Ireland’s next president likely pro-Palestinian candidate Catherine Connolly

Left-wing candidate Catherine Connolly is set to win the Irish presidency. The independent politician, backed by left-wing parties including Sinn Fein, has been outspoken about the Palestinian cause, in line with the overwhelming majority of the Irish public. Here’s some of what she has said:

Egyptian, Dutch top diplomats discuss Gaza

Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty has held a telephone conversation with his Dutch counterpart David van Wiel, according to the Egyptian foreign ministry.

The statement said that the two ministers reviewed the outcomes of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, which ended with a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

Abdelatty stressed the importance of adhering to the text of the agreement and implementing all its provisions, emphasising that respecting the agreement represents an essential step towards achieving security and stability in the region, the ministry said.

He further emphasised the necessity of concerted European and international efforts during the current stage to ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the residents of the Strip, given the catastrophic humanitarian situation there.

For his part, the Dutch foreign minister expressed his country’s eagerness to coordinate with Egypt on the issue of early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza and affirmed the Netherlands’s intention to participate in the upcoming international reconstruction conference in Egypt.

Don't trust the Dutch government, mostly looking to get in on the spoils of genocide.

https://www.politico.eu/article/dutch-vote-against-palestinian-statehood-recognition-amid-coaltion-fallout-veldkamp-resign-israel/

One of the (now) few EU countries that hasn't even symbolically recognized Palestine, along with Italy, Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Countries that recognize Palestine

Israeli settlers attack Bedouin community, north of occupied Jerusalem

Israelis from illegal settlements have attacked the Arab al-Ara’ara Bedouin community east of Jaba village in the governorate of Jenin, north of occupied Jerusalem, according to the Wafa news agency.

According to a statement from Hassan Malihat, the general supervisor of the Al-Baidar human rights organisation, a group of settlers targeted the community and assaulted residents, pouring flammable materials on olive trees, which led to a fire in the nearby growth.

Malihat explained that settler attacks had intensified on those living in the Arab al-Ara’ara, which he said were designed to force Palestinians out of their lands and implement the government’s E1 settlement plan.

He also warned that the Bedouin communities east and northeast of occupied Jerusalem were facing a humanitarian disaster due to Israeli policies to push them out.

Israeli settlers target Palestinian homes near Hebron

Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinian homes in the al-Quraynat area of ​​the town of Surif, north of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank.

According to our colleague at Al Jazeera Arabic, clashes also erupted between Palestinian youths and soldiers during their raid on the town of Beita, south of Nablus.

Israeli forces injure 14-year-old boy in Tubas, occupied West Bank

A 14-year-old boy has been shot and injured by Israeli forces in the city of Tubas, in the occupied West Bank. The Wafa news agency reported, citing medical sources, that the boy sustained severe injuries to his lower limbs and was transferred to the hospital for treatment.

The injury occurred after Israeli forces stormed Tubas with several military vehicles and deployed across the city.

Israeli settlers assault two elderly men near West Bank’s Hebron city

Two people have been injured during an attack by Israeli settlers in the town of Surif, northwest of Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank.

According to the Wafa news agency, armed settlers, under the protection of Israeli soldiers, assaulted residents in the al-Quraynat area of Surif, injuring Abdullah Ghneimat, 82, and his brother Ibrahim, 72.

The two men suffered from bruises and moderate injuries and were transferred to the hospital. Moreover, Hazem Ghneimat, the mayor of Surif, told Wafa that settlers also set fire to a vehicle and smashed the windows of two homes in the neighbourhood.

Israeli forces clash with Silat ad-Dhahr residents in occupied West Bank

Clashes have erupted in Silat ad-Dhahr, south of Jenin city, in the occupied West Bank after Israeli forces stormed the town, raiding a number of homes and destroying their contents, according to local sources speaking to the Wafa news agency.

No injuries have been reported so far, Wafa said.

