Red ribbons in London: A silent uprising bringing Palestinian hostages back into view
By Adnan Hmidan | MEMO | November 16, 2025
Walking through Westminster, in the quiet rush of central London, flashes of red caught my attention — ribbons tied to lampposts, railings, and street fixtures. They were not adverts or campaign posters, but dense, symbolic gestures: spontaneous in form, unmistakable in meaning. They returned to public sight faces that have long been hidden behind prison walls — Palestinian hostages abducted by the occupation from homes and hospitals, held without trial under a system that resembles nothing but the law of the jungle.
These ribbons seemed like individual efforts, small and uncoordinated, yet unified in what they were trying to say: that the Palestinian hostage file remains locked in darkness, despite being one of the most devastating human crises. Thousands have been torn from their lives with no charges, no legal process, no daylight.
Of the nearly 9,100 Palestinians currently detained, it is estimated that almost a third are effectively treated as hostages; abducted and denied even the bare minimum of legal rights or guarantees.
A language that must reclaim its meaning
For years, the word “prisoner” has been used broadly. But what the occupation practises is not detention — it is abduction. People are taken from their beds or hospital rooms and disappear for indefinite periods, without charges, court hearings, or the most basic procedural rights.
The figures alone reveal the scale of the crisis:
3,544 held under administrative detention without trial
400 children
53 women
16 doctors
117 Palestinian hostages killed in the past two years alone during the genocide in Gaza
These individuals cannot honestly be called “prisoners.” They are hostages in every legal and moral sense — seized outside any legitimate framework by a state whose own foundations rest on dispossession and violation.
Red… a colour that bears witness, not beauty
The choice of red is self-explanatory. It is the colour of spilled blood, of injustice endured, of wounds that never fully heal.
These ribbons may hang quietly across London, but the question they raise is anything but quiet:
How can thousands of people be abducted in this way, while the world remains unable — or unwilling — to see them?
No one is asked to lead a campaign or become an activist. What is needed is recognition, a wider awakening to a file packed with human lives, daily suffering, families searching, and children growing up in absence.
Stories hanging from lampposts… so memory does not fade
Seeing the ribbons brought back the painful stories that fill this file:
The child pulled from his bed because soldiers deemed him a “threat,”
The woman taken from her home in front of her children,
The doctor who vanished from an operating room and never returned,
Those subjected to torture and enforced disappearance,
And the testimonies of rape and sexual abuse recently documented by international organisations.
These stories need no embellishment; their truth is weight enough. They also echo Steve Biko’s famous line:
“The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”
These red ribbons feel like a modest attempt to unsettle that weapon.
Catherine Connolly’s victory: Europe’s moral rebellion against the Israeli occupation
When execution becomes a celebration
It is difficult to grasp that the occupation’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, celebrated inside the Knesset after passing a law permitting the execution of Palestinian detainees.
More troubling still is how easily such a moment can pass as a routine political step — as though it were merely another debate rather than a descent into deeper, institutionalised brutality.
When a state legalises killing those it has abducted without trial, imprisonment ceases to resemble detention. It becomes just one point on a chain that runs from abduction to torture to death.
The rising number of Palestinians dying inside Israeli prisons is not an exaggeration — it is an expanding reality.
Preserving memory before preserving the body
Red ribbons do not claim to liberate anyone, nor do they replace political or legal work. But they accomplish something essential: they return faces to public view and stop stories from being buried in darkness.
The Palestinian hostage file needs wider adoption and genuine engagement. It is a file overflowing with pain and heavy with violations, yet among the least addressed internationally.
Ribbons cannot break iron bars.
But they can remind the world that behind every statistic is a human being waiting to be rescued from disappearance.
Justice begins when we choose to see.
And sometimes, the first step toward that justice is nothing more than a small red thread tied to a lamppost in a distant city.
Airbnb sued in France for rentals in occupied West Bank
MEMO | November 4, 2025
The Association of Jurists for the Respect of International Law (JURDI) has sued Airbnb in France for listing properties in Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in the West Bank, the BFMTV broadcaster said Tuesday, Anadolu reports.
JURDI, a non-profit group in France that advocates for international law regarding the Israeli-Palestine conflict, accuses Airbnb of supporting war crimes by listing the properties in occupied territories in the West Bank. It is asking the court to order the company to remove listings in Israeli settlements.
“By offering these accommodations, Airbnb contributes to the normalization and perpetuation of the colonial regime, by providing financial resources to settlers and legitimizing their presence,” JURDI said in its lawsuit, excerpts of which were seen by BFMTV.
