radiofree.asia

Category: israel

  • Gaza’s genocide: the UN report is not the end, but just the beginning for Palestinians

    As a Palestinian, the latest report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry came as no surprise to me, nor to any Palestinian who has lived through or followed what has been happening in Gaza since 7 October 2023.

    We live the details of the genocide every day: the sounds of aircraft, the smell of rubble, the cries of children, and the hunger of mothers. But for this acknowledgment to come this time from the highest independent international human rights body, using the explicit term “genocide,” is a game-changer, because it strips away the last fig leaves from the Israeli narrative.

    The UN report on Israel leave it little place to hide

    The UN report documented four acts of genocide committed by Israel, including mass murder, starvation, and the deliberate destruction of children’s futures. These are not just numbers or cold facts, but our daily lives as Palestinians: thousands of bodies under the rubble, generations of children suffering from malnutrition and milk shortages, and entire families wiped out in an instant. What the report describes in the language of international law, we describe in our simple language as “the erasure of life.”

    Israel was quick—as usual—to deny the report and accuse it of bias. But can an official denial erase the image of the child Hind Rajab, who was killed by soldiers despite her screams and cries for help? Can any political rhetoric cover up the hunger of thousands of infants who have been deprived even of their milk?

    What is important now is that the report does not become just another document on the shelves of the United Nations. Its value lies not only in its words, but in the responsibility it imposes on the world. International law, established after the tragedies of war and genocide, is not just a set of idealistic texts, but an obligation on states to prevent crimes when they occur and to punish their perpetrators. Today, it must be said: the world is facing a moral and legal test.

    The UN report confronts Israel with the truth, but it also holds up a mirror to the international community: Will the tragedies of Rwanda and Bosnia, where recognition came too late, be repeated, or will the world act this time before what remains of Gaza is wiped out?

    Palestinians do not need miracles. We just need the law to be enforced.

    We are not asking for miracles, but for the application of the law. We are not asking for pity, but for justice. If the UN has described what is happening as genocide in its report, the least that can be expected of states is to stop the arms that fuel this genocide, impose sanctions on Israeli leaders who openly incite our murder, and support the course of justice at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

    The UN report said that “the essence of childhood has been destroyed in Gaza.” I say that the essence of humanity is being destroyed with it. That is why international silence is no longer mere complicity, but participation in crime.

    Gaza today is not just a Palestinian issue; it is a humanitarian issue, a yardstick by which to measure the sincerity of the slogans raised by nations about human rights. Those who do not see this report as an urgent call to action are choosing to be complicit in genocide, even if only through their silence.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Tsav 9: the group of illegal Israeli settler Zionist extremists blocking aid to starving Palestinians in Gaza

    In the early hours of yesterday morning, 15 September, colonial Israeli settlers – a group known as Tsav 9 – blocked flour trucks which had come from Jordan and were heading to an Israeli occupation’s military depot on the Gaza Strip border, and were then supposed to find their way to the starving population of Gaza.

    Crowd of Israeli settlers blocking an aid truck headed to Gaza.

    Tsav 9: hardline group of Zionists blocking aid to Gaza

    These illegal West Bank settlers, along with Israeli occupation forces (IOF) reservists, and families of hostages make up the hardline Zionist group known as Tsav 9. The group vowed no aid would enter Gaza until all of the Israeli hostages are returned, and has played a central role in blocking humanitarian relief from entering the Strip. Its tactics include blockading roads, harassing drivers, slashing tyres, and vandalising trucks.

    Tsav 9’s name is in reference to the IDF’s ‘Order 8’, the emergency mobilisation order for Israeli reservists, that was activated on 7 October 2023, and the group has become a symbol of extreme protest and violent obstruction, while millions in Gaza are being starved to death by the Israeli occupation.

    Tsav 9’s first action was in January 2024. As Israel’s siege on the Gaza Strip intensified, 100 humanitarian aid trucks were physically stopped from entering Gaza, by activists who had camped out for three days at the Kerem-Shalom crossing. In May 2024, the group not only threw life-saving aid onto the road, but also set fire to humanitarian aid trucks, injuring drivers at a border crossing near Hebron, in the West Bank.

    Schlomo Sarid: extremist illegal settler ‘activist’

    This action led to Biden sanctioning individuals from Tsav 9, including its founder, Shlomo Sarid.

    Sarid is an illegal settler activist, in the occupied West Bank’s Jordan Valley and an army reservist, who served in Gaza after 7 October 2023. He also participated in discussions about the ‘General’s Plan’, to ethnically cleanse Northern Gaza of Palestinians, which is now being implemented on Gaza’s starving population.

    Trump officially became president on 20 January 2025, and by 24 January he had lifted sanctions on many extremist Israeli colonial settlers and Zionist organisations, including Tsav 9 and also Sarid:

    Supported by Israeli ministers

    These extremist Israeli activists in Tsav 9 are not only being given intelligence as to the movement of humanitarian supplies from both IOF soldiers and the occupation’s police, but are also supported by extremist Israeli Ministers, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who were both sanctioned by the UK in June this year for “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities” in the West Bank, and are also calling for aid to be blocked from getting into Gaza, and to starve Palestinians as collective punishment.

    Those Israelis who are part of Tsav 9 and associated settler groups, who loot, disrupt, and stop aid convoys from entering Gaza in this time of famine, have contributed to this modern day holocaust, of which the Israeli regime is this time the perpetrator – of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against the entire Palestinian population.

    Persistent obstruction of basic supplies and denial of entry by the Israeli occupation authorities, has meant over two million people face extreme hunger and acute shortages of food, clean water, medicine, and shelter. Hospitals are overwhelmed, and malnutrition is rampant, especially among children, pregnant women, and older people. Palestinians are now really struggling to survive.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Haaretz writer accused Palestinian Pulitzer-winner of killing Jews, raping women

    Last weekend, Israeli newspaper Haaretz – presumably driven by the decision of Hollywood megastars to produce a film about the murder of five-year-old Hind Rajab and her family by an Israeli tank and comments by actor Javier Bardem that he could never work with anyone who justifies genocide – published an article appealing to the arts world and the world in general not to ‘force Israeli artists into isolation’.

    Haaretz: bleating for Israel

    The Haaretz article, co-written by screenwriter Margalit (Magi) Otsri and actress Neta Riskin, bleats that it is unfair [in the midst of a genocide, Israel is always the victim] that:

    For many years, Israeli artists have been cast as enemies of the nationalist regime. We’ve been relentlessly persecuted by governments that made us an easy target for hatred. Our names have been publicly defamed, ministers have branded us “traitors,” and our budgets have been stripped because of our views. Theaters have been shut down, plays banned, films boycotted. Artists have been attacked both online and in person, subjected to threats of rape and torture, even their lives, and many have lost their livelihoods.

    Notably, the authors still call it a ‘war in Gaza’:

    Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, blows from outside Israel have joined those that strike us from within.
    Our films are rejected by festivals, our books go untranslated and publishers close their doors to us. We are boycotted and condemned. Our voices go unheard.

    Know this: the only beneficiary of the suppression and silencing of our voices is the current Israeli government that despises art and artists alike. Neither freedom, nor peace, nor justice is served by silencing Israeli art. Nor are the Palestinians, who are suffering under a cruel and unending war.

    Self-justification

    After some lengthy self-justification on behalf of the Israeli film industry, it concludes with a plea to the world to :

    This is what the violent government wants; this is its ambition. The moment the threat of humanistic art is removed, they’ll be able to destroy Israeli democracy without opposition, undermine the process of free elections and continue the war in Gaza indefinitely.

    We won’t stop creating. We’ll never give up. But we need you to help us keep breathing. Better days will come. We believe this with all our hearts.

    As long as we continue to dream, as long as we continue to imagine, no boycott and no government can extinguish our spirit. Help us be the pillar of fire at the forefront until we drive out the darkness, until the light prevails.

    So far, so liberal. But Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mosab Abu Toha, a Palestinian based in Canada who was abducted and suffered sexual torture by the occupation regime, has published another facet to the story in the form of revelations about Otsri, one of the piece’s authors. He wrote:

    One of the writers of this opinion essay, who I have never heard of before now, wrote this about me when I was abducted and sexually abused by the terrorist Israeli forces in Nov 2023 in Gaza. I saw screenshots of her comments today after her piece was published by Haaretz.

