Fascism in the West to Enable Genocide in Palestine 1249


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.

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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1,249 thoughts on “Fascism in the West to Enable Genocide in Palestine

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  • Cynicus

    Our host was arrested under The Prevention of Terrorism Act at Heathrow a few hours ago.

    This is reported on X [nitter] in a series of tweets by Mark Hirst, a reliable witness. Mark also informs us that Craig has been released.

    • zoot

      thank goodness he has been released first of all. but my god that just about sums up the state Britain has degenerated to. CM is demonstrably one of the most humane people in the country. he can out think and out reason any of his persecutors on Israel-Palestine, putting facts to them for which they have no answer. that’s why he was targeted by our amoral elites, paid to be “Friends” of Israel.

      • Tom Welsh

        The irony is that it’s the people who arrested him (and previously imprisoned him) who are practising terrorism. Very consciously and deliberately.

        That law should be named “The Prevention of Resistance to Terrorism Act” – not “The Prevention of Terrorism Act”.

        Judging by The Grayzone‘s article, what they really have against Mr Murray is precisely his belief in and adherence to British values.

    • Sam

      Woah! Just read about it over on the GrayZone. Wonder if he’ll finally realize he really IS living in a dictatorship.

      Also, to any British “intelligence” officers reading this: go fuck yourselves.

        • Dr Iain

          No Tom,
          As a colony of England under foreign occupation, Scotland, and hence its Glasgow airport, is designated “The UK Border” in large letters at Arrivals point in the airport.

          The UK Border Force is not under the control of the “Scottish” Government. “National” security is not a devolved matter -and is under the control of Cruela Braverman’s so-called “Home Office”.

          That the SNP continues to operate this administration on England’s behalf, is among the reasons why so many of us have left the party. The SNP has been thoroughly and irreparably infiltrated by British state actors.
          Therefore, I would point out, that the so-called “Scottish” government is in reality a colonial administration, ultimately under London control.

    • Casual Observer

      I see he had his electronic equipment seized. It’ll be interesting to see if he got them back. No doubt CM will be along later in the day, or tomorrow, to add detail, but right now it might be interpreted as being the so-called ‘Streisand Effect’ on stilts?

    • Melrose

      There we go. And apparently, they seized his laptop once more.
      Not even on a train, like previously in Germany.
      My advice to CM. From now on, whenever youā€™re travelling, make sure to only carry dummies of your mobile phone and laptop computer. Have the real ones make the trip with someone else.

    • Scott

      I can’t wait to hear Craig’s report.

      I imagine Craig is resigned to the likelihood of this happening again. I’m sure he has put measures in place already, but I hope he follows recommended OPSEC procedures (the wikileaks teams should be able to share some pointers if he needs them), especially to protect the identity of his sources.

      I would be suspicious of those devices when they are returned also – an expert would be required to detect hardware tampering.

  • Allan Howard

    Just occurred to me to check out the Jewish Chronic to see if they covered the Egyptian Warning story, and it doesn’t look as if they did, which is what I suspected. But in the process I came across the following:

    ‘Political cartoonist Steve Bell ‘sacked’ by The Guardian after Netanyahu cartoon rejected’

    The newspaper has cut ties with Bell after the cartoonist showcased his take on the Hamas terror attack online

    https://www.thejc.com/news/news/political-cartoonist-steve-bell-sacked-following-accusations-that-his-work-was-antisemitic-3y6E7VsBWlBOpeCkb5sTng

    • Jack

      Oh they got with them the most pathetic regime of Japan. Imagine being attacked by 2 atom bombs and then side with the perpetrator to support another genocide 2023.
      These regimes are nothing but filth. Voting against a ceasfire, just think about that.

      • Jack

        and the nations that were too scared to vote “No” should also be ashamed, especially BRICS member Brazil ruled by Lula the…alleged left-wing leader:

        ….with six abstentions (Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, and Switzerland).

        • Melrose

          Easy on the booze, Emperor.
          Itā€™s the other way around. They were too scared to vote ā€œYESā€ with Russia.
          A cold shower, and things will be much clearerā€¦

      • Ebenezer Scroggie

        There are two countries who could put a stop to this madness within days: Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

        If thy immediately halted exports of oil and gas to the countries which are complicit in the torture and killing of Palestinians in Gaza, the torment would end within a week.

    • Goose

      Can you imagine the diplomatic frenzy to prevent war from these 4 countries, were Israel about to face-off against a near peer enemy.

      This is just a European/ US green light for the massacre of a people they view as worthless.

  • Carlyle Moulton

    My answer to ā€œIsrael’s right of defenceā€ is that Israel is defending itself from stolen land against the indigines from whom it stole the land.

    My answer to the claim of the ā€œgreatest massacre of Jews since the holocaustā€ 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 advice 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.

    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.