Elsewhere in the governorate of Jenin, Israeli forces raided the village of Rummanah and Zababdeh and the town of Qabatiya. No arrests were reported.

Aerial footage shows destruction of neighbourhood in Khan Younis


<sub>Aerial visuals display the widespread destruction in Batn al-Samin


The Khan Younis neighbourhood was relentlessly struck by Israeli attacks since October 2023</sub>

No marking ‘visable’ to signify Israeli yellow line in Gaza

It’s unfortunately a fragile ceasefire, and this yellow imaginary line created by the Israeli military is turning more streets, part of residential neighbourhoods and empty lands on the eastern parts of Gaza City and the rest of the Strip, into deadly areas, areas where the Israeli military is effectively on the ground, creating a new fire line.

There are no markings that are visible to people, so they don’t know whether they are entering a restricted area or not.

The incident [that saw Israeli soldiers shoot and injure a child] in northern Rafah city was preceded by two incidents, one in the central area and one in the eastern part of Khan Younis city, where the Israeli military, for the purpose of expanding the yellow line, demolished more of the remaining residential cluster.

Israel says its forces carried out strike in central Gaza’s Nuseirat

The Israeli military says its forces have targeted a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group with “a precise strike” carried out “a short while ago” in the Nuseirat area of central Gaza.

The army statement claimed without providing any evidence that the person was planning to carry out “an imminent terrorist attack” against Israeli troops.

Israeli attack injures 4 in Gaza’s Nuseriat refugee camp

Following an Israeli air strike on a car in the Nuseirat refugee camp, at least four people have been injured, al-Awda Hospital told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic. As we reported, Israel announced its strike, which it said was targeting an alleged Palestinian Islamic Jihad member.


War-damaged building collapses in Gaza City, kills 9-year-old girl

A nine-year-old girl has been killed and three others injured when a building belonging to the Balawi family collapsed on its residents in the Sabra neighbourhood, near the al-Istijaba Mosque, in southern Gaza City.

Israel’s Katz claims 60% of Hamas tunnels remain in Gaza

Israeli [military forces], Israel Katz, says demilitarising Gaza through the destruction of “terror tunnels” and the disarmament of Hamas is the “most important strategic objective for achieving victory in Gaza”.

“The most urgent moral mission is, of course, the return of all the hostages and the fallen to their homes, and we will do everything to fulfil this sacred and critical mission,” Katz wrote on X in Hebrew.

Katz added that the main strategic mission was the destruction of the tunnels, of which he claimed 60 percent still remained.

“I have instructed the [army] to prioritise the destruction of the tunnels as the central task in the yellow zone currently under our control, alongside protecting the soldiers and communities,” he said.

We survived the war, we may not survive the ceasefire

Last Sunday, I stepped out of my family’s tent in az-Zawayda, in the central Gaza Strip and headed to the nearby Twix Cafe, a coworking space for freelancers and students. Ten days had passed since the “ceasefire” was announced and I thought it must finally be safe for me to go out. Venturing out was supposed to be a step towards reclaiming a small part of my old life.

My brother and I were almost at the cafe when we heard a very familiar sound – the thunder of an explosion. An Israeli drone had hit the entrance of Twix Cafe.

I froze. I thought, this is it – it’s my turn. I won’t survive this war.

Three people were killed and several others were injured. Had my brother and I left my family’s tent a few minutes earlier, we, too, may have been among the casualties.

Deadly Israeli attack in central Gaza’s Nuseirat seen as ceasefire breach

An Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle on one of Nuseirat refugee camp’s main roads in central Gaza. Initial reports we have that have been confirmed by a health facility are that a nine-year-old child was killed in the strike.

Followed within 10 minutes of the strike, a statement by the Israeli military spokesperson confirmed the attack that was directed at one of the Islamic Jihad members.

People in Gaza see it as a breach of the ceasefire. This is added to the ongoing violence that has been going on for the past two weeks, and since the ceasefire took hold.

