As Prisoners and Hostages Released, Advocates Decry Continued Detention of Palestinian Doctor Abu Safiya

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Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

A protester holds a placard reading “Free the doctor Abu Safiya” during a protest supporting Palestine on July 29, 2025 in Madrid. (Photo by Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“There cannot be peace without justice, human rights, and dignity of ALL,” said a top United Nations rights advocate. “Palestinian lives matter.”

As families on Monday celebrated the return of about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and 20 living Israeli hostages after the two-year Israeli bombardment that has killed more than 67,000 people and left rubble across Gaza, advocates demanded the return of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, who was captured nearly a year ago and has reportedly been imprisoned in a detention center known for torturing detainees.

Middle East Eye reported Monday morning that according to Israeli media reports, Abu Safiya was on a list of Palestinian prisoners who would be released only “if the number of those released is not completed.”

“The government has approved the creation of a reserve list of five prisoners from Gaza, who will be released if changes are made,” according to Israeli media reports.

Palestinian writer and poet Mosab Abu Toha noted that “if he and the others are approved, they would replace five other Palestinian hostages who were previously set for release.”

Abu Safiya was seized by the Israel Defense Forces in December 2024 after the IDF raided Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, where he was the medical director.

The IDF claimed without evidence that Kamal Adwan Hospital was a Hamas command center; it was the last major functioning health facility in northern Gaza when it was attacked.

As the exchange of hostages and prisoners neared over the weekend, advocates including healthcare professionals demanded that Abu Safiya be included in the exchange.

“I am a family doctor and public health practitioner. I have studied the impacts of settler colonialism on health, locally and abroad. I am demanding for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya who is being held captive by the Israeli military for fulfilling his duty and calling to protect his patients,” said Dr. Yipeng Ge. “I am calling for protection of hospitals, patients, and health workers in Gaza.”

Abu Safiya is one of more than 9,600 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, according to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.

The prisoners being released on Monday include 1,700 Palestinians who were detained after Israel began its bombardment of Gaza in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.

At least 154 Palestinian prisoners freed on Monday were forced into exile by Israel and deported to third countries.

On Saturday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on the Trump administration to “demand that Israel release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and all other kidnapped medical professionals.”

Francesca Albanese, United Nations rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, suggested that the international acceptance of the continued detention of Abu Safiya and thousands of people in Israeli prisons, many of whom have been held without charges and were detained as minors, “says a lot about [the] peace that lays ahead, for the Palestinians.”

“There cannot be peace without justice, human rights, and dignity of ALL,” said Albanese. “Palestinian lives matter.”

The prisoner-hostage exchange is a major part of the first phase of the 20-point peace plan proposed by President Donald Trump, with the next phases yet to be negotiated.

Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

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
Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government's support for Israel's Gaza genocide and the UK government and military's active participation in genocide.
Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide and the UK government and military’s active participation in genocide.
Continue ReadingAs Prisoners and Hostages Released, Advocates Decry Continued Detention of Palestinian Doctor Abu Safiya

Labour’s War on Protest

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https://tribunemag.co.uk/2025/10/labours-war-on-protest

Demonstrators hold up placards in Trafalgar Square during a protest in support of Palestine Action on October 4, 2025 in London, England. (Credit: Alishia Abodunde via Getty Images.)

Labour’s plan to criminalise recurring protests strikes at the heart of democratic life, transforming political freedom into a privilege granted by the state.

On Sunday, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans for sweeping new powers to allow the banning and restriction of protests. Her move came after the refusal of the Defend Our Juries campaign group to cancel Saturday’s demonstrations against the proscription of Palestine Action, which are increasingly becoming a mainstay on Parliament Square.

The prime minister and home secretary had both urged organisers to cancel their planned actions in light of the Manchester synagogue attack. Though they paid lip service to the right to protest, they claimed that exercising it at this moment would be ‘un-British’, with Mahmood darkly adding that just because you have freedom, ‘you don’t have to use it at every moment of every day.’ Having seen their appeals ignored, the government now intends to remove those rights.

Mahmood said the new powers would target ‘cumulative disruption’ and the ‘frequency of particular protests in particular places.’ In practice, this means giving police the authority to simply shut down demonstrations from happening. Defying police orders may result in six months in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. The home secretary described the inability to outlaw recurring protests as a technical oversight, a ‘gap in the law’ in need of closing. But far from a technical fix, the proposal amounts to the most serious assault on the freedom of assembly in a generation.

