Yearly Archives: 2025

Israeli forces raid Al Jazeera office in Ramallah, extend closure order

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Pictures of slain al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh hang on the facade of the building housing the television station’s office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, after Israel issued a 45-day closure order on September 22, 2024. [ JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images]

Israeli occupation forces raided the closed Al Jazeera office in central Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, shortly after midnight.

The troops extended the closure order for an additional 60 days and posted a new military order on the office entrance, according to the network.

In September last year, Israeli forces stormed the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah under a military order, handed its staff a closure notice, confiscated all equipment and documents, and barred employees from using their vehicles.

Al Jazeera had previously condemned the raid and shutdown, saying such repressive actions are aimed at preventing the world from seeing the true situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and the ongoing war on Gaza. Widespread reactions have since condemned the move.

In a statement, the network described the raid as a “criminal act” and said the ongoing Israeli crackdown on free media seeks to conceal its actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The statement rejected the Israeli authorities’ claims used to justify what it called an unlawful raid. It held the government of Benjamin Netanyahu fully responsible for the safety of its journalists and vowed to pursue legal steps to defend its rights and those of its staff.

Al Jazeera also affirmed its commitment to continue reporting the truth with professionalism and impartiality, despite Israeli measures aimed at silencing it.

WATCH: Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters march across Sydney Harbour Bridge

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Continue ReadingIsraeli forces raid Al Jazeera office in Ramallah, extend closure order

Morning Star Editorial: Israeli extremism, Western hypocrisy and Palestinian statehood

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/israeli-extremism-western-hypocrisy-and-palestinian-statehood

 People walk down a street surrounded by buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip, July 29, 2025

ISRAELI ministers have again exposed how hollow are Western claims to back a two-state solution.

Yet global opinion on Israel’s colonial project has reached a tipping point — and the prospect of real change cannot be dismissed.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir leads settlers in a march through occupied East Jerusalem. En route, he calls for Israel to annex Gaza.

Defence Minister Israel Katz decrees: “We will strengthen our hold and sovereignty over Jerusalem, at the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount, forever.”

These are not aberrations: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that he will never tolerate a Palestinian state.

Faced with such extremism, any government serious about a Palestinian state would need to impose tough conditions on Israel: full withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza included.

Yet what conditions do they seek to apply?

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Britain will recognise Palestine unless Israel “takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza.”

Feeble as that is, at least Starmer makes demands of the aggressor, Israel.

Canada’s Mark Carney decided to lecture the people being massacred. Canada would recognise Palestine — subject to democratic reforms, including elections in which (very democratically) Hamas would be banned.

France’s Emmanuel Macron repeated that an independent Palestine would need to be demilitarised — as if Palestine threatens the existence of Israel, rather than the other way around.

The coloniser’s mindset. Palestine can be “independent,” but only if it chooses leaders we like, and has no means of defending itself.

…

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/israeli-extremism-western-hypocrisy-and-palestinian-statehood

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.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
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 ReadingMorning Star Editorial: Israeli extremism, Western hypocrisy and Palestinian statehood

Evidence pointing to genocide in Gaza overwhelming, says ex-war crimes prosecutor

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Mr Graham Blewitt who was a former prosecutor for the International War Crimes Tribunal in Sydney on 4 December 2005. [Photo by Fairfax Media via Getty Images]

A former deputy prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia said the amount of evidence pointing to genocide in Gaza is overwhelming and likened the situation to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Anadolu reports.

Graham Blewitt, who helped prosecute war crimes in the Balkans and Nazi crimes in Australia, said in a recent interview with Australian broadcaster SBS News that if he were working in the International Criminal Court today, he would have “no hesitation in bringing an indictment against the Israeli leaders for genocide.”

Blewitt said the mass killings in Srebrenica, where over 8,000 Muslim men and boys were murdered and buried in 570 sites — including 77 mass graves — was once deemed a “clear-cut genocide” due to the perpetrators’ intent to destroy a targeted group in whole or in part.

He said the same standard may apply to Gaza.

“There’s no direct evidence apart from comments made by various Israeli leaders from time to time suggesting that they just want to wipe the Palestinians from the face of the Earth,” he said.

Blewitt added that the Israeli air campaign has shown a disturbing lack of proportionality.

