Hundreds of lawmakers worldwide demand cutting arms sales to Israel

Cradle.co
March 1, 2024
Over 200 MPs from 12 states signed a letter urging their governments to impose a ban on weapons sales to Israel.

In the letter, organized by Progressive International and signed on 1 March, the MPs say they refuse to be complicit in “Israel’s grave violation of international law” in Gaza.
The organizers believe that certain governments supplying arms to the Israeli military could be held legally accountable, given the scale of death and destruction in the Gaza Strip. Those who signed the letter are all MPs of states that supply Israel with military aid.
Nine are current or former party leaders, including the former British Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights.
The Australian Green Party leader, Larissa Waters, and other MPs from Canada, France, Belgium, and elsewhere signed the letter. Congresswomen Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib were the only signatories from the US.
“An arms embargo has moved beyond a moral necessity to become a legal requirement,” the MPs wrote, given the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling that Israel must ensure its forces do not engage in genocidal acts.
“Any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law and must cease immediately. We know that lethal weapons and their parts, made or shipped through our countries, currently aid the Israeli assault on Palestine that has claimed over 30,000 lives across Gaza and the West Bank,” the letter added.
Since the ICJ ruling in late January, the court also heard a case arguing the illegality of Israel’s occupation in the West Bank. However, the ICJ has no enforcement power, as its rulings must be backed by the UN Security Council.
Friday’s letter comes less than two weeks after the British High Court of Justice dismissed a lawsuit aimed at halting arms sales to Israel.
Last week, UN experts warned states that arms exports to Israel likely constitute violations of international law.
Several states, including Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium’s Walloon government, have taken steps to avoid being complicit in war crimes over arms sales to Israel.
 

Palestinian factions strive for ‘national unity’ in Moscow

The Palestinian factions released a joint statement from Moscow on 1 March, thanking Russia’s leadership for hosting them on the second day of meetings aimed at reaching a “comprehensive national unity.”

“The Palestinian factions gathered in the city of Moscow express their thanks and appreciation to the Russian leadership for hosting their meetings and for its position in support of the Palestinian cause,” the factions wrote.
Present at the meeting were the Hamas movement, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Fatah movement, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), PFLP General Command, and the Al-Saiqa organization, as well several others.
“They affirm, in light of the criminal Zionist aggression against our people, the positive and constructive spirit that prevailed at the meeting, and agreed that their meetings will continue in rounds,” the joint statement went on to say, adding that upcoming meetings are to be held soon.
The statement called for a thwarting of Israeli attempts to displace Palestinians, whether in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, or the holy city of Jerusalem. It also called for an emphasis on the illegality of settlement expansion.
The factions called for efforts to lift the siege on Gaza and end the occupation of the West Bank.
They also stood by the goal of forcing Israel “to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and preventing attempts to establish its occupation or control over any part of the Gaza Strip under the pretext of buffer zones,” as called for in the Israeli prime minister’s recently unveiled plan for a post-war Gaza.
The statement completely rejects “any attempts to separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, including Jerusalem, as part of efforts to rob the Palestinian people of their right to self-determination.”
On 16 February, Russia announced its invitation to the Palestinian factions for a national dialogue in Moscow.
It comes as the US, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar are working on a second truce and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.
The Moscow meeting is the largest and most inclusive national dialogue between the Palestinian factions since the war began and comes just days after the President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Mahmoud Abbas, accepted the resignation of his prime minister’s government.
Discussions were recently held between the Palestinians for the formation of a national unity government consisting of both Fatah and Hamas, in line with efforts to end the Israeli war on Gaza and move towards a path of reconstruction and self-determination.
Israel remains insistent on eradicating Hamas and maintaining security control over post-war Gaza, complicating current truce efforts.
 

Heavy losses inflict‘ dramatic manpower crisis’ on Israel

The Israeli military is demanding an addition of at least 7,000 soldiers to its forces due to a serious manpower crisis.

The 7,000 are needed on top of the soldiers already enlisting, the Israeli army said on 1 March.
“The army requires standards for another 7,500 officers and noncommissioned officers, while the Treasury currently approves only 2,500. These are unprecedented numbers, which indicate the shock that befell the IDF following almost 150 days of fighting, which began with heavy losses on 7 October,” Hebrew news site Ynet reported, citing the army’s General Staff.
“The army is compiling the data that will explain how dramatic the manpower problem is,” it added.
Just one day ago, Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, called to end draft exemptions for members of the ultra-Orthodox community. Gallant said he would only support legislation allowing for continued exemptions if all members of the ruling coalition backed it.
The minister asserted that “all parts of society” must “bear the burden” of service.
Gallant’s position could result in tension with ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition, viewed as integral to the current government's survival, according to Hebrew media.
However, the army’s demand for a boost in manpower “has nothing to do with politics or the demand for equal burden: The situation is simply not good and does not match the threat map,” Ynet wrote.
Israel is taking severe losses in its genocidal war in Gaza and its attempt to eradicate the Palestinian resistance.
While Israel claims that Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah is the final Hamas stronghold, the group’s military wing, along with several other factions, continue to fiercely confront Israeli troops across the strip.
A source from within the resistance told Al-Mayadeen on Thursday that the Israeli army has been forced out of Gaza City’s Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, where it had been operating over the past eleven days in an attempt to clear out Hamas fighters.
The source added that the neighborhood is a “graveyard” for Merkava tanks, and the “bloodied and torn” uniforms of Israeli soldiers are spread out across the battlefield.
Clashes between the resistance and the army continued to rage on 1 March in several areas of Gaza, including the southern city of Khan Yunis and the Jabalia area in the northern strip.
 

Washington blocks UNSC statement condemning Israel for 'Flour Massacre'

The US, on 29 February, vetoed a UN Security Council (UNSC) statement that would have condemned Israel for the mass murder of over 100 Palestinian civilians who were awaiting the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza City.

“We don’t have all the facts on the ground – that’s the problem,” US deputy ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told reporters on Thursday.
He then claimed there are “contradictory reports” about the Israeli army's latest massacre and highlighted that Washington was focused on finding “some language that everyone can agree on.”
Thursday's veto is the fifth time Washington has blocked a UNSC statement or ceasefire resolution that would hold Israel accountable for the atrocities it has committed in Gaza.
According to Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, 14 of the 15 council members supported the statement advanced by Algeria.
At least 112 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 wounded after Israeli troops opened heavy machine gun and artillery fire on thousands waiting for food on Gaza's Al-Rashid Street, in what marked the first delivery of food to northern Gaza in several weeks.
“After opening fire, Israeli tanks advanced and ran over many of the dead and injured bodies,” Al Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul reported from the scene.
“We had come here to get our hands on some aid. I have been waiting since noon yesterday. At about 4:30 in the early morning, trucks started to trickle in. The Israelis just opened random fire on us as if it was a trap. Once we approached the aid trucks, the Israeli tanks and warplanes started firing on us,” a witness at the scene told Al Jazeera.
The Israeli aggression triggered a stampede, adding to the chaos.
“We were going to bring flour … then Israeli snipers shot at us,” another person in the area told the Qatari news outlet. “They shot me in the leg. I’m unable to stand up,” he added.
Tel Aviv changed its story multiple times on Thursday, first claiming the majority of victims were killed by the stampede and later saying that soldiers opened fire only after feeling “threatened.” Officials have yet to explain how the crowds of underfed and displaced civilians posed any threat to them.