This picture shows a general view of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) during a meeting, in Jerusalem on 30 June, 2022 [MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images]
The Israeli government coalition dropped a proposal in the Knesset yesterday to form a National Commission of Inquiry into the failures of 7 October, 2023. Fifty-one members of the parliament voted against the proposal, with 43 in favour, said Israel Hayom.
Officials in Tel Aviv believe that what happened on 7 October — the Hamas-led cross-border incursion which led to the killing of 1,200 Israelis, many at the hands of the Israel Defence Forces — to be the biggest intelligence and military failure in the occupation state’s history, damaging the image of Israel and its army.
Some of the hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October are still being held in Gaza, and are at the centre of on/off negotiations for a ceasefire in the genocide launched by Israel since that date. At least 45,000 Palestinians have been killed, mainly women and children, and a further 106,000 have been wounded. An estimated 11,000 are missing, presumed dead, under the rubble of their homes and other civilian infrastructure destroyed by Israel in what amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Hamas said at the time that it had attacked military bases and settlements adjacent to Gaza in response to “the daily crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people and their sanctities, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Demonstration held in support of Palestinians and Lebanese, in London, United Kingdom on November 30, 2024 [Raşid Necati Aslım – Anadolu Agency]
Lizzie Greenwood, a Manchester activist and former Workers’ Party candidate, has been arrested by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) as she recovers from a 35-day hunger strike protesting the UK government’s funding and arming of Israel.
The arrest follows a reported forced entry into a prior residence and harassment of her father at his home.
According to a post on Instagram, GMP also detained five other activists in recent days, who were later released without charge. Despite the absence of evidence, those arrested have had personal belongings, including phones and vehicles, confiscated indefinitely, and face restrictive police curfews.
Activists of Central Manchester for Palestine said these measures are part of an escalating campaign to intimidate and isolate supporters of Palestinian rights.
Greenwood, who began her hunger strike on 27 October and ended it after 35 days, described the protest as a moral obligation. In a previous video posted to her social media, she stated: “This is a cause that I feel willing and obligated to die for.”
She said her strike was driven by a commitment to prevent atrocities similar to the Holocaust. “I will not be made complicit. I object with every fibre of my being. And if it takes my health and my life to make that known, so be it,” stated Greenwood.
Since 5 October, Israel has launched a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza allegedly to prevent the Palestinian resistance from regrouping. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.
Since then, almost no humanitarian aid, including food, medicine and fuel, has been allowed into the area, leaving most of the population there – currently estimated at 80,000 – on the verge of famine.
Greenwood has accused the UK government of prioritising funding Israel while neglecting British citizens enduring cost of living crises, mental health struggles and housing shortages.
Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip killing more than 44,800 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injuring over 106,000.
The second year of the genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labelling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.
On 21 November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.
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UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWREGenocide 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
Overview of the courtroom at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands on 22 April, 2024 [Selman Aksünger/Anadolu Agency]
Ireland will formally join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel following government approval and will be asking the Court to “broaden its interpretation” of what constitutes genocide, the nation’s Foreign Minister said Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reports.
Ireland will join the case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague this month, Micheal Martin said in a statement.
“There has been a collective punishment of the Palestinian people through the intent and impact of military actions of Israel in Gaza, leaving 44,000 dead and millions of civilians displaced,” Martin said following Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.
He stressed that, by legally intervening in South Africa’s case, Dublin will also be asking the ICJ to “broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a State”.
“We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimised,” underlined Martin.
He went on to say that Ireland’s view of the Convention is broader and prioritises the protection of civilian life as the government will promote that interpretation in its intervention in this case.
Martin added that the government has also approved joining Gambia’s case against Myanmar under the same convention.
In October 2023, Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip that has so far killed over 44,800 people, mostly women and children, and now faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.
Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators with their hands painted the colour of blood hold a demonstration to call for a ceasefire in Gaza as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, United States on December 11, 2024 [Celal Güneş/Anadolu Agency]
A group of pro-Palestinian protestors repeatedly disrupted Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s testimony, Wednesday, before a House of Representatives panel on the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Anadolu Agency reports.
One protester shouted: “Bloody Blinken” and “Butcher of Gaza” as Blinken began his remarks.
A second demonstrator, holding a sign that read: “Stop Bombing Kids”, yelled: “Stop killing kids in Gaza” and “I don’t know how you can sleep at night when you’re killing so many kids in tents.” The protester was arrested and removed from the chamber.
Blinken continued his testimony, despite the disruptions.
The US, Israel’s primary supporter, provides nearly 70 per cent of its weapons, along with significant diplomatic backing. The support has drawn growing criticism amid the escalating civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip from Israel’s ongoing military onslaught.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 44,800 people, mostly women and children, since a 7 October, 2023 attack by the Palestinian Resistance group, Hamas.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last month for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former Defence chief, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.
The Israeli army reinforces its air and ground forces in the Golan Heights in response to ongoing situation in Syria on December 06, 2024, in Israel [Israel Defense Forces (IDF) – Anadolu Agency]
Israel has launched an extensive military campaign in Syria, conducting over 350 air strikes and seizing territory beyond the illegally occupied Golan Heights, in what Defence Minister Israel Katz describes as an effort to create a “sterile defensive area” along the border.
The occupation forces reported that their fighter jets have carried out hundreds of strikes across Syria over the past 48 hours, targeting what they claim are strategic weapons stockpiles in major cities including Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia and Palmyra. The offensive has included attacks on Syria’s naval bases, with Katz boasting about destroying Syria’s modest navy “with great success”.
The Israeli army told journalists yesterday that it had completed the main part of its aggressive military campaign against Syria since the fall of the Bashar Al-Assad regime, targeting the military capabilities of the Syrian state. The occupation regime claimed that it had destroyed between 70 and 80 per cent of these capabilities.
The military escalation marks Israel’s most significant incursion into Syrian territory since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. According to diplomatic sources, Israeli forces have moved “men and material” into the demilitarised buffer zone since 7 December, positioning troops and armoured vehicles near seven abandoned Syrian military posts.
The expansion has drawn sharp international criticism. Turkey’s foreign ministry condemned the attacks, stating that, “Israel is again displaying its occupier mentality.” The UN, through its spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, expressed firm opposition to any violation of Syria’s territorial integrity, emphasising that, “This is a turning point for Syria. It should not be used by its neighbours to encroach on the territory of Syria.”
UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen warned that Israel’s actions could undermine prospects for peaceful transition in the already fragile state. “We need to see a stop to the Israeli attacks,” insisted Pedersen. “It’s extremely important that we don’t see any action from any international actor that destroys the possibility for this transformation in Syria to take place.”
Critics have pointed out the apparent contradiction in Israel’s strategy of protecting a buffer zone by creating another buffer zone, particularly given that Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights since 1967 remains unrecognised by the international community. Despite this, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that, “The Golan Heights will be an inseparable part of the state of Israel forever.”
The US stressed its support for Israeli military operations despite growing opposition. There has been a significant shift in American public opinion, with an increasing number of voters expressing concern about US power being employed primarily to serve Israeli interests rather than America’s. This “America First” sentiment has gained particular traction with those who question why US diplomatic, military and financial resources are being committed extensively to support Israel’s regional ambitions.
This debate has intensified following former General Wesley Clark’s 2001 revelation that the US had planned to topple seven regimes in the region to secure Israeli hegemony, including Syria. The admission has fuelled criticism that US foreign policy in the Middle East has prioritised Israel’s strategic objectives over America’s national interests, leading to calls for a fundamental reassessment of the US-Israel relationship.
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