Putin incontra Xi ad Astana; Espansione coloni israeliani nella West Bank🗞️Rassegna del 04/07/2024

Israele

(Jerusalem Post) Senior Hezbollah field commander killed in Israeli strike

• A senior field commander in the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli strike on Wednesday outside of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre.
   
• The target was the commander of the Aziz unit on the southern front in Hezbollah, Muhammad Neamah Naser. He is considered one of the most senior commanders in Hezbollah killed so far in the war. The sources said that the commander was responsible for a section of Hezbollah's operations along the border frontier, where the group has been exchanging fire with the IDF since October in parallel with the Gaza War.
   
• They said that he was of the same rank and importance to the group as Taleb Abdallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in June and was the most senior Hezbollah field commander to be killed by the Israeli military in the last eight months of hostilities.

(Al Jazeera) Israeli seizures of West Bank land for settlers peaking, watchdog says

• Israeli authorities have green-lighted the largest West Bank land seizure in more than three decades as the rate of land grabs in the occupied Palestinian territory peaks, an Israeli anti-settlement watchdog says.

• The planned seizure, approved by Israel’s government late last month but only publicised on Wednesday, targets 12.7sq km (4.9sq miles) of land in the Jordan Valley, the Peace Now NGO said.

• The move raises the total amount of West Bank land that Israel has declared its own this year to 23.7sq km (9.15sq miles). That makes 2024 by far the peak year for Israeli land seizures, the watchdog said.

• The Jordan Valley parcels noted are contiguous and located northeast of Ramallah, the city where the Palestinian Authority is headquartered.

• By declaring them state lands, the Israeli government has opened them up to being leased to Israelis and prohibited to private Palestinian ownership.

Ucraina

(Kyiv Independent) Russian attack on Dnipro kills 5, injures 53, shopping center hit

• At least five people were killed and 53 injured after Russia launched drones and missiles against Dnipro on July 3, officials said.
   
• A shopping center was hit, as well as multiple cars and a gas station, said Mykola Lukashuk, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast regional council. A fire reportedly broke out near a medical facility. Debris flew into an intensive care unit of a children's hospital, but no casualties were reported there, Mayor Borys Filatov said.
   
• "(Russia) attacked Dnipro with missiles and attack drones," the governor said. "Several fires broke out, there is damage." The Air Force said that Russia launched a large-scale attack against Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, during which Ukrainian defenses downed an Iskander-K cruise missile, four Kh-59 guided aerial missiles, five Shahed-type drones, and one Orlan reconnaissance drone.

(Kyiv Independent) Ukraine imports more electricity in June than in all of 2023

• Ukraine imported over 858,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity in June 2024, which is 91% more than the volume imported in May and more than what was imported in the whole of 2023, ExPro Electricity monitoring data showed on July 3.
   
• Russia renewed its attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure in the spring, pushing the country's energy grid to breaking point. Ukrainians have faced lengthy, daily interruptions in electricity since May 15, when scheduled blackouts were implemented amid serious power shortages. Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, said at the end of June that it had lost nearly 90% of its energy generating capacity due to Russian attacks.
   
• Most of Ukraine's energy imports in June came from Hungary, at 42%, while Slovakia and Romania provided 17% each, Poland provided 16%, and Moldova provided 8%, according to ExPro data. Slovakia, Romania, and Poland provided emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine for five days in June. On average, Ukraine imported 28,600 MWh from its neighbors each day in June.

(Kyiv Independent) Russian defector involved in Russia's Baltic Fleet vessel sabotage, military intelligence says

• A sabotage of a Russian vessel in Kaliningrad Oblast in April was part of a joint operation of the Freedom of Russia Legion and Ukraine's military intelligence project "I Want to Live," the agency revealed at a press conference on July 3 attended by a Kyiv Independent reporter.
   
• The Russian missile ship Serpukhov was set on fire on April 8 while docked off the Kaliningrad exclave. The sabotage completely destroyed its communication and automation systems, necessitating lengthy repairs, military intelligence said.
   
• A then-active service member of the Russian Baltic Fleet provided information crucial for carrying out the Rybalka ("Fishing") operation, according to the statement. Once the person's continued stay on the vessel became too risky, the sabotage was carried out. The Russian service member also seized confidential materials and was subsequently evacuated from Russia through the "I Want to Live" project.
   
• The defector, introduced under the code name "Goga," was present at the press conference. He said he had joined the Freedom of Russia Legion as a recruit and is undergoing training.

Russia

(New York Times) U.N. Panel Adds to Chorus Calling for Release of Evan Gershkovich

• Russia arbitrarily arrested the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to punish him for his reporting on the war in Ukraine, a United Nations panel said in a statement released on Tuesday, adding to a chorus of public condemnation of his continued detention.

• In its statement, adopted in March but released on Tuesday, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, said that Mr. Gershkovich, who appeared in a secret court hearing last week to face an espionage charge that he denies, must be released immediately.
   
• “Mr. Gershkovich’s arrest was conducted under the pretextual label of espionage but was in fact designed to punish his reporting on the armed conflict” between Russia and Ukraine, the group said. It said that it had requested that Russia “clarify the legal provisions justifying” Mr. Gershkovich’s detention but that it did not receive a response.