Attorney Helene Massin-Trachez, who is leading the case, said French law prohibits offering contracts that violate public order, arguing that Airbnb was doing exactly that by promoting unlawful rental agreements to clients based in France.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 13, and if the court rules in JURDI’s favor, Airbnb will have eight days to comply before facing a €5,000 ($5,740) fine for each day of delay.
The company defended its actions when contacted by BFMTV, denying it profits from the international situation and vowed to remain committed to addressing each of the situations “with the greatest care.”
The French Human Rights League (LDH) filed a complaint against Airbnb and Booking.com last month for listing properties in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories.
The complaint accuses those companies of complicity and aggravated concealment of war crimes, underlining that the platforms promote “occupation tourism” by offering listings in Israeli settlements.
Report: UK smears Iran to justify ban on Palestine Action
Press TV – November 4, 2025
A leading British “PR consultancy” working for the Israeli regime’s top arms producer has been found culpable of fabricating and planting a false media narrative linking Palestine Action to Iran, in what appears to be a coordinated effort to justify the group’s eventual proscription.
According to British news magazine Private Eye, a “trusted witness” said Georgia Pickering, head of the London-based PR firm CMS Strategic, which represents Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, boasted about planting a story in The Times alleging that the Islamic Republic was bankrolling the direct-action network.
The story appeared just days before the UK government moved to outlaw Palestine Action under its “terrorism” legislation in July.
The fabricated report, which claimed that the Home Office was probing Tehran’s alleged financial ties to the group, was later recycled by The Daily Mail and the GB News channel, amplifying suspicions and pressure against the movement.
However, when Private Eye reached out to the Home Office, officials said they did not recognize the claims, effectively disowning the narrative that had dominated headlines.
A spokesperson for Palestine Action dismissed the entire affair as “baseless” and “ridiculous”, while CMS Strategic publicly denied involvement in the article, despite Pickering’s private admission.
Further revelations highlighted that the smear campaign did not emerge in isolation.
Just two days before the story broke, the pro-Israeli lobby group We Believe in Israel claimed on social media that Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) was the “darker puppeteer” behind Palestine Action, despite offering no proof beyond vague references to “similar slogans.”
In the months leading up to the group’s ban, the same lobby orchestrated a “multi-front” campaign pushing for Palestine Action’s proscription, issuing two reports whose language was later echoed almost verbatim by Yvette Cooper, the then–home secretary, in her official statement outlawing the movement.
For years, Palestine Action has led a relentless grassroots campaign against Elbit Systems, targeting its factories and offices for producing weapons used by the Israeli regime in its assaults on Palestinians, including its war of genocide on the Gaza Strip that began in October 2023.
West weaponizing laws to silence pro-Palestine activism: Study
Al Mayadeen | October 14, 2025
The right to protest is facing increasing restrictions across the West, The Guardian reported on Monday, citing a new study by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), which accuses governments of criminalizing pro-Palestine activism and using counter-terrorism and antisemitism laws to stifle dissent.
The report focuses on the UK, US, France, and Germany, accusing authorities in these countries of “weaponizing” national security and anti-hate legislation to silence criticism of “Israel” and suppress demonstrations supporting Palestinian rights in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
“This trend reflects a worrying shift towards the normalization of exceptional measures in dealing with dissenting voices,” Yosra Frawes, head of FIDH’s Maghreb and Middle East desk, told The Guardian.
Compiled from open-source data, witness accounts, and institutional reports gathered between October 2023 and September 2025, the study was released just one day after a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire that secured the release of all living Israeli captives and around 2,000 Palestinian detainees.
According to FIDH, restrictions on speech and assembly have extended beyond protests, impacting journalists, academics, and public officials who express solidarity with Palestinians.
In the United Kingdom, the organization found that protest rights have eroded under both Conservative and Labour administrations. The report points to the 2024 anti-protest law introduced by the Conservatives, later deemed unlawful, and to what it calls the Labour government’s continuation of “official narratives” justifying support for “Israel”.
It highlights former Home Secretary Suella Braverman‘s branding of pro-Palestine rallies as “hate marches”, arguing that this rhetoric “stigmatized support for Palestine and Palestinian resistance movements” and “worked to discriminate against Muslims and other racialized groups in the UK.”
FIDH says the change in government in July 2024 “did little to change official government narratives,” claiming Labour has linked criticism of “Israel” with “violent antisemitism” while continuing to target Muslim and racialized communities.
