Isaac Herzog (centre) with LFI chair Jon Pearce to his left (Image: LFI/Twitter)
LABOUR MPs have visited Israel on a lobbying trip amid the country’s brutal assault on Gaza.
The party’s most prominent pro-Israel group, Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), sent a delegation of parliamentarians including chair Jon Pearce, as well as fellow Labour MPs Cat Eccles, Kevin McKenna, Peter Prinsley and Mark Sewards.
Former Labour MP and House of Lords member Luciana Berger also joined.
They were pictured with a host of Israeli politicians over the course of the four-day delegation, which appears to have taken place last week, including president Isaac Herzog.
Herzog has previously been criticised after photographs showed him signing Israeli bombs set to be dropped on Gaza.
Vote Labour for Genocide.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/O74hZCKKdpAUK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
The deal stipulated that negotiations on the second phase should have begun on day 16 of the first phase. However, Israel has deliberately obstructed second phase negotiations for about four weeks.
As the first phase of the deal was approaching its end, Netanyahu suspended the release of the seventh batch of Palestinian prisoners on February 23 for multiple days.
The head of the Israeli government used what he called “Hamas’s humiliating ceremonies” while releasing Israeli captives in the Gaza strip as a pretext for the suspension.
However, analysts suggested that Netanyahu only resorted to that claim in order to extend the first phase of the deal and therefore secure the release of more Israel captives before moving to the next phases.
After the intervention of mediators and guarantors of the deal, namely Qatar and Egypt, Hamas did consider the cancellation of the ceremonies, in order to undermine Netanyahu’s plans to sabotage the deal. As a result, the seventh and final batch of Palestinian prisoners was released late Thursday, February 27.
Backed by the US, Netanyahu bans humanitarian aid as a tool of war
Left in the lurch by Hamas’ flexibility, Netanyahu ordered the closure of all crossings into Gaza, blocking the entry of humanitarian aid and supplies into the war-torn besieged enclave on Sunday, March 2. His order came one day after the first phase of the deal had elapsed.
On Monday, March 3, Netanyahu warned that Israel might return to war with Gaza if Hamas did not return Israeli captives held in the Gaza strip.
Addressing Hamas, while speaking to the Israeli Parliament, Netanyahu said: “there will be consequences that you cannot imagine” if Israeli captives were not released.
The threats from the head of the Israeli government came days after a proposal was put forward by Trump’s “Middle East” envoy Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire during the Muslim’s holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover.
Witkoff represented the proposal as an in-between phase, which stipulated that half of the remaining Israeli captives in Gaza, both living and deceased, would be freed on the first day of the proposed phase.
Netanyahu agreed to the proposal as it appeared to align with his plans, but Hamas categorically rejected it, saying it bypasses previously signed agreements.
The Israeli Prime Minister threatened to resume the war and banned humanitarian aid into Gaza just before the Emergency Arab Summit on Gaza was held in Egypt on Tuesday, March 4. The summit aims to put forward a unanimous proposal for ruling and reconstructing post-war Gaza, without displacing Palestinians.
Analysts suggest that Netanyahu has recently increased pressure on Hamas in an attempt to force concessions, such as accepting demilitarization and Trump’s reconstruction plan for Gaza, which primarily aims to displace Palestinians.
Trump’s administration has been fueling Netanyahu’s bravado while sabotaging the ceasefire deal, not only by providing diplomatic cover but also by sending further military aid to Israel.
The US announced on Saturday that it will expedite the delivery of approximately USD 4 billion in military assistance to Israel. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that nearly USD 12 billion in major foreign military sales to Israel were approved since Trump took over in January.
Rubio reaffirmed that the US “will continue to use all available tools to fulfill America’s long-standing commitment to Israel’s security, including means to counter security threats.”
Hamas documents 962 Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement
In a televised speech, Senior Hamas leader Osama Hamdan described Netanyahu’s ban of humanitarian aid into Gaza and threats to return to war as “cheap blackmail” which aims to avoid starting negotiations for the second phase.
“Israel is pushing to return matters to ‘square one’ by proposing alternatives to the Gaza ceasefire agreement such as extending the first phase of the deal,” Hamdan stated.
The senior official listed 962 violations of the Gaza ceasefire and captives-for-prisoners swap deal committed by Israel during the first phase of the deal.
Military advances
According to Hamdan, the violations included almost daily advances beyond agreed-upon withdrawal lines, gunfire, killings of civilians, home demolitions, land bulldozing, and preventing displaced persons from returning for two full days. These violations resulted in killing 116 Palestinians and injuring 490 others.
Blocking humanitarian relief
Israel has resumed its wartime policy of blocking crucial humanitarian aid and relief trucks. While the agreement stipulated the entry of 50 fuel trucks daily, instead, an average of 23 trucks per day were allowed to enter throughout 42 days.
Obstructing infrastructure recovery and reconstruction
Palestinians in Gaza are in urgent need of dwelling amidst the mass destruction inflicted by Israel across the besieged strip. Yet only 15 mobile homes “out of the 60,000 agreed upon, were allowed to enter in addition to a limited number of tents.”
