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  • Yvette Cooper’s cosiness with Israel lobby helps explain absurd war on Palestine Action

    Home secretary Yvette Cooper has controversially decided to proscribe anti-genocide group Palestine Action. And this is hardly surprising when you look at her cosy relationship with pro-Israel lobbyists.

    Money can be very convincing

    The British government has not only failed to challenge Israel in any meaningful way as it has killed at least one child every hour in Gaza since October 2023. The UK has also participated in that genocide, in part via RAF Akrotiri.

    And that’s because Britain’s influential pro-Israel lobby has a loyal, docile friend in Keir Starmer’s government. Indeed, it has funded half his cabinet. A tax-haven hedge fund ‘standing to profit’ from Israel’s war crimes, meanwhile, sent the Labour Party £4m before the 2024 election, and pro-Israel millionaire Gary Lubner gave it £4.5m in 2023 alone.

    Yvette Cooper is very much part of this sickeningly cosy relationship. Because she registered in June 2023 that Lubner had given Labour £210,000 “to pay for three additional members of staff for my office over the next eighteen months”.

    She also received tens of thousands of pounds from Labour Together, the shady think tank linked with millionaire pro-Israel lobbyist Trevor Chinn, who has donated around £200,000 to Starmer and his cronies in recent years. Labour Together played a prominent role in undermining the left during and following the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. It aimed “to defeat Corbynism” by using “soft branding that made them seem warm and cuddly”. And it once rallied supporters to “destroy the Canary or the Canary destroys us”.

    In short, Cooper seems thoroughly comfortable with lobbyists who approve of genocide and oppose the struggle for peace. So comfortable, in fact, she even takes selfies with genocide-apologists:

    Cooper’s connection with the Israel lobby isn’t new

    Cooper was one of many “parliamentary supporters” of the Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) lobby group, before it hid its list during the ongoing genocide in Gaza. LFI has refused to disclose where it gets its money from, but claims it “does not receive any money from the Israeli government or the Israeli Embassy”. Undercover reporting previously showed former LFI chair Joan Ryan, however, talking about a £1m payment with an Israeli diplomat. The investigative work from Al Jazeera also exposed another LFI figure admitting they’d been working a lot “behind the scenes” with the same diplomat, who had been plotting against British MPs.

    Back in 2015, meanwhile, Cooper got another donation. This came from Red Capital Private, a company of former LFI chair Jonathan Mendelsohn. It gave Cooper £5,000 “to support my campaign for leadership of the Labour Party”. She lost that election miserably. But during her campaign, she had argued it was “hugely important that Labour continues to be a friend of Israel”, despite the apartheid state’s massacre of 1,492 civilians in Gaza (including 551 children) the previous year. She had also criticised boycott efforts against Israel and praised Britain’s disastrous Balfour Declaration, which boosted settler-colonial efforts in Palestine in the early 20th century.

    Cooper also received donations from numerous figures who opposed Corbyn or would go on to join the smear campaign against him. And she has attended several events of business tycoon Gerald Ronson‘s Community Security Trust, a group which has consistently sought to smear critics of Israel.

    “Disgraceful” defence of genocide

    Cooper was previously very coy about whether she would arrest war criminal Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he came to the UK. But at the same time, she has clearly promised to use the “full force of the law” against supporters of groups resisting the Israeli settler-colonial project. And she’s no newcomer to demanding the proscription of organisations that could threaten Israel’s ongoing impunity.

    Meanwhile, it seems Cooper has little or nothing to say about Israel killing or injuring at least 50,000 children since 2023. But she has spoken repeatedly about Ukraine, where Russia’s assault has killed or injured 2,733 children since 2022. And she can also find the words to condemn Palestine Action as “disgraceful” for trying to stop the machinery of war that contributes to Israel’s mass murder of children.

    Countless human rights and other high-profile groups have condemned her efforts to proscribe Palestine Action. And Amnesty International’s Agnes Callamard is one figure who has rightly called out her disgusting double standards:

    A lot of lobbying has been going on behind the scenes against Palestine Action, especially since Israel’s genocide in Gaza intensified in 2023. Some of that has come from We Believe in Israel. This is “a side-project” of BICOM – “Britain’s most active pro-Israeli lobbying organisation”. And its longstanding director was awful Labour right-winger and self-proclaimed “Zionist shitlord” Luke Akehurst (who isn’t Jewish, by the way).

    Ahead of its recent push for Palestine Action’s proscription, We Believe in Israel apparently received “access to classified documents“. And Cooper’s words, the Guardian noted, were “similar” to those the lobby group had used.

    We are all Palestine Action!

    Palestine Action itself has called the government’s efforts “unhinged”, saying:

    The real crime here is not red paint being sprayed on these war planes, but the war crimes that have been enabled with those planes because of the UK Government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide.

    The government has clarified that the protest “did not affect RAF operational output”. It additionally said the target, RAF Brize Norton, already required more funding for security. This is possibly a partial result of the RAF wasting money renting planes from a hedge fund.

    In its defence, Palestine Action also highlighted that Keir Starmer himself once:

    rightly defended protesters who broke into an RAF base in 2003 to stop US bombers heading to Iraq, with Starmer asserting that this protest was lawful because their intention was to prevent war crimes.

    But it lamented that:

    He is now bowing down to the pro-Israel groups and the private arms companies who have been lobbying government to stop Palestine Action because we have successfully hit the profits of these blood-soaked companies and disrupted Israel’s war machine.

    It added that the proscription attempt:

    is a shocking and unacceptable escalation of the Government’s crackdown on the right to protest in our country. Future generations will look at the people who stood up [to] the UK Government’s complicity in this genocide as being on the right side history. We have a long, proud history of direct action, from the suffragettes to Nelson Mandela and others, who were called ‘terrorists’ at the time.

    Finally, it called on all people who oppose Israel’s genocide to show their solidarity:

    to show how unworkable this absurd, unacceptable attack on free speech is.

    People showing support for the group in the streets have already faced police violence. But there is also online solidarity. And a crowdfunder has already raised enough funds for the group’s legal challenge:

    It also seems likely that the government’s absurd crackdown, and the mass publicity it is creating, will only add to Palestine Action’s popularity.

    To find out more about the group’s efforts to end British complicity in Israel’s crimes, see the film To Kill A War Machine, which is now available online.

    By Ed Sykes

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The ‘Godfather of Human Rights’ Ken Roth on genocide, Trump and standing up for democracy

    By Richard Larsen, RNZ News producer — 30′ with Guyon Espiner

    The former head of Human Rights Watch — and son of a Holocaust survivor — says Israel’s military campaign in Gaza will likely meet the legal definition of genocide, citing large-scale killings, the targeting of civilians, and the words of senior Israeli officials.

