The Pacifica Evening News Weekdays – August 13, 2026

It's Thursday, August 13th. I'm Scott Baba. The United Nations Security Council holds talks today on the increasing military clashes in Yemen. A return to large-scale fighting in Yemen now would come at an unforgiving moment. With Yemen state institutions fragmented by over a decade of conflict, its economy left with little margin to absorb another shop and the wider region engulfed by war. The California Coastal Commission votes down a proposal to expand fracking off the coast of Santa Barbara. This proposal is a huge threat to our coastline and our communities because of all of the impact it raises for water quality, air pollution and coastal habitat. And we're really grateful that the Coastal Commission uses authority in standing up to this project. And KPFA News Director Lauren Schmidt speaks with Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA Affairs in the West Bank, about the U.N. agency's history, the allegations made against it, and the ongoing Israeli Supreme Court case that could be the deciding factor on whether it will be able to continue to function. We do depend, of course, on coordination. with all actors in the ground, and particularly Israeli military, to bring life-saving aid to the people and to make sure that people are safe when we provide that aid and that our own staff is safe. If you don't have that, have that coordination, it's much more dangerous for our staff to work and impairs our ability to provide that assistance on the ground. These stories and more coming up. From the studios of KPFA and Berkeley, this is the Pacific Evening News. I'm Scott Baba.

The United Nations Security Council held talks today on the increasing military clashes in Yemen, particularly missile strikes from the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia and on commercial shipping in an important waterway. Max Pringle reports. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grunberg told the Security Council that the Houthi attacks threaten shipping and trade and risk destroying the 2022 truce between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government. A return to large-scale fighting in Yemen now would come at an unforgiving moment. With Yemen state institutions fragmented by over a decade of conflict, its economy left with little margin to absorb another shock and the wider region engulfed by war. For Yemeni's renewed war would once again place every ordinary ambition to study, to work, to build a life. at the mercy of the fighting. It would mean a new generation sent to front lines instead of having the chance to reimagine and remake the country's future. Grunberg said more than a decade of civil war in Yemen between the Iran-backed Houthis and government forces killed some 400,000 people and turned Yemen into one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Tom Fletcher is Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Millions of Yemenis face impossible daily choices. Food or medicine. Education or work. Survival or displacement. And I'm afraid the toll on women and girls is particularly alarming. Nearly 11 million women and girls require humanitarian support, and that includes 5.5 million women of reproductive age and over 750,000 pregnant women. Essential care for them is out of reach. U.S. U.N. representative, Jennifer Lassetta, said the Houthis and their Iranian allies are risking a full reigniting of the Yemeni civil war through their actions. The Houthis demonstrate active cooperation and alignment with Tehran. They engage in terrorist actions that increased instability in the region and threatened global commerce. The United States stands with the Republic of Yemen government against the Iran-supported Houthi terrorist threat.

Yemeni ambassador to the UN Abdullah Ali Fidel al-Sadi said through an interpreter, the Houthi's actions have destabilized his country. These militias have only brought more destruction and division to Yemen. They have undermined state institutions, targeted the national economy, recruited thousands of children, plundered resources and assistance, and resorted to arbitrary detention and gross human rights violations. Security Council members called on the parties to de-escalate immediately, restore negotiations, and protect maritime security in the Red Sea, the Bob El Mondeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden. For KPFA News, I'm Max Pringle. A British Maritime Company has been hired to salvage a grounded Russian tanker off of Oman's coast and stop a worsening oil spill that's now reaching the shoreline. The UK firm, Ambray, said its specialists boarded the vessel with help from the Omani Air Force to assess its condition before attempting to stabilize it. The tanker Caroline Banzangi ran aground near Cablea Island in early June after an explosion of unclear cause. Satellite images show the spill has spread over hundreds of square kilometers and stormy monsoon weather, with oil now reaching Ross Madraca more than 120 miles north. Greenpeace campaigner Hanan Keskees said the spread from an open water to the shoreline makes cleanup, quote, significantly more complex, warning the environmental impact could last for years. The area includes coral reefs and habitat for endangered Arabian sea humpback whales. The tanker is believed to be part of Russia's sanctioned Shadow Fleet. Its ownership and insurance status remains unclear. A separate spill is also being cleaned up off of Iran's Kashem Island, which tracking firm tankertrackers.com said may stem from an Iranian attack on a cargo ship near Oman. The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading towards the Middle East, as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln has been supporting the U.S. war against Iran, and its deployment has included a record setting, uninterrupted time at sea, of more than 240 days. Jennifer King has more. The Navy says the USS George Washington aircraft carrier is leaving Vietnam and heading toward the Middle East amid reports of mental health and supply issues aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

