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

SvennoJ on 21 May 2024

‘Very little’ UK humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, watchdog says

Israel is still blocking the majority of UK-provided humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) said in a report published today.

“While the UK has significantly increased aid to Gaza in response to the crisis, it’s clear that very little is reaching those who urgently need it,” said Tamsyn Barton, the aid watchdog’s chief commissioner. She added that “ineffective” diplomatic attempts to improve humanitarian access to Gaza show “how fragile the system underpinning international humanitarian law is”.

The ICAI report said that many items, including stone fruit, were rejected as “dual use”, meaning items that “might benefit Hamas or be used as a weapon”.

The UK government has contributed an additional 70 million pounds ($89m) in humanitarian funding to Palestine since October last year, when the current conflict broke out.


Video captures Palestinian truck driver’s refusal to stop for Israeli settlers blocking Gaza aid

As hardline and ultra-right-wing Israeli settlers ambush and destroy humanitarian aid shipments transported by road to war-torn Gaza, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic have shared video footage of one Palestinian truck driver who refused to be stopped.

In the brief video clip, the driver can be seen blasting his horn and moving forward despite the Israeli settlers using their bodies to try and stop the truck on a motorway.

The protesters eventually jump clear of the truck as it proceeds on its journey.


Al-Awda Hospital under siege: WHO

The hospital in Gaza’s northern city of Jabalia has been besieged for two days as fighting rages nearby, trapping 170 staff, patients and their companions inside, says World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Yesterday, the fighting reached the hospital itself, with snipers aiming at the building and an artillery rocket hitting its fifth floor, according to Tedros.

“We are deeply concerned about the safety of the remaining patients and hospital staff,” he said in a post on X. “We appeal for their protection, for humanitarian access and an immediate ceasefire.”

Al-Awda Hospital is one of the few health facilities still operating in northern Gaza, and the only hospital to offer maternity or orthopaedic surgery care.

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 21 May 2024

Around the Network
SvennoJ on 21 May 2024

Israelis hold ‘day of disruption’ to protest against Netanyahu’s gov’t


Israeli security forces scuffle with Israeli protesters attempting to block a road during a ‘day of disruption’ by groups demonstrating against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Shoresh, Israel, on May 20


Supporters of the families of captives held in Gaza take part in the ‘day of disruption’ by antigovernment protest groups outside the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem


Israeli police use water cannon against protesters outside the Knesset


Era of impunity for Israel’s leaders is over, says Israeli rights group

B’Tselem, a leading Israeli human rights group, has welcomed the ICC prosecutor’s request to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.

“The era of impunity for Israeli decision-makers is over,” the group said in a statement. “The international community is signalling to Israel that it can no longer maintain its policy of violence, killing and destruction without accountability. Likewise, the request for arrest warrants against Hamas leaders for the crimes of October 7 is important and draws a red line where harm to civilians is concerned,” it said.

“The ICC intervention and ICJ rulings are a chance for us, Israelis, to realize what we should have understood long ago: that upholding a regime of supremacy, violence and oppression necessarily involves crimes and severe violation of human rights.”


Palestinian rights groups welcome ‘landmark’ ICC decision, call for additional genocide charge

The rights organisations Al-Haq, Al Mezan, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said that ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s decision to file an application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is “a crucial step” towards ending impunity in Israel’s war on Gaza.

In a statement, the three organisations said the ICC announcement follows after “tireless efforts by Palestinian and international civil society organisations demanding the issuance of arrest warrants” for members of Israel’s war cabinet.

“While we welcome the issuing of charges for crimes against humanity, there is also a public catalogue of genocidal statements of intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, including through the intentional denial of aid,” the organisations said.

“For these reasons, genocide as an additional crime should be included in an amendment to the charges,” they added.

https://x.com/alhaq_org/status/1792639508564885658


Australia’s Albanese refuses to comment on ICC arrest requests

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sidestepped questions on the ICC prosecutor’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, saying he does not comment on court processes.

