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International campaign demands the resumption of ICRC’s visits to political detainees in Israeli jails

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Original article by Aseel Saleh republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Protest at ICRC building in Gaza in support of Palestinian political prisoners in 2024. Photo: AA

The Israeli occupation authorities have banned the international organization from visiting political detainees held in its prisons since October 7, 2023, which many say reflects Israel’s collective punishment policy.

A press conference was held in front of the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Al-Bireh city, in the central occupied West Bank on Tuesday, February 10.

The event was organized as part of an international campaign to gather one million signatures demanding that the ICRC resume its visits to Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails.

A number of press conferences were held in parallel in nine other cities across the world, including Beirut, Gaza, Cairo, Rabat, Tunis, Brussels and Paris in coincidence with the one held in Al-Bireh.

It is worth mentioning that Israel has banned the international organization from visiting the prisoners since October 7, 2023.

The political detainees held by Israel have also been deprived of family visits, and their lawyers have rarely been able to meet them for 28 months, amid continuously deteriorating humanitarian conditions inside the prisons.

The brutal crackdown against the Palestinian Prisoners’ Movement pre-dates the genocide in Gaza, but began in January 2023, by Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Read more: The Palestinian Prisoners’ Movement: the struggle behind bars

Israel has misused the presence of the ICRC in the occupied territories to whitewash its crimes, says Qadura Fares

During the conference, former head of the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Qadura Fares, highlighted the key role that the ICRC has played in safeguarding various humanitarian issues internationally and inside occupied Palestine, including the prisoners’ issue.

“We know that the ICRC operates in accordance with international conventions, and in a way that is consistent with its mission as an international humanitarian organization. We are not asking the ICRC to do anything beyond its capacity, but to exert pressure on Israel through the appropriate international legal channels,” Fares noted.

“Nobody can expect Itamar Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu or Smotrich as racist fascist leaders to reconsider their decisions and permit the visits to the prisoners again on their own,” the prominent Palestinian political leader added.

Fares emphasized that this goal will be reached only with pressure being exerted on the Israeli authorities in order to cancel the arbitrary measures against the prisoners.

He also affirmed that the ICRC is able to exert such pressure, but it opted to work “within the limits of the authorization given to it by the Israeli occupation government.”

Fares further pointed out that Israel is misusing the presence of the ICRC and other international organizations in the occupied territories to whitewash its image, by showing that these international bodies are allowed to operate there, while their jurisdiction is extremely restricted and confined by the unlawful Israeli regulations.

The prisoners’ issue is a concern of people of conscience worldwide

Meanwhile, director of the Center for the Defense of Liberties and Civil Rights (Hurryyat), Helmi Al-Araj, asserted that the fact that the campaign has been launched from many cities around the world, including European cities “provides a conclusive evidence that the segregation of the detainees in ghetto-like prisons led to an uprising by the people of conscience all over the globe to support them.”

“This once again proves that all the peoples who struggle for freedom worldwide consider the issue of the Palestinian prisoners, in particular, and the Palestinian cause, in general, their own cause,” Al-Araj maintained. 

For his part, Palestinian political activist, freedom fighter, and former prisoner in Israeli jails, Omar Assaf, indicated that Lebanese and Syrian nationals have also been held in Israeli prisons, while the majority of the prisoners detained by Israel are Palestinians.

Original article by Aseel Saleh republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
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
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.
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.
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.
Continue ReadingInternational campaign demands the resumption of ICRC’s visits to political detainees in Israeli jails

Global Protests Tell Trump and His Cronies: ‘Hands Off Venezuela’

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Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

People gather outside the US Embassy in Madrid, Spain to protest the Trump administration’s attack on Venezuela on January 4, 2025. (Photo by Diego Radames/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“This is militarized authoritarianism,” said one advocacy group. “We must act to stop it now, before it spreads to enflame the entire region, if not the entire globe, in a dangerous, unnecessary conflict.”

Protests broke out at US diplomatic outposts across the globe Saturday and Sunday following the Trump administration’s deadly attack on Venezuela and abduction of the nation’s president, brazen violations of international law that—according to the American president—were just the start of a sustained intervention in Venezuela’s politics and oil industry.

Demonstrators took to the streets of Brussels, Madrid, Ankara, Mexico City, Los Angeles, and other major cities worldwide to voice opposition to the US assault on Venezuela and Trump administration officials’ pledge to “run” the country’s government for an unspecified period of time, a plan that Venezuelan leaders have publicly met with defiance.