The Lincoln's one of two U.S. carriers in the Middle East. It set a record for uninterrupted time at sea during its deployment in support of the Iran War. CNN, the military times, and other outlets have reported more than one sailor has attempted to jump overboard, and families of service members conveyed complaints of low morale and supply issues. The Navy acknowledges the war has disrupted access to traditional supply hubs in the region and says that led to shortages, which are now being addressed by leadership. Several Democratic lawmakers are calling for greater transparency. I'm Jennifer King. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military can maintain its naval blockade of Iran indefinitely, rotating ships in and out of the region as needed. Speaking in Panama, after addressing the crew of the U.S. Gridley, HegsaS. comments suggest the administration is prepared to keep up economic pressure on Iran as long as necessary, with ceasefire talks still stalled. President Trump wrote on Truth Social yesterday that the U.S. has, quote, total control over the Strait of Hormuz, calling the blockade a, quote, wall of steel. Trump faces pressure to end the war ahead of November's midterms as high fuel prices weigh on rural voters who have backed him in the past. Ukraine has offered Russia a truce on attacking civilian targets in the Black Sea, according to a source familiar with the matter, as fears grow over disruptions to global food supplies. The offer was relayed through a third party, and Kiev is still waiting on a response. Both countries have accused each other of escalating attacks on ships and ports critical to grain exports. Russia was forced to suspend operations at all three terminals at its... Novorosk port this week after a Ukrainian strike. Ukraine, meanwhile, has seen its grain exports fall 76% year over year this month amid the ongoing blockade. Before the war, Ukraine was one of the world's largest suppliers of grain. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Moscow hasn't received any formal ceasefire proposal. Turkey has separately urged both sides to declare a moratorium on Black Sea attacks. Separately, Poland said it's close to deciding whether to send another batch of Patriot missiles to Ukraine. Polish Deputy Defense Minister Magdalena Sabkoik Zernika said a decision could come within days. following a recent incident in which a Russian missile crossed into Polish territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first ever visit to the disputed Curl Island today, drawing sharp protests from Japan. Vladimir Putin toured a fish plant hospital and school on Iterrup, one of the southernmost islands in the chain, which Russia controls, but Japan also claims. The Soviet Union seized the islands from Japan at the end of World War II, and the dispute has prevented the due countries from signing a formal peace treaty ever since. Japan's foreign ministry summoned Russian ambassador Nikolai Na...

Nazdrev over the move with foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motigy, saying Japan, quote, strongly protests the visit, calling the islands Japan's inherent territory. In response, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dimitri Medvedev rejected Japan's territorial claims, saying in a post on social media, quote, Prime Minister Japan, Sanai Takaiichi can chat all she wants about the Kuril Islands, being historically Japanese. But this chatter will change nothing. They were, are, and will be Russian land. Anyone who does not understand this will face monstrous consequences of their illusion. Takaichi said the visit will worsen anti-Russian sentiment in Japan and complicate efforts to repair relations. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Moscow suspending peace treaty talks in 2022. after Japan joined international sanctions. President Trump's executive order calling for splitting up combination childhood vaccines faces steep practical obstacles, according to health experts and industry officials. The order directs federal officials to develop plans within 90 days for breaking the MMR shot into three separate injections and spacing out other vaccines. But no individual measles, mumps, or rebella vaccines are currently approved in the United States. Manufacturers would need years and tens of millions of dollars to develop, test, and get federal approval for new versions, according to former FDA vaccine chief, Dr. Jesse Goodman. Splitting the shots would also mean far more doctor visits for families, potentially six appointments instead of two, for MMR alone. Dr. Anna Dick Durbin of John Hopkins says that could lower vaccination rates overall, calling the plan, quote, very bad public health policy. Vaccine makers Merck and GSK say they stand by their current combination products and cited no scientific evidence supporting the change. A White House spokesperson said the move will give parents more flexibility and ultimately boost vaccination rates. Experts note the order isn't legally binding. Only states can require school vaccinations and manufacturers have little financial incentive to comply. A judge has dismissed Nevada's case against six Republicans accused of submitting a fake certificate declaring Trump the winner of the state's 2020 election. Nevada judge, Mary Kay Holthes, ruled there wasn't enough evidence the defendants intended to deceive government officials and found prosecutors failed to disclose exculpatory evidence to the grand jury. The defendants, including Nevada Republican Party chair Michael McDonald and former Clark County GOP chair, Jesse Law, had pleaded not guilty. Their attorneys argued the certificate signing was, quote, political theater meant to publicize election concerns and not to deceive officials. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who brought the charges and is now running for governor, said he plans to appeal.

