标签： Asia

As the United Kingdom prepares for a change in its prime minister next week, more than 80 members of Parliament and members of the House of Lords have signed an open letter urging the government to implement sweeping, comprehensive sanctions against Israel, while a coalition of leading British humanitarian organizations has issued sharp criticism of outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s record on Palestinian rights.

Organized by Labour Members of Parliament Imran Hussain and Richard Burgon, the letter addressed to UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper calls on the government to align its actions with the 2023 advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This July 19 marks exactly two years since the ICJ ruled that Israel’s 56-year-long occupation of Palestinian territories is unlawful under international law, concluding that Israel’s near-total segregation of Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank constitutes a breach of international prohibitions against racial segregation and apartheid.

The cross-party group of signatories — which includes former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, Green Party Members of Parliament Sian Berry and Hannah Spencer, former New Labour cabinet minister Lord Peter Hain, and Jewish Kindertransport refugee Lord Alf Dubs — argues that two years on from the landmark ruling, Israel has only expanded its unlawful occupation. They point to a series of escalatory actions that have erased almost all remaining hope for a two-state solution: Israel currently controls more than 60 percent of the Gaza Strip, a territory it has left largely in ruins after three years of military campaign; it has launched expanded incursions into southern Lebanon and Syrian territory under the pretense of targeting Hezbollah; and it has ramped up annexationist policies in the West Bank. In September 2024, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as de facto governor of the occupied West Bank, unveiled a plan to annex 82 percent of the territory to Israel, a move built on the principle of seizing “maximum land with minimum [Palestinian] population” that would eliminate any possibility of a sovereign Palestinian state.

“Israel’s actions over the past two years underline how, without much bolder action, the Israeli government will continue to simply ignore the words of condemnation from political leaders and governments and deepen its illegal occupation,” the letter reads. It notes that the ICJ has clearly established that all UN member states hold a legal obligation to recognize the illegality of Israel’s occupation and refrain from economic or trade activity that sustains it. Despite publicly acknowledging the court’s ruling, the letter argues, the British government has failed to take formal action to meet its binding legal and moral obligations. Drawing a contrast to the UK’s robust response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the politicians point out that London imposed widespread sanctions on Moscow for its violation of international law, but has refused to apply the same standard to Israel.

The signatories outline a clear set of concrete demands: ban all trade with unlawful Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, sanction companies that profit from the occupation, implement targeted individual sanctions against Israeli officials responsible for expanding the occupation, suspend the existing UK-Israel bilateral trade agreement, and end all arms transfers to Israel — including the supply of components for F-35 fighter jets.

Parallel to the politicians’ appeal, 17 major UK charities have also called on incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham to take immediate action to end what they describe as Israel’s atrocities against Palestinian people. The coalition includes prominent organizations such as Save the Children UK, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Islamic Relief, and Amnesty International UK, who warned that Palestinians cannot afford any further delay or political inaction on the matter.

In their statement, the charities delivered a scathing assessment of Starmer’s legacy on Palestine. “Despite a partial arms suspension in 2024, Keir Starmer’s government has continued to enable Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians, their families and children through the supply of F-35 fighter jet parts,” Save the Children UK said, adding that “History will remember your complicity.”

John McDonnell, a Labour MP and former shadow chancellor who signed the politicians’ letter, emphasized that the incoming prime minister faces a clear moral and legal duty to act. “The Netanyahu government clearly believes it can act with impunity as it destroys any hope of a two-state solution with its total annexation of the West Bank,” McDonnell told Middle East Eye. “The hope is that the incoming prime minister recognises that the UK government has a duty to act.”