• The working group, consisting of legal scholars and lawyers, said that Russia has presented no “factual or legal substantiation” for the espionage charges against Mr. Gershkovich and that his legal team had been deprived “of the ability to coordinate, strategize, and advise Mr. Gershkovich regarding his rights under international law.” It also noted that Russia failed to demonstrate sufficient reasons to justify the decision to hear Mr. Gershkovich’s case behind closed doors and that Russia restricted his rights to consular assistance.

(CNN) Putin meets Xi in Astana: Moscow-Beijing closeness consolidates

• Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping on Wednesday hailed their countries’ deepening alignment as they met at a gathering of a Eurasian security bloc promoted by both leaders as a counterbalance to Western power.
• In opening remarks ahead of a bilateral meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)’s annual leaders’ summit in Kazakhstan, Putin said Russia-China relations are going through “the best period in their history” and should be considered a “stabilizing” force for the world.
• Much to the consternation of the US and Europe, China and Russia have deepened their political, economic and military ties since Putin and Xi declared a “no limits” partnership in February 2022 when the Russian leader visited Beijing, weeks before his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• China has surpassed the European Union to become Russia’s top trade partner, offering a crucial lifeline to its heavily sanctioned economy. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have also continued to hold joint military exercises, including with Iran. Xi said Wednesday that China backed Russia’s role as BRICS chair this year in uniting the Global South, preventing a “new Cold War” and opposing USA hegemonism.

Europa

UK

(Guardian) Britain will not rejoin EU in my lifetime, says Starmer

• Keir Starmer has insisted the UK will not rejoin either the EU, the single market or the customs union within his lifetime, in his firmest pledge yet that Labour will not seek much closer relations with Europe for as long as he is prime minister.
   
• In recent days, the Labour leader has begun talking more freely about what his party would do in power, as polls continue to suggest it is heading for a landslide victory. With less than 24 hours to go until polls open, Starmer has largely avoided talking about relations with the EU during the campaign, as Labour seeks to avoid the mistakes it made in 2019 when it alienated Leave voters by promising a second referendum.
   
• Some have suggested this reluctance to talk about the issue masked a desire to pursue re-entry to the customs union or single market during a second Labour term, something other senior figures in the party have failed to rule out. Starmer insisted on Wednesday, however, this was not the case.
   
• Asked whether he could see any circumstances where the UK rejoined the single market or customs union within his lifetime, Starmer said: “No. I don’t think that that is going to happen. I’ve been really clear about not rejoining the EU, the single market or the customs union – or [allowing a] return to freedom of movement.”

Bielorussia
(Kyiv Independent) Lukashenko releases 4 political prisoners, Belarusian opposition says

• Four political prisoners in Belarus who were being held by Alexander Lukashenko's regime have been released, the Viasna Center for Human Rights reported on July 3. The news followed an announcement by Lukashenko on July 2 that some political prisoners with serious health issues would be released ahead of Belarus' Independence Day, which is marked on July 3.
   
• Lukashenko's announcement concerned a number of political prisoners who have cancer, Belarusian independent news outlet Nasha Niva said. The released prisoners include two men and two women.
   
• It was reported that Ryhor Kastusiou, the leader of the pro-democracy Belarusian Popular Front party, was among those who had been released.
   
• According to the Viasna Center for Human Rights, there are 1,408 people being held as political prisoners in Belarus. Most of these people were imprisoned following the pro-democracy protests in Belarus after the 2020 presidential elections.

Germania-Polonia

(AP+EUNews) Consultazioni a Varsavia: cooperazione più stretta tra Polonia e Germania

• Government leaders of Poland and Germany held consultations Tuesday aimed at giving a new impulse to bilateral relations that sagged under Poland’s previous government and to jointly declare responsibility for Europe’s security in turbulent times.

• “The security of Germany and Poland is inextricably linked. This means that Poland’s security is also Germany’s security,” Scholz said.

• In concreto, ciò significa che insieme assumeremo un ruolo di primo piano nella regione del Mar Baltico e nella protezione del fianco orientale della Nato. Con l'invasione illegale dell'Ucraina, Putin ha distrutto l'ordine di pace e sicurezza e ha messo a rischio la sicurezza dell'intero continente europeo"

• It is important that “moderate forces, forces that are reasonable, pro-European ... find wise, convincing responses to what have become the priorities for ordinary people: the efficient fight against illegal migration, security, increasing economic self-sufficiency” and Europe’s greater assertiveness in defending its interest in the world, Tusk said.

Politica internazionale

Asia e Pacifico

(New York Times) Stampede at Religious Gathering in India Kills More Than 100

• More than 100 people were killed on Tuesday and many others were injured in a stampede during a Hindu religious event in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where thousands of devotees had gathered.

• Most of the dead so far have been women and children who appeared to have suffocated in a crush, in the Hathras district, said Ashish Kumar, the district magistrate there.

• Local officials suggested that heat and overcrowding had set off a panic; temperatures in Hathras on Tuesday approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), with very high humidity. 

• The event, a large Hindu prayer meeting, was organized by a guru locally known as Bhole Baba as well as Sakar Vishwa Hari, who has been leading such gatherings for more than two decades. The crush took place at the end of the meeting, which was held under a large tent.

• “When he finished his preaching and was leaving the stage, his devotees suddenly rushed toward him to touch him,” Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, said in a video posted by his office. “When the volunteers tried to stop the crowd, this incident took place.”

• In India, stampedes during religious pilgrimages are relatively common, often because of poor enforcement of public safety measures.