SPECIAL REPORTS

2025 Jan wk3 -- Jan wk2P2 -- Jan wk2 -- Jan wk1 P2 -- Wk1
2024 Dec wk5 -- Dec wk4 P2 -- Dec wk4 -- Dec Wk3 P3 -- Dec Wk3 P2 -- Dec Wk 3 -- Dec Wk 2 P3 -- WK2 P 2 -- wk2 -- wk1 P 3 -- wk1 P 2 -- wk1 -- Nov wk5 P3 -- wk5 P2 -- wk5 -- wk4 P3 -- wk4 P2 -- Nwk4
 Click here for an overview by week in 2024

Special reports: Updates January and earlier, 2025-'24: Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war & Sense of impunity 'absolute' & No food, no sleep, no hope in Gaza and related report & Genocide in Gaza: Silence is complicity Previous reports: Al-Shifa was a dream and a nightmare & Why is hypothermia killing Gaza’s children? & Gaza's 2024: A year of war and misery 2 Stories & When burning hospitals are no longer news 2 Stories & Genocide in Gaza: Silence is complicity and earler stories  Overview special reports

November 28 - 24 and earler stories, 2024 Is Netanyahu immune from ICC arrest warrant-NO!   TRIBUTES TO MOTHERS AND CHILDREN

Shireen Abu Akleh In commemoration of Shireen Abu Akleh, the 'voice of Al Jazeera' killed while revealing the true face of israel Updated: December 6, 2024: Attacks, arrests, threats, censorship: The high risks of reporting the Israel-Gaza war   Click here for earlier stories/news

January 13 - 10,2025  Food for thought Hitler once used the tactic of 'scorched earth' knowing too well he was about to lose all. So netanyahu, eat your 'heart' out, loser. Gino d'Artali Read more and decide for yourself Next reports might be centered around a 'cease-fire deal.

January 12 - 8, 2025 Food for thought: <All hell will break out> president-elect trump. As if the Palestinians have been living in paradise in the past 15 months and babies/children are going to sleep looking at a star-clad heaven. Gino d'Artali And more actual news   December 30 - 26, 2024 'Betrayed' and 'abandoned' Sixth baby dies from severe cold

December 10 - 7, 2024 Food for thought: 'The next one' as seen by an Iranian activist cartoonnist and yes, with the fall of assad it most likely is a matter of time before the next ones, netanyahu, khamenei, erdogan and others, will follow. Gino d'Artali Read more and decide for yourself

 When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali.


Jinha - Womens News Agency - Jan 13, 2024 - by HANAN HARITE
<<'We must strengthen regional and international women's solidarity against war'
"We must strengthen regional and international women's solidarity against war," said Moroccan activist Aisha Lakhmas, commenting on the ongoing conflicts and wars in the Middle East.
Morocco- The Moroccan Women's Movement makes their voice be heard by human rights organizations around the world with the slogan "No to genocidal crimes and wars" against the war policies implemented in Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. "Women living in conflict zones face difficult living conditions," said Aisha Lakhmas, an activist and member of the Union of Women's Action in Morocco, stressing the coordination among women's movements all around the world. The Union of Women's Action in Morocco is a member of the Arab Women's Network. "The Arab Women's Network is one of the women's networks in the region aiming to get things back on track, the pre-Beijing+30 conference," Aisha Lakhmas said, pointing to the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. "With the support of Western countries, Israel ignores all international laws. Israel and Western countries have major financial interests in the Middle East; however, the wars and conflicts in the region drain people, preventing the growth, development and unity of Arab countries."
'Coordination among women's movements is important'
The coordination among women’s movements is important to combat all forms of violence against women, Aisha Lakhmas said. "Women are subjected to all forms of violence due to the capitalist system. We witness the effects of conflicts and wars on women in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Sudan. Women experiencing armed conflicts are at risk. As women, we are subjected to all kinds of discrimination due to the interests of international states. We, as women, demand security and peace."
'Our aim is to build a women's front'
Aisha Lakhmas also mentioned the importance of forming a women's regional network. "I am a member of the Union of Women's Action in Morocco, the Euro-Mediterranean Network and the African Network. Our aim is to build an international women’s front against exploitation and destruction. Nowadays, many parts of the world have been destroyed due to wars and conflicts. The coordination among women will allow us to share our experiences, hold meetings and stop genocidal attacks. The current wars and conflicts affect not only the Middle East but also the southern and northern countries."
'International conventions must be implemented'
The UN Security Council Resolution 1325 must be implemented, stated Aisha Lakhmas. "Because women's participation in peace processes still remains low. Moroccan women activists demand the establishment of international peace mechanisms. International conventions must be implemented to ensure women's participation in peace processes." >>
Video: https://jinhaagency.com/en/actual/we-must-strengthen-regional-and-international-women-s-solidarity-against-war-36327?page=1

