… on a quiet day, I can hear her breathing

Tag: asks who could possibly object

Iran says oil tanker catches fire after hitting naval mine east of Strait of Hormuz
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Commercial vessels and oil tankers sit anchored in the waters off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran’s Hormozgan Province on September 9, 2026. [Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency]
An oil tanker caught fire after striking naval mines east of the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian Navy said Tuesday, Anadolu reports.
In a statement carried by Iran’s official IRNA news agency, the Navy said the tanker had switched off its tracking systems and was attempting to pass through a “restricted and unsafe” area when it hit the mines.
The vessel sustained damage and caught fire following the incident, according to the statement.
The Navy did not provide details on the tanker’s identity, flag, crew or possible casualties.
It said the Strait of Hormuz remained “unsafe and closed” to vessels attempting to pass through without coordination.
READ: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says 3 oil tankers hit naval mines in Strait of Hormuz
The Navy added that ships seeking safe passage must coordinate with Iran’s armed forces.
The incident comes amid diplomatic efforts to end the conflict involving Iran and the US, with regional countries seeking to facilitate negotiations and reduce tensions.
Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran have also maintained diplomatic contacts on regional security, including discussions aimed at easing tensions and supporting efforts toward a lasting settlement.
Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding in June and began negotiations that later collapsed over disagreements concerning navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passage for energy supplies and goods.
READ: Iran’s supreme leader calls for meeting Tehran’s conditions to end war
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.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister. He asks who could possibly object to the IDF starving people to death, conducting forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing all Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He says they’ve got a genocide to do for Israel and to stop objecting
Ed Miliband says that he and the Labour Party are full of shit criminalising people holding signs as terrorists despite anything he says.
28 October 2026
Thinking a possible Netanyahu departure changes anything? Think again.
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Likud Party leader and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech to supporters at the Likud campaign headquarters following the release of exit polls and initial results of the general election in Jerusalem on October 28, 2026. [Saeed Qaq – Anadolu Agency]
by Dr Brendan Ciarán Browne brendancbrowne
The prospect of seeing the architect of Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people, Benjamin Netanyahu, ousted from political office would be a small, albeit completely pyrrhic, ‘victory’. This is a politician who has spent the past three years justifying industrial-scale levels of civilian slaughter, the enforced starvation of an entire civilian population and the complete levelling of the Gaza Strip. He has been the public face of Israel on the global stage for the best part of 20 years, rubbing shoulders with world leaders and garnering support for the expansion of Israel’s settler colonial mission in historic Palestine.
As something of a political cockroach, he has managed to survive various high-profile scandals. These include criminal proceedings brought against him on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and a (largely symbolic) arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, one that he and leaders in the West have completely ignored. Nevertheless, it seems that Netanyahu has become increasingly awakened to the fact that his time may well be running out. He turned to his X account to post an AI-generated image of a nuclear bomb hitting downtown Tel Aviv in an ever so subtle effort to stir up feelings of existential dread amongst an Israeli public who have fully drunk the anti-Iranian Kool-Aid.
Waiting in the wings to take over could be former Israeli army chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot. He is a man said to be fervently against Palestinian statehood and fully committed to the destruction of Hamas. His ‘achievements’ include the creation of the ‘Dahiya Doctrine’, a policy born of the 2006 Lebanon war that promotes the use of extraordinary and excessive military force against civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Whilst there can be no doubt that the Zionist project of expansion and the associated erasure of Palestinians have been moving at warp speed since 2023, those who are watching the Israeli elections from afar (including many in the activist community) and hoping for change would do well to adopt a longer gaze.
It has never really mattered who is in charge in Israel. The policies that undergird decades of relentless genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians have, over the years, largely remained the same. Political commentators euphemistically throw around terms like ‘hawk’ and ‘dove’ to provide the illusion that there is even the slightest possibility an Israeli leader is remotely interested in ‘peace’. But the terms are meaningless, and as with everything in the region, Israeli leaders’ actions speak louder than hollow words.
READ: Trump claims his endorsement helped Netanyahu perform better than expected in Israeli election
Take, for example, the tenure of Yitzhak Rabin: winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, architect of the ‘break their bones’ policy (sounds peaceful, right?) and the person responsible for signing the Oslo Accords. Under his watch, Palestine continued to be subjected to the scourge of relentless settlement expansion and the house demolitions that went with it. ‘Peace’ for Rabin was far removed from ending the occupation. Instead, it meant managing and containing the Palestinian population and their legitimate demands for self-determination, whilst subscribing to a ‘peace’ plan that outsourced responsibility for the occupation to a subservient Palestinian Authority and willing accomplices in the West.