The attacks along the border from the eastern side, the northern part of the strip, as well as near Rafah city, in addition to the ongoing shooting and killing of people trying to get to their homes.

Qatar’s emir, PM meet Trump as US Air Force One stop to refuel

US President Donald Trump’s Air Force One carrier has landed in Qatar.

Flanked by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Trump says they have done “a lot together, especially in the last year”.

“What we’ve done is incredible. Peace to the Middle East and they were a very big factor in this and I just want to thank [them],” Trump said. “I was thinking we’re landing here, we’re going to fuel up [and] it’s such an honour to have you on the plane,” he added.

US Rubio says team working on authorisation of Gaza international force

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says officials are getting input on a possible UN resolution or international agreement to authorise a multinational force in Gaza.

“Many of the countries that have expressed an interest in participating at some level, whether it be monetary or personnel or both, are going to need that [a UN resolution or international agreement] because their domestic laws require it,” Rubio told reporters as he travelled on his plane between Israel and Qatar en route to Asia.

“So, we have a whole team working on that outline of it,” he added.

The issue is expected to be discussed in Qatar tomorrow.

The Israel friendly multinational occupation force...

Ex-UN Official EXPOSES Trump’s Real Gaza Plan

Ex-UN official Craig Mokhiber unpacks Trump's Gaza "peace plan" as a mob shakedown with better branding.

Revealed: The plan for a 'New Gaza' - and the four militias backed by Israel to defeat Hamas

Sky News has confirmed for the first time that four anti-Hamas militias are all backed by Israel, and consider themselves part of a joint project to remove Hamas from power.

This is not a 'peace' plan, it's not even a 'ceasefire'. 


And it will backfire same as it did with Hamas

“We need to tell the truth,” Israeli major general Gershon Hacohen, an associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a 2019 TV interview. “Netanyahu’s strategy is to prevent the option of two states, so he is turning Hamas into his closest partner. Openly Hamas is an enemy. Covertly, it’s an ally.”

“Hamas, to my great regret, is Israel’s creation.” So says Avner Cohen, Israel’s head of religious affairs in Gaza at the time of Hamas’s emergence, in a 2009 Wall Street Journal article called “How Israel Helped to Spawn Hamas.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123275572295011847 (original article but blocked behind paywall)
https://www.analystnews.org/posts/how-israel-helped-prop-up-hamas-for-decades


Bush (sr) either was in on it or too gullible, About the 2006 elections:

Members of Fatah, fearful that Hamas might win, approached Ross and asked if he could quietly urge the Israelis to block the election. An odd alignment was taking shape. “What’s wrong with this picture?” Ross asked himself. Fatah and Israel were against holding the elections; Hamas and President Bush were in favor.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/10/was-hamas-elected-to-govern-gaza-george-w-bush-2006-palestinian-election.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19215537 Hamas takeover shows failure of Bush's vision

History repeating, 2007:

U.S. officials signaled that they will move quickly to persuade an international peace monitoring group -- known as the Quartet -- to lift aid restrictions on the Palestinian government, allowing direct aid to flow to the West Bank-based emergency government that Abbas will lead.


Hamas was to drive a wedge between Gaza and the West Bank. And now Kushner is already spreading propaganda that the West Bank and Gaza are different cultures to prevent any ideas of unification.

Israel’s Smotrich says Trump will change his ‘opinion’ on West Bank annexation

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has reiterated his call for Israel to declare “sovereignty” over the occupied West Bank and eliminate the “dangerous idea of a Palestinian state”.

In a long statement on X, Smotrich said he had no complaints against US President Donald Trump, who “gave up on sovereignty and ‘sold’ it to Arab countries in exchange for an agreement in Gaza and perhaps also for expanding the Abraham Accords”.

“I am convinced that, just as with the hostages’ issue, the President [Donald Trump], who is a true friend of Israel and genuinely wants its best, will change his opinion when he understands how important and existential this is for us,” he said.

