radiofree.asia

Category: israel

  • Why do liberals lionise Zelensky, but ignore Marwan Barghouti?

    Volodymyr Zelenskiy has had an audience with King Charles ahead of a meeting with UK PM Keir Starmer. Reports suggest Starmer will press allies for more long-range missiles for Ukraine. That kind of support is bipartisan. Boris Johnson was also a huge fan of Zelenskiy. But what about figures like Marwan Barghouti?

    Western liberals have lionised the former comedian from the first days of the war. It’s hard not to get a sense of crossover between FBPE Twitter centrists and the president’s fanbase in the UK. It’s another flag for their X bio, after all.

    And it’s hard to shake the sense that in Ukraine, finally, well-heeled centrists found a war where the victims were white enough to deserve support. Imperialism seems only to be worth resisting when the victims look like you.

    That’s not to dip into the kind of apologia for Vladimir Putin’s invasion preferred by a fringe of campist weirdos in the West. But it does beg questions about why Zelenskiy gets to play international diplomacy on something like easy mode, while others languish in fascist jails, their captivity barely remarked upon by Wooferendum Twitter.

    For example, is it even possible to imagine that kind of liberal support for someone like Marwan Barghouti — the so-called Palestinian Nelson Mandela. Barghouti is seen as a figure of unifying popularity in Palestine, even as he languishes in an Israel jail, subject to beatings by his fascistic captors.

    Marwan Barghouti: Palestine’s Nelson Mandela

    He was sentenced to five life sentences in 2002. For murder charges he denies. By a coloniser court whose authority he rejects. In a trial which experts say was full of illegalities.

    He’s a sort of Palestinian everyman, known for his calm demeanour, who learned Hebrew in jail and spent years in exile. He spent years in hiding, dodging Israeli assassination attempts.

    The National describes him as:

    an avid reader, consuming histories and biographies, including that of Nelson Mandela by the British author Anthony Sampson. In 2013, the campaign for Barghouti’s release, backed by eight Nobel Peace laureates, would be launched from Mandela’s old cell on Robben Island in South Africa.

    One of US foreign policy’s leading talking shops even acknowledged his wide appeal and potential to lead a future Palestinian state, noting:

    a growing acknowledgement among Israelis and Palestinians that Barghouti’s broad appeal and reformist streak offer the best prospects for peace.

    Here’s Drop Site’s News founder Jeremy Scahill with a fascinating overview of Barghouti:

    In the latest round of hostage exchanges, despite the best efforts of Hamas negotiators, his release was denied. Barghouti isn’t even in Hamas. He has reportedly been a critic of the organisation himself, but such is the respect he attracts the conservative wing of Palestinian resistance demanded (vainly) he be freed.

    So here you have a unique character. An intellectual and long-time prisoner of an unjust regime on allegedly jumped-up charges. A unity figure who commands a degree of respect from all sides. Some say, the man most likely to lead his people toward peace. A sort of moderate, if you will? Surely the sort of figure your average smug centrist would get behind, no? Well, no. It doesn’t seem that way.

    And it’s hard not to come to uncharitable conclusions about why.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Joe Glenton

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Gaza City residents defy Israel’s orders to evacuate: ‘We’re staying here’

    Ahead of a ground invasion that officials threatened would be a “mighty hurricane,” Israel ordered the entire population of Gaza City—over one million people—to evacuate. For those in Gaza City, many of whom have already been displaced multiple times, this order presents a deadly choice: flee into the unknown yet again, or stay and face the advancing Israeli army. “We already experienced displacement,” Ziad Ayyad, a refugee in Gaza City, says. “We can’t do it again. We’re staying here. Whatever happens, happens. Even if they crush us under their tanks.” In August 2025, TRNN asked Palestinians if they plan to evacuate or stay as Israel attempts to completely depopulate Gaza City. This is what they told us.

    Producers: Belal Awad, Leo Erhardt
    Videographers: Ruwaida Amer, Mahmoud Al Mashharawi
    Video Editor: Leo Erhardt

    Transcript

    Ziad Ayyad: 

    Look at me. Nothing in the entire world compares to what’s happening to us.

    Saleh Abd Al Dayim: 

    Neither people, nor trees, nor rocks—nothing has escaped this brutal war.

    Abed Abed Al Dayim: 

    You wake up to bombing and go to sleep to bombing. 

    Basel Radi’ Al Masri: 

    It’s clear they have not destroyed the resistance in Gaza at all. They have only destroyed the people. 

    Narrator: 

    Israel has ordered the entire population of Gaza City—over one million people—to evacuate. The orders come ahead of a ground invasion that Israeli officials have described as a ‘mighty hurricane.’ For those in Gaza city, many of whom have already been displaced multiple times, this order presents a deadly choice: flee into the unknown yet again, or stay and face the advancing Israeli army. 

    Ziad Ayyad: 

    We moved from one place to another: from Nuseirat to Deir al-Balah, then from Deir to Gaza City. We already experienced displacement. We can’t do it again. We’re staying here. Whatever happens, happens. Even if they crush us under their tanks. We moved from place to place. How many more times should we go? We were displaced and have been living in tents ever since. The hardship is so bitter. What do you want me to say? 

    Saleh Abd Al Dayim: 

    At the start of the war, I went from north to south. It was very difficult for those who stayed in the north. It was also difficult for those in the south, but the north was worse. They faced hunger, exhaustion, and witnessed many horrors. They were forced out dozens of times by the occupation. They moved from place to place until they died. Few in the north survived. If they didn’t die of hunger, they died at the hands of the Israelis. 

    Basel Radi’ Al Masri: 

    I am one who did not flee south. I stayed in the north to protect my home. But unfortunately, everything was completely destroyed. Despite all the pain, displacement, and oppression we’re experiencing, I personally reject displacement. And that is what hurts me. Every morning, I see wagons and cars pulling neighbors and relatives. Many displaced people are heading south. This makes us fear a repeat of past agreements where our right to return was conditional.


    Narrator: 

    This fear of permanent displacement is profound, the language used by both the Israelis and their ally the U.S., repeatedly talks of emptying Gaza – echoing the great Palestinian displacement of 1948, known as the nakba or “catastrophe”. 

    After nearly two years of a war that has killed over 64,000 people, this new offensive threatens not only to deepen a famine but also ends any hope of return. 

    Basel Radi’ Al Masri: 

    We suffered greatly when we were separated from the Gaza Strip. I was, and still am, in Beit Lahia. But thank God, we were patient and persevered until we could return to our homes. Now the same scenario is repeating, forcing us to flee Gaza. 

    Saleh Abd Al Dayim: 

    We lived through wars, the First Intifada, the Second Intifada, and other wars that lasted two weeks or a month. The longest was 2014, which lasted 52 days. Now we’re talking about nearly two years. It has exhausted our strength and taken everything from us. No one has anything left. No one has escaped this brutal war—not people, nor trees, nor buildings. 

    Basel Radi’ Al Masri: 

    I lived through the occupation in the 1980s and the First Intifada, but that was completely different from now. Back then, basic necessities like food and water were available. But now, despite the failures of Netanyahu and his military leadership, his strategy is to starve the people into submission. But, thank God, we are still steadfast, remaining on this land. 

    Abed Abed Al Dayim: 

    It’s extremely difficult. The horrors of war are difficult. The atmosphere is difficult. You wake up to bombing and go to sleep to bombing. It’s very, very difficult. You’re sitting in a tent—here! You’re living in a tent—here! Plastic. Forget bullets; if a piece of shrapnel falls, it would burn me and the tent. This is the situation. This. I used to live in a concrete house. Now, if a candle fell or a spark touched this tent, it would burn me and my children, because I live in a plastic tent. 

    Narrator: 

    Israel claims it’s clearing the city to target Hamas, calling it their last stronghold. They’ve designated al-Mawasi in the south as a ‘humanitarian zone,’ but aid groups say it lacks the capacity for a million new arrivals and has itself been bombed. For many, the cost of moving is impossible—over a thousand dollars—and the destination is no guarantee of safety. 

    Ziad Ayyad: 

    We walk everywhere. The financial situation is below zero. What more do you want? On foot: I walked from Deir to Shejaiya. As for the Israeli army? We have tasted their tyranny. What more do you want? We’re being displaced from place to place. Since we left Deir,

    we’ve fled three times. This will be the fourth time. Here we are, living in tents. Life is difficult. A difficult, difficult life. A kilo of flour costs 150–160 shekels—48 US dollars. Life is hard. 

    Saleh Abd Al Dayim: 

    Honestly, it’s very difficult. If we’re forced to leave, we will, but against our will. If they force us to move, we will, to protect the lives of our children. It’s very difficult, and very expensive too. Fleeing from place to place is a disaster—financially and physically exhausting. It’s really expensive. We pay a high price to flee. Transportation is not available. You have to move your tent, or if it’s broken, buy a new one. You need wood, you need materials, you have to buy everything. You have to build a new bathroom, start everything from scratch. 

    Ziad Ayyad: 

    Look at me. Nothing in the entire world compares to what’s happening to us. The tyranny, the displacement, the hunger. We’re hungry. We’ve been starved, stripped of dignity, humiliated, and forced from place to place. Can it get more oppressive than this? These two years have felt like a lifetime. These two years are like a lifetime. 

    Basel Radi’ Al Masri: 

    The Israeli forces’ repeated attempts to occupy Gaza City prove they have failed. Two years on, they claim they have destroyed the Palestinian resistance, but they are still negotiating with that same resistance. It’s clear they have not destroyed the resistance in Gaza at all. They have only destroyed the people.