Recurring demonstrations are necessary for the very reason that the injustices they confront are recurring. In the case of pro-Palestine protests, the government continues to arm and directly support Israel’s military operations in defiance of public opinion — and even after the UN formally concluded that Israel is committing genocide. The same is true of protests against the proscription of Palestine Action, under which thousands of peaceful demonstrators have been arrested on terror charges merely for holding signs. The classification of the group as a terrorist organisation — a ‘disturbing’ misuse of anti-terror legislation, according to the UN — remains in force.

Original article continues at https://tribunemag.co.uk/2025/10/labours-war-on-protest

Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government's support for Israel's Gaza genocide and the UK government and military's active participation in genocide.
Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide and the UK government and military’s active participation in genocide.
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.

Continue ReadingLabour’s War on Protest

Jeremy Corbyn: Voters’ voices are being shut out of British politics. Your Party has a radical plan to change that

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Image of Jeremy Corbyn MP, former leader of the Labour Party
Jeremy Corbyn MP, former leader of the Labour Party

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/13/your-party-conference-jeremy-corbyn-members

At our conference in November we will use a jury service-type model to allow members to discuss and decide policy, strategy and even the name of our party

At Labour’s latest conference, one thing stood out: the party no longer believes in democracy. Members and trade union affiliates voted to back, first the findings of a UN commission of inquiry that Israel is committing genocide, and second that the government must do all it can to prevent it.

It is now two weeks since this motion was passed, but still the Labour government refuses to recognise the genocide in Gaza and allows the supply of weapons to Israel.

Over the past 40 years in parliament, I have witnessed at first-hand the democratic deficit in our political system. For too long, top-down political parties have disempowered their membership and crushed internal debate. Now, Your Party will try to do something unprecedented in British politics: forge a mass, democratic party from scratch.

When we launched, we announced that members would decide the policies, the strategy and even the name. In the meantime, we called it Your PartyIt was an apt choice because it expressed the essence of what we are trying to build: a new kind of political party that belongs to its members.

Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/13/your-party-conference-jeremy-corbyn-members

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
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Continue ReadingJeremy Corbyn: Voters’ voices are being shut out of British politics. Your Party has a radical plan to change that

Release of Israeli hostages starts in Gaza Strip: Red Cross

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

Hamas members hand over some of the 20 Israeli hostages to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) teams as part of the ceasefire and prisoner and hostage swap deal between Hamas and Israel in Gaza City, Gaza, on October 13, 2025. [Hamza Z. H. Qraiqea – Anadolu Agency]

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced on Monday morning the start of the process of releasing Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip as part of a ceasefire agreement, Anadolu reports.

According to Israeli Channel 12, seven hostages were handed over to ICRC teams.

The remaining 13 living Israeli hostages will be released at 10 pm local time (0700GMT) from the central Gaza Strip, the channel added.

All activists from Gaza aid flotilla released from Israeli detention: Legal center

– Released hostages

According to the Israeli I24 News Channel, the released Israeli hostages include Eitan Mor, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Matan Angrest, Omri Miran, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, and Alon Ohel, who are on their way to Israel.

US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his 20-point plan aimed at implementing a ceasefire in Gaza. The plan includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. The first phase took effect on Friday.

Phase two of the plan envisions the creation of a new governing body in Gaza, excluding Hamas, the deployment of a multinational force, and the disarmament of Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 67,800 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, leaving the enclave largely uninhabitable.

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

Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
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

Continue ReadingRelease of Israeli hostages starts in Gaza Strip: Red Cross

Trump uncertain about Tony Blair joining Gaza Peace Council

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

President Donald Trump gives opening remarks during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC on September 29, 2025. [Stringer – Anadolu Agency]

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he was unsure whether former British Prime Minister Tony Blair would join the new “Peace Council” planned to oversee the governance of the Gaza Strip, amid ongoing criticism of Blair’s role in the Iraq war.

“I’ve always liked Tony, but I want to find out that he’s an acceptable choice to everybody,” Trump told reporters, without naming specific leaders who might have a say in Blair’s appointment.

The Gaza peace plan, announced by the White House last month, listed Blair as a proposed member of the new council.

Trump made his remarks to journalists aboard Air Force One during his flight to Israel, where he is scheduled to deliver a speech to the Knesset on Monday.

He also plans to attend a world leaders’ summit in Egypt aimed at formally ending the war in Gaza, as the ceasefire enters its fourth day.

Tony Blair met Jeffrey Epstein in Downing Street while serving as UK premier: Report

Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
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

Continue ReadingTrump uncertain about Tony Blair joining Gaza Peace Council