US President Joe Biden has recently made a statement calling for a unified governance of Gaza and the West Bank as well as an end to the Israel-Palestine conflict with a two state solution. He continued by condemning Hamas and their goal to wipe out the state of Israel completely, but stressed that a revitalized Palestinian authority should govern both Gaza and West Bank once Hamas is defeated.
The President added that there must be no retaliation against Palestinians in Gaza once the conflict is resolved, namely an end to the displacement of Palestinians, the blockade, and reduction in territory. Biden also condemned the actions of Israeli extremists in West Bank, citing the violence of Israeli settlers and the forced relocation of peaceful Palestinians, and stated that the U.S. is prepared to issue visa-bans against the settlers.
Source: whitehouse.gov, PAP, PolskieRadio
Since the Polish and Ukrainian Ministers of Infrastructure had reportedly addressed a few issues of the protesting Polish truckers last Wednesday, little progress has been made since. The truckers demand that official permissions once again be required for Ukrainian transports to cross the border with Poland, which had been bypassed by the EU in order to help Ukraine support its war-time economy.
Poland’s Infrastructure Ministry has stated that the issue needs to be addressed with the EU authorities, since the border between Poland and Ukraine is an EU border. The protesters also demanded another border crossing as well as improved procedures on the Ukrainian side to speed up the crossing and decongest traffic. The Ukrainian side has so far been unwilling to accommodate such demands due to their desire to earn and support the war effort.
Prosecutors have ruled that the death of a pregnant Polish woman in hospital, which sparked mass protests all over the country, is not related to Poland’s abortion legislation. The woman, known only as Izabela, died of septic shock after a premature rupturing of membranes and the subsequent death of her child. Doctors had insisted on waiting for the death of the child before operating on Izabela, who said in a text to her family that the doctors wanted to do so because of Poland’s abortion legislation.
Regardless of the reasoning of the medical staff, the doctors who treated Izabela were stated to have acted contrary to medical procedure by experts commissioned by prosecutors, and are now facing charges of professional malpractice that lead to the death of Izabela and her child. The three medical professionals may face up to five years in prison.
A pro-Israeli demonstration took place yesterday in the streets of Warsaw starting at Castle Square to the roundabout of Gen Charles de Gaulle. Participants were seen carrying signs with slogans such as „Stop Hamas Terror,” „Free the Hostages,” and „Gaza Free From Hamass.”
Israeli Ambassador to Poland Yacov Livne thanked the participants, remarking that it has been the largest Israeli march in Warsaw so far, and was followed by a moment of silence for the dead.
Source: PAP
Weather
The weather will be cloudy all day today, but thankfully we expect to be spared from below freezing temperatures as well as any snow or high winds. The temperature is predicted to remain between 1 and 3 degrees Celsius, or 33 and 37 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bryce Buren/MarWer
