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Forums - Politics Discussion - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ on 23 April 2024

Project Nimbus: Why are Google workers protesting against Israel deal?

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/23/what-is-project-nimbus-and-why-are-google-workers-protesting-israel-deal

Known as Project Nimbus, the joint contract between Google and Amazon signed in 2021 aims to provide cloud computing infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI), and other technology services to the Israeli government and its military, which has faced condemnation for its ongoing war on Gaza.

Activists and academics have been alarmed by Israel’s use of AI to target Palestinians, while legal scholars say the use of artificial intelligence in war violates international laws.

US Muslim group denounces ‘deeper involvement in genocidal acts’

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has condemned the House of Representatives for passing an unconditional $17bn military aid package for Israel as it continues its devastating war on Gaza. The group urged Americans to press senators set to vote on the bill to shut it down.

“Given the Senate’s probable approval of this legislation, our nation risks deeper involvement in genocidal acts planned by Benjamin Netanyahu, fueled by new US weapons,” said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S McCaw.

The group added: “Should the bill proceed to a vote, CAIR is calling on all US senators to support and vote ‘Yes’ on Senator Bernie Sanders’ latest amendments to condition US military aid on whether Israel is violating human rights in Gaza, and restore funding for UNRWA so children in Gaza don’t starve.”



Bernie Sanders offers amendments to aid package for Israel

The independent US senator from Vermont has said that he is offering two amendments to a spending package that would provide billions of dollars in aid to Israel. It is due to be voted on in the Senate this week.

“1. NO unfettered military aid for Netanyahu’s war on the Palestinian people. 2. Restore funding for UNRWA so that children in Gaza don’t starve,” Sanders said on X. On Monday, Sanders said: “We cannot continue to fund this horrific war.”

The Senate will take up the package of four bills passed by the House of Representatives, including one slating $26bn for Israel.




Activists disrupt insurer AXA’s shareholders meeting in Paris

Activists are demanding that the company divest its holdings “that fuel Israeli apartheid”, a statement by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has said.

The activists set up a two-metre-high mock separation wall and a mock military checkpoint outside of the venue “to represent Israel’s system of apartheid and oppressive control over Palestinian lives that AXA helps finance”, BDS said.

AXA invests in Israel’s Bank Hapoalim, which according to Human Rights Watch is a key financier of Israel’s illegal settlements, the movement said. “AXA cannot maintain its silence and lies to evade responsibility; not even the best public relations officer can continue to mask the hypocrisy of the AXA group and the ineffectiveness of its policy on human rights,” said Fiona Ben Chekroun, BDS Europe coordinator.

The BDS statement said research by the corporate accountability group Eko had found that in December 2023, the AXA group withdrew from Israel Discount Bank and Leumi Bank. AXA, however, still holds shares (worth approximately $2.6m) in Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel’s largest commercial banks, listed by the United Nations for its financing of Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise.

Launched by Palestinian civil society groups in 2005, the BDS movement seeks to use non-violent means to pressure Israel to end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, ensure equal rights for Palestinian citizens and respect the right of return of Palestinian refugees.



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SvennoJ on 23 April 2024

Israeli fighter jets pound southern Lebanon’s Yaroun village

The Israeli military said its warplanes had carried out overnight attacks on southern Lebanon, hitting five sites it claimed were Hezbollah “terrorist infrastructure” in the vicinity of Yaroun village close to the border with north Israel.

Israeli ground forces also “attacked to remove a threat” in the Yaroun area more recently, the military said in a post on social media alongside grainy video apparently showing buildings being pulverised in air attacks on Lebanon.


Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli air strike on the southern Lebanese village of Majdal Zoun, on April 15, 2024


Israeli strike hits vehicle in southern Lebanon: Report

At least one person in the car, near the town of Aadloun, was killed, reports Lebanon’s An-Nahar media, without noting the victim’s identity. It is the first time an Israeli strike has targeted a person driving in this area, according to An-Nahar.


Hezbollah wages deepest attack inside Israel since Gaza war began

The Lebanese group says it launched drone attacks on two Israeli bases in retaliation for the killing of two of its fighters, which we reported on earlier.

Hezbollah launched “a combined air attack using decoy and explosive drones that targeted” two Israeli bases north of the city of Acre, the group said in a statement. It added that it was “in response” to the Israeli drone attack earlier today which killed Hussein Azqul, who was with Hezbollah’s air defence unit in southern Lebanon.