“We’ve said that every life matters, whether it be Israeli or Palestinian, and we’ve called for progress towards a two-state solution. That is where we’re concentrating, playing a role where we can in promoting the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in security in peace and with prosperity,” he said.

The comments came as Australia’s opposition leader Peter Dutton backed the US president’s labelling of the ICC prosecutor’s decision as “outrageous”.

“My view is that Australia should stand shoulder-to-shoulder with President Biden to stand up against this equivalence, which is completely and utterly repugnant to compare the Israeli prime minister to a terrorist organisation leader,” Dutton said.

Australia urged to end arms exports to Israel after ICC arrest requests

The Australian Center for International Justice (ACIJ) is calling on Albanese’s government to support Karim Khan’s efforts and reminding it that it is duty-bound to comply and execute any arrest warrants issued by the court.

Rawan Arraf, the executive director at ACIJ, said the requests for arrest warrants by ICC prosecutor put the government “on further notice that they may be assisting the commission of international crimes” and called for an end to all Australian arms exports – including parts and components – to Israel.

Arraf said the government must also urgently investigate Australians who have served and are serving in Israel’s military.



SvennoJ on 21 May 2024

Members of UNSC call on Israel to stop Rafah offensive

We’ve been covering the UN Security Council’s Gaza meeting, where officials from UN agencies and member states called on Israel to cease its offensive in the southern city of Rafah.


Gantz says neither Hamas nor Israel should rule Gaza

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has expressed his opposition to Israel’s military assuming control over the Gaza Strip amid reports that a military occupation of the Palestinian territory would require extending the country’s mandatory military service from 32 months to four years, defence think tanks report.

The Washington DC-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) said in their latest Gaza assessment that Gantz’s comments follow on from his recent ultimatum to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to set a new strategy for Israel’s war on the Palestinian territory.

Gantz’s reported opposition to a military occupation of Gaza also comes after a government report was leaked in the Israeli media which estimates Israel would need a “a dramatic increase” in reserve soldiers to carry out such an operation and that it could cost about $5bn.


Israeli minister warns against military rule of Gaza

Israel should not impose military rule over Gaza as it could result in the loss of many soldiers, its Minister of Culture and Sports, Miki Zohar, said.

Zohar, a member of the right-wing Likud party led by PM Netanyahu, made the remarks during a party meeting on Monday, highlighting growing division within the bloc over the issue of Gaza’s post-war governance.

“Anyone here who calls for a military government knows that he will later go to the homes of the mothers who will lose, probably hundreds if not more soldiers, and explain to them why their children fell,” said Zohar, according to Israel National News.

Last week, Defense Minister Gallant, also a Likud member, called on Netanyahu to explicitly reject Israeli military rule of Gaza after the war and to outline an alternative plan for Gaza’s post-war governance.


Ben-Gvir promotes future Gaza settlements: ‘I would love to live in Gaza’

Israel’s far-right national security minister has again advocated for a full military takeover of Gaza after the war, even saying Israel should push Palestinians to “voluntarily” leave to make way for settlements.

“Israel should be the one that controls the Gaza Strip, unequivocally, and no one else,” said Itamar Ben-Gvir in comments carried by Israel’s Maariv news site.

Most important, he said, is “encouraging voluntary emigration of Palestinians” from the enclave, adding that Israel could then facilitate the return of settlements. “I would love to live in Gaza if possible”, said Ben-Gvir.



SvennoJ on 21 May 2024

ICC arrest requests show it is ‘scrutinising both sides’ leadership’

Israel and Hamas have both criticised the ICC chief prosecutor for requesting arrest warrants for their leaders, accusing him of making a false equivalency between the two sides.

However, former ICC official Eric Witte says that the decision does not imply that the actions of each side’s leaders are equal but that they will be “equally scrutinised under the law”.

To maintain credibility and pursue justice for all victims of the war – including Israeli captives and Palestinians in Gaza – it is “important for [the prosecutor] to show that he is scrutinising actions of leadership on both sides”, Witte told Al Jazeera

“It’s impossible to compare the two,” he added. “But what we can say is that victims on both sides are deeply deserving of justice, accountability … and the broader international community has an interest in seeing standards upheld.