Burnham, who is set to succeed Starmer in office next week, has already sought to distance himself from his predecessor’s approach, issuing a public apology for the Labour Party’s initial response to the conflict in Gaza. “I know many people feel that at the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza, my party didn’t get it right, and I am sorry about that. The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better,” he said. Burnham acknowledged the “unbearable suffering” in Gaza, describing it as a “scar on our collective conscience,” and has called for increased pressure on the Israeli government to end its expansion of occupation. He has praised the outgoing Starmer administration for its limited steps — including formal recognition of Palestinian statehood, sanctions on a small number of far-right Israeli ministers, and a ban on the supply of British-produced bombs and bullets to Israel — but admitted that the UK was far too slow to call for a permanent ceasefire, and that a more robust approach is now needed.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has also softened her rhetoric in recent weeks, acknowledging that Labour’s early response to the Gaza crisis was misaligned with humanitarian concerns. But aid groups warn that a shift in tone does not guarantee meaningful policy change.

Halla Keir, advocacy and research manager at Medical Aid for Palestinians, stressed that the urgency of the crisis leaves no room for further delay. “Every new prime minister inherits difficult decisions. But this should not be one of them,” Keir said. “Almost three years into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the need for action could not be clearer. The UK’s obligations under international law are clear. What is needed now is the political courage to act.”

Save the Children UK echoed this call, noting that “Nothing can change the horrors Palestinians have faced. But the next prime minister has an opportunity to put an end to the UK government’s role as an ally to atrocities.”

In a controversial move that has reignited global scrutiny of Israeli territorial policy, the Israeli government announced Tuesday it has formally approved a 1.3 billion shekel ($434 million) budget to construct 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. According to leading Israeli outlet Ynet, the budget approval was finalized by the country’s security cabinet back in June, but was intentionally kept secret for months over fears of pushback from the United States government. The foundational approval for the 34 settlements themselves was granted in a separate, unpublicized cabinet vote in March, with neither decision disclosed to the public until this week.

With this latest authorization, the total number of settlements approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s current far-right government, which took office in late 2022, has climbed to 104. Alongside the new construction projects, the government also signed off on the re-establishment of the Sa-Nur settlement in the northern West Bank. This site was originally evacuated in 2005 as part of Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip, but Israeli settlers have already returned to the location in recent months.

Top government officials from the ruling far-right bloc have celebrated the decision as a landmark step in their planned expansion of Israeli control over the West Bank. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also leads civilian oversight of the occupied West Bank through the Defense Ministry, spearheaded the budget measure and framed it as a core achievement of what his faction calls a “settlement revolution.” Smotrich described the approval as a critical security and strategic decision, tying the expansion to his long-stated goal of blocking the creation of an independent Palestinian state, which he referred to as a “terror state” that would threaten Israeli sovereignty. “We are passing, one after the other, budgetary decisions that fund roads, infrastructure, and now also buildings and caravans,” Smotrich said, confirming that construction on the new settlements would launch as early as this coming summer.

Settlement Minister Orit Strook, a fellow member of Smotrich’s Religious Zionist party who resides in an existing West Bank settlement, went even further in praising the move, calling it “the greatest Zionist-settlement move since the establishment of the state.” Strook claimed that no comparable pro-settlement decision had been made in the entire history of the Zionist movement, adding that the government’s agenda aims to ensure “no point remains without a settlement” across the occupied territory.

Just days earlier, Smotrich and Netanyahu signed a separate landmark umbrella agreement with the Samaria Regional Council, committing 8.5 billion shekels ($2.5 billion) to upgrade and expand infrastructure across the northern West Bank. Israeli daily Israel Hayom reported that this is the first time an Israeli government has formalized such a direct agreement with a regional settlement council. The deal allocates funding for 18 previously approved new settlements, the construction of roughly 12,000 additional homes in existing settlement blocs, and broad upgrades to local roads and public services.

However, the settlement expansion push has drawn sharp criticism both from within Israel and from the international community. All Israeli settlements built in the West Bank are universally recognized as illegal under international law, a position formally upheld by the International Court of Justice and endorsed by the overwhelming majority of the global community. Domestic Israeli anti-settlement advocacy group Peace Now has lambasted the new measures, describing the recent 8.5 billion shekel infrastructure deal as “a fire sale of the State of Israel.” In a formal statement, the organization argued: “Not only is the government thumbing its nose at millions of Israelis and plundering their money for the benefit of a narrow settler sector – it is digging, with its own hands, the diplomatic and security pit in which the State of Israel may end up buried.”

