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Israeli forces and Israeli settlers prevent Palestinian farmers from working on their agricultural fields in the town of Beit Ulla, located west of the city of Hebron, West Bank on November 22, 2025. [Mamoun Wazwaz – Anadolu Agency]
European members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday cited more than 260 illegal Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians in a single month, condemning what they described as record levels of violence in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Anadolu reports.
Speaking on behalf of the E5 — Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia and the UK, British Ambassador James Kariuki said the Council would meet to discuss Resolution 2334, which “explicitly condemns settlement activities and calls on Israel to respect its obligations under international law.”
He warned that “the government of Israel continues to implement policies which contravene this resolution and contribute to rising instability in the West Bank,” adding that this “risks undermining the implementation of the 20-point plan for Gaza and the prospects for a two-state solution, as well as long-term peace and security across the region.”
“We strongly condemn the unprecedented rise in settler violence against Palestinian civilians of all faiths and denominations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with 2025 the most violent year on record,” said Kariuki.
Citing data from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), he stated that “there were over 260 attacks on Palestinians and their property in October alone. This is deeply alarming.”
“These attacks terrorize civilians, obstruct peace efforts and threaten the security of Israel itself,” he said, calling on Israel “to abide by its obligations under international law and protect the Palestinian population of the occupied territories.”
The E5 reiterated its “call for the preservation of and respect for the status quo of Jerusalem’s holy sites.”
“We reiterate our firm opposition to any form of annexation and to the government of Israel’s settlement policies that violate international law,” Kariuki said, stressing that Israel’s decisions to allocate 2.5 billion shekels ($836,527) of funding for illegal settlements, forced evictions of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, approval of E1 settlement plan as well as “thousands of new housing units all risk destabilization and undermine the viability of a Two-State Solution.”
Kariuki emphasized the “vital” work of UNRWA. “We are shocked by Israeli authorities entering UNRWA’s compound in East Jerusalem on 8 December without prior authorization,” he said.
He noted the “inviolable” status of UN premises under international law, and demanded that Israel “respect” and “act fully in line with its obligations under international law.”
On the “precarious” economic situation in the occupied West Bank, Kariuki said, “The continued withholding of Palestinian tax revenues, threats to withdraw correspondent banking relationships, and limits on shekel transfers are wholly unjustifiable.”
“These measures risk financial collapse in the West Bank and a fiscal crisis for the Palestinian Authority, weakening its ability to deliver services, reform and assume responsibilities in Gaza as envisaged in Security Council resolution 2803,” he said.
He demanded that Israel “urgently release withheld revenues, remove or significantly increase shekel transfer limits, and confirm a longer-term extension for correspondent banking relationships to avert economic collapse and uphold prospects for peace and stability.”
“We are deeply concerned by the movement restrictions, forced displacement, and the conduct of operations by Israeli security forces in the West Bank, aggravating the humanitarian situation, and call for their immediate end,” he said.
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dizzy: It’s strange and hypocritical that a UK ambassador is calling on Israel to “… respect its obligations under international law.”
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/O74hZCKKdpAOrcas 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.
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Thousands of demonstrators march through the streets of Paris during a rally held in support of the Palestinian people, in Paris, France, on November 29, 2025. [Ümit Dönmez – Anadolu Agency]
Thousands of people marched through the streets of Paris on Saturday, Nov. 29, to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Anadolu reports.
Demonstrators called for an immediate ceasefire and urged a boycott of Israel as they moved through the French capital.
Protesters carried Palestinian flags and held banners reading “Boycott Israel,” “Genocide, apartheid, occupation… Justice for Gaza,” “Stop the genocide in Gaza,” and “78 years of Nakba, 2 years of genocide.”
The UN designated this day in 1977 as an international occasion to express support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the right to self-determination, national independence, sovereignty, and the return of refugees to the homes from which they were displaced in 1948.
Israel has killed nearly 70,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,000 others in its genocide in Gaza since October 2023.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The Israeli army has also escalated its attacks in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.
More than 1,085 Palestinians have since been killed, and 10,700 others injured in attacks by the army and illegal settlers in the occupied territory. More than 20,500 people have also been arrested.
In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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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 denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide and the UK government and military’s active participation in genocide.
Parched land at Cueva de Las Niñas reservoir in the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, in March 2025. Photograph: Borja Suárez/Reuters
Exclusive: UCL scientists find large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with ‘far-reaching’ implications
Vast swathes of Europe’s water reserves are drying up, a new analysis using two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the UK.
Scientists at University College London (UCL), working with Watershed Investigations and the Guardian, analysed 2002–24 data from satellites, which track changes in Earth’s gravitational field.
Because water is heavy, shifts in groundwater, rivers, lakes, soil moisture and glaciers show up in the signal, allowing the satellites to effectively “weigh” how much water is stored.
The findings reveal a stark imbalance: the north and north-west of Europe – particularly Scandinavia, parts of the UK and Portugal – have been getting wetter, while large swathes of the south and south-east, including parts of the UK, Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Romania and Ukraine, have been drying out.