Muhammad Attiya, a Radwan Force member, was another member killed in an overnight attack near the town of Arzon, according to the Israeli military. The attack marks Hezbollah’s deepest into Israeli territory since the Gaza war began.

Attack on southern Lebanon’s Hanine destroys residential home

An Israeli army raid on the southern Lebanese town of Hanine targeted a residential home and destroyed the two-storey structure, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported. It said ambulance vehicles are on their way to the scene of the attack.

A Lebanese medical source has told Al Jazeera that two people have been killed and four injured in this attack. The source said that this is a preliminary casualty count, and we will continue to update you on this attack as we get more information.

The report comes shortly after the Times of Israel cited the Israeli army as saying it struck two buildings in Aita al-Shaab and Blida in southern Lebanon, where it claimed fighters with the Lebanese group Hezbollah were gathered.

The Israeli army also reportedly said it attacked Hezbollah positions in the village of Markaba.



SvennoJ on 23 April 2024

Gaza death toll hits 34,183 during Israeli attack

The number of people killed in Israel’s war on Gaza reached 34,183, the Palestinian territory’s Health Ministry says. The death toll includes 32 people killed in the past 24 hours. Another 77,143 have been wounded in the six months of the war. More than 14,500 children and 9,500 women are among the dead, Gaza authorities say.

The death toll is likely far higher, with thousands of bodies believed buried in buildings destroyed in Israeli military strikes.

Homes targeted, destroyed in Gaza City as incessant strikes continue

There is no sign of Israel’s military action slowing down. There are relentless air strikes and aggressive operations on the ground, including in the northern, central, and overcrowded southern parts of the Gaza Strip.

In central areas, refugee camps have been attacked for the past 48 hours including Nuseirat, Bureij, and Maghazi, as well as parts of Deir el-Balah – a city where people were told to evacuate to.

In northern Gaza City, the eastern neighbourhoods of Shujayea and Zeitoun have been pounded by land and air. The reports we’re getting say all residential buildings still standing were targeted and destroyed – in what looks like a demolition operation.

Meanwhile, there are reports of clashes between armed groups and the Israeli military on the ground in Gaza City, despite the Israeli military’s repeated statements that it completed operations and those areas are cleared of Palestinian resistance.


Air attack kills one in Beit Lahia: Report

Israeli warplanes hit a group of people near a playground in northern Gaza City, killing one and injuring others, reports Wafa quoting medical sources.

Israeli warplanes also hit other areas of northern Gaza, including neighbourhoods across Gaza City.

Rescuers treat wounded children in Bureij camp

Footage posted by the Palestine Red Crescent Society shows its medics providing medical care to wounded children at Bureij refugee camp following our earlier reports of attacks on the site in central Gaza.

The medics are seen bandaging three children with head wounds and transporting them to a hospital for further treatment.



Israel effectively using Gaza hospital as military base

Israeli troops have turned Gaza’s only specialised cancer hospital into a de facto military base, stationing dozens of armoured vehicles at the facility and building earthen fortifications to shield them, according to satellite imagery analysed by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency.

The Israeli army first moved its vehicles into the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, located south of Gaza City, on November 23, according to the analysis. Since then, Israeli forces have built a dedicated supply road from the facility to the Netzarim corridor, an east-west military road that Israel uses to split Gaza City from the rest of the enclave.

As of April 16, Israel’s military had brought 55 vehicles at the area, the analysis found.



SvennoJ on 23 April 2024

Satellite imagery shows tent city being built near Khan Younis

Satellite photos analysed by The Associated Press news agency appear to show a new compound of tents being built near Gaza’s city of Khan Younis.

The AP report comes as the Israeli military continues to threaten a ground invasion of nearby Rafah city, where about 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. Images from Planet Labs PBC show the tents first being set up on April 16. On comparing them with the images taken on Sunday, the compound appears to have grown.

The Israeli military said it wasn’t involved in constructing the tent city. Israel earlier said it planned to evacuate the hundreds of thousands of civilians from Rafah before its invasion. The US, however, says it has yet to receive a viable plan of how it will do so.

Khan Younis has been the repeated target of Israeli attacks since December.

Will UAE and Egypt ‘coordinate’ with Israel on Rafah evacuation?

