CrossFireArabia
The Hind Rajab Foundation has filed an ICC complaint against Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar ahead of his visit to Brussels, accusing him of complicity in crimes of displacement and starvation against Palestinians. The foundation called on Belgium to take immediate action against him under international law, as Sa’ar is scheduled to visit Brussels on February 18.
CrossFireArabia
US President Donald Trump’s recent proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza and place the territory under long-term US control has sparked widespread international backlash.
Unveiled during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the plan envisions transforming Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” by resettling Palestinians in neighboring countries like Jordan and Egypt.
While the proposal received support from Israel, the global response has been overwhelmingly negative, with strong condemnations from major powers, regional countries, and even US lawmakers.
Global powers reject forced relocation
Both Russia and China criticized the plan, highlighting the violation of international norms.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reaffirmed Russia’s support for a two-state solution, while the Russian Foreign Ministry said: “Any populist comments are counter-productive and ramp up tensions.”
China condemned the forced displacement, emphasizing that “Palestinians governing Palestine” is fundamental for post-conflict stability.
European countries have also been vocal on the plan, expressing strong opposition.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock labeled the proposal a breach of international law, stressing that Gaza belongs to the Palestinians.
France reiterated its opposition to any forced displacement, calling it a serious violation of international law.
The UK, under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, supported Palestinian rights to return and rebuild, while Denmark said: “It doesn’t seem to be a realistic way forward.”
Reasserting Italy’s support for the two-state solution, the Italian foreign minister said nothing can be achieved without the Palestinians, noting: “It seems to me that it is a bit difficult (to implement the plan).”
Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia, having recognized Palestine in 2024, condemned the plan, calling it ignorant of Palestinian history and contradiction of the UN Security Council resolutions.
Belgium said forced displacement of populations constitutes “a grave breach of international humanitarian law” while Poland expressed support for a two-state solution.
Canada, where Trump put tariffs on hold last week, said its longstanding position on Gaza has not changed and is committed to achieving a two-state solution.
Relocation plan ‘unacceptable’
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan condemned the plan as “unacceptable,” stressing that even considering such a proposal is wrong. The Turkish Defense Ministry declared its complete opposition to the displacement of Palestinians.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected the plan outright, stating peace cannot be attained without a Palestinian state.
Hamas group called it “hostile,” while Qatar, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia warned it would destabilize the region.
Iran also voiced firm opposition to the plan, and Iraq condemned the plan to displace Palestinians.
Although Latin American countries were largely silent, Brazil’s President Lula da Silva criticized the proposal as “incomprehensible,” questioning where displaced Palestinians would live.
Dissent within US
Despite originating in Washington, the plan faced criticism even from US lawmakers.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen condemned it as “ethnic cleansing by another name.” Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American, declared: “Palestinians aren’t going anywhere.”
Even Republican figures like Senator Lindsey Graham found the proposal “problematic,” while Senator Tim Kaine labeled it “deranged.”
Trump’s Gaza relocation plan has united a broad spectrum of global opposition, transcending geopolitical divides.
While no country has openly expressed support for the plan, many countries have remained silent. Argentina, Japan, and India, the countries that sent representatives to Trump’s inauguration, have not made any statements on the issue.
Countries that want to maintain good relations with the new US administration have also remained silent. Latin American countries, where Trump has cracked down on immigration and drugs after taking the office, have so far kept mum.
Aside from Israel, the international community remains steadfast in rejecting forced displacement, advocating instead for a two-state solution as the only viable path to lasting peace in the region according to Anadolu.
CrossFireArabia
Donald Trump has gone rogue during the first days of his second residence in the White House. His executive decrees have upset US global relations and threaten US short, medium and long-term interests.
Trumps’ actions have unsettled this already tense region. His call 2.3 million Palestinians to be expelled from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan and for the US to take-over and develop the Strip as a tourist destination has been rejected by Gazans, Hamas which rules Gaza, the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Arab League. They have rejected any attempt to displace Palestinians from their land and called on Trump to support “a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on the two-state solution.” This is, of course, rejected by Israel which has colonised the West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem to pre-empt the emergence of a Palestinian state in this territory illegally occupied by Israel since 1967.
Trump’s administration has backed Israel’s January 30th ban on UNRWA, the UN agency caring for Palestinian refugees, which is meant to end its operations in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. The UN Palestinian Rights Committee condemned the ban as a “direct violation of the General Assembly mandate [resolution 302 of December 1949] and the resolution [supporting UNRWA’s mandate] recently adopted by the General Assembly by an overwhelming majority.” The ban has also been condemned by Britain, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Slovenia and Spain. Belgium’s foreign ministry said the Israeli action “sets a disastrous precedent that deeply undermines the multilateral system and the United Nations itself.”
As soon as he took office, Trump ordered a 90-day halt to US foreign and military aid except for Israel (of course) and Egypt. Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently issued a waver allowing for “life-saving humanitarian assistance” programmes.
The US gives Israel $3.8 billion a year in military aid and Israel has received an additional $17.9 billion during its genocidal and devastating war on Gaza, according to Brown University’s Costs of War Report. The US has given Egypt $1.2 billion in military aid since the 1978 negotiations which led to the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
His ignorant and destructive decree has frozen $95 million allocated mainly for Lebanon’s military as the country’s troops deploy in the south to secure Israel’s withdrawal under the fragile ceasefire between Hizbollah and Israel. This sum had previously been earmarked for Israel and Egypt, the Associated Press reported.
The non-governmental organisation managing Syria’s Al-Hol camp has said it will have to end operations without US funding. Controlled by US-sponsored Syrian Democratic Forces. Al-Hol houses more than 40,000 wives and children of Daesh fighters.
