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UK Backing Israel With Spy Planes Over Gaza – Report

Sputnik – 19.01.2024

Late last year it was revealed the United Kingdom was supplying Israel with weapons from a base in Cyprus. Now new evidence is emerging of the lengths the country has gone to assist Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his Gaza military campaign.

British Defense Minister Grant Shapps had previously admitted the UK was providing “surveillance support to Israel,” although he couched the assistance in terms of “preventing the transfer of weapons to terrorist groups.” Shapps later claimed the surveillance flights were intended to locate two British captives being held in Gaza.

But now it has emerged that the British Armed Forces have flown 50 surveillance flights over the besieged enclave since December alone. The flights departed from RAF Akrotiri, the UK’s air force base in Cyprus.

The revelation is likely to prove controversial as the UK has been rocked by demonstrations protesting Israel’s deadly military operation in Gaza, which has killed nearly 25,000 people in the territory. Thousands of Britons have taken to the streets even as the country’s government has provoked free speech concerns by attempting to ban pro-Palestine protest chants. In France and Germany, authorities have banned some pro-Palestine demonstrations entirely.

The UK’s embattled defense minister was recently widely ridiculed for a speech warning that the UK was at risk of attack from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Shapps was mocked for an address where he declared “the era of the peace dividend is over” – the United Kingdom has been perhaps the strongest supporter of US military interventions throughout the world.

January 18, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Leave a comment

California Senator Says Calling for a Ceasefire in Gaza Is ‘Dehumanizing Language’

By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | January 18, 2024

In an interview with the LA Times, Sen. Laphonza Butler said that it was “dehumanizing” to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The striking comments come as Gaza has been turned into a humanitarian nightmare by an Israeli military campaign that has relayed upon US support.

The Senator was asked, “Why haven’t you called for a ceasefire in Gaza? Do you think it’s meaningful for a senator to call for a ceasefire or not?” “I don’t want my voice to ever be utilized in dehumanizing any Californian or American,” she responded. “We can both acknowledge that the atrocities of Oct. 7 were horrible and that Israel has a right to defend itself while we honor the humanity of the innocent Palestinian lives that are being used as a political pawn by a terrorist organization [Hamas].”

She continued, “And so for me, I want to use my time, energy, and attention to ensure that we are advocating for a permanent solution. And I don’t want to continue the language that further divides our party, our communities, or our country.”

The LA Times followed up, “What language is the dehumanizing language?” Butler answered, “To some, that is the ceasefire language and to some [it] is other words and phrases that have been sort of utilized in this context.” California’s junior Senator added, “To me, I want to focus on what is the solution that we can implement now and in the future, to accomplish both goals.”

Since the Hamas attack on southern Israel, which took place just over three months ago, Israeli operations in Gaza have killed at least 25,000 Palestinians, including over 10,000 children. The Israeli attacks have destroyed Gaza’s medical infrastructure, leading to children undergoing amputations in unsanitary conditions and without anesthetics.

Israel has used massive 2,000-pound bombs provided by the US near hospitals and in dense civilian areas, leading to massive deaths among women and children. Tel Aviv has also destroyed other critical civilian infrastructure, such as the solar array for a water treatment facility or universities.

Tel Aviv has severely restricted aid to Gaza. The lack of food has left hundreds of thousands of Palestinians suffering in famine conditions, according to the UN. Butler did not explain how ending the fighting in Gaza would be “dehumanizing” while continuing the onslaught in Gaza would “honor the humanity of innocent Palestinians.”

It is unclear what “solution” Butler is referring to. The White House claims it wants the conflict in Gaza to end with a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he told his partners in Washington that he would never allow the two-state solution to materialize.

The White House, like Butler, refuses to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The Biden administration has vetoed several UN Security Council resolutions that called for Israel to end its military operations in Gaza. Washington has additionally refused to place any conditions on the military assistance Israel is being provided on a near-daily basis.

The unrestrained support for Israel has started to break Biden from his voters and Democratic politicians. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen chastised Biden for allowing Tel Aviv to ignore Washington’s requests. “At every juncture, Netanyahu has given Biden the finger. They are pleading with the Netanyahu coalition, but getting slapped in the face over and over again,” he said. A recent USA Today poll found former President Donald Trump leading Biden among young voters, a demographic that also strongly opposes US support for Israel.

January 18, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | 1 Comment

Israel Rounds Up Thousands of Palestinians Without Charge or Access to a Lawyer

By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | January 18, 2024

The Israeli Knesset has approved legislation that allows holding Palestinians deemed security prisoners for up to 180 days without access to a lawyer. Since October 7, Israel has placed thousands of Palestinians in administrative detention.

