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Palestinians, including children, in Gaza city, where the Israeli army launched ground attacks following airstrikes, are migrating towards the southern regions through Al-Rashid Street with whatever belongings they can take with them in Gaza City, Gaza on September 19, 2025. [Mohammed Nassar – Anadolu Agency]
Amnesty’s Crisis Response Manager, Kristyan Benedict, said on Sunday that: “Recognition is no doubt significant but will be a hollow gesture if the UK does not also seek to end Israel’s genocide, illegal occupation, and system of apartheid against the Palestinian people.
Speaking in response to the UK government’s recognition of the State of Palestine Benedict said: “For recognition or any ‘political solution’ to be effective, it must be firmly rooted in respect for human rights and international justice.”
“The UK needs to take action now to ensure Israel lifts the blockade on Gaza, dismantles illegal settlements, ends apartheid, respects Palestinians’ right to return, and upholds the rights of victims on all sides to justice and full reparation.
“Words alone won’t stop the atrocities. Recognition must be tied to real accountability: the UK must halt UK arms exports, divest from arms companies that continue to sell arms to Israel, sanction Israeli officials implicated in crimes under international law and stop trade with settlements.”
A statement issued by the rights organisation emphasised: “The occupation and apartheid system must be ended, and justice must be delivered – anything less while Palestinians continue to be slaughtered by Israeli forces in an ongoing genocide is just empty words.”
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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/O74hZCKKdpAKeir 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.
“It is clear that Israel is paving the ground for an attack on the flotilla. World public opinion needs to mobilize against Israel’s next war crime. Now!”
Evidence posted over the weekend online appears to show that tech giant Google has allowed the government of Israel to purchase sponsored content spots so that online users searching on the Global Sumud Flotilla will be shown inaccurate, propagandized content accusing the flotilla particpants as being allied with violent, terrorist elements.
The Sumud Flotilla—a group of international humanitarians and peace activists sailing toward the coast of Gaza with over 40 vessels in its fleet as a way to break the unlawful blockade of life-saving supplies imposed by Israel and its allies amid an ongoing genocide—has no documented connection to any terrorist organization and has made clear repeatedly that it is a completely nonviolent effort by independent groups and individuals who want to see an end to the suffering, starvation, and death taking place in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
In Arabic, sumud translates as steadfastness and resilience. On its website, the groups says, “We are a coalition of everyday people—organizers, humanitarians, doctors, artists, clergy, lawyers, and seafarers—who believe in human dignity and the power of nonviolent action.”
David Adler, an American economist and co-coordinator general of Progressive International who is traveling as part of the flotilla, posted a screenshot Saturday of search results showing the sponsored content, calling it “very terrifying.” Many others online reported getting the same results, though the appearance of the sponsored content seemed to depend on the user’s location or other variables.
This is really terrifying 🤯.@Google is allowing the State of Israel to “sponsor” top search results with absurd accusations that we are “harboring terror.”
This is pure incitement — and puts the lives of all participants at risk.
Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister of Greece and co-founder of Progessive International, posted a similar screenshot earlier in the day, describing the coordinated ad buy as part of an escalating “smear campaign against the flotilla” by the Israeli government.
“First, they called it the Hamas Flotilla, deploying the usual tactic of slapping the Hamas logo on anyone whom they are about to murder, maim or mutilate,” said Varoufakis. “Now, with the full cooperation of Google, they are ensuring that top search results—received by anyone who Googles ‘Global Sumud Flotilla’—identify the brave women and men who are sailing to Gaza to end the blockade and genocide of 2 million people are people ‘harboring terror.’ It is clear that Israel is paving the ground for an attack on the flotilla. World public opinion needs to mobilize against Israel’s next war crime. Now!”
🚨 URGENT MESSAGE FROM THE FLOTILLA: we need your help & attention to keep the flotilla safe.
Israeli propaganda is predictive of Israeli conduct: when they want to ridicule a flotilla, they call it a ‘selfie yacht’.
DropSite Newsnoted on Satuday that a team of its journalists reported earlier this month that Google “was in the middle of a six-month, $45 million contract with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office to run ads and spread online propaganda, including on YouTube.”
“A search for the Global Sumud Flotilla humanitarian convoy carrying aid to break the Gaza siege shows the Israeli government’s incitement as the top result,” the outlet noted on Saturday, pointing to Adler’s post. “The campaign has also promoted content denying the Gaza famine.”
Earlier this week, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs characterized the flotilla—which has now been targeted at least twice by drone attacks—as a “jihadist initiative,” which led to immediate concerns that Israel was trying to build a case in the arena of public opinion for what would eventually be an Israeli attack on the ships or an interdiction at sea.
On Tuesday, as Common Dreamsreported, the foreign ministers of 16 nations—Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Ireland, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Pakistan, Qatar, Oman, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, and Türkiye—warned against “any unlawful or violent act against the flotilla” and called on all parties “to respect international law and international humanitarian law.”
The ministers said that “any violation of international law and human rights of the participants in the flotilla, including attacks against the vessels in international waters or illegal detention, will lead to accountability.”
