Yearly Archives: 2025

Germany slams Israel’s decision to call up 60,000 reservists to fight in Gaza city

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Israel continues to deploy soldiers, tanks, military aircraft and armoured vehicles near the Gaza border in Nahal Oz, Israel on December 12, 2023 [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency]

Germany on Wednesday slammed Israel’s decision to call up 60,000 reservists in Gaza, calling instead for “an immediate and lasting ceasefire,” Anadolu reports.

“We reject the escalation of these military operations. We call on all parties and the international community to end the conflict now through an immediate and lasting ceasefire,” Steffen Meyer, deputy government spokesman, told a press briefing in Berlin.

“We continue to push for this ceasefire with all the means at our disposal and at the same time increase the pressure for the release of all hostages,” he added.​​​​​​​

Meyer was referring to Israeli plans to call up 60,000 reservist soldiers to fight in Gaza under an occupation plan, local media reported on Wednesday.

The army’s decision came after Defense Minister Israel Katz approved a plan to occupy Gaza City, Israeli public broadcaster KAN said Wednesday.

READ: 28 children die daily in Gaza due to malnutrition and lack of medicine: Officials report

The broadcaster said the regular troops operating in the Gaza Strip would also have their tours of duty extended.

According to Israeli army radio, the number of reservists within the army will rise to 130,000 in total in preparation for “a prolonged operation that will last several months” until mid-2026 – belying any chance for a ceasefire.

‘Stop settlement construction’

In related news, the German government again reiterated its opposition to Israel’s plans to construct thousands of new settler units that would effectively split the West Bank into two disconnected parts.

We “strongly reject” the E1 settlement project,” Josef Hinterseher, a deputy foreign ministry spokesperson, told journalists in Berlin.

“As far as we know, the (Israeli) building authority has granted the permit today. The German government’s position is clear: we firmly reject this permit. Settlement construction violates international law and the relevant UN Security Council resolution.”

“It hampers a negotiated two-state solution and an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, as demanded by the International Court of Justice,” he added, urging Israel “to stop settlement construction.”

Israeli media reported last week that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved the construction of 3,401 settler units in Ma’ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, and 3,515 more in surrounding areas. The project aims to split the West Bank into two parts, severing connections between its northern and southern cities and isolating East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced the move as part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vision for a “Greater Israel,” warning that it would entrench the occupation and eliminate the viability of a Palestinian state.

The international community, including the UN, considers the Israeli settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In an advisory opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

READ: US sanctions 4 ICC judges, deputy prosecutors over Netanyahu arrest warrants

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
Continue ReadingGermany slams Israel’s decision to call up 60,000 reservists to fight in Gaza city

More than 80 rabbis urge Israel to address starvation, denounce settler violence in Gaza

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Fourteen-month-old Hazar Arfa, receiving treatment at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, is in critical condition due to severe malnutrition, as Israel’s closure of border crossings and strict blockade severely restrict the entry of food and medicine into the enclave, deepening a hunger crisis that has devastating effects especially on children and infants, on August 15, 2025. [Doaa Albaz – Anadolu Agency]

A coalition of more than 80 international Orthodox rabbis issued a statement that urged Israel to address starvation in the Gaza Strip and condemn settler violence, Anadolu reports.

Former International Director of American Jewish Committee David Rosen shared on a joint statement Tuesday, “A Call for Moral Clarity, Responsibility, and a Jewish Orthodox Response in the Face of the Gaza Humanitarian Crisis,” on social media, that demanded Israel confront the widespread starvation in Gaza and denounce extremist settler violence.

“The humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza is one of the most severe in recent history,” the rabbis wrote in the statement, underlining that Hamas attacks do “not absolve Israel’s government from assuming its share of the responsibility for the profound suffering of Gaza’s civilian population.”

They noted that Israel’s “prolonged military campaign” has devastated Gaza and they urged the government in Tel Aviv to prevent the mass starvation.

READ: Germany slams Israel’s decision to call up 60,000 reservists to fight in Gaza city

“Amid this devastation, the absence of a clear post-war vision from Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu has allowed the most extreme voices in the Israeli government—including ministers from the religious Zionist community—to fill the vacuum with disturbing proposals,” they noted, stressing that the forced “voluntary” exile of Palestinians from Gaza was one of the proposals.

They said the future of Israel depends on its “moral clarity,” calling for justice, righteousness and peace for all.

Israel has killed more than 62,100 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

READ: 28 children die daily in Gaza due to malnutrition and lack of medicine: Officials report

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
Continue ReadingMore than 80 rabbis urge Israel to address starvation, denounce settler violence in Gaza

One in five Britons would consider voting for a new left-wing party, rising to one in three young people and Labour voters

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https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/one-five-britons-would-consider-voting-new-left-wing-party-rising-one-three-young-people-and-labour

A new Ipsos in the UK poll reveals that the left-wing political party recently founded by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and MP Zarah Sultana could capture a significant segment of the British electorate, particularly among younger voters and those who supported the Labour and Green parties in the 2024 General Election. 

