UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – The United Nations' highest court will hold hearings starting Monday on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories since 1967, calling for an unprecedented 52 countries.
New American attacks against the Houthis in Yemen, Rafah under threat of an offensive, violence in the West Bank… Le Figaro takes stock on Monday February 19 of the latest events related to the conflict between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas.
Palestinians accuse Israel of “apartheid” at the International Court of Justice.
Palestinian diplomacy chief Riad Al-Maliki told the United Nations' highest court on Monday that his people were suffering from “colonialism and apartheid” under Israeli occupation. “The Palestinians suffer from both colonialism and apartheid” and “some are outraged by these words, but they should be outraged by the reality that is ours,” Riad Al-Maliki told the International Court of Justice.
Riad Al-Maliki called on the court to declare the occupation illegal and order its “immediate, complete and unconditional end.” “Justice delayed is justice denied, and the Palestinian people have been denied justice for far too long,” he said. “It is time to put an end to the double standards” that the Palestinian people have suffered “for too long.”
Israel makes Ramadan the deadline for an offensive against Rafah
” data-script=”https://static.lefigaro.fr/widget-video/short-ttl/video/index.js” >
Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, a member of Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet, warned on Sunday that Israel would launch an offensive against the city of Rafah if Israeli hostages held in Gaza were not released. “The world needs to know and Hamas leaders need to know: if the hostages are not home by Ramadan, fighting will continue everywhere, including in the Rafah region,” he said. Former head of the Israeli army. “To those who say the price is too high, I say clearly: Hamas has a choice. They can surrender, free the hostages, and the civilian population of Gaza will be able to celebrate the holiday of Ramadan,” he added in a speech to the Conference of Presidents of Major Organizations. American Jews gathered in Jerusalem. Ramadan, the holy month of Muslims, begins around March 10th.
Despite calls from part of the international community, Benjamin Netanyahu's government appears determined to launch an offensive against the city of Rafah, supported by Egypt's closed border, where 1.4 million people are staying. Most displaced people live in very harsh conditions. Benny Gantz reiterated that an offensive would be coordinated and carried out within the framework of a dialogue with the Americans and Egyptians “by facilitating the evacuation of civilians” in order to minimize the number of casualties in their ranks “as much as possible.”
New US attacks against the Houthis in Yemen
The American army announced on Sunday that it had carried out new strikes against missiles, a drone and a submarine belonging to the Houthi rebels in Yemen the previous day. The army “successfully carried out five self-defense strikes against three mobile anti-ship missile systems, an autonomous submarine and a naval surface drone” between 3pm and 8pm local time (12pm and 5pm GMT) in the United States on Saturday. The military's Middle East Command, Centcom, said in a statement.
“This is the first time since the attacks began on October 23 that (the army) has detected the use of an autonomous submarine by the Houthis,” © Centcom added. In addition, the security company Ambrey, which specializes in maritime transport, reported a new attack in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, targeting a cargo ship. The Houthis say they are attacking ships they believe are linked to Israel, whose main military ally is the United States, and claim to support the Palestinians in Gaza.
West Bank: Three Palestinians killed, including a member of an armed group
Three Palestinians were killed in the north of the occupied West Bank on Sunday, including a member of an armed group in an Israeli attack, we have learned from consistent sources. These incidents come against a backdrop of high tensions and intensifying violence in this Palestinian territory since the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7 and the start of the war in Gaza. On Sunday, European diplomacy chief Josep Borrell estimated that tensions in the West Bank, including increasing attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians, were “the real obstacle” to a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians.
In Tulkarem, two men aged 19 and 36 were shot dead after Israeli forces raided the refugee camp, one of the largest in the region, the health ministry of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority said. At least five other people were injured in this operation, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. The Israeli army said soldiers moved to arrest a man, Mohammed Oufi, suspected of “being involved in attacks against Israeli forces and murders of people suspected of collaborating with them in Tulkarem.” “Terrorists opened fire and threw explosives at Israeli forces, who responded” and killed the suspect, who was “armed,” it added, stating that an Israeli police officer was “seriously injured and hospitalized.”
In a statement, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military branch of Fatah, the movement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, hailed the “sacrifice” of the two men and said that Mohammed Oufi was one of its leaders in the Palestinian Authority region.
The ICJ discussed the consequences of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories
The United Nations' highest court will hold hearings starting Monday on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories since 1967, with an unprecedented 52 countries called to testify. The United States, Russia and China will address the judges during a week-long session at the Peace Palace in The Hague, home of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
On December 31, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution requesting the International Court of Justice for a non-binding “advisory opinion” on the “legal consequences” of Israeli policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem. The resolution was adopted with 87 votes in favor, 26 against and 53 abstentions, with Western states divided on the issue while Arab countries voted unanimously in favor. These hearings are entirely separate from South Africa's recent, high-profile applications to the United Nations' main judicial body.
Read alsoIsrael-Hamas war: The Jewish state is accused of genocide in Gaza and defends itself at the International Court of Justice
” data-script=”https://static.lefigaro.fr/widget-video/short-ttl/video/index.js” >