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Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz. [SEBASTIAN SCHEINER/AFP via Getty Images]
Israel’s defence minister said on Wednesday he planned to close publicly funded Army Radio in what he described as an attempt to preserve the military’s nonpartisan character, but the decision was denounced by the station’s chief as a blow to press freedom.
The minister, Israel Katz, said in a statement he would soon submit a proposal to the country’s right-wing government to close the station, which is editorially independent, and he expected it to end its broadcasts by 1 March.
Army Radio’s chief, Tal Lev Ram, said the move was unexpected and not a professional process that prioritised the interests of soldiers.
“We see this as a real, regrettable, and dramatic blow to the people’s army, to Israeli society, and to freedom of the press in a democratic state,” he said in a statement.
“I intend to fight this grave decision by every means,” he said.
Army Radio is among two state-funded news outlets in Israel, the other being the public broadcaster KAN which operates a television news channel and several radio news stations.
Both are editorially independent of the government.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has been critical of Army Radio and KAN, sometimes accusing them of being biased against state institutions.
Katz said Army Radio had aired many opinions attacking the military and soldiers. The station is staffed by both soldiers and civilians and is widely popular among the Israeli public. A communications ministry spokesperson declined to comment.
The government has sought to privatise KAN, a move that some critics say is because KAN is critical of the government.
Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid on X condemned the decision to close Army Radio, saying it was driven by “an anxious government that fears criticism”. He accused the government of trying to “change the rules of the game” ahead of next year’s election.
Israel’s journalist union said that it would fight to overturn Katz’s “harmful” decision.
It was not immediately clear when Katz would submit the proposal to the entire government.
Public opinion polls frequently show that Netanyahu’s coalition, the most right-wing in Israel’s history, would not win enough seats to form a government if an election were held today.
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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.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
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Israeli army soldiers detain a Palestinian boy after he threw rocks ahead of a visit by Ultra-Orthodox Jews to the shrine of Atnaeil Ben Kinaz in the city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on April 16, 2025. [Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images]
A 14-year-old Palestinian boy with a full 100 per cent diagnosis of autism has allegedly suffered horrific physical, sexual, and psychological abuse since his arrest and subsequent detention in an Israeli facility.
The case exposes the alleged brutality of Israeli authorities and a complete disregard for the rights of children and people with disabilities.
According to a report published by the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz, the boy, a resident of Jaffa, was arrested on 31 October. Israeli military forces reportedly raided his relatives’ home in the West Bank at dawn, causing widespread distress and chaos.
His mother recounted the arrest: “Dozens of soldiers came in at 4:30 am and pointed their rifles and lights at the children in their room. My son was shaking with such fear he couldn’t stand up.”
Despite his medical diagnosis as fully disabled due to autism, and the family’s insistence that he “wasn’t involved in anything,” Israeli police accuse him of serious security offences, including “contact with Hamas and ISIS,” “photographing sites in Israel,” and “trying to prepare explosives.”
Human rights advocates have described these accusations as exaggerated and disproportionate, given his severe medical and psychological condition.
Haaretz reveals the most shocking element of the case: the boy repeatedly warned authorities that he was being “forced to do things” by older cellmates.
However, a juvenile court judge, reportedly failed to order his transfer another cell or provide him with protection.
Only after a “clear sexual assault” was reported did a police investigation into the alleged assailants begin. The child was then moved to solitary confinement—a measure that occurred only after the catastrophe, and not as a preventative measure.
This case not only exposes alleged cruelty in Israel’s treatment of Palestinian children but also demonstrates how the Israeli security and justice system subjects a disabled child to heavy security charges without considering his basic human rights as a minor and a person with a disability. This is considered a clear breach of international law, particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
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.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
A woman is detained by police officers as supporters of Palestine Action take part in a mass action in Parliament Square, Westminster, central London, August 9, 2025
FOUR UN special rapporteurs and an independent expert have sent a letter to the British government warning that the ban on Palestine Action is “not justified” and violates human rights.
The letter was originally sent on September 12, but its publication has been delayed for two months — the usual period given to allow the government time to respond.
Palestine Action, a direct action group which targeted Israeli arms firms, has been banned and designated a terrorist organisation since July 5.
The letter condemns the proscription as giving rise to “disproportionate restrictions” on the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and warns that “mere property damage is not sufficient to constitute terrorism according to international standards.”
The UN special rapporteurs highlight that designating groups as terrorist when they are not genuinely so is more common in states that are “authoritarian and lack legal and political cultures of respect for human rights.”
They also raised concerns over mass arrests under the Terrorism Act for supporting Palestine Action.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.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.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.
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Illegal settlers, covering their faces with masks, attack Palestinian farmers, journalists and foreign activists with sticks and stones in Beita town of Nablus, West Bank on November 08, 2025. [Nedal Eshtayah – Anadolu Agency]
The West Bank has witnessed an unprecedented increase in violent attacks carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, amid what observers describe as widespread leniency from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and its security agencies. Several Israeli sources have referred to these incidents as expanding “nationalist crimes”, fuelled by settler impunity and political protection from government ministers.
Official figures show that 2025 has recorded a sharp rise in settler assaults, with dozens of attacks reported in recent weeks alone. Data from Israel’s Ministry of Defence indicate a significant escalation in settler violence over the past three weeks, coinciding with the start of the olive harvest season, during which more than 68 terrorist attacks were documented.
