Bemerkenswertes Abschlußpapier der von Frankreich und Saudi-Arabien organisierten VN-Konferenz zur Zwei-Staaten-Lösung „New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementaton of the Two-State Solution„:
Aus dem Kommentar des Berliner Tagesspiegel dazu:
Bericht auf Radio Vatikan zur Konferenz Ende Juli (interessant wer als Initiator nicht genannt wird)
As a binational movement of Palestinians and Israelis committed to nonviolence and equality, Combatants for Peace issues this urgent statement in light of the deepening humanitarian and political crisis across Gaza and the West Bank:
In response to the continued policy of starvation in Gaza and the accelerating ethnic cleansing of Palestinian communities in the West Bank, we are compelled to speak clearly: this is genocide – and it must be stopped.
We do not use this word lightly. As outlined in B’Tselem’s recent report, “Our Genocide” what we are witnessing is not simply a failure to protect civilian life – it is the deliberate, state-enabled destruction of it.
In Gaza, more than 60,000 people have been killed, including thousands of children. Families are dying of hunger, and entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble. Israel has systematically and deliberately destroyed over 70% of Gaza’s buildings, damaged or destroyed 94% of hospitals, and wiped out 89% of schools. Aid is obstructed, water is cut off, and civilians are being shot as they attempt to reach food. This is not a natural disaster – it is a deliberate policy choice aimed at destroying the conditions for civilian life.
In the West Bank restrictions on movement have worsened dramatically, with checkpoints multiplying, roads closed without notice, and entire villages cut off from hospitals, schools and markets – all while entire rural Palestinian communities are being displaced by armed settlers and military units working in tandem. In the Jordan Valley, South Hebron Hills, and northern districts, homes have been torched, water sources poisoned, livestock killed, and people forced to flee. Just last night, Awdah Hathaleen – a well-known and loved community activist from Umm al-Khair – was shot and killed in yet another murderous settler attack. Weeks earlier, Sayfollah Musallet was beaten to death in the village of Sinjil while defending his family’s land from encroaching settlers. These are not isolated acts. They are part of a clear and documented strategy to remove Palestinians from their land – what international law recognizes as ethnic cleansing.
We also recognize the pain and anguish of Israeli families whose loved ones remain held hostage in Gaza. These hostages must be returned unharmed now – or, where necessary, given a respectful burial. Their immense suffering cannot be ignored. But it also cannot justify the starvation and mass killing of an entire civilian population.
At the same time, thousands of Palestinian political prisoners remain imprisoned in Israeli jails, held in inhumane and degrading conditions. Many have endured years without trial, in solitary confinement, or denied access to legal recourse. Their release must be part of any just and lasting political resolution.
Any meaningful path toward peace must confront the full scope of human rights violations in this conflict – including the systemic use of unlawful detention and collective punishment against Palestinians, and the ongoing trauma, insecurity, and targeting of civilians experienced by Israelis. Justice must be extended to all who live here, without exception.
As Palestinians and Israelis who have chosen to walk the path of nonviolence – even in a time of war – we call on all people of conscience, within our societies and beyond them, to speak out. To act. To refuse complicity, and to reject the lies that tell us there is no other way.
We remain committed to peace, to nonviolence, and to each other.
This commitment is rooted in the belief that the occupation must end, and that justice is not a dream – it is a requirement. Only then can we begin to repair what has been broken – and begin to build the future we know is possible: a future where Palestinians and Israelis live in freedom and equality, guided by a shared commitment to nonviolence and humanity.
In solidarity and hope,
Combatants for Peace
Auch wer gleich nicht in Berlin sein kann, der „höre“ die Stimme der
Israelis für Frieden | Israelis for Peace
Während sich die Stimmen mehren, die Augen nicht länger vor dem Leid und dem Hunger der Palästinenser:innen im Gazastreifen zu verschließen (Etwa Crisis Group, Abraham Initiatives, Forward Ärzte ohne Grenzen etc.) …
Hier ein Blick auf das, was die Besatzung und die Militäreinsätze mit den Besatzern macht (… wem klingen hier nicht die Worte von Y. Leibowitz nach??)
How to document the reality on the ground when reporters are systematically barred from accessing it?
Panel Discussion in English 16. Juli 2025 19.00 Uhr (Öffnung 18:30 Uhr)
im ACUD Studio, Veteranenstraße 21, 10 119 Berlin
Entrance: Donation (proceeds will pay technicians and go to Fatma Hassouna’s surviving mother)
With Israel blocking International press access, Gaza’s journalists and filmmakers have become essential witnesses – and paid a heavy price for it. In this conversation, we explore the role of local and western journalists and filmmakers in challenging enforced silence, and the emotional, ethical, and logistical complexities of bearing witness about inaccessible grounds – when the journalism quest for truth becomes a battle of its own.
The Gaza blockade on international press has left Western journalists struggling to inform impartially on a ground they can’t access. For too long they relied on Israel’s narrative as their only source, amid highly emotional domestic politics. In this context, Palestinian journalists have slowly imposed themselves as their Western colleagues’ eyes and ears in Gaza, and paid a high price for it. Israel has killed (and sometimes targeted) 220 media workers since October 2023, making Gaza the deadliest conflict for journalists in the world today, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
At the heart of this reality stands the fate of the young Gaza photojournalist Fatma Hassouna whose determination and courage are the subject of Sepideh Farsi’s “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk”. Hassouna was killed by an Israeli strike one day after the film’s selection at the Cannes Film Festival, but her testimony survives — through her photography and through Farsi’s documentary. This stresses the power of filmmaking as a critical tool in breaking through imposed silence. The collection of Gaza-made short films “From Ground Zero” is another instance of cinema of urgency, defying media blackouts through raw, firsthand depictions of inaccessible realities.
