06:27
Israeli minister calls on Unrwa CEO to resign
Israel’s Foreign Minister has called on the head of the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) to resign. “Mr. Lazzarini, please resign,” Israel Katz wrote on the online platform X (formerly Twitter) on the night from Saturday to Sunday.
Unrwa has found itself in the eye of storm due to accusations by Israel that agency employees may have been involved in the October 7 Hamas attack. The employees involved have now been dismissed and the UN organization has launched an investigation. However, Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy also accused Unrwa of being a “front for Hamas”.
Several countries have now suspended their funding to Unrwa. In addition to Germany, this includes the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Italy and Finland.
Unrwa-tCEO Philippe Lazzarini had previously warned that the organization’s aid in Gaza is on the verge of collapse following the suspension of payments.
05:27
NYT: deal near to release hostages and end Israeli attacks
US negotiators are nearing a deal that would see Israel suspend its attacks on Gaza (perhaps for at least two months) in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages still held there by the Palestinian terror group Hamas. This is what the American newspaper ‘The New York Times’ writes. The newspaper is based on American official sources who wish to remain anonymous.
The agreement, the draft of which includes the proposals made by Hamas and Israel over the past 10 days, would be concluded the next two weeks could be knocked off.
The basic framework will on Sunday the French capital Paris are discussed by representatives of the US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar. The latter two countries act as mediators with Hamas.
However, there are still many points of contention, according to the American newspaper, but the negotiators are optimistic on the possibility of a final agreement in the near future.
US President Joe Biden spoke with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim ben Hamad Al-Thani, and then with the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, about “the latest developments in Israel and Gaza, including efforts to rescue hostages kidnapped by Hamas to be released,” the White House announced on Friday. However, White House spokesman John Kirby said at the time that “no immediate progress should be expected.”
03:44
Unrwa chief dismayed by suspension of financial support
The head of the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has reacted with dismay to the decision of nine countries to suspend their financial support. They decided to do this after accusations about the involvement of Unrwa staff members in the terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7.
“These decisions threaten the continuation of our humanitarian work in the region, especially in the Gaza Strip,” said Philippe Lazzarini on Platform all of us”.
Following the US, Canada and Australia, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Italy, Finland, Switzerland and Germany also stopped their payments to the UN organization on Saturday evening. This has ordered an investigation into the allegations against a number of employees.
01:02
About 20,000 people demonstrate in Madrid against war in Gaza
About 20,000 people demonstrated against the war in Gaza in the Spanish capital Madrid on Saturday. They carried Palestinian flags and chanted slogans against Israel.
Behind a banner reading “Stop the genocide in Palestine,” the crowd waved Palestinian flags. The demonstrators also carried South African flags, which referred to the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which on Friday called on Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent genocide in Gaza. According to figures from the prefecture of Madrid, 20,000 people attended.
The demonstrators chanted slogans such as “Where are the sanctions for Israel?” and “Israel kills, Europe sponsors.” Many of the demonstrators carried signs reading “Boycott Israel” or “Israel genocidal.”
Spain, together with Belgium, is one of the most critical voices regarding Israel within the European Union (EU). In November, Israel recalled its ambassador to Spain for consultations after allegedly “scandalous” comments by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
The latter had called for “strict compliance with international humanitarian law, which is clearly not being respected today” in Gaza. The Israeli ambassador returned to Madrid in January.