The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they happen.
US lobbying other UNSC members to block Palestinian statehood bid to avoid using veto
Recognizing that blocking the initiative would expose it to criticism abroad by proponents of the move who say it helps actualize the two-state solution that the US purports to support, the Biden administration quietly tried to convince Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to shelve the UNSC bid, a Palestinian official told The Times of Israel, confirming reporting in the Axios news site.
Abbas rebuffed the US efforts, though, amid long-held frustration in Ramallah over what it views as Biden’s failure to sufficiently pressure Israel and refusal to follow-through on promises to reopen the US Consulate in Jerusalem and the PLO diplomatic mission in Washington.
Recognizing that Abbas would not heed its call, the US has worked to convince other Security Council countries to either abstain or oppose the Palestinian statehood bid, so that it isn’t forced to use its veto, the Palestinian official said.
G7 finance chiefs pledge ‘close coordination’ on Iran sanctions
WASHINGTON — Finance leaders from the Group of Seven industrial democracies condemn Iran’s attack on Israel and pledge to continue work on “all possible avenues” to harness frozen Russian sovereign assets to aid Ukraine.
In a joint statement issued after a meeting Wednesday, the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors say they will “ensure close coordination of any future measure to diminish Iran’s ability to acquire, produce, or transfer weapons to support destabilizing regional activities.”
Israeli envoy: UNRWA aims ‘to indoctrinate Palestinian children to idea of destroying Israel’
At a UN Security Council meeting, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan charges that “one of UNRWA’s primary goals is to indoctrinate Palestinian children to the idea of destroying Israel.”
“The time has come to defund UNRWA,” Erdan adds.
EU leaders back new sanctions on Iran drone, missile producers after attack on Israel
BRUSSELS — European Union leaders have agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran’s drone and missile producers over Tehran’s unprecedented weekend attack on Israel, EU chief Charles Michel says.
“We have decided to put in place sanctions against Iran, it is a clear signal that we wanted to send,” the European Council president says after an EU summit in Brussels.
Algeria grants $15 million in exceptional funding to UNRWA — state TV
Algeria has given the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees a $15 million exceptional fund, Algerian state TV says.
UNRWA chief accuses Israel of trying to end agency’s operations in Gaza, West Bank
UNITED NATIONS – The head of the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees is accusing Israel of trying to end its operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
Philippe Lazzarini is urging the UN Security Council to safeguard his agency’s critical role as the relief agency for Palestinians, while accusing Israel of banning it from delivering aid to Gaza.
Since the war began, Lazzarini says, 178 personnel from the agency known as UNRWA have been killed. More than 160 of the agency’s premises, which were mostly used to shelter Palestinians, have been damaged or destroyed, killing more than 400 people.
“We demand an independent investigation and accountability for the blatant disregard for the protected status of humanitarian workers, operations, and facilities under international law,” UNRWA’s commissioner general says.
Israel has alleged that 12 of UNRWA’s thousands of workers participated in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war, and that many more of its Gaza-based workers have ties to terror groups. Lazzarini pledges to implement recommendations and strengthen safeguards to ensure UNRWA’s neutrality.