Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

European diplomats forced to flee Israeli shelling

The situation in Gaza

Published 23 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Stock image - Israeli snipers in the West Bank.
3 minute read

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has demanded that those responsible be “held accountable” after Israeli soldiers opened fire near a diplomatic delegation during a recent visit to the Palestinian city of Jenin in the West Bank, with several EU countries now demanding immediate explanations from Israel.

The delegation, which according to the Palestinian Authority included diplomats from the EU, France, Britain, Italy, Canada, Russia, China, Denmark, and other countries, had visited a refugee camp in Jenin when several shots were fired. No one was injured, but video footage shows delegates being forced to flee and seek shelter during the shooting.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry claims that the delegation left an “approved route” and was in an area where they “were not authorized to be”. The statement on social media claims that the soldiers fired “warning shots” to disperse the group.

Critics, however, are skeptical of the explanation and that it would be reasonable or proportionate to start shooting at a group of diplomats instead of trying to communicate with them.

– Any threats on diplomats’ lives are unacceptable, Kallas said at a press conference on Wednesday. She emphasized that even so-called warning shots are considered gunfire and that those responsible must be “held accountable”.

“Unprovoked” attack

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) say they regret the incident and are launching an investigation. They promise to inform the countries concerned of the results, but at the same time do not acknowledge that their actions were wrong.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed that a French diplomat was at the scene:

– A visit to Jenin, in which one of our diplomats was participating, was fired upon by Israeli soldiers. This is unacceptable, he said, announcing that Israel’s ambassador in Paris had been summoned for talks.

The German Foreign Ministry also reacted sharply:

– It was a matter of luck that nothing worse had happened, they wrote in a statement describing the shots fired by Israeli soldiers as “unprovoked”. Minister Johann Wadephul has spoken with diplomats on the ground and is demanding an explanation from his Israeli counterpart.

Demanding “convincing explanations”

Belgium’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Maxime Prévot, confirmed that a Belgian diplomat was also in the group.

– Fortunately, he is all right. Belgium demands convincing explanations from Israel, he said.

A spokesman for the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry called the incident a “heinous crime” and accused Israeli forces of deliberately firing live ammunition at an accredited international delegation.

Images of the incident, published by the Palestinian Authority, show chaotic scenes with delegates running in panic while shots are heard in the background.

Belgium’s aid office bombed

The incident occurred just one day after Kallas announced that the EU would review its association agreement with Israel – an agreement governing political and economic cooperation – citing Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the humanitarian catastrophe that followed in its wake.

Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, wrote on social media that he too had summoned Israel’s ambassador to Rome to demand official clarification about the shooting in Jenin.

During Israel’s invasion and bombing of Gaza, a large number of journalists, photographers, aid workers, and UN personnel have been killed without any major consequences.

However, European diplomats and government officials have so far been relatively spared from the violence – even though the Israeli army bombed Belgium’s development aid office as recently as February this year. As far as is known, this incident did not lead to any significant consequences either.

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Swedish minister condemns Israel’s annexation plans for Gaza

The genocide in Gaza

Published today 12:19
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

Sweden’s development aid minister Benjamin Dousa (Moderate Party) reacts sharply to reports that Israel plans to annex parts of the Gaza Strip with support from US President Donald Trump. According to Israeli media, the plans are to be presented if Hamas does not release its hostages.

According to reports in Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing an annexation plan that would receive American support. The Swedish government strongly distances itself from these plans.

We strongly condemn any potential plans to annex Palestinian territory. This would clearly violate international law, Dousa tells Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet.

The development aid minister also criticizes American support for the annexation and believes it would have devastating international consequences. He describes how the Israeli government has “radicalized during the spring and summer” in an unexpected way.

Criticism of humanitarian situation

The catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza also draws strong criticism from Dousa. Reports of mass starvation have reached Sweden, and the development aid minister accuses Israel of not living up to international humanitarian principles.

It is obvious that Israel is not living up to international humanitarian principles. They are letting in too little humanitarian aid, he says.

Dousa describes the handling as a “complete logistical disaster”, pointing to chaotic scenes with injuries and deaths as a result of Israel’s actions.

Sweden has summoned the Israeli ambassador and is pushing for EU sanctions against violent settlers in the West Bank. The government is also open to supporting international initiatives for airlifts to Gaza, but prefers truck transport via the UN for larger volumes.

The homes of Gaza residents belong to Gaza residents. It is not up to Israel or the USA to redraw the map as they please, Dousa emphasizes.

Facts about annexation and international law

International law prohibits the annexation of another country's territory. According to international law, annexation means that a state takes control over another state's territory through violence or coercion, which is an illegal act that must not be recognized by other states. This is seen as a "flagrant violation of international law", and there is no legal provision that justifies such annexation.

The UN Charter, which forms a fundamental part of international law, protects states' territorial integrity and political independence through prohibitions against acts of aggression and intervention in other states' internal affairs (articles 2.4 and 2.7). These principles mean that a state may not interfere in how another state is governed or take control over its territory.

