Palestinians hope UNESCO designation halts Israeli push at West Bank site

 

Palestinians hope UNESCO designation halts Israeli push at West Bank site

By Ali Sawafta

RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 25 (Reuters) - Palestinian officials welcomed UNESCO's designation of Sebastia in the occupied West Bank as a World Heritage site, hoping it will prevent Israel extending its control at the ancient village, while Israel condemned it as a political decision.

Sebastia, in the northern West Bank, has archaeological remnants from successive periods dating back at least to the 9th-century BC capital of the Israelite kingdom, through the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic periods, Crusader and Ottoman eras, according to UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organisation.

Olive trees surround the site, dotting a landscape of Roman columns, ancient walls and stone steps and an amphitheatre. It is traditionally seen as the burial place of John the Baptist.

But Palestinian residents of the adjacent village, many of whom rely on tourism for a living, are facing land confiscations after Israel announced a plan to seize about ​1,800 dunams (445 acres) at the site, which it said was meant to develop the area.

On Friday, UNESCO added Sebastia to its World Heritage List and to the List of World Heritage in Danger, a related mechanism used to flag listed heritage sites that are facing serious threats, to try and safeguard them.

"We hope that this decision will enable us to preserve Sebastia," said Nizar Kayed, the village deputy mayor. He said that Israel's land seizure decision, announced in late 2025, was part of an Israeli push to expand settlements in the area.

The Palestinian tourism and foreign ministries said on Friday that they hoped the UNESCO recognition would help mobilize international support against Israeli measures there.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the UNESCO decision was part of a Palestinian drive to obscure Jewish ties to the land. "No vote in an international organization can change history," he said in a statement.

Palestinian officials are also concerned about a new Israeli bill, that has yet to be written into law, that would extend Israeli civil control over ancient sites in the West ​Bank.

That in effect would strip away oversight of the ancient sites from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which under the 1990s Oslo peace accords has ​exercised limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank, territory Israel captured in a 1967 war.

Chad, fifth state to leave the ICC, amid US pressure

 

Chad becomes the fifth state to leave the ICC, after US pressure

Chad has become the fifth country to start a formal withdrawal process of the International Criminal Court in recent months, following Venezuela, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

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The statement issued by the Chadian government spokesperson on Monday says that Chad has announced that it had notified the UN Secretariat of "its sovereign decision to withdraw from the Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court (ICC)."

"This decision follows a thorough review of the International Criminal Court's operations since it began functioning in 2002, as well as its track record—characterised by limited and geographically uneven effectiveness," the statement emphasised.

It is also pointing to the Court's "judicial activity focused on the Global South in general and the African continent in particular—which have become the willing victims of the ICC's political instrumentalisation."

Out of the 13 investigations opened by the court since it came into force, nine concern African states, as opposed to four opened in other regions of the world "but without any concrete progress", the Chadian government said.

"The court has only seven people in custody, six of whom are being prosecuted in African situations," it added.

The decision comes amid claims by national and international organisations of Chad's suspected involvement in the conflict in neighbouring Sudan.

Fifth state to leave

Chad announced its withdrawal on Monday after Venezuela, where the ICC had been conducting investigations into allegations of crimes against humanity by the previous government, said late on Friday that it had started the formal procedure to withdraw.

And, in early July the court confirmed that the three military-led African countries in the Sahel, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, formally started their withdrawal, which will take a year to go into effect.

Like Chad's, Venezuela's authorities accused the court of disproportionately focusing on non-Western states.

The African state's announcement also comes just days after 82 of the court's 125 member states voted to dismiss Karim Khan as prosecutor for serious misconduct.

That triggered an election process for a new prosecutor but details still have to be hammered out and a vote is not expected before the new year.

After Khan's removal from office, the court said it will continue to carry out its mandate.

"The ICC remains firmly committed to advancing accountability and delivering justice for victims of crimes that deeply shock the conscience of humanity," it said.

While the ICC member states consider the procedure to find Khan's replacement, the office of the prosecutor will be run by the current deputy prosecutors, Nazhat Shameen Khan from Fiji and Senegal's Mame Mandiaye Niang.

US offensive against the court

According to the statement on Chad's foreign minister's official website last week, the decision to quit the ICC follows a request by the United States.

It said the US deputy secretary of state for African affairs had called on the Chadian government to reconsider its ICC membership during a telephone call on Thursday.

"The American side expressed its concerns about the functioning of this institution and called on Chad to review its accession to the Rome Statute," the statement said.

