War declared, Israel v Palestine...

[gavreid]

Amnesty, Oxfam, ActionAid and others decry world’s failure to stop Israeli invasion of Rafah​

A group of 20 prominent human rights organisations has issued a statement denouncing the failure of world leaders to act even as Israel’s invasion of Rafah “worsens the humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.
The statement said third countries “have the responsibility to urgently act in bringing to an end, and pursue accountability for the grave breaches of international humanitarian law” taking place in Gaza.
These breaches include the Israeli military’s evacuation orders as well as its disruption of humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza. The latter violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions as well as the International Court of Justice’s orders, the rights groups said.

Israel War on Gaza | Live updates | Today's latest from Al Jazeera

Bloody combat continues in northern Jabalia where tens of thousands of civilians have fled ‘extermination zones’.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[gavreid]

French MP tells protesters: ‘Don’t be afraid of those who want to silence you’​

French MP Thomas Portes has criticised the French government’s bias in favour of the Israeli occupation.
Speaking at a demonstration in Paris, Thomas Portes said politicians and the media did not recognise the word genocide and forbid it in all forums, but that the crimes committed in Gaza constituted genocide.
The MP denounced France’s participation in those crimes and the authorities’ treatment of students and pro-Palestine demonstrators.
“Don’t be afraid of those who want to prevent you and silence you and do not stop supporting the Palestinian people … we must stop this government’s support for genocide,” he said.

Comme le disait Robespierre « Quand le gouvernement viole les droits du peuple, l’insurrection est pour le peuple, et pour chaque portion du peuple, le plus sacré des droits et le plus indispensable des devoir ».
Nous ne cesserons jamais de défendre le peuple Palestinien ! pic.twitter.com/rAOnKflf9L
— Thomas Portes (@Portes_Thomas) May 15, 2024

Translation: “As Robespierre said, ‘When the government violates the rights of the people, insurrection is for the people, and for each portion of the people, the most sacred of rights and the most indispensable of duties’.
“We will never stop defending the Palestinian people!”

Israel War on Gaza | Live updates | Today's latest from Al Jazeera

Bloody combat continues in northern Jabalia where tens of thousands of civilians have fled ‘extermination zones’.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[gavreid]

More than $1m seized in Israeli raids on Palestinian exchange shops​

• 
  Zein Basravi

Reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank
It’s been another busy night in the occupied West Bank. What stands out is the raids on all 11 branches of one exchange company where four people were also detained. Israel says the exchange company is dealing with “terrorist groups”.
The company estimates that their losses are about 4 million shekels, or more than $1m. In December, the Israeli military carried out similar raids on exchange branches of various companies, including this one. Last time, they said they lost 1 million shekels, close to $300,000.
In the latest raids, computers were confiscated. They even took safes and everything inside them.
There were no legal proceedings before these raids. The Israeli forces made accusations and left flyers saying that any sort of association with any armed group makes them guilty of being terrorists.
This has the hallmarks of a heist more than any sort of police action. It has made people more afraid and paranoid. It is yet another example of a kind of collective punishment where Israel accuses civilian businesses of being affiliated with so-called terror groups or armed groups, without providing evidence.

Israel War on Gaza | Live updates | Today's latest from Al Jazeera

Bloody combat continues in northern Jabalia where tens of thousands of civilians have fled ‘extermination zones’.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[ks.234]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1791001769591627894

 

[gavreid]

Red Cross and Foreign Office to discuss plan to visit Palestinians in Israeli detention​

ICRC is denied access to prisoners in what is said to be breach of Geneva conventions but critics say UK plan may weaken rule of law

"Israel has suspended the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from access to Palestinian detainees since the Hamas attack on 7 October, and says it will not rescind the policy until Hamas grants access to Israeli hostages."

"David Cameron, the foreign secretary, has unilaterally negotiated a deal with Israel in which two UK legal observers and an Israeli judge would visit some prisoners. Details have not been published."

