UN Security Council to convene for emergency Gaza meeting
Yesterday UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the Israeli plan a "dangerous escalation".
The meeting was requested by the UK, France, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia.
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Yemen situation 'deeply fragile' amid broader regional conflict, UN envoy says
The situation in Yemen is "deeply fragile" and has been exacerbated by the spillover of the Israel-Gaza war, the UN's envoy to the country said on Monday. Hans Grundberg told the UN Security Council that regional turmoil "continues to erode prospects for peace and stability" in the country. "There is an urgent need for proactive and pragmatic measures that can pave the way for peace in Yemen," Mr Grundberg said. Yemen has been mired in conflict for more than a decade, after the Iran-backed Houthis rebelled against the internationally recognised central government. A fragile truce was enacted in 2022, although it has since expired. Mr Grundberg previously outlined three priorities to lay the groundwork for "lasting solutions" in Yemen: supporting de-escalation on the front lines and working with warring parties on the tenets of a ceasefire; establishing a path for talks in line with the December 2023 peace road map; and continuing to work with the regional and international community to stabilise and support the country. On the third point, he highlighted the spillover effects of the Israel-Gaza war, and the retaliatory drone and missile strikes launched by Israel and the Houthis. "Beyond complicating the mediation space for a long-term settlement of the conflict in Yemen, this escalation has led to the near destruction of Yemen's west coast port facilities," Mr Grundberg said. "This is placing immense strain on Yemen's vital infrastructure." Russia condemned Israel for "collectively punishing" the people of Yemen for decisions made by the Houthi leadership. "This once again shows that without a ceasefire in Gaza, it is futile to hope for resolving the situation and leading to regional de-escalation," Russian deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told the council. The US laid responsibility for the situation in Yemen on the Houthis and Iran. "Iran's defiance of this council's resolutions enables the Houthis to escalate regional tensions," said Dorothy Shea, acting US representative to the UN. " Iran's continued support for the Houthis also poses a threat to the people of Yemen and to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea." The Houthis have launched attacks on commercial ships they say have a connection with Israel in the Red Sea. Most recently, the group said it had "rescued" 11 sailors from the Eternity C cargo ship after sinking the vessel. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate. Ramesh Rajasingham, the head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva and director of the Co-ordination Division, told the council that Yemen is now one of the most food-insecure places in the world. "As the economy continues to collapse and pressures on the food pipelines now, many households with access to food can no longer afford it," he said. Mr Rajasingham said that many children have died, not from war wounds, but from hunger, "slow, silent and preventable". "Children are forced to work instead of going to school, and it means that women and adolescent girls face heightened risks of domestic violence, exploitation or child marriage."
The National
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Latest: Egypt says it is working with Qatar and US to revive 60-day Gaza truce plan
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Middle East Eye
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Tucker Carlson gives US conservatives rare window into plight of Palestinian Christians
During conservative media personality Tucker Carlson's podcast on Monday, Mother Agapia Stephanopoulos of the Russian Orthodox church gave his followers rare insight into the lives of Palestinian Christians under Israeli occupation. The show was titled, "Here's What It's Really Like to Live as a Christian in the Holy Land", with the YouTube thumbnail image reading "SEGREGATION". Mother Stephanopoulos has lived in Palestine since 1996 in the Palestinian town of Bethany, in the occupied West Bank, and was one of a string of pro-Palestine guests on the former Fox News host's show. In addition to discussing discrimination against Palestinians, Carlson focused much of the interview on Christian Zionism, a right-wing ideology that believes Jews must return to the Holy Land to bring about the second coming of Christ. 'The problem you have is one with the Christian Zionists, the ones who don't recognise the Christians in the Holy Land as being fully Christian,' Stephanopoulos said. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'We are closed off in Bethany from going to our convent in Jerusalem because of the wall that was built on Palestinian land, on Christian land, there's a Christian home for boys that the Israelis just took over and cut up to make part of the wall,' she continued. Carlson's interview received a variety of responses, many of which were positive. 