Jinha - Womens News Agency - Jan 13, 2024
<<Gaza death toll rises to 46,584
The death toll in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 46,584, the Gaza's health ministry said in a statement on Monday.
News Center- At least 46,584 Palestinians have been killed and 109,731 others injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, the Gaza's health ministry said in a statement on Monday. At least nine Palestinians were killed and 71 others injured in Israeli attacks in the last 24 hours, the ministry added. According to the statement, there are thousands of dead bodies trapped under the rubble or scattered on roads and the civil defense crews cannot retrieve them due to ongoing Israeli attacks.>>
Source: https://jinhaagency.com/en/actual/gaza-death-toll-rises-to-46-584-36331?page=1

Al Jazeera - Jan 13 2025 - By Mersiha Gadzo, Urooba Jamal and Nils Adler
<<LIVE: Israel kills at least 33 Palestinians in north Gaza amid truce talks
Israeli forces kill at least five Palestinians in an attack on Salah al-Din School in Gaza City that sheltered forcibly displaced people.
A total of 33 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since dawn on Monday, Al Jazeera Arabic reports, citing medical sources.>>
Video: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/1/13/live-israel-bombs-another-gaza-city-school-as-truce-talks-continue

Al Jazeera - Jan 13 2025
<<Biden speaks with Israel's Netanyahu, urges 'immediate ceasefire' in Gaza
Call comes as Israel keeps up its siege on north Gaza, with at least 5,000 killed and missing in 100 days.
Smoke rises from a building destroyed in an Israeli air strike.
United States President Joe Biden has spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the ongoing talks for a ceasefire in Gaza and stressed the "immediate need" for a truce, as well as the return of Israeli captives held in the Palestinian enclave. The call on Sunday came as Biden pushes for a deal to stop the fighting before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on January 20. The negotiations, mediated over the past year by the US, Egypt and Qatar, have repeatedly stalled at moments when they seemed close to a deal. Still, in recent days, US officials have expressed hope of sealing an agreement. The latest round is taking place in the Qatari capital, Doha, with the head of Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence agency, David Barnea, as well as Biden's top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, both attending the talks. Barnea's presence, confirmed by Netanyahu's office, means high-level Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any agreement are now involved in the talks. McGurk has been working on final details of a text to be presented to both sides, Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CNN's "State of the Union". But he said he would not predict whether a deal can be reached by January 20, the day of the inauguration. "We are very, very close," he said. "Yet being very close still means we're far because until you actually get across the finish line, we're not there." The White House said the ongoing talks in Doha are for a deal based on the phased ceasefire that Biden had announced in May of last year, which was later endorsed unanimously by the United Nations Security Council. Biden "stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal", the White House said. For his part, Netanyahu thanked Biden for his lifelong support of Israel, according to the White House readout. The Israeli prime minister has previously signalled that he is committed only to the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which envisions the release of some captives in exchange for a weeks-long halt in fighting. Hamas, however, has insisted on a full Israeli troop withdrawal from the largely devastated territory, but Netanyahu remains intent on destroying the group's ability to fight in Gaza. Issues in the talks have included which captives would be released in the first part of a phased ceasefire deal, which Palestinian prisoners would be released and the extent of any Israeli troop withdrawal from population centres in Gaza. Al Jazeera's Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Jordan, said the Israeli negotiating team in Qatar is expected to stay in the country for at least another day "in order to hammer out final details for a potential deal". She noted that the Israelis and Hamas have traded blame for the delay in reaching a deal, while there is disagreement among Netanyahu's coalition about a ceasefire. "Members of the far-right have said they would vote against it and Netanyahu has even spoken to members of the far-right, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to try to warm them up to the idea of a deal," she said. "There is a school of thought in Israel that Netanyahu has prolonged the war and not agreed to a deal because he fears it could result in the collapse of his government. But nonetheless, these talks are still ongoing as mediators are scrambling to get a deal." The talks come as Israel continues its relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip, particularly the north of the enclave, which has been subject to a brutal siege for more than 100 days. Medical sources in Gaza say 5,000 people have been killed or are missing due to the ongoing attacks. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children, and displaced more than 90 percent of the territory’s population from their homes. The brutal war, which some UN experts describe as "genocide", began in the aftermath of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which Palestinian fighters killed 1,200 people and took some 250 others captive. Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved in 15 months of war, in the earliest weeks of fighting.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/13/biden-speaks-with-israels-netanyahu-urges-immediate-ceasefire-in-gaza