"The concern is that the UK government, by endorsing an alternative to ICRC visits, is weakening the rule of law and setting a dangerous precedent for how detainees are treated in other conflict zones."

Red Cross and Foreign Office to discuss plan to visit Palestinians in Israeli detention

ICRC is denied access to prisoners in what is said to be breach of Geneva conventions but critics say UK plan may weaken rule of law

www.theguardian.com

 

[gavreid]

Israeli soldiers view evacuation areas as ‘extermination zones’: Lawyer​

A lawyer for South Africa at the genocide case at the World Court says there has been one child killed or wounded in Gaza every 10 minutes since Israeli’s military attacks began.
Blinne Ni Gralaigh also quoted an Israeli reservist active in Gaza as saying soldiers treat Israel-ordered evacuation areas as “extermination zones”.
“The evidence before the court indicates that the extent of the carnage in Gaza is of a much-greater magnitude than that pertained to Ukraine and Russia. Indeed, the carnage in Gaza is in an order which exceeds by far the necessities of war and the limits imposed by the laws of war,” said Gralaig

Israel War on Gaza | Live updates | Today's latest from Al Jazeera

Bloody combat continues in northern Jabalia where tens of thousands of civilians have fled ‘extermination zones’.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[gavreid]

Arab League calls for peacekeepers in occupied Palestinian territory​

The Arab League called for a United Nations peacekeeping force in the occupied Palestinian territory at a summit dominated by the war on Gaza.
The “Manama Declaration” issued by the 22-member bloc called for “international protection and peacekeeping forces of the United Nations in the occupied Palestinian territories” until a two-state solution is implemented.
The meeting is the first time the bloc has come together since an extraordinary summit in Riyadh, capital of neighbouring Saudi Arabia, in November that also involved leaders from the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
At that meeting, leaders condemned Israeli forces for their “barbaric” actions in Gaza.

Israel War on Gaza | Live updates | Today's latest from Al Jazeera

Bloody combat continues in northern Jabalia where tens of thousands of civilians have fled ‘extermination zones’.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[Peter Dyer]

South Africa at the ICJ today showing the rest of the world yet again what having morals and a conscience actually means.
I had a quick scan and there doesn't appear to be a single UK media outlet reporting on this at the moment which beggars belief.
It's pretty long so if you don't have time for it all then may I suggest you go to the 1hr mark as the lawyer who starts there is outstanding.

Edit: The BBC and Guardian are now reporting this but don't provide much detail on South Africa's case.

 

[droodzilla]

^^^ These people are heroes.

 

[brumjam]

Thanks for posting this Peter. I sat in horror listening from the one hour mark to South Africa’s submission.

There was a devastatingly powerful slide shown by the third lawyer, which describes the circumstances in which a doctor found a patient (one of many), that should be on the front page of every paper tomorrow. For reasons mentioned many times in this thread, there will be little or no reference to this submission in the press tomorrow.

 

[-alan-]

A very strong case by the look of it.

In terms of trying to retain some objectivity / perspective - I would genuinely like to know what defence those who support Israel's offensive in Gaza (either here or elsewhere) would offer ?

Not trying to pretend I'm neutral on the issue / or trying to gain ammunition or advantage for further argument btw , I just really am struggling to understand the other perspective here.

Anybody ?

 

[Tony L]

Further proof of war crimes and premeditated genocidal intent right from the top of Israel’s extremist far-right government. The starvation is deliberate. The blocking of aid deliberate. The killing of aid workers and journalists deliberate. All part of a strategy of ethnic cleansing.

 

[gavreid]

A very strong case by the look of it.

In terms of trying to retain some objectivity / perspective - I would genuinely like to know what defence those who support Israel's offensive in Gaza (either here or elsewhere) would offer ?

Not trying to pretend I'm neutral on the issue / or trying to gain ammunition or advantage for further argument btw , I just really am struggling to understand the other perspective here.

Anybody ?

We'll get that today...

