Middle East latest: Israel says it will expand West Bank settlements; deadly break-in at Gaza aid warehouse
Israel has authorised 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. Meanwhile, at least two people have died during a break-in at a UN warehouse in Gaza. Sky News will air a special on the Gaza crisis at 9pm tonight. Follow the latest, and listen to The World podcast as you scroll, below.
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The Independent
15 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump could yet deliver a ceasefire in the Middle East
It is given to few to peer inside the minds of the Hamas leadership, so their precise motives for rejecting the latest ceasefire offer cannot be easily discerned. However, there are some consequences of their policy which are not difficult to determine. Many more innocent Palestinian people will starve to death, or be injured and die, more children will be orphaned, the remaining Israeli hostages will continue to be kept in tortuous conditions, the war will continue, and neither the state of Israel nor the Palestinian occupied territories will enjoy the kind of security taken for granted in most nations on earth. The slide into the abyss, in other words, will continue. The tragedy of the Palestinian people has many facets and many cruel ironies attached to it. An overriding one that has come into sharp focus since Hamas committed its terrorist atrocities on 7 October 2023 is that which condemns the people of Gaza and the occupied West Bank to continued suffering. The paradox is that those who have the power to help the Palestinians – the Israeli authorities, Hamas and the Trump administration – do not really wish to do so; and those who want to help the Palestinians – European and other nations, the UN agencies, bodies of opinion in Israel and America too – lack the power to do so. The fundamental, inconvenient and obscene fact of political life in the region is that it suits the Netanyahu administration and the Hamas leadership equally well to prolong this war. That is why so many ceasefire initiatives have failed, and the few uneasy periods of peace have soon enough collapsed into renewed bloodshed and misery. Indeed, the last such ceasefire and its failure, in March, arguably made matters even worse because the Israelis then decided to impose a blockade on humanitarian aid reaching the civilian population, who are, in any case, continually displaced and left under bombardment of one kind or another. Every so often, there is some diplomatic breakthrough and a ceasefire is proposed by one side, brokered by the US and maybe some regional partner such as Qatar or Egypt… which is then rejected by the other. Often this happens even where the two sides are surprisingly – but also suspiciously – close to agreement. It is very much as though these leaders do not yearn for peace. In the latest failing case, Hamas won't accept the terms because they wouldn't necessarily mean a permanent end to the war. But the fact that the Israelis won't offer such an outcome unconditionally is only to be expected – and a 60-day ceasefire could lead to an extension and an eventual end to the war, and especially if those remaining hostages were to be released. Obviously, there's nothing to stop the Israelis resuming the violence, but that will always be the case, just as Hamas is unlikely to renounce violence forever, as Israel demands. The point of a ceasefire is that it opens up possibilities. These possibilities include the survival of more blameless civilians, and a chance for some sort of progress towards at least a temporary settlement, and to avoid the bizarre Trump plan to turn a depopulated Gaza into an American-administered beach resort. The Israelis must have come under some pressure from the Trump administration and its envoy, Steve Witkoff, to assent to a ceasefire of any kind, because Mr Netanyahu depends so much for his domestic political survival on prosecuting an unceasing, disproportionate and inhumane war. But rejection of the ceasefire also suits Hamas, who have shown definitively that they care little for the people of Gaza. They are, in fact, using their intolerable suffering to move opinion among Israel's Arab neighbours, the Muslim world and among Israel's traditional friends and allies in the West militantly against Israel. That may not have been a concrete, conscious plan when they contemplated the 7 October attacks – but Israel's unprecedented and increasing international isolation, exacerbated by extreme elements calling for the expulsion of Palestinians from their land, is nonetheless extremely welcome to Hamas and its friends in Tehran. The principal hope for something like a respite in the fighting and averting a mass famine is that President Trump can now add to the pressure on both sides to accept his ceasefire. Events in recent weeks point to the president becoming impatient with his Israeli counterpart, and more willing to make him change course and at least to permit aid to get through. Mr Trump has his own business and geopolitical agenda in the Middle East, as witnessed in his recent tour of the Gulf States, the acceptance of a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the Qatari government, and the series of direct talks with the Iranians in Rome. It is through these channels that the White House can also push Hamas towards accommodating Israeli wishes and securing the ceasefire. The gap between Hamas and Mr Netanyahu could be easily bridged and, with his keenness on improving relations with Iran and his frustration with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Trump is well placed and well incentivised to build that bridge – if others will let him.
Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump's threat to destroy Iran nuclear sites a clear red line
DUBAI, May 30 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities is a clear red line and will have severe consequences, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported on Friday. "If U.S. seeks a diplomatic solution, it must abandon the language of threats and sanctions," an unnamed Iranian official said, adding that such threats "are open hostility against Iran's national interests." Trump told reporters, opens new tab on Wednesday at the White House: 'I want it (nuclear agreement) very strong where we can go in with inspectors, we can take whatever we want, we can blow up whatever we want, but nobody getting killed. We can blow up a lab, but nobody is gonna be in a lab, as opposed to everybody being in the lab and blowing it up.' Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities if diplomacy fails to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme. Trump said on Friday that an Iran deal was possible in the "not-too-distant future."
North Wales Chronicle
25 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Jury heard contrasting evidence about Gerry Adams' reputation
One witness said Mr Adams had a reputation of 'seriousness and dependability', while another said it was of a 'warmonger'. Contrasting evidence was also heard about the BBC Spotlight programme that originally broadcast the allegation that Mr Adams sanctioned the murder of British agent Denis Donaldson. One expert media witness said the broadcast did not meet the corporation's editorial thresholds of responsible journalism, while another said it was not unfair or unjust. While the focus of attention in the high-profile trial concentrated on the evidence of Mr Adams and Spotlight journalist Jennifer O'Leary, several other witnesses gave evidence over four weeks. Mr Adams' legal team called the former solicitor for the Donaldson family, Ciaran Shiels, as a witness. He told the jury he had had contact with the BBC team before the Spotlight programme was broadcast. Asked what he would have said to Ms O'Leary if she had put to him the allegation against Mr Adams, Mr Shiels said: 'I would have said to her that not only was she barking up the wrong tree, she wasn't even in the right orchard.' Mr Adams' team then called John Martin O'Loan, who has previously held roles involving senior editorial responsibility, including by establishing Sky News, as an expert on journalistic standards. He told the court: 'The BBC did not meet the editorial thresholds of responsible journalism in its inclusion and presentation of the solo anonymous allegations against Mr Adams.' He said the segment of the Spotlight programme containing the allegation that Mr Adams sanctioned the killing 'lacked sufficient editorial veracity to be published'. Former US congressman Bruce Morrison, who worked with Bill Clinton on Northern Ireland's peace process, gave his evidence by videolink from Bethesda, Maryland. Mr Morrison said Mr Adams was a controversial figure but his reputation was one of a 'serious man on a serious mission who was committed to' the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement. He said his impression of Mr Adams' reputation was that he was an 'elder statesmen' and 'distinguished leader' who had made an 'extraordinary contribution' to change in Northern Ireland. The BBC's legal team also dealt with the Spotlight broadcast and Mr Adams' reputation when it called witnesses to give evidence. Chris Banatvala, who drew up the UK's broadcasting rules for Ofcom and was its founding director of standards, compiled a report based on the Spotlight programme. He told the jury: 'What I have written is, on balance, given the significant public interest, what information is already in the public domain about Gerry Adams, the fact that the BBC reasonably believed its primary source, 'Martin', to be credible and reliable, that the BBC had corroborative evidence from other credible and multiple sources. 'It was couched in terms of allegations, there was an appropriate and timely opportunity to respond, the programme would probably not be found in breach and not be unfair or unjust to Mr Adams.' Campaigners for Troubles victims, Ann Travers and Trevor Ringland, described Mr Adams as as a 'warmonger' and 'peace taker'. Ms Travers' sister Mary was killed by the Provisional IRA in an attack in which her father Tom Travers, who was a lawyer who became a magistrate in 1979, was also shot six times. Asked about Mr Adams, she said: 'His reputation would be one of having been a warmonger.' Asked to explain why, she replied: 'For the Troubles, supporting the IRA and the murder of innocent people.' Mr Ringland, a former Irish rugby international, told the jury his father was shot by the IRA. Asked for the public's perception of Mr Adams, he replied: 'He is seen as a peace taker, not a peacemaker.' He added: 'I think the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland would regard him as a peace taker.' Former Irish attorney general Michael McDowell was called by the BBC to speak about Mr Adams' reputation. He said: 'Amongst the public, he is known as a politician now who was a leading member of the IRA and who was active in the IRA during the period of its armed struggle against the forces of law and order on this island.' He added: 'He is reputed to have been a chief negotiator in, I think, 1974 between the provisional movement and the British government and thereafter he was reputed to have a role in the Belfast IRA as its commanding officer. 'Later he was reputed to have become a member of the Army Council of the IRA.' Referring to the time of the peace process, he said: 'During that period, the view of the (Irish) government based on intelligence briefings was that Mr Adams was a member of the Army Council and was a leading member of the Army Council.' Asked about Mr Adams' reputation among politicians more generally, he added: 'I've never met any politician who did not believe he was a leading member of the IRA during its 'armed struggle', as it calls it, and thereafter he was a dominant figure within Army Council.'
