Israel/Palästina

Never has the cliché that we are at a pivotal moment in Middle East diplomacy been more accurate. Yet at this critical juncture, the post of UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) has remained vacant for months. It is time to appoint a new envoy and restore the UN’s political role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

The UN Secretary-General has strongly condemned the killing of civilians, including children, in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight into Wednesday, calling for all parties to uphold their commitments to the fragile ceasefire.

The chair of an independent commission investigating alleged human rights abuses in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told a General Assembly committee on Tuesday that Israel has committed “four genocidal acts” in Gaza, while leaders had “incited the commission of genocide.”

Countries would reject being asked to "enforce" peace in Gaza if deployed under the Trump ceasefire plan, King Abdullah of Jordan has told the BBC. … The King's comments reflect concern from the US and other nations about being dragged into a continuing conflict between Hamas and Israel, or Hamas and other Palestinian groups. 

The main Palestinian political factions, including Hamas, said Friday they had agreed that an independent committee of technocrats would take over the running of post-war Gaza.

The US Secretary of State has said that a move by Israel's parliament towards annexation of the occupied West Bank would threaten Washington's plan to end the conflict in Gaza. "That's not something we can be supportive of right now," Marco Rubio said before leaving for Israel as part of US efforts to shore up a fragile ceasefire deal.

In a detailed advisory opinion requested by the General Assembly, the UN’s top court found that Israel is required to “ensure that the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory [OPT] has the essential supplies of daily life, including food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and services.”

Indonesia, home to the world's biggest Muslim population, supports a two-state solution in the Middle East and is ready to deploy tens of thousands of peacekeepers. DW spoke with Indonesia's Vice Foreign Minister Arif Havas Oegroseno about how his country hopes to help the peace process in Gaza.

France and Britain, in coordination with the United States, are working to finalise a U.N. Security Council resolution in the coming days that would lay the foundation for a future international force in Gaza, France said on Thursday.

Israel said on Thursday it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt to let Palestinians in and out, but set no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of a U.S.-mediated ceasefire.