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/O74hZCKKdpAVote Labour for Genocide.
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Mohammed Dwedar of Team Palestine prepares to compete in the Men’s 800 Metres Heats on day four of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 at National Stadium on September 16, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. [Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images]
Mohammed Dwedar, the only athlete representing Palestine at the 20th World Athletics Championships in Japan, said Saturday he was running not just for himself but for his country, Anadolu reports.
“I ran in a race I cannot lose. How can I lose when I started with nothing?” Dwedar told Anadolu after competing in the men’s 800-meter heats in Tokyo. “When I run, I feel like I am doing something for this flag.”
Pride and struggle
Dwedar, who also competed at the Olympics, described the honor of carrying Palestine’s name on the world stage.
“I am very happy to represent Palestine at the World Athletics Championships. I have very mixed emotions. You know what has been going on in my country. I have gone through a very difficult preparation process,” he said.
“I am very proud to compete for a country like Palestine at the World Athletics Championships. This will be a lifetime honor for me. I am the only athlete from Palestine participating in the championships because, as you know, we do not have any racetracks to train on,” he added.
He said the atmosphere in Tokyo and support from fellow athletes lifted his spirits: “The athletes I competed with in Tokyo were my friends, and very helpful and supportive to me.”
Dwedar recalled that his sister first inspired him to run: “She was a runner too. When I went to watch my sister’s team, they said, ‘You can run too,’ and I love running. Running has been an important part of my life. I have never stopped running since then.”
He added that despite the difficulties, he prepares with focus: “I need to concentrate before the race. Even though I feel very sorry for Palestine, I need to focus during the race, otherwise you cannot make up even a second you lose. I do not watch television and check my phone as all I see is bad news. I need to focus on the race.”
Sports under attack in Gaza
Dwedar spoke about the devastating impact of Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza’s sports community.
“Those who died and were martyred were my friends. I have many friends in Gaza. My team is in Gaza now, but we cannot train there. No sports in Palestine; nowhere is safe,” he said.
“There is nowhere to train; we only train on the streets. There is no safe place. It is very dangerous, but we have no alternative. There is nothing we can do. There is no running track, no stadium, but we cannot stop. I run from the heart. When I run, I am very happy. When I run, I send a message. When I run, I feel like I am doing something for this flag.”
In Gaza, more than 800 athletes have been killed and nearly 300 sports facilities destroyed in the past two years of Israeli attacks. 90% of sports infrastructure has been wiped out, with football fields turned into “cemeteries.”
“The whole world knows what is happening in Palestine. Everyone knows what is happening in Palestine,” Dwedar said. “We are here for sports, and I want to send a message for the Palestinian people. I thank my family and my people for their support. I am also sending a message to Palestinian children: Keep working, and we can win medals for this flag.”
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Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that his active support and that of UK’s air force has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide.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.
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Plumes of smoke rise into the sky after Israeli warplanes launch an airstrike on senior Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha, in a new blow to efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal, on September 9, 2025. [Ali Altunkaya – Anadolu Agency]
Qatar on Saturday submitted an official letter to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) condemning Israel’s Sept. 9 armed assault in Doha, which targeted the residential premises of Hamas political bureau members and resulted in casualties, Anadolu Agency reports.
The letter was delivered by Abdullah Al-Malki, Qatar’s permanent representative to ICAO, to the president of the ICAO Council, according to the Qatari news agency, QNA.
In its letter, Qatar stressed that the assault represented a “flagrant violation of its sovereignty and the provisions of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.”
The Gulf state affirmed that it “retains all its rights under international law.”
On Sept. 9, Israel attacked a residential compound in Doha, killing five Hamas leaders as they were discussing a US proposal to end the war in Gaza, where nearly 65,200 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.
Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that his active support and that of UK’s air force has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide.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.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Violinist Michael Barenboim (L), concertmaster of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, performs with other musicians during a classical concert in support of the children in Gaza, at the Gendarmenmarkt square outside the Konzerthaus concert hall in Berlin on September 20, 2025. [Photo by TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images]
A group of German and international musicians on Saturday performed a classical concert in Berlin on the occasion of World Children’s Day, aimed at drawing attention to the plight of children killed in the Gaza Strip under the Gaza genocide, Anadolu reports.
According to the organizer, the Music for Humanity initiative, the charity concert transformed Berlin into “a place of solidarity, humanity, and music.”
The concert featured professional and amateur musicians playing classical and traditional Arabic music.
Meanwhile, the Music for Humanity initiative called for an immediate ceasefire, the protection of children and civilians in Gaza, and a halt to German arms deliveries to Israel.
The event also included an exhibition of portraits of children in Gaza.
According to UNICEF, more than 50,000 children have reportedly been killed or injured since Oct. 7, 2023 as Israel has carried out a genocidal assault on Gaza, killing over 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children are suffering from malnutrition in Gaza, according to local health authorities, as Israel continues to block food and other humanitarian aid from entering the bombarded enclave.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that his active support and that of UK’s air force has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide.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.