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The US Mission to Mexico—one of several Latin American countries Trump threatened in the aftermath of the attack on Venezuela—warned in an alert issued Saturday that “a protest denouncing US actions against Venezuela continues to take place in front of the US Embassy in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City.”

“Protestors have thrown rocks and painted vandalism on exterior walls,” the alert read. “Social media posts about the protest have included anti-American sentiment. Embassy personnel have been advised to avoid the area.”

Protest Against U.S. Intervention In Venezuela

Social and political organizations mobilized to the US Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico on January 3, 2026. (Photo by Miguel M. Caamano/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Hundreds gather in front of the US Embassy in Brussels, Belgium on January 4, 2025. (Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Protesters In Ankara Demonstrate Against US Actions In Venezuela

Demonstrators hold posters and chant slogans during a protest in front of the US Embassy on January 4, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. (Photo by Serdar Ozsoy/Getty Images)

A photograph taken on January 4, 2026 shows an anti-war placard in Brussels

A photograph taken on January 4, 2026 shows an anti-war placard in Brussels during a demonstration against the US attack on Venezuela. (Photo by Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga/AFP via Getty Images)

Protesters gather during a demonstration in front of the US Embassy in Madrid

Protesters gather during a demonstration in front of the US Embassy on January 4, 2026 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Olmo Blanco/Getty Images)

The global demonstrations came as some world leaders, including top European officials, faced backlash for failing to adequately condemn—or condemn at all—the US attack on Venezuela and continued menacing of a sovereign nation.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said she supports “a peaceful and democratic transition,” without mentioning or denouncing the illegal abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and US bombings that reportedly killed at least 40 people, including civilians.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis declared that “this is not the time to comment on the legality of the recent actions” as protesters gathered in Athens in opposition to the US assault.

“If you still believe that the European Union cares about international law, then look no further,” wrote Progressive International co-general coordinator David Adler, pointing to Mitsotakis’ statement.

“We are outraged, but this moment demands more than outrage. It demands organized, coordinated resistance.”

Mass protests and demands for international action to halt US aggression proliferated amid ongoing questions about how the Trump administration intends to carry out its stated plan to control Venezuela and exploit its oil reserves—objectives that experts say would run afoul of domestic and international law.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who played a central role in planning the Venezuela attack and has been chosen by Trump to manage the aftermath, said Sunday that the administration intends to keep in place a military “quarantine” around the South American nation—including the massive naval force amassed in the Caribbean in recent months—to pressure the country’s leadership to bow to US demands.

“That’s a tremendous amount of leverage that will continue to be in place until we see changes, not just to further the national interest of the United States, which is number one, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela,” Rubio said in a television interview.

Rubio also suggested the president could deploy US troops to Venezuela and dodged questions about the legal authority the Trump administration has to intervene in the country. The administration has not sought congressional authorization for any of its attacks on vessels in the Caribbean or Venezuela directly.

US Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Sunday that “in recent history, we’ve tried ‘running’ multiple countries in Latin America and the Middle East. It’s been a disaster for us, and for them, every single time.”

“Congress must pass a War Powers Resolution to get our military back to defending the US, instead of ‘running’ Venezuela,” Casar added.

Progressive Democrats of America echoed that demand, saying in a statement that “this is militarized authoritarianism.”

“We must act to stop it now, before it spreads to enflame the entire region, if not the entire globe, in a dangerous, unnecessary conflict,” the group added. “We are outraged, but this moment demands more than outrage. It demands organized, coordinated resistance.”

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn't bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Continue ReadingGlobal Protests Tell Trump and His Cronies: ‘Hands Off Venezuela’

140,000 march in Brussels against austerity

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Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Source: Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA)

Around 140,000 people joined trade union protests in Brussels, opposing austerity measures planned by Bart De Wever’s administration.

Approximately 140,000 people took to the streets of Brussels on October 14, 2025, answering the call of Belgium’s trade unions to oppose the austerity plans of Bart De Wever’s government. Demonstrators arrived from across the country, making this one of the largest labor mobilizations in years.

“People came from all over Belgium, from all walks of life: workers, employees from both the public and private sectors, from all the professions that keep society running,” said Peter Mertens, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA). “A total of 140,000 people who are fed up with this government’s social destruction.”