The United States launched a diplomatic campaign this year to undermine the court and a rise in states withdrawing from the institution.

Court observers say it may be hard to find a good replacement for Khan amid this US's ramped-up diplomatic campaign.

"Who is now going to want to nominate for a position that has such challenges, because they know they will automatically be sanctioned by the US," Melanie O'Brien, professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, told Reuters.

Washington wants the ICC to drop its arrest warrants against Israeli leaders over Gaza and to stop investigating alleged crimes involving US troops.

Officials told Reuters they were considering pressuring countries to withdraw from the court.

The European Union and several of the court's big backers including the Netherlands and Japan, one of the court's biggest financial contributors, have voiced support for the court and concern over the US position but have not announced any practical steps to shore up the institution.

 (with newswires)

Unusual heat hits North Africa hard

 

Unusual heat hits North Africa hard with power cuts in Tunisia, blazes in Algeria

In Tunisia long power outages across the country have added to the strain of an intense heatwave, with temperatures as high as 49C, leaving many fearing for their livelihoods and without power. Meanwhile, in Algeria, more than 100 people were hospitalised after wildfires, the country's interior minister said this week.

"I’m adapting, since the power cuts out every two hours, I avoid stocking up on food so it doesn’t spoil," vendor Mohamed Ali told RFI's reporter in the city of El Fahs, North of Tunisia. "We’ve been in this situation for three weeks, and no one understands what’s going on because the outages happen constantly."

For days, the STEG state electricity and gas company has been issuing daily heat alerts in Tunisia listing neighbourhoods where it would cut electricity to reduce pressure on the national grid.

STEG Chief Executive Faycel Trifa said heavy air conditioner use had pushed the electricity network to its limit.

Another company official told state television that electricity demand may have reached a record six gigawatts on Tuesday, after hitting 5.6 gigawatts only days earlier.

Power and water cuts have affected parts of Tunisia in previous summers, but this year's outages have spread across much of the country. Some residents say their electricity had gone off for up to six hours at a time, others said even longer.

"It feels like God has opened the gates of hell," said an employee at a pastry shop in Tunis, where cakes sat in the dark and the refrigerators had stopped running.

The outages have become one of the country's main talking points, both online and in the streets. Some now say they avoid elevators for fear of being trapped inside.

Human-driven climate change

President Kais Saied said those responsible for the failures should be held accountable. He has also ordered immediate measures to address water and electricity outages, which he described as "abnormal phenomena."

The Young Doctors' Association has recorded nearly 150 heatwave-related deaths.

Tunisian business groups fear the outages are hurting the economy.

Employers' organisation CONECT said the lack of precise schedules for planned cuts made it difficult for companies to prepare for production.

An employee at a factory in a Tunis suburb who requested anonymity said work had almost stopped for two days because of the repeated outages.

One butcher raised concerns over the potential damage to his equipment by the cuts as well as a drop in voltage: "They're going to ruin my refrigerator."

Scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the length, intensity and frequency of heatwaves.  

Tunisia also needed to speed up the development of renewable energy. The country has vast solar potential and favourable conditions for wind power, but the biggest challenge would be storing electricity.

That would require significant public investment, she added, arguing that Tunisia needs "a change of paradigm" diversifying its energy resources.

Drought, extreme warmth and fires

Meanwhile, fires broke out in neighbouring Algeria on Tuesday in Seraidi, a town west of the city of Annaba surrounded by forests.

More than 100 people were hospitalised this week after the wildfires reached nearly 150 homes in a small town in the north-eastern region of the country, according to the interior ministry.

Interior Minister Said Sayoud told reporters at a local hospital that most of the hospitalised people were in a "stable and reassuring" condition, adding that more than 150 homes had been affected by the fires.

Civil protection crews "were still battling the blazes" most of the week, the minister added.

Algeria has been grappling with hundreds of wildfires for days, with at least six people dead in several provinces, according to the interior ministry.

Every summer, northern Algeria is struck by forest fires, a phenomenon exacerbated by drought and climate change.

Dozens of people have been killed in recent years and thousands of hectares of forest or farmland destroyed, along with numerous homes.

A court in Algiers said Wednesday that four people had been placed in pre-trial detention for "setting fires within forest areas" around northeastern Algeria's Constantine province.