    The Western empire is extremely biased when it evaluates the Israel/Palestine situation it refuses to consider actions against the Palestinians as if they happened to people for whom they felt affinity. Anti-Semitism 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. Germany in particular atones for genocide by supporting Jews doing likewise to the Palestinians.

    • Tom Welsh

      “My answer to ā€œIsraelā€™s right of defenceā€ is that Israel is defending itself from stolen land against the indigines from whom it stole the land”.

      Exactly! Moreover they stole the land by extreme violence, killing any Palestinians who tried to resist.

      It is a fundamental principle of justice that criminals should never be allowed to profit from their crimes.

      Also, in many civilised countries, it is a principle that if anyone is killed in any way during the execution of a crime, the criminals can be charged with murder – whether they intended the death or not.

      “You broke it – you own it”. Although of course no legislator, no matter how wise and decent, has ever been able to think of a way to restore the dead to life.

  • Jack

    New day, more sickness from Israel, US and the UK:

    There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza claims Israel
    https://swentr.site/news/585101-israel-no-crisis-gaza/

    Over 70 people reported killed in Israeli strikes on Rafah, Khan Younis
    Biden will go to Israel tommorow
    US Secretary of State Blinken says Biden will emphasise that Israel has the ā€œright and dutyā€ to defend itself from Hamas.
    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/10/16/israel-hamas-war-live-iran-warns-resistance-front-may-attack

    And US will send 2000 marines to make the virtue signalling for Israel complete:

    US sending 2,000 marines to Israeli coast ā€“ media
    Separate plans are also in place for a potential ā€œsupportā€ mission in Israel

    https://swentr.site/news/585106-us-marines-israeli-coast/

    UK purge pro-palestinian reporters
    BBC takes six reporters off air over ā€˜pro-Palestineā€™ stance
    https://swentr.site/news/585097-bbc-israel-hamas-reporters/

    As usual one can compare with their response towards Russia, when a russian reporter put a anti-war sign up in a live show she was hailed by the west; now they purge voices themselves!

    • Tom Welsh

      Mr Biden ought to spend more time (some time?) studying history.

      Those gigantic aircraft carriers and the marines are merely hostages, willingly delivered up.

  • Xavi

    Craig detained as a terrorist by a British state that is actively abetting the mass murder of Palestinians? It is Alice in Wonderland through the looking glass territory.

    Keeping it Alice, Western leaders are far too deep down the rabbit hole to realise how their support of the Gaza massacre is being viewed throughout the world. This gentleman, in a succinct 2 minutes, explains better than anyone how their actions are being perceived outside the Western commentariat.

    https://x.com/ASE/status/1713534687656693861?s=20

    • Tom Welsh

      Blimey! And he seemed to be speaking impromptu. What an eloquent, devastating indictment.

      And yet, as sentence followed sentence like so many hammer blows, I kept thinking, “Yes, that’s true… yes…quite so… indeed…I agree…” It’s astonishing how long the indictment grows. (Although dozens of other well-known crimes could be added to the list). Even those of us who try to see the truth objectively may be amazed at how much we have nevertheless grown to accept.

      Those people are truly the enemies of humanity.

  • Jack

    I did a quick google-search to see what Labour, excluding Corbyn, had said past wars:

    Ed Miliband attacks David Cameron’s failure to condemn Gaza civilian deaths
    Downing Street ‘shocked’ at comments by Labour leader, who says government should be clear that Israel’s actions are wrong
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/03/ed-miliband-david-cameron-gaza-civilian-deaths

    But even Cameron criticised Israel in the end
    David Cameron has warned Israel that it is “wrong and illegal” to target civilians, in his strongest comments so far on the conflict in Gaza which has killed more than 1,800 people.
    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/04/david-cameron-israel-gaza-hamas-ed-miliband-labour

    Going back further Jack Straw was clearcut in condemning Israel and he today he calls for west to talk to Hamas to solve the conflict
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKtmDt_IMb4

    2014: Former deputy PM under Tony Blair: John Prescott: Israel’s bombardment of Gaza is a war crime – and it must end
    https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/john-prescott-israels-bombardment-gaza-3918413


    What happened since? As much as Keir &co is at fault I reckon there have been some kind of general shift to support Israel 100% but where does this come from? The support, throughout the west, one sees now for Israel by governments is unprecedented.
    Why are these people talking like there is no international law anymore? Like this is some tribal warfare/mentality?

    • Tom Welsh

      [ Mod: Retrieved from spam filter @ 10:50. ]

      – I think it’s simple enough, Jack: any slight tinge of representativeness that the British establishment once had is now gone. The people who rule the UK and speak for it have nothing whatsoever in common with the people.

