UK says its fighter jets played a part in preventing further escalation in Middle East

Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey visits Joint Forces service personnel at RAF Akrotiri near Limassol on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus on October 2, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 02 October 2024
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UK says its fighter jets played a part in preventing further escalation in Middle East

  • Starmer, when asked if Britain was prepared to use its military to help Israel defend itself, said on Tuesday Israel had the right to self-defense

LONDON, Oct 2 : Britain said two of its fighter jets and an air-to-air refueling tanker played a part on Tuesday in attempts to prevent further escalation in the conflict in the Middle East, but that the jets did not engage any targets.
“Two Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets and a Voyager air-to-air refueling tanker played their part in attempts in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East, demonstrating the UK’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security,” Britain’s Ministry of Defense said on X.
“Due to the nature of this attack, they did not engage any targets, but they played an important part in wider deterrence and efforts to prevent further escalation.”
Iran on Tuesday fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon. Israel vowed a “painful response” against its enemy.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, when asked if Britain was prepared to use its military to help Israel defend itself, said on Tuesday Israel had the right to self-defense.


Emails show early US concerns over Gaza offensive, risk of Israeli war crimes

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Emails show early US concerns over Gaza offensive, risk of Israeli war crimes

WASHINGTON: As Israel pounded northern Gaza with air strikes last October and ordered the evacuation of more than a million Palestinians from the area, a senior Pentagon official delivered a blunt warning to the White House.
The mass evacuation would be a humanitarian disaster and could violate international law, leading to war crime charges against Israel, Dana Stroul, then the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, wrote in an Oct. 13 email to senior aides to President Joe Biden. Stroul was relaying an assessment by the International Committee of the Red Cross that had left her “chilled to the bone,” she wrote.
As the Gaza war nears its first anniversary and the Middle East teeters on the brink of a wider war, Stroul’s email and other previously unreported communications show the Biden administration’s struggle to balance internal concerns over rising deaths in Gaza with its public support for Jerusalem following the Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people.
Reuters reviewed three sets of email exchanges between senior US administration officials, dated Oct. 11 to 14, just days into the crisis. The fighting has led to more than 40,000 deaths in Gaza and spurred US protests led by Arab-Americans and Muslim activists.
The emails, which haven’t been reported before, reveal alarm early on in the State Department and Pentagon that a rising death toll in Gaza could violate international law and jeopardize US ties in the Arab world. The messages also show internal pressure in the Biden administration to shift its messaging from showing solidarity with Israel to including sympathy for Palestinians and the need to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
A ceasefire deal remains elusive, despite months of US-brokered negotiations. Much of Gaza is now a wasteland. And the risk of a regional war with Iran looms after Israel’s attacks on military targets in Lebanon and last week’s assassination of Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Top Biden administration officials say they believe White House pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in those early days made a difference, preventing an even worse disaster. In private talks, the White House asked Israel to delay its ground offensive to give more time for aid groups to prepare help for displaced people and to give Israel more time to strike a deal with Hamas, administration officials told reporters in background briefings at the time.
But Washington was slow to address the suffering of Palestinians, said three senior US officials involved in the decision-making process. And while the ground invasion was ultimately delayed by about 10 days, the three officials attributed the pause more to operational preparations by the Israeli military than US pressure.
After publication of this story, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said the emails show that “unfolding humanitarian disaster in Gaza was painfully clear from the earliest days of the war, with key experts warning that international standards were being violated” and that “valid concerns” were overridden by the White House.
In response to questions about the emails, the White House said, “The US has been leading international efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza” and “this is and will continue to be a top priority.” It added that before US “engagement, there was no food, water, or medicine getting into Gaza.”
Both Israeli and Hamas leaders are being investigated for alleged war crimes in the wake of the Hamas attacks. In June, a UN commission concluded there was credible evidence that Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups committed war crimes including torture and taking hostages. The commission also found evidence of Israeli war crimes from the country’s use of massive explosives in Gaza in the first months of the war.
The Biden administration and Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign remain caught between two powerful constituencies – pro-Israel Democrats and younger, pro-Palestinian progressives. Harris’ Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, says he would “settle” the war “fast” if he wins November’s presidential election, without detailing how. But foreign policy analysts say the election is unlikely to alter US policy toward Israel significantly, given both parties’ long support for the country.
The emails reviewed by Reuters show a scramble inside the Biden administration to warn the White House of the impending crisis – and the White House’s initial resistance to a ceasefire in the early, chaotic days of war. The three sets of email exchanges began on Oct. 11, during Israel’s fifth day of air strikes after the Hamas incursion.

