Israel authorizes more Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank
Israel said Thursday it would establish 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalization of outposts already built without government authorization.
Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. Most of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to resolving the decades-old conflict.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the settlement decision 'strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria,' using the biblical term for the West Bank, "anchors our historical right in the Land of Israel, and constitutes a crushing response to Palestinian terrorism.'
He added it was also 'a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel.'
Israel has already built well over 100 settlements across the territory that are home to some 500,000 settlers. The settlements range from small hilltop outposts to fully developed communities with apartment blocks, shopping malls, factories and public parks.
The West Bank is home to 3 million Palestinians, who live under Israeli military rule with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers. The settlers have Israeli citizenship.
Israel has accelerated settlement construction in recent years — long before Hamas ' Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in Gaza — confining Palestinians to smaller and smaller areas of the West Bank and making the prospect of establishing a viable, independent state even more remote.
During his first term, President Donald Trump's administration broke with decades of U.S. foreign policy by supporting Israel's claims to territory seized by force and taking steps to legitimize the settlements. Former President Joe Biden, like most of his predecessors, opposed the settlements but applied little pressure to Israel to curb their growth.
The top United Nations court ruled last year that Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and called on it to end, and for settlement construction to stop immediately. Israel denounced the non-binding opinion by a 15-judge panel of the International Court of Justice, saying the territories are part of the historic homeland of the Jewish people.
Calls for settlements in war-ravaged Gaza
Israel withdrew its settlements from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but leading figures in the current government have called for them to be re-established and for much of the Palestinian population of the territory to be resettled elsewhere through what they describe as voluntary emigration.
Palestinians view such plans as a blueprint for their forcible expulsion from their homeland, and experts say the plans would likely violate international law.
Israel now controls more than 70% of Gaza, according to Yaakov Garb, a professor of environmental studies at Ben Gurion University, who has examined Israeli-Palestinian land use patterns for decades.
The area includes buffer zones along the border with Israel as well as the southern city of Rafah, which is now mostly uninhabited, and other large areas that Israel has ordered to be evacuated.
The war began with Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas still holds 58 hostages, around a third of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements. Israeli forces have rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
The longest division: can Palestinian and Israeli students compete at the International Maths Olympiad?
For six Palestinian teenagers, it could be a 'life-changing opportunity'. The youngsters have been selected for the International Mathematics Olympiad, to be held on Australia's Sunshine Coast in July, but it is unclear whether they will be able to leave Gaza and the West Bank to take part. At the same time the IMO faces calls to suspend Israel's membership and allow its students to compete solely as private entrants. National teams around the world are in training camps for the trip to Australia, being coached by academics as they prepare to compete for medals – and the ticket such prizes offer to just about any university in the world. The Palestine team leader, Samed AlHajajla, says the IMO should be the start of a journey towards a glittering career. 'Having a mind to solve these problems is incredibly rare,' AlHajajla says. 'They are the best in Palestine, they are the top students. Being an IMO competitor, it takes a lot of hard work and talent and gifts and, for them [in training for the IMO] they can exercise that, they can exercise some freedom inside the prison which is Gaza. 'For them [it should be] a life-changing opportunity where they can taste freedom for the first time.' The problem facing AlHajajla and his young Palestinians is logistical and political. Last year, four Palestinians – two from Gaza and two from the West Bank – were selected for the 2024 IMO in Bath, England, but were unable to take part. The closure of the Rafah crossing meant those in Gaza could not leave. Visas and passports for those in the West Bank were approved by British and Israeli authorities, but did not arrive in time. A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Australia says they are 'not aware of any evidence that Israel delayed or refused visas for the Palestinian team at the last IMO, nor do we have information suggesting this will occur now'. Mike Clapper is the interim chief executive of the Australian Mathematics Trust, which is organising the Sunshine Coast event. He says it is 'very much our hope' that the Palestinian team will be able to come in person. 