Russia Condemns Israel’s UNRWA Ban

Russia on Saturday condemned Israel’s decision to ban the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating in the occupied territories.

Last October, the Israeli parliament passed two laws that called for ending UNRWA’s operations in Israel and occupied Palestinian territories, and prohibiting Israeli authorities from having any contact with the agency. The laws came into effect on Thursday.

The Foreign Ministry said UNRWA should be allowed to continue its work until a final peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

https://twitter.com/SprinterObserve/status/1885455685753704644

Praising the agency’s role, the ministry described it as a “pillar of support for peaceful Palestinians in the occupied territory and neighboring countries, as well as a guarantee of the fundamental right of refugees to return.”

Moscow reiterated that peace in the Middle East must be based on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, coexisting with Israel in security.

The ministry also questioned Israel’s claim to “sovereign territory” in its decree banning UNRWA’s operations in occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.

“This means that hundreds of thousands of children, women, and the elderly are at risk of being abandoned to their fate,” it said.

Russia accused Israel of violating international law, including UN resolutions, stressing that an occupying power “cannot extend its sovereignty to the occupied territory.”

“Such arbitrary steps, fraught with the gravest humanitarian consequences for the Palestinians, are deeply disappointing and deserve to be condemned.

“It should also be noted that as a result of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, 273 UNRWA staff members were killed, which was the largest onetime loss to the UN since its creation almost 80 years ago,” the ministry stressed.

Israel has killed more than 47,000 people, most of them women and children, in Gaza, triggered a humanitarian catastrophe and left the territory in ruins that could take years to rebuild and make it habitable.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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The Israeli army blew up an elderly care home in southern Lebanon on Saturday in yet another violation of the country’s sovereignty, the Lebanese NNA news agency reported.

The elderly social care home was situated in the town of Houla, Marjayoun distrcit.

The army also demolished buildings between the towns of Markaba and Rab El Thalathine in the district.

In the southern Nabatieh district, an Israeli drone struck an open area between Jarmaq and Kfar Remman, while artillery fire targeted the outskirts of the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh.

Israeli artillery also shelled an area between the towns of Haddatha and Haris.

Israel has continued military operations in Lebanon since launching a new offensive in March, with its forces advancing into additional areas of the south.

On June 26, Lebanon and Israel reached a US-mediated framework agreement providing for a gradual Israeli withdrawal in exchange for the deployment of the Lebanese army and the disarmament of armed groups, including Hezbollah. Anadolu

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Israeli Settlers, Army Besiege Qusra Families For 21 Days

Three Palestinian families remain under siege in Qusra as Israeli occupation forces and settlers intensify pressure to force them from their land.

Twenty Days under Siege in Qusra

Israeli occupation forces and illegal Israeli Jewish settlers have maintained a siege on three Palestinian homes in the Ras al-Ain area of Qusra, south of Nablus, for 20 consecutive days, Quds News Network and local sources reported on Friday.

Residents say the operation is intended to force the three families from their homes and ultimately seize their land.

Israeli occupation forces have intensified their presence around Jabal Ras al-Ain, restricting the families’ movement and their ability to obtain basic daily necessities.

Soldiers reportedly erected a military tent directly in front of the home of Palestinian resident Loai Abu Ridi and installed iron gates at entrances to the area, further restricting access.

Local residents warned that the prolonged siege increasingly threatens the ability of the three families to remain in their homes.

At the same time, illegal Israeli settlers, operating under the protection of occupation forces, installed new mobile homes at the eastern entrance to Qusra.

Residents said the move was intended to expand settlement outposts and consolidate control over additional Palestinian land.

Despite the pressure, the families and other residents of Qusra said they would remain on their land and rejected attempts to force them from the area.

Settler Attacks amid Widespread Raids

The siege in Qusra came amid widespread Israeli military raids and settler attacks across the occupied West Bank overnight Thursday and early Friday.

In Beita, south of Nablus, armed settlers assaulted Palestinian resident Issa Abdullah Hamayel and his wife in the Ain Umm al-Jarba area before forcing the couple to leave their land at gunpoint.

The Palestinian Red Crescent separately treated a Palestinian who was injured after being assaulted by Israeli forces in Tell, west of Nablus.

Israeli troops also stormed Beit Iba, Madama and Awarta, raiding homes and firing tear gas. A settler vehicle entered residential neighborhoods in Awarta during the military incursion.

In Jenin, Israeli occupation forces arrested Abdul Razzaq Abed, Adnan Abed and Mahmoud Abed after raiding their homes in Kafr Dan.

Troops also raided housing used by Palestinians displaced from the Jenin refugee camp near the Arab American University.

According to local reports, Israeli occupation forces detained relatives of wanted Palestinian Qais al-Bitawi, including a woman, in an attempt to pressure him to surrender.

Additional Israeli raids were reported in Tammun, south of Tubas, and Azzun, east of Qalqilya.

In Hebron (Al-Khalil), military vehicles entered the Al-Murabba’a area and southern parts of the city, where soldiers raided and searched Palestinian homes. Illegal settlers also gathered near Palestinian homes in the Al-Dawarah area of Sa’ir, north of Hebron.

Israeli Forces Remain inside Qalandiya Institute

In occupied Jerusalem, Israeli occupation forces maintained military control of the Qalandiya Vocational Institute for a fourth consecutive day on Friday.

Israeli military vehicles continued patrolling the surrounding area after occupation forces seized the UNRWA facility earlier this week, expelled its staff and raised an Israeli flag over the compound.

The institute, established in 1952, was the first UNRWA vocational training center in Palestine and has provided vocational education to generations of Palestinian refugees.

Israeli occupation forces also stormed Airport Street near the Qalandiya refugee camp on Friday, firing volleys of tear gas.

A Palestinian young man was detained during the raid before Israeli troops withdrew toward nearby military checkpoints. Palestine Chronicle

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