The dismissal is the latest setback for fake elector prosecutions nationwide. Similar cases have already been dismissed in Arizona, Michigan, and Georgia, while a separate case remains ongoing in Wisconsin. A federal case against Trump himself was dropped after his 2024 election win. Attorney General Todd Blanche delivered his first address to Justice Department staff today, seeking to reassure a workforce shaken by mass firings, resignations, and a bruising confirmation fight. Todd Blanche vowed to uphold the rule of law, quote, without fear or favor, and promise to listen to employees' concerns, saying, quote, everything that I do will not be the right path or the right decision. He also said he would not be intimidated. He insisted the department under his leadership would defend the Constitution, respect the institutions of the United States, and deliver on President Trump's priorities. We will always respect the role of the judiciary. We will not engage in or stand for any sort of performative attacks that undermine the institutions that we are sworn to uphold. At the same time, we're not going to be intimidated. We're not going to be intimidated out of enforcing the law or doing our jobs or executing the goals and priorities that we have in this administration. Todd Blanche, Trump's former personal lawyer, was confirmed by the Senate early Saturday by the narrowest of margins with two Republicans opposing him over concerns about politicization at the department. The advocacy group, Justice Connection, made up of former Justice Department alumni, pushed back on the speech, saying Todd Blanche's, quote, platitudes will only resonate if his actions start matching his words. The group said thousands of employees have left after leadership pushed out staff seen as insufficiently loyal to the president. Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said if Democrats retake the House this fall, an overhaul of the Supreme Court would be on the table. Julie Walker reports. The idea of overhauling the Supreme Court is something House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is eyeing if the Democrats can regain power. In my view, dramatic Supreme Court reform is necessary. He was speaking Thursday at the National Association of Black Journalist Convention in Atlanta. The conservative right-wing majority on the Supreme Court has become... you know, basically a subsidiary of the MAGA Republican Party. Jeffrey says several options are on the table. He also says Democrats still want to pass the Voting Rights Act and that the party would overhaul congressional procedures to do that. In Atlanta, I'm Julie Walker.

President Trump is facing a new lawsuit over a truth social subscription service that charges up to $100,000 a month for early access to his posts. The suit filed by the Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation in federal court in New York called the arrangement, quote, extraordinary, corrupt, and unconstitutional. It names Trump, two aides, and the executive office of the president. The service, called Truth API, launched this month and gives paying subscribers faster access to post from Trump and nine other senior officials, including Vice President JD Vance. Subscribers pay up to $100,000 a month or $60,000 with a three-year commitment. Trump media said more than 10 customers have signed up so far, mostly high-frequency trading firms. The plaintiffs argue Trump, who remains Trump media's largest shareholder with a stake worth roughly a billion dollars, stands to personally profit from selling privileged access to information generated in his official capacity. Trump has repeatedly used true social to announce market-moving news, including on tariffs and the Iran War, posts that have triggered large swings in stock and oil prices. Interim CEO Kevin McGurne has promoted the service as a new, quote, high margin source of revenue for the company. The lawsuit also raises concerns about the historical record since subscribers get access to an archive of posts dating back to 2022, including ones later deleted or edited. It asked the court to declare the service on lawful and bar the administration from using True Social as its executive venue for official announcements, while selling preferential access to that information. Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts had separately urged the SEC last month to investigate whether the arrangement violates federal securities laws. calling it a, quote, shocking abuse of the office of the president that could erode investor confidence in market fairness. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is facing a lawsuit from Fair Housing Groups over funding requirements. The group said policy changes to the Fair Housing Initiative program gut fair housing organization's ability to serve vulnerable populations nationwide. Mike Moen reports. One new rule requires housing organizations to have a budget of at least $5 million to qualify for grants, knocking out most nonprofits. Erin Kemple with the National Fair Housing Alliance says that smaller organizations play vital roles in enforcing fair housing practices. For example, she says some families with more than one child have been denied rentals and were told they needed separate bedrooms for each child. And that's actually not true. And that's the kind of thing that's going to be missing because of this gap in funding and because a lot of these smaller organizations may not survive.

Federal Fair Housing Enforcement has faced severe cuts under the Second Trump administration. Officials with HUD say staffing reductions were designed to help focus resources on the agency's core obligations. Campbell says the highest number of complaints that fair housing groups receive is from people with disabilities. But she stresses the services they provide are crucial for everyone. She believes that message often gets buried under the bureaucracy of the federal government. And it doesn't affect me, person on the street. What I hope will become clear is that the organizations that are being funded are people on the street also. It's the difference that people make. in everyday lives that is being missed. Kempel says about 64 fair housing organizations across the country are either without funding or facing funding gaps within the next six to eight months. Mike Mowen, Public News Service. The Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Center's Trump-installed board have voted to carve President Trump's name into the building's marble facade, moving forward with a $250 million renovation that will shut down the main venue for years. The new inscription set to read, quote, restored and renovated by President Donald J. Trump would sit beneath the marquee bearing John F. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s name. The board also voted to rename the site, quote, the President Donald J. Trump Plaza. The move comes months after federal judge ordered separate Trump signage removed from the buildings marquee. Congresswoman Joyce Beattie and ex-officio board member is calling the new inscription, quote, a transparent effort to circumvent the court's ruling. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper had blocked an earlier plan to rename the center after Trump and blocked the center's earlier closure plan, ruling the board acted, quote, derelict in ignoring the renovation's impact on programming. The main building will close for the project, though a newer wing, the reach will stay open for limited events and serve as a Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Memorial. Trump announced the renovation in February, saying the center would need to close for two years. Americans have less than two months to comment on the Trump administration's plans to overhaul Head Start, which currently provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and other services to low-income children and families. Erica Ladis reports. The administration says the changes will allow more kids to access the program by eliminating standards like low staff to student ratios. Heather Tritton with the Colorado Children's Campaign says keeping those ratios low is key for providing the kind of deep support kids need to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.