Earlier this month, Peace Now published a comprehensive report documenting the current government’s rapid acceleration of de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank. The report found that over the past three years, the government has approved more than 100 new settlements and formalized 185 unapproved settlement outposts. These outposts now exert control over more than 1.1 million dunams of land, equal to roughly 18 percent of the total area of the occupied West Bank. The report also added that Israeli settlers, backed by the Israeli military, have forcibly displaced 118 distinct Palestinian communities from their land in the territory to make way for expansion.

BEIRUT – Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri has stated in an exclusive interview with Middle East Eye that the current U.S.-brokered framework between Israel and Lebanon to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah is unworkable in its existing form, and cannot gain the status of a legally binding agreement without formal approval from Lebanon’s full Council of Ministers.

Mitri clarified the distinct constitutional roles of Lebanon’s presidency and cabinet in international negotiation processes, noting that while the president holds the constitutional authority to negotiate on Lebanon’s behalf, all final agreements must receive cabinet approval before they take legal effect. To date, that step has not been completed, meaning the text agreed to by both parties in Washington on June 26 remains a non-binding starting point rather than a finalized deal.

“The word agreement is nowhere to be seen in this text,” Mitri confirmed during the interview at his Beirut office.

The U.S.-mediated framework, designed to map a path toward ending months of open conflict between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, has sparked widespread public and political opposition across Lebanon since it was signed. Critics have raised urgent questions about Lebanese national sovereignty, accountability for war crimes, and the framework’s structure that places Lebanon’s obligations ahead of Israel’s formal commitments.

Hezbollah has publicly condemned the deal for failing to guarantee a full Israeli withdrawal from the roughly 6 percent of Lebanese territory that Israel continues to occupy, and for not securing the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese residents to their homes in southern Lebanon.

Mitri acknowledged that the current proposal does not meet all of Lebanon’s core demands, but framed it as an opening for future negotiation rather than a final settlement. “This is not the last word… It doesn’t meet all the desires and aspirations of the Lebanese. But this is a beginning,” he said, repeating that the text remains “not a solid, well-structured, final binding agreement.”

He also conceded deep internal political divisions over the framework, noting that significant domestic outreach and negotiation will be required before any final deal can secure broad cross-political support within Lebanon. “You need to make sure that at the domestic level, although there might be disagreement, [a deal] should not exacerbate divisions and should not deepen already existing divisions,” he said.

Mitri pointed to immediate public statements from Israeli leaders following the framework’s release as clear evidence of its weaknesses, demonstrating that Israel also does not view itself as bound by the text. “Twenty-four hours after the trilateral framework was made public… Netanyahu, the foreign minister, the defence minister said, ‘We’re staying in southern Lebanon. We’re not withdrawing,’” he recalled. Israel’s refusal to publicly commit to a full withdrawal from southern Lebanon directly contradicts Lebanon’s non-negotiable core demands, which also include the return of displaced residents and the release of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel, he added.

The current conflict, which opened when Hezbollah launched rocket strikes on Israel on March 2 following the U.S.-Israeli killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has evolved into “a war that Lebanon did not want, did not seek,” Mitri said, emphasizing that what began as a confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah has become a full-scale war on the Lebanese state and people.

Lebanese authorities confirm that Israeli airstrikes and ground operations have killed more than 4,300 people since the war began in March. A recent assessment from the United Nations Development Program found that more than 11,000 buildings across southern Lebanon have been completely destroyed by Israeli attacks, with a further 2,200 structures partially damaged. “When the war started in Lebanon, it looked like a battleground between Israel and Hezbollah. But Israel has made a war on Lebanon,” Mitri said. “And there are many parts of Lebanon where Hezbollah had no military activity that were severely affected.”

