The UK and the US are both sending military assistance to Israel to commit a calculated and deliberate act of genocide, which is already underway.
Over 500 children have been killed in Gaza in the last week and over 2,000 maimed, many with life changing injuries. Nobody can claim they do not know what is already happening or what is about to unfold. The cutting off of food and water to Gaza is a major international crime, which the western proponents of the “rules based order” universally refuse to condemn.
In both the UK and the US there can be no more stark illustration of the lack of any kind of meaningful democracy, than the fact that there is no major political party that opposes the genocide – despite massive public opposition.
The bought and paid for media and political class in the west are extremely nervous, throughout the western world. Now they have come to the final genocide for which zionism has always aimed, they face a good deal of popular resistance.
Throughout Europe there is a massive gap between the zionist unanimity of the politicians and the much greater understanding of the Palestinian situation among the general public. Tellingly the response by the zionist political class has been a wave of outright fascist suppression.
In France, Macron has made all pro-Palestinian demonstrations illegal, but as so often the French people are not standing for that kind of authoritarianism.
In the UK, the police have adopted the cowardly tactic of arresting a couple of individuals, one in Brighton and one in Manchester, for pro-Palestinian demonstration. Under Tony Blair’s notorious draconian “anti-terror” legislation, they could face up to 14 years in prison.
The young man in Manchester was arrested on the precise site of the famous “Peterloo massacre”, which generations of British people were taught at school was a terrible crime in breach of the rights to freedom of speech and assembly. Let the irony of that set in.
You can go out in the streets of the UK with an Israeli flag and yell that you want every Palestinian to be cleansed from Gaza. That is not illegal. If you say the Palestinians have a right to resist their genocide, that is illegal.
That appears to be a genuine analysis of the law in the UK, France and many other western countries.
That is intended to terrify all of us. It will not work.
The European Commission has been ferociously zionist and gung-ho for this Palestinian genocide. It displayed the Israeli flag on its Berlaymont headquarters. It has taken a side in the most ferocious way.
It is therefore deeply sinister that the European Commission is actively working to shut down pro-Palestinian information and comment on social media. The European Commission has written to all major social media organisations and is able to threaten them with massive fines if they do not remove information of which the European Union disapproves.
Following the terrorist attacks by Hamas against 🇮🇱, we have indications of X/Twitter being used to disseminate illegal content & disinformation in the EU.
Urgent letter to @elonmusk on #DSA obligations ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/avMm1LHq54
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) October 10, 2023
The notion is plainly nonsense that through the fog of war the European Commission – which is 100% parti pris – is qualified to say what information is true and what information is false, and what comment is legitimate.
Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner in charge of this operation, is a former chief executive of electronic companies – and defence contractors – Atos and Thomson. He has no genuine interest in freedom of speech, and is engaged in a process of silencing dissent for military aims, which is quite simply fascist.
We are witnessing almost all western governments deliberately facilitating massacre, ethnic cleansing and genocide. We are witnessing almost all western governments turning on their own people to crush dissent at that complicity in genocide.
This feels not so much like the week that western democracy died, as the week it was impossible any longer to deny that western democracy died some time ago.
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The cynism is total:
Egypt pending a deal for its safe delivery to Gaza and the evacuation of some foreign passport holders through the Rafah border crossing.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-border-crossing-set-reopen-israeli-troops-prepare-ground-assault-2023-10-15/
Thus refugees with western passports are to be saved.
Can’t have them slaughtered with a US Presidential election year coming up.
The guardian’s Simon ‘dismal’ Tisdall expresses his concern over escalation involving Iran. But he largely ignores the fact Israel has acted with total impunity for decades. Due in large part to their nuclear deterrent.
Frequently bombing Syria, Lebanon, with zero concerns about those countries’ sovereignty or escalation. Iran has more than enough justification to strike out over the boastful Israeli killing of Iranian scientists over the years. I think Iran could well target the US’s illegal base in eastern Syria.
And sadly, I’ve reached the conclusion that only when Iran, possibly Turkey too have a viable independent nuclear deterrent, plus means of delivery, will Israel the, wild child of the ME, behave itself.
Tisdall is being ripped asunder by BTL comments which, almost uniquely for any article he writes, is open to comment. The Guardian might actually be saveable as a newspaper if the readership today is anything to go by. Either that or the moderators have been overwhelmed.
Tisdall was on the side of the Syrian “revolutionaries” in Idlib. Long after it had become manifest they were a motley infighting collection of warlords, criminal gangs and totalitarian Islamists Many of whom in the last category came from abroad.
A typical anti–anti-imperialist, who by implication thinks that worldwide Borg-like assimilation to the Hegemony is the only permissable path for humanity.
A Bolshevik in essence, if not the particulars of the applied ideology.
bolsheviks are imperialist?
I don’t see anyone calling for the release of the hostages…
I’m sure there will be more when Israel stops its genocidal attacks.
The prisoners in the world’s largest concentration camp *ARE* hostages.
Yeah, good point, especially when you consider that the chances are that they will be killed along with their captors by the IDF. Still, there’s not much point in releasing hostages if you are not getting anything in return.
Spanish minister call for ICC intervention for genocidal plans by Israel
Spanish minister suggests taking Israel to ICC for ‘war crimes’
Acting Minister Belarra deplores ‘planned genocide’ in Gaza Strip
Ione Belarra shared a video accusing the European Union and the US of “being complicit in Israel’s war crimes,” the Spanish daily El Mundo said on Sunday.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/spanish-minister-suggests-taking-israel-to-icc-for-war-crimes/3021619
This view or rather this courage must pick up steam throughout the west before it is too late.
Another brave Oman soldier? condemn british? soldiers in Oman?
Video https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses/34961
“An Israeli woman who survived the Hamas assault on settlements near the Gaza boundary on 7 October says Israeli civilians were “undoubtedly” killed by their own security forces. “They eliminated everyone, including the hostages,” she told Israeli radio. “There was very, very heavy crossfire” and even tank shelling.
The woman, 44-year-old mother of three Yasmin Porat, said that prior to that, she and other civilians had been held by the Palestinians for several hours and treated “humanely.” ”
https://electronicintifada.net/content/israeli-forces-shot-their-own-civilians-kibbutz-survivor-says/38861
Well, *that’s* a reliable source, right there! Don’t they also claim that the beheaded babies were ‘CGI’? *rolls eyes*
I’m sure you consider the President of the United States a reliable source. He says he’s seen pictures of “terrorists beheading children”. However he won’t permit those pictures to be released so the world can verify whether he’s telling the truth.
What do you make of it, Jim?
