The UN has urged Israel to “end unlawful killings” of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and issued a warning that the region’s human rights situation is getting worse due to unprecedented levels of violence. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned that the situation in the occupied West Bank is “rapidly deteriorating” against the backdrop of the Gaza conflict. Images of bulldozers in refugee camps, captives stripped naked and spat at, and farmers robbed of their produce were among the scenes. Turk voiced concerns about Israel’s use of military force and firearms by law enforcement, movement limitations that harm Palestinians, and a rapid surge in settler violence that results in the displacement of herding communities in his remarks on a recent report on the West Bank produced by his office, OHCHR.
According to Al Jazeera, which cited information from Israel’s Channel 13, Israel has suggested a new prisoner exchange agreement to mediator Qatar through the United States. As per Channel 13, as part of the agreement, Israel would first evacuate its troops from heavily populated areas of the Gaza Strip and permit a greater amount of supplies to enter the enclave. In the second phase, as Israel retreats deeper into regions to be worked out through US and Qatari mediation, Hamas would free female Israeli prisoners, including female soldiers and the bodies of Israeli troops who had died. Since the plan does not demand a complete truce while captives are being exchanged, the media outlet claimed that Hamas has “so far rejected this proposal.”
On Wednesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan compared Israel’s assaults on Gaza to the Nazi persecution of the Jewish people, saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was no different from Adolf Hitler. Supporting a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem, Turkey, a member of NATO, has denounced Israel’s air and ground assault on Gaza, referring to it as a “terror state” and asserting that its leaders ought to face trial in international courts. Erdogan sharpened his rhetoric, saying that Western nations that support Israel were participants in what he called war crimes and that Turkey would welcome scholars and scientists who were being persecuted for their opinions on the situation in Gaza. They used to criticise Hitler. How are you different from Hitler?
In a pre-general election recommendation released on Tuesday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) advised government employees and officers to abstain from political participation. Officials and workers of the government were specifically forbidden from participating in election-related activities, according to the warning. The circular that was released states that employees and officials of the government are not permitted to participate in election-related activities. When it comes to requesting a leave of absence, government employees have to get permission from Returning Officers (ROs), and district officers have to ask the District Returning Officers (DRO) for permission. Federal employees up to grade 19 may have their leave approved by DROs, under the ECP advice. According to the recommendation, officials in Grade 20 and up must apply for leave directly with the Commission.
The psychological toll that conflict and displacement have on children’s emotional wellness in Gaza has been addressed by Doctors Without Borders’ mental health teams, according to the organisation. Children have been subjected to incredibly traumatic events, according to the report, which also stated that some patients were healing from physical injuries and that others had lost relatives. “They no longer have their coping mechanisms. There’s nowhere to feel secure and safe. It needs to end right now. The Gaza coordinator for the World Health Organization’s Emergency Medical Teams describes the current state of the hospitals as “quite dire,” with many of them entirely shuttered due to overcrowding. Casey claims that hostilities have persisted over the past several days in response to the UN Security Council vote last week that demanded increased humanitarian relief.
With Israel bombarding the beleaguered Palestinian territory on Monday with no end in sight to the war that Hamas claims has taken more than 20,000 deaths, Palestinians said they had “no joy” this Christmas. The occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, which is regarded as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, practically abandoned its celebrations, as there were hardly any worshippers or tourists in the typically bustling streets. Early on Monday, the Hamas organisation in the Gaza Strip reported 50 strikes in core areas, including the Nuseirat refugee camp. Fadi Sayegh, whose family has previously been granted permission to travel to Bethlehem for holidays, declared he would not be enjoying Christmas this year at a hospital in the recently-fighting southern city of Khan Yunis.
According to UK-based anti-poverty charity Oxfam, 90% of Gaza’s population is on the verge of starvation as a result of Israel’s attack, as reported by Anadolu Agency. Sally Abi Khalil, regional director of Oxfam for the Middle East and North Africa, stated, “Some UN Security Council member states are still toying with words rather than voting for a ceasefire, while over 90pc of people in Gaza cannot find their next meal.” Khalil was cited as saying, “Gaza’s shocking descent into starvation was so predictable as to be premeditated, an ongoing war crime by the Government of Israel.” The current US leadership, “which preaches principles hat it then betrays as it enables Israel’s atrocities,” has been urged by a top UN official to be opposed by UN members.
Pakistan will take part in a consultative session on Palestine on December 23 in Tehran, the capital of Iran, the Foreign Office announced on Thursday. Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokeswoman for the Foreign Office, stated at a weekly news briefing that “we will continue to support international efforts to bring an end to Israel’s ongoing campaign against the Palestinian people.” According to the FO spokesperson, Pakistan is still extremely worried about the widespread atrocities and violence that the Palestinian people are subjected to. In the courtyard and surrounding area of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, “We strongly condemn Israel’s ongoing war on hospitals and its barbaric bulldozing of tents that has crushed to death numerous Palestinians including women, children, and wounded patients under treatment,” he declared.
Even as the rivals launched their most serious discussions on a new truce in weeks, fighting in the Gaza Strip intensified on Thursday with some of the most intensive Israeli bombardment of the war and Hamas demonstrating its ability to rocket Tel Aviv. When dawn rose from beyond the Israeli-Palestinian line, orange bursts of explosions and black smoke were visible over the northern portion of the Gaza Strip, where Israeli bombing was at its peak. The sound of rattling gunfire was interspersed with the booms of air strikes every few seconds as planes roared overhead. Sirens cried out as rockets burst overhead in Tel Aviv, the commercial hub of Israel, only to be stopped by Israeli defences. The Magen David Alom ambulance service in Israel reported multiple points of impact.
Gaza: According to the Palestinian organisation, Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to meet with Egyptian officials and discuss the latest developments in the conflict with Israel in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced on Wednesday that more than 360,000 cases of infectious diseases had been reported in the organization’s shelters in the besieged Gaza Strip, amid a health system that is already in disarray. According to a UNRWA assessment cited by Al Jazeera, the Palestinian people’s worsening living conditions, inadequate sanitation, and lack of food are the main causes of the widespread spread of diseases such acute respiratory infections, meningitis, jaundice, impetigo, and chickenpox.
