Latest news with #OccupiedPalestinianTerritory
Arab News
4 days ago
- General
- Arab News
‘No safe place': Writer's group PEN International calls for arms embargo on Israel
LONDON: Writer's group PEN International on Monday urged the international community to impose an arms embargo on all parties involved in the war in Gaza, calling specifically for a ban on weapons used by Israel in attacks that have targeted Palestinian civilians across the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In an open letter, the London-based association expressed outrage at what it described as the global community's failure to hold Israel accountable for the 'ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.' The letter condemned the daily killing of civilians and the prolonged blockade, calling for immediate action to halt the assault. 'PEN International has documented harrowing testimonies of Palestinian writers across the OPT, all of whom have reported and corroborated the growing body of evidence demonstrating concerted and systematic efforts by Israel to erase the Palestinian people and their cultural heritage, particularly in Gaza,' the open letter said. The group said it shared the view of other international organizations that 'genocide is being perpetrated against Palestinians in Gaza through various means,' and reported that at least 23 writers — excluding artists and other cultural workers — have been killed in Israeli bombardments since Oct. 7, 2023. Describing the current period as 'the deadliest for writers since the Second World War,' PEN International said the assault on Palestinian culture — through the destruction of heritage sites, cultural spaces, and the targeting of writers and journalists — was 'a deliberate strategy to silence and erase the Palestinian people.' A post shared by PEN International (@peninternational) The NGO joins a growing number of organizations, experts and legal scholars that have concluded Israel's conduct in Gaza meets the threshold of genocide. The International Court of Justice ruled last year that Palestinians face a 'plausible risk of genocide,' and UN experts, aid agencies, and hundreds of legal specialists and genocide scholars have echoed that assessment. Even former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, writing in Haaretz, recently described the offensive as a 'war of extermination,' though he stopped short of using the term 'genocide.' PEN International's letter also detailed the 'irreversible loss of much of Gaza's tangible and intangible cultural heritage,' including independent cultural institutions, personal libraries and literary work, many of which were created under extreme restrictions and later destroyed in the war. As of the end of May, UNESCO confirmed damage to 110 cultural sites in Gaza since the war began, including religious landmarks, historic buildings, museums and archaeological sites. Testimonies gathered by PEN International also described the conditions faced by Palestinian writers amid the persistent threat to their lives. 'The relentless Israeli military operations, the indiscriminate bombardment of so-called 'safe zones' with high explosives, unexploded ordnance, sniper attacks targeting civilians, and the ongoing arbitrary restrictions and ban on humanitarian aid — are a grim, daily reality,' the letter read. 'All writers who spoke to PEN International have consistently stressed that: 'There is no place safe in Gaza'.' Founded in London in 1921, PEN International has grown into a global cultural institution. It has not remained untouched by the rippling political effects of the Gaza war. In September 2024, the group passed a resolution condemning the rise in targeted killings, arbitrary detentions, and restrictions on access to information in both Palestine and Israel following the Oct. 7 attacks. The resolution placed primary responsibility for these violations on Israeli authorities. In April 2025, PEN America, the group's US branch, was forced to cancel its annual literary awards after several authors boycotted the event over what they viewed as the organization's failure to take a clear stance against Israel's war on Gaza. The decision followed an open letter signed by dozens of authors and translators who withdrew their work from the awards in protest.
Fox News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Israel turns tables on UN official claiming 'genocide' in Gaza with basic questions
EXCLUSIVE — Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon condemned a United Nations official over remarks that he said "shattered any notion of neutrality." On Tuesday, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher accused Israel of committing genocide in his remarks before the U.N. Security Council. "Israel is deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory," Fletcher told the Security Council on Tuesday. He went on to say that most of Gaza "is either within Israeli-militarized zones or under displacement orders." Fletcher, who heads the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), also described how Gazans are struggling due to a lack of supplies, as aid trucks have not been allowed to enter the Gaza Strip for 10 weeks. Hospitals are "overwhelmed," and people are facing famine and starvation, according to Fletcher. "So, for those killed and those whose voices are silenced: what more evidence do you need now? Will you act – decisively – to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law? Or will you say instead that 'we did all we could?'," Fletcher said. READ THE LETTER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: While much of Fletcher's remarks focused on Gaza, he also condemned the "appalling violence" increasing in the West Bank. The next day, May 14, a pregnant Israeli woman was killed in a shooting attack while on her way to the hospital to give birth. Tzeela Gez lost her life, but doctors were able to save her baby, who, according to The Associated Press, is "in serious but stable condition." In his response, Danon said Fletcher's remarks "shocked and disturbed" him, accusing the U.N. official of making an "utterly inappropriate and deeply irresponsible" statement that "shattered any notion of neutrality." "You had the audacity, in your capacity as a senior U.N. official, to stand before the Security Council and invoke the charge of genocide without evidence, mandate, or restraint," Danon wrote in his response. "As a senior representative of the United Nations, you are obligated to refrain from prejudging complex international matters. Yet, this is precisely what you did before the Council. You did not brief the Council; you delivered a political sermon." In response to a Fox News Digital request for comment, OCHA spokesperson Eri Kaneko said that "As Mr. Fletcher made clear in his Security Council remarks, it is for legal bodies to consider whether a genocide is taking place - Mr. Fletcher's point is that the world must take decisive action to prevent genocide and ensure respect for international humanitarian law." When asked whether Fletcher was accusing Israel of deliberately killing and harming civilians, Kaneko said that the official's words speak for themselves, as "not a single civilian in Gaza - teachers, artists, merchants, aid workers, hostages - has been spared." Danon questioned under whose authority Fletcher issued the accusation and said the U.N. official's use of the word "genocide" was a "desecration and subversion of a term with unique force and weight." He went on to say that what made Fletcher's remarks "far worse" was the fact that Israel had "engaged with you and your office in good faith at the highest levels." The Israeli ambassador concluded his letter by turning the questions around on Fletcher, telling the OCHA chief to ask himself whether he had done enough to prevent Oct. 7, accelerate the release of the hostages and hold Hamas accountable. Kaneko told Fox News Digital that "Mr. Fletcher has repeatedly and publicly spoken out against what he calls the horrendous Hamas-led attacks and called for the release of the hostages. Mr. Fletcher was deeply moved by his visit in February to the kibbutz of Nir Oz, where one in four people were killed or taken hostage."
