Palestinian rights groups ‘suspend engagement’ with UN torture expert

Several Palestinian human rights organisations have announced the suspension of “all engagement” with the UN special rapporteur on torture “due to her lack of action, responsiveness, and impartiality” in addressing Israel’s systemic violations against Palestinians.

“We cannot continue to engage in a process that fails to center the lived realities of Palestinians and to actively challenge impunity for perpetrators,” more than a dozen organisations wrote in an open letter to the rapporteur, Alice Edwards.

“Our suspension of engagement will remain in effect until there is a change in leadership or a demonstrable shift in your approach to one that is fair, impartial, and genuinely responsive to the evidence and realities on the ground.”

Among other things, the group criticised the rapporteur’s decision to focus her upcoming report to the UN Human Rights Council on “hostage-taking as a form of torture”, which they condemned as “yet another example of a troubling pattern that suggests you perceive Palestinians as less worthy victims”, they wrote.

They argued that the rapporteur has contributed “to the dehumanisation of Palestinians”.

Palestinian human rights organizations announce the suspension of all engagement with the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture due to her lack of action, responsiveness, and impartiality in addressing Israel's systemic violations against Palestinians, including prisoners & detainees pic.twitter.com/DuBvJgntPQ

— Al-Mezan الميزان (@AlMezanCenter) December 18, 2024

Meta ‘silencing Palestinian content and suppressing the Palestinian narrative’: Report

A new report has revealed that Meta enforces unjust policies against Palestinian content, deleting posts or restricting visibility under claims of policy violations, while turning a blind eye to hate speech and incitement against Palestinians.

The report published by 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media – includes testimonies from Palestinian influencers, journalists and media outlets who have faced Meta’s discriminatory practices.

It exposes Meta’s “silencing Palestinian content and suppressing the Palestinian narrative, particularly during the ongoing genocide in Gaza”, the report’s authors say.

More than 15 million inciting posts in Hebrew against Palestinians were documented across social media platforms since October 2023, as recorded by 7amleh’s AI-powered language model.

“The continued discriminatory practices by Meta against Palestinian content constitute a clear violation of international standards for freedom of expression,” 7amleh’s advocacy manager Jalal Abukhater said. “We call on Meta to take serious and urgent steps to reform its policies and ensure Palestinians’ right to use digital platforms without suppression or discrimination.”

🚨7amleh released a new report titled "Erased and Suppressed: Palestinian Testimonies of Meta's Censorship". The report highlights direct testimonies from Palestinian influencers, journalists, and media outlets who have faced Meta's discriminatory practices. It exposes Meta's… pic.twitter.com/gev3SXBT7z

— 7amleh حملة (@7amleh) December 18, 2024

US’s Sullivan says obstacles to ceasefire deal involve names of prisoners, captives released

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says that while Washington is “wary about making predictions or promises” about the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza, the current negotiations are “close”.

“With enough pushing from the outside mediators and a commitment from Israel and Hamas, we can get it done,” Sullivan told ABC News.

“Netanyahu made clear at this moment that Israel is ready to do this deal. So the final piece of the puzzle, from my perspective, is for Hamas, ultimately, to come forward with a commitment on the release of hostages in that first phase in the multi-phase deal,” he said.

Sullivan explained that if they can get that done, “we can have a ceasefire, we can get hostages home, and we can get a surge of humanitarian assistance in Gaza”.

He added that the current obstacles to the deal were the names of captives and prisoners who would be released in the first phase.

Ceasefire mediators urging Israel to release high-profile Palestinians: Report

Israeli news outlet Haaretz, citing Palestinian sources close to the matter, is reporting that Gaza ceasefire mediators are urging Israel to agree to the release of high-profile Palestinian prisoners in the agreement’s next stages.

Israeli envoy says ceasefire deal could be ‘similar’ to last year

Israel’s envoy to the UN Danny Danon told reporters that Israel wants all the captives released at the same time, but he’s not sure it’ll all happen in one stage.

“We hope it will be in one stage, because we want to see all the hostages back home,” Danon said.

“Maybe it will not be in one stage, and basically it will be similar to what we saw in the past, more than a year ago, that you have a ceasefire, a long one … During that ceasefire, hostages will be released, and we’re talking maybe on the humanitarian aspect of women, and they seek in the older hostages,” he added.

A long one... ruling out a permanent ceasefire from the get go...

Netanyahu to discuss ceasefire deal with top officials on Thursday

Israeli media is reporting that Netanyahu is expected to meet his top security officials on Thursday to discuss the latest developments in a possible Gaza ceasefire deal.

According to the Israeli news outlet Channel 12, Netanyahu will hold his high-level meeting with Defence Minister Israel Katz and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

At the same time, Channel 12 quoted senior Israeli officials as saying it was possible to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza within days and implement it within a few weeks.

Israeli forces close entrance to Marda village, fire on residents: Report

Israeli forces have closed the entrance to the village of Marda north of Salfit, in the occupied West Bank.

Local sources told the Wafa news agency that Israeli soldiers blocked the western and only entrance to the village, firing live ammunition at Palestinians who attempted to enter or exit.