That intense adult-to-child experience allows both the child to have more support and for that adult in the classroom to be able to identify needs of that child. Head Start provides a number of wraparound services, including medical and dental screenings, and has helped generations of kids achieve better academic outcomes, get jobs as adults, and improve overall health. The program has long enjoyed bipartisan support, but the administration contends that these and other federal mandates drive up costs and get in the... way of standards they believe should be made at the state and local level. Head Start serves some 700,000 of the nation's most vulnerable populations, including children of color, children with disabilities, and kids who speak English as a second language. Tritton says it's also an important tool for connecting families to educational opportunities and other resources they need to get out of poverty. They do a lot of family engagement work, so it's not just serving a child with child care, but also really engaging with a family that is living in poverty. and working with them to ensure that the entire family is moving forward. The Trump administration's Head Start proposal would eliminate nearly 1,400 regulations. Tritton admits that the program is not perfect and that some changes to standards may be warranted, but she says this is not the right path to take. I think it would be great if we could have some conversation around what are the changes needed within Head Start and how do we make it more efficient and cut red tape without cutting the things that are critical for kids. This is Eric Gladys reporting for the Colorado News Connection. As the Trump administration's January deadline looms for states to enforce new Medicaid work requirements, some state lawmakers are turning the tables by pushing to publicly name the largest companies that have employees enrolled in the government program, covering low-income and disabled people. Suzanne Potter reports. California is among a handful of states looking to big business for help covering health care costs with new federal work requirements for Medicaid looming and the cuts they're expected to create. Reporting by KFF Health News finds that a new California bill would require the state to gather data on mid-size and large companies whose employees are on Medi-Cal, which provides health care for low-income families. State Senator Lola Smallwood-Quavis, the author of the bill, says it's a first step toward asking companies to help with the costs, so they aren't shifted to the taxpayer. Taxpayers deserve transparency. We need to know who these companies are, and we need to know how many employees they have on Medi-Cal, and then we need those companies to help us cover that health care for their workforce. The bill has passed the state Senate and is currently before the State Assembly Appropriations Committee. Smallwood Quavez says it's a response to the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by congressional Republicans. It's projected to cut billions from Medi-Cal every year. The data would not be posted publicly but would inform state efforts to develop a framework for a shared cost system for large employers with workers on Medi-Cal. Nevada passed a law that requires the state to publicly name companies like Amazon and...

Walmart that employ large numbers of workers on Medicaid. Walmart spokesperson Jimmy Carter says employees there have good health care benefits. We at Walmart offer affordable, robust medical coverage to the majority of U.S. associates, including an eligible part-time associates. Most of our medical plans include access to no-cost care for serious conditions like cancer. Quavis estimates that taxpayers contribute about $8,000 a year to cover health care costs for each person on MediCal, which covers 14 million residents. This story was produced with original reporting from Jasmine Orozco Rodriguez with KFF Health News. For California News Service, I'm Suzanne Potter. The California Coastal Commission unanimously voted against a proposal to frack 16 offshore wells at Platform Gilda in the Santa Barbara Channel, the first offshore fracking proposal in the state in more than a decade. Maggie Hall is the Deputy Chief Counsel with the Environmental Defense Center. So the Coastal Commission was considering an application by the oil company DECOR to conduct hydraulic fracturing from its platform Gilda off the Ventura coastline. And today, the Commission had an opportunity to object to that proposal by finding that the project was inconsistent with protections for the coast. And that's what they did. So the Coastal Commission voted unanimously, finding that it would object. to Decourse proposal and that offshore fracking is in fact inconsistent with many of the policies that are in place to protect our coastline. The commission cited oil spill risk and aging infrastructure in rejecting the plan, which had been submitted to federal regulators in March. Fracking has been barred in federal waters off California since 2018, a ban upheld by a federal appeals court in 2022. Hall said that ban was in place for a good reason. Fracking involves the injection of highly toxic chemicals at extremely high pressures to get at oil that's otherwise inaccessible and breaks up the formation. So it's really used to prolong the life of platforms, and it introduces inherently risky practices like the handling of these toxic chemicals, some of which have known carcinogens. Environmental groups praised the decision. In a statement, Brady Bradshaw of the Center for Biological Diversity said offshore fracking would, quote, raises the risk of an oil spill off California's coast, and that threat to our marine wildlife and beautiful ocean environment just isn't worth it. The vote comes as the federal government reviews California's authority under the Coastal Zone Management Act to weigh in on offshore projects, a view that could limit the commission's power going forward. Still, Hall said that the commission had done its duty. Noah has announced a review of the coastal management program that could, you know, long-term had impacts and undermine the Coastal Commission's authority here. But they haven't done that yet, and the law that's in place is currently the law that stands. So the Coastal Commission is the right thing. They applied the law and their authority that they have now in standing up for our coastline.