Prime Minister De Wever’s administration has pressed ahead with plans to cut workplace protections and freeze income while increasing military spending, including the purchase of new F-35 fighter jets. “With its summer agreement, the government is further reducing social security, social rights, and purchasing power, and therefore the future prospects of the population,” said the trade union FGTB-ABVV. “On the other hand, it has found money to buy more drones and warplanes.”

Read more: Belgians to government: “We won’t sacrifice pensions for warplanes”

Trade unions and the PTB-PVDA have warned that certain groups of workers will be hit hardest by the reforms – particularly women, who risk being penalized for taking maternity leave if they cannot produce the required documentation. “The government intends to deliberately steal from thousands of women who took maternity leave before 2003,” FGTB-ABVV activists wrote in Syndicats Magazine. “These women will bear the ‘burden of proof’ for this leave. Otherwise, what? Their maternity leave will simply not be counted in their pension calculations. This is a discriminatory choice, and a deliberate one. It shows a total lack of respect.”

Feminists against Arizona coalition. Source: Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA)

But all workers are expected to suffer under the new wave of austerity: younger employees will face weaker protections on night work, while those retired or nearing retirement could see their pensions slashed. “Figures from the Federal Pension Service show that 30% of people – 70% of whom are women – will lose an average of 318 euros per month. That’s a third of their pension,” said Thierry Bodson, head of the FGTB-ABVV, in a recent interview. “For many, that automatically means falling below the poverty line.”

“Investing in weapons and cutting back on pensions is a political choice,” Mertens explained ahead of the protest. “By 2070, pension spending would rise by 2% of GDP, which the Reformist Movement (Mouvement réformateur) claims is impossible [to fund]. Yet increasing defense budgets by 2% over ten years is entirely possible for them.”

Read more: World Bank acknowledges poverty increase in Nigeria, but doubles down on the reforms causing it

The government has attempted to dismiss the unions’ and the left’s analyses but largely failed to do so, only managing to offer vague assurances that pensions would not be cut and protections would be preserved. “All these distortions, half-truths, and blatant lies prove one thing: the government is under pressure,” Mertens said.

“What we feel today is incredible energy, collective pride, and great determination,” he added on the day of the demonstration. “More and more people are realizing: together, we can make the government back down. Together, we can win.”

Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue Reading140,000 march in Brussels against austerity

100,000 protest in Brussels against Arizona coalition’s austerity and attacks on rights

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Original article by Ana Vračar from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Trade union youth bloc during protest against austerity and cuts. Source: MPLP-GVHV/Facebook

A mass protest filled the streets of Brussels, rejecting the Arizona coalition’s plans to attack social and labor rights

100,000 people, led by trade unions, took to the streets of Brussels on Thursday, February 13, to protest the anti-worker policies of the newly appointed Arizona coalition government. The demonstrators demanded respect for labor rights, including pension policies that ensure dignified lives, as well as the protection of the right to protest. They called for a society built on solidarity, peace, and social progress, rejecting the “every-man-for-himself” mentality promoted by the government.

Workers who joined the protest expressed their fears of losing their livelihoods under the new administration but also spoke of the inspiration they felt in standing together. “It’s incredible to see so many people—firefighters, soldiers, childcare workers, warehouse workers,” an Industeel worker told the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) during the protest. “I even ran into one of my old teachers who is now retired. I hadn’t seen him in years.”

If implemented, the government’s program is expected to deal serious blows to the working class. Planned changes to the pension system would force many to work longer, including in physically demanding sectors like construction and healthcare, where exhaustion takes an early toll. At the same time, protections in the workplace would be reduced, including through the liberalization of night work and overtime, while social services crucial to workers’ well-being would face severe cuts.

Read more: Belgium’s Arizona coalition threatens more austerity and attacks on civil rights

According to a brief published by Medics for the People (MPLP-GVHV), healthcare services are projected to suffer half a billion euros in losses compared to earlier plans—and approximately 1.5 billion euros less than what is actually needed. This is despite claims from the governing majority that healthcare funding will remain stable or increase. The cuts will undoubtedly impact both workers and patients. Healthcare staff, already stretched to their limits, will face further strain, while patients will experience declining service quality and accessibility. Similar repercussions are expected across other sectors, while the wealthiest will remain unaffected.

