𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Earlier we brought you the news that two major rights groups in Israel, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, have accused their country of genocide for the first time.

The rights groups, while prominent and respected internationally, are considered in Israel to be on the political fringe, and their views are not representative of the vast majority of Israelis. But having the allegation of genocide come from Israeli voices shatters a taboo in a society that has been reticent to criticize Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

Guy Shalev, director of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, said the Jewish-Israeli public often dismisses accusations of genocide as antisemitic or biased against Israel.

“Perhaps human rights groups based in Israel, and coming to this conclusion, is a way to confront that accusation and get people to acknowledge the reality,” he said.

Israel asserts that it is fighting an existential war and abides by international law. It has rejected genocide allegations as antisemitic.

It is challenging such allegations at the International Court of Justice, and it has rejected the International Criminal Court’s allegations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant committed war crimes in Gaza. Both face international arrest warrants.

Keir Starmer will go into his emergency cabinet meeting this week under immense political pressure to change government policy and recognise a Palestinian state.

The question which will be troubling the prime minister though will not be whether he wants to recognise Palestine as a country, but determining when formal recognition will have maximum effect.

The problem is that recognising a state is a one-time move. Unlike a Brexit agreement or a trade deal, there is no going back to rework some of the details further down the line – with this, there is no room for error.

Political editor David Maddox writes:

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called on Donald Trump on Monday to exert all efforts to end the war in Gaza and allow entry of humanitarian aid into the shattered Palestinian enclave.

Mr Sisi and the US president have long enjoyed warm relations. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been mediating in search of ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas since the war broke out on 7 October, 2023.

“I direct this special message to President Trump: Please, exert all efforts to end this war and allow the entry of aid,” Mr Sisi said in a televised speech. He added that Trump was one who was “capable of stopping the war.”

The latest round of indirect ceasefire talks in Doha between Israel and Hamas broke off last week with no deal in sight as mediators struggle to bridge the gaps between the two sides.

“We cannot deny aid to the enclave, but for aid to get in, coordination with the other side is needed,” Mr Sisi said.

Donald Trump has made clear his belief that there is real starvation in Gaza, after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested there was no hunger in the strip.

It is not possible to fake the images coming out of Gaza, the president said during a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer at Turnberry, Scotland.

As Netanyahu attended a Christian conference in Jerusalem on Sunday, he said: “There is no policy of starvation in Gaza and there is no starvation in Gaza.”

On Monday, Palestinian health officials said 14 more people died of malnutrition-related causes in Gaza, bringing the overall war total to 147, including 89 children.

Donald Trump on Monday said the Hamas militant group had become difficult to deal with in recent days, but he was talking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about “various plans” to free hostages still held in the enclave.

Trump also said the U.S. would work with other countries to provide more humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, including food and sanitation.

“We’re going to set up food centres,” with no fences or boundaries to ease access, Trump told reporters after a meeting with British prime minister Keir Starmer at his golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland.

Two prominent Israeli rights groups have said their country is committing genocide in Gaza, the first time that local Jewish-led organizations have made such accusations against Israel during nearly 22 months of war.

The claims by B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel add to an explosive debate over whether Israel’s military offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide.

The Palestinians, their supporters and international human rights groups make that claim, and the International Court of Justice is hearing a genocide case filed by South Africa against Israel.

But in Israel, founded in the wake of the Holocaust, even the government’s strongest critics have largely refrained from making such accusations.

That’s because of the deep sensitivities and strong memories of the Nazi genocide of Europe’s Jews, and because many in Israel view the war in Gaza as a justified response to the deadliest attack in the country’s history and not an attempt at extermination.

Donald Trump has declined to take a position on Palestinian statehood, after France’s declaration that it would do so generated outrage from Israel and its allies.

Speaking outside his hotel in Turnberry as he greeted Sir Keir Starmer, the US president said he would not comment on a push by French president Emmanuel Macron to back Palestinian statehood.

French president Emmanuel Macron had been hinting towards taking this step for a long time – but the announcement was delayed after the 12-day war between Israel and Iran broke out.

Speaking to parliament a few weeks ago, Mr Macron said “working together to recognise the state of Palestine and to initiate this political moment is the only path to peace”. It is unclear whether the UK will follow suit in the immediate future – something Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party promised to do in their election-winning manifesto last July.

Donald Trump said on Monday the number one priority in Gaza was getting people fed, because “you have a lot of starving people”.

Trump, speaking alongside British prime minister Keir Starmer at his golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland, said the United States had provided $60 million for humanitarian aid, and other nations would have to step up.

He said he discussed the issue with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday, and she told him European countries would step up their assistance very substantially. He said he also planned to discuss the humanitarian situation with Sir Keir during his visit on Monday.

“We’re giving a lot of money and a lot of food, and other nations are now stepping up,” Mr Trump said. “It’s a mess. They have to get food and safety right now.”

Sir Keir agreed, saying: “It’s a humanitarian crisis, right? It’s an absolute catastrophe…. I think people in Britain are revolted at seeing what they’re seeing on their screen.”

Donald Trump has said he is “very much involved” when asked about the war in Gaza.

Speaking over the sound of a bagpipe playing, the US president could be heard saying: “We’ve, as you know, given a lot of money to Gaza for food and everything else, a lot of that money is stolen by Hamas.”

Mr Trump added: “We’re very much involved…”

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer added: “Yes we’re going to be discussing it today.”

The US president did not provide evidence for the claim about money and food being stolen. Suggestions by Israel and the US that Hamas has systematically stolen aid from trucks going into Gaza have been thrown into doubt by US government analysis, which found no proof of this.