EU condemns settler attacks in the West Bank... Arab League calls for holding Israel accountable for genocide crimes in Gaza

The European Union strongly condemned an attack launched by extremist settlers against European diplomats who were visiting the occupied West Bank. Spokesperson Christian Wagner said in a statement that “the European Union strongly condemns the latest attacks carried out by violent settlers in the West Bank, including those targeting European diplomats,” emphasizing the need to ensure full accountability and take effective measures to prevent the continuation of violence and violent harassment against Palestinians and journalists. He added that this includes attacks on Palestinians during the ongoing olive harvest season, stressing the necessity to put an end to such practices. The EU renewed its call for the Israeli occupation to fully comply with international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and to halt settlement expansion.

On another front, the Arab League called for holding accountable those responsible for the genocide crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and for ensuring they do not escape punishment, urging serious international action to guarantee the rights of victims and achieve justice. This came in a speech by Assistant Secretary-General for the Palestinian and Occupied Arab Territories portfolio at the Arab League, Ambassador Faed Mustafa, delivered on behalf of Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy during an event organized by the League in cooperation with the Permanent Palestinian Representation to the League to commemorate the victims of genocide crimes in Gaza.

Mustafa stated that the seriousness of proposed initiatives to end the war is measured by their tangible results, foremost among which are stopping the killing, protecting civilians, delivering aid, withdrawing Israeli occupation forces, and restoring Palestinian rights. He warned against the danger that the continued deprivation of the population of water, food, medicine, and shelter could turn harsh humanitarian conditions into a tool to force them to leave their land, stressing that protecting them from forced displacement and ensuring their right to remain on their land is a legal and humanitarian responsibility that admits no delay. He also called for ensuring the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid, securing medical, food, and fuel supplies, restarting water and sewage networks, clearing rubble, restoring basic services, and providing shelter for displaced persons, enabling them to live with dignity and safety.

Mustafa noted that the continued presence of the occupation military and its control over large areas of the Strip raise questions about compliance with ceasefire obligations and hinder the transition to peace and recovery, clarifying that true security is not achieved through control and threats, but by ending the occupation, respecting the law, and enabling Palestinians to manage their affairs within a unified national framework. He affirmed in this regard that “the reconstruction of Gaza should be a Palestinian-led process with Arab and international support, preserving the residents’ rights to land and property, ensuring their participation in determining their future, and linked to a political process that ends the occupation and achieves Palestinian independence.”

On the ground, health authorities in the Gaza Strip announced the killing of five Palestinians, including children, following a series of Israeli occupation air strikes and shooting incidents targeting displaced persons. This came as Palestinians in Gaza mourned “the remains of 75 martyrs whose bodies were recovered by civil defense teams from under the rubble of residential blocks destroyed by Israeli occupation aircraft in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in eastern Gaza City.” Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense, said in a speech during the mourning ceremonies that “civil defense teams have recently managed to recover the martyrs’ bodies using very limited tools and resources, amid the widespread scale of destruction.”

“The aftermath of Israeli attacks on residential neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip.” Bassal added that more than 8,000 Palestinians remain buried under tons of rubble and require heavy equipment and resources to be recovered, noting that rescue teams have faced fatalities while attempting to retrieve the martyrs from the Daraj neighborhood due to the weakness and scarcity of available resources.