According to official statistics, 2025 has so far been marked by a continued rise in such “nationalist crimes” against Palestinians across the West Bank. Since mid-October, around 50 assaults have been carried out by extremist settlers. Meanwhile, United Nations data, which cover a wider range of incidents, show that the total number of attacks in October alone reached 264 — the highest monthly figure recorded in a year.
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.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
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Palestinians who returned to Khan Yunis, a city heavily damaged during Israel’s two-year-long attacks on the Gaza Strip, struggle to survive amid the rubble of destroyed buildings and limited resources on November 6, 2025. [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency]
Israel’s allies worldwide are desperately scrambling to help Tel Aviv re-establish a convincing narrative, not only concerning the Gaza genocide, but the entire legacy of Israeli colonialism in Palestine and the Middle East.
The perfect little story, built on myths and outright fabrications — that of a small nation fighting for survival amid ‘hordes of Arabs and Muslims’ — is rapidly collapsing. It was a lie from the start, but the Gaza genocide has made it utterly indefensible.
The harrowing details of the Israeli genocide in Gaza were more than enough for people globally to fundamentally question the Zionist narrative, particularly the racist Western trope of the ‘villa in the Jungle’ used by Israel to describe its existence among the colonised population.
Not only have people across the globe, but even Americans have decisively turned against Israel. What began as an alarming trend — from the Israeli viewpoint, of course — is now the irrefutable new reality. National polls indicate that support for Palestinians among US adults has risen, with 33 per cent now saying they sympathise more with the Palestinians — the highest reading so far and an increase of six percentage points from last year.
Even the once unshakeable pro-Israeli majority among Republicans is softening in favour of Palestinians, with 35 per cent of Republicans favouring an independent Palestinian state, a significant increase from 27 per cent in 2024, demonstrating a clear shift in a segment of the Republican base.
The Israeli government is now fighting with every resource at its disposal to dominate the information war. It is focused on injecting calculated Israeli falsehoods into the discourse and aggressively blocking the Palestinian viewpoint.
Latest reports of an Israeli campaign to win social media by granting millions of dollars to TikTok and other social media influencers is only a fraction of a massive, coordinated campaign.
The war is multifrontal. On 4 November, news reports revealed that Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales personally intervened to block editing access to the page dedicated to the Gaza Genocide. He claimed that the page fails to meet the company’s “high standards” and “needs immediate attention.” According to Wales, that specific page requires a “neutral approach” — meaning, in practice, that blatant censorship is required to prevent the genocide from being accurately described as the “ongoing intentional and systematic destruction of the Palestinian people.”
Israel has long been obsessed with controlling the narrative on Wikipedia, a strategy predating the current Gaza genocide. Reports dating back to 2010 confirm that Israeli groups established specific training courses in ‘Zionist editing’ for Wikipedia editors, with the explicit goal of injecting state-aligned content and shaping key historical and political entries.
The censorship campaign against Palestinians and pro-Palestinian voices is as old as the media itself. From the very start, mainstream media in the West has been structurally aligned with corporate agendas that are naturally allied with money and power; thus, the prominence of the Israeli view and the near-complete erasure of the Palestinian perspective.
Years ago, however, Israel began realising the existential danger of digital media, particularly the open spaces in social media that allowed ordinary individuals to become independent content creators. The censorship, however, took an ugly and pervasive turn during the genocide, where even the use of words like ‘Gaza’, ‘Palestine’, let alone ‘genocide’, would result in shadowbanning or outright closure of accounts.
In fact, very recently, YouTube, which was previously known for being less severe in censoring pro-Palestinian voices than META, shut down the accounts of three major Palestinian human rights organizations (Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights), erasing more than 700 videos of crucial footage documenting Israeli violations of international law.
Sadly, though not surprisingly, not a single mainstream social media platform is innocent of censoring any criticism of Israel. Thus, it becomes a daily practice that references to Palestine, the Gaza genocide, and the like must be written in coded language, where, for example, the Palestinian flag would be replaced by an image of a watermelon.
Many pro-Palestine activists are now highlighting the direct complicity of Western media, especially in the UK, in attempting to whitewash the rape accusations against Israeli soldiers. Instead of using the unequivocal word ‘rape’, mainstream outlets refer to the horrific Sde Teiman episodes merely as ‘abuses’. While Israeli politicians and other war criminals are openly celebrating the so-called ‘abuses’ and the rapists as national heroes, mainstream British and French media are still refusing to accept that the widespread torture, rape, and mistreatment of Palestinians is part of a centralised, systemic agenda, not mere individual ‘abuses’.
Compare this to the wall-to-wall, sensationalised coverage of alleged ‘mass rape’ by Palestinians in southern Israel on 7 October — despite the fact that no independent investigation was ever conducted, and that the claims were made by the Israeli army without credible evidence.
This is not mere bias and hypocrisy, however, but direct complicity, as stated by the Gaza Tribunal’s final statement on 26 October 2025. “The Jury finds a range of non-state actors to be complicit in genocide,” the verdict read, including “biased media reporting in the west on Palestine and under-reporting of Israeli crimes”.
The final reckoning unfolds in the information warzone. The coming months and years mark the most critical fight for truth in the conflict’s history. Israel, relying on censorship, intimidation, and manufactured consent, will use every method to secure a victory. For Palestinians and all who champion justice, this battle for history is as consequential as the genocide itself. Israel must not be allowed to sanitize its image, because polishing genocide guarantees its repetition.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
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.
A woman is detained by police officers as supporters of Palestine Action take part in a mass action in Parliament Square, Westminster, central London, August 9, 2025
