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Former staff members at the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) have accused the rights group of mistreating them over their pro-Palestine views.
Speaking in the Australian Senate on Wednesday, under parliamentary privilege, Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi read parts of four resignation letters from staff at the AHRC.
Among those she cited were human rights lawyer Sara Saleh, a Palestinian who said the AHRC had leaked information about her resignation to a right-wing news outlet.
"Sara Saleh’s resignation letter spoke of how her identity was viewed as a risk by senior management, and how a right-wing hit piece on her was circulated," Faruqi said.
According to Guardian Australia, the article was circulated to AHRC staff as part of its daily round-up of mentions of the commission in the media.
Read more: Australian Human Rights Commission accused of mistreating pro-Palestine staff
The 'Uncommitted' movement launched a sit-in protest outside the Democratic National Convention (DNC) after it was told that a Palestinian-American could not speak on the convention's main stage.
Lawmaker Ilhan Omar joined the group for the protest, while Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called in via FaceTime.
Remarkable scenes in Chicago: Palestinian-American Tariq Habash (the first Biden appointee to resign in protest of US support for Israel’s war on Gaza) & Rep. @AOC join Uncommitted delegates via FaceTime amid DNC refusing to welcome a Palestinian voice to the stage https://t.co/s5MLMzbcZS pic.twitter.com/TCQ0wKGVtI
— Prem Thakker (@prem_thakker) August 22, 2024
Uncommitted asked for Tanya Haj-Hassan, a doctor who had worked in Gaza, to speak on the main stage, but the DNC only offered a panel on the sidelines of the convention.
"Uncommitted delegates urge the Democratic Party to reject a hierarchy of human value by ensuring Palestinian voices are heard on the main stage. We are learning that Israeli hostages’ families will be speaking from the main stage," the movement said earlier this week.
"We strongly support that decision and also strongly hope that we will also be hearing from Palestinians who’ve endured the largest civilian death toll since 1948."
The family of Israeli-American captive Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken prisoner by Hamas on 7 October, spoke on the main stage on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the group "Muslim Women for Harris-Walz" has announced that it was disbanding over the DNC's refusal to allow a Palestinian-American to speak on the main stage.
"Muslim Women for Harris-Walz" is disbanding over the DNC's refusal to allow a Palestinian-American on stage.
— Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) August 22, 2024
They write: "The family of the Israeli Hostage that was on the stage tonight, has shown more empathy towards Palestinian Americans and Palestinians, than our candidate… pic.twitter.com/Gc2VcHNPxn
Israel suffered the biggest economic slowdown between April and June among the 38 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The OECD said in a report that Israel's growth fell from 4.1 percent in the first quarter of 2024 to 0.3 percent in the second quarter.
In May, the OECD cut its growth forecast for the Israeli economy for 2024 to 1.9 percent, down from 3.3 percent. It projects 4.6 percent for next year.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Israel cut its 2024 forecast to 1.5 percent, while the finance ministry forecast annual growth of 1.9 percent.
A former Egyptian assistant foreign minister has said that a ceasefire deal in Gaza had been agreed "in principle" by all parties, but that "differences of opinion remain".
Hussein Haridi told Al-Jazeera on Thursday: "There are some disagreements definitely between the Israelis and Hamas’s people, but we believe these differences are reachable. So we are waiting for the next 48 hours to see whether the technical teams negotiating the details would succeed in bringing to fruition and bringing to the finish line this agreement."
Haridi said that Israel was losing "economically [and] financially" and that Palestinians were suffering, and therefore it was in everyone's interest to secure a truce.
"The Biden administration and Kamala Harris need a ceasefire agreement in place in Gaza in order to sell it to the American public opinion," he added.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is heading to Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the next two weeks to seek support for his planned visit to the Gaza Strip, according to Al Araby Al Jadeed.
A source in Fatah also informed the Times of Israel of the trips.
Abbas is set to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman next Tuesday. The meeting was reportedly postponed twice and, with its official purpose being to discuss a halt to the war on Gaza.
In Egypt, Abbas is set to meet President Adbel Fattah al-Sisi, where he is likely to request to pass to Gaza through Egypt, which will also need approval from the US and Israel.
Gaza's health ministry said that 42 were killed in Israeli attacks on the enclave in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 40,265 killed since 7 October.
