The World Knows Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza

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This article was originally posted 6/12/24 but was deleted probably by mistake.

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

A woman reacts as she checks the body of a two-year-old child who was killed from an Israeli bomb in Gaza City, at Al-Ahli Arab hospital, also known as the Baptist hospital on December 5, 2024.(Photo by Omar Al-Qatttaa/AFP via Getty Images)

And no amount of Israeli or U.S. government propaganda will change that.

The ongoing war and genocide in Gaza is unprecedented. Nothing that Israel and its supporters can say or do will avoid the historical accountability of the extermination of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

The above assertion is critical, both for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine and achieving Palestinian freedom. This is why.

In all past wars and adjoining war crimes, Israel managed to push the reset button in its relationship with occupied Palestinians.

Following each war, the Israeli hasbara, propaganda machine, would start – utilizing the always-willing western mainstream media – to paint Palestinians in a negative light and to present Israel, a country that is supposedly in a permanent state of self-defense, as the victim, or even the lone defender of western civilization.

This campaign is always paralleled with the whitewashing of Israel in popular entertainment, from Hollywood movies to TV sit-coms, to magazine covers with such titles as “Gorgeous Photos Capture The Unseen Lives Of Female Soldiers In Israel”.

Generally, Western politicians of varied ideologies, along with intellectuals, news talking heads and church leaders all praise, in tandem, the miracle that is Israel.

At the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war in October 2023, for example, British playwright Tom Stoppard said that “before we take up a position on what’s happening now, we should consider whether this is a fight over territory or a struggle between civilization and barbarism.” He, of course, leaned towards the latter.

This Israeli tactic always includes the demonization of Palestinians as well, where the victim becomes the ‘terrorist’ and those under siege become the besiegers. This last claim, in particular, was expressed in the words of former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright who said, in an interview with NBC in August 2000, that “the Israelis feel under siege from the Palestinian rock throwers and the various gangs that have been roaming around.”

Why will those same Israeli tactics fail this time? Indeed, they will fail, not due to Israel’s lack of trying. In fact, Israel is already bracing for the fight of a lifetime.

One new tactic that Israel is already employing in ‘friendly’ countries, like the United States, is the passing of laws to block the mere conversation on the Israeli genocide in Gaza, so that it will have exclusive access to the American public.

On November 14, the US House of Representatives passed two bills: H.R.6408 and H.R.9495. The latter, in particular, aimed at giving the Treasury Secretary the authorization to revoke an organization’s tax-exempt status and decide when the designation would end.

Now, there can be no reset buttons. Rather, the global momentum of Palestine’s liberation will accelerate in the coming months and years.

Once these bills pass the Senate and are approved by the president, the most democratic and peaceful expressions of rejecting the Israeli occupation of Palestine and demanding sensible US foreign policy will be equated to a direct violation of the law and, in some cases, to terrorism – as defined by the Department of Treasury, at the behest of the pro-Israeli lobby.

But even these desperate attempts will not quell the anger or distract from the conversation, for the following reasons:

One, not only did Israel commit genocide in the Gaza Strip, but this genocide and extermination are being investigated and are acknowledged by the world’s largest legal institutions, namely the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Two, unlike previous investigations, for example, the Goldstone Report probing the 2008-09 war on Gaza, the international community has already taken some practical steps to hold Israeli war criminals accountable, including an arrest warrant issued on November 21 against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Three, those who routinely come to Israel’s defense, the US and other Western governments, are now directly clashing with the very international law they helped articulate after World War II, depriving them of any credibility as ‘neutral’ parties in this conflict.

For example, Biden said that the warrants were “outrageous” while the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs claimed that Netanyahu and other ministers enjoy immunity since Israel is not a party to the ICC.

Four, despite the inherent bias of western media, Palestinian journalists, isolated and killed in large numbers, managed to communicate the genocide to the rest of the world, making it impossible for Israel to hide its crimes.

Five, the impact of the Israeli genocide on Gaza has already penetrated the various layers of public opinion, unprecedented in history.

