Israel enforces laws banning UNRWA
The new laws, which were passed in October, prevent UNRWA from operating in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the organization's spokesperson Jonathan Fowler, said in a statement.
Fowler said the UNRWA distributed humanitarian aid and assistance for nearly 6 million Palestinians. Because of the laws, UNRWA's international staff, originally located in East Jerusalem, has been relocated to Amman, Jordan.
The ban will affect 30,000 UNRWA workers who served Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
UNRWA said Israeli courts did not turn back the laws, almost guaranteeing them to be implemented.
The international community condemned the decision to ban UNRWA last October when the laws were originally passed. It was not clear what organization would step in the place of UNRWA, formally known as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees and Near East.
Yuli Edelstein, chair of Israeli Knesset foreign affairs and defense committee said the bills were needed to secure the country.
Israel accused a small number of UNRWA workers of being involved in the deadly Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 which killed 1,200 and took more than 200 hostages. UNRWA fired nine workers after finding evidence that they may have been connected with the attack.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
2 hours ago
- UPI
Trump directs AG Bondi to unseal Epstein grand jury records
President Donald Trump on Thursday directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to try and unseal grand testimony records related to Jeffrey Epstein. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo July 17 (UPI) -- Amid a deepening furor from his far-right, conspiracy-believing base over his administration's reluctance to make public the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files, President Donald Trump on Thursday directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release "any and all" grand jury testimony related to the disgraced, deceased financier. "Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval," he said on his Truth Social media platform Thursday night. Bondi, on X, responded: "We are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts." Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in his Manhattan jail cell as he was awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges in connection with allegations of running a child sex-trafficking ring. His death, as well as his association with celebrities, including Trump, has led to rampant conspiracy theories. The files, some contend, contain evidence that some of Epstein's high-profile associates also participated in his alleged sex crimes. Trump has come under mounting pressure -- and criticism -- from his Make America Great Again base to release the documents since his Justice Department said earlier this month in a memo that much of the information is under legal seal but that there is "no incriminate 'client list'" in the files and that "there was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions." It also states that Epstein died by suicide, an assertion supported by video footage. Amid the pressure, Trump, who was a friend of Epstein from the late 1980s until the early 2000s, has attempted to blame Democrats for making this an issue, despite his own appointees being among those who have called for the files to be released. He has also repeatedly used the word "hoax" in recent days to describe the situation, though it was unclear what he was calling a deception. Meanwhile, he has thrown blame at former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, among others. When asked during a regular press briefing Thursday afternoon what Trump meant by calling it a "hoax," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed to Democrats playing politics. "The Democrats had control of this building, the White House, for years, and they didn't do a dang thing when it came to transparency in regards to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous crimes," she said. "It was this president who directed the Department of Justice and the attorney general to do an exhaustive review of all files related to Jeffrey Epstein, which they did." She also attempted to shift responsibility from the president to the Justice Department, saying if Bondi, her department and the FBI have "any, more credible evidence in regards to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, they should put that forward." "He has called on them to do that," she said. Many in his base have called on him to appoint a special prosecutor to unseal and release all Epstein-related files, but the White House on Thursday threw cold water on the demand. "The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case. That's how he feels," Leavitt said. Trump also threatened to sue The Wall Street Journal for reporting on a letter to Epstein that bears the president's name. The letter was sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. The Wall Street Journal reported that the document consisted of text typewritten within the outline of a naked woman. On his Truth Social account, Trump claimed the letter was fake. Epstein pleaded guilty in state court in Palm Beach County to two felony charges of soliciting prostitution and soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008, and was sentenced to 18 months but served only 13 months. In 2019, he was arrested again on federal charges of sex trafficking minors in Florida and New York.