'i can't believe i'm pushing a tucker carlson video but this is an extremely important interview. especially if you are an american christian. your faith is being hijacked and used against you,' one person wrote. Gaza's Christians mourn 'true loss' of Pope Francis but hail his enduring solidarity Read More » 'Tucker is interviewing the Orthodox who actually have ministered in the region as opposed to Six Flags Over Jesus types', Zaid Jilani posted on X. Another social media user, who has right-wing slogans in his Twitter bio, said, 'watching right now and Mother Agapia is amazing. Thank you for speaking the truth about what is happening to Christians under Israel's terror ☦️❤️✝️'. Still, some conservatives responded negatively to the interview. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, whom both Carlson and Mother Stephanopoulos mentioned by name, responded by saying that what has happened to Carlson was 'tragic'. 'He now routinely attacks Trump, shills for Iran & doesn't bother to hide his all-consuming hatred for Israel,' Cruz wrote. Carlson is a former US TV network host for Fox News who left cable television to start his own YouTube channel that has garnered 4.4 million subscribers to date. Palestinian Christians Palestinian Christians make up up to 10 percent of Palestinians worldwide, and are primarily Greek Orthodox or Catholic. Over 100,000 Palestinian Christians live in Israel, and 45,000 Palestinians reside in the occupied West Bank. They face frequent violence from Israeli settlers and soldiers. Just over 1,000 Palestinian Christians live in Gaza, and many are unable to visit their holy sites due to Israel's war on the enclave. Several churches in Gaza, including the Holy Family Church, Gaza's sole Catholic church, have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli bombardment. The late Pope Francis of the Catholic Church spoke frequently about the plight of Palestinian Christians under Israeli occupation, and called the Holy Family Church every day. His successor, Pope Leo XIV, has not continued this tradition, although he has called for a ceasefire and an end to starvation in Gaza. Stories of occupation Mother Stephanopoulos is not the first person Carlson has invited on his show to talk about Palestine. Previous guests, such as political scientist John Mearsheimer, and the president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, have discussed similar topics, which represents Carlson's shift towards featuring alternative voices outside of the mainstream pro-Israeli US media. Early in the interview, Mother Stephanopoulos explained to Carlson how Israeli laws discriminate against both Muslim and Christian Palestinians. Israeli settlers repeat attack on Palestinian Christian village in West Bank Read More » She explained how Israeli law mandates that Palestinians in the occupied West Bank must drive on separate highways and pass through violent checkpoints in a system described by a United Nations rights expert and a growing list of humanitarian organisations as 'apartheid'. 'So little by little Israel just keeps taking over the land, confiscating, building the settlement, adding the checkpoints, and strangling the life of anybody living there,' Stephanopoulos said. These stories resonated with some social media users, with one user describing them as 'riveting…told so very well, which brings to life the realities of what Zi0nism has done to the Christians in the Levant.' When Carlson asked why Palestinian Christians were being punished for 'Islamic terror', the Orthodox nun discussed armed resistance against Israel. 'I don't think it's Islamic terror that's taking place in the first place. I think we have to disabuse ourselves of that notion that this is a battle between Muslim and Jew,' she responded. 'What is Hamas? Hamas are people who have had their homes taken from them, who, if they live in Gaza, have basically been in an open-air prison for certainly the last 20 years… I know people who wanted to try to go to school in America and couldn't get out of Gaza, you know, had a Fulbright scholarship and weren't able,' she continued. Mother Stephanopoulos also discussed disparities in how western media outlets treat resistance. 'Think about when the war started with Ukraine and Russia. I remember a story in the New York Times, it was a huge story celebrating that a beer factory was now generating Molotov cocktails to throw against the Russians. [In Palestine] hundreds of teenage boys have been killed because Israel will say they were throwing a Molotov cocktail.' The interview drew to an end with a question for Carlson. 'Aren't you, as a media person, horrified?' Stephanopoulos asked. 'Why can't reporters go into Gaza? Reporters are not allowed in large portions of the West Bank now. They call them military zones. What kind of press freedom is that? And what is [Israel] trying to hide?' The interview has generated over half a million views on YouTube and 7.9 million views on X since its initial airing.