Then there is the chameleonic Shimon Peres, a man who enjoyed adulation amongst many in the West. They would do well to google the Qana massacre in southern Lebanon, an abhorrent act of barbarity that he once famously said he was at ‘peace’ with (no pun intended). See also Ehud Olmert, who, whilst being relatively outspoken against the ongoing genocide in Gaza (not using that language, of course), oversaw the targeted assassination of Palestinian leaders, the 2006 war in Lebanon and the continued expansion of illegal Israeli settlements. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak was threatened with arrest whilst visiting the UK in 2009 over allegations of war crimes committed in Gaza while he was defence minister. Others, including Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, have made it very clear that they have little to no interest in making ‘peace’ with Palestinians, nor even in countenancing the notion that there would ever be a Palestinian state.
What should be abundantly clear, therefore, is that for Palestinians, as Elaine Bradley and I have previously argued, the passing of time can be mapped on to a series of failed ‘peace’ processes, from Madrid to Oslo to Wye River to Camp David. The consistent theme has been the creeping erasure of Palestine and a doubling down of the West’s support for Israel’s expansive settler colonial aims.
I don’t say any of this whimsically, but those who are advocating for Palestine must be far more critical in their analysis than simply hoping for change based on the possible downfall of Netanyahu.
If you are committed to Palestinian liberation, you must shun any false ‘hope’ that comes with the appointment of a new political leader in Israel. It is a mirage and an unhelpful distraction. No matter who is in charge, without a fundamental reckoning with the racist ideology that undergirds the Zionist state-building project and a full dismantling of the architectures of militarisation and apartheid, things will continue along the same path. Our role, therefore, is not to place any false hope in a change of leadership inside Israel, but to double down on our efforts to ensure we do all at our disposal to support inevitable Palestinian liberation.
OPINION: Ireland’s university leaders must step up where the Irish government has failed
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
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.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister. He asks who could possibly object to the IDF starving people to death, conducting forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing all Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He says they’ve got a genocide to do for Israel and to stop objecting
Ed Miliband says that he and the Labour Party are full of shit criminalising people holding signs as terrorists despite anything he says.
28 October 2026
Belgian trade unions urge public broadcaster to reverse Eurovision 2027 participation decision
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Eurovision Song Contest logo [Pavlo Conchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Trade unions at Belgian public broadcaster VRT urged its management on Tuesday to reconsider its decision to participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, calling on it to follow the example of the Netherlands, Anadolu reports.
The unions urged VRT management not to wait for additional staff action before reversing its decision, after Dutch public broadcasters announced that the Netherlands would not participate in next year’s contest.
“Perhaps our management also needs 500 signatures from employees first to reverse its decision. In that case, we will gladly collect them,” Carlos Van Hoeymissen of the ACV-VRT trade union told the broadcaster.
He added that conversations showed support for VRT’s participation in the contest was limited.
READ: Lithuania says it will not join Eurovision 2027 boycott over Israel’s participation
Another trade union, ACOD-VRT, said the Dutch broadcaster NPO had made “the only morally acceptable decision” by withdrawing from an event in which Israel continues to participate.
The two unions have already filed a strike notice covering the Eurovision broadcast dates of May 11, 13 and 15, 2027, in protest against VRT’s decision to send a candidate.
Israel’s participation in Eurovision has prompted growing calls for boycotts and renewed pressure on broadcasters to withdraw from the contest in protest against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and injured over 175,000 others in Gaza, while around 90% of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure has been destroyed.
READ: Spain’s public broadcaster plans to continue Eurovision boycott over Israel’s participation
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.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister. He asks who could possibly object to the IDF starving people to death, conducting forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing all Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He says they’ve got a genocide to do for Israel and to stop objecting
Ed Miliband says that he and the Labour Party are full of shit criminalising people holding signs as terrorists despite anything he says.
28 October 2026
Israel’s Ben-Gvir blasts Netanyahu over reported US-backed plan to form government without him
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Election campaign posters featuring candidates are displayed along streets and roads in Jerusalem on October 10, 2026, as campaigning continues ahead of Israel’s general elections scheduled for October 27. [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency]
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of planning to form a US-backed government that excludes him, Anadolu reports.
In a post on the US social media platform X, Ben-Gvir said Netanyahu had “promised the US administration that, following the election, he would form a unity government with Gadi Eisenkot — and without Ben-Gvir.”
