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The New Israel: Cyprus ‘Silent Occupation’


21st Century Wire | July 3, 2025

Reports in Cyprus and Greece are speaking of “Cyprus becoming the new Zionist promised land.” Hours after Israel initiated a military strike against Iran, numerous Israelis became stranded in Cyprus due to the cancellation of flights to and from the Jewish state. Over a week later, the Hasidic movement, better known in Cyprus as Chabad, a global ultra-Orthodox Jewish movement, continues to house a substantial number of Israeli nationals throughout the Island. As reported by Rabbi Zeev Raskin, the chief Lubavitch rabbi of Cyprus, in a statement to the local media outlet Politis, “over the past ten days, 12,000 Jews have visited the six Chabad houses situated on the island. During their visits, they have been provided with food, assistance with accommodation, and various types of emergency support”. The Rabi further estimated that ”by Sunday morning last week, there were still 15,000 Jews living in Cyprus.”

Raskin noted that in recent years, Cyprus’s geographical position near the coast of Israel has led to its characterisation as “Israel’s back door”. Following the closure of Israel’s airspace in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, numerous Israelis chose to prolong their holidays in Cyprus. Furthermore, in the wake of the Oct 7 attack, a remarkable influx of 5,000 Jews arrived in Cyprus within a single day. However, nothing could have predicted the extraordinary increase in Israeli land acquisition in Cyprus, to the alarming point it has reached today.

VIDEO: What’s happening in Cyprus? 15,000 Israeli citizens arrive and build a secret community overnight! (Source: PowerAxis)

Stefanos Stefanu, the Secretary-General of the left-wing AKEL party in Cyprus, has raised concerns regarding the increasing volume of Israeli land acquisitions in southern Cyprus. While speaking to party members at the AKEL congress, Stefanu characterised this trend as an emerging national security issue. He noted that Israeli nationals are purchasing extensive tracts of land and significant economic resources, in addition to setting up schools, synagogues, and various community amenities. He cautioned that such developments could result in the formation of isolated, self-sufficient enclaves on the island. Social media posts linked to AKEL have repeated the party’s concerns, using terms such as “New Israel” and “the new country occupied by Israel.”

The real estate sector in Cyprus is witnessing a significant surge in investment from Israel, as evidenced by the recent declaration of a new collaboration worth several tens of millions of euros. Aviation Connections, along with the Shagrau-Leibovitz Group and Attorney Amir Chen, a prominent partner at the “FBC” law firm, have declared the formation of a new entrepreneurial alliance in the real estate sector in Cyprus. In the context of the partnership, the company intends to acquire approximately 2,000 square meters of land situated on the beachfront and adjacent to the new port under development in Larnaca, to erect an opulent residential and commercial tower.

Media outlets like Coastal Digest have already reported the significant influx of Israeli settlers moving to Cyprus, raising alarms about what analysts refer to as a “silent occupation.” In the wake of Israel’s recent military actions in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, Israeli purchasers have rapidly acquired properties throughout the island, while thousands are said to have moved there in search of real estate and to establish enclaves of exclusive luxury resorts and communities designed specifically for wealthy settlers.

This trend marks the third significant wave of Israeli migration to Cyprus, propelled by a combination of the consequences of war, economic challenges, and internal political turmoil within Israel. The Coastal Digest report mentions the work of Dimitri Lascaris, an investigative journalist and activist, who is highlighting the rapid real estate purchases in Cyprus by Israelis amid regional turmoil, warning of a deeper agenda.

Lascaris warns of further complications:

“an underlying agenda, stating that Cyprus has historically been viewed by Zionist ideologues as a potential site for a Jewish settlement due to its proximity to Israel and suitability for European-style development. Lascaris draws a link to early Zionist ambitions for Cyprus, recalling the Third Zionist Congress of 1899 when David Trietsch and Theodor Herzl both championed Cyprus as a base for Jewish settlement, precursor to claiming Israel itself by force.”

“This migration, which has swelled Cyprus’s Israeli community from 6,500 in 2018 to over 12,000 by April 2024, has sparked an influx of 250-300 Israelis monthly. This quiet but steady stream has led to a larger presence of Israelis in Cyprus, with many pursuing strategic real estate purchases despite legal restrictions. Under Cypriot law, foreign entities can only acquire 500 square meters of land. However, by registering as Northern Cyprus firms and securing at least 51% Turkish Cypriot ownership, Israeli companies can circumvent this rule, enabling them to buy extensive tracts of land.”