The US president does not control the release of photos taken by Israeli forces. I have seen some of the images. I wish I could unsee them. The Israeli government has released them. Unless you think they’re CGI, in which case, you seem to be on the same level of cloud cuckoo land as Mr Murray.
You trying a Joe Biden on me, Jim?
“Unless you think they’re CGI, in which case, you seem to be on the same level of cloud cuckoo land as Mr Murray”.
I haven’t seen those pictures, nor do I want to. It is obvious that any ruthless, unscupulous government seeking to sway world opinion will use all the resources of technology to do so. I do know that it is possible to create pictures – and video and sound – that show pretty much anything desired. I feel quite certain that Hamas could produce video of Mr Sunak and Mr Biden endorsing Hamas, condemning Israel, and then dancing together.
I’m not sure what a Joe Biden is, mate. But right now, I’ve had lunch and it’s nap time. Assuming my comments are still here when I get back, I’ll have a look at any new responses.
US president, well known liar, now suffering from dementia.
Lying, grifting, creeping and being a supporter and/or integral part of the worst policies of the US over the last 40+ years.
Of course in his twilight. The near insentient husk of Joe Biden is a theatrical prop used to enable the political ambitions of others, in an sort of quasi-regency council.
Incongruent with the legal and constitutional requirements of the US presidency. However virtually no-one in Washington DC really cares about that. Due to the catastrophic degeneration and decline, of US political cadres and deep corruption within its institutions.
That about sums it up, I think.
The only thing you missed was not mentioning your modesty Urban Fox. However in view of the factual content of your statement I believe this oversight can be ignored – I’ll take the truth over modesty every time.
It’s truth Jim, but not as we know it 🙂
“Well, *that’s* a reliable source, right there! Don’t they also claim that the beheaded babies were ‘CGI’? *rolls eyes*”
Do try to keep up, it’s been days since the IDF, yes, the IDF confirmed that there were no beheaded babies.
Why am I not surprised by this.
“A heroic Palestinian doctor saving lives and struggling to stay alive under Israel’s bombs reports that his family in the UK is being harassed by British counter-terrorism police.”
https://nitter.net/Lowkey0nline/status/1713916152223539426#m
Oh to see Sir Kid Starver and his Zionist loving cronies standing in the dock, if only.
“ICJP has now issued the Labour Leadership with a notice of intention to prosecute any UK politician for their complicity in war crimes in Gaza.
The announcement comes after Saturday’s notice to @RishiSunak of the UK government’s complicity in Israeli war crimes.”
https://nitter.net/ICJPalestine/status/1713892942769762774#m
Along with Sir Kid Starver the ICJP intends to prosecute the Zionist aiding David Lammy and Emily Thornberry.
This is utterly outrageous.
“Humanitarian trucks are stranded at the Egyptian side of Rafah border, with terrorist Israel refusing them entry for 2 days. Israel has also bombed @UNRWA warehouses that provide critical aids to a desperate population, displaced, deprived & killed in our masses.”
https://nitter.net/ShahdAbusalama/status/1713899897441734752#m
“Israeli warplanes completely destroyed the UNRWA warehouses, which contained humanitarian aid supplies.”
https://nitter.net/V_Palestine20/status/1713895325839069415#m
Interesting stuff, is it any wonder then why UK PM Sunak backs Israel.
“British PM Rishi Sunak’s family has significant business interests in Israel.
Their company, Infosys, is co-directed by Uri Levine, formerly of Israeli Military Intelligence Unit 8200.
Infosys & its subsidiaries there all employ Israeli military veterans.”
https://nitter.net/Lowkey0nline/status/1713889748433990034#m
https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Infosys
Chinn will be pleased with his puppet Lammy.
” MP David Lammy claimed that Palestinians “raped babies” on Sky News, completely unchallenged.”
Watch him say it.
https://nitter.net/Lowkey0nline/status/1713882472654455198#m
The pictures have been seen by the Rt Hon Mr Lammy, President Biden and Jim C. They can only be viewed by highly responsible figures.
Shame they forgot to send them to the IDF, to remind them what they should have seen when they were there.
Interesting. One would have to assume that the high ups of Labour are putting a fair amount of stick about just now, and clearly Mr Lammy is keen to show his loyalty.
Given that the Daily Express was running with the old Corbyn is soft on Terror line over the weekend, it might be understandable that Labour are keen to dodge that smear, but it would be an idea to resist giving hostages to fortune.
“Clever” politics by good people.
Every which way you turn in the UK Parliament you’ll find Israel and Mossad. A silent coup has taken place and we have been captured, without a battle, by the fascists. Which gives some sense to the utterances of Israel’s bought MPs at Westminster. And, the MSM are exactly the same – comfortably captured.
No doubt the Pentagon’s madmen will be planning a way to oust Gustavo Pedro for threatening to suspend relations with Israel if the geocide isn’t stopped.
https://nitter.net/kennardmatt/status/1713664747583701329#m
Rishi Sunak replied: “Well, unlike Hamas the Israeli president has said the Israeli armed forces will operate in accordance with international law.”
He added that Hamas was using local populations as “human shields”, and said Israel must take “every possible precaution” while exercising its absolute right to defend itself.
This is just apologism for genocide. Both Starmer and Sunak know, or certainly should know, Gaza is densely populated. Hamas fighters and noncombatants/civilians literally have no option but to be in close proximity to one another. Israel won’t even allow the Rafah crossing to open and Gazan women and children to leave, presumably because the intention ethnic cleansing, backed by the US and UK.
UK political leaders seem more interested in wooing and winning plaudits from Jewish community leaders than stopping genocide. Utterly sick of these morons.
‘Rishi Sunak replied: “Well, unlike Hamas the Israeli president has said the Israeli armed forces will operate in accordance with international law.”’
Well yeah. The Israeli president *said* that.
Of course it wasn’t true, and never has been.
That is supposed to give the people of the UK confidence that the PM is not an absolute moron, or worse a corrupt liar (tory)?
A liar invokes another liar as proof he is not lying.
Not to be missed, Alastair Crooke in his weekly discussion with Andrew Napolitano drew attention to important developments taking place between China and the Arab states.
He said that China is vigorously calling together the Arab states, who themselves are nervous because their publics are becoming restive at what they are seeing in Gaza, to form a coordinated political response to the immediate situation and to push for an independent Palestinian state.
Napolitano also mentioned that the Damascus and Aleppo airports in Syria had been heavily bombed by Israel overnight, something, like the Chinese efforts, that is nowhere to be seen in the MSM.
