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The Journal
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Irish Catholic bishops accuse Israel of ‘genocidal actions' and 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza
IRISH CATHOLIC BISHOPS have accused the Israeli government of 'genocidal actions' and 'ethnic cleansing' in the Gaza Strip. In a statement today, the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference called for arms supplies to Israel to be 'cut off' and urged parishioners to lobby their local politicians. At Masses this weekend across Ireland parishioners will be invited to pray together for peace in Gaza and during the month of June, parishes are asked to express solidarity with Gaza. The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference added that 'it seems clear that famine is being used as a weapon of war' in Gaza, where adequate aid is being denied. It noted that more than 600,000 Palestinians have been displaced since 7 October, 2023 and said that the 'evidence points to a staged strategy of ethnic cleansing aimed at removing the Palestinian people from their homeland'. 'It is becoming increasingly clear to people on the ground that these are genocidal actions sanctioned by the Government of Israel,' said the Bishops' Conference. It also described what is happening in Gaza and also the West Bank as 'unconscionable and disproportionate'. 'It is immoral for world leaders to stand by inactively in the face of this outrageous tragedy for humanity,' said the Bishops' Conference. It called for the international community to 'intervene' and to cut off arms supplies to Israel. The Bishops' Conference said such a move will require 'courage' from international leaders and added: 'Examples of courage are being given every day by heroic doctors, nurses and aid workers risking their lives in service of the wounded and those who have been displaced.' Advertisement The Bishops added that people in parishes across Ireland are 'horrified by what they are witnessing' and many feel helpless. They called on parishioners to lobby their political representatives, support humanitarian aid, and also to pray for an end to the conflict, including the return of all hostages and prisoners. The Bishops' Conference also recalled a message delivered from Pope Leo XIV during a recent general audience at the Vatican where he renewed a call for a ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and 'full respect for humanitarian law'. 'In the Gaza Strip, the cry of mothers, of fathers who clutch the lifeless bodies of children and who are continually forced to move in search of a little food and safer shelter from bombing, rises ever more intensely to the sky,' said Pope Leo. The Church and Palestine In 2015, the Vatican formally recognised the State of Palestine. Israel warned at the time that the move would have 'implications for future cooperation between Israel and the Vatican' and described it as a 'hasty step' that 'damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement'. Meanwhile, the late Pope Francis described some of Israel's actions in Gaza as 'terrorism' in his memoir released in January. Francis daily called the Holy Family Church in Gaza and warned that the Church complex had 'become a theatre of death'. And in his final months, the late pope gave his blessing for a popemobile that had been used for a papal journey to the Middle East in 2014 to be converted into a health clinic for Gaza children. Popemobile being readied for its new use as a mobile health clinic for children in Gaza However, the aid blockade has meant the transformed vehicle has not yet been allowed access to Gaza. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Saudi Gazette
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Israel announces major expansion of settlements in occupied West Bank
JERUSALEM — Israeli ministers say 22 new Jewish settlements have been approved in the occupied West Bank — the biggest expansion in decades. Several already exist as outposts, built without government authorisation, but will now be made legal under Israeli law. Others are completely new, according to Defence Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Settlements — which are widely seen as illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this — are one of the most contentious issues between Israel and the Palestinians. Katz said the move "prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel", while the Palestinian presidency called it a "dangerous escalation". The Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now called it "the most extensive move of its kind" in more than 30 years and warned that it would "dramatically reshape the West Bank and entrench the occupation even further". Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem — land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for their hoped-for future state — in the 1967 Middle East war. Successive Israeli governments have allowed settlements to grow. However, expansion has risen sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022 at the head of a right-wing, pro-settler coalition, as well as the start of the Gaza war, triggered by Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel. On Thursday, Israel Katz and Bezalel Smotrich — an ultranationalist leader and settler who has control over planning in the West Bank — officially confirmed a decision that is believed to have been taken by the government two weeks ago. A statement said ministers had approved 22 new settlements, the "renewal of settlement in northern Samaria [northern West Bank], and reinforcement of the eastern axis of the State of Israel". It highlighted what the ministers described as the "historic return" to Homesh and Sa-Nur, two settlements deep in the northern West Bank which were evacuated at the same time as Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005. Two years ago, a group of settlers established a Jewish religious school and an unauthorised outpost at Homesh, which reports say would be among nine made legal under Israeli law. Another settlement will reportedly be built not far to the south on Mount Ebal, near Nablus. Katz said the decision was a "strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel, and serves as a buffer against our enemies." "This is a Zionist, security, and national response — and a clear decision on the future of the country," he added. Smotrich called it a "once-in-a-generation decision" and declared: "Next step sovereignty!" But a spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas — who governs parts of the West Bank not under full Israeli control — called it a "dangerous escalation" and accused Israel of continuing to drag the region into a "cycle of violence and instability". "This extremist Israeli government is trying by all means to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state," Nabil Abu Rudeineh told Reuters news agency. Lior Amihai, director of Peace Now, said: "The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: the annexation of the occupied territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal." This step is a blow to renewed efforts to revive momentum on a two-state solution to the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict — the internationally approved formula for peace that would see the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel — with a French-Saudi summit planned at the UN's headquarters in New York next month. Last year, the UN's top court issued an advisory opinion that said "Israel's continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful". The International Court of Justice (ICJ) also said Israeli settlements "have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law", and that Israel should "evacuate all settlers". Israel's prime minister said at the time that the court had made a "decision of lies" and insisted that "the Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land". — BBC
