Thousands of Israelis stage nationwide protests to demand release of hostages in Gaza: Report

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

Protesters gather in Tel Aviv on June 28, 2025. [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency]

Tens of thousands of people rallied across Israel on Saturday, calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, according to local media reports, Anadolu reported.

Demonstrations were held in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities, according to the Haaretz newspaper.

Protests followed a 12‑day conflict between Israel and Iran, which erupted June 13 when Tel Aviv launched airstrikes on Iranian military, nuclear and civilian sites, killing at least 606 victims and injuring 5,332, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.

Tehran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes, killing at least 29 people and wounding more than 3,400 in Israel, according to figures released by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The conflict came to a halt under a US-sponsored ceasefire that took effect June 24.

On the heels of getting Tel Aviv and Tehran to sing a deal, US President Donald Trump said Friday that a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will be reached soon.

“I think it’s close,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked how close his administration is to a deal on a Gaza ceasefire.

READ: Trump says he thinks Gaza ceasefire to be reached ‘within the next week’

Israeli officials expressed surprise Saturday at those remarks, affirming there are no indications of any change in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s positions, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

Hamas has repeatedly affirmed its readiness to release Israeli hostages “all at once” in exchange for an end to Israel’s genocidal war, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

But Netanyahu, who is wanted by international justice officials, insists on partial deals and evades signing a deal by imposing new conditions, including the disarmament of Palestinian factions.

According to the Israeli opposition, Netanyahu currently insists on reoccupying Gaza to serve his political interests, particularly maintaining his hold on power.

Israeli officials estimate that Trump seeks to leverage the momentum following the end of the Israel-Iran confrontation to achieve an additional political accomplishment.

In May, the US president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff presented a proposal to Hamas that included the release of half of the living Israeli hostages and half of those killed within seven days of the start of a potential agreement, in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are 50 Israeli hostages in Gaza, including 20 alive. There are more than 10,400 Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons, suffering from torture, starvation and medical neglect, which has resulted in many deaths, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 56,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

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.

READ: Nearly 100,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza amid Israeli war: Haaretz

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Continue ReadingThousands of Israelis stage nationwide protests to demand release of hostages in Gaza: Report

‘We just want to stop people being murdered’: Kneecap on Palestine, protest and provocation

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https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/27/kneecap-on-palestine-protest-and-their-satirical-intent

Two months after Coachella, and as they prepare for a Glastonbury festival appearance that has been criticised by among others, the prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the leader of the Commons, Lucy Powell, the band say they are unfazed by the uproar. “Maybe visas get revoked, you’re not allowed in America again, it’s not ideal – but Jesus Christ, there’s people being bombed from the fucking skies, and people being starved to death,” says Chara, AKA Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh. “We’re in the process [of applying for new visas], hopefully it works. But if it doesn’t, I can go about my day without having to worry about my next meal or my family being bombed. Visa revoked, I can get over.”

Mo Chara (Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh) leaving Westminster magistrates court on 18 June.
Mo Chara (Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh) leaving Westminster magistrates court on 18 June. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Getty Images

Do the band regret what’s depicted in either of the widely circulated videos? “It’s a joke. I’m a character. Shit is thrown on stage all the time. If I’m supposed to know every fucking thing that’s thrown on stage” – in this case a Hezbollah flag – “I’d be in Mensa, Jesus Christ,” says Ó hAnnaidh. “I don’t know every proscribed organisation – I’ve got enough shit to worry about up there. I’m thinking about my next lyric, my next joke, the next drop of a beat.”

And the “dead Tory” comments? “Why should I regret it? It was a joke – we’re playing characters, it’s satirical, it’s a fucking joke. And that’s not the point,” he says. “The point is, that wasn’t an issue until we said ‘Free Palestine’ at Coachella. That stuff happened 18 months ago, and nobody batted an eyelid. Everybody agreed it was a fucking joke, even people that may have been in the room that didn’t agree – it’s a laugh, we’re all having a bit of craic. The point is, and the context is, it all [resurfaced] because of Coachella. That’s what we should be questioning, not whether I regret things.”

I am only able to quote small sections of copyrighted articles. See the original article at https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/27/kneecap-on-palestine-protest-and-their-satirical-intent

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.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Continue Reading‘We just want to stop people being murdered’: Kneecap on Palestine, protest and provocation

Thousands protest in The Hague ahead of NATO summit

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Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Thousands marched in The Hague on June 22 against the NATO Summit. Photo: PTB

Thousands of people took to the streets of The Hague on June 22 to protest against a looming increase in NATO contributions by European member states. A day before, activists gathered for a counter-NATO conference, while European leaders prepared to arrive in the Netherlands for the alliance’s meeting. Their aim, according to the European Left, one of the event’s co-organizers, was to envision “a peaceful and just Europe rooted in cooperation – not confrontation.”