Hamilton Spectator
3 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
UN talks with rival leaders of Cyprus fail to reach deal on new border crossings
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief said Thursday that he would have liked more results from his meetings with the rival leaders of divided Cyprus, while the Turkish Cypriot leader said he was 'very, very upset' that there was no agreement on opening four new border crossings. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the meetings 'constructive' and pointed to progress on four of the six initiatives that the leaders agreed to in March. He cautioned, however, that 'there's a long road ahead .' The Mediterranean island was divided in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by Athens junta-backed supporters of uniting the island with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence, and it maintains more than 35,000 troops in the island's northern third. Negotiations between the rivals have been stalled since 2017 . When asked whether he would start a new round, Guterres responded that there is more to be done before any negotiations. The current talks are 'complex,' he said, stressing the very different views of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots on a solution. 'I think we are building, step by step, confidence and creating the conditions to do concrete things to the benefit of the Cypriot people,' the secretary-general said. The agreed-upon, U.N.-endorsed framework for a peace deal has been a reunified Cyprus as a federation composed of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot zones. Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar has been demanding a two-state deal ever since his 2020 election. He faces reelection in October and says he's running on the same two-state platform with Ankara's full backing. Tatar told reporters after the meeting that 'unless our sovereign equality and equal international status is reaffirmed, we will not resume formal negotiations for the resolution of the Cyprus problem.' Greek Cypriots reject any agreement that would formalize partition, fearing Turkey would seek to control the entire island in light of its demand to maintain a permanent troop presence and military intervention rights in Cyprus. Turkey also insists the minority Turkish Cypriots should have veto rights over all federal government decisions. Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides did not speak to reporters after the meeting, which included the foreign ministers of guarantor countries Turkey and Greece and a United Kingdom deputy minister. Despite differences on the future of Cyprus, the rivals have made some progress on trust-building measures. Guterres told reporters that four initiatives had been achieved: creating a technical committee on youth; initiatives on the environment and climate change, including the impact on mining areas ; the restoration of cemeteries; and an agreement on demining, where technical details still need to be finalized. He said discussions will continue on opening four new crossings between the Greek and Turkish sides of the island and on solar energy in the buffer zone between them, which is patrolled by a U.N. peacekeeping force. Tatar accused Christodoulides of preventing the announcement of the four border crossings on Thursday by insisting that one of them go through the buffer zone, which he called unacceptable to Turkish Cypriots. He also sharply criticized Greek Cypriots for pursuing legal action over the sale of properties in the Turkish Cypriot north, saying the moves 'are certainly damaging to the relations of the two peoples and are aimed at damaging our economy and our tourism.' Property rights are a deeply contentious issue in Cyprus. A recent boom in construction of luxury villas and apartments in the north has prompted Cypriot legal authorities to take a more assertive stance toward realtors and developers to discourage what they say is the large-scale 'illegal usurpation' of Greek Cypriot land. Guterres said the meeting also produced an understanding on a consultative body for civil society engagement, exchange of cultural artifacts, an initiative on air quality monitoring and addressing microplastic pollution. The secretary-general said Tatar and Christodoulides agreed to meet with him in late September during the annual gathering of world leaders at the General Assembly and to hold another informal meeting later in the year. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
Syria's New Leader Won Trump's Approval—He May Soon Be on Israel's Hit List
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Syrian Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa may have won over U.S. President Donald Trump, but he now faces the most serious crisis of his seven-month tenure as Israel intensifies operations amid spiraling sectarian violence. Sharaa—who seized power from longtime Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December after a stunning 14-day offensive led by his Islamist rebel group and allied factions—stands accused by Israel of allowing his nascent security forces to perpetrate violence against the country's Druze minority sect in the southwest. While Sharaa and his interim government have argued that authorities were seeking to restore state rule in regions dominated by Druze militias, particularly the province of Al-Sweida, the allegations have prompted Israel to launch strikes against Syrian troops and even target prominent sites in Damascus, including the defense ministry headquarters. The Israeli operations are the most intensive to take place in Syria since the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a sweeping campaign of strikes against military targets and seized further southern territory in the immediate aftermath of Assad's downfall. Additional Israeli ground troops have also been sent to the occupation zone. And with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rhetoric hardening despite Sharaa's calls for de-escalation, the new Syrian leader may himself become a target as have many top foes of Israel over the past 21 months of the country's conflict with the Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance, of which Sharaa was also an ardent opponent. "Israel has showed lately that if Israel feels that a certain leader—like [Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan] Nasrallah, or the leaders of the military of Iran, or the leader of Hamas—is an evident threat to its national security, it will operate," Reda Mansour, a former Israeli ambassador and currently CEO of Jethro Jews for Druze, told Newsweek. "It's a fact, it happened in the last two years," Mansour added. "It wouldn't be Israel's first choice. Israel is probably aware that it might start an anarchy in Syria, but it depends if he started an anarchy anyway, then you have to give to other leaders." Syrian Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa delivers an address regarding Israeli attacks and sectarian clashes in the south, on July 16. Syrian Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa delivers an address regarding Israeli attacks and sectarian clashes in the south, on July 16. Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic The Druze on the Front Lines Mansour is among several prominent members of Israel's Druze community who have advocated for Israeli military action in the face of reports of up to hundreds of Syrian Druze, including women and children, being slain in recent days by Bedouin tribes allegedly backed by Syrian security forces, which include a number of foreign and domestic militias. The Druze are a religious minority composed of ethnic Arabs with a presence across Israel, Lebanon and Syria, which is home to their largest population. They have remained largely neutral throughout Syria's 14-year civil war, with some militias allying with Assad at times, who hails from another religious minority, the Alawites, in majority-Sunni Muslim Syria. A sizable population of Druze also live in the Golan Heights, which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. Druze living within internationally recognized Israeli territory are by and large full Israeli citizens, while the majority of those living in the Golan Heights continue to consider themselves Syrian citizens. Sharaa, whose family has roots in the Golan Heights, initially said little of the growing Israeli incursion and air raids in his country upon coming to power in December. Rather, he directed much of his efforts inward, vowing to respect minority rights and build a more inclusive future for the country. Yet his commitments were quickly undermined by reports of the loosely organized security forces targeting various communities, including Alawites, Druze and Kurds. In February, deadly clashes between Syrian forces and local militias in the largely Druze southern suburbs of Damascus prompted the first major threats from Netanyahu regarding the fate of the minority group. Violence resurfaced in April, drawing sharper warnings from Israel, and appeared to abate for a time in May, only to once again resurface in recent days. Israeli officials have taken the opportunity to portray their country as a guardian of minority rights in the region. "We are determined to deter the regime from harming the Druze, by ensuring the full demilitarization of the border with Syria, acting to defend our common values, and for the protection of minority groups," Sawsan Natour-Hasoun, minister of public diplomacy at the Israeli Embassy to the United States wrote in an op-ed published by Newsweek on Thursday. "Everyone should know that the Druze of Syria stand as the last symbol of pluralism and minority diversity in the Arab-majority region," she added. Sharaa meanwhile has since declared protecting the Druze a "priority" for his administration and accused Israel of "trying to drag us into war and division." Syrian Druze fighters gather in a street after Syrian government forces pulled out of the southern Al-Sweida governorate, on July 17. Syrian Druze fighters gather in a street after Syrian government forces pulled out of the southern Al-Sweida governorate, on July 17. AFP/Getty Images From Fighting US to Meeting Trump The violence in southern Syria follows the Trump administration's decision last week to revoke the foreign terrorist organization of Sharaa's former Hayat Tahrir al-Sham faction, the latest in a series of moves that have indicated a warming in ties between Washington and Damascus. In a brief but high-profile engagement at the Saudi Royal Palace in May, Sharaa met with Trump, whose administration had previously censured the new government for reports of targeting minorities. The U.S. leader went on to announce a lifting of sanctions against Syria that ultimately came into effect in late June. "I think he's very good," Trump said of Sharaa following their meeting in May, "a young, attractive guy. Strong past. Very strong past. A fighter. But he's got a real shot at holding it together." While Sharaa has publicly denounced extremist ideology in recent years, the man long better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has spent much of his life in the ranks of jihadi groups. Born in Damascus, Sharaa traveled to Iraq in his early 20s to join Al-Qaeda as it launched an insurgency against U.S. troops in the wake of the 2003 invasion that toppled President Saddam Hussein. He was detained for a time by U.S. forces and rejoined Al-Qaeda in Iraq upon his release, later traveling to Syria to establish the Nusra Front, effectively operating as Al-Qaeda's branch in the neighboring country amid the outbreak of civil war between Assad and an array of rebel factions in 2011. Sharaa was initially allied at this time with future Islamic State militant group (ISIS) founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but in 2013 ultimately refused to align with his new group, remaining loyal to Al-Qaeda. Sharaa broke with Al-Qaeda as well in 2016 and rebranded his group several times until leading Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to victory last December. As Sharaa began to quickly forge regional and international ties, meeting with Arab and Western leaders, some in Israel continued to express skepticism. "I believe the world, especially the West, especially the U.S. administration, hurried up to embrace him, to give him the credit, the legitimacy without even proving anything," Gadeer Kamal-Mreeh, a former Israeli Knesset member and currently director of Eastern Mediterranean Affairs at the Middle East Forum, told Newsweek. "I don't see here a reliable, liberal, educated, brave leader. I see the opposite," Kamal-Mreeh, who is also a member of Israel's Druze community, added. "I see a fundamentalist radical Islamist leader. I see an element of ISIS. We warned, we signaled, we said that, we predicted that since day one." She called on the Trump administration to apply the brakes on its embrace of Syria and reexamine its policy toward the country. "I believe that the foreign policy in the Middle East of the new administration must hold their horses, must calculate and recalculate their steps, double check and calculate every step again and again," Kamal-Mreeh said. "We cannot simply call Al-Golani handsome, shake the leadership's hands, and give them the green light to proceed and without even checking what are their plans, what they think about in the rebuilding process." She also predicted that Israel would likely remain active in Syria for some time, putting Sharaa himself on notice. "Israeli drones are above Al-Sweida and above every city, including Damascus, as you saw yesterday," Kamal-Mreeh said. "Israel is not hesitating even to attack political and leadership symbols in the palace of Golani or his offices or ministries in a warning signal that you are here crossing the red line." While the U.S. has continued to call on Sharaa's administration to respect Druze rights and withdraw forces from Al-Sweida, it has also engaged in talks with both Israel and Syria in order to put an end to the fighting. Speaking to reporters Thursday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that "the United States did not support recent Israeli strikes" in Syria. U.S. President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Syrian Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 14. U.S. President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Syrian Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 14. Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace/AP Syria on the Brink Many in Syria, however, have drawn the opposite lesson from recent events, which follow efforts by Sharaa to enter into talks with Israeli officials toward de-escalation and, reportedly, even the prospect of normalizing ties. "Israel is not a country where you can expect diplomacy to play a role," Mahmoud Toron, a Syrian politician close to the interim government, told Newsweek. "They have become completely unpredictable, and the last events have proven that." "So now, in the event where Syria has to find itself cornered in between resisting this lunatic behavior of Israel or keep on giving concessions they won't give concessions for too long," he added. As some top Israeli officials, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, part of a far-right faction within Netanyahu's ruling coalition, now openly calling for the Sharaa's assassination, Toron referred to calls emanating from Israel for yet another regime change in Syria as being "against any form of common sense, logic and law." "What if tomorrow Israel decides that the government of Jordan is not friendly anymore? Does that give them the right to launch military activity and overthrow the regime in Jordan? Absolutely not," Toron said. "It is our problem to deal with our leadership, our right, not with the interference of other states by force." Toron also warned that, even short of direct action against Sharaa, Israel's behavior was already "undermining Syria's stability" and that of its government, especially through targeting government institutions. Toron said he was just meters away from the strike that targeted the Syrian Defense Ministry on Wednesday, and warned such actions were giving rise to calls for a more substantive response that ran the risk of devolving into greater insecurity in Syria. "At the end of the day, the army is not yet a fully disciplined army," Toron said. "It's a newly formed army. It's not easy to control the factions within this army, and these factions at the time when they believe that the president is really underperforming when it comes to certain principles, there is a very high risk that they might go offline and start eating on their own." "And this is going to be a problem for Israel," he added. Syrian government security forces deploy amid clashes in the southern Al-Sweida city on July 16. Syrian government security forces deploy amid clashes in the southern Al-Sweida city on July 16. OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images A New War Between Wars While the latest operations mark a new chapter in Israel's intervention in Syria, the IDF has been operating openly in the country for more than a decade. Israeli officials long referred to semi-regular raids against suspected Iran-tied targets in Syria as the "war between wars." This changed on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian Hamas movement launched a massive surprise attack on Israel from another front, the Gaza Strip, sparking a full-scale war that has since engulfed much of the region, including Syria. In addition to the pretext of protecting the Druze, Israeli officials now also justify operations in Syria by arguing that the country could not allow the buildup of hostile forces near Israel's borders. "Israel cannot let south Syria drift into becoming Lebanon or Gaza," Mansour said. "We just had a very painful lesson from those places where we were very reluctant to act. We waited for too long and we paid very dear price. So, the Israeli public mood right now is do everything you need to do to prevent another seventh of October." This strategy includes the enforcement of a "buffer zone" across southern Syria, from Damascus to the Golan Heights, and including Al-Sweida, as Netanyahu reiterated during video remarks on Thursday. Mansour argued that, if Sharaa failed to make good on upholding Druze rights in the south, he could face the establishment of a de facto autonomous region, not unlike U.S.-backed Kurdish forces established in the northeast in the early years of the civil war. "The Druze will help Israel stabilize southern Syria by having an autonomy there, and it would be, I think, good for everybody," Mansour said. "For Israel it's good, for the Druze it's good, and if the government in Damascus doesn't understand the importance of unifying the country, then it will be the price they pay for their policy." But the position of the Trump administration may prove crucial. In addition to withholding support for the latest Israeli strikes, the U.S. has also advocated Syrian unity and territorial integrity, a message that enforced by the White House's role in negotiation a now-stalled deal through which its Kurdish ally, the Syrian Democratic Force, would integrate into the central government. And while Trump remains close to Netanyahu, the U.S. leader has also established close ties with Turkish President Recep Erdogan, whom Trump credited with helping convince him to lift sanctions on Syria in May. Erdogan railed against alleged efforts to divide Syria during a cabinet meeting on Thursday. "We did not consent to the partition of Syria yesterday, and we absolutely will not consent to it today or tomorrow," Erdogan said. "Those dreaming of creating a corridor between the south and the north of Syria at the cost of the country's territorial integrity will never be able to achieve their targets." "We will hinder them in solidarity with our Syrian brothers and sisters," he added. Those who go down the well with Israel's rope will sooner or later realize they have made a grave miscalculation." Tonor, for his part, argued that the repercussions over growing Israeli incursion into the country was an issue not just for Syria and the region, but for the West as well. "Are we concerned of further Israeli infiltration into Syria? Yes, we surely are, because they have not stopped," Tonor said, "and they are literally tens of kilometers from the capital, Damascus, and that is surely a major source of concern, not just to Syria, but also to the Western world." "We speak with diplomats in Damascus. We speak with diplomats outside Damascus," he added. "It is a major concern to them as well."