Addressing widespread criticism of Article 13 of the framework – a provision that suspends mutual legal and political action between the two sides during ongoing negotiations, which Lebanese human rights and legal experts warn could shield Israel from accountability for alleged war crimes – Mitri pushed back against concerns that the article would permanently end Lebanon’s efforts to document and pursue legal action for Israeli attacks.

As chair of Lebanon’s National Commission on International Humanitarian Law, Mitri confirmed that the state’s ongoing work to document war crimes has not stopped, and “cannot be stopped” by the provisions of Article 13. He noted that Lebanon has never brought formal proceedings against Israel before an international court for a range of historical reasons, pointing out that neither country is a signatory to the Rome Statute that governs the International Criminal Court. Even so, evidence collected by the commission remains available for Lebanese citizens seeking to bring cases against Israel before foreign courts that exercise universal jurisdiction, he said.

Mitri added that Lebanese officials have received formal assurances that Article 13 does not permanently end legal action against Israel. “We were told that although the word ‘cessation’ is used… it only means suspension,” he said, noting that pausing legal proceedings during active negotiations is a common practice in international peace processes, including the post-apartheid settlement in South Africa and the Algerian peace process.

One of the most sensitive political issues facing the Lebanese government in the wake of any ceasefire will be the question of disarming Hezbollah and extending full state control over all weapons and territory across the country. Shortly after Hezbollah opened hostilities in March, the Lebanese government banned the group from conducting any independent military activities. Last year, the cabinet instructed the Lebanese army to draft plans for Hezbollah’s disarmament, a move that sparked fears of domestic armed conflict even as top officials including the president and prime minister emphasized they do not seek a military confrontation with the group. Earlier this year, Middle East Eye reported deep tensions between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and army chief Rodolphe Haykal over disagreements on how to implement the disarmament ban, with unconfirmed sources indicating Salam considered sacking Haykal for refusing to confront Hezbollah during the ongoing war.

Mitri argued that disarming Hezbollah is fundamentally a political issue, not a military one, rejecting calls for the Lebanese army to confront the group by force to establish state authority. “Disarming Hezbollah is not a technical question,” he said. “It’s not about the military balance of power between the army and Hezbollah’s military structure – it’s first and foremost political.” He noted that there has been little substantive discussion of the issue over the past several months, as open war makes domestic dialogue extremely difficult, but added that negotiations on the question are inevitable, and it must remain an internal Lebanese affair. When asked whether Israel is intentionally seeking to provoke a confrontation between the Lebanese army and Hezbollah, Mitri said: “Possibly the Israelis would be happy if that happens. But I think neither the army nor Hezbollah are willing to fall into the trap of fighting each other.” He noted that the pilot deployment zones outlined in the current framework can serve as a “litmus test” for the army to expand state authority gradually, while allowing Hezbollah to step back without triggering internal armed conflict.

The current conflict marks the third major confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah since the 33-day 2006 war, which ended with a UN-brokered ceasefire that kept the border largely calm for nearly 18 years. Comparing the current diplomatic context to the 2006 negotiations, Mitri noted that Lebanon is now operating in a drastically shifted global landscape, where the UN Security Council and multilateral diplomacy have been sidelined. “The only party that can mediate, or at least allow for mediation under its auspices, is the United States of America,” he said.

This reality has left Beirut with little choice but to engage with Washington, despite decades of deep mutual distrust, Mitri explained. Lebanon has long been “a footnote” in U.S. regional policy, he said, but Lebanese officials see a current “window of attention” that they are determined to leverage. He added that some political observers see recent comments from U.S. Vice President JD Vance – who suggested that Washington’s unconditional support for Israel should not be taken for granted – as a potential sign of a gradual shift in U.S. policy toward the region. “The main reason why the Lebanese look towards the United States is… that the US is the only country that has leverage over Israel and can help in resolving the present difficult issues we face,” he said.

