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Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich displays a map of an area near the settlement of Maale Adumim, a land corridor known as E1, outside Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, on August 14, 2025. [Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images]
The Israeli Knesset (parliament) passed a bill in its preliminary reading on Wednesday to annex the occupied West Bank, Anadolu reports.
A Knesset statement said the bill was approved in a preliminary reading “to apply the sovereignty of the State of Israel to the territories of Judea and Samaria (West Bank).”
The statement said 25 lawmakers supported the bill, introduced by Avi Maoz, leader of the far-right Noam Party, while 24 opposed it. The Knesset has 120 members in total.
The bill still must pass three additional readings to become law. It will now go to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for further deliberations.
The daily Yedioth Ahronoth also reported that another bill to annex the Ma’ale Adumim settlement bloc in the occupied West Bank also passed its preliminary reading in the Knesset’s plenary session with 32 votes in favor and nine against. The bill was introduced by Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu Party.
The vote came despite opposition from US President Donald Trump, who said last month that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. It also came as US Vice President JD Vance is currently visiting Israel.
Annexing the West Bank would effectively end the possibility of implementing a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as outlined in UN resolutions.
Israeli attacks have escalated across the occupied West Bank since October 2023, killing more than 1,056 Palestinians, injuring 10,300, and detaining over 20,000 others, according to Palestinian figures.
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.
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.
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ICJ hearing held on 16 May 2024 [Selman Aksünger/Anadolu Agency]
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on Wednesday that Israel is obliged under the Geneva Convention to agree to and facilitate relief schemes provided by third states and impartial humanitarian groups, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), to ensure that sufficient aid reaches the Gaza Strip, Anadolu reports.
In its detailed opinion, the world court underscored that Israel, as the occupying power, carries an unconditional duty to ensure the local population’s basic needs are met.
It found that the population of Gaza has been “inadequately” supplied within the meaning of Article 59 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and that Israel must therefore permit and assist humanitarian relief operations.
The court said that following the events of Oct. 7, 2023, Israel severely restricted the entry of aid and even blocked the delivery of humanitarian and medical supplies starting this March 2, allowing only limited amounts to resume as of May 19.
Rejecting Israel’s claims that UNRWA staff were affiliated with armed groups, the court stated that “Israel has not substantiated its allegations that a significant part of UNRWA employees are members of Hamas” or what it called “other terrorist organizations.”
It also found no evidence of discrimination in the UNRWA’s distribution of aid based on nationality, race, religion, or political opinion.
“The occupying power may never invoke reasons of security to justify the general suspension of all humanitarian activities in occupied territory,” the court said, reiterating that Israel’s obligation to facilitate aid is “unconditional.”
It reaffirmed that the law of occupation applies alongside international humanitarian law governing hostilities, and that Israel must comply with both sets of obligations.
While noting that its opinion focuses on identifying Israel’s legal obligations rather than determining the consequences of any violations, the court stressed that Israel remains bound under international law to respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights of Palestinians in the occupied territories.
“Israel, as an occupying power, is not entitled to sovereignty over or to exercise sovereignty powers in any part of the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem,” the court said.
It also reiterated Israel’s obligation not to use starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare.
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.
Thousands of demonstrators gather at Museumplein demanding firm government action to stop the Israeli attacks on Gaza, in Amsterdam on October 5, 2025. (Photo by Mouneb Taim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
An estimated 250,000 people dressed in red crowded into Museum Square in Amsterdam, demanding that the Dutch government end its support for Israel.
Expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and pressuring Dutch officials to end their longtime support for Israel were the goals of a massive demonstration in Amsterdam Sunday—one of the largest pro-Palestine protests held in Europe over the weekend as the two-year anniversary of Israel’s bombardment of the exclave approached.
“The bloodshed must stop—and we unfortunately have to stand here because we have such an incredibly weak government that doesn’t dare to draw a red line. That’s why we are here, in the hope that it helps,” protester Marieke van Zijl told the Associated Press on Sunday in Museum Square in central Amsterdam, where an estimated 250,000 people gathered.
The protests in Amsterdam and across Europe came as Israel garnered global condemnation for its interception of more than 400 humanitarians from around the world who sailed toward Gaza in recent weeks with the Global Sumud Flotilla with the aim of delivering aid to the besieged territory, where a famine was declared in August due to Israel’s near-total blockade on food, water, fuel, and other necessities entering Gaza.
Wow!
Amsterdam today 🇳🇱
A tsunami of people demanding an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
In Sofia, Bulgaria, citizens carried signs reading, “Gaza: Starvation Is a Weapon of War,” while in Turkey’s capital of Ankara, protesters held up placards condemning Israel’s genocide in Gaza, where more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.
Scholars on genocide and the Holocaust have joined leading human rights organizations—including some in Israel—and United Nations experts in declaring that Israel’s bombardment of Gaza is a genocide. The International Court of Justice is also considering an ongoing genocide case brought by South Africa regarding the military assault and starvation policy.
In Amsterdam, most protesters wore red in solidarity with Palestine and many displayed Palestinian flags.
In the Netherlands, the government has long been a staunch supporter of Israel but in recent months has increasingly denounced its attacks on Gaza. In July it banned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from entering the country because they “repeatedly incited violence against the Palestinian population.”
