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US Sanctions UN Official For Exposing Genocide

CrossFireArabia
July 12, 2025

The US State Department’s decision to sanction UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, is deeply alarming. It reflects the official US stance against any independent effort to expose the genocide and systematic violations committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

This decision marks a dangerous shift away from the core principles of international law and human rights. It directly targets the United Nations and its mechanisms, undermining the independence of special rapporteurs, who should be protected and supported in carrying out their impartial mandates, not punished for fulfilling them or for recognising crimes as such.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions last Wednesday evening against the Special Rapporteur, citing her efforts to “prompt action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.

Euro-Med Monitor stresses that Francesca Albanese was among the few who demonstrated the moral and professional courage to call events in Gaza what they truly are: a genocide unfolding in full view of the world. She spoke openly about the complicity of major powers, led by the United States, in arming and covering up this crime, and criticised states that failed to act on the arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he transited through their territory or airspace.

Albanese’s work is legitimate and fully aligned with her official mandate from the Human Rights Council, which tasks her with monitoring violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. Her documentation efforts and calls for accountability lie at the heart of that mandate. Calling for accountability is not “warfare,” as Rubio claimed, but an act of upholding international law.

Furthermore, recommending sanctions or an arms embargo is consistent with the peaceful measures permitted under international law to address international crimes. It is entirely unreasonable to treat advocacy for upholding international law as a crime.

The US sanctions violate the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which grants UN officials, including special rapporteurs, immunity from legal or administrative action for acts or statements made in their official capacity.

Albanese’s reports and statements fall squarely within her official duties and mandate, making her legally protected from any retaliatory or punitive measures, including economic or political sanctions imposed in response to her official work.

As a party to the Convention, the United States is legally obligated to respect the functional immunity of special rapporteurs and refrain from taking any action against them in response to their official work.

Instead of reviewing its harmful policies regarding Israeli crimes, the US administration chose to punish those who exposed its complicity. Sanctioning Albanese is a desperate attempt to suppress the truth and a warning to anyone who dares to defend the victims of Israeli crimes.

Beyond the United States’ blatant double standards and constant use of sanctions as a political tool, this move signals explicit and official opposition to the foundations of international law, including the principle of accountability and the mechanisms for its protection and application. It amounts to a direct assault on international law and a systematic effort to undermine its framework, revealing a clear intent to subordinate the legal order to power and hegemony rather than justice.

The US decision is a clear expression of deepening official complicity in the genocide, not only through military and political support, but also by targeting anyone who seeks to expose or stop it, even through speech or legal means, as seen previously with sanctions against International Criminal Court judges who issued arrest warrants for Israeli war criminals.

Euro-Med Monitor fully supports Francesca Albanese and her principled stance based on international law and moral conscience. These sanctions should provoke widespread international condemnation and genuine solidarity, as they aim to intimidate independent voices and silence witnesses to ongoing crimes.

The United Nations, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, all UN Special Rapporteurs, and the international community must act urgently to safeguard the independence of the international human rights system and prevent it from being held hostage to political blackmail by major powers.

Justice is not a crime, and speaking out about the genocide in Gaza is not a crime; silence and complicity are. The world now faces a crucial test of its commitment to values, the rule of law, and justice.

News

Analysis: Excelling Over Israeli Soldiers

CrossFireArabia
July 6, 2025

Footage of the resistance operations carried out against Israeli forces in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, not only reveals accurate information about the movements and positions of these forces, but also demonstrates a consistency between the execution and the plans laid out for them. They exceed the standards established in military science.

Al Jazeera published exclusive footage on Saturday of two ambushes carried out by the Hamas Qassam Brigades in central Khan Yunis. These ambushes were part of the “Stones of David” series, during which Israeli soldiers were killed and tanks and military vehicles destroyed.

The footage showed the detonation of vehicles and clashes with forces at point-blank range and in open areas. The fighters’ conversations during the operations also revealed a clear understanding of the unit to which these forces belong and their operations.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority (IBA) reported that Palestinian fighters have become familiar with the movements and positions of Israeli forces and are attacking them.

However, military expert Major-General Fayez al-Duwairi says that what the IBA is saying is not new, as it was clear in all the operations that took place throughout the months of the war. He points out what is important in these operations “is the implementation of plans with a success rate of up to 99%, while the global consistency rates start at 70%.”

Effective Command and Control

Al-Duwairi says this consistency “confirms the great effectiveness of the command and control system of the resistance factions, which possess accurate information about the occupying forces and base their plans on it.”

The issue is not limited to the high success rates in implementation, but extends to its method which the military expert says has not occurred in any previous war and should be studied in armies and technical colleges, especially those involved in special forces tasked with highly dangerous missions.