Mitri also emphasized that Israel’s strategic objectives have grown far more ambitious since the 2006 war, pointing to repeated public statements from Israeli leaders outlining a new military doctrine focused on “reclaiming deterrence” by establishing permanent security buffer zones in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. “Now we are in a totally different, more difficult situation,” he said. “We’re left with very few options.”

Looking beyond the immediate conflict, Mitri noted growing regional interest in building a new architecture of coordination and strategic alignment among regional states including Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, extending beyond narrow security arrangements. He pointed to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s long-held view that regional security is deeply interconnected, with Turkey’s security tied to Syria’s, and Syria’s security tied to Lebanon’s.

Mitri stressed that Syria is far more than just a neighbor and ally to Lebanon; the two countries’ futures are “inextricably intertwined.” Addressing recent reports that U.S. President Donald Trump asked Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to intervene militarily against Hezbollah, Mitri said Syria’s new leadership has shown no interest in reviving the decades of interference in Lebanese affairs that marked the former Assad regime. Al-Sharaa has publicly denied any plans to take military action against Hezbollah, and Mitri confirmed: “We know that with the present Syrian government, there is no hegemonic design over Lebanon.” Damascus is willing to support Lebanon through diplomatic and political means instead, he added.

Mitri also rejected claims that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun holds reservations about Syria’s new leadership, despite the fact that neither president has yet conducted an official visit to the other’s capital. “I have not sensed any major reason why the visits… did not take place,” he said, explaining that trust is still being rebuilt after decades of mutual suspicion and Syrian political dominance over Lebanon. “This is all changing and it takes time for the population of both countries to realise that we’re in a totally different dispensation.”

Despite years of catastrophic economic collapse, persistent political turmoil, and repeated cycles of war, Mitri said he does not believe Lebanon’s national unity and sovereignty face an imminent existential threat. He did acknowledge that deep-rooted sectarian loyalties and communal tensions remain present across the country, creating a widespread sense of social estrangement. While he warned that Lebanon’s future as a unified state depends on successfully resolving the current crisis, he stopped short of ruling out all risk of fragmentation. “Lebanon’s unity is always in the making,” he said, adding that fragmentation will only occur “unless we were unable to manage the present crisis and dissipate the present fears.”

On Tuesday, Israeli military forces carried out a temporary closure of one entrance gate to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Israel-occupied East Jerusalem, with official statements characterizing the action as necessary to accommodate scheduled military training drills.

According to the Jerusalem Governorate, a governing body affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, the military exercises unfolded within the open courtyards of the sensitive holy site and continued for approximately 30 minutes. While only the King Faisal Gate was fully shuttered during the activity, the organization added that Israeli security personnel ramped up restrictions and surveillance across all other entry points to the compound, creating significant disruptions to Palestinian worshippers seeking access to the site for prayer.

This temporary closure is the latest in a consistent pattern of escalating Israeli actions at Al-Aqsa Mosque, a site of profound religious and political significance to Palestinians and the broader Muslim world. Earlier in 2025, Israel implemented an unprecedented 40-day full closure of the mosque amid its open conflict with Iran, framing the move as a necessary response to looming security threats. During that extended shutdown, Palestinian Muslim worshippers were barred from entering the compound for major religious gatherings, including weekly Friday prayers, night prayers held throughout the holy month of Ramadan, and communal celebrations for the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

Palestinian leadership has roundly condemned these repeated actions, arguing they are not driven by legitimate security concerns but rather represent a deliberate campaign to restrict Palestinian religious freedom and advance what officials call the “Judaisation” of the site, which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews.

Data compiled by the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, released in an early July report, underscores the growing frequency of Israeli incursions into the compound. The document records that Israeli military forces carried out 26 separate raids on the Al-Aqsa complex during the month of June alone. Over the same 30-day period, the ministry added, 4,212 Israeli extremist settlers entered the site under armed protection from Israeli security forces, a practice that has stoked widespread anger across the Palestinian territories and the Muslim world.