Al Jazeera - Jan 12 2025 - By Al Jazeera Staff
<<The Bottom Line
Could Israel be planning a Gaza 'ceasefire' for optics only?
American journalist Ryan Grim says it may be risky for Israel to reject a ceasefire in Gaza, even if just to placate Trump.>>
Read more/Video: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-bottom-line/2025/1/12/could-israel-be-planning-a-gaza-ceasefire-for-optics-only

Al Jazeera - Jan 12 2025 - By Al Jazeera Staff
<<'Ghost area': 5,000 killed or missing due to Israel's siege of north Gaza
The Israeli military has only intensified its siege of the north and attacks across Gaza amid renewed ceasefire talks. Five thousand people have been killed or are missing due to Israel’s siege on northern Gaza, with its brutal attacks intensifying amid talks of a potential mediated agreement between Israel and Hamas. Another 9,500 Palestinians were injured as a result of the Israeli military operation in the north that was launched in early October, a medical source told Al Jazeera on Sunday. Gaza's Government Media Office on Sunday described the Israeli siege as "the most horrific form of ethnic cleansing, displacement and destruction" that has affected hundreds of thousands in the war-ravaged area. Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary said north Gaza is now a "ghost area" of vast destruction and rubble, but some people have managed to stay alive there, refusing to leave. "We are seeing Palestinians being systematically targeted in every single place across the Gaza Strip. It doesn't matter where you are - if you're in a school, a shelter, a makeshift camp or even a hospital," she said. Kamal Adwan Hospital, the most prominent healthcare facility in the north, was torched and destroyed by Israeli forces in late December as part of the siege, and the fate of its arrested director Hussam Abu Safia remains unknown. As Israeli politicians and settler groups openly discuss prospects of building settlements in north Gaza, the siege shows no signs of stopping. Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in the Mukhabarat area in northern Gaza City, witnesses said on Sunday afternoon. Israeli drone fire later killed a young man in the Shati refugee camp. Overnight, there were heavy Israeli attacks on the northwestern areas of Gaza City. At least eight Palestinians were killed on Saturday when the Israeli military directly hit yet another school-turned-shelter in north Gaza's Jabalia, calling it a Hamas <command and control centre>.
At least 70 children killed in five days
Unrelenting attacks are also targeting other areas across the enclave many times each day, with some of the latest hitting the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. The Israeli military on Sunday issued another forced evacuation order, targeting people living in residential blocks in the northern part of Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Residents were told they would risk being killed if they did not abandon the area. The Gaza Civil Defence announced on Sunday that the Israeli army has killed at least 70 children across the enclave in the past five days alone. The ramp-up of Israeli attacks comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorised the heads of spy and security agencies Mossad and Shin Bet to travel to Qatar along with other top representatives to advance negotiations on the release of captives held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners. US President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu on Sunday, the White House said, as US officials try to reach a Gaza captive and ceasefire deal before Biden leaves office on January 20. Biden "stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal," it said. Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN's State of the Union programmde earlier on Sunday that the parties were "very, very close" to reaching a deal, but still had to get it across the finish line. But Israeli leaders have emphasised that the war will not end even if an agreement is reached, and that they will maintain military control of the enclave, even as they continue to occupy the West Bank, large parts of Syria, and areas in southern Lebanon. Despite another large-scale demonstration against the Israeli government and in favour of a deal in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, far-right ministers in the administration remain opposed. Netanyahu was scrambling on Sunday to ensure Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir do not threaten the stability of his ruling coalition by abandoning it in case of a deal. The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, meanwhile, as the Israeli military continues to block most aid from entering while creating an unsafe situation that has enabled the armed looting of aid convoys. Thousands of families are forced to brave the open or hunker in dilapidated tents amid famine-like conditions across Gaza as Israeli forces keep attacking hospitals and ordering them to evacuate. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), nearly all of Gaza's 1.1 million children need mental health and psychosocial support amid the ongoing Israeli bombardment, repeated displacement, and catastrophic living conditions in the winter cold. The UN estimates that at least 19,000 Palestinian children have been orphaned since the start of the war on Gaza that is now in its 16th month. At least 203 journalists have been killed by the Israeli military since the start of the war, including several in the new year. Israel has killed at least 46,565 Palestinians and injured 109,660 so far, with 28 killed in the past day, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/12/israeli-siege-of-north-gaza-leaves-5000-dead-missing-after-100-days

