
12 days · 5 summary articles
A United Nations meeting in Geneva descended into chaos on Saturday as delegates traded accusations over allegations of sexual violence against Israel, while Germany’s far-left *Die Linke* party formally endorsed the description of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as a “genocide” and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance distanced Washington from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies without endorsing antisemitic tropes.
The UN session, broadcast live by Al Jazeera, saw diplomats shout over one another after a delegate raised the unproven claims, prompting the Palestinian Authority’s representative to demand silence and the Israeli envoy to walk out. The outburst underscored the widening rift over accountability in the 20-month-old conflict, which has left more than 37,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis dead according to the latest UN figures .
In Berlin, *Die Linke*’s federal executive voted to adopt language describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocidal, a move party co-chair Jessica Schwerdtner defended as a moral stance despite warnings from Jewish groups. “I have decided to call it a genocide,” she told delegates on Friday, as the hall erupted in applause after a guest speaker invoked the word “apartheid” .
Vance, speaking on the *Diary of a CEO* podcast hours later, refused to endorse Netanyahu’s regional ambitions or Israel’s strategic goals, telling host Steven Bartlett: “I don’t know. I can’t get inside somebody’s head.” He added: “I don’t trust anybody,” when asked whether he trusted Netanyahu, while reiterating that criticism of Israeli government policy “does not automatically equate to antisemitism” . The remarks mark a subtle but significant shift in tone from an administration that has otherwise maintained unwavering rhetorical support for Israel.
The juxtaposition of the UN chaos, the German party’s radicalisation and Washington’s hedging reflects a fracturing international consensus. The International Criminal Court’s June 2024 arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar continue to polarise, with the U.S. refusing to recognise the tribunal’s jurisdiction over Israeli nationals. Meanwhile, *Die Linke*’s decision risks deepening its isolation within Germany’s coalition government, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly warned against equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
1 further source not geolocated