news

admin

CIR denounces renewal of Framework agreement between UNRWA, US

/in , , /by

CIR denounces renewal of Framework agreement between UNRWA, US

 

Council on International Relations – Palestine denounced the renewal of the Framework Agreement between the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees “UNRWA” and the United States of America which guarantees the flow of US aid to UNRWA in return for UNRWA being committed to obligations that affect the essence and purpose of its work.

 

The Council said in a statement issued, Saturday, that the agreement makes the United States an observer of UNRWA and its work and will enable it to evaluate Palestinian curricula and change them to obliterate Palestinian rights and constants.

 

The CIR added: “The agreement has serious human rights implications for both UNRWA staff and its beneficiaries, including the right to freedom of expression, resistance and action against the occupation.”

 

“The renewal of the Framework Agreement, although it secures financial assistance, has clear political and security motives. Its ultimate goal is the interests of the occupation in liquidating the Palestinian refugee issue and the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.” the Council added.

 

The Council called on the UNRWA to retract the agreement, and called on member states to increase funding for UNRWA to protect it from conditional and illegal political blackmail. It also called on UNRWA to disengage from all agreements that restrict its work and deviate it from its primary goals.

admin

CIR welcomes UN experts’ statement on ending forced displacement and annexation of occupied territory

/in , /by

Council on International Relations welcomed the statement by United Nations experts who shed light on the war crime of the Israeli forced evictions and displacement of Palestinians in east Jerusalem.

 

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Council indicated that the experts’ statement reflects the serious situation in which the Palestinians live in occupied east Jerusalem, and the occupation’s schemes to Judaize the entire city.

 

The Israeli occupation has been carrying out malicious schemes for decades to empty the city of Palestinians and extend settler control over it, by enacting unjust laws aimed at changing the demographic structure of the Holy City, The Council pointed out.

 

The Gaza-based body affirmed that such schemes and legislations flagrantly violate international law, which guarantees the Palestinians their right to live in safety and peace in Jerusalem, and obliges the occupying power not to change the status quo.

 

The Council called for the occupation to be prosecuted under the Rome Statute, and for the international community to confront such schemes by imposing sanctions to force the occupying power to end its occupation and retreat from its criminal policies.

 

The international community must take immediate action to stop “Israel”’s forced evictions and displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem as part of Israel’s annexation and de-Palestinianisation of the city, UN experts said Thursday.

admin

CIR: Electing Danon member of Terrorism Committee of IPU represents support for Israeli terrorism

/in , , /by

Council on International Relations – Palestine expressed its strong condemnation of the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s selection of Danny Danon as a member of the IPU’s Anti-Terrorism Committee, considering the move as explicit support for the continued Israeli terrorism against the Palestinian people.

 

The Council said in a statement issued, Monday, that allowing the nomination of the occupation representative as a candidate in the union elections is in itself a disgrace to those gathered at the conference.

 

“It was more appropriate for the members of the union, which represents the free peoples of the world, to expel the occupation and cancel its membership in the union, especially after the recent massacres and the escalating settler crimes”, the CIR added.

 

The Gaza-based body called on the Union and its members to reconsider the decision, work to sanction the Israeli occupation state, and harmonize with the escalating positions of international human rights institutions that accuse the occupation of committing the crime of apartheid and war crimes against the Palestinians.

 

Yesterday, the Inter-Parliamentary Union elected the head of the Israeli delegation, Danny Danon, in a secret ballot by representatives from 47 countries around the world, to be a member of the Anti-Terrorism Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), defeating the representatives of Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden.

admin

Significant Surge in Israeli Terrorism against Palestinians, CIR Report Reveals

/in , , /by

Council on International Relations – Palestine (CIR) said in a new report issued, Monday, that 2022 was the bloodiest and most brutal year against the Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories since 2005, as 230 Palestinians were killed, thousands injured, and hundreds of homes and institutions were demolished.

 

The CIR said that the report that monitored the violations of the Israeli occupation during 2022 shows that these crimes are nothing but state terrorism and not individual acts, regardless of what the Israeli government is, whether right or left.

 

The report included monitoring the Israeli violations against Palestinian children, women, prisoners, journalists, property, sanctities, and the ongoing settlement schemes.

 

The Council’s report stated: “In light of this apartheid and brutal policy, especially under the new government, if there is no immediate and firm intervention from the international community to curb it, the worst is yet to come. A mass explosion is only a matter of time, and hundreds and thousands of innocent civilians will lose their lives.”

