PA Reports to UN Security Council Israeli Crimes Against Palestinians

The funeral of Ali Abu Alaya, who was killed by an Israeli soldier in Mughayyir village near Ramallah (AFP)
The funeral of Ali Abu Alaya, who was killed by an Israeli soldier in Mughayyir village near Ramallah (AFP)
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PA Reports to UN Security Council Israeli Crimes Against Palestinians

The funeral of Ali Abu Alaya, who was killed by an Israeli soldier in Mughayyir village near Ramallah (AFP)
The funeral of Ali Abu Alaya, who was killed by an Israeli soldier in Mughayyir village near Ramallah (AFP)

Palestinian ambassador the UN Riyad Mansour said detailed reports are being prepared to document the crimes committed by Israeli occupation forces and settlers against Palestinians, stressing that they will be submitted to the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General and President of the UN General Assembly.

In remarks to the Palestine Broadcasting Service (PBS), he urged the international community to assume its responsibilities in this regard, based on the humanitarian and international law.

This came following Israel’s killing of the 15-year-old Ali Abu Alaya during a peaceful protest in Ramallah on Friday. The teenager was taking part in the weekly protest against Israeli settlements at al-Mughayyir village near Ramallah.

The international community and its organizations shall hold Israel accountable for the repeated crimes against Palestinians, Palestinian Justice Minister Mohammad Shalalda said, calling on all parties to implement the Fourth Geneva Convention.

"The occupation army’s execution of Abu Alaya includes individual responsibility that the Israeli soldier shall bear, in addition to the international responsibility that Israel bears before the International Criminal Court," he noted.

Shalalda urged human rights institutions not only to verbally condemns the incident but also to provide international protection for Palestinians, calling on all citizens to defend their rights before the national, local and international courts.

The UN Middle East envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said he was appalled by the killing.

“Israel must swiftly and independently investigate this shocking and unacceptable incident,” he tweeted.

“Children enjoy special protection under international law and must be protected from violence.”

European Union representative in the Palestinian territories Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff issued a statement on Saturday in which he called for a speedy investigation and stressed that perpetrators of this crime should be held accountable.

“How many more Palestinian children will be subject to the excessive use of lethal force by the Israeli security forces?” he noted.

The Palestinian presidency also condemned the killing of Abu Alaya, stressing that this crime is added to many others committed by the Israeli occupation against defenseless Palestinians.

It urged the international community to protect Palestinians, end the occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 border lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.

On Saturday, the Fatah movement said killing the child accounts as a war crime and reflects the criminal Israeli occupation’s mentality.

It also highlighted the importance of reaching a national consensus on resisting the occupation, noting that this option enables Palestinians to respond to these crimes and halt the settlers’ escalating attacks in various cities in the West Bank.



Syria's Wheat War: Drought Fuels Food Crisis for 16 Million

Before the war, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing an average of 4.1 million tons annually, but 14 years of conflict crippled production. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
Before the war, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing an average of 4.1 million tons annually, but 14 years of conflict crippled production. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
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Syria's Wheat War: Drought Fuels Food Crisis for 16 Million

Before the war, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing an average of 4.1 million tons annually, but 14 years of conflict crippled production. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
Before the war, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing an average of 4.1 million tons annually, but 14 years of conflict crippled production. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP

Rival Syrian and Kurdish producers are scrambling for shrinking wheat harvests as the worst drought in decades follows a devastating war, pushing more than 16 million people toward food insecurity.

"The country has not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years," said Haya Abu Assaf, assistant to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in Syria.

Syria's water levels have seen "a very significant drop compared to previous years, which is very worrying", Abu Assaf told AFP, as a relatively short winter rainy season and decreased rainfall take their toll.

"A gap of between 2.5 to 2.7 million tons in the wheat crop is expected, meaning that the wheat quantity will not be sufficient to meet local needs," Abu Assaf said, putting "around 16.3 million people at risk of food insecurity in Syria this year".

Before the civil war erupted in 2011, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing an average of 4.1 million tons annually.

Nearly 14 years of conflict have since crippled production and devastated the economy.

The FAO estimates that harsh weather has impacted nearly 2.5 million hectares of wheat-growing land.

"Around 75 percent of the cultivated areas" have been affected, as well as "natural pastures for livestock production", said Abu Assaf.

Imports, competition

To bridge the wheat gap, imports would be essential in a country where around 90 percent of the population lives in poverty.

Before his ouster in an Islamist-led offensive in December, Syria's longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad used to rely on ally Russia for wheat.

In April, new authorities reported the first wheat shipment since his removal arrived in Latakia port, with more Russian shipments following.

Iraq also donated more than 220,000 tons of wheat to Syria.

During the war, Damascus competed with the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast to buy wheat from farmers across fertile lands.

Last year, Assad's government priced wheat at $350 per ton, and the Kurds at $310.

After Assad's ouster, Damascus and the Kurds agreed in March to integrate Kurdish-led institutions into the new Syrian state, with negotiations ongoing on implementation.

Damascus set wheat prices this month at between $290 and $320 per ton, depending on the quality, plus a $130 bonus.

The Kurdish-led administration offered $420 per ton including a $70 bonus.

'Poverty and hunger'

Damascus' agriculture ministry expects a harvest of 300,000 to 350,000 tons in government-controlled areas this year.

Hassan Othman, director of the Syrian Grain Establishment, acknowledged Syria was not self-sufficient, in comments on state television.

But he said authorities were working "to ensure food security by importing wheat from abroad and milling it in our mills".

In northeast Syria's Amuda, farmer Jamshid Hassu, 65, inspected the tiny wheat grains from his fields, which cover around 200 hectares (around 500 acres).

Despite heavy irrigation efforts to offset scarce rainfall, he said, production has halved.

The FAO's Abu Assaf said indicators showed that "about 95 percent of rain-fed wheat has been damaged and affected", while irrigated wheat yields were down 30 to 40 percent.

Hassu, who has been farming for four decades, said he had to pump water from depths of more than 160 meters (525 feet) to sustain his crops as groundwater levels plunge.

Agriculture remains a vital income source in rural Syria, but without urgent support, farmers face ruin.

"Without support, we will not be able to continue," Hassu warned.

"People will suffer from poverty and hunger."