    This post was originally published on The Real News Network.

  • ICJP lists UK charities it says have aided Israel’s Gaza genocide

    The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), a group of UK-based lawyers, academics and politicians has published a list of UK organisations that hold charitable status yet are funding and/or facilitating Israel’s slaughter, starvation, and genocide of Gaza. The group broadly work to pursue justice and human rights for Palestinians.

    Now, in their latest document, the ICJP says that it:

    has identified several UK-based charities that facilitate, or fund international crimes committed by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt).

    In particular they single out three pro-Israel ‘charities’ – Achisomoch Aid Company (AAC), UK Toremet and the Jewish National Fund UK (JNFUK), as well as accusing the Charity Commission of a lack of response.

    Israel’s genocide in Gaza allegedly supported by charities

    The first, Achisomoch Aid Company (AAC) is a UK-registered charity that has, according to the ICJP:

    facilitated donations to Israeli charities from UK donors, with UK Gift Aid tax benefits, to support the Israeli military. The funds raised have been used to purchase military equipment, including drones, gun lights, and pocketknives for Israeli soldiers.

    The ICJP submitted a formal complaint to the Charity Commission, alleging that AAC’s activities breach UK charity law and may be complicit in supporting military operations connected to ongoing conflicts in the region. The complaint highlights concerns over the legality and ethics of using charitable donations to fund military gear.

    The response, or lack of, raises questions about the effectiveness of the regulatory oversight in preventing charities from engaging in activities that may contravene UK law and international humanitarian standards. ICJP continues to press for a thorough investigation and appropriate regulatory measures to ensure compliance with charity law.

    The second charity, UK Toremet, according to the group has similar allegations levied against it:

    UK Toremet is a UK-registered charity that facilitates payment processing and transfer services for Israeli organisations, issuing UK donors with Gift Aid receipts. ICJP submitted a Complaint to the Charity Commission on the 29th May 2024, concerning UK Toremet’s activities.

    At the time ICJP submitted its complaint, UK Toremet was providing services to at least three Israeli groups, Im Tirtzu, Tzav 9, and Torat Lechima – all are organisations implicated in blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza. These groups have actively fundraised from UK donors, using UK Toremet’s platform to support these efforts.

    In August 2024, ICJP discovered that UK Toremet was also providing services to Hashomer Yosh, an organisation sanctioned by both the US and UK for its involvement in extremist settler violence in the West Bank. Hashomer Yosh provides security for illegal settler outposts, enabling violence against Palestinian communities.

    UK Toremet has continued to operate and provide services to organisations engaged in unlawful activities, despite these serious concerns and UK sanctions against some of its beneficiaries.

    After reviewing the information, the Charity Commission informed ICJP that it had issued UK Toremet with an action plan in August 2024. However, the contents and subsequent action plan have not been disclosed. In July 2025, the Charity Commission sought advice from the Attorney General regarding the legality of UK Toremet’s activities, including its role in the transfer of £5.7 million to an Israeli high school in the illegal settlement of Susya in the West Bank between 2017 and 2021.

    And, the next charity they spotlight is the Jewish National Fund:

    The Jewish National Fund UK (JNF UK) is a British-based charity and partner of the Israel-based Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael Jewish National Fund (JNF-KKL), founded in 1901. JNF-KKL has a long history of involvement in property theft in the oPt, as well as ongoing displacement of Palestinian communities and environmental destruction.

    Through its fundraising and activities, JNF UK supports projects that facilitate Israel’s illegal settlements and military infrastructure in the oPt – actions widely condemned as violations of international law, including transferring over £1 million to HaShomer HaChadash – an Israeli organisation which conducts “highly securitised activities such as land patrols”. The organisation provides ‘security’ for illegal settler outposts in the West Bank and covers for illegal settlers to commit extreme violence against Palestinians.

    In March 2025, ICJP submitted a formal complaint regarding JNF UK to the Charity Commission due to its connections with armed groups with connections to the Israeli military perpetrating and supporting violence in the West Bank, which violates UK charity law and undermines the public interest.

    Despite these activities, which are the same as those that led to ICJP Canada’s successful the revocation of charitable status for JNF Canada in July 2024, JNF UK remains a UK-registered charity.

    Canadian authorities revoked JNF Canada’s charitable status a year ago for the same issues of assisting the apartheid and genocidal colony – JNF appealed twice and lost both appeals.

    Revocation of charity status

    In view of its findings, the ICJP has called for:

    1. National legislation to prohibit charities and universities from funding or supporting activities that entrench Israel’s illegal occupation
    2. Revocation of charity status for organisations funding the Israeli military or illegal settlements
    3. Clear investment guidelines for universities and enhanced regulatory oversight

    The three organisations identified in the ICJP announcement are the tip of a large iceberg of organisations claiming UK charitable status. A pro-Israel page helpfully lists fourteen charities it recommends Israel supporters to donate to if they want their cash to go to the colony – only one of those listed is mentioned above by the ICJP. The list also includes Zaka, the group that, from 7 October 2023, supported Israel’s false claims of babies burned or beheaded babies and mass rapes by Palestinian fighters that the occupation and their western supporters have used ever since to justify the mass slaughter and starvation of the Palestinian people of Gaza. According to Israeli media, Zaka is also run by alleged paedophiles who tried to silence victims alleging sexual abuse.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Pathetic Kamala Harris makes excuses to Palestine protestors in Southbank

    Activists disrupted a Kamala Harris event last night, calling out the former US presidential hopeful for her complicity in Israel’s genocide of the people of Palestine.

    Outside London’s Southbank Centre, watched by a contingent of cops, around 30 protesters waved Palestinian flags and chanted “Kamala Harris is not welcome here”. They displayed banners bearing the words “Genocide enablers are war criminals” and “Stop starving Gaza!”.

    ‘I’m not president right now’

    Harris took the stage alongside author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie at Southbank last night to promote her new campaign memoir, ‘107 Days’. However, within minutes hecklers started to interrupt the Democrat ex-VP. One protester held up a banner reading “Harris you have blood on your hands”.

    Pro-Palestine protesters and hecklers have dogged the ‘107 Days’ tour from its outset. Whilst still in the States, Harris responded on multiple occasions with variations on:

    I’m not president right now, there’s nothing I can do.

    Between Biden’s campaign in 2020 and Harris’ election bid in 2024, support for the Democrats dropped by almost a third. Polling conducted by the Institute of Middle East Understanding and YouGov suggested that this was because of Biden-Harris’ support for Israel.

    Regarding the lack of support for Harris, 29% of former-Biden-voters gave “ending Israel’s violence in Gaza” as their reason. That one issue came out ahead of the economy, immigration, healthcare, and abortion.

    ‘Not a binary issue’

    At last night’s event, Harris stated:

    I understand the passion and the emotion and the feeling based on everything that has happened in Gaza. I understand everything behind the protesters.

    She then claimed that her administration could have done things differently, and should have made more public statements. At this, a protester stood up and began shouting at the ex-VP. Security guards also dragged away a second banner-waving activist.

    Adichie later questioned Harris about her administration’s support for Israel as part of her interview. Harris stated:

    I did not have the final say on that at all and if I had this would have been different.

    However, in her book itself, Harris wrote:

    The war in Gaza is not a binary issue, but too often the conversation about it is. I wanted to acknowledge the complexity, nuance and history of the region, but it seemed very few people had the appetite for that or the willingness to hold two tragic narratives in their mind at the same time, to grieve for human suffering both Israeli and Palestinian.

    ‘A court will decide’

    On 16 September 2025, a UN commission declared that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. It followed a long line of other human rights organisations, aid workers and citizens of both Palestine and Israel who said the same.

    However, Harris has thus far refused to name Israel’s actions for what they are. In a 12 October interview, when asked if Israel was committing genocide, Harris remained equivocal:

    Listen, it is a term of law that a court will decide. But I will tell you that when you look at the number of children that have been killed, the number of innocent civilians that have been killed, the refusal to give aid and support, we should all step back and ask this question and be honest about it, yeah.

    In her attempts to play both sides, remain neutral, acknowledge “nuance”, Harris is failing to acknowledge something that is not nuanced, something that is plainly obvious. Israel is committing genocide. Biden’s government, and her alongside it, supported that genocide.

    Harris has already lost one election because of her government’s pathetic refusal to stand against Israel with its full weight. As ‘107 Days’ shows, she has profoundly failed to learn that lesson.

    It’s a lesson that goes the same for all politicians who attempt to remain ‘palatably centrist’ – in the face of profound injustice, neutrality is not neutral, it is not palatable, and it is not acceptable.

    As the protests plaguing her book tour show, people are not willing to let that injustice stand.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Alex/Rose Cocker

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Israel and US Scorn ICJ Ruling Against Starving Civilians as Method of Warfare

    This week the International Court of Justice (ICJ or World Court) told Israel what seems obvious to any reasonable person — that it cannot starve civilians as a method of warfare. But Israel does not act in accordance with international law, as evidenced by its two-year campaign of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, during which it has killed over 68,000 Gazans (more likely 680,000…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Campaigners say whitewash report fails to prove Stormont isn’t funding F-35 parts for Israel

    Campaigners Act now, who produced the excellent report outlining Invest NI’s funding of the F-35 warplane programme, have responded to Caoimhe Archibald’s attempt to cover up the scandal. The Economy Minister had boldly said the following when announcing on October 16 the results of an internal review:

    The review is categorical – Invest NI does not support the manufacture of arms or their components for Israel. I welcome this finding.