On Monday, the Israeli Knesset approved a law that extends “the emergency regulations that have allowed Israeli authorities to deny security prisoners, detained since October 7, the option to meet with their lawyers,” Haaretz reports. “The regulation will be valid for an additional three months, and will allow the state to prevent prisoners from meeting with a lawyer for up to 180 days.”

Since October 7, Israel has rounded up thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The number of Palestinians held in administration detention has increased from around 1,200 to over 3,300 in just three months. A total of 8,600 Palestinians are now in Israeli prisons.

Israel has severely restricted all communications with those in detention. Family members often report even struggling to locate their loved ones after getting arrested by Israeli occupation forces.

Since October 7, Palestinians have been beaten, tortured, and killed in Israeli prisons. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a member of the extremist Jewish Power, has significant influence over the conditions of Palestinian prisoners.

Ben Gvir, who has called for disloyal Palestinians to be expelled from Israel, has already degraded the conditions detainees are subject to using over-crowding as an excuse. The Knesset is considering legislation that will give the minister further authority to erode the rights of Palestinian prisoners.

Conditions are horrible for those men indiscriminately rounded up by the Israeli soldiers in Gaza. The Tel Aviv-based +972 Magazine conducted an investigation into the treatment of detained Palestinians and concluded, “systematic abuse and torture by Israeli soldiers against all of the detainees, civilians and combatants alike.”

“According to these testimonies, Israeli soldiers subjected Palestinian detainees to electric shocks, burned their skin with lighters, spat in their mouths, and deprived them of sleep, food, and access to bathrooms until they defecated on themselves.” The outlet added, “Many were tied to a fence for hours, handcuffed, and blindfolded for most of the day. Some testified to having been beaten all over their bodies and having cigarettes extinguished on their necks or backs. Several people are known to have died as a result of being held in these conditions.”

January 18, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Subjugation - Torture | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More than 390 educational institutes destroyed in Gaza

Press TV – January 18, 2024

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas announced the destruction of more than 390 schools, universities, and educational institutions in over 100 days of brutal bombardment of the besieged strip by the Israeli regime.

In a press note issued on Thursday, the resistance movement said, “More than 390 schools, universities, and educational institutions have been destroyed in 100 days, the most recent of which was the bombing of Al-Isra University and the re-bombing of the Islamic University today.”

Hamas said that the destruction of school and university buildings in the Gaza Strip “is a war crime and criminal behavior aimed at destroying all components of human life…” The resistance group stated that Israel is deliberately targeting the education system to erode the national identity of Palestinians.

Calling on the United Nations and other human rights organizations to document and prosecute the regime for its crimes, Hamas said, “We affirm that our people, through their steadfastness, sacrifices, and resistance, will thwart these despicable plans to undermine the educational system and obliterate the deep-rooted national identity of our Palestinian people.”

Gaza’s Ministry of Education announced on Tuesday that 4,368 students have been killed while almost 8000 have been injured since the start of Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7.

The number of teachers killed is 231 teachers with 756 injured.

Israel’s relentless bombardment has also targeted 65 schools affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA).

As per the figures given by the Palestinian Health Ministry on Wednesday, the death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has surged to 24,448.

January 18, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Full Spectrum Dominance, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Israeli army blows up university in Gaza after 70 days of converting it into a military barracks

Palestine Information Center – January 18, 2024

GAZA – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) blew up the building of Al-Isra University in Gaza after 70 days of occupying it and converting it into a military barracks and a detention center.

The university administration said in a statement on Thursday, “The IOF occupied the university building for seventy days, turning it into a military base and a center for sniping isolated civilians in the areas of Rashid Street, Al-Mughraqa, and Al-Zahra, as well as a temporary detention center for interrogating Palestinians, before detonating it.”

Israeli media outlets published a video documenting the moment the occupation forces detonated the main headquarters of Al-Isra University in the city of Al-Zahra, south of Gaza City, yesterday.

January 18, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | 1 Comment

Israeli reserve soldiers refuse to fight in Gaza

The Cradle | January 18, 2024

About half the soldiers of an Israeli reserve battalion refused to fight in the Gaza Strip and were released from duty by their commander, Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed reported on 17 January.

The Qatari outlet cited Israel’s Kan Reshet Bet radio as reporting that reserve soldiers were called up to form a new brigade in the Israeli army to carry out protection tasks in the areas surrounding Gaza and the occupied West Bank. However, the soldiers received permission to leave the battalion after the army tried to send them to fight and carry out combat missions within Gaza for which they were not qualified or adequately equipped.

The soldiers were called up in late December, but the new brigade was poorly organized, did not have a deputy brigade commander, and was short on weapons and officers.