    Her first comment was on a post by The New Yorker sharing news of my horrendous abduction and the second on a post by PEN America expressing their concern and calling for my protection.

    This “writer” was accusing me of having other “hobbies” like killing Jews and raping women.

    Supposed ‘evidence’

    To support his account, he published screenshots of Otsri’s comments. First, she replied to a thread posted by a third party about Abu Toha’s (later award-winning) work:

    Then, presumably in case anyone had missed the first go, she partially remade her point:

    There are a few – a very few – genuine resisters in Israel, such as the outstanding journalist Gideon Levy and young Israeli journalist and filmmaker Andrey X. But four out of five Israelis are not troubled by Israel starving Gaza, an even higher proportion support US president Donald Trump’s plan to turn Gaza into a Palestinian-free beach resort and three quarters believe “there are no innocents in Gaza”.

    Half – according to a poll conducted by Haaretz itself – support the complete extermination of the Palestinians, while 92% believe ‘Amalek’ – Netanyahu’s shorthand for the Palestinians – should be treated like biblical Amalek, which was wiped out by Israel, including babies and even livestock.

    Liberal Zionism is still Zionism – and Zionism is a racist ideology supporting a settler-colonial project that is more than happy to murder, maim, rape and torture – and to smear the real victims who managed to escape its clutches.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Starmer’s disgrace over Israeli visit grows as UN names Herzog as genocide-inciter

    Keir Starmer was already rolling in disgrace over Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit to Britain last week. But now, the shame has grown even further as the UN has called Herzog out by name as a genocide-inciter.

    In the UN Human Rights Council’s commission of inquiry report, its analysis directly quoted Herzog to demonstrate the Israeli government’s genocidal intent in Gaza. And it concluded that:

    Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, have incited the commission of genocide and that Israeli authorities have failed to take action against them to punish this incitement.

    Herzog’s words, from 13 October 2023, were:

    it’s an entire nation out there that is responsible. It is not true, this rhetoric about civilians who were not aware and not involved. It is absolutely not true.

    Starmer is nothing if not a loyal shill for billionaire interests. And supporting Israel’s colonial crimes is a key part of that. That’s why, despite overwhelming global consensus, he has been a consistent genocide-denier. Ignoring Herzog’s incitement by welcoming him to Britain last week simply added more blood onto his hands. But as the UN now states more clearly the responsibility Herzog has for Israel’s genocide, people are clear that Starmer and those around him must face the consequences.

    The social media account of Just Jews UK said:

    The UN Commission cited Israeli President Herzog whom Starmer welcomed to the UK last week The CPS gave false information on why the Israeli President could not be arrested No level of spin & denial will erase the complicity of our government with the Israeli regime’s Genocide.

    Kneecap condemned Starmer’s warm welcome:

    Actor Liam Cunningham summed it up:

    Herzog spoke. The IDF followed through.

    The UN’s report said:

    As early as 7 October 2023, Israeli officials made statements that indicated their intention to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a group. Palestinians were consistently dehumanised by Israeli officials. Furthermore, Israeli authorities made many statements that explicitly called for vengeance, destruction and annihilation. The Commission believes, having analysed the military operations of the Israeli security forces, such statements were expressed to encourage hatred toward Palestinians and violence against Palestinians. The statements were received by the Israeli security forces as an order to destroy Palestinians in Gaza and such order was indeed executed through military operations.

    The words of Herzog and other politicians:

    shaped the public narrative and garnered widespread public support for their positions

    Herzog’s statement, the report said:

    may reasonably be interpreted as incitement to the Israeli security forces personnel to target the Palestinians in Gaza as a group as being collectively culpable for the 7 October 2023 attack in Israel.

    It added:

    Herzog was unequivocally clear that all civilians in Gaza were aware of and involved in and responsible for Hamas’ actions. According to Herzog, if the civilian population did not agree with such actions, they could have risen and fought against Hamas; therefore, according to Herzog, because the civilians did not rise against Hamas, they were all equally responsible.

    Notably, the slogan that “there are no uninvolved” in Gaza was subsequently proclaimed by soldiers deployed to Gaza and echoed in several public places. Amnesty International reported a photograph that shows the slogan in Hebrew on an Israeli military watchtower in the West Bank, with the words “Destroy Gaza” in English under the slogan.

    Starmer has covered himself in abject shame. There aren’t words strong enough to condemn his despicable choice to invite a man responsible for genocide into the country.

    Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Isaac Herzog

    By Ed Sykes

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The wait is over. Your Party now has a timetable, and here’s what to expect.

    Supporters of the Your Party project to create a new mass party on the left have been waiting for some good news for a long time. And when you know how desperately Britain and the world need change, it’s hard to wait patiently. But a timetable has finally arrived:

    • September – membership, assemblies debate draft founding documents
    • October – party name vote, updating of documents to include member feedback
    • November – conference and members’ vote

    Your Party: membership, assemblies, party name, conference, and one-member-one-vote

    Before the end of this month, Your Party says there’ll be a “membership portal”. There’ll also be “draft versions of our four core founding documents for your input” (these are “Political Statement, Constitution, Rules, and Organisational Strategy”). On top of that, it will start to set up “regional deliberative meetings where thousands of members unite to debate our founding documents face to face”.

     

    Then, in October, the assemblies will continue, and Your Party says it will “revise our draft documents to incorporate your feedback”. There’ll also be “an online vote to name Your Party”, and:

    members will be able to comment, suggest changes, and track how each document develops.

    In November, meanwhile, the founding conference will take place, with “thousands of in-person delegates chosen by lottery”. The purpose of the lottery is “to ensure a fair balance of gender, region, and background”. All members will then vote on the final documents “through an online, secure, one-member-one-vote system”.

    Debate, participate and focus

    There absolutely should be space for debate about how all of this is going. Some critics argue that the whole process could and should be even more democratic and participatory – that members should, for example, have the power of recall “on all facilitators, including elected officials & all staff”. And interim co-leader Zarah Sultana herself has insisted that:

    It’s really important that we have a conference arrangements committee that is gender-balanced – it’s not just led by MPs, it’s regionally and racially diverse.

    However, we should also remember that ‘perfect is the enemy of good’. The British left has all too often divided itself into tiny, competing groups that each claim to have the perfect set of principles but rarely get anything meaningful done. With this in mind, even if Your Party just brings British left-wingers together in the biggest and most representative gathering ever, that in itself will be an impressive achievement.

    Making Your Party the best it can be will require as many people as possible to show up, with a well-informed, passionate, and constructively critical perspective. But it will also require us to keep the main focus where it needs to be – on defeating the billionaire class and its increasingly powerful far-right footsoldiers. Because that is the most important struggle of all, and that’s where we need to invest the majority of our precious time and energy.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Ed Sykes

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The UN investigation into Israel has simply confirmed what we all knew

    Today, 16 September, the United Nations (UN) officially confirmed that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide. The rights probe was carried out by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. Its investigators were appointed independently by the Human Rights Council (HRC).

    The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has previously stated that almost million people are living in a state of famine in Gaza City. They have to endure daily bombardment and “compromised access to means of survival” due to Israeli’s displacement order.

    UN report into Israel: genocidal acts

    The new investigation centered on Israel’s conduct starting from the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack. It examined allegations that Israel had blocked humanitarian aid, targeted children, systematically destroyed healthcare and education systems, and used sexual- and gender-based violence against the Palestinian people.

    Investigation chair Navi Pillay stated that:

    The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza… It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention.

    The UN is also far from the first organisation to declare that Israel is committing genocide:

    The commission judged Israel’s actions against a list of five genocidal acts. These were defined in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Israel was found to have committed four of these five acts: killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, imposing measures to prevent births, and deliberately inflicting life conditions meant to bring about the destruction of the Palestinian people.

    ‘Cannot stay silent’

    The UN has a reputation for its labyrinthine bureaucracy and hesitancy in decision-making. Given this, some commentators on Twitter/X spoke about how it would be difficult for officials to deny the genocide at this point:

     

    Investigator Pillay was clear about the duties of the international community at this point:

    The international community cannot stay silent on the genocidal campaign launched by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

    When clear signs and evidence of genocide emerge, the absence of action to stop it amounts to complicity.

