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

SvennoJ on 18 July 2024

Suez Canal revenues drop significantly as a result of Houthi attacks

The Suez Canal’s annual revenue dropped by almost one-quarter in its latest financial year as attacks by the Houthis in Yemen forced some shipping companies to take alternative routes.

Osama Rabie, head of the Egyptian canal’s authority, said revenues fell to $7.2bn in its 2023-24 financial year from $9.4bn the year previous, according to Reuters.

Rabie said the number of ships using the canal fell to 20,148 in 2023-24 from 25,911 the year before.

The Iran-aligned Houthis have promised their attacks will continue against Israeli-linked vessels until Israel halts its war on Gaza.



Houthis suggest Gaza aid deal with Israel for decrease in attacks on shipping

A senior Houthi official in Yemen says if Israel allows desperately needed humanitarian aid into northern Gaza, the militia will cease some attacks on ships that visit the Umm al-Rashrash port, known in Israel as Eilat.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi said on X: “We say to the enemy if you allow the entry of aid into the north of Gaza, as much as you allow the Yemeni Mujahideen army will allow the delivery of similar quantities to the occupied port. The ball is in your court.”

Al-Houthi suggested Egyptian and Qatari mediators could work out such a deal with Israel in consultation with Palestinian armed groups.

The Houthis have for months targeted Israel-linked cargo vessels with missile and drone strikes in support of Palestinians, promising to continue the attacks until Israel ends it war on Gaza.


Houthi leader says 25 projectiles used in attacks this week

Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, chief of the Yememi group, says during his latest televised speech that the group used 25 ballistic and cruise missiles, drones and one unmanned boat in its attacks on ships this week.

This, he said, brought the total number of ships targeted by the Iran-aligned group since the start of the war to 170.

“We will, God willing, progressively escalate and increase the impact of our operations in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea,” he promised.

Al-Houthi also issued a new warning for Saudi Arabia, saying Riyadh is jeopardising its future by aligning itself too closely with the US and Israel.

“If the Saudi regime is ready to sacrifice its future and lose its economic plans for the sake of Israel and the US, then there is no point in Vision 2030 or plans to develop Riyadh Airport to be one of the largest in the world.”



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SvennoJ on 18 July 2024

Israeli activists stage protests at homes of ministers, demand snap elections

A small group of antigovernment demonstrators calling for early elections have placed ballot boxes outside Economy Minister Nir Barkat’s house in Jerusalem, according to Israeli media reports.

Another group of protesters in Tel Aviv blocked the entrance of Science Minister Gila Gamliel’s home by sitting handcuffed and blindfolded at the entrance to her apartment, according to the reports.

Pressure for snap elections has been mounting in Israel since the start of the war in Gaza with a growing number of people calling for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign over his failure to bring back the captives still held in Gaza. About 120 captives remain in Gaza while more than 100 were released as part of a brief ceasefire deal in November.

FIFA has ‘multiple obvious grounds’ to suspend Israel Football Association

The UK-based nonprofit FairSquare says it submitted a report to world football’s governing body detailing violations of FIFA statutes by the Israel Football Association in support of calls to sanction it.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in May the organisation would take “independent legal expertise” to assess the demands and convene a council meeting by July 20.

FairSquare says its report indicates there are “multiple grounds” that should give FIFA cause to suspend or expel the Israeli association.

These include holding matches in occupied Palestinian territory, serious and systematic racial discrimination, political interference, Israel’s killing of Palestinian players, and the systematic destruction of Palestinian Football Association facilities – most of which predate October 7.

“There is a vast body of evidence to suggest that the only thing that could possibly stop FIFA from suspending or expelling the Israel Football Association is a political decision from its senior leadership not to enforce its statutes,” said FairSquare co-director Nick McGeehan.

Thousands expected in pro-Palestinian demonstration around UK Parliament

More than 7,000 people are expected to form a human chain around the British Parliament later today, according to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

The activist organisation says members of parliament from across parties, trade union leaders and cultural figures are expected to join the demonstration organised by a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups.

