Habib Siddiqui

  The arrest   warrants   by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are a diplomatic disaster for Israel,   reported   The Economist, a ‘hard stigma’ for the Israeli leader,   wrote   The Guardian, and a ‘major blow’, said others. But a term that many seem to agree on is that the warrants represent an  earthquake , though many are doubtful that Netanyahu would actually see his day in court. The pro-Palestine camp, which as of late represents the majority of humankind, is torn between disbelief, skepticism, and optimism. It turned out that the international system has a pulse, after all, though faint, but is enough to rekindle hope that legal and moral accountability are still possible. This mixture of feelings and strong language is a reflection of several important and interconnected experiences: one, the unprecedented extermination of a whole population wh...

  By Hamuda Hassan and Ahmed Fahmy HAZMIEH/TYRE, Lebanon (Reuters) - When a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect last week, Lebanese hotelier Abbas al-Tannoukhi leapt at the chance to bury a dead relative in their southern hometown of Khiyam, battered for weeks by intense clashes. Tannoukhi's cousin had been killed in one of the final Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's suburbs before Wednesday's ceasefire, which stipulated an end to fighting so residents on both sides of the border could return home. But with Israeli troops still deployed in southern Lebanon, Tannoukhi coordinated his movements with Lebanon's army. Last Friday, he and his relatives pulled into the family graveyard in Khiyam, six km (four miles) from the border, with an ambulance carrying his cousin's body. "We just needed 30 minutes (to bury her)," Tannoukhi, 54, said. "But we were surprised when Israeli tanks encircled us - and that's when the gunfire started....

  Over 3,600 people have been displaced as a result of the 'deliberate and systematic' policy A Palestinian child sits on a street damaged during an Israeli raid in Jenin camp, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 21 November 2024 (Raneen Sawafta/Reuters) By  Mera Aladam Israeli forces have demolished 1,528 Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied  West Bank  since the start of the year, according to the latest figures published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha). The UN data, published on 29 November, indicated that 3,637 Palestinians have been displaced as a result of an ongoing Israeli  demolition  campaign. The destroyed infrastructure included inhabited residences (700), agricultural infrastructure (398), and livelihood-related assets (205), such as shops and businesses. According to Ocha's findings, the most targeted areas in the West Bank were located near the city of Tulkarm, which has faced a gre...

  Only a miracle can save Barnier. There doesn’t seem to be one on the horizon.  PARIS — The end of Michel Barnier’s extremely brief time as France’s prime minister looks inevitable as his government hurtles toward a no-confidence vote that it is expected to lose later this week.  Days of tension have culminated in a high-stakes vote in parliament that could trigger a financial crisis for the eurozone’s second-largest economy and send ripples of fear around the bloc. The French prime minister has been battling to reassure jittery markets and pass a budget that will fill a black hole in French finances. But those efforts might now be wasted.   On Monday, Barnier, the EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator, used a controversial constitutional maneuver to bypass parliament and force through a social security financing bill. In response, the left-wing opposition put forward a no-confidence motion, which will be put to a vote on Wednesday or Thursday.  Opposition f...