Israel has also prevented the entry of heavy machinery necessary “for clearing rubble and recovering bodies. While at least 500 machines are needed to accomplish the mission, only nine machines were allowed in.
The senior Palestinian official added that Israel banned the commercial sector from importing fuel of all types, “despite an explicit provision in the agreement permitting this.”
Construction materials needed for infrastructure rehabilitation and hospital restoration and essential medical equipment to rehabilitate hospitals, were blocked from entering Gaza. Moreover, civil defense equipment has been among the banned items.
Operation of the power plant and the entry of necessary supplies for its rehabilitation, were also prevented. Even the entry of cash liquidity into banks has been blocked, and the exchange of damaged currency notes has been refused.
Targeting fishermen and airspace violations
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) prevented Palestinian fishermen from returning to the sea, shooting at them, and arresting some. The IOF’s aircrafts and drones operated during prohibited hours (10–12 hours daily), with 210 violations recorded.
Delaying prisoner releases
The deliberate delay in releasing Palestinian prisoners in the first phase, along with their humiliation and mistreatment, was also included in the list of violations.
Stalling negotiations
Hamdan emphasized that the deliberate delay in starting the negotiations of phase two, is a major political violation of the deal. He blamed the mediators and guarantors of the deal for the delay, saying that they “bear full responsibility for preventing Netanyahu from sabotaging all the efforts made to reach the agreement and for protecting the agreement from collapse.”
Regional and global implications
The senior Hamas leader pointed out that “international security and stability are now at risk in light of absolute US support for the Zionist entity and the international silence that remains unmoved” by Israel’s “lawlessness”.
“Israel threatens to resume the genocidal war against our people, escalates its aggression in the West Bank, continues its aggression on Lebanon, and wages a brutal attack on Syria as well. The consequences of this will not be limited to our people and our nation,” Hamdan warned.
In a message to Netanyahu that the movement will never accept his demilitarization plans, Hamdan concluded his speech using a phrase usually used by Abu Obaida, the military spokesperson of Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. Hamdan declared: “It is jihad of victory or martyrdom.”
Injured Palestinians, including children, are brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah for treatment aftermath of Israeli attack on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Bureij Camp, Gaza on January 4, 2025. (Photo: Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“The Biden administration is ending its tenure as it has acted throughout it,” said A New Policy co-founder Josh Paul, “with a complete disregard for Palestinian humanity, American laws, and American interests.”
Human rights advocates in the United States and around the world on Monday condemned outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden for continuing to fuel Israel’s genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip with a pending $8 billion weapons package.
Since Axoisrevealed late Friday that his administration had notified Congress of the deal, Biden has faced a fresh flood of outrage, with critics calling the president “morally bankrupt” and his decision to keep arming Israel “willful madness.”
“Too many kids still alive in Gaza for Joe Biden’s liking,” Yousef Munayyer, a Palestinian American political analyst, said on social media. “This is an administration of cowards and criminals and will go down as a historic worst.”
Two men who resigned from the Biden administration over U.S. support for Israel’s assault on Gaza—which has killed at least 45,854 Palestinians and led to a genocide case at the International Court of Justice—shared sharp critiques on Monday.
“The Biden administration is ending its tenure as it has acted throughout it,” said ex-U.S. State Department official Josh Paul, “with a complete disregard for Palestinian humanity, American laws, and American interests.”
“The precedent set by the Biden administration will surely haunt our nation for many years to come.”
Paul and former Education Department official Tariq Habash launched the lobbying group A New Policy in October. Habash also took aim at Biden’s new effort to arm Israel with missiles for fighter jets and attack helicopters, 155 mm artillery shells, small-diameter bombs, 50-pound warheads, bomb fuzes, and kits used to convert “dumb bombs” into precision-guided munitions.
“Americans continue to struggle here at home, so the notion that the Biden administration would push another $8 billion in weapons to Israel on the backs of American [taxpayers] demonstrates how unmoored this administration has become from its values and its commitments to the American people,” said Habash. “The precedent set by the Biden administration will surely haunt our nation for many years to come.”
Win Without War executive director Sara Haghdoosti also denounced the effort, saying in a Monday statement that “these weapon sales won’t bring hostages home and don’t get us closer to a viable long-term solution that ensures Israelis and Palestinians can live with dignity without the threat of violence.”
“Many of the types of weapons reported to be part of this $8 billion package have been used—or are likely to be used—to kill and wound Palestinian civilians in Gaza, in a war that drags on because the president and his advisers refused to exercise real leverage to end it,” she noted. “This new tranche of weapons will surely be used to the same horrific ends.”
Haghdoosti highlighted that “President Biden and his senior advisers continue skirting U.S. laws that should prohibit the sale of deadly weapons while Israeli officials restrict humanitarian aid and seek to make Gaza uninhabitable.”
