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Canada faces legal action over complicity in Gaza genocide

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march during a protest in downtown Toronto,Canada on August 3, 2024 [Mert Alper Dervış/Anadolu Agency]
MEMO | November 7, 2024

A coalition of Canadian legal rights groups has launched a landmark lawsuit against the federal government, charging it with failing to prevent genocide in Gaza and violating its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

The Coalition for Canadian Accountability in Gaza, which includes the Legal Centre for Palestine (LCP), the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) and other legal advocates, alleges that Ottawa has failed to meet its legal obligations to prevent genocide and has violated the plaintiffs’ rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

https://twitter.com/ICJPalestine/status/1854178549558607975

The legal action has been filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on behalf of two Palestinian-Canadians who have suffered devastating losses in Gaza during Israel’s year-long assault on the civilian population.

The case centres on two plaintiffs: Hany el Batnigi, who was trapped in Gaza during the initial bombardment in October and lost multiple family members to Israeli attacks, and Tamer Jarada, whose family suffered crushing losses when their apartment building in Gaza City was destroyed by an Israeli air strike, killing his father, sisters, uncle, aunt, nephews and numerous extended family members.

The lawsuit specifically challenges Canada’s continued military exports to Israel and its failure to exercise influence over Israeli actions. The filing argues that the government has neglected to deploy available tools, including sanctions against Israeli leaders, preventing Canadian citizens from serving in the Israeli military, and curtailing Canadian charities’ support for illegal acts in Israel.

The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that Canada has violated its duty to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide. Additionally, they argue that the government’s failure to act has violated their Charter rights to security of the person and equal protection under the law without discrimination.

The legal action also criticises Canada’s Gaza Special Measures temporary resident visa programme, which has failed to provide adequate assistance to Palestinians fleeing the conflict, with both plaintiffs experiencing major obstacles in their attempts to secure safe passage for surviving family members to Canada.

November 7, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

The repercussions of the colonization of Europe by the United States

By Eduardo Vasco | Strategic Culture Foundation | November 7, 2024

Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi recently presented a comprehensive report to the European Union that demonstrates how Europeans are falling behind Americans – and even Asians – on key issues of economic development.

While in 1990, GDP per capita in the United States was 16% higher than in the eurozone, by 2023 that gap had already grown to more than 30%. This means that Americans are increasingly richer than Europeans.

But the gap between the richest men in the United States and Europe is also widening. Only 10% of high-tech entrepreneurs in the top 30 and top 500 of the market capitalization rankings are European. By comparison, 73% in the first and 56% in the second are American.

These new figures once again reveal the economic devastation of Europe. And its origins are directly linked to American power.

By the 1930s, the United States had lost all the advantage it had gained over its European competitors at the end of World War I. Europe was devastated and Washington had emerged as the world’s great economic superpower. However, the 1929 crisis brought this strength to an end. The Great Depression seemed to have put an end to the American dream.

Just as World War I was a dispute between imperialist powers over the world market, the future World War II needed to be unleashed so that the Americans could regain control – partially lost to Germany and Japan in the wake of the 1930s crisis. Franklin D. Roosevelt led the reorganization of the American economy, vastly expanding federal spending and making large public investments thanks to a dictatorial centralization of economic power in the hands of a small corporate monopoly.

The result was an unimaginable increase in industrial production – focused almost exclusively on the war. Pearl Harbor came in very handy: it was the excuse the regime needed to eliminate opposition to its entry into the conflict. Between 1941 and 1944, U.S. war production more than tripled, and by 1944 its factories were producing twice as much as Germany, Italy and Japan.

American industrial production served two intertwined strategic objectives: to destroy Europe and to rebuild it in its image and likeness. The U.S. equipped Britain with the weapons needed to confront Germany, and both carried out an intense bombing campaign with the explicit intention of destroying the German economy, the industrial engine of Europe. Almost 2.7 million tons of bombs were dropped on Germany and the Nazi-occupied regions of other countries, particularly France and Belgium (completing the industrial heartland of Europe). American and British aerial bombings killed 305,000 Germans, injured almost 800,000, totally or partially destroyed 5.5 million homes, and left 20 million without essential public services.