    All States are under a legal obligation to use all means that are reasonably available to them to stop the genocide in Gaza.

    At least some UK MPs heeded Pillay’s words:

     

    UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese also pointed out that, rather than opposing the genocide, Western governments like our own here in the UK are aiding and abetting Israel’s crimes. Because of her criticisms of Israel, Albanese was the first UN official ever to be sanctioned by the US government.

    Only last week, (now former) foreign secretary David Lammy wrote in a letter that the UK government had not confirmed that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. He also stated that the UK’s continuing supply of arms to Israel was not a breach of international law.

    One thing has been abundantly clear for a long time now. The UK is directly involved in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people. The UN’s report only serves to further underscore this fact.

    As Pillay stated, all states have a legal duty to stop this atrocity. Beyond this, it is our duty as the people of the UK to hold our government accountable for making all of us complicit.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Alex/Rose Cocker

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Video: after intense bombing of Gaza City, genocidal Israel begins ground invasion

    After inflicting on Gaza City the most intense night-time bombardment of the genocide so far – airstrikes roughly every thirty seconds – Israel has begun its illegal ground invasion of the city, while also bombing refugees as they flee.

    Horror in Gaza City

    The crimes, which come on the same morning that the United Nations finally confirmed officially that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, are so grave that even the BBC couldn’t ignore them – and despite doing its best to ‘both sides’ its report and include Israel’s ridiculous denials, the broadcaster couldn’t hide the reality of Israel’s murder of civilians entirely:

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Defence minister squirms about RAF Gaza spy flights ‘looking the other way’ on genocide

    British RAF spy flights have been consistently recording footage over Gaza during Israel’s genocide. They’ve likely witnessed – and ignored – countless Israeli war crimes since 2023, such as the murder of UK aid workers. And in a parliamentary grilling, defence minister Luke Pollard squirmed to avoid admitting that.

    British RAF Gaza spy flights

    Israeli occupation forces are holding thousands of Palestinians hostage, and have killed at least 19,424 children in Gaza since 2023. Hamas is holding 48 Israeli hostages in Gaza.

    Pollard insisted that UK support for Israel’s war criminals:

    is solely focused on hostage rescue, using the capabilities for hostage rescue

    He added:

    If there were additional taskings placed on those aircraft beyond just hostage rescue, I think the ability of those aircraft to be able to deliver those activities would be more constrained. So as a result, it has been the clear policy of this government that those aircraft are only and solely used for hostage rescue, and we don’t provide any other data or collect any other data beyond hostage rescue.

    In response to this, a member of the committee questioning Pollard said:

    You’re looking the other way.

    And that is very much what’s been happening. The spy flights from RAF Akrotiri over Gaza have continued to support Israel despite the apartheid state committing genocide in the very same territory they’re monitoring.

    Committee members questioned Pollard about whether flight data could help Britain to determine where breaches of International Humanitarian Law have occurred. But he essentially admitted that, because Israel doesn’t want this to happen, it doesn’t happen:

    the ability of the, er, RAF aircraft or the contracted aircraft to operate, er, is entirely reliant on the permissions given by nations in the area. If the tasking of those aircraft were to go beyond hostage rescue, I think that would, er, change, actually, the calculations

    See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

    The RAF flights have undoubtedly been in the presence of unfolding evil in Gaza during Israel’s genocide. And committee members asked Pollard if RAF data “would be able to ascertain the amount of damage and the type of ordnance” or “the amount of munitions and the type of munitions” that Israel may have used. Pollard simply insisted again that “the flights are solely there for hostage rescue… as a result, we don’t look… beyond those activities”.

    It may indeed be the case that employers and employees have chosen to cover their eyes, ears, and mouths. But there is overwhelming global consensus that Israel has been committing genocide. And today, a UN Human Rights Council commission of inquiry has concluded that:

    the State of Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza

    And with that fact comes responsibility. As Commissioner Chris Sidoti stressed following the report:

    Every country in the world was put on notice by the International Court of Justice that there was a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza… Every country in the world became obliged under the law… not to ‘speak fine words’, to take action to prevent genocide. There can be no doubt whatsoever that that obligation was activated on the 24th of January 2024, if not before.

    UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese had already called for Britain and other Western states to face consequences for their complicity in Israeli crimes, insisting previously that:

    the UK has violated its obligations under international law… [by] aiding and assisting Israel in the commission of… a series of international wrongdoing

    “Looking the other way” when evil occurs is never an acceptable excuse, especially when you’re repeatedly flying over the crime scene to support the evildoer.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Ed Sykes

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The BBC just asked a UN rep if it is a ‘Hamas proxy and openly antisemitic’

    The BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme interviewed expert human rights lawyer and UN official Chris Sidoti this morning. As so often the broadcaster showed appalling bias, regurgitating Israeli talking points and asking Sidoti whether the UN is a ‘Hamas proxy’ and ‘openly antisemitic’.

    BBC Radio 4 Today asking all the wrong questions of the UN

    Sidoti’s response was blunt, dismissing Israel’s propaganda as lazy ‘garbage’ generated by AI platform ChatGPT worthy only of contempt. It was an object lesson in how to treat such nonsense – one that some political leaders could learn from:

    (Subtitled by Skwawkbox)

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • When Right is always wrong: disabled anti-fascist on far-right abuse and Met failure

    Disability and union activist Phil Smart speaks out in an article exclusive for Skwawkbox

    On Saturday 13 September my friend Karen and I caught the 6:18am train to London to join the Stand up to Racism demo. We are both 50+ and classed as disabled and we are Unite the Union members, one being the black Branch Equality Officer and the other being the white/privileged Branch Secretary/Treasurer for WM:6070.

    The train journey was raucous and rowdy from Worcester onwards when a large group of ‘patriots’ climbed on board. The drink flowed and voices got louder and this eventually led to a bloated, hateful, 30-something, (it will become obvious later on why I say this), racist, genocide-enabler, who took issue with my “Stop Bombing Gaza” t-shirt, verbally assaulting me.

    As he walked past to go to the toilet he must have spotted my t-shirt and upon returning he growled and said “Are you going to the anti-march?” and “What’s with the t-shirt, it’s shit”, he said hoping to get a reaction.  I just said I was going to the demo and left it at that and he bumbled off laughing. This was not the first time I had been verbally abused for showing solidarity to my Palestinian brothers and sisters who are suffering genocide. I was verbally abused in Morrisons in Hereford just the week before. The far-right and the bigots are being empowered by the mainstream media and their love-in with Farage and Trump, that’s for sure.

    Standing up to racism: a difficult endeavour

    We both became aware at this point that getting to and from today’s demo was going to be difficult but we thought we would be safe on the demo because the Met Police would surely have things under control and properly segregated with “sterile areas” put in place to protect us.

    Sadly it seems my trust in the Met Police was badly misplaced. The anti-racist demo moved off peacefully and at a slow pace. We had met up with our dear friend Khalid and his team from Portsmouth Unite Community and the TUC. We moved along slowly with Mark and his megaphone leading the chants and the wonderful drum beats behind and to the side of us. The atmosphere was party-like and upbeat with good people all supporting one another and having fun.

    We danced down the Strand and when we were opposite the Coal House pub I had not noticed that there were lots of fascists gathered on the pavement and milling about. They began shouting obscenities, making the usual rude gestures, and openly threatening to hurt us.

    Under attack from the far right

    Then, as I was chanting along to When Asylum Seekers are under attack, what do we do?, I was struck on the forearm by an open can of Banks “Bitter” which was nearly full and sprayed its contents all over me and into my mouth (which for a recovered alcoholic/addict of 14 years came as a nasty shock!).

    As more cans and missiles peppered the ground around us, a lovely lady came over to ask me if I was alright and Khalid came over too. Thankfully I was okay; shaken up and very cross, I looked at the faces of those who had attacked us and saw the utter hatred they had for us. They should never have been there but it soon became apparent they had broken through the police lines and were all over the Strand and Trafalgar Square, which we had to pass to get to Whitehall for the speeches.

