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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on December 9, 2024. [Photo by MAYA ALLERUZZO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday that his government remains firmly opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state, issuing the clarification amid intense criticism from far-right parties in his ruling coalition. The backlash followed a US-backed statement at the United Nations referencing a potential path towards Palestinian statehood.
The dispute erupted after the United States and several Muslim-majority countries endorsed a UN resolution supporting former US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the genocide in Gaza. The resolution includes language implying the possibility of an independent Palestinian state, provided that the Palestinian Authority undergoes significant reforms.
The clause triggered outrage among Israel’s far-right leadership, who had already voiced opposition to the Trump-brokered ceasefire in Gaza.
The political fallout now threatens the stability of Netanyahu’s coalition. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich—both influential far-right figures—demanded that Netanyahu explicitly reject any reference to Palestinian statehood. Ben-Gvir warned he would withdraw his party from the government if Netanyahu failed to issue a clear, unequivocal statement.
“Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory remains unchanged. Gaza will be demilitarised, and Hamas will be disarmed, one way or another. I don’t need assurances, tweets or lectures from anyone,” Netanyahu responded defiantly.
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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.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Palestinians wait in line to receive aids at the school where UNRWA distributes food parcels in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on November 07, 2024. [Ashraf Amra – Anadolu Agency]
The United States, on Tuesday, said Israel is not currently impeding humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip and, therefore, is not violating US law, avoiding restrictions on US military aid.
Israel has said it met most of the 16 specific demands put forward by Washington but was still discussing some items. International aid groups, however, said that Israel failed to meet any of them completely.
In a 13 October letter, the US gave 30 days to comply.
Below are the requirements and responses by Israel’s COGAT military agency, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and a report by a coalition of eight aid groups.
Enable a minimum of 350 trucks per day to enter Gaza through all four major Crossings and open a new fifth Crossing.
Israel: Israel allowed a daily average of 76 trucks over the past 30 days. Israel said it was planning to reopen a fifth Crossing, Kissufim.
United Nations: An average of some 50 truckloads a day entered Gaza over the past month.
From 1 October to 10 November, three Crossings were open and no new Crossings opened. Kissufim appeared to have opened on 12 November.
Aid groups: Over 25 days, an average of 42 trucks per day entered Gaza. Three Crossings regularly had trucks entering; a fourth averaged zero trucks a day and a fifth did not open.
Institute adequate humanitarian pauses across Gaza as necessary to enable humanitarian activities for at least the next four months.
Israel: “Subject to operational considerations, attempts are made to implement, on an almost daily basis, tactical pauses along certain routes, allowing for safer movement and facilitating that aid convoys reach their destinations without interference, as well as daily humanitarian pauses in various areas.”
United Nations: No response.
Aid groups: Israel has not complied. In October, only 11 per cent of goods that reached warehouses were distributed.
Allow people in Al-Mawasi and the humanitarian zone to move inland before winter.
Israel: A spokesperson said people from those areas were allowed to move inland but he did not know how many had.
United Nations: “We cannot quantify this,” said OCHA.
Aid groups: Partial compliance as only a limited number of people were allowed to move inland in the 30-day period.
Enhance security for fixed humanitarian sites and movements.
Israel: Security is in place but was not enhanced during the past month.
United Nations: “Humanitarian convoys still face serious security incidents upon picking up humanitarian supplies from Karm Abu Salem. Humanitarian facilities have come under fire.”
Aid groups: “Israel not only failed to take demonstrable actions to improve security for the humanitarian response, but also worsened security risks for humanitarians. Israeli forces repeatedly attacked humanitarian sites and frontline responders during the 30-day period.”
Rescind evacuation orders when there is no operational need.
Israel: Evacuation of civilians from combat areas was for their protection and the Israeli military “is committed to international law and operates accordingly”.
United Nations: As of 25 August, nearly 90 per cent of Gaza was under evacuation orders. About 79 per cent of Gaza remains under evacuation orders as of 11 November.
Aid groups: Israel’s evacuation orders are not compatible with international law. During the 30 days, one evacuation order was rescinded. Six new evacuation orders were implemented in October and early November.
Facilitate rapid implementation of the UN World Food Program winter and logistics plan to repair roads, install warehousing and expand platforms and staging areas.
Israel: It has “absolutely” met this requirement, the spokesperson said. A winter humanitarian assessment was done and was now being executed, including bringing in shelter equipment and repairing roads.
United Nations: No response
Aid groups: Israel has failed to do this and denied WFP requests for movement to repair roads, new warehousing and expanded staging areas. Israel rejected requests to transport blankets, heating supplies and clothes.
Ensure Israeli Coordination and Liaison officers can communicate with humanitarian convoys at checkpoints
Israel: COGAT sits with representatives from international organisations in a joint task force room and they are in constant contact with the trucks on the ground.
