Category: MIL-OSI

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Middle East: Israeli Settlement Expansion and Escalation – Briefing | United Nations

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Security Council briefing by Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

The United Nations Security Council met to receive briefings on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with a senior UN official reporting that Israeli planning authorities had advanced or approved over 6,000 housing units in occupied Palestinian territory during the reporting period.

“Security Council resolution 2334 (2016) calls on Israel to ‘immediately and completely cease all settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem,’” Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN’s Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process said to the Security Council. “Settlement activity has, nevertheless, continued at high levels,” he added.

Alakbarov told the Council that Israeli authorities had demolished, seized or forced people to demolish 429 structures in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, displacing 575 persons, including 290 children and 150 women. He said 28 of the structures were donor funded.

He added that on Jan 4, Israeli police forcibly evicted two Palestinian families from their apartments in the Batn Al Hawa area of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem, displacing eight people.

Alakbarov also said Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad had continued to praise terror attacks and call for additional violence against Israelis, while Israeli ministers and members of the Knesset had continued to call for re-establishment of settlements in Gaza, annexation of the West Bank and the “emigration” of Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzp2P_En2y0

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RBNZ Why does everything feel so expensive right now? – RBNZ Chief Economist Paul Conway explains

Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand (video statements)

On Wednesday 25 March our Chief Economist Paul Conway delivered a keynote speech “Purchasing power and the real cost of living in New Zealand” at the National Financial Advisers Conference.

In his speech Paul broke down why the cost of living feels so high in New Zealand, even with inflation coming down from the highs of the pandemic.
He outlined the role of The Reserve Bank of New Zealand in keeping prices stable, and how global shocks and uncertainty makes this harder – as seen recently with the conflict in the Middle East.

Hear the key points in this video, or read the full speech here: https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/news-and-events/events/2026/march/purchasing-power-and-the-real-cost-of-living-in-new-zealand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dNE7_FK5Sw

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Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan & other topics – Daily Press Briefing (24 March 2026) | United Nations

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Lebanon
Sudan
Sudan/Humanitarian
Haiti
Colombia
Central America
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Security Council/Ukraine
Exhibition
International Days
Guest
—————–

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

At 3:00 p.m., the Security Council will hold an open briefing on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.” Our Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident Coordinator at the Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Ramiz Alakbarov, is expected to brief on the implementation of resolution 2334, which is related to settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.

Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace High Representative to Gaza, is expected to brief on the implementation of resolution 2803 which endorsed the US “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict” last November. Meanwhile on the ground, persistent challenges remain and are preventing the UN and our NGO partners from fully responding to people’s needs.

Since the reopening of Rafah crossing last Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners have supported the medical evacuation of 16 patients who needed treatment unavailable in Gaza, along with 30 companions. UN teams have also offered services to 20 returnees. That support was provided on Thursday and Sunday, with a scheduled break for the weekend.

Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, is engaging with authorities to ensure that the voluntary movement of people in and out of Gaza can continue safely, with dignity, and in accordance with international humanitarian law. Our support to medical evacuation, and returnees, is scheduled to resume on Thursday.  
Kerem Shalom remains the only operational crossing for humanitarian and commercial cargo to enter the Strip.

We again call for the opening of additional crossings and the lifting of restrictions on humanitarian operations. In the West Bank, OCHA warns of the harsh humanitarian impact of settler attacks against Palestinians and of Israeli policies that leads to dispossession.

Over the past few days, our field teams have recorded multiple attacks by settlers that resulted in casualties, property damage and displacement among Palestinians, including recently in Batn al Hawa in Silwan neighbourhood, in East Jerusalem.

Evictions, demolitions and violence have grave physical, social, economic and emotional impacts and deepens reliance on humanitarian support. Palestinians must be protected and perpetrators be brought to justice. 

LEBANON

Moving to Lebanon. We remain gravely concerned about the escalating rhetoric and ongoing hostilities between Hizbullah and Israel. More than one million people, including nearly 370,000 children, are now registered in the country as displaced. Our humanitarian colleagues on the ground tell us that strikes have been reported across Lebanon, with airstrikes overnight on Beirut’s southern suburbs, following further mass displacement orders across multiple neighborhoods.

In southern Lebanon, at least seven key crossings over the Litani River were struck in the past week, restricting people’s movement and hindering humanitarian aid from reaching people fleeing the violence. We and our humanitarian partners continue to respond to growing needs, providing food, shelter, water, medical care and protection support to families forced to flee their homes. As of yesterday, the World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners have distributed 1.7 million hot meals and 50,000 ready-to-eat kits.

Our partners working in education and protection are also helping displaced children by providing psychosocial support, recreational activities and alternative ways of learning. We reiterate that there is simply no military solution to the conflict. We continue to call for de-escalation and urge all sides to avail themselves of diplomatic channels available to them and to recommit to the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-03-24

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1nBM-H9Y4s

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Religious Liberty Perspectives – Sikh Servicemembers

Source: United States Department of Justice (video statements)

Capt. Sukhbir Singh Toor – Religious Liberty in the Military – December 10, 2025

Capt. Toor served with distinction in the U.S. Marine Corps for eleven years, with a medical retirement in 2025. During his time in the Marines, Capt. Toor advocated for religious accommodations to allow servicemembers of the Sikh faith to both serve and maintain their articles of faith.

Learn more about the Religious Liberty Commission: https://www.justice.gov/religious-liberty-commission

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5mt29YtkwAQ