(May 11, 2026)
Millions of people around the world are demanding that their leaders act to stop Israel’s violations. Humanity must win.
(May 11, 2026)
Millions of people around the world are demanding that their leaders act to stop Israel’s violations. Humanity must win.
The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has condemned Israel’s move to set up an Israeli army base in occupied East Jerusalem at the site where an UNRWA office once operated for besieged Palestinians.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said….
(April 18, 2026)
The Turkish official drew a direct historical parallel to the global response against Apartheid South Africa, which saw its credentials suspended by the UN General Assembly in 1974. „Just as the world united to suspend South Africa‘s membership over its racist, criminal policies, we must now act with the same resolve against the Israeli regime for its identical treatment of the Palestinian people,“ he argued. „This is not merely a regional dispute; it is a litmus test for the credibility of the international legal order.“
(August 25, 2025)
On 27 September 1974, the UN Credentials Committee rejected South Africa’s credentials, a routine procedure before General Assembly meetings.
Three days later, the General Assembly passed Resolution 3207, urging the Security Council to review South Africa’s membership in light of its constant violations of the Charter.
Although the Security Council vetoed the resolution, in November of that year the president of the General Assembly, Algeria’s Abdelaziz Bouteflika, ruled that, given the Credentials Committee’s decision and the adoption of Resolution 3207, the General Assembly would refuse to allow South Africa’s delegation to participate in its work.
South Africa remained suspended from the General Assembly until June 1994, following the end of apartheid.
Activists argue that the UN General Assembly could apply the same process to Israel. They note that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July 2024 issued an advisory opinion declaring Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories “unlawful” and its near-complete segregation of populations in the West Bank a breach of international law on “racial segregation” and “apartheid”.
(March 8, 2025)
Albanese went on to clarify that UNRWA cannot disappear because it is a UN body protected by international law. „Member states cannot eliminate it by changing laws or cutting funding, as Israel and other countries have attempted. The rights of Palestinian refugees will remain intact because those rights are codified in international law.“
She also raised the issue of Israel’s violations against the UN, citing the destruction of 70% of UN premises in Gaza and the targeting of UNRWA schools, which had been sheltering refugees. „Israel has violated the UN Charter, and it must be held accountable for its actions. I have called for the suspension of Israel‘s credentials in the UN because of its disregard for international rules and laws. Israel has destroyed or damaged UN premises, targeted shelters, and accused the UN of terrorism.“
(November 12, 2024)
„There is a paragraph in this text that I find very important and vital, a paragraph that talks about moving before the General Assembly to freeze Israel‘s membership,“ Aboul Gheit said.
He reminded the attendees that, despite ongoing regional conflicts, the UN has never revisited Israel‘s 1949 admission under Resolution 181.
“Today, the Islamic group and the Arab group are two organisations moving before the international community, and I am confident that there are many countries that will support the idea of freezing membership,” he added expressing optimism that the proposal would garner widespread backing.
(November 6, 2024)
Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has announced that Malaysia is preparing a draft resolution for the UN General Assembly to expel Israel from the United Nations.
“We are also studying (a proposal)… after the violation of laws, principles and UN decisions, for Israel to be expelled as a member of the UN,” Anwar told parliament in a special address on Monday.
(October 15, 2024)
Over the past year, Israel has launched attacks on multiple countries and occupied territories: the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran.
Yet countries and territories aside, Israel has also targeted one specific organization with a series of unprecedented rhetorical and violent attacks.
Yes, the United Nations. We have all witnessed Israel, in effect, declare war on the UN.
Millions of people around the world are demanding that their leaders act to stop Israel’s violations. Humanity must win.
(April 21, 2026)
Reacting to the EU’s failure to call for a vote to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement or to agree on any other concrete measures today at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns said:
“At this point, the EU’s decision to maintain its trade agreement with Israel represents a moral failure and illustrates brazen contempt for civilian lives, particularly in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and in Lebanon.
“One million people in Europe, more than 75 NGOs, almost 400 former diplomats, UN experts as well as Belgium, Ireland, Slovenia and Spain have all called for the immediate suspension of the agreement. Once again, these calls have been disregarded with Germany and Italy playing a key role in blocking the suspension.
