Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas categorically rejected the removal of Gaza’s inhabitants from their land in a phone call with US President Joe Biden on Saturday, Abbas’ office confirmed in a statement.
Biden pledged to support the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to bring much-needed humanitarian assistance to Gaza, according to a White House summary of the call.
The US president also claimed his administration has been working with the UN, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel “to ensure humanitarian supplies reach civilians in Gaza,” according to the summary, though Israel itself has pledged no electricity, water, or food will enter Gaza until the hostages taken by Hamas last Saturday are returned.
Abbas also told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he “rejects the forced displacement” of Palestinians from Gaza, warning the American diplomat during a meeting on Friday in Amman that going along with Israel’s evacuation order for north Gaza would amount to a “second Nakba” – a reference to Israel’s removal of 750,000 Palestinians from their land by force from 1947 to 1948.
Also on Saturday, Biden spoke on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pledging further material support to the Israel Defense Forces and telling the PM that “unity and determination” were needed to achieve Israel’s combat goals. Netanyahu thanked his American counterpart, according to a statement from his office.
Washington has repeatedly pledged to back Israel’s massive retaliation for Hamas’ attack last weekend, which left at least 1,300 Israelis dead. The resulting Israeli bombing campaign – the heaviest in Gaza’s history – has killed upwards of 1,900 Palestinians and displaced over 430,000 inhabitants of the densely-populated territory.
Israel ordered the 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza to evacuate on Thursday. The order has come under fire from the UN and other international human rights observers, who argue it constitutes aggravated ethnic cleansing. Washington and many of its European allies, however, insist Israel’s actions are justifiable self-defense.
Iran Warns Israel that Escalation in Gaza Conflict Threatens Regional War
Iran expressed its desire to avoid exacerbating the situation in the Hamas-Israel war but made it clear that it may need to intervene if Israel's military operation in Gaza continues, reports US media quoting diplomatic sources.
The situation is of significant international concern as the conflict between Hamas and Israel holds the potential to escalate into a regional war if Iran becomes directly or indirectly involved. The warning sent by Iran to Israel through the UN coincides with the US' efforts to deter Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah or others from entering the conflict, claims US media. The US has deployed an aircraft carrier group and fighter jets to the region to reinforce its stance.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a meeting with UN envoy to the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, in Beirut, reports US media quoting diplomatic sources. During this meeting, Wennesland implored Amir-Abdollahian to help prevent the conflict from spilling over into the broader Middle East region.
In response, the Iranian foreign minister conveyed Iran's reluctance to see the situation evolve into a regional war. He also expressed Iran's willingness to aid in the release of civilians held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. However, he emphasized that Iran has "red lines" and would respond if Israel continues its military operation, particularly if it proceeds with a ground offensive in Gaza.
Wennesland, in turn, relayed Iran's message to Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and other officials. The meeting between Amir-Abdollahian and Wennesland focused on diplomatic efforts to secure the release of hostages, de-escalation, and the prevention of a broader conflict in the region.
In a briefing with reporters in Beirut, Amir-Abdollahian, who had previously met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, called on Israel to cease its actions against Gaza's civilians, warning that time was running out. He also alluded to potential scenarios prepared by Hezbollah and the consequences they could bring, mentioning that any actions by the resistance would have a significant impact on Israel.
"In light of the continued aggression, war crimes and blockade of the Gaza Strip, the opening of new fronts remains feasible," the minister told Lebanese broadcaster.
The conflict, which began on October 7, has resulted in ongoing heavy bombardments in the Gaza Strip by Israel in response to a prior attack by Hamas. Violence has also escalated along the Israel-Lebanon border and in the West Bank.
Russia requests voting for resolution on Middle East on October 16
Moscow has requested a vote on its draft resolution on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to be held on October 16, first deputy permanent representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said. “We circulated it among the members of the Security Council yesterday and asked for a vote on Monday,” Polyansky said, urging colleagues from other UN member states to support and co-sponsor the measure.
“We need to send a clear message to the parties of the conflict,” Polyansky added. The Russian draft calls for an immediate ceasefire and “strongly condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism,” according to the text of the document seen by Russian media.
Just an update on our draft of humanitarian resolution on Gaza. We circulated it among the members of the Security Council yesterday and asked for a vote on Monday," Polyansky said.
"We expect Brazilian Presidency of the Council to confirm this shortly. For our colleagues from UN member states: the text is open for co-sponsorship at the delegate portal. Feel free to support! We need to send a clear message to the parties of the conflict," the diplomat added.
Puluhan rumah di 3 kecamatan di Aceh Singkil terendam banjir akibat hujan deras yang turun di wilayah tersebut pada hari Sabtu, 14/10/2023. Ketinggian air diperkirakan sekitar 50 sentimeter.
