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90+ countries, including allies, express ‘deep concern’ over Israel’s retaliation against Palestinians
(JTA) — Five countries stood out on a statement signed by more than 90 countries calling on Israel to end punitive measures it imposed on the Palestinians in retaliation for a United Nations vote that referred Israel to the International Court of Justice.
Those five countries — Estonia, Germany, Italy, Lithuania and Romania — were among the minority of 26 who voted against the resolution last month that prompted Israel to sanction the Palestinians. Their decision to join the statement released Monday is a harbinger of the diplomatic landmines Israel’s new extremist government faces even among the country’s traditional allies.
“We express our deep concern regarding the Israeli government’s decision to impose punitive measures against the Palestinian people, leadership, and civil society,” said the statement.
The U.N. General Assembly resolution, which passed in December with 87 in favor and 26 against, with 53 abstentions, called on the U.N.-aligned International Court of Justice to assess “the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, from its prolonged occupation, settlement, and annexation of territories seized in 1967.”
The Palestinian Authority and its affiliated Palestine Liberation Organization have for years been pressing international judicial bodies to establish cases against Israel and Israeli officials for what the Palestinians say are war crimes. The Palestinian mission to the United Nations had pressed for last month’s vote.
Israel has warned that it would retaliate should any of those measures achieve success.
One of the first measures taken by the new far-right government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to retaliate against the Palestinians for the U.N. vote. Netanyahu’s government kept $39 million in tax revenue that it would otherwise transfer to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority and took other restrictive measures, including freezing Palestinian construction. It transferred some of the tax revenue to a compensation fund for families of victims of terrorism.
Germany, which usually aligns closely with Israel in international bodies, noted the diversity of opinion among the 90-plus signatories.
“This group, which holds diverging views on a recent UNGA resolution calling for an ICJ advisory opinion, agrees on the rejection of punitive measures in response to the resolution,” the German mission to the United Nations said Monday on Twitter, quoting a tweet from the Palestinian mission posting the statement.
Israel’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, dismissed the statement as insignificant. “Meaningless statements and signatures will not stop us from making the right decisions that will protect our citizens and secure our future,” he said in a tweet.
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Report: Regime Change Not Ruled Out as US Mulls Escalation Against Venezuela
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a march amid the disputed presidential election, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 3, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno
i24 News – The United States is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, as the US administration of President Donald Trump ratchets up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government, Reuters reported Saturday citing four officials familiar with the matter. An escalation that would go so far as overthrowing Maduro’s dictatorial regime could not be ruled out, it is understood.
The report could not provide the exact timing or scope of the new operations, nor confirm that Trump had made a final decision to act. Reports of looming action have proliferated in recent weeks as the US military has deployed forces to the Caribbean amid worsening relations with Venezuela.
Two of the US officials said covert operations would likely be the first part of the new action against Maduro. Another “senior administration official” said he did not rule anything out regarding Venezuela.
“President Trump is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” the official was quoted as saying.
Also on Saturday, three international airlines canceled their flights departing from Venezuela, the day after the US Federal Aviation Administration warned major airlines of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over the country.
Brazil’s Gol, Colombia’s Avianca and TAP Air Portugal canceled their flights departing from Caracas on Saturday, according to Flightradar24 and the official website of Simon Bolivar Maiquetia International Airport.
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Indonesia’s Biggest Islamic Group Asks Chief to Resign Over Invitation to Pro-Israeli Speaker
Then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Yahya Cholil Staquf, secretary general of the 60-million member Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, at his office in Jerusalem. Photo: Haim Zach/GPO.
Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, has asked its chief to resign for inviting a US scholar known for his support of Israel during the Gaza war to an internal event in August, according to meeting minutes reviewed by Reuters.
The leadership of NU, which is also the world’s biggest Islamic organization with around 100 million members and affiliates, has given Chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf three days to offer his resignation or be removed from his post, according to the minutes from a meeting on Thursday.
NU cited Staquf’s invitation to a person “affiliated with an International Zionism network” for an internal event and alleged financial mismanagement as reasons for his ouster.
Staquf, who has been NU’s chairman since 2021, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NU official Najib Azca told Reuters the decision was linked to Staquf’s invitation to former US official and scholar Peter Berkowitz for an August training event.
Staquf has apologized for the invitation and called it an oversight as he had not carefully checked Berkowitz’s background, adding that he condemned Israel‘s “brutal genocidal acts in Gaza.”
Berkowitz often writes in support of Israel‘s campaign in Gaza, according to his website, including a piece in September aiming to refute allegations of genocide against Israel.
Berkowitz spoke at NU seminars about the history of Western political thought in August, his website showed.
Berkowitz did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment that reached him outside of office hours.
Indonesia, the world’s Muslim-majority nation, has routinely condemned Israel‘s actions in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza since the war broke out in 2023. It has long advocated for a two-state solution and has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
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Protesters at Tel Aviv Rally Call for State Inquiry into Oct. 7 Failings
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl. In Jerusalem on 16 October 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli protesters gathered on Saturday in Tel Aviv, to demand the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appoint a committee to initiate a state inquiry on the security failings of October 7.
Saturday night rallies in Tel Aviv have been a fixture of the two-year-long war in Gaza that was triggered by the Hamas-led cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, that saw the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Protesters charged that Netanyahu refuses to be held accountable for his share of responsibility in Israel’s blackest day. They likewise took exception to Netanyahu’s wish to select the members of the committee, arguing this represented subversion of the democratic process.
Protesters also demanded the return of remains of the three deceased hostages still remaining in Gaza: Ran Gvili, Dror or and Sudthisak Rinthalak.