United Nations: CLA officers can communicate with humanitarian convoys at checkpoints, “however, UN convoys rarely come across CLA officers at checkpoints”.
Aid groups: CLA officers do not communicate with humanitarian convoys at checkpoints.
Assign division-level liaison officers from Southern Command to the Joint Coordination Board.
Israel: This has not happened.
United Nations: No response.
Aid groups: No officers have been assigned as required.
Remove restrictions on the use of container and closed trucks and increase the number of vetted drivers to 400.
Israel: Israel does not allow closed trucks to cross into Gaza because they are a security threat, the spokesperson said. “It will be used to smuggle weapons. Last week they found a sack of bullets in an aid truck, for example.”
The spokesperson said that there are around 75 drivers with security clearance and talks are under way about increasing that number.
United Nations: No response.
Aid groups: Israel did not comply with either requirement.
Remove an agreed list of essential items from the dual-use restricted list.
Israel: “We are making efforts to do this,” said the COGAT spokesperson.
United Nations: No response.
Aid groups: Most of the list remains highly restricted and the list is administered inconsistently.
Provide expedited clearance processing at the Port of Ashdod for Gaza-bound humanitarian assistance.
Israel: “Israel has implemented targeted measures to significantly enhance the volume and efficiency of aid entering through the Ashdod Port, primarily from Cyprus,” Israel said. This involved improved logistics and coordination.
United Nations: No response.
Aid groups: Israel has failed to consistently expedite clearance processing at the port.
Waive customs requirements on the Jordan corridor until the UN can implement its own process.
Israel: Israel streamlined the customs treatment for the UN to allow for standardised processing of humanitarian shipments.
United Nations: Aid deliveries are classed as donations and no customs or import charges are paid to Israel. As agreed, a UN mechanism under UN Security Council resolution 2720 facilitates Israeli customs clearance processes.
Aid groups: A problematic customs clearance requirement introduced by Israel in the summer was waived during the 30 days. But burdensome processes remain for humanitarian organisations.
Allow aid via a Jordanian corridor to enter Gaza through the northern Crossings, and others as agreed.
Israel: The COGAT spokesperson said that, every week, 30-50 trucks enter through the western Erez Crossing.
United Nations: Jordan corridor trucks have been offloading their goods at Zikim (Erez West) to access northern Gaza.
It said that since 10 October, 374 truckloads have been sent to Gaza through the Jordan corridor.
Aid groups: The corridor is “ostensibly functional but nowhere near capacity”. They gave Israel a rating of partial compliance.
Reinstate a minimum of 50-100 commercial trucks per day.
Israel: The COGAT spokesperson said no commercial goods are allowed to enter Gaza because Hamas controls the merchants.
United Nations: Israel has not let commercial goods into Gaza since 2 October.
Aid groups: No commercial trucks have entered since 30 September.
Reaffirm there will be no Israeli government policy of forced evacuation of civilians from northern to southern Gaza.
Israel: Israel’s military operates in northern Gaza to target Hamas infrastructure. To minimise harm to civilians, it warns the population and removes non-involved people from combat zones. Humanitarian aid will continue for northern Gaza and the Jabalia area.
United Nations: There were forced evacuations.
Aid groups: Israel has ordered civilians to leave including patients from hospitals. Over the prior four weeks, some 100,000 people were displaced from North Gaza.
Ensure humanitarian organisations have continuous access to northern Gaza from Israel and from southern Gaza.
Israel: “Yes, we allow it,” said the COGAT spokesperson.
United Nations: OCHA said humanitarians do not have continuous access to northern Gaza.
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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.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
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A view of the site as Israeli forces take measures in front of the Ofer Prison in West Bank, in Jerusalem on January 19, 2025. [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency]
At least 98 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons since the start of Gaza war in October 2023, an Israeli human rights group said Monday, Anadolu reports.
The findings were published in a report issued by Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, which said the report is based on official responses, medical documents, autopsy reports, testimonies from medical staff and released detainees, and other human rights sources.
The organization said Israel has concealed the causes of death among Palestinian detainees in its prisons and continues to hide the true number of victims, warning that the real figure is likely much higher.
It accused Israel of carrying out a policy of systematic killing, ill-treatment, and medical neglect against Palestinian prisoners.
“The unprecedented toll, together with extensive findings and evidence of deaths caused by torture and medical neglect, points to a deliberate Israeli policy of killing Palestinians in custody,” said Oneg Ben Dror, a project coordinator in the organization’s Prisoners and Detainees Department.
The rights group said 98 Palestinians lost their lives in Israeli custody, including 94 documented deaths between October 2023, and August 2025. It added that four other fatalities were recorded during October and November of this year alone.
The report includes only deaths that occurred inside Israeli prisons and detention centers and does not include seven additional documented cases of Palestinians executed by gunfire shortly after their arrest.
The rights group said that the fatalities included 52 detainees from Gaza.