    Speaking on 30′ with Guyon Espiner, Ken Roth agreed Hamas committed “blatant war crimes” in its attack on Israel on October 7 last year, which included the abduction and murder of civilians.

    But he said it was a “basic rule” that war crimes by one side do not justify war crimes by the other.

    There was indisputable evidence Israel had committed war crimes in Gaza and might also be pursuing tactics that fit the international legal standard for genocide, Roth said.


    30′ with Guyon Espiner Kenneth Roth    Video: RNZ

    “The acts are there — mass killing, destruction of life-sustaining conditions. And there are statements from senior officials that point clearly to intent,” Roth said.

    He cited comments immediately after the October 7 attack by Hamas from Israel’s former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who referred to Gazans as “human animals”.

    Israeli President Isaac Herzog also said “an entire nation” was responsible for the attack and the notion of “unaware, uninvolved civilians is not true,” referring to the Palestinean people. Herzog subsequently said his words were taken out of context during a case at the International Court of Justice.

    The accusation of genocide is hotly contested. Israel says it is fighting a war of self-defence against Hamas after it killed 1200 people, mostly civilians. It claims it adheres to international law and does its best to protect civilians.

    It blames Hamas for embedding itself in civilian areas.

    But Roth believes a ruling may ultimately come from the International Court of Justice, especially if a forthcoming judgment on Myanmar sets a precedent.

    “It’s very similar to what Myanmar did with the Rohingya,” he said. “Kill about 30,000 to send 730,000 fleeing. It’s not just about mass death. It’s about creating conditions where life becomes impossible.”

    ‘Apartheid’ alleged in Israel’s West Bank
    Roth has been described as the ‘Godfather of Human Rights’, and is credited with vastly expanding the influence of the Human Rights Watch group during a 29-year tenure in charge of the organisation.

    In the full interview with Guyon Espiner, Roth defended the group’s 2021 report that accused Israel of enforcing a system of apartheid in the occupied West Bank.

    “This was not a historical analogy,” he said, implying it was a mistake to compare it with South Africa’s former apartheid regime.

    “It was a legal analysis. We used the UN Convention against Apartheid and the Rome Statute, and laid out over 200 pages of evidence.”

    Kenneth Roth appears via remote link in studio for an interview on season 3 of 30 with Guyon Espiner.
    Kenneth Roth appears via remote link in studio for an interview on season 3 of 30′ with Guyon Espiner. Image: RNZ

    He said the Israeli government was unable to offer a factual rebuttal.

    “They called us biased, antisemitic — the usual. But they didn’t contest the facts.”

    The ‘cheapening’ of antisemitism charges
    Roth, who is Jewish and the son of a Holocaust refugee, said it was disturbing to be accused of antisemitism for criticising a government.

    “There is a real rise in antisemitism around the world. But when the term is used to suppress legitimate criticism of Israel, it cheapens the concept, and that ultimately harms Jews everywhere.”

    Roth said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had long opposed a two-state solution and was now pursuing a status quo that amounted to permanent subjugation of Palestinians, a situation human rights groups say is illegal.

    “The only acceptable outcome is two states, living side by side. Anything else is apartheid, or worse,” Roth said.

    While the international legal process around charges of genocide may take years, Roth is convinced the current actions in Gaza will not be forgotten.

    “This is not just about war,” he said. “It’s about the deliberate use of starvation, displacement and mass killing to achieve political goals. And the law is very clear — that’s a crime.”

    Roth’s criticism of Israel saw him initially denied a fellowship at Harvard University in 2023. The decision was widely seen as politically motivated, and was later reversed after public and academic backlash.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Why the European Union should immediately suspend its trade agreement with Israel


    This content originally appeared on Human Rights Watch and was authored by Human Rights Watch.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • You Can’t Bomb Iran Into Zionism

    Israel and the USA have each attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations. Iran must not fall for it a third time. Negotiation is dead.

    Israel attacked Iran during negotiations between Iran and the U.S., with the next scheduled meeting just three days away.

    Trump then gave Iran a two-week ultimatum to agree a peace deal. Iran held one foreign-minister-level meeting with the U.K., Germany and France and scheduled a second meeting. Trump then attacked Iran with 11 days of the ultimatum still to run.

    Plainly the Zionist West not only has zero interest in peace, it is engaging in morally abhorrent levels of dishonesty and deception, attacking under a false flag of truce. The idea that Iran should now return to “negotiation” with such appallingly deceitful interlocutors is risible.

    The post You Can’t Bomb Iran Into Zionism appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • What The Hell Just Happened In The Middle East You May Ask?

    The US/Israel realized:

    that their regime change plans were not coming to fruition,
    that the Iranian govt had more support and stronger foundations than they had believed,
    that Israeli air defense was collapsing/exhausted and
    that an attrition war of long range strike was going to go badly for Israel.
    And Trump began to get freaked out over the rising price of oil with the Iranian threat of closing the strait of Hormuz.

    So they wrapped it up, declared victory, and demanded a ceasefire.

    Iran agreed because they too have been badly shaken through Israeli covert warfare and their own air defense all but collapsed.

    The post What The Hell Just Happened In The Middle East You May Ask? appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Washington Green-Lights $30m For Gaza Aid Scheme

    The US government approved a $30 million grant to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on 20 June under a “priority directive” from the White House and the State Department.

    According to a document reviewed by Reuters, an initial $7 million had already been disbursed at the time. This is the first publicly known financial contribution by Washington to the GHF, which until now had received only diplomatic backing.

    Two officials cited in the report said the US may approve additional continuous monthly grants of $30 million to the group.

    GHF, launched in late May, is a joint US–Israeli initiative that relies on private US military and logistics contractors to deliver and distribute aid across Gaza.

    The post Washington Green-Lights $30m For Gaza Aid Scheme appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Israel’s War On Gaza: Who Are Palestine Action?

    The British government is set to ban the direct action group Palestine Action under anti-terror legislation after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton earlier this month and spray-painted two planes.

    The group said the airbase was targeted because flights leave there daily “for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, a base used for military operations in Gaza and across the Middle East”. The activists damaged Airbus Voyager aircraft, which carry military cargo and refuel fighter jets and military planes.

    Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said she will bring legislation to proscribe the group before Parliament on 30 June.