“Cyprus’s geopolitical position-close to Israel, with NATO membership and new gas reserves-amplifies the strategic importance of this quiet expansion. Additionally, the island hosts a significant UK military base at Akrotiri, which has served as a launch point for aircraft bound for the Palestinian territories, further heightening the controversy around Israeli-Cypriot connections. Economically, the high cost of living in Israel and divisive internal issues, such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial reforms, have also driven migration from the occupied lands. According to a Hebrew-language report by Maariv, the first seven months of 2024 saw an exodus of 40,000 Israeli settlers -nearly triple previous years’ numbers-primarily to Cyprus and other nearby regions.”

VIDEO: Israelis ‘Flooding’ Into Cyprus to ‘Buy Anything In Sight’ (Source: Reason2Resist with Dimitri Lascaris)

On the Greek Cyprus side of the Island, the increasing number of Israeli investors purchasing real estate has provoked significant public and political opposition. This trend, especially prevalent in the Larnaca and Limassol areas, has led to allegations from opposition leaders that Israel is creating a de facto presence on the island. Concerns are also growing regarding the demographic and geopolitical implications, particularly from the viewpoints of Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Residents from the Greek Cypriot Administration and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) are questioning whether Israel is engaging in similar tactics in Cyprus as it previously did in Palestine. In recent years, Zionists have acquired tens of thousands of acres of land in the TRNC, leading to the establishment of colonies (settlements) on the island. Additionally, numerous Jews fleeing the conflict in Ukraine and the one in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) have been resettled in Cyprus.

The Cypriot town of Pyla has become an “unofficial Israeli hub”, and local legislators and mayors alike are now raising the alarm. Greatreporter has the story…


Ultra-Orthodox Jews arrive in Larnaka International Airport, Greek Cyprus, June 2025 (Source: Chabad of Cyprus)

R Powell reports for Greatreporter…

Israel is preparing a ‘backyard’ in Cyprus… This cannot but sound the alarm for us!

As war rages in Gaza and regional escalation with Iran deepens, a quiet but dramatic shift is unfolding just across the Mediterranean. Cyprus, long seen as a neutral tourist haven, is now absorbing thousands of Israeli nationals — many of them settlers, elites, and fleeing civilians — in a wave that is transforming the island’s demography, economy, and politics.

According to Cyprus’s main opposition party, AKEL, this is no ordinary migration. It is, in their words, the construction of “a backyard” — a satellite enclave of Israeli influence, economic power, and potential intelligence infrastructure, rising just beyond the reach of missiles, but still close enough to matter.

“Israeli buyers are purchasing significant land parcels and strategic economic assets,” warned AKEL spokesperson Stefanos Stefanou in June. “They are building Zionist schools, synagogues, gated enclaves… Israel is preparing a backyard in Cyprus, and this cannot but sound the alarm for us.”

A Three-Wave Exodus: From Pandemic to War

The Israeli presence in Cyprus has expanded in three clear waves:

  1. The Pandemic Wave (2020–2021):
    During COVID-19, many affluent Israelis fled strict lockdowns and a strained health system for Cyprus’s EU-standard care and relaxed lifestyle. Property sales surged in resort towns like Paphos and Limassol.
  1. The Judicial Reform Crisis (2023):
    As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched controversial judicial reforms, mass protests erupted across Israel. Thousands began to hedge their bets — and their real estate — by acquiring homes abroad. Cyprus, just 40 minutes by air, became a popular fallback.
  1. The War and Retaliation Wave (2023–2025):
    The most recent and explosive surge began after October 7 and intensified with Iran’s missile strikes on Tel Aviv and Haifa. With air routes disrupted and a growing sense of national vulnerability, thousands fled. According to Chabad Cyprus, over 12,000 Israelis passed through their centers in just 10 days, seeking food, shelter, and emergency repatriation services.

Town-by-Town: A New Geography of Influence

The numbers tell a striking story.

  • Limassol: 1,154 Israeli property purchases (511 with title deeds), with heavy clustering in spa and luxury resort areas like Pyla, Ormideia, and Pervolia.
  • Paphos: 1,291 property transactions by Israelis, including 867 full title deeds.
  • Larnaca: 1,406 purchases (481 deeds), particularly close to the airport and Chabad’s main synagogue in Pyla.

In total, nearly 4,000 Israeli-linked properties have been acquired across southern Cyprus since 2021.

Real-estate consultant Loizos Loizou told Cyprus Mail:

“Israelis tend to buy large land parcels, featuring spas and resorts — gated communities, so to speak. Pyla has become their unofficial hub.”

‘A Second Israel’ — Population Doubling in 5 Years

In 2018, about 6,500 Israeli nationals resided in Cyprus. By mid-2025, that number has more than doubled to approximately 15,000 — and growing. This includes entire families, business owners, and settlers fleeing West Bank outposts amid regional instability.

Chabad reports show that:

“More than 12,000 Israeli Jews passed through our six houses in 10 days during the Iran crisis,” said Rabbi Zeev Raskin. “Many of them had no plans to return.”

