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Protesters gathered outside the White House to demonstrate against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, DC, on February 11, 2026. [Celal Güneş – Anadolu Agency]
On the eve of a planned visit, Human Rights Watch on Friday has called on Hungarian authorities to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he enters the country, Anadolu reports.
The visit, set to start Saturday, comes weeks before Hungary’s April 12 general elections.
“Despite its move to leave the ICC (International Criminal Court), Hungary is still a member country and is still obligated to arrest and surrender individuals wanted by the court,” said Alice Autin, international justice researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“By flouting this obligation, for the second time in less than a year, Hungary would further entrench impunity for serious crimes in Palestine and once again betray victims who have been denied justice for far too long,” she added.
The call comes after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in 2024 over alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza since October 2023.
Both remain fugitives from the ICC.
Netanyahu previously visited Hungary in April 2025 without being arrested. Hungary has formally announced its intention to withdraw from the ICC treaty, effective this June 2, sparking criticism from international lawyers and civil society.
Human Rights Watch also decried ongoing Israeli military operations in Lebanon, Gaza, and against Iran, stressing the “urgent need to respect the rule of law and support credible avenues for justice.”
The organization also called on EU and ICC member states to press Hungary to reverse its withdrawal and cooperate with the court.
“(Prime Minister Viktor) Orban’s government is about to roll out the red carpet again for Netanyahu, when it is obligated to arrest him,” Autin said. “Silence and persistent inaction from the EU risks sending a dangerous message of acquiescence as the Israeli government continues to be responsible for atrocities.”
Israel in October 2024 launched a two-year war on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 71,000 people, injuring over 172,000, and destroying about 90% of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated by the UN at around $70 billion.
Despite an October 2025 truce, Israel has continued its daily attacks, killing at least 677 Palestinians and injuring 1,813 others since the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump during a press conference at Chequers, near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, on day two of the president’s second state visit to the UK, September 18, 2025
The media present Starmer as staying out of Trump’s war — but we’re already deeply involved in a conflict that sees the US and Israel kill civilians on a huge scale, argues IAN SINCLAIR
WE are all being taken for mugs.
Over the last couple of weeks the mainstream liberal media has been gaslighting the British public about Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the war on Iran.
…
Starmer has given permission for the US, which is involved in an ongoing illegal, aggressive attack on Iran, to use British bases to bomb Iran — which is certainly a strange way of opposing the war.
As the media has shown little interest in seriously investigating the legality of the Starmer government’s position, it’s worth highlighting the analyses of several scholars of international law.
For example, Alexander Orakhelashvili, Professor of International Law at the University of Birmingham, describes the British government’s position of targeting missile facilities in Iran “which were involved” in attacks on Britain’s regional allies as “plainly beyond what the right to self-defence allows any state to do in such circumstances.”
He describes it as “more akin to collective reprisal,” and therefore not in line with the United Nations Charter or “customary international law.”
Writing on March 11, Thomas Obel Hansen, a senior research fellow with the School of Law at Ulster University, argues that “by permitting US heavy bombers to use its bases to launch strikes on Iran, the UK would not only make a significant contribution to the military campaign against Iran, but also one that is essentially offensive” making Britain “a party that actively supports a war of aggression on Iran.”
Adil Haque, Distinguished Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School, concurs, noting the British agreement with the US “would appear to be unlawful.” Why? “The United States is committing an unlawful act of aggression, and the United Kingdom cannot aid or assist in its commission. Air strikes against missile facilities in Iran have been, and will continue to be, an important component of the composite act of aggression. It is not possible to facilitate such air strikes without facilitating the act of aggression of which they are a part of.”
…
A March 9 YouGov survey found 59 per cent of respondents opposed the military action that the United States has taken against Iran, with 25 per cent in support (polls done by Survation and Opinium have had similar results). On Starmer’s specific decision to allow the US to use British air bases specifically to launch attacks against missile bases in Iran, a March 2 YouGov poll found 50 per cent of respondents were opposed, with 32 per cent in support.
It seems one can only think Starmer is “with public opinion” if you ignore the not unimportant fact that Starmer is actively helping the US to bomb Iran.