On Friday, Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said he was “unlikely” to grant an export license to send F-35 fighter jet components to Israel. The country’s Supreme Court last week ordered the government to review the currently suspended license to determine whether reinstating it would violate international law. The Netherlands is home to one of three regional warehouses for components of the US-made fighter jets.
Marjon Rozema, a spokesperson for Amnesty International, which helped organize the demonstration, called for the Dutch government to use “all economic and diplomatic means to increase pressure on Israel.”
Mass demonstrations were also held over the weekend in countries including Spain and Italy, where demonstrators demanded the release of organizers who had been aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Rome, Madrid, and Barcelona, home of former Mayor Ada Colau, who was among those detained by Israel last week.
JUST IN: 300,000 people marched in Barcelona, one of the LARGEST pro-Palestinian protests in the city’s history! pic.twitter.com/fdPVrDNDwd
Organizers in Rome said 1 million people took part in Saturday’s march, which followed Friday’s one-day general strike across Italy.
“Governments, especially the Italians, are not taking action against what is happening in Gaza,” one university teacher told the BBC on Friday at a rally. “We’re here to say that it is time to intervene and solve things.”
Hundreds of thousands fill the streets of Rome in support of Gaza and in protest against the genocide. pic.twitter.com/NNovgFmI69
“The Italian demonstrations for Gaza and the flotilla have been of a rather unprecedented power in recent times,” said scholar Bruno Montesano on Monday. “And they have had a global resonance that is equally surprising. And perhaps its strength derived from a sort of widespread spontaneous humanitarianism, as well as from the clashing contradictions between Western liberal-democratic chatter—certainly weakened even further due to the rise of the far right—and the racist and colonial practice of supporting Israeli fascism.”
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.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.
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Vice President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Justice Julia Sebutinde.[Photo/monitor.co.ug]
The Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) has written to the judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), calling for the removal of Ugandan Judge Julia Sebutinde, Vice-President of the Court. The letter pointed out that Sebutinde had breached Articles 2 and 18 of the Court’s Statute when she openly revealed her ideological bias in favour of Israel, despite the ongoing genocide being committed against the Palestinian people in Gaza and across the occupied Palestinian territories.
Article 2 of the Court’s Statute obliges judges to display integrity, impartiality, and independence. Should any of these conditions be breached, Article 18 provides that the judge concerned must be removed with the consent of the other Members of the Court.
The AOHR UK added that Judge Sebutinde has not only abandoned impartiality and integrity but has also expressed messianic religious ideas that encourage the perpetuation of the crime of genocide, which has already claimed tens of thousands of victims, the majority of whom are women, children, and the elderly.
The AOHR UK explained that on 10 August 2025, during a speech delivered in a church in Uganda, Judge Sebutinde openly declared her religious support for the actions of the occupying power, stating:
“The Lord relies on me to stand with Israel… signs of the end times are appearing in the Middle East, and I want to be on the right side of history… I am convinced that time is running out, and I encourage you to follow developments in Israel. I feel humbled that God has allowed me to be part of the last days.”
The rights group emphasised that such statements were not surprising. It recalled that when the Court ordered provisional measures in the Gaza genocide case, and later issued its Advisory Opinion on 19 July 2024 regarding the nature of the Israeli occupation, Judge Sebutinde was the only judge to oppose all measures, including the facilitation of humanitarian aid. Her lengthy dissenting opinion to the Advisory Opinion clearly revealed her religious convictions and her absolute support for the occupation, denying—through biblical lens—the existence of Palestine and the Palestinian people.
Sebutinde’s dissenting opinion, AOHR UK noted, relied heavily on biblical narratives and stories granting Israel fictitious rights, thereby conferring false legitimacy on the horrific crimes committed against Palestinian civilians. “Such reasoning not only contradicts the foundations of international law but also emboldens the continuation of genocide, undermining the very principles upon which the Court’s authority rests;” the letter read.
AOHR UK pointed out that Judge Sebutinde’s expressed views “mirror the rhetoric of Israeli leaders such as Netanyahu, Ben Gvir, and Smotrich, who for over 22 months of killing, destruction, starvation, and displacement have invoked biblical and Talmudic narratives to justify crimes and spur on the military in pursuit of the “Greater Israel” project, as Netanyahu recently articulated.”
Relatedly, the AOHR UK urged states, scholars, thinkers, lawyers, and legal practitioners worldwide to press the judges of the ICJ to remove Judge Sebutinde, in order to safeguard the integrity, impartiality, and independence of the Court—particularly in light of overwhelming evidence that Israel considers itself a state above the law, emboldened by the colonial support of the West led by the United States.
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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.UK 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.Vote Labour for Genocide.
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Smoke rises and Palestinians flee the site after Israeli army conduct attacks over al-Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza on August 06, 2025. [Khames Alrefi – Anadolu Agency]
The Israeli military has demolished more than 300 homes over the past three days in the Zeitoun neighborhood in the central Gaza Strip as part of its ongoing occupation plan, Anadolu reports.
Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, said Wednesday that the Israeli army has conducted heavy assaults in Zeitoun, deliberately targeting civilian residential areas.
He noted that the Israeli forces particularly targeted buildings with five floors or more, and due to the explosives used, surrounding structures have also been destroyed.
Some homes were destroyed while residents were still inside, causing casualties, with demolitions carried out without prior warning and intense bombardment preventing civil defense teams from reaching the wounded.
Israel is facing mounting condemnation for its genocidal war on Gaza, where it has killed more than 61,700 people since October 2023.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