Climate breakdown can be seen in the data, the scientists say. “When we compare the total terrestrial water storage data with climate datasets, the trends broadly correlate,” said Mohammad Shamsudduha, professor of water crisis and risk reduction at UCL.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
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Israeli army deploy extensive reinforcements to the area and sent armored engineering vehicles to several locations as they launch a large-scale attack early in the morning on the city of Tubas in the northern West Bank and nearby towns on November 26, 2025. [Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency]
France, Germany, Italy, and the UK called on Israel on Thursday to comply with international law and take immediate steps to protect Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, as illegal Israeli settler attacks reached their peak in nearly two decades, Anadolu reports.
In a joint statement, the four countries, known collectively as the E4, “strongly condemn the massive increase of settler violence against Palestinian civilians and call for stability in the West Bank.”
The ministers said they are “deeply alarmed” by what they described as a surge in attacks by Israeli settlers, warning that the escalating violence is destabilizing the West Bank and increasing the risk of wider regional tension.
Citing UN figures, the statement noted that 264 settler attacks were recorded in October, the highest monthly number since systematic monitoring began in 2006.
The E4 called on the Israeli government to “abide by its obligations under international law and protect the Palestinian population of the occupied territories,” stressing that authorities must ensure accountability.
“We therefore urge the Government of Israel to hold those accountable who are responsible for those crimes and to prevent further violence by addressing the root causes of this behaviour,” the statement said.
Reiterating long-standing positions on the conflict, the four governments said they remain opposed to “any form of annexation – whether partial, total or de facto – and settlement policies violating international law.”
They also reaffirmed their support for a negotiated, peaceful settlement to the conflict, stating: “We reaffirm our commitment to a… two-state solution… living side by side in peace and security and mutual recognition.”
The ministers stressed that the ongoing attacks must come to an end.
“These attacks must stop,” they said. “They sow terror among civilians, undermine ongoing peace efforts and ultimately harm the lasting security of the State of Israel itself.”
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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/O74hZCKKdpAOrcas 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.
BAMEX 25 is Mali’s first international defense expo. Photo: screenshot
As panic-inducing travel advisories and doomsaying media reports prophesy the fall of Mali to an Al Qaeda affiliate attacking fuel convoys, the government has re-secured supply routes and hosted Mali’s first international defense expo in a supposedly besieged capital.
Amid a barrage of media reports prophesying the fall of Mali to an Al Qaeda affiliate disrupting its fuel supply by attacking tankers, delegates from ten African countries, Iran, and Turkey attended a defense expo in the capital Bamako from November 11 to 14.
Dismissing this portrayal as a scenario “concocted in the office of foreign intelligence services”, Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop insisted that “the fate of Mali, and the destiny of the people in the West African region will not be decided” by the media.
He made these remarks on November 12, addressing a press conference on the sidelines of BAMEX 25, Mali’s first international defense expo, aimed at building “an autonomous security architecture” for Africa in the face of “unprecedented security and geopolitical challenges”.
This expo, he said, is yet another indication of the Malian government’s priority to strengthen its defense and security to combat the threat of terror groups that were spawned across the Sahel by NATO’s destruction of Libya in 2011.
French-spawned terror groups
Mali was among the first and worst affected by these terror groups. Its former colonizer, France, which was a key participant in Libya’s destruction, then deployed its troops, ostensibly to protect Mali. Over the years, its military presence expanded across the Sahel. Alongside, the armed groups also grew in strength, increasing attacks and the area under their control.
This led to a growing perception that French troops in the region were not fighting the terror groups it helped create but guarding its own economic and political interests in maintaining its neocolonial grip over the troubled former colonies.
In 2021, then-prime minister Choguel Kokalla Maïga recalled in an interview the active role played by France in handing over Mali’s territory to terror groups.
“Upon arriving in” the northern town of Kidal in 2013, “France forbade the Malian army from entering. It created an enclave,” and handed it over to Al-Qaeda affiliate Ansar al Dine and Tuareg separatists brought together, he said. Later in 2017, Ansar al Dine coalesced with other terrorist groups to form the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), which became one of the most dangerous groups in the Sahel.
“It’s an enclave controlled by France. They have armed groups trained by French officers. And we have evidence of this,” Maiga added in his 2021 interview. “Mali has no access to Kidal.”
However, the new government retook Kidal in November 2023, less than a year and a half after expelling the French troops.
“On the ground today, terrorist groups are no match for Mali’s defense and security forces,” Diop told reporters at the press conference. “There have been enormous efforts to equip Mali’s defense and security forces, which have achieved resounding successes” against the terror groups, he said, adding that this has “forced them to change their strategy and now attack softer targets.”
Attacks on fuel convoys
Early this September, the JNIM started attacks on drivers and their tankers carrying fuel from the Ivory Coast in the Sikasso region of southern Mali. “Due to disruptions in fuel supplies that are affecting the movement of school staff,” the Education Ministry suspended classes for two weeks on October 26.