The tensions have been further inflamed by the Labour government’s ban on the activist network Palestine Action and its proposal to expand police powers at protests.
FIDH draws parallels across the Atlantic, where US authorities have detained demonstrators and pursued legal actions against individuals expressing solidarity with Palestine. In France, the government has faced criticism for banning pro-Palestine demonstrations in several cities and for dissolving the rights group Urgence Palestine.
Meanwhile, in Germany, protests have drawn thousands, but police tactics and restrictions on slogans deemed antisemitic, for the mere criticism of “Israel”, have been widely condemned as excessive. The report argues that Germany’s actions reflect a “collective discomfort” in balancing free expression with its postwar responsibility to combat what it classifies as “antisemitism”.
Freedom crisis
The federation recommends that the UK establish an independent oversight body for policing demonstrations and amend key legislation, Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and Section 11 of the Public Order Act 2023, to protect political speech and prevent arbitrary searches.
“Ultimately, the crackdown on solidarity with Palestinians reveals a profound crisis, not only of human rights in the occupied territories but of freedom itself, in societies that claim to be democratic,” the report concludes.
FIDH says that while legal frameworks vary among the UK, US, France, and Germany, the trend toward restricting Palestinian solidarity movements represents a global pattern of shrinking civic space, one that calls into question the credibility of Western nations as defenders of democratic freedoms.
World cities rise in solidarity with Gaza: Marches and calls to hold Israel accountable
Palestinian Information Center – October 12, 2025
Demonstrations and solidarity rallies with the Palestinian people continued across various capitals and cities around the world, in a scene that reflects the growing global awareness of the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, along with mounting calls to hold Israel accountable and end the ongoing genocide that has lasted for two years.
In Australia, the group Palestine Action said that demonstrations took place on Sunday in 27 cities and towns in support of the Palestinians, most notably in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Protesters demanded that the government impose sanctions on Israel and halt all arms exports to it, stressing that continued cooperation with a state committing war crimes constitutes political and moral complicity.
In Indonesia, thousands gathered at Independence Square in central Jakarta to celebrate the ceasefire in Gaza, chanting slogans rejecting all forms of normalization with Israel, political, commercial, and sporting alike. They also expressed solidarity with Palestinians in the West Bank, who continue to face escalating assaults and raids by Israeli forces.
In Seoul, the South Korean capital, a solidarity protest was held calling for the rapid entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the lifting of the siege imposed for more than two years. Participants raised Palestinian flags and chanted for an end to the suffering of civilians.
Massive marches were held in London, where organizers said around half a million people took part in a demonstration that filled the streets of the British capital and headed toward the government headquarters on Downing Street. Protesters demanded an end to arms sales to Israel and accountability for those responsible for war crimes.
Participants stressed the need to achieve justice based on international law and to end occupation and apartheid.
In Berlin, thousands of demonstrators marched from the Brandenburg Gate to the city center, calling for a halt to Israeli arms shipments and an end to official support for the war on Gaza. Protesters denounced restrictions on pro-Palestine activism in Germany and chanted slogans such as “Freedom for Palestine” and “No peace on stolen land.” Limited clashes later broke out with police, who used force and arrested several demonstrators.
In Paris, a large protest took place that included activists and healthcare workers, some of whom had served in Gaza’s hospitals during the war. They called for the release of imprisoned doctors, foremost among them Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, and for guarantees to uphold the ceasefire and deliver urgent medical aid.
In Milan, hundreds of Italians joined a solidarity march where demonstrators demanded the reconstruction of Gaza and an end to the blockade imposed on it.
In Oslo, protests were held outside the parliament building, where participants called for the closure of the Israeli embassy and the severing of diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv.
In the Netherlands, the Plant an Olive Tree foundation organized a memorial event in Maastricht to honor the victims of the aggression, dedicated especially to Palestinian children and journalists killed in Israeli bombardments. Participants lined up in front of the historic St. Servatius Church, where photos and names of the martyrs were displayed, and thousands of children’s shoes were placed in the square in tribute to the young victims.
In Stockholm, hundreds joined a demonstration condemning the Israeli army’s attack on the Global Solidarity Flotilla, calling for a comprehensive embargo on Israel due to its repeated crimes against civilians. Protesters carried banners reading “Total blockade on Israel for a free Palestine,” before marching toward the Swedish parliament.