The Guardian
06-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Police correctly investigated Allison Pearson's alleged racism, review finds
A review of Essex police's pursuit of the Daily Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson over an allegedly racist tweet has concluded the force was right to investigate her. The Essex force was criticised by Pearson and her supporters when officers knocked on her door on Remembrance Sunday morning last year, as part of their inquiries. Essex dropped the investigation, but the report on the saga by a police chief says the force was right to investigate and described an officer who visited Pearson as 'exemplary'. The saga started when Essex police was passed a complaint about a post on X, formerly Twitter, by the star columnist, alleging it incited racial hatred. Pearson retweeted a photograph amid heightened tensions over the policing of Gaza protests. It shows a group of people of colour posing with a flag on a British street, flanked by three police officers. The columnist wrote a post that condemned the Metropolitan police: 'How dare they. Invited to pose for a photo with lovely peaceful British Friends of Israel on Saturday police refused. Look at this lot smiling with the Jew haters.' The photo was in fact from Manchester, and the officers pictured from the Greater Manchester police. The people pictured were not supporting Hamas, but were holding a green and maroon flag used by supporters of the Pakistani political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), with the word 'Pakistan' written on it. Pearson subsequently deleted the tweet. Two officers knocked on the door of Pearson's Essex home at 9.40am on Remembrance Sunday in November 2024. The journalist called the experience 'Kafkaesque', saying it was a waste of police time for what was claimed to be a non-crime hate incident. Essex police took advice from prosecutors who told them there was no realistic chance of conviction. As criticism mounted the force ordered a review, conducted by the lead for hate crime for the National Police Chiefs' Council, Mark Hobrough. His report says of the Sunday morning visit to Pearson's home, which was recorded on a body-worn camera, that it is clear police are trying to arrange a time for a voluntary interview for Pearson to answer questions after the complaint of inciting racial hatred. They had tried four days earlier to contact her. While the timing could be seen as 'inconsiderate', the report notes the officers happened to be in the area. Names in the report are redacted, and it reads: 'During the discussion [Pearson] began to challenge the officer's actions. She implied a complaint would be made to the chief constable by the Telegraph newspaper.' The report concludes: 'Our view was that the officer's behaviour during this interaction was exemplary.' It notes that he 'remained calm and polite throughout'. The report says there was initially some confusion in the force. By the time Pearson was visited it was classed and pursued as a potential crime, but some in Essex police had initially thought it was a non-crime hate incident. The report says that even though prosecutors said there was insufficient chance of a prosecution, Essex should have recorded Pearson's actions on police systems as a non-hate crime incident, rather than expunging it. 'There will be many complaints that pass the test for recording and warrant investigation, but do not reach the threshold necessary for prosecution,' it said. It adds it should have been closed and classed as an 'undetected crime allegation of stirring up racial hatred' and lacking enough evidence to prosecute. The report says: 'There is a genuine perception from the complainant that the action was motivated at least in part by a hostility to an ethnic or religious group.' It adds it could have been recorded in police systems but without naming Pearson.
Voice of America
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
UN chief appeals Israeli law banning UNRWA
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed to Israel's government to retract a new law essentially banning the U.N. agency that assists Palestinians. The law goes into effect this week. 'I regret this decision and request that the Government of Israel retract it,' Guterres wrote in a Monday letter to Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon that was obtained by VOA. The U.N. chief said the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, or UNRWA as it is known, is irreplaceable and that no other organization has the capacity or mandate to do its work. On Oct. 28, Israel's parliament adopted legislation to ban UNRWA. Israel says some UNRWA staff participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack inside Israel. The United Nations investigated the accusations and fired nine staffers. 'The legislation forbids UNRWA from operating within the sovereign territory of the state of Israel, and forbids any contact between Israeli officials and UNRWA,' Israel's ambassador told reporters Tuesday. 'Furthermore, UNRWA will be prohibited from maintaining any representative office, service or activity within our territory. Israel will terminate all collaboration, communication and contact with UNRWA, or anyone acting on its behalf.' Danon said UNRWA must cease all operations and evacuate its headquarters in East Jerusalem. The secretary-general said in his letter that Israel's 'unilateral demand' that UNRWA 'cease operations and evacuate all premises within less than a week of formal notice' is 'unreasonable and inconsistent' with Israel's international obligations and that the U.N. and Israel should have discussions about the law, which goes into effect on Thursday. Impact on Gaza At a meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday to discuss the situation, UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said implementing the law now would be disastrous. He said the agency is even more critical as the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire is implemented and humanitarian agencies race to provide aid to millions of Palestinians. 'Across the Gaza Strip, Palestinians are turning to UNRWA — the agency they have known all their lives — for support,' Lazzarini said. 'Curtailing our operations now — outside a political process, and when trust in the international community is so low — will undermine the ceasefire. It will sabotage Gaza's recovery and political transition.' Israeli officials say other aid agencies can take over UNRWA's work, but Lazzarini disagreed. 'Since October 2023, we have delivered two-thirds of all food assistance, provided shelter to over a million displaced persons, and vaccinated a quarter of a million children against polio,' he told the council. 'Since the ceasefire began, UNRWA has brought in 60% of the food entering Gaza, reaching more than half a million people.' The agency also is the primary provider of health care and education for Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. 'We are determined, however, to stay and deliver until it is no longer possible to do so,' Lazzarini said. United Nations officials have repeatedly stressed that if the Knesset legislation is enforced and UNRWA dismantled, then Israel, as the occupying power, would have the legal responsibility for providing essential services to the Palestinian population.