“LOSING CREDIBILITY”
Early on, concerns grew inside the administration about America’s image with its Arab allies.
After Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza’s hospitals, schools and mosques, the US State Department’s top public diplomacy official, Bill Russo, told senior State officials that Washington was “losing credibility among Arabic-speaking audiences” by not directly addressing the humanitarian crisis, according to an Oct. 11 email. Gaza’s health authorities reported that day a death toll of about 1,200.
As Israel defended the strikes, saying Hamas was using civilian buildings for military purposes, Russo wrote that US diplomats in the Middle East were monitoring Arab media reports that accused Israel of waging a “genocide” and Washington of complicity in war crimes.
“The US’s lack of response on the humanitarian conditions for Palestinians is not only ineffective and counterproductive, but we are also being accused of being complicit to potential war crimes by remaining silent on Israel’s actions against civilians,” Russo wrote.
At the time, emergency workers were struggling to save people buried under rubble from Israel airstrikes and the world’s sympathies were beginning to shift from murdered Israelis to besieged Palestinian civilians.
Addressing State Department leaders, Russo urged quick action to shift the administration’s public stance of unqualified support for Israel and its military operation in Gaza. “If this course is not quickly reversed by not only messaging, but action, it risks damaging our stance in the region for years to come,” he wrote. Russo resigned in March, citing personal reasons. He declined to comment.
The State Department’s top Middle East diplomat, Barbara Leaf, forwarded Russo’s email to White House officials including Brett McGurk, Biden’s top adviser for Middle East affairs. She warned that the relationship with Washington’s “otherwise would-be stalwart” Arab partners was at risk due to the kinds of concerns raised by Russo.
McGurk replied that if the question was whether the administration should call for a ceasefire, the answer was “No.” He added, however, that Washington was “100 pct” in favor of supporting humanitarian corridors and protecting civilians. McGurk and Leaf declined to comment for this story.
Following Russo’s email, the public US stance remained largely unchanged for the next two days, a review of public comments shows. US officials continued to emphasize Israel’s right to defend itself and plans to provide Jerusalem with military aid.

“PUMP THE BREAKS”
On Oct. 13, two days after Russo’s email, Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets over northern Gaza, warning one million residents to leave their homes. Netanyahu gave residents 24 hours to flee as Israeli troops backed by tanks began a ground assault inside the Hamas-run territory of 2.3 million people. He vowed to annihilate Hamas for its attack.
The evacuation order alarmed aid agencies and the United Nations. By then, Israel’s air strikes had razed entire districts. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva issued a statement saying Israel’s order was “not compatible with international humanitarian law” because it would cut off food, water and other basic needs in Gaza. Privately, in a phone conversation that day with Stroul, ICRC Middle East director Fabrizio Carboni was more pointed, the emails show.
“ICRC is not ready to say this in public, but is raising private alarm that Israel is close to committing war crimes,” Stroul said in her Oct. 13 email, describing the conversation. Her email was addressed to senior White House officials including McGurk, along with senior State and Pentagon officials. “Their main line is that it is impossible for one million civilians to move this fast,” Stroul wrote. One US official on the email chain said it would be impossible to carry out such an evacuation without creating a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
Asked about Carboni’s phone call with Stroul, the ICRC said it “constantly works with parties to armed conflicts and those who have influence with them to increase the respect for the laws of war in order to prevent civilian suffering in conflict. We consider such conversations to be strictly confidential.”
Publicly, the White House was expressing measured support for Israel’s plans. A White House spokesperson told reporters that such a huge evacuation was a “tall order” but that Washington would not second-guess Israel. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said US military aid would continue flowing to Israel.
Privately, some senior US officials were concerned there was no safe way out of densely populated Gaza, several senior US officials told Reuters. Israel had imposed a blockade. Its southern neighbor, Egypt, would not open its borders as part of its long-standing policy to prevent a mass resettlement of Palestinians. Some Palestinians who fled northern Gaza were killed when Israel bombed cars and trucks.
In an email replying to Stroul, McGurk said Washington might be able to persuade Israel to extend the deadline for Palestinians to evacuate beyond 24 hours, saying the administration “can buy some time.” But the Red Cross, the UN and aid agencies should work with Egypt and Israel to prepare for the evacuation, he wrote.
McGurk, a long-time Iraq expert, likened the situation to the US-led military operation against Daesh militants in Mosul from 2016 to 2017, an assault that left the Iraqi city in ruins. He said the military and humanitarian strategy in the Mosul assault had been planned hand in hand. Two officials on the email chain replied that it would be impossible to put in place the necessary infrastructure with so little time. One reminded McGurk that the Mosul operation was the result of much longer planning. Humanitarian groups had months to set up and provide support for displaced civilians.
“Our assessment is that there’s simply no way to have this scale of a displacement without creating a humanitarian catastrophe,” Paula Tufro, a senior White House official in charge of humanitarian response, wrote in the email. It would take “months” to get structures in place to provide “basic services” to more than a million people. She asked that the White House tell Israel to slow its offensive.
“We need GOI (Government of Israel) to pump the brakes in pushing people south,” Tufro wrote.
Andrew Miller, then the deputy assistant secretary at the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, urged his colleagues to act fast.
“If we’re inclined to weigh in with the Israelis to dissuade them from seeking mass evacuations, we will have to do it soon, at a high level and at multiple touch points,” Miller wrote. He resigned in June, citing family reasons.
Biden’s public comments on Gaza had largely given Netanyahu a free hand against Hamas. At the time, Biden faced only scattered protests from the left wing of the Democratic Party over his support for Israel’s counterattack. Israel’s likening of the Hamas assault to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington resonated widely in the US
The administration’s public stance began to change on Oct. 13. At a news conference in Doha, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for the first time publicly recognized the “suffering of Palestinian families in Gaza.” Washington was in constant talks with the Israelis and aid groups to help civilians in Gaza, he said.
The next day, Oct. 14, Biden’s rhetoric shifted. He said in a speech that he was urgently prioritizing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and directed his team to help surge relief into the war zone. It is unclear if the emails by Russo and others influenced the statements from Blinken and Biden.
Although Israel began sending infantry into Gaza on Oct. 13, a large-scale ground invasion didn’t begin until Oct. 27. Sources familiar with the matter said at the time that Washington advised Israel to hold off, mainly to give time for diplomacy to free Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
From the early days of the conflict, the US stressed that Israel has a right to defend itself but that how it does so matters, a State Department spokesperson said in response to questions for this story. “Israel has a moral imperative to mitigate the harm of its operations to civilians, something we have emphasized both publicly and privately,” the spokesperson said.
Stroul and Tuffro declined to comment. In a statement, Miller said the administration was “concerned about the humanitarian implications of a mass evacuation.” He added that “Israeli military plans were very inchoate at that stage and we were trying to develop a better understanding” of Israel’s “strategy and objectives.”