“Can Diplomacy Save the Middle East? w/ Alastair Crooke, Fmr. British Ambassador”:
Watch particularly from 3:30 – youtube.com/watch?v=W5hpJZ2uNRc
Elsewhere Tory MP Crispin Blunt has said that the UK government could be complicit in war crimes.
“Following Israel’s warning for the 1.2 million people living in the Gaza Strip to move south ahead of a ground invasion, Mr Blunt suggested the Government could be guilty of a war crime.
He told Sky News on Saturday: “If you know that a party is going to commit a war crime – and this forcible transfer of people is a precise breach of one of the statutes that governs international law and all states in this area – then you are making yourself complicit.
“And as international law has developed in this area, the fact of being complicit makes you equally guilty to the party carrying out the crime.””
Paywall, free trial available: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/10/16/crispin-blunt-uk-complicit-gaza-war-crimes/
“Elsewhere Tory MP Crispin Blunt has said that the UK government could be complicit in war crimes”.
“Could”? “Could”??? That’s like saying that a tiger “might be” a carnivore.
Quite, but it carries some weight coming from a prominent Tory MP and it is a useful quote to have when addressing backers of those war crimes – government ministers for instance.
Palestinians have the right and the duty to defend themselves against a brutal and barbaric occupation.
Israel just bombed the United Nations @UNRWA humanitarian aid warehouse in Gaza.
“every possible precaution” indeed Mr Sunak.
Now, now silly Goose.
If true, that was a very precise accident, made by highly trained professionals in the noblest armed forces in the world.
I would resent any implication otherwise. Because we all know, that would be anti-semitism, holocaust-denial, terrorist-apologism and um…Putin or the ChiComms and err Iranian Mullahs then the Venezuelan guy (you know with the moustache) and then. Huh, the baddies! Yeah, those guys are right shower ‘o’ bastards.
There’s much talk in the west: ‘oh Hamas do not recognize Israel’. Israel on their end do not recognize a palestinian state; but not only that – Israel do not even recognize that there is a palestinian people!
From Golda Meir to current Israeli minister claims that there’s ‘no such thing’ as Palestinians.
Bezalel Smotrich has alleged that the notion of a separate people is “an invention that is less than 100 years old”
https://swentr.site/news/573317-israeli-minister-palestine-remarks/
It’s interesting too that when Russia is accused of denying that there is an ukrainian people the west gets livid, but as usual when it comes to Israel everything is accepted, apparently.
Hamas appear to be to Israel. What ISIS, who emerged in Syria were to the US i.e. useful. ISIS fought Assad and foreign fighters flocked in. John McCain was seen the company of said fighters promising weapons and funding.
Hamas undoubtedly damage the Palestinian cause. We read in Haaretz reports that Netanyahu wished for them to grow stronger through financing, at some point. The PLO and it’s moderate leadership drawn mainly from academia were far too reasonable to deny statehood to. Bloodthirsty Hamas however are far easier to paint as irreconcilable to a two-state solution. to persuade a gullible American audience that the Palestinians aren’t worth their own state.
It wouldn’t surprise me if most if not all, of these so-called radical Islam terrorist outfits origins, as per Al-Qeada, don’t lie in being US, UK and Israeli sponsored outfits. The CIA and MI6 have near free rein.
Israel will come up with whatever argument to deny palestinians a state, do not be fooled by the trickery of the day. Today they blame Hamas, tommorow it is something else.
Israel denied a state when PLO/PA/Fatah ruled for decades you know.
Yeah I know, they hated Arafat. And they used to claim they..” didn’t have a partner for peace” when he was in power.
But the post-Arafat leadership has been very reasonable and pragmatic and kept the West Bank relatively calm. Thus if things had stayed like that, including in Gaza, the Israeli excuse of ‘no partner for peace’ a stalling tactic, would’ve worn thin in western capitals. Then along come Hamas, just when those in Israel trying to frustrate progress towards a two-state solution needed them , sus no? And thus my point is, it wouldn’t surprise if the truth about their origins and rapid rise is far more murky than people realise.
Goose
PA have been reasonable and pragmatic huh well that is because PA is funded by Israel, they are corrupt leaders that do nothing of substance against Israel: of course there is calm. Meanwhile the settlements in the West Bank have exploded at the same pace
https://en.qantara.de/sites/default/files/styles/editor_large/public/uploads/2020-12/191119-westjordanland-siedlungen-en.png?itok=ibo9Eh7y
Put the “reasonable” PA in charge in Gaza too and you will have the same creeping annexation by Israel.
I agree, Gaza was ripe for the Hamas takeover due to their shitty existence. The Israeli-dictated restrictions. I’ve watched various documentaries on Gaza and life was extremely difficult: limited power (4hrs per day), no ability to travel or import various materials to start a business, or even fish – more than a few miles out. Degrading checkpoints, with the constant risk of a rifle-beating by arrogant Israeli soldiers having a bad day.
An open-air prison is a fair description and then some. That’s what I find so offensive about Sunak and Starmer’s response, and that of the Foreign Secretary Cleverly and his shadow, David Lammy. They seem to be under the impression people had life good in Gaza, and were suddenly overcome with sheer evil.
Goose.
According to Craig the US meets with Hamas in Qatar.
“The ignorance of how the world really works is astonishing.
Qatar hosts the Hamas office, just as it previously hosted the Taliban Information Office, at direct US request. It provides a venue where the US can talk to Hamas, directly at deniable level or through Qatar government.”
https://nitter.net/CraigMurrayOrg/status/1713433982002495932#m
“We read in Haaretz reports that Netanyahu wished for them to grow stronger through financing, at some point.”
Some folk seem to think this was the plan all along, to leave the Israeli security gate open (so to speak) and Hamas would come in a kill Israeli’s, and then the final plan could be set in motion to clear the Gaza Strip once and for all.
https://www.globalresearch.ca/is-the-gaza-israel-fighting-a-false-flag-they-let-it-happen-their-objective-is-to-wipe-gaza-off-the-map/5835310
Also lets not forget that Israel is a de facto member of Nato and it has been for years. We see the EU and the likes of the USA and the UK rush to support and aid Israel. Most are already Nato allies.
https://www.globalresearch.ca/israel-a-de-facto-member-of-nato/5325890
Good article from Jonathan Cook.
“Catastrophe looms because journalists have failed to hold both Israel and their own governments to account”
“How did we get to the point where Israel can order half of Gaza’s population – more than one million people – to move from the north of their tiny prison to the south of their tiny prison, in one of the most overcrowded places on Earth? Palestinians in Gaza were given 24 hours to do so or face dire consequences.
The depopulation order is being treated as “advance warning” – a concept Israel has played around with for many years to mangle international law and legitimise its targeting of civilians.
