US congressman lauds Google’s possible purchase of Israeli tech firm

Google’s possible acquisition of Israeli tech company Wiz is a “$23 billion middle finger” to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction movement against Israel, US Representative Ritchie Torres has said in a post on X.

“The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction movement should itself be boycotted, divested, and sanctioned,” said Torres, a Democratic Party representative in Congress from New York, in the post which was also shared by Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

US Big Tech companies and Israel’s tech industry have both been accused of profiting from Israel’s pervasive surveillance of Palestinians.

In April, Google fired about 28 staff members who participated in a sit-down protest against the tech giant’s involvement in Project Nimbus, providing cloud computing and artificial intelligence services to the Israeli government.

_{Protesters earlier this year near Google’s main building in California, US}

Not in My Name – one of the leading Jewish voices supporting Gaza

Journalist and author Antony Loewenstein is a leading Jewish voice criticising Israel’s war on Gaza, but some have branded him a traitor for his views.

“Seeing what has happened to Gaza since October 7 has been heartbreaking, honestly, and I’m so ashamed,” Loewenstein said. “Vast neighbourhoods have been obliterated,” he said.

Artists at Risk group protests detention of Palestinian poet

The advocacy group for artists who are at risk said it is appalled by the treatment of poet Hanan Awwad who was detained by Israeli soldiers in occupied East Jerusalem.

The worldwide association of writers, PEN International, said that Awwad – who is the president of PEN Palestine – was detained by soldiers at the Hizma checkpoint in East Jerusalem last Thursday who searched and physically assaulted her at gunpoint and shouted “terrorist”.

“Soldiers kicked and struck Awwad repeatedly and detained her for four hours, during which they interrogated her about the content of her writings,” PEN said in a statement.

PEN has called “for an inquiry into the incident and demands that Israeli authorities drop the summons order for investigation into the content of Awwad’s writings”.

Vessel attacked off Yemen’s Hodeidah: UK maritime agency

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says it received a report of a merchant vessel being attacked by three speedboats 130km (70 nautical miles) southwest of Yemen’s Hodeidah city.

An unmanned small craft collided with the ship twice and two manned boats opened fire on it. The vessel and crew are reported safe and it is proceeding to the next port of call after it conducted “self protection measures”, UKMTO said.

Israeli air raid targets Marwahin, southern Lebanon

Israeli air strikes targeted the town of Marwahin in southern Lebanon, an Al Jazeera correspondent reports. Hezbollah subsequently announced it bombed Israeli spy equipment at the Raheb site with guided missiles.

In recent weeks, top Israeli officials have pledged to escalate the fighting with Hezbollah if a diplomatic solution isn’t reached and the armed group’s forces pull far back from the border.

At least 543 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon since October, while attacks from Hezbollah and other armed groups in Lebanon have killed at least 21 people in Israel. Tens of thousands of Israeli and Lebanese civilians have been evacuated from border towns on both sides.

‘Netanyahu needs to do something’

Hassan Barari, a professor of international relations at Qatar University, says while Israel intensifies its deadly attacks throughout the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu will ultimately have to come to the negotiating table and agree to a ceasefire.

“He needs to reach a deal because he failed with the vast majority of hostages still held in Gaza, and the only way to free them is to deal with Hamas,” Barari told Al Jazeera.

“The pressure on Netanyahu is mounting internally with demonstrations and the collapse of the war cabinet, so he needs to do something.”

On Sunday, Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha said “there is no doubt that the horrific massacres will impact any efforts in the negotiations”, but he added “efforts and endeavours of the mediators remain ongoing”.

Far-right minister rejects release of Palestinian prisoners in truce deal

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says he opposes releasing any Palestinian prisoners as part of a potential Gaza ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

Smotrich described the release of Palestinian inmates as a “terrible and horrific event”, adding, “I will not agree to it, a red line must be drawn.”

He highlighted the 2011 release of Hamas’s now leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. In October 2011, Hamas freed Shalit in exchange for Israel releasing 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including Sinwar.

“We saw what happened in the deal for Gilad Shalit. We released Yahya Sinwar and we see what we got in return. With what logic will we release the next Yahya Sinwar and endanger thousands more Israelis?”

Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, added: “I will oppose this even if it ends my political career.”

He also criticised Israel’s “security establishment”, claiming it’s pursuing an “illegal deal at any cost”.