    Invest NI is the government “regional development agency” set up to provide grants and other assistance to businesses. Archibald’s weasel-worded denial overlooks the fact that, while F-35 parts may not be sold directly to the Zionist fake state, they do end up in a global pool used for assembly of the deadly jet. Martin Butcher, policy adviser on arms and conflict for Oxfam has said it is certain that parts made by companies in the north of Ireland end up in the F-35s that have played a major role in the near-total destruction of Gaza.

    An F-35 report that doesn’t mention F-35s

    In a response entitled Department for the Economy Review of Investments Report | Initial Analysis from Act Now, the group fighting for “People Powered Change” lay out their “points of consideration”. They start by pointing out the most absurd:

    1. F-35s are not mentioned in the whole review

    They continue:

    Invest NI never mention or accept that NI-based companies they have funded currently participate in the F-35 supply chains. Our report lays out numerous meetings with BAE Systems and other NI-based companies where F-35 contracts are mentioned.

    Indeed, Act Now have produced via Freedom of Information request documents showing contracts between BAE Systems and Moyola Precision Engineering accepting the latter firm into the warplane programme. They have shown there were meetings with Dutch Ministry of Defence officials, as Invest NI representatives sought to secure the tender to supply F-35 warehouses in the Netherlands that are stuffed full of parts for the winged murder machine.

    They go on to criticise:

    2. The timescale under review

    It turns out Invest NI, in investigating itself, had only bothered to look at funding provided after 7 October 2023. Because obviously it would have been fine to be supplying death dealing equipment to the Zionist land theft project before then, when it had already spent the best part of 100 years thieving Palestinian territory. Act Now point out that, for companies who previously received money to enter the F-35 supply chain, there is a:

    …strong possibility that they continued to supply F-35 components…

    Evri can track an air-fryer, but apparently top-secret military hardware disappears down the back of the sofa

    Then there’s:

    3. “Purpose” vs “Outcome”

    The word “purpose” appears to be doing a lot of heavy lifting when Invest NI say:

    The review has confirmed that no project supported by Invest NI was for the purpose of supporting the manufacture of arms or their components, for supply to Israel.

    This is a pretty clear way of saying “we didn’t intend for stuff to end up as the machinery of genocide, but ultimately it has”. As Act Now point out, purpose is one thing, outcome is another. Invest NI also say:

    It is not possible for Invest NI or its client companies to fully track or determine the final destination of exported goods once they enter complex global supply chains.

    Now, it’s very, very unlikely this claim is even true – a report by the Palestine Youth Movement shows the extensive logging and tracking that F-35 parts undergo. If Evri can track your new air-fryer 20 times as it goes 100 miles up the road, it’s safe to say top of the line military hardware gets at least similar treatment. If it is true, then why is Stormont happy to be part of a programme that leaves deadly hardware lying around haphazardly like bits of discarded Lego?

    Archibald could have come clean, but instead has opted for deception

    Finally, we have:

    4. Manufacturing costs and Production costs

    Here, Act Now indicate there may be more linguistic deviousness from Invest NI. The agency says it couldn’t have legally supported manufacturing costs under European Union (EU) Regional Aid rules. According to Act now:

    Manufacturing costs are solely the expense of making the product…

    The EU has strict rules around how states invest to grow their own economies, supposedly to prevent distortion of competition within its internal market. However, that would be distinct from production costs which are:

    …much wider and overall costs – for example, buildings and overheads.

    It’s known that Invest NI provided support to develop factories and the workforce of the four companies involved in manufacture of F-35 parts – EAE, Moyola, RLC and Survitec. The agency also:

    …provided key administrative support to win contracts – including ones related to F-35s – and support with strategic plans.

    The strategy of deception is remarkable given the momentum that had built against Six Counties involvement in the F-35 programme. Simply admitting the game was up and packing in the whole sorry enterprise would have been the sensible way to go. Now however, criminality has been compounded with mendacity, and the response from the local Palestine movement is likely to be ferocious, both in the courts and the streets.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Robert Freeman

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Campaigners say whitewash report fails to prove Stormont isn’t funding F-35 parts for Israel

    Campaigners Act now, who produced the excellent report outlining Invest NI’s funding of the F-35 warplane programme, have responded to Caoimhe Archibald’s attempt to cover up the scandal. The Economy Minister had boldly said the following when announcing on October 16 the results of an internal review:

    The review is categorical – Invest NI does not support the manufacture of arms or their components for Israel. I welcome this finding.

    Invest NI is the government “regional development agency” set up to provide grants and other assistance to businesses. Archibald’s weasel-worded denial overlooks the fact that, while F-35 parts may not be sold directly to the Zionist fake state, they do end up in a global pool used for assembly of the deadly jet. Martin Butcher, policy adviser on arms and conflict for Oxfam has said it is certain that parts made by companies in the north of Ireland end up in the F-35s that have played a major role in the near-total destruction of Gaza.

    An F-35 report that doesn’t mention F-35s

    In a response entitled Department for the Economy Review of Investments Report | Initial Analysis from Act Now, the group fighting for “People Powered Change” lay out their “points of consideration”. They start by pointing out the most absurd:

    1. F-35s are not mentioned in the whole review

    They continue:

    Invest NI never mention or accept that NI-based companies they have funded currently participate in the F-35 supply chains. Our report lays out numerous meetings with BAE Systems and other NI-based companies where F-35 contracts are mentioned.

    Indeed, Act Now have produced via Freedom of Information request documents showing contracts between BAE Systems and Moyola Precision Engineering accepting the latter firm into the warplane programme. They have shown there were meetings with Dutch Ministry of Defence officials, as Invest NI representatives sought to secure the tender to supply F-35 warehouses in the Netherlands that are stuffed full of parts for the winged murder machine.

    They go on to criticise:

    2. The timescale under review

    It turns out Invest NI, in investigating itself, had only bothered to look at funding provided after 7 October 2023. Because obviously it would have been fine to be supplying death dealing equipment to the Zionist land theft project before then, when it had already spent the best part of 100 years thieving Palestinian territory. Act Now point out that, for companies who previously received money to enter the F-35 supply chain, there is a:

    …strong possibility that they continued to supply F-35 components…

    Evri can track an air-fryer, but apparently top-secret military hardware disappears down the back of the sofa

    Then there’s:

    3. “Purpose” vs “Outcome”

    The word “purpose” appears to be doing a lot of heavy lifting when Invest NI say:

    The review has confirmed that no project supported by Invest NI was for the purpose of supporting the manufacture of arms or their components, for supply to Israel.

    This is a pretty clear way of saying “we didn’t intend for stuff to end up as the machinery of genocide, but ultimately it has”. As Act Now point out, purpose is one thing, outcome is another. Invest NI also say:

    It is not possible for Invest NI or its client companies to fully track or determine the final destination of exported goods once they enter complex global supply chains.

    Now, it’s very, very unlikely this claim is even true – a report by the Palestine Youth Movement shows the extensive logging and tracking that F-35 parts undergo. If Evri can track your new air-fryer 20 times as it goes 100 miles up the road, it’s safe to say top of the line military hardware gets at least similar treatment. If it is true, then why is Stormont happy to be part of a programme that leaves deadly hardware lying around haphazardly like bits of discarded Lego?

    Archibald could have come clean, but instead has opted for deception

    Finally, we have:

    4. Manufacturing costs and Production costs

    Here, Act Now indicate there may be more linguistic deviousness from Invest NI. The agency says it couldn’t have legally supported manufacturing costs under European Union (EU) Regional Aid rules. According to Act now:

    Manufacturing costs are solely the expense of making the product…

    The EU has strict rules around how states invest to grow their own economies, supposedly to prevent distortion of competition within its internal market. However, that would be distinct from production costs which are:

    …much wider and overall costs – for example, buildings and overheads.

    It’s known that Invest NI provided support to develop factories and the workforce of the four companies involved in manufacture of F-35 parts – EAE, Moyola, RLC and Survitec. The agency also:

    …provided key administrative support to win contracts – including ones related to F-35s – and support with strategic plans.

    The strategy of deception is remarkable given the momentum that had built against Six Counties involvement in the F-35 programme. Simply admitting the game was up and packing in the whole sorry enterprise would have been the sensible way to go. Now however, criminality has been compounded with mendacity, and the response from the local Palestine movement is likely to be ferocious, both in the courts and the streets.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Robert Freeman

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Video: Witkoff lets slip Kushner working on Gaza theft since before Israel destroyed it

    US current affairs show 60 Minutes interviewed Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy earlier this week, alongside Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – who runs his family property development business since his father Charles was convicted twenty years ago on eighteen criminal charges including illegal campaign contributions, witness tampering and tax evasion. Kushner Sr was pardoned by Trump in 2020.

    Unsurprisingly, the hour-long interview was filled with self-praise, ‘art of the deal’ style nonsense derived directly from Trump, and shameless justification of Israel and of Trump’s actions in West Asia – but one moment stood out, as Witkoff gave away that Kushner and his gaggle of billionaires have had a ‘master plan’ in place for rebuilding Gaza (or more accurately Trump’s and Netanyahu’s diseased vision of it) since before it was destroyed by Israel:

    Witkoff says the quiet part out loud

    Daniel Lambert, the manager of Irish band Kneecap, who posted the clip to his X, said:

    Kushner’s face when he yesterday revealed they planned rebuilding Gaza BEFORE it was destroyed by the IDF. This isn’t a peace deal it’s the seizure of Palestine.