Quoting unnamed Egyptian officials briefed on the Israeli invasion plan, The Wall Street Journal reports an evacuation operation, lasting two to three weeks, would be carried out in coordination with the US and Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

The newspaper said Israel planned to send its troops into Rafah gradually, targeting areas where it believes Hamas leaders and fighters are hiding, and expects the fighting to last at least six weeks.

Palestinians have limited options in the event of an Israeli ground assault on Rafah. They could topple the wall and barbed wire separating the city from Egypt, attempt to return to the north of the Gaza Strip, which the army does not currently allow, or flee towards the Mediterranean coast.

Israel’s attack on Rafah with hundreds of thousands of people there would be “catastrophic”, many critics have warned.



Aid workers say ‘no idea’ what Israel’s Rafah plan is

A threatened Israeli ground assault on Rafah has humanitarian groups scrambling for ways to help the 1.5 million civilians sheltering in the besieged southern Gaza city.

The uncertain timeline of such an attack poses a logistical nightmare, they say. “We always are prepared with plans to upscale or downscale, but really we don’t know what to expect,” said Bushra Khalidi, head of the British charity Oxfam.

Aid groups say they haven’t been briefed on Israel’s plans. Earlier this month, Israeli media reported the Defence Ministry bought 10,000 tents to be set up outside Rafah over the next two weeks and planned to acquire 30,000 more.

“I have no idea what the plan with the procurement of tents by the Israelis is,” said the head of the UN humanitarian office in the occupied Palestinian territory, Andrea de Domenico.



SvennoJ on 23 April 2024

Search for mass graves continues at Nasser Hospital

After the Israeli military withdrew from Khan Younis earlier this month, residents have returned daily to Nasser Hospital in search of bodies of their loved ones with the aim of burying them in permanent graves elsewhere.

The civil defence agency says a total of 283 bodies have been recovered from the hospital yard since Friday. The International Committee of the Red Cross has given 1,500 body bags and protective gear to the medics to help dig up the grounds and move corpses.

“I came here for the fifth day looking for the body of my son Jamal. But unfortunately I did not find my son’s body,” said Raeda Abu al-Ola.

Civil defence workers continue to search for human remains. Israel has yet to comment on the killings and mass burials at the hospital.


Mass graves at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis

UN rights chief ‘horrified’ by mass grave reports at Gaza hospitals

UN rights chief Volker Turk says he’s “horrified” by the destruction of the Nasser and al-Shifa medical facilities in Gaza and reports of mass graves discovered there.

Turk, addressing a UN briefing via a spokesperson, also decried Israeli strikes on Gaza in recent days, which he noted killed mostly women and children. He also repeated a warning against a full-scale incursion on Rafah, saying this could lead to “further atrocity crimes”.

Dozens more bodies recovered from Nasser Hospital mass grave

At least 35 more bodies have been found in a mass grave at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, according to civil defence crews, bringing the total number of bodies recovered there to at least 310.

Relatives of Palestinians killed in Khan Younis have been painstakingly searching for their loved ones’ remains, including around Nasser Hospital, since earlier this month when Israeli forces withdrew from the city.


Here come the lies

Israeli military says it did not dig mass graves but exhumed some bodies

Israel’s military has denied accusations that it buried Palestinians killed by its attacks in mass graves that are being uncovered around Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals. Those graves were not dug by Israeli forces, the military said, although it did say it exhumed some bodies and returned them as part of a search for Israeli captives.

“The examination was conducted in a careful manner and exclusively in places where intelligence indicated the possible presence of hostages,” Israel’s military said in a statement carried by the Reuters news agency. “The examination was carried out respectfully while maintaining the dignity of the deceased.”

This weekend, a Palestinian civil defence crew discovered a mass grave at Khan Younis’s Nasser Hospital, which Israel’s military besieged and attacked in February. So far, they have found at least 310 bodies.

Another 30 bodies have been found in a grave at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, according to Palestinian officials.

Carefully exhumed some bodies... Some were found with catheter bags and other medical equipment still attached, some were found with their hands zip tied behind their back... Bulldozed under the rubble.

Discovery of mass graves ‘stark evidence of war crimes’

Zainah Haroun, a spokesperson for Al-Haq, an independent Palestinian rights organisation based in the occupied West Bank, says the discovery of the mass graves at Nasser Hospital and previously at al-Shifa Hospital is “stark evidence of war crimes and of course the genocide which is being perpetrated against the Palestinian people in Gaza by Israel”.