It was genocide. Added to the immediate slaughter of 330,000 civilians in Japan by the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the U.S. bombings took the lives of 635,000 people.

The U.S. destruction of Europe was a big deal that benefited the United States decisively in securing its total supremacy in the new postwar world order. The deficit of foreign countries in 1946-47 was more than $19 billion. The U.S., which was intact, offered loans to begin the reconstruction of Europe as a soft form of colonization, while at the same time punishing those countries severely. In the words of the unsuspecting establishment historian Arthur S. Link, “the American government, even during the bitter days of Reconstruction, had never taken such terrible revenge on former enemies.” The German people and institutions were reformed “in the image of the United States.”

The Truman Doctrine and, mainly, the Marshall Plan, were the pillars of the U.S.’s post-World War II policy of colonizing Europe: the first transformed all of Western Europe and part of its southeast into a huge American military base, through NATO, policing the politics of these countries. The second began as a clientelist policy, granting handouts to starving Europeans (11 billion dollars) that were later returned with interest, beginning the process of economic, political and social dependence on Europe. Between 1948 and 1951, another 12 billion dollars had been spent in this regard.

Combating the false threat of the Soviet Union was the excuse found by the American government to capture Europe. “The greatest nation on earth,” declared the Republican Arthur Vandenberg before the Senate, “will have to justify or abandon its leadership.” This was how the United States managed to overcome a crisis of overproduction and sell its goods and weapons, while at the same time leaving the Europeans hostage to their accumulated debts. American products invaded Europe and NATO began to control the national armies.

On the one hand, the post-World War II subjugation of Europe resulted in relative well-being for the population, which resulted in social stability. However, following the second major American colonization strategy – deindustrialization with the imposition of neoliberal policies in the 1980s and 1990s – this welfare state was dismantled, leaving Europeans completely hostage to the United States.

In all countries around the world, the main body responsible for scientific research and development is the armed forces. However, Europe’s armies have become vassals of the United States through NATO and their capacity has been reduced to increase that of the American forces on the continent. The report commissioned by the EU from Draghi highlights the harmful consequences of this subjugation for Europe.

According to the report, Europeans spend half as much as Americans on research and development in relation to GDP, and many European businesspeople prefer to migrate to the United States to develop these activities. R&D spending relative to GDP in the European Union is also lower than that of China, the United Kingdom, Taiwan and South Korea. The EU has already been overtaken by China in the number of articles published in leading scientific journals, and Japan and India are hot on its heels – while the U.S. remains ahead. Europe’s economic capacity for innovation also remains below that of the U.S. and Japan. It has already fallen behind in the development of digital technology.

Draghi suggests a series of “drastic measures” to combat the growing gap between the U.S. and Europe, according to Politico. However, these measures are unlikely to have any effect, since the EU’s policy remains absolutely aligned (i.e. dependent) on that of the United States and no significant measures have been adopted recently that indicate a different path from that taken in recent decades.

This is why there is growing discontent, not only among ordinary people in the bloc’s countries, but also among influential sectors of the European political and economic elites. The growth of the far right in Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, as well as the quest by the governments of Hungary and Slovakia for greater sovereignty, are clear reflections of this trend.

November 7, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Militarism, Timeless or most popular, War Crimes | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Israeli Forces Film Themselves Ransacking Women’s Clothes and Children’s Toys

Richard Medhurst | February 28, 2024

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November 7, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular, Video, War Crimes | , | Leave a comment

Canada’s McGill University event with UN rapporteur relocated amid pro-Palestine crackdown

UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca P. Albanese in Brussels, Belgium on April 10, 2024 [Thierry Monasse/Getty Images]
MEMO | November 6, 2024

The UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, delivered a speech at McGill University in Canada on Monday despite attempts to cancel her appearance, in what is a reflect of a broader pattern of suppressing criticism of Israel on North American campuses.