    The post Israel’s War On Gaza: Who Are Palestine Action? appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Rights Group: Israel Threatens Expulsion for West Bank Towns in “No Other Land”

    Over a thousand Palestinians are under “critical” threat of forcible transfer by Israel after officials effectively ordered a large swath of Masafer Yatta to be turned into a live-fire training zone last week, a coalition of humanitarian organizations has warned, in what it says would amount to a “grave breach” of international law. The Global Protection Cluster issued a call this week for…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Zionists Tried to Make NYC Race About Israel. Zohran Mamdani Didn’t Give In.

    Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani secured a landslide victory in the New York City mayoral primary on Tuesday, beating enormous odds after the entire media and party establishment worked against him — and, at every turn, made Mamdani’s candidacy one big referendum on Israel. As of Wednesday morning, with 93 percent of the vote in, Mamdani was the top candidate by far…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Trump Pledges Millions to Aid Centers Where Israel Has Killed Hundreds in Gaza

    The anti-poverty group Oxfam America has issued a forceful response to reporting that the Trump administration plans to give tens of millions dollars to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed aid organization which uses private U.S. military firms and whose rollout the United Nations and international aid groups have strongly objected to. Reuters was first to report on Tuesday…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Over 100 human rights organisations call on the EU to suspend partnership with Israel

    114 international civil and human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have called on the European Union (EU) to suspend its partnership agreement with Israel. The open letter from group accuses Israel of committing genocide in Palestine, along with widespread violations of international law and human rights.

    The joint statement came ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, which was partly devoted to reviewing relations with Israel in light of developments in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. The group referred to Israel’s violation of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. That particular clause requires respect for human rights and democratic principles.

    Instead, the group made the case that:

    Amid overwhelming evidence of Israel’s atrocity crimes and other egregious human rights abuses against Palestinians throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), a credible review can only reach one conclusion: that Israel is in severe non-compliance with article 2.

    In light of this, we call on the European Commission and all EU Member States to support meaningful and concrete measures, including the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, at least in part.

    EU’s failed dialogue… and mounting public pressure

    In a statement to Anadolu Agency, Claudio Francavilla, deputy director of Human Rights Watch, said that attempts at dialogue with the Israeli government have failed:

    It is clear that every attempt at dialogue has massively failed. And this is also where the frustration and the need for the member states to act is.

    Francavilla also acknowledged the mounting anger in European streets via countless protests against the massacres being committed in Gaza. Such feeling was reflected in the tone of the statement, which took the EU to task:

    We are appalled that it took the EU so long to launch this review, despite a request by Spain and Ireland already in February 2024, international court rulings, arrest warrants issued by International Criminal Court, and numerous reports by UN bodies, independent experts, prominent NGOs and scholars exposing Israel’s very serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law throughout the OPT, including war crimes, crimes against humanity – including forced displacement, apartheid and extermination – and genocide.

    Francavilla added that double standards have become apparent in the positions of European countries, explaining that the Union acted quickly and harshly towards Russia because of the war in Ukraine, but did not take any decisive position or issue any official condemnation of the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

    He pointed out that some member states are actively working to prevent the use of legal terms such as “war crimes” or “genocide” in official European statements, which empties the review of the agreement of any substance unless it is followed by practical measures, foremost among which is the suspension of the economic partnership.

    Background to EU partnership

    The partnership agreement between the EU and Israel dates back to 2000 and provides a framework for political and trade cooperation, explicitly linking it to respect for human rights. Under the agreement, Israel benefits from extensive economic privileges within the European market.

    Since the outbreak of war in Gaza last October, Israeli military operations have left more than 187,000 dead. According to Palestinian data, most of these dead are women and children. On top of that, there are more than 14,000 missing and thousands more displaced, amid an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

    The signatories of the open letter say that Israel, with unconditional US support, is pursuing a systematic policy of collective punishment and destruction of civilian infrastructure. They describe Israel’s actions as in what these organisations describe as a clear case of “genocide.”

    Absent justice and no accountability

    Francavilla also warned that the Israeli military isn’t holding soldiers or settlers remotely to account for their violations against Palestinians. Anadolu Agency reported that Francavilla:

    referred to findings by Israeli NGOs showing that the conviction rate for crimes committed by settlers in the West Bank is only 3%.

    This report comes at a time of increasing pressure on European institutions to take a tougher stance, not only to stop ongoing violations, but also to ensure Israel’s compliance with international law as a condition for continued cooperation. In a blistering conclusion, the statement concluded:

    In this context, a weak or inconclusive review of Israel’s compliance with article 2, and/or failure by the Commission and Council to suspend at least part of the Association Agreement, would ultimately destroy what’s left of the EU’s credibility – and, most importantly, it would further embolden Israeli authorities to continue their atrocity crimes and other egregious violations against the Palestinians in total impunity.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Iran accuses US over ‘torpedoed diplomacy’ – passes bill to halt UN nuclear watchdog cooperation

    BEARING WITNESS: By Cole Martin in occupied Bethlehem

    Kia ora koutou,

    I’m a Kiwi journo in occupied Bethlehem, here’s a brief summary of today’s events across the Palestinian and Israeli territories from on the ground.

    At least 79 killed and 391 injured by Israeli forces in Gaza over the last 24 hours, including 33 killed and 267 injured while seeking aid at the US-Israel “humanitarian” centres.

    *

    Three killed and 7 injured by settler pogrom on the town of Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah; setting fire to houses and cars, and protected by soldiers. Israeli forces shot and killed 15-year-old Rayan Houshia west of Jenin as they retreated from resistance fighters, after using a civilian home as military barracks; also invading several towns across the West Bank, firing teargas into al-Fawar refugee camp south of Hebron, sound-bombs near the Jenin Grand Mosque in the north, and arresting several Palestinians.

    Al Quds/Jerusalem’s old city faced low visitor numbers even after restrictions were lifted by the Israeli occupation. Jerusalem Governate reported 623 homes and facilities demolished by Israel since October 2023.

    *

    Palestinian political prisoner Amar Yasser Al-Amour was released after 2.5 years without charge or trial in Israeli prisons. Thousands remain detained illegally in this way. Another freed prisoner Fares Bassam Hanani mourned his mother who passed away while he was imprisoned. Mohammad al-Ghushi, also freed, was taken to hospital to have his kidney removed due to torture and medical neglect he faced in Israeli prisons.

    *

    The unexpected ceasefire between Israel, America, and Iran appears to be holding for now. Iranian officials say the US “torpedoed diplomacy” and have passed a bill to halt cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA.