A recent Public Policy Institute of California poll found 82% of adults view the commission favorably. Los Angeles City Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Nithya Raman is expected to be removed as chair of the city's housing and homelessness committee. Council president. Marquise Harrison Dawson, a close ally of Mayor Karen Bass, plans to split the committee in two with neither new panel led by Rahman, according to the Los Angeles Times. Rahman is challenging Bass in November's election. Rahman, who has chaired the committee since 2023, said she's proud of her record, including passing stronger renter protections and reducing street homelessness in her district by nearly 50% in a year. Fast campaign spokesperson Alex Stack said Rahman is taking credit for results driven by the mayor's Inside Safe program. Rahman disputes that. I'm Scott Baba. You're listening to the Pacific Evening News. We'll back with more after this.

Uncle Truby, do you even know what the cloud is? Of course. It's where you keep pictures of cats and your taxes. That's not. Okay. What about algorithms? Are those the fancy moves the kids are doing on TikTok? Wow. We are so doomed. Hold on now. We don't need any of that stuff because we've got KPFA. KPFA? Yep. It's on the radio. You just turn the dial and boom. Real news, real music, real conversations, no downloads, no passwords, and no spinning wheels. Even you can handle that. Exactly. KPFA, where simplicity meets brilliance. And it's listener supported, so it's all about community. KPFA, 94.1 FM, no cloud, no algorithms, just great radio. More than 20,000 patients in Gaza are at risk of death as they remain unable to access medical treatment abroad. That's according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, which said the crisis comes amid the near total collapse of Gaza's health care system and the inability of the few remaining hospitals to provide specialized care. The rights group said patients' conditions are deteriorating as they wait for treatment, placing thousands at heightened risk of death. Among those facing the worsening medical crisis are hundreds of kidney failure patients. In Gaza, patients are struggling to access lifesaving dialysis as shortages of medicines and medical supplies continue to strain the territory's devastated health system. At Al-Sheva Hospital in Gaza City, some patients say they are now relying on blood transfusions because critical medications are unavailable. Rami Amari reports from Gaza. Here at the El Shifa Hospital, nearly 400 kidney patients from across the Gaza Strip come several times a week to receive dialysis. Some have been undergoing dialysis for many years. Salam al-Hilo is a mother in her late 50s, who was diagnosed with kidney failure and has been undergoing dialysis for 15 years. Throughout the war in Gaza, she has faced persistent medication shortages. For the past two months, she has been forced to rely on donated blood because a critical medication used to treat kidney failure is unavailable. In fact, medications are always in short supply. This includes blood pressure medication and, most importantly, the injections that help raise our blood levels. Because those injections are not available, we often have to receive blood transfusions instead. The injections are very helpful for patients. Before the war,

We did not need blood transfusions because the injections were available. But now I have to receive blood transfusions twice a month. I come here three times a week for dialysis. I have been a patient for a year and a half. We suffered greatly during the war, including being displaced multiple times, from Gaza City to Rafa, then to Khan Yunis. At one point, I received dialysis only twice a week, with each session lasting between an hour and a half and two hours, rather than the four hours I receive now. It was an extremely difficult time because essential medical supplies were scarce or completely unavailable, including dialysis powder, filters, tubing and other materials.

Here at the El Shifa Hospital, doctors are struggling to provide their patients with adequate medical care. Dr. Hossam Juda is a nephrology consultant at the hospital in Gaza City. The patients are significantly complained of poor outcome. due to severe aremia. The alternative, just blood transfusion. But even when we give blood transfusion, just we correct anemia until hemoglobin 7 or 8, not more than 10. Hemoglobin less than 10 should be treated. Adequately. But because we don't have erythrobotene, only blood transfusion, we cannot correct anemia by just blood transfusion. We need more than three units for every patient. We have 260 patients on dialysis. If we want to get correct anemia correctly for all patients, we need thousands of blood units. We don't have. Dr. Hussam describes the critical medication shortage. Some important medication like calcium, carbonate and alpha-calcadol and even synacalcit drugs, this is very important for the bone disease in patients on the helices. Many drugs like immunosuppressive drugs is very important for patients with nephrotic syndrome. like ritoxymab. It is very important for patients with membrane nonphrobacy and minimal change disease. This is very important drug which is not available for many years. Other hospitals across the Gaza Strip continue to face shortages of medicines, spare parts for medical equipment, and even engine oil for the generators that keep them running. Israeli authorities only recently allowed limited quantities of the oil into Gaza. The health system remains under severe strain, with the World Health Organization warning that the man-made shortages imposed by Israel are putting kidney failure patients at risk. For Pacific Radio, KPFA, I am Rami El-Migari in Gaza. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said the denial of specialized medical treatment must be viewed alongside the destruction of hospitals and restrictions on medical supplies entering Gaza. The group argues that leaving patients without life-saving care despite knowledge of the potentially fatal consequences amounts to deliberately imposing conditions that threaten the survival of the Palestinian population.