Anyone left in northern Gaza – children, the sick, the elderly, the disabled – will face a terrifying fate: either a rain of bombs or a ground invasion comprising hundreds of thousands of Israeli troops seeking vengeance for the death of more than 1,300 Israelis during Palestinian fighters’ attack last weekend.”
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-palestine-war-western-media-gaza-parroting-lies-genocide-paving-way
and this too:
https://www.jonathan-cook.net/2023-10-11/blood-gaza-west-israel/
– In fact I am tired of listening to the ever repetitive false non-biased attempt to equal both sides. Thats simply bullshit.
Commentators and reporters don´t know the true history of this conflict. Its that simple. They shouldn´t be allowed to talk on the media and be called experts. Because they are not.
The first lie of all is the term “peace process”. There never was a “peace process” – In the 1990s you could say this. No more.
For those who believe every comment has to start with “I condemn the horrible attacks of Hamas”
a few quotations from Cook, quoting Israeli officials:
“(…)
-“Fifteen years ago, (…) deputy defence minister, Matan Vilnai, averred that Israel was ready to carry out a “Shoah” (…) on Gaza. If the Palestinians were to avoid this fate, he said, they must keep quiet at their internment.”
-“Six years later, Ayelet Shaked, who would soon be appointed a senior Israeli minister, declared all Palestinians in Gaza to be “the enemy”, and included “its elderly and its women, its cities and its villages, its property and its infrastructure”.”
She called on Israel to kill the mothers of Palestinian fighters resisting the occupation so they could not give birth to more “little snakes” – Palestinian children.
-“During the 2019 general election, Benny Gantz, then leader of the opposition and soon-to-be defence minister, campaigned with a video celebrating his time as head of the Israeli military, when “parts of Gaza were sent back to the Stone Age”.”
(+ Gantz was also responisible for the IDF crackdown of 2014 killing 1400. my emph.)
-In 2016, another general, Yair Golan, who at the time was the Israeli military’s second in command, described developments in Israel as echoing the period in Germany leading up to the Holocaust.
When asked to comment on Golan’s remark during an interview this year, retired general Amiram Levin agreed that Israel was becoming more like Nazi Germany. “It hurts, it’s not nice, but that’s the reality.”
(…)”
journalists, politicians, people in the West are not aware that this is not one country terrorizing another on equal terms (if that ever existed).
Almost anyone in our state media opens his or her mouth and describes the bombs and destruction carried out by IDF as if it were beyond their control, as if some superior force of justice was forcing their minds and hands to pulling the triggers.
When Hamas attacked it was deeply personlized and pathologized (just like with “The Putin”).
But if IDF does anything it´s all so neutral and clean. No guilt anywhere to be seen.
crazy shit.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini on the Gaza Strip:
“…my UNRWA colleagues in Gaza are no longer able to provide humanitarian assistance …
In fact, Gaza is being strangled and it seems that the world right now has lost its humanity…
There is not one drop of water, not one grain of wheat, not a litre of fuel that has been allowed into the Gaza Strip for the last eight days…
Thousands of people have been killed, including children and women. Gaza is now even running out of body bags…
At least 1 million people were forced to flee their homes in one week alone. A river of people continues to flow south…
No place is safe in Gaza.”
official statement, full text at UNRWA website
https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/unrwa-commissioner-general-philippe-lazzarini%E2%80%AF-remarks%E2%80%AF-situation-gaza-strip
Awful, I have no words left… atleast UN is not mincing their words.
Newest data is that some 3000 palestinians have been killed, 1000 of them children. This is no longer warcrimes or crimes against humanity, it is premeditated murder, a nation that is mentally ill, a regime that needs to be put down.
Meanwhile Biden and Scholz are plan to travel to Israel to give Israel support.
The UN response reminds me of this event some years back:
UN spokesman cries on camera over Gaza school attack
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/31/un-spokesman-chris-gunness-cries-gaza
But since then the world did nothing for the palestinians, and now everything happens again and it is much worse this time.
But they’re just defending themselves Jack!
Tatyana
since you mentioned UN:
here the disappointed UN Ambassador of RU, Nebenzia, (who always is goofy to me but thats meaningless now)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fwLlybt7Z0&list=PLwoDFQJEq_0bkicaYYXnLWkIzvXDl8Hp_&t=21s
Security Council did not vote in favour of the RU resolution suggested.
After his statement soon followed the info:
The draft resolution failed to get the minimum nine votes needed in the 15-member body, having received:
five votes in favour (China, Gabon, Mozambique, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates)
four against (France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States)
six abstentions (Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, and Switzerland).
Why Brazil and Ghana I dont know.
here the entire 2,5 hours:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4lD7_-1-3Y
A new resolution is in preparation by Brazil.
We will see.
a Canadian peace negotiator apparently is invovled in the hostage issue
CBC in an interview with him, Gershon Baskin, the Middle East director for the International Communities Organization, 7 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg6LzfDHg3U
But then listen and you will be puzzled (or not) how this gentleman has been in his own words a person “with backchannels into the Palestinian world for 45 years.”
Not a single word where he genuinly condems the Israeli policies. Nothing.
p.s.
Additionally it is striking how the West has heralded Ukrainian suicidal heroism by the thousands, whereas it is now considered to be “Hamas” being out of touch. As Mr. Baskin complains.
Aren´t negotiators supposed to be “emphatic”?
I assume he is not the only negotiator out there. But this is what Canadian Broadcasting came up with, I guess a real scoop in their eyes…
I hope his negotiator self can achieve something. But his public statement is surprisingly dumb. At least I know it differently from the likes of a German negotiator Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski.
Rights group to prosecute Labour’s Starmer for complicity in Israel’s war crimes in Gaza
“Now that there is clear evidence that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been carried out, and politicians have been formally notified of this, continuation of such support and assistance would mean that any politicians, including senior members of the opposition, could be complicit in the commission of such crimes. This complicity, formally known as ‘aiding and abetting’ war crimes, may mean that UK politicians are held individually criminally liable for breaking international law,” the statement added.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231016-rights-group-to-prosecute-labours-starmer-for-complicity-in-israels-war-crimes-in-gaza/
How on earth are Labour (and rest of the western states) not realizing that they are on the wrong side of not just the conflict as such but wrong side of humanity?
Apart from any other consideration?
Narcissism, a very deep toxic narcissism. They can’t support war-crimes you understand, because they’re the goodies. So what they do isn’t ever “really” bad by definition.
It really could be that simple & awful.
Israel keep htting actual Rafah (Egypt) border, that is the same Egypt Israel beg to admit perhaps as many as 1 million refugees, they have no shame at all, absolutely callous.
