New York/Madrid/Tel Aviv/Gaza
The Palestinians want to use a new resolution at the UN General Assembly to pressure Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories. Many countries have called for a meeting of the UN’s largest body to vote on a resolution that would force the UN’s top court to implement its legal opinion on the Middle East conflict. This could happen on Tuesday, September 17.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ruled in a legal opinion in July that the occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal and must be stopped as soon as possible. Israel has ignored it. The UN General Assembly is scheduled to vote next Tuesday on a draft resolution that calls on Israel to end its illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory within 12 months. Traditionally, the UN has had a majority of supporters of Palestinians and anti-Israel groups.
Israel captured and occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967. The Palestinians claim that the area was created together with Israel and is their own state, which most countries in the world, including Germany, still support today. Israel left Gaza again in 2005, but still controls the land, sea, and air borders.
Madrid Conference Calls for End to Gaza War
Israel has been waging a bloody war against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October 7 last year. The trigger was an unprecedented massacre by Hamas and other terrorists in southern Israel. 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage. Since then, more than 41,000 people have died on the Palestinian side, according to the Hamas-controlled health authorities, without distinguishing between soldiers and civilians.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shiite militia that claims allegiance to Hamas, has been attacking northern Israel with rockets and drones since October 8. Israel responded to the fires with airstrikes against Hezbollah positions and leaders in southern Lebanon, but has also repeatedly struck deep into the northern part of the neighboring country.
Participants in a meeting of high-ranking politicians from several countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa called for an end to the Gaza war. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Alvares told Platform X that they met in Madrid “to push for an end to the Gaza war and the implementation of a two-state solution.”
“The two-state solution is the only path to a just and lasting peace,” Alvarez said after the meeting. But more urgent are a ceasefire, the release of hostages held by Hamas, and a significant increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The two-state solution would mean an independent Palestinian state that coexists peacefully with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the two-state solution, as has Hamas, which aims to destroy Israel.
The leftist government in Madrid is one of Europe’s harshest critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. In addition to Spain, EU countries Ireland and Slovenia, as well as NATO member Norway, recognized Palestine as an independent state in early summer.
The Madrid meeting was attended by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and ministers and representatives from Norway, Ireland, Slovenia, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.
Killed in Israeli West Bank military operation
The Israeli military said it had killed six Palestinian militants in a counter-terrorism operation in the northern West Bank over the past 48 hours. Five armed men were killed in a targeted airstrike in the town of Tubas, the military said in a statement. A sixth militant was shot dead as he threw an explosive device at Israeli soldiers in the Farah refugee camp in Tubas.
The UN relief agency UNRWA said one of its staff was killed by a sniper on the roof of his home in Farah. The aid agency said it was the first violent death of a staff member in the West Bank in 10 years. The Israeli military later said the slain UNRWA staff member was the one who attacked Israeli soldiers with an explosive device. He had been employed by UNRWA but had already come to the attention of the occupation forces through “terrorist activities.” The information could not initially be independently verified.
First phase of polio vaccination completed in Gaza Strip
Meanwhile, a rare ray of hope is being reported from the war-torn Gaza Strip. The first vaccination campaign against the polio virus has been successfully completed, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported in Geneva. More than 560,000 children under the age of 10 have received their first dose of the vaccine. There have been no major incidents. The campaign lasted nearly two weeks. All children must receive a second dose within four weeks to be protected from infection.
WHO and partner organizations negotiated a spatial and temporal ceasefire with Israel and Hamas to allow families to bring their children to vaccination centers or for mobile vaccination teams to reach families. The Gaza Strip has been free of polio for 25 years. However, this summer, polio was diagnosed in a child with symptoms of paralysis. The virus spreads in unsanitary and crowded environments, such as in Gaza.
Since Israel’s military campaign began nearly 11 months ago, many of the roughly 2 million residents have been displaced as their neighborhoods have been bombed and their homes partially destroyed.
notification: This report is part of an automated service of the German Press Agency (dpa), which operates under strict journalistic regulations. The AZ Online editorial team does not edit or check it. Please send questions or comments to Feedback@az-muenchen.de.