Typically, the conversation on Palestine is confined to specific strata of society, reaching academics, social justice activists and other groups interested in politics and global issues.

Today, ordinary people have been made aware of the conversation, to the extent that it is widely believed that anger over Gaza has contributed in determining the outcome of the latest US elections.

In Africa, the growing political and public interest in the Palestinian struggle have re-enlivened the spirit of anti-colonial, liberation struggles on the continent, bringing many countries, from South Africa to Algeria, back to the frontlines of global solidarity.

No amount of Israeli propaganda, unjust laws, unfair categorizations of Palestinians or the hardly-clad models of the IDF, will ever succeed in reversing these realities.

Now, there can be no reset buttons. Rather, the global momentum of Palestine’s liberation will accelerate in the coming months and years.

The price exacted from the Palestinian people for this earth-shattering moment has been high and painful, but the history of all national liberation struggles, Palestine included, demonstrates that the price for freedom is always high.

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

Continue ReadingThe World Knows Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza

Morning Star Editorial:: Another set of meaningless milestones: Starmer’s desperate relaunch falls flat

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This article was originally posted 6/12/24 but was deleted, probably my mistake.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/editorial-another-set-of-meaningless-milestones-starmers-desperate-relaunch-falls-flat

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gives a speech in Buckinghamshire as he set out his Government’s “plan for change” promising a shift away from Whitehall’s “declinist mentality”, December 5, 2024

GOVERNMENTS are never officially “relaunched” because the term is a tacit admission that something has misfired or gone badly wrong.

Nevertheless, relaunches do happen. The last one in British politics was Rishi Sunak’s bizarre and fruitless attempt to present himself as a change agent, challenging the “30-year consensus” at the Tory Party conference in 2023.

But seldom, if ever, has a government had to relaunch itself just five months after its election. The speech by Keir Starmer in a tent in Buckinghamshire is, therefore, a measure of how far his administration has fallen and how fast.

Yet a host of evidence points to Labour’s failure. Starting from an anaemic election result of less than 34 per cent, it is now polling in the mid-twenties.

And the Prime Minister’s personal figures have slumped from a plus 20 positive rating to minus 30 or thereabouts.

It is a political fiasco for the ages and one that only the Tories and Reform UK, both under hard-right leadership, look set to benefit from.

Starmer’s response is encapsulated in the six milestones unveiled today.

These six milestones follow the five missions and the six commitments launched before the general election, which, of course, succeeded the 10 pledges in Starmer’s number-salad of forgettable, or reneged on, policy promises.

This is leadership in the style of a corporate management seminar as if announcing a plan were equivalent to achieving anything. And the increasing velocity with which each initiative follows its unfulfilled predecessor indicates that we are now at the point at which football fans would strike up the familiar chant of “you don’t know what you’re doing.”

… |

Continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/editorial-another-set-of-meaningless-milestones-starmers-desperate-relaunch-falls-flat

Continue ReadingMorning Star Editorial:: Another set of meaningless milestones: Starmer’s desperate relaunch falls flat

Netanyahu asks for shorter and fewer court appearances in corruption trial

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https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241205-netanyahu-asks-for-shorter-and-fewer-court-appearances-in-corruption-trial

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a speech at his Jerusalem office on March 14, 2020 [GALI TIBBON/AFP via Getty Images]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked yesterday to reduce the number of days and the duration of his appearances before Tel Aviv District Court in his trial on corruption charges. He is due to attend in court from next Tuesday to defend himself against several charges including bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, the prime minister is asking if he can testify twice a week, instead of three times as decided by the judiciary. “In addition, Netanyahu is requesting that each session be shortened to 5 hours instead of 6 hours, starting at 10:00 and ending at 15:00 local time, instead of the scheduled time between 9:00 and 15:00.”

Netanyahu’s defence team justified this by arguing, “He works almost every day until late at night, whether due to cabinet meetings, security consultations, or the need to communicate with various entities abroad.”

The court has yet to decide on Netanyahu’s request.

