The UN and Palestine

 

US Breaches Agreement by Banning Palestine from Attending

Washington D.C., August 29, 2025 – In response to the U.S. State Department's decision to deny visas to Palestinian Authority officials ahead of the September UN General Assembly meeting, DAWN issues the following statement:

"The UNGA should hold its September meeting in Geneva to allow Palestine to participate," said Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN's executive director. "Moving the meeting there will send a message to the Trump administration that the international community does not tolerate these breaches of long standing law requiring access to all representatives."

The UN Headquarters Agreement of 1947 requires the United States to provide unfettered access to UN proceedings for all representatives, regardless of bilateral disputes. Section 11 establishes an "unrestricted right" for officials to enter the U.S. for UN business, while Section 12 states these provisions apply "irrespective of the relations existing between the Governments" and the U.S.

This is not the first time the United States has violated its obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement. In 1988, the U.S. denied a visa to Palestine Liberation Organisation Chairman Yasser Arafat to attend the UN General Assembly. The UN responded by adopting a resolution concluding that Washington had violated its obligations under the 1947 Agreement and, as a rebuke, moved its General Assembly meeting from New York to Geneva to allow the Palestinian leader to speak.

"The international community can no longer allow American obstructionism to silence Palestinians and prevent accountability for Israeli war crimes and genocide in Palestine," said Raed Jarrar, DAWN's advocacy director. "Whether the UNGA meets in Geneva or not, it is time for the international community to deploy peacekeeping forces to protect Palestinians from Israel's genocide." 

DAWN has called on the UNGA to deploy international peacekeeping forces to Gaza under a "Uniting for Peace" resolution. More information is in our petition at www.bit.ly/peaceforcenow

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The Global Sumud flotilla to depart for Gaza

 

Update: 

Largest flotilla for Gaza set sail this week, hoping to end the blockade 

 

Flotilla carrying activists, aid was setting sail for Gaza on Sunday 31 August 2025, despite a little delay due to strong wind

Authors, activists, and Portuguese politician Mortagua are among passengers

Activists call on politicians to pressure Israel to let the boats through

 

Photo: Gulcin Bekar

  Pro-Palestinian activists are setting sail from Spain this week for Gaza in dozens of boats carrying aid have called on governments to pressure Israel to allow their flotilla - the largest to date - through the naval blockade: Hundreds of people from 44 countries departing from several ports to Gaza as part of the Global Sumud flotilla. 

Sumud means "perseverance" in Arabic.

The vessels are to set off from the Spanish port city of Barcelona to “open a humanitarian corridor and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people”, said the Global Sumud Flotilla.

Dozens more vessels are expected to leave from Tunisia other Mediterranean ports on 4 September.

The flotilla is expected to arrive at the war-ravaged coastal enclave in mid-September. 

The ball is in politicians' court to put pressure on Israel to let the flotilla through, said Saif Abukeshek, one of the organisers. "They need to act to defend human rights and to guarantee a safe passage for this flotilla," the Palestinian, who is resident in Spain, told news agencies on Thursday in Barcelona.

“This will be the largest solidarity mission in history, with more people and more boats than all previous attempts combined,” Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila also told journalists in Barcelona last week.

Activists will also stage simultaneous demonstrations and other protests in 44 countries in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

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The Global Sumud Flotilla launching from Barcelona is initiating the largest maritime challenge to the illegal siege on Gaza since 2007. 

This civilian mission wants to be "a powerful testament to the belief that when governments fail, people must act". 

A press conference with our steering committee members preceded the official departure.

On board of the flotilla, activists from several countries, as well as European lawmakers and public figures, such as former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau and leftwing Portuguese lawmaker Mariana Mortágua. 

“We understand that this is a legal mission under international law,” Mortágua told journalists in Lisbon last week.

Among the activists on board: 

-Saif Abukeshek, Palestinian activist based in Barcelona, who has been organising Palestinian solidarity across Europe for over 20 years;

-Kleoniki Alexopoulou, a Greek economic and social historian specialising in the Global South; 

-Yasemin Acar, a dedicated Turkish-German human rights activist and organiser with a focus on social justice, refugee rights, combating anti-Muslim racism;

-Thiago Ávila, a communicator and a socio-environmentalist from Brazil who travels the world informing, educating, and mobilising against exploitation, oppression, and the destruction of nature, especially in the Global South, he was one of the coordinators onboard the Madleen mission that was intercepted and kidnapped by Israel in June 2025;

-Muhammad Nadir Al-Nuri, a Malaysian humanitarian leader and founder of Cinta Gaza Malaysia (CGM);

-Notable figures including: Susan Sarandon, Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, Abby Martin, Greg Stoker, Ahmed Kouta, Dr. Mohammed Mustafa, Rahma Zein, Sümeyra Akdeniz Ordu, Liam Cunningham, Emma Forreau, Nicole Jenes, Tadhg Hickey, Robert Martin, the Swedish climate justice advocate Greta Thunberg, Gustaf Skarsgård, and others.

