Sumary
+Turkey backs South Africa 'genocide' case against Israel at ICJ
Turkey has officially backed South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which accuses the state of genocide in its ongoing war on Gaza. Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said in a statement that Ankara welcomes the South African case, which says Israel has violated its
obligations under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
“Israel's murder of more than 22,000 Palestinian civilians, the majority of whom were women and children, in Gaza for nearly three months should not go unpunished in any way," Keceli said.
"Those responsible for this must be held accountable before international law,” he continued, adding:
“We hope that the process will be completed as soon as possible.”
+UN Interim Force in Lebanon calls for restraint
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) is deeply concerned at any potential for escalation that could have devastating consequences for people on both sides of the Blue Line, spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said on Wednesday.
"
We continue to implore all parties to cease their fire, and any interlocutors with influence to urge restraint," she added.
+ Israel in talks with Congo to accept Palestinian refugees
Israel is in talks with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other nations to accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza, Zman Yisrael reported on Wednesday. The news website quoted an unnamed source in the security cabinet as saying:
"Congo will be willing to take in migrants, and we’re in talks with others."
On Tuesday, Israel's Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel said the
"Gaza problem is not just our problem" and that "
the world should support humanitarian emigration", according to Zman Yisrael's political analyst Shalom Yerushalmi.
The report comes amid a push by Israeli officials for what they call
"voluntary migration" of Palestinians out of Gaza, which experts say is a form of forced displacement.
+ General strike observed in West Bank over al-Arouri assassination
Palestinian cities are observing a commercial strike after the killing of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in a Beirut strike on Tuesday.
Shops were shuttered across the occupied West Bank Wednesday morning as protests were expected in city centres.
"Here in Hebron, like elsewhere in the homeland, we are expressing our sadness for the cowardly crime of assassinating Saleh al-Arouri, who studied here and lived in the city for a long time," "His assassination is a clear sign the Israeli army is failing in Gaza and so they went to Lebanon."
A sombre feeling prevailed in the West Bank, but residents the killing will not break the will of the Palestinian people.
"The occupation assumes that by killing leaders they can kill our souls and end the resistance," Suhail Naser al-Din, a Hebron resident, said. "
But as long as there's an occupation there will always be resistance."
+ Josep Borrell: Solution in Israel-Palestine must be 'imposed from outside'
The international community must "
impose" a solution to the conflict in Israel and Palestine, according to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
"What we have learned over the last 30 years, and what we are learning now with the tragedy experienced in Gaza, is that the solution must be imposed from outside," Borrell told diplomats in Portugal on Wednesday.
"Peace will only be achieved in a lasting manner if the international community gets involved intensely to achieve it and imposes a solution," he said, making reference specifically to the US, Europe and Arab countries.
He warned that the conflict could escalate after the Israeli killing of Saleh al-Arouri, deputy leader of Hamas, in a drone strike in Beirut on Tuesday.
"What happened yesterday with the death of one of the leaders of Hamas is yet another factor that could push the conflict to escalate," Borrell said, adding
he had planned to visit Lebanon and other countries in the Middle East to "explore ways out" of the war.
Borrell added that he would present a proposal to EU member states to create a mission to aid security in the Red Sea. It will be presented on Thursday and would require unanimity among member states to be approved, he said.