Channel 12 reported that court judges had already approved Netanyahu’s request to relocate his trial from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv for security reasons, noting that the sessions will be held in a “secret underground courtroom.”

He was initially scheduled to appear in court last Sunday, but the court agreed to his request to postpone his appearance until next Tuesday, due to his busy schedule.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that media outlets had submitted a request to the court to broadcast Netanyahu’s testimony live, but the court rejected the request.

The corruption cases in which he is indicted are known as Cases 1000, 2000 and 4000, with former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit filing an indictment against Netanyahu in late November 2019.

Case 1000 involves Netanyahu and members of his family receiving expensive gifts from wealthy businessmen, in exchange for favours and assistance to these individuals in various fields.

Case 2000 involves accusations that Netanyahu agreed with Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper publisher, Arnon Mozes, to obtain positive media coverage in exchange for weakening a rival.

Case 4000 is considered the most serious, in which Netanyahu advanced regulatory decisions that benefited Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder in the Bezeq telecom giant, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, in exchange for positive coverage from the company’s Walla news site.

Netanyahu’s trial in these cases began in 2020 and is ongoing. He denies all the charges against him, calling them a political campaign aimed at ousting him.

READ: Israel military warns 30 troops against travel abroad amid legal cases over Gaza war crimes

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241205-netanyahu-asks-for-shorter-and-fewer-court-appearances-in-corruption-trial

Continue ReadingNetanyahu asks for shorter and fewer court appearances in corruption trial

Claudia Sheinbaum stands up to Donald Trump, calls for respect of migrants’ human rights

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Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaking on the phone to US president-elect Donald Trump. Photo: Presidencia MX

The Mexican President told the press that it is not true that she informed the US President-elect that she would close the border between both countries, contradicting statements from Trump about their conversation

The tensions between Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and US president-elect Donald Trump are growing, with Trump continuing to launch accusations and threats at the Southern neighbor of the US, only to be met with a firm and resolute Sheinbaum.

On November 25, Trump, in a post on his media platform Truth Social, threatened to impose a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian products until illegal migration and drug imports into US territory were stopped. He also threatened that products coming from China will have to pay 10% more tariffs if the Asian country does not further control the sale of certain chemicals from which fentanyl is made. The three targeted countries responded clearly and firmly (more so China and Mexico than Canada) to Trump’s warnings and pointed out that if the threat were to become a reality, a real “trade war” could be unleashed.

For her part, the Mexican President stated in her daily morning press conference on November 26 that the imposition of new tariffs will not reduce drug consumption in the United States, nor will it curb illegal migration to the United States; on the contrary, “it would cause the United States and Mexico inflation and job losses.”

That same day, Sheinbaum and Trump spoke on the phone and addressed several issues of interest to both nations, such as immigration, drug trafficking, drug consumption, and more. However, in the aftermath of their conversation, two versions have emerged of what was said and agreed on, with Trump insisting that Mexico has agreed to effective “clos[e] our Southern Border” to “stop the illegal invasion of the USA”.

Donald Trump said through his social network, Truth Social “Just had a wonderful conversation with the new President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border. We also talked about what can be done to stop the massive drug inflow into the United States, and also, the US consumption of these drugs. It was a very productive conversation!”

The president-elect added “Mexico will stop people from going to our Southern Border, effective immediately. THIS WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARD STOPPING THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF THE USA. Thank you!!!”

However, for the Mexican head of state, this version is far from the truth.

Sheinbaum’s version

For her part, Sheinbaum reported on X “I had an excellent conversation with President Donald Trump. We addressed the Mexican strategy on the migration phenomenon and I shared that no caravans are arriving at the northern border because they are being taken care of in Mexico. We also talked about strengthening collaboration on security issues within the framework of our sovereignty and the campaign we are carrying out in the country to prevent the consumption of fentanyl.”