    Cole Martin is an independent New Zealand photojournalist based in the Middle East and a contributor to Asia Pacific Report.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Board of Deputies tries to silence Jewish critics of genocide, suspending members who spoke out

    In April, 36 of the over 300 members of the Board of Deputies (BoD) of British Jews wrote a damning open letter criticising Israel’s genocidal crimes in Gaza. And the right-wing pro-Israel group has now responded by officially suspending five elected representatives who signed the letter.

    BoD in “disrepute”

    A two-month investigation determined that all 36 signatories had “breached the Board of Deputies’ code of conduct”. 31 received a “notice of criticism” from the BoD’s executive body, while the other five received a two-year suspension.

    The letter’s signatories spoke out after Israel unilaterally decided to “break the ceasefire” in March rather than seeking a lasting peace deal. It was a final straw that meant they could no longer ignore or “remain silent” about the “loss of life and livelihoods” in occupied Gaza. They added that “Israel’s soul is being ripped out and we… fear for the future of the Israel we love and have such close ties to”.

    Responding to the BoD’s decision to crack down on those who spoke out, hundreds of British Jews from over 65 synagogues wrote:

    it is not their courageous letter in the Financial Times that poses a threat to the good name of the Board or to Jewish communal unity; rather, it is the Board’s disproportionate reaction that is likely to undermine freedom of speech and to bring the Board’s name into disrepute.

    A poll previously showed that over half of British Jews “felt ashamed of Israel to some extent” and “nearly half felt that the IDF had not done enough to protect Gazan civilians”.

    Gaza genocide has exposed the BoD once and for all

    Jewish group Just Jews has previously criticised the BoD for “legitimising War Crimes“, calling it:

    a principal player in the UK Israel Lobby

    In 2013, then BoD president Jonathan Arkush wrote that the community around him “lobby unashamedly for Israel”. And that has long been entirely visible in the official stances and comments of the organisation, even during Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. This adds to its reputation from the time of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party leadership, when it played a key role in smearing the veteran peace activist.

    In the 2020 Labour Party leadership race, meanwhile, the BoD pushed candidates to back a highly controversial list of demands. Many Jewish left-wingers firmly opposed this divisive list – which, as a Jewish Canary editor at the time wrote, essentially asked Labour to “ignore socialist Jews” and “Jews who don’t support the actions of the Israeli state”.

    The BoD has reportedly spoken to government officials about protecting Israeli military-industrial interests by suppressing the anti-genocide campaigners at Palestine Action. And it seems very happy about government attempts to silence the activists and their supporters:

    Jewish diversity and resistance

    The BoD leadership has long been openly hostile to left-wing Jewish voices. As UK Jewish movement Na’amod lamented earlier this month:

    The Board of Deputies and Chief Rabbi once again offer uncritical support to a rogue state currently committing a genocide. In aligning with Israel’s far-right government, they enable apartheid, military aggression and mass civilian death.

    It had previously insisted that:

    The Board of Deputies leadership has engendered a reckless tolerance for Israel’s fanatical, genocidal politics – born from a support for occupation and apartheid that has created a moral crisis in our community.

    It also offered its solidarity to the 36 letter signatories:

    And referring to BoD president Phil Rosenberg’s critique of the signatories as “moral collapse”, it stressed:

    The Board of Deputies cannot be reformed.

    We must leave it behind.

    By Ed Sykes

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Mohsen Mahdawi Fought ICE and Won His Freedom. For Now.

    In April, Palestinian student activist Mohsen Mahdawi walked into an immigration office to obtain US citizenship. He left in handcuffs. The Columbia University student was detained by ICE and accused by the Trump administration of jeopardizing US foreign policy through his involvement in protests following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. On this week’s More to The Story, Mohsen talks to host Al Letson about his arrest by ICE, his role in campus protests, and his childhood growing up in a West Bank refugee camp. 

    Producer: Josh Sanburn | Editor: Kara McGuirk-Allison | Theme music: Fernando Arruda and Jim Briggs | Digital producer: Nikki Frick | Interim executive producers: Brett Myers and Taki Telonidis | Executive editor: James West | Host: Al Letson

    Read: Mohsen Mahdawi Has Been Released From Federal Custody (Mother Jones)
    Listen: Gaza: A War of Weapons and Words (Reveal)
    Read: Mahmoud Khalil, Finally Free, Speaks Out (Mother Jones)

    Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

    This post was originally published on Reveal.

  • The Ceasefire With Iran Reveals The Limits Of Israel’s Power

    Much of the current crop of commentary on Israel’s war of aggression on Iran has adopted the familiar tone of breathless admiration: praise for its targeting precision, the elegance of its intelligence-gathering, the almost clinical efficiency with which it eliminates not only combatants but scientists, technicians, and — under the now-naturalized euphemism — “sites and infrastructure.”

    Israel’s opening salvo in the war was, by most conventional metrics, effective. The Iranians, caught off guard, scrambled to recalibrate. Though they gradually recovered some measure of initiative, their response bore the marks of persistence and attrition rather than dominance.

    The post The Ceasefire With Iran Reveals The Limits Of Israel’s Power appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Atomic Agency Gave Diplomatic Cover To War On Iran

    Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), allowed the IAEA to be used by the United States and Israel — an undeclared nuclear weapons state in long-term violation of IAEA rules — to manufacture a pretext for war on Iran, despite his agency’s own conclusion that Iran had no nuclear weapons program.

    On June 12, based on a damning report by Grossi, a slim majority of the IAEA Board of Governors voted to find Iran in non-compliance with its obligations as an IAEA member. Of the 35 countries represented on the board, only 19 voted for the resolution, while three voted against it, 11 abstained and two did not vote.

    The post Atomic Agency Gave Diplomatic Cover To War On Iran appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Harvard Study Finds Israel ‘Disappeared’ Nearly 400,000 Palestinians In Gaza

    A new report published by the Harvard database reveals that Israel has “disappeared” at least 377,000 Palestinians since the start of its genocidal campaign against the Gaza Strip in 2023.

    Half of this number is believed to be Palestinian children.

    The report was written by Israeli professor Yaakov Garb, who used data-driven analysis and spatial mapping to show how the Israeli army’s siege of Gaza and indiscriminate attacks on civilians in the enclave have led to a serious drop in its population.

    The 377,000 Palestinians who are unaccounted for due to Israel’s genocide are approximately 17 percent of the Gaza Strip’s entire population, which now stands at about 1.85 million. Prior to the war in Gaza, the strip’s population was estimated at 2.227 million.