No injuries were reported following the incident.

The eastern entrance to the village has been closed by Israeli forces for several months as Marda village has been subjected to repeated attacks and raids by Israeli forces.

Turkiye refutes US claims of ceasefire with Syrian Kurdish fighters

Turkiye has hit back at claims by the United States that it agreed to a ceasefire with Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, and has vowed to continue working to clear them from the territory – a military operation that was launched after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

A senior Turkish defence official on Thursday rubbished claims made by US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller that a Washington-brokered ceasefire between Turkish-backed rebels and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) around the Syrian city of Manbij had been extended until the end of this week.

The SDF is supported by Washington in its fight against ISIL, but Ankara views it as a “terrorist organisation”, alleging links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a four-decade armed rebellion on Turkish soil.

On Thursday, the Turkish official described Miller’s statement as “a slip of the tongue”, saying it was “out of the question” for Turkiye to talk to the SDF, a group spearheaded by the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which is seen an extension of the PKK.

“Until the PKK/YPG terrorist organisation disarms and its foreign fighters leave Syria, our preparations and measures will continue within the scope of the fight against terrorism,” said the official.

Turkiye regards the PKK, YPG and SDF as “terrorist” groups. The US and Turkiye’s Western allies also list the PKK as “terrorist”, but not the YPG and the SDF.

Renewed fighting between Turkish-backed factions and Syrian Kurdish fighters comes more than a week after fighters led by opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled Syria’s longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad.

Reporting from Istanbul, Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu said that Turkiye believed it was up to the new Syrian administration to remove “foreign fighters” – an allusion to PKK members of the YPG –  from its territory.

“Turkiye considers all those PKK ranks within the YPG as foreign fighters and the Turkish foreign minister said these foreign fighters … within the opposition factions should be out of Syria, especially as there is a new Syrian administration and a national army is expected to be established,” she said.

If the new administration was unable to remove foreign fighters from its territory, Turkiye could potentially intervene, she added.

The Turkish official’s comments came as concerns grew over a possible Turkish assault on the Kurdish-held Syrian border town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, some 50km (30 miles) northeast of Manbij.

Putin plans to meet Bashar al-Assad, says Russia not defeated in Syria

President Vladimir Putin says Russia has not been defeated in Syria after rebel groups ousted his ally and longtime leader, Bashar al-Assad, earlier this month.

In his first public comments on the subject on Thursday, Putin said he had not yet met the former Syrian ruler who fled to the Russian capital, but that he “will definitely talk to him” and planned to meet him in Moscow.

He mentioned he would ask al-Assad about the fate of missing United States reporter Austin Tice, whose release was described by the White House as a “top priority”.

Speaking at his annual end-of-the-year news conference, Putin also dismissed claims that Russia, which intervened in Syria in 2015 and turned the tide of the civil war there in al-Assad’s favour, had suffered a loss with the fall of the former regime.

“You want to present what is happening in Syria as a defeat for Russia,” Putin said. “I assure you it is not … we have achieved our goals.”

He said Russia intervened in Syria to “prevent a terrorist enclave from being created there” and that “it is not for nothing that today many European countries and the United States want to establish relations with them [Syria’s new rulers]”.

“We maintain relations with all the groups that control the situation there, with all the countries in the region,” Putin continued, adding that the “overwhelming majority of them tell us that they would be interested in our military bases remaining in Syria”.

Russia offered to maintain bases there “for humanitarian purposes”, he said. He also admitted to having evacuated 4,000 Iranian fighters in the aftermath of the fall of the al-Assad government.

Just get out of there. Wtf kinda humanitarian purpose do you have in Syria...

‘Major booms heard’ as Israeli military shoots down missile from Yemen

In a post on X, Israel’s military said it shot down the projectile launched from Yemen before it crossed into Israeli territory. It added that the warning sirens that sounded in central Israel were due to possible missile parts falling following its interception.

The Times of Israel said the sirens sounded across central Israel, including in Tel Aviv, and that “major booms could be heard as far away as Jerusalem”.

On Monday, Yemen’s Houthi group said it launched a hypersonic ballistic missile called “Palestine 2” towards central Israel, promising to continue its military operations against the country until the Israeli military ends its war on Gaza.

School building in central Israel damaged

Israeli interceptors fired at a missile coming from Yemen have damaged a school building in central Israel, according to media reports. The Ynet News said the building in Ramat Gan, a city next to Tel Aviv, has partially collapsed. The outlet said buildings surrounding the structure sustained damage as well.


_{The damaged site in Ramat Gan, Israel, after a projectile fired from Yemen was intercepted, December 19}

Israel attacks ‘Houthi positions’ in Yemen

The Israeli military said it launched attacks on Houthi sites along the western coast of Yemen as well as deep inside the country. The announcement came hours after the military reported intercepting a missile fired from Yemen.

Israeli forces attack Yemen port, power stations: Report

The Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV is reporting that Israeli forces have attacked two central power stations around the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. They also targeted the Red Sea port of Hodeidah as well as the Ras Isa oil facility, the channel reported.

