JERUSALEM: Israel vowed on Monday that it would not allow a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid to break its blockade of the Palestinian territory.
“Israel will not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone and will not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, accusing Hamas of organizing the flotilla to serve the militant group’s purpose.
The ministry said the vessels would be allowed to dock at Ashkelon from where the aid could be delivered to Gaza.
“If the flotilla participants’ genuine wish is to deliver humanitarian aid rather than serve Hamas, Israel calls on the vessels to dock at the Ashkelon marina and unload the aid there, from where it will be transferred promptly in a coordinated manner to the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, also carrying prominent pro-Palestinian advocates including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, set sail for Gaza earlier this month from Tunisia after repeated delays.
It aims to break Israel’s seige of Gaza and deliver aid to the territory.
Prior to its departure it said that two of its boats were targeted by drone attacks.
Israel blocked two earlier attempts by activists to reach Gaza by sea in June and July.
Israel says will not allow Gaza-bound aid flotilla to break its blockade
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Israel says will not allow Gaza-bound aid flotilla to break its blockade
- Israel Foreign Ministry: ‘Israel will not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone and will not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade’
- Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying prominent pro-Palestinian advocates including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, set sail for Gaza earlier this month from Tunisia
UN chief visits Iraq to mark end of assistance mission set up after 2003 invasion
- Sudani said his country “highly values” the mission’s work in a region “that has suffered for decades from dictatorship, wars, and terrorism”
- Guterres praised “the courage, fortitude and determination of the Iraqi people”
BAGHDAD: United National Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was in Baghdad on Saturday to mark the end of the political mission set up in 2003 following the US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein.
The UN Security Council, at Iraq’s request, voted last year to wind down the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), by the end of 2025. The mission was set up to coordinate post-conflict humanitarian and reconstruction efforts and help restore a representative government in the country.
Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said his country “highly values” the mission’s work in a region “that has suffered for decades from dictatorship, wars, and terrorism.” He said its conclusion showed Iraq had reached a stage of “full self-reliance.”
“Iraq emerged victorious thanks to the sacrifices and courage of its people,” he said in a joint statement with Guterres.
The ending of UNAMI’s mandate “does not signify the end of the partnership between Iraq and the UN,” Sudani said, adding that it represents the beginning of a new chapter of cooperation focused on development and inclusive economic growth.
The prime minister said a street in Baghdad would be named “United Nations Street” in honor of the UN’s work and in recognition of 22 UN staff who were killed in an Aug. 19, 2003, truck bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, which housed the UN headquarters.
Guterres praised “the courage, fortitude and determination of the Iraqi people” and the country’s efforts to restore security and order after years of sectarian violence and the rise of extremist groups, including the Daesh group, in the years after the 2003 invasion.
“Iraqis have worked to overcome decades of violence, oppression, war, terrorism, sectarianism and foreign interference,” the secretary-general said. “And today’s Iraq is unrecognizable from those times.”
Iraq “is now a normal country, and relations between the UN and Iraq will become normal relations with the end of UNAMI,” Guterres added. He also expressed appreciation for Iraq’s commitment to returning its citizens from the Al-Hol camp, a sprawling tent camp in northeastern Syria housing thousands of people — mostly women and children — with alleged ties to the IS.
Guterres recently recommended former Iraqi President Barham Salih to become the next head of the UN refugee agency, the first nomination from the Middle East in half a century.
Salih’s presidential term, from 2018 to 2022, came in the immediate aftermath of the Daesh group’s rampage across Iraq and the battle to take back the territory seized by the extremist group, including the key northern city of Mosul.
At least 2.2 million Iraqis were displaced as they fled the IS offensive. Many, particularly members of the Yazidi minority from the northern Sinjar district, remain in displacement camps today.