Locals Alarmed: ‘Land Doesn’t Belong to Us Anymore’

AKEL’s fears are not limited to real estate. In their June address, the party highlighted national security, economic justice, and cultural sovereignty:

“At some point, we’ll discover our own land doesn’t belong to us,” said Stefanu. “These are not just holiday homes. These are settlements in all but name.”

The pattern is familiar. Enclaves emerge. Locals are priced out. Infrastructure — synagogues, kosher supermarkets, private schools — is built quickly. The same settler-colonial template used in the West Bank now appears to be taking root in places like Pyla and Limassol.

Cypriot media outlets, including Politis and Cyprus Mail, have published growing numbers of investigative reports about gated communities, property speculation, and political pressure to crack down on Golden Visa abuse.

Strategic Concerns: Mossad, RAF Bases, and Foreign Control

Security experts have also raised concerns. A Haaretz exposé recently confirmed that Israeli intelligence agencies are active in Cyprus, using the island for “safehouse operations” and staging points. Cyprus also hosts RAF Akrotiri, a major British military base used for reconnaissance missions over Gaza, further complicating the geopolitical picture.

In Turkish-administered Northern Cyprus, land purchases by Israelis have been drastically restricted, with authorities imposing new regulations. But in Greek-administered areas, no such constraints exist, and bilateral agreements between Cyprus and Israel are shielding the real estate boom from meaningful oversight.

“Cyprus cannot afford to become a forward operating base for another state,” one European security official warned. “It risks destabilising the island and compromising its neutrality.”

Faith, Flight, and a Fading Zionist Dream

At the heart of this phenomenon lies a powerful contradiction: If Israel is a divine homeland, why are its people abandoning it?

Many of the Israelis relocating to Cyprus are not rejecting Zionism — they’re exporting it. They bring with them the ideologies, infrastructure, and investment strategies that have transformed Palestine into a patchwork of enclaves. And now, as they take root in Cyprus, many locals fear they are watching the early stages of a new settler project.

The Israeli state is doing everything it can to reverse the trend. El Al has launched discounted repatriation flights. Media campaigns appeal to patriotism. But many have tasted the safety, prosperity, and freedom of life abroad. And they are not coming back.

“We tried to go to Israel by yacht, by helicopter,” said one Israeli evacuee to The National. “But Cyprus just felt safer. For now, we’ll stay.”

A Nation at a Crossroads

What began as a trickle of Israeli tourism has become a full-blown demographic shift. What some once called a “second home” now feels like a “second Israel.” And for Cyprus, a country still grappling with its own partition and history of foreign interference, the warning signs are clear.

As Stefanos Stefanou put it:

“This cannot but sound the alarm for us. We must ask — are we selling homes, or are we selling sovereignty?”

See more news from Greatreporter

July 10, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , | Leave a comment

Pro-Palestinian Activists Targeted By Trump Administration Match Canary Mission Blacklist

By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | July 10, 2025

The Donald Trump administration is finding students on the Canary Mission’s website to target with deportation. The Canary Mission is an anonymous website that uses McCarthyite tactics against people expressing pro-Palestine views.

During a trial challenging Trump’s immigration policy on Wednesday, a federal judge asked, “Many of the names of the student protesters provided to you for the Office of Intelligence to produce reports of analysis on came from the website Canary Mission?”

Peter Hatch, a senior DHS investigations official, responded, “It’s true, many of the names, or even most of the names, came from that website.” The DHS official said the agency had other sources. The Canary Mission denied direct contact with the Trump administration.

Hatch added that there were no official ties between the Canary Mission and the US Government. “I don’t know who creates the website. We don’t have a relationship with the creators of the website,” he said.

Canary Mission targeted Rümeysa Öztürk before she was arrested by masked police officers on the streets in Somerville, Massachusetts, earlier this year. The Trump administration attempted to expel her from the country over an op-ed she co-authored for a Tufts University student newspaper.

Mahmoud Khalil was another student targeted with deportation that was also blacklisted by Canary Mission.

The Trump administration is not the first to use the Canary Mission in criminal proceedings. “The case of a Palestinian-American law student named Ahmad Aburas provides a particularly disturbing portrait of Canary Mission tactics in action,” Max Blumenthal wrote in 2018. “While Aburas was enrolled at Seton Hall Law School, Canary Mission contacted school administrators to suggest that statements he made on social media expressed support for terrorism. Seton Hall then called the FBI, Aburas was taken out of class and subjected to interrogation by federal agents over his political views.”

