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  • Top EU Diplomat Warns Israeli Impunity Will Lead to West Bank Becoming ‘a New Gaza’

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    Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

    Josep Borrell speaks during a press conference at the end of an Informal Foreign Affairs Council (Development Ministers) in Brussels, on February 12, 2023.
     (Photo: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

    “Against this backdrop, it is clear that the prospect of a two-state solution—which we have been ritually repeating—is receding ever further while the international community deplores, feels, and condemns, but finds it hard to act.”

    European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday urged the international community to stop “radical members of the Israeli government” from thwarting Palestinian statehood and prevent Israel from turning the illegally occupied West Bank into “a new Gaza.”

    Speaking to attendees of an Arab League conference in Cairo, Borrell lamented that a Gaza cease-fire agreement “has still not been signed and does not seem likely to be signed in the near future.”

    “Why? Quite simply, because those who are waging the war have no interest in putting an end to it,” he continued. “So, they are just pretending… Because, as it turns out, their intransigence is accompanied by total impunity.”

    “If acts have no consequences, if blatant violation of international law remains disregarded, if institutions such as the International Criminal Court are threatened, if the International Court of Justice rulings are totally ignored by those who promote a rules-based order, who can be trusted?” Borrell asked.

    “Not only is there no pause in the war in Gaza,” he noted. “But what looms on the horizon is the extension of the conflict to the West Bank, where radical members of the Israeli government—Netanyahu’s government—try to make it impossible to create a future Palestinian state.”

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his far-right government have openly boasted about their efforts to derail the so-called “two-state solution,” and Israeli lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in July to oppose the creation of a Palestinian state.

    Borrell asserted that “a new front is being opened with a clear objective: to turn the West Bank into a new Gaza—in rising violence, delegitimizing the Palestinian Authority, stimulating provocations to react forcefully, and not shying away from saying to the face of the world that the only way to reach a peaceful settlement is to annex the West Bank and Gaza.”

    Since last October, Israeli soldiers and settler-colonists have killed more than 600 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, including more than 140 children. Settlers have carried out more than 1,000 attacks including multiple deadly pogroms, during which Israel Defense Forces soldiers stood by, protected, and even joined the attackers.

    “Without action, the West Bank will become a new Gaza,” Borrell stressed. “And Gaza will become a new West Bank, as settlers’ movements are preparing new settlements.”

    “Against this backdrop, it is clear that the prospect of a two-state solution—which we have been ritually repeating—is receding ever further while the international community deplores, feels, and condemns, but finds it hard to act,” Borrell added.

    “What can we do?” he asked, continuing:

    We need to raise our voice at the next [United Nations General Assembly] and prevent a sort of “Gaza fatigue,” which will embolden the extremists and postpone once again the idea of a political settlement. We have to launch a process where all parties who want to work on an agenda—a concrete and practical agenda to implement the two-state solution—can work together.

    Second, we need to revitalize the Palestinian Authority to support their reform process, but also to support [them] financially.

    Third, [we have] to facilitate all attempts at dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis.

    Fourth, [we must] not give up on engaging with Israeli civil society, even in this context—and especially in this context. Everyone, not just the Europeans—Palestinians, and Arab civil society, must do it. I know how difficult it is to reconcile both narratives, but it is the only way to move forward…

    Fifth, the Palestinians have to reach a common vision, to overcome their divisions, because the more these divisions exist, the more they undermine the legitimacy and representativeness of the Palestinians.

    Sixth, the Europeans need to adopt a common approach. That is what I am working tirelessly on, even if the success is limited, because I have never seen such a dividing issue among the Europeans as the Israel-Palestine conflict.

    Seventh, the Arab States need also to adopt a truly common approach [to] coordinating and showing solidarity.

    “All in all, it means building a balance of power on realistic foundations for the two-state solution—before it becomes, definitely, too late,” Borrell concluded. “I know, it is extremely difficult. However, we must never give up.”