For more than half a century, the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound has operated under a longstanding, internationally recognized agreement known as the status quo, which formally designates the entire site as an exclusive place of worship for Muslims. Under the terms of this arrangement, the full 144,000-square-meter complex — which includes the iconic Dome of the Rock, the Qibli Mosque, surrounding courtyards, entry gates, and all associated religious structures — is administered by the Islamic Waqf, a religious endowment body overseen by the Jordanian government. The status quo permits non-Muslim visitors to tour the site during scheduled time slots, but explicitly reserves all prayer rights exclusively to Muslims, with all access management and administrative oversight falling to the Waqf. The endowment also holds full responsibility for the site’s physical maintenance and religious governance.

Palestinian officials and community leaders argue that since Israel seized East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, the terms of the status quo have been incrementally eroded. Tighter and more frequent restrictions on Palestinian Muslim worshippers have coincided with a growing and increasingly permanent Israeli presence at the compound. In recent months, Palestinians charge that Israel has accelerated efforts to weaken the Waqf’s long-held authority: the Israeli government has restricted the Waqf’s ability to carry out critical maintenance work on site, revoked work permits for dozens of Waqf administrative and religious staff, and permitted Jewish groups to hold formal prayer services at the compound, a direct violation of the longstanding prohibition laid out in the status quo agreement.

Earlier this year in May, independent outlet Middle East Eye published a report claiming that Israel and the United States were collaborating to formally revoke Jordan’s centuries-old custodianship over the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. The Biden administration quickly issued a denial, stating that no such plan was under consideration.

Hong Kong police have arrested five individuals on suspicion of sedition-linked violations of the national security law following coordinated raids on two independent bookstores in the city, local authorities confirmed in an official statement. The two male suspects, aged 37 and 57, and three female suspects between 30 and 59 years old, are accused of selling and displaying publications that Hong Kong officials claim incite hatred toward the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, the territory’s judiciary and law enforcement institutions. Law enforcement officers seized hundreds of suspected unauthorized books from the two targeted shops during the operation, which was documented by AFP reporters who witnessed officers escort a handcuffed woman from one of the stores, Have A Nice Stay, into a police van. Have A Nice Stay, located in the densely populated Mong Kok district, was established in 2022 by a collective of former journalists, and specialized in titles covering democratic movements, global governance structures, media literacy and critical political analysis. Just one day before the raid, the bookstore had publicly announced it would permanently close in August, citing both persistent financial pressures and growing uncertainty around the unwritten ‘red lines’ that determine which reading materials are deemed unacceptable by authorities. Local media reports confirmed a second nearby shop, Greenfield Book Store, was also searched by officers during the operation. Greenfield Book Store states on its official Facebook page that it carries a curated selection of titles from Hong Kong and Taiwan, spanning genres including literature, history, philosophy, art, sociology and personal development. Neither of the two raided independent shops are participating in this year’s Hong Kong Book Fair, which opened to the public on Wednesday. This latest raid marks the third such operation targeting independent book retailers in Hong Kong in 2026. In June, two staff members were arrested at Hunter Bookstore, and four more people were taken into custody following a March raid at Book Punch, another independent outlet. Global human rights organization Amnesty International has condemned the latest arrests, arguing that the repeated raids lay bare the chilling effect of national security enforcement on freedom of expression in the territory. ‘This is the chilling reality of what Hong Kong has become: a place where you can be criminalized simply for what’s on your bookshelf,’ the organization said in a statement. Amnesty added that the persistent ambiguity around what content falls within unmarked regulatory ‘red lines’ has forced booksellers and authors across Hong Kong into a state of constant uncertainty, as they are forced to guess which titles could trigger criminal investigations, arrests or forced business closures. This climate of fear has driven widespread self-censorship among independent publishers and retailers, eroding the city’s once vibrant literary culture, the organization added. All five suspects currently remain in police custody for further investigation. If convicted on the sedition charges, they face a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment. Hong Kong authorities have not publicly released the names of the raided businesses, or details on which specific titles were deemed seditious.