    Israel’s genocide in Gaza and flattening of its homes, schools, hospitals, mosques, churches and infrastructure was supposedly ’caused’ by the 7 October 2023 raid by Palestinian resistance groups.

    However, the fact that Israel had slaughtered most of the Israelis killed that day was quickly exposed – though still ignored by ‘mainstream’ Western media. Almost as quickly it was known that Israeli atrocity propaganda about beheaded babies and mass rapes was fiction.

    It is now a matter of record, though also ignored by western media, that Israel knew the raid was coming and ordered ‘border’ troops kettling the Palestinian people to stand down and allow it before the massive ‘Hannibal’ over-reaction by the occupation military that killed hundreds of Israelis in repeated attacks from early morning until late evening, numbers the IDF has itself described as ‘immense’.

    The now-admitted fact that Kushner and his billionaire boys’ club were planning their land grab of flattened Gaza before it was ever flattened adds another damning storey to the edifice of US-Israeli guilt and collusion in genocide and ethnic cleansing.

    Featured image via YouTube screenshot/60 Minutes

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Nowhere to run: Palestine law group continues pursuit of Israel war criminals

    The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) are going after alleged British-Israeli war criminals. They’ve now started a process to “prosecute a dual national British-Israeli citizen”. The individual “is alleged to have committed the offence of enlisting in the service of a foreign state”. The ICJP say that is contrary to Section 4 of the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870.

    In a press release on 23 October, ICJP said:

    The individual is suspected to have served in the Lebanese border unit in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), followed by service in the West Bank. As a British-Israeli, the individual has no legal obligations to serve in the IDF and instead, appears to have done so voluntarily.

    Israel war criminals

    The ICJP is using a very interesting argument to bring the case forward. It hinges on an old act concerning serving a foreign state. And, they’re using the idea that Palestine is technically a “friendly state” to the UK:

    ICJP’s submission, which was drafted by senior King’s Counsel, includes evidence of violations of the FEA and expert evidence supporting the breaches. Section 4 of the Foreign Enlistment Act (33 & 34 Vict. c. 90) makes it an offence for a British subject to accept any engagement in ‘the military or naval service’ of a foreign state which is at war with a friendly state.

    Palestine is a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty which established the International Criminal Court (ICC):

    since 1 April 2015, reaffirmed by a decision by the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court on 5 February 2021.

    The key detail:

    Palestine is a friendly state to the United Kingdom, as the UK government recognises its statehood, and the two countries are not at war.

    Offences “are triable on Indictment and punishable with a maximum of two years imprisonment”.  There is no time limit for the act.

    More to come?

    The prosecution will be a private one. The ICJP say this was “in potential breach of the Foreign Enlistment Act”.

    These individuals include both British citizens and dual-national British-Israeli citizens.

    ICJP’s Head of Legal Mutahir Ahmed said:

    In line with ICJP’s Global 195 campaign, this is a significant step in holding suspected war criminals accountable within domestic jurisdictions for offences that they have committed outside of their home countries.

    War criminals must be held accountable for their role in the genocide, from the most senior generals to the most junior foot soldier.

    The road to justice in the wake of war and genocide is long. In regard to Rwanda and the Balkan wars,  cases committed in the 1990s were still being heard in the 2010s. The case of one 100yr old alleged Nazi prison guard was still underway in 2024.

    In recent weeks, a case was filed at the ICC on the IDF killing of 5yr old Hind Rajab. And the ICC rejected an Israeli appeal against the arrest warrants for senior leaders like Benyamin Netanyahu.

    Accordingly, as more cases start to arrive in the courts, Israel’s impunity looks a little less assured.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Joe Glenton

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • PSNA slams Israeli politician over ‘sneaking into NZ’ during Pacific friendship trip

    Asia Pacific Report

    A leading Palestine solidarity and advocacy group in New Zealand has accused an Israeli cabinet minister of “sneaking” into the country this weekend while on a Pacific tour as
    Israel resumed its genocidal attacks.

    Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskell visited the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Fiji — where she welcomed a possible “peacekeeping” role — in a week-long Pacific friendship mission.

    Both Fiji and Papua New Guinea have opened controversial embassies in Jerusalem, recognised as the capital of Palestine when statehood is granted.

    “It seems clear from media reports that Haskell is visiting Auckland this weekend as part of a trip to strengthen ties with New Zealand and other Pacific countries,” said Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa co-chair Maher Nazal.

    He said in a statement that he would expect New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters to “have had, or will be having, a secret meeting” with Haskell.

    “Haskell wouldn’t come to New Zealand unless she was having a meeting with
    Peters. Otherwise, it would be a diplomatic snub,” Nazzal said.

    “Haskell wouldn’t tolerate that, and Peters is most unlikely to snub Israel.

    “But if he’s turned her down, we’d love to hear about it.”

    Mocking Luxon
    The visit by Haskell is in spite of recently mocking Prime Minister Christopher Luxon with some sarcastic comments that New Zealand’s “worst enemies were cats and possums”, when Luxon said her boss, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had “lost the plot” in the genocidal war on Gaza.

    Advocate Maher Nazzal at today's New Zealand rally for Gaza in Auckland
    PSNA co-chair Maher Nazzal . . . “Why would we put out the welcome mat for a representative of such a monstrous regime?”. Image: Asia Pacific Report

    Nazzal said: “The trip is a ‘thank you’ visit for New Zealand refusing to recognise Palestine [statehood]. Haskell had appointments with the governments of Fiji and Papua New Guinea earlier this week.

    “They are the only two countries in the world, other than the United States, which both voted in the United Nations last year against requiring Israel to leave the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and they also have an embassy in Jerusalem.

    “They are the greatest fans of Israel outside the United States.”

    At a media conference in Suva on Wednesday, Haskel said Fiji’s neutral and highly skilled military could play a valuable role in future peacekeeping efforts once negotiations on Gaza’s next phase were complete.

    “I have to say that we do trust the Fijian forces,” she said during the joint press conference with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.

    ‘Skilled, neutral military’
    “We know that you have very skilled military forces that are neutral, which is something especially important for peacekeeping.

    Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel (left)
    Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel (left) with Ambassador to Fiji and the Pacific Roi Rosenblit at the MOU signing with Fiji this week. Image: Eliki Nukutabu/The Fiji Times

    “We know this is a force you can trust, with skills, with morals and we’ve had close collaboration throughout history in many posts around the Middle East and surrounding our borders as well.”

    She was referring to Fiji’s long UN history as a Middle East peacekeeping force, but admitted that the Gaza role would not be through the United Nations.

    “Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinians and withholding New Zealand aid from the people of Gaza,” Nazzal said.

    “Why would we put out the welcome mat for a representative of such a monstrous regime?”

    Haskell was recently interviewed by “genocide-denier Sean Plunket” on his radio show The Platform saying she would like to visit to “thank the New Zealand government for its support over the last two years”.

    “That says it all. New Zealand has stood resolutely with a racist, apartheid regime as it continues to commit genocide against the Palestinian people – two years and counting,” Nazzal said.

    Seven embassies in Jerusalem
    Last month, Fiji inaugurated its embassy in Jerusalem — becoming the seventh nation to have its diplomatic mission in the city in defiance of the United Nations policy.

    Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel with Prime Minister James Marape
    Deputy Foreign Minister Haskel with PNG Prime Minister James Marape at Melanesian House, Waigani during a courtesy visit this week. Image: PNG Bulletin

    The other countries are: Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea and the United States.

    Other nations that maintain ties with Israel have their embassies in Tel Aviv.

    Papua New Guinea inaugurated its embassy in Jerusalem last year.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Extending the Cultural Boycott of Apartheid South Africa to Israel

    I have been informed by the leadership of what might best be described as the “black consciousness movement” of Azania (South Africa) that a formal call to include Israel in the “cultural boycott” of South Africa will be issued from inside South Africa within the next few weeks.

    The Black Consciousness Movement was started under the leadership of Steve Biko (whose life and murder by the Pretoria regime was the basis for the film “Cry Freedom”) and was the first organization to call for a cultural boycott of South Africa.

    This call, sent out especially to pop musical groups, eventually generated the formation of “Artists United Against Apartheid.” The cultural boycott of South Africa was probably the first major effort successfully to draw pop and rock musicians into an anti-racist campaign.

    The next logical step, which some of us have been struggling to implement, has been the inclusion of the racist, colonial, settler, Zionist regime of Israel in the cultural boycott.

    Recently, a British pop-reggae band called UB40 spent some time here in Hawaii. Known for the radical political content of many of their songs, UB40 had a song go to no. 1 on the pop music charts in the US in 1988.

    UB40 has agreed to cancel their Israel tour (a loss of over $500,000) in protest of the racist policies of the Zionist occupation forces in Israel and in support of the intifadah of the indigenous Arab youth of Palestine. Finally, the lines have been drawn. With UB40 setting an example, the call will be going out to all the major pop and rock groups to honor the cultural boycott of South Africa-Israel or risk being “boycotted” themselves.

    UB40 has taken a very courageous stand. Those of us familiar with the music business know only too well how dominant outright Zionists and supporters of Israel are in the industry, Many of us remember the near destruction of Miriam Makeba’s career some 20 years ago when she took a stand opposing Zionism and supporting the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

    What we are saying is, from the frontlines of South Africa to the frontlines of Palestine, apartheid-Zionism is racism. Support the cultural boycott! Say “no” to Israel and Apartheid South Africa!

    The post Extending the Cultural Boycott of Apartheid South Africa to Israel first appeared on Dissident Voice.