The demonstration comes as the Parliament reconvenes for the first time since the general election that ushered in a Labour government.

“Organisers say the action will symbolise the support that the majority of people in the country have for an immediate ceasefire and an end to arms sales to Israel,” the PSC said.

European Muslim Forum to protest Israel’s participation in Olympic Games

Protests will be held in Switzerland outside the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne and the United Nations headquarters in Geneva over Israel’s participation in the 2024 Olympic Games, the European Muslim Forum has said.

After demonstrating in Geneva and Lausanne tomorrow, the group is planning to drive to Paris to ramp up its calls for a ban on Israel’s participation in the games, which start in the French capital on July 26.

“We call on the international solidarity movement, politicians, labour formations and worker formations, faith-based organisations, civil society to rally behind the call and journey with us to Paris,” said Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, who is Nelson Mandela’s grandson and a member of the Global Summit for Palestine.


Groups condemn Microsoft’s blocking of Palestinian user accounts

The Palestinian Digital Rights Coalition and other groups from Ecuador, the US and Japan, among others, say the company’s recent actions of blocking Palestinian users’ email and Skype accounts is “an unjust disruption that has severe consequences on their daily lives during a time of war”.

“It is not only an affront to basic human decency but also a violation of their fundamental rights. Access to technology and communication is crucial, especially in conflict zones where information and connectivity can mean the difference between life and death,” the groups said in a statement, referring to the war on Gaza.

“By blocking its services, Microsoft is effectively cutting Palestinians off from social, professional, and financial opportunities during a time of immense suffering and devastation. Microsoft’s decision to restrict its services to Palestinians at such a critical juncture is deeply troubling and cannot be justified.”

Palestinians living abroad accused Microsoft of closing their email accounts without warning. They said it also stopped them from using video platform Skype to contact relatives in Gaza. Microsoft said the users in question violated its terms of service. It also denied blocking users or calls based on region.



SvennoJ on 18 July 2024

Ukraine sends humanitarian flour shipment to Palestinians

Ukraine says that it had sent flour to the Palestinian territories as part of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Grain from Ukraine initiative to ship free agricultural supplies to poor countries and regions.

“Palestine received 1,000 tons of wheat flour,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry posted on X.

“The shipment is the first of three deliveries intended for Palestine … It will support over 101,000 Palestinian families for a month,” it said.


Italy sends humanitarian flight with aid for Gaza people

Italy sent food supplies and health equipment for the Gaza population on board a humanitarian flight that landed in Jordan.

Aid includes more than 60 tonnes of food, hygiene kits and sanitary equipment, along with 150 tents, a foreign ministry statement said.

“With this operation we give a tangible demonstration of the attention that the Italian government is dedicating to the humanitarian situation in the Strip,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said, adding Italy is committed “to do everything possible to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza”.

Italy said in May it would allocate $32.8m in a Food for Gaza plan as it resumed funding for the UN’s Palestinian relief organisation, UNRWA.

Teachers in US union push for Israel divestment

Members of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), one of the largest US unions, have put forth a resolution to divest from Israel bonds.

“The AFT holds only one bond of a foreign government, … a country internationally accused of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide,” they wrote in a statement.

The AFT’s Israel bond, “which helps fund Israel’s scholasticide and genocide, and pays for Israel’s longstanding occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the apartheid regime against Palestinians everywhere”, is valued at $150,000.

Why Palestinians in Gaza ask ‘Where are the Arabs?’

Since Israel began its war on Gaza, Palestinians have repeatedly been seen in videos asking, “Where are the Arabs?”



SvennoJ on 18 July 2024

Again

Israel strikes UN school sheltering displaced in Gaza City


Israel has raided a UNRWA school sheltering displaced people in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza City.

The attack comes amid the deadliest weeks in Gaza since the war began.

