Israel declares 115 acres as ‘state land’ to expand illegal West Bank settlement

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Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, during an interview in Tel Aviv, Israel on 5 December, 2024 [Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Wednesday the designation of 465 dunams (115 acres) of land as “state land” to expand the illegal settlement of Givat Haroeh, built on lands in the Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate in the occupied West Bank.

Smotrich wrote on the US social media company X that “465 dunams have been declared state land for the purpose of expanding Givat Haroeh settlement.”

He added that “we continue to build, expand, and strengthen effective sovereignty on the ground,” claiming the move would “strengthen Israelis’ security.”

Smotrich also reiterated his opposition to Palestinian statehood. “During my term, a Palestinian state will not be established,” he wrote.

READ: Israeli Cabinet minister brags about demolishing 5,700 Palestinians homes in 1 year, vows to demolish more

Israeli Channel 7 reported that the declaration follows the security cabinet’s approval in February 2023 to recognize Givat Haroeh as an “independent settlement.”

It said authorities are currently advancing an initial construction plan for the settlement that includes more than 900 housing units.

In February, the Israeli government approved a decision allowing it to begin seizing large areas of Palestinian land in the West Bank by registering them as “state property” for the first time since 1967.

The UN has repeatedly affirmed that Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law, warning that they undermine prospects for a two-state solution.

Palestinians insist on East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, based on international resolutions that do not recognize Israel’s 1967 occupation or its 1980 annexation of the city.

READ: Israeli forces continue land levelling in West Bank for planned military camp

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Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/

Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Continue ReadingIsrael declares 115 acres as ‘state land’ to expand illegal West Bank settlement

‘Shocking’ photo of freed Palestinian journalist shows ‘tragic’ conditions in Israeli prisons: Rights group

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Palestinian journalist Mujahid Bani Mufleh. [Photos/Social Media]

A prisoner advocacy group said Wednesday the “shocking” photo of Palestinian journalist Mujahid Bani Mufleh after six months in Israeli detention shows the ongoing “tragic” conditions in Israeli prisons, Anadolu reports.

“Israeli prisons have turned into a tool for slow and direct killing of Palestinian prisoners,” the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.

Bani Mufleh posted a photo of himself on Wednesday after a long treatment journey for an illness he contracted while imprisoned by Israel. The photo showed part of his brain skull removed as a result of surgeries he underwent while in Israeli detention.

The Palestinian journalist also lost significant weight, appearing noticeably pale and almost unrecognizable.

“Bani Mufleh is not an isolated case, but points to thousands of cases that have been subjected to systematic violations inside Israeli prisons, including torture, starvation, denial of treatment, physical and psychological assaults, in addition to continuous psychological terror,” the society said.

It said prisoner affairs groups have been following up on hundreds of Palestinians released from Israeli prisons in “serious health and psychological conditions.”

READ: Palestinian female prisoner Lama Khater details alleged abuse in Israeli prisons

“Many other cases remain unreported as their families are afraid of re-arrest,” it added.

The rights group said Israeli forces detained Bani Mufleh, from the town of Beita in Nablus, in June 2025 without charge under Israel’s administrative detention policy and released him in January 2026.

“Bani Mufleh suffered a severe brain hemorrhage just two days after his release and he was transferred to a hospital in critical condition,” it said.

“Until today, he still needs a long and complex course of treatment to recover,” the society said.

The group said Israel has escalated its violations against Palestinian journalists since the Gaza war, arresting 245 journalists since October 2023.

Since Oct. 8, 2023, Israeli escalation by the army and settlers in the West Bank has killed 1,173 Palestinians, wounded 12,666, led to the arrest of about 23,000 and displaced 33,000, according to official Palestinian figures.

READ: Palestinian detainee dies after 25 years in Israeli prisons

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

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/

Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.

Continue Reading‘Shocking’ photo of freed Palestinian journalist shows ‘tragic’ conditions in Israeli prisons: Rights group

Israel forces destroy cemetery containing remains of Canadian soldiers in Gaza

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Palestinian Civil Defense teams continue exhumation efforts at the eastern section of Sheikh Radwan Cemetery, which was damaged during Israeli attacks and ground operations in Gaza City, Gaza on June 23, 2026. [Saeed M. M. T. Jaras – Anadolu Agency]

Israel has destroyed a cemetery in the Gaza Strip containing the remains of 22 Canadian soldiers killed in the first UN peacekeeping initiative in 1956, according to media reports Wednesday.