      Rishi Sunak, who I see to my amazement is “our” Prime Minister, ‘has voiced ā€œunequivocalā€ UK support for Israel ā€œnot just today, not just tomorrow, but alwaysā€’. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/14/sunak-promises-israel-unqualified-support-in-face-of-evil-but-fails-to-mention-plight-of-gaza

      Why? Why would he do that? Why do we have an Indian prime minister who sees fit to promise that he, and the UK, will always be unconditionally on the side of Israel? Why? How did that happen?

      Contrast Mr Sunak’s pledge with this famous speech:

      “Therefore I say that it is a narrow policy to suppose that this country or that is to be marked out as the eternal ally or the perpetual enemy of England. We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow. When we find other countries marching in the same course, and pursuing the same objects as ourselves, we consider them as our friends, and we think for the moment that we are on the most cordial footing; when we find other countries that take a different view, and thwart us in the object we pursue, it is our duty to make allowance for the different manner in which they may follow out the same objects. It is our duty not to pass too harsh a judgment upon others, because they do not exactly see things in the same light as we see; and it is our duty not lightly to engage this country in the frightful responsibilities of war, because from time to time we may find this or that Power disinclined to concur with us in matters where their opinion and ours may fairly differ”.

      — Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Speech to the House of Commons (1 March 1848). http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1848/mar/01/treaty-of-adrianople-charges-against

      Or George Washington’s Farewell Address:

      “In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential, than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular Nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The Nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nation against another disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests. The Nation, prompted by ill-will and resentment, sometimes impels to war the Government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. The Government sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason would reject; at other times, it makes the animosity of the nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of Nations has been the victim.

      “So likewise, a passionate attachment of one Nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite Nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite Nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the Nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained; and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens, (who devote themselves to the favorite nation,) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation”.

    • Carlyle Moulton

      “There is no international law any more”.

      Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha …………………………………………………………………………

      International has never existed and the pretence of it is NULL and VOID!

      • Cornudet

        When questioned about “European civilization” Mahatma Gandhi said that it would be a good idea.

        Presumably he would make the same remark about international law and the “rules based” order violated so flagrantly by Russia and Iran but never. ever by the US and its allies, or rather vassals.

        The Observer’s Simon Tisdall writes obsessively about the rules-based order presided over by the West. To which one can only ask if he has been asleep since 1945.

    • Carlyle Moulton

      The so called “rules based order” has owners and there is no surprise that its owners want it to remain in effect as it confers favourable terms of trade their way when trading with those who are not its owners. For example the $US is the currency of world trade, therefore the US can print dollars and immediately use them to buy valuable things from other nations or lend them to other nations at high interest rates for failing infrastructure projects and then put that nation into debt peonage and, vampire-squid-like, suck up all its resources. This is for the purpose of the IMF and the World Bank.

  • SA

    Russiaā€™s reaction to current events in occupied Palestine are muted to put it mildly. Putin states that Russia is neutral on this issue and pertains to keep good relationships with both sides. The Russian media such as Sputnik and RT are rather neutral in their reporting. Putin count Netanyahu as a personal friend and the reactions to continuous Israeli attacks on Syria are non existent. Even the loss of Russian plane in Syria as a result of Israeli action was weak. Any comments?

    • Jack

      SA

      I can only agree, Russia is unfortunately very slow to act and time and time again prove to be quite naive and no better than the west: they have a great chance PR-wise for themselves to step in and stop this carnage caused by the west in great part, but Putin play along with the EU/US talking point about “Israel have the right to defend itself”. Is this the multipolar-world Putin talking about? Well, then it is a carbon copy of the western policies obviously.

      Putin is also a great friend of Israel,
      2014: President Putin: I Support Israel
      https://fjc-fsu.org/president-putin-support-israel/

      Vladimir Putin is the closest thing to a friend Israel has ever had in Moscow
      https://www.reuters.com/article/idUS219934768220160114

      But Israel is no friend of Russia: constantly bombing, aiding jihadists and other anti-government efforts against Assad and backing Ukraine diplomatically also constantly attacking palestinians even though Russia claim to be supportive of two-state solution, so why does Russia keep sucking up to this regime in return?

      Yes the RT and Sputnik have always been a joke Israel/Palestine, from being neutral too often write pro-israeli biased articles.
      Just take this:

      Hamasā€™ terror attack on Israel was similar to 9/11 in more ways than one
      https://swentr.site/news/584838-hamas-attack-israel-similar-911/

  • Scott

    The UNSC Resolution asking for an immediate Gaza ceasefire was never going to succeed. Ostensibly rejected by US, UK, France and Japan because it “made no mention of Hamas”, it is important to reflect that if it wasn’t for this reason, it would have been for another.

    The best outcome we can hope for it seems, is for Israel to satisfy its bloodlust for revenge as quickly as possible against the Gaza civilian population. At that point, when the horror inflicted on the Palestinians is plain for all to see, there may be a better chance of the next proposed UN resolution being accepted.

