Israel / Palestine

Reports of alleged torture and sexual violence in Israel’s Sde Teiman prison represent “the tip of the iceberg”, UN independent human rights experts warned on Monday, calling for swift action to end impunity surrounding reports of violations against Palestinian detainees.

Top Iranian officials will meet the representatives of Iran's regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday to discuss potential retaliation against Israel after the killing of the Hamas leader in Tehran, five sources told Reuters.

The UN’s top political affairs official reiterated the urgent need for de-escalation in the Middle East, appealing in the Security Council on Wednesday for “swift and effective diplomatic action”, as ambassadors met in an emergency meeting on the latest flare-up in hostilities.

The United Nations human rights office says Palestinians detained by Israel since the outbreak of the war in Gaza may have been tortured. … UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said testimony received by his office suggested Israeli authorities may have inflicted "appalling acts" on detainees, including "waterboarding and the release of dogs".

UN Member States must immediately comply with the recent “landmark ruling” by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, a group of 38 UN independent human rights experts said on Tuesday. 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Wednesday told the US Congress that Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza is also America’s war. “Our fight is your fight … Our enemies are your enemies,” Netanyahu said to thunderous applause. Despite the overwhelming show of support from parts of the the chamber, dozens of congressional Democrats boycotted the speech while thousands of protesters demonstrated outside the Capitol building. 

The UN Secretary-General has welcomed a new agreement signed on Tuesday in Beijing by Hamas and Fatah, together with smaller Palestinian factions, aimed at ending years of political rivalry as the war in Gaza grinds on.

The UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday declared that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory “is unlawful”, and that “all States are under an obligation not to recognize” the decades-long occupation.

Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups it coordinated committed hundreds of war crimes in the October 7 attack on southern Israel, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) NGO said in a new report released on Wednesday. Hamas rejected the findings, calling on the US-based rights group to withdraw the report and apologise. 

Antonio Guterres says recent developments in the occupied West Bank are ‘driving a stake through the heart’ of a two-state solution.