July 10, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Full Spectrum Dominance | , | Leave a comment

Settlers assault Palestinian woman in Al-Khalil, destroy vital water line in Nablus

Palestinian Information Center – July 10, 2025

A Palestinian woman was injured Thursday morning after a group of armed Israeli settlers attacked residents in the Tabyan and Fakhit areas of Masafar Yatta, south of Al-Khalil in the southern occupied West Bank. Local sources confirmed the settlers assaulted multiple residents, leaving the woman wounded.

In a separate but related act of sabotage, settlers used a bulldozer at dawn Thursday to destroy a critical water pipeline between the villages of Aqraba and Majdal Bani Fadel, south of Nablus. The pipeline served at least seven surrounding villages, including Jorish, Qusra, Qaryut, Jalud, Duma, Talfit, and Majdal Bani Fadel. The destruction of this essential infrastructure deepens the humanitarian crisis facing Palestinian communities already under siege.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) began bulldozing large sections of privately owned Palestinian land in the town of Teqou’, southeast of Bethlehem, to construct a new settlement road. Accompanied by heavy machinery, the IOF targeted lands belonging to the Al-Asakira, Al-Zeer, and Jibrin families in the Qanan Saqir and Fasoura areas.

Local residents fear the road project will lead to the seizure of thousands of dunums under the pretext of “securing the road,” reinforcing a broader Israeli policy of annexation and Judaization.

The town of Teqou’ is already subject to movement restrictions imposed by seven iron gates placed at its entrances and within neighborhoods, effectively isolating large parts of the town and limiting access to nearby villages.

Daily settler attacks continue across the West Bank, with the clear aim of forcibly displacing Palestinians and expanding illegal settlement infrastructure. Since the onset of the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, settler groups have carried out more than 5,000 attacks and established 80 new outposts on Palestinian land in the West Bank.

These acts of aggression are part of a wider, systemic campaign of ethnic cleansing and land theft, carried out in parallel with the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

July 10, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Israeli police arrest foreign activists who tried to confront settler attack in Al-Auja

Palestinian Information Center – July 10, 2025

JERICHO – Israeli occupation police on Wednesday arrested a number of foreign activists who were attempting to confront an attack by settlers on the village of Shallal Al-Auja, north of Jericho city.

The Al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights reported that settlers stormed the village, roamed among citizens’ homes, and deliberately herded their sheep into agricultural lands and around houses, which led to the destruction of crops and the residents’ main source of livelihood.

The organization added that local residents and foreign activists tried to drive the sheep away from the homes and prevent the attack, but the occupation police quickly arrived at the scene, provided protection for the settlers, and arrested several of the activists.

It pointed out that this is not the first time that sheep have been used as a means of pressure against the residents; rather, it is part of a systematic policy aimed at harassing the locals and forcing them to leave.

The organization further noted that this scene has become an almost daily occurrence in the Jordan Valley areas, where attacks on residents are increasing alongside the absence of any accountability for settlers—deepening the suffering of the people and threatening the stability of their daily lives.

July 10, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism | , , , | Leave a comment

US Sanctions On UN Official For Criticizing Israel Highlight Human Rights Double Standards

Sputnik – 10.07.2025

“The United States’ decision to sanction Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for denouncing human rights violations committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip clearly illustrates a political hierarchy of the principle of human rights on the part of Washington,” Tiberio Graziani, head of the Rome-based think tank Vision & Global Trends, tells Sputnik.

“Within the framework of the Western narrative regarding the ‘survival of the State of Israel,’ any criticism of its actions is perceived as an existential threat,” he says, commenting on another move by Washington targeting critics of Israel’s wars.

The rights of Palestinians are thus subordinated to the “special relationship” that binds the US to Israel — a strategic, military, and ideological alliance well documented by scholars such as John J. Mearsheimer, Stephen Walt, and Israeli historian Ilan Pappé.

The principle of human rights, meant to be universal, becomes selective and is used to target adversaries but ignored when it comes to allies, even when they commit grave crimes. This undermines the moral credibility of US foreign policy, reinforcing the Global South’s view that “Western values” are merely rhetorical tools.

Graziani adds that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement that Albanese’s campaign against the US and Israel “will no longer be tolerated” seems aimed at undermining the UN’s independent mechanisms, particularly when their findings contradict US interests. His suggestion that reporting human rights violations could obstruct peace talks wrongly views justice as a barrier to peace.

The UN is in a delicate position, needing to protect its officials’ independence, especially in sensitive areas like Palestine. Failing to defend Albanese could set a dangerous precedent, signaling that UN representatives can be intimidated for doing their job impartially.

The UN may issue a balanced response, but countries in the Global South could push for stronger solidarity, seeing the Palestinian issue as symbolic of Western double standards.

