GENEVA: The UN rights chief on Wednesday rejected as “unlawful” proposals for the annexation of or forced transfer from Palestinian territories, warning they posed a threat to the entire region.
“We must resist any normalization of unlawful conduct, including proposals for annexation or forced transfer,” Volker Turk told the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Such proposals “could threaten the peace and security of Palestinians and Israelis, and of the wider region,” he warned, insisting that “this is the moment for voices of reason to prevail.”
Turk did not give details, but there have been rising levels of violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and calls for annexation after Israel announced expanded military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly proposed emptying war-ravaged Gaza of Palestinians.
He has floated the idea of a US takeover of Gaza under which its Palestinian population would be relocated — a proposal met with widespread condemnation, but welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump later appeared to soften his plan, saying he was only recommending the idea, and conceding that the leaders of Jordan and Egypt — the proposed destinations for relocated Gazans — had rejected any effort to move Palestinians against their will.
But the US president’s official social media accounts on Wednesday posted an apparently AI-generated video depicting war-ravaged Gaza rebuilt into a seaside resort, replete with a towering golden statue of Trump himself.
Presenting a fresh report on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, Turk said Wednesday: “We urgently need to end the conflict.”
To do so, he said it was vital to hold accountable perpetrators of a vast array of abuses committed since the war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s deadly October 7, 2023 attacks inside Israel.
“Israel’s means and methods of warfare have caused staggering levels of casualties and destruction, raising concerns over the commission of war crimes and other possible atrocity crimes,” he said.
But he raised “serious doubts” about the Israeli justice system’s ability to deliver justice “notably in relation to the unlawful killing of Palestinians in Gaza or in the West Bank.”
He also noted that “Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups have taken, held, and tortured hostages in Gaza, and have indiscriminately fired projectiles into Israeli territory, amounting to war crimes.”
To his knowledge, none of these groups had taken measures to punish those responsible, he said, adding that such “impunity begets more violence.”
So to did “delegitimising and threatening international institutions that are there to serve people and uphold international law also harms us all,” he warned.
All violations and abuses need to be investigated independently, he said.
While Turk mentioned no names, earlier this month Washington sanctioned the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court Karim Khan over the ICC’s investigations targeting US personnel as well as alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Khan was responsible for the request that led the ICC to issue arrest warrants late last year for Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
UN rejects ‘annexation’ proposals for Palestinian territories
https://arab.news/whyjy
UN rejects ‘annexation’ proposals for Palestinian territories
- “We must resist any normalization of unlawful conduct, including proposals for annexation or forced transfer,” Volker Turk told the UN Human Rights Council
- Such proposals “could threaten the peace and security of Palestinians and Israelis, and of the wider region“
Syria’s growth accelerates as sanctions ease, refugees return
- Economy grows much faster than World Bank’s 1% estimate, fueling plans for currency’s relaunch
NEW YORK: Syria’s economy is growing much faster than the World Bank’s 1 percent estimate for 2025 as refugees flow back after the end of a 14-year civil war, fueling plans for the relaunch of the country’s currency and efforts to build a new Middle East financial hub, central bank Governor AbdulKader Husrieh has said.
Speaking via video link at a conference in New York, Husrieh also said he welcomed a deal with Visa to establish digital payment systems and added that the country is working with the International Monetary Fund to develop methods to accurately measure economic data to reflect the resurgence.
The Syrian central bank chief, who is helping guide the war-torn country’s reintegration into the global economy after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime about a year ago, described the repeal of many US sanctions against Syria as “a miracle.”
The US Treasury on Nov. 10 announced a 180-day extension of the suspension of the so-called Caesar sanctions against Syria; lifting them entirely requires approval by the US Congress.
Husrieh said that based on discussions with US lawmakers, he expects the sanctions to be repealed by the end of 2025, ending “the last episode of the sanctions.”
“Once this happens, this will give comfort to our potential correspondent banks about dealing with Syria,” he said.
Husrieh also said that Syria was working to revamp regulations aimed at combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, which he said would provide further assurances to international lenders.
Syria’s central bank has recently organized workshops with banks from the US, Turkiye, Jordan and Australia to discuss due diligence in reviewing transactions, he added.
Husrieh said that Syria is preparing to launch a new currency in eight note denominations and confirmed plans to remove two zeroes from them in a bid to restore confidence in the battered pound.
“The new currency will be a signal and symbol for this financial liberation,” Husrieh said. “We are glad that we are working with Visa and Mastercard,” Husrieh said.
