Gaza

Varying degrees of silence over colonialism and annexation

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Israeli far-right groups supporting the expansion of control over Palestinian territories gather at a site housing an Israeli military monument about one kilometer from the Gaza Strip border, calling for an event in Gaza during the Jewish holiday of Passover and repeating demands for further land appropriation, in Israel on April 07, 2026. [Enes Canlı – Anadolu Agency]

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a settlement in Benjamin, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel will expand in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Syria, widening its non-existent borders. The comments are the latest in a series of threats made by Smotrich in which bombing on a scale similar to that in Gaza is being promoted as the step for land appropriation.

The international community cannot say it wasn’t warned after Smotrich’s detailed explanation of colonial expansion in the region. Expanding Israel’s borders is repeatedly asserted. Yet not one single leader has linked Israel’s military and political strategies to implementing the Zionist concept of Greater Israel.

One example of tacit silence was reported by Sydney Criminal Lawyers, who noted that Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s statement on 9 April 2026 spoke of humanitarian concerns and not of Israel’s colonial expansion.

From alleged safety from terror as in the case of Gaza, to buffer zones in Lebanon, Israel is repeating its security narrative in different scenarios to maintain a normalised perception of colonialism – a colonialism that is concealed by the international community’s silence.

Israel’s refusal to define its borders was never truly opposed by the international community. Since the 1948 Nakba, Israel colonial expansion was normalised. The only step the international community committed to was declaring settlements post-1967 illegal. The differentiation failed to stop Israel from expanding further into Palestinian territory and it had a precedent to fall on – the 1948 Nakba defying the 1947 UN Partition Plan.

READ: In Israel’s colonial ethnic cleansing, the world fails stand for decolonisation

In 1937, David Ben Gurion stated, “We shall accept a state in the boundaries fixed today, but the boundaries of Zionist aspirations are the concern of the Jewish people and no external factor will be able to limit them.” Even before Israel’s establishment, Zionism was declaring impunity for the future colonial enterprise. The UN, founded by former colonial powers, found no reason to oppose the Zionist ideology. In fact, the 1947 Partition Plan granted Jewish settlers 56 per cent of Palestinian land.

What Smotrich is declaring today reflects Ben Gurion’s vision of Greater Israel. The international community prefers to eliminate historical references to the earlier Zionist aspirations of annexing South Lebanon, for example, which is what Smotrich is partly inciting for.

The EU is back to considering sanctions – the key word being ‘considering’, not implementing. Spain, the most vocal in Europe in condemning Israel’s genocide in Gaza, has called for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Yet, EU silence over colonialism and annexation remains the norm. Choosing parts of Israel’s security narrative is another EU tactic – disarming Hezbollah is amplified, as is urging Israel to restrain its bombing to Hezbollah targets. However, warning against annexation, which is the mildest the EU can do with regard to Israel’s colonial expansion in the region, is a perfunctory performance.

History provides a clear picture of what Israel seeks to achieve. A referenced plan from decades ago is being ignored in favour of fragmented rhetoric on security concerns and humanitarian aid. There is no real fall out between Israel and the international community, but a repetitive silence regarding colonialism and annexation.

READ: Separating land from the people supports Israel’s colonial expansion

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.

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight 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.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight 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.

Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ...
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone …

Continue ReadingVarying degrees of silence over colonialism and annexation

Netanyahu is behind Iran war, not Trump – and that makes peace unlikely

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Original article by Paul Rogers republished from OpenDemocracy under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. 

Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu will block peace in Iran however he can | Ronen Zvulun / POOL / AFP via Getty Images

Israel’s strikes on Lebanon are a reminder that Netanyahu will do whatever he can to avoid a peace deal with Iran

Within hours of Donald Trump accepting a two-week ceasefire in Iran, walking back on his dire threat that “a whole civilisation will die”, Binyamin Netanyahu did his best to wreck any prospect of peace.

Israel launched an intense bombardment of Beirut and other Lebanese towns and cities, with 100 attacks in the first ten minutes. More than 300 people were killed and more than a thousand wounded, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) also carried out a series of strikes across Gaza, including a precisely targeted armed drone attack on the car of Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Wishah, the 262nd journalist to be killed by Israel since October 2023.