 (with AFP)

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For solutions, listen to our podcast episode:

 Climate justice in Africa: floods, fossil fuels and the fightback

Omer Bartov decries Israel's ongoing impunity

 

As NYC Mayor Mamdani calls on Trump to Arrest Netanyahu, Genocide scholar Omer Bartov decries Israel's ongoing impunity

Israeli American Holocaust scholar Omer Bartov says on Democracy Now Israel's assault on Gaza predicts "the future of genocide," with the perpetrator not only enjoying impunity for crimes against humanity but also profiting from the death and destruction. 

He adds that Israeli leaders will almost certainly escape accountability because international allies, including the United States and many European states, have failed to uphold international law.

 Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Livestream at democracynow.org  

On corporate support for Israel’s occupation

Rights groups sue France over failure to prevent corporate support for Israel’s occupation

 

Five human rights organisations filed a legal challenge this Wednesday before the Conseil d’État, France’s highest administrative court, seeking an order requiring the French government to adopt effective measures to prevent French corporate and financial actors from contributing to Israel’s unlawful occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). 

Paris, 22 July 2026. The plaintiffs–the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Jurists for the Respect of International Law (JURDI), the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), La Ligue des droits humains (LDH) and Law for Palestine–argue that France has failed to meet its obligations under international law by not implementing effective measures to prevent companies and financial institutions from engaging in trade, investment, and other commercial activities that sustain Israel’s continued unlawful presence in the OPT. They are represented by Henri Thulliez, Yacine Baita, and Frédéric Thiriez, and advised by Open Society Justice Initiative. The defendants include the French Prime Minister and several ministers responsible for the economy, foreign affairs, and commerce.

The case builds on the July 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in which the Court said it is of the opinion that Israel’s continued presence in the OPT is unlawful and clarified that all states are obligated not to recognise as legal the situation arising from Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and to neither render aid nor assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s continued presence in the OPT. The World Court further clarified that states must take steps to prevent trade and investment relations that contribute to the illegal occupation. The applicants contend that France has not translated these obligations into concrete regulatory or enforcement measures.

James Goldston, Executive Director of Open Society Justice Initiative, said "The International Court of Justice left no doubt that states cannot stand on the sidelines when faced with legal obligations. This case is about ensuring that France halts any aid or assistance for the unlawful occupation of Palestine. International law only has force if states are prepared to implement it in practice."

Ihsan Adel, Founder and Chair of Law for Palestine, stressed that "States cannot comply with their obligations while settlement goods remain on their markets and corporations continue settlement-related business activities."

The ICJ’s position on third-states obligations towards the situation in the OPT underscore that the occupation has been sustained not only by military force but also by the economic support of third states and private actors to the detriment of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and sovereignty over their land and resources.

Alexis Deswaef, President of FIDH, described the case "as an opportunity for the Conseil d’État to take a strong stance and reaffirm the State’s responsibilities with respect to corporate activities in occupied Palestine."

Ghislain Poissonnier, Vice President for JURDI, said: "JURDI notes that despite the ICJ’s 2024 Advisory Opinion, deeming the occupation illegal, France has not acted, making legal action necessary to end its corporate support to the illegal situation in occupied Palestine".

Although France recognised the State of Palestine in September 2025, it has not implemented effective measures that address any economic and commercial relations linked to the illegal occupation.

Before filing the case, the plaintiffs formally requested that the French government adopt measures to comply with the binding legal obligations set out in the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion, including preventing trade and investment that sustain the unlawful situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and ensuring French companies do not contribute to it. The government did not respond but issued new recommendations to French businesses operating in the settlements on June 30th, 2026, that expose "themselves to the risk of being found guilty of violating international law".

For the claimants, the government failed to respond to their request, which amounts to an implicit administrative decision allowing the plaintiffs to challenge it before the Conseil d’État. They argue that this inaction contradicts France’s own public support for the Advisory Opinion and its acknowledgment of the duty to distinguish between Israel and the OPT in economic dealings. Citing evidence that French companies continue operating in sectors such as transportation, construction, finance, and commercial services in the OPT, the plaintiffs contend that France has failed to regulate corporate conduct and prevent businesses from contributing to violations of Palestinians’ rights. They are asking the Conseil d’État to declare the State’s inaction unlawful and order measures to ensure compliance with international law, including restrictions on occupation-linked trade and investment, corporate safeguards, and monitoring mechanisms.

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Read our Questions and answers here.

Mamdani on Netanyahu

 

'Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal.'

- Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Mayor of New York City

"The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu for a reason. He should be arrested and stand trial. My administration examined every legal avenue available to determine whether New York City could execute that warrant. The law is clear: we do not have that authority. The federal government does." 

"So we are calling on the United States to uphold international law, cooperate with the ICC, apprehend Benjamin Netanyahu and transfer him to The Hague to face justice. We cannot end this genocide on our own. But we can use every tool available to defend humanity and uphold justice. That is the responsibility of this city. And it is my commitment as mayor."

Stop atrocities in Sudan's El-Obeid

 

G7, EU urge halt to attacks in Sudan's El-Obeid, calls for wider arms embargo

G7 foreign ministers and the European Union's foreign policy chief on Wednesday urged Sudan's Rapid Support Forces and allied armed groups to stop all actions that could lead to further atrocities or endanger civilians in El-Obeid.

Displaced women in El Obeid (Reuters)

"We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union urge the Rapid Support Forces and allied armed groups to immediately cease any action likely to lead to further atrocities or endanger civilians in El-Obeid, including drone strikes and impediments to humanitarian access," the statement reads.

The ministers also called on all parties, including the Sudanese army, to cease hostilities, allow aid access and engage in good-faith talks.

"Following the atrocities committed during the Rapid Support Forces’ siege and attack on El Fasher, we remain gravely concerned about alleged severe violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law across Kordofan and Darfur regions, as well as Blue Nile in Sudan," the statement continues.

The countries urge the Rapid Support Forces, as well as the Sudanese Armed Forces and allied armed groups, "to abide by their obligations under the rules of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as applicable," it adds, as "civilians must be protected."

The G7 therefore calls on parties to the conflict to guarantee safe voluntary passage, and to facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access into and around El-Obeid and throughout the country.

Ministers also backed United Nations' efforts to de-escalate the crisis, called on the UN Security Council to expand the Darfur arms embargo to all of Sudan, urged external actors to halt military and financial support to the warring sides, and vowed to promote accountability for violations while supporting Sudan's unity and democratic aspirations.

"We support the efforts of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Mr. Pekka Haavisto, to advance de-escalation in El-Obeid and support ongoing broader efforts by the Quad and the Quintet to achieve a humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire and an independent, inclusive, transparent and civilian-led political dialogue," the statement reads.

Spiralling crisis

Sudan has been at war since April 2023, with serious reports of human rights violations and crimes against humanity.

This war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, now in its fourth year, has displaced millions and devastated much of the country. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of worsening food insecurity and limited humanitarian access.

The conflict has been described as the current worst humaniratian crisis in the world by the UN.

According to a senior World Food Programme (WFP) official, the country now risks sliding backwards into deeper hunger as conflict, aid funding cuts and rising agricultural costs driven by disruption linked to the Iran war threaten to reverse gains made after famine took hold in parts of the country, said on Tuesday.

Around 5 million people facing emergency or catastrophic levels of hunger, even after an intensive aid response helped reduce the number of people in famine-like conditions, Carl Skau, the WFP's acting executive director, told Reuters.

"It's a massive crisis, both in terms of numbers, but also the gravity," he said, adding that more than 100,000 people were still facing famine-like conditions, placing them in the highest level of the UN-backed IPC hunger classification.

"With these kinds of numbers in IPC (Phase) 5 starvation it is extremely, extremely serious," he said.

Across Sudan, nearly 19.5 million people face high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the IPC.

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On the evolution of the war, you can also listen to our recent podcast episode:

Sudan: Three years of war and new reports of meddling by Ethiopia

Gorillaz

 

Gorillaz - 'Damascus' 

(ft. Omar Souleyman & Yasiin Bey) 

 Live Together For Palestine

'Comfortably Numb Re-Imagined' for Palestine

 

Roger Waters & Mona Miari – 'Comfortably Numb Re-Imagined' (Official Music Video)

A new interpretation of “Comfortably Numb”, a collaboration between Roger Waters and Palestinian artist Mona Miari.

Featuring newly written verses in English and Arabic, the work reframes the song through themes of displacement, memory, loss, and the enduring pursuit of justice and human dignity. Created with artists from Palestine and beyond, this audio-visual piece transcends borders and languages, offering a powerful reflection on resilience, truth, and the shared humanity that binds us all.

Donate to PCRF: https://give.pcrf.net/campaign/pcrf-f... If this project resonates with you, please like, comment, share, and subscribe. Every share helps our message reach new audiences around the world. https://comfortablynumbreimagined.com

Uganda media shutdown - Update

 

Journalists fear harsher clampdown in Uganda after army chief's shutdown of media

The most prominent media in Uganda are still unable to operate after the army chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, also the son of President Museveni and his potential successor, ordered a military shutdown on Sunday of the largest group's headquarters in Kampala. The move is generating strong criticisms.