Violating U.S. and international law one last time on their way out. https://t.co/ZCShUa807B
Despite attempts by progressives in Congress such as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to block some arms to Israel, Democratic and Republican lawmakers have repeatedly voted to send more—including with the $895 billion National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2025 that they sent to Biden’s desk last month.
News of the $8 billion package comes just two weeks away from the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Paul said that “there is no need to rush these sales to completion, but it is clear President Biden and his appointees at the State Department do not have confidence in the Trump administration to follow through on their decision to rush arms to Israel with no questions asked, which is why they are pushing through these sales now.”
While the current administration is clearly aiming to push the package through ahead of the looming transition of power in the United States, Trump is widely expected to serve as an ally to Israel, as he did in his first term. Haghdoosti sounded the alarm about the Republican’s return to the White House with a GOP-controlled Congress.
“These latest sales mark a bleak handoff to the incoming Trump administration, whose senior nominees openly ally with far-right Israeli government ministers who plan to settle Gaza and annex the West Bank, all but guaranteeing another generation of displacement and deprivation that will undermine security for Palestinians and Israelis alike,” she said.
Trump and far-right leaders in Israel—including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir—”will use these sales to advance that violent project,” Haghdoosti added. “It is an utter shame that President Biden has chosen to abet it during his final days in office.”
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8.10 GMT 7/1/25. I posted this originally at approx 23.30 GMT 6/1/25. This blog was immediately disabled with a “we are checking your connection” endless loop. I’ve since disabled Cloudflare CDN and need to fully disengage it. Please be inspired by the song – it can be developed in so many ways. Son with a gun … Pardon?
Hundreds of people gather in front of Radio City Music Hall to protest President Joe Biden’s support for Israel in New York City on March 28, 2024. (Photo: Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We will continue to raise our voices of dissent until Palestinians are free,” said one activist with Jewish Voice for Peace.
Palestinian youth and descendants of Holocaust survivors were among those who protested a record-breaking fundraiser for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall late Thursday, repeatedly interrupting the glitzy event with shouts of opposition to Israel’s U.S.-backed war on Gaza.
“You are all complicit in genocide!” one activist yelled as security escorted her from the venue. As Biden spoke, another demonstrator shouted: “Palestinians are dying because of your actions… Blood is on your hands!”
The president said during his remarks that there have been “too many innocent victims, Israeli and Palestinian.”
“It’s understandable Israel has such a profound anger and Hamas is still there,” Biden said. “But we must, in fact, stop the effort that is resulting in significant deaths of innocent civilians, particularly children.”
BREAKING: Palestinian youth, descendants of Holocaust survivors, doctors, and climate activists disrupt the biggest fundraiser in the history of the Democratic Party at NYC’s iconic Radio City Music Hall calling on @POTUS to Stop Arming Israel pic.twitter.com/qcIKOtxhbj
The disruption was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the Palestinian Youth Movement, and other advocacy groups. JVP said some ticketholders were denied entry to the fundraiser. In recent weeks, the Biden campaign has worked to shield the president from Gaza-related protests by holding smaller rallies and carefully vetting attendees.
“We refused to be silenced,” Jay Saper of JVP said Thursday. “We will continue to raise our voices of dissent until Palestinians are free.”
In a statement late Thursday, the Biden campaign didn’t acknowledge the protests, calling the gathering of celebrities and high-profile Democratic figures—including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama—”the most successful political fundraising event in the history of American politics.”
The event raised a staggering $26 million for the incumbent president’s reelection bid against presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, Biden’s campaign said. Ticket prices ranged from $225 to $500,000.
“More money got donors more intimate time with the presidents,” according toThe Associated Press. “A photo with all three was $100,000. A donation of $250,000 earned donors access to one reception, and $500,000 got them into an even more exclusive gathering.”
Outside the venue, Palestinian rights advocates marched in the streets to condemn Biden’s unwavering support for Israel’s military as it massacres and starves Gazans.
“Joe Biden has been enabling the genocide,” Jacob Sierra, a 27-year-old protest attendee, toldThe New York Times. Sierra said he is a registered Democrat and voted for Biden in 2020.
A Gallup poll released earlier this week showed that an overwhelming majority of Democratic voters, including young people and other key elements of the Democratic base, oppose Israel’s military assault on the Gaza Strip. The survey found that just 18% of Democratic voters currently approve of Israel’s war, down from 36% in November.
Scenes from Biden's fundraiser in NY.
This previews what will happen at the Democratic Convention in August.
While running on a platform of saving American democracy from Trump, Biden is tearing the Democratic party apart with his blind support for Israel's slaughter in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/u0w2JypBEF
Widespread outrage over Biden’s diplomatic and military support for Israel’s assault has sparked mounting concerns among some Democratic donors and activists.
Last week, more than 100 of them signed a letter warning that “because of the disillusionment of a critical portion of the Democratic coalition, the Gaza war is increasing the chances of a Trump victory.”
“We are asking the Biden administration immediately to change course,” the party donors and activists wrote. “Conditions need to be placed and monitored on any further military, financial, or diplomatic aid. All indiscriminate bombing and demolition must stop.”