    Trying to unpack the voting pattern, it shows the uphill struggle that Palestinians have to garner global political support. My opinion is that only when enough citizens raise their voices will their governments listen, and the best thing we can do it to to ensure that Palestinian stories are heard – stories that reflect the reality of a civilian population under siege. I’ll add a comment after this post with a tragic example of a completely unnecessary mass killing of Palestinian civilians.

    What is unsurprising is the number of abstentions. Six non-permanent members, who lack veto rights, Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Switzerland, Malta and Ghana, abstained from voting. Taking any position on this issue is likely to make political enemies.

    I’ve heard it described that 3 billion people in the global south think the US is insane to use Ukraine in a proxy war against Russia. We are so accustomed to following english language media echoing the same ideology, that we can be surprised to discover that Indian, Brazilian, or Japanese media provide a different perspective. Their audience due to distance and culture can be disengaged from the material, and their politicians have no domestic need to prioritise the ideological battles we find so important in the north.

    That Japan voted against the resolution is interesting, and may reflect some deep empathy for the suffering of the Israel people. I lack the knowledge, and I am not cynical enough to believe that it is just politics.

    But what is certain, is that Hamas will not be destroyed. While many insurgents will be killed, many more will rally to the call to continue the cycle of revenge. Hate feeds on hate, and what is also certain, is that a cruel minority of Israelis need Hamas to exist to justify their own cruelty.

    As Chris Hedges mentioned in his recent substack:

    ā€œFrom violence only violence is born,ā€ Primo Levi writes, ā€œfollowing a pendular action that, as time goes by, rather than dying down, becomes more frenzied.ā€

    https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/this-way-for-the-genocide-ladies

  • Fat Jon

    If Russia can be sanctioned for attacks on Ukraine, then Israel must also be sanctioned for attacks on Gaza.

    Firstly, cut off all oil supplies to Israel. That should concentrate the minds of their evil leaders.

  • Scott

    Many tragedies have been reported in Gaza, but the vast majority of tragedies that continue to occur, are as a result of the war crimes being perpetuated against Palestinian civilians. With no electricity, internet, journalists on the ground, how will their stories be told?

    Even if your sympathy lies with Israel, the stories of the unnecessary, mindless and tragic killing of Palestinian civilians also deserve to be heard.

    This particular story resonated with me, and deserves to be shown on CNN, and on the front page of the NYT and Guardian. But you need to search for it to find it, since no western media wants to be accused of being unsympathetic to Israel.

    https://twitter.com/OsaidesserMD/status/1713166783400538141

    “The IOF killed Dr Midhat Saidam, a senior plastic and burn surgeon at Shifa Hospital in Gaza along with 30 of his family members as they targeted their home.”

    Imagine the good that he had done, and could continue to do for humanity, and imagine how meaningless it was for Israel to kill him and his family in revenge for the crimes of others.

    Look at his photos on the link. Then tell me that the Israeli response is just and proportionate.

    • SA

      Scott
      Thanks for the link. It is worth scrolling down, it looks as if it is Israeli policy to target not only doctors but their families in Gaza.

  • Jack

    US pressure, however, managed to get the Arab League foreign ministers to release a watered-down statement after an emergency meeting in Cairo, equating Palestinian and Israeli actions for the first time by condemning the targeting of civilians on ā€œboth sidesā€. Meanwhile, not a single one of the six Arab governments ā€œat peaceā€ with Israel even bothered to recall its ambassador or freeze its normalisation, let alone close its embassy.
    https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/10/16/the-united-states-is-back-to-playing-regional-cop-in-the-middle

    An israeli soldier explain the tactics used back in 2014 war prove what the intent is by the israeli army:
    ā€œThere werenā€™t really any rules of engagement ā€¦ They told us: ā€˜There arenā€™t supposed to be any civilians there. If you spot someone, shootā€™. Whether the person posed a threat or not wasnā€™t even a question; and that makes sense to me. If you shoot someone in Gaza itā€™s cool, no big deal. First of all because itā€™s Gaza, and second because thatā€™s warfare. That, too, was made clear to us ā€“ they told us, ā€˜Donā€™t be afraid to shootā€™, and they made it clear that there are no uninvolved civilians.ā€
    https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/10/16/the-myth-of-israels-most-moral

    While I am no fan of nuclear weapons proliferation, the possibility of the constant carnage we see against palestinians past decades, is the exact reason why Israel/US deny nuclear weapons to Iran or any arab state, the mere existence/deterrence of such in the hands of Iran/Arab world would in effect block this mayhem being played out now. Iran should stop being played around like this.