Rafah border area hit for fourth time by Israeli air strike: Reports
An area at the Rafah border crossing between the blockaded Gaza Strip and Egypt has been hit for a fourth time by an Israeli military strike, Egyptian news outlet Mada Masr reported, citing two unnamed sources.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/10/15/israel-hamas-war-live-gaza-hospitals-fuel-to-last-24-more-hours-un-says
…and Egypt keep humiliating itself by not doing anything about it.
Also, drones have proved to be quite effective in Ukraine war.
Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and other arab resistance fighters etc should send a swarm of drones against these western warships coming with more weapons to Israel.
Richard Madeley, a one time daytime tv nobody, compares the allies bombing the Nazi’s of WWII to the Israeli’s bombing the oppressed Palestinian people, Madeley sees it as a FAIR parallel.
Watch him say it.
https://nitter.net/Lowkey0nline/status/1713974880746532953#m
The dis-united kingdom’s state broadcaster and Zionist supporter admits it was wrong.
“A BBC journalist admits that the channel misled the public about pro-Palestinian protests in London by depicting them as “backing Hamas.”
“We accept this was poorly phrased and was a misleading description of the demonstrations.”
https://nitter.net/Lowkey0nline/status/1713966055800873257#m
Meanwhile we need more brave souls like this.
“In a statement published today, Spain’s minister for social rights, Ione Belarra, urged the coalition government of her nation to request that the International Criminal Court launch an investigation into war crimes committed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
https://nitter.net/MintPressNews/status/1713927081803850218#m
Also several Labour councillors are on the verge of resigning from the party over its stance of stopping them attending Palestinian demos, some have already resigned and the language being used against the oppressed Palestinians.
“Statement of resignation from the Labour Party, Cllr Amna Abdullatif, Manchester City Council.”
https://nitter.net/Amna4A/status/1713918474173440268#m
https://nitter.net/ShehabKhan/status/1713924116154081452#m
In Germany not even that. All so fucking docile around here. It´s embarassing. When it was about supporting Azov they were all in and painting war colours on their faces.
(They did report that BBC was allegedly under “attack” for its way of reporting about Hamas. I was heart-broken. Gosh. poor BBC…)
AG.
Merkel, and now Scholz’s are good friends of Israel.
“Israeli diplomats and Jewish groups on Wednesday welcomed the election of Olaf Scholz as Chancellor of Germany, officially marking the end of Angela Merkel’s 16-year tenure.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid congratulated Scholz on his official appointment and said that “Germany is a close friend of Israel.”
“The political and strategic partnership between the two countries is very important to us,” Lapid said. “We will continue to work together to maintain the close relationships between us.””
https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/12/08/israeli-diplomats-jewish-groups-congratulate-germanys-new-leader-olaf-scholz-as-merkel-era-ends/#:~:text=Israeli%20diplomats%20and%20Jewish%20groups%20on%20Wednesday%20welcomed,that%20%E2%80%9CGermany%20is%20a%20close%20friend%20of%20Israel.%E2%80%9D
I don’t foresee Scholz’s or Germany for that matter rocking the boat.
“I don’t foresee Scholz’s or Germany for that matter rocking the boat.”
of course not. And never would I spell out any such childish hope.
But we pale even in comparison to GB.
And there used to be German traditions in pro-Palestine support (“Palästinensertuch” and all that..)
The nazis need to keep together, in perfect (goose) step.
Republicofscotland
Now that I am thinking about it:
Sad fact: In the 1960s-1980s when German administrative files and ranks in all areas were still filled with former Nazis naturally, as they were still alive and mostly well, there was much more expertise on the Palestine side, and much more solidarity for the Palestinian cause among students, NGOs, “the left”. In an era when the ‘Holocaust instigators’ so to speak were still among “us” and Israelis had all reason to not visit Germany.
Now we have politicians with African and Middle East background, people from East Germany or former radical leftists (the young Scholz) and you see how it has played out.
(Stevie Boy
don´t let “Goose” get you for that play of, hm, words)
““A BBC journalist admits that the channel misled the public about pro-Palestinian protests in London by depicting them as “backing Hamas.”
Where was that, in a locked cupboard in an unlit basement with no stairs and a sign on the door saying “Beware of the Leopard”?
The stupidity just keeps coming, wanton killing is being normalized live on television!
After the World Wars there were international law, laws of war written so states could no longer attack and kill civilians in industral scale anymore.
Jack.
The past week has shown us just what huge grip the Zionists have over the UK in many fields not just in politics.
It was only last year that this type of hatred was expressed by the West – or as Nato’s Jens Stoltenberg calls it “the civilized world”, which is in fact just Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Canada; the rest of the world (the majority) doesn’t count – against Russia.
As a veteran of the US Air Force, I confess to feeling more and more shame about what my former service has done through its history, even about its bombing of Germany and Japan. So I would say that the analogy is a fair one, even if not in the way intended.
Re my 16.04pm comment.
Gustavo Pedro follows through, well done Sir.
“Colombia expels Israeli ambassador
In the midst of a dispute over President Gustavo Petro’s support for the Palestinian people, Colombia ordered Israel’s envoy to the South American nation to leave.”
Biden will want to shove a copy of the Monroe Doctrine down his throat.
https://nitter.net/MintPressNews/status/1713978849195638867#m
I’ve seen it all now, well almost, a porn site seizing the moral high ground.
“Mia Khalifa’s earnings seized and donated to Israel
Following Mia’s recent dismissal from Playboy for her pro-Palestine statements, Pornhub has also decided to seize her payments and donate all her earnings to Israel.”
https://nitter.net/MintPressNews/status/1713978345988186581#m
You know what they say about politicians being whores, it seems that’s being unfair to the whores.
“Democracy Now” in full reporting mode, at least something.
“At least 12 journalists, mostly Palestinians, have been killed over the past 10 days of conflict in and around the Gaza Strip. Sherif Mansour of the Committee to Protect Journalists says it is one of the highest death tolls for journalists covering the conflict since 1992 and calls today it the “deadliest time for journalists in Gaza.”
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/10/16/lama_al_arian_issam_abdallah
p.s. I dont think anyone in Germany took seriously notice of this.