 

[gavreid]

FIFA to hear Palestinian case for sanctions against Israeli football teams​

Football’s world governing body FIFA is set to hear arguments from the Palestinian Football Association calling for the Israeli Football Association to be suspended from all football activity at its annual congress today.
The meeting, held in the Thai capital, Bangkok, will also see FIFA decide the hosts for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
Palestine’s FA argues that Israel’s national team and club sides should be penalised as the country has breached international law with its occupation of Palestinian territories, and for allowing Israeli teams located in occupied areas to compete in Israel’s domestic league.
It also argues that, by allowing racism and discrimination in areas under the Palestinian FA’s jurisdiction and being complicit in military offensives in Gaza, the Israeli FA has breached FIFA statutes.
The Asian Football Confederation has backed Palestine’s case for sanctions against Israel.

Israel War on Gaza | Live updates | Today's latest from Al Jazeera

Israeli military has intensified its bombardment of Jabalia camp with at least six people reported killed.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[gavreid]

Pro-Israel billionaires urged New York crackdown on Gaza protests: Report​

WhatsApp leaks reveal group of business leaders discussed ways to pressure officials to clear pro-Palestine protesters.

Pro-Israel billionaires urged New York crackdown on Gaza protests: Report

WhatsApp leaks reveal group of business leaders discussed ways to pressure officials to clear pro-Palestine protesters.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[gavreid]

Palestinian children carry an empty US ammunition container in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on May 16, 2024 [AFP]

 

[gavreid]

Spain has refused permission for a ship carrying arms to Israel to dock at a Spanish port, its foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, said on Thursday.

“This is the first time we have done this because it is the first time we have detected a ship carrying a shipment of arms to Israel that wants to call at a Spanish port,” he told reporters in Brussels.

Spain denies port of call to ship carrying arms to Israel

Foreign ministry says it will reject all such stopovers because ‘the Middle East does not need more weapons, it needs more peace’

www.theguardian.com

 

[gavreid]

Here you have it from the horses mouth:

Israeli justice ministry official Gilad Noam told an International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearing on Friday that South Africa’s charge of genocide was “an obscene exploitation of the most sacred convention,” referring to the international treaty banning genocide, agreed after the Holocaust in the second world war.

The convention requires all countries to act to prevent genocide, and the ICJ, also known as the world court, which hears disputes between states, has concluded that this gives South Africa a right to make the case.

According to Reuters, Noam said that Israel’s military operations were not aimed at civilians, but at Hamas terrorists using Rafah as a stronghold, who have tunnel systems which could be used to smuggle hostages and militants out of Gaza.

Examples of alleged violations by Israel raised by South Africa were “not evidence a policy of illegal behaviour, let alone a policy of genocide”, he said. Ordering Israel to withdraw its troops would sentence remaining hostages in Gaza to death, Noam added.

This week’s hearings focus only on issuing emergency measures and it will probably take years before the court can rule on the underlying genocide charge. A decision on the request for emergency measures is expected next week.

Israel-Gaza war live: no genocide taking place in Gaza, Israel tells UN’s top court

Israel is appearing at the international court of justice (ICJ) after South Africa asked it to urgently order an end the assault on Rafah

www.theguardian.com

 

[Andrewxyz]

https://archive.ph/qz1bp A very long piece from the New York Times on the growth of the extremist settler movement in Israel, it's actions on the West Bank and the inability/unwillingness of the establishment to stop it.



"The Unpunished: How Extremists Took Over Israel
After 50 years of failure to stop violence and terrorism against Palestinians by Jewish ultranationalists, lawlessness has become the law.


This story is told in three parts. The first documents the unequal system of justice that grew around Jewish settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. The second shows how extremists targeted not only Palestinians but also Israeli officials trying to make peace. The third explores how this movement gained control of the state itself. Taken together, they tell the story of how a radical ideology moved from the fringes to the heart of Israeli political power."

 

[palindrome]

The US, UK and Europe are on the exact same trajectory, and no power broker of any persuasion (political/media/evangelical) is prepared to stem the tide of inevitability.

I'm in agreement with Tony - the UK is totally f*cked.

John