Latest news with #occupiedterritories
Irish Times
11-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Government effort to ban occupied territories trade gets EU boost
The Government 's plan to ban trade from illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories has been given a boost by senior European Union officials, as one option national governments could consider taking to put pressure on Israel . The proposed Occupied Territories Bill is expected to be put before the Dáil in the autumn. The legislation would prohibit trading with companies operating in illegal settlements in the West Bank and other occupied territories. Now a new paper from the EU's diplomatic corps has raised the possibility of national governments blocking Israeli trade from occupied territories without needing to wait for unanimous agreement at EU level. The document, seen by The Irish Times, sets out various options the EU or its member states could take to put pressure on Israel, which foreign ministers will discuss during a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday. READ MORE Critics of Ireland's Occupied Territories Bill had previously argued it would breach EU law, as the European Commission has responsibility for the bloc's trade policy. Recent advice from the Attorney General, however, gave the Government confidence it has grounds to move ahead with the draft law. [ At least 798 people killed while receiving aid in Gaza, UN says Opens in new window ] The new paper from the EU's foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, is expected to give further cover to the Government's proposed legislation. The document said the EU had the option of banning imports from settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, if it had the backing of all 27 countries. An 'alternative' would be governments deciding to ban trade coming from the settlements at national level, it said. Officials suggested this would not need EU sign-off, but that some debate about the 'permissibility' of such moves might have to take place between capitals first. Conor O'Neill, head of policy at Christian Aid, said the EU's reference to domestic laws banning trade with Israeli settlements was a 'really significant shift'. Mr O'Neill, who helped draft the Opposition's initial version of the Occupied Territories Bill, said 'for the first time the EU has recognised that individual member states may ban trade with Israel's illegal settlements'. The Bill was first put on the table by Independent senator Frances Black in 2018, but was stalled by previous governments. Growing pressure to do more during Israel's 21-month bombardment of Gaza saw the Government commit to taking up the legislation. A revised version of the draft law is now making its way through the Oireachtas. The EU paper said the union could also consider suspending its 'association agreement' that governs EU-Israel relations, or shelve a free trade deal Israel enjoys as part of the agreement. The paper was circulated to diplomats from each EU state on Thursday. Other possible options on the table are to put economic sanctions on Israeli politicians, an embargo on weapons sales to Israel and cutting off Israel's access to research funding schemes. EU foreign ministers will discuss the proposals next week, but it is unlikely there will be a decision taken to pursue any of the options, given most would need the unanimous support of all 27 capitals. Germany, Austria Hungary, and the Czech Republic have consistently blocked the EU penalising Israel for its conduct during the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians. Ms Kallas, who chairs the meetings of foreign ministers, was directed to draw up a list of possible ways the EU could pressure Israel, to improve the dire conditions on the ground in Gaza. In a bid to avoid possible sanctions, this week Israel gave the EU commitments it would allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Arab News
09-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
The corporate giants fueling Israel's war machine
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in occupied Palestine, stands as a testament to the notion of speaking truth to power. This 'power' is not solely embodied by Israel or even the US, but by an international community whose collective relevance has tragically failed to stem the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Her latest report, 'From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide,' submitted to the UN Human Rights Council last week, marks a seismic intervention. It unflinchingly names and implicates companies that have not only allowed Israel to sustain its war and genocide against Palestinians, but also confronts those who have remained silent in the face of this unfolding horror. Albanese's 'Economy of Genocide' is far more than an academic exercise or a mere moral statement in a world whose collective conscience is being brutally tested in Gaza. The report is significant for multiple interlocking reasons. Crucially, it offers practical pathways to accountability that transcend diplomatic and legal rhetoric. It also presents a novel approach to international law, positioning it not as a delicate political balancing act, but as a potent tool to confront complicity in war crimes and expose the profound failures of the existing international mechanisms in Gaza. There is vital context that is necessary to understand the significance of this report, which is considered a searing indictment of direct corporate involvement, not only in the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza but Israel's overall settler-colonial project. In February 2020, following years of delay, the UN Human Rights Council released a database that listed 112 companies involved in business activities within illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories. The database exposed several corporate giants for helping Israel maintain its military occupation and apartheid. This was particularly earth-shattering considering the UN's consistent failure to rein in Israel or hold accountable those who sustain its war crimes in Palestine. The publication of the database was an important step that allowed civil societies to mobilize around a specific set of priorities, thus pressuring corporations and individual governments to take morally guided positions. The effectiveness of that strategy was clearly detected through the exaggerated and angry reactions of the US and Israel. The US said it was an attempt by 'the discredited' council 'to fuel economic retaliation,' while Israel called it a 'shameful capitulation' to pressure. The Israeli war on Gaza, starting on Oct. 7, 2023, however, serves as a stark reminder of the utter failure of all existing UN mechanisms to achieve even the most modest expectations of feeding a starving population during a time of genocide. Tellingly, this was the same conclusion offered by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who, in September 2024, stated that the world had 'failed the people of Gaza.' The Israeli war on Gaza serves as a stark reminder of the utter failure of all existing UN mechanisms. Ramzy Baroud This failure continued for many more months and was highlighted by the UN's inability to even manage aid distribution in the Strip, with Israel and the US instead entrusting the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a violent, mercenary-run apparatus that has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians. Albanese herself, of course, had already reached a similar conclusion when, in November 2023, she confronted the international community for 'epically failing' to stop the war. Albanese's new report goes a step further, this time appealing to the whole of humanity to take a moral stance and confront those that have made the genocide possible. 