'We are exploring all the avenues that we can to try to make it possible for the Palestinians to participate,' he says. Whether Palestinians can compete is only one part of the IMO's problem. The other is whether Israelis should be allowed to do so. On 6 May a letter signed by more than 700 mathematicians was issued to the IMO under the heading 'Mathematics and Moral Responsibility: the IMO and the Genocide in Gaza'. The letter calls on the IMO to do as it did when it suspended Russia's membership after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine – while allowing its six students to compete remotely as private individuals. Russia remains suspended. Signatories come from a diverse range of countries, universities and career stages: from Australia to Morocco to Switzerland; from Oxford to Stanford to the University of Carthage; from PhD researchers to associate professors to three winners of the Fields medal – the award often referred to as the Nobel prize of maths. The letter – seen by Guardian Australia – has not been published, to protect signatories from harassment. Among them is an Israeli, a former IMO medallist, who asked for their name to be withheld. 'I needed to think about it for a second because of the potential danger,' they say. 'If I would tell this to random people in the street it would be, I would not say controversial, it would be considered a clearcut treasonous thing to do.' But, they say: 'We see what is happening in Gaza: there's war crimes, there's starvation, the genocide. For me it is clearcut. It is the moral thing – it is the obligatory thing to do in this situation.' They hope the suspension of Israel would be a symbolic act that would help 'put a mirror in the face of the Israeli nation'and cause their compatriots to reflect on 'what direction this country is going'. The Israeli embassy in Canberra flatly rejected the call. 'The embassy strongly opposes any call to suspend Israel's IMO membership or to boycott its students,' its spokesperson said. 'Mathematics must remain apolitical and inclusive.' The Israeli signatory, like so many young mathematicians, says competing at the IMO was a 'transformative experience'. The first signatory of the letter is the research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, Ahmed Abbes. The son of a Tunisian high school maths teacher, he recalls the IMO as his 'making as a mathematician'. Abbes won a bronze medal at his first IMO in Canberra in 1988. The following year in Braunschweig, Germany, he won silver, rubbing shoulders and making lifelong connections with teenagers who would go on to become some of the world's most influential people. Ranked No 1 in the world in 1988, for the second year running, was Nicuşor Dan, who won a second consecutive gold medal with his second perfect score. In May, he emerged from Romania's political crisis as its new president. At that same IMO the Australian prime minister, Bob Hawke, presented a gold medal to an even younger prodigy, a 12-year-old Australian called Terence Tao. Tao remains the youngest ever IMO gold medallist and is now regarded by many as the greatest living mathematician. A more recent example of the IMO's power to transform lives is Ihor Pylaiev. Pylaiev was plucked from war-ravaged Kharkiv in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine to continue his studies in Paris. He won his second gold medal in Oslo, this time with a perfect score and the top world ranking. He is now studying at Cambridge on a scholarship with colleagues from the Ukrainian IMO team. Abbes, who led efforts to support Pylaiev and the Ukrainian students, says the mathematical community's response to the Russian invasion is another chapter in its proud history of standing up for human rights. 'When you accept that there are universal values, you just apply them, like you apply a mathematical theorem,' Abbes says. 'When you see clearly the double standard [in not applying the same lens to Israel], as a mathematician you cannot accept this.' The president of the IMO board, Gregor Dolinar, denies accusations of double standards. Since assuming the presidency in 2023, the Slovenian professor has overseen the incorporation of the IMO as an association, based in the Netherlands. 'I wanted to make things more formal, more professional,' Dolinar says. 'Now we have set up a government structure properly.' Dolinar says it is his 'strong belief' that important decisions such as suspending nations should be made not by his board, but by the IMO jury, which includes representatives from more than 100 states and territories. The jury, he says, will meet at the Sunshine Coast in July and could make the decision to suspend Israel then. 'Our primary goal is just focusing on [developing] young minds and, based on a very long tradition, doing a nice event,' Dolinar says. 'We really do want to avoid any political issues. We really do want to be apolitical. 'Our primary goal is to enable as many kids as possible to participate at the IMO.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Starving Palestinians fear being shot dead for a bag of lentils as Gaza aid points close
