New York - Gaza: Europe and the Arabs
On the 725th day of the war on Gaza, local media reported a number of deaths and injuries as a result of Israeli fire targeting the Yarmouk area in Gaza City, the al-Tuffah neighborhood in the east, and areas west of Deir al-Balah.
Sources confirmed that the intensity of the bombing did not subside overnight, noting that the city was exposed to heavy fire belts, coinciding with artillery shelling and gunfire from military vehicles and drones. They also explained that a large number of the city's residents still refuse to evacuate despite the intensity of the shelling, according to the website of the European news network "Euronews" in Brussels. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left the United States for Israel after meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington.
During a joint press conference with Trump, Netanyahu expressed his welcome for the proposal presented by the latter to end the war in Gaza. Uncertainty still looms over the international scene, amid questions about the seriousness of the American proposal and its divergence from previous initiatives, as well as about Hamas's position on the proposed terms.
In this context, the American website Axios quoted a senior White House official as saying: "We expect to receive Hamas's response in the coming days."
On the other hand, the Israeli opposition and the families of the prisoners welcomed the Trump plan. Democratic Party leader Yair Golan said: "We hope the prisoners will return home and this political war will end," adding that "the war lost its security purpose long ago, and the Trump plan should have been signed long ago."
This came after Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf affirmed that his country encourages US-sponsored negotiations to end the tragedies in Gaza and hopes they will lead to "an end to the Nakba" in the Strip, "on the path to truly addressing all the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." In his address to the General Assembly on Monday, Attaf said that the Palestinian cause today faces "the greatest danger in its history," namely the danger of being wiped out. This danger is spreading now that "the Israeli occupation has declared its intention to revive and activate what it calls the Greater Israel project," according to the UN's daily news bulletin.
He stressed that the international community bears responsibilities that "cannot be evaded, evaded, or failed" in taking action to ensure that "the end of the eighth decade of our organization's existence is the end of the pain, tragedies, and catastrophes inflicted upon the Palestinian people," and to work to spare neighboring countries, especially Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Jordan, "the horrors threatened by the Israeli expansionist project," and to strive to preserve the foundations and pillars of the two-state solution. While appreciating the momentum of diplomatic recognition of the State of Palestine, he reiterated his country's call to enable it to obtain full membership in the United Nations. He said, "The entire world must realize that the establishment of a Palestinian state is not an option, but a definite inevitability; it is not a favor, but an inherent and inalienable right; it is not a hope, but an indispensable and unavoidable prerequisite for restoring security and stability to the entire Middle East region."
Given the international situation and the tense global landscape, the Algerian minister said that the United Nations stands "handcuffed in action, muted in voice, and marginalized in role," stressing that the full responsibility falls on member states to restore respect for international law and enable the United Nations to regain its position "as the beating heart of the international system based on the rule of law and justice."
The UN Security Council held a meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue. Council members heard a briefing from Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, on Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory. Alakbarov referred to Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016), which calls on Israel to immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. He said, "Nevertheless, settlement activity has accelerated."
Continued Settlement and Steps to Promote Annexation
In his briefing, Alakbarov reviewed the UN Secretary-General's report on the implementation of the resolution and his observations on the matter. He said that the expansion of Israeli settlement activity continues to accelerate, along with the proliferation of outposts and the steps taken by the Israeli Knesset to promote the annexation of the West Bank.
The UN official emphasized the illegality of Israeli settlements and their blatant violation of international law and UN resolutions. He said, "They systematically reduce the territory of the Palestinian State and further entrench the illegal Israeli occupation."
He quoted the Secretary-General as saying that proceeding with the plan to build settlement units in Area E1 is a disastrous development. If implemented, it will effectively separate the northern and southern West Bank, undermining the contiguity of a sovereign Palestinian state, increasing the risk of forced displacement, and fueling tensions. He stressed the need for Israel to comply with its obligations under international law, noting the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 19 July 2024, which concluded that Israel has an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities, evacuate all settlers, and end its illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as soon as possible.
In his report, the Secretary-General expressed grave concern about statements by Israeli government officials regarding the annexation of all or parts of the occupied Palestinian territory. He also called on the Israeli government to halt the demolition of Palestinian-owned structures.
He deplored the escalation of Israeli military operations across the Gaza Strip, resulting in an unprecedented loss of life and destruction. He condemned the killing of civilians in Gaza, including women and children.