Moving a Qassam fighter in an open area while carrying a Shawaza bomb weighing more than 20 kilograms toward a slowly moving 60-ton tank “is not an easy task because this mechanism causes anxiety in the fighter, even if it is stationary,” al-Duwairi says. The world has never witnessed such progress, with the operation being filmed from three directions, as the Qassam Brigades do. This confirms the resistance’s reliance on the weaknesses of this highly advanced mechanism, namely its ability to surprise the enemy from a blind spot, from which it cannot detect the approaching person. This is evidenced by the fighter advancing toward the tank while its commander stood in the turret.

However, advancing toward the vehicle from its blind spot does not mean the operation is easy, as the fighter is required to move quickly in a very limited space. Furthermore, according to the military expert, the time between defusing the explosive device and its detonation does not exceed 10 seconds.

Footage obtained by Al Jazeera showed Qassam fighters raiding Israeli vehicles and soldiers in Khan Yunis on Friday and Thursday. They targeted Merkava tanks and armored personnel carriers with Shawaze explosive devices and Yasin 105 rockets at point-blank range, and clashed with an Israeli rescue force as reprinted in Jo24.

News

Israeli Strikes Beach Cafe With US Bombs

CrossFireArabia
July 3, 2025

The London-based Guardian revealed that the Israeli occupation army used heavy and indiscriminate munitions in the bombing of the Al-Baqa café overlooking the Gaza City beach, Monday evening, killing dozens of civilians. This incident could be classified as a war crime under international law.

According to an analysis of photographs from the attack site conducted by the newspaper, munitions experts confirmed that the shrapnel found at the site belonged to an American MK-82 bomb, a multi-purpose bomb weighing approximately 230 kilograms and producing a massive blast wave with a wide dispersal of shrapnel.

The newspaper added that the use of this type of munition in a densely-populated civilian area, such as the seaside café, “reflects a disproportionate use of force and raises serious legal and ethical questions about the intent and nature of the attack.”

Medicine sources in Gaza, however, reported that the initial toll from the attack was at least 39 dead and more than 100 wounded in less than an hour. The director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza said, “The health situation is completely out of control, and we are forced to differentiate between the wounded according to the severity of their conditions.”

He explained that most of those injured in the bombing are critically injured, stressing that basic medical supplies are running out and that health facilities are close to running out of fuel, threatening to shut them down within hours.

The attack on the Al-Baqaa café comes within the context of an ongoing Israeli escalation in the Gaza Strip, amid growing international condemnation of the repeated targeting of civilians and the use of heavy weapons in densely populated areas.

Since 7 October, 2023, the occupying forces, with full American support, have continued to commit crimes of genocide in Gaza, leaving more than 191,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands displaced as reported in Quds Press.

News

‘No More Spaces to Bury Our Dead’ – Gaza

CrossFireArabia
July 3, 2025

Graves are running out in Gaza. The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in Gaza announced, Wednesday evening, that graves have run out in most areas of the Strip. It added this is amidst the escalating genocide carried out by Israel over the past 22 months and the rising number of people that are being killed.

The systematic targeting of civilians and the ongoing genocide is resulting in the depletion of graves in most areas of the Gaza Strip, the Ministry stated, explaining that the Israeli army completely or partially destroyed more than 40 grave sites across the Strip since October 2023.

The ministry stated the Israeli army prevents Palestinians from “accessing cemeteries located within its security and military control, which has led to a reduction in burial spaces, the depletion of existing cemeteries, and the exacerbation of the severe shortage of graves for burying martyrs and the dead.”

It explained that this comes at a time when the Israeli army is preventing “the entry of shrouds, building materials, and materials necessary for preparing graves, which prevents the burial of martyrs in accordance with Sharia regulations.”

In addition, Israeli evacuation orders have reduced the available land for burials, transforming it into a shelter for displaced Palestinians, according to the statement.

Consequently, the statement noted the accumulation of bodies of “martyrs” in hospitals and their courtyards, while schoolyards and homes have been converted into emergency burial sites.

It noted that with the worsening grave availability crisis in Gaza, the cost of preparing a single grave has increased from 700-1,000 shekels (one dollar equals 3.37 shekels), “burdening the families of the martyrs.”

The ministry is appealing to Arab and Islamic countries and entrepreneurs to support the “Ikram Campaign” it recently announced, to build free graves to honor the martyrs.

It also called on local and international relief organizations and entrepreneurs “to urgently intervene to provide relief to the families of the martyrs, work to build free graves, and provide urgent burial supplies, including shrouds, building materials, and burial equipment.”