July 10, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Progressive Hypocrite | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Punished for the truth: US sanctions UN official for exposing Israeli atrocities, Washington’s complicity

Press TV – July 9, 2025

The United States has decided to impose sanctions on a noted and outspoken UN rights official over her outright criticism and exposure of the Israeli regime’s acts of deadly aggression and Washington’s unstinting support for the atrocities.

In a social media post on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had decided to impose punitive measures against Francesa Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories.

Rubio accused Albanese of having tried to prompt the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the regime’s former minister for military affairs Yoav Gallant.

The tribunal issued the warrants last November over the duo’s war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, where the regime has been waging a strongly-US-supported war of genocide since October 2023.

Prior to the court’s issuance of the warrants, Albanese had authored a landmark report to the UN Human Rights Council, stating that the regime’s military operations in Gaza displayed “prima facie evidence of an intention to systematically destroy Palestinians as a group.” The atrocities, she had added, effectively indicated genocide under the UN’s Genocide Convention.

The run-up to authorization of the warrants also saw her propose that the UN consider suspending the regime’s membership for its deadly violations.

She has consistently used the term genocide in multiple reports, including by condemning the regime for carrying out one of “the cruelest genocides in modern history,” and declaring Gaza a “laboratory” for Israeli weapons.

During a UN session last month, she urged a full arms embargo, plus sanctions and divestment against state and corporate supporters of the regime.

She specifically named scores of companies, including Lockheed Martin, Palantir, Caterpillar, Volvo, BNP Paribas, Barclays, Pimco, and Vanguard, denouncing them for facilitating an “economy of genocide”

Rubio further claimed that Albanese had been trying to instigate punitive action by the court against American officials and companies, calling the alleged efforts “illegitimate and shameful.”

“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,” he added.

The American official, meanwhile, vowed that Washington would keep standing by the regime in its “right to self-defense.”

The United States has poured billions of dollars in military aid into the regime’s coffers to be used towards reinforcement of the genocide that has so far claimed the lives of nearly 57,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Washington has also been lending the genocide unwavering political support by shielding Tel Aviv against punitive UN action.

July 10, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | 2 Comments

Israeli Settlers Attack One of the Oldest Christian Churches in Palestine

By James Rushmore | The Libertarian Institute | July 9, 2025

Israeli settlers attacked the West Bank town of Taybeh on Monday, causing extensive damage to a fifth-century church and a cemetery. The vandals started a series of fires near the ancient Church of Saint George, one of the oldest Christian churches in Palestine. Local residents were able to extinguish the fires. The attack marks the latest effort by Israeli settlers to intimidate the Palestinian inhabitants of Taybeh, which is the only remaining village in the territory with an exclusively Christian population.

The attack prompted three local priests to issue a statement. Fathers Daoud Khoury, Jack-Noble Abed, and Bashar Fawadleh called upon “local and international actors” to launch an investigation into the settler attacks, put pressure on Israeli authorities, and send delegations directly to Taybeh. They also urged people to provide the villagers with economic and legal assistance. Munther Isaac, a Palestinian pastor who was interviewed by Tucker Carlson in April 2024, shared the priests’ appeal on X. He also criticized U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a Christian Zionist, for pursuing policies that enable settler violence in the West Bank.

Huckabee toured the West Bank last week. During his visit, he expressed his support for the settler movement and referred to the territory as “Judea and Samaria,” saying that it would be “a historical injustice and a denial of the Bible” to use any other terminology. He also said that the settlers “represent God’s presence and His choice of this land.”

Huckabee’s trip came days after every Likud minister in the Israeli government sent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a letter urging him to annex the West Bank before the end of the Knesset’s summer session on July 27. The letter argues that the “strategic partnership, backing, and support of the U.S. and President Donald Trump have made it a propitious time to move forward with [the annexation] now, and ensure Israel’s security for generations.” It also said that a Palestinian state would represent an “existential danger to Israel.”

The attacks mark the latest assault on Taybeh. In June, settlers built an outpost on the eastern edge of the village, atop a key agricultural zone that’s home to thousands of Palestinian olive trees. Local farmers were denied access to the area, and settlers attacked residents who tried to enter the zone. The Israeli settlers have also been allowing their livestock to graze on Palestinian farmlands as part of an effort to push the villagers out.

At least 1,000 Palestinians, including over 200 children, have been killed in the West Bank since Israel began its genocide in the Gaza Strip. In addition to raiding refugee camps and displacing thousands of native civilians, IDF forces have provided settlers with semi-automatic weapons. In 2024, Israel seized control of more Palestinian land in the West Bank than in the previous 20 years combined.

July 9, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

France, Italy, Greece must explain allowing ‘safe passage’ to ICC-wanted Netanyahu to US: UN expert

Press TV – July 9, 2025

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese says Rome Statute member states—France, Italy, and Greece—must explain why they provided “safe passage” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu en route to the United States.