There was no comment from the Israel Prison Service nor the army on the report.
The Israeli group said the report revealed a repeated pattern of severe violence by prison guards alongside serious medical neglect of Palestinian detainees.
It said that an examination of ten autopsy reports showed signs of physical violence in nearly half the cases, including head injuries, internal bleeding, and rib fractures.
Other medical reports documented cases of extreme malnutrition, denial of insulin for diabetic patients, failure to treat cancer, and the presence of life-threatening infections.
The organization noted that these findings correspond with extensive documentation over the past two years of hunger, dehydration, and prolonged exposure to extreme cold and heat in Israeli detention centers.
The report dedicated significant space to describing the methods used by Israeli authorities for “concealing the causes of death and obstructing families from uncovering the truth about the circumstances in which their relatives died.”
The Israeli army launched a brutal offensive on Gaza in October 2023, killing more than 69,000 people, mostly women and children, injuring over 170,000 others, and arresting thousands. The assault came to a halt under a ceasefire agreement that took effect on Oct. 10.
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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.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Displaced Palestinians try to protect their belongings from damage after heavy rain in the Austrian Quarter of Khan Yunis, Gaza on November 16, 2025. [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency]
Dozens of tents sheltering displaced families have been flooded by rainwater in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, the Civil Defence said Sunday, Anadolu reports.
For the third consecutive day, Gaza has been affected by a weather depression accompanied by cold air, rain, and strong winds, with meteorological forecasts expecting it to subside by Sunday evening.
Stormy winds have caused thousands of tents to collapse or be blown away, leaving families staying on the streets and forcing many to seek shelter inside destroyed buildings that pose serious safety risks.
In a statement, the Gaza Civil Defence renewed warnings about the “risk of destroyed, structurally unstable buildings collapsing on their occupants” due to heavy rain and winds.
“We have recorded a large-scale disaster caused by the storm that hit Gaza amid the massive destruction inflicted by Israel during two years of genocide,” spokesman Mahmoud Basal said.
He appealed to the international community to assume its responsibilities and provide urgent relief to Palestinians in Gaza.
“Every passing second brings more harm and pain to the Palestinian people.”
According to the Gaza Media Office, 1.5 million Palestinians are displaced in Gaza, living in catastrophic conditions with little access to basic necessities and severely limited essential services due to Israel’s ongoing blockade.
Israel has killed more than 69,000 people, mostly women and children, in attacks in Gaza since October 2023 and reduced it to rubble.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide and the UK government and military’s active participation in genocide.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
UN Security Council (UNSC) on September 23, 2025, in New York City, USA. [Selçuk Acar – Anadolu Agency]
Israel presses the US to soften the wording of an American draft resolution that the UN Security Council is set to vote on Monday, which mentions “self-determination and the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Israeli media reported Sunday, Anadolu reports.
Tel Aviv is making “last-minute efforts to change the wording of the proposal that will be approved tomorrow in the Security Council regarding the multinational force that will deploy in the Gaza Strip,” Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said.
Aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior officials at the Foreign Ministry have been holding discussions with the team of US President Donald Trump and Arab leaders “to ease the language of the expected resolution,” it added.
According to the broadcaster, Israeli officials believe the Palestinian Authority will not meet the terms of Trump’s plan for establishing a Palestinian state, which requires “comprehensive reform.” Even so, they describe the draft as “dangerous” and warn that it could lead to unpredictable outcomes.
The report did not specify the format Israel seeks to see adopted.
Washington is promoting the draft resolution, which calls for deploying a multinational force in Gaza under a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that has been in effect since Oct. 10.
The text says that “conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” after the Palestinian Authority undergoes reforms.
It also says the US will initiate dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to reach a political horizon for peaceful coexistence, according to KAN.
The outlet said the draft specifies that the multinational force would work with Israel and Egypt to stabilize Gaza and replace Hamas governance and the presence of the Israeli army in the area.
It also envisions a trained Palestinian police force operating in Gaza to help secure the borders.
On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar joined Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Hours before the scheduled vote, Netanyahu doubled down on his opposition to any form of Palestinian statehood.
“My opposition to the establishment of a State of Palestine has not changed. It stands and remains,” Netanyahu said at the start of Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, as cited by a statement from his office.
He said Gaza “will be demilitarized, and Hamas will be dismantled.”
“I have confronted these attempts for many years, and I am doing so now against pressure from outside and from within,” he said.
Against the backdrop of the Israeli war on Gaza, several countries recognized Palestinian statehood during UN meetings in September, bringing the total to 160 of the UN’s 193 member states, according to the Palestinian Foreign Ministry.
Israel has killed more than 69,000 people, mostly women and children, in attacks in Gaza since October 2023 and reduced it to rubble.
Israel continues to occupy Palestinian territory, as well as land in Syria and Lebanon, and opposes the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state on lands occupied in 1967.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide and the UK government and military’s active participation in genocide.