WEAPONS EXPEDITED
As US officials assessed the humanitarian crisis, Israel pressed Washington for more arms.
On Oct. 14, a senior Israeli Embassy official in Washington urged the State Department to accelerate shipment of 20,000 automatic rifles for the Israeli National Police, according to the emails.
Israeli senior defense adviser Ori Katzav apologized in an Oct. 14 email to his State Department counterpart for disturbing her on the weekend but said the rifle shipment was “very urgent” and needed US approval. Christine Minarich – an official at the State Department division that approves arms sales, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls – told Katzav the rifles would not be approved in the next 24 to 48 hours. Such large weapons shipments can take time, requiring State Department approval and notification to Congress.
Katzav and the Israeli Embassy declined to comment.
Jessica Lewis, then the assistant US secretary for political and military affairs, forwarded Minarich’s email and Israel’s request for the rifles to the State Department’s Democracy, Labor and Human Rights (DRL) bureau. DRL reviews potential US weapon sales to ensure they aren’t sent to militaries involved in rights abuses.
Lewis asked the bureau to expedite its review and “urgently” explain any opposition to specific arms packages for Israel, according to the emails. Lewis resigned in July.
Christopher Le Mon, deputy assistant secretary at DRL, recommended denying more than a dozen arms packages, including grenade launchers, gun parts, rifles and spare rifle parts. In a reply to Lewis, he cited concerns about the “conduct” of specific Israeli National Police units, including the elite Yamam border patrol unit.
Le Mon wrote that there were “numerous reports” of Yamam’s involvement in “gross violations of human rights.” DRL raised objections against 16 separate arms packages for Israel, according to the email and a source familiar with the matter. Nearly all the shipments went ahead despite the bureau’s objections, the source said. Yamam’s missions eventually included a June 8 rescue of four Israeli hostages that Gaza health officials say killed more than 200 Palestinians.
Minarich, Le Mon, Lewis and the Israeli Embassy declined to comment.
Washington has sent to Israel large numbers of munitions since the Gaza war began, according to several US officials with knowledge of the matter, including thousands of precision-guided missiles and 2,000-pound bombs that can devastate densely populated areas and have been used to collapse tunnels and bunkers.
Some rights groups blame the use of those weapons for civilian deaths. Amnesty International cited at least three incidents from Oct. 10 to January 2024 involving US-supplied weapons that it said killed civilians, including women and children, in “serious violations” of international humanitarian law. In July, it warned of US complicity in what it said was Israel’s unlawful use of US weapons to commit war crimes – an accusation the US has rejected.
A State Department report in May said Israel may be violating international law using US weapons, but said it could not say so definitively due to the chaos of war and challenges in collecting data.
An Israeli Embassy spokesperson rejected accusations that Israel has targeted civilians. “Israel is a democracy that adheres to international law,” the spokesperson said.


EU court backs scrapping Morocco trade deals over Western Sahara

Fishermen transport their catch after docking in the main port in Dakhla city, Western Sahara, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. (AP)
Updated 1 min 44 sec ago
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EU court backs scrapping Morocco trade deals over Western Sahara

  • The court said consent from a people does not always need to be explicit “where the agreement confers on that people a specific, tangible, substantial and verifiable benefit”

LUXEMBOURG: The EU’s top court has confirmed an earlier ruling canceling trade deals allowing Morocco to export fish and farm products to the bloc from the disputed Western Sahara region.
The Court of Justice of the European Union, or CJEU, rejected all appeals against the 2021 verdict in a victory for the Western Saharan independence movement, the Polisario Front.
While the fish agreement has expired, the agricultural product deal is still active.
The court said the protocol should stay in place for another 12 months “because of the serious negative consequences which its immediate annulment would entail for the external action” of the EU.
Morocco, an important trading partner with the 27-nation EU, views the Western Sahara as an integral part of its territory, but the Polisario, recognized internationally as the representative of the Sahrawi people, has long sought independence there.
The EU’s Court of Justice affirmed that the deals allowing exports from the former Spanish colony and the rest of Morocco “was concluded in breach of the principles of self-determination.”
The court said consent from a people does not always need to be explicit “where the agreement confers on that people a specific, tangible, substantial and verifiable benefit.”
But it added that “as the agreements at issue manifestly do not provide for such a benefit,” the court confirmed the annulment of the deals.
Morocco controls around 80 percent of Western Sahara and has offered autonomy, while insisting it must retain sovereignty.
At stake are an overland route to West African markets, plentiful phosphate resources and rich Atlantic fisheries along the territory’s 1,100-kilometer (680-mile) coastline.
The 2021 court ruling had been hailed as a “great victory” by the Polisario movement and was welcomed by Morocco’s regional rival Algeria.
Replying to the latest verdict on Friday, Morocco’s Foreign Ministry decried what it said were “obvious legal errors” but added it was not “in any way concerned” by the decision, as it was not a party to the case.
It called on the EU to take the necessary measures to respect its international commitments.
It warned that Rabat did not subscribe to agreements that did not respect its territorial integrity — a reference to its claims over Western Sahara.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the European Commission was analyzing the ruling and reiterated that the bloc highly valued its “long-standing, wide-ranging and deep” strategic partnership with Morocco.
“The EU firmly intends to preserve and continue strengthening close relations with Morocco,” she said in a joint statement with EU foreign affairs boss Josep Borrell.
The EU and Rabat signed an association deal in 1996, giving Morocco preferential tariffs, which was later extended in 2019 to include products from Western Sahara.
The main benefit for Rabat was lower costs of exporting agricultural goods to the bloc, while the EU received access to Atlantic fishing waters.
The fishing protocol had allowed up to 128 European ships to access Moroccan and Western Sahara fishing waters for four years.

 


Jordan, OIC condemn Israeli attack on Tulkarm refugee camp in West Bank

Updated 13 min 36 sec ago
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Jordan, OIC condemn Israeli attack on Tulkarm refugee camp in West Bank

  • Attack on Tulkarm resulted in 18 deaths and numerous injuries

LONDON: Jordan’s foreign ministry and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Friday condemned Israel’s escalating military action in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The organizations highlighted the attack on the Tulkarm refugee camp in the West Bank, describing it as a violation of international law and humanitarian principles.

Sufian Qudah, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said Israel was solely responsible for the violence in Tulkarm, which reflected its disregard for international efforts to achieve calm. He called on the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to intervene to stop the assault and ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians.

The attack on Tulkarm resulted in 18 deaths and numerous injuries, while eight incidents in Gaza over the past 24 hours have killed 99 people and injured 169 others.

The OIC denounced the actions as war crimes and called for Israel to be held accountable in international courts.

It described the violence as part of a long history of Israeli violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and urged global institutions like the International Criminal Court to take swift action.

It also urged the UN Security Council to impose an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the aggression.