“Kondisi sampai saat ini air masih menggenangi rumah-rumah warga,” kata Kepala Pelaksana BPBA Ilyas melalui Pusat Pengendalian Operasi Penanggulangan Bencana (Pusdalops PB) di Banda Aceh, Sabtu, malam.
Ia menjelaskan peristiwa banjir di Aceh Singkil mulai terjadi pada Sabtu (14/10) sekitar pukul 01.00 WIB. Akibat hujan deras terus mengguyur daerah itu, maka banjir terus meluas ke sejumlah gampong, dengan ketinggian air mulai 50 centimeter hingga 2 meter.
Adapun desa yang terdampak di antaranya Gampong Ujung Limus, Cabubukan, dan Tanjung Mas di Kecamatan Simpang Kanan. Kemudian Gampong Sianjo Anjo dan Rimo di Kecamatan Gunung Meriah.
“Kondisi terakhir di Kecamatan Gunung Meriah banjir dengan ketinggian air kurang lebih 2 meter dan untuk kendaraan roda dua dan roda empat saat ini tidak bisa melintas,” ujarnya.
Selain merendam rumah penduduk, kata Ilyas, banjir juga merendam jalan penghubung antar gampong dan fasilitas umum seperti sekolah, masjid, kantor desa dan Puskesmas Pembantu (Pustu).
Data sementara BPBD Aceh Singkil, korban terdampak sebanyak 370 jiwa dalam 160 Kepala Keluarga (KK) di Kecamatan Gunung Meriah. Tidak ada korban jiwa dalam peristiwa itu, petugas BPBD juga masih terus melakukan pendataan korban terdampak banjir.
“BPBD Kabupaten Aceh Singkil sedang melakukan pendataan di lokasi banjir,” ujarnya.
Sebelumnya, Badan Meteorologi Klimatologi dan Geofisika (BMKG) menyebut wilayah Aceh pada Oktober ini sudah mulai memasuki musim penghujan, sehingga masyarakat diminta untuk meningkatkan kewaspadaan terhadap potensi banjir dan tanah longsor.
“(Aceh) sudah mulai memasuki musim penghujan,” kata Prakirawan BMKG Kelas I Sultan Iskandar Muda Aceh Besar Nuria Arifiani.
Dalam beberapa hari ke depan, kondisi cuaca di wilayah Aceh berpotensi mengalami hujan deras, yang dipicu adanya belokan angin (shearline) yang menyebabkan penumpukan massa udara sehingga menimbulkan hujan.
Adapun wilayah yang berpotensi hujan deras disertai petir meliputi Simeulue, Banda Aceh, Gayo Lues, Aceh Barat Daya, Aceh Besar, Pidie Jaya, Aceh Tenggara, Sabang, Aceh Tengah, Aceh Jaya, Aceh Selatan, dan Pidie,
Kemudian Kabupaten Aceh Barat, Nagan Raya, Bireuen, Aceh Singkil, Langsa, Bener Meriah, Aceh Utara, Lhokseumawe, Aceh Tamiang, dan Subulussalam.
“Ini wilayah-wilayah yang perlu waspada potensi bencana hidrometeorologi seperti banjir dan tanah longsor,” katanya.
"Kita sudah menurunkan tim ke lokasi, untuk memantau dan berkoordinasi," kata Pusdalops Badan Penanggulan Bencana Daerah (BPBD) Aceh Singkil, Rosiana Kusuma, hari Sabtu, 14/10/2023.
Rosiana menambahkan, sejauh ini belum ada laporan korban jiwa dari bencana alam tersebut. Bahkan masyarakat masih memilih bertahan di rumah masing-masing.
The hurricane that hit parts of the west coast of Florida on Thursday morning, October 12 2023, caused damage to cars, homes and businesses.
Police in Clearwater said in a social media post that no injuries were reported when two possible tornadoes touched down around 2 a.m. Thursday. Photos shared by the agency showed gutters from a home that pierced the windshield of a car.
Officials canceled public school classes for the day.
"The west side of Citrus County has experienced significant damage from an unconfirmed tornado(s) which hit the area overnight," school officials said in a Facebook post shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday.
Deputies were directing traffic Thursday morning due to multiple road closures caused by the storm, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office said on social media. A portion of U.S Highway 19, which is a major thoroughfare through the mostly rural county, was closed due to storm damage.
The storms kept tracking east across the state, reaching parts of northeast Florida Thursday morning. The Flagler County Sheriff's office said there was "significant damage" but no injuries in Palm Coast on Florida's Atlantic coast.
More damage was reported from a separate potential tornado around 65 miles north in Crystal River. Citrus County officials said several roads were closed there because of downed power lines, trees, and debris.
Forecasters had previously warned that hazardous weather conditions were expected to cover the region through early Thursday, with many given notice that power outages were likely to affect many communities.
Severe weather that erupted overnight Thursday in Florida prompted multiple reported tornadoes to level widespread damages to homes and businesses along both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the Sunshine State.