    At 3.30pm we had to leave the Stand Up To Racism demo to walk back to Paddington Station to get our train to Hereford, leaving behind Khalid, Mark, the Portsmouth community, and all the other brave souls to be ‘kettled’ by the police for their own protection because the fascists had completely surrounded them.

    Our journey through the streets of London to walk back seemed a safer option than getting the tube because it seemed the fascists had taken over everywhere. On the way back I stopped to get a takeaway kebab and, as always, I was treated with kindness and smiles in the wonderful little Lebanese restaurant we stopped at. So, the end of the day finished with a flourish of love and happiness.

    That used to be me

    Now, to our “bloated hateful 30-something” mentioned earlier on in this piece. My reason is simple: I used to be that hate-filled, bloated 30-something. I was an alcoholic/addict who not only joined the BNP but hung off every word ‘Tommy Robinson’ said to the point I bought his books and believed everything he said. I was disillusioned by the Blair government and the establishment and I hated myself so much that I had to hate “Others” to try and make myself feel better.

    When I was 42 I got properly clean and sober through AA and the love of my wonderful partner Gail, my family, my friends. I began the hard process of learning to live life on life’s terms and I began learning how to love again. I stopped being hateful but was still wary of the world around me and this could be seen in me voting for Brexit.

    Then in 2019 my broken heart was truly healed, through a meeting with the Holy Spirit at the house church I attended at the time. It was from that point forward that I was totally freed from the bondage of bigotry and I found that I was consumed with an unconditional love for “ALL” others no matter who they are or where they come from.

    So there is hope that people can heal their broken heart but without them healing their minds this will never, ever happen.

    Second chances to stand up to racism

    I was given a chance to live a free man or to die, alone. But I was one of the lucky ones, I chose to live and I am so grateful to my Higher Power and the transforming nature of love for helping that happen.

    I am so grateful to my Higher power for showing me that being RIGHT was most definitely WRONG in every way imaginable.

    Keith Giles – This former pastor left the pulpit to follow Jesus and started a church where 100% of the offering goes to the poor.

    Came to Believe Recovery

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • A West Asia NATO-style force could be a bulwark against Israel’s expansionist ambitions

    An emergency summit in Doha, called in the aftermath off Israel’s 9 September terror attack on the Qatar capital, has heard a proposal for a NATO-style force to act as a bulwark against the increasingly rash actions of the illegitimate Zionist entity.

    NATO-style force to act against the impunity of Israel

    According to reporting in The New Arab, the Egyptian plan:

    would see a revolving command among the 22 members of the Arab League, all of whom would contribute to the joint force, while a civilian would serve as secretary-general. Egypt’s proposal would see its military hold the first term.

    Were it to go ahead as described, it would exclude the likes of Iran, one of the nations to have suffered a severe cost from recent Zionist aggression. Many of the other members of the 57 nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation would also not be part of the plan as it is currently presented.

    A previous proposal for a unified Arab military force was drawn up in 2015, at the height of the Saudi-led assault on the Houthis (heavily assisted by the US and Britain) in Yemen, as the Sunni-dominated former sought to ward off the latter Shia faction, which was backed by Iran. Such sectarian divides were an obstacle to the previous initiative getting off the ground, and may be again on this occasion. An additional incentive at the time was the emergence of ISIS, whose murderous revolutionary presence posed a potential threat to the despots of West Asia.

    For its own part, the Zionist regime was ambivalent about the prospect a decade ago. Such a project of combined arms could potentially have been co-opted for use against the main Israeli enemy, Iran. It would also have represented a potential bonanza for Western arms companies, resulting from an overhaul of military equipment to be fully interoperable, along with a likely expansion of defence spending among participating nations. A similar dynamic is at play in the potential NATO expansion to former Warsaw Pact states in Europe.

    An organisation of Arab unity: a threat to the Zionist regime

    On the other hand, a NATO-style West Asian force would have represented a rare organisation of Arab unity with potential to threaten the Zionist entity’s ongoing project of land theft. As an addendum, some may argue an embryonic version of an ‘Israel’-aligned Arab front currently exists, given the unified defence of the genocidaires via Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan when Iran defended itself from Zionist aggression.

    However, the context for this summit represents a shift in perspectives among the governments of West Asia, with the recent murder of six people in Doha by Zionist bombing causing a re-evaluation of relations with the butchers in West Jerusalem. There is talk of realignment around an alternative security partner such as China, with the US under Trump increasingly representing an unreliable guarantor of protection from the settler-led Zionist regime.

    The US may eventually conclude that its backing for a tiny nation of seven million people is jeopardising its relationship with the two billion strong world Muslim population. It may be forced into the same shift the British had to make in World War II, as its success in the conflict was being harmed by the commitment to its pet “Little Loyal Ulster” project, which angered others in the region. A shift towards Arab placating Arab concerns followed.

    The most significant deterrent against Zionist expansionism

    The rulers in the region have shown little concern for the suffering of Palestinians, letting the genocide proceed without meaningful consequences for the Israeli perpetrators, but the attack on Doha seems to have focused minds. King Abdullah II of Jordan said the hit indicated a regime acting “without limits”. Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi declared it “crossed all red lines”. The calls for practical action to be taken against  Israel came from multiple quarters, with Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar also seemingly endorsing a “combined security force”, saying the “nuclear-powered Pakistan obviously would stand as a member of the Ummah”. Potential sanctions such as cessation of trade with the Netanyahu regime were also discussed.

    A unified Arab and/or Muslim reaction would constitute perhaps the most significant deterrent thus far against Zionist expansionism. The strike in Qatar has reminded Arab leaders of the extent of Israeli ambition, with the religious fervour of the settler (aka land thief) mentality pushing a belief in a Greater Israel that extends as far as the Nile to its West, and the Euphrates to its East. In the minds of the most extreme zealots, it means rule of anything on Earth that the Zionist bully conquers. The gravity of the threat is increasingly being realised, and a meaningful response must follow.

    Featured image via Unsplash/Hongbin

    By Robert Freeman

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Declassified UK investigation forces Labour to bar Israeli soldiers from training in UK

    An investigation by Declassified UK (DCUK), and testimony by its author to the Peace and Justice Project’s ‘Gaza Tribunal’ appear to have forced the UK government to ‘bar’ Israeli soldiers from training in the UK.

    Declassified: forcing change over Israeli soldiers in the UK

    DCUK investigative journalist John McEvoy told the tribunal that not only had the UK government trained Israeli soldiers in Britain since the beginning of the genocide and then first stonewalled, then lied, about doing so – but had also granted special immunity to a string of senior military figures involved in the Gaza genocide and in the murder of Palestinian journalists, to protect them from arrest for war crimes and even from private prosecutions:

    And along with the above clip of his testimony, McEvoy has posted an update that, as the Telegraph has reported, the government has now ‘barred’ Israeli troops and officers from coming to the UK for training:

    Last week I testified at the Gaza Tribunal about how Israeli soldiers have been training in Britain throughout the genocide. The Telegraph now reports that Israelis have been barred from training in the UK.

    The Telegraph did not appear to regard the news particularly positively, instead quoting Israeli figures as they condemned the decision, such as Amir Baram, director general of Israel’s defence ministry, who described it as:

    a profoundly dishonourable act of disloyalty to an ally at war.

    But Skwawkbox and Canary readers know better. So did respondents to McEvoy’s tweets, who all congratulated McEvoy and his publication for their work and achievement, along the lines of the examples below:

    Of course, training Israelis in the UK is a drop in the ocean of the Starmer regime’s collaboration in Israel’s genocide. That will not be properly rectified until the UK treats Israel as the murderous, apartheid, pariah state that it is – and Starmer and his cronies are on trial in the Hague.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • ‘Don’t name the dead children’: powerful new video uses Rosen’s 2015 Gaza poem

    Save the Children has published a powerful new video to draw attention to the ongoing horror of Israel’s slaughter of children in Gaza.

    Save The Children: silence

    The video, which asks those who see it to sign the charity’s petition for a ban on arms sales to the child-slaughtering occupation, uses the words of Jewish author Michael Rosen, from his poem Don’t Mention the Children – and Rosen features in the video, with each line read by a different, well-known opponent of Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians, from Vanessa Redgrave to Guy Pierce, to Annie Lennox, to Juliet Stevenson, to Gaza volunteer doctor Mohammed Mustafa and many more, before closing with a chilling graphic made of the names of some of Israel’s child victims:

    The video grossly understates the number of Palestinian children murdered by Israel in Gaza at 20,000. Expert analysis by medics and statisticians of the Israeli military’s own data puts the toll at almost half a million, including 380,000 under the age of five. But 20,000 would be more than horrific enough.