Netanyahu is an internationally wanted suspect under an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.

In a post on X, Albanese said the three European countries — all signatories to the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2002 — violated the international legal order by allowing Netanyahu to transit through their airspace despite an active ICC arrest warrant.

As ICC members, she said, they were theoretically “obligated to arrest” Netanyahu.

“Italian, French, and Greek citizens deserve to know that every political action violating the international legal order weakens and endangers all of them. And all of us,” she wrote.

Albanese was responding to a post by human rights lawyer Craig Mokhiber, who said the countries had “breached their legal obligations under the treaty [Rome Statute], have declared their disdain for the victims of genocide, and have demonstrated their contempt for the rule of law.”

Netanyahu is currently on his third US visit since President Donald Trump took office on January 20.

During a previous trip in February, his plane was forced to take a detour to avoid flying over countries that might enforce the ICC arrest warrant. The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute and therefore not bound by its provisions.

In June, Trump’s administration imposed sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court over the war tribunal’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.

July 9, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

US Will Spend Over $1 Billion Building Military Bases for Israel

By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | July 7, 2025

The US is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade and build new military bases for Israel. The total cost of the facilities could exceed $1 billion.

Haaretz reports, “The US military aid construction program for Israel includes ongoing projects valued at more than $250 million, with future projects expected to exceed $1 billion.” The new bases will accommodate refueling aircraft and helicopters.

An additional project is building a new headquarters for an Israeli naval commando unit.

Washington provides Tel Aviv with a massive amount of military assistance. The US government has an agreement to send Israel $3.8 billion in security aid every year. Since October 7, 2023, Washington has provided Tel Aviv with an additional $18 billion in assistance.

The US military has also spent billions on operations to benefit Israel. The US fought a war against Ansar Allah in Yemen in an attempt to break the Red Sea blockade on Israeli-linked shipping. Washington has also spent billions of dollars on interceptors to shoot down Iranian missiles.

The military support for Israel has given Tel Aviv a blank check for genocide, multiple invasions, and provoking aggressive wars. Washington’s weapons, diplomatic support at the UN, and the US military shooting down Iranian missiles have insulated Israel from almost all conquest of its attacks on Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran.

July 8, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Iran ‘rapidly’ beefs up air defenses with Chinese help: Report

The Cradle | July 8, 2025

Iran has been beefing up its air defenses with help from China since a truce ended the 12-day war between Tel Aviv and Tehran last month, according to sources cited by Middle East Eye (MEE).

“Iran has taken possession of Chinese surface-to-air missile batteries,” the report said, adding that Tehran is moving “rapidly” to rebuild air defense capabilities targeted by Israel during the war.

An Arab official told the outlet that the Chinese batteries were delivered to Iran following the ceasefire.

Another Arab official said that US allies in the Gulf were aware of Iranian efforts to “back up and reinforce” air defenses, adding that the White House has been briefed on the matter.

The officials did not reveal the number of surface-to-air missiles that Iran has received from China since the end of the war. One official claimed Tehran was paying for the deliveries with oil shipments.

“The Iranians engage in creative ways of trading,” one of the officials said.

According to ship tracking data, Chinese imports of Iranian oil witnessed a significant jump in the month of June. Beijing is the world’s leading importer and biggest purchaser of Iranian crude oil.

Iran operates the locally produced Khordad and Bavar 373 air defense systems, which are capable of engaging drones, but have a limited ability to shoot down F-35 jets used by Israel.

The Bavar 373 is an Iranian-developed version of the Russian S-300. Iran is also believed to possess older Chinese systems such as the HQ-9.

Iranian air defenses shot down scores of drones during the 12-day war in June, including both drones launched from Israel and locally produced “small drones” operated by Mossad agents inside the country.

Unconfirmed reports of Israeli fighter jets being downed were never verified.

Israel said it launched strikes targeting Iranian air defenses across the country throughout the war, claiming “complete control” over Iran’s skies. It also said it was striking Iran’s missile capabilities.

The Israeli army said it would prevent Iran from being able to fire ballistic missiles at Israel, but failed to achieve that goal.

Iran’s missiles caused widespread destruction across Israel. Key universities, research centers, and technological hubs were struck.

Several military bases were also hit, yet media censorship has prevented details from being released.

The MEE report comes as there has been concern over a potential renewal of fighting between Israel and Iran.

Axios reported on Monday that Israel is preparing for additional military operations if Iran attempts to restart its nuclear program. Israeli officials cited in the report said that US President Donald Trump may approve renewed Israeli strikes.

In late June, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the Israeli army to prepare a military plan targeting Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, as well as its regional alliances.

In a post on X, Katz said the “enforcement plan” would focus on “maintaining Israel’s air superiority, preventing nuclear advancement and missile production, and responding to Iran for supporting terror activity against Israel.”