Both the Jordanian ministry and the OIC said Israel’s attacks across Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank posed a serious threat to regional security and stability.


UN condemns Israel’s ‘unlawful air strike’ on West Bank camp which killed 18

Updated 04 October 2024
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UN condemns Israel’s ‘unlawful air strike’ on West Bank camp which killed 18

  • The Israeli army said the raid in Tulkarem had succeeded in killing “at least seven terrorists,” including a Hamas leader and an Islamic Jihad member
  • “The strike is part of a highly concerning pattern of unlawful use of force by ISF during military-like operations in the West Bank,” the UN rights office said

TULKAREM, Palestinian Territories: The United Nations on Friday condemned what it called an “unlawful air strike” by Israel on a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinian health ministry said killed 18 people the previous day.
Described as the deadliest air strike in over two decades in the West Bank, the Israeli army said the raid in Tulkarem had succeeded in killing “at least seven terrorists,” including a Hamas leader and an Islamic Jihad member, who were discussing an “imminent terror plan.”
The United Nations Human Rights Office slammed the strike, calling it “unlawful.”
“The strike is part of a highly concerning pattern of unlawful use of force by ISF (Israeli security forces) during military-like operations in the West Bank that have caused widespread harm to Palestinians,” the UN rights office said in a statement.
“The levelling of an entire building filled with people via aerial bombing shows flagrant disregard for Israel’s obligations.”
On Friday, hundreds gathered for a public funeral in Tulkarem, where the bodies of the dead were carried through the streets as people waved flags and fired guns into the air.
Several armed fighters, masked and dressed in black, attended the funeral, an AFP journalist reported.
“We hope that all Palestinian people will join hands, as we have one cause,” Nasser Kharyoush, a father of one of the victims of the raid, told AFP.
Tulkarem was one of the towns and Palestinian refugee camps targeted during a large-scale Israeli military operation in late August against militants based in the West Bank.
Violence in the West Bank has surged alongside the war in Gaza which began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
Since the Hamas attack, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 701 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
At least 24 Israelis, including members of the security forces, have been killed in Palestinian militant attacks during the same period, Israeli officials say.
The United Nations rights office said Thursday’s strike came when there were “no clashes or confrontations” at the site.
“The air strike completely destroyed the targeted building and also damaged nearby houses,” it said.
“More fatalities may be trapped under the rubble, but recovery and identification are proving difficult in light of the massive impact of the blast.”
Major Israeli operations in the West Bank are sometimes occurring “at a scale not witnessed in the last two decades,” United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said last month.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and its forces regularly make incursions into Palestinian communities.
But the current raids as well as comments by Israeli officials mark an escalation.


US, UK warplanes attack Houthi targets in Sanaa, Dhamar, Hodeidah

Updated 04 October 2024
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US, UK warplanes attack Houthi targets in Sanaa, Dhamar, Hodeidah

  • Strikes mostly on military bases, according to media reports
  • Militia supporters rally in Sanaa in show of solidarity with people of Palestine

AL-MUKALLA: American and British warplanes on Friday launched a series of strikes against Houthi targets in several Yemeni cities, the latest round of military operations against the militia in response to its attacks on ships.
The Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV said the “aggression” planes conducted four strikes on Al-Thawra district in Sanaa, one south of the central city of Dhamar, and seven on Hodeida airport and the Al-Katheeb region in the western city of Hodeidah.
Photographs and videos posted on social media show large, thick balls of smoke billowing from locations in Sanaa and Hodeidah.
Local media said the airstrikes targeted the Houthi’s Al-Saeyanah base in Sanaa, Al-Katheeb naval base in Hodeidah and a military base in Dhamar.
The Aden Al-Ghad news site said three strikes were launched against positions in the Mukayras region of the central province of Al-Bayda, while residents in the southern province of Dhale reported seeing three missiles flying overhead in the direction of the Arabian Sea.
The attacks happened as thousands of Houthi supporters rallied in the streets of Sanaa and other areas to express solidarity with the people of Palestine and Lebanon and opposition to Israel’s war, and to condemn Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Houthi government spokesperson Hashem Sharaf Al-Din condemned the airstrikes, describing them as a “desperate attempt” by the US and UK to pressure the militia into ending its attacks on ships and missile and drone attacks against Israel in support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Since January, the US and UK militaries have launched repeated strikes on Sanaa, Hodeidah, Taiz and other Yemeni areas held by the Houthis, targeting drone and missile launchers, storage facilities and ammunition depots.
The latest followed a spate of Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea over the past week.
On Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck ports, power stations and fuel tanks in Hodeidah after the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel on Saturday.