'Commercial endeavors enabling and profiting from the obliteration of innocent people's lives must cease,' the report declares, pointedly demanding that 'corporate entities must refuse to be complicit in human rights violations and international crimes or be held to account.' In the report, the categories of complicity in the genocide are divided into arms manufacturers, tech firms, building and construction companies, extractive and service industries, banks, pension funds, insurers, universities, and charities. Their collective technological know-how, machinery and data collection has allowed Israel to kill, to date, more than 57,000 and wound 134,000 in Gaza, while also maintaining its apartheid regime in the West Bank. What Albanese's report tries to do is not merely name and shame Israel's genocide partners, but to tell us, as civil society, that we now have a comprehensive frame of reference that allows us to make responsible decisions and pressure and hold accountable these corporate giants. 'The ongoing genocide has been a profitable venture,' Albanese writes, citing Israel's massive surge in military spending, estimated at 65 percent from 2023 to 2024 — reaching $46.5 billion. Israel's seemingly infinite military budget is a strange loop of money, originally provided by the US government, then recycled back through American corporations, thus spreading the wealth between governments, politicians, corporations and numerous contractors. As bank accounts swell, more Palestinian bodies are piled up in morgues and mass graves or are scattered in the streets of Jabaliya and Khan Younis. This madness needs to stop and, since the UN is incapable of stopping it, then individual governments, civil society organizations and ordinary people must do the job, because the lives of Palestinians should be of far greater value than corporate profits and greed. • Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is 'Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out.' His website is X: @RamzyBaroud
Al Jazeera
03-07-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
UN expert calls on world to end trade with Israel's ‘economy of genocide'
Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, has called on countries to cut off all trade and financial ties with Israel, including a full arms embargo, and withdraw international support for what she termed an 'economy of genocide'. Albanese made the comments in a speech to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday as she presented her latest report, which named dozens of companies she said were involved in supporting Israeli repression and violence towards Palestinians. 'The situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is apocalyptic,' she said. 'Israel is responsible for one of the cruellest genocides in modern history.' Nearly 57,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the war, now in its 22nd month began, hundreds of thousands have been displaced multiple times, cities and towns have been razed, hospitals and schools targeted, and 85 percent of the besieged and bombarded enclave is now under Israeli military control, according to the UN. 'Economy of genocide' The report, titled From economy of occupation to economy of genocide, detailed what it described as 'the corporate machinery sustaining Israel's settler-colonial project of displacement and replacement of the Palestinians in the occupied territory'. The report singled out companies, including arms manufacturers, tech giants, heavy machinery companies and financial institutions, for their 'complicity' in Israel's repression of Palestinians, from sustaining Israeli expansion on occupied land to enabling the surveillance and killing of Palestinians. The report said that while political leaders had been shirking their responsibilities to pressure Israel to halt its bloodshed in Gaza, 'far too many corporate entities have profited from Israel's economy of illegal occupation, apartheid and now, genocide'. It called on the international community to 'hold the private sector accountable' for companies' complicity in Israel's abuses, by ensuring they faced legal consequences for their involvement in violations of international law. Military 'backbone' of the Israeli state The UN report described the military-industrial complex as 'the economic backbone' of the Israeli state, saying that Israel's prolonged occupation and repeated military campaigns had provided testing grounds for cutting-edge military technology, from air defence platforms and drones, to AI-enabled targeting tools and the F-35 fighter jet programme. The F-35 programme is led by United States-based Lockheed Martin, but components are constructed globally, including by Italian manufacturer Leonardo SpA. The report also named Israeli companies Elbit Systems and IAI for their role in developing drones. It also named Japan's FANUC Corporation for providing robotic machinery for weapons production lines, as well as shipping companies like Denmark's A P Moller–Maersk for 'sustaining a steady flow of US-supplied military equipment' to Israel throughout its war on Gaza. The report also highlighted the role of the tech sector, saying giants like Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon played an integral part in enabling Israel's mass-surveillance systems. IBM has also been responsible for training military and intelligence personnel, as well as managing a central database storing the biometric data of Palestinians, while US company Palantir Technologies has expanded its support to the Israeli military since the start of the war on Gaza, the report said. It also pointed to heavy machinery companies like the US's Caterpillar Inc, South Korea's Hyundai and Sweden's Volvo Group for providing equipment linked to the destruction of Palestinian property. 'What I expose is not a list, it is a system, and that is to be addressed,' said Albanese, an independent expert mandated by the UN to document abuses. Israel: Report 'groundless' Albanese's speech was received with applause from delegates in Geneva, with Ireland's ambassador to the UN, Noel White, saying that his government was progressing with legislation prohibiting the import of goods from settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. Israel's diplomatic mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Albanese's speech, the Reuters news agency reported. Earlier this week, it described Albanese's report as 'legally groundless, defamatory and a flagrant abuse of her office'. Israel has rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza – for which it is under investigation at the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICJ), and which numerous genocide experts have confirmed Israel is carrying out – citing its right to self-defence following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The case first filed by South Africa at the ICJ in December 2023, and then joined by other countries, accuses Israel of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention in its war on the Gaza Strip.