“They’ll bomb a building and say they’re after a particular Hamas leader and not worry about the 30, 40, 50, 100 people in close proximity who are killed or injured as a result of that strike,” he said.

READ: Israelis committing genocide in Gaza, with US ‘complicit’: Geopolitical expert

Unlike in the 1990s, today’s digital age has created a vast archive of visual documentation.

“Now anyone with a phone can record what’s happening, and there’s no end of evidence for those investigating what’s happening in Gaza,” he said.

However, he also warned that investigators currently lack access to Gaza to collect physical evidence or inspect crime scenes on the ground.

– Interference with justice

Blewitt also raised concerns over global political efforts to shield Israeli leaders from prosecution.
He criticized US President Donald Trump’s February executive order that sanctioned ICC staff after the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He described it as “an appalling situation” that undermines international justice and could lead some political leaders to be held in contempt.

Blewitt said the situation has left him deeply frustrated.

“I used to be quite optimistic about the capacity of international institutions to hold war criminals accountable,” he said. “Now, I’m not so sure.”

His remarks come as the International Court of Justice continues to examine a case brought by South Africa, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. The case has placed Israel’s conduct under intensifying legal scrutiny.

READ: New poll shows declining trust in Israeli government, army

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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.
Continue ReadingEvidence pointing to genocide in Gaza overwhelming, says ex-war crimes prosecutor

Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli provocations at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque

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Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir leads a large group of illegal settlers in a provocative march and mass incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, coinciding with the Jewish commemoration of Tisha B’Av in East Jerusalem on August 3, 2025. [Gazi Samad – Anadolu Agency]

Saudi Arabia on Sunday strongly condemned repeated Israeli provocations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, following an intrusion by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the flashpoint site, Anadolu reports.

Ben-Gvir led a large group of illegal settlers in a mass incursion into the mosque complex early Sunday to mark the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av.

“These repeated provocative practices by officials of the Israeli occupation government at Al-Aqsa Mosque only serve to fuel conflict in the region,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry warned in a statement.

The kingdom stressed that such actions “violate international laws and norms” and undermine peace efforts.

Riyadh reiterated its “continued demand that the international community stop the practices of Israeli occupation officials” and called for urgent international intervention.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.

READ: Far-right Israeli minister leads mass illegal settler incursion into Al-Aqsa Mosque

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Continue ReadingSaudi Arabia condemns Israeli provocations at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque

Far-right Israeli minister leads mass illegal settler incursion into Al-Aqsa Mosque

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Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (3rd R) led a large group of illegal settlers in a provocative march and mass incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on August 03, 2025. [Jerusalem Islamic Waqf – Anadolu Agency]

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir led a large group of illegal settlers in a provocative march and mass incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem early Sunday, coinciding with the Jewish commemoration of Tisha B’Av.

According to the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, at least 1,251 illegal Israeli settlers stormed the mosque compound in the morning hours performing Talmudic rituals, singing, and dancing under heavy police protection.

Among the participants was Likud lawmaker Amit Halevi, who joined Ben-Gvir in what Palestinian officials called an “unprecedented escalation in political and religious incitement,” according to Wafa news agency.

The Jerusalem Governorate warned of the seriousness of this large-scale, organized incursion, calling it a “systematic violation” of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the rights of Palestinian worshippers, Anadolu reports.

The incursion included assaults on Muslim worshippers, journalists, and Al-Aqsa guards.

In a statement from within the compound, Ben-Gvir said “the Temple Mount is for the Jews, and we will remain here forever,” sparking widespread condemnation.

READ: Ben-Gvir slams German FM over Palestine statehood recognition plans

The incursion came hours after Ben-Gvir led another illegal settler march through the Old City of Jerusalem after midnight.

The events were organized by extremist “Temple Mount” groups, which had called for mass entry into the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday to mark Tisha B’Av, which they refer to as the “anniversary of the Temple’s destruction.”

The Jerusalem Governorate described this year’s Tisha B’Av as one of the most dangerous days for Al-Aqsa, citing plans by the groups to designate Aug. 3 as the “largest day of incursions.”

The statement added that the Israeli government’s full alignment with illegal settler groups was emboldening efforts to alter the religious and legal status of the mosque.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.

READ: Palestine warns against mass storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by illegal Israeli settlers

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Continue ReadingFar-right Israeli minister leads mass illegal settler incursion into Al-Aqsa Mosque