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Euronews
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Exclusive: Cross-party MEPs call for EU sanctions on Israel over Gaza
A group of 40 cross-party MEPs are pressing on the European Union to suspend its trade deal with Israel and impose sanctions on the Netanyahu-led government, as an UN-backed body warns of signs of famine and widespread starvation in the Gaza Strip. In a joint statement seen exclusively by Euronews, the lawmakers call on the EU to hold the Israeli government accountable for actions that 'blatantly breach the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law.' The statement also urges Hamas to immediately release Israeli hostages still held captive in Gaza after they were kidnapped from Israel during October 7 2023 attacks. 'Future generations will judge today's leaders on their response, or lack thereof, to the atrocities in Gaza. Failing to act now will be remembered as a moral stain on humanity,' the statement reads. 'The time for moral cowardice is over, and action must be swift.' The coalition of MEPs explicitly call for sanctions on the Israeli government, a move the EU has so far avoided despite allies including the United Kingdom and Norway moving to sanction two Israeli ministers considered extremist, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. On Tuesday, the Netherlands imposed travel bans on both ministers in response to the deepening crisis in Gaza. The 40 signatories also press on the Commission to suspend the EU's Association Agreement with Israel, which defines the trading and political relations between both sides, and which has often been touted as the best tool at the EU's disposal to pressure Israel into improving a spiralling humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. A previous review by the EU's diplomatic arm found indications Israel had breached the human rights obligations enshrined in its Association Agreement with the bloc, but the process failed to trigger any concrete reprisals beyond a discussion between the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas and her Israeli counterpart, foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar. Those talks resulted in an 'agreement' by Israel to scale up the humanitarian assistance reaching Gaza. But concerns about the humanitarian situation on-the-ground have mounted since. On Monday, the European Commission tabled the partial suspension of Israel's access to the EU's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme in response to its actions in Gaza. But the signatories of the statement call for a much more stringent response, warning "mere words of condemnation are inadequate." They represent 14 of the EU's 27 countries and six different political groups, from The Left to the centre-right European People's Party (EPP). Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has exposed deep political and national fault-lines in the European Union. But the deepening humanitarian crisis is prompting lawmakers from ideologically opposed groups to join forces in calling for more decisive EU action. 'MEPs from across the spectrum of pro-European, pro-democratic parties have united behind this statement,' MEP Evin Incir, who sits on the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group, told Euronews, adding that more signatories were expected to support the statement in the coming hours. 'Our concerns are directed at both the European Commission and EU member states, who all need to be more decisive in their response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis,' she added. The statement comes as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global watchdog monitoring hunger with the backing of governments and the UN, said there is 'mounting evidence' that 'widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths' in the besieged territory. Israeli government officials have either denied that there is famine in Gaza or deflected the blame. There have been multiple reports of armed gangs looting aid deliveries and selling the contents on the black market, which could be exacerbating the crisis.