    And while being no fan of Saddam Hussein, he at least had the courage to send some missiles towards Israel. Compare that with the despicable arab leaders that cannot even kick out the israeli ambassadors from their land even though they have the legal right to use force.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_rocket_attacks_on_Israel

    • Scott

      Thanks for those points Jack.

      It is worth emphasising that not every Muslim nation is an existential threat to Israel.

      Here is a paper from the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in March, that gives a good review of relations between the countries, and observes that Pakistan refuses to recognises Israel as a state, “as long as the Palestinian issue is not resolved”. But Israel and Pakistan are pressing ahead with the Abraham Accords, not threatening to use or press the nuclear button.

      https://www.inss.org.il/strategic_assessment/pakistan-israel/

      Or more recently:

      As news broke of Hamas militants storming Israel on Saturday, interim Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar posted on X that he was “heartbroken” by the violence. “We urge restraint and protection of civilians. Enduring peace in the Middle East lies in a two-state solution with a viable, contiguous, sovereign State of Palestine.”

      https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Israel-Hamas-war/Pakistan-adopts-careful-tone-on-Israel-experts-read-between-lines

      And let’s not pretend that Israel is a ‘good neighbour’: as that classic clip of Joe Biden pointed out, “if Israel did not exist, the US would need to create an Israel”. It’s role according to US foreign policy, is to destabilise the middle-east, and stop Arab states forming alliances together to the detriment of US interests.

      That Israel assassinates scientists in its neighbour’s countries, bombs or threatens to bomb neighbours regularly, occupies their neighbour’s land to steal their resources (Craig reminded us of the Golan Heights in 2013… https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2013/02/israel-grants-oil-rights-in-syria-to-murdoch-and-rothschild/) and acts as slave master over an occupied territory that comprises mostly Muslims, might also have something to do with it.

      • Laguerre

        I think you’ll find things are changing. There is unified fury in the Muslim world, not only in but across the Muslim world, about what Israel is doing to the Palestinians in Gaza. Not so much among the governments, who can be bribed or blackmailed, but popular fury. The Muslim world has never been so united on a single point. If the US goes to war, on Syria, for example, a large number of governments risk being destabilised. We’ve already seen the effects in action this last week in Saudi, where we were told MbS was ready to sign with Israel, and now suddenly it’s all off. That’s public (and princely) sympathy for Palestinians in action, not what MbS wants.

        • Tom Welsh

          The fury seems to have been detected in high places – the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for instance. I read that MbS kept US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken waiting all night for a meeting that was scheduled for the evening before. Eventually the host appeared in the morning – refreshed, no doubt, by a sound night’s sleep. I have no way of hoping, but I suppose he told Blinken to get knotted.

          I am no expert in diplomacy, but that looks to me like a very strong and contemptuous insult. In years gone by no Muslim ruler would have dared do such a thing.

          Naturally I cheered for MbS. He may do some dreadful things, but who could resist that cheeky smile?

          • Scott

            Indeed Tom, with the possible exception of his political opponents, I think everyone warms to the mischievous smirk of the bone-saw loving maniac.

    • Tom Welsh

      “Iran should stop being played around like this”.

      It’s hard not to agree. But principles can be an awful nuisance, and the Iranian establishment utterly refuses to contemplate the use or even possession of thermonuclear weapons. I believe that both Supreme Leaders Khamenei and Khomenei strictly forbade any efforts in that direction.

      Now that’s religion doing what it ought to.

  • Republicofscotland

    The dis-united kingdom reps did the unthinkable, by voting against, they effectively voted to keep the killing spree of the oppressed Palestinians going, they have blood on their hands.

    “Russia proposed a resolution on Gaza at UN Security Council calling for a humanitarian ceasefire, release of all hostages, aid access + safe evacuation of civilians.

    5 countries voted in favour. 6 countries abstained.

    4 countries voted against: šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡øUS šŸ‡¬šŸ‡§Britain šŸ‡«šŸ‡·France šŸ‡ÆšŸ‡µJapan”

    https://nitter.net/kennardmatt/status/1714201826227044566#m

  • Jack

    Remember when the EU/US made a big fuss about Russia allegedly banned the word “war” regarding Ukraine?
    Now the EU/US not only refuse to say the word “war” to describe what Israel is doing, they also have banned the words “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing”.
    Besides Israel do not call this a war, they call it an operation: “Operation Iron Swords”.

    The cataclysm that you and I are witnessing in Gaza is a genocide in the awful making.
    It is not an ā€œonslaughtā€. It is not an ā€œinvasionā€. It is not even a ā€œwarā€. It is a genocide.

    https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/10/14/this-is-genocide

    • Goose

      Level of discussion in the UK…

      GMTV’s Richard Madeley quizzes British-Palestinian MP, Layla Moran, if her or her family knew about Hamas attack before it happened.