However, the Mexican President said that at no time did she communicate to Trump that she would order the closure of the Mexican-US border: “In our conversation with President Trump, I explained to him the comprehensive strategy that Mexico has followed to address the migratory phenomenon, respecting human rights. Thanks to this, migrants and caravans are attended to before they arrive at the border. We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples.”

In an official visit to the state of Nuevo León, the Mexican leader highlighted that trade ties between the United States and Mexico are very deep, so a trade war would only bring higher inflation and a contraction of the GDP of the countries involved. In the case of the United States, Sheinbaum said that Mexican remittances are partially consumed in the United States, so a disruption could imply a major disruption of the US economy; she also noted that a reduction in migration would increase the US social security debt by 13%.

The Mexican president also announced last week that in her letter to Trump, she called on the head of state to remove the economic sanctions and blockade on Cuba and Venezuela, and that respectful and open dialogues be established between all nations of the continent.

Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingClaudia Sheinbaum stands up to Donald Trump, calls for respect of migrants’ human rights

British charities referred to UN for ‘aiding crimes against Palestinians’

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https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/british-charities-referred-un-over-allegedly-aiding-crimes-against-palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights Situation in the Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese speaks at a press conference at a session of the UN Human Rights Council, Geneva, 27 March 2024 (AFP)

The ICJP referred case studies of four charities, including Trinity College Cambridge and Jewish National Fund UK, to the UN

A number of British charities have been referred to the United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, over allegedly “aiding and abetting international crimes against Palestinians”.

These include both the University of Cambridge’s Trinity College and Jewish National Fund UK, a charity which has former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as honorary patrons.

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), a UK-based rights group, announced on Monday that it had answered Albanese’s call for evidence ahead of a report to the UN Human Rights Council on “how the private sector has contributed to establishing and maintain Israel’s presence” in the occupied territories.

The ICJP said its submission explains the case studies of four charities, including Trinity College Cambridge and the UK arm of the Jewish National Fund.

Middle East Eye revealed in February that the prestigious Cambridge college, which is one of Britain’s wealthiest landowners, had $78,089 invested in Israel’s largest arms company, Elbit Systems, which produces 85 percent of the drones and land-based equipment used by the Israeli army.

MEE also reported that the college had millions of dollars invested in other companies arming, supporting and profiting from Israel’s war on Gaza.

Article continues at https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/british-charities-referred-un-over-allegedly-aiding-crimes-against-palestinians

Continue ReadingBritish charities referred to UN for ‘aiding crimes against Palestinians’

Amnesty International issues report detailing Israel’s genocide in Gaza

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Amnesty International’s 296-page report – ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza – documents how, during its military offensive launched in the wake of the deadly Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel has unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza brazenly, continuously and with total impunity. 

Over the past two months the crisis has grown particularly acute in the North Gaza governorate, where a besieged population is facing starvation, displacement and annihilation amid relentless bombardment and suffocating restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid. 

Amnesty’s report examines in detail Israel’s violations in Gaza over the nine months between 7 October 2023 and early July 2024, with Amnesty interviewing 212 people – including Palestinian victims and witnesses, local authorities in Gaza and healthcare workers – while conducting fieldwork and analysing an extensive range of visual and digital evidence, including satellite imagery. Amnesty also analysed statements by senior Israeli government and military officials, and official Israeli bodies. On multiple occasions, Amnesty shared its findings with the Israeli authorities but has received no substantive response. 

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:

“Amnesty International’s report demonstrates that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. 

“These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction. 

“Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them.

“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now.

“States that continue to transfer arms to Israel at this time must know they are violating their obligation to prevent genocide and are at risk of becoming complicit in genocide. 

“All states with influence over Israel, particularly key arms suppliers like the USA and Germany, but also other EU member states – the UK and others – must act now to bring Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza to an immediate end.

“The International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity issued last month offer real hope of long-overdue justice for victims.

“States must demonstrate their respect for the court’s decision and for universal international law principles by arresting and handing over those wanted by the ICC.”

The UK’s responsibility to prevent 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

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said:

“As a state party to the Genocide Convention, the UK has a legal obligation to use all reasonable means to help prevent genocide.