    This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Thomas C. Mountain.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Israel is still holding captive nearly 100 Palestinian healthcare workers

    67 doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other healthcare workers, who were seized during Israeli occupation raids on health facilities, were released during the latest prisoner swap on 13 October.

    Healthcare workers detained by Israeli occupation

    Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW) has documented 95 Palestinian medical staff still being held in the occupation’s prisons. 80 of these detainees are from Gaza, while 15 are from the West Bank. According to the NGO, it has documented a total of 431 cases of detained Palestinian healthcare workers (HCW) since the start of the genocide. Five HCWs, all Gazans, have been killed by ‘Israel’ while imprisoned. Their bodies are still being withheld, and five are missing, their fate completely unknown.

    Abu Safiya’s arbitrary detention extended yet again

    Among those still arbitrarily detained is Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital. He was detained while on duty, and is being held without charge or trial. Since his detention, reports have emerged of torture and abuse. Abu Safiya holds foreign citizenship so could have left Gaza but instead decided to stay with his patients. Despite his name having previously appeared among those discussed for release, on 16 October, Abu Safiya’s administrative detention was instead extended for another six months.

    Dr Marwan Al Hams, the director of field hospitals in Gaza, who was kidnapped by an Israel occupation undercover force in July was also not released. Nor was his daughter Tasneem who was abducted at the beginning of October.

    ‘Medical needs in Gaza are at their highest’

    Dr Mohammed Obeid was also not released as part of the ceasefire deal. He is an orthopaedic surgeon who was arrested in October 2024 by the IOF during a military raid at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, and was detained along with 57 others from the hospital. Dr. Obeid has not made contact with his family for almost a year. He had been working with Medecins Sans Frontieres since 2018.

    MSF has said it is “deeply disappointed” Obeid has not been released, with the organisation’s general director, Dr Tejshri Shah, saying in a statement:

    We are extremely concerned for his safety and wellbeing. We stand in full solidarity with him and his family, and demand that his rights, dignity, and freedom be restored without further delay. At a time when medical needs in Gaza are at their highest, the role of medical and paramedical staff is crucial.

    Majority of medical personnel arrested whilst on duty

    According to HWW, 85% of Gazan healthcare workers currently in detention were abducted by the Israeli occupation’s military from their hospitals or ambulances while they were working. All because they refused to abandon their patients.

    Testimonies from medical staff who have been released from Israeli occupation prisons speak of rampant abuse and torture. According to Dr Ahmed Muhanna, the director of Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia, Northern Gaza:

    doctors have been singled out as targets for detention.

    Muhanna was abducted by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) during a raid at his hospital in December 2023, while he was working. During his 665 days in illegal detention he lost almost a third of his body weight.

    Muhanna, who was released as part of the ‘ceasefire’ deal, described in a video testimony how several Palestinian detainees died as “Israeli jailers looked on”, and detained healthcare workers were prevented from helping other injured detainees. But he said:

    Al-Awda Hospital will be restored, its staff will rebuild it with their own hands. … I am proud of what we have done and will do.

    Asaliya is released but hospitalised due to effects of torture

    Dr Mohammed Asaliya was released from detention during the latest prisoner swap. He had been abducted by the IOF from Al-Shifa Hospital, but is now back in the hospital, as a patient. Dr. Asaliya suffers from convulsions, dizziness, and severe chest pain due to the torture he endured at the hands of the Israeli regime while behind bars.

    Scores of medical workers are still being physically and mentally abused. They are enduring degrading treatment and starvation in Israeli occupation torture camps and prisons. Most of these are held under ‘administrative detention’, meaning without charge or trial. Many, including Dr Abu Safiyah, are labelled ‘unlawful combatants’. Under the Detention of Unlawful Combatants Law, anyone from Gaza can be detained, for indefinitely-renewable periods, if suspected of engaging in hostilities against ‘Israel’ or of posing a threat to state security. No evidence is necessary.

    Deliberately destroying Gaza’s healthcare system

    UN experts have accused the Israeli regime of deliberately attacking and starving healthcare workers, paramedics, and hospitals to wipe out medical care in the Gaza Strip. This is a blatant violation of international and humanitarian law, which guarantees the protection of medical personnel and infrastructure during war.

    The experts have said that:

    In addition to bearing witness to an ongoing genocide we are also bearing witness to a ‘medicide,’ a sinister component of the intentional creation of conditions calculated to destroy Palestinians in Gaza which constitutes an act of genocide.

    Gaza’s healthcare system has been intentionally annihilated. Most hospitals have been bombed or destroyed, and none are fully functional. This ensures they are unable to provide life-saving functions, while the Israeli occupation has continued its bombardment of civilians.

    Legal and moral duty to act to stop genocide

    Between 7 October 2023 – 5 September 2025, more than 1,722 healthcare workers were killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. This is an average of more than two every day. Those who have managed to survive are struggling to cope with the number of patients and lack of supplies. They themselves facing displaced, exhausted, traumatised, and hungry.

    All countries have a legal and moral duty to protect them. They also have a duty to prevent and stop genocide, including by suspending arms transfers to the illegal Israeli occupation. Perpetrators of violations of international law must be held to account.

    Feature image via Al Jazeera English/Youtube. 

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • International Court Of Justice Condemns Israel’s Restrictions On Humanitarian Aid

    On the same day that the Israeli Knesset gave “preliminary approval to a bill to impose Israeli sovereignty on the occupied West Bank”, as Al Jazeera described it, accurately calling it “a move tantamount to annexation of the Palestinian territory, which would be a blatant violation of international law”, over 3,300 km away, in the Hague, the International Court of Justice delivered a blistering condemnation of Israel’s existing failures to “fulfil its obligations under international humanitarian law” as the occupying Power in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; namely, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, first occupied in 1967.

    The post International Court Of Justice Condemns Israel’s Restrictions On Humanitarian Aid appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Trump Vows to End Aid If Israel Annexes West Bank, Ignoring Ongoing Annexation

    President Donald Trump reiterated his supposed opposition to the idea of Israel annexing the occupied West Bank on Thursday, with the president threatening to withhold aid — while ignoring Israel’s ongoing de facto annexation campaign and his vast role in enabling it. In response to a question on Israeli annexation in an interview with Time Magazine, Trump said five times that “it won’t…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Israel Slams ICJ Ruling to Allow UN Aid Into Gaza and Says It Won’t Comply

    The International Court of Justice ruled Wednesday that Israel, as an occupying power, must allow United Nations humanitarian aid into Gaza and may not use starvation as a method of warfare. In its advisory opinion, the World Court also found that Israel had failed to provide evidence for its claims that UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, lacks neutrality or that a significant number…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Israel Slams ICJ Ruling to Allow UN Aid Into Gaza and Says It Won’t Comply

    The International Court of Justice ruled Wednesday that Israel, as an occupying power, must allow United Nations humanitarian aid into Gaza and may not use starvation as a method of warfare. In its advisory opinion, the World Court also found that Israel had failed to provide evidence for its claims that UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, lacks neutrality or that a significant number…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Israel targeted more than 270,000 victims in Gaza during two years of genocide

    The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor revealed a shocking report that lays bare the genocide stats that came from Israel’s warcrimes against the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. The report documents the killing, injury or arrest of more than 270,000 Palestinians, or nearly 12% of the Strip’s population, in one of the bloodiest humanitarian disasters in modern history.

    According to the report, the number of martyrs reached about 75,190 Palestinians, including 21,310 children and 13,987 women, and 90% of them were civilians. The scale of the devastation is staggering. More than 173,000 people were injured, tens of thousands of whom suffered permanent disabilities or serious injuries, including 40,000 cases of long-term disability, 21,000 of whom were children, while more than 45,000 children lost one or both parents.

    Genocide stats: 12,000 prisoners detained from the Strip

    The Monitor also documented the arrest of about 12,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, including 2,700 who remain in detention or have been forcibly disappeared, in harsh conditions that violate all international norms.

    The report noted that Palestinian detainees were subjected to the most horrific forms of physical and psychological torture inside Israeli detention centres. Through field interviews, the Monitor documented 42 types of torture, including rape and sexual assault, severe beatings resulting in broken bones, electric shocks, deprivation of sleep and food, deliberate humiliation by spitting and urinating on prisoners, and threats to kill their family members. Cases of deliberate killing inside cells were also recorded, reflecting a systematic approach of inhumane treatment that amounts to war crimes under international humanitarian law.

    The report added that Israel’s starvation policy has caused the deaths of 482 Palestinians, including 160 children, as a result of malnutrition and food insecurity faced by all of the population living in the Gaza Strip. Per capita water availability has declined by 98%, while 8 out of 10 buildings in the Strip have been destroyed, including 555,000 housing units, 621 schools (95%), 3,300 industrial facilities, 191 media outlets and 100% of hospitals. Irreplaceable buildings weren’t spared 890 mosques, three churches and 205 archaeological and historical sites were also damaged.

    With regard to the destruction of cities, the Euro-Mediterranean Monitor documented widespread destruction and damage affecting almost all areas of the Strip, as the occupying army pursued a scorched earth policy and destroyed vital infrastructure, property and buildings.

    Is it still a ceasefire if people are still getting killed?

    Despite the ceasefire that came into effect on 11 October of this year, the Monitor documented 47 new violations, during which 73 Palestinians were killed in separate attacks, including air strikes, artillery shelling and direct sniping.

    Professional groups were not spared, with 1,701 health workers, 255 journalists, 800 teachers and 200 academics killed. There has also been a 300% increase in miscarriages among women as a result of fear, psychological trauma and severe stress.

    Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor explained that around 99% of Gaza’s population had been forcibly displaced from their homes at least once, while the Strip had been transformed into a psychologically and socially devastated area, with most of the population showing symptoms of PTSD and a loss of sense of security and normal life.

    The Monitor emphasised that the recent ceasefire does not mean an end to the suffering, as Israel continues its siege, restricts the entry of aid, and obstructs rescue operations and the removal of rubble.

    The Monitor called for urgent international action to hold Israeli officials accountable for their crimes and impose comprehensive economic and diplomatic sanctions, while guaranteeing the Palestinians’ right to freedom, dignity and self-determination and ending the occupation and apartheid regime imposed for more than seven decades.

    Featured image via Mohammed Ibrahim on Unsplash

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Leaked police intel makes fools of UK politicians, further proof that Maccabi fans are hooligans

    The ban on ‘fans’ of Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv attending their European match with Birmingham club Aston Villa led to a mass lie campaign by the Israel lobby to claim they were banned because they are Jewish. It also triggered an unsightly combination of pearl-clutching, condemnation, and outright lies from government ministers, particularly Keir Starmer and his Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. The latter in particular has been asked to retract her antisemitic remarks to MPs made during a debate on the ban, claiming that the ban was imposed because West Midlands Police couldn’t guarantee the safety of Jews.

    But a leak of the police intellligence leading to the ban puts beyond doubt the fact that the Maccabi thugs were banned for being a danger to the public. And, they were specifically classified as posing a threat to people in Birmingham, especially Muslims.

    Maccabi Tel Aviv on hooligan rampage

    According to police sources who leaked the intel, it said that:

    • large numbers of extremist Maccabi fans proven to be violent and racist would be travelling to the Villa game
    • Dutch police told the UK that Maccabi fans were the cause of riots in Amsterdam around a Maccabi fixture there in 2024
    • Maccabi fans had gone looking in Amsterdam for Muslims to attack, despite the deployment of thousands of Dutch police – which then led to reprisal attacks
    • some Jewish people in Birmingham wanted the Maccabi thugs banned from the match, as ascertained from a community assessment
    • the ban on Maccabi fans was made by Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group. It was decided after an intelligence assessment was conducted by West Midlands police, shared with the national UK football policing unit
    • the UK’s football policing unit endorsed the local force’s decision

    The intelligence leak makes even bigger fools of Starmer and others who had already been embarrassed by the decision of Israeli authorities earlier this week to cancel a match between Maccabi and Tel Aviv’s other club Hapoel because of Maccabi fans’ violence.

    Laughable

    The whole debacle also exposes the lies of the Israel lobby, along with Western politicians and media, who claimed and in most cases continue to claim that the Maccabi fans were the victims of antisemitism in Amsterdam rather than the racist instigators of violence who attacked innocent locals while singing songs about rape, murder and gassing Palestinians. Such is the extent of the misinformation that some media outlets actually doctored footage that originally showed what really happened. So extreme was the violence that it contributed to the decision of Dutch intelligence services to designate Israel as a threat to the Netherlands’ national security.

    Maccabi Tel Aviv announced earlier this week that they will not accept a ticket allocation for the Villa match. That did not stop Nandy’s lies or the laughable attempts of other UK politicians to overturn the ban.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Tommy Robinson’s Israel trip has widened the far right rift

    The British nationalist and racist bigot Tommy Robinson is a long-time supporter of Israel. In aid of this, he’s currently visiting Israeli allies as part of a much-publicised tour. While little Tommy himself is having the time of his life, the trip is going down very poorly with his far right compatriots:


    Divide

    Robinson has pushed antisemitic conspiracy theories despite his long history of supporting Israel, which constitutionally considers itself to be the ‘Jewish nation-state‘.

    How, then, can we explain this alliance between Robinson and Israeli politicians?

    Firstly, although Robinson is far right, so is the Israeli government:


    As Mint Press conclude in the above tweet:

    Robinson, invited by Israel’s government, is known for his anti-immigration activism and criminal convictions. His presence in the Knesset has sparked criticism from Jewish organizations in the UK, who say Israel’s invitation normalizes dangerous ideologies.

    Their alliance signals a growing nexus between ultra-right politics in Europe and state-backed agendas in Israel — with immigration, nationalism, and the Palestinian question all wrapped together.

    While the far right is always defined by hostility towards ‘out groups’ within the nation state, that doesn’t mean they can’t support their fellow fascists abroad. Most famously, the far-right governments of Germany, Italy, and Japan formed an ‘axis’ of support during WWII.

    In its efforts to shore up international backing, Israel has infamously worked with antisemites who are willing to support the ‘Zionist’ project (i.e. the colonial ideology of maintaining and expanding a Jewish ethno-state in the Middle East).

    Robinson is one of many international fascists who Israeli politicians have seen fit to work with. The problem for Robinson is that his far right countrymen are increasingly confused about why he’s working with Israel.

    Far right, all wrong

    The woman in the tweet at the top is Jayda Fransen, who used to be part of Britain First. She’s now part of the Christian Nationalist Party, and she’s part of a growing backlash to Robinson on the fractured far right.

    You’ll notice that many of the comments from these people are brazenly antisemitic. Sadly, this is the sort of commentary which gets a pass on Elon Musk’s Twitter.

    Steve Laws is part of ‘Remigration Now’:

    ‘Remigration’ is the policy of deporting everyone who isn’t part of the indigenous population. This would be difficult to achieve in England, of course, as the ‘indigenous population’ has been intermingling since at least the Roman Empire. At the same time, we’re sure Laws doesn’t care about the specifics; he just wants to banish non-whites.

    Oh, and in case you’re thinking Laws is worse than Robinson, you should know that a group called ‘Generation Remigration’ spoke at Robinson’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally.

    Saskia Teague is one of the female Gen Z influencers on Twitter who like to dabble in far-right rhetoric. Unlike some of her contemporaries, however, she’s progressed from Islamophobia to antisemitism:

    As you can see, there’s clearly an audience for this sort of bigotry on Musk’s Twitter. This is what she had to say about Robinson:

    James Goddard is an ‘orthodox nationalist’ who’s famous for looking like the son of Adolf Hitler and Rodney Trotter:


    Goddard referenced the fact that Israel has been caught paying influencers $7,000 per post to praise Israel:

    Gareth Icke, the son of notorious conspiracy theorist David Icke, said this:

    The turn against Israel is also happening within the American far right. Chris Menahan runs Information Liberation, and has appeared on Info Wars and Zero Hedge:

    This guy, meanwhile, is the author of White Identity:

    Clownfall

    While Robinson’s contemporaries have been frothing with rage, the left have been mocking him:


    It’s pretty obvious that Robinson has done some significant damage to his reputation with this Israel trip. Now, every last one of his posts will be a feeding ground for piranha-like fascists who want to elevate their own standing. And although we’d like to say it couldn’t be happening to a worse guy, these people are all as bad as each other.

    Featured image via YouTube

    By Willem Moore

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Rare ICJ ruling condemns Israel in every possible legal manner

    The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague has ordered that Israel must allow aid into Gaza. Additionally, the court has found that Israel breached its obligations by putting restrictions on aid over the last two years.

    Since the ceasefire came into force on October 10, Israel has repeatedly broken it, both in bombing Gaza and in not letting the required amount of aid over the border.

    On October 15, the United Nations (UN) confirmed Israel was only letting half of the required aid trucks into Gaza

    By October 18, there were already 47 recorded violations of the ceasefire. These resulted in Israel murdering 38 Palestinians and injuring 143 more.

    ICJ eviscerates Israel

    But now, the ICJ has published a damning advisory opinion which, above all else, states that Israel has failed to uphold its humanitarian obligations as an occupying power under the Geneva Convention. In doing so, Israel failed to ensure that it had met the “basic needs” of the Palestinian population.

    Importantly, Israel has banned the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) since January – claiming that it lacks neutrality and Hamas, along with other armed groups, had infiltrated the organisation.

    Of course, these claims are unsubstantiated, and instead, the court found that the organisation are the backbone of all humanitarian assistance in the area. This means there is an:

    Obligation of Israel not to impede operations of United Nations entities, other international organizations and third States, and to co-operate in good faith with United Nations to ensure respect for right of Palestinian people to self-determination.

    The ICJ has previously made two other rulings related to Israel’s war crimes in Gaza. In July 2024, the court ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories was illegal. It had previously issued a ruling demanding that Israel take immediate measures to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza.

    ‘An obligation to protect medical personnel’

    The advisory opinion states that Israel is obligated to supply the Occupied Palestinian Territory with “essential supplies and health services”. It also states that Israel is under:

    negative obligation not to impede provision of such supplies and services.

    Article 55 of the Geneva Convention requires the occupying power to provide the population with food and medical supplies. In particular, it should:

    bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate.

    This means that Israel must not block the delivery of supplies or health services, which, everyone who has been paying attention knows, it has been doing for well over two years.

    Additionally, the advisory opinion says Israel has an:

    Obligation to respect and protect relief and medical personnel and facilities — Principle that humanitarian relief personnel must be respected and protected forming part of customary international law — Personnel participating in relief actions also protected by principle of distinction, unless and for such time as they directly participate in hostilities.

    Article 56 of the Geneva Convention reiterated this. It states:

    The Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring and maintaining, with the cooperation of national and local authorities, the medical and hospital establishments and services, public health and hygiene in the occupied territory, with particular reference to the adoption and application of the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics. Medical personnel of all categories shall be allowed to carry out their duties.