“As world leaders prepare to meet behind closed doors on June 24-25, voices from across the globe came together in the streets to demand a different future,” the European Left stated. That future, they explained, requires slashing military budgets, ending perpetual wars, and prioritizing diplomacy over destruction.

Hundreds of international activists joined the protest, bringing their respective struggles to the streets of The Hague. Students from the Collettivo Autorganizzato Universitario (CAU) joined the mobilization just one day after mass protests in Rome had called for an end to war, militarization, and Italian complicity in the genocide in Palestine.

“After the United States bombed Iran overnight, the need to call for an exit from NATO has become even more urgent,” CAU said from the march. “We denounce NATO and US complicity in driving us toward a permanent war economy and a climate of conflict. For this reason, we must continue to organize and mobilize.”

The protests came only hours after US President Donald Trump bragged about airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, drawing even more criticism of US influence over NATO and Europe. “They [the US] have joined the illegal attack on Iran, killing Iranians, illegally attacking nuclear sites,” MEP Marc Botenga of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) told Peoples Dispatch. “If you bomb nuclear sites, you risk provoking a nuclear catastrophe, killing mass numbers of civilians.”

So far, European politicians and institutions have failed to condemn the US attacks on Iran, with some even voicing support, once again revealing their unwillingness to break from Trump’s agenda. In contrast, The Hague demonstrations called for a decisive change in direction and for Europe to take action to prevent further attacks. “The people from Palestine, the people from Iran, these innocent civilians that are being hurt today, they have our full solidarity,” Botenga said. “We will continue to mobilize here to stop EU complicity in these crimes.”

Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingThousands protest in The Hague ahead of NATO summit

Hundreds of Thousands Form ‘Red Line’ Around The Hague

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

Tens of thousands of people dressed in red marched through the streets of The Hague on June 15, 2025 to demand more action from the Dutch government against what they termed a “genocide” in Gaza. Rights groups such as Amnesty International and Oxfam organized the demonstration through the city to the International Court of Justice, creating a so-called “red line”. Many waving Palestinian flags and some chanting “Stop the Genocide”, the demonstrators turned a central park in the city into a sea of red on a sunny afternoon. Photo by Koen van Weel / ANP / AFP

The red line the government has failed to set.

Hundreds of thousands of people dressed in red marched through the streets of The Hague on Sunday to demand more action against the “genocide” in Gaza.

NGOs such as Amnesty International, Save the Children, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), and Oxfam organized the demonstration, which ran through the city to the International Court of Justice. The protesters were all dressed in red, creating a “red line”.

Organisers described it as the country’s largest demonstration in two decades. Many waving Palestinian flags and some chanting “Stop the Genocide”, the demonstrators turned a central park in the city into a sea of red on a sunny afternoon.

“The Dutch cabinet still refuses to draw a red line. That is why we do it, for as long as necessary,” Marjon Rozema of Amnesty International Netherlands said in a statement.

Protesters walked a 5-kilometer loop around the city center of The Hague to symbolically create the red line that the government has failed to set.

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

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
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.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.

Continue ReadingHundreds of Thousands Form ‘Red Line’ Around The Hague

Police clash with Los Angeles protesters as opposition to Trump intensifies

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/08/los-angeles-protests-immigration-ice

Protesters oppose Trump’s policies in Los Angeles on Sunday. Photograph: Étienne Laurent/AFP/Getty Images

Thousands take to LA streets to protest against Ice raids and president’s deployment of national guard troops

Federal agents clashed with demonstrators in Los Angeles on Sunday as police used teargas and “less-lethal munitions” to disperse massive crowds of people protesting against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and his deployment of the California national guard against the will of the state’s elected leaders.

Thousands of Angelenos swamped the streets around city hall, the federal courthouse and a detention center where protesters arrested in days before are being held. They also brought a major freeway to a standstill.

Vocal and boisterous, the crowd for large parts of the day was mostly peaceful. But tensions flared several times. On Sunday afternoon, police used teargas to disperse groups of protesters gathered near the detention center. And in the evening, officers fired round after round of flash-bangs in an attempt to push the protesters back up the freeway off-ramps. Los Angeles police leaders said officers had been shot at with commercial grade fireworks, and had rocks thrown at them.

Trump’s decision to deploy national guard troops into Los Angeles, against the wishes of state and local officials, has sent shockwaves through American politics. California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, and other Democratic governors have sharply criticized the move, describing it as an “alarming abuse of power”. Newsom has called on the administration to rescind the “unlawful” deployment.

“This is a serious breach of state sovereignty – inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed. Rescind the order. Return control to California,” Newsom said.

Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 national guard on Saturday night following two days of clashes between demonstrators and US immigration authorities.

The decision marked a stunning escalation in a broad crackdown on immigrants following raids across the country, which have triggered protests.

Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/08/los-angeles-protests-immigration-ice

Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Continue ReadingPolice clash with Los Angeles protesters as opposition to Trump intensifies