Another major shift outlined by the Arizona government targets trade unions. Under the pretense of ensuring accountability for trade union actions—framed as preventing “economic damage” by the administration—the government seeks to weaken organized labor. “The aim is for trade unions to be held liable for any economic impact arising from their actions, forcing them into costly and time-consuming legal battles,” the PTB-PVDA stated in its analysis. “This way, unions will have less money and time to engage with workers.”

These attacks on labor rights come as no surprise, given the widespread opposition workers across Belgium have already voiced against Bart De Wever’s cabinet. The protests have been supported by collectives of health and education workers, international solidarity groups, civil society organizations, and youth networks—all of whom expect to bear the burden of the reforms. The administration is also planning to limit public dissent. “To push through its plan for social destruction, the Arizona government is launching an unprecedented attack on democratic rights in Belgium,” PTB-PVDA warned. “The objective is clear: to weaken and silence any opposition.”

However, social movements are ready to fight back. Following this week’s protest, they have already announced new actions, including mobilizations on March 8, International Working Women’s Day, and a general strike on March 31.

Original article by Ana Vračar from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue Reading100,000 protest in Brussels against Arizona coalition’s austerity and attacks on rights

Greta Thunberg Detained at Brussels Climate Protest Against Fossil Fuel Subsidies

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Original article by Edward Carver republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg is detained during a climate protests against fossil fuel subsidies in Brussels on October 5, 2024. (Photo: John Thys/AFP via Getty Images)

Renowned activist Greta Thunberg was detained on Saturday at a climate protest in Brussels aimed at ending European Union fossil fuel subsidies.

The protest included hundreds of campaigners from Extinction Rebellion and other groups; they came together under the name United for Climate Justice (UCJ). One group of them marched in an area near the European Parliament, while another group that included Thunberg blocked a section of the Boulevard du Jardin Botanique.

“Our politicians have failed us,” Paolo Destilo, a UCJ spokesperson, told Politico. “European leaders’ continued support for the fossil fuel industry raises serious questions about their commitment to effective climate action.”

Another UCJ spokesperson, Angela Huston Gold, pointed to devastating floods that recently hit Europe and Africa as a warning sign for the planet.

“Increasingly frequent and extreme natural disasters are likely to claim a billion victims by the end of the century, mainly due to the use of fossil fuels,” Huston Gold said in a statement, citing a 2023 study in Energies, a journal. “To avoid ecological and social collapse, fossil fuel subsidies must end now.”

The European Commission published a report last year showing that the EU spent 123 billion euros ($135 billion) on fossil fuel subsidies in 2022, an increase on previous years that was caused by policy decisions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (2022 was the last year included in the report.) The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development listed still higher figures for 2022.

EU’s Eighth Environment Action Program, which entered into force in May 2022, calls for a phaseout of fossil fuel subsidies, but national governments haven’t taken action, so progress is “uncertain,” according to the European Environment Agency, which is part of the EU.

Thunberg on Saturday told Politico that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who’s been in office since 2019, was not a green champion.

UCJ on Tuesday sent an open letter to von der Leyen and other EU institutional leaders calling for a phaseout of fossil fuel subsidies by 2025. “The EU should provide technical and financial assistance to member states facing challenges in meeting phaseout deadlines and offer incentives for achieving milestones ahead of schedule,” it says.

Staffers at the European Commission were in fact among the demonstrators in Brussels on Saturday, Politico reported.

“There’s a lot of tools the institutions have now to fight climate change, but since the [European Parliament elections in June] there’s been a lot of backtracking,” one commission staffer told Politico, given anonymity in order to speak freely.

“It’s now all about competitiveness and the ‘clean industrial deal,’ whatever that means,” the staffer added. “The urgency has been lost—the Parliament has shifted to the right, the commission in many ways has shifted to the right—and discussion of the climate has faded into the background.”

Thunberg, who’s now 21, came to fame as a 15-year-old activist in Sweden who helped form the global school strikes for climate movement. She’s been arrested numerous times, including at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Denmark earlier this month.

Thunberg and other activists who sat with interlocked arms on the Boulevard du Jardin Botanique were arrested and taken to the police station, according to The Brussels Times.

Original article by Edward Carver republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Continue ReadingGreta Thunberg Detained at Brussels Climate Protest Against Fossil Fuel Subsidies