These massacres serve as a reminder that it was Netanyahu, not Trump, who started the war on Iran and that he continues to pull the strings. For as long as that’s true, the prospects of a lasting peace deal are very low.

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Provided the Strait of Hormuz remains open, Trump can now claim victory – even if that claim is far from the truth – but Netanyahu could not.

Trump wanted to kill Ayatollah Khamenei and cripple the Iranian military, including its nuclear ambitions, so Iran could not threaten its neighbours, especially Israel. Of course, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has not been crippled, but the US president’s self-belief and capacity to lie mean he would likely get away with saying otherwise.

The Israeli PM, however, needed regime change and the irreversible end of theocratic rule. A win over Iran had to be complete, not least to ensure his success at Israel’s general election later in the year.

But the Iranian regime is still intact; the popular Iranian uprising against the theocracy that the US and Israel expected failed to materialise. As such, a peace deal at this point would be a disaster for Netanyahu. If his devastating IDF Lebanon assault fails, he no doubt has more tricks of persuasion up his sleeve.

The extent of Netanyahu’s control of the war agenda, both its origins and its conduct, has been both disguised by Trump’s bombastic attention-seeking and overshadowed by the actions of the IRGC, which has survived intense bombing and developed a clear strategy: attack the eyes and ears of US and Israeli systems.

As Kelly Grieco, a specialist at the Stimson Centre, a Washington-based foreign affairs think tank, puts it, the IRGC is systematically targeting three “distinct functional categories”: radar and communications infrastructure, aerial tankers and airborne early warning.

“Each is a critical enabler of US air operations,” Grieco told Defense News. “That’s not random. That’s a target set derived from an understanding of how US airpower functions and where it is most exposed. The pattern suggests deliberate doctrine, or something close enough to it, not opportunism.”

The IRGC indeed reports that its US targets have included the Bahrain HQ of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet – the US’s primary hub for coordinating its naval operations in the region – a $1.1bn early warning radar in Qatar, and two radar facilities at sites in the UAE. It also successfully attacked the US’s Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, destroying an E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control plane. Two weeks earlier, it hit and damaged five KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling aircraft at the same base.

It is essential to remember that the IRGC was founded in the immediate aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and expanded in size and power during the Iran-Iraq War between 1980 and 1988, when as many as half a million young Iranians died resisting Saddam Hussein’s opportunistic invasion of Iran.

Back then, the IRGC managed to prevent Hussein from annexing Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province and gaining total control over the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway. It has evolved into an ideological entity rooted in the defence of the revolution and is much stronger than Iran’s conventional armed forces.

The IRGC’s strength continues to lie in asymmetric defensive warfare. It has training, arsenals and weapons suited to survival and the wearing down of its much stronger opponents. The success of this approach against the US and Israel is clear, despite the thousands of Iranians killed or maimed and the billions of dollars of damage inflicted across the country.

Taking control of the Strait of Hormuz has been an obvious move, and even the repeated attacks on neighbouring states have a purpose. They may have shocked and angered leaders in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar, but they sent a clear message: we are facing an existential threat from the US and Israel, and you are either with us or against us.

Iran could now continue the conflict with the US and Israel for weeks, if not months, if it so chooses. Despite the claims of the US president, the IRGC is not running out of missiles and armed drones – far from it.

CNN reports that around half of its missile launchers are still intact, as are thousands of one-way attack drones, while armed drones are being produced in backstreet workshops. Even Israel assesses that Iran still has more than 1,000 missiles capable of reaching it, while Hezbollah’s arsenal in Lebanon includes as many as 10,000 shorter-range rockets, according to military briefings cited by Israeli media last weekend.

Given all of this, can the peace talks succeed? Probably not, meaning the US may embark on a huge bombing campaign against the Iranian infrastructure and its very society, to the relief of Netanyahu.

There are still two avenues for hope, though. One is that Trump or the US public comes to realise that Netanyahu has been pulling the strings all along, which would undoubtedly dent the US president’s ego. The other is through the objection of external agents of influence; superpowers such as China or India could make clear that destroying Iranian society is not acceptable.

Extraordinarily, given its small size, the UK is also an external agent with specific influence. A sustained US bombing campaign of Iran requires the mass use of strategic air power – for the US Air Force, that must include the fleet of B-1B Lancer long-range bombers. Only 21 of those are reported to be “mission ready”, 15 of which are at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, each carrying more than 30 tons of a wide range of ordnance.