    Last month, Borrell called for sanctioning Israeli leaders for hate speech and inciting war crimes in Gaza and the illegally occupied West Bank. He has also called for an arms embargo on Israel.

    Israel is currently on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice. Meanwhile, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking to arrest Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders—at least one of whom has been assassinated—for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    Since October 7, when the Hamas-led attack on Israel left more than 1,100 people dead—some of them killed by so-called ” friendly fire“—and over 240 others kidnapped, Israeli forces have killed at least 40,988 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children. At least 94,825 other Palestinians have been wounded. Almost all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been forcibly displaced, while Israel’s “complete siege” has starved and sickened people across the enclave, with dozens dying of malnutrition.

    Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

  • Met backs down over attempt to delay London Palestine march start time

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    Met backs down over attempt to delay London Palestine march start time

  • Scots oppose building of mega-resort in Loch Lomond

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/scots-oppose-building-mega-resort-loch-lomond

    People walking on Conic Hill, above Loch Lomond at Balmaha

    THE people of Scotland have sent a “loud and clear” message that mega-resort Flamingo Land is not welcome at Loch Lomond, campaigners said today after more than 150,000 people objected.

    The record number of planning complaints against the “damaging and destructive” plan to build in Scotland used a campaign portal set up by the Scottish Greens.

    The Yorkshire-based theme park operator’s proposal would cram 104 woodland lodges, two hotels, a waterpark, a monorail, 372 car parking spaces, shops and more onto the banks of Loch Lomond at Balloch.

    The number of objections put forward makes it the most unpopular planning application in Scotland’s history, more than doubling the previous record held by Flamingo Land’s failed first attempt, opposed by nearly 60,000 people.

    Groups including the National Trust for Scotland, Woodland Trust and Ramblers Scotland as well as the local community council have also opposed the proposals.

    …

    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/scots-oppose-building-mega-resort-loch-lomond

  • Chancellor pledges to press on with winter fuel squeeze despite risk of public health crisis

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/chancellor-pledges-to-press-on-with-winter-fuel-squeeze-despite-risk-of-public-health-crisis

    Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves during her visit to the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) in Paisley, Renfrewshire, August 28, 2024

    Age UK warns that two million pensioners could be in serious trouble this winter

    CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves pledged to press ahead with her winter fuel squeeze on pensioners today despite warnings that she is risking a public health crisis.

    …

    “It’s not a decision I wanted to make, but a decision I had to make in incredibly challenging circumstances to put the public finances on a firm footing,” she said, while also not ruling out tax rises in her October Budget.

    Bosses attending the talks with Energy Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh are set to increase average household bills by £149 from October following a green light for the rise in the price cap from regulator Ofgem.

    At the same time, the government is looking to save £1.4 billion by axing winter fuel payments from all pensioners not in receipt of pensions credit or other means-tested assistance.

    …

    Charity Age UK said it “strongly” opposed Ms Reeves’s benefit cut, which would mean “as many as two million pensioners who badly need the money to stay warm this winter will not receive it and will be in serious trouble as a result.”

    Simon Francis, of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, warned that “this has the potential to create a public health emergency which will actually create more pressure on the under-pressure NHS which the Prime Minister says he wants to fix.”

    …

    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/chancellor-pledges-to-press-on-with-winter-fuel-squeeze-despite-risk-of-public-health-crisis

    Keir Starmer confirms that he is continuing Tory policies and that he's proud to be a red Tory.
    Keir Starmer confirms that he is continuing Tory policies and that he’s proud to be a red Tory.
    Keir Starmer says pensioners can freeze to death and poor children can starve and be condemned to failure and misery all their lives.
    Keir Starmer says pensioners can freeze to death and poor children can starve and be condemned to failure and misery all their lives.

  • Pacific Islands Summit Highlights Disproportionate Climate Impacts

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    Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under a CC licence.

    Leaders of Pacific island nations gather in Nuku’alofa, Tonga on August 26, 2024 for the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM53).
     (Photo: Pacific Islands Climate Action Network/X)

    U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that “the region urgently needs substantial finance, capacities, and technology to speed up the transition and to invest in adaptation and resilience.”

