The International Court of Justice (ICJ) held hearings this week on Israel's ban on cooperation with UNRWA, the UN's agency for Palestine refugees. It could take some time for a (non-binding) ruling on Israel's move to cut ties with UNRWA, and it has already been two months since Israel reinstated its full siege on Gaza, blocking the entry of aid and commercial goods while bombarding the territory. In a graphic illustration of the extent of the siege, organizers of a vessel carrying aid and activists to Gaza said it was bombed by Israeli drones, leaving the ship disabled off the coast of Malta.

Syrian Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri accused the interim government on May 1 of carrying out a "genocidal attack" on his community following two days of sectarian violence that left 100 dead. Al-Hijri said: "We no longer trust an organization that claims to be a government. A government does not kill its people through takfiri gangs to which it belongs." Takfiri is a popular pejorative used by Shi'ites and Druze for Sunni militants. Clashes broke out in the Damascus suburbs of Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, and armed residents began to mobilize in the Druze-majority southern city of Sweida (Suwayda) before a truce was reached. (Al-Monitor, Al-Jazeera)

US-directed repression and counter-insurgency in El Salvador in the 1980s allowed the imposition of "free trade" or "neoliberal" regimes in the generations since then—ultimately culminating in the adoption of CAFTA. This, in turn, has exacerbated the expropriation of the traditional lands of the peasantry by the agro-export oligarchy. It also led to the hypertrophy of the narco economy and a new nightmare of violence, which Nayib Bukele has exploited to establish a new dictatorship. This dictatorship is now openly in league with Donald Trump, and has in fact become critical to his fascist agenda. In Episode 275 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg breaks down El Salvador's historical role as a laboratory of genocide and police-state methods for US imperialism, and the imperative of trans-national resistance.

The representative body of the Crimean Tatar people has vowed to oppose any international recognition of Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The Tatar Mejlis, now sitting in exile in Kyiv, said Apri 22 that any move to recognize Crimea as Russian territory would violate international law.  Refat Chubarov, the body's chairman, asserted in a statement: "Crimea is the homeland of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and an integral part of Ukraine. Accordingly, no one can decide the fate of Crimea under any circumstances, except for the Ukrainian state and the Crimean Tatar people."

Communal violence in Nigeria's troubled north-central state of Plateau has killed more than 100 people in just under two weeks. Plateau has a history of tensions between Muslim pastoralists and mostly Christian farmers over access to land. The state governor described the latest killings as "coordinated acts of terror" and has blamed armed Fulani herders for the violence. In what seems like an abdication of responsibility for security by the police—a trend across much of Nigeria—he said every community "must defend itself." (TNH)

It was tragically appropriate that the second anniversary of Sudan's devastating civil war was marked by yet another massacre. At least 400 people were killed when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the Zam Zam displacement camp in North Darfur on April 11. They also executed 10 staff members in the camp's last remaining clinic, including medics and ambulance drivers. Eighty percent of the camp's original 500,000 population has escaped to the nearby government-held town of el-Fasher, although the RSF is believed to be trying to stop people—especially young men—from leaving.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed concern on April 11 over the legality of recent Israeli evacuation orders under international humanitarian law, citing fears over the permanent displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. 

Since resuming hostilities on March 18, Israel has issued 21 "evacuation orders." On March 31, the Israeli military issued an order covering almost all of Rafah, the Strip's southernmost governorate, followed by a large-scale ground operation in the area. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were already reportedly trapped in Rafah, with no way out and no access to humanitarian aid.

A coalition of independent UN human rights experts on April 3 called on additional states to join the Hague Group. The statement urges states to ensure accountability for Israel's violations of international law and to cooperate with the international courts to restore the rule-based international order. ​