“Initial reports from Nasser Hospital show that some of the bodies of the killed people had their hands tied behind their back and some of the bodies were women and Palestinian people who were elderly, as well,” she told Al Jazeera.

Haroun said what was needed was “a proper investigative mechanism” to be given full and unrestricted access to the Gaza Strip as a whole, including the sites where mass graves have been uncovered.

“Most of the information that we’re getting at the moment is from incredibly brave Palestinian journalists who are reporting these horrific
atrocities on the ground and are also being targeted by Israel,” she added.

Haroun said one testimony gathered by Al-Haq from al-Shifa Hospital showed how “dire” the situation war.

“One family member was desperate to find just a trace of his uncle; he said that he found his sandals but even if he could find a body part, an arm or a leg, that they could at least take that and bury him so they’re able to sleep at night,” she added.



‘Need to raise the alarm’ on mass graves found: UN

Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said it was working on corroborating Palestinian officials’ reports of bodies being found at Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals in Khan Younis and Gaza City.

According to these reports, the bodies were buried beneath piles of waste and included women and older people. “We feel the need to raise the alarm because clearly there have been multiple bodies discovered,” Shamdasani said.

Palestinian authorities reported finding hundreds of bodies in mass graves at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis this week after it was abandoned by Israeli troops. Dozens of bodies have also been found at al-Shifa Hospital, according to officials.





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SvennoJ on 23 April 2024

The impact of 200 days of Israel’s war on Gaza

Israel’s military has dropped 75,000 tonnes of explosives on the Gaza Strip, turning much of its civilian infrastructure to rubble, apart from the devastating human toll, according to figures released by the government media office in the besieged territory, marking 200 days of war.

In total, the Israeli attacks have damaged or destroyed:

  • 380,000 housing units
  • 412 schools and universities
  • 556 mosques
  • three churches
  • 206 archeological and heritage sites.

In addition, the attacks have knocked 32 hospitals and 53 health centres out of service with 126 ambulances also targeted.

This destruction amounts to at least $30bn in economic losses, the media office said.


Destroyed buildings in Khan Younis, southern Gaza

200 days of Israel’s war on Gaza

Mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and near-total destruction of infrastructure haunt Gaza as Israel’s war on the besieged Palestinian coastal enclave entered its 200th day on Tuesday.

Israel launched its brutal military offensive on October 7 following a deadly attack by Hamas fighters. Some 1,139 people were killed and about 240 people were taken captive by the Palestinian fighters. Nearly 85 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced and more than 14,000 children have been killed in the offensive which critics have dubbed a war of vengeance.

Our colleagues at the Al Jazeera Explainers team have put together a comprehensive piece detailing the numbers that highlight the unprecedented level of violence unleashed by Israel on Gaza. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/23/by-the-numbers-200-days-of-israels-war-on-gaza

Israeli soldier killed in northern Gaza

The Israeli army has said that a reservist was killed in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday. It named him as Sgt. First Class (res.) Salem Alkreshat, 43, from the Bedouin community of Abu Rabia, a tracker in the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade.

This brings the Israeli troop death toll to 261, the army said.

Israeli army orders new evacuations in Beit Lahia

Avichay Adraee, an army spokesperson, has issued a warning to Palestinians in certain parts of the northern Gaza Strip city, describing the areas as a “dangerous combat zone”.

He said on X the Israeli army “will use extreme force against terrorist infrastructure and subversive elements in the region”, telling residents to “evacuate the area immediately and head towards known shelters in blocks number 1770, 1766”.

Residents and officials in Gaza, as well as UN agencies and humanitarian organisations, have repeatedly said that “nowhere is safe” in the besieged and bombarded territory, pointing to Israeli attacks on places previously deemed “safe”.

UNRWA says Israel continues to prevent its food convoys from reaching north

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has called the reopening four bakeries in northern Gaza thanks to “critical” World Food Programme support a “drop in the ocean”. In a post on X, UNRWA said Israeli authorities continue to prevent its food convoys from reaching the north of the besieged and bombarded territory.

“We need safe & unimpeded access. Food supplies are a matter of life & death,” it added.



SvennoJ on 23 April 2024

More than 130 arrested at NYU campus in protests over Gaza war

The New York Police Department has said 133 people were arrested and released, after being issued with court summons, during pro-Palestine protests on the New York University campus. As protests also intensify at Yale, Columbia University and on other campuses, police began detaining demonstrators at an encampment at NYU.

