Zionism

Irish president urges UN to intervene in Gaza, citing ‘destruction of an entire people’

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Michael D.Higgins, the Ireland President, on February 11, 2024 in Dublin, Ireland [David Rogers/Getty Images]

Irish President Michael D. Higgins has called on the UN to take urgent action in Gaza, asking Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to invoke powers under Chapter Seven to bypass Security Council gridlock and deliver humanitarian aid, Anadolu reports.

In a video shared by RTE News, he described the crisis as the “incredible, incredible destruction of an entire people.”

“Are we to watch children starving, women dehydrated, or trying to feed their children? So something must happen,” he said.

President Higgins expressed support for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to invoke powers under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter—a mechanism that allows for enforcement action, including the use of force, without Security Council approval if deemed necessary.

READ: ‘Unimaginable’ hunger: US doctor in Gaza reports children starving to death due to Israeli blockade

“I am personally in favor of the secretary-general of the UN using Chapter Seven procedure, by which, whether or not the Security Council agrees, and even if there’s a blockage, the right exists for the secretary-general to seek to put together an international defense of a corridor,” he said.

Referring to blocked humanitarian aid, Higgins added: “There are 6,000 trucks with enough food for three months, and it has been blocked, and it is outrageous.”

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

READ: UN: 96% of Gaza households face water insecurity

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Continue ReadingIrish president urges UN to intervene in Gaza, citing ‘destruction of an entire people’

EU commissioner urges Israel to end starvation policy in Gaza

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A child tries to collect flour on ground as Palestinians, struggling with hunger, receive limited amount of flour at humanitarian aid distribution point at Zikim border crossing in Gaza on August 1, 2025. [Anas Zeyad Fteha – Anadolu Agency]

The European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, on Sunday called on the Israeli occupation authorities to stop using starvation as a weapon against civilians in the Gaza Strip and to allow wide and effective access to humanitarian aid.

In a post on her X account, Lahbib described the humanitarian suffering in Gaza as “shattering.”

She emphasised that the continued denial of food and medicine to the population constitutes a serious violation of humanitarian principles.

The EU commissioner stressed the importance of adhering to humanitarian principles in responding to the crisis, stating: “Humanity must prevail.”

She called on Israel to “end its starvation of Gaza and to allow for an effective delivery of humanitarian aid at scale.”

Israel’s military offensive on Gaza, ongoing with full US support since October 2023, has resulted in approximately 208,000 Palestinians being killed or injured — most of them women and children. Over 9,000 people remain missing, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced, with many reportedly dying from famine.

READ: 6 more die of Israel-induced starvation in Gaza, taking death toll to 175

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Continue ReadingEU commissioner urges Israel to end starvation policy in Gaza

Former Israeli security chiefs warn: Israel on verge of defeat, Gaza war must end now

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An Israeli army soldier walks near a main battle tank deployed at a position along the border with the Gaza Strip and southern Israel on July 29, 2025. [Jack GUEZ / AFP/Getty Images]

Pressure to end the war intensified further on Sunday evening, as a large group of former senior security officials launched a campaign calling for the Gaza war to stop immediately.

The group included former heads of key Israeli security bodies from past decades, such as former Chiefs of Staff, police commissioners, and former heads of Shin Bet, Mossad, and Military Intelligence.

They warned that Israel is now “on the verge of defeat”, stressing that the war “could have ended yesterday” and that all hostages in Gaza could have been released in one go.

In a video lasting over three minutes, recorded in recent days during a meeting of those former senior officials, the group presents its arguments for an immediate ceasefire.

In the video, the former military leaders say: “Together, we hold over a thousand years of experience. It is our duty to speak up and say what must be said: we are on the verge of defeat.”

READ: Netanyahu asks Red Cross to help care for Israeli captives in Gaza

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Continue ReadingFormer Israeli security chiefs warn: Israel on verge of defeat, Gaza war must end now

Israeli forces raid Al Jazeera office in Ramallah, extend closure order

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Pictures of slain al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh hang on the facade of the building housing the television station’s office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, after Israel issued a 45-day closure order on September 22, 2024. [ JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images]

Israeli occupation forces raided the closed Al Jazeera office in central Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, shortly after midnight.

The troops extended the closure order for an additional 60 days and posted a new military order on the office entrance, according to the network.

In September last year, Israeli forces stormed the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah under a military order, handed its staff a closure notice, confiscated all equipment and documents, and barred employees from using their vehicles.

Al Jazeera had previously condemned the raid and shutdown, saying such repressive actions are aimed at preventing the world from seeing the true situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and the ongoing war on Gaza. Widespread reactions have since condemned the move.

In a statement, the network described the raid as a “criminal act” and said the ongoing Israeli crackdown on free media seeks to conceal its actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The statement rejected the Israeli authorities’ claims used to justify what it called an unlawful raid. It held the government of Benjamin Netanyahu fully responsible for the safety of its journalists and vowed to pursue legal steps to defend its rights and those of its staff.

Al Jazeera also affirmed its commitment to continue reporting the truth with professionalism and impartiality, despite Israeli measures aimed at silencing it.

WATCH: Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters march across Sydney Harbour Bridge

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Morning Star Editorial: Israeli extremism, Western hypocrisy and Palestinian statehood

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/israeli-extremism-western-hypocrisy-and-palestinian-statehood

 People walk down a street surrounded by buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip, July 29, 2025

ISRAELI ministers have again exposed how hollow are Western claims to back a two-state solution.

Yet global opinion on Israel’s colonial project has reached a tipping point — and the prospect of real change cannot be dismissed.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir leads settlers in a march through occupied East Jerusalem. En route, he calls for Israel to annex Gaza.

Defence Minister Israel Katz decrees: “We will strengthen our hold and sovereignty over Jerusalem, at the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount, forever.”

These are not aberrations: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that he will never tolerate a Palestinian state.

Faced with such extremism, any government serious about a Palestinian state would need to impose tough conditions on Israel: full withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza included.

Yet what conditions do they seek to apply?

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Britain will recognise Palestine unless Israel “takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza.”

Feeble as that is, at least Starmer makes demands of the aggressor, Israel.

Canada’s Mark Carney decided to lecture the people being massacred. Canada would recognise Palestine — subject to democratic reforms, including elections in which (very democratically) Hamas would be banned.

France’s Emmanuel Macron repeated that an independent Palestine would need to be demilitarised — as if Palestine threatens the existence of Israel, rather than the other way around.

The coloniser’s mindset. Palestine can be “independent,” but only if it chooses leaders we like, and has no means of defending itself.

…

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/israeli-extremism-western-hypocrisy-and-palestinian-statehood

Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
Continue ReadingMorning Star Editorial: Israeli extremism, Western hypocrisy and Palestinian statehood