The three countries sent a joint letter to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas last Friday, urging her to “urgently review the EU‘s response” and calling for action in light of the situation in Lebanon, as well as a recently approved Israeli law that would impose the death penalty by hanging on Palestinians convicted in Israeli military courts.
Spain, Slovenia, and Ireland have urged the European Union to consider suspending its association treaty with Israel, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters on Tuesday before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
„Spain, along with Slovenia and Ireland, has requested that the suspension of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Israel be discussed and debated today,“ Albares said.
(April 16, 2026)
(April 17, 2026)
In total, 40 senators supported the resolution late Wednesday. The seven Democrat Senators who voted against the measure were Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Chris Coons of Delaware, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
(April 16, 2026)
Sanders’ resolutions to stop bulldozer, bomb deliveries gain unprecedented Democratic support, demonstrating major shift in party’s approach toward Israel over wars in Gaza, Lebanon
Send a message and demand the leaders of Germany and Italy support suspending the EU’s trade agreement with Israel. There is no time to lose.
(April 15, 2026)
A civil petition calling for the total suspension of the EU–Israel Association Agreement for alleged war crimes has reached one million signatures across all 27 member states.
Under EU rules, the European Commission and the European Parliament must now assess the request.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini attends a press conference on the last day of his mandate at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 31, 2026.
Discussions are under way for a U.N. investigation into the killing of more than 390 employees in the two-year Gaza war, the head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday, making it the deadliest conflict in the global body‘s history.
„I believe that we need to have a panel – a high-level panel of experts to look into the killing of our staff,“ said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General at a press conference in Geneva on the last day of his term.
These are trying times.
When President Metsola invited me in September at the High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly, the world felt already chaotic. I warned of a make-or-break moment for our multilateral system.
Today, only 40 days into 2026:
Venezuela.
Iran.
Greenland.
On top of Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and so many more crises.
The international order is not only under pressure, it is under attack.
And we face a new and more troubling kind of crisis: conflicts waged not even under the pretense of self-defense or respect for international law but often carried out in open defiance of it.
At precisely the moment when we most need cooperation, most need the United Nations, powers, even those who have a special responsibility to protect peace and security, are pulling away from it or even outright attacking it.
This geopolitical shift towards a world where ‘might makes right’, contradicts more than a century of hard, bloody lessons, which people of this region remember all too well.
Rules and standards drawn from these experiences, which were believed to be set in stone, are now openly questioned, dismissed, or violated.
History teaches us that large systems rarely collapse in one dramatic moment.
They erode slowly. Rule by rule. Commitment by commitment.
With those who should defend them, rather staying silent.
Until one day, what seemed permanent simply vanishes.
(February 10, 2026)
In a key address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Annalena Baerbock repeated her call to uphold multilateralism amid “trying times” globally.
She noted that just 40 days into 2026, the world has already seen crises around Venezuela, Iran and Greenland, on top of continuing devastation in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere.
“The international order is not only under pressure, it is under attack,” she told lawmakers.
“And we face a new and more troubling kind of crisis: conflicts waged not even under the pretence of self-defence or respect for international law but often carried out in open defiance of it.”
She warned that at precisely the moment the world most needs cooperation and the UN, “powers – even those who have a special responsibility to protect peace and security – are pulling away from it or even outright attacking it.”
Ms. Baerbock recalled that four years ago, when she was Germany’s Foreign Minister, she addressed the General Assembly and called for the UN to stand up for Europe’s peace as Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Today, I’m coming as President of the General Assembly to Europe, calling for Europe to stand up for the United Nations because the world needs the UN. But right now, the UN and its principles as enshrined in the Charter, needs the world too,” she said, referring to all continents.
Following many months of unsuccessful engagement with Israeli authorities, and in the absence of securing assurances to ensure the safety of our staff or the independent management of our operations, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has concluded that it will not share a list of its Palestinian and international staff with Israeli authorities in the current circumstances.
In March 2025, Israeli authorities announced that organisations seeking registration would be required to provide personal information about their staff. From the outset, MSF raised serious concerns about this request in a context where medical and humanitarian workers have been intimidated, arbitrarily detained, and attacked. Since October 2023, 1,700 health staff have been killed, as well as 15 MSF colleagues. On 30 December, Israeli authorities announced that MSF‘s previous registration had lapsed and was therefore expected to cease operations within 60 days.