Almost daily, activists circulate images on social media of the dead piling up in hospital courtyards as the death toll rises due to the escalating genocide.

Palestinians complain about the lack of graves to bury their “martyred” relatives, while some resort to opening old graves to bury additional bodies inside.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has waged a genocidal war in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.

The genocide, with American support, has left approximately 191,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands displaced and a famine that has claimed the lives of many, including children as reported by Anadolu.

News

How Britain Funded The Israeli Genocide

CrossFireArabia
July 2, 2025

Britain’s support for Israel’s genocidal conduct in Gaza, through weapons, intelligence sharing, and diplomatic cover, is in the spotlight again after this week’s court ruling on a legal challenge to the UK’s continuing arms exports to Tel Aviv.

Critics, ranging from top human rights groups to legal experts and members of Parliament, say the UK has become complicit in the devastation Israel is inflicting on Gaza, where its forces have killed more than 57,000 Palestinians and wounded over 134,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.

The UK High Court on Monday dismissed a judicial review brought by Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and London-based Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), supported by Amnesty International UK, Human Rights Watch, and Oxfam.

The case centered on Britain’s decision to exempt F-35 parts when suspending some arms export licenses for Israel last year, citing the UK’s legal obligations under international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, the Arms Trade Treaty, and the Genocide Convention.

Despite acknowledging these concerns, judges Stephen Males and Karen Steyn ruled that the so-called “F-35 carve-out” policy was lawful and beyond the jurisdiction of the courts. The decision drew widespread condemnation from the rights groups, who have vowed to keep up their efforts to force the British government to halt all arms exports to Israel.

According to a detailed investigation by London-based watchdog Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), the UK has supplied thousands of munitions, continued shipments of components for the F-35 fighter jet used in Israeli airstrikes, and conducted over 570 surveillance flights over Gaza since December 2023.

Arms and material

Britain has continued to arm Israel despite mounting civilian casualties in Gaza. “Since October 2023 there have been at least 14 shipments of military goods from the UK to Israel,” Labour lawmaker Kim Johnson said in Parliament last month.

“Those include over 8,500 munitions, bombs, grenades, missiles, and 146 armored vehicle parts. In October 2023 alone, the UK exported 150,000 bullets.”

In September 2024, under growing pressure, the Labour government announced it was suspending around 30 of 350 active export licenses for Israel, citing a “clear risk” that British-made weapons could be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law.

However, the move fell far short of a full embargo, with AOAV noting that “the vast majority of licenses remained valid.”

Critically, the UK exempted components for the F-35 fighter jet program from suspension. BAE Systems, a key British arms manufacturer, contributes to the jets used in Israeli airstrikes.

AOAV reports that F-35s have played “a critical role in the Israeli bombing campaign,” including an attack in March 2025 that killed more than 400 Palestinians.

While the UK insists that all exports are rigorously assessed, Parliament has heard warnings that Britain cannot ensure its arms are not used in Gaza.

“It is completely conceivable that those weapons have been used to kill and maim children in Gaza,” Labour MP Warinder Juss said in a Parliament session.

Surveillance and intelligence

Starting in December 2023, the Royal Air Force began flying near-daily surveillance missions over Gaza and southern Israel from the RAF Akrotiri base in the Greek Cypriot Administration.

According to AOAV data, Britain has flown over 570 such sorties, with more than 200 under the current Labour government.

The primary aircraft used is the Shadow R1, operated by the RAF’s 14 Squadron, equipped with high-resolution cameras and signals intelligence tools. The RAF also deployed RC-135 Rivet Joint planes to collect electronic intelligence.

The UK government claims these flights are “solely” for hostage rescue purposes. However, AOAV raised serious concerns about how the intelligence is used, warning that “British spy aircraft may have given Israel additional eyes and ears over Gaza’s battlefields.”

Britain’s membership in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance complicates matters further. As AOAV explains, the UK has long held responsibility for Middle East monitoring within the alliance, and signals intelligence shared with the US may have ultimately supported Israeli military operations.

Legal challenges and ethical concerns

Despite the September 2024 suspension of some export licenses, arms shipments from the UK to Israel appear to have continued. Human rights groups have sharply criticized what AOAV calls a “blind alliance.”

In early June, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for an independent public inquiry into the UK’s involvement in Israeli military operations in Gaza, urging the government to end arms sales to Israel and accusing ministers of complicity in what he described as “mass murder.”

Most recently, on June 30, the UK High Court dismissed the judicial review brought by Al-Haq and GLAN, saying that decisions on whether to continue UK’s involvement in the F-35 program were for the government and Parliament according to Anadolu.