“There are standards even during wartime. Even if you feel your cause is justified, it doesn’t mean that you can use any means whatsoever to pursue that cause.”

ICC’s Khan is trying to stop Israel from defending itself: Gallant

Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s “attempt to deny the State of Israel the right to defend itself and release its abductees must be rejected outright”.

Gallant claimed in a post on X that Khan is trying to flip the facts but will not succeed in doing so.

“The prosecutor’s parallel between the terrorist organisation Hamas and the State of Israel is despicable and disgusting,” he said, adding that his country is not a party to the court and does not recognise its authority.


Israel framing ICC arrest warrants request as ‘attack’ on its sovereignty

There is one consistent message, and you heard it from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He says that this is an attack against Israel. And it has united Israel in many aspects. Even the leader of the opposition, who is very critical of Netanyahu, called this an attack against Israel.

But there’s also something else going on right now: the response to all of this. Already we’ve seen meetings from legal experts from the National Security Agency of Israel, plus the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

They’re reaching out to their allies within the international community, particularly the US, which is likely why you heard President Joe Biden come to the defence of Israel. So that’s likely what the strategy for the Israelis will be when it comes to combatting this – they simply want this just to go away.


Lapid says Netanyahu should entertain Palestinian statehood to dodge ICC prosecution

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has proposed that PM Netanyahu engage in normalisation talks with Saudi Arabia, including considering a pathway to Palestinian statehood, saying such moves could deter the ICC from pursuing war crimes charges against him.

“Netanyahu should announce that he has entered into negotiations with the Saudis, including the Palestinian component,” Lapid told Army Radio.

“In The Hague, they will not prosecute a PM who is in the middle of a historic peace process. This will solve the Hague [problem] for us and the [issue of] the day-after in Gaza‚ and it will help us mobilise the Saudis to apply pressure regarding the issue of the hostages,” said Lapid.

Over the weekend, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan travelled to Saudi Arabia and Israel to push for an Israeli-Saudi normalisation deal, conditioned on Israel’s acceptance of a pathway to Palestinian statehood.

The Times of Israel reported the proposal appeared to be a “non-starter” in Israel, with Netanyahu again rejecting it.

Israel needs new leadership, Netanyahu needs to go.


Israel urges ‘civilised nations’ to spurn any ICC warrants against its leaders

Israel has urged “nations of the civilised world” to oppose the ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against its leaders and to declare they would not honor any such warrants.

Asked if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Defence Minister Yoav Gallant would avoid travelling to ICC-signatory countries in the event arrest warrants are issued against them, government spokesperson Tal Heinrich said, “Let’s wait and see.”


Comparing Israeli PM to Hamas leaders ‘unacceptable’: Polish PM

Poland’s prime minister has criticised a request by an International Criminal Court prosecutor for arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders.

“An attempt to show that the prime minister of Israel and the leaders of terrorist organisations are the same, and the involvement of international institutions in this, is unacceptable,” Donald Tusk told a news conference.



Biden admin will work with Congress on response to ICC prosecutor request

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the administration of US President Joe Biden would be happy to work with lawmakers to formulate “an appropriate response” to the International Criminal Court prosecutor seeking to issue arrest warrants on Israeli leaders over the Gaza war.

Speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Blinken called the move “a profoundly wrong-headed” decision that would complicate the prospects of reaching a deal on negotiations to achieve a hostage deal and a ceasefire, reiterating his initial reaction to the news yesterday.

That nonsense again, you don't want a deal. You just want Gaza to go back out of the news.



France, Belgium and Slovenia say they support ICC move

France, Belgium and Slovenia released statements supporting the world’s top criminal court and its chief prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for leaders of Israel and Hamas.

“France supports the International Criminal Court, its independence, and the fight against impunity in all situations,” its Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Belgium Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib posted on X, “Crimes committed in Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of the perpetrators,” along with a statement.