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Israel has scuppered numerous attempts over the 15 years of the blockade, including a 2010 boarding by its special forces in which at least nine Turkish activists were killed. 

In June, 12 activists on board the sailboat Madleen were intercepted by Israeli forces 185km west of Gaza. Its passengers, including French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassa, were detained and eventually expelled. 

Then in July, 21 activists from 10 countries were intercepted as they tried to approach Gaza in another vessel, the Handala.

Israel has imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, saying it aims to stop weapons from reaching the militant group.

The blockade has remained in place through conflicts including the current war, which began when Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on 7 October, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies.

Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed almost 63,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Gaza, while global hunger monitors including the United Nations say it is suffering from famine.

In early March, Israel also sealed off Gaza by land, letting in no supplies for three months, arguing that Hamas was diverting aid.

On Radio Bristol with DJ Style

Thirty five years ago, on October 15, 1990, the song 'Daydreaming' by Massive Attack came out in the UK as the Bristol band's first single, six months before their debut album, 'Blue Lines'.... 

>> Tonight, I looked again at what this sort of sound and its multiculturalism offered to England. It was on Radio Bristol, at 8:10pm local time, with the super cool DJ Style - link to listen online:

Kevin Philemon

DJ Style sits in (29/08/2025)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002h8wc

Our 12-minute-long interview, isolated, here:

https://soundcloud.com/melissa-chemam-1/bbc-radio-bristol-x-dj-style-x-melissa-chemam-29aug25

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An article too: 

Massive Attack & the birth of the “Bristol Sound” — Reader’s Digest

Massive Attack: Out Of The Comfort Zone

The Story of a Sound, A City - Bristol - and a Group of Revolutionary Artists

Author Melissa Chemam's in-depth study of the influences that led to the formation of the Wild Bunch and then Massive Attack looks into Bristol's past to explore how the city helped shape one of the most successful and innovative musical movements of the last 30 years.

Chemam gives a unique insight into Massive Attack - 3D, Daddy G and Mushroom - their influences, collaborations and politics and the way in which they opened the door for other Bristol musicians and artists including Banksy.

 

We saw Tshegue at Jazz à la Villette...

 

... and they were amazing!

Congolese music is always a good idea!

Jazz à la Villette 2025 | Festival du 28 août au 7 septembre

Zeyne - Hilwa

 

Zeyne - Hilwa | زين - حلوة 

Palestinian-Jordanian artist Zeyne this summer unveils her latest single, “Hilwa,” a soul-stirring anthem of self-love, generational strength, and cultural pride. 

The track was eleased via MDLBEAST Records in partnership with her own imprint, Scarab Records. 

And the singer is herself praised for her role as one of the most innovative and important voices in the Arab music scene today.

"The time has come for Europe to speak with one voice on Gaza."

 

European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Hadja Lahbib called on Thursday for the 27 member states to have "the political courage to find a strong voice" on the war in Gaza, as member states are divided over the stance to adopt towards Israel.

"We are at a turning point and the time has come for the EU to act in a manner that lives up to its international stature," she said in an interview with several journalists, including AFP. 

"The time has come for Europe to speak with one voice on Gaza."

"What is happening there haunts me and should haunt us all. Because it is a tragedy and we will be judged by history and by our grandchildren," she added. "We cannot stand by and simply watch innocent civilians, aid workers, and journalists being killed and starving."

EU foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Copenhagen on Friday and Saturday for an informal meeting where the situation in Gaza will be discussed, but no decision is expected.

The United Nations and non-governmental organizations regularly denounce the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, a territory under siege and bombardment by Israel for nearly two years, where more than two million Palestinians live.

In Gaza, "we are talking about a famine in the 21st century, the first ever seen in the Middle East," Ms. Lahbib stressed. "What is particularly shocking and sad is that this is a famine we could have avoided if we had been allowed to provide our humanitarian aid."

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced in July that she had reached an agreement with Israel to allow greater access to international humanitarian aid.

This agreement has only been "partially" implemented, Ms. Lahbib added, for whom even if "some progress" has been made, it remains very insufficient.