 

“The new Israeli government may be clearer and brazen in expressing this policy, but only in form and not in substance”, the Gaza-based body added.

 

The Council called on the international community to review its policies in light of the Israeli violations of human rights, and not to be content with statements and remarks that grant the occupation immunity from any punishment, but rather encourage it to continue with these crimes.

 

See the report

admin

Report: Shocking figures 16 years after siege of Gaza imposed

/in , , , /by

Council on International Relations (CIR) issued Wednesday a comprehensive report highlighting the repercussions of the stifling Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip.

 

The Gaza Strip, according to the report, is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with approximately 2.35 million people (47.3% of them children under 18 years of age) living in a narrow coastal enclave of only 360 square kilometers.

 

The refugees who were displaced due to the Israeli occupation in 1948 is and 1967, constitute approximately 71% of the total population live in camps that lack the minimum necessities of a decent human life.

 

The report said: “The siege has had profound effects on the living conditions in Gaza, heavily impacting economic and social conditions, infrastructure, and health and education services. This report reviews the repercussions of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip for more than 16 years by documenting a set of figures and facts that were monitored by governmental, local and international reports.”

 

“What makes life in Gaza even more tragic is the unjust siege imposed by the Israeli occupation since 2006, when the Palestinian Movement Hamas won the Palestinian elections,” the report added.

According to the CIR, the disastrous effects of the siege is prompted the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to call for considering the siege a flagrant violation of the international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, and a form of collective punishment practiced by the Israeli occupation against the residents of the Gaza Strip.

 

See the full Report

admin

Israeli occupation deliberately killing Abu Hamid war crime: CIR

/in , , /by

Council on International Relations (CIR) affirmed that the deliberate killing of the Palestinian detainee Nasser Abu Hamid by the Israeli occupation through medical negligence is a war crime and a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

 

The CIR in a statement Wednesday denounced the international silence towards this crime, in conjunction with their continuous weeping over the captive Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

 

“The occupation does not care about any international agreements or positions, flouting international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions which provides for the provision of medical care to detainees and their release in case of severe illness”, the Cir added.

 

The Gaza-based body called on the international community, human rights institutions and the International Committee of the Red Cross to condemn this crime and pressure on the occupying state to hand over the body of the martyr for burial, and to stop the policy of detaining the bodies of the martyrs.

 

The Council called, as well, on the permanent international fact-finding committee to open an urgent investigation into the circumstances of the Nasser death, announce its results, and hold the perpetrators accountable., including obligating the occupation authorities to assume their legal responsibilities towards Palestinian detainees.

admin

CIR: Celebrating Int’l Human Rights Day opportunity to highlight Israeli crimes

/in , , /by

The Palestinian people are still deprived of their human rights because of the ongoing occupation, crimes, siege and aggression, Council on International Relations – Palestine (CIR) said in a statement issued Saturday.

The Council said the International Human Rights Day coincides with ongoing deterioration of the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories, in light of violations of the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international law and international humanitarian law.

The CIR added that the Israeli aggression continued through full-scale military attacks, and the imposition of an illegal and comprehensive siege on the Gaza Strip, which constitutes collective punishment and crimes against humanity under the rules of international humanitarian law.

“The occupation continues to violate the Palestinian human rights through further Judaization of Jerusalem, the demolition of homes, the expulsion of Palestinian residents from their homes, the construction of more settlement units and the theft of land,” the statement said.

The Council called upon the international community and institutions of international law to shoulder their responsibilities and put pressure on the Israeli occupation in order to abide by the rules and principles of international law.

The CIR also called on the International Criminal Court to hold the Israeli war criminals accountable for their ongoing and systematic crimes the Palestinian people.

admin

International Conference in Gaza Confirms that Gaza Blockade Is War Crime

/in , , , /by

Speakers during an international conference, entitled “16 Years of the Gaza Siege; Repercussions and Prospects” that was held today, Monday, November 28, 2022, in Gaza City confirmed that the continuation of the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip is a war crime against the Palestinians and a disgrace to the world.

During the conference held by the Council on International Relations – Palestine, the speakers called on the international community to work to end this unjust siege, which represents a disgrace to humanity in the twenty-second century.

The conference hosted a group of international figures who have played an important role and had outstanding contributions in terms of attempts to break the Israeli occupation blockade imposed on the city.

The conference aims, according to its organizers, to shed light on the repercussions of the Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza 16 years ago on the political, social, and economic levels, and to seek to activate the international and solidarity movement again against the blockade imposed on Gaza.

