December 7, 2023

*) Antonio Guterres invokes Article 99 of UN charter over Gaza crisis For the first time in his tenure, the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has invoked Article 99 of the UN's charter over the crisis in besieged Gaza. The article states that "the Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security." Guterres wrote to the president of the Security Council that the humanitarian conditions amid Israel’s war on Gaza are "fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole." Israel has killed at least 16,248 Palestinians and wounded more than 43,616 others in relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave since October 7. *) Jewish groups plan to march to Al-Aqsa Mosque to ‘end its Islamic status’ Jewish groups have announced a plan to march to Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem to “end its Islamic status” and "establish full Jewish sovereignty" in Jerusalem. Various far-right Jewish groups said the march, which was greenlit by the Israeli police, would be held Thursday evening, coinciding with the first day of Hanukkah, a Jewish festival that lasts eight days. Located in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem, Al Aqsa Mosque is under the authority of the Jerusalem Islamic Endowment, affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Foundations, according to the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty signed on October 26 1994. *) Turkiye's Erdogan in Athens in 'new chapter' bid Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to travel to Athens in a keenly watched visit billed as an attempted "new chapter" between the NATO allies and historic rivals after years of tension. In meetings with Greek Prime Minister KEER-E-AKOS- MIT-SO-TAKIS and President Katerina Sakellaropoulou (Sakellaropolu), Erdogan is expected to discuss trade, regional issues and the thorny issue of migration. In an interview with the Greek daily Kathimerini a day befor