A likely tornado hit Florida's Clearwater Beach, damaging at least two homes. Although no one was injured, images from the scene captured the chaos, with debris strewn across streets and a home's gutter impaling a car's windshield.
However, the destruction didn't end there; Dunedin, located north of Clearwater Beach, reported downed power lines and buildings with missing walls and blown-out windows.
The US National Weather Service has indicated it will assess the damage to confirm if it was indeed caused by a tornado and to determine its strength.
Around 65 miles north in Crystal River, Florida, a reported twister wreaked havoc on the town, damaging and destroying numerous businesses and homes. The area miraculously escaped reports of major injuries or deaths, though the destruction was substantial. Most of the closed roads in Citrus County have since reopened, but school was canceled due to the severity of damages.
Storms have continued eastward, reaching parts of northeast Florida. An EF2 tornado with sustained winds of 115 miles per hour carved a mile-long path of damage through Palm Coast, causing significant damages to infrastructure but no injuries to local residents.
Millions of Floridians were under a tornado watch during the peak of the threat, with the potential for heavy rain and strong thunderstorms throughout the day.
Although the storm system was expected to move off into the Atlantic waters during the early afternoon, residents remained on high alert as the tumultuous weather continued to affect the region
The Palestinian Hamas movement appreciates the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow's efforts to settle the situation in the Gaza Strip, according to the group’s statement published on its Telegram channel.
"Hamas appreciates Russian President Vladimir Putin's position on the ongoing Zionist aggression against our people and the fact that he does not accept the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the stoppage of humanitarian aid and the attack on unarmed civilians. We also affirm that we welcome Russia's tireless efforts to stop the systematic and barbaric Zionist aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip," the statement said.
Earlier, the Russian leader said that Israel has been subjected to a brutal attack, but the settlement of the conflict is possible only through the establishment of an independent Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital. He also noted that in the event of a ground operation in Gaza, civilian casualties would be unacceptable.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, for his part, pointed out that the forced evacuation of Gaza residents was a violation of human rights. He added that the exchange of blows between Israel and Palestine should stop.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian Hamas movement staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip as it has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria.
According to the latest official data, more than 1,900 Palestinians have been killed since the renewed outbreak of violence, while over 7,700 others have suffered wounds. In Israel, over 1,500 people have lost their lives and roughly 4,000 have been wounded in clashes, including on the West Bank of the Jordan River.
Who Does Russia Support in Palestinian-Israeli Conflict?
Moscow has expressed readiness to help mediate a negotiated end to the Palestinian-Israeli crisis. But where do Russia’s true sympathies lie, both historically and in the present moment? Is a Russian-negotiated resolution to the conflict a real possibility? Sputnik digs through the details, and the history, for answers.
“Right now the most important thing [in the Palestinian-Israeli crisis] is to stop the bloodshed. Collective efforts are more than needed in the interests of an early ceasefire and stabilization of the situation on the ground,” Russian President Putin said Friday at a CIS heads of state meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
“I would like to emphasize that Russia is ready to coordinate with all constructively-minded partners. We proceed from the view that there is no alternative to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through negotiations,” Putin said, adding that an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza would result in “absolutely unacceptable” civilian casualties.
The goal of talks “should be the implementation of the UN two-state formula, which envisions the creation of an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem, coexisting in peace and security with Israel,” the Russian president said. “We need to concern ourselves with resolving this issue through peaceful means. In the current situation there is no alternative,” he emphasized.
Reiterating his earlier-stated position on the crisis being the result of the Washington’s failed regional policy, Putin pointed out that the so-called Quartet on the Middle East, consisting of the UN, Russia, the United States and the European Union, hasn’t been activated to try to cool tensions
“Under far-fetched pretexts, the US has factually blocked this format, which was unique and, by the way, had a mandate approved by a relevant UN resolution. An attempt was made to solve a political problem, a deep-seated problem, namely the creation of an independent Palestinian state, with the help of certain economic incentives,” Putin said, referring to the Palestinian-Israeli peace plan introduced in early 2020 by the Trump administration proposing major Palestinian territorial concessions in exchange for financial handouts. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas blasted the proposal at the time, saying it belongs in the “garbage can of history.”
Russia’s efforts to strike a balanced approach to the Palestinian-Israeli crisis has rung alarm bells in the US and NATO establishment and their loyal servants in the media, with Western media churning out article after article on how Moscow could “benefit” from or "take advantage" of the conflict, and trying to twist the narrative in the most convoluted way to find an alleged trace of Russian influence on the escalating violence.