Saudi Gazette
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Israel leveling thousands of Gaza civilian buildings in controlled demolitions
JERUSALEM — Israel has demolished thousands of buildings across Gaza since it withdrew from a ceasefire with Hamas in March, with entire towns and suburbs — once home to tens of thousands of people — levelled in the past few weeks. Satellite images show massive amounts of destruction in several areas which Israel's military command claims to have under "operational control". Large swathes of it has been caused by planned demolitions, both to already damaged buildings and ones that appeared largely intact. Verified footage shows large explosions unleashing plumes of dust and debris, as Israeli forces carry out controlled demolitions on tower blocks, schools and other infrastructure. Multiple legal experts told BBC Verify that Israel may have committed war crimes under the Geneva Convention, which largely prohibits the destruction of infrastructure by an occupying power. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said it operated in accordance with international law; that Hamas concealed "military assets" in civilian areas, and that the "destruction of property is only performed when an imperative military necessity is demanded". The scale of destruction can be clearly seen in the city of Rafah, near the border with Egypt. In recent weeks, Israeli forces and contractors have levelled large swathes of Rafah. An analysis of damage by academics Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek found the destruction in Gaza since April has been most concentrated in the region. Controlled explosions, excavators and bulldozers have obliterated whole areas. In July, Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz outlined plans to establish what he called a "humanitarian city" over the ruins of Rafah, with an initial 600,000 Palestinians being confined there. The plan has been widely condemned. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the BBC that the proposal would be "interpreted as being akin to a concentration camp". Israel claims its military has "operational control" over large areas of the Gaza Strip which are now militarised zones or have been under evacuation orders. BBC Verify has identified footage of infrastructure being demolished in 40 locations since the ceasefire ended in March. Tel al-Sultan was one of Rafah city's most vibrant neighbourhoods. Its densely packed streets were home to Rafah's only specialised maternity hospital and a centre caring for orphaned and abandoned children. Satellite images showed that much of the area had already been heavily damaged by Israeli bombing and artillery fire, but dozens of buildings had withstood the barrage. But by 13 July the destruction had escalated, with even the shells of damaged buildings swept away and entire blocks torn to the ground. The hospital is one of a handful of buildings left standing. Similarly, demolitions are now under way in the adjacent Saudi neighbourhood — once home to the city's largest mosque and several schools. One verified clip showed a tank moving along a street in Rafah while a digger works by the side of the road. Israeli demolitions are also visible in other parts of the strip which appear to have avoided heavy damage during earlier bombardments. The farming town of Khuza'a is located about 1.5km (0.9 miles) from the Israeli border. Before the war the town had a population of 11,000 people and was known for its fertile farmlands and crops such as tomatoes, wheat and olives. By mid-June, Khuza'a was largely razed by the Israeli forces. The IDF says it demolished 1,200 buildings in Khuza'a, which it alleged were part of "terror infrastructures" run by Hamas. A similar story emerges in the nearby town of Abasan al-Kabira, where about 27,000 people lived before the war. Photos taken on 31 May and 8 July indicate that an extensive area was swept away in just 38 days. Israel has created extensive "security zones" and corridors separating parts of Gaza, and has destroyed large numbers of buildings along and near these routes. Its latest corridor separates western from eastern Khan Younis, including Khuza'a and Abasan al-Kabira. Also since early in the war analysts have suggested that Israel has been attempting to create deep "buffer zones" by destroying buildings near to the border, but some of the areas flattened recently are deep into Gaza. In Qizan Abu Rashwan — an agricultural settlement about 7km from the Israeli border — virtually every structure left standing has been demolished since 17 May. One video we verified showed a controlled explosion levelling a cluster of tower blocks. BBC Verify presented the IDF with a list of places in which we documented demolitions and asked it to provide specific military justifications. It did not do so. "As has been widely documented, Hamas and other terrorist organizations conceal military assets in densely populated civilian areas," an IDF spokesperson said. "The IDF identifies and destroys terrorist infrastructure located, among other places, within buildings in these areas." Several human rights lawyers who spoke to BBC Verify suggested the campaign could amount to war crimes. Eitan Diamond — a senior legal expert at the Diakonia International Humanitarian Law Centre in Jerusalem — said there was little justification under the Fourth Geneva Convention, the document which generally covers the protection of civilians in wartime. "International humanitarian law prohibits such controlled destruction of civilian property during armed conflict, except under narrow conditions of absolute military operational