Prospect of polio spreading could be ‘catastrophic’: Doctor

The prospect of polio spreading in Gaza, after sewage water tested positive for the virus, is potentially “catastrophic”, paediatric intensive care physician Tanya Haj-Hassan has told Al Jazeera.

“Polio is a highly infectious disease and a place like Gaza is the perfect environment for the seeding and spreading of sewage-transmitted diseases,” Haj-Hassan said. “This is a pending disaster.”

The Gaza Ministry of Health earlier announced that tests conducted on sewage samples in coordination with UNICEF revealed the presence of the virus.

Haj-Hassan said UNICEF and other organisations had been warning for months of the possibility of an outbreak if they weren’t able to get on top of vaccination programs and decontamination efforts in Gaza. But that has been impossible due to Israel’s ongoing war and the limits imposed by the Israeli military on the entry to Gaza of hygiene kits, vaccines and other essential medicines.


Israeli military bombs house in Nuseirat, killing at least five

The Israeli military has bombed a home in the Block C area of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least five people, including children, local media reports.

At least 15 more people have also been wounded in the strike on the house, which reportedly belonged to the Abu Shakyan family.

Israeli military take wanted man’s family hostage in West Bank raid

The Israeli military has stormed the town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank, and arrested a Palestinian man, the Wafa news agency reports.

Local media reports that the Israeli military held the man’s family hostage and demanded he hand himself over. They then assaulted the man as they arrested him.

Israeli military raids have been reported in other locations in the occupied West Bank, including:

  • The city of Dura, south of Hebron
  • The town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron
  • The town of Kafr Malek, east of Ramallah
  • The town of Burqa, northwest of Nablus
  • The town of al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem


SvennoJ on 18 July 2024

Explosion reported near US Embassy in Tel Aviv

An explosion has been heard and plumes of white smoke can be seen near the US Embassy Branch Office in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, according to early reports on social media. The cause of the explosion is unclear at this time.

Drone strikes building in Tel Aviv: Reports

Israeli media is reporting that a drone has struck a building in the city of Tel Aviv and several people have been injured.

Earlier, we reported that an explosion had been heard and plumes of white smoke could be seen near the US Embassy Branch Office in the Israeli city. It is not currently clear if the branch office itself was struck.

Tel Aviv District Police have confirmed that explosives experts have arrived at the scene.

Early reports suggest the drone evaded Israeli defence systems by entering the country via the sea. No group has claimed responsibility yet.

Translation: A drone exploded in occupied Tel Aviv, and the background was security.

Two people taken to hospital following Tel Aviv blast

Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service has said that it has transported two people, one man in his 30s and a woman in her 20s, to hospital with shrapnel wounds following a large blast in Tel Aviv.

Earlier, we reported that a suspect drone had hit a building near the US Embassy Branch Office in the Israeli city. CCTV footage reportedly of the incident shows the moment the drone struck, causing a large explosion.

Israeli media said the security services are investigating whether the explosion was the result of a drone attack.

Following the blast that rocked the Israeli city of Tel Aviv earlier, the military said it was investigating “the suspicion that it was an aerial target”.


Israeli forces and emergency personnel at the site of an explosion in Tel Aviv, Israel on Friday morning


Israeli police say lifeless body found near suspected drone strike

Police in Israel have announced that emergency personnel have found a lifeless body near the site of a suspected drone attack in Tel Aviv, the Times of Israel reports. Authorities are now investigating the cause of death.

Two people have been hospitalised after being slightly injured by shrapnel following the explosion, which occurred near the US embassy office.



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SvennoJ on 19 July 2024

Appalling BBC Coverage Of Disabled Man Killed By IDF


It's even more appalling what they don't cover. Nothing on the surge in school attacks and the only recent massacre they covered is presented as "IDF says senior Hamas commander killed in Israeli air strike" (At least 90 people killed, 289 wounded after dropping 5 2,000 bombs on the Al Mawasi tent encampment)

https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cgv64vq5z82t

Also zero coverage on the West Bank and East Jerusalem.