The propaganda campaign stems from Putin’s decision not to join Western leaders in offering Israel Russia’s full-throated support, and to instead delve into history to point out that the ultimate “root of all problems” in the Palestinian-Israeli crisis stems from the failure of the 1947 UN-mandated creation of a Palestinian state alongside a Jewish one. The Palestinian problem “touches the heart” of all residents of the Middle East, and all Muslims in general, Putin said, adding that Russia’s stance on the conflict “is well known both to the Israeli side and to our friends in Palestine.”
As far as the escalation is concerned, the Russian president has urged, first and foremost, that civilians are left out of the fighting. “If men decide to fight amongst themselves, let them do it. But leave women and children alone,” he said, stressing that this applies to both sides.
Position Forged Over Decades
Moscow’s present posture on the Palestinian-Israeli issue, which seeks to achieve maximum balance, follows decades of positions which shifted dramatically based on geopolitical and ideological considerations, going back to the start of the crisis in the late 1940s.
As a founding member of the United Nations system which emerged after World War II, the Soviet Union eagerly supported the creation of separate Palestinian and Jewish states. The USSR became the first country in the world to recognize Israel in 1948, and went so far as to approve arms sales by Czechoslovakia, a Soviet bloc country, to Tel Aviv during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-1949.
Relations between the Soviet Union and Israel soon soured, however, due to the failure of the promised Palestinian state to materialize, with Tel Aviv adding insult to injury by ignoring Moscow’s proposal for UN Security Council trusteeship over the city of Jerusalem. Israeli demands requesting the USSR to allow for the immigration of Soviet Jews, plus Tel Aviv’s gradual efforts to cozy up to the West, prompted Moscow to terminate trade relations in 1949, and to sever diplomatic relations entirely in early 1953 after a terrorist attack at the Soviet diplomatic mission in Israel, which Moscow blamed on the Israeli government.
Relations were restored shortly after Joseph Stalin’s death in mid-1953, but remained tense, with Soviet support for anti-Western national liberation movements across the Middle East, including Gamal Abdel Nasser’s Egypt – which refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist, naturally straining ties.
In June 1967, after Israel launched preemptive aerial strikes against the Egyptians and sparked a new regional war with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Algeria, Moscow again broke off relations with Tel Aviv.
From 1967 until 1985, the USSR did not maintain any contacts with Israel whatsoever, with Soviet and Israeli intelligence agencies clashing in Cold War hot spots across the globe, from Africa to Latin America, and Moscow sending billions of dollars’ worth of increasingly advanced military hardware to their Middle Eastern allies. Throughout this period, the USSR expressed its full support to the Palestinian Liberation Organization and its longtime leader, Yasser Arafat.
Ties gradually began to be restored in the mid-to-late 1980s, after Mikhail Gorbachev launched his perestroika and ‘New Political Thinking’ reforms aimed at ending the Cold War. Soviet-Israeli consular contacts were resumed in 1987, and diplomatic relations were fully restored in October 1991, months before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In the post-Soviet period, ties between Russia and Israel quickly warmed, coming to include close diplomatic, economic, cultural and even military contacts, complemented by the migration of hundreds of thousands of Jews from Russia to Israel, with a visa-free travel regime agreed in 2008. Politically, despite Israel’s alliance with the US, Moscow found ways to find common ground with Tel Aviv, focusing heavily on cooperation in counterterrorism (but without agreeing to formally categorize certain enemies of Israel, including Hamas and Hezbollah, as “terrorist groups”).
Throughout the post-Soviet period, Russia also continued to support Palestine in its quest for statehood, joining 137 other UN members recognizing Palestine as a de jure sovereign state, and Russian officials, including President Putin, meeting regularly with representatives of the PLO, Hamas, and the Palestinian National Authority. During every successive bout of violence, in 2008-2009, 2012, 2014, and 2020, Russia called for a speedy halt in fighting. In 2012, Moscow voted in favor of the General Assembly resolution which granted Palestine non-member observer status in the UN.
The escalation of the Ukrainian crisis into a full-blown NATO proxy war against Russia in 2022 heightened bilateral tensions with Israel somewhat, with Tel Aviv’s limited support for Kiev, combined with a diplomatic flap over comments made by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, straining ties with Moscow. However, even during the crisis, behind-the-scenes talks continued, with now former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett revealing this past February that he offered his services as an indirect mediator, and that Russia and Ukraine were apparently on the brink of a settlement before the US and its allies swooped in to kill the talks.
So Who Does Russia Support?
The answer to question posed in the headline to this piece, i.e. who does Russia support, is: both sides. Moscow wants to see a peaceful resolution to the crisis in which both sides’ interests are satisfied. Russia’s decades-long push to try to strike a balance in relations with Israel and Palestine (whose statehood Russia actually recognizes, unlike the US, for example) and its broader effort to establish warm ties with other key actors, such as Israel’s sworn enemy Iran, makes Moscow a potentially ideal and natural mediator. Whether Israelis and the Palestinians agree to such mediation is a decision they and their regional and international allies and partners will have to make.