His remarks came after newspaper Israel Hayom reported that US President Donald Trump is pushing for a unity government involving Netanyahu and his main challenger Eisenkot, with the Israeli premier reportedly signaling in closed-door talks that he would be willing to abandon his far-right allies to advance the Abraham Accords to normalize ties with Arab countries, including with Saudi Arabia.
The developments come as Israelis continued to vote on Tuesday in parliamentary elections that will determine the country’s next government.
READ: Netanyahu says Ben-Gvir will hold prominent ministerial position in next government
The elections are Israel’s first general polls since the start of its genocidal war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
For his part, Netanyahu called Ben-Gvir’s comments an “election trick” to mobilize voters.
“How many times are you going to keep repeating this trick?” he wrote on X.
Netanyahu, who has headed the current government since late 2022, is on trial on corruption charges, including bribery, fraud and breach of trust. If convicted, he could face imprisonment.
He also faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the war in Gaza that killed more than 74,000 people and injured over 175,000 others.
READ: Amnesty UK slams Israeli elections as ‘apartheid at the ballot box’
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.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister. He asks who could possibly object to the IDF starving people to death, conducting forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing all Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He says they’ve got a genocide to do for Israel and to stop objecting
Ed Miliband says that he and the Labour Party are full of shit criminalising people holding signs as terrorists despite anything he says.
28 October 2026
Whose interests does the ceasefire serve?
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The home of Ibrahim Muhammad Hamad, who was preparing to get married next month in Gaza, is reduced to rubble by an Israeli attack in Nuseritat camp, near Deir al Balah, Gaza, Palestine on October 23, 2026. [Moiz Salhi – Anadolu Agency]
by Ramona Wadi walzerscent
A new report released yesterday by the UN Commission of Inquiry states that Israel is still committing genocide in Gaza after the ceasefire agreement which was reached on 10 October 2025. Referencing earlier reports concluding that Israel had committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Gaza, the report goes on to state “The cases investigated for this report … show that the Israeli authorities and forces continue to commit genocidal acts with the genocidal intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in Gaza.”
In the occupied West Bank, the report notes, there was an increase in the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes: from six between 2008 and 6 October 2023, to 254 between 7 October 2023 and 30 September 2026.
Whose interests does the ceasefire serve, if Israel is still committing genocide against the Palestinian people?
Since the ceasefire, discourse has mostly centred on humanitarian aid, rebuilding Gaza, the Yellow Line and forced displacement. Taken together, including the farce of rebuilding Gaza when Israel has repeatedly said it will not withdraw from the territory it occupied, the report reflects the Commission of Inquiry’s statement regarding genocide. The only change has been the vocabulary – with the ceasefire, genocide is rarely spoken of by world leaders. Instead, the focus is once again on separate human rights violations, limiting the context of Israel’s genocide and completely obliterating colonialism from the equation.
Such rhetoric served Israel well throughout the decades. In his final UN General Assembly speech, Secretary General Antonio Guterres referred to the International Court of Justice’s reference to genocide but spoke of “raising the spectre of ethnic cleansing” in his UN role. “We cannot allow the two-state solution to disappear before our eyes,” Guterres said. What better way to ensure Israel’s impunity than to talk of saving the defunct two-state paradigm?
READ: The failed humanitarian paradigm exposes governments’ complicity in violence
Under the diplomatic shelter provided by the ceasefire, world leaders can pretend to restore the status quo and use the same discredited framework to whitewash their conduct. There is no international opposition to this equation. There is Gaza, of course, which bears the full consequences of the genocide, including the impunity the international community has granted Israel and, by extension, itself.
Gaza also pays the price of the failed ceasefire, which the international community uses as cover to avoid confronting the evidence of genocide. That evidence is well documented, yet governments prefer to describe Israel’s actions as a series of separate violations of international law rather than as genocide.
Israel did not stop its genocide during the ceasefire; it scaled it back to a level the international community finds acceptable. The only ones who benefit are those complicit in it. Beyond periodic calls on Israel to respect the ceasefire, the international community has made no real move to hold it accountable. On the contrary, it is relieved to return to the language it used before, when diplomats did not have to confront an open genocide and ethnic cleansing could be dismissed as isolated cases of forced displacement. This is what the ceasefire has achieved. It will likely rescue the rhetoric of a two-state solution before it rescues Palestinians in Gaza.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
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.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister. He asks who could possibly object to the IDF starving people to death, conducting forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing all Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He says they’ve got a genocide to do for Israel and to stop objecting
Ed Miliband says that he and the Labour Party are full of shit criminalising people holding signs as terrorists despite anything he says.
28 October 2026