This global wave of protests, spanning more than thirty cities in just two days, reaffirmed that the Palestinian cause is no longer a local or regional issue, but rather a matter of global conscience calling for justice and an end to decades of occupation and collective punishment against civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.
The End of Impunity: The UN Slaps the Israeli Regime in the Face
The Silent Judgment of Nations: How the World Demonstratively Turned Its Back on Netanyahu
Netanyahu and the empty UN hall
By Viktor Mikhin – New Eastern Outlook – October 12, 2025
He stood at the podium, accustomed to the speeches of statesmen, but that day it was destined to become an instrument for justifying genocide. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of the Israeli regime, a man whose name will now stand alongside the darkest figures in history, was preparing to speak. But something happened that will forever remain in the annals of international diplomacy as a symbol of the moral collapse not only of one man, but of the entire system that has indulged him for far too long.
The UN General Assembly hall, usually filled with diplomatic indifference, exploded with a silence louder than any applause. Before Netanyahu could utter a single word, delegates from one country after another rose from their seats and demonstratively, silently, left the hall. This was not a spontaneous impulse, but a choreographed act of collective disgust. The spectacle was so humiliating for the leader of the so-called “only democracy in the Middle East” that the chairperson had to plead: “Order in the hall, I call for order in the hall!” But the appeal hung in the air. There was no order. There was a rebellion. A rebellion of conscience. A rebellion against injustice, genocide, and the annihilation of an entire Palestinian people.
Netanyahu’s face, usually a mask of unshakable self-confidence, contorted. He was shocked. He, the architect of carpet bombing, the destroyer of hospitals and schools, the executioner of children, women, and the elderly, was faced with something he did not expect: the silent, yet deafening, judgment of nations. In that moment, the mask of civility finally fell from the Israeli state. The world saw not a national leader, but an accused genocidaire left speaking to a nearly empty hall, save for a handful of his most loyal accomplices.
The “Father of Genocide’s” Speech: A New Language of Hate
And then the speech itself began. What was supposed to be a justification turned into a manifesto of misanthropy. Netanyahu, whose rhetoric had long since crossed all red lines, this time addressed the residents of Gaza directly. And in this vile address, there was a chilling cynicism worthy of the Nazi propagandists he so loves to compare his critics to.
He told them “not to listen to Hamas’s calls to remain in combat zones.” But is this not the height of hypocrisy? It is the Israeli army that has turned the entire Gaza Strip into one continuous “combat zone.” It is Israeli planes that are wiping entire neighborhoods off the map, following “evacuation maps” that are nothing more than a roadmap to a mass grave. Where are they to flee? To the sea, which Israeli ships have turned into a trap? To Rafah, which was then bombed? To the desert, where there is no water, no food, no shelter?
This appeal is not concern for civilians. It is the rhetorical trick of a murderer who, holding a knife over his victim, whispers, “It’s your own fault for not dodging.” It is an attempt to shift responsibility for one’s own crimes onto those who are doomed to die. This is the language of genocide. The very language that dehumanizes an entire people, turning them into a “human shield,” into “collateral damage,” into “animals,” as Israeli ministers and soldiers have openly and repeatedly called them.
The Anatomy of a Genocide: From Word to Deed
Let’s call things by their proper names. What is happening in Gaza is not a “conflict.” A conflict implies at least a semblance of symmetry. This is not a “war on terror.” This is the deliberate, systematic destruction of the Palestinian people as a national, ethnic, and cultural entity. And it fully corresponds to the legal definition of genocide as formulated in the 1948 UN Convention.
Article II of the Convention defines genocide as any of the acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.
Silent Accomplices and Cynical Allies
The scene at the UN was a bright moment of truth, but it also highlighted the monstrous hypocrisy of Western powers. While delegates from most of the world voted with their feet, the representatives of the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and some other subordinate countries remained in their seats. Their silent presence was more eloquent than any words. It was silent approval. Complicity.
Washington, which supplies the weapons and provides diplomatic cover for the ongoing slaughter, is the chief sponsor of this genocide. Every bomb that falls on a house in Gaza has “Made in the USA” written on it. Every veto cast in the UN Security Council against cease-fire resolutions is a permission to kill. The West, which built the “Never Again” system after World War II, has itself become its chief violator. “Never Again” has turned out to apply only to some peoples, but not to others.