During the training period, soldiers complained of serious gaps in equipment, professionalism, and a lack of human resources.

The soldiers were then further angered to learn their mission had changed, and they would be sent to Gaza for combat missions.

The radio quoted one soldier as saying: “We received the conscription order, and we responded to that. They told us that our specialty would be to protect the towns, and after about a week of training that took place in a horrific manner, without ammunition, and without officers, we were suddenly told that there was an order that the Israeli army needed us to enter the Gaza Strip to clear homes.”

The soldier added, “We were shocked. We are all combat soldiers. I personally was in the Nahal Brigade, and the rest of the soldiers are from former infantry brigades, but we had not carried out reserve missions for years. We were given an M16 weapon, which fell apart in our hands, and there was no ammunition for training. We collected bullets off the ground so that we have something we can fire.”

The radio station quoted another soldier as saying, “There are people who trained without military uniforms. There are soldiers who were not given shirts or slippers at first. The means that were available were not suitable for training. The brigade, which was supposed to include four battalions, barely reached one and a half battalions. It is not understandable how they wanted to introduce such a completely unqualified force into the Gaza Strip.”

The report comes amid the announcement that the 36th division, which comprises armored, engineering, and infantry companies, withdrew from the Gaza Strip after 80 days of fighting.

The Israeli government says this is part of a planned transition away from the “intensive manoeuvring stage” of its Gaza military campaign to a more targeted phase to last until the end of this year.

At the same time, some speculate that Israel has been forced to withdraw some of its forces due to heavy losses inflicted by fighters from Hamas’ military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

Israel is also facing economic difficulties, with the government having to pay salaries for hundreds of thousands of reserve soldiers called away from their civilian jobs.

Israel also has large numbers of soldiers on the northern border to support operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel’s army chief said Wednesday the likelihood of a full-scale war with the Lebanese resistance group has become “much higher.”

“I don’t know when the war in the north is, I can tell you that the likelihood of it happening in the coming months is much higher than it was in the past,” Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said in a statement during a visit to northern Israel.

January 18, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism | , , , | 1 Comment

Biden Warns Congress Lack of Ukraine Aid Could Lead to US Troops on Ground

Sputnik – 18.01.2024

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden met with congressional leaders and warned them that not approving additional funding for Ukraine could possibly result in the deployment of US troops to that country, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday.

“The president conveyed a sense of urgency about the stakes for our NATO partners in the region, what it would mean for our NATO partners in the region, and certainly we don’t want to see our own troops put in a position where we might need to put boots on the ground,” Jean-Pierre said.

On Wednesday, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said that the United States’ status quo on Ukraine is unacceptable.

Johnson also said Congress needs a clearer explanation from the Biden administration about its strategy in Ukraine, the endgame and accountability for US funds. The speaker also added that US border security must be the top priority.

Biden’s supplemental request includes more than $60 billion for Ukraine.

January 18, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , , | 1 Comment

Status Report From Another Would Be “Climate Leader,” The UK

By Francis Menton | Manhattan Contrarian | January 15, 2024

At any given moment in the course of human events, not everyone can be the leader. And thus can the world only have a small number of “climate leaders” to light us the way to the Great Green Energy Nirvana of the future.

Among that select group of “climate leaders,” New York is definitely one. We know that because New York enacted its Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act in 2018, announcing its “climate leadership” to the world for all to envy.

But there are a handful of jurisdictions out there that are not to be outdone in the competition for the title of “climate leader.” One of those is the UK. Ten years before New York even entered the competition, the UK had enacted its Climate Change Act of 2008, setting an initial round of legally-binding emissions reduction targets (80% below 1990 levels by 2050). Then, in 2019 the UK upped the ante, committing by statute to “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions for its entire economy by 2050.

We know from my last post how things are going with this “climate leadership” thing in New York: five years into the competition, New York’s greenhouse gas emissions have actually increased substantially, as two large new natural gas power plants have replaced electricity generation from two prematurely-closed emissions-free nuclear facilities, while generation of electricity from wind and solar has barely budged.

Has the UK been any more successful? Rupert Darwall, writing under the auspices of the Real Clear Foundation, has produced a comprehensive update, with a date of December 2023. The title tells you all you need to know: “The Folly of Climate Leadership: Net zero and Britain’s Disastrous Energy Policies.”

The short summary of Darwall’s Report is that there is nothing but bad news for Britain. By contrast to New York, the UK has actually moved forward with massive construction of “renewable” facilities to generate electricity, mostly in the form of wind turbines. What it has gotten for its efforts is far more nameplate capacity of facilities for generation, but far less electricity actually generated. Costs that were predicted by advocates to decrease substantially have instead increased steadily. The percent of electricity generated from the “renewables” has gotten to around 35%, but has stalled out at that level, and the latest round of offers of acreage for offshore wind development attracted no bidders even at prices a multiple of what additional natural gas facilities would cost. In short, the UK appears stuck, with its consumers paying higher costs for power indefinitely, but with no path forward from here to the promised net zero utopia.

