This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in a state memorial ceremony for the fallen soldiers of the two-year Gaza war at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on October 16, 2025. [ALEX KOLOMOISKY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images]
A spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed on Monday evening that Benjamin Netanyahu supports imposing the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners following what she described as a “fair trial”.
The statement was reported by foreign media outlets and cited by Israeli sources.
This announcement came after the Knesset’s National Security Committee earlier in the day approved a draft bill requiring the death penalty for anyone convicted of killing an Israeli on nationalistic or hostile grounds. The bill is expected to be brought for its first reading in the Knesset on Wednesday.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, Netanyahu has given the green light for the legislation to proceed. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is sponsoring the bill, said that “the time has come to achieve justice,” stressing that the death penalty must be mandatory and that courts should have no discretion in such cases.
The Hamas movement condemned the committee’s approval of the bill, calling it a serious escalation and a blatant violation of international laws and conventions.
In a statement, Hamas said the committee’s endorsement and the move to bring the bill to a Knesset vote “reflect Israel’s true face” and demonstrate its continued disregard for international humanitarian law and the Third Geneva Convention, which governs the treatment of prisoners of war.
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/O74hZCKKdpAKeir 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.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.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Israeli Army’s boats patrol along the Gaza coast seen near Nuseirat, Gaza on September 06, 2025. [Stringer – Anadolu Agency]
Israeli naval forces detained five Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Gaza City on Tuesday, a local group said, Anadolu reports.
Israeli gunboats opened fire on fishing boats west of Gaza Port, forcing fishermen to jump into the water without their clothes before being bound and arrested, Zakaria Bakr of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, a nongovernmental organization, said in a statement.
Four of the detainees are from the same family, including three brothers, he added.
Israel continues to ban fishing in Gaza’s waters despite a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, which took effect Oct. 10. Naval forces have kept pursuing and arresting fishermen, cutting off their only source of income amid a collapsing economy in the enclave.
Despite the risks, Gazan fishermen continue to venture out to sea to provide for their families amid the collapse of the local economy and severe unemployment.
According to World Bank data, Israel’s two-year war on Gaza has pushed nearly all residents of the enclave into poverty, leaving them entirely dependent on humanitarian aid.
Phase one of the ceasefire deal included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a partial Israeli withdrawal. The plan also envisages rebuilding Gaza and establishing a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Since October 2023, the Israeli genocidal war has killed nearly 69,000 people and injured more than 170,600 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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/O74hZCKKdpAKeir 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.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.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Far-right Israelis and relatives of the soldiers gather in front of the military court building and stage a protest against the arrest of nine soldiers accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman Prison in the Negev desert, in Netanya, Israel on July 30, 2024. [Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images]
A group of Israeli soldiers accused of torturing and sexually assaulting a Palestinian prisoner at Sde Teiman Prison have defended their actions and demanded to be thanked, according to Israel’s Channel 7 on Monday.
The soldiers made their remarks during a press conference held outside the Israeli Supreme Court in West Jerusalem on Sunday. In a video recording, they appeared wearing black masks to conceal their identities.
One of the soldiers, referred to as A, said: “I stand here today because I am tired of staying silent… Instead of hugs, we received accusations, and instead of thanks, there was silence.” He added: “You did not allow us to respond or explain. You gave us a show trial before the cameras and had already decided who was guilty.”
Proudly, he continued: “We will not remain silent. We will keep fighting for justice and for our families. You may have tried to break us, but you forgot that we are a force of a hundred men.”
The case dates back to last July, when a Palestinian prisoner from Gaza was severely tortured at Sde Teiman Prison, leaving him with serious injuries and a torn rectum.
Earlier on Monday, a Tel Aviv court extended the detention of the former military prosecutor, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, for three days after she authorised the release of the video showing the assault and torture, which has sparked widespread controversy.
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.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.Vote Labour for Genocide.
Kerala’s LDF government celebrates the eradication of extreme poverty in the state. Photo: Pinarayi Vijayan
The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Alliance (LDF) government achieves a unique feat in India which, according to the World Bank, has the world’s largest number of extremely poor.
On Saturday, November 1, India’s southern state of Kerala officially declared itself free of extreme poverty. This makes the left-ruled state the first and only state in the country to achieve such a milestone.