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Melissa Chemam

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The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) condemned in a statement a "naked act of aggression and attack on media freedom", and called for the "immediate reopening of these media houses".

It added that journalists and media workers should be allowed "to continue their work without any form of harassment and intimidation."

FAJ President Omar Faruk Osman said that "the deployment of soldiers to storm and shut down Uganda's leading independent media houses is one of the clearest manifestations of authoritarian rule and the deepening culture of impunity that now silences the few remaining foundations of democratic governance in the country."

A veteran journalist from the channel told AFP on condition of anonymity on Sunday: "We were shut down by the army—both the studios and the NTV offices. He added: "No one is allowed in or out. Those who were working last night were ordered to leave by the army."

Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda, which owns NTV Uganda and Spark TV, said it remained under military siege throughout Sunday, "with several armed personnel deployed at its headquarters in Namuwongo and broadcast centres at the Kampala Serena International Conference Centre."

Both channels are still off air on Monday, disrupting the country's largest independent media house's work.

Late on Sunday, veteran journalist and Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) leader Andrew Mwenda said an agreement had been reached with the army chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, to reopen NTV Uganda and the nation's largest independent English-language daily newspaper.

But on Monday, NMG said they hadn't received any official communication.

Kainerugaba "has over the past months become very influential on almost everything in the country," a freelance journalist told me. "He makes orders on social media, which lead to arrests of people. To him, it displays pure abuse of power."

Attacks on journalism

NMG is the largest independent media house in East and Central Africa with operations in print, broadcast and digital media which attract, serving the largest audiences across East Africa.

In Uganda, NMG also owns the Daily Monitor, The East African, 93.3 KFM, 90.4 Dembe FM, Ennyanda newspaper and the Nation Courier, among other media platforms and investments.

The Daily Monitor reported on Sunday that military personnel had been deployed at NMG's premises in the capital, Kampala, and that staff were being prevented from leaving or entering the premises.

NTV Uganda and other NMG TV and radio broadcasters in the country were all down as of Sunday early morning, from 5am.

Uganda's military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also President Yoweri Museveni's son, announced on Sunday that he had ordered the closure of two leading media outlets, declaring that he did "not believe in a free press".

Kainerugaba wrote on his X social media account that the Daily Monitor - Uganda's largest independent daily newspaper - and NTV Uganda, one of the country's largest private broadcasters, would "not reopen without my permission".

"In Uganda, I do not believe in a free press! The press should be guided by cadres of the revolution," Kainerugaba stated in a series of threatening posts on the platform.

He added: "The closure of NTV and Monitor is just the beginning. We are going to arrest many more."

The government of Museveni already shut down the Daily Monitor for 10 days in 2013 over reports regarding his succession.

Kainerugaba has been mentioned as a likely successor to his ageing father, especially after January's elections.

Museveni has ruled the country since 1986. His son is known for his controversial social media posts, which included threats to "behead" the opposition leader Bobi Wine.

Condamnations

'It is a true sign of state capture', a reader of the Monitor wrote on social media.

Lwanga Majja Achillis, a lawyer and campaigner, wrote: "Civic responsibility means respecting institutions, the rule of law and press freedom. Shutting down media houses bse of criticism only proves that our greatest obstacle to progress is often ourselves, not our past."

Regional and international media bodies condemned the developments and called for restraint.

The East African Press Councils (EAPC) urged governments across the region to de-escalate hostilities with the media, saying the shutdown of NMG operations in Uganda reflected "growing pressure on independent journalism."

"This violates constitutional, regional and global human rights State obligations, including denial of right to access information and endangering the lives of journalists," read the EAPC statement signed by its Chairperson David Omwoyo, who is also the Media Council of Kenya CEO.

The East Africa Journalists Federation (EAJF) also condemned the crackdown saying: "We wish to remind Gen Muhoozi that terrorising the media is no solution to challenges the country is facing and fast-fading public trust in President Museveni's regime.”

International bodies Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Amnesty, and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also strongly condemned the shutdown.

CPJ wrote on X the group called "on the Ugandan authorities to immediately restore broadcasts, end the security operation at Nation Media Group, publicly reaffirm respect for press freedom, and ensure that journalists can carry out their work without interference or fear of reprisal."