A New York University spokesman said the decision to call police came after additional protesters, many of whom were not thought to be affiliated with NYU, breached the barriers erected around the encampment.

The protests began last week at Columbia University, also in New York, with a large group of demonstrators establishing the so-called “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on school grounds.

There were also demonstrations at MIT, the University of Michigan and Yale, where at least 47 people were arrested Monday after refusing requests to disperse.



Students protest for Palestine on University of Michigan campus


A coalition of University of Michigan students in Ann Arbor, Michigan, have camped to pressure the university to divest its endowment from companies that support Israel or could profit from the ongoing war on Gaza.



Egyptian women arrested after gathering in solidarity with Gaza and Sudan

A human rights lawyer has said that Egyptians gathered earlier today outside of the UN Women office in Cairo in solidarity with women in Gaza and Sudan.

“In response, Egyptian authorities arrested a number of participants, including … Lobna Darwish”, who works on gender issues for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), said Mai El-Sadany in a post on X.

The detained include lawyers, journalists, and civil society leaders, El-Sadany said.



SvennoJ on 23 April 2024

Risk of famine ‘very high’ in Gaza, especially in the north: Top US official

Washington’s special regional envoy for humanitarian issues David Satterfield has told reporters that Israel must do everything possible to facilitate efforts to avert a famine and called for more to be done to get aid to those in need, particularly in the north.


Saudi Arabia condemns discovery of mass graves in Gaza’s Khan Younis

Saudi Arabia has decried the discovery of mass graves in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, where some 310 bodies have been recovered from the vicinity of Nasser Medical Complex so far.

“We affirm that the failure of the international community to activate accountability mechanisms in response to Israel’s breaches of international law, will only result in more violations,” the ministry said in a statement.

 

US says reports on mass graves in Gaza are troubling

The US State Department has said that reports on mass graves in Gaza were troubling.

Palestinian authorities reported finding hundreds of bodies in mass graves at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis this week after it was abandoned by Israeli troops. Bodies were also reported at the al-Shifa medical site following an Israeli raid.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said earlier on Tuesday he was “horrified” by the mass grave reports at Gaza hospitals.


Troubling is quite the understatement. And if there are mass graves in hospital compounds and schools that people are trying to restore, you wonder how many more mass graves there are in more secluded areas.


This is not the first time mass graves have been found

November 17th https://www.tbsnews.net/hamas-israel-war/israel-accused-more-war-crimes-after-30-bodies-found-gaza-school-784990

Israel accused of more war crimes after 30 bodies found in Gaza school. The bodies were discovered in the Khalifa bin Zayed school in Beit Lahia in north Gaza – an area which had been besieged for weeks.

December 17th https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/mass-grave-122-palestinians-found-gaza

@EuroMedHR New mass grave discovered near Fahmi al-Jarjawi School, containing the remains of dozens of victims in Gaza. So far, 122 mass graves have been documented by, revealing the tragic toll of civilian lives claimed by Israeli genocide.

Januari 30th https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-palestinian-bodies-found-beit-lahia-elementary-school 

The bodies of 50 Palestinians were discovered at the grounds of the Khalifa bin Zayed elementary school in Beit Lahia on Tuesday after Israeli forces withdrew from the area, local residents told Middle East Eye.

The bodies were discovered under a mound of rubble at the school with videos uploaded on social media sites showing several of the body bags tied with white plastic zip ties, normally used for tying cables together.


It's long past due for the US to find it 'troubling'. The only thing the US finds troubling is the media coverage it gets.

This one got through to US media

'This is a crime against humanity': Gaza doctor on mass grave uncovered at hospital

https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2024/04/23/nasser-hospital-gaza-massive-grave-bashir-pkg-ovn-digvid.cnn

A mass grave has been uncovered at a hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Gaza Civil Defense workers said, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area earlier this month.



SvennoJ on 23 April 2024

Rafah evacuations not ‘possible’ under current conditions: Red Cross

Humanitarian workers have no knowledge of plans to evacuate Palestinians from Gaza’s southernmost city ahead of an expected Israeli assault, but such a transfer would not be possible under current conditions, a Red Cross official has told AFP.

“When we see the level of destruction in the middle area [of Gaza] and in the north, it’s not clear to us where people will be moved to, … where they can have decent shelter and essential services,” said Fabrizio Carboni, Middle East regional director for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“So today, with the information we have and from where we stand, we don’t see this [massive evacuation] as possible,” he said on the sidelines of an aid conference in the United Arab Emirates.