Al Jazeera - Jan 12 2025 - By Mersiha Gadzo and Urooba Jamal
<<Activists back US professor 'forced' from Columbia over Palestine advocacy
Katherine Franke, a law professor at the university, says she was forced to retire over her views critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
A Palestinian flag can be see next to tents and a stately building Academics, lawyers and activists have voiced support for a law professor who says she was pressured to leave Columbia University for her advocacy for pro-Palestinian students. "Effective today, I have reached an agreement with Columbia University that relieves me of my obligations to teach or participate in faculty governance after serving on the Columbia law faculty for 25 years," Katherine Franke, a tenured law professor at the Ivy League university in the United States, said in a statement on Thursday. "While the university may call this change in my status "retirement," it should be more accurately understood as a termination dressed up in more palatable terms. "I have come to the view that the Columbia University administration has created such a toxic and hostile environment for legitimate debate around the war in Israel and Palestine that I can no longer teach or conduct research," Franke said. Protests against Israel's war on Gaza erupted on Columbia's New York City campus last April and inspired similar encampments at other institutions across the US and beyond. Students demanded that the university divest from Israel, which has been accused of war crimes and genocide in Gaza. They also called for a ceasefire to end the war that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians and turned Gaza into rubble. The prestigious Ivy League school, however, attempted to push back against the students' protests - a crackdown that brought criticisms from rights organisations. Some critics argued that the crackdown on pro-Palestinian students and groups put a damper on free speech on the college campus, while others allege the university administration has allowed a hostile atmosphere to thrive. Commenting on Franke's resignation on Saturday, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, said Franke has become "another victim of the pro-Israelism that is turning universities, and other spaces of public life, into places of obscurantism, discrimination and oppression". On Sunday, Noura Erakat, a professor at Rutgers University and human rights lawyer, called the university's mistreatment of Professor Franke "egregious". "She has resigned after 25 years of an illustrious academic career and commitment to her students because she decided there is nothing to return to - it is far too hostile," Erakat posted on the social media platform X.
Todd Wolfson, the president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), described Columbia's actions as "truly shameful" and said on Saturday that the AAUP stands with "Professor Franke and against this repression of pro-Palestinian speech". The Center for Constitutional Rights, an advocacy organisation, said on Thursday that Franke's resignation represents "an egregious attack on both academic freedom and Palestinian rights advocacy".
Columbia 'collaborates' with 'enemies' of its academic mission
According to a New York Times article, Columbia University spokesperson Samantha Slater said that a complaint had been filed [against Franke] "alleging discriminatory harassment in violation of our policies. An investigation was conducted, and a finding was issued." In her resignation statement, Franke noted how last February, two of her colleagues filed a complaint against her with the university's Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, charging that one of her comments to US news outlet Democracy Now! amounted to harassment of Israeli members of the Columbia community in violation of university policies. In a January 2024 interview, Franke had spoken about the university's graduate-programme relationship with countries including Israel and said: "It's something that many of us were concerned about, because so many of those Israeli students, who then come to the Columbia campus, are coming right out of their military service. And they've been known to harass Palestinian and other students on our campus." As the investigation of complaints against this comment progressed, Franke said that in April 2024 during a US congressional hearing, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik asked then-Columbia President Minouche Shafik what disciplinary actions had been taken against Franke, who had commented on Israeli students on campus. Stefanik wrongly attributed the remark "all Israeli students who served in the [Israeli army] are dangerous and shouldn’t be on campus" to Franke. "President Shafik responded 'I agree with you that those comments are completely unacceptable and discriminatory.’ President Shafik was aware at that time that Congresswoman Stefanik's summary of my comments was grossly inaccurate and misleading, yet she made no effort to correct the Congresswoman's deliberate mischaracterisation of my comments,' Franke said in her statement. Professor Franke says she faced harassment, including death threats, following the Congressional hearing. Shafik, who was criticised for the handling of the students’ protests, stepped down as the university president in August. Meanwhile, an external law firm was later hired to investigate Franke's comments last November and concluded that her remarks had violated the university's Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action policies. Franke has said she has filed an appeal. "Upon reflection, it became clear to me that Columbia had become such a hostile environment, that I could no longer serve as an active member of the faculty," Franke said in her statement. "Rather than defend the role of a university in a democracy, in fostering critical debate, research, and learning around matters of vital public concern ... Columbia University's leadership has demonstrated a willingness to collaborate with the very enemies of our academic mission." >>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/12/activists-back-us-professor-forced-from-columbia-over-palestine-advocacy

