German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen announced on Monday that one of its factories will be converted to produce defense equipment for the Israeli Rafael Group, after car production there stops next year, according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.
The struggling automaker said it would sell the Osnabrück factory to the Tel Aviv-based Aurelius Capital Group, which will cooperate with the government of the German state of Lower Saxony, Volkswagen's main shareholder, to use the factory in an initial air defense project for Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said: “With today’s agreement, we are taking an important step towards opening new industrial horizons for the site.”
The company, which is suffering from weak demand, had already decided in 2024 to end vehicle production at the site in northwestern Germany by 2027.
According to the Volkswagen Works Council, the deal will ensure the preservation of at least 1,200 jobs at the factory.
The future of the company's four other factories in Germany remains unclear.
The giant automobile group, which includes 10 brands that include Audi, Porsche, and Seat, faces fierce competition from Chinese companies, at a time when it is struggling to deal with the difficult transition towards electric cars.
The High Representative of the Peace Council, Nickolay Mladenov, said on Monday at the Haley Forum in Abu Dhabi that the failure to achieve progress in Gaza, coupled with the escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank, makes the two-state solution “impossible.”
US President Donald Trump established the Peace Council, which is charged with implementing the ceasefire plan concluded in October between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.
Mladenov said: “If Gaza continues as things are now, or the implementation of the plan that we have does not begin (...), the two-state solution will become practically impossible,” according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.
He added: “Because, with everything that is happening in the West Bank, and with more than 50 percent of Gaza currently under the control of the Israeli army, and less than 50 percent under the control of (Hamas), there is no reliable path that leads to a political solution to the conflict.”
In late July, Hamas agreed to an American road map aimed at launching the second phase of the peace plan, which stipulates its disarmament and Israel’s gradual withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
However, Israel did not agree to the plan. Netanyahu demands that Hamas be completely disarmed before any withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
The West Bank has also witnessed an escalation in violence since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip, following an attack launched by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
With the exception of occupied East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed, about 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, along with more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements.
“The only way we can get back to that is to have a transitional administration, to have disarmament, and to withdraw from Gaza,” Mladenov said.
On Sunday, the American envoy and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, said in a press conference in Kiev that the upcoming Israeli elections make Israeli leaders “a little lacking in logic” regarding Gaza.
Kushner added, referring to Israel: “We agree with them on the form of the final status.” “They just have a crazy election, and it makes them a little illogical in some aspects, but we are very determined and we are working to get through these things.”
He added: “You cannot enter if there are weapons,” adding: “We are now beginning to understand the extent of the militarization of Gaza. It is beyond your comprehension. Therefore, disarming it will not be easy.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned on Monday that artificial intelligence may pose an “existential threat to humanity,” calling for immediate action to reduce these risks.
Türk said that humans are currently facing “unusual and even unprecedented” threats to their rights, according to Agence France-Presse.
Türk added, in the opening speech of the 63rd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva: “I share the concerns of sector experts that advanced artificial intelligence may pose an existential threat to humanity,” calling for “a comprehensive effort to establish strict guarantees related to the safety and security of artificial intelligence, before it is too late.”
He asked: “There is widespread recognition of the need to govern artificial intelligence, but where are the practical measures?” warning that “any delay is only in the interest of giant technology companies, their owners, and their supporters.”
Turk criticized the fact that “a handful of men have almost absolute influence over artificial intelligence, which we are repeatedly told has unimaginable computational capabilities.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights added: “They talk about freedom, but when you look closely at the matter, it turns out that this freedom is nothing more than the freedom to exploit our data.”
Turk pointed out that “artificial intelligence that manages to escape the testing environment or resorts to blackmailing its developers to prevent it from being stopped is artificial intelligence that has exceeded the limits of acceptable power.”
Turk appeared to be referring to revelations in July that AI tools from OpenAI had successfully evaded supposedly controlled environments and hacked into the servers of the popular Hacking Face platform, which programmers use to share AI software.
This incident caused shock among the technology sector, and revived calls to impose stricter controls and enhance oversight of artificial intelligence technologies.
Companies, including Anthropic and Meta, reported similar incidents during tests of artificial intelligence agents.
Turk said that he will address artificial intelligence companies in the coming days “to urge them to take measures that are within their control to reduce risks currently.”
He added: “At the very least, we need countries hosting artificial intelligence companies and those involved in the supply chains of this technology to agree on clear and agreed upon red lines.”
He said: “We need independent verification mechanisms, and much stronger cooperation within the sector in the field of security.”
He concluded: “We also need to consider the impacts of artificial intelligence on human rights, including employment practices, the basic principles of democracy, and our environment.”