    This means that bombing hospitals? Illegal. Murdering medics? Illegal. Injuring Red Cross workers? Also very illegal.

    Of course, we know this. The majority of the international community knows this. These are the same legal arguments that lawyers have been using since Israel started its Genocide. Except now, it’s come from the most prestigious court in the world.

    ‘Starvation as a method of warfare’

    It is well documented that Israel has used starvation as a method of warfare.

    Obviously, Article 54 of the Geneva Convention prohibits this. Even more obviously, this has never stopped Israel from starving Palestinians.

    The advisory found that Israel blocked the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip from March 2 to May 18, 2025. The court also viewed that the actions of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since May 2025 were not sufficient to alleviate the situation. It reinforced:

    The Court further refers to its finding that the local population in the Gaza Strip has been inadequately supplied. In these circumstances, the Court recalls Israel’s obligation not to use starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare.

    The advisory then noted how a global initiative aimed at enhancing food security and nutrition analysis, which includes organisations such as UNICEF, the World Bank and the WHO, found that as of May 2025:

    the entire population of the Gaza Strip faced high levels of acute food insecurity, with half a million people facing starvation.

    It then later reported that the conditions in the Gaza Strip had “drastically deteriorated since then” and as of the end of August 2025, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip had:

    become catastrophic, with evidence of famine, mass displacement, extreme levels of deprivation and
    a continued increase in civilian casualties, including children.

    A damning vindication

    The contents of this advisory opinion are not news to anyone. However, it means that Israel no longer has a legal leg to stand on. And the point here is that Israel has never had a legal leg to stand on. However, mainstream media can no longer pretend that they do not know, or that the rulings are open to interpretation. They will, of course. But, this is a significant step from the ICJ in its condemnation of Israel.

    And, the ruling is a damning vindication of every single expert who has been arguing these same legal points for years. From debating whether Israel is an occupying power and therefore Palestinians have a right to armed resistance, to Israel’s legal and moral obligations to the people of Gaza – it’s all here in black and white.

    There is no doubt that the United Nations should suspend Israel. And ultimately, Israel has no recourse whatsoever anymore to pretend that it is remotely acting in defence of its borders or interests. Morally, it never did, but with this ruling, there couldn’t be more of a legal precedent set to characterise their actions.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By HG

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Why The Gaza Tribunal Is Still Needed After Trump’s Ceasefire

    The Gaza Tribunal, a people’s tribunal, was formed a year ago in response to the failure of the established world order of sovereign states and international institutions to stop what experts and ordinary people increasingly recognised as genocide in Gaza.

    The Gaza Tribunal will hold its final session from 23-26 October 2025 at Istanbul University.

    Our initiative was inspired by an earlier civil society effort during the Vietnam War, when leading public intellectuals Bertrand Russell and Jean-Paul Sartre established the Russell Tribunal, which held hearings in 1966 and 1967.

    The post Why The Gaza Tribunal Is Still Needed After Trump’s Ceasefire appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • 80th Palestinian to die in Israeli occupation jails since October 7, 2023

    Another Palestinian has died in Israeli occupation prisons, the 80th to do so since October 7, 2023. The killing comes just a day after that of 49-year-old Mahmoud Talal Abdullah. He died from medical neglect while in custody.

    69-year-old Palestinian political prisoner Kamel Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Ajrami, who was abducted from the Gaza Strip on October 25, 2024, passed away at the occupation’s Soroka Hospital, after being held in Naqab Prison. He was married and was a father to six children.

    On the same day as Al-Ajrami died in custody, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) released a statement about the serious deterioration in the health of another prisoner, who contracted scabies more than six months ago but has been denied treatment. Israeli occupation forces also detained Azmi Nader Abu Hlayel, 31, from Hebron, in Ofer Prison since December 2024. His lawyer reports that he now has boils spreading across his back and ulcers appearing on his skin, and is unable to sleep.

    Israeli prisons: Another prisoner seriously assaulted by prison staff

    prison forces assaulted Abu Hlayel last September after repeatedly requesting medical treatment. They fired rubber bullets at him, making his condition much worse. There is also a policy of systematic starvation in the prison, which has made his weight drop to 49 kilogrammes.

    Thousands of detainees have contracted Scabies skin disease while inside Israeli occupation prisons. The disease has become a tool of torture due to the Israeli Prison Service’s deliberate efforts to maintain the conditions that cause it. These include a shortage of cleaning materials and disinfectants, depriving prisoners of regular showers, and a lack of clean clothes, if any.

    Denial of treatment used by ‘Israel’ as a form of torture

    The Israeli occupation’s prison administration constantly ignores prisoners’ repeated requests for treatment. This has led many prisoners to die from the spread of epidemics and skin diseases. According to the PPS, Palestinian prisoners in the occupation’s jails are facing an escalating health catastrophe. This, alongside daily forms of oppression and violation, remains part of a policy aimed at gradually torturing and killing them.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • HRF files ICC case vs 24 Israeli troops for murder of Hind Rajab and family

    Earlier this week the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) revealed via an Al Jazeera documentary the identities of occupation commanders and troops responsible for the horrific murder of five-year-old Hind Rajab and her family in a hail of 355 bullets from a tank machine gun. Shortly afterward, the HRF, which is named after the young victim, submitted a 120-page Article 15 dossier to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands. The dossier names twenty-four ‘Israeli’ soldiers and their commanders accused of the murders of Hind and six members of her family in January last year, along with Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun, the two Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics despatched to try to help them.

    Hind Rajab murdered by Israeli ‘Vampire Empire Company’

    According to the HRF submission, the twenty-four accused perpetrators are linked to the so-called ‘Vampire Empire Company’ of the 52nd Armoured Battalion, part of Israel’s 401st Armoured Brigade. The complaint names:

    • Colonel Beni Aharon, Commander of the 401st Armoured Brigade
    • Colonel Daniel Ella, Commander of the 52nd Armoured Battalion
    • Major Sean Glass, Commander of the Vampire Empire Company (VEC), who allegedly gave the direct order to fire
    • Twenty-two identified tank crew members directly involved in the attack

    The documentary gave names of some of the alleged rank and file perpetrators, for example tank crew member Itay Cukierkopf, other names were not disclosed and have been submitted confidentially to the ICC, for release as complaints are filed with national governments.

    The Hind Rajab Foundation dossier includes satellite images, digital evidence, and forensic analysis proving that at least one Merkava IV tank of the VEC repeatedly fired on the Rajab family’s black Kia Picanto and then targeted the ambulance sent to rescue them. The HRF says the evidence shows that these attacks were carried out with full awareness that the victims were civilians and were therefore war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide under Articles 6, 7, and 8 of the Rome Statute.

    As well as the ICC case, the HRF is also seeking national prosecutions under the principle of universal jurisdiction and the dual nationality of some perpetrators. A case has already been filed in Argentina against Cukierkopf and additional cases are underway in Europe, Latin America, and North America.

    The inevitable reckoning of truth

    HRF general director Dyab Abou Jahjah — who has faced death threats against him and his family for HRF’s pursuit of justice — said that HRF and other groups pursuing Israeli war criminals and genociders are an ‘act of revolt’ against the refusal of many governments to take action against Israel and Israelis:

    This is not only a legal act, it’s a revolt against the global order of impunity. Twenty-four names are now before the ICC, and more will follow in national courts. Justice is not a favor we ask, it is the inevitable reckoning of truth.

    The Hind Rajab Foundation is urging the ICC to expand the investigation to include the entire VEC and its parent units, the 52nd Armoured Battalion and the 401st Armoured Brigade, and to issue arrest warrants for the twenty-four accused perpetrators as a matter of urgency.

    HRF head of litigation Natacha Bracq said:

    The evidence demonstrates organised and systematic intent. The Hind Rajab case is not isolated — it represents a wider pattern of violations that the ICC must urgently address. The rule of law cannot remain selective when the crime is genocide.

    The Al Jazeera Arabic documentary’s evidence showed that occupation Merkavas were not only present at the scene of the attack but directly responsible for the deaths. This disproves Israel’s initial lie that there were no tanks in the vicinity, as well as outlining the roles of Glass and his tank company. Tech analysis firm Forensic Architecture at Goldsmiths University in London confirmed more than a year ago that the tanks were at the scene and that there were no Palestinian fighters near the Rajab’s car.

    The HRF has emphasised that the Rajab case is part of a much wider effort to hold accountable those responsible for the horrific Israeli war crimes in Gaza — and those who grant them impunity. So intensive and effective have its efforts been that the Israeli government has mounted a mass online smear campaign against the organisation in an attempt to discredit it, while also threatening violence against its officials and their families.

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Gaza after the war: Women bear the burdens of loss and the responsibilities of life

    After the sounds of bombing ceased, the women of Gaza faced a new reality imposed on their lives by the war, one that not only included the loss of loved ones, but also placed enormous responsibilities on their shoulders. Thousands of widows who lost their husbands and children suddenly became the main breadwinners for their families, in a society already suffering from stifling economic and social constraints, where unemployment, poverty and destruction determine daily life.

    Figures indicate that the Israeli aggression in the war of extermination left 56,000 children orphaned, while the number of widows rose to tens of thousands of women who are divided between caring for children, securing shelter, and trying to provide the minimum basic needs.

    These numbers reflect the catastrophic scale of the loss, but they also highlight women’s ability to face challenges despite limited support from the government and humanitarian organisations.