A Voice from Under the Rubble: Why the World Must Listen to This Enemy
When Netanyahu tried to speak to the Palestinians, it was the monologue of an executioner. But the Palestinian people have their own voice. It is the voice of mothers mourning their children under the rubble. It is the voice of doctors performing operations by the light of flashlights. It is the voice of poets writing poems on the debris of their homes. It is the voice of unyielding dignity.
History will judge not only Netanyahu and his henchmen. History will judge everyone who turned away at this decisive moment. Every politician who traded humanity for geopolitical interests. Every journalist who called a massacre a “clash.” Every ordinary person who grew tired of “this complex issue.”
That day at the UN showed that the world’s patience has run out. The collective walkout of delegates is not just a gesture. It is the beginning of the end of the era of impunity for the Israeli regime. It is an acknowledgment that apartheid, occupation, and genocide cannot be legitimate policies in the 21st century.
The court in The Hague has already begun its work. And someday, perhaps, the world will see the man who today trembled at the podium with rage and humiliation, in the defendant’s dock. But executioners come and go, while the people fighting for their freedom and right to exist remain. Palestine will be free. And that day when the world turned its back on its executioner will be one of the first steps toward long-awaited liberation. The truth, like conscience, does not remain silent forever. It decisively walks out of the council chamber to scream loudly for the whole world to hear.
Viktor Mikhin, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (RAEN), Expert on Middle Eastern Countries
Irish contender blasts Irish gov. over delay of sanctions on ‘Israel’
Al Mayadeen | October 9, 2025
Ireland’s leading presidential contender has accused the government of bowing to US corporate pressure by stalling legislation that would sanction Israeli settlements, as anger grows over “Israel’s” genocide in Gaza.
Catherine Connolly, an independent left-wing lawmaker backed by Sinn Féin, urged Dublin to resist diluting the long-delayed Occupied Territories Bill, which aims to ban trade with goods and services linked to illegal Israeli settlements.
“We cannot allow the government to fail the Palestinian people on this,” Connolly told Reuters, accusing coalition partners Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael of “dragging their feet.” She warned that limiting the bill to goods only would amount to “an appalling capitulation to corporate interests” and an “unforgivable betrayal”.
Her remarks came just hours before US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire and captive release deal between “Israel” and Hamas as part of his plan to end the two-year genocide in Gaza.
‘Ireland must match its moral stance with real action’
Government insiders told Reuters the proposed law may be watered down following lobbying by major US businesses operating in Ireland. While Ireland’s government has been vocal in condemning the Israeli war, the bill’s progress has stalled amid diplomatic and economic pressures.
Connolly, who currently leads in opinion polls ahead of the October 24 presidential election, said she would continue pushing for a comprehensive sanctions framework that includes services, insisting that Ireland “must match its moral stance with real action.”
Her stance was echoed by Frances Black, an independent senator who first introduced the legislation seven years ago. “The government needs to be strong on this. They need to be courageous,” Black said. “It’s absolutely vital that we have goods and services on the bill. We need to match our words with action.”
The proposed sanctions, in preparation for over a year, have drawn criticism from “Israel”, international business groups, and US lawmakers. Earlier this week, a group of American legislators warned Prime Minister Micheál Martin that passing the bill could damage US-Irish relations and harm American companies based in Ireland.
US takes action to protect ‘Israel’, again
Last August, a group of US Congress members sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging him to evaluate whether Ireland should be added to a list of countries boycotting “Israel” should the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) become law.
The letter, which was signed by New York Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney and backed by 16 other congressional members, expresses what it describes as serious concerns about the Irish government’s proposed ban on imports from Israeli-occupied territories.
The letter cites Section 999 of the 1986 Internal Revenue Code, which condemns foreign boycotts targeting allied countries, with specific opposition to measures directed at “Israel”.
The letter warned that if Ireland were added to the list of countries boycotting “Israel”, it would trigger mandatory tax reporting obligations and possible financial penalties for American citizens and companies conducting specific operations in those nations.
The group characterized the Irish government’s efforts on the OTB as “part of [a] broader effort aligned with the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement which seeks to economically isolate Israel.”
The pirates of Israeli supremacy: The West’s favorite rogue state has done it again
By Tarik Cyril Amar | RT | October 2, 2025
The long-expected if perfectly criminal has happened again: Israel’s navy has intercepted the Gaza-bound Sumud Flotilla by force, stopping almost 50 boats and, in effect, kidnapping hundreds of their crews and passengers.
In terms of law – which, of course, are never really applied in practice to Israel – everything is exceedingly clear: The Sumud Flotilla was a volunteer operation to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza which has been subjected to Israeli genocide for now almost two years. Israel had a clear obligation to let that aid pass.
But then what to expect from the world’s most aggressive rogue state that is not “only” committing genocide, but also waging regional wars of aggression and running terrorist assassination campaigns in the face of the global public? And Israel has a well-established track-record of this kind of piracy, of course, having stopped several attempts to bring aid by sea since 2010, sometimes with casualties among the humanitarian activists.
Stopping the Sumud Flotilla wasn’t merely criminal but criminal in every regard lawyers can imagine, a typical Israeli super-whopper of legal nihilism: Israel attacked the flotilla ships in international waters where it has no jurisdiction. Even if the ships had gotten closer to the Gaza coast, they would, by the way, still not have been inside any Israeli territorial waters because there are no such waters off Gaza, over which Israel has no sovereignty as clearly confirmed by the International Court of Justice last year. What you find off the coast of Gaza, as a matter of fact, are Palestinian territorial waters.
The blockade of Gaza, which has lasted not “merely” for the duration of the current high-intensity genocide-ethnic cleansing campaign but for close to two decades now, is illegal. Because the blockade has been in place for so long, Israel is simply lying – surprise, surprise – when arguing it is a short-term measure covered by the San Remo rules, which summarize “International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea.” And even if those rules applied, under them as well Israel would have to let humanitarian aid through.
Finally, as Israel has attacked ships and citizens belonging to over 40 countries, Israel has committed aggression under international law against all of them and, less obvious but a fact, also crimes under each of these countries’ domestic laws, because they apply on those ships.
So far for the law, but then again, Israel is de facto outside and above the law. That much we have known for a long time. Indeed, Israel could not exist without constantly breaking international law and getting away with it. For Israel, lawlessness and impunity are not luxuries but vital necessities.
The reason why it has been able to exist in this manner is well-known, too: It is protected by the West and, in particular, the US. The latter is Israel’s single worst co-perpetrator, facilitating its crimes like no other state on Earth. Soon, for instance, the recent war of aggression waged by America and Israel together against Iran will probably be followed by a second, even worse assault.
In this regard, what has happened to the Sumud Flotilla has been a test: Clearly, recent moves by various Western governments, including the UK, France, and Australia to “recognize” – in an extremely dishonest manner – a Palestinian state and add some cautious rhetorical criticism of Israel make no difference to their absolute deference in practice to both Israel and its backers in the US.
What seemed like a glimmer of hope for a moment, the appearance of warships from various nations to apparently escort the humanitarian flotilla, has turned into just another humiliation: the escort abandoned their charges well in time to allow Israel a free hand.
The same Western leaders responsible for this cowardly retreat cannot stop waffling about the need not to “reward the aggressor,” when dialing up the war hysteria against Russia, as they have been doing mightily again recently, from mystery drones to declaring unconstitutional states of “not-peace” to chatter of states of emergency.
What about, for once, not rewarding the genocider for a change? But that’s hard, isn’t it? Once all Western governments are accomplices of Israel.
The Sumud Flotilla will not have been the last attempt to break both Israel’s genocidal blockade and its aura of impunity. There is hope, because even in NATO-EU Europe and the US ever more people understand what Israel really is and what it really does: a settler-colonial apartheid state that won’t stop committing genocide and ethnic cleansing. Israel’s systematic campaigns of propaganda and information war are escalating in response, as the case of TikTok has just demonstrated. But even Israel and its American friends cannot reverse history and an experience that the whole world has made. The Gaza Genocide is a fact already. It will not be forgotten. The resistance to Israel will never end.
Tarik Cyril Amar is a historian from Germany working at Koç University, Istanbul, on Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, the history of World War II, the cultural Cold War, and the politics of memory.
Italian dockworkers block ships bound for Israel amid Gaza flotilla tensions
Dockworkers and citizens at the garrison outside the Tuscan dock pose for a photo and rejoice at the news that Israeli ship Zim is preparing to leave the port of Livorno without unloading or loading after Italian dockworkers on strike, block the Darsena Toscana terminal during a protest in support of Gaza, Palestine and Global Sumud Flotilla on September 29, 2025 in Livorno, Italy. [Photo by Laura Lezza/Getty Images]
MEMO | October 2, 2025
Dockworkers in several Italian ports are stepping up actions to block shipments to Israel as tensions mount over the approach of the “Sumud Flotilla” to Gaza.