More than 1.5 million people of Gaza’s population of 2.4 million had sheltered in Rafah, the last major population centre in Gaza that Israeli ground troops have yet to enter.

“We don’t see for the time being any plans for civilian evacuations,” Carboni said during the interview at the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference. But “there is no condition for a military operation without devastating humanitarian consequences,” he added.

“Considering the level of destruction, considering that people are tired, some of them wounded and sick, and the limited access to food and essential services, I see [evacuations] as extremely challenging.”

 

Euro-Med warns of imminent Israeli ‘massacre’ in Beit Lahiya

The Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor says the Israeli military will likely carry out a “new massacre” in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya, after the army issued new evacuation orders to people who have remained in the area.

Israeli forces will be “wipe out the last remnants” of Beit Lahiya, and will cause yet another wave of mass displacement in the area, where some 50,000 Palestinians reside, the monitor said in a statement.

Earlier, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X the military “will use extreme force against terrorist infrastructure and subversive elements in the region”, telling residents to “evacuate the area immediately and head towards known shelters in blocks number 1770, 1766”.

However, rights groups have repeatedly said that “nowhere is safe” in the besieged territory, pointing to Israeli attacks on places previously deemed “safe”. The shelters the Israeli army asked Palestinians to flee to, Euro-Med said, are destroyed areas that are “unfit for any form of life, and lack water supply as well as functioning sewage systems”.



Unions speak up for students disciplined for pro-Palestine protests

Unions representing tens of thousands of workers are demanding “the immediate reinstatement of all student and student workers disciplined for pro-Palestine protests and the end to the repression of protest on Columbia’s campus.”

Protests at Columbia and other university campuses across the nation began in response to the escalation of the Israeli war on Gaza. Last week, Columbia President Nemat Minouche Shafik called in New York police to clear a tent encampment protesters had set up on Columbia’s main lawn to demand the school divest from Israel-related investments.

The school said the encampment violated rules. Police arrested more than 100 students from Columbia on charges of trespassing. Columbia and the affiliated Barnard College have suspended dozens of students involved in the protests.

The union representatives said they “stand in solidarity” with those who were arrested and face suspension. “An injury to one is an injury to all,” they said in a statement.



SvennoJ on 23 April 2024

Google fires more workers who protested its deal with Israel, activists say

A group called No Tech For Apartheid says Google fired at least 20 more workers in the aftermath of protests over technology the company is supplying the Israeli government amid its war on Gaza.

It said that brings the total number of terminated staff to at least 50.

This is the latest sign of internal turmoil at the tech giant centred on “Project Nimbus,” a $1.2bn contract signed in 2021 for Google and Amazon to provide the Israeli government with cloud computing and artificial intelligence services.

Workers held sit-in protests last week at Google offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California. The company responded by calling police, who made arrests.



US pro-Palestine campus protests spread to Minnesota

A video posted on X shows “upwards of 1,000 [University of Minnesota] students and staff” protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza, according to activist Sean Lim. Similar protests are taking place across the US, and have been met with a heavy-handed response from university administrations and local police departments.



Palestine solidarity rallies held at Columbia, Yale, Harvard and New York University

Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey, reporting from New York, said student demonstrators from New York University (NYU) gathered for hours in a park just off the campus to protest against Israel’s war on Gaza.

The protest moved to the park following the mass arrest of 133 students and teachers who participated in a protest on the NYU campus the night before. “As news spread of their arrests, so have demonstrations around the country – at other colleges and universities,” Saloomey said.





US police arrest Pro-Palestinian Jewish protesters outside Senator’s New York home

Hundreds of protesters were reportedly arrested after holding a demonstration on the “doorstep” of US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s home in New York’s Grand Army Plaza.

Organised by the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) lobby group, the protest was presented as a “seder on the street” on the second night of the week-long Jewish feast of Passover. Following speeches from writers, performers and rabbis, protesters moved to block the streets surrounding the Plaza and arrests were made by the New York Police Department, according to the Reuters news agency.

The JVP shared photos on social media of the arrests and police moving demonstrators taking part in a sit-down protest and chanting: “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea”. According to JVP, the protesters were demanding “the US stop arming and funding the Israeli government as it carries out a genocide” in Gaza.