PANEL: The panel kicks off with an exclusive visual presentation of Hassouna’s photowork, as Sepideh Farsi shares intimate details of her collaboration with Fatma Hassouna. Researcher Aurélia Kalisky (Centre Marc Bloch) will contextualize the tactics of silencing war crimes and how film, including fiction, can defy dominant narratives and distributor and scholar Irit Neidhardt (mec film/distributor “From Ground Zero”) will the power of cinema of urgency in war contexts. Meanwhile, Middle-East Editor Lisa Schneider (taz), and Christopher Resch (Reporter Ohne Grenzen) will discuss the ethical and logistical challenges of reporting on Gaza, and the Western media’s work with Gaza journalists.
The conversation is curated and moderated by Nadja Vancauwenberghe who reported the Second Chechen War despite the Russian media blackout and currently coordinates a transnational investigation on the media and Gaza.
Our goal is to share knowledge and collectively reflect on how, in an age defined by global digital networks and real-time information flows, the total erasure of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other forms of state violence is no longer possible. As seen in Gaza today, victims can document and share their own stories through social media, bypassing traditional gatekeepers. This marks a stark contrast to conflicts of the pre-digital world, like the Second Chechen War, where banning journalists truly meant no images, no news — leaving crimes shrouded in silence.
Joint statement on fuel shortage in Gaza
New York/ Geneva/ Rome/ Gaza, July 12, 2025
The United Nations warns that the fuel shortage in Gaza has reached critical levels.
Fuel is the backbone of survival in Gaza. It powers hospitals, water systems, sanitation networks, ambulances, and every aspect of humanitarian operations. Fuel supplies are needed to move the fleet used for transporting essential goods across the Strip and to operate a network of bakeries producing fresh bread for the affected population. Without fuel, these lifelines will vanish for 2.1 million people.
After almost two years of war, people in Gaza are facing extreme hardships, including widespread food insecurity. When fuel runs out, it places an unbearable new burden on a population teetering on the edge of starvation.
Without adequate fuel, UN agencies responding to this crisis will likely be forced to stop their operations entirely, directly impacting all essential services in Gaza. This means no health services, no clean water, and no capacity to deliver aid.
Without adequate fuel, Gaza faces a collapse of humanitarian efforts. Hospitals are already going dark, maternity, neonatal and intensive care units are failing, and ambulances can no longer move. Roads and transport will remain blocked, trapping those in need. Telecommunications will shut down, crippling lifesaving coordination and cutting families off from critical information, and from one another.
Without fuel, bakeries and community kitchens cannot operate. Water production and sanitation systems will shut down, leaving families without safe drinking water, while solid waste and sewage pile up in the streets. These conditions expose families to deadly disease outbreaks and push Gaza’s most vulnerable even closer to death.
For the first time in 130 days, a small amount of fuel entered Gaza this week. This is a welcome development, but it is a small fraction of what is needed each day to keep daily life and critical aid operations running.
The United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners cannot overstate the urgency of this moment: fuel must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantities and consistently to sustain life-saving operations.
Erzbischof Dr. Udo Markus Bentz, Vorsitzender der Arbeitsgruppe Naher und Mittlerer Osten der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz, äußerte sich mit deutlichen Worten zu den jüngsten Übergriffen extremistischer Siedler im Westjordanland:
„In diesen Tagen ist die mehrheitlich christliche Stadt Taybeh im Westjordanland in die Schlagzeilen geraten. Sie ist das vorerst letzte Beispiel für die unerträglichen Übergriffe extremistischer jüdischer Siedler auf palästinensische Orte. Längst handelt es sich nicht mehr um Einzelfälle, sondern um die Alltagserfahrung der dort ansässigen Bevölkerung, die eingeschüchtert werden soll, um sie zur Auswanderung zu veranlassen.
Die Gefahr, die von randalierenden Siedlern ausgeht, verschärft die Lebenssituation der Palästinenser, die ohnehin von der systematischen Zerstückelung der Infrastruktur im Westjordanland und der drastischen Einschränkung der Bewegungsfreiheit betroffen sind.
Der israelische Staat muss endlich seiner Verantwortung gerecht werden: Die Übergriffe müssen verhindert und Straftäter zur Verantwortung gezogen werden. Andernfalls wird nicht nur das internationale Renommee Israels beschädigt, sondern jeder Rest an Zukunftshoffnung, der unter den Palästinenser noch gegeben sein mag, zerstört. So ist ein Frieden in der Region auch langfristig undenkbar.
Angesichts des jüngsten Vorfalls sollte auch nicht vergessen werden, dass das christliche Leben ein wichtiger Bestandteil des palästinensischen Volkes ist. Es darf nicht vollständig aus der Region verschwinden!“
Über die Rückkehr – wenn es je weg war – des Rechts des Stärkeren...
Man speist im Weißen Haus auf teurem Porzellan und reflektiert bei der Suppe über die Zukunft der Palästinenser:innen im Gazastreifen, die ihre Heimat verlassen wöllten – ein ganz demokratisches Recht sei es ja der Menschen dort …
Und der Wissenschaftliche Dienst des Deutschen Bundestages wirft ein Licht auf die völkerrechtliche Dimension des Handelns der israelischen Regierung bei der Bombardierung des Iran:
Die israelische Militäroperation ‚Rising Lion‘ und die US-Angriffe ‚Midnight Hammer‘ gegen iranische Atomanlagen im Lichte des Völkerrechts.
Dazu der Artikel der Deutschen Welle. …: Israel-Iran-Krieg: „Erhebliche Zweifel“ an Rechtmäßigkeit
Ein Beitrag zur Wirklichkeit in Gaza von Tania Krämer auf Deutsche Welle | Hunger als Waffe ….
Das Interview führte Philipp Kauppert.