““A Textbook Case of Genocide”: Israeli Holocaust Scholar Raz Segal Decries Israel’s Assault on Gaza”
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/10/16/raz_segal_textbook_case_of_genocide
AG
I see Scholz is in Israel, Baerbock’s been there over the last few days, as was VDL. No calls for a ceasefire or restraint from any of them just 100% support for Israel? What is it with Germany’s increasingly bellicose politicians? Sending all manner of weapons to Ukraine, right up to the Taurus long-range cruise missile system, which could target Russian territory and which Russia says is a red line. Germany is infuriating the Muslim world, antagonising Russia and attacking China over Taiwan (Baerbock)
The Bundeswehr probably have less rockets than Hamas. The country is literally a sitting duck for total annihilation. Just crazy. I miss the old pacifist Germany.
no clue Goose
Something beyond our sight must have broken in the past 25 years.
e.g. the majority of laws is drafted by private companies paid for by Bundestag.
You have 600 MPs in Bundestag and 5000 lobbyists.
Unions were destroyed.
poverty exploded. Wealth redistribution to the above 10% and separation of society of 50/50 (above and below)
With all the social unrest (think causes for London/Paris riots). Albeit not the riots themselves yet.
For this still too many are too rich.
Financialization and privatization as known from Britain and France have taken hold.
The old German model was in fact very weak from the outset in hindsight.
It was built on a short-sighted heavy and medium industrial base combined with the influx of bankers credits but only as long as German products sold created a surplus. This was of course only viable with limited competition and only with a limited life span.
And of course cheap energy.
As soon as these pillars would break down so would the German model of liberal progressive attitudes bought with wealth.
Every empire started to crumble on the fringes before it lost its grip.
Radicalization is the most likely response. So for now EU group think and group pressure reign.
What else could they do?
Of course there are solutions (We here could propose dozens).
But those are inadequate for the likes of Scholz, VLD, ALB and Co.
(sry for this long no-answer)
VDL
The same thing is happening in Japan. There’s article about it in Le Monde titled: Germany and Japan confront the twilight of their pacifist ideals.
It explains how both countries understanding of pacifism corresponds to the definition from the 1907 16th Universal Peace Congress in Munich, as being a doctrine of action to “suppress war and resolve international disputes by law.” Do Scholz and Baerbock share that view?
In1947, Japan introduced an article into its constitution by which it “forever renounces war as a sovereign right of the state and the threat or use of force as an instrument to resolve international disputes. Yet now ramps up military spending? The world seems to be headed for a catastrophic nuclear showdown. And we don’t have the quality of leadership that could possibly prevent it.
Le Monde or le monde diplomatique?
(wasn´t the new PM of Japan intent to finish off that Article you quote?)
* * *
with all these things taking place here, in France, in GB. What I cannot wrap my head around are the parliaments.
It is known that one side in Germany they hover above reality (“spaceship Bundestag” is such a term).
On the other side, half of them MPs have been elected with a direct mandate from their local voters. And knowing the polls a lot of them must face some confrontation in their home constituencies regarding the government.
How far then can corruption (by the party leaders) go and blindness by the ordinary MPs? Many of those are normal people.
And not every lawyer must be an idiot. Since most MPs are lawyers and teachers I think.
(I don’t have a high opinion of lawyers – they miss the forest from all the trees in questions of geopolitics).
But still not everyone can be brain-washed.
Seriously I don´t understand how this really works. So far no-one could give me an adequate answer.
Least so with France and GB which I simply don’t know.
Are the 2 Houses in Britain so utterly corrupt? So utterly elite? So full of contempt?
I am pretty sure that Britain still is much more of a class society than Germany.
But of course the question is always: Who speaks out publicly. Since what we see and hear is only a fraction of what there truly is regarding opinions.
AG
The reason why it feels like the world is on a precipice, is because respect for international law has all but broken down. People like Blair and GW Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et al played a huge role in this diminution of respect. Bodies and organisations that have kept the peace and whose independence was supposed to be sacrosanct : the UN, IAEA, OPCW, ICC and agreements like JCPOA, MINSK accords etc were myopically manipulated or ditched to get US/UK desired outcomes. And international law was ignored altogether at other times.
With that lack of respect for these important bodies and organisations undermining their objectivity, resorting to violence to settle disputes becomes the only logical way of resolving a dispute. It’s a simple idea, but I think it reflects where we are and how we got here.
Scheerpost on Western media not capable of proper reporting on Israel:
via MintPress:
fist sentence:
“Israelis were killed, while Palestinians merely “died.”
“How Media Outlets Work With Israel To Control Gaza Narrative – From watchdogs to lapdogs: Mnar Adley reveals the disappointing state of the fourth estate in the West, exposing how biased media, often working directly with the Israeli government, has been complicit in whitewashing Israeli crimes in Palestine.”
By Mnar Adley
https://scheerpost.com/2023/10/16/how-media-outlets-work-with-israel-to-control-gaza-narrative/
e.g.:
“(…)
The New York Times’ Jerusalem bureau is built on a Palestinian house that belongs to a noted Palestinian writer Ghada Karmi, a survivor of the Nakba.
The Times also often cooperates with Israeli officials. In 2014, for example, it received and obeyed an Israeli gag order to suppress the news that Israel had arrested a Palestinian journalist.
From 2008 – 2012, The New York Times Israel bureau chief, Ethan Bronner, was exposed to having his 20-year-old son enlist in the Israeli army while he was actively covering the region for the newspaper.
The so-called paper of record never made this public to its readers, raising serious questions of bias and a conflict of interest.
The New York Times also fired Gaza photographer Hosam Salem following an intervention from Israel lobby group Honest Reporting.
However, the paper had no problem employing Ethan Bronner and others like Isabel Kershner and David Brooks to write about Palestine while all three had offspring fighting in the Israeli military.
In general, the consolidation of corporate media since the 1980s has led to ownership by billionaire oligarchs or gigantic multinational corporations that have a strong stake in preserving the status quo of ensuring forever wars continue, and neither of whom want to see nationalist liberation struggles succeed.
The orders come down from up high that news organizations have to support Israel.
(…)”.
Germany and the by us aformentioned Springer press is also subject to criticism via this link:
“Arab journalists fired by Deutsche Welle”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/11/career-assassination-dws-scapegoating-of-arab-employees
(Of course I would prefer them to spell names correctly but I am probably just being too old and old-fashioned with such details. And to assume that Süddeutsche Zeitung would receive state funding shows that the report is written by outsiders. Anyway. Back to essentials.)
“How far then can corruption (by the party leaders) go and blindness by the ordinary MPs? Many of those are normal people.”
I have a theory that, in the UK at least, all new MPs are taken into a windowless room somewhere in the Palace of Westminster, where it is explained to them what will happen to them in the way of certain things becoming public knowledge if they step outside a defined area of consent. If they become ministers the process is repeated with a much smaller area. The Establishment (UK elite) panic over Jeremy Corbyn could have been because they had no kompromat on him.
