Bombings by the Israeli army and ground fighting continue this Friday in the Gaza Strip, while the International Court of Justice (ICJ) must rule on a request to stop the military offensive in the Palestinian territory ravaged by more than seven months of war.
A new legal battle for Israel as earlier this week, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, requested the issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Hamas leaders, including the leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinouar.
Information to remember
⇒ Borrell asks Israel not to “threaten” ICC judges
⇒ One of the last French Hamas hostages in Gaza has died
⇒ Netanyahu invited to address the US Congress “soon”
Borrell asks Israel not to ‘threaten’ ICC judges
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, called on Israel this Friday not to “intimidate” and “threaten” the judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose attorney general has requested arrest warrants against the Prime Minister. Israeli Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“I ask everyone, starting with the government of Israel, but also some European governments, not to intimidate judges, not to threaten them,” Josep Borrell said in an interview with Spanish public television TVE , calling for “respect for the International Criminal Court”.
Death of a hostage: Macron expresses his “immense sadness”
Emmanuel Macron expressed this Friday his “immense sadness” after the announcement of the death of the Franco-Mexican hostage of Hamas, Orión Hernández-Radoux, whose body was recovered during the night by the Israeli army alongside those of two other hostages.
Orión Hernández-Radoux is the 43rd French victim of the terrorist attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7 in Israel, which resulted in the death of more than 1,170 people. Two French hostages have now remained detained for more than seven months.
Netanyahu urged to address US Congress ‘soon’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the American Congress “soon”, announced this Thursday evening the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, for whom it will be a “strong expression of support” in full war in Gaza.
“Tonight, I am pleased to announce something else: we will soon welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu to the Capitol for a joint session of Congress,” declared the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, during a reception at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. “This will be a timely and, I think, very strong show of support for the Israeli government at a time when it needs it most,” he added.
ICJ rules on ceasefire request
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s highest court, rules Friday on a request from South Africa to order a halt to the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, with Pretoria accusing Israel of ” genocide”. The African country wants the court to order Israel to “immediately” cease all its military operations, including in Rafah, and to facilitate access to humanitarian aid.
Israel wants the court to reject the request, arguing that a forced ceasefire would allow Hamas fighters to regroup, and make it impossible to free hostages taken during the Palestinian Islamist movement’s October 7 attack. The ICJ will deliver its decision from 3 p.m. Paris time.
Israel announces “cutting the link” between the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem and the Palestinians
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced this Friday that he had “decided to cut the link” between the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem and the Palestinians, “in response” to Madrid’s recent recognition of the State of Palestine. and to an “anti-Semitic call” from a Spanish minister.
The minister claims to have taken these measures “in response to the recognition of a Palestinian state by Spain and to the anti-Semitic call (from a Spanish minister) not simply to recognize a Palestinian state but to ‘liberate Palestine from river to the sea’. Spain, Ireland and Norway announced on Wednesday their decision to recognize the State of Palestine from May 28, provoking the fury of Israel which denounced a “reward for terrorism”.
The head of the CIA expected in Paris for a relaunch of talks
The head of the CIA is expected in Paris on Friday or Saturday to try to relaunch talks with Israel on a truce in Gaza, AFP learned from a Western source close to the matter. Israel gave the green light this Thursday to the resumption of negotiations for the release of hostages held in Gaza, while discussions on a truce with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas have been bogged down for months.
This Western source thus partly confirmed information published earlier by American media. According to the American site Axios, CIA chief William Burns is due to travel “in the coming days” to Europe to meet with the head of Mossad, the Israeli secret service, and the Prime Minister of Qatar, in an effort to restart talks. According to New York Timesit is not certain that Qatari and Egyptian negotiators will take direct part in the discussions planned between William Burns and his Israeli counterpart David Barnea.