Nach monatelangen erfolglosen Versuchen, mit den israelischen Behörden in einen Dialog zu treten, um die Sicherheit unserer Mitarbeitenden im Gazastreifen und im Westjordanland sowie die Unabhängigkeit unserer humanitären Arbeit in den besetzten Palästinensischen Gebieten zu gewährleisten, hat Ärzte ohne Grenzen entschieden, keine Liste seiner palästinensischen und internationalen Mitarbeitenden an die israelischen Behörden weiterzugeben.
Trotz wiederholter Bemühungen ist es uns nicht gelungen, eine Einigung mit den israelischen Behörden über die für uns erforderlichen konkreten Zusicherungen zu erzielen. Dazu gehören:
– dass alle Informationen über Mitarbeitende ausschließlich für die angegebenen administrativen Zwecke verwendet werden.
– dass daraus keine Gefahr für die Kolleg*innen, deren Namen geteilt wurden, erwächst.
– dass Ärzte ohne Grenzen die volle Autorität über alle Personalangelegenheiten und die Verwaltung von medizinischen Hilfsgütern behält.
– dass jegliche öffentliche Kommunikation, die Ärzte ohne Grenzen diffamiert und die Sicherheit unserer Mitarbeitenden gefährdet, eingestellt wird.
Deshalb sind wir zu dem Schluss gekommen, dass wir unter den gegenwärtigen Umständen keine Daten von Mitarbeitenden an die israelischen Behörden weitergeben werden. Auch im Rahmen dieses monatelangen Prozesses haben wir keine Mitarbeitendendaten mit den israelischen Behörden geteilt.
Is it true that MSF has not cooperated with Israel?
For many months, MSF has unsuccessfully sought dialogue with the Israeli authorities on the renewal of our registration to work in Palestine. We remain open to dialogue with the Israeli authorities to maintain our critical medical operations in Gaza and the West Bank and to ensure that MSF can continue delivering essential, lifesaving medical care to people in desperate need, whilst safeguarding our teams. We would consult our Palestinian colleagues on any possible next step.
By accusing MSF, as well as other NGOs, of not cooperating and creating smear campaigns against aid organisations, Israel is using unfounded allegations to arbitrarily restrict access to critical care for Palestinians and limit witnessing from independent organisations working on the ground. This type of accusation contributes to the delegitimisation of humanitarian workers who are delivering vital care and services under extremely challenging conditions.
We observe that such accusations fit within a long-standing pattern used by Israeli authorities, alongside numerous physical and bureaucratic obstacles, to restrict the entry and delivery of aid into Gaza. Similar tactics were used in 2024 against UNRWA. Allegations are used to justify actions which stand in clear contradiction to the Israeli government’s claims that it is facilitating the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.
What is the status of MSF’s registration to operate in Gaza and the West Bank?
As of the 1 January 2026, MSF’s registration to work in Gaza and the West Bank has expired and is therefore no longer valid. As such, we are required to cease operations by 1 March 2026.
We are seeking avenues to ensure that our humanitarian response continues in Gaza and the West Bank. We are also engaging with the Israeli authorities to ensure we can continue our activities, the prevention of which is a direct violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2720 – which calls for the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians.
Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Friday it will not submit lists of staff demanded by Israel to maintain access to Gaza and the West Bank, saying it had not been able to obtain assurances over the safety of its teams.
(January 28, 2026)
The fear of handing over staff lists is well-founded. We know Israel targets journalists in their homes. We know its soldiers kidnap doctors – there is still no sign of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of a hospital in northern Gaza detained by Israeli forces in December 2024. We know Israeli troops shoot healthcare workers, as they did last March when they killed, then buried, 15 emergency responders in Rafah.
Israel has no qualms about punishing those who do not bow to its demands. Food, medicine and humanitarian supplies have been cut off. MSF has said that since January 1, international staff have been denied entry into Gaza and critical medical supplies blocked; this is on top of the new registration requirements that could halt operations altogether.
This is another attempt not only to control humanitarian operations, but to suffocate Gaza.
(January 25, 2ß26)
There are no limits to the defiance of the United Nations and international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
After having been stormed and demolished by the Israeli authorities, the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem has now been set on fire.