Israel's Propaganda Campaign To Silence Critics - The Shocking Truth - w/. Lee Fang

Journalist Lee Fang has exposed some shocking revelations about Israel's campaign to silence critics and shape Western discourse in its favour.

 

Hollywood & The Pentagon: Behind the Scenes of Their Secret Relationship w/ Dr. Roger Stahl



The entertainment industry is another hidden tentacle of the military industrial complex that many don’t know about. From Top Gun to the Marvel franchise, reality TV, video games, ads, and even news coverage, the Pentagon wields significant influence over popular media. Dr. Roger Stahl, a Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Georgia and author of Militainment Inc., explains the profound reach and consequences of this hidden collaboration between the military, weapons makers, and Hollywood.



SvennoJ on 19 July 2024

One person confirmed killed following suspected drone attack in Tel Aviv

Our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues are reporting that Israeli ambulance sources have confirmed that one person has been killed as a result of a suspected drone attack in the city of Tel Aviv.

The Israeli military has said it is opening an investigation to find out why the country’s air defence systems were not activated to intercept the drone.

Two people have also been hospitalised after being slightly injured by shrapnel in the attack.


An investigator inspects a damaged window of a building at the site of an explosion in Tel Aviv on July 19


Yemen’s Houthis claim attack ‘targeted’ Israel’s Tel Aviv city

A spokesperson for the Houthi armed forces said in a post on social media that an operation had “targeted ‘Tel Aviv’ in occupied Palestine”.

The Houthi claim follows a suspected drone strike near the US Embassy office in the Israeli city. Israeli media report that a body was found near the site of the attack and that two people were hospitalised after being slightly injured by shrapnel.

Drone attack on Israel’s Tel Aviv leaves one dead, at least 10 injured

Israel’s military says the country’s air force has increased patrols of the country’s skies as it investigates a suspected drone attack on Tel Aviv. One person was reportedly killed and at least 10 injured by a large blast near the US embassy office in the Israeli city.

Yemen’s Houthi forces later issued a brief statement on social media that it had “targeted ‘Tel Aviv’ in occupied Palestine”, and said that it would reveal more details of the attack later.


People gather at the scene of a deadly explosion in Tel Aviv, Israel, early on Friday morning


Houthis claim new undetectable drone used in Tel Aviv attack

The Houthi armed group has claimed that it used a new drone “capable of bypassing interceptor systems and being unable to be detected by radars” in this morning’s attack on the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

In a statement posted on X, Houthi armed forces spokesperson Yahya Saree said the drone is called “Jaffa”, which is the name of the ancient Palestinian port city out of which Tel Aviv was established.

Translation: Statement by the Yemeni Armed Forces regarding the implementation of a military operation that targeted an important target in the occupied Jaffa region, what the Israelis call “Tel Aviv”, with a new drone bearing the name “Jaffa” capable of bypassing interceptor systems and being unable to be detected by radars. 



SvennoJ on 19 July 2024

Opposition says Tel Aviv attack shows Netanyahu ‘cannot give security’ to Israelis

Israeli opposition politician Yair Lapid has said that today’s drone attack in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv is “further proof that this government does not know and cannot give security to the citizens of Israel”.

“Those who lose deterrence in the north and south also lose it in the heart of Tel Aviv. There are no policies, no plans, all public relations and discussions about themselves. They [the government] have to go,” the leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party wrote on X.




Deadly Tel Aviv drone attack not averted due to human error: Report

The drone that killed at least one person in Tel Aviv on Friday morning was identified but not intercepted due to human error, The Times of Israel reports, citing a preliminary Israeli air force investigation.

The air force is also examining why the drone did not trigger air raid sirens after entering Israeli airspace from the south, according to the report.


