‘Crime Against Environment and Health’: Israel Slammed for Dropping Toxic Glyphosate on Lebanon, Syria
Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
“This incident cannot be viewed in isolation from the scorched-earth policy pursued by the Israeli army,” said watchdog Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.
The Lebanese president has accused the Israeli government of committing “a crime against the environment and health” for allegedly spraying the herbicide glyphosate on agricultural lands in Lebanon and Syria.
As reported by Naharnet on Wednesday, Lebanon’s agriculture and environmental ministries recently conducted analysis of soil near the site where Israel had sprayed a chemical substance and found glyphosate “20 to 30 times higher than the average” in the area.
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The ministries said that this level of glyphosate in the soil could cause “damage to agricultural production,” while also harming soil fertility.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun denounced the spraying as a “flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty,” and called on the United Nations (UN) and the international community at large to take action to stop future attacks.
Al-Jazeera reported on Tuesday that the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was warned by the Israel military on Monday to stay away from the border area because it planned to deploy a “nontoxic chemical substance” there, forcing the peacekeeping forces to cancel over a dozen planned activities.
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, condemned Israel for preventing UNIFIL from conducting operations, emphasizing that “any activity that may put peacekeepers and civilians at risk is of serious concern.”
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said on Wednesday that it has detected “Israeli aircraft spraying pesticides of unknown composition over farmland in the countryside of Quneitra in southern Syria” on January 26 and 27.
“This incident cannot be viewed in isolation from the scorched-earth policy pursued by the Israeli army,” the human rights watchdog said. “It forms part of a pattern of systematic destruction of agricultural land, including the burning of approximately 9,000 hectares during recent military operations using white phosphorus and incendiary munitions.”
Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Global Sumud Flotilla Announces Spring Mission to ‘Break the Illegal Blockade of Gaza’
Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Organizers say they’re “mobilizing thousands from over 100 countries in a coordinated, nonviolent response to genocide, siege, mass starvation, and the destruction of civilian life in Gaza.”
Organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla—the largest-ever activist effort to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by sea—said Thursday that they will launch a new and bigger mission next month to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian exclave, whose people have suffered from 28 months of genocidal Israeli war and siege.
Global Sumud Flotilla called its spring 2026 mission, which is scheduled to depart from Barcelona on March 29, “a historic escalation in civilian-led maritime action to break the illegal blockade of Gaza.”
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“We are sailing again this year. This time, we’re sailing with more boats, and more activists… and we are determined to break this illegal siege on Gaza and show the world that the peace talks are not really peace talks, but the further colonization of Palestinian territories,” organizer Yasmin Acar told South African Broadcasting Corporation News Radio. “We will not stop until the siege is broken.”
Global Sumud Flotilla said: “A primary focus of the 2026 mission is the deployment of a specialized medical fleet. Carrying more than 1,000 healthcare professionals and stocked with lifesaving medicines and equipment, this fleet aims to stabilize Gaza’s healthcare system and support the efforts of local medical teams who have endured two years of genocide.”
Like most of Gaza, the strip’s healthcare infrastructure is in ruins after deliberate targeting of medical facilities and workers by Israeli forces.
Mandla Mandela, grandson of South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela and a past flotilla participant, called the new effort “cause… for those that want to rise and stand for justice and dignity for all.”
Last summer, dozens of boats carrying hundreds of activists from over 40 nations took part in the last Global Sumud Flotilla—sumud means “perseverance” in Arabic—as it attempted to run Israel’s naval blockade and deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid including food, medicines, and baby formula to the starving people of Gaza amid Israel’s genocidal war and siege on the people of the coastal strip.
Israeli forces intercepted and seized the flotilla vessels in international waters in early October, arresting all aboard the boats and temporarily jailing them in Israel, where some including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg said they were physically and psychologically abused by their captors.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has made numerous attempts to break Israel’s blockade by sea, all of which ended in more or less the same way. In 2010, Israeli forces raided one of the first convoys carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea. The Israeli attackers killed nine volunteers aboard the MV Mavi Marmara, including Turkish-American teenager Furkan Doğan.
“We may not have reached Gaza physically,” flotilla activist Susan Abdallah told Al Jazeera Thursday, but “we have reached the people in Gaza.”
“They know that we care, that we will not stop at anything until we actually break the siege,” she added.
Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
UK government put on notice: potential international law breach if controversial Rosebank oil field is approved
The UK government is set to make its final decision on the future of the controversial Rosebank oil field, situated off the coast of Shetland. The project was overturned by the Scottish courts last year on climate grounds and has long faced opposition in the UK.
The argument against Rosebank, however, is not just environmental. The project could send over £200 million towards Israel’s Delek Group if reapproved.
Delek has been flagged by the UN for links to human rights violations in Occupied Palestinian Territory through its operations in the West Bank, and provides fuel to the Israeli military through its subsidiary, Delek Israel. Rosebank’s minority owner – Ithaca Energy – is majority owned by Delek Group.
Since its initial approval, the field has faced mounting criticism for its links to Delek in both Norway and the UK, with campaigners, politicians and Scotland’s former First Minister Humza Yousaf, speaking out about the risks associated with North Sea profits flowing towards Delek.
With a decision on Rosebank due imminently, the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign has put the UK government on urgent notice of a number of legal risks if Rosebank is given the green light, identifying potential breaches of the UK government’s obligations under international humanitarian law.
The UK Government has been a given a deadline of 13 February to respond to SPSC with a timetable for a comprehensive assessment of the risks associated with a decision on Rosebank, including:
- The risk of violations of Common Article 1 and Articles 49 and 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention
- Exposure under section 1 of the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 and section 51 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001
- The risk that profits generated by Ithaca/Delek constitute criminal property under Part 7 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the consequent need for safeguards, reporting and, if appropriate, restraint
- The risk of failure to meet the obligation to prevent genocide under Article 1 of the Genocide Convention
- The application of Articles 16 and 41 of the Articles on State Responsibility.
Follow the latest, including calls to action, on Stop Rosebank here.
Climate groups stage protest outside Equinor HQ
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/climate-groups-stage-protest-outside-equinor-hq
Climate activists at a previous protest. Photo: Fossil Free LondonCLIMATE activists staged an “oil spill” protest outside an energy firm’s headquarters set to start extraction in Britain’s largest untapped oil field.
Posting its yearly profits on Wednesday, Equinor announced billions of pounds in income in the last quarter of 2025, explained by its CEO Anders Opedal as a result of “new fields on stream” and “record-high production.”
The government is set to publish its decision over allowing the new project in the Rosebank fields.
Fossil Free London director Robin Wells said: “Equinor are getting filthy rich from filthy fossil fuels, whilst the UK public foots the bill. And it’s never been more of a rip-off.
“As Equinor drives Rosebank forward, they’ve newly buddied up with Shell in a new North Sea venture to dodge £1.3 billion in tax.
“The UK government must not back Big Oil’s Big Money and support climate denial. They must back people’s survival, and stop this carbon bomb. They must stop Rosebank.”
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/climate-groups-stage-protest-outside-equinor-hq