“It’s like there’s no headstones anymore,” Lia Bons, whose brother Adriann is buried in the cemetery, told CBC News. “It just looks like dirt, gravel, sand.”

An officer with the Israel military admitted that soldiers in the Brigade Combat Team dug down to a depth of 20 – 30 meters (66 to 98 feet) under the cemetery to destroy a Hamas tunnel in February and no measures were taken to safeguard the remains of the soldiers because the operation was conducted under combat conditions.

The Gaza War Cemetery in the Tuffah district of Gaza City has been repeatedly damaged by Israel. The Canadians buried there died during the first UN peacekeeping operation following the Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956, the CBC reported. They are the last of the Canadian soldiers to be interred overseas.

READ: From ‘never again’ to the ‘gates of hell’ in Gaza and Lebanon

The Israeli military has destroyed headstones, used earthmoving equipment in the cemetery, and located tanks around the cemetery.

The families of the victims want the Canadian government to do more to safeguard the remains, and some want the government to bring home the remains.

Marguerite Picard wants her brother Paul to be returned and buried beside his mother and father.

“I’m quite certain that my parents would want my brother to be repatriated,” she said. “I would put him next to mom and dad, and have his name written on the headstone, so that people know he’s there.”

READ: Israeli Cabinet minister brags about demolishing 5,700 Palestinians homes in 1 year, vows to demolish more

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

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/

Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.

Continue ReadingIsrael forces destroy cemetery containing remains of Canadian soldiers in Gaza

How Secret Pro-Israel Money Flooded the Labour Party and Ended with a Ban of Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur

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https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/hasan-piker-cenk-uygur-uk-ban-keir-starmer-labour-together

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits STARK, a defense tech company on June 5, 2026 in Swindon, England. Photo by Alastair Grant – WPA Pool / Getty Images.

Story by Paul Holden

… Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government is not really a Labour government; it came to power on the back of a secret project to wrest control of the Labour Party back from an ascendant left wing. This secret project was resourced by illegally undeclared money from wealthy donors, funneled through a seemingly anodyne think tank called Labour Together. It involved covertly seeding promiscuous claims of antisemitism against political opponents, attempting to silence independent media that threatened to expose its project, and—ultimately—developing the dishonest leadership pitch that allowed Keir Starmer to trick a left-wing membership to elect him leader.

Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary responsible for the ban on Piker and Uygur, was one of a ‘brave band’ of eight MPs that guided the Labour Together project during the leadership of Starmer’s left-wing predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.

The MP who has most loudly demanded Piker and Uygur’s banning is David Taylor. Elected in 2024 as part of the Labour’s landslide, Taylor was closely vetted and approved by a Labour Party bureaucracy reporting directly to Labour Together’s long-time former managing director. And the single largest donor to Taylor’s election campaign was Labour Together.

Piker and Uygur were not banned by the Labour Party—they were banned by the Labour Together party. The primary architect of the Labour Together project is Morgan McSweeney, who was, until recently, Starmer’s chief of staff and widely understood as the real force running the government. McSweeney resigned in February after it was revealed he had pushed Peter Mandelsohn as the UK’s ambassador to the U.S., despite knowing of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

I know McSweeney’s capacity for destroying free speech—and especially criticism of Israel—first-hand. I have been investigating the Labour Together Project since 2021, setting out my findings in my book, “The Fraud.” As a result, I was one of multiple journalists targeted by Labour Together. I was reported by Labour Together to the UK’s cybersecurity agency, in an apparent attempt to catalyze criminal investigations into me and my colleagues.

Part of a long article at https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/hasan-piker-cenk-uygur-uk-ban-keir-starmer-labour-together. It’s very informative if you’re not yet familiar with Labour Together.

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.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Continue ReadingHow Secret Pro-Israel Money Flooded the Labour Party and Ended with a Ban of Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur