Calls grow for US to release Palestinian woman detained for protesting against Gaza genocide

The Trump administration faces growing pressure to release Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian woman who took part in protests at Columbia University against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last year.

Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York, said Kordia has been detained “for exercising her First Amendment rights in NYC & speaking out against the ongoing genocide in Palestine”.

“She was hospitalized after suffering a seizure. Now she’s back in detention. This is cruel & unnecessary. Release Leqaa now,” he wrote on X.

US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib also called for her release. “ICE targeted her for speaking out against genocide and detained her for nearly a year in abysmal conditions as her health deteriorated,” Tlaib wrote on social media.

For more on Kordia’s case, check out our story here.

Leqaa Kordia has spent nearly a year in an ICE prison for exercising her First Amendment rights in NYC & speaking out against the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
 
She was hospitalized after suffering a seizure. Now she's back in detention.
 
This is cruel & unnecessary.
 
Release…

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) February 10, 2026

Violations against Palestinian journalists by Israel escalated during January: WAFA

Israeli forces have continued systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists during the month of January this year, according to the Wafa news agency.

These violations included killings, arrests, shootings, armed threats, detentions, obstruction of journalistic coverage, physical assaults, as well as attacks on media institutions and the confiscation of equipment, the report said.

According to Wafa, during January alone, three Palestinian journalists were killed in Gaza, while six incidents of direct gunfire targeting journalists were documented, along with eight cases of life-threatening armed threats.

Israel to revoke citizenship, deport two Arab Israelis accused of attacks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced on X that he signed the revocation of citizenship and deportation orders for two Arab Israelis who allegedly carried out stabbing and shooting attacks.

“I thank the coalition leader [Ofir Katz] for leading the law that will expel them from the State of Israel, and many more like them are on the way,” Netanyahu wrote, without specifying where they would be deported to.

The move comes after a February 2023 law allowed the revocation of citizenship and the deportation of those convicted of “terrorism”.

The two men to be deported were identified in a statement from Katz, cited by Israeli media, as Mahmoud Ahmad – sentenced to 23 years in prison for shooting Israeli soldiers and civilians – and Mohammed Ahmad Hussein al-Halsi – sentenced in 2016 to 18 years for stabbing elderly women in Armon HaNatziv.

Deport where?

Decision to strip two Palestinian Israelis of citizenship ‘unprecedented’

Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh says that Israel’s move to deport two residents of occupied East Jerusalem convicted of carrying out attacks and strip them of their citizenship was “unprecedented”.

“Israel is willing to … vacate Jerusalemites from the legal right to be in the city,” Odeh said at Al Jazeera’s Doha studios. Israeli media reported that the two Palestinians would be deported to Gaza.

While Palestinians are known to have been deported to Gaza under prisoner exchange deals, this time, the situation was different as the move also strips them of their only form of identification.

Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem are given Jerusalem IDs by Israeli authorities.

“If that citizenship is revoked, they are essentially people without any form of identification. They would not be able to go to a hospital, to register their kids in school, they would be completely nameless, they won’t exist,” Odeh said.

Deportation of Palestinian citizens of Israel ‘violates statelessness prohibition’

Adalah, a legal centre for Palestinian rights in Israel, has condemned Netanyahu’s announcement that two Palestinian citizens of Israel will be stripped of their citizenship and deported from the country for allegedly carrying out attacks.

“These deportation orders allow Palestinian citizens of Israel to be physically exiled from their homeland,” Adalah said in a statement. “The government has transformed the most fundamental human right into a conditional permit that can be revoked at will,” the group said.

“This unprecedented move violates the absolute international prohibition against statelessness and destroys the most foundational basic protection of citizenship.”

UK Minister ADMITS Israeli WAR CRIMES Complicity By Accident - Wes Streeting

Ireland Was a Testing Ground for British Colonialism

The British Empire’s brutal tactics are well known across the world – but many of its methods were first tested in Ireland, Britain’s earliest colony. Dena Takruri travels to Northern Ireland, which remains under British rule, to examine the deep scars of colonialism and the striking parallels with other former British colonies.

Blow to campaign on Iran as US journalist shows truth from inside Tehran

An American journalist has reported from inside Tehran uninterrupted thereby rejecting the campaign against the Islamic Republic in Western media about lack of free press. This came a day after JD Vance implied that Donald Trump was clueless about his next move on Iran. Rifat Jawaid looks at this development and also the police crackdown in Australia on peaceful protesters.

CANADIAN GOVERNMENT USING AMERICA TO SHIP ARMS TO ISRAEL

A new report shows the Canadian government investigated its own arms and armament selling to Israel in order to see if it could be held liable for its actions under international human rights law. Yara Shoufani and Johanna Lewis join Samira to discuss the report and Canada's use of the U.S loophole in order to continue selling weapons and parts to Israel.

‘Confused, happy, sad’: Palestinian footballers get back on the pitch

Youssef Jendiya, 21, is among several Palestinian footballers who took part in Gaza’s first organised football tournament in more than two years.

Jendiya’s team, Jabalia Youth, took on Al-Sadaqa this week at the Palestine Pitch in Gaza City, while a second fixture featured Beit Hanoon versus Al-Shujayea.

“Confused. Happy, sad, joyful, happy” is how Jendiya described feeling after getting back out onto the pitch.

“People search for water in the morning: food, bread. Life is a little difficult. But there is a little left of the day, when you can come and play football and express some of the joy inside you,” he told the Reuters news agency.

“You come to the stadium missing many of your teammates … killed, injured, or those who travelled for treatment. So the joy is incomplete.”

_{Palestinian football players take part in a friendly five-a-side tournament in Gaza City}


Palestinians in Gaza find relief in ‘winter swimming’

Along Gaza City’s shoreline, dozens of Palestinians have found a companion and an outlet in the sea, turning to early morning swims to ease psychological strain and briefly escape the pressures of Israeli genocide.

Gaza’s sea, long a witness to the devastation inflicted on the enclave, embraces each morning dozens of young men and elderly residents who persist in swimming despite the winter chill, seeking respite from life’s hardships, physical renewal and stronger immunity.

Not far from Israeli naval boats that blockade the coast and pursue fishermen in their daily struggle for a livelihood, the swimmers enter the water and perform exercises, creating simple moments of joy.

Swimming coach Mohammed Mahra gathers his trainees at the water’s edge, leading fitness drills as the first rays of sunrise reflect off the sea.

“As Gaza has always shown the world that it can achieve the impossible, here we are creating joy through our determination from the heart of Gaza’s life-filled sea, despite the pain we carry,” Mahra said.

The Israel genocide of Gaza has not stopped’: Amnesty chief

Agnes Callamard, the head of Amnesty International, says that in order to consider Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza over, there must be “a stop to all genocidal acts and clear evidence that there is no evidence of genocidal intent”.

“This would also require initiating justice and accountability for all victims. We are very, very far from such a situation,” she wrote on X.

As we’ve been reporting, Israel has breached the October “ceasefire” at least 1,620 times, killing almost 600 Palestinians and wounding more than 1,550. It also maintains strict curbs on humanitarian aid deliveries to the war-ravaged enclave.

The Israel genocide of Gaza has not stopped. This would require a stop to all genocidal acts and clear evidence that there is no evidence of genocidal intent. This would also require initiating justice and accountability for all victims. We are very, very far from such a… https://t.co/Jpp6bCBMRS

— Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) February 11, 2026

Motorcyclist hit by Israeli attack in Gaza

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Z3NzRDrnVGE

Plus the man walking next to the motorbike...

‘New Israeli measures pave way for accelerated expansion of settlements in West Bank’

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, has said the measures “further undermine the future of Palestinians” in a post on X.

“It is a recipe for increased control, hopelessness and violence. These measures also mark a new blow against international law, setting dangerous precedents with global impacts,” Lazzarini said.

https://x.com/UNRWA/status/2021464333331390570

‘It appears like ethnic cleansing’ in the occupied West Bank: Former Israeli PM

Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has told Al Jazeera that he is against the new Israeli land rules easing illegal settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

“I am opposed to the policy … of the government and senior members of the cabinet, particularly the most important allies of the Israeli prime minister, the messianic group of thugs,” he said. “I’m against it and fighting against it. I think the majority of Israelis are against it and we are absolutely unhappy, to put it mildly.

“This is something which certainly shows an attempt to create an ethnic cleansing in West Bank with the purpose of cleaning the territories so that the eventual annexation will be easier and simpler.”

He said actions taken by some Israeli settlers were “violent, obnoxious”, adding that “the Israeli police and the Israeli army seem not to face it adequately in order to try and stop it.