UN call for justice in the Gaza war crimes

 

UN says Israeli probes into Gaza killings must ‘yield results’

   Geneva, Aug 26, 2025 (AFP) - The UN insisted Tuesday that Israel must not only investigate alleged unlawful killings in Gaza like the hospital strike that killed 20 people, including journalists, the previous day, but also ensure those probes yield results.

   "There needs to be justice," United Nations rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva, adding that the large number of media workers killed in the Gaza war "raises many, many questions about the targeting of journalists".

   His comments came after an Israeli strike on the Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis on Monday killed at least 20 people, including five journalists, sparking an international outcry.

   Reuters, the Associated Press and Al Jazeera all issued statements mourning their slain contributors, while the Israeli military said it would investigate the incident.

   "The Israeli authorities have, in the past, announced investigations in such killings," Kheetan said.

   "It's of course the responsibility of Israel, as the occupying power, to investigate -- but these investigations need to yield results," he said.

   "We haven't seen results or accountability measures yet. We have yet to see the results of these investigations, and we call for accountability and justice."

   Kheetan said at least 247 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war was triggered by militant group Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

   "These journalists are the eyes and the ears of the whole world and they must be protected," he said.

   Asked if Monday's attack could amount to a so-called "double-tap" strike, in which an initial strike is followed by a second hitting rescue workers and other civilians, Kheetan said this needed to be investigated.

   "We can say that the Israeli military reportedly launched multiple air strikes on the Nasser Medical Complex, and there were two air strikes in a short period of time," he said.

   "We know that one of the five journalists appears to have been killed in the first air strike while three others, including the woman journalist, appear to have been killed in the second air strike," he added, describing this as "a shock" and "unacceptable".

  

"This incident and the killing of all civilians, including journalists, must be thoroughly and independently investigated, and justice must follow."

Gaza: Journalists 'targeted' in Israeli strike, acc. to RSF

 

Israel - Hamas war

RSF says journalists 'targeted' in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital

Israeli strikes on a hospital complex in Gaza killed 20 people, including five Palestinian journalists in what the French NGO Reporters without Borders called a "deliberate" attack.

Issued on: 25/08/2025 

By: RFI

Strikes hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, a large medical complex in the south of Gaza that is a known gathering place for displaced journalists, according to the press freedom group Reporters without borders (RSF).

 Hossam al-Masri, a freelance photographer for the Reuters news agency died in a first drone strike on the hospital Monday morning. A second strike, eight minute later, killed three other journalists who had arrived at the scene to cover rescue efforts. 

They included Mariam Abu Daqqa, a freelance journalist for the Associated Press news agency; Moaz Abu Taha, a correspondent for the American broadcasting network NBC; and Mohamad Salama, a photojournalist for Al Jazeera.

 Freelance journalist Ahmad Abu Aziz died soon after of injuries. Freelance photographer Hatem Khaled was wounded in the second strike, according to Reuters, as was Palestine TV journalist Jamal Bemdah, according to RSF.

 RSF said the journalists were "deliberately targeted" and called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to ensure the protection of journalists in Gaza and "that concrete measures are taken to end impunity for crimes against journalists, protect Palestinian journalists, and open access to the Gaza Strip to all reporters". 

 Shocking indifference 

The United Nations insisted that journalists and hospitals should never be targeted. "The killing of journalists in Gaza should shock the world – not into stunned silence but into action, demanding accountability and justice," UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement. 

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees Philippe Lazzarini described the strike as "silencing the last remaining voices reporting about children dying silently amid famine", adding on social media platform X: "The world's indifference and inaction is shocking." 

Following the strike, the Israel-based Foreign Press Association called for an "immediate explanation" from the military and prime minister's office. "We call on Israel once and for all to halt its abhorrent practice of targeting journalists," the group said in a statement. 

The Israeli foreign ministry said on X that troops carried out a strike in the area around the hospital, which has targeted several times since the start of the war. The military said will conduct an "initial inquiry as soon as possible", the ministry said, adding that it "regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such". 

 Media restrictions 

Earlier this month an Israeli air strike killed four Al Jazeera staff and two freelancers outside Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. 

The Israeli military alleged that one of those killed, Anas al-Sharif, headed a Hamas "terrorist cell" and was "responsible for advancing rocket attacks" against Israelis. The Committee to protect journalists and RSF slammed that strike, saying journalists should never be targeted in war. 

According to the CPJ and other media watchdogs, over 200 journalists have been killed in nearly two years of war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, many of them while exercising their profession. 

However, media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military. 

(with newswires)