“We will act regularly to thwart such threats,” he added, warning Iranian leaders to “understand and beware: Operation Rising Lion was only the preview of a new Israeli policy, after 7 October, immunity is over.”

Speaking separately to Israel’s Channel 12, Katz elaborated that the plan would be implemented regardless of the current ceasefire.

Iran has vowed a severe response to any Israeli ceasefire violations.

July 8, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | Leave a comment

American emergency doctor, Dr. Mimi Syed on her work in Gaza under ongoing Israeli genocide

“I had 18 documented cases of children that came in with gunshots to the head, neck, abdomen, chest”

Dr. Mimi Syed is an American emergency doctor who has twice worked in Gaza during the ongoing Israeli genocide of Gaza: she spent four weeks each in the Gaza Strip in August and in December 2024.

She spoke to me about her child patients, many of whom were shot in the head or chest by the Israeli army; about Israel’s preventing doctors from bringing aid or vital medical equipment with them into Gaza, hindering doctors’ ability to save Palestinian lives; about the (preventable) malnutrition and starvation she saw amongst Palestinian civilians, as well as the preventable water and sanitation-related diseases contributing to “indirect deaths” in Gaza.

Also on ODYSEE

Follow her:

On Instagram: drmimier

On X: https://x.com/Memers1st

Related Links:

[over 80% of my patients were children ]
https://x.com/Memers1st/status/1939417407296270396

[Mira whom I treated when I was in Gaza who had a bullet lodged in her head. When I showed the CT image to the world, I was accused of fabricating it.
https://x.com/Memers1st/status/1940278942604398678 ]

[Against all odds, she is ok but is now being starved due to the blockade. Her story was featured on Al Jazeera Fault Lines “kids under fire”. I recommend any tax paying American watch this film.]
~5 min, Mira shown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-0zrQZWwDE
https://x.com/Memers1st/status/1940443774850891902

Ala’a Wafi is a 9-year-old girl I treated during my last trip to Gaza. Her skull was blown off by shrapnel. Against all odds, she survived, but there are thousands like her who didn’t. This is not self-defense. This is who we treated in Gaza: children.
https://x.com/Memers1st/status/1940664281798005142

July 7, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Subjugation - Torture, Video, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Tom Barrack’s project to destabilize Lebanon

The Cradle | July 7, 2025

“A century ago, the west imposed maps, mandates, penciled borders, and foreign rule. Sykes-Picot divided Syria and the broader region for imperial gain-not peace. That mistake cost generations. We will not make it again.”

–Tom Barrack, US ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy to Syria

When US Envoy to Turkiye and Syria Tom Barrack made this declaration last month in Ankara, it suggested Washington was repudiating the colonial-era borders imposed on the Levant by Britain and France. But Barrack’s actual meaning was far more insidious: The Sykes-Picot agreement may be dead, but now the US intends to redraw the region’s frontiers to suit one purpose only – Israeli expansionism.

US envoy’s agenda: Redrawing the region by dismantling resistance

Lebanon’s fate remains tightly interwoven with that of Syria and occupied Palestine. Any imposed resolution to the so-called Israeli-Palestinian conflict will inevitably reverberate through both Damascus and Beirut, forcing their governments to make existential choices. Chief among these is the surrender of arms and capabilities, a demand embedded in the US-led effort to transform the region’s balance of power.

Enter Barrack, the Lebanese-American billionaire and close confidant of US President Donald Trump, now repurposed as a roving envoy to Lebanon and Syria. He has since positioned himself as a chief advocate of pulling both Syria and Lebanon into the Abraham Accords, a euphemism for normalizing ties with the occupation state.

Barrack met with top officials in Beirut today, where he was expected to peddle this political reconfiguration under the guise of regional peace.

Maximum pressure and the threat of force

Lebanon is at the sharp end of a US-Israeli campaign to disarm Hezbollah at any cost and within months. The escalation is not a reaction to local dynamics, but rather a consequence of Washington’s regional failures: from the quagmire in Ukraine to its inability to deter Iran or check Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.

With nothing substantive to offer, the US is leaning on coercion to twist arms at the top. Israeli military threats serve as a blunt instrument to corner Lebanese officials into signing off on the resistance’s disarmament – a fantasy the US is now aggressively chasing.

Trump, seeking a legacy boost, is betting on a high-stakes foreign policy gambit: force Lebanon – the last Levantine Arab state still tethered to the Axis of Resistance – into surrender, and break its last defensive stronghold against Israeli expansion.

A new kind of envoy, a new kind of threat

Barrack’s mission departs from the playbook of previous US envoys who, for all their meddling, took Lebanon’s fragility seriously. Not so today. Barrack, who also serves as US ambassador to Turkiye and envoy to Syria, represents a new breed of imperial proxy, unconcerned with sectarian fault lines or civil strife.