PCHR said such conduct could constitute an underlying act of genocide under Article 2 of the Genocide Convention, which prohibits, quote, deliberately inflicting on a group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. Israeli settlers have been besieging three Palestinian homes in the West Bank this week, cutting off utilities and building the beginning of an outpost. Israeli troops have repeatedly intervened but have failed to stop settlers from returning. Karen Chamis reports. The U.S. ambassador to Israel has condemned the actions of Israeli settlers who are besieging the home of an American Palestinian family in the village of Kusra in the Israeli occupied West Bank. Since Sunday, a large group of Israeli settlers cut off water and electricity through stones and attempted to bring down a nearby wall on the property that belongs to American Palestinian Lou Riddey. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee called the siege a horrific act of terror. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hardline government has been accused by many of turning a blind eye to attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, which have surged in the last few years. I'm Karen Shamas. Ambassador Mike Huckabee's comments were an unusually sharp rebuke from an administration that has largely supported Israeli settlement expansion. In a post on social media, Mike Huckabee said, quote, actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting. He added that the embassy is coordinating with Israeli forces. Israeli forces have condemned the siege as, quote, illegal, reprehensible and unacceptable, and declared the area a closed military zone. But settlers have continued returning in increasingly large numbers. And Kusra's mayor, Abdul Azam Wadi, speaking with Sky News, said that the Israeli forces did not appear to be motivated to move the settlers.

A few days when the siege started, I saw the military and the settlers dancing, praying and barbecuing together. Right now, the Israeli military fully supports the settlers. The mayor also noted that Israeli forces evacuated more than a dozen homes to take up positions, but families have not been allowed to return. The United Nations says Kusra has recorded more settler attacks than any other West Bank community in 2026. The Palestinian authorities said 87 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and soldiers this year. Israel Supreme Court began hearing arguments in a legal challenge to laws restricting the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA. The petition was filed by human rights organizations on behalf of Palestinian refugee families. It challenges two laws enacted on October of 2024 and a third measure passed in December of 2025. The legislation ended Israel's long-standing cooperation agreement with UNRWA, prohibited Israeli officials from communicating or coordinating with the agency, and ordered UNRWA to cease operations in areas Israel considers its sovereign territory, including the occupied East Jerusalem. Supporters of the law say they are intended to prevent the perpetuation of Palestinian refugee status, reinforce Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem, and respond to allegations that some UNRWA employees participated in the October 7th attacks. UNRWA was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1949 and began operating the following year. After Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel signed an agreement committing to facilitating UNRWA's work. The agency operates schools and health centers and provides food, water, shelter, medical care, and other assistance to Palestinian refugees. It has also played a central role in humanitarian operations in Gaza, where the delivery of aid has required coordination with the Israeli military. To learn more about the legal challenges, the allegations against UNRWA and what is at stake if the agency is unable to continue its work in the occupied Palestinian territories, KPFA's Lauren Schmidt, spoke with Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA affairs in the West Bank. He spoke with KPFA news about the agency's history, the allegations made against UNRWA, and what comes next in the legal challenge. Uno was established more than 70 years ago. as a short-term agency to support Palestinian refugees through services, through work, through humanitarian aid, until a solution to their plight affair, a fair and just solution to their plight is found. Unfortunately, because there has been no political solution to the Palestinian issue, which, of course, is one of the key issues of the Middle East conflict and the Israeli-Palest conflict, because there has been no solution. Uno is still there.