The loss of Fairford wouldn’t stop the war, but it would seriously hinder Trump’s plans. No other comparable European bases are available; only Fairford has the necessary and complex equipment to house the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and the easy access to a huge munitions depot, which is located at the nearby RAF Welford. In any case, the UK is likely the only European state that would want a US air base like this right now.

A private word from Keir Starmer that the UK may follow Spain and others in closing its airspace to American war planes would have a direct impact. It would certainly help explain Starmer’s unexpected visit this week to the Middle East.

Original article by Paul Rogers republished from OpenDemocracy under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. 

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is defensively bombing Iraq in support of Israel's genocidal expansionism. He explains that while his bombs still kill people that they are especially called defensive for the gullible and to be harder to convict of war crimes.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is defensively bombing Iraq in support of Israel’s genocidal expansionism. He explains that while his bombs still kill people that they are especially called defensive for the gullible and to be harder to convict of war crimes.
Genocide denying former 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.
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.
Continue ReadingNetanyahu is behind Iran war, not Trump – and that makes peace unlikely

‘Nightmare for Civilians’: Israel Inflicts 1,400+ Casualties on Lebanon War’s Deadliest Day

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

A woman injured in an Israeli airstrike arrives at a hospital in Nabatieh, Lebanon on April 8, 2026. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

“Civilians in Lebanon are already paying an unbearable price with children, health workers, and journalists amongst those killed—the latest attacks will only escalate this devastating human toll,” said one campaigner.

Humanitarian campaigners, civil rights defenders, and progressive members of Congress were among those calling on the Trump administration to pressure Israel to stop bombing Lebanon after Israeli airstrikes killed or wounded more than 1,400 people—many of them civilians—on Wednesday.

In what Amnesty International called an “unprecedented escalation,” the Israel Defense Forces said it carried out the “largest coordinated wave of strikes” of its renewed war on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Around 100 sites in the country were bombed in one 10-minute period alone in what the IDF dubbedr “Operation Eternal Darkness.”

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Lebanese officials said that at least 303 people were killed and 1,165 others wounded by Israeli strikes on Wednesday, the deadliest day of attacks since Israel resumed bombardment of Lebanon and likely since it started bombing its northern neighbor after the Hamas-led Palestinian attack of October 7, 2023.

While Lebanese authorities do not break down casualties according to combatant status, officials and residents of the capital city of Beirut said that civilians were the main victims of Wednesday’s bombings, which targeted apartment towers and other civilian structures in numerous densely populated urban areas.

One witness, a woman named Fatima, told Amnesty International what she saw in the immediate aftermath of an IDF strike on a building across the street from her home in Beirut’s Salim Salam neighborhood.

“It was apocalyptic,” she said. “Bodies on the ground. Blood everywhere. I saw countless wounded adults and children. I walked further but it was the same scene in the other neighborhoods too. I did not know where to go. I just walked aimlessly trying to get as far as possible. It was a nightmare.”

Dr. Firass Abiad, a surgeon and wformer Lebanese health minister, told The Guardian that American University of Beirut Medical College, where he works, received about 70 patients at the same time, a situation he said was intentionally caused by Israel “to flood the health system.”

“There was a 90-year-old who I just left a bit ago. He passed away from his wounds,” he said. “There was nothing we could do. These are civilians who, without any warning, their whole apartment building was flattened. So you can imagine the severity of injuries that we’re getting.”

Shaden Fakih, a 24-year-old calisthenics trainer, described trying to find his friend who was inside a building when it was bombed. He couldn’t locate his friend, but he was seen carrying an elderly woman from the rubble.

“There’s no Hezbollah here, the Israelis are just getting happy when they bomb people, it’s not about Hezbollah,” Fakih said in an interview with The Guardian. “Just stop bombing us. If you want to kill Hezbollah, go for it, but don’t kill civilians, because you’re creating anger in us against Israel and we will have to act like Hezbollah just to defend our country. But I don’t want to do that, I just want to live in peace.”

“It’s been the worst day since the war started,” he added. “And what I’m most sad about is that my pretty Lebanon, our beautiful Lebanon, soon it will all be brought down to the ground.”