“The UK must take urgent steps to make clear to Israel that this country does not support genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza, and those acts must end immediately.

“The UK government must, as an urgent first step, work with other countries by all diplomatic and legal means to press Israel into fully implementing the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice.  

“To avoid the risk of itself being complicit in genocide, the UK must immediately end all arms transfers to Israel. 

“The UK should also press for multilateral targeted sanctions at the UN Security Council against Israeli and Hamas officials most implicated in crimes under international law.

“The UK must act to ensure justice and accountability, supporting the ongoing International Criminal Court investigation into Palestine and executing any ICC arrest warrants.”

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 ReadingAmnesty International issues report detailing Israel’s genocide in Gaza

‘Unsettling New Milestone’: Top 12 US Billionaires Now Control $2 Trillion in Wealth

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

Jensen Huang of Nvidia speaks about the future of artificial intelligence and its effect on energy consumption and production at the Bipartisan Policy Center on September 27, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“The oligarchic dozen is richer than ever, and they are endowed with extreme material power that can be used to pursue narrow political interests at the expense of democratic majorities,” according to the author of a new analysis.

Just 12 U.S. billionaires now have a collective net worth of over $2 trillion—a figure that amounts to a little less than a third of total federal spending in 2023—according to an analysis out Tuesday from Inequality.org, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS).

The $2 trillion number is also twice the amount of wealth that the top 12 US billionaires held in 2020, according to researchers at IPS, a progressive organization.

The full list of 12 billionaires includes Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Steve Ballmer, Larry Ellison, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Jim Walton, Rob Walton, and Jensen Huang.

“This is an unsettling new milestone for wealth concentration in the United States. The oligarchic dozen is richer than ever, and they are endowed with extreme material power that can be used to pursue narrow political interests at the expense of democratic majorities,” wrote the author of the analysis, Omar Ocampo, a researcher at IPS.

New to the “oligarchic dozen” is Jensen Huang, the co-founder and CEO of the tech company Nvidia. Nvidia, which became the most valuable publicly traded company this year, has seen its profits jump thanks to the world’s ravenous appetite for the artificial intelligence chips that the firm produces. According to the analysis, Huang’s personal wealth “has skyrocketed from $4.7 billion in 2020 to $122.4 billion—a mind-boggling 2,504 percent increase—over the last four years.”

Each of the billionaires on the list “owns or is a controlling shareholder of a business that is investing billions of dollars in artificial intelligence,” according to Ocampo, which raises concerns about their respective carbon footprints.

Fueling AI is energy intensive, and AI data centers in the U.S. are largely powered by fossil fuels, meaning their proliferation poses a threat to the environment and a transition to a green economy.

Ocampo also discusses the political reach of the billionaires on the list. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who respectively own X and The Washington Post, “have both purchased large media platforms, which has granted them the ability to set the terms of public debate with the hopes of influencing public opinion in their favor.”

Musk specifically has established himself as a major power broker within the GOP. The billionaire spent hundreds of millions helping to re-elect Donald Trump and is now poised to play a major role in the president-elect’s administration, helping oversee a new advisory committee tasked with slashing government spending.

As of early December, Trump had tapped an “unprecedented” total of seven reported billionaires for key positions in his administration, according to a separate piece of analysis by Inequality.org.

“We see the effects of this growing concentration of wealth and economic inequality everywhere—plutocratic influence on our politics, wealth transfers from the bottom to the top, and the acceleration of climate breakdown,” Ocampo wrote on Tuesday.

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

Continue Reading‘Unsettling New Milestone’: Top 12 US Billionaires Now Control $2 Trillion in Wealth

Keir Starmer rules out commons vote on proportional representation

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/sir-keir-rules-out-dismisses-commons-vote-on-proportional-representation

Screen grab of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, London, December 4, 2024

PRIME Minister … Keir Starmer ruled out electoral reform in the Commons today, brushing aside Labour’s own agreed policy on the issue.

