Ellie Chowns, Green Party MP for North Herefordshire. CC image Wikipedia.
Reacting to today’s emergency cabinet meeting on Gaza and Keir Stamer’s statement, Green Party MP, Ellie Chowns, the party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, said:
“What Starmer has said today suggests Palestinian statehood is a bargaining chip, only to be awarded if the Israeli government fails to end the genocide in Gaza and agrees to a range of other conditions such as allowing the UN to restart the supply of aid and ending annexations in the West Bank.
“While these conditions are welcome and essential steps towards a ceasefire and a peaceful solution, they must not be an alternative to recognising Palestinian statehood. This is a cynical political gesture ahead of the outcomes of the UN Conference and suggests that if Israel were to comply with the demands, Palestinian statehood would be kicked down the road again, disenfranchising the Palestinian people.
“The Green Party calls on Keir Starmer to immediately and unconditionally recognise a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution, just as Labour promised to do in their election manifesto.”
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Israeli military vehicles patrol on street during a raid on Salam Neighborhood in Nablus, West Bank on May 29, 2025. [Nedal Eshtayah – Anadolu Agency]
The Israeli army said Friday it reinforced its forces in the occupied West Bank with two additional military battalions, Anadolu reports.
“According to the situation assessment, a decision was made to reinforce two battalions in the Central Command sector,” the army said in a statement, according to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
The “Central Command sector” refers to the West Bank, said the newspaper.
The Israeli army did not clarify the actual number of troops currently on the ground in the occupied West Bank, nor did it disclose the reasons behind the escalatory step of reinforcing forces with two battalions.
However, it noted: “Throughout the war, continuous situation assessments are being conducted, and accordingly, the necessary order of battle is determined for fulfilling operational missions in various sectors.”
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, at least 996 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
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.
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Damaged Palestinian vehicles are seen after a group of Israelis reportedly vandalized properties in the town of Kafr Malik, east of Ramallah, West Bank, on June 26, 2025. [Hisham K. K. Abu Shaqra – Anadolu Agency]
Egypt on Saturday condemned the killing of three Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, calling the attacks a “flagrant violation” of international law and urging international intervention, Anadolu reports.
The statement came after settlers stormed the town of Kafr Malik near Ramallah, killing three Palestinians and injuring seven others, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
“Cairo strongly condemns the ongoing settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, the latest of which left three dead and several wounded in the village of Kafr Malik,” Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry described the violence as a “blatant violation of international law and efforts aimed at achieving security and stability,” and called on the international community to take action “to put an end to these grave violations and confront the injustices faced by the Palestinian people.”
Egypt also reiterated its support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders.
Dozens of settlers stormed Kafr Malik, torching Palestinian vehicles as residents from the town and neighboring villages tried to repel the attack, according to Palestine’s official Wafa news agency.
Separately, the Al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights said illegal settlers also attacked residents of the Arab al-Kaabneh community near the Carmelo junction southeast of Ramallah.
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, at least 986 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
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.
Maersk’s decision follows over a year of pressure by the “Mask off Maersk” campaign, led by the Palestinian Youth Movement
Danish shipping giant Maersk has become the first global shipping company to divest from companies in Israeli settlements following a concerted pressure campaign by pro-Palestine activists across the globe. The company has stated that it will cut ties with companies linked to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
This decision follows over a year of pressure by the “Mask off Maersk” campaign, led by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), an international Palestinian diaspora organization. Since launching the campaign in the summer of 2024, the PYM has aimed to shed light on Maersk’s role in supplying Israel with military shipments as it continues its genocide in Gaza. In January of 2025, PYM released a report detailing Maersk’s role in facilitating exports from Israeli settlements.
PYM noted in a statement that “this marks the first time in history that a global shipping company has committed to full compliance with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) database,” which documents “all business enterprises involved in certain specified activities related to the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,” according to the OHCHR.
Divestment from Israeli settlements has been a popular demand of the pro-Palestine movement for decades. “Maersk’s decision proves that divestment from occupation is not only possible – it’s necessary,” said Aisha Nizar of the Palestinian Youth Movement. “This sends a clear message to the global shipping industry: compliance with international law and basic human rights is not optional. Doing business with Israel’s illegal settlements is no longer viable, and the world is watching to see who follows next.”
“Still, as Israel escalates its military aggression across the region, Maersk continues to profit from the genocide of our people – regularly shipping F-35 components used to bomb and massacre Palestinians,” Aisha added. “The Mask Off Maersk campaign is far from over. We will continue to build pressure and mobilize people power until Maersk cuts all ties to genocide and ends the transport of weapons and weapons components to Israel.”
Since its launch, the “Mask Off Maersk” campaign has spread across the globe, with Palestine solidarity protests in Morocco delaying a Maersk ship reportedly bound for Israel back in April. In February, activists shut down Maersk headquarters in Copenhagen through a demonstration of nearly 1,000 people. Last fall, the Spanish government decided to block Maersk ships bound to Israel following pressure from activists.
The Israeli settlement of Bruchin, centre, on top of a hill and adjacent to the West Bank village of Bruqin. Photograph: Nasser Nasser/AP
Defence minister says move ‘prevents establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel’
Israel has said it will establish 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalisation of outposts already built without government authorisation, after a security cabinet vote held in secret last week.
Israel occupied the West Bank, capturing it from Jordan, in the six-day war of 1967. Since then, successive governments have tried to permanently cement Israeli control over the land, in part by declaring swathes as “state lands”, which prevents private Palestinian ownership.
The motion was said to have been put forward by the far-right defence minister, Israel Katz, and the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in the West Bank settlement of Kedumim, which is considered illegal under international law.
Katz said the settlement decision “strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria”, using the biblical term for the West Bank, “anchors our historical right in the Land of Israel, and constitutes a crushing response to Palestinian terrorism”.
He added it was also “a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger 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/O74hZCKKdpAUK 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.
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