Here’s a sequence of comments from the Guardian article:
Anyone else feel that this has EVERYTHING to do with Netanyahu’s legal problems?
I’m sure he just dialled up HAMAS and they agreed to stage a co-ordinated extravaganza probably years in the planning on his behalf…
It appears to now be accepted that the Egyptians informed him of the impending attack, and we’re asked to believe that neither the Israeli, nor American Intelligence services knew about …. and you think Netnayahu did nothing?
You think Hamas killed 1,400 people to help Netanyahu out?
I’m sure even Hamas were amazed that they could break through the border fence so easily. Abject security failure.
It didn’t take the usual morons long to come up with the latest stupid conspiracy theory…
Yes and the fact that he wants even more land.
That’s the kind of swivel-eyed conspiracy theory that we’ve come to expect from the far right. More evidence of the Horseshoe model of politics – at their extremes, the far right and far left come close to touching.
Haaretz… and Israeli newspaper , has already laid responsibility for those events square at the feet of Bibi. It’s a perfectly valid opinion.
Elvis is to blame. He pulls strings from the Moon, didn’t you know? I thought everyone knew that.
————————————
Well THAT’s a new one – ie an Israel/Netanyahu apologist acknowledging that Netanyahu was warned by Egypt, and then saying, in effect, that he DID do something to prevent it, or counter it. And yet during the first few days the media was full of stuff about the massive ‘security failure’ and Israel being taken by surprise.
And note tha the poster avoids giving any explanation for why Netanyahu dismissed and denied it.
Were it anyone else it would seem very far-fetched. But this Netanyahu; he’s been lying since at least 1982 when he warned US politicians about Iran being on the brink of acquiring nuclear weapons. Something he’s seemingly repeated every month since. Sarkozy thought him a complete liar, as did Obama.
The number killed are somewhat incidental to the idea he or the Israeli intel services knew something big was going to happen. The answer to that would lie with Mossad who only answer to the PM, Shin Bet is the domestic agency (MI5) Mossad external (MI6).
I’ve read reports that many Israelis died as Israeli tanks turned up and flattened buildings with Hamas plus their captives/hostages inside. Whole families died due to Israel’s heavy-handed approach. There was no negotiation.
‘If it was anyone else’ What, you mean including Bush, and Blair, and Rumsfeld, and Colin Powell and Cheney and Clinton & Clinton and Obama and…… And Biden and Johnson and Starmer…….
in the 1990s there was the rumour Netanyahu was actually on the F.B.I. payroll. I mean for real. I haven´t then followed that. May be it’s by now openly known? Or not?
It’s easier for the racist dehumanized conception of Palestinians to accept a conspiracy than the obvious fact, a terrorist group used to overwhelmingly outnumbering and outgunning unarmed people, wet themselves and ran away when faced with a co-ordinated assault by lightly armed fighters.
Media reports a few days ago were talking in terms of Egypt warning Israel three days before the attack, but initially……
‘Egypt intelligence official says Israel ignored repeated warnings of ‘something big’’
Mounting questions over Israel’s massive intelligence failure to anticipate and prepare for a surprise Hamas assault were compounded Monday when an Egyptian intelligence official said that Jerusalem had ignored repeated warnings that the Gaza-based terror group was planning “something big” — which included an apparent direct notice from Cairo’s intelligence minister to the prime minister.
The Egyptian official said Egypt, which often serves as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, had spoken repeatedly with the Israelis about “something big,” without elaborating…..
In one of the said warnings, Egypt’s Intelligence Minister General Abbas Kamel personally called Netanyahu only 10 days before the massive attack that Gazans were likely to do “something unusual, a terrible operation,” according to the Ynet news site.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/egypt-intelligence-official-says-israel-ignored-repeated-warnings-of-something-big/
From Wikipedia……
The Times of Israel is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and American billionaire investor Seth Klarman.[1] Based in Jerusalem, it “documents developments in Israel, the Middle East and around the Jewish world.”[2] Along with its original English site, The Times of Israel publishes in Hebrew (via its own edition, Zman Yisrael), Arabic, French, and Persian. In addition to publishing news reports and analysis, the website hosts a multi-author blog platform.[3]
In February 2014, two years after its launch, The Times of Israel claimed a readership of two million.[4] In 2017, readership increased to 3.5 million unique monthly users.[5] By 2021, the paper had on average over nine million unique users each month and over 35 million monthly page views, while the paper’s blog platform had 9,000 active bloggers…..
Several Times of Israel editors had previously worked for the Haaretz English edition…..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times_of_Israel
And I think one can safely assume that the vast majority of its readers are Jewish, and that many, many people in Israel must be aware of it by now – ie the Egyptian warnings story. I wonder what they’re thinking and feeling.
Someone has daubed red paint on a Jewish school and nearly all our MPs are madly tweeting to condemn it.
While whoever did this is deeply misguided, could there be any better illustration of the lightweight nature of our current political class, than the fact they see tweeting about this as more important than protesting genocide? How did potential ‘hurt feelings’ get elevated above indiscriminate murder in importance?
Hmm, how very convenient. No doubt it was a Jeremy Corbyn supporter.
Further to my comment earlier today (16:25) highlighting Conservative MP Crispin Blunt’s comments that the UK government could be guilty of war crimes in its backing for and complicity with Israel’s war crimes, it turns out that Blunt is the chair of the International Centre Of Justice For Palestinians (ICJP) and that he and they are not only prepared to call out the British government but are prepared to take legal action against them.
Blunt and the ICJP have issued the government with a “notice of intention to prosecute” over their support for Israel’s war crimes with which they will proceed unless the government and the relevant ministers and officials concerned: condemn Israel’s breaches of international law; retract their original statements – in public; insist Israel complies with International law; act immediately to safeguard Gazan civilians; call for an immediate ceasefire; and call for an immediate end to the siege.
A similar letter has also been sent to Keir Starmer and they have also passed a copy of their letter to Scotland Yard who have sought evidence of war crimes and terrorism in the region.
Information courtesy of KernowDamo’s Youtube channel:
Whole video is worth watching (just under 10 mins) but particularly watch from 6:30 :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLNR7239xz0
Poor Mr Blunt, I am sure he must be feeling very fed up and disillusioned and will soon retire from politics to spend more time with his family.
recommended short report from 2012:
Netanyahu and FBI declassified investigation –
This report for antiwar.com is from 2012 on an official investigation involving frm. Israeli arms trafficker Arnon Milchan (whom we have to thank for all kinds of cool movies, sigh https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0586969/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 ) Netanyahu and Ariel Sharon, involved in organizing to smuggle 800 nuclear triggers from the US to Israel:
“(…)
On June 27, 2012, the FBI partially declassified and released seven additional pages [.pdf] from a 1985–2002 investigation into how a network of front companies connected to the Israeli Ministry of Defense illegally smuggled nuclear triggers out of the U.S.
(…)
footnote:
* The FBI referred an additional 164 pages of the Mandatory Declassification Review to another government agency — presumably the CIA — for further review. The additional pages will likely never be released. The CIA has refused requests for similar documents in order to preserve intelligence sources and methods abroad.
(…)”
“Netanyahu Worked Inside Nuclear Smuggling Ring – Counterespionage debriefing reveals how Israel targeted U.S.”
by Grant Smith
Posted on July 04, 2012
https://original.antiwar.com/smith-grant/2012/07/03/netanyahu-worked-inside-nuclear-smuggling-ring/
details reporters love to overlook and which prove how one-dimensional realities shown on TV are:
why just turning the water back on won´t really help Gaza:
https://twitter.com/itranslate123/status/1713573465620656451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1713573465620656451%7Ctwgr%5E2004cc50358e101598b44d4b9029e49401e6d551%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2Flinks-10-16-2023.html
Just came across the following Guardian article posted on October 5th:
‘Labour Friends of Israel calls on a Starmer government to transform policy’
Group says party ‘freed of the stain of antisemitism’ can promote two-state solution and reverse Tory apathy to Middle East
An incoming Labour government “freed of the stain of antisemitism” can seek an Israeli settlement freeze, promote a two-state solution and call out democratic backsliding not only by the Palestinian Authority, but also by the Israeli government, according to a pamphlet from Labour Friends of Israel.
The pamphlet is designed to mark a breakpoint from Labour’s debilitating debates about antisemitism, and promote a detailed policy solution to the Israel-Palestine question around which the majority of people in the party can gather…..
One of the authors, Michael Rubin, Labour Friends of Israel director, writes: “Benjamin Netanyahu’s self-serving efforts to emasculate the independence of the judiciary, and the repellent actions and rhetoric of his far-right allies, go beyond routine policy disagreements.
“They imperil both democratic norms and the rule of law. And they threaten what, for many of us, is so special about Israel’s character: not simply that it is the homeland of the Jewish people but that it is a beacon of democracy, the rule of law and minority rights in the Middle East.”
They call for Labour to stick by its plan to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a position the Conservative government has resisted, despite backbench pressure.
It also proposes a British-led international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace, modelled on peacebuilding in Ireland, as well as investment in an independent viable Palestinian state through renewed investment in the Palestinian Authority.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/05/labour-friends-of-israel-calls-on-a-labour-government-to-transform-policy
AND this, by Lee Harpin, on September 19th:
‘Peace talks between Israel and Palestinians a ‘matter of priority’ for a Labour govt’
EXCLUSIVE: Labour pre-election policy document says under Keir Starmer a UK government would ‘lead’ diplomatic efforts towards a ‘negotiated, diplomatic agreement to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’
https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/peace-talks-between-israel-and-the-palestinians-a-matter-of-priority-for-a-labour-govt/
And this, from yesterday (the 16th, that is):
‘Labour councillors quit party in protest at Keir Starmer’s Israel stance’
Amna Abdullatif, the first Arab Muslim woman elected to Manchester city council, among those to resign
Amna Abdullatif, a councillor in Ardwick since 2019, said she had been left “no choice other than to resign the Labour whip and resign from the Labour party due to Keir Starmer and a number of his senior frontbench making horrifying comments about Israel having the right to withhold fuel, water, food and electricity from the 2.2 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza, effectively endorsing a war crime”.
Abdullatif said she had been a Labour member for 10 years but would henceforth sit as an independent. “Collective punishment is illegal under international law. It is inhumane and unconscionable,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I cannot fathom how the leadership of the party I represent has not called for a de-escalation to violence, and a ceasefire. This is deeply irresponsible and dangerous.”
Two Labour councillors in Oxford, Shaista Aziz and Dr Amar Latif, quit the party last week for similar reasons.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/16/labour-councillors-quit-party-in-protest-at-keir-starmers-israel-stance
I nearly forgot! Pleeease check out tonight’s Newsnight (now last night’s) on Iplayer from about 25mins in, where Victoria Derbyshire is speaking with a British doctor in Gaza, and ESPECIALLY the end bit! Unbelievable!!
I saw that too. Absolutely jaw-dropping.
As I post down below, Craig Murray was arrested at Heathrow Airport some hours ago, but has been released.
There is no such thing as INTERNATIONAL LAW.
International law is NULL and VOID.
I am sick of hearing certain tropes like “Israel has a right to defend itself” and “the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust”.
My answer to Israel’s right of defence is that Israel is defending itself from stolen land against the indigines from whom it stole the land.
My answer to the greatest massacre claim is that Israel has been massacring Palestinians since 1947 and the cumulative total of dead Palestinians far exceeds the dead Israelis of 07 October.
While Israel “kindly” used ethnic cleansing instead of genocide in 1948 this still involved killing. For each village to be emptied Israeli forces surrounded it on 3 sides but left the side facing the nearest Arab state free. Hopefully the inhabitants flee prompted by the warnings from well meaning Jewish “friends” the threats from Jewish Death squads or information from those who had already fled. In cases where the vermin did not flee shooting a couple and warning the rest to leave or suffer the same fate was enough. Oh before they allowed the Palestinians whom that had just threatened with death to begin running they forced them to sign statements saying that they were leaving voluntarily. What happened when the village was surrounded by terror squads on all four sides as in the case of the coastal village of Tantura? There the vermin had no route to escape so the Israeli terrorists machined gunned them to death and buried them in a mass grave now covered by a parking lot.
The estimate is that 1% of the vermin were killed pour encourager les autres. That means 7000, which is more than the Jews that Hamas’ fighters killed on 07 October justly in my opinion.
Since 1948 the balance of deaths has been 20 Palestinians to each Israeli. The fact is that revenge is one of highest values of species homo sapiens and Israelis are not the only ones who feel entitled to it. Whatever the total of Palestinians killed by Israel since 1948 is it is more than enough to justify the killings of 7/10 as necessary pay back. No Palestinian or supporter of the Palestinians can possibly consider Israeli civilians to be INNOCENT..
The Western empire is extremely biased when it evaluates the Israel/Palestine situation it refuses to consider actions against the Palestinians as if they ha[ppened to people for whom they felt affinity,. Antisemitism has gone but has been replaced by anti-palestinianism . I suspect Western feelings of well warranted guilt over allowing the holocaust is at the root of this.