    Gaza women: anxiety and depression

    Psychological and social loss is no less devastating than material loss. According to a report by the Gaza Centre for Social Research, high rates of depression and anxiety among women after the war reflect a complex crisis of trauma, social isolation, and societal pressure that limits women’s opportunities for work and economic initiative.

    Women’s testimonies reflect this reality: Amira, a 32-year-old widow who lost her husband and three sons, says, “I live to survive. Every day I live is a victory over grief.” Her story represents thousands of women who embody silent resilience every day.

    Education is an additional challenge, as children face difficulties accessing schools or pursuing distance learning due to a lack of family support or resources. Many women have been forced to divide their time between work and childcare, which has affected their mental and physical health.

    Self empowerment

    The long-term impact of war extends to all aspects of life in Gaza. Women breadwinners are a fundamental pillar of rebuilding society and key to any future efforts for social and economic recovery. This requires the integration of women into reconstruction plans, through educational and training programmes and economic and psychological empowerment, not only to secure the future of their families, but also to ensure the rebuilding of a cohesive and influential society after the destruction.

    In post-war Gaza, resilience is not just a feeling, but a daily act that redraws the map of life despite the wounds. It affirms that women are the beating heart of confronting loss and transforming pain into strength and self-reliance, in a dual battle between grief and empowerment, between loss and hope.

    Women’s resilience in Gaza is proof, to the world, of the ability to adapt despite loss. But it also highlights the need for urgent and sustained support for women breadwinners; whether through financial and training programmes or psychological and social support that alleviates the burdens of their daily lives.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • American Child Details Abuses in Israeli Prison as Democrats Demand His Release

    A group of Democrats is demanding Israel release 16-year-old Mohammad Ibrahim after the Palestinian American child has described the horrific abuses he’s facing at the hands of Israeli officers in military prison. On Tuesday, Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP) shared testimony from Mohammad. Israel has held Mohammad in pre-trial detention for eight months…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Anti-Union, Pro-Israel Billionaires Are Behind Tim Walberg and His Show Trials

    In late 2023, Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina made headlines when she used her position as chair of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce to stage something akin to a show trial. Committee members berated the presidents of Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Pennsylvania about their failures to confront alleged antisemitism on their campuses.

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Starmer removes Syrian ISIS subsidiary HTS from terror ban list

    The Starmer government has formally announced that it will be removing Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from its list of banned, or ‘proscribed’, terrorist organisations.

    HTS, effectively ISIS in Syria and disowned by terrorist group al-Qaeda as too extreme, now runs Syria — despite resistance from groups opposing its slaughter of Syria’s religious minorities. Israel has a love hate relationship with them, attacking Syria’s arms depots and bombing civilian areas while seizing significant areas of Syrian territory on the one hand and engaging in direct talks for normalisation on the other.

    HTS not ISIS, I promise!

    HTS’s ISIS links have been undiluted since the takeover, with footage showing attacks on minorities and groups of ISIS-badged militants promising to drink their blood — but politicians and media in the UK and US immediately embarked on a campaign to rehabilitate its image, with the Trump government welcoming HTS president Al-Julani (now rebranded as Ahmed al-Sharaa) to the White House last month and Starmer inviting him to visit the UK.

    Starmer’s move to ‘deproscribe’ HTS comes as his minions at the Home Office continue to fight in court to maintain the proscription of non-violent anti-genocide group Palestine Action (PA). The government banned PA in July and then embarked on a mass arrest campaign of protesters, under the Terrorism Act which carries prison sentences of up to fourteen years, for peacefully opposing the decision to designate a non-violent group as terrorists.

    PA no, HTS yes

    Starmer and then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper banned PA to please pro-Israel groups like the so-called Campaign Against Antisemitism and We Believe in Israel, who promptly boasted of the ban as their achievement. The government then went to court to try to prevent a judicial review of the legality of the ban, which the United Nations, human rights groups and legal groups have roundly condemned — it consequently lost its appeal last week and the judicial review will now proceed.

    Un-banning a violent terrorist group while fighting to keep a non-violent group banned would seem deranged to any sane observer. But it begins to make (sick, perverse) sense when Israel and the Zionist lobby are factored in. Despite Israel’s mass bombing of ‘his’ country immediately after he took control, Al-Julani — always a CIA construct according to the most knowledgeable observers — promptly declared that Israel is not an enemy of Syria. For all its peacefulness non-violent PA, of course, would remain implacably opposed to Israel’s occupation, apartheid and genocide.

    Actual deaths deathsquads who bow the knee to Israel get un-banned, while non-violent groups who won’t are terrorists. Starmer’s (and Israel’s) Britain.

    By Skwawkbox

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Court orders Israel to pay reparations to Palestinian fishermen

    A court has ordered Israel to return 150,000 ILS, the equivalent of more than £33,500 to two fishermen from Gaza whose boats were seized by the Israeli occupation Forces navy, in 2022, and were destroyed.

    Israel forced to return £33,500 after court ruling

    Haifa Maritime Court has ruled that the State of ‘Israel’ must return the money, to Jihad and Mohammed Al Hassi, who are both members of a long-established fishing family from Gaza.

    After the seizure and transfer of the boats to ‘Israel’, the occupation petitioned the Haifa District Court with an unprecedented request to allow it to permanently confiscate the vessels, arguing that the boats had been seized for violating its restrictions on the permitted fishing zone it enforces off the Gaza coast.

    The occupation’s maritime restrictions are illegal under international law

    The fishermen were represented in court by human rights organisations Gisha and Adalah, who claimed that the restrictions on Gaza’s maritime area are illegal under international law, and Israel has no authority to seize or confiscate civilian fishing boats.

    During the court proceedings, an interim order was issued, which allowed the fishermen to get their boats back, as long as they provided a deposit of 150,000 shekels as a guarantee, and they were told they must return the boats if the court later ruled in the Israeli occupation’s favor. When the boats were returned to their owners, they were in poor condition and had been stripped of vital equipment.

    Widespread destruction of Gaza’s fishing boats by ‘Israel’, and the industry decimated

    Gaza’s fishing sector has been decimated by the occupation, bombing and sinking most of the boats docked in its fishing ports, including the two boats belonging to the Al Hassi family. Satellite imagery published by Forensic Architecture, submitted to the court by the two organisations, showed that Israeli strikes destroyed all the fishing vessels in the Gaza Fishermen’s Port.

    Adalah and Gisha had asked the court to refund the financial bond deposited by the fishermen, because of the extensive damage caused. ‘Israel’ refused, claiming there was no proof that the boats had been destroyed and that it was up to the fishermen to prove this damage, even though they had been displaced to southern Gaza and would have to risk their safety to reach the port. It also was wanted to continue legal proceedings to secure the permanent confiscation of the boats.

    The judge accepted the evidence that the boats had been destroyed, and ruled that ‘Israel’ must return the bond, saying: “It is impossible to ignore the realities on the ground and to demand that the respondents produce better evidence of the condition and destruction of the boats. The applicant’s lawyers claim that they could simply go to the port and photograph the boats completely disregards the situation. Large parts of Gaza are destroyed, and anyone moving about risks being hit by ongoing fire. In such circumstances, it is unreasonable to require the respondents to endanger themselves or others to obtain better evidence.”

    ‘Long-standing pattern of harassment and targeting of Gaza’s fishermen’

    After the ruling, Gisha and Adalah responded by saying: “After the outbreak of the war, Israel destroyed the port and the boats docked there. Yet it still sought to add insult to injury by seizing the fishermen’s money as they faced displacement, starvation, and constant risk to their lives. We welcome the ruling prohibiting the forfeiture of the financial guarantees, which were seized in violation of international law, as part of a long-standing pattern of harassment and targeting of Gaza’s fishermen.”

    The fishing industry was once central to Gaza’s economy, with an estimated 6,000 Gaza residents relying on the fishing industry, before October 2023, for their primary source of income, of whom approximately 4,500 were fishermen and boat owners. The sector supported around 110,000 people. Fishing was one of the few autonomous food production sectors in the Strip, and provided good quality protein at a low price compared to other foods.

    Gaza’s fishing industry is now decimated, with the Israeli occupation restricting fishermen’s movement and enforcing designated maritime zones. This makes fishing a dangerous job, and very difficult economically.

    In an incident earlier today, October 21, the Palestinian Fishermen’s Syndicate announced that ‘Israeli’ military boats opened fire at a fishing boat, and arrested three Palestinian fishermen while they were working off the coast of Gaza City.

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Israeli Knesset Advances Bill to Annex West Bank As JD Vance Visits Israel

    The Israeli legislature advanced a bill calling for Israel to annex the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, amid U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel. The Knesset approved legislation for Israel to apply “sovereignty” over the Palestinian territory in a preliminary vote, narrowly passing with 25 members for and 24 against. The move is the first in a series of votes required for a bill…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Welcome To Hell, Remembrances Of Time In Israeli Prison

    They loaded the bus with us and we sat there for a while without moving. “Don’t take your blindfold off, they have a camera,” someone observed.

    “They are recording everything we are saying,” said another comrade.

    I recognized the voice of the activist sitting next to me. He was a big guy, well over six feet tall. I was squashed into the corner of the last row of the bus. I tried to sit sideways to get more room. The steel seats of the bus made that difficult. It was uncomfortable. At least they didn’t zip tie my hands too tightly.

    It must have been well after midnight when the bus started moving. We were all tired. I dozed fitfully, the whine of the bus transmission in my ears.

    The post Welcome To Hell, Remembrances Of Time In Israeli Prison appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.