia next, the US president said earlier this week. He gave no further details.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
The British terms for recognition of Palestine are not addressed to Hamas or Israel
Every day, Christians say the prayer which Jesus himself taught, the 'Our Father '. Its first expressed wish is 'Thy kingdom come'. Those three words refer to the belief that Jesus will have a Second Coming to earth which will inaugurate the eternal reign of God. When we say them, we express a sincere hope, but we are assuredly not expecting it to happen any time soon. In history, preachers have emerged claiming they are the Messiah, or his prophet, and that the Kingdom is coming right now. They have been lunatics, charlatans, or political adventurers. It is not, from a Christian view, impossible that the Second Coming will be manifested soon in a high street near you: it is just extremely unlikely. Fear those who claim otherwise. The call for a two-state solution of Israel/Palestine is the political equivalent of 'Thy kingdom come'. It is a noble aspiration towards which we should strive, but not, to put it mildly, likely or imminent. Beware of those who tell you different. The proposal to recognise a Palestinian state now makes the same mistake as those who try to fast-track the coming of Christ's kingdom. Its advocates may be perfectly sincere, but their actions empower the worst people. They will not create the state they seek. There are differences between the recognition terms being offered by France, Canada and Britain. Canada, for example, imposes quite strong conditions, such as demilitarising the Palestinians. The British version is notably the worst. It demands Hamas release the hostages, but with no penalty if Hamas does not comply. Weirdly, the British position makes our recognition of a Palestinian state dependent on Israel's behaviour in the coming weeks. Recognition will be granted 'unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza and commits to a long-term sustainable peace, including through allowing the UN to restart without delay the supply of humanitarian support … to end starvation, agreeing to a ceasefire, and making clear there will be no annexations in the West Bank'. Is Sir Keir Starmer seriously saying that if Benjamin Netanyahu obeys him and calls off his dogs of war, the case for a Palestinian state falls? If statehood is needed, that need does not depend on how 'good' or 'bad' Bibi decides to be between now and September. And what incentive does Britain give Hamas to offer a ceasefire? We have told the terrorists that if Israel agrees one, we will not recognise Palestinian statehood. What earthly reason will Hamas have for releasing the hostages now? Until the UN General Assembly, when recognition will be declared, it will want to drive Israel into more extreme positions. Then Britain will back the Palestinian state that Hamas wants. This may not matter, since Britain has so little power in the situation, and has now, by its various recent actions, lost all leverage with Israel. For Mr Netanyahu, the latest British pressure need hardly register. The only Western power that matters here is the United States. But why, then, did Sir Keir regard the nearly 80-year-old question of Palestinian statehood as suddenly so urgent that it required an emergency Cabinet meeting this week? And why is it that, for the first time, three G7 members are playing this recognition game? I suppose the answer friendliest to those three states is that they want to forestall Israel. They think that Mr Netanyahu wants to annex Gaza: they fear that President Trump cannot be relied upon to stop him. They imagine their declaration of Palestinian statehood can prevent this. They are right that the Netanyahu government has waged nearly two years of war without disclosing its post-victory plans. That makes everyone nervous. But I fear – a fear confirmed by the hasty, repetitive, almost inarticulate wording of the British statement – that the call for Palestinian state recognition is driven by motives little related to a long-term international settlement. The most obvious is that the countries involved have big, restive Muslim populations to be appeased. Here in Britain, our governing party has a proportion of Muslim membership much higher than that of the general population (thought to be over 60 per cent in London). Labour is shedding votes in all directions. Muslim ones are among the most volatile. It would not be surprising, too, if the security services were privately warning of Islamist attacks stirred up by what is happening in Gaza. Labour is scared. Slightly less obvious, but still powerful, are undercurrents about 'values'. Attending President Macron's speech in Westminster Hall during his state visit, I was struck by his emphasis on recognising Palestine. Although he said it was his own view, he implied it arose from Anglo-French conversations. He waxed eloquent about how 'for us as Europeans there is no double standard' (a remark which implies a false equivalence between Israel and Hamas). Mark Carney takes a similar line. He is back home ruling Canada these days, but there remains no greater devotee of European righteousness. One must not forget that Sir Keir, although outwardly deferential to Trump, is desperate for a shadow EU membership for Britain to wash off what he sees as the stain of nationalism and realign us with the Union our voters rejected in 2016. For him, 'European values' are talismanic. Unfortunately, they have never included robust support for Israel. Then there is colonial guilt. Speaking at Wednesday's UN conference on the two-state solution in New York, the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, invoked 'the hand of history' that famously fingered Tony Blair in Northern Ireland. Britain bears 'the special burden of responsibility' that goes back to the Balfour declaration of 1917, he said. We must protect the 'civil and religious rights' of the Palestinian people which, along with a homeland for the Jews, Balfour promised. Balfour did not promise a Palestinian state, however. There has never been one. Palestinian leaders have rejected all offers of one. This Mr Lammy did not discuss. It is a serious matter to create a new state. As a result, there are four international legal principles for doing so, based not on aspiration, but on facts: does the entity in question have 'a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states'? This Government of lawyers is oddly reluctant to engage with these questions. It was a surprise to hear the distinguished ex-jurist Lord Sumption say on television that it is 'completely clear' that Palestine has met these conditions, especially that of having a government. Until now, such complete clarity has eluded all those who have sought to deal with representatives of the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority is much less than a government. Hamas, as all admit, has no legitimacy whatever. Its plan for statehood was well expressed in its actions of Oct 7 2023. Palestinian statehood, as currently offered, bursts with contradictions. Here is a darkly funny one. At present, the official status of most Palestinians in the territories is that of refugees (the only example in the world of refugee status being hereditary), for whom the UN is responsible. If statehood were granted, they would be refugees no more, so would UNWRA and all its aid have to be sent packing? That is just one of the many things which Sir Keir and colleagues have not thought about.