    Rosen has been a frequent target of smears by the UK Israel lobby. He wrote his poem in 2015, a decade ago. Israel’s mass murder of children is only new in its industrial scale; Israel’s claim that ‘this all started on 7 October 2023’ is a grotesque lie.

    Featured image supplied

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Israel murders three more Gaza journalists and dozens of civilians

    Israel has murdered three more Palestinian journalists in airstrikes on residential areas in Gaza City:

    • Mohammed al-Kouifi, a reporter working for Safa News Agency and AI-Aqsa TV
    • Ayman Haniyeh, a photographer and broadcast engineer working for AI-Manara Media Agency and
    • Iman al-Zamili, a journalist working for the Palestine News Network.

    Journalist Ayman Haniyeh.

    Israel: massacring more Palestinians in Gaza City

    The same bombardment also slaughtered dozens of other civilians sheltering in their homes, including many children. Ayman Haniyeh had been wrongly reported as killed a fortnight ago after narrowly escaping a targeted strike near the Jordanian Hospital, but did not survive even two weeks more as Israel continues its campaign to silence coverage of its crimes in Gaza.

    The murders come not even a week after Israel committed the biggest slaughter in history of journalists in a single day when it targeted and bombed two media offices in Yemeni capital Sana’a.

    Israel has murdered at least 278 journalists and media workers during the Gaza genocide, according to human rights group Humanti Project. As well as targeting journalists, often along with their families, Israel continues to bomb fleeing refugees daily and has pushed Gaza into ‘Phase 5’ famine through its starvation blockade – a United Nations’ Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) that means around four hundred people are dying of malnutrition and malnutrition-linked conditions every single day.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Global Sumud Flotilla Sets Out On Last Leg Of Journey To Gaza

    The Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying critical aid to Gaza, began the final leg of its planned route after departing ports across Tunisia this weekend.

    The first of over 40 boats now at sea left Gammarth port on Saturday, with the final boat departing Bizerte on Monday morning.

    One week after arriving in Tunis, 16 of the fleet’s original 24 boats resumed their journey east from Barcelona, carrying aid and international passengers in a bid to open a humanitarian corridor and break Israel’s siege on Gaza, which is illegal under international law.

    At least 422 people in Gaza have died from malnutrition caused by Israel’s blockade, since famine was declared in August.

    The post Global Sumud Flotilla Sets Out On Last Leg Of Journey To Gaza appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Massive Pro-Palestine Protests Shut Down Spain’s La Vuelta Race

    The final stretch of the Vuelta a Espana road cycling race was abandoned in Madrid on 14 September after over 100,000 pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted routes and forced organizers to call off the event.

    Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard was declared the winner as police struggled to contain the demonstrations, overwhelmed by their large numbers.

    “The race is over,” a spokesperson for the organizers told Reuters after barriers were overturned and crowds moved onto the course. 

    More than 1,000 officers were deployed across the capital, but confrontations escalated as protesters threw water bottles and other objects at police, chanting “It’s a genocide, not a war,” and the police responded with tear gas.

    The post Massive Pro-Palestine Protests Shut Down Spain’s La Vuelta Race appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • The Doha Assassination Plot, Emergency Summit, And Trump’s Double-Cross

    Last week’s failed assassination attempt of the Palestinian negotiating team in Doha, Qatar, raises critical questions that extend far beyond the attack itself. The crux of the problem lies in three interconnected issues: the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in targeting individuals, the failure, or deliberate negligence, of the US-led air defense system, and Qatar’s vulnerable position as a host to both a major US base and the ceasefire negotiations.

    The use of AI will be the topic of a future analysis. Meanwhile, the raid on Qatar did not happen in isolation. The skies over Doha are monitored by the American Air Base in Al Udeid, the largest US military installation in the Middle East. This base is not a marginal outpost; it is the forward headquarters for US Central Command, USCENTCOM, overseeing US military operations throughout the Middle East.

    The post The Doha Assassination Plot, Emergency Summit, And Trump’s Double-Cross appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • The Doha Assassination Plot, Emergency Summit, And Trump’s Double-Cross

    Last week’s failed assassination attempt of the Palestinian negotiating team in Doha, Qatar, raises critical questions that extend far beyond the attack itself. The crux of the problem lies in three interconnected issues: the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in targeting individuals, the failure, or deliberate negligence, of the US-led air defense system, and Qatar’s vulnerable position as a host to both a major US base and the ceasefire negotiations.

    The use of AI will be the topic of a future analysis. Meanwhile, the raid on Qatar did not happen in isolation. The skies over Doha are monitored by the American Air Base in Al Udeid, the largest US military installation in the Middle East. This base is not a marginal outpost; it is the forward headquarters for US Central Command, USCENTCOM, overseeing US military operations throughout the Middle East.

    The post The Doha Assassination Plot, Emergency Summit, And Trump’s Double-Cross appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Israeli Troops Deliberately Target Gaza Children, Say Volunteer Medical Workers

    International medical professionals who volunteered in Gaza hospitals said they treated more than 100 Palestinian children who were shot in the head or chest by Israeli forces in what appears to be a pattern of deliberate targeting, according to an investigation published Saturday by a Dutch newspaper. De Volkskrant interviewed 17 doctors and a nurse from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Israeli Military Raids “No Other Land” Co-Director Basel Adra’s Home

    Israeli forces raided the home of Oscar-winning director Basel Adra on Saturday after settlers attacked his village and family in the occupied West Bank, sending one of his brothers to the hospital. On Saturday afternoon, Israeli settlers attacked Adra’s village, al-Tuwani, in Masafer Yatta. The settlers injured two of Adra’s brothers and one of his cousins, he said, when the group tried to…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • UNRWA: there is now no safe space for Palestinians in Gaza

    The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said that thousands of Palestinians who Israel has forced to leave Gaza City and Jabalia camp are facing extremely harsh humanitarian conditions, living in overcrowded shelters and temporary tents that lack clean water, sanitation, and even the most basic security.

    The Israeli occupation army is intensifying its military operations in Gaza City as the war, now approaching its third year, continues, part of a systematic plan to force nearly one million people to flee to the south, deliberately destroying residential towers and buildings, which has destroyed more than 1,600 residential towers housing dozens of apartments and hundreds of families who have been left homeless.

    UNRWA: displacement is ‘increasing’ with ‘no safe space’

    The agency confirmed in a post on the “X” platform that “displacement is increasing and there is no safe place in the sector,” at a time when the Israeli army continues to carry out systematic destruction targeting residential buildings, towers, and United Nations schools.

    Although its teams continue to provide some services, UNRWA stressed that the scale of the disaster exceeds the capacity of any single institution to respond, warning that the humanitarian crisis has become “enormous.”

    In recent days, Israel has stepped up its campaign to destroy towers and high-rise buildings in Gaza City, doubling the number of displaced families and forcing them to flee south. Observers say the aim of this policy is to empty the northern areas of their inhabitants as part of a broader plan to displace them from the Strip.

    According to the government media office, since August 11, the Israeli army has completely destroyed about 1,600 towers and residential buildings, caused severe damage to about 2,000 other towers and buildings, and destroyed 13,000 tents, resulting in the displacement of more than 100,000 people.

    Countless dead

    This comes in the context of the ongoing war since 7 October 2023, which Israel has now killed 64,871 martyrs and wounded 164,610 people, most of them women and children, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. Famine has also caused the deaths of 422 Palestinians, including 145 children, according to official Palestinian statistics.

    This situation comes on top of decades of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and parts of Syria and Lebanon, and its refusal to withdraw from them or allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the pre-1967 war borders.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Gaza’s health sector is now in an ‘unprecedented crisis’

    As Israeli bombardment continues unabated, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza has warned of a complete collapse of the health sector, describing the current situation as having exceeded the limits of a crisis and reached unprecedented catastrophic levels.

