logo
Spain PM says Gaza in 'catastrophic situation of genocide'

Spain PM says Gaza in 'catastrophic situation of genocide'

Sharjah 245 hours ago

The comments represent the strongest condemnation to date by the Socialist leader, an outspoken critic of the Israeli offensive in Gaza sparked by Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel.
Speaking to reporters before an EU summit in Brussels, Sanchez mentioned a recent human rights report by the bloc's diplomatic service which, he said, addressed "the catastrophic situation of genocide unfolding in Gaza".

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Netanyahu thanks Trump after call to cancel his trial
Netanyahu thanks Trump after call to cancel his trial

Middle East Eye

time2 hours ago

  • Middle East Eye

Netanyahu thanks Trump after call to cancel his trial

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump on Thursday after the latter called for the cancellation of his corruption trial. "I was deeply moved by your sincere support for me, and your incredible support for Israel and the Jewish people," Netanyahu wrote in English on X, after reposting Trump's message Wednesday on Truth Social in which the US president called his trial in Israel a "witch hunt". This trial "should be CANCELED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Great Hero granted a pardon," Trump wrote.

Legal experts tell Fifa Israel breaking international law as it considers sanctions
Legal experts tell Fifa Israel breaking international law as it considers sanctions

Middle East Eye

time2 hours ago

  • Middle East Eye

Legal experts tell Fifa Israel breaking international law as it considers sanctions

A group of legal experts that includes two former UN special rapporteurs has told Fifa that Israel and its football association is breaking international law by holding professional football matches on occupied Palestinian territory. The unprecedented letter to international football's governing body comes as it continues to deliberate over whether it should sanction the Israeli Football Association (IFA), after a proposal submitted by the Palestine Football Association (PFA) in March 2024. Over a year later, two Fifa committees are still investigating the complaints, one of which relates to discrimination by the IFA, the other to Israeli football teams playing in illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian territory. Since the start of its war on Gaza, Israel has also killed over 350 Palestinian footballers, including Hani al-Masdar, one of Palestine's greatest players, and has destroyed the blockaded enclave's pitches and stadiums. In December 2023, footage showed Israeli troops turning Gaza's al-Yarmouk, once a 9,000-seat football ground, into a makeshift internment camp for Palestinian detainees. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Beitar Jerusalem, whose Israeli fans call themselves 'the most racist team in the country', has a de facto policy to exclude Arabs and Palestinians. The club has received support from senior Israeli government figures, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Letter to Fifa In the letter to Bruno Chiomento, chairman of Fifa's governance, audit and compliance committee, which is investigating what it calls 'the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in the territory of Palestine', the group of judges, lawyers and scholars outlined the 'unassailable facts' relating to the illegality of Israeli settlements. The 30 signatories to the letter include former UN special rapporteurs on human rights in occupied Palestine John Dugard and Michael Lynk, Ardi Imseis, who is representing Palestine at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israeli historian Ilan Pappe and William Schabas, a member of the Sierra Leone truth and reconciliation commission. 'This letter doesn't explicitly tell Fifa to suspend or expel Israel, but it leaves them in no doubt that that's what their own rules require them to do' - Nicholas McGeehan, FairSquare The letter cites ICJ's 2024 pronouncement on Israel's illegal occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It refers as well to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to UN Security Council Resolutions 446 from 1979, and to 2016's UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which describes settlements as 'a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution'. 'In light of the above, the governance, audit and compliance committee need not concern itself with the question of the legality of Israeli settlements, but simply the issue of whether Israeli teams continue to play football matches in settlements in the West Bank,' the letter reads. 'If that is the case, as the PFA alleges and the IFA has never denied, then the IFA is ipso facto in violation of article 64 (2) of the Fifa Statutes, which states that 'Member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without the latter's approval'.' Legal obligations Nicholas McGeehan, founder of FairSquare, a non-profit human rights group, told Middle East Eye that 'it speaks to the seriousness of the issue at hand, that academics of this stature would make an intervention like this'. McGeehan said that while 'this letter doesn't explicitly tell Fifa to suspend or expel Israel from international football, it leaves them in no doubt that that's what their own rules require them to do.' Shane Darcy, a law professor who signed the letter and is the deputy director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, told MEE that the ICJ opinion of 2024, which found that Israel's presence in occupied Palestine was unlawful and must be ended 'as rapidly as possibly', was 'especially significant'. 'International organisations such as Fifa must play their part to ensure the respect of long-established rules' - Shane Darcy, Irish Centre for Human Rights 'Moreover, the court said that international organisations - which would include Fifa - are under an obligation not to recognise as legal the unlawful situation arising from Israel's presence in the West Bank,' he said. By allowing Israeli teams to play there, Darcy said, Fifa was not just going against its own statutes, it was going 'against fundamental precepts of international law as laid out by the World Court'. 'At a time when international humanitarian law is being disregarded with impunity in Gaza, international organisations such as Fifa must play their part to ensure the respect of long-established rules by its members.' The PFA first complained to Fifa about Israeli teams playing matches in occupied West Bank settlements, including Ma'aleh Adumim, Kiryat Arba, Givat Zeev, Bikat Hayarden and Ariel, in 2013. Four years later, in 2017, Fifa's council declined to take any action, saying that the 'final status of the West Bank territories is the concern of the competent international public law authorities', and that Fifa 'must remain neutral with regard to political matters'. In May 2024, after the PFA submitted its request to adopt sanctions against Israel, citing international law violations and the failure of the IFA in 'taking decisive action against discrimination and racism', Fifa President Gianni Infantino ignored requests for the matter to be put to a vote at the 74th Fifa congress. The decision has continued to be deferred since then. The IFA has called the Palestinian Football Association's request a 'cynical political move'.

Iran's uranium stock largely intact, say European officials
Iran's uranium stock largely intact, say European officials

Middle East Eye

time2 hours ago

  • Middle East Eye

Iran's uranium stock largely intact, say European officials

Iran's uranium stock has remained largely intact following US and Israeli strikes on the country, European officials have reportedly said. Citing preliminary intelligence reports, two European officials told the Financial Times that Iran's stockpile of 408kg of uranium enriched close to weapons-grade levels was not concentrated in Fordow, one of its two main enrichment sites. The reports said it had been distributed to various other locations across the country. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that just five days into the war, its inspectors lost track of Iran's uranium stocks. That amount, which could be easily transported in a container by truck, is enough for 10 nuclear warheads if Iran were to pursue weaponisation. Before Israel's attack, Iran and the US were in talks to curb the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday, after hostilities ended, that his country was willing to return to negotiations over its nuclear programme. Since launching strikes on Iran over the weekend, Trump has moved to de-escalate tensions. He thanked Iran on Monday for providing advance notice about its retaliatory strike on the US's al-Udeid military base in Qatar. Trump then announced a ceasefire a few hours after the attack. On Tuesday, he lashed out at both Israel and Iran when the truce appeared to wobble, saying the two foes "have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're doing'. Speaking at the Nato summit on Wednesday, Trump said both Iran and Israel were 'tired, exhausted' and 'satisfied to go home and get out'. He also said he would have no problem with Iran selling its oil to China. The US slapped sanctions on Iran's oil sales to Beijing during the nuclear talks. 'They just had a war. They fought it bravely. They are in the oil business… they are going to need money to put that country back into shape…. If they are going to sell oil, they are going to sell oil,' Trump said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store