    The post Harvard Study Finds Israel ‘Disappeared’ Nearly 400,000 Palestinians In Gaza appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Over 1,000 Activists Hold Mass Blockade Of Companies Arming Israel

    Around 1000 activists blockaded two Belgian companies that provide arms components to Israel on Monday, calling for an end to European complicity in the Gaza genocide.

    At 07:45 local time on Monday, around 900 Stop Arming Israel Belgium (SAIB) activists, dressed in white suits, masks, and keffiyehs, swarmed the headquarters of Syensqo in Haren, on the outskirts of Brussels. At least 650 participants were later detained. Some of the arrests were violent.

    Syensqo is a Belgian company that produces MTM46 resin for Hermes 450 drones – the model that killed seven aid workers in Gaza last April.

    The post Over 1,000 Activists Hold Mass Blockade Of Companies Arming Israel appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders discuss Middle East conflict before ceasefire

    RNZ Pacific

    Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape says the Middle East conflict was one of the discussions of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) in Suva this week — and Pacific leaders “took note of what is happening”.

    The Post-Courier reports Marape saying the “12 Day War” between Israel and Iran was based on high technology and using missiles sent from great distances.

    “In the context of MSG, the leaders want peace always. And the Pacific remains friends to all, enemies to none,” he said.

    He said an effect on PNG would be the inflation in prices of oil and gas.

    Yesterday morning, US President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire had been agreed  between Israel and Iran, and so far it has been holding in spite of tensions.

    Australia had stepped in to help Papua New Guinea diplomats and citizens caught in the Middle East.

    Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tkatchenko confirmed last week that a group was to be evacuated through Jordan.

    There had been six diplomats in lockdown at the PNG embassy in Jerusalem awaiting extraction.

    Meanwhile, a repatriation flight for Australians stuck in Israel had been cancelled.

    ABC News reported that it was the second day repatriation plans were scrapped at the last minute because of rocket fire. A bus meant to take people across the border into Jordan was cancelled the previous day.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ‘Disarmiamoli!’ Brings 30,000 To Rome Against NATO And War

    Some 30,000 people took to the streets of Rome on June 21 to protest war and rising military expenditures. Organized under the banner “Disarmiamoli!” (Let’s disarm them!), the demonstration brought together workers, grassroots trade unions, student collectives, and social movements. Protesters condemned the expansion of military budgets across Europe, coming at the direct expense of public services like healthcare, education, and other public services.

    “Forty billion [euros] more will be gradually handed over to war instead of addressing our real needs, schools, hospitals, emergency services and environmental transition, and social support for those in need,” the Disarmiamoli! network stated ahead of the protest.

    The post ‘Disarmiamoli!’ Brings 30,000 To Rome Against NATO And War appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Trump’s Iran Strikes Reveal We’re in a New Era of Manufacturing Consent

    Before all the images of smoldering cities, of hooded men tortured and beaten, and of bloodied bodies lying in the dust, there was Colin Powell holding up a vial. On February 5, 2003, the then-U.S. secretary of state appeared before the United Nations Security Council and made a case for war with Iraq. Powell claimed that U.S. intelligence had shown that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Trump Says He’s “Not Happy With Israel” for Bombarding Iran After Ceasefire Deal

    President Donald Trump laid into Israeli leaders for bombarding Iran right after he announced a ceasefire deal between the warring states on Tuesday, levying a rare criticism of Israel even after bombing Iran on its behalf. Speaking in remarks to the press before boarding a plane to a NATO summit, Trump expressed frustration that Israel, in its usual fashion, unleashed a barrage of strikes on…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Does Israel really want peace with Iran?


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Israel’s Rivalry With Iran Isn’t About Nukes, It’s About Regional Domination

    President Donald Trump is touting a ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran, despite what he said were violations of the deal by both sides shortly after he announced it. Trump said he was especially angry with Israel and urged the country to stand down as he faces mounting criticism over the prospect of another U.S. war in the Middle East. “Part of the reason why Trump also was quite eager to…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • When it comes to WMDs, Israel’s are very much part of the problem

    Israel has nuclear weapons. Iran doesn’t. But genocidal war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu (without a hint of irony) claimed his recent unprovoked attack on Iran was to stop it getting “the world’s most dangerous weapons”.

    As an expert working to prevent nuclear war told us, when it comes to nuclear weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), Israel is very much ‘part of the problem’.

    Not a victim. Not ‘self-defence’.

    Israel has now bombed Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran. And it has “worked as a team” with Donald Trump, who just carried out his own unprovoked attack on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

    But as always, Israel is still portraying itself as a victim, to deflect accountability. Netanyahu has declared Israel’s actions ‘self-defence’ and claims the targeting of Iranian nuclear sites, and the country’s top nuclear scientists and military commanders, is necessary for:

    rolling back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.

    Nuclear weapons: none in Iran, but Israel has them

    Israel and its allies have been claiming Iran is close to developing nuclear weapons since the 1980s. Iran, meanwhile, has always said its nuclear programme is for peaceful civilian purposes only – a claim backed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is constantly inspecting all of Iran’s nuclear facilities. According to leading legal scholars, Israel’s actions are therefore illegal, as there is no justification for its attack.

    The settler-colonial state, meanwhile, has made a mockery of international legal systems, and has operated with complete impunity since its creation in 1948. Realising its allies will even let it get away with committing a genocide, it now sees this as the ideal time to strike its long-time foe, Iran, and weaken the ‘axis of resistance’ and support for Palestine.

    Israel’s attacks on Iran conveniently come not only at a time when it is stepping up its campaign of annihilation in Gaza – providing a welcome distraction while the slaughter of innocent civilians continues – but also in the midst of US-Iran nuclear talks (to prevent the development of a weapons programme) which, as a result, have now collapsed.

    Israel is the only country in the Middle East which has nuclear weapons. But it has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and refuses to place its nuclear facilities under the watch of UN inspectors. This is unlike Iran, whose facilities are monitored constantly and which, as a non nuclear-weapon state which is a signatory to the NPT, has also agreed not to seek or acquire these weapons.

    Dishonesty surrounds Israel’s nuclear programme

    Susi Snyder is programme coordinator for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). She told the Canary that:

    Everybody knows Israel has nuclear weapons, but the country will not confirm or deny it, and that is their policy of strategic ambiguity. As long as they don’t admit they have nuclear weapons, they don’t admit they are part of a problem of weapons of mass destruction, particularly in the region. It’s terribly dishonest and means we can’t negotiate about their nuclear arsenal, and we can’t put their nuclear programme under international inspection. They have taken themselves out of the international community by doing this.