Israel’s Gallant promises to ‘settle the score’ after Tel Aviv attack

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has promised retaliation following a deadly Houthi-claimed drone strike on Tel Aviv.

“We will settle the score with anyone who harms the State of Israel or directs terror against it,” Israeli Army Radio quoted Gallant as saying.

The remarks come after Gallant met with a group of top military and intelligence officials, including Israel’s military chief of staff Herzi Halevi, for an assessment of this morning’s drone attack, which killed at least one person and injured 10 others.


Hamas, PIJ laud Tel Aviv drone attack by Houthi ‘brothers’

Hamas says in a statement that its members “highly appreciate and commend” the drone attack on Tel Aviv by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, targeting the depths of the “symbol of pride” of Israel.

The Palestinian armed group that rules Gaza said such attacks are “a legitimate right of our nation’s resistance and its people” to confront Israel’s expanding occupation in the region.

Hamas also thanked the Islamic Resistance in Iraq – the group that earlier this week launched a joint operation with the Houthis – and Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group, saying the group “appreciates their sacrifices”.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) said in a statement that the Tel Aviv attack was a “bold operation” carried out by the “heroic” Yemeni fighters.

“This operation is a natural response to the ongoing genocide war against our people and the war crimes that the enemy continues to commit, supported by the Biden administration and Western governments,” the group said.

Translation: Watch..Hebrew media: The moment the drone exploded in Tel Aviv at midnight.



SvennoJ on 19 July 2024

Houthi official says Tel Aviv attack beginning of ‘escalation’ in operations

The drone attack on Tel Aviv is the first among an upcoming escalation in Houthi military operations against Israeli cities, a member of the Yemen-based group’s political bureau has said.

Hazam al-Assad told the Lebanese Al Mayadeen news outlet that Israel should be careful “in all cities” as “what is coming is greater for the enemy as long as there is aggression against Gaza”.

Al-Assad said the Houthis have “entered a new strategic phase in operations against the enemy”, adding that there is “integration with the forces of the resistance fronts in Lebanon, Iraq, and occupied Palestine”.

The Houthis have said they carried out the attack on Tel Aviv, in which one person died, using a new undetectable drone.


Vessel hit by unknown projectiles southeast of Yemen’s Aden: UKMTO

A vessel has been hit by unknown projectiles 83 nautical miles (153km) southeast of the Yemeni city of Aden, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and British security firm Ambrey.

The crew on the vessel, which UKMTO and Ambrey have not identified, were reported to be safe.

Yemen’s Houthi fighters have yet to claim the attack, but the Iran-backed group has targeted vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November to protest against Israel’s war on Gaza.



SvennoJ on 19 July 2024

Special rapporteur supports call for Israel’s ‘unseating’ from UN

Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, has added her voice to a call for Israel to be unseated from the United Nations.

Reposting an earlier call on social media for the “unseating” of Israel by the UN’s special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Albanese said it was “time” to remove Israel from the world body.

The UN rapporteur on housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, said on Tuesday that it was “high time” to take action as Israel continued its “criminal attacks” on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza “without any consequences”.

Israel should be unseated “from the UN, as was done with apartheid South Africa”, Rajagopal said in a post on social media.

FIFA delays decision on suspension of Israel Football Association

World football governing body FIFA has delayed its decision on whether to suspend the Israel Football Association (IFA) from international competition until after the Paris Olympics, after the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) and the IFA requested more time.

FIFA said in a post on X that an “independent legal assessment” of the PFA case against the IFA was due to be provided to its council by July 20.

“Following requests for extension from both parties to submit their respective positions, duly granted by FIFA, more time is needed to conclude this process with due care and completeness,” FIFA said.

The PFA has previously questioned Israel’s participation in FIFA-organised events, calling for Israel’s suspension from the world football governing body over its war on Gaza and its occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The issue of Israel’s suspension was discussed at FIFA’s annual congress in Bangkok in May, where it was decided that a special council meeting would be held within two months to determine Israel’s status.