    As more than 1,500 delegates from over 40 nations gathered in Tonga for the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, climate defenders on Monday urged the world’s biggest polluters to do much more to phase out the fossil fuels that are driving a planetary emergency disproportionately affecting low-lying island countries, which are among the world’s lowest greenhouse gas emitters.

    “Tonga’s vision for the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM53) is for the Pacific to move beyond policy deliberation to implementation—to achieve transformation by building better now,” summit organizers said in a statement affirming the event’s mission to “develop collective responses to regional issues and deliver on their vision for a resilient Pacific region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion, and prosperity.”

    “We may be small island countries but we are a force to be reckoned with.”

    Addressing attendees at the summit’s opening ceremony in the Tongan capital of Nuku’alofa, Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretary-General Baron Waqa of Nauru called for regional unity to tackle common challenges.

    “We may be small island countries but we are a force to be reckoned with,” he said. “We are at the center of geostrategic interest, we are at the forefront of a battle against climate change and its impacts.”

    Speaking at Monday’s opening session, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres lamented that “humanity is treating the sea like a sewer. Plastic pollution is choking sea life. Greenhouse gases are causing ocean heating, acidification, and a dramatic and accelerating rise in sea levels.”

    Guterres—who warned in Samoa last week that low-lying island nations face the threat of climate “annihilation”—said that “Pacific islands are showing the way to protect our climate, our planet, and our ocean: By declaring a climate emergency and pushing for action, and with your declarations on sea-level rise, and aspirations for a just transition to a fossil fuel-free Pacific. But, the region urgently needs substantial finance, capacities, and technology to speed up the transition and to invest in adaptation and resilience.”

    “The young people of the Pacific have taken the climate crisis all the way to the International Court of Justice,” Guterres added. “You have also rightly recognized that this is a security crisis—and taken steps to manage those risks together.”

    Mahoney Mori, who chairs the Pacific Youth Council and is the PIFLM53 youth representative from the Federated States of Micronesia, called out the international community’s failure to adequately fund climate mitigation initiatives like the loss and damage fund—which developing nations say will require an annual investment of at least $400 billion, or nearly 10 times the amount pledged at last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai.

    “Despite the commendable pledges from the United Nations and world leaders such as the Paris agreement, the existing global finance mechanisms still hindered community-based and youth organizations from accessing critical support,” Mori said. “The Pacific’s grassroots organizations struggle to meet global standards amidst this crisis and time is running out.”

    As leaders met for PIFLM53 amid torrential rains, a 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked Tonga’s main island of Tongatapu. While there was no damage reported and no tsunami warning issued, summit attendees said the temblor underscored vulnerabilities faced by low-lying island nations.

    Leaders and activists from Pacific island nations took aim at regional giant Australia—which has been perennially ranked as one of the world’s worst climate-wreckers in U.N.-backed Sustainable Development reports—for insufficient climate action.

    “We recognize Australia’s desire to present itself as a climate leader and co-host the COP alongside the Pacific,” Pacific Islands Climate Action Network regional director Rufino Varea said in a statement, referring to Australia’s bid to help lead the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP31.

    “However, true leadership must not merely be aspirational; it must be actionable,” Varea continued. “To date, Australia has expanded gas production instead of aligning its practices with the urgent needs of the Pacific. This does not reflect the leadership we need.”

    “If Australia is to demonstrate genuine commitment, it must align its domestic and international climate policies with our goals and advocate earnestly for a fossil fuel-free Pacific,” he stressed. “It must also commit to ambitious climate actions, ensure effective climate finance is delivered to Pacific island countries, and contribute substantially to the loss and damage fund.”

    “If these steps are not taken, we risk witnessing a COP that concedes failure—declaring that critical targets were missed, and that Pacific communities continue to be exploited as mere labor resources for the enrichment of others,” Varea added.

    Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under a CC licence.