“Do Not Travel to Mali for any reason due to crime, terrorism, kidnapping, unrest, and health,” the US State Department said in a travel advisory on October 25. Three days later, the department issued a second alert, insisting that its citizens in Mali “should” leave the country “using commercial aviation, as overland routes to neighboring countries may not be safe for travel due to terrorist attacks along national highways.”
Australia followed suit on October 29, warning, “If you’re in Mali, you should depart immediately using commercial means while the international airport in Bamako remains open and flights are available. If you decide to remain in Mali, be prepared to shelter in place for an extended period.” Italy and Germany also asked their citizens to leave the country.
Amid the panic-inducing travel advisories and doomsaying media reports, Mali’s president, Col. Assimi Goïta, inaugurated the country’s second Lithium mine on November 3, setting Mali en route to becoming Africa’s leading Lithium producer by 2026.
“There have been disruptions in the supply system,” but “the state organized itself, put in place a strategic plan to resume supplies, to ensure the security of convoys … And gradually, you see that hundreds of trucks are arriving every day to resume supplies to Bamako and other localities,” Diop added in his press conference. “As I speak, Mali is able to ensure the supply of hydrocarbons and petroleum products to its population.”
However, two days after the fuel convoys started arriving, France “advised” its citizens on October 7 to leave Mali “as soon as possible using the remaining available commercial flights” because the “security situation has been deteriorating.”
Mali’s first-ever National Electronic Payments Exhibition was organized in the capital that day by the Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions of Mali (APBEF-Mali) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union’s Interbank Electronic Payment Group (GIM-UEMOA).
Schools reopened on schedule on November 10. That day, President Goïta inaugurated the Presidential Emergency Hospital Project to upgrade six existing health centers in Bamako to district hospitals by the end of 2026, for which a health budget of USD 349.2 million has been allocated. The inauguration also marked the start of construction of nine new hospitals, including in Bougouni, Bandiagara, and Nioro, where attacks had been reported in the recent past.
Despite these indications of improving security, the UK government claimed on November 13 that “Terrorist group Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) has implemented blockades on key routes throughout Southern and Western Mali, including the capital city of Bamako,” where the international defense expo was underway.
“These blockades are targeting fuel trucks and are enforcing checkpoints for individuals attempting to pass through them. Attacks can occur at any time,” added its travel advisory.
A proxy war
“We must not think we are simply facing terrorist groups,” Diop maintains. “No, this is a proxy war, where certain powers, cowardly and unable to confront us directly, are using terrorist groups and asymmetric forces to fight us … These terrorist groups have drones. Where do they come from? Who manufactures them? Who provides them in areas where people cannot even eat?”
Le Monde had reported last year that Ukrainian authorities are training an armed group to use drones. Spokesperson of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Andriy Yusov, had said in an interview that it provided “information, and not only information,” to armed groups fighting the state in Mali.
Earlier in 2022, Diop had written a letter to the UN Security Council, saying Mali had evidence that France was flying missions in Malian airspace to collect intelligence and airdrop arms and ammunition to terror groups.
Mali’s southern neighbor, Burkina Faso, and eastern neighbor, Niger, have also since accused France of supporting terror groups to destabilize their countries after its troops were expelled following a similar sequence of anti-France protests and popular coups.
“Africa is now the epicenter of terrorism,” Nicolas Lerner, head of France’s General Directorate for External Security (DGSE), told France Inter radio on November 10. Calling it a threat to Europe, he insisted it “directly threatens our interests,” effectively trying to set up the case for another military intervention.
Curiously, he went on to add that while the “JNIM wants the fall of the junta and the installation of authorities who back the establishment of a caliphate,” the group itself “is not necessarily capable of controlling Mali, nor does it actually want to.”
Lerner is “saying … it is not even their intention to take Bamako … How [does he] know their intention? Is it you who gives them this intention? Is it you who commands them? Is it you who decides,” questioned Diop.
“This should help us understand how deep the collusion is today between hybrid forces. These are not terrorists – it is a proxy war. But I can assure you that Mali will endure.”
He reiterated that Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, which have formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), are fighting together, convinced that this proxy war is waged on them because they “chose to break the chain of dependency, to break the chain of subjugation to colonial domination.”
He added, “Our countries are being attacked first to break this dynamic and then to prevent other African countries from following this path. And we have understood the political message behind this.” The African Union (AU), however, has not.
“We are not reaching out to the so-called international community to come to our aid”
Amid the chorus by Western countries, the AU’s chairperson, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, called for “a robust, coordinated, and coherent international response to counter terrorism and violent extremism in the Sahel.”
“No action can be … taken in Mali without Malians, without the consent of the Malian state, without the Malian state requesting it,” Diop retorted, affirming, “we are not reaching out to the so-called international community to come to our aid.”
“This call for international action is all the more worrying since Mali has emerged from this type of paradigm,” he added. Having expelled the French troops and asserted sovereignty, “the new paradigm [in the AES] is to trust ourselves and take charge … to ensure the security of our countries rests first and foremost on the shoulders of the people and leaders of our countries.”