He was challenged by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) to give effect to a vote by MPs earlier this week to switch elections to a form of proportional representation.

The Commons voted by 138 to 136, with many abstentions, to approve a Bill introduced by Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney to change to PR.

Labour MPs were divided in the vote, with 59 backing Ms Olney’s Bill and 50 opposing.

However, support for electoral reform is official party policy agreed by conference.

None of this cut any ice with Sir Keir when pressed. He told Sir Ed that electoral reform “is not our policy,” which is not true.

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/sir-keir-rules-out-dismisses-commons-vote-on-proportional-representation

Continue ReadingKeir Starmer rules out commons vote on proportional representation

Netanyahu corruption trial to resume in Tel Aviv next week

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) speaks with Government Secretary Tzachi Braverman during the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem on July 23, 2017. [ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP/ Getty Images]

Judges in Israel have agreed unanimously to resume the trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges in Tel Aviv on 10 December, local media have reported.

Netanyahu had asked for his appearance before the Israeli court to be postponed for two weeks, claiming that he was busy with the International Criminal Court’s warrant for his arrest on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. He will appear before the court next week, as it considers the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which were first brought against him in January 2020. His trial began in May 2020.

In a related context, Israeli media also reported that the Israeli court decided to release Netanyahu’s advisor who was accused of leaking security documents and to put him under house arrest.

The allegation that the advisor stole secret documents from the Israeli army, transferred them to Netanyahu’s office, and then leaked them to foreign media outlets has sparked widespread controversy in Israel. The apparent intention in stealing the documents, manipulating their content and leaking them was to influence Israeli public opinion to reject any prisoner exchange deal, and to create an atmosphere hostile to the protest movement against Netanyahu’s government by claiming that such protests strengthen the power and position of Hamas.

READ: Palestinians in Hebron suffer ‘routine’ physical, sexual violence at hands of Israeli soldiers, B’Tselem finds

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

Continue ReadingNetanyahu corruption trial to resume in Tel Aviv next week

Israel’s ‘repeated evacuation orders’ affect 80% of Gaza, leaving civilians at risk: UN

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https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241203-israels-repeated-evacuation-orders-affect-80-of-gaza-leaving-civilians-at-risk-un

Palestinian residents, carrying their belongings, are on their way to migrate for safer areas following the Israeli army’s orders evacuation of the Bani Suheila town in Khan Yunis, Gaza on October 07, 2024 [Ashraf Amra – Anadolu Agency]

The UN, on Tuesday, reported that Israel’s recurring evacuation orders affecting approximately 80 per cent of the Gaza Strip have exposed civilians to risk, Anadolu Agency reports.

“Israel’s repeated evacuation orders, which are now in effect for about 80 per cent of the Gaza Strip, leaves civilians exposed to the danger of hostilities and deprived of access to essential services,” spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said at a news conference.

Saying that northern Gaza has been under a tightening siege for nearly two months, Dujarric said around 65,000 to 500,000 people are unable to access regular food, water, electricity or reliable health care.

Dujarric stated that “the entire population of Gaza needs humanitarian assistance,” and stressed the plight of more than 58,000 people with disabilities who are facing additional challenges in accessing food.

In the southern areas of Gaza, he said that “some people are skipping meals and searching through trash to find food.”

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Dujarric warned that humanitarian access continues to be obstructed.

“In November, out of 578 planned aid movements across Gaza that require coordination with Israeli authorities, only 41 per cent were facilitated. More than a third were denied outright, and the rest were either impeded or cancelled due to security and logistical challenges,” he said.

Dujarric reported that aid missions to northern Gaza have been especially disrupted, with efforts to reach besieged areas such as Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun encountering severe obstacles.

READ: UK’s Gaza genocide denial shows ‘contempt for Palestinian lives’: British-Jewish activist

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241203-israels-repeated-evacuation-orders-affect-80-of-gaza-leaving-civilians-at-risk-un

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

Continue ReadingIsrael’s ‘repeated evacuation orders’ affect 80% of Gaza, leaving civilians at risk: UN