necessity," Mr Diamond said. "Destruction of property because of concerns or speculations about its possible future use (for example, that it will be used to launch attacks in the future) falls well outside this exception." Professor Janina Dill, co-director of Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law & Armed Conflict, said an occupying power must administer a region for the benefit of the population — which she said was "incompatible with a military approach that simply makes the territory uninhabitable and leaves nothing standing". But some analysts have sought to defend the IDF's campaign. Many of the buildings the IDF has demolished had already been left in ruins by shelling and air strikes, said Prof Eitan Shamir, director of the BESA Center For Strategic Studies in Israel and an ex-official with the Ministry of Strategic Affairs. He told BBC Verify they posed a safety risk for returning civilians, especially "during winter rains when they are more likely to collapse". Prof Shamir also alluded to tactical concerns. "The area is a combat zone," he said. "Even when a building has been entered and cleared by the IDF, once the Israelis exit it, the terrorists often return to plant bombs or hide inside to shoot at them." There is no sign of a let-up in the pace of the demolitions. Israeli media reported last week that the IDF had received dozens of D9 bulldozers from the US, which had been suspended under the Biden administration. And BBC Verify identified dozens of adverts posted to Israeli Facebook groups which were offering work in Gaza to demolition contractors. The majority of the posts have been shared by recruiters since May. Many of the ads specify areas of Gaza where the work will occur, such as "the Philadelphi Corridor" and "the Morag Axis" — both areas controlled by the IDF. When approached for comment by BBC Verify, one contractor replied: "Go [expletive] yourself, you and Gaza." One analyst — Adil Haque of Rutgers Law School — suggested that the IDF's demolitions could be seeking to create a "security zone" that it could "permanently control". Other analysts say the demolitions could be clearing the ground to develop the proposed "humanitarian city" in Rafah. Efraim Inbar — President of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security — suggested they could be seeking to encourage Palestinians to leave the strip entirely by increasing "the strong desire to emigrate". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously told a group of MPs in a closed-door meeting widely reported in Israeli media that the IDF was "destroying more and more homes" leaving Palestinians with "nowhere to return to". For Gazans, the devastation has been intense. Moataz Yousef Ahmed Al-Absi from Tel al-Sultan said his home had been swept away. "I had just moved into my home a year before the war started, and I was incredibly happy with it, holding high hopes for my future. Now, it's been completely destroyed," he said. "After losing everything, I no longer have a home or a shelter." — BBC
Leader Live
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Leader Live
Food distribution system for Palestinians ‘like hunger games', says archbishop
Archbishop Hosam Naoum spoke at the Church of England's General Synod on Tuesday, in which he urged Church leaders to support a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine and call for a permanent ceasefire. The Anglican bishop, who is chief pastor of 28 parishes across Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, addressed the final day of the latest gathering of the Church's parliament, sitting in York. He said that in Palestine 'medical supplies are in short supply; food distribution system is horrifying, with three sites open one hour a day for two million people – it looks for me like hunger games'. His comments appeared to reference the dystopian film series The Hunger Games. The archbishop said it had been reported last month by an Israeli news organisation that 'more than 500 have been killed by (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers'. He called on Israel to urgently adhere to the Geneva Convention 'as its current practices are unacceptable'. The archbishop said there should be: 'No bombing of hospitals, lifting of siege, restoration of humanitarian supplies including food and medicine under UN supervision, no targeting of civilians, especially emergency workers and medical staff. 'Release of all hostages and captives. 'Permanent ceasefire needed… rebuilding of Gaza. 'No ethnic cleansing that is presently being discussed by Israeli and US governments. 'Until all of this is achieved and established, every other part of our lives and our ministries is covered in a shroud of death.' Calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state, the archbishop concluded: 'We are not politicians; however, we need to speak out in the face of injustices and be prophetic for the sake of our people.' The archbishop said people on either side of the divide refused to talk about the 'alien terms' of peace-building and reconciliation. He told the Synod: 'As a church, we are committed to peace-building and reconciliation. 'These are alien terms that people across the divide refuse to talk [about]. 'Unfortunately both Palestinians and Israelis refuse to listen yet we are deeply committed to the Lord's teaching and message of peace and love.' He said the church was a source of resilience and had a role to provide tenacity to worshippers, adding: 'The church is to be the source of hope for people it serves – especially in hopeless situations.' His address was received with a standing ovation from the assembly.