Arab News
13-05-2025
- Health
- Arab News
WHO warns of permanent impact of hunger on a generation of Gazans
GENEVA: Malnutrition rates are rising in Gaza, emergency treatments to counter it are running out and hunger could have a lasting impact on 'an entire generation,' a World Health Organization official said on Tuesday. Israel has blockaded supplies into the enclave since early March, when it resumed its devastating military campaign against Hamas, and a global hunger monitor on Monday warned that half a million people there faced starvation. WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Rik Peeperkorn said he had seen children who looked years younger than their age and visited a north Gaza hospital where over 20 percent of children screened suffered from acute malnutrition. 'What we see is an increasing trend in generalized acute malnutrition,' Peeperkorn told a press briefing by video link from Deir Al-Balah. 'I've seen a child that's five years old, and you would say it was two-and-a-half.' 'Without enough nutritious food, clean water and access to health care, an entire generation will be permanently affected,' he said, warning of stunting and impaired cognitive development. The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency Philippe Lazzarini told the BBC that he thought Israel was denying food and aid to civilians as a weapon of war. The WHO criticized it in a statement late on Monday as 'grossly inadequate' to meet the population's immediate needs. Due to the blockade, WHO only has enough stocks to treat 500 children with acute malnutrition, which is only a fraction of what is needed, Peeperkorn said. Already, 55 children have died of acute malnutrition, he said.
LBCI
13-05-2025
- Health
- LBCI
WHO warns of permanent impact of hunger on a generation of Gazans
Malnutrition rates are rising in Gaza and hunger could have lasting impacts on "an entire generation," the World Health Organization's representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory said Tuesday. Rik Peeperkorn said he had seen children in clinics who looked years younger than their age. "Without enough nutritious food, clean water and access to health care, an entire generation will be permanently affected," Peeperkorn told a press briefing by video link from Deir al-Balah, warning of poor health, stunting and impaired cognitive development.
Sky News
13-05-2025
- Health
- Sky News
Warning that hunger in Gaza to impact 'entire generation' after 55 children die from malnutrition
As Israel continues to enforce a blockade on two million Palestinians, hunger in Gaza could have a lasting impact on "an entire generation", the World Health Organisation has warned. The IDF's military campaign against Hamas has left half a million people there facing starvation, with the situation particularly acute among children. "I've seen a child that's five years old, and you would say it was two-and-a-half," WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Rik Peeperkorn, said on Tuesday. Figures from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry suggest that 55 children have died from acute malnutrition. The WHO warning comes as Donald Trump arrives in Saudi Arabia for his four-day tour of the Middle East, and following the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander on Monday. Mr Peeperkorn continued: "Without enough nutritious food, clean water and access to healthcare, an entire generation will be permanently affected." He said that children growing up in Gaza could have their growth stunted and their cognitive development impaired. Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza in an effort to put pressure on Hamas, which it blamed for causing hunger by stealing aid meant for civilians. Hamas denies the allegation. Due to the blockade, the WHO only has enough stocks to treat 500 children with acute malnutrition, which is only a fraction of what is needed, Mr Peeperkorn said. 2:45 Fighting in Gaza resumed following the collapse of the ceasefire agreement earlier this year, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that the IDF would now hold the whole of Gaza indefinitely. More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, following the deadly attacks by the militant group on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage. It remains to be seen whether the release of a hostage by Hamas on Monday will see efforts to achieve a renewed ceasefire come closer to fruition. The 21-year-old was believed to be the last living American hostage in Gaza. 3:22 Hamas said in a statement: "We affirm the movement's readiness to immediately begin negotiations to reach a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire agreement, including the withdrawal of the occupation army, the end of the siege, a prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. "We urge the Trump administration to continue its efforts to end this brutal war waged by the war criminal Netanyahu against children, women, and defenceless civilians in the Gaza Strip." Mr Alexander's parents, who live in the US, made the journey to Israel ahead of the release. The family said they were deeply grateful to US President Donald Trump and his administration for its work to secure the release - and have urged the Israeli government to continue efforts to free all hostages. Palestinian health officials reported Israeli tank shelling and an air attack after the hostage handover, and there was no deal on a wider truce or hostage releases