Figures representing the governmental sectors and Palestinian civil society, as well as characters representing the international community, participated in the conference to address the repercussions of the blockade imposed on the Strip.

“Our people are suffering in all fields and are deprived of their most basic rights to housing and medicine, and their suffering will remain evidence of the crime of genocide committed against humanity,” said Mohammed Hashim al-Farrar, deputy head of the Government Action Follow-up Committee, in a speech during the conference.

Al-Farra added, “Gaza was subjected to a suffocating humanitarian blockade, and strict restrictions and war were imposed on the Strip in all humanitarian fields.”

He explained that the industrial and productive sector was paralyzed, while more than 80% of the factories were closed due to the blockade, indicating that the electrical deficit in the Gaza Strip reached more than 50% due to the continuation of the blockade.

Al-Farra stated that the blockade caused an increase in poverty, unemployment, a housing crisis, health and financial disability, and the death of many patients because the Israeli occupation prevented them from traveling abroad for medical treatment.

He called on the international community to work to end this unjust blockade, which represents a disgrace to humanity in the twenty-second century, thanking all parties that stood by the Palestinian people during the blockade and supported them in all forms.

In turn, Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif Al-Qanou said that the blockade have been imposed on Gaza 16 years ago is a human crime against the Palestinian people, and a disgrace to the world that deals with double standards, stressing that the Palestinian people will not accept the continuation of the blockade.

For his part, Khader Habib, a leader in the Islamic Jihad Movement, affirmed that the Palestinian people will not compromise on their resistance, and will face the blockade with all the legitimate means available to them.

As well, a member of the Central Committee of the Popular Front, Maher Mezher, described the continuation of the blockade as a war crime that requires all efforts to end it.

Mezher stressed the right of the Palestinian resistance to activate all options to confront the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip for 16 years.

As for the official spokesman of the National Initiative Movement in Gaza, Yaghi Aed, he said that the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza is a war crime that reflects the policy of state terrorism, stressing that the Palestinian people will continue their way to end the siege and liberate their land in order to establish their state.

The conference activities include 3 sessions, in addition to the opening and closing sessions. The first sessions focused on the repercussions of the blockade imposed on Gaza, the second dealt with the experiences of breaking the blockade on Gaza, and the third session dealt with the future of the blockade imposed on the Strip.

admin

CIR to hold International conference highlighting Gaza siege impacts after 16 years

/in , , /by

Council on International Relations – Palestine (CIR) is to hold an international conference highlighting the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, with the participation of international and Arab figures.

The conference “16 Years of the Siege of Gaza: Repercussions and Prospects” will host as well a group of international figures who played an important role and had distinguished contributions in terms of attempts to break the siege imposed on the coastal enclave.

The conference aims, according to the CIR, to shed light on the impacts of the 16-year long siege at the political, social and economic levels, mobilize the international and solidarity movement and attract official political positions to reject the siege.

The event will be attended by figures representing the Gaza government committee and civil society; to address the repercussions of the siege.

The three sessions of the conference will include three aspects. The first highlights the repercussions of the siege, the second deals with the experiences of breaking the siege on Gaza, and the final session deals with the future of the siege.

The Gaza Strip has been suffering for 16 years from a strict and stifling siege imposed by the Israeli occupation, as a punishment for the results of the democratic process and the Palestinians electing Hamas to lead the Palestinian political decision.

 

To follow the conference activities tomorrow via live broadcast:

Facebook: https://fb.me/e/3avnaTNgf

or via YouTube:

admin

CIR mourns death of Swiss Michel Bühler, prominent supporter of Palestine

/in , /by

CIR mourns death of Swiss Michel Bühler, prominent supporter of Palestine

Council on International Relations expressed its deepest condolences over the death of the Swiss author, writer and artist, Michel Bühler, one of the most prominent supporters of the Palestinian people and their just cause.

In a condolences letter sent to Bühler’s widow, the CIR said that Bühler was known for his bold stances with the Palestinian people and their rights, and for his courageous support of the oppressed peoples everywhere.

The Council add: “We recall when a delegation of parliamentarians and Europeans visited Gaza in 2010, everyone was busy visiting the sites bombed by the Israeli occupation, while Bühler asked for arranging meetings with children and youth to hear their suffering through art and music.

Bühler left nearly 300 songs, wrote about 30 books and plays, and fought many battles for justice and human dignity.