My understanding is that I am unable to mention many issues contained in this article due to secret court orders: UK judge Gags Palestine Action Defendants to Secure ‘Terror’ Stitch-Up so I won’t do that. What I will say is that the UK government and state has gone to considerable lengths to restrict the rights of Palestine Action defendants and supporters of Palestine Action persecuted for holding signs.
At Woolwich Crown Court, there has been a shocking development in the Filton case, five of the six defence barristers have left the trial following judicial rulings which cannot be reported until the end of the trial.
A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said today:
“In recent years we have seen judicial rulings that banned climate campaigners from saying the words ‘fuel poverty’ and ‘climate change’ in their trials.
Today we understand a judicial ruling has been given that goes even further, and as a response the legal professionals representing five of the six defendants on trial in the Filton case have no choice but to leave the trial because they have been left with literally nothing they can say in closing arguments.
We should all be alarmed to hear that the legal process has been so corrupted that, today we have lawyers in the UK walking away from a trial because it is impossible for them to do their job of defending their clients.”
The trial of the first six defendants from the group known as the ‘Filton24’ has reached the stage of closing arguments. Five of the six defendants will now be giving their own closing speeches as they have no legal representation.
This is a retrial on charges of criminal damage, after the 6 Filton defendants were acquitted in February 2026 by a jury for the charges of aggravated burglary and violent disorder. The case relates to an action against Elbit’s weapons ‘research and development’ hub in Filton, Bristol, in which they are accused of destroying Israeli quadcopter drones.
Zarah Sultana Exposes ‘Attack on Civil Liberties’ That British Media Can’t Report
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US President Donald Trump has instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Citing US officials, the report said that in recent meetings, Trump opted to continue squeezing Iran’s economy and oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports.
He assessed that his other options—resume bombing or walk away from the conflict—carried more risk than maintaining the blockade, officials added, the report said.
The US and Israel launched a joint offensive against Iran on Feb. 28, prompting Tehran to respond with strikes on what it described as US interests across the region, many of them in Gulf countries.
READ: Trump meets national security team to discuss Iran’s proposal: White House
A ceasefire was announced on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, followed by talks hosted in Islamabad on April 11-12, but the negotiations ended without an agreement.
Trump later said the truce had been extended at Pakistan’s request pending a proposal from Tehran.
He signaled Monday that he was unlikely to accept Iran’s latest proposal to end the war after Tehran proposed a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while leaving questions about its nuclear program for later negotiations.
READ: Former US official: Iran war is direct extension of ‘Greater Israel’ project
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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The United States is considering a partial agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report published on Tuesday.
A Pakistani official familiar with the matter told The Washington Post that Iran has asked Washington to lift the blockade imposed on its ports in exchange for reopening the strategic waterway to maritime traffic.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions, did not clarify whether Tehran would continue to require coordination for ship transit or impose fees on vessels.
READ: Iran ties lifting of blockade to reopening Hormuz Strait as US reviews proposal
The newspaper said Iran is linking the lifting of the blockade on its ports to reopening the Strait of Hormuz for navigation.
Some officials believe that reaching a deal focused on reopening the strait may be the most realistic option at present, given the stalled nuclear negotiations. Others warn that any partial agreement may not alter Iran’s long-term strategic behaviour.
US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social on Tuesday that “Iran has just informed us that they are in a ‘State of Collapse’. They want us to ‘Open the Hormuz Strait,’ as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation.”
READ: Report reveals scale of damage to US bases in Gulf after Iranian strikes
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Former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo sharply criticized Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank, likening recent assaults by the occupiers to the Holocaust, saying he felt “ashamed to be Jewish,” Anadolu reports.
Pardo condemned escalating violence by Israeli occupiers against Palestinians, calling it an “existential threat” to the state, the Times of Israel reported.
“My mother was a Holocaust survivor, and what I saw reminded me of the events that happened against Jews in the last century,” Pardo said during a tour of Palestinian villages that have come under attack in recent months.
“What I saw today made me feel ashamed to be Jewish.”
Pardo made the comments to Channel 13 while touring the area alongside former senior military officials, including Matan Vilnai and Amram Mitzna.
“What I saw today is the existential threat to the State of Israel,” he warned.
Pardo added that Israeli law enforcement authorities are aware of the situation but have “chosen to ignore it.”
READ: Israeli commander warns settler violence in West Bank “could end in disaster”
He cautioned that efforts to curb extremist occupiers – some of whom he said are armed and have political backing – could trigger internal conflict.
“Pushing back on them could spark a civil war,” he said, pointing to the influence of far-right figures within the government like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Across the West Bank, attacks by Israeli occupiers have been on the rise, including raids on villages and acts of vandalism, with Palestinians accusing the Israeli army of providing protection for such assaults.
The UN considers Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories illegal and has repeatedly called for a halt to settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
About 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in 141 illegal settlements and 224 outposts in the West Bank, including around 250,000 in East Jerusalem, which the UN considers part of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Since October 2023, attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers in the West Bank have killed at least 1,154 Palestinians, injured about 11,750 others, and led to nearly 22,000 arrests, according to official Palestinian data.
These violations include property destruction, home burnings, forced displacement, and expansion of illegal settlement activity, with Palestinians warning that such policies pave the way for the annexation of parts of the West Bank by Israel.
READ: Israeli blockade threatens shutdown of only oxygen plant in northern Gaza