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UN Human Rights Office Says Israeli Plan for Settlement Near East Jerusalem Breaks Int'l Law

A general view shows the E1 area, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, between the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim and the occupied West Bank town of Eizariya Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (AP)
A general view shows the E1 area, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, between the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim and the occupied West Bank town of Eizariya Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (AP)
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UN Human Rights Office Says Israeli Plan for Settlement Near East Jerusalem Breaks Int'l Law

A general view shows the E1 area, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, between the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim and the occupied West Bank town of Eizariya Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (AP)
A general view shows the E1 area, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, between the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim and the occupied West Bank town of Eizariya Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (AP)

The UN human rights office said on Friday an Israeli plan to build to build thousands of new homes between an Israeli settlement in the West Bank and near East Jerusalem was illegal under international law, and would put nearby Palestinians at risk of forced eviction, which it described as a war crime. 

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday vowed to press on a long-delayed settlement project, saying the move would "bury" the idea of a Palestinian state. 

The UN rights office spokesperson said the plan would break the West Bank into isolated enclaves and that it was "a war crime for an occupying power to transfer its own civilian population into the territory it occupies". 

About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, a move not recognised by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank. 

Most world powers say settlement expansion erodes the viability of a two-state solution by breaking up territory the Palestinians seek as part of a future independent state. 

The two-state plan envisages a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, existing side by side with Israel, which captured all three territories in the 1967 Middle East war. 

Israel cites historical and biblical ties to the area and says the settlements provide strategic depth and security and that the West Bank is "disputed" not "occupied". 

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Arab World

ICC Sentences Darfur Janjaweed Militia Leader to 20 years

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, a Sudanese national, waits to hear the verdict of the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands, Dec. 9, 2025. Peter Dejong/Pool via REUTERS
Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, a Sudanese national, waits to hear the verdict of the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands, Dec. 9, 2025. Peter Dejong/Pool via REUTERS
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ICC Sentences Darfur Janjaweed Militia Leader to 20 years

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, a Sudanese national, waits to hear the verdict of the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands, Dec. 9, 2025. Peter Dejong/Pool via REUTERS
Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, a Sudanese national, waits to hear the verdict of the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands, Dec. 9, 2025. Peter Dejong/Pool via REUTERS

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced a Janjaweed militia leader to 20 years in prison for atrocities committed in Sudan’s Darfur region, including beating detainees to death with an axe.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, was convicted in October on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, and orchestrating rape and other atrocities carried out by Janjaweed militias more than 20 years ago.

In their sentencing, judges rejected defense arguments that Abd-Al-Rahman had limited authority and expressed empathy for the victims, Reuters reported.

"Abd-Al-Rahman not only gave the orders which led directly to the crimes, but in Mukjar and Deleig also personally perpetrated some of them, using the axe he carried to beat prisoners," presiding judge Joanna Korner said.

The trial chamber imposed a joint sentence of 20 years, a term that likely means the 76-year-old will die in prison.

Prosecutors had sought a life sentence, describing Abd-Al-Rahman as an axe murderer for killing two detainees held in a police station and as an enthusiastic, energetic and effective perpetrator of the abuses.

His defense argued he was a victim of mistaken identity and said that any sentence beyond seven years would amount to a de facto life term, given his age.

Both prosecution and defense can appeal the conviction and the sentence but both parties said they would study the rulings before making that decision.

The ruling closes the ICC's first trial addressing the Darfur conflict, accusing it of marginalizing the remote western region.

In response, Sudan's then-government mobilized Arab militias known as the Janjaweed to crush the revolt, unleashing violence that the US and human rights groups said amounted to genocide.

The United Nations Security Council referred the case to the ICC in 2005. The Hague-based court was established to prosecute the gravest crimes when local courts fail.

Fresh clashes broke out in Darfur and across Sudan in 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, widely seen as successors to the Janjaweed.

Fighting in Darfur, particularly its city of al-Fashir, has unleashed waves of ethnically driven killings and caused mass displacement.

Arab World

Israel to Reopen Jordan Border Crossing for Passage of Aid and Goods

Allenby Bridge Crossing between West Bank and Jordan is closed, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 24, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Allenby Bridge Crossing between West Bank and Jordan is closed, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 24, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
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Israel to Reopen Jordan Border Crossing for Passage of Aid and Goods

Allenby Bridge Crossing between West Bank and Jordan is closed, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 24, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Allenby Bridge Crossing between West Bank and Jordan is closed, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 24, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo

Israel is set to reopen the Allenby Crossing with Jordan to the passage of goods and aid on Wednesday, an Israeli security official said on Tuesday.

The border crossing has been closed to aid and goods since September, when a driver bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza opened fire and killed two Israeli military personnel before being killed by security forces, Reuters reported.

The security official said the crossing would have tightened screening for Jordanian drivers and truck cargo, and that a dedicated security force had been assigned to the crossing.

The Allenby Bridge is a key route for trade between Jordan and Israel and the only gateway for more than 3 million Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to reach Jordan and the wider world.

The crossing reopened to passenger traffic shortly after the attack, but had remained closed to aid trucks. The UN says the crossing is a major route for bringing food, tents and other goods into Gaza.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Israeli Forces' Raid on UNRWA Headquarters

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israeli Forces' Raid on UNRWA Headquarters

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the Israeli forces' raid on the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem.

He described this attack as part of an ongoing campaign by the occupying forces to undermine the agency's role and eliminate its contribution to safeguarding the rights of Palestinian refugees, SPA reported.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Aboul Gheit disclosed that the justifications provided by the occupying forces for this illegal raid have no logical or legal basis.

The secretary-general urged the international community to intervene effectively and decisively to halt this Israeli campaign targeting the international agency, which provides essential health, education, and employment services to millions of Palestinian refugees across its five areas of operation.

He also referenced the important vote at the United Nations a few days ago, which extended UNRWA's mandate for an additional three years.