Sky News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Israel-Iran live: Eight killed in Israel as Iran breaches Iron Dome; Tehran preparing to leave key nuclear treaty
Explained: What is Israel's Iron Dome? Israel's Iron Dome defence system was penetrated overnight as Iran launched renewed airstrikes, with at least eight people killed and nearly 300 injured. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed to have used a new attack method that caused the multi-layered defence system to target itself. "The initiatives and capabilities used in this operation, despite the comprehensive support of the United States and Western powers and the possession of the most up-to-date and newest defence technology, led to the successful and maximum hitting of the missiles on the targets in the occupied territories," it said. But what is the Iron Dome and how does it work? The Iron Dome is Israel's highly prized air defence system. It uses radar to detect and intercept aerial attacks targeting the country. Mobile launchers and 'battle management centres' It was developed by Israel's state-owned Rafael Advanced Defence Systems with US support. It consists of a series of truck-towed mobile units placed throughout the country. When their radars detect a threat, the information is sent to a "battle management centre" where military personnel analyse it, anticipating its path and impact point, and decide which missile launcher to use to intercept it. Counter missiles are then fired directly at the threat - or near it - so the shrapnel can neutralise it. The dome, known as Kippat Barzel in Hebrew, reacts within a matter of seconds and is manned 24 hours a day. Originally, it was designed to protect cities and strategic sites against missiles with a range of 2.5 to 43 miles, but it is thought to have been expanded. More than 90% effective It has blocked more than 90% of rockets fired towards Israel, with a naval version deployed to protect ships and other assets in 2017. This is at least partly why the number of Israeli deaths in the current fighting with Iran and Hamas has remained relatively low. Soon after it began operating, it became the envy of other militaries. Rafael says it has supplied at least two Iron Dome batteries to the US army, with Ukraine having made a similar request. Saturation point unknown Although extremely effective, it is not perfect. Overnight, a number of cities in Israel were hit by Iranian strikes, leading to several deaths, with more people trapped under the rubble. The dome also has a saturation point at which it would become overwhelmed, but this level is unknown. When fighting between Hamas and Israel broke out on 7 October 2023, 3,000 rockets were fired from Gaza at once. Israel also has medium and long-range defence systems, known as David's Sling, Patriot and Arrow.
Arab News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Two Palestinians killed in Nablus assault
NABLUS: Israel launched a large-scale military operation on Tuesday in the old city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, AFP journalists reported, with the army reporting injured troops and two Palestinians 'eliminated.' Dozens of military vehicles entered the city shortly after midnight, an AFP journalist reported, after a curfew had been announced over loudspeakers the day before. Military operations are focused on the old city, a densely populated area bordering a large downtown square where young men and boys gathered to burn tires and throw stones at armored vehicles. The Israeli army said that one soldier was 'moderately injured' and three others 'lightly injured' when two Palestinians attempted to steal a soldier's weapon. Troops opened fire and 'eliminated' both Palestinians, the army said in a statement, using a term the military often uses when killing militants. AFPTV footage showed Israeli soldiers standing in one of the old city's narrow streets, next to the bodies of two civilians. Neither Palestinian medics nor the Israeli army confirmed the two deaths. The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Tuesday that three people were injured from bullet shrapnel, four from 'physical assaults,' and dozens more from tear gas inhalation. It added that many injuries had to be handled within the old city after its ambulances were blocked from entering. Nablus is located in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967. The territory's north has been the target of a major Israeli military operation dubbed 'Iron Wall' since Jan. 21. On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers entered shops to search them and arrested several people for questioning, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene. The correspondent added that Israeli flags were raised over the roofs of buildings in the Old City that had been turned into temporary bases for Israeli troops. Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, triggered by the unprecedented Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. At least 938 Palestinians, including fighters but also many civilians, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to data from the Palestinian Authority.