The freeze could negatively impact Jordan ($770 million in 2023) and Yemen ($35.9 million) which receive economic aid through the $95 million provided by the US Agency for International Development. The lion’s share of $14.4 billion has been allocated for Ukraine which is fighting the US-led Western war against Russia.
UN and other humanitarian agencies promptly responded to the freeze by ordering reductions in programmes to cut spending. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for exemptions to “ensure the continued delivery of critical development and humanitarian activities for the most vulnerable communities around the world.” Committed to his “America First” policy, Trump cares little for such communities.
Trump has paused for 30-day his imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico which have threatened to launch a North American trade war. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would impose tariffs on $106.6 billion worth of US imports to his country. These include beer, wine, fresh fruits and vegetables, processed food, seafood, vehicles, dairy, and spare parts, crude and refined petroleum.
Trump justified his tariffs on Mexico by accusing government of being in league with drug cartels which smuggle drugs into the US, an allegation hotly denied by President Claudia Sheinbaum. She charged the Trump administration of “slander” and told the US to cut the illegal southward flow of guns arming the cartels. She asked her trade minister to respond with 25 per cent tariffs and non-tariff measures. the main goods Mexico exports to the US are computers, cars and vehicles, spare parts and accessories.
Trump justified announced tariffs by saying, “This was done through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act because of the major threat of illegal aliens [crossing into the US] and deadly drugs killing our citizens, including [the addictive drug] fentanyl.”
During the pause, Trump can be expected to use tariff leverage to compel Canada and Mexico to capitulate to his demands on border security and other issues.
Beijing said it would lodge a complaint with the World Trade Organisation as Trump levied a blanket 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods. Combined, China, Mexico and Canada accounted for more than 40 per cent of imports into the US last year.
He has also threatened tariffs on the European Union which he claims is taking advantage of the US. Trump stated, “They don’t take our cars, they don’t take our farm Products, they take almost nothing, everything from them.”
The Washington Post reported Trump’s tariffs could cost every US household $1,200 which could be ignored by the wealth and absorbed by the middle class while stressing the working class and driving the poor into debt.
Trump has not forgotten his determination to transform Canada into the 51st US state despite overwhelming Canadian rejection and to buy or occupy Greenland which belongs to Denmark. In Panama on his first trip abroad Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US could take action to reassert control over the waterway if the Panamanian government does not exclude Chinese presence around the canal which connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. The US considers the operations of canal, built by the US between 1904-1914 but ceded to Panama in 1999, a national security issue.
Trump’s ill considered transactional pronouncements and policies have rattled close allies and created global concern over the stability and reliability of the US as the world’s hyperpower.
Michael Jansen is a columnist in the Jordan Times.
CrossFireArabia
Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Slovenia and Spain told the UN Security Council (UNSC) they “deeply deplore” the Israeli parliament’s decision to “abolish” UNRWA’s operations in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
“We condemn Israel’s withdrawal from the 1967 agreement between Israel and UNRWA and any attempt to obstruct its capacity to operate and carry out its UNGA mandate,” the group said in a joint statement to the UNSC.
The bloc also demanded the “suspension of the entry into force” of the Israeli laws banning UNRWA, which they said did not comply with international law and the UN Charter.
“We support UNRWA as part of our humanitarian commitment and our firm defence and respect of international law, including international humanitarian law,” they said.
UNRWA plays a critical role in providing healthcare and education in the occupied Palestinian territories. Since the outbreak of the genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023, the agency has supplied 60% of the food entering the besieged strip.
Israel had told the UNSC on Tuesday that within 48 hours it would cut all contact with UNRWA, ban Israeli officials dealing with the agency, and require the closure of the organisation’s offices in areas under Israeli control.
“UNRWA must cease its operations and evacuate all premises it operates in Jerusalem, including the properties located in Maalot Dafna and Kafr Aqab,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the council.
“The law prohibits UNRWA from operating within Israel’s sovereign borders and bans any communication between Israeli officials and the agency,” Danon said.
“Israel will terminate all collaboration, communication and contact with UNRWA or anyone acting on its behalf,” he said.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UNRWA, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the ban, takes effect on January 30, would “heighten instability and deepen despair in the occupied Palestinian territory at a critical moment.”
“Since October 2023, we have delivered two-thirds of all food assistance, provided shelter to over a million displaced persons and vaccinated a quarter of a million children against polio,” Lazzarini told the Security Council.
“Since the ceasefire began, UNRWA has brought in 60 percent of the food entering Gaza, reaching more than half a million people. We conduct some 17,000 medical consultations every day,” he said according to the Quds News Network.
CrossFireArabia
Pope Francis, Sunday, said Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Lebanon are “immoral” and “disproportionate.”
During his flight back from a four-day trip to Luxembourg and Belgium, the pope was asked about Israel’s targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Friday’s strike on Beirut, which led to many casualties and reduced many buildings to rubble.
“Every day I call the parish of Gaza. More than 600 people are there, inside the parish and the college, and they tell me about the things that are happening, including the cruelties that are occurring there,” he told journalists.
“What you are telling me—I didn’t quite understand how things have been — but defense must always be proportionate to the attack,” he added.
The Israeli army has pounded Lebanon against what it called Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 816 people and injuring over 2,500 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The heavy bombardment also targeted senior Hezbollah commanders and forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,000 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.
“When there is something disproportionate, a domineering tendency that goes beyond morality is evident,” the pope said.
“A country that, with its forces, does these things—I’m talking about any country—that does these things in such a “superlative” way, these are immoral actions,” he added according to the Anadolu news agency.
“Even in war, there is morality to be safe-guarded. War is immoral, but the rules of war indicate some morality. But when this is not respected, you can see—as we say in Argentina—the “bad blood” of these things.”