    Israel’s nuclear programme began in the late 1950s but was under the radar for several years. Initially, US officials were deceived into thinking the nuclear site at Dimona, in the Negev Desert, was a textile factory. Then, as construction was completed, Israel changed its story and said the nuclear reactor was purely for civilian purposes, and did not contain the chemical reprocessing plant needed to produce nuclear weapons.

    Although much is unknown about Israel’s nuclear arsenal, declassified documents, whistleblower testimony and satellite imagery have provided useful information. We have learnt that Israel did not develop its nuclear programme alone. Instead, there was direct involvement and complicity from several countries, during its early development. France provided Israel with the technology and expertise not only to build the reactor, but also to construct a reprocessing plant at Dimona for the extraction of Plutonium, an essential component of nuclear weapons, while Norway supplied heavy water (a vital ingredient for the production of plutonium), which was sold to Britain and then secretly transferred to Israel.

    Nuclear whistleblower helped us learn more about Israel’s nuclear secrets

    In an attempt to keep details quiet, Israel has dealt harshly with nuclear whistleblowers, such as Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli former nuclear technician and peace activist who, in 1986, confirmed Israel had nuclear weapons, and revealed details about its programme to the British press, showing Israel’s nuclear arsenal was larger and more advanced than people previously believed.

    Israeli intelligence agency Mossad soon lured Vanunu to Italy. There, it drugged and abducted him, secretly transporting him to Israel and convicting him in a closed trial. He spent 18 years in prison for speaking out about Israel’s nuclear weapons, including 11 years in solitary confinement. He is still banned from leaving the country and speaking to journalists.

    The complete absence of oversight, combined with the lack of international pressure and public statements from global powers, reflect a broader pattern of diplomatic silence that started in the early days of Israel’s nuclear programme and continues today. Its allies, including the UK government, protect Israel by refusing to acknowledge the open secret that it has nuclear weapons, shielding it from the international criticism it deserves.

    In addition, the US has adopted a policy not to pressure Israel to join the NPT. And US presidents since Bill Clinton have promised Israel, by signing a secret letter, that any arms control efforts will not affect Israel.

    Israel’s nuclear arsenal is unregulated and ambiguous, but supported by the West

    Hypocrisy and double standards are plain to see. Israel gets Western support even though its nuclear arsenal remains unacknowledged and unregulated. Iran, meanwhile, faces crippling sanctions and military pressure over its civilian nuclear programme, despite allowing thousands of inspections under the NPT and the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal.

    Israel is not only believed to possess 90 nuclear warheads, but also to have produced enough plutonium to produce 100 to 200 more nuclear weapons. And according to new research from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), it is actively modernising its nuclear arsenal.

    Snyder said that:

    Based on an assessment of their own military spending, leaked information and satellite images, we have seen that in the last five years Israel has spent about $5.5bn on its arsenal. It has 90 warheads, about half of which can be delivered by Jericho ballistic missiles, that have a range of about 4000km. We know from satellite imagery that they are stored in caves near the Judean Hills, and are on mobile launchers so they can be driven wherever they need to go, throughout the country.

    Britain’s complicity: we supply war criminals with components for their nuclear submarines

    These caves are visible on commercial satellite images of the Sdot Micha facility near the town of Zakharia in the Judean Hills, approximately 30km East of Jerusalem.

    Israel not only has land-based delivery systems for its nuclear weapons, but air and sea-based ones too. According to Snyder, Israel’s F15 and F16 aircraft, and its Dolphin-class submarines – which are built in Germany – also house nuclear weapons. Although their missiles have a shorter range, the submarines are able to stay underwater for 18 days, can move long distances during this time period, and are well hidden.

    SIPRI estimates that Israel has 10 cruise missile warheads for its submarine fleet, which the UK has long provided components for. Research carried out earlier this year by Declassified UK found British ministers have authorised 77 export licences since 2010, to supply Israel with components for these submarines, to a value of almost £9m.

    Snyder explained that:

    The use of these weapons violates the principles of International Humanitarian Law, as you cannot use them without causing massive indiscriminate harm, that lasts for generations. It’s a huge risk, which is not limited just to the region, but to the world. So it’s really important that the world is addressing this and talking about this. There’s no evidence that exists that says these weapons have deterred war in the past. We have seen throughout history that when a country has nuclear weapons it is more likely to attack others, and act with impunity, because it feels it can operate without consequence.

    $100bn spent on nuclear weapons by 9 countries in 2024

    According to a report by ICAN, the nine nuclear-armed countries spent more than $100bn on their nuclear weapons last year. That’s an increase of almost $10bn from 2023, while companies working on nuclear weapons development and maintenance earned more than $40bn from their contracts in 2024 alone.

    98 countries have rejected nuclear weapons and joined the NPT. They are not only talking about Israel’s nuclear arsenal but the arsenals of all the nine nuclear-armed states,. Because if any of these countries use their nuclear weapons, it would pose a direct risk to these non-nuclear countries, wherever they are.

    Israel is a significant threat to Middle East security

    Israel’s unchecked militarisation and nuclear arsenal, undeclared and outside the framework of the NPT, is a significant threat to (at the very least) Middle Eastern security and stability.

    Calls for a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East have been ongoing since 1974, when Iran and Egypt submitted a resolution to the UN General Assembly calling for such a zone, because they were concerned about Israel’s nuclear programme. But although the idea has broad support from most countries in the region, Israel’s undeclared nuclear capability and its position outside the NPT are major obstacles to its progress. Discussions and conferences have taken place but no binding agreement has been reached.

    Israel always has the full support of the majority of the genocide-enabling Western countries, which have doubled down on this support since Israel has been attacking Iran.

    Just last week, G7 leaders issued a statement which read:

    We affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel. Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror.

    Keir Starmer, although calling for “restraint”, sent more aircraft to the Middle East, and on 22 June, endorsed Trump’s illegal bombing of three nuclear facilities in Iran, saying:

    Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

    Although Trump described the attacks as a “spectacular military success”, nothing is further from the truth.

    Risk of escalation amid the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

    While the IAEA has said no increase in radiation levels have been detected in Iran at the targeted nuclear sites, there could still be serious consequences because of our unconditional support for Israel: a pariah state which, according to the UN, has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, and is led by a war criminal wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    These are very dangerous times, and there is a high probability the conflict could escalate further and lead to widespread instability. In addition, Iran has, yet again, been misled by Trump and now, understandably, totally distrusts the US. The attacks on Iran (a country which has no nuclear weapons) by Israel and the US (both nuclear states) have already led Iran to consider withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and could even drive it to develop a nuclear weapons programme – one which is unregulated and unaccounted for, exactly like Israel’s.