“War crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Israel and Palestine from at least October 7 must be prosecuted independently and impartially regardless of the perpetrators,” Slovenia’s Foreign Ministry said on X.

“Accountability is crucial to prevent atrocities and to guarantee peace,” the ministry said.



SvennoJ on 21 May 2024

Qatar says Gaza truce, captive release talks remain ‘close to stalemate’

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari says Gaza ceasefire and captive-prisoner swap talks between Israel and Hamas remain “close to a stalemate”.

Qatar is one of the key mediators in the talks between the two sides, in addition to Egypt and the US.

Asked about the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s decision to seek arrest warrants against some Israeli and Hamas leaders, al-Ansari said it was too early for Qatar to comment directly on that but that all states and organisations should be “held responsible for the killing of civilians”.



Al Jazeera was just the start

AP criticises Israel for cutting Gaza live feed, seizing equipment

Israeli officials seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press (AP) in southern Israel, accusing the news organisation of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera.

The Qatari satellite channel is among thousands of clients that receive live video feeds from the AP and other news organisations.

“The Associated Press decries in the strongest terms the actions of the Israeli government to shut down our longstanding live feed showing a view into Gaza and seize AP equipment,” the news agency says in a statement.

Officials from the Communications Ministry arrived at the AP location in the southern town of Sderot this afternoon and seized the equipment. They handed the AP a piece of paper, signed by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, alleging it was violating the country’s foreign broadcaster law.

“We urge the Israeli authorities to return our equipment and enable us to reinstate our live feed immediately so we can continue to provide this important visual journalism to thousands of media outlets around the world.”

The seizure followed a verbal order on Thursday to cease the live transmission – which the news organisation refused to do.

“In accordance with the government decision and the instruction of the communications minister, the communications ministry will continue to take whatever enforcement action is required to limit broadcasts that harm the security of the state,” the ministry said in a statement.

Israeli officials used the foreign broadcaster law to close down the offices of Al Jazeera on May 5 as well as confiscating the channel’s equipment, banning its broadcasts, and blocking its websites.


‘Now they’re going after The AP’

In the last couple of hours in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, Israeli Ministry of Communications officials went to a live-shot position that The Associated Press has, which gives a live feed of northern Gaza to its clients so they can broadcast that live feed to their viewers.

Al Jazeera is one of those clients – AP has thousands of clients.

Ministry of Communications officials gave them a verbal order to shut down the transmission. AP refused and then their camera was confiscated and they were given an order by the ministry to cease broadcasting.

AP provided us with a statement that says: “The Associated Press decries in the strongest terms the actions of the Israeli government to shut down our longstanding live feed showing a view into Gaza and seize AP equipment.

The shutdown was not based on the content of the feed but rather an abusive use by the Israeli government of the country’s new foreign broadcaster law.

We urge the Israeli authorities to return our equipment and enable us to reinstate our live feed immediately so we can continue to provide this important visual journalism to thousands of media outlets around the world.”

Again, they have thousands of clients around the world – they don’t just provide a live feed to Al Jazeera. But the Israeli government is utilising the law that they passed in order to shut down Al Jazeera and now they’re going after The AP.

Lapid says confiscation of Associated Press equipment ‘an act of madness’

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid took to X to denounce the seizure of a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press (AP) by officials in southern Israel. The AP was accused of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera.

“This is not Al Jazeera, this is an American media outlet that has won 53 Pulitzer Prizes”, Lapid wrote. “This government behaves as if it has decided to make sure at all costs that Israel will be swayed all over the world. They went crazy”.

Israeli officials used the foreign broadcaster law to close down the offices of Al Jazeera on May 5, as well as confiscating the channel’s equipment, banning its broadcasts, and blocking its websites.


A screenshot taken from Associated Press video showing a general view of northern Gaza



Around the Network
SvennoJ on 21 May 2024

Video shows Israeli forces seizing corpses in Gaza

Exclusive footage obtained by Al Jazeera is believed to show Israeli soldiers removing corpses from a morgue tent during their first raid on Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital in November.

According to health officials, more than 100 bodies were loaded onto a truck and taken to Israel.


