Top Israeli general makes rare public criticism of settler violence against Palestinians

Israel’s top general in the occupied West Bank has used his retirement to publicly denounce attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reports.

At a ceremony to appoint his successor, the retiring chief of the Israeli military’s central command, Major General Yehuda Fox, said that “nationalist crime” had recently “reared its head”.

“Under the auspices of the war and the desire for revenge, it sowed chaos and fear in Palestinian residents who did not pose any threat,” Fox said, adding that he was dismayed that local politicians and religious leaders have not acted to combat the escalating settler violence.

“This is not Judaism to me. At least not the one I grew up with,” said Fox, whose comments come after a week of intense attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Brazil says Israel’s West Bank settlements are ‘flagrant violation of international law’

Israel’s plan to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank is “a flagrant violation of international law”, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said in a statement.

Brazil also criticised Israeli claims, from the country’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, that the approved expansion was retaliation against the Palestinian Authority’s role in successfully encouraging several countries to recognise Palestinian statehood.

All Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international laws as they violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, which bans an occupying power from transferring its population to the area it occupies.

_{Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law}

At least 16 arrested in occupied West Bank: Report

The Israeli army has arrested at least 16 people across the occupied West Bank, according to the Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, cited by the Wafa news agency.

The raids took place in Ramallah, Qalqilya, Hebron, Nablus, Bethlehem and Jericho, the report said, adding that the Israeli army damaged some homes.

Mass arrests have become a nearly daily occurrence in the Palestinian territories since the start of the war with an estimated 9,600 Palestinians now in Israeli jails, according to rights groups. The Israeli army says its actions are an attempt to root out activities of Palestinian armed groups with whom Israeli soldiers have often exchanged fire during their incursions.

The Israeli military has also bulldozed land planted with olive trees and grapes in the village of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah.

Video captures Israeli settler’s unprovoked attack on Israeli activist

The Israeli military veterans’ group Breaking the Silence has shared a video clip of a settler attacking an Israeli activist at the site of settler aggression towards local Palestinian residents.

In the video, the male settler violently elbows the activist in the back of the head, knocking her to the ground, and then calmly walks away while Israeli soldiers look on and do nothing.

Breaking the Silence said the attack happened on private Palestinian land near the village of al-Tawani in the Masafer Yatta area of the southern occupied West Bank, which has been a hotbed of settler intimidation and violence against local Palestinian communities for years.

“This violence, which happens under the watchful eye of and with the active backing of the State, usually targets Palestinians,” Breaking the Silence said.

@MartinKonecny you're right. The school was built from international aid given by various international donors. Here's a picture of the sign of donors that was stuck on the now demolished school building. https://t.co/jSUfBbyoqK pic.twitter.com/apODtfZauD

— Yehuda Shaul (@YehudaShaul) July 9, 2024

Israeli troops kill child in occupied West Bank

The Palestinian Ministry of Health says in a statement that Ghassan Gharib Zahran, 13 years old, died of wounds he received after he was shot by soldiers in the town of Deir Abu Mishal, in the Ramallah district.

Israeli military carries out air attack on Syrian port city: Report

The Israeli military has bombed the Syrian port city of Baniyas, the Syrian state media agency SANA reports, quoting an unnamed military source.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that two explosions have been reported on the outskirts of the city, while local media has reported that the targets are linked to Iran.

US citizen training Israeli military to operate drones injured near Lebanon border

A US citizen injured by Hezbollah rocket fire in northern Israel was reportedly teaching Israeli reservists how to use drones, according to Israel’s Ynet news site.

The 31-year-old employee of a drone company was “seriously injured” in the attack on the Western Galilee region of Israel on Sunday, Ynet added.

According to the US CBS news, a spokesperson from the US State Department confirmed that an American civilian had been injured, but did not provide any further details.

_{The injured US citizen was reportedly teaching Israeli soldiers how to use drones}

Hezbollah claims attack on military site in northern Israel

The Lebanese armed group says its fighters have attacked Israel’s military site in the vicinity of al-Marj near the Lebanon-Israel border. The artillery shelling achieved a “direct hit”, the group claimed in a statement on Telegram, without elaborating on the results.

Earlier today, Hezbollah published a video showing drone surveillance footage of Israeli military bases in the occupied Golan Heights, including military command headquarters, artillery positions and Iron Dome platforms and radars.

Jets struck Hezbollah fighters after rockets launched at Israel: Army

Israel’s army says its warplanes hit a building in southern Lebanon’s Rab el-Thalathine village, where two fighters were spotted after launching rockets at Israeli territory earlier.

According to a statement on X, several rockets were launched from the village at the Misgav Am area in northern Israel, adding that most of the rockets were shot down by air defences.

Australia appoints special envoy to combat anti-Semitism

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the appointment of Jillian Segal as the new special envoy to combat anti-Semitism in Australia as a “critical step” in “easing tensions [in Australia] as a result of the devastating conflict in the Middle East.”

In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said a new special envoy to combat Islamophobia will also be appointed and announced shortly.

The Jewish Council of Australia described Segal as a “pro-Israel advocate” and expressed concern her appointment could “undermine important work across racial lines to address all forms of racism”.

“This threat must be addressed through working together – not driving more racism,” Max Kaiser, the executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia said.

Good old France is back! Soon the US will start renaming French Fries to Freedom Fries again...

Not pulling punches, no pussyfooting around, no back to balanced views / both sideism. Call it out for what it is.

French Far Right HUMILIATED By Left

No complacency - and the far right are a massive threat - but after 'centrists' nearly handed France on a platter to the fascists, the left saved the day.

Meanwhile in the US, more censorship

Meta to remove more posts targeting ‘Zionists’

The Facebook and Instagram parent has said it would start taking down more posts that target “Zionists”, where the term is used to refer to Jewish people and Israelis rather than representing supporters of the political movement.

Meta’s policy update comes as tensions escalate in the Middle East amid the Israeli war in Gaza.

The company has been criticised for years about how it handles content involving the Middle East. Such criticism shot up further after the start of the war, with rights groups accusing it of suppressing content supportive of Palestinians on Facebook and Instagram.

In 2021, a Meta-commissioned report found that the company’s flawed content moderation policies had stopped Palestinians from sharing “information and insights about their experiences as they occurred”, having a negative “human rights impact”.

US accuses Iran of seeking to stir up Gaza protests

The US intelligence chief has accused Iran of egging on protests inside the United States against Israel’s assault on Gaza, including by paying demonstrators.

Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, stressed she was not alleging that Americans taking to the streets against Israel or US policy were insincere or doing Iran’s bidding but said Tehran was stepping up efforts.

“In recent weeks, Iranian government actors have sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza, using a playbook we’ve seen other actors use over the years,” Haines said in a statement.

“We have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests and even providing financial support to protesters,” she said.

“The freedom to express diverse views, when done peacefully, is essential to our democracy, but it is also important to warn of foreign actors who seek to exploit our debate for their own purposes,” she added.

Foreign actors like Israeli Hasbara? Aipac is the biggest foreign actor seeking to exploit your 'debate' for their own purpose.

You tube is flooded with Israeli 'influencers', pro Israel supporters are disrupting peaceful demonstrations or going after protesters. Just one of many examples https://www.reuters.com/world/name-shame-pro-israel-website-ramps-up-attacks-pro-palestinian-student-2024-05-11/

Israel slams UN experts over ‘starvation campaign’ report

Israel has condemned the report that accused Israel of carrying out a “targeted starvation campaign” that has resulted in the deaths of children in Gaza.

The report by a group of independent experts, including UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Michael Fakhri, insisted there was no denying famine was under way in Gaza due to the campaign.

“Mr Fakhri and many so-called experts who joined [him] are as much accustomed to spreading misinformation as they are to supporting Hamas propaganda and shielding the terrorist organisation from scrutiny,” Israel’s mission to the UN in Geneva said.

‘Is there any humanity left?’

Balakrishnan Rajagopal, UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, has said that there is “famine across the whole of Gaza. All houses destroyed, food systems destroyed and healthcare destroyed. And kids are dying. Is there any humanity left?”

He made his comments in a post on X in response to a statement by a group of independent experts, himself included, who said that the recent deaths of more Palestinian children due to hunger and malnutrition leaves no doubt that famine has spread across the entire Gaza Strip.

Symbolic of Biden's ceasefire debacle.

US-built pier to be reinstalled to move aid before being permanently removed: Report

Several US officials have told AP news agency that the pier built by the American military to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza will be reinstalled on the beach to be used for several days, but then the plan is to pull it out permanently.

It would deal the final blow to a multimillion-dollar project long plagued by bad weather, security uncertainties and difficulties getting food into the hands of starving Palestinians.

The officials said that the goal is to clear whatever aid has piled up and get it to the secure area on the beach. Once that has been done, the army will dismantle the pier and depart. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because final details are still being worked out.


Hundreds of millions of tax dollars wasted for hardly any aid delivered at all. But I guess the pier (area) was useful in the Nuseirat massacre / rescue operation, killing nearly 300 Palestinians to retrieve 4 hostages while making the lives for the rest of the hostages much harder.