Violence breaks out at Berlin pro-Palestine protest

Clashes broke out between German police and an estimated 600 pro-Palestinian protesters in Berlin resulting in injuries and arrests.

Seven demonstrators and 17 police officers were hurt and 28 criminal charges resulted on Sunday. Berlin has seen weekly demonstrations during Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

The modern German republic, which for generations has tried to make amends for its Nazi past and role in the Holocaust, has long defended Israel’s aggressive actions in the Middle East.

Germany has also been criticised for its support of Israel in the genocide case at the International Court of Justice brought by South Africa.

It's something, but won't mean much in Israel. They need to sanction Ben-Gvir himself.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-ben-gvir-ally-former-mk-aide-among-targets-of-latest-us-and-eu-settler-sanctions/

Anyway just following US' lead as usual.

The United States Treasury Department’s designation of Benzi Gopstein was apparently coordinated with the European Union, which designated Gopstein’s Lehava anti-miscegenation group as a part of its own sanctions announced on the same day. [April 19th]


EU imposes sanctions on far-right Israelis over rights abuses against Palestinians

The European Union has imposed sanctions against five people and three entities in Israel for “serious and systematic human rights abuses” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

It says in a statement that their violations include “abuse of the right of everyone to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental integrity, the right to property, the right to private and family life, to freedom of religion or belief and the right to education”.

The bloc sanctioned Baruch Marzel for “openly calling for an ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians” and targeted Ben-Zion “Bentzi” Gopstein, the founder and leader of the far-right Lehava organisation, along with Isaschar Manne, founder of the illegal outpost “Manne Farm” in the South Hebron Hills.

Gopstein is a close confidant of far-right Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Israeli settler Moshe Sharvit and his “Moshe’s Farm” in the Jordan Valley are also on the list after attacks on Palestinian farmers and shepherds were launched from the site. The bloc listed Zvi Bar Yosef and his “Zvi’s Farm” in the occupied territories as well.

China to host Hamas and Fatah officials again: Report

China will reportedly host senior officials from the two rival Palestinian groups for a meeting next week.

The meeting between Hamas and Fatah comes as part of another effort by Beijing to bridge differences between the groups that have for decades competed for power in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, reports the New York Times, citing unnamed officials in both parties.

Beijing hosted a first round of meetings to achieve potential reconciliation at the end of April, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has previously called for a peace summit to end the war in Gaza.

UK activists sabotage factory, alleging ties to Israeli defence contractor

Activists with the group Palestine Action posted footage on X showing the infiltration and sabotage of a factory belonging to Hydrafeed, a United Kingdom firm specialising in robotic automation for manufacturing.

The footage shows the activists smashing equipment in a darkened warehouse. The group alleges that Hydrafeed supplies Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems, and claims that its people were able to exit the factory without being caught.

This is one of several protests and sabotage actions taken by Palestine Action against Elbit Systems and companies it alleges have done business with it since the beginning of the war on Gaza.

Corbyn among independent British MPs calling for implementing ICC warrant

Shortly after new UK Foreign Minister David Lammy shook hands with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, a small group of independent British lawmakers sent a letter calling for a fundamental shift in the UK’s approach.

Jeremy Corbyn and four other MPs reminded Lammy that the International Court of Justice has described the carnage in Gaza as a “plausible genocide” and that independent United Nations experts have said famine has taken hold in the enclave.

They write that the British government must stop its weapons sales to Israel, drop its legal challenges over the International Criminal Court’s decision to seek arrest warrants against Netanyahu, and impose sanctions on “individuals and entities inciting genocide against Palestinians”.

The lawmakers also want the British government to immediately resume and increase its funding to the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and work toward achieving a ceasefire.

Another assassination

Assad-linked businessman killed in Israeli air strike in Syria

Baraa Katerji, a prominent businessman close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has been reportedly assassinated in an Israeli air strike on Syrian soil.

The Reuters news agency cited three unnamed security sources as saying Katerji, who had been sanctioned by the United States and Saudi Arabia, was killed near the border with Lebanon.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed the news, saying he was “responsible for funding” a Hezbollah-linked group formed to attack the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

Footage online shows the vehicle that was believed to be carrying Katerji destroyed and on fire after the suspected Israeli air strike. Another unidentified person is believed to have been killed in the vehicle.