      As for the US…

      Why is no one talking about Joe Biden’s whisper-like voice in recent interviews and frequent loss of his train of thought. The idea this man can do TV debates with Trump next year with this rate of progression, then serve 4 more years, just seems absurd. My aunt’s voice became very quiet when she was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, and then became almost a whisper. Today, just a few years later, she can’t even recognise her own daughters. Biden should clearly retire. President Kamala Harris?

      • Tom Welsh

        Everyone in Western governments and other in-groups understands that it makes no difference if the USA’s head of state is incoherent or, for that matter, unconscious.

        It’s not as if such people ever made decisions or initiated anything – they don’t.

          • Tom Welsh

            That’s a serious insult to Brezhnev. Chernenko, perhaps, or Yeltsin.

            Although future historians – if any – may compare Biden to Gorbachev, as the two men who destroyed the nations which they led.

          • Urban Fox

            Like the above poster said, Yeltsin is more appropriate as he was was mentally impaired and pretty much physically dead in his second term.

            Brezhnev, Andropov & Chernenko were in bad physical shape but as far as everyone knows, their minds were intact.

            Of course it doesn’t serve anyone in MSN to remind us, what a s**show ole Boris was.

    • AG

      pretzelattack

      Actually the MoA outline is so far the best explanation for the outrageous behaviour of the EU on this.
      For the public it makes no difference. They are as dumb as 2 years ago with Ukraine.

      But the governments act very consciously. So I would assume, yes, based on the evidence we have, there is way more to this treatment of the Gaza scandal than is discussed anywhere in fact. Every politician KNOWS these are blatant violations of human rights of supposedly genocidal levels. So why do they lie so openly? Unlike usually they donĀ“t even try to hide anything.

      Was such modus operandi discussed in connection with NATO? After all Israel is no better than Ukraine for the US. They are a vassal. Vassals are expendable. They have thus to fulfill functions.

      Perhaps one reason why right now you hear hardly anything from the Russians in the Western media. They are trying to hear through the noise the West is creating for diversion.

    • Goose

      How will the IDF distinguish Hamas from civilians, if Hamas fighters simply hide their weapons, switch to civilian clothes and mingle?

      What western govts are allowing here is the systematic slaughter of all men of military age in Gaza. How is such an extermination programme not a war crime?

      • Goose

        The British Intel and military establishment should consider this and Ministers should be asked directly :

        If you were a noncombatant military aged male trapped in Gaza right now, would you be confident of your safety and that of your family when some young, nervous IDF soldiers smash your door down?

        I think we are about to witness something horrific, not seen since the 1930s. And the injustice of it is going to set things ablaze.

      • Tom Welsh

        I have just begun reading Michael Lewis’ book “The Undoing Project”, which seems to be about Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, the Israeli psychologists. (Kahneman is rightly famous for his brilliant book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”).

        Whatever Lewis’ politics – I don’t know and don’t care – he seems to have a typical American attitude to Jews, the Holocaust and Israelis. The book starts by tracing Kahneman’s awful early years, as a Jewish child in Nazi-occupied Europe. Then it explains why his mother decided to emigrate to Israel; Lewis makes a good job of explaining why she felt that Palestine would be the safest place for them.

        Remarkably soon, hardly out of his teens, Kahneman was enlisted in the brand-new Israeli army, which apparently had not yet attained its later reputation for efficiency. Lewis relates how many if not most tasks were bungled by inexperienced conscripts, and this is the point of special interest for this thread.

        Kahneman remembered how they were sent out to scout, take ground if they could, and fight if they had to. No war had been declared, but Jordanian soldiers were clearly more than ready to kill Israelis if they found them on Jordanian territory – or perhaps on newly-declared Israeli land.

        One story was about a platoon that saw a local shepherd. Some of the men wanted to shoot him, but the commander knew that was wrong. They could not go killing unarmed civilians. Unfortunately the shepherd immediately fetched a Jordanian squad which wiped out the Israelis. Afterwards, everyone blamed the merciful commander.

        And this is the point. As early as 1948, Israelis were coming to believe that there was no such thing as a civilian Arab. Like Americans in Vietnam – also strangers in someone else’s country – they shot first and asked questions later.

        That custom has persisted to the present day. And one can hardly blame Palestinians for responding in kind. In a war such as that in Palestine – which, let’s remember, was begun by the Jewish invaders – an apparent civilian on either side could be a deadly enemy.

        As some Texas policemen apparently say, “It’s better to be tried by twelve than carried by six”.

  • Ebenezer Scroggie

    The detention and interrogation of Craig Murray by Alex Salmond’s Polizei Scottland is deeply disturbing.

    What ever happened to “You have the right to remain silent”?

    • Tom Welsh

      ‘What ever happened to ā€œYou have the right to remain silentā€?’

      The truth of the matter is that you don’t. You don’t have any rights at all, except what your lords and masters choose to give you out of the goodness of their hearts.

  • Goose

    What Israel has planned will be the Srebrenica massacre on steroids. Minus the western hand-wringing and threats regarding the ICC.

    The slaying of more than 7,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) boys and men caused international outrage. The ‘Gaza massacre’ will dwarf that and toxify ethno-state Israel’s reputation forever.

  • Jack

    Then I try again to post a simple comment…sigh.

    UNRWA warns of increased waterborne illness threat amid Gaza desperation
    ‘Water is life, and life is running out of Gaza,’ says spokesperson

    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/unrwa-warns-of-increased-waterborne-illness-threat-amid-gaza-desperation/3022261
    Israel know full well that palestinians face this risk, they want to make their lives completely unbearable.

    And oh how cute, US(/Israel) and their arab lackeys: Jordan, Egypt and Palestinian Authority is about to meet to discuss how to stop the war.
    I guess condemnation or even dismantling of Hamas is one of their goals.

    • Goose

      ‘You can murder a liberator, but you can’t murder liberation. You can murder a revolutionary, but you can’t murder a revolution. And you can murder a freedom fighter but you can’t murder freedom!’ – from the film Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

      Netanyahu risks strengthening the ideals driving Hamas by the power of ten. Does he really believe he’s enhancing Israel’s reputation and security in the Muslim world and beyond? Apart from the corrupt, ivory tower elites in the west and the Farage-flirting borderline BNP gammon types, people who just instinctively hate non-white / non-Christians (see Telegraph btl comments) they are losing European public support. Von der Leyen could face a vote of no confidence too. Israel is making powerful enemies with this excessive, disproportionate show of force.

  • Carlyle Moulton

    There is an empire. We usually call it The US Empire but there are better names. I suggest:-
    ā€¦ā€¦.. The Anglophone Empire;
    ………. The Empire of Global Capital;
    ………. OR
    ………. The Euro American Empire;
    ā€¦ā€¦.. The Western Empire.
    |
    Any of the above names better describes its essence.
    |
    I think the maddest of mad conspiracy theorists may be right. Democracy is OVER.
    |
    All Nations of the Western Empire are post-Democratic and they no longer see it necessary to maintain the pretence.

    • Tatyana

      In Russia, this has long been called the ā€œWashington Obcomā€.
      The word ObCom is an abbreviation of the Russian words Oblast Committee. This refers to the old USSR terminology, the word for the Regional Committee of the Communist Party.
      Used like this:
      ā€œWhy did Germany make such a stupid decision?ā€ – ā€œApparently they got a call from the Washington Obcom.ā€

  • Harry Law

    Former UK diplomat Craig Murray detained after supporting Hamas, Hezbollah
    A former British diplomat and human rights activist has been detained under the country’s counterterrorism laws after declaring support for the people of Palestine and criticizing Israel’s atrocities against them.
    Craig Murray was detained on Monday under the UK’s so-called Prevention of Terrorism Act after he returned from a trip to Iceland.
    https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/10/16/712863/Britain-detention-former-ambassador-support-Hamas-Hezbollah



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  • Jack

    US visit will be seen by Israel as a total blessing for the upcoming invasion:

    Israel to invade Gaza after Biden leaves ā€“ Der Spiegel
    The US president condemned Hamasā€™s ā€œbrutal terrorist attackā€ as he announced a Wednesday wartime trip to Israel

    https://swentr.site/news/585139-us-biden-israel-ground-invasion/

    Hamas, Hamas, Hamas. That is all they the old senile guy can say? For over a week there have been no returned fire by palestinians, not a word about the obvious israeli mayhem?!
    Once again we see israel’s interests being carried out by the americans. But of course there are no israeli lobby, no no sigh.

    Funny Belarus was blasted for allegedly being complicit in the russian invasion, what is not the western total support for Israel then?

  • Harry Law

    I thought that statement on X by Craig could land him in trouble, Craig is right, the West Bank and Gaza are under occupation. The borders of Gaza are controlled by Israel therfore under international Law it is occupied. Further, Palestinians under occupation have the right under International Law to resist the occupiers including by the use of force. Bravo Craig.

    • Jack

      Jesus, this purge will put Stalin in shame in the end, if this is not fascism we witness, what is? Still no mainstream european leftist parties dare to raise their voice, they are the only ones that could stop this madness and not play along.

      • Tatyana

        Jack
        The comparison with Stalin occurred to me yesterday. I thought that his decision to deport the population may not be so terrible as what Israel is going to do to the Palestinians. And, people have absolutely no alternative! There’s no way out of this area. They are simply blocked inside the fence!

    • Goose

      @RoS

      Whether one agrees with her views or not. this highlights why handing Ofcom a quasi-judicial role via the Online safety Act legislation – with responsibility for regulating internet content – is such a terrible idea, as the censor’s subjective opinion is all that matters.

      I wonder what would have happened had she ‘liked’ pro-Israel / IDF posts, would there be this furore? Somehow doubt it. the British political establishment are fundamentally and quite openly biased.

      • Goose

        I’ve seen loads of posts in British newspapers’ online comment sections (Telegraph, Mail) calling for Gaza to be nuked and ‘wiped-out’ by pro-Israeli posters. Also comments justifying indiscriminate bombing as a form of ‘FAFO’ (fuck around, find out). Not a word from the internet ‘safety ‘enforcers and the comments remain undeleted. Are they not calls for war crimes? The double standard is staggering.

        • AG

          Goose, not that simple – in Berlin e.g. they are now using the “antisemitism” tool to fight Fridays for Future
          as Berliner Zeitung, dumb as the paper is, reporting:

          “Activist shared anti-Israel posts: Now Fridays for Future responds – Time and again, climate activists from Fridays for Future have had to contend with anti-Semitism within their own ranks. Now a new scandal is rocking the group.”
          https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/politik-gesellschaft/antisemitismus-bei-fridays-for-future-aktivistin-elisa-ba-teilt-israelfeindliche-beitraege-li.2149919

          “(…)
          Elisa Baş, an activist of the climate group (…) On her (Instagram) account (…) accused Josef Schuster, the president of the Central Council of Jews, of spreading “pogrom sentiment” against Palestinians. An astonishing statement in light of anti-Jewish demonstrations in Germany, which had earned Baş sharp criticism from the Green Party, among others.

          Now Fridays for Future is responding. Elisa Baş is currently not a spokesperson for Fridays for Future at all, a spokesperson for the climate protection group let the Berliner Zeitung know. “The statements shared on her private account do not represent the organization. We strongly condemn Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israeli civilians.” Fridays for Future Germany has repeatedly taken a clear and unequivocal position “against any anti-Semitism” and does “educational work against anti-Semitism in our local groups and working groups.”
          (…)”.

          Due to the distorted reporting in general we have no idea what these groups are discussing internally.

          I agree that they as it appears in public handle things incorrectly without proper plans (just like Scholz actually).
          But I by now assume that they did not count with a German Green/Red government to NOT cooperate with them at all after 2 years.

          While in the summer Munich hosted the annual International Automobile Exhibition IAA a group of young climate activists was imprisoned because the car manufacturers and their PR teams didnĀ“t want any trouble.

          You may think about those groups the worst but thats corporate dictatorship.

          Now why Thuna-berger does what she does I have never cared, frankly. But for that you also would have to hold accountable her parents and all the adults involved when it all spilled over a couple of years ago.

        • Casual Observer

          The Hasbara network is in overdrive. And dont forget the comments section in the organs you mention do attract plenty of responders from outside the UK, the use of FAFO being a case in point as I dont think that has made great inroads into the British lexicon, yet.

          I’d suspect that with this forum not having an up or downvote system, it has remained somewhat immune.

        • will moon

          Goose, AG there was an article by Cory Morningstar concerning the questions you raise. I never crosschecked Morningstar’s claims, which were dark and sinister. I think along the lines of the production of highly refined media objects by highly refined people who knew about supranational marketing

          I read it as a series of long articles which may still be about but she has written a book, blurb follows

          “The Manufacturing of Greta Thunberg – For Consent: the Political Economy of the Non-profit Industrial Complex by Cory Morningstar (2019)

          We are introduced to the not-so accidental phenomena of Greta Thunberg, the current child prodigy and face of the youth climate change movement. The “climate change is real” message is reframed for public consumption and rolled out at an international level, using Greta and her global platform to “sound the alarm” on climate change.
          Today’s youth are used and molded into market solutions to insulate a global elite. Celebrity-sponsored activism seeks to build a new industry in which NGOs, the media and corporate powers collude to get people to support the very industries we should be erasing from the planet.
          The planet’s most powerful capitalists lie behind these “youth-led” movements for climate change, helping to manufacture consent for the “fourth industrial revolution” in an attempt to quell resistance to industrial civilisation.”

  • Republicofscotland

    List of war crimes and crimes qualifying as genocide committed by Israel in Gaza since 7th October 2023.

    “Defenders of Israelā€™s bombing and invasion of Gaza have challenged me to offer a ā€˜chapter-and-verseā€™ list of war crimes that Israel has committed since the Hamas Offensive of 7th October. Here is an indicative, but not exhaustive, list. There is no doubt: Israel is investing in war crimes to effect its recapture and ethnic cleansing of Gaza while, at the same time, practising similar tactics in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.”

    https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/2023/10/15/list-of-war-crimes-and-crimes-qualifying-as-genocide-committed-by-israel-in-gaza-since-7th-october-2023/

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