At least four attacks hit the port while two hit the oil facility, it added.

Israeli attacks spark fires at Sanaa power stations

Al Masirah TV is reporting that the Israeli attacks on the Hezyaz and Dhahban power stations near the Yemeni capital have sparked fires. Civildefence workers have put out the fires at Dhahban, but efforts are continuing at Hezyaz, it reported.


_{Firefighters work at the scene of an Israeli airstrike on the Haziz power station in southern Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday}

Israel confirms attacks on Yemen ‘ports, energy infrastructure’

Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, issued a statement on the attacks on Yemen a short while ago.

He said: “Today, the [Israeli military] conducted precise strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen, including ports and energy infrastructures in Sanaa, which the Houthis have been using as ways that have effectively contributed to their military actions.”

Israeli attacks kill 9 in Yemen: Report

Yemen’s Al Masirah TV is reporting that Israel’s latest attacks have killed seven people in the port of as-Salif and two others at the Ras Isa oil facility. The Houthi-affiliated channel said one person was wounded at Ras Isa, while two more were injured at the port of Hodeidah.

The ports of Hodeidah, as-Salif and Ras Isa are all located in the governorate of Hodeidah.

Houthis denounce ‘West’s hypocrisy’ after Israel bombs ‘civilian facilities’ in Yemen

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the political bureau of the Houthi armed group in Yemen, claims the US is part of the recent Israeli attacks on his country.

“The US-Israeli bombing of civilian facilities in Yemen [power stations and ports] reveals the truth about the West’s hypocrisy and refutes all its humanitarian claims,” he said.

Al-Bukhaiti said the attacks will not stop the group from supporting Gaza. “… we will meet escalation with escalation until the genocide crimes in Gaza stop and food, medicine and fuel are allowed to enter its residents,” he said.

US veteran protests Gaza war at congressional hearing

Josephine Guilbeau, a former captain in the US military, disrupted a congressional hearing on veteran affairs on Wednesday to protest her country’s support for Israel’s war on war.

“You as Congress are complicit in the genocide in Gaza,” said Guilbeau, who served in the US military for 17 years. “You keep sending billions of dollars to Israel. Meanwhile [US] veterans are homeless and committing suicide.”

US morning shows haven’t featured a single Palestinian guest: Report

The Nation magazine says that three major US broadcasting networks did not have a single Palestinian guest appear on their morning news shows since October 2023.

Journalists Adam Johnson and Othman Ali, writing in the US magazine, said they kept a record of the guests on four different morning shows and found that no Palestinians appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press, ABC’s This Week, and CNN’s State of the Union.

The single exception was Face the Nation, on the CBS network, which aired a seven-minute interview with Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, on November 5, 2023.

Across 208 episodes of the four shows, Gaza was mentioned 2,557 times, and Israeli guests were featured 20 times, the journalists said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared as a guest on all four shows, and even appeared on CNN’s State of the Union twice.

Deutsche Welle insiders accuse German media outlet of pro-Israel bias

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/19/as-gaza-war-rages-deutsche-welle-insiders-accuse-outlet-of-pro-israel-bias

Berlin, Germany – Senior newsroom figures at Germany’s public broadcaster Deutsche Welle are cultivating a culture of fear among journalists who are tasked with reporting on Israel’s war on Gaza, 13 staff members and freelancers currently working for the network – plus a former long-term correspondent – have told Al Jazeera.

They accuse Deutsche Welle of pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian bias, allege that they have heard colleagues make Islamophobic and dehumanising remarks about Palestinians and protesters, in the Berlin office with impunity, and have shared with Al Jazeera several internal documents – one of which lists “possible comebacks” for anchors to use during live interviews with “pro-Palestinian voices” who make “controversial statements” – such as accusing Israel of war crimes.

Mathematicians denounce Israel’s genocide in Gaza

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/12/18/an-open-letter-from-mathematicians-against-the-genocide-in-gaza

More than 1,000 mathematicians have signed an open letter calling on their colleagues to “cease all scientific collaboration with Israeli institutions that do not explicitly condemn the genocide in Gaza and the illegal colonisation of Palestine”.

“Scientists, particularly mathematicians, cannot remain indifferent to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, especially as Western powers appear to support this crime against humanity politically, diplomatically, and militarily,” they wrote.

_{A damaged gate of Al-Aqsa University, which was destroyed during Israel’s military offensive on April 14}

Luckily, I am not dead. Yet. But am I alive?

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/12/19/i-am-stuck-in-a-box-like-schrodingers-in-gaza

Like Schrodinger’s famous cat, I am trapped in a box. I have been stuck in this box since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on my homeland, Gaza.

So many people know I am inside it, but none can tell if I am alive or dead.

Everything in life seems to follow a certain binary system, from electrons, which spin in one direction or the other, to human beings, which can be either alive or dead. Still, this does not seem to apply to me, because whether I’m living or dead at any given moment is unknown. I am no longer part of this binary of life and being, it seems. So, what am I?


_{Palestinian houses stand badly damaged during the ongoing Israeli military operation, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, December 18}