Al Jazeera - Jan 12 2025 - By Mersiha Gadzo and Urooba Jamal
<<Second synagogue in Sydney, Australia defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti
Australia has seen a series of anti-Semitic incidents in the last year, including graffiti on buildings and cars. A synagogue in Sydney has been daubed in anti-Semitic graffiti, police said, a day after the anti-Semitic vandalism of a separate synagogue in the New South Wales state capital. According to police officials, vandals spray painted red swastikas outside the entrance to an inner-city synagogue early on Saturday, while a house in Sydney's affluent east was daubed with anti-Jewish slurs. The incident comes a day after an attack on the Southern Sydney Synagogue in the suburb of Allawah in the early hours of Friday morning. A special police task force was set up to investigate the incident later on Friday. "[There is] no place in Australia, our tolerant multicultural community, for this sort of criminal activity," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday, referring to the Southern Sydney Synagogue incident. "These people are determined to divide our community in two," added state Premier Chris Minns. "We will always call out these acts for what they are - monstrous and appalling." Australia has seen a series of anti-Semitic incidents in the last year, including graffiti on buildings and cars in Sydney, as well as an arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne that police have ruled as <terrorism>.
The December attack on the Melbourne synagogue prompted the government to create a federal task force targeting anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents in the country have increased since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023 and Israel launched its war on Gaza. Some Jewish organisations have said that the government has not taken sufficient action in response. The incidents have also strained Australia's relations with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Albanese's Labor Party government of encouraging such attacks with <anti-Israel> policies. "Unfortunately, this criminal act cannot be separated from the anti-Israel spirit blowing from the Labor government in Australia," Netanyahu wrote on X in December, referring to the arson attack at a synagogue. Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who is Jewish, said Netanyahu was "absolutely wrong" to link the attack to government policy. "Australia remains a close friend of Israel as we have been since the Labor government recognised the state of Israel when it was created by the United Nations," Dreyfus told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the national broadcaster last month.
"Now, that remains the position." >>
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/11/second-synagogue-in-sydney-austria-attacked-with-anti-semitic-graffiti

Al Jazeera - Jan 10 2025 - By Jeffrey Sachs and Sybil Fares
<<The UN can end the Middle East conflict by welcoming Palestine as a member
The June 2025 UN Conference on Palestine can be the long-awaited turning point for the region.
The UN, on its 80th birthday in 2025, can mark the occasion by securing a lasting solution to the conflict in the Middle East, by welcoming the State of Palestine as the 194th UN member state. The upcoming UN Conference on Palestine, set for June 2025, can be a turning point - a decisive, irreversible path towards peace in the Middle East. The Trump administration would greatly serve America's interests, and the world’s, by championing the two-state solution and a comprehensive Middle East peace deal, at the gathering in New York in June. Amid Israel's shocking brutality in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, a small window of hope has nonetheless emerged. Almost the entire world has coalesced around the two-state solution as the key to regional peace. As a result, a comprehensive deal is now within reach. The UN General Assembly recently adopted a potentially transformative resolution (PDF) by an overwhelming margin. The UNGA demands an end to Israel's illegal 1967 occupation and reaffirms its unwavering support for the two-state solution. Most importantly, the resolution laid out a roadmap for establishing a Palestinian state at The High-level International Conference (PDF), to be held in June 2025, at the United Nations. Consider how long the Palestinians, and the world, have waited for this moment. In 1947, the UN first took on the responsibility of addressing the Palestinian question. With Resolution 181 (PDF), the UN General Assembly proposed the partition of Mandatory Palestine into two independent states - one Jewish and one Arab. The proposed partition, alas, was neither fair nor agreed upon by the parties. It allocated 44 percent of the land to the Palestinians though they were 67 percent of the population. Yet before the plan could be revised and settled peacefully, Zionist terror groups began to ethnically cleanse more than 700,000 Palestinians from their homes, the so-called Nakba, or catastrophe, of the Palestinian people. After Israel declared its unilateral independence, and defeated the Arab neighbours in war, a senior UN mediator, Count Folke Bernadotte, tried to resurrect the two-state solution. Yet Bernadotte was assassinated by Lehi, a Zionist paramilitary organisation. Israel signed the 1949 Lausanne Protocol, resurrecting the two-state solution under UN auspices, but then blatantly disregarded it. What ensued instead was Israel’s 75-year quest to deny Palestinians their rights to a homeland. For decades, the US government, under the guidance of the Israel lobby, presided over a phoney negotiating process. These efforts ostensibly involved direct bilateral talks between an occupying power and an occupied people, inherently unequal parties, in which Israel's goal was always to reject a truly sovereign Palestinian state. At best, Israel offered <Bantustans,> that is, little powerless enclaves of Palestinians living under Israel's control. The US-dominated process has continued since the mid-1970s, including the 1978 Camp David Accords, 1991 Madrid Conference, 1993-1995 Oslo Accords, 2000 Camp David Summit, 2003 Quartet Roadmap for Peace, and 2007 Annapolis Conference. In this hall-of-mirrors process, the Israelis have continuously blocked a Palestinian state while the US <mediators> have continuously blamed the Palestinians for their intransigence.
The Trump administration could choose to change the game at the upcoming UN conference - in America's interest, Israel's long-term interest and security, and the interest of the Middle East and the world in peace. The US is, in fact, the only remaining veto against a Palestinian state. Israel has no veto on a Palestinian state or on peace for that matter. Only the US has that veto. Yes, Prime Minister Netanyahu has ideas other than peace. He and his coalition continue to have one purpose: to deny a state of Palestine by expanding Israel's territorial conquests, now including not only occupied Palestine but also parts of Lebanon and a growing part of Syria. A new US foreign policy is needed in the Middle East - one that brings about peace rather than endless war. As mandated by the International Court of Justice, and as demonstrated through the General Assembly, G20 (PDF), BRICS (PDF), League of Arab States (PDF), the overwhelming majority of the world favours the two-state solution. The UN Conference on Palestine is therefore a key and vital opportunity, one that could unlock a comprehensive peace for the Middle East, including seven interconnected measures:
An immediate UN-mandated ceasefire across all fronts of the conflict, including Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Iran, and the immediate release of hostages and prisoners of war across all entities.
The admission of a sovereign State of Palestine as 194th UN member state on the June 4, 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem; the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in 1967, with the simultaneous introduction of UN-mandated international forces and security guarantees to protect all populations.
The protection of the territorial integrity and stability of Lebanon and Syria, and the full demilitarisation of all non-state forces, and withdrawal of all foreign armies from the respective countries.
The adoption of an updated Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran, and the end of all economic and other sanctions on Iran.
The termination, including defunding and disarmament of belligerent non-state entities, of all claims or states of belligerency, and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area, (without excluding the possibility of subsequent territorial adjustments, security arrangements, and cooperative forms of governance agreed by the sovereign parties).
The establishment of regional peace and normalisation of diplomatic relations by all Arab and Islamic states with Israel.
The establishment of an Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East Sustainable Development Fund to support the reconstruction, economic recovery and sustainable development of the region. After far too many decades of violence and wars, the chance for peace is here and now. The UN's endeavour for a comprehensive peace is our best hope and opportunity in decades.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.>>
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/1/10/the-un-can-end-the-middle-east-conflict-by-welcoming-palestine-as-a-member

France 24 - January 10, 2024 - by By: NEWS WIRES
<<Gaza death toll 40 percent higher than recorded, Lancet study estimates
Paris (AFP) - A study in the medical journal The Lancet estimated that 64,260 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, which would mean the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip had under-reported the number of deaths to that point by 41 percent.
New research estimates the death toll in Gaza from the Israel-Hamas war has been underestimated by some 40 percent. Research published in The Lancet medical journal on Friday estimates that the death toll in Gaza during the first nine months of the Israel-Hamas war was around 40 percent higher than recorded by the Palestinian territory's health ministry. The number of dead in Gaza has become a matter of bitter debate since Israel launched its military campaign against Hamas in response to the Palestinian militant group's unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack. Up to June 30 last year, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reported a death toll of 37,877 in the war. However the new peer-reviewed study used data from the ministry, an online survey and social media obituaries to estimate that there were between 55,298 and 78,525 deaths from traumatic injuries in Gaza by that time. The study's best death toll estimate was 64,260, which would mean the health ministry had under-reported the number of deaths to that point by 41 percent. That toll represented 2.9 percent of Gaza's pre-war population, "or approximately one in 35 inhabitants," the study said.
The UK-led group of researchers estimated that 59 percent of the deaths were women, children and the elderly. The toll was only for deaths from traumatic injuries, so did not include deaths from a lack of health care or food, or the thousands of missing believed to be buried under rubble.
AFP is unable to independently verify the death toll.
The estimate does not include indirect deaths from a lack of food, healthcare or sanitation -- which have all stricken Gaza. On Thursday, Gaza's health ministry said that 46,006 people had died over the full 15 months of war. In Israel, the 2023 attack by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel has repeatedly questioned the credibility of the Gaza health ministry's figures, but the United Nations have said they are reliable.
'A good estimate'
The researchers used a statistical method called "capture-recapture" that has previously been used to estimate the death toll in conflicts around the world. The analysis used data from three different lists, the first provided by the Gaza health ministry of the bodies identified in hospitals or morgues. The second list was from an online survey launched by the health ministry in which Palestinians reported the deaths of relatives. The third was sourced from obituaries posted on social media platforms such as X, Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp, when the identity of the deceased could be verified.
The estimated death toll represented 2.9 percent of Gaza's pre-war population. "We only kept in the analysis those who were confirmed dead by their relatives or confirmed dead by the morgues and the hospital," lead study author Zeina Jamaluddine, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told AFP. The researchers scoured the lists, searching for duplicates. "Then we looked at the overlaps between the three lists, and based on the overlaps, you can come up with a total estimation of the population that was killed," Jamaluddine said. Patrick Ball, a statistician at the US-based Human Rights Data Analysis Group not involved in the research, has used capture-recapture methods to estimate death tolls for conflicts in Guatemala, Kosovo, Peru and Colombia. Ball told AFP the well-tested technique has been used for centuries and that the researchers had reached "a good estimate" for Gaza. Kevin McConway, a professor of applied statistics at Britain's Open University, told AFP there was "inevitably a lot of uncertainty" when making estimates from incomplete data. But he said it was "admirable" that the researchers had used three other statistical analysis approaches to check their estimates. "Overall, I find these estimates reasonably compelling," he added.
'Criticism' expected from both sides
The researchers cautioned that the hospital lists do not always provide the cause of death, so it was possible that people with non-traumatic health problems -- such as a heart attack -- could have been included, potentially leading to an overestimate. However there were other ways that the war's toll could still be underestimated. The UN has estimated that 69 percent of all buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed The study did not include missing people. The UN humanitarian agency OCHA has said that around 10,000 missing Gazans are thought to be buried under rubble.
There are also indirect ways that war can claim lives, such as a lack of healthcare, food, water, sanitation or the spread of disease. All have stricken Gaza since October 2023. In a contentious, non-peer-reviewed letter published in The Lancet in July, another group of researchers used the rate of indirect deaths seen in other conflicts to suggest that 186,000 deaths could eventually be attributed to the Gaza war. The new study suggested that this projection "might be inappropriate due to obvious differences in the pre-war burden of disease" in Gaza compared to conflicts in countries such as Burundi and East Timor. Jamaluddine said she expected that "criticism is going to come from different sides" about the new research. She spoke out against the "obsession" of arguing about death tolls, emphasising that "we already know that there is a lot of high mortality".>>
(AFP)>> Source: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250110-lancet-study-estimates-gaza-death-toll-40-higher-than-recorded
 

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