Israeli forces shell gates of Kamal Adwan Hospital

Israeli tanks have fired several rounds at the gates of the emergency department, Wafa news agency reports, citing Hossam Abu Sfiya, the director of the hospital in Beit Lahia, north Gaza.

Local sources also report that the hospital is currently being evacuated of wounded, patients and medical staff.

The hospital has been under siege by Israeli forces since May 19.


Some patients unable to be evacuated from Kamal Adwan Hospital

The situation in Kamal Adwan is escalating as the Israeli artillery shelling is targeting the reception and emergency department and the gate of Kamal Adwan. And this started yesterday.

The hospital is currently being evacuated. Unfortunately, there are some patients that are not able to evacuate because they’re directly connected to the machines, and if they are disconnected, they’re going to lose their lives.

We have been seeing footage and videos of people trying to help these people evacuate. Some of them were on the beds of the hospital, but unfortunately, these people do not know where they’re going to evacuate because they’re evacuating under fire.

More footage is emerging of children and other people who have been seeking refuge in the hospital.

And not only Kamal Adwan, also the director of al-Awda Hospital said that the situation in the hospital is dire. They have been trapped in the hospital for three days right now and there are 15 patients trapped and are unable to evacuate. Among them are two women that gave birth to two babies recently.


UNRWA suspends food distribution in Rafah

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said that food distribution in Gaza’s southern city were currently suspended due to lack of supplies and a lack of security.

Simultaneous Israeli assaults on the southern and northern edges of the Gaza Strip this month have caused a new exodus of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, and sharply restricted the flow of aid, raising the risk of famine.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said in a statement on X that only seven out of its 24 health centres are operational.  It also said that it had not received any medical supplies in the past 10 days due to “closures/disruptions” at the Rafah and Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossings into Gaza.

Israel mounted a new push in central Gaza, bombarding towns in the north of the Palestinian enclave and saying it intended to broaden operations in Rafah despite US warnings of the risk of mass casualties in the southern city.

 
Gaza Civil Defence says four killed in Israeli attack on Gaza City

The Civil Defence says among the bodies recovered by its crews was that of a child “not more than a year old”. It said that injured survivors of the attack, which took targeted a house on al-Sahaba Street in the Daraj neighbourhood in Gaza City, to a local hospital for treatment.

Video footage captured by Al Jazeera’s cameras showed the search for survivors among the rubble of the destroyed house.

“We were suddenly bombed, and we found that the house of the Shobaki family was bombed and we dug with our hands to reach the martyrs and the injured, and now we continue digging to reach any other stranded,” a witness from the neighbourhood to Al Jazeera.



SvennoJ on 21 May 2024

Cyprus says Gaza aid shipments ‘on track’

A spokesperson for the presidency of Cyprus has confirmed that four aid ships are on their way to Gaza, stressing that the deliveries are “on track”. The shipments, provided by the US and France, will be unloaded at a US-built floating pier off the coast of Gaza City.

That pier, criticised by humanitarian groups as an ineffective way to bring in aid, has not received any shipments since Saturday, according to a UN official cited by Reuters.

The slowdown comes as land deliveries also remain at a trickle, with most crossings shuttered or inaccessible since Israel seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing on May 7.


Israeli forces demolish house in Jenin raid

Israeli bulldozers have demolished the home of a Palestinian family in Jenin without any warning, giving them no time to remove their belongings, reports the Wafa news agency. The home belongs to Hani Baraket, who said her husband has been in Israeli custody for six months and whose son was killed by an Israeli attack on the camp in March.

Israeli forces regularly demolish homes and other Palestinian structures throughout the occupied West Bank, a policy that has been criticised by rights groups as a form of “collective punishment”.

This year, Israeli forces have demolished 454 Palestinian structures in the West Bank, displacing 843 people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

ICC prosecutor correct by seeking arrest warrants for Israel’s leaders: Rights lawyer

Michael Mansfield, a UK-based human rights lawyer, says that while some are angry that Israel’s leaders could face arrest warrants for war crimes, legally the move is perfectly legitimate.