Washington now believes Hezbollah is vulnerable. The plan is to crush it politically, and if needed, militarily, even if that means weaponizing the Lebanese army against its own citizens. The Trump administration has made clear it will trade Lebanese stability for US-Israeli hegemony.

According to a Lebanese official cited by Anadolu Agency, Barrack handed Beirut a five-page proposal in June that centered on three main objectives. The first is the monopolization of all weapons under the Lebanese state’s control. The second involves enacting fiscal and economic reforms, including tighter border controls, anti-smuggling efforts, and boosted customs revenues. The third demands a reconfiguration of ties with Syria by demarcating borders and expanding trade.

No timeline is spelled out in the document, but US pressure suggests an expectation for full implementation by year’s end. Lebanon, the official claims, is drafting a unified response based on the ministerial statement and President Joseph Aoun’s inaugural address.

But Beirut has its own demands, including an end to Israeli violations, a full withdrawal from occupied territories, and the launch of reconstruction efforts in the south.

For now, Hezbollah’s official position remains undisclosed. Its response is expected to surface in the coming days, as Barrack returns to Beirut.

After meeting with President Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri in Beirut today, Barrack announced that he is “satisfied” with the Lebanese authorities’ response to Washington’s request regarding the disarmament of Hezbollah. At the same time, he warned that Lebanon “will be left behind” if it does not move in line with the ongoing regional changes. Barrack also stated that “Hezbollah is a political party, and it also has an armed wing. Hezbollah needs to see that there is a future for them, and that this path is not meant to be only against them, and that there is an intersection between peace and prosperity for them as well.”

Empty promises, no Israeli restraint

During his last visit, Barrack met Lebanon’s three top officials to pitch a phased disarmament plan, divided by time and geography. He hinted at possible US pressure on Tel Aviv to vacate recently occupied points. But when pressed, he admitted there were no guarantees that Israel would halt its aggression.

This is no peace deal. It is an ultimatum.

Barrack’s push marks the culmination of a decades-long campaign to dismantle the region’s anti-imperialist front. With Egypt and Jordan long co-opted, Syria’s Baathist era gutted, and Iraq’s factions fragmented, apart from Yemen’s Ansarallah-aligned army, Hezbollah remains the last major armed deterrent to Israeli expansion.

Washington and Tel Aviv understand this. Disarming Hezbollah clears the path for diplomatic normalization not only with Beirut, but also with Syria’s so-called interim government under de facto President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former ISIS chief who went by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, now edging closer to normalization with Tel Aviv.

Capitulation without compensation

The US demands everything and offers nothing. There are no guarantees of Israeli withdrawal. No prisoner releases. No end to airstrikes or assassinations. Not even arms for the Lebanese army or funds for reconstruction.

Instead, Washington continues to throttle the army by blocking weapons transfers and targeting seized stockpiles, cementing its subservience.

Barrack’s so-called solution is a trap. It further strips Lebanon of sovereignty, invites more Israeli strikes across the south, the Bekaa, and even Beirut, and paves the way for sectarian fragmentation under the guise of national reform.

With some domestic factions parroting US-Israeli talking points, the threat is no longer just foreign. Western-backed, right-wing Lebanese elements are gaining narrative traction, openly adopting Tel Aviv’s discourse on resistance weapons. These forces could soon coordinate directly with the occupation state, becoming internal agents of destabilization.

Meanwhile, the proposal ignores the Palestinian refugee question, omits border security mechanisms, and offers no path to deter Israeli incursions. In effect, it sets the stage for a sectarian, security-driven partition of Lebanon.

Divide and conquer: Disarming in stages

Washington’s strategy is clear. It aims to isolate and disarm resistance factions one by one. Last month, the target was Palestinian groups. Now, Hezbollah. The aim is to prevent a unified front by cutting off cross-sectarian solidarity and picking off targets individually.

If these pressures are not absorbed and neutralized, the risks are existential. A major Israeli assault on Lebanon or a manufactured civil conflict is likely. At the same time, extremist groups are resurging in Syria under Sharaa’s watch, a man eager to appease Washington and Tel Aviv at all costs.

Hezbollah and its supporters face a stark choice. They must either surrender to foreign diktats or entrench their defenses and refuse to even entertain a debate on arms as long as threats persist.

This may be the gravest threat to Lebanon’s post-war existence. With the US shedding all pretense of neutrality and openly advocating for a new regional map, the country faces a binary future: resist, or be dismembered.

Lebanon’s salvation hinges on one truth. Only a united front behind the resistance can preserve its sovereignty and shield it from the vultures circling overhead.

July 7, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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