South Wales Guardian
15-07-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Guardian
Food distribution system for Palestinians ‘like hunger games', says archbishop
Archbishop Hosam Naoum spoke at the Church of England's General Synod on Tuesday, in which he urged Church leaders to support a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine and call for a permanent ceasefire. The Anglican bishop, who is chief pastor of 28 parishes across Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, addressed the final day of the latest gathering of the Church's parliament, sitting in York. He said that in Palestine 'medical supplies are in short supply; food distribution system is horrifying, with three sites open one hour a day for two million people – it looks for me like hunger games'. His comments appeared to reference the dystopian film series The Hunger Games. The archbishop said it had been reported last month by an Israeli news organisation that 'more than 500 have been killed by (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers'. He called on Israel to urgently adhere to the Geneva Convention 'as its current practices are unacceptable'. The archbishop said there should be: 'No bombing of hospitals, lifting of siege, restoration of humanitarian supplies including food and medicine under UN supervision, no targeting of civilians, especially emergency workers and medical staff. 'Release of all hostages and captives. 'Permanent ceasefire needed… rebuilding of Gaza. 'No ethnic cleansing that is presently being discussed by Israeli and US governments. 'Until all of this is achieved and established, every other part of our lives and our ministries is covered in a shroud of death.' Calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state, the archbishop concluded: 'We are not politicians; however, we need to speak out in the face of injustices and be prophetic for the sake of our people.' The archbishop said people on either side of the divide refused to talk about the 'alien terms' of peace-building and reconciliation. He told the Synod: 'As a church, we are committed to peace-building and reconciliation. 'These are alien terms that people across the divide refuse to talk [about]. 'Unfortunately both Palestinians and Israelis refuse to listen yet we are deeply committed to the Lord's teaching and message of peace and love.' He said the church was a source of resilience and had a role to provide tenacity to worshippers, adding: 'The church is to be the source of hope for people it serves – especially in hopeless situations.' His address was received with a standing ovation from the assembly.
SoraNews24
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- SoraNews24
Japan to make foreign driver's license conversions more difficult, exclude tourists from eligibility
Tests to become more like regular Japanese license exams, which is to say, crazy hard. As we reported last year, there's been a recent upswing in applications for Japanese driver's licenses by people who don't even live in Japan. This is because Japan has a system known as 'gaimen kaigan,' which allows residents of certain countries to convert their own licenses to official Japanese ones. Other countries have similar systems, but Japan's was surprisingly lenient in many ways. Mainly, it's been technically possible to get a license conversion done while simply on vacation in Japan by providing a hotel address as one's place of residence. The written test was also remarkably easier, wherein an examinee must get seven correct out of 10 questions, which include brain-benders such as 'Is this a stop sign?' ▼ 'Is it a good idea to plaster your car?' is probably not among the questions, but it might as well be. This made getting a Japanese license conversion a popular thing to do for Chinese citizens. This is because China was not a part of the Geneva Convention's international driving permit treaty, but Japan is. Therefore, if a Chinese national first gets a driver's license in Japan, then uses it to obtain a Japanese driver's license via the easier conversion test in Japan, they can then use their Japanese driver's license to drive more easily in countries all over the world. The total number of foreign nationals getting license conversions, including those properly living in Japan, has more than doubled to over 68,000 in the past 10 years. Unfortunately, last year also saw a record-high number of traffic accidents caused by foreign drivers, at 7,286. A string of recent accidents in particular revealed that the drivers were using gaimen kaigan licenses, causing lawmakers to question whether the current testing system is enough. As a result, Japan's National Police Agency announced revisions to the system on 10 July. The first revision would prevent short-term residents from getting a license conversion because only a proper Ministry of Justice residence card will be accepted, and temporary addresses such as those of hotels will be refused. One exception is that Japanese nationals can submit a temporary residence address if they also provide a copy of their family register. Both written and driving tests will also become more difficult and in line with the test for a normal Japanese driver's license. The written test will become 50 questions rather than 10, and a 90 percent score will be needed to pass. The driving test will include more skills, such as navigating crosswalks and changing lanes. ▼ Honestly though, crosswalks and changing lanes were pretty simple and common sense. Just remember to HUG THE TURNS! These rules are not finalized, however. From 11 July to 9 August, the National Police Agency is accepting feedback from the public. After that, they will make further revisions if needed and decide on the final law, which they expect to begin enforcing on 1 October. So, if you're a foreign resident of Japan who has yet to convert your driver's license, now would be the time to do it. Otherwise, you can let your voice be heard with the National Police Agency and try to get a gaimen kaigan system that would be fair for all parties involved. Source: TBS News Dig Top image: Pakutaso Insert images ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