    The situation is not limited to the inability of hospitals to function and the depletion of medicines, but extends to the grim humanitarian picture experienced by the population: patients facing death without treatment, the wounded piling up in narrow corridors, and families forced to flee under bombardment to places that lack the most basic necessities of life. It is a complex tragedy, in which hunger and deprivation are compounded by the fear of direct targeting.

    Triangle of death in Gaza

    The ministry said that the sick and wounded are trapped in what it called “a triangle of terror: hunger, bombing, and deprivation of treatment.” It explained that indicators for essential medicines and medical consumables “have exceeded all red lines,” while medical staff are working with depleted stocks that no longer allow them to continue.

    The ministry stressed that “many patients and wounded are facing critical moments with unpredictable outcomes” in the absence of urgent life-saving supplies, warning that the health system is “breathing its last breath.”

    The Ministry of Health called on all international and humanitarian agencies to “exercise their full humanitarian influence to ensure the entry and delivery of emergency medical supplies to hospitals in the sector,” stressing that any delay would mean the loss of more lives that could have been saved.

    Forced displacement

    In parallel with the collapse of the health system, the residents of the Gaza Strip are facing forced displacement under bombardment. The ministry confirmed that the Israeli occupation is pushing thousands of families into the Al-Mawasi area, which has been turned into overcrowded “concentration camps” that lack the most basic necessities of life, such as water, food, and health services.

    These temporary camps have become a breeding ground for the spread of dangerous diseases, in the absence of adequate medical care, while the displaced there are directly targeted for killing, either while they are there or when they try to leave, in flagrant violation of all humanitarian and international laws.

    A humanitarian disaster

    The picture painted by the Ministry of Health reflects an open humanitarian disaster with an unknown outcome: hospitals are overwhelmed, doctors are working to the point of exhaustion, medicines are in short supply, and civilians are being forced to flee to environments that are unfit for human habitation. As the health and humanitarian crisis worsens, the international community’s response remains slow and confused in the face of the escalating tragedy in Gaza.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Campaigners in Wales just did a 25-mile solidarity walk for Gaza

    Before dawn on Sunday 7 September 2025, walkers gathered in Merthyr to begin a 25-mile walk ‘through Gaza’ in solidarity with the Palestinian people and in the name of peace.

    Walk of remembrance ‘through Gaza’

    Walking along the Trevithick and Taff Trails through North Gaza (Pontygwaith), Gaza City (Abercynon), Deir al Balah (Pontypridd), Khan Younis (Nantgarw) and Rafah (Tongwynlais) the group of more than 50 people ended their walk nearly 12 hours later in Alexandra Gardens, Cardiff.

    Along the route, walkers dedicated poems, flowers, and songs to people the Israeli onslaught has killed in Gaza. This  included Eman Al-Shanti and her family, Dr Adnan Al-Bursh, James Henderson, and Sabreen Roh.

    Local people, churches, and businesses supported the walkers along the way. The Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) community painted ‘Pebbles for Peace’ and placed them along the path.

    So far, walkers have raised £6469 (including gift aid) for the life-saving work of the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians.

    A living memorial to the children of Gaza

    To create the temporary, living memorial to children Israel has killed in Gaza, in Alexandra Gardens, a team of volunteers made name tags on paper embedded with wild flower seeds. These were for each of the 19,189 Gazan children Israel has killed since 7 October 2023.

    The community hung name tags in the trees, creating an incredibly moving memorial. People were invited to take some children home, say their names, plant them in their gardens and remember them always:

    Memorial tree with the names of children Israel has killed in Gaza hung over its branches.

    Hayley Richards of RCT Palestine Solidarity Campaign said:

    This was just a group of friends, old and new, walking for a day in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Through naming and remembering people killed by the continuing Israeli genocide in Gaza, we shared our collective grief and it became so much more.

    None of us will forget this day or how we felt walking among the trees of Alexandra Gardens with the names of 20,000 dead children dancing in the wind. Our hearts are broken.

    Together to meditate on the genocide in those ‘narrow 25 miles’

    Walkers are all still processing the raw emotions of the solidarity walk. The day began with lashings of rain and ended with beautiful sunshine. One walker said:

    We watched the children sway in a gentle breeze and couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of peace, after so much pain. May their souls be flying high.

    Another walker said:

    Thanks for a wonderful morning together. It was very special to watch the light come, walk and talk with strangers, to share and to meditate on what’s happening in those 25 narrow miles. Thanks to all for companionship and collective action.

    The group were humbled by the generosity of donors. One said:

    Llongyfarchiadau i chi i gyd. Roedd yn emosiynol iawn gweld enwau’r plant ar y coed a chlywed Côr y Bont yn canu ym Mharc Ynysyngharad. Congratulations to you all. Glad to have seen you reach Ponty.

    Another donor said:

    Thank you for doing this. The awareness raising/solidarity among those who oppose the genocide spreads hope that the wider world will again see right from wrong for equity and peace, then act.

    The memorial will remain in Alexandra Gardens until Monday 15 September for the public to see and take children home. Any remaining children will be shared with community gardens, including the peace garden at the Temple of Peace & Health in Cardiff.

    Supporters can still back the fundraising effort by donating here.

    The RCT PSC branch has also separately raised £1,650 to help bring a group of Palestinian young people to the UK this month to share experiences with young people here and tell Welsh people about their lives.

    Feature image via David Kilner and in-text image via Clare Anderson. 

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • “How is this not a conflict of interest?”: Richard Medhurst exposes Labour government complicity with Israel

    Journalist Richard Medhurst is one of a string of UK journalists raided, harassed, detained and facing potential criminal charges for exposing Israel’s genocide and other crimes, under the Starmer regime’s misuse of the Terrorism Act 2000 to protect Israel by waging a ‘lawfare’ war on the legal rights, freedom of speech and protest rights of UK citizens.

    Richard Medhurst: challenging the Attorney General

    In a post on X Medhurst, whom the state is keeping waiting to find out if he will face charges and trial for refusing to give up his journalistic privilege and give police and intelligence forces the passwords for his devices, has challenged the fitness of Keir Starmer’s Attorney General Richard Hermer for his role, given Hermer’s open admission that he has “dear family members currently serving in” the Israeli occupation military.

    Richard Medhurst wrote:

    The Attorney General, who has the final say on potential terrorism charges against me for my reporting on Israel has “dear family members serving in the IDF”.

    The govt lawyers and police unit investigating me have all been in contact with the Israeli embassy in London for reasons unknown. How is this not a direct conflict of interest and being looked into for political and foreign influence?

    Last September, Hermer’s office passed contact information for police chiefs and the Crown Prosecution Service to the Israeli embassy in London, for discussion of a case involving eighteen members of non-violent direct action group Palestine Action – before it was proscribed by Starmer as a terrorist organisation. The ‘Filton 18’ were then jailed and have been held for a year, with two months still to go before they even reach trial.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Emmys stars call for an end to Israel’s genocide in Palestine

    A number of stars have used the Emmy awards to call for an end to Israel’s genocide in Palestine. A number of actors wore an Artists4Ceasefire pin including Ruth Negga, Aimee Lou Wall, Natasha Rothwell, and Chris Perfetti.

    And, two stars in particular made sure to speak about Palestine: Hannah Einbinder and Javier Bardem.

    Emmys stars speak up on Palestine

    Hacks actor Einbinder won best supporting actress and used her acceptance speech to say:

    Go birds, fuck ICE and free Palestine.

    The moment immediately went viral:

    Whilst speaking to the press after her win, Einbinder elaborated:

    It is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the state of Israel. Our religion and our culture is such an important and long-standing institution that is really separate to this sort of ethnonationalist state.

    Einbinder’s reference of ethnonationalism is particularly significant. In her paper ‘The Implications of Ethnonationalism on Democracy: Lessons from India and Israel,’ Naba Wahid explains:

    Ethnonationalism is a form of nationalism that strives to define the nation in terms of ethnicity. Such an ideology presents itself as inherently exclusionary, volatile for minority rights, and often times at odds with democratic checks and balances.

    As far back as 2018, the Israeli Knesset voted to pass a deeply controversial law identifying Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. As Al Jazeera reported at the time:

    Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, called the law a bid to advance “ethnic superiority by promoting racist policies”.

