Itamar Ben-Gvir

Hundreds of Thousands Flood Cities Across Europe to Demand End to Genocide in Gaza

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

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.

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.

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.”

“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.”

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

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.
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.
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 ReadingHundreds of Thousands Flood Cities Across Europe to Demand End to Genocide in Gaza

Israeli Knesset committee advances bill to impose death penalty for Palestinian detainees

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

This picture shows a general view of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) during a meeting, in Jerusalem on 30 June, 2022 [MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images]

An Israeli Knesset committee advanced a bill on Sunday to allow the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners accused by Tel Aviv of carrying out attacks, Anadolu reports.

By 4-1 votes, the Knesset National Security Committee approved the bill authored by the far-right Jewish Power Party, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, for the first reading, the public broadcaster KAN reported.

The move came despite a request by Gal Hirsch, the coordinator for prisoners and missing in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, to postpone discussing the bill at this time so as not to endanger the lives of Israeli captives held in Gaza.

The bill must be approved in three readings to become law.

The Israeli bill was denounced by the Palestinian Commission for Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society as an “unprecedented savagery,” warning that it would entrench what they described as “systematic crimes” against detainees through legislation.

READ: Palestinian groups accuse Israel of “liquidating” prisoner before release

Israel is acting “above the law and beyond accountability,” the two groups said, citing the ongoing genocidal war in Gaza, where more than 66,000 people have been killed since October 2023.

The bill was originally part of coalition agreements between Netanyahu’s Likud Party and Ben-Gvir’s party. A preliminary version passed its first reading in March 2023.

If enacted, the law would allow the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis under what Israel defines as “racist or hate-motivated crimes.”

According to Palestinian figures, Israel currently holds about 11,100 Palestinians in its prisons, including 53 women, around 400 children, 3,577 administrative detainees, and more than 2,600 from Gaza classified as “unlawful combatants.”

READ: Hamas says contact lost with 2 Israeli hostages in Gaza City amid relentless attacks

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.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.

Continue ReadingIsraeli Knesset committee advances bill to impose death penalty for Palestinian detainees

Ben Gvir storms into Marwan Barghouti’s prison cell, threatens to kill him

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

Hebrew-language Channel 7 revealed on Thursday evening that the Israeli far-right Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited the leader of the Fatah movement, prisoner Marwan Barghouti, inside his prison cell in Ganot, and made direct death threats to him, saying: “Whoever kills our children or women, we will erase him.” You will not defeat us.”

The incident provoked angry Palestinian reactions. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Information Office said in a statement that Ben Gvir’s assault on Barghouti inside his cell “reveals the mentality of revenge and incitement that drives the Israeli prison system.”

Palestinian Deputy President Hussein Al-Sheikh described Ben Gvir’s threat as “the height of psychological, moral and physical terrorism practised against prisoners,” adding that what happened was “an unprecedented breakdown in the occupation’s policy towards Palestinian prisoners and a violation of international and humanitarian conventions.”

Barghouti, who has been serving five life sentences in Israeli prisons since 2002, is one of Fatah’s most prominent leaders and a key symbol of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement.

READ: Israel’s Ben Gvir denies hunger in Gaza, says he supports starving Hamas

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.
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.
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.

Continue ReadingBen Gvir storms into Marwan Barghouti’s prison cell, threatens to kill him

Israeli opposition slams Cabinet’s move to occupy Gaza as ‘disaster’

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

Israeli opposition leader and parliament (Knesset) member Yair Lapid in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024,[ Jack GUEZ / AFP /Getty Images]

Israeli opposition leaders on Friday condemned the government’s decision to occupy Gaza City, calling it a politically motivated disaster that endangers lives and undermines Israel’s security, Anadolu reports.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of capitulating to the extremist demands of far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

The criticism from Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party, comes after Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan by Netanyahu to occupy Gaza City.

“In complete contradiction to the opinion of the military and security ranks, without considering the erosion and exhaustion of the fighting forces, Ben Gvir and Smotrich dragged Netanyahu into a move that will take months,” said Lapid.

He added that this will “lead to the death of the hostages, the killing of many soldiers, cost tens of billions to the Israeli taxpayers, and lead to a political collapse.”

He warned that Israel will be “trapped in the field without a goal, without defining the picture of the day after, in a useless occupation that no one understands where it is leading.”

Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, warned that the Cabinet’s move goes against professional military advice.

Hamas official: Negotiations stalled by decision from Netanyahu

“The decision made by the Cabinet, contrary to the professional stance of the chief of staff who warned of the many dangers such a move would bring, proves that life-and-death decisions are being made in opposition to security considerations and the war’s objectives,” he said.

“The Oct. 7 prime minister is once again sacrificing the security of Israeli citizens for the sake of his seat,” Lieberman added.

Yair Golan, the leader of the Democrats party, called the decision “a disaster for generations.”

“Its implication, a death sentence for the hostages and more bereaved families,” he warned.

“All of this is for reasons of political survival and messianic visions,” Golan said, emphasizing: “We must intensify the struggle. Toppling this government will save lives.”

Israel has been facing mounting outrage over its destructive war on Gaza, where more than 61,200 people have been killed since October 2023.

Last November, 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.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

Continue ReadingIsraeli opposition slams Cabinet’s move to occupy Gaza as ‘disaster’

Morning Star Editorial: Israeli extremism, Western hypocrisy and Palestinian statehood

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/israeli-extremism-western-hypocrisy-and-palestinian-statehood

 People walk down a street surrounded by buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip, July 29, 2025

ISRAELI ministers have again exposed how hollow are Western claims to back a two-state solution.

Yet global opinion on Israel’s colonial project has reached a tipping point — and the prospect of real change cannot be dismissed.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir leads settlers in a march through occupied East Jerusalem. En route, he calls for Israel to annex Gaza.

Defence Minister Israel Katz decrees: “We will strengthen our hold and sovereignty over Jerusalem, at the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount, forever.”

These are not aberrations: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that he will never tolerate a Palestinian state.

Faced with such extremism, any government serious about a Palestinian state would need to impose tough conditions on Israel: full withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza included.

Yet what conditions do they seek to apply?

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Britain will recognise Palestine unless Israel “takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza.”

Feeble as that is, at least Starmer makes demands of the aggressor, Israel.

Canada’s Mark Carney decided to lecture the people being massacred. Canada would recognise Palestine — subject to democratic reforms, including elections in which (very democratically) Hamas would be banned.

France’s Emmanuel Macron repeated that an independent Palestine would need to be demilitarised — as if Palestine threatens the existence of Israel, rather than the other way around.

The coloniser’s mindset. Palestine can be “independent,” but only if it chooses leaders we like, and has no means of defending itself.

…

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/israeli-extremism-western-hypocrisy-and-palestinian-statehood

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.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
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.
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.
Continue ReadingMorning Star Editorial: Israeli extremism, Western hypocrisy and Palestinian statehood