Thursday, May 28Thursday, May 28Board of Peace faces backlash as it blames Hamas alone for stalled Gaza ceasefire, while Israel evades scrutiny
The US-backed Board of Peace (BoP) has drawn sharp criticism after its top diplomat, Nickolay Mladenov, pinned the collapse of the Gaza ceasefire solely on Hamas, ignoring Israel’s unmet obligations under the truce. In a Thursday address to the UN Security Council, Mladenov accused Hamas of obstructing progress by refusing to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control, and permit a civilian transition in Gaza. Analysts warn the BoP’s lopsided approach risks reigniting full-scale war, as Israel has yet to fulfill key commitments, including lifting the blockade and halting settlement expansion in the West Bank.
The BoP’s stance contrasts with growing international pressure on Israel over its policies. On Friday, nine Western nations—including the UK, Germany, France, and Italy—jointly condemned Israel’s settlement expansion and settler violence as breaches of international law. The statement, issued after a week of escalating tensions, followed the release of footage showing far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir taunting detained activists from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. Ben-Gvir, filmed forcing activists to kneel with their hands bound, has become a symbol of Israel’s hardline shift, with European leaders now targeting him for sanctions.
The EU is moving toward concrete action. The Netherlands announced plans to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements, while Ireland’s foreign minister, Helen McEntee, urged the European Commission to adopt an EU-wide prohibition. The push comes as 51 nations, including India and Brazil, face scrutiny for continuing arms sales to Israel despite the International Court of Justice’s genocide warnings. Meanwhile, European leaders—long accused of empty rhetoric—are increasingly abandoning diplomatic ambiguity, with Germany’s Friedrich Merz and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni joining calls to halt settler violence.
The BoP’s focus on Hamas arrives as Israel’s government faces its most severe diplomatic isolation in years. While the US-led board frames the militant group as the primary obstacle to peace, critics argue its failure to address Israeli actions—from settlement expansion to the Gaza blockade—undermines its credibility. With the ceasefire in tatters and violence surging in the West Bank, the BoP’s next steps may determine whether the conflict spirals further or returns to negotiations.
Board of Peace focus on Hamas risks return to war in Gaza, critics say US-backed board has put sole blame for stalled ceasefire on militant group despite Israel not fulfilling its obligations, analysts sayThe top diplomat from the Board of Peace has blamed Hamas for the stalled ceasefire, but critics have said the US-backed boards lack of even-handedness in implementing the truce risks a return to war.The high representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, told the UN security council on Thursday that Hamas was the principal obstacle to the ceasefires continued implementation because it refused to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control and allow a genuine civilian transition. Continue reading...
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aljazeera · 6 days ago
Nobody better represents Israeli politics today than Itamar Ben-Gvir | Ben Reiff He may be the most brazen of the nations leaders, but his ideological spirit is found throughout its government, and beyondNo, youre not hallucinating: western governments really are condemning Israel, one-by-one, without equivocation. Not because of the ongoing genocide in Gaza that has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, of course, but because of a PR stunt in which Israels national security minister filmed himself taunting foreign activists.On Wednesday morning, Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived at the port where Israel had detained hundreds of participants in an international aid flotilla that was attempting to breach the naval blockade of Gaza. In a video he posted to social media, the minister can be seen mocking the activists as they are forced to kneel in rows with their heads on the ground and hands bound with zip ties. Israels national anthem can be heard blasting over loudspeakers, before we see Ben-Gvir waving an Israeli flag and shouting: Welcome to Israel. We are the landlords here.Ben Reiff is deputy editor at +972 magazine, an independent, online publication run by Palestinian and Israeli journalists Continue reading...
theguardian · 6 days ago
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