Latest news with #Challands
Qatar Tribune
5 days ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Pro-Palestine protesters in UK call for Israel arms embargo and sanctions
agencies london Pro-Palestine campaigners have rallied against Israel's punishing war on Gaza, gathering outside the British Parliament in London and demanding a full arms embargo and that hard-hitting sanctions be imposed on the Israeli government. Wednesday's march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), came as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took weekly questions from parliamentarians. Thousands of protesters created a 'Red Line for Palestine', wearing red while encircling the building. Starmer told Parliament that Israel's actions in the besieged and bombarded enclave are 'appalling' and 'intolerable'. 'It is right to describe these days as dark,' Starmer said. 'We have strongly opposed the expansion of Israeli military operations, and settler violence, and the blocking of humanitarian aid.'Starmer added that the UK has imposed sanctions, suspended free trade negotiations, and is currently considering further sanctions. But the UK leader, his Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and his government have come under heavy criticism in the UK for not speaking more forcefully backed by actual action earlier in the war, and for not doing enough now as Palestinians face what United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called the 'cruellest phase of this cruel conflict'. Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from London, said the protest went on for several hours and throughout Starmer's entire speech to Parliament. 'There was a red line around the whole of Parliament,' Challands said. According to Challands, protesters say that their 'red line' is to show that the UK government should have its own red lines when it comes to Gaza.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Pro-Palestine protesters in UK call for Israel arms embargo, sanctions
Pro-Palestine campaigners have rallied against Israel's punishing war on Gaza, gathering outside the British Parliament in London and demanding a full arms embargo and that hard-hitting sanctions be imposed on the Israeli government. Wednesday's march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), came as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took weekly questions from parliamentarians. Thousands of protesters created a 'Red Line for Palestine', wearing red while encircling the building. Starmer told Parliament that Israel's actions in the besieged and bombarded enclave are 'appalling' and 'intolerable'. 'It is right to describe these days as dark,' Starmer said. 'We have strongly opposed the expansion of Israeli military operations, and settler violence, and the blocking of humanitarian aid.' Starmer added that the UK has imposed sanctions, suspended free trade negotiations, and is currently considering further sanctions. But the UK leader, his Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and his government have come under heavy criticism in the UK for not speaking more forcefully backed by actual action earlier in the war, and for not doing enough now as Palestinians face what United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called the 'cruellest phase of this cruel conflict'. Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from London, said the protest went on for several hours and throughout Starmer's entire speech to Parliament. 'There was a red line around the whole of Parliament,' Challands said. 'These protesters had formed a cordon, essentially all the way down from Parliament to the first bridge … that goes across to the other side of the [River] Thames, and they came back up … and returned over Westminster Bridge to join up here to make a full loop,' he added. According to Challands, protesters say that their 'red line' is to show that the UK government should have its own red lines when it comes to Gaza. It has not had 'sufficient' red lines in place, he said. 'The protesters say there should have been red lines before 54,000 deaths.' In his remarks, Starmer also called for an end to the siege and said humanitarian aid must reach Gaza quickly and in the required quantities. Israel has maintained a crippling blockade on the territory, barring the entry of much-needed aid, including food, medicine, clean water, and fuel required by generators. A famine now looms as more than two million people are facing starvation, the UN has warned. Meanwhile, a controversial, United States-backed group that runs aid distribution points in Gaza – the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – has suspended operations for a full day. The move came after Israeli forces opened fire at hungry aid seekers several times, killing dozens of Palestinians and injuring hundreds more since the organisation started operating in the enclave on May 27. The killing of people desperately seeking food supplies has triggered mounting international outrage as many say aid is being weaponised and with the UN's Guterres demanding an independent inquiry. Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 54,607 Palestinians and wounded 125,341, according to the Health Ministry.
Al Jazeera
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
ICJ opens hearings on Israeli obligations on Gaza humanitarian crisis
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has opened hearings to gauge Israel's responsibility for the humanitarian crisis engulfing Gaza during its war against Hamas. The hearings, which began on Monday in The Hague and will run throughout the week, follow a request last year from the United Nations General Assembly asking the court to assess Israel's responsibility to ensure the provision of essential supplies to Gaza. Since the start of the war 18 months ago, Israel has blocked aid, leaving Palestinians facing severe shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine. Over the next five days, 38 countries – including the United States, China, France, Russia and Saudi Arabia – will address the 15-judge panel to consider how Israel's actions comply with international law. The League of Arab States, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and African Union will also present their arguments about Israel's obligations to ensure aid reaches Gaza. Top Palestinian official Ammar Hijazi told the judges that Israel was blocking aid to use as a 'weapon of war'. No food or medical supplies have reached the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip since March 2 when Israel imposed what has become its longest ever blockade of the territory. It was followed two weeks later by the collapse of a two-month ceasefire. 'These are the facts. Starvation is here. Humanitarian aid is being used as a weapon of war,' Hijazi said. The ICJ has been tasked by the UN with providing an advisory opinion 'on a priority basis and with the utmost urgency'. While no immediate ruling is expected, the court's advisory opinion will likely shape future international legal approaches. However, it is nonbinding, meaning its impact depends on whether states choose to enforce or ignore it. The ruling 'will likely be ignored by Israel, as it has done with other judgements from the ICJ, the International Criminal Court and other international legal bodies,' Al Jazeera's Rory Challands said, reporting from The Hague. However, he added that 'the tide of pressure is mounting' on Israel as a growing list of international courts have ruled against its actions. What the UN is saying, Challands noted, is that 'Israel basically has a twofold obligation here under international law. It has an obligation as an occupying power in the Palestinian territories … That includes children's education and welfare systems, medical facilities, including UN-established hospitals, and humanitarian relief operations. If it doesn't do those things, then it's in contravention of its obligations under international law.' 'It also has an obligation as a signatory to the UN Charter, because under that, the UN has immunities and exemptions that set it apart from other institutions and other multilateral organisations', Challands continued. The ICJ will consider the positions of both state actors and international organisations in its deliberations. However, it will not hear from Israeli representatives directly. Rather, Tel Aviv has submitted written advice and objections. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar responded to the opening of the hearings by branding them 'part of a systematic persecution and delegitimisation of Israel' in comments to reporters in Jerusalem. 'It is not Israel that should be on trial. It is the UN and UNRWA,' he insisted, referring to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which Israel is preventing from delivering aid to Gaza.
