GENEVA: The United Nations human rights chief said today that Israeli colonies in the occupied West Bank have expanded by a record amount and risk eliminating any practical possibility of a Palestinian state.
Volker Turk said that the growth of Israeli colonies amounted to the transfer by Israel of its own population, which he reiterated was a war crime. The US Biden administration said last month the colonies were ‘inconsistent’ with international law after Israel announced new housing plans for colonists in the West Bank.
‘Settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels, and risk eliminating any practical possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian State,’ Turk said in a statement accompanying the report which will be presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva in late March.
The 16-page report, based on the UN’s own monitoring as well as other sources, documented 24,300 new Israeli housing units in the West Bank during a one-year period through to the end of
October 2023, which it said was the highest on record since monitoring began in 2017.
It also said there had been a dramatic increase in the intensity, severity and regularity of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank by both extremist colonists and the Israeli occupation forces during the same period.
Turk’s report noted that the policies of Israel’s government, which is the most right-wing in the country’s history and includes religious nationalists with close ties to settlers, appeared aligned to an ‘unprecedented extent’ with the goals of the Israeli settler movement.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA
ABU DHABI: The Joint Operations Command of the Ministry of Defence has announced the completion of the fifth airdrop of humanitarian and relief aid by the UAE Air Force and the Egyptian Air Force in the northern Gaza Strip, as part of the “Birds of Goodness” operation. The operation aims to alleviate the suffering of the war-ravaged Palestinian people.
Joint teams from both countries carried out the operation using aircraft carrying about 62 tonnes of food and medical aid, bringing the total to 231 tonnes since the operation’s launch.
Operation “Birds of Goodness” is part of the ‘Gallant Knight 3’ humanitarian operation, which was launched on 5th November 2023, in line with the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The number of aircraft sent to date as part of the Joint Operations Command air bridge reached 179, in addition to 2 ships, with the humanitarian aid provided totalling 16,121 tonnes.
The operation, which will run for several weeks, showcases the level
of UAE-Egypt coordination to support the people of Gaza. It also comes within the framework of Arab solidarity to help the Palestinian people in light of the dire circumstances in the Gaza Strip.
Source: Emirates News Agency