“It’s not problematic at all. In fact, the converse would be problematic,” Mansfield told Al Jazeera.

“Israeli officials are accused of ‘extermination’ – it couldn’t become much bigger than that – causing starvation as a weapon of war, the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, and deliberately targeting civilians. That is precisely what is continuing today.”

Over the decades, the rule of international law has been ignored and the situation in Gaza would never have reached this stage because there would’ve been an international intervention “if the conditions set out under the UN Charter had been followed”, said Mansfield.



SvennoJ on 21 May 2024

UNRWA says Khan Younis shelters increased by 36 percent

The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees says on X that this rise in displaced Palestinians sheltering in its Khan Younis facilities has occurred since Israel began issuing evacuation orders for the southern city of Rafah early this month.

The majority of internally displaced Palestinians have been sheltering in Rafah for most of the war, but yesterday the UN said that over 900,000 people fled Rafah in the last two weeks – since Isreal began a military operation in the city.

UNRWA shared photos of its overcrowded Khan Younis shelters:

Israel’s evacuation orders shut down 2 Rafah health facilities: UNRWA

Scott Anderson, senior deputy director of UNRWA’s affairs in Gaza, says two health centres had to be shut down because of Israel’s recent evacuation orders of southern Rafah. That’s on top of the UN agency for Palestinians being unable to get sufficient supplies into the area, forcing the suspension of the agency’s aid operations in Rafah.

“We need a cessation of combat to have a safe environment so our staff can operate for the civilians, the innocent people that we treat,” he told Al Jazeera.

Ideally, there would be 350 trucks “at a minimum” entering Gaza each day, Anderson said, but only about 200 are getting in now. “It is unfortunate many of our staff have died during this conflict and they’re acting heroically to every day to continue to provide services to the people who are here,” he said, speaking from Rafah.

Famine will spread with aid operations ‘near collapse’ in Gaza

Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the UN’s World Food Program (WFP), warns “humanitarian operations in Gaza are near collapse”. If food and other supplies don’t resume entering Gaza “in massive quantities, famine-like conditions will spread”, she said.

Etefeh said WFP stopped distribution in Rafah after exhausting its stocks. It continues passing out hot meals in central Gaza and “limited distributions” of food packages there, but “food parcel stocks will run out within days”, she said.

Etefa said 10 trucks entered through the US-made pier on Friday and were taken to its warehouse in central Gaza. But a delivery Saturday of 11 trucks was stopped by crowds of Palestinians who took supplies, and only five trucks made it to the warehouse. No further deliveries came from the pier on Sunday or Monday, she said.

Entry of aid to Gaza through the two main crossings in the south has nearly ground to a halt the past two weeks since Israel launched an incursion into Rafah on May 6.



SvennoJ on 21 May 2024

Confiscation of AP equipment aims ‘to stifle the media’

The Foreign Press Association, which represents the international media working in Israel and Palestine, says it is alarmed by Israeli authorities confiscating equipment from The Associated Press as it aired live footage of northern Gaza.

“This is the latest in a series of chilling steps by the Israeli government to stifle the media,” the FPA said in a statement.

“Israel’s move today is a slippery slope. Israel could block other international news agencies from providing live footage of Gaza. It also could allow Israel to block media coverage of virtually any news event on vague security grounds,” it added.

“Israel’s record on press freedom already has been dismal throughout the war. For the entire conflict, it has prevented independent access to Gaza for foreign journalists. Now it has taken another step backward away from the Democratic ideals it claims to uphold.”


CPJ ‘deeply disturbed’ by Israel’s seizure of Associated Press equipment

Press watchdog the Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ) says in a statement that “Israeli authorities must return the equipment they confiscated from The Associated Press in southern Israel and stop harassing and censoring journalists covering the war”.

Earlier today, officials seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press (AP) by officials in southern Israel. The AP was accused of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera.

“CPJ is deeply disturbed by Israeli authority’s seizure of broadcasting equipment used by The Associated Press, an international news outlet providing crucial coverage of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna in a statement.

