Palestinian Officials Say More Than 20 Gazans Killed Trying to Get Aid
Palestinian Officials Say More Than 20 Gazans Killed Trying to Get Aid
The shooting that killed more than 20 Palestinians has become the deadliest incident since the new Israeli-backed aid-distribution system started last week in Gaza. Photo: Moaz Abu Taha/Zuma Press
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Israeli Finance Minister says banks should not obey EU sanctions on settlers
By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday condemned the country's banks that have refused to provide services to Israeli settlers sanctioned by the European Union and warned they may have to pay compensation to them. The EU last year imposed sanctions on five Israeli settlers for violence against Palestinians and Smotrich said there were reports of sanctions being considered against other settlers. But in a letter to the banking supervisor, he said Israeli banks should not follow a "zero risk" policy since it leads to the abandonment of Israeli clients "under the guise of compliance with foreign sanctions." In a statement quoting his letter to the regulator, Smotrich called on banks to use their legal, economic, and international strength to fight "unjust sanctions". "The banks' enormous profits enable them to take measured risks on behalf of their clients — especially when it comes to a national moral injustice," Smotrich, who leads the far-right Religious Zionism party, said. Should banks continue to comply with sanctions and harm clients, Smotrich said he intended to promote immediate legislation that would require banks to pay substantial compensation to affected customers. He also intends to require the Bank of Israel itself to offer banking services to citizens targeted by sanctions. Responding to the letter, the Bank of Israel said that while banks must comply with international sanctions to avoid an array of risks, a draft directive it published on Thursday aimed to ensure appropriate banking services were available for the affected customers. "Circumventing foreign sanctions regimes through the Israeli banking system exposes banking corporations to multiple risks, including compliance risks, anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing risks, legal risks, and reputational risks," the central bank said. But it said it has taken steps to comply with sanctions "without banks resorting to blanket refusals to serve such customers." While the sanctions in question concern Israeli settlers, the EU is reviewing its broad pact governing its political and economic ties with Israel in the face of mounting international pressure on Israel amid complaints about the lack of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza in the wake of the war triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
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Red Sea marine traffic jumps by 60% in wake of Houthi, US ceasefire
The number of merchant ships using the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait increased after missile and drone attacks by the Houthis slowed. Red Sea marine traffic has increased by 60% to 36-37 ships a day since August 2024, but is still short of volumes seen before Yemen's Houthis began attacking ships in the region, according to the commander of the EU's Aspides naval mission. The number of merchant ships using the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait increased after missile and drone attacks by the Houthis slowed and the US and the rebel group signed a ceasefire deal, Rear Admiral Vasileios Gryparis said in an interview in Madrid. But shipping traffic, which reached a low of 20-23 ships daily in August last year, is still short of an average of 72-75 ships a day seen before the Houthis began attacks in the Red Sea in November in 2023 in support of Palestinians over Israel's war in Gaza, said Gryparis. The mission, which was established to safeguard navigation in the strategic trade route linking the Mediterranean with the Gulf of Asia through the Suez Canal, was extended in February when it was also tasked with tracking illegal arms shipments and monitoring vessels carrying sanctioned Russian oil. The last attack on a merchant ship took place in November 2024 and the Houthis have also narrowed their objectives, saying their targets are Israeli ships and ships that have a connection with Israel or have docked at an Israeli port, Gryparis said. "If you have a vessel that does not correspond to this criteria... there is a huge possibility - more than 99% - that you're not going to be targeted by the Houthis," Gryparis said. Still, Gryparis said he could not guarantee that merchant ships won't be attacked. Some companies have been deterred from using the route because of the mission's lack of ships, which can cause delays of as much as a week for those seeking to be escorted through the area, he said. He said the mission has between two and three ships operating at one time and has requested the EU provide it with 10 ships to increase its capacity for protection. The mission has provided close protection to 476 ships, shot down 18 drones, destroyed two remote-controlled boats used to attack ships and intercepted four ballistic missiles, he said.
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Leadership changes, potential new charges: What's next for the ICC and Israel?
For the time being, the ICC Prosecution and Israel have their hands full with fighting another round over whether the ICC has jurisdiction over Israelis. After years of moving at a snail's pace, news events between Israel and the International Criminal Court have been moving at a dizzying pace lately. On April 24, the ICC Appeals Court gave Israel a happy surprise when it stalled the progress of the ICC Prosecution against Israelis by saying that the ICC lower court needed to more carefully review Jerusalem's objections to the ICC's jurisdiction. But that was far from the end of the story. Israel then tried to use that win before the ICC Appeals Court to get that same court to freeze the arrest warrants which the ICC lower court had approved against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024. In the middle of all of this, over May 17-18, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan took indefinite leave from his position due to unrelated allegations of sexual assault by him against an ICC employee. In his absence, instead of the ICC's Assembly of State Parties appointing a single acting chief prosecutor, it confusingly appointed his two deputies to both run the office. Those deputies, Mame Mandiaye Niang (Senegal) and Nazhat Shameen Khan (Fiji) have always split the roles between criminal investigations and later stages of prosecution. When the ICC Prosecution filed its brief to fight back against Israel on May 21 Shameen Khan signed the papers over Karim Khan's printed signature, potentially signaling that she will run the case until his return. One perplexing aspect of Shameen Khan's role in all of this is that she comes from Fiji, which has an awful human rights record. In fact, Shameen Khan, according to local coverage of Fiji developments, was fired from the country's High Court in a dispute over political coups. She was then out of public service for some years until she was plucked up again to serve on the UN Human Rights Council and from there to the ICC office. Without getting deeply into which side Shameen Khan was on, the point is that she is no stranger to politics mixing in with law, and comes from a country with a problematic version of democracy, all of which raises questions about how she will understand Israel's complex context versus the Palestinians. In any event, her signing on to continuing the Netanyahu and Gallant arrest warrants seems to suggest that even Khan's extended leave from his position (which could turn into him being fired) will not free Israel from the ICC's ongoing scrutiny. One still open question is whether new charges against Israelis will be filed by Khan's deputies, or whether, given their lesser authority, they will stick to only maintaining the existing probe against Netanyahu and Gallant. For example, the Wall Street Journal has reported that right around when Khan decided to step aside, he was seriously considering going after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for their support of the settlement enterprise as well as allegedly their support for Jewish extremists' violence against innocent West Bank Palestinians, such as in Huwara and Jit. In fact, there are even reports that some ICC officials wanted Khan to go after them and the settlement enterprise first back in May 2024, before he decided to go after Netanyahu and Gallant relating to the current war. The strategy for going after Smotrich and Ben Gvir first was that there was more global consensus at that point against those officials and the settlement enterprise, whereas many important countries came to Netanyahu and Gallant's defense. But both because the deputies do not have the same standing as Khan and because the Trump administration's sanctions are deeply harming the ICC's operations - including around half a dozen staff members leaving to avoid sanctions – Shameen Khan may avoid adding new charges against Israelis at this moment. For the time being, the ICC Prosecution and Israel have their hands full with fighting another round over whether the ICC has jurisdiction over Israelis. The Prosecution and the "State of Palestine" must file their next updates by June 27, while Israel can file its response by July 11. Unlike prior rounds of debate on these issues, it appears that the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber will try to reach a decision within several months at most, and will not let the issue drag out over a year or more.