We have a mandate from the UN General Assembly that is renewed every three years, most recently in December last year, supported by 151 member states. And we have a mandate to provide services, public sector-like services, to registered Palestinian refugees, but also humanitarian aid in case the situation demands that. What does it mean concretely? In the West Bank, we provide education. healthcare, social protection, but also infrastructure and garbage collection services to more than 1.1 million beneficiaries. Roughly a quarter live in 19 refugee camps on the ground in very difficult socionomic conditions. So through these critical services, we make sure that children can go to school. We have more than 90 schools in the West Bank. We have more than 50 health facilities in the West Bank, but we also provide social protection. And of course, of course, you know, cycle social support. We also have a microfinance program. There's a broad array of services. In Gaza, our footprint is even bigger. We have 11,000 staff in Gaza. Equally before 7th of October and the Hamas attacks on the beginning of the war, we provided the same services, education, healthcare, social protection, also employment generation, municipal-like services. But since the 7th of October, The war, of course, the focus in Gaza is fully shifted to emergency assistance. So that means we run shelters, we provide emergency education, we make sure that garbage gets picked up, and we also do a lot of psychosocial support and actually even shelter. At the moment, we have more than 80 shelters where Palestinians have sought refuge and we will provide them with a roof over the head in a very horrible situation on the ground. For decades, UNRWA operated under an agreement with Israel that required Israeli authorities to facilitate the agency's work. That relationship, however, has changed dramatically. Israel has now terminated that agreement and barred its officials from communicating or coordinating with UNRWA. Can you explain where the relationship between UNRWA and Israel stands today and what those changes mean for your ability to operate? What is important to understand, of course, that UNOA is a UN agency. We're part of the UN system. That means we always operate in coordination, cooperation with member states. And in that case, of course, also the state of Israel, either sort of as the state on the ground, Israeli authorities within the sovereign territory of the state of Israel, or indeed sort of as the occupying power in the occupied Palestinian territory. And before the 7th of October, we had effective relationships as any UN agency, any humanitarian agency across the world is dependent upon when working in emergency situations. That means we had regular technical coordination with the Israeli military, with the Israeli government, as any UN agency. What has happened over the last two years is that Israel has adopted a series of laws.

to curtail the activity of UNRRA. There is one law that that bans UNRWA's activities within the sovereign territory of the state of Israel, which from Israel's perspective includes occupied East Jerusalem. Occupate East Jerusalem is generally internationally understood as occupied, and that is where our main headquarters was based, in addition to six schools and two health facilities for roughly 90,000 Palestinian refugees residing in occupied East Jerusalem. So that's where Israel proceeded to ban our work. Second law that was introduced roughly a year and a half ago banned Israeli authorities from having contact with UNWA. And that impacts our work in the West Bank of the Gaza Strip because we do depend, of course, on coordination with all actors on the ground, and particularly Israeli military, to bring life-saving aid to the people and to make sure that people are safe when we provide that aid and that our own staff is safe. If you don't have that coordination, it's much more dangerous for our staff to work and it impairs our ability to provide that assistance on the ground. And then thirdly, late last year, third law was introduced that cuts water and electricity from UNORA facilities in East Jerusalem. Equally provides for the seizure. of our main headquarters and a vocational training center in occupied East Jerusalem, and also removes the applicability under Israeli law of the privileged and immunities of the United Nations to UNW. And these are all rather unprecedented measures, because in the end, there is applicable international law. And we believe that these measures taken against the agency stand in contravention of these international legal frameworks. And that's, by the way, also what the International Court of Justice has established last October, namely that Israel as a member state has an obligation to facilitate humanitarian aid of the United Nations, including that of UNOWA, an obligation to protect United Nations staff on the ground, including staff of UNOWA. and also an obligation to respect the privileges and immunities, the diplomatic privileges and immunities of UNOWA as a UN agency. That is not what we're seeing at the moment, but we do hope that in the future there will be a way to re-establish a functioning and effective relationship between Israel as a member state of the United Nations and UNRWA. In the interest, by the way, of everybody who lives in that part of the world, Palestinian is with large, but of course also Israeli citizens. The Israeli Supreme Court is now hearing arguments in a petition brought by Adala and other human rights organizations challenging these laws. While UNRWA itself did not file the lawsuit, are you in touch with the legal team? And is there anything you can share about the proceedings and the effort to overturn these laws, which I believe took effect in January?

UNOWA as a UN agency does not engage in domestic court proceedings. So UNOWA is not party to those proceedings. And I understand that the organizations who brought her proceedings did so in the name of a number of Palestinian refugees who believe that their rights are being infringed upon. What I can say is that indeed the impact of the Israel legislation on UNOWA's work underground has been palpable. There's no doubt about it. Our main headquarters in East Jerusalem was destroyed and raised and ceased in January this year. Last year, six of our schools in occupied East Jerusalem were forcibly closed, with the result that roughly 800 children did lose access to quality education. Also at two health centers in occupied East Jerusalem with roughly 30,000 beneficiaries. These centers also were forcibly closed and water and electricity were cut off in January this year. That means the patients who used to come for us also cannot come. to get these services anymore. A lot of them, by the way, in these systems have no alternative means. So it means that these people find it much more difficult now to get access to quality medical services. And that, of course, has an impact. That is a direct result of those laws. And what I should also add is that generally speaking, public service in the West Bank, particularly those of the Palestinian authorities, are on a lot of pressure. financial pressure, movement and excess restrictions, Palestinian Authority not being able to pay salaries for most of its staff. That means the PA services are also crumbling. And in such a situation, we normally see more people coming to our health centers. In fact, last year, we did a record number of health consultations in the West Bank, 1.1 million. And that is a result of a number of factors, but partly it is a result of increasing pressure, political, financial, on the Palestinian Authority. And in such a situation, we need to be able to bring in medication from the outside without any hindrance. That is not possible anymore because of the no-contact policy. So while on the one end we have more demand for health service, on the other hand, we can't get the medication as quickly. as we would need it on the ground and we need to rely on other mechanisms that more cost effective and less less efficient that is another impact of those laws so yes what i can say there has been a palpable impact and even more than so in the west wing it's the case in gaza strip because the gaza strip unawa is not allowed to bring in supplies as UNRWA. We continue to operate in the Gaza Strip, 11,000 staff, 60,000 health consultations per week. I mentioned educational support before. We do still half of the drinking water distribution Gaza Strip, it's done by UNRWA. And we do all of that without the ability to bring in food, nutrition, medical supplies. So we have to rely on partners. That is a direct result of the Israeli laws that ban UNAWA from bringing life-saving aid into the Gaza Strip.