Labour unions across Europe have pledged coordinated efforts to disrupt maritime trade with Israel if the flotilla comes under attack. In a meeting held in Genoa, union representatives said they had set up an alert system to monitor shipments and respond rapidly by halting the loading or unloading of vessels.
Italy has become the epicenter of the movement. Genoa was the first port to act, followed by Livorno, where union-led strikes have already disrupted operations. The container ship Zim Virginia was kept waiting for five days off the Tuscan coast after dockworkers refused to allow it to dock.
Another vessel, the Zim Iberia, is expected to arrive in Livorno on 3 October and is likely to encounter similar resistance, according to union organizers.
In Genoa, tensions escalated last week when about 2,000 protesters gathered at the port. The demonstration forced the Zim New Zealand to leave without loading any cargo after reports that several containers were suspected of being linked to Israeli shipments.
Union leaders said their campaign is aimed at putting pressure on Israel and demonstrating solidarity with Gaza. They warned that actions would intensify if the flotilla is obstructed.
Protests erupt worldwide against Israeli attack on Global Sumud Flotilla
The Cradle | October 2, 2025
Protests erupted across cities worldwide on the night of 1 October after Israel intercepted the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, with thousands taking to the streets to denounce the raid, demand the release of detained activists, and call for an end to the siege on the enclave.
Demonstrations broke out in Greece, Spain, Sweden, and Belgium, as large rallies took place in Italy, where the country’s largest trade unions announced a general strike for 3 October.
Among the largest gatherings overnight, tens of thousands marched through Rome in support of the Sumud Freedom Flotilla.
Hundreds more blocked traffic at Piazza dei Cinquecento, while in Milan, large crowds shut down train stations, blocking rail traffic as part of nationwide demonstrations.
Organizers estimated around 1,000 people would march toward Piazza Barberini. Italy’s unions USB and CGIL confirmed a nationwide strike call, while dock workers carried out their pledge to blockade in response to the flotilla’s interception.
Hundreds also gathered outside the US consulate in Istanbul, chanting slogans, praying for Palestinians, and denouncing what they called genocide.
In Berlin, protesters gathered at Central Station, and in Brussels, marchers moved from Place de la Bourse to the Belgian Foreign Ministry.
In London, thousands marched to the prime minister’s residence, chanting against him. In Germany, demonstrators briefly shut down the main train station.
The Tunisian capital also saw a mass demonstration, while Mauritania’s Nouakchott hosted protests denouncing the flotilla raid.
A snap protest was held outside Sydney Town Hall in support of the Global Sumud Flotilla, with demonstrators voicing solidarity and chanting “From the river to the sea,” which echoed through the rally.
Latin American cities witnessed parallel mobilizations. Local media in Buenos Aires said hundreds demonstrated against what they called an “assault by the Israeli occupation forces” and demanded an end to the genocide in Gaza.
In Mexico City, Reuters captured images of marchers outside the Foreign Ministry, with demonstrators demanding the release of seven Mexican nationals detained in the flotilla raid.
Activists Arlin Medrano and Sol Gonzalez confirmed in a video that their ship had been intercepted in international waters, calling it an illegal act.
David Pena, the Mexican delegation’s legal representative, told protesters Israel planned to charge them with trespassing and deport them.
In Colombia, protesters gathered outside the headquarters of the National Business Association (ANDI) after the Global Movement to Gaza accused it of ties to Israel’s economic mission – an allegation the group denied in a statement.
Demonstrations also swept Bogota, Montevideo, and several Argentine cities, with protesters in Uruguay’s capital calling for the imprisonment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Out of 44 vessels that departed with the Global Sumud Flotilla, only four are still marked as ‘sailing’ as of 12:15 pm Thursday, according to live tracking data on the flotilla’s website.
One vessel appeared to have reached Gaza’s waters before communications were lost.
Organizers said one of the boats intercepted was rammed by an Israeli naval vessel.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry labeled the mission on its official X account as the “Hamas Flotilla.”
Colombia expels Israeli diplomats after Gaza aid flotilla raid
MEMO | October 2, 2025
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has ordered the expulsion of all remaining Israeli diplomats from the country, after the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla heading to Gaza.
He also called for suspending trade agreements with Israel after two Colombian citizens were arrested on board one of the ships. “Israel detained two Colombian women in international waters,” Petro said, demanding their immediate release.
Only four Israeli diplomats were still in Colombia after President Petro cut ties with Israel last year.