As Common Dreams reported, Israeli strikes have wiped out entire families in Lebanon and Iran. In Gaza, more than 2,700 families have been erased from the civil registry.

Responding to Wednesday’s attacks, Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa regional director Heba Morayef said that “just hours after the world cautiously welcomed news of a US-Israeli ceasefire with Iran, in Lebanon the nightmare for civilians has become more terrifying.”

“Even before today’s attack… more than 1,500 people had been killed and over a million people displaced from their homes across the country,” Morayef continued, referring to Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon after Hezbollah began launching rockets and drones southward in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza has left more than 250,000 Palestinians dead, injured, or missing.

“Civilians in Lebanon are already paying an unbearable price with children, health workers, and journalists amongst those killed—the latest attacks will only escalate this devastating human toll,” Morayef added. “These attacks are a reminder that states must immediately halt the transfer of arms and weapons to Israel given the overriding risk that they will be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law.”

The Washington, DC-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a statement late Wednesday, “Once again, Israel’s genocidal government is trying to derail a ceasefire and ensure peace does not succeed by slaughtering innocent civilians.”

“The Trump administration must stop them from carrying out this brutal plan,” the group added. “Israel has demonstrated time and again that it cannot be trusted to abide by peace agreements. It is time for our government to cut all support for Israel’s atrocities.”

These and other groups, as well as governments in the Mideast and beyond, and US progressives, are demanding that Lebanon be included in the ceasefire. Although Israel agreed to the truce, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza—asserts that the deal does not include Lebanon.

Iran categorically rejects Israel’s claim and is using its leverage over the Strait of Hormuz to pressure Israel to reconsider its stance.

Some US progressives called for President Donald Trump to pressure Israel to stop attacking Lebanon, and for a suspension of American arms transfers to the IDF.

“It is unconscionable we continue to provide aid to Israel as they continue to murder civilians and violate international law in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said Thursday on Bluesky. “No more money to Israel’s genocidal apartheid regime.”

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

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight 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.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight 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.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.

Continue Reading‘Nightmare for Civilians’: Israel Inflicts 1,400+ Casualties on Lebanon War’s Deadliest Day

Iran’s supreme leader vows ‘new phase’ in Hormuz management, demands war compensation

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

A view of a banner featuring Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as the attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran continue on March 14, 2026. [Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency]

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei said in a message Thursday that the management of the Strait of Hormuz will “certainly enter a new phase,” while vowing that Tehran will demand compensation for all war-related damages, Anadolu reports.

The message, released by his office on the 40th day since the killing of his father, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, described his death as a “heavy and historic blow” for the Iranian nation, and one of the most painful moments in its recent history.

It portrayed the current phase as a continuation of his path and legacy.

Strait of Hormuz

Khamenei said Iran will move toward a new strategic phase with the Strait of Hormuz.

“The management of the Strait of Hormuz will certainly enter a new phase,” he said, without elaborating.

Compensation, accountability

Khamenei stressed that Iran will pursue legal and material accountability for damages.

“We will certainly not leave the criminal aggressors who attacked our country unpunished,” he said.

He added that Iran will “demand compensation for all damages, as well as the blood of the martyrs and the wounded.”

READ: Iran says Strait of Hormuz will never return to previous state

Negotiations, war stance

The remarks come as Iran prepares to negotiate with the United States in Pakistan, expected to begin Saturday under Pakistan’s mediation and continue for up to two weeks.

Iran has said the talks aim to finalize details of a potential agreement, emphasizing that it does not signify the end of the conflict.

Khamenei also warned that Iran remains ready to respond to any renewed aggression.

“Our hands are on the trigger,” he said, adding that any mistake by adversaries would be met with a decisive response.

The region has been on alert since Israel and the US launched an offensive against Iran on Feb. 28, killing at least 3,000 people, including the former supreme leader.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure, and disrupting global markets and aviation.

US President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire Thursday, saying Iran presented a “workable” 10-point proposal, while negotiations are expected to determine whether a longer-term agreement can be reached.

READ: Iran’s foreign minister says ceasefire could hasten Netanyahu’s trial outcome

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight 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.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight 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.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/

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 ReadingIran’s supreme leader vows ‘new phase’ in Hormuz management, demands war compensation