Additionally, 93,144 were wounded since the start of the war.
Quoting sources familiar with ceasefire negotiations, Israeli outlet Yedioth Ahronoth said that chances to reach an agreement are "slim" and that "almost desperate" attempts are being made to save it and hold a summit in Cairo next week.
The sources added that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken "severely sabotaged" chances of holding the Cairo summit after announcing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted the US's offer and that the ball was in Hamas' court.
Israeli outlets had heavily reported Netanyahu's insistence on keeping a military presence in the Philadelphi corridor between Gaza and Egypt and in the Netzarim corridor in Gaza, considered a "red line" in negotiations.
"He broadcast optimism from intra-American political considerations, so that the Democratic convention in Chicago would go smoothly," a source said, calling the top diplomat's move a "serious foul".
Yedioth Ahronoth said that Blinken gave the "death sentence" to the deal by aligning himself with Netanyahu and giving him a "gift", according to the sources.
Israeli settlers have set up a new illegal outpost north of the city of Jericho in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reports.
Hassan Malihat, the general supervisor of the al-Baidar Organisation for the Defence of Bedouin Rights, said that they have witnessed an increase in the establishment of outposts in the Jordan Valley region, as well as an uptick in attacks on Bedouin communities.
China has urged its citizens to leave Lebanon "as soon as possible" a day after an Israeli attack killed a Fatah official in the southern city of Sidon, AFP reports.
"Recently, the situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border has continued to be tense, and security circumstances in Lebanon are severe and complex," China's embassy in Beirut said in a statement.
The statement advised citizens to "take the opportunity while commercial flights are still running to return to China or leave the country as soon as possible".
China becomes the latest country to urge its citizens to leave Lebanon or Israel amid rising tensions in the region.
This month, the European Union AI Act came into force, aimed at fostering "responsible artificial intelligence development and deployment in the EU".
Adopted earlier this year, the act was praised as a major step forward in regulating artificial intelligence. It aims to reduce the risks posed by AI systems, banning those deemed too dangerous and enforcing strict safeguards for high-risk applications.
But while this legislation seeks to protect citizens within the EU, it falls short of addressing the international implications, particularly regarding AI technologies used in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, where AI is being deployed for surveillance, targeted strikes and population control.
READ MORE: European AI Act must be expanded to protect Palestinians, opinion by Taysir Mathlouthi
The crew of Greek-flagged Sounion which was attacked by Yemen's Houthis on Wednesday, made up of two Russians and 23 Filipinos, abandoned the vessel and was rescued by the EU's Red Sea naval mission "Aspides", an official in the mission told Reuters on Thursday.
Reporting by Reuters
Speaking to US officials, the Washington Post reports that they believe Iran may have decided to delay its response to Israel's assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, saying it may have been due to US military build-up in the region.
However, the officials fear that Iran may have told its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon to go on with its attack.
Hezbollah is expected to retaliate for Israel's assassination of top commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
The Washington Post says Hezbollah may be aiming for a focused attack, rather than a wide barrage of rockets on an Israeli city, which could trigger a wider war.
Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said its fighters are clashing with Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm.
The Palestinian health ministry said that three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on the city.
Footage from the scene shows strong fires from the Israeli raid earlier on Thursday.
تغطية صحفية: استمرار اشتعال النيران بعد تفجير عبوة ناسفة في جرافة عسكرية للاحتلال خلال اقتحام مدينة طولكرم pic.twitter.com/ORb4ax19sw
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) August 21, 2024
Israeli forces are carrying out raids and arrests across the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reports.
Israeli soldiers arrests a 19-year-old man in Tubas and a 15-year-old boy in Deir Ballut.
They have clashed with Palestinians in Burqa, east of Ramallah and in Tulkarm.
The Times of Israel say Israeli forces have killed two Palestinian gunmen in Tulkarm.
Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn said in an analysis that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "torpedoing" ceasefire negotiations because his end goal is a "prolonged occupation of the Gaza Strip".
Benn believes that Netanyahu is planning a "creeping occupation" of the Gaza Strip, "caravan after caravan, outpost after outpost".
He added that Netanyahu's latest insistence on preserving Israeli presence on the Philadelphi corridor and the Netzarim crossing illustrate these intentions.