    This year marks the 80th anniversary of the invention of nuclear weapons and their first use in New Mexico, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, which killed hundreds of thousands of civilians. Since then, more than 2,000 nuclear test detonations have been carried out, and the risk of nuclear weapon use is higher than at any time since the Cold War. A dramatic expansion of nuclear power in the Middle East is also expected over the next decade, which will create many security problems.

    Hope for the future if countries are held to account

    Israel’s unchecked militarisation, fueled by a blatant disregard for international law and oversight, has created a dangerous precedent not only for the Middle East, but for the global community, which continues to look away. But although the situation is dire, it is not irreversible.

    We know it is possible for countries to change course as, back in 1989, South Africa went through a process, with the IAEA, to dismantle its nuclear programme, completely eliminating not just the weapons it had, but also the infrastructure it had to build those weapons. There was a willingness to do this, and every material has been accounted for. Libya has also done the same.

    Similar efforts must be made to create not just a Middle East free of nuclear weapons, but a world free of nuclear weapons. Diplomacy, transparency, and a willingness to hold all parties (including Israel) accountable are the only means by which we can achieve peace and security.

    The world’s nine nuclear-armed countries are Israel, the US, the UK, France, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea.

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Tulsi Gabbard: Another Lesser Evilist Offering

    On 20 June 2025, Galloway spoke about his dream team for the next presidential race: “Tulsi Gabbard, Tucker Carlson, president and vice president of the United States of America.”

    He advised Gabbard to “resign if Trump joins the war and should make plain that she intends to run for president.” She hasn’t.

    Given the public rebukes of her by Donald Trump, speculation had emerged of her doing just that: resigning. However, Gabbard has instead attempted to win her way back into Trump’s good book.

    Two years ago, George Galloway, who served five-terms as a UK MP, and now hosts the popular Mother of all Talk Shows came across as a Gabbard fanboy,

    I have come to the view that the best possible president for the United States in 2024 is Tulsi Gabbard. I think she’s got the looks. I think she’s got style. I think she’s got the eloquence. And most of her politics, but by no means all, are as good as you’re going to get from anyone with a chance of winning the presidency of the United states. So there’s quite a few hedges and qualifications in there, but I have come to the view that Tulsi Gabbard for president is our best bet.

    Horrors that looks, sartorial, and eloquence should be enounced as foremost considerations — or even being considerations at all — for a political leader. A consideration not mentioned by Galloway was intelligence.

    When one scrutinizes Gabbard on her record, support for her would again be an appeal to lesser evilism. She may, however, be one of the best among so many regressivist politicians.

    Gabbard, in particular, comes to the fore on militarism and foreign affairs. What is part of her record here?

    Gabbard is regressivist on Palestine and Israel

    Gabbard seems not to realize that Palestine is state, unrecognized as such by the United States, that is under siege, occupation, theft of resources, and an ongoing genocide (sped up greatly since 7 October 2023). Moreover, Gabbard does not call what Israel has been carrying out since 7 October as a genocide.

    She focuses her ire on Hamas’s “evil” actions. In a 10 October 2023 interview on Fox News Tonight (hosted by Brian Kilmeade filling in for Tucker Carlson), Gabbard stated: “Israel has not only the right but the responsibility to defend itself against these terrorists who slaughtered innocent civilians.”

    On 10 October 2023, Gabbard posted on X: “Hamas is responsible for this war. They could end it now by surrendering, releasing hostages, and laying down their arms.” In other words, Gabbard denies Palestinians the inalienable right to resist occupation, an occupation that is rooted in killing, racism, humiliation, and brutality.

    Gabbard also rejected calls for a ceasefire, implying that she backs the continued Israeli military operations in Gaza. (The Tulsi Gabbard Show, Ep. 45)

    While Gabbard has never referred to Israel’s genocidal actions, she does make this accusation of Hamas. In an X post on 10 October 2023, she stated: “Hamas is a genocidal terrorist group. They must be defeated.”

    Gabbard took aim at those Democrats who are

    accusing Israel of committing a genocide. It it is the height of hypocrisy because they’re apologists and supporters of these Islamist Hamas terrorists who are calling for a genocide the extermination of all Jews not just in Israel but around the world and we’re seeing this being carried out by these violent mobs and threats and other things that are happening against Jewish people literally uh around the world.

    By Gabbard’s logic, she could be criticized as an apologist and supporter of these Israeli Zionist terrorists.

    Gabbard also opines, “This is not a ‘resistance’ movement. Hamas is a jihadist terrorist group funded by Iran, whose goal is the destruction of Israel.” (The Tulsi Gabbard Show, Ep. 45)

    She accuses Hamas of using human shields, but she does not criticize Israel using Palestinian children as human shields. Even the Zionist friendly BBC reports this.(“Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields, knowing Israel will retaliate. They provoke war, then exploit the suffering for propaganda.” Cited by Deepseek as “Tulsi Gabbard on Israel-Palestine Conflict,” CNN, 7 May 2019.)

    Gabbard criticizes the ICERD Genocide Case (2024): “South Africa’s case at the ICJ is a propaganda stunt. Hamas is the real war criminal here.” (Twitter/X)

    Gabbard is regressivist on Iran

    Gabbard has called for regime change in Iran: “The Iranian people deserve freedom from this oppressive, theocratic dictatorship.” (Fox News, 2023)

    She was also against Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal: “The JCPOA gave Iran billions while allowing them to keep terror networks intact.” (CNN, 2019)

    Of course, all the talk about Iran and its purported nuclear weapons program has now had a wrench thrown into the works as the US launched an illegal and unannounced war on Iran. Gabbard fell into line behind Trump on this illegal attack (contrary to the UN Charter and without Congressional approval). The repercussions from that US attack will become clearer as time passes.

    Galloway’s Lesser Evilism

    Back to Galloway. Is this really, as Galloway claims about a future Tulsi Gabbard presidential candidacy: “As good as it is going to get”? Have pity on the world, if that is true.

    Can Gabbard represent the conscience of a nation? Surely there are better progressivist choices.

    Right away a courageous woman of integrity such as Medea Benjamin comes to mind.

    The post Tulsi Gabbard: Another Lesser Evilist Offering first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Gaza: 90% of women applying to donate blood rejected due to severe malnutrition and anaemia

    The urgent need for blood units is increasing in Gaza due to the rising number of injuries from the ongoing Israeli genocide. And blood donation campaigns are facing unprecedented challenges. The serious health crisis resulting from Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system and use of starvation as a weapon of war has created widespread malnutrition among large segments of the population. In turn, this has led to high failure rates in the initial medical examinations of donors.

    Medical source reveals the scale of the emergency

    According to a Palestinian medical source, 35% of men and 90% of women applying to donate blood did not pass the laboratory tests, due to low haemoglobin levels, which are dangerous indicators that warn of a worsening humanitarian disaster.

    The medical source explained that the main reason behind the high number of rejections is the spread of anaemia and severe malnutrition, resulting from the long siege, food scarcity, and the complete economic collapse suffered by families.

    He pointed out that the total number of blood units currently being collected barely reaches 100 units per week, while about 50 units were collected per day before the war, stressing that this amount does not cover the needs for more than two days in light of the intensity of daily injuries. As he said:

    We are facing great pressure in securing the blood needed for the wounded and sick, prompting us to organise three weekly campaigns in an attempt to fill part of the growing shortage

    Health sector on the verge of collapse

    This crisis comes in part as a result of Israel’s medelacide in Gaza, with the apartheid state’s attacks leading to an almost complete collapse of the health system. As the World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed, only 17 out of 36 hospitals are still operating in Gaza, most of them almost non-functional or with limited operational capacities due to repeated shelling or lack of fuel, medicines and medical supplies.

    The WHO has said Gaza’s “health system is collapsing”, as Israel deliberately blocks the entry of essential supplies such as medicines, food supplements and laboratory supplies. All of this further complicates efforts to rescue injured people and provide primary health care to citizens.

    Gaza children threatened with death by thirst and hunger

    In the same context, UNICEF has insisted that:

    Gaza is facing what would amount to a man-made drought. Water systems are collapsing.

    However, because this is man-made, it can be stopped. None of these problems are logistical or technical. They are political.

    It also said:

    A virtual blockade is in place; humanitarian aid is being sidelined; the daily killing of girls and boys in Gaza does not register; and now a deliberate fuel crisis is severing Palestinians most essential element for survival: water.

    And it added:

    Just as the water crisis is manmade, so too is the malnutrition it drives.

    The drought is a result of Israel’s blockade. Children face death by thirst due to the stoppage of water plants and lack of adequate nutrition. The continued ban on the entry of fuel hinders the pumping of water and the operation of desalination plants, which exacerbates the suffering of the population and contributes to the outbreak of diseases related to malnutrition and immunodeficiency.

    Malnutrition prevents Gazans from donating

    According to reports by ActionAid, widespread malnutrition in Gaza limits the ability of the population to perform the most basic of humanitarian solidarity roles, such as blood donation, at a time when the need for such donations is increasing due to the large scale of destruction and casualties.

    According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) data released in May, meanwhile, nearly half a million people in Gaza are at risk of starvation, while thousands of families suffer from severe deficiencies in iron and essential vitamins, which is directly reflected in blood donation tests.

    In light of this tragic humanitarian scene, health teams in Gaza and international relief organisations have called for providing urgent health and food interventions for citizens, especially women and children, allowing the immediate entry of fuel and medical supplies necessary to operate hospitals and blood stations, and launching emergency food support programmes to improve health indicators that allow the continuation of donation campaigns.

    What Gaza is witnessing today goes beyond the limits of direct warfare, touching the structure of society from the inside, and undermining the basic tools of resilience of the population. Even blood donation is no longer available to everyone. While medical challenges, logistical breakdowns, and silent starvation multiply, Gazan bodies remain besieged by hunger and anaemia, in a relentless battle for existence.

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • As Trump’s Peace Deal Falters, Poll Shows Most Voters Worry Conflict Will Grow

    As President Donald Trump announced a deal brokered between Israel and Iran on Monday evening, new polling shows that a plurality of Americans disapproved of his military strikes on Iran last weekend, and that very few voters have confidence that the conflict will not escalate. The Reuters/Ipsos polling, conducted after Trump ordered the military operation against Iran on Saturday but before…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Co-op to stop sourcing goods from Israel, Iran and 15 other countries

    Retailer says ‘internationally recognised’ abuses take place in nations including Russia and Syria

    The Co-op is to stop sourcing goods from Israel, Iran and 15 other countries where it says there are “internationally recognised” rights abuses and violations of international law.

    The mutual, which operates about 2,300 grocery stores in the UK, has drawn up a list of about 100 products affected by the change, including Israeli carrots and mangos from Mali.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Co-op will take Israeli products off shelves due to ‘violations of international law & human rights abuses’

    In May, the vast majority of Co-op members voted to stop the sale of Israeli products at the supermarket. And in a 24 June announcement, the organisation confirmed that the Co-op Group Board has officially approved a policy to “stop sourcing relationships with countries where there are internationally recognised community-wide human rights abuses and violations of international law”, such as Israel.

    Phasing out from this month

    The policy makes it clear that the supermarket will strive to avoid products “from 17 countries of concern, which have been identified by the international community”. Among these, the announcement said, were “products and ingredients… which are clearly and solely sourced from the country of origin”, including “carrots from Israel”. The Co-op will begin to phase out these products from this month.

    The announcement noted that:

    Over recent years, Co-op members have made clear through surveys, engagement and motions that conflict is one of their biggest concerns and that their Co-op should do all it can to advocate and build peace.

    It added:

    Responding to this clear call from members, the Co-op Board initiated a review of Co-op’s role in building peace leading to the launch of the “Hate Divides Communities, Co-operation Builds Them” campaign. The review also included the development of a sourcing policy aligned with established co-operative values, upholding human rights and the rule of law to promote fair trading and peace.

    And it clarified that the “17 countries of concern identified from independent assessments” are:

    Afghanistan, Belarus, Central African Republic, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Haiti, Iran, Israel, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen

    The Co-op’s “sourcing policy statement” explains that:

    We do not conduct primary research into global human rights situations. Instead, we rely on six recognised and authoritative sources. These are:

    1. UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) list of human rights priority countries
    2. UN Special Rapporteurs with country-specific mandates
    3. UN Human Rights Council investigations
    4. UN Security Council sanctions regimes
    5. UK Government financial sanctions
    6. UN Security Council resolutions concerning humanitarian law or military aggression

    “A major BDS victory!”

    The Palestine Solidarity Campaign called the Co-op’s decision “a major BDS victory”. As the BDS movement says:

    Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality. BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity.

    It added:

    All supermarkets must now follow suit. By selling Israeli products, shops are supporting Israel’s genocide, military occupation and apartheid against Palestinians. All Israeli goods must be taken off the shelves.

    By Ed Sykes

    This post was originally published on Canary.