    The law enshrined the rights of Jewish people in Israel over and above the rights of Arabs, and Palestinians in particular. Hassan Jabreen, general director of Adalah, said:

    The Jewish nation-state law features key elements of apartheid, which is not only immoral but also absolutely prohibited under international law.

    By defining sovereignty and democratic self-rule as belonging solely to the Jewish people – wherever they live around the world – Israel has made discrimination a constitutional value and has professed its commitment to favouring Jewish supremacy as the bedrock of institutions.

    Einbinder’s use of the term is a refreshing display of vital political nuance often missing from celebrity commentary.

    Boycott movement

    Similarly, Javier Bardem showed up on the Emmys red carpet ready to represent for Palestine. Wearing a keffiyeh, the actor explained he refused to work with any film or television company who support Israel’s genocide:

    Bardem also called Israel’s actions in Palestine a genocide:

    The United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have explained time and time again why and how Israel is meeting the threshold of genocide. However, US and UK governments in particular have refused to use that expert definition. Bardem’s use of the term, then, is one that pointedly elevates the discourse.

    Journalist Sana Saeed praised Bardem’s choice of discourse:

    And, author Remi Kanazi pointed out that Bardem has been speaking about Palestine as far back as 2014:

    Staying in your lane

    Celebrity endorsements are, of course, not that important in the grand scheme of things. However, both Einbinder and Bardem have shown exactly what staying in your lane looks like. They’ve both used their platforms to speak up about Palestine. And, they’ve taken their discourse beyond passively wearing a pin, or vaguely calling for a ceasefire. At this point, after Israel’s harrowing and relentless destruction of life in Palestine, calling for a ceasefire is almost crass. Instead, both actors have understood the political climate and context of their words, and deployed them accordingly.

    Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Television Academy

    By Maryam Jameela

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Shocking evidence emerges of Palestinian prisoner’s horrific abuse in Israeli detention

    Detainee Mahmoud Hassan Mohammed Al-Wardian, 48, remains in the intensive care unit at the Arab Society Hospital in Bethlehem, Southern occupied West Bank, after spending just over three weeks being interrogated by the Israeli occupation. He had no health problems prior to his arrest. According to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), Wardian was subjected to an “assassination attempt in Israeli interrogation cells”.

    Mahmoud Hassan Mohammed Al-Wardian

    Mahmoud Hassan Mohammed Al-Wardian was arrested by the IOF on August 18 2025, alongside his father and several other residents of Bethlehem, as part of the occupation’s ongoing mass arrest campaign in the West Bank. After being arrested, he was transferred to the Ofer interrogation centre, where Israeli intelligence issued an order prohibiting him from meeting with a lawyer throughout his detention period, which was extended four times so as to continue his interrogation.

    Wardian’s condition was critical when he was transferred from Ofer prison to the Israeli occupation’s Hadassah Medical Centre, on 25 August. By the time he arrived he was unconscious, so was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

    Wardian was released, and transferred to the Arab Society Hospital’s ICU, on 11 September, because of critical condition, where he remains today. Medical reports from the hospital claim Wardian is suffering from brain damage due to severe deprivation of oxygen, as well as fractures to his ribs, wounds and bruises, including around his neck.

    Israel violating international law through systematic torture of Palestinian prisoners

    In a statement released on 14 September, the PPS said of Mahmoud Hassan Mohammed Al-Wardian:

    The occupation committed a compounded crime against Al-Wardian, starting from the moment of his arrest, through his transfer for interrogation, his denial of legal counsel, the repeated extensions of his detention under the pretext of ongoing interrogation, culminating in his torture and attempted assassination.

    The PPS went on to say:

    We hold the occupation authorities fully responsible for the crime committed against Al-Wardian, which constitutes another episode in a long series of heinous crimes carried out by the occupation for decades.

    Mahmoud Hassan Mohammed Al-Wardian has been a frequent target of repeated arrests over the past years, most of which were under administrative detention, meaning there was no trial or charge, and detention could continue indefinitely.

    According to the PPS, since the start of this genocide:

    no prisoner or detainee has been spared from torture, which has become systematic.

    It said that crimes committed are now reaching “a level beyond description”.

    The PPS continued that:

    What is happening is part of an ongoing process of ethnic cleansing and erasure, and the treatment of prisoners is a direct extension of the genocide. The continued international silence regarding these crimes is an affront to all humanity. The consequences of this genocide will reach everyone who has used impotence as an excuse to shirk their responsibilities.

    Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners flagrantly violates international law, including the 1984 Convention Against Torture and the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which forbid torture and require the protection of detainees. The International Criminal Court (ICC) defines the widespread, systematic use of torture as a crime against humanity – an accusation that aligns with Israel’s policies, especially since it has uniquely attempted to legalise such practices within its own legal framework, for decades.

    More than 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners are currently locked up in Israeli occupation jails.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Protests at Windsor castle calling for Trump to be in the Hague

    Campaigners from Fossil Free London unfurled a banner with a picture of president Trump reading “Climate criminal. War criminal. The only place he’s welcome is The Hague”, inside the grounds of Windsor Castle on Sunday afternoon:

    Protesters hold banner reading: Climate criminal. War criminal. The only place he’s welcome is The Hague.

    This comes days before Trump arrives for his second state visit in the UK, from Tuesday 16 to Thursday 18 September.

    Climate protesters stick it to climate criminal Trump at Windsor Castle

    The group chanted:

    climate criminal, war criminal, Trump’s not welcome here.

    They were there to draw attention to the US president’s climate and foreign policy record:

    Academics have warned Trump’s fossil-fuel push has set back environmental progress decades, only exacerbating the climate crisis. This is despite studies showing that the unabated climate crisis would cause 3.4 million deaths per year by the end of the century.

    Prominent journalists are just some of those that have come out to argue Trump’s actions globally could surmount to war crimes. Experts have expressed growing concern over Trump’s future plans to permanently move millions of Palestinians out of Gaza. This would potentially breach both the 1949 Geneva conventions and the 1998 Rome statute.

    His politics not welcome here

    This protest joins a series of actions against the US president’s visit to the UK, with a large demonstration planned in Central London on Wednesday, organised by the Stop Trump Coalition.

    Director of Fossil Free London Robin Wells said:

    Genocide is unfolding. Seen on our phones through the faces of thousands of screaming children. Floods and fires across Europe get closer each day to our own front doors. But Trump claps and cheers for more.

    Not only does he refuse to impose sanctions, he cheers on ethnic cleansing and the seizure of Palestinian land. Not only does he fail to take the bold climate action needed he tears up existing climate policy and crows for his billionaire bros to drill for more oil.

    Trump’s politics are not welcome here. This second state visit is a stain on our collective consciousness. We call on people to come out to protest at the Stop Trump Coalition march on Wednesday, 2pm Portland Place.

    Featured image via Fossil Free London

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Breaking: Israeli minister who said she’s “proud to be racist” arrested after drug lab found in home

    Far-right Israeli minister May Golan has been arrested after a police raid on her home – part of a ‘widening corruption probe’ discovered a ‘drug lab’ run by her husband, according to reports in Israeli press outlets.

    May Golan arrested

    May Golan has a lot of pride. She once said she is “proud to be a racist”, “it’s our right to be racist” and, separately, that she is “proud of the ruins of Gaza”.

    Wonder whether she’s ‘proud’ to be a drug lord? Netanyahu is prolonging his genocide to avoid a corruption trial and one of his ministers has been accused by her own daughter of helping the minister’s husband and son rape her, and film it, over a period of years.

    Even leaving aside the fact that they’re all guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity is there anyone in the Israeli government who isn’t a criminal or a paedophile?

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • War criminals exhibiting at DSEI arms fair reported to the Met police

    Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) has reported a number of individuals who attended Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair to the the War Crimes Unit at the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command (SO15). It informed the force of their criminal liability for atrocity crimes Israeli forces are currently carrying out in Gaza.

    DSEI war criminals reported to the Met

    Last week at the UK’s biennial arms fair, 51 Israeli companies were present. These included Israel’s three largest arms companies – Elbit Systems, Rafael, and Israel Aerospace Industries. The companies were attending despite the UK government refusing to invite an official Israeli government delegation.