In a statement, Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the government and the Colombian people, strongly condemned what it described as the kidnapping carried out by Israeli armed forces in international waters. The ministry said this act violated international law and the Geneva Conventions, and targeted the two Colombian nationals, Luna Barreto and Manuela Bedoya, both members of the Global Sumud Flotilla.
The ministry also called for the immediate release of its citizens, as well as all other members of the flotilla. It urged the governments of Spain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Slovenia, Indonesia, Ireland, Libya, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mexico, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Thailand, Turkey, and South Africa to take urgent and joint action to protect the lives and safety of their nationals.
According to the ministry, the international flotilla set sail in the Mediterranean with three objectives: to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, to raise awareness of the urgent humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people, and to highlight the need to end the war in Gaza.
Activists report aggressive Israeli cyber, physical harassment as flotilla nears Gaza
Press TV – October 1, 2025
Activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla say they are facing aggressive harassment by Israeli warships as they approach Gaza to break the illegal naval blockade and deliver much-needed humanitarian aid.
The lead vessel, Alma, was deliberately encircled and subjected to communication blackouts early Wednesday, forcing its captain to take evasive maneuvers while Israeli forces continued their intimidation tactics against other ships in the flotilla.
“This was one of the biggest acts of harassment we have faced so far. They tried to scare us, but we weren’t afraid, and we told them we would not be afraid,” Metehan Sari, a Turkish activist aboard the Alma, was quoted as saying by Anadolu news agency.
Sari said that the Israeli navy ships came within 5 to 10 meters of the Alma.
Zeynel Abidin Ozkan, another activist aboard Adagio, said drones were flying “intensively” over their fleet overnight and that at around 5am, two ships which weren’t a part of the flotilla approached them and “launched a cyberattack on the GPS and internet database of the Alma, one of our fleet’s main vessels, cutting off our communication with the ship”.
Another flotilla vessel, the Sirius, also experienced interference. Lisi Proenca, aboard Sirius, said an Israeli naval ship circled her vessel for about 15 minutes, jamming communications and causing tension and fear among the crew. Members of the crew later demonstrated they were unarmed.
Despite these hostile actions, the flotilla comprised of over 40 boats and 500 activists, including prominent international figures such as Italian politicians and climate activist Greta Thunberg, remains undeterred in its mission to challenge the Zionist regime’s suffocating siege on Gaza.
The official page for the Global Sumud Flotilla said the fleet is now 118 nautical miles from Gaza, which it notes is 8 nautical miles from where Madleen, a flotilla which was launched in June this year, was intercepted.
Maritime traffic data is also showing that several vessels from the flotilla are approaching Egyptian territorial waters.
In a Telegram post it said: “We remain committed to non-violence and to creating a People’s Humanitarian Corridor – a lifeline for Gaza. The international community has entrusted us with this mission, and we will not fail.”
The harassment reflects Israel’s ongoing efforts to prevent any aid from reaching the Palestinian people, who have endured months of devastating blockade and violence.
Communications systems on multiple vessels were jammed, and cameras disabled during the Israeli naval maneuvers, cutting off crucial documentation and real-time updates from the flotilla.
The activists have already passed the 120-nautical mile mark, defying repeated Israeli warnings.
International condemnation of Israel’s blockade and military harassment continues to grow, with countries like Italy and Spain criticizing the recent attacks on the flotilla, which included drone strikes and explosions.
Israel’s baseless claims labeling the flotilla as a Hamas operation serve only to justify its ongoing repression.
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Neocon Max Boot: Legal and illegal aliens need to enlist in the US army and die for Israel
By Jonas E. Alexis | Veterans Today | October 16, 2107
In 1973 Irving Kristol, the godfather of the Neoconservative movement, made a stunning statement which is still relevant to understanding the Israeli influence in US foreign policy. Kristol said:
“Senator McGovern is very sincere when he says that he will try to cut the military budget by 30%. And this is to drive a knife in the heart of Israel… Jews don’t like big military budgets. But it is now an interest of the Jews to have a large and powerful military establishment in the United States…
“American Jews who care about the survival of the state of Israel have to say, no, we don’t want to cut the military budget, it is important to keep that military budget big, so that we can defend Israel.”
Read the statement again very carefully. A big military budget, said Kristol, is only good for Israel, not America or much of the Western World. In other words, precious American soldiers who go to the Middle East to fight so-called terrorism are just working for Israel, not for America.
So, whenever the Neocons use words such as “democracy” or “freedom,” they are essentially conning decent Americans to support Israel’s perpetual wars. … continue
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