On Wednesday, the Israeli government passed two draft bills, one pushing for the annexation of the occupied West Bank and another legalising an illegal settlement. However, the decision received backlash from the US and from Netanyahu.

Trump calls on Hamas to release more captive bodies over next 48 hours

US President Donald Trump says he believes there’s a “good chance” of peace in the Middle East being “EVERLASTING”.

In his latest post on the Truth Social platform, Trump warned that Hamas needed to return the bodies of captives, which included two Americans, or the “other countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action”.

“Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now and, for some reason, they are not,” he wrote.

“Perhaps it has to do with their disarming, but when I said, ‘Both sides would be treated fairly,’ that only applies if they comply with their obligations. Let’s see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely,” he added.

What about the Israeli obligations to stop killing and wounding people, stop arming gangs and let desperately needed aid in.

Hamas says search for captives’ bodies will start in new location on Sunday

Khalil Al-Hayya, head of Hamas in Gaza, has spoken to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

Here are some of the points he made:

Main events on October 25th

• A nine-year-old girl was killed and three others were injured after a war-damaged building belonging to the Balawi family collapsed in the Sabra neighbourhood of southern Gaza City.
• Israeli forces shot and injured a 14-year-old boy in the occupied West Bank city of Tubas.
• US President Donald Trump called on Hamas to release more bodies of captives over the next 48 hours.
• Israeli forces fought with Palestinian youths in the centre of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.
• Trump’s Air Force One made a stopover in Qatar, and the US president met the country’s emir and prime minister on the plane.
• Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reiterated his call for Israel to declare “sovereignty” over the occupied West Bank and eliminate the “dangerous idea of a Palestinian state”.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed the “deep and enduring partnership” between their two countries during a phone call marking the end of the US official’s visit, the Netanyahu’s office said.
• The Israeli army confirmed its attack on the area of Jebchit in southern Lebanon, alleging it killed a member of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force.

Netanyahu FREAKS OUT As Israeli Parliament Defies Him

IDF Sniper Brags About Killing Unarmed Palestinians

Undercover video of an IDF sniper bragging about killing Palestinian civilians.

The more you deny it, the more it's true?

Israel’s Ben-Gvir insists country is not a protectorate

Israel’s right-wing national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has insisted that Israel is not a protectorate amid reports of the pressure US President Donald Trump brought to bear on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring about a ceasefire and maintain compliance.

“I appreciate President Trump, but we are not a protectorate. We need to be the masters of our own house and those who manage things; the prime minister promised to dismantle Hamas. I hope he will keep his promises,” Israel’s public broadcaster reported Ben-Gvir as saying.

Smotrich urges Israelis to campaign for West Bank annexation to sway Trump

Last night, Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, called on the Israelis who support a complete annexation of the occupied West Bank to organise a campaign similar to that of the families of the Israelis held captive in Gaza, which he believes would change Trump’s mind on the issue.

In recent weeks, Trump and US Vice President JD Vance have both opposed the annexation of the West Bank.

“Why is what is permitted to them forbidden to the right and the settlers?!” Smotrich said in a post on X. “There is nothing more natural than to repeatedly present the demand and importance that the Israeli public sees in applying sovereignty over parts of the homeland in Judea and Samaria and eliminating the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state.”

Bill aimed to shield Israeli ministers from legal action ‘unconstitutional’, says attorney general

A bill has been initiated by Limor Son Har-Melech, Knesset member from Itamar Ben-Gvir’s party, which aims at giving the Israeli parliament power to postpone or block legal proceedings against ministers.

The bill comes as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a long-running corruption trial.

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation was mulling over allowing the bill to pass to the Knesset today, but it has been criticised by the Israeli attorney general’s office, which called it “unconstitutional” and said it would allow “political considerations to gain a foothold in the criminal processes”.

“Giving a political body the licence to stop a trial is the path to a country with one law for the ‘masters’ and another for the ‘subjects’,” said Netanyahu’s critic Benny Gantz as he slammed the proposed law.