As investigative journalist Matt Kennard recently noted on X about the media’s inversion of reality: the “level of obedience and servitude within elite UK journalist circles — with no gulags — is genuinely incredible.”
Keir Starmer explains that UK is participating defensively in Trump and Israel’s criminal war for Israel’s genocidal expansion in Iran and states that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Starmer said it here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone …
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A child who survived the attack is seen as funeral prayers are held in the town of Tamun, north of Tubas, West Bank, for Ali Khalid Sayil Beni Awda (37), his wife Vaad Osman Akil Beni Awda (35), and their children Mohammed (5) and Osman (7), who lost their lives after Israeli soldiers opened fire on their car while they were returning from the city of Nablus where they had gone to buy Eid al-Fitr clothes for their children ahead of the holiday, on March 15, 2026. [Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency]
As the US-Israel war on Iran escalates, violence in the occupied West Bank is intensifying, largely out of the global spotlight, Anadolu reports.
Rights groups and analysts say Palestinians are facing a sharp rise in attacks by Israeli forces and settlers, alongside tighter movement restrictions and growing displacement, as international attention shifts toward the wider regional conflict.
Recent incidents have underscored the worsening situation. Israeli settlers were reported to have sexually assaulted a Palestinian man in the northern Jordan Valley, while Israeli forces killed a family of four, including two children, in the town of Tammun.
Analysts say the escalation has accelerated since US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, triggering a broader regional war.
“The Israeli government took advantage of the situation in the region by unleashing the settlers to attack Palestinian properties, homes and lives,” said Mohamad Alqeeq, a Ramallah-based Palestinian political analyst and writer.
Max Rodenbeck, Israel-Palestine director at the International Crisis Group, pointed out that settler violence had “already been growing” before the Iran war, “ever since the current Israeli government took office in December 2022.”
Just like Israel’s war on Gaza, the Iran conflict has diverted media attention, creating conditions that allow settlement expansion to accelerate, he said.
Along with the shift in focus, security measures imposed by Israel “due to wartime conditions also help, by confining Palestinians to their towns, villages or homes while allowing settlers to roam freely,” Rodenbeck added.
– Damning data
Between Feb. 28 and March 14, Israeli forces and settlers killed at least 13 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
Eight were shot by Israeli forces, including two minors, while five were killed by settler militias.
In a briefing to foreign diplomats on Tuesday, Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin warned that illegal Israeli settlers have been attacking Palestinians and their properties every day, including killings, assaults, arson attacks and destruction of agricultural land, “under the direct protection of the Israeli army.”
At the same time, Israeli forces have intensified raids and arrests across the Palestinian territory.
Rights groups have documented pre-dawn operations in areas including Qalqilya, Ramallah, Hebron and East Jerusalem, where dozens of Palestinians were detained in a single night. In another raid in Askar refugee camp, several people were injured and others arrested.
UN officials also say that Israeli security forces have carried out daily raids since Feb. 28, detaining at least 200 Palestinians, including on charges such as “incitement” or “glorification of the enemy” through social media posts.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 1,062 Palestinians, including at least 231 children, were killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between Oct. 7, 2023 and March 7 this year.
– Restrictions and displacement
Beyond direct violence, Palestinians are facing a widening set of Israeli restrictions affecting daily life, including curbs on movement and closures of religious sites.
UN agencies said movement restrictions have intensified across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since Feb. 28, limiting access to work, health care and essential services.
“In particular, increased access restrictions across the West Bank hindered the ability of ambulances and fire brigades to move between villages, hospitals, and service centers,” UN OCHA said.
Between Feb. 28 and March 3, the agency documented nine incidents in which ambulances were obstructed and held at gunpoint.
Delays and closures have also caused shortages of fuel, including cooking gas, it added.
Access to religious sites has also been restricted. Israeli authorities have limited Muslim worshippers’ access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, a move denounced by rights groups as “a clear violation of freedom of worship.”
At the same time, demolitions of Palestinian homes have increased. The Jerusalem Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights reported that Israel demolished 312 residential and agricultural structures in the first six weeks of 2026 alone.
Ajith Sunghay, head of UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said at least nine Palestinian communities have been fully or partially displaced since Feb. 28, mostly in the northern Jordan Valley.