And that is simply not the way to deal with such human-term crisis, particularly because we remain by far the biggest humanitarian organization on the ground. So yes, there are a number of impacts when it comes to the Israeli legislation, also in the occupied Palestinian territory. Israel has justified these laws in part by pointing to allegations that some un-raw employees participated in the October 7th attacks. Meanwhile, Adala has characterized the broader claims against the agency as vague, unsubstantiated, and politically motivated. I know UNRWA did terminate some employees following the allegations, but can you walk us through how UNRWA responded in what measures the agency took to investigate and address them? What I can explain is a little bit of what happened in the nature of these allegations. In early 2024, we received news from the Israeli government that 19 Una employees would have allegedly participated in the terrorist attack of 7 October. The Commissioner General at the time took a decision to immediately terminate these staff members because of the severity of the allegations. What followed then was an independent investigation by the UN Secretary of New York, who asked for corroborating evidence from the Israeli authorities, didn't receive an awful lot, and then reached the conclusion that if they had been given appropriate evidence, These allegations could have been corroborated in case of nine employees who were among those terminated from service. Out of at the time, I think, 14,000. That may be very clear. There is no room in UNOWA or another UN agency for people who do not share the value of the United Nations who are engaged in terrorists or criminal activity. That's very clear. We have mechanisms to deal with that. Now, at the same time, UNOWA launched an independent process to review. its neutrality procedures. It was a commission with international experts, chaired by the former French Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonnais, that the Commission came to the conclusion that UNOAS good mechanisms to deal with neutrality issues, particularly given the very difficult context in which we were, but that more can be done. And that led them to an action plan with 50 recommendations, 41 are now being, have been implemented. on issues such as strengthening screening of staff and vetting of staff, you know, even more work to ensure neutrality of installations, additional ethics and internal oversight mechanisms and so on and so forth. And one thing we've been always very clear about it, if there's any evidence, any allegations that staff or who are engaged in activities that are prohibited from doing so, then we need to have that information to be able to take action.

What makes it very difficult is on a one end to be sort of confronted with allegations of very severe nature, openly and publicly, and then being denied the ability to address those allegations as part of a proper... dialogue between a UN agency in a member state. That is a very difficult position to be in. I cannot comment on whatever other motivation might be behind these allegations, because it's not just allegations. You also see a dedicated campaign to discredit Unawa and its reputation in a number of countries. And mind you, we have five different fields of operation that are independent and very, very different. The Gaza Strip situation is very different from Jim Jordan, the operation Lebanon is very different from the West Bank and so on and so forth. If the Israeli Supreme Court ultimately rejects this petition, what comes next and are there other legal avenues available through international bodies such as the International Court of Justice? And finally, as the United Nations General Assembly prepares to gather in New York next month, What is your message to the people in the United States and elsewhere who want to demonstrate their support for UNRWA and for Palestinian refugees? Well, I think the key thing is that we need to end violence and we need to end suffering in this part of the world. There has been way too much suffering for the people of Gaza, way too much suffering people in Israel, and way too much suffering for people in Lebanon and Syria and other places. We are a technical humanitarian development agency. We have a role to play to help people in need, and we have a role to play when it comes to maintaining stability in the region. And I would encourage all of those who listen to or hear statements on Unaba to ask for faxed, to engage in constructive discussion and to form their own opinion. We have a very clear position what we are doing, why we are doing it, and we have nothing to hide. So in that sense, I would invite everybody to critically look at any allegations brought against the agency. And Roland, thank you so much for joining us again. And really quickly, what comes next, again, whether the court rejects or approves this petition? I think the proceedings is something that the complainants will have to look at. What I can say is that the International Court of Justice has already clearly stated that there is an obligation by all parties, including the State of Israel, to support and facilitate the work of all the humanitarian actors, including UNOWA. We do hope that the Israeli authorities will heed these rulings of the court, and we're ready to work with them. That was Roland Friedrich, Director of UNRWA in the Occupied West Bank, speaking with KPFA's Lauren Schmidt about the legal challenges to Israeli laws, restricting the UN agency's operations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

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