    Under Section 52(1) of the Act, it is an offence against the law of England and Wales to engage in “conduct ancillary” to a war crime or a crime against humanity. Under Section 55, an “ancillary offence” includes aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the principal offence.

    The July 2025 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories named two exhibiting companies, Elbit Systems and Israeli state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, as central to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

    Arms companies facilitating and profiting from genocide

    A spokesperson for CAAT said:

    These are the arms companies arming the IDF. These are the arms companies facilitating and profiting from Israel bombing hospitals, killing journalists and creating a man-made famine. UK law is clear – these individuals should be investigated for crimes against humanity, not invited to profit from the unspeakable devastation they have caused in Gaza.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Defend Our Juries are gearing up for a ‘major escalation’ – starting at the Labour conference

    In a significant escalation, Defend Our Juries will organise a series of mass actions. It plans to kick this off in Liverpool at Labour Party Conference and culminating in a national mobilisation in Parliament Square on 4 October. The actions will be in response to the growing backlash to the proscription of Palestine Action and the government’s complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

    Defend Our Juries call for mass actions against the proscription of Palestine Action

    Since the protest at Parliament Square on 6 September, which saw police arrest 857 people for holding signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”, more than 1,100 people have already registered to participate in the next mass sign-holding protest in October.

    They have signed a form which confirms both that they want to take part in the next protest and that they’re aware of the potential risks, including arrest and other legal consequences. Due to the growing demand from the public to join mass defiance of the ban, Defend Our Juries is planning a series of mass actions in the week building up to Saturday 4 October.

    This comes amid mounting pressure on the government to lift the ban following the mass arrests last weekend. Trade unions representing 5.6 million workers have unanimously demanded Keir Starmer repeal the “authoritarian” ban. The president of the civil servants’ union said the ban represents a:

    significant abuse of counter terrorist powers and a direct attack on our right to protest against the genocidal Israeli regime.

    MPs also piled pressure on Ministers to lift the ban, including many who voted for the proscription. Members of the House of Lords have also called for this, including former Conservative home secretary Lord Ken Clarke. Clarke decried the arrest of “hundreds of harmless old ladies” for supporting Palestine Action as counter-productive. Labour peer and former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Lord Hain, asked:

    how exactly does the arrest on terrorism charges of over a thousand peacefully protesting retired magistrates, as well as vicars, priests, war veterans and descendants of Holocaust survivors, help combat real terrorists?

    Support the action from home

    Defend Our Juries is also launching a new call for thousands of people across the country to put signs saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action” in a window in their home which is visible to passersby.

    This follows a viral video of former Labour councillor Keith Hackett. Police told him he can legally display a poster in support of the proscribed Palestine Action group because it is “not in public”. Hackett, 71, who runs the inner-city riding school Park Palace Ponies, displayed a poster in his front window saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”. The Merseyside Police told him that this was legal. His daughter captured the exchange on film and posted it online.

    As of today, the sign is available to download and print from Defend Our Juries’ website. The webpage includes a disclaimer. This explains that while senior Merseyside Police stated this was lawful “some police may take other approaches”. However, it details how it would be an “abuse of process” to prosecute someone “contrary to public statements made by the police” about the signs.

    A spokesperson from Defend Our Juries said:

    Public opposition to the proscription of Palestine Action is growing at an exponential rate. Just days after police arrested 857 people on Saturday 6th September for holding cardboard signs, over 1,100 more registered to join the next action and risk arrest.

    In response to this overwhelming surge in support, we are announcing a major escalation: a week of mass actions, with plans to kick this off in Liverpool at Labour Conference, culminating in a national mobilisation in Parliament Square on 4th October. This will present an unprecedented challenge to the enforcement of this unjust ban, with the Police Federation itself already warning that policing these protests is ‘unsustainable’.

    There should be no confusion about where the blame lies: it sits squarely with the Government for pursuing this authoritarian ban, plunging an overstretched police force and court and prison systems which are already in crisis, into further chaos. The power lies with the new Home Secretary to end this farce by listening to MPs, Lords, UN experts, legal professionals, human rights advocates – and the majority of her own party’s members – and lift this dangerous, anti-democratic ban.

    We are also calling on thousands across the country to show their defiance by displaying the signs in their front windows – exposing just how absurd and unenforceable this ‘terror’ ban truly is.

    As Israel’s horrifying genocide in Gaza continues, armed and enabled by the British Government, the sight of Keir Starmer shaking hands with a war criminal, while arresting over 1,600 pensioners, priests, nurses and war veterans for holding cardboard signs, is intolerable. The public sees the grotesque double standards – and it makes them even more determined to do whatever it takes to overturn this unjust ban, including by targeting Starmer’s upcoming conference.

    A week of mass defiance to make the ban unenforceable

    Police have arrested over 1,600 people under the Terrorism Act since the ban came into force on 5 July. The vast majority of these were for holding a sign stating their opposition to genocide and the Palestine Action ban. Those cops have arrested so far under the Terrorism Act 2000 for opposing the ban include vicars, priests, doctors, former government advisors, army veterans, and many elderly, and disabled people.

    New statistics published by the Home Office reveal that authorities have charged more people since Palestine Action ban than during the entire ‘war on terror’ since 2001. Notably, police have charged four times as many people under Section 13 terror powers since July 2025 than between 2001 and June 2025.

    Defend Our Juries’ plan to escalate their actions, with a week of mass defiance, which the group say will create an “unprecedented challenge” for the enforcement of the ban. The Police Federation is already saying the policing of these protests is “unsustainable” and that officers are “emotionally and physically exhausted”. Met Police officers have also spoken out about enforcing the ban making them feel “sick” and “ashamed”.

    Before 6 September action, Met Commissioner Mark Rowley claimed the Met Police would arrest everyone in Parliament Square who held a sign. However, police only arrested 857 of the estimated 1,500 sign-holders sitting in Parliament Square over the course of 11 hours. The police seemed overwhelmed by the amount of people who oppose the Palestine Action ban.

    Defend Our Juries: police arrests against international law

    Rowley has insisted that:

    Where officers see these offences, we will continue to make arrests.

    Yet Home Office minister Lord Hanson of Flint made clear in the House of Lords once again on Wednesday that the decision on whether and how to enforce the law in this case is a matter for the police. He said:

    The police do have discretion. It’s not for ministers to order arrests or to potentially bring forward charges.

    Amnesty International wrote to Mark Rowley advising him that arrests were against international law. Meanwhile, lawyers acting for the government in the High Court assured Justice Chamberlain that it is legal to campaign for the deproscription of a banned group. The legality of the proscription is subject to a judicial review in the High Court.

    Chaotic policing approaches

    The Met’s approach starkly contrasted with that of Police Scotland, which refrained from arresting around 70 people for holding the same sign in Edinburgh on 6 September. In a statement, Police Scotland said:

    Police Scotland is a rights-based organisation. Our role is to keep the public safe while respecting the rights of those who wish to peacefully demonstrate. We value the strong relationships we have with our communities and are grateful for their ongoing support.

    Police have charged only a fraction of those it has arrested for holding signs. These have all been for section 13 of the Terrorism Act, a summary only offence dealt with by the Magistrates Courts.

    Police targeted seven perceived organisers in the build up to the mass protest on 6 September, with dawn raids and arrests. It has applied a total of 43 offences to them under section 12 of the Terrorism Act for hosting public Zoom meetings. Despite this attempted intimidation to deter people from taking part in the mass protest against the ban, record numbers attended the action on 6 September. It led to nearly double the number of arrests which police carried out on 9 August.

    Labour government continues to be an active participant in genocide

    The UK government continues to allow weapons from the UK to flow to Israel. This is in breach of its obligations under international law. It also allows daily reconnaissance flights from RAF Akrotori and planes leaving RAF Lakenheath refuelling Israeli planes involved in war crimes in Gaza.

    The Gaza Tribunal in London has heard evidence from expert witnesses that Britain is not just complicit in Israel’s breaches of humanitarian law in Gaza but even as a participant that has repeatedly ignored its legal obligation to prevent a genocide. This comes as defence secretary John Healey is on the verge of giving a £2bn contract to Israel’s biggest weapons supplier Elbit Systems and last week allowed weapons companies owned by the Israeli state to participate in DSEI arms fair in London.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.