Announcing the achievement during a session of the state’s legislative assembly, left leader and Chief Minister of the state Pinarayi Vijayan called it a “historic and proud moment” for the state and its people and hoped that “our experiments will become a model that states in the country can benefit from.”
India has the world’s largest population living in extreme poverty, as per the data released by the World Bank last year.
“Kerala has etched a new chapter in history—erasing extreme poverty to become the first place in India and the second in the world to achieve this milestone,”John Brittas, member of India’s parliament from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said on X.
In February 2021, China became the first country in the world to announce the end of extreme poverty, a decade ahead of the UN schedule under its sustainable goals.
On Saturday, Chinese ambassador to India Xu Feihong also congratulated Kerala’s government for its achievement, saying “to eliminate poverty is the common mission of humanity.”
From long-term policies to micro planning
After being elected to power for the second time in a row in 2021, the Pinarayi-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government proclaimed that it would eradicate extreme poverty in the state by the end of its term.
In May 2021, the LDF government launched the Extreme Poverty Eradication Project (EPEP). The project had initially identified over 100,000 households as extremely poor. However, after the final analysis on the basis of access to food, income, shelter, and healthcare the number of households in extreme poverty came down to 64,006.
In the last four years extensive targeted attempts were made to provide sustained access to whichever element a particular family was lacking among these 64,006 families. This involved different government agencies and local self government bodies across the state.
In April of this year, after declaring Dharmadam (his own constituency) the first to be free from extreme poverty in the state, Vijayan had announced that by the state formation day on November 1 the state will finally achieve its goal set four years ago.
Socialist policies deliver
Kerala, which has mostly hilly terrain and a very high population density was once one of the poorest states in India with close to 60% of its population living in poverty.
Due to long-term welfare and development policies based on socialist distribution, such as land reforms, decentralization, high social expenditure on health and education, a robust public distribution system, among others adopted by the successive left governments in the state, the percentage of poor decreased drastically to just over 11% in 2011-12, when the last pan-India census was held.
The figure has been substantially lowered even further in the 15 years since then.
According to the central government’s multidimensional poverty index released in 2021, Kerala had the least multidimensional poverty among the Indian states, with less than 1% of its population (0.7%) identified as poor.
Kerala’s achievement is a result of the sustained efforts of successive left governments and their policies, claimed Thomas Issac, former finance minister and a leader of the CPI(M).
“From 60% poverty in 1973, Kerala declares itself free from extreme poverty. This is the real Kerala story of land reforms, increase in wages, universal education, healthcare and social security. Finally, 4 years of micro planning to lift 64,006 from extreme poverty” Issac said in a post on X.
Vijayan also acknowledged the role of long-term policies in achieving zero extreme poverty in the state.
“The process of eradicating extreme poverty is a continuation of the steps taken earlier for universal public distribution system and for the eradication of landlessness and homelessness. Kerala has made remarkable progress in the sustainable development index envisioned by the UN by eradicating extreme poverty,” he said on Saturday.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
People, holding banner and Palestinian flags, march to protest the “Crown Iris” cruise ship carrying Israeli tourists that was scheduled to arrive at the Port of Patras today but changed its route due to the backlash on October 29, 2025 in Patras, Greece. [Andreas Alexopoulos – Anadolu Agency]
Dozens of protesters gathered Monday at the port of Argostoli on the Greek island of Kefalonia to denounce the arrival of a cruise ship carrying Israeli tourists, amid heightened tensions over the war in Gaza.
Greek media reported that the vessel, the Crown Iris, docked in the morning with about 1,500 Israeli passengers on board. The ship’s arrival took place under tight police security, with reinforcements dispatched from Athens and Patras to prevent disturbances.
Authorities temporarily closed roads around the port, while tourists were transferred by buses to designated sites on the island, according to local reports.
Protesters waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans such as “Freedom for Palestine,” accusing Israel of committing atrocities in Gaza.
Similar demonstrations took place last week when the same cruise ship docked at the ports of Patras and Kalamata on Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula.
The protests come amid growing public anger in parts of Greece over the ongoing war in Gaza, which has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths since October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities.
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.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.Vote Labour for Genocide.