Overall, 20% of British adults say they would be ‘very’ or ‘fairly likely’ to consider voting for a new left-wing party. This figure, however, masks a sharp generational divide. A third (33%) of those aged 16-34 would consider voting for the new party, a figure that drops to 22% among 35-54s and just 9% among those aged 55 and over. 

The potential for this new party to disrupt the existing political landscape is most evident in its appeal to voters of other left-leaning parties. One-third (33%) of those who voted Labour in 2024 and 43% of 2024 Green party voters would consider lending their vote to a Corbyn-Sultana-led party.

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Commenting on the findings, Keiran Pedley, Director of UK Politics at Ipsos said:

These figures show that a new left-wing party led by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana has the potential to shake up British politics. A significant number of younger people are at least prepared to consider voting for it and a majority of those aged under 35 say they would consider voting for some kind of alliance between the new party and the Greens. Clear policies around change, the NHS, poverty and wealth taxes could be popular. Time will tell if the new party can turn this hypothetical appeal into real votes on a significant scale.

Continue ReadingOne in five Britons would consider voting for a new left-wing party, rising to one in three young people and Labour voters

England to sell eight times more council homes than it built last year, report finds

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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/aug/20/england-to-sell-eight-times-the-council-homes-it-built-last-year-report-finds

London’s Trellick Tower. The Common Wealth report urged the state to buy back and restore homes sold off under right to buy. Photograph: Chris Morphet/Getty

Depletion of social housing stock spurs calls for councils to have first refusal to buy ex-council homes entering market

England will sell off more than eight times as many council homes in 2025-26 as were constructed the previous year, research has found.

Right to buy is depleting council housing stock more quickly than public housing can be replaced, forcing people to spend more money on private market rents and obtain less secure tenancies, a report from the thinktank Common Wealth finds.

Its analysis of government data in England found that 38,170 social homes and 2,850 council homes were constructed by the government in 2023-24. In 2024-25, 2,260 council homes were built. There were 13,966 sell-offs of council houses through right to buy in 2023-24 and 8,656 in 2024-25. An analysis in the i Paper estimated that 18,500 council homes will be sold off in 2025-26 – more than eight times more than the number built in 2024-25.

The report concludes that if the government wants to increase the supply of social rental housing quickly, it must invest in buying back and restoring homes sold off under right to buy, alongside more council housebuilding.

Adam Peggs, the report’s author, said: “We need to pull every effective lever we can find to expand public housing. Council housing gave people secure, low-cost homes in the past. With the right framework, it can give people high-quality, genuinely affordable homes, with real democratic voice in the future too. But we need to build the political will to make it happen.

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Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/aug/20/england-to-sell-eight-times-the-council-homes-it-built-last-year-report-finds

Continue ReadingEngland to sell eight times more council homes than it built last year, report finds

EXPOSED: Britain First’s “March for Remigration” led by convicted people smuggler

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https://hopenothate.org.uk/2025/08/19/exposed-britain-firsts-march-for-remigration-led-by-convicted-people-smuggler

HOPE not hate can reveal that Lee Twamley, photographed at the front of Britain First’s “March for Remigration” in Manchester this month, has served prison time for trying to smuggle Vietnamese migrants into the UK. 

In recent months, the flagging fascist group Britain First has tried to revive its fortunes by shifting away from elections towards public protests. Under the slogan “March for Remigration”, a euphemism for mass deportations, the group has held a series of events that have brought an assortment of neo-Nazis, misogynists, crackpots and convicts onto the streets of Nuneaton, Birmingham and, on 2 August, Manchester. 

This included Lee Twamley, snapped marching alongside Britain First leaders Paul Golding and Ashlea Simon at the forefront of the Manchester event, holding a Union Jack flag aloft. 

Convicted people smuggler Lee Twamley (circled) at Britain First’s “March for Remigration” in Manchester, 2 August 2025 (Picture: HOPE not hate)
Convicted people smuggler Lee Twamley (circled) at Britain First’s “March for Remigration” in Manchester, 2 August 2025 (Picture: HOPE not hate)

However, we can reveal that Twamley was previously jailed for 20 months as part of a Salford gang that tried to smuggle 11 Vietnamese migrants across the Channel to pay off drug debts. 

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Article continues at https://hopenothate.org.uk/2025/08/19/exposed-britain-firsts-march-for-remigration-led-by-convicted-people-smuggler

Climate science denier Nigel Farage explains that it's simple to blame asylum-seekers or Muslims for everything.
Climate science denier Nigel Farage explains that it’s simple to blame asylum-seekers or Muslims for everything.
Keir Starmer refuses to be outcnuted by Nigel Farage's chasing the racist bigot vote.
Keir Starmer refuses to be outcnuted by Nigel Farage’s chasing the racist bigot vote.
Continue ReadingEXPOSED: Britain First’s “March for Remigration” led by convicted people smuggler