Starving Palestinians fear 'being killed while trying to get a bag of lentils', aid workers warned as the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) closed aid centres for the second time in a week. Aid agencies told The Independent that the GHF is already failing at providing aid to the enclave's starving population. The GHF, run by a private group of US military contractors and endorsed by the Israeli military, announced on Friday that all of its distribution centres in Gaza would close until further notice. The US-backed organisation had already urged Palestinians to stay away from all of its three centres for safety reasons following a series of deadly shootings earlier this week. Dozens of people were shot dead near the GHF's Rafah site over three consecutive days in scenes described as 'appalling' by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The GHF said that a reopening date would be announced later on Friday, with the closures sparking further concern that the organisation is ill-equipped to deal with the dire humanitarian situation in the enclave. The UN has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave ended last month. 'These are not humanitarians, they are people with guns,' said James Elder, a spokesperson for Unicef who arrived in Rafah two days ago. 'Without a doubt, [the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation] is unsustainable because it's politicised and militarised.' Since he arrived in Gaza, he says 'nothing has been open', despite claims by the GHF that they fed an additional 1.4 million meals from two sites in the Tal Sultan and Saudi neighbourhoods in Rafah on Thursday. They say they have distributed more than eight million meals in total. When approached by The Independent over these claims, the GHF said it had delivered almost 8.5 million meals and would 'look at additional improvements' to its aid operation. Salma Altaweel, an aid worker for the Norwegian Refugee Council based in Gaza City in the north, where there are currently no GHF distribution centres, told The Independent she could 'see desperation on people's faces'. 'The food situation has reached a desperate point,' she says. 'The new distribution mechanism has failed to meet people's basic needs. 'People here talk about how they fear getting killed while trying to receive a bag of lentils. Here in the north, I have seen no aid come in, only more people displaced by Israel's repeated relocation orders.' On Thursday, the GHF said it was working on 'operational plans' to open additional distribution sites, including in northern Gaza. Mr Elder said he had spoken to one 23-year-old woman in hospital who had travelled miles to one of the distribution points earlier this week only to be nearly killed as the Israelis opened fire. She was squashed up against the wire fence running up to the aid area, cutting her leg and arm. The woman ended up leaving with no food. Asked if she would go back despite the dangers posed by the trip, Mr Elder said she replied quickly: 'Yes, because I have no food'. He said that with parents being forced to leave their children to go to these distribution centres, or face bringing them on round-trips that can be as long as a marathon and involve moving into combat zones where civilians are being killed, the GHF operations were adding 'another layer of risk'. 'I spoke to dozens of adults who said they would rather risk hunger than have their children die when they're not there,' he said, adding that the bombardment of Israeli missiles is 'as intense as ever'. The GHF had already been accused of lacking neutrality given its backing by the US and Israeli government. Under their plan, Palestinians must travel into militarized zones miles away from their homes to access vital aid. Jake Wood, the former head of the GHF, resigned two weeks ago after admitting the group would not be able to fulfil the principles of 'humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence'. Sara Hashash, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa, said the GHF is the 'wrong response' to the chronic food shortages in Gaza. 'Israel's newly established militarised humanitarian aid scheme, run by the GHF is the wrong response to Gaza's manmade humanitarian disaster,' she said. 'The scheme is gravely at odds with humanitarian imperatives and international humanitarian law. It actively puts the lives of Palestinians at risk and woefully fails to provide effective humanitarian relief.'
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Gaza marks start of Eid with outdoor prayers in rubble - as Israel warns of intensive new military operations
Israel has issued a fresh warning to civilians, saying its military is about to carry out intensive operations in northern Gaza. It comes after Israel said rockets were fired from the area. Palestinians across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip have marked the start of one of Islam's most important holidays, amid little hope the conflict will end any time soon. Much of Gaza lies in ruins, with men and children forced to hold the traditional Eid al Adha prayers in the open air, and as food supplies dwindle. 8:49 Food and aid were blocked from entering the Palestinian territory for more than two months, but a trickle of supplies has been allowed in over the last few weeks. The UN said it cannot distribute much of the aid, due to the risk of looters and restrictions on movement. "This is the worst feast that the Palestinian people have experienced because of the unjust war against the Palestinian people," said Kamel Emran after attending prayers in the southern city of Khan Younis. "There is no food, no flour, no shelter, no mosques, no homes, no mattresses... The conditions are very, very harsh." The Islamic holiday begins on the 10th day of the Islamic lunar month of Dhul-Hijja, during the Hajj season in Saudi Arabia. It is the second year Muslims in Gaza have been unable to travel to the country to perform the traditional pilgrimage. 2:50 The war broke out after the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas -led militants. Some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others were abducted and taken to Gaza. Hamas is still holding 56 hostages, with a third of them believed to be alive. The rest have been released in ceasefire agreements, with forces rescuing eight living hostages from Gaza and recovering dozens of bodies. 0:42 Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in its military campaign, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians or combatants in its figures.