Darwall compares trends in electricity prices charged to commercial and industrial business in the UK and U.S. over the period from 2004 to 2022. The UK prices have steadily pulled away as the percent of electricity generation from “renewables” has increased. Here is Darwall’s chart from page 51 of his Report:

Darwall attributes the growing divergence in prices mostly to divergence in fossil fuel production. In the UK, fracking for natural gas has been completely blocked by environmental regulations. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Darwall writes:

By 2009, natural gas output had increased by 14.3 percent from its trough, reaching its highest level since 1974. In the next 10 years, US natural gas output surged a staggering 64.4 percent, to 33,899 billion cubic feet (bcf), 56.0 percent higher than its previous peak of 21,731 bcf in 1973.

In return for greatly increased electricity generation from wind and solar, the UK has dug itself into the perverse situation of ever-increasing nameplate generation capacity, but simultaneously falling output of electricity. Darwall:

Between 2009 and 2020, . . . a 15.5 percent increase in nameplate generating capacity produced 21.6 percent less electricity. In 2009, 1 MW of capacity produced 4,312 MWh of electricity. In 2020, 1 MW of capacity generated 3,094 MWh, a decline of 28.3 percent.

Has the UK at least made some progress in “saving the planet”? Here is my favorite chart from the Report, found on page 28:

The UK has gone a long way toward destroying its industrial base, but its emissions reductions are so small as to be barely noticeable in the overall world picture, and totally swamped by increases elsewhere, mostly from China. The rest of the world is getting a good laugh at Britain’s expense. As Darwall states, “The metric of leadership success is followship.” By that metric, as well as every other, Britain’s “climate leadership” is a total disaster.

January 18, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity | | 1 Comment

Jim Jordan Demands Answers After Biden Admin Caught Flagging “MAGA” And “Trump” To Track Political Opponents’ Financial Transactions

By Tyler Durden | Zero Hedge | January 18, 2024

Jim Jordan, Chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on Wednesday, announced that it had obtained documents revealing that federal agencies have flagged financial transactions for financial institutions for people using politically sensitive words such as “MAGA” and Trump.”

In a letter to Noah Bishoff – who was a former FinCEN Director (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) – and now an Anti Money Laundering (AML) officer at fintech company Plaid, Inc. Jordan described situations in which Americans buying bibles or shopping at sporting good stores might find their transactions flagged.

New documents obtained by the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government reveal that the federal government flagged terms like “MAGA” and “TRUMP” for financial institutions if Americans used those phrases when completing transactions. Individuals who shopped at stores like Cabela’s or Dick’s Sporting Goods, or purchased religious texts like a bible, may also have had their transactions flagged. This kind of pervasive financial surveillance, carried out in coordination with and at the request of federal law enforcement, into Americans’ private transactions is alarming and raises serious concerns about the FBI’s respect for fundamental civil liberties. – Judiciary.house.gov

“The Committee and Select Subcommittee have obtained documents indicating that following January 6, 2021, FinCEN distributed materials to financial institutions that, among other things, outline the ‘typologies’ of various persons of interest and provide financial institutions with suggested search terms and Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) for identifying transactions on behalf of federal law enforcement,” reads the letter.

“These materials included a document recommending the use of generic terms like ‘TRUMP’ and ‘MAGA’ to ‘search Zelle payment messages’ as well as a ‘prior FinCEN analysis’ of ‘Lone Actor/Homegrown Violent Extremism Indicators,” the letter continues. “According to this analysis, FinCEN warned financial institutions of ‘extremism’ indicators that include ‘transportation charges, such as bus tickets, rental cars, or plane tickets, for travel to areas with no apparent purpose,’ or ‘the purchase of books (including religious texts) and subscriptions to other media containing extremist views.’ In other words, FinCEN urged large financial institutions to comb through the private transactions of their customers for suspicious charges on the basis of protected political and religious expression.”

The Committee announced that it’s seeking interviews with senior intelligence officials, including Bishoff.

January 18, 2024 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Deception, Full Spectrum Dominance | , , | Leave a comment

Gaza Testimony

Al-Haq | January 17, 2024

Journalist Dia Al Kahlout was arbitrarily arrested by the #Israeli Occupying Forces from his home in Beit Lahia & detained for 33 days.
Upon his release, family members of others arbitrarily detained desperately try to get information about their loved ones

January 18, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Subjugation - Torture, Video, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment