Electronic Intifada director arrested in Switzerland ahead of speaking event
The director of the Electronic Intifada has been arrested by Swiss authorities ahead of a speaking event in Zurich, the Palestine-focused online news outlet said.
Ali Abunimah arrived in Switzerland on Friday and was questioned by airport police for an hour before being allowed to enter the country.
He was then arrested on Saturday afternoon. The news outlet wrote on its website that the arrest was “part of a growing backlash from Western governments against expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people”.
In May, Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu-Sitta, who spent 43 days in Gaza helping treat those wounded in Israel’s war, was denied entry to France where he was scheduled to make a speech at the Senate.
The Electronic Intifada team stands in solidarity with @AliAbunimah. Speaking out against injustice in Palestine is not a crime. Journalism is not a crime. https://t.co/qxIjWgofZo
— Electronic Intifada (@intifada) January 25, 2025
Jeez how far gone is Europe.
Arrest of Ali Abunimah is attack on free expression, says founder of Hind Rajab Foundation
Dyab Abou Jahjah has called the arrest of the director of the Electronic Intifada by Swiss authorities ahead of a speaking event in Zurich “an attack on free expression and the solidarity movement”.
In a post on X, he said that Ali Abunimah was a “political prisoner” and “must be released immediately”.
The Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) was formed five months ago and has pulled together lawyers and activists from around the world to prepare cases against Israeli soldiers based on social media content shared by the soldiers themselves.
https://twitter.com/Aboujahjah/status/1883268002399109227
White House releases hold on supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel: Report
Axios, citing three Israeli officials, reports that the White House has instructed the US military to release a hold imposed by Joe Biden’s administration on the supply of 2,000-pound (900kg) bombs to Israel.
Biden has put a hold on the delivery of the 2,000-pound bombs due to concerns about their use by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip.
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