CNN jumps in on this one

Israeli airstrike kills businessman sanctioned by US for ISIS links, Syrian media reports

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/15/middleeast/israeli-airstrike-syrian-businessman-intl-latam/index.html

An Israeli airstrike near the Lebanese-Syrian border has killed a prominent Syrian businessman who was sanctioned by the United States, local media reported Monday.

Mohammad Baraa Qatarji died when the strike hit the car he was traveling in on the al-Saboura highway near Damascus, according to Syrian state-aligned newspaper al-Watan.

Qatarji had been sanctioned in 2018 by the US Treasury and was on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list for facilitating “shipments of fuel and weapons to the Syrian regime.”

Gaza hospitals received 320 dead or wounded in 48 hours

The Government Media Office in Gaza says in a statement that at least 320 dead or wounded Palestinians have been brought to hospitals across the enclave in a particularly bloody 48 hours.

It quoted healthcare officials as saying that many of the dead and injured arrived with third-degree burns caused by internationally banned weapons like thermal bombs.

“These weapons cause chemical substances to interact with the skin and directly cause chemical corrosion of the tissues in the bodies of the martyrs and the injured. They also cause severe pain.”

The office said many victims die in a little more than a day after being wounded by such weapons, adding that it holds Washington fully responsible for arming Israel and causing the many “massacres” committed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.

_{Injured Palestinians, including children, are brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for treatment after Israeli attacks on al-Maghazi refugee camp, located in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, on July 15}

UNRWA official: Many Palestinians in Gaza can no longer afford to flee violence

• At this moment, nine out of every 10 people in Gaza are displaced and almost everyone has been forced to flee, over and over.
• On average, people in Gaza have had to move at least once a month.
• “The term ‘displacement’ sounds very sterile, and I don’t think does justice to what people go through when they move. People are often only able to take whatever they can carry, and they’re mostly on foot and some are only able to carry their children and many have lost everything and they need everything.”
• Every time people are repeatedly displaced, they lose a little bit of their wealth and a little bit of their worldly possessions.
• “When I was in Gaza City last Friday talking to people who are displaced, they simply told me they can’t afford to move anymore and they’re very much stuck where they are.”

Israeli strikes on Gaza continue, killing Palestinians…

In southern Gaza, in the city of Rafah, the Palestine Red Crescent Society reports that its crews recovered the bodies of two civilians killed after Israeli shelling targeted the Syrian neighbourhood.

In the north, in Gaza City, a medical source at al-Ahli Arab Hospital told Wafa news agency that one body and several injured people arrived there after an armoured Israeli convoy targeted a group of people in the Shujayea neighbourhood.

‘Many tanks damaged,’ Israeli military tells Supreme Court

An Israeli military response to the Supreme Court has pointed to shortages of tanks and ammunition as a result of the war.

The Supreme Court petitioned the military to open additional roles to female recruits, including as part of an all-female tank company in an infantry battalion. The military said it is delaying the programme, according to multiple Israeli media reports.

“During the course of the war, many tanks were damaged, which are disabled at this stage and are not used for combat or training, and it is not expected that new tanks will be introduced into the corps in the near future,” the Israeli military said.

It added that ammunition and resources required for maintaining equipment is “very limited” and weaponry in the armoured corps is prioritised for the war.

Two Israelis injured in occupied West Bank after soldiers mistakenly open fire

Israeli soldiers have mistakenly opened fire on a vehicle they believed was carrying Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, leaving two Israelis wounded.

The Israeli military says in a short statement that security forces operating in the occupied territory opened fire after a vehicle was “identified as suspicious”. It said two citizens were slightly injured and sent to hospital for treatment.

Israeli military arrests four in al-Arroub camp in the West Bank

The Israeli military has arrested four Palestinians, including a father and son, after storming the Arroub camp and the al-Rahwa suburb, north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, according to local media.

Israeli forces have also carried out raids in various locations across the West Bank, including:

Israeli forces shoot and kill Palestinian in West Bank city of el-Bireh

Our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues are reporting that the Israeli military has shot and killed a Palestinian man during the storming of the city of el-Bireh in the occupied West Bank.

Local media has identified the deceased as a Gazan man named Adham Al-Bajer. The circumstances in which he was killed have not been announced.

There are also reports of violent clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinian armed groups in the city of Qalqilya, while Israeli forces have destroyed Palestinian vehicles during the storming of the city of Tubas.

Translation: The occupation forces sabotage Palestinian vehicles during the storming of the city of Tubas