“That means the government, the PM and the cabinet seem to be in line with this.”

New Israeli land laws ‘counterproductive, incompatible with international law’: EU

The new land rules approved by Israel’s security cabinet for the occupied West Bank are “counterproductive and incompatible with international law”, the EU’s High Representative Kaja Kallas and Commissioners Dubravka Suica and Hadja Lahbib have said in a joint statement.

They said that the rules which make it easier for Israeli Jews to buy property in the illegally occupied territory “risk undermining ongoing international efforts aimed at stabilisation and the advancement of peaceful efforts in the region”.

“The EU has a long-standing position of non-recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the territories occupied since June 1967, in line with the relevant UNSC resolutions.

“Moreover, the decisions affecting the implementation of the Hebron Protocol between Israel and the Palestinian Authority put at risk the sensitive status quo of religious sites.”

Canada says it opposes Israel’s new occupied West Bank law

Canada has condemned the Israeli security cabinet’s recent decision to approve measures to expand Israeli control over the occupied West Bank.

“These measures contravene international law, undermine the prospects for peace, and erode the viability of a Palestinian state,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said. “We call on Israel to reverse this decision and immediately halt settlement expansion.”

The ministry reiterated its support for a two-state solution to the conflict.

Arab League, OIC call for meeting of the UN Security Council

More than 25 ambassadors gathered outside the UN Security Council with a unified message of condemnation after Israel announced it would unlawfully expand its control over the occupied West Bank and make it easier for settlers to illegally seize land.

The Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation have signed a letter circulating at the UN, calling for, among other things, an urgent meeting of the Security Council on the matter. Talks are under way for when that meeting might happen.

Netanyahu is due to meet Trump in Washington on Wednesday, where the future of the occupied West Bank is likely to be a topic of discussion.

For the ambassadors, there is a real sense of urgency to take all necessary steps soon to leverage diplomatic channels and stop Israel from pursuing this plan further, which would be tantamount to annexation of the occupied West Bank.

What is the latest from the occupied West Bank?

Palestinians pepper-sprayed by Israeli settlers

Two Palestinians have been wounded after being attacked with pepper spray by Israeli settlers in the northern Jordan Valley.

Local sources quoted by the Wafa news agency said the settlers attacked the Palestinians in Khirbet Samra.

Israeli settler attacks displace 15 families in Deir al-Dik village

At least 15 families have been forced out of their homes due to the ongoing Israeli settler attacks in Deir al-Dik village, west of Jericho in the occupied West Bank.

The attacks have also seen land-levelling operations in the surrounding areas, according to Wafa news agency.

Australia seeks charges over 2024 Israeli air strike in Gaza that killed Australian aid worker

Australia is demanding criminal charges over a 2024 incident in Gaza that killed seven people, including an Australian aid worker, Anthony Albanese, the country’s PM, has announced.

Australian Zomi Frankcom was one of four World Central Kitchen aid workers killed by an Israeli drone on April 1, 2024. The other aid workers were an American-Canadian dual citizen, a Palestinian as well as a Polish national. Three British security staff were also killed in the same air strike.

There was no immediate response to Albanese’s request from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who visited the national capital, Canberra, on Wednesday after spending two days in Sydney.

Palestine supporters rallied across Australia to oppose the visit by Herzog, who has been accused of inciting genocide against Palestinians.

US firm involved in defunct GHF seeks new recruits

A US security firm that has deployed armed ⁠military veterans to Gaza to ⁠guard aid sites run by a now-defunct US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is seeking to hire Arabic-speaking contractors with combat experience, according to job listings on its website.

The GHF, which was shut down following a “ceasefire” in October, had faced severe criticism from the UN and other international bodies over the killing of hundreds ⁠of Palestinians trying to reach its aid sites.

North Carolina-based UG Solutions, which provided security for GHF, said it remained “the go-to security firm to help those focused on rebuilding and delivering aid” as envisaged in Trump’s plan to end the war.

Two jobs are listed on the firm’s website. An International Humanitarian Security Officer would, among other things, involve “securing key infrastructure” and preferred credentials include proficiency with “small arms weapons”, while the other targets only female candidates.

Both listings say UG Solutions is seeking to ⁠hire multiple officers. They both list Arabic proficiency as a preferred qualification. The security officer role lists four or more years of active duty deployment as a preferred credential.