A separate UN report published on Tuesday found that more than 36,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced between November 2024 and October 2025 due to increasing violence by Israeli security forces and settlers.
– Expansion under cover of war
Analysts say the current wave of violence comes alongside broader efforts by Israel to expand administrative and legal control over Palestinian land.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Shahin said Israeli authorities are using regional crises to accelerate settlement expansion and annexation.
She said the international community’s focus on wider conflicts has allowed Israel to push forward policies aimed at consolidating permanent control over the occupied West Bank.
Analyst Alqeeq agreed with her assessment, saying Israel “took advantage of the US military buildup in the region” to accelerate its plans to annex more land, including by increasing military operations and greenlighting settler attacks.
Crisis Group expert Rodenbeck said the situation is being driven not only by policy decisions but also by a broader climate of impunity for settler violence.
“Enabling Israeli measures include distributing weapons to settlers, loosening rules for weapons licensing, gifting vehicles (including quad bikes) to settlers, legalizing previously ‘illegal’ settlement outposts, allowing settlers to wear military uniforms, lifting the Israeli army’s right to detain settlers … failing to prosecute settlers, and extremely lenient sentences for settler crimes. That is just a quick, partial list.”
He emphasized that Palestinians “are being treated as an enemy population, and collectively punished.”
“Palestinians are already being ethnically cleansed from large parts of the West Bank, and squeezed into ever-smaller, more isolated pockets,” Rodenbeck said.
“Current Israeli policy offers no future to the West Bank’s 3.3 million Palestinians except deepening repression. It is a recipe for disaster, but just what kind of disaster we do not know.”
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Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cNKBW5LLMlsDonald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying only 9 days ago that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9dn3j04lydo
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Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, Joseph Kent. [Photo/wikipedia]
The director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, Joseph Kent, resigned Tuesday, citing his opposition to the ongoing US war in Iran, Anadolu reports.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote in a letter shared on the US social media platform X.
He argued that Iran posed no imminent threat to the US and claimed the conflict was initiated under external pressure.
Kent, a veteran who said he deployed to combat 11 times, also referenced personal loss, describing himself as a “Gold Star husband” whose wife was killed in a previous war.
“I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives,” he wrote.
He further criticized Israeli officials and some American media figures, accusing them of misleading the administration and drawing parallels with the Iraq war.
“… The same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again.”
Addressing President Donald Trump directly, Kent urged him to change course.
“You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos,” he wrote. “You hold the cards.”
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Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSUp-NdHd88Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying only 9 days ago that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. https://youtu.be/KIKaT7rMClYClimate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
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Firefighters work where rockets fired by Hezbollah reportedly struck several locations in Nahariya, Israel’s northern Galilee region, on March 16, 2026. [Samir Abdalhade – Anadolu Agency]
Signs of growing shock within Israeli political and military circles are emerging over Hezbollah’s military capabilities, with officials acknowledging that previous intelligence assessments may have significantly underestimated the group’s strength.
The reassessment follows Hezbollah’s forceful entry into the confrontation alongside the ongoing regional war involving Iran, prompting concerns in Israel about the prospect of a prolonged war of attrition.
According to Hebrew media reports and analysis, earlier Israeli evaluations suggested that Hezbollah’s capabilities had weakened, particularly after disruptions to supply lines linked to developments in Syria.
However, recent battlefield developments appear to have contradicted those assumptions.
Momen Miqdad, a researcher specialising in Israeli affairs, said a state of surprise now prevails within the Israeli establishment, particularly given Hezbollah’s military performance after months of relative silence.
“Hezbollah maintained silence despite Israeli strikes and assassinations targeting its members in southern Lebanon, which gave the occupation the false impression that its capabilities had declined,” he said.
Miqdad added that Israeli media outlets, including Channel 12, had previously reported intelligence assessments indicating that Hezbollah had become weaker than in previous years.
“These assessments have now been proven inaccurate by developments on the ground,” he said.
The shift in perception has raised concerns within Israel about the scale of Hezbollah’s preparedness and the potential for an extended and costly confrontation along the northern front.
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Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSUp-NdHd88Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying only 9 days ago that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. https://youtu.be/KIKaT7rMClYClimate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump during a press conference at Chequers, near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, on day two of the president’s second state visit to the UK, September 18, 2025