“Israel started its media silencing campaign by banning Al Jazeera and is now using that as an excuse to obstruct AP. Israel must end this censorship campaign, return AP’s equipment, and allow all international media outlets — including Al Jazeera — to operate freely in the country.”

Israeli officials used the foreign broadcaster law to close down the offices of Al Jazeera on May 5, as well as confiscating the channel’s equipment, banning its broadcasts, and blocking its websites.

US is asking Israel to reverse action against Associated Press

The United States is engaging directly with Israel to ask that its action confiscating Associated Press camera equipment be reversed, a White House spokesperson said.

Earlier, Israeli officials seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press in southern Israel, accusing the news organisation of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera.

Demanding doesn't work, so maybe asking will? The US wants nothing more than less news out of Gaza...



SvennoJ on 21 May 2024

Egypt will use ‘all scenarios’ to preserve security

Egypt’s respect for treaties does not prevent it from using “all scenarios to preserve its national security and the historical rights of Palestinians”, the state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV quoted what it termed a high-level source as saying on Tuesday.

Bilateral relations between Israel and Egypt have been strained for the duration of the war in Gaza, and have dipped significantly since Israel seized and closed the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt earlier this month.

Both sides have publically blamed each other for the continued closure of the border crossing, which several United Nations agencies have said must be reopened to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

ICC announcement ‘just plain wrong’, says UK’s Cameron

The United Kingdom’s Foreign Minister David Cameron says the arrest warrants sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor are “just plain wrong”.

“I don’t believe for one moment that seeking these warrants is going to help get the hostages out, it’s not going to help get aid in, and it’s not going to help deliver a sustainable ceasefire,” he told the House of Lords.

“To draw moral equivalence between the Hamas leadership and the democratically elected leader of Israel, I think, is just plain wrong,” Cameron said.

Anti-Semitism: Israel’s ‘most powerful retort’

Rami Khouri from the American University of Beirut says the ICC prosecutor’s move to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders for war crimes will have a significant impact on Israeli society.

“They won’t accept that Israel is measured by the same moral and legal value that all other countries in the world are. So you’ll get a huge majority of people in Israel who will say this is totally unacceptable and they’re singling us out. They do this all the time,” Khouri told Al Jazeera.

The unwillingness to accept responsibility for gross human rights abuses dates back to the 1920s when “Zionist militias” began their violent campaign in historic Palestine, he said.

“They use primarily the argument that this is anti-Semitic and it’s a blood libel against the Jews – and it’s not. This is their most powerful retort. Their problem is it’s less effective now because they’ve used it so often and the world sees what Israel is doing,” said Khouri.

Problem is US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia do the same... It's not working anymore on Gen Z and more informed people. It's still working very well on the older generations that stick to propaganda news channels.

Norway first European country to say it will arrest Netanyahu should a warrant be issued

Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide says that if the arrest warrant against Israel’s prime minister becomes a reality, Norway is obliged to arrest him.

Yesterday, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court asked the court to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well three Hamas officials including Yahya Sinwar.

“If he or one of the Hamas leaders who are also indicted should appear in Norway, then we are obliged by international law to do so. The same applies to all countries in Europe with the exception of Turkey,” Eide told Norweigan broadcaster TV 2.

Protesters assail Antony Blinken over US Gaza policy

Demonstrators interrupted the US secretary of state as he began testimony before the Democratic Party-controlled Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

There were shouts that he has “blood on his hands”, and Blinken flinched from a protester who approached him from behind waving a sign that said “criminal” before security officers carried her out of the room.

Demonstrations over Israel’s war on Gaza have been a feature during congressional appearances by Biden administration officials. When Blinken and defence chief Lloyd Austin testified on October 31, 2023, about Biden’s request for security assistance for Ukraine and Israel, they were repeatedly interrupted by protesters.

Protests have intensified across the United States since then, including on college campuses where there have been thousands of arrests.


A pro-Palestine protester is removed by police after shouting at Blinken on Tuesday