Expert condemns Israeli air aid to Gaza: “A sham maneuver”

The genocide in Gaza

Published 27 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Johan von Schreeb, a Swedish professor of disaster medicine, believes that the Israeli proposal to allow aid deliveries by air is likely a strategy to ensure that less food gets through.
2 minute read

Israel’s aid shipments by air to Gaza are an ineffective sham maneuver that prevents real aid from reaching those in need. This is the view of Johan von Schreeb, professor of disaster medicine, after the Israeli military, IDF, initiated daily “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting.

The Israeli military has been conducting daily ceasefires since Sunday between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. in densely populated parts of Gaza, including Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah and Gaza City. In connection with the pauses, the IDF has dropped aid supplies from the air, containing flour, sugar and canned goods.

But von Schreeb is critical of the method.

— We know that it is extremely ineffective, it is ten times more expensive than bringing in food by road. In this case, in Gaza where there is infrastructure even though much is destroyed, it is simply poor and likely a strategy to ensure that less food gets in, he says.

Risky distribution

The professor also warns that the airborne aid could end up in the wrong hands or cause additional dangers for the civilian population.

They could end up with those who have Kalashnikovs who can drive away the rest of the civilian population and instead sell the food, says von Schreeb.

According to the expert, the UN system has 6,000 trucks ready in Jordan and Egypt, but the borders to Gaza remain closed. Since the UN agency UNRWA was effectively banned from operating in Israel, the Israeli-American organization Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has taken over food distributions – with deadly consequences. Over 1,000 people are reported to have been killed or died during the organization’s distributions.

Israeli minister: “All of Gaza will be Jewish”

The genocide in Gaza

Published 25 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
"Thank God, we are erasing this evil. All of Gaza will be Jewish," said Jewish Power representative Amichai Eliyahu recently on an Israeli radio program regarding the starving population in Gaza and the ongoing genocide. Right: The starving children in Gaza where the situation is becoming increasingly desperate.
2 minute read

Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu has drawn strong criticism after statements about Israel not needing to worry about starvation in Gaza. The statement is one in a series from officials within Israel’s far-right government in line with the genocidal ambitions expressed already at the beginning of the Gaza war.

The far-right politician Amichai Eliyahu from the Jewish Power party (Otzma Yehudit) dismissed renewed UN warnings about artificial famine in the besieged enclave on Thursday. In an interview with Radio Kol Barama, he claimed that the Israeli government is “rushing to erase Gaza”.

Thank God, we are erasing this evil. All of Gaza will be Jewish, Eliyahu said according to Israeli news site Ynet.

— We shouldn’t be dealing with hunger in Gaza – let the world take care of them. No nation feeds its enemies. Have we completely lost our minds? Should we care about their evening meal?, he added.

Strong criticism from government leadership

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly distanced himself from the statements and pointed out that Eliyahu is not a member of the security cabinet, which decides on warfare.

“This government’s policy is clear and unified. His statements do not represent it”, Netanyahu said.

Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, also condemned Eliyahu’s comments and called them “wrong, foolish and completely unrepresentative of Israel’s government and people”. In a post on X, he emphasized that Israel is committed to creating a mechanism to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza “but not through Hamas”.

UN warns of mass starvation

According to local health authorities, more than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, including at least 113 who died of starvation. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that Israel’s “blockade” has brought Gaza to the brink of “mass starvation”.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, has urged Israel to allow access for the 6,000 aid transports currently stalled in Egypt and Jordan.

Israeli officials have in turn accused Hamas and other armed groups of hoarding supplies and attacking civilians at distribution sites.

21 children dead from starvation in Gaza in 72 hours

The genocide in Gaza

Published 22 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
1 minute read

21 children have died from malnutrition and starvation in Gaza in just the past 72 hours. This was reported by Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, to the British public broadcaster BBC.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, an additional 15 adults have died from starvation and malnutrition in the past day. This brings the total number of such deaths to 101, of which 80 are children, according to the ministry.

Dr. Abu Salmiya warns that the situation is critical. Around 900,000 children in Gaza are suffering from hunger, and 70,000 of them are in a state of malnutrition. Diabetics and kidney patients are at particularly high risk, according to the doctor.

Acute humanitarian crisis

The organization Save the Children confirms the devastating situation on the ground.

Everyone in Gaza is hungry now, says Rachel Cummings, humanitarian director at Save the Children, to Al Jazeera.

Gaza’s health ministry is under Hamas control, but has in previous conflicts proven to provide death tolls that correspond well with independent assessors’ figures.

Facts about starvation and genocide

Starvation as a method involves deliberately causing or exacerbating famine to destabilize, oppress, or eliminate a group of people. This can occur by blocking access to food, stopping humanitarian aid, or attacking food infrastructure, which directly threatens the survival of civilian populations.

International law, particularly humanitarian law and international law, prohibits the use of starvation as a weapon in armed conflicts. UN Security Council Resolution 2417 recognizes starvation as a war crime when deliberately used as a method of warfare and calls on states and parties to conflict to guarantee the civilian population's right to food. Additionally, the use of starvation is classified as a war crime or crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court when the starvation is intentional and directed against a specific group.

Starvation can also be part of genocide when used with the intent to wholly or partially destroy a national, ethnic, religious, or other particular group. By depriving groups of their basic needs and thereby causing death and suffering, this tactic fulfills the criteria for genocide according to international conventions such as the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

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