The event, originally scheduled to be held at McGill’s Faculty of Law, was relocated hastily to the student union building after the university raised concerns following pressure from several pro-Israel groups. A letter sent to the university on Friday called for Albanese to be barred from campus.

Speaking to a packed audience in the venue, Albanese acknowledged the controversy surrounding her appearance. “I know the hurdles you had to go through in order to secure this event, which makes this moment even more devastating,” she told the organisers. “We cannot mourn, we cannot talk.”

The student organisers were sharply critical of the university’s handling of the situation. “It must be clarified that McGill fought to shamelessly shut down this event,” said student union representative Hugo-Victor Solomon, who claimed that the university had threatened disciplinary action against the organisers.

The attempted cancellation at McGill coincided with wider opposition to Albanese’s Canadian tour. The UN rapporteur later alleged that pro-Israel lobby groups had successfully pressured Canadian government officials, including Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, to cancel planned meetings.

“It’s happening because of the pressure from pro-Israel lobby groups, who are very vocal, very virulent, very aggressive,” Albanese told reporters at Parliament Hill. “What are they fearing? I’m telling you the truth; I’m just speaking facts and international law.”

Despite the obstacles, the relocated event drew an overflow crowd, with students packing the venue to capacity. Organisers noted that the attempted suppression had inadvertently generated greater interest, drawing a larger audience than the original venue could have accommodated.

The controversy adds to growing concerns about academic freedom and open discourse regarding Israel and Palestine on university campuses. Critics point to what they describe as a pattern of institutional resistance to Palestinian advocacy and critical discussions of the Zionist state of Israel.

November 6, 2024 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Full Spectrum Dominance, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

UK government crackdown on pro-Palestine support may turn to lawfare against political dissidents

By Muhammad Hussein | MEMO | November 6, 2024

Throughout the past year of Israel’s war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the purported objective of wiping out Hamas, many governments across Europe have served as a kind of buffer for Tel Aviv, stopping at nothing to crush pro-Palestine protests. Demonstrators have been arrested and protests have been banned. The shameless labelling of all and any advocates for Palestinian rights as “Hamas sympathisers” and “anti-Semites” has exposed the obvious bias of European policymakers and police forces towards Israel and the Zionist narrative.

After around a year of such incidents and power games, the UK — the quiet repressor of dissent and rare expresser of policy positions — stepped up its own crackdown, arresting journalists or raiding their homes because of their support for Palestine and its people, as well as their criticism of Israel and its genocide in Gaza.

Last month, for example, British counter-terrorism police raided the home of journalist Asa Winstanley as part of “Operation Incessantness”, reportedly linked to his pro-Palestine social media posts. Although the specific posts were not detailed by reports, the authorities claimed that they were possible offences under sections 1 and 2 of the 2006 Terrorism Act, which pertain to the “encouragement of terrorism”.

Others to fall foul of this official crackdown in the UK include Palestine solidarity activists Mick Napier and Tony Greenstein, who were arrested last year over their expressions of support for legitimate Palestinian armed resistance and resistance movement Hamas itself. More recently, activist Sarah Wilkinson had her home raided by counter-terrorism police, and journalist Richard Medhurst was detained under the Terrorism Act upon arrival at Heathrow Airport.

Such raids, arrests and detentions by the British authorities are part of the wider repression of civil, political and press freedoms across the West as a whole.

First glimpsed during the “war on terror” years, we have seen the implementation of legislation granting governments greater freedom to monitor their citizens. The crackdown on hard-won freedoms was felt more heavily during the Covid pandemic. Many people who had not felt the weight of counter-terrorism policies realised suddenly that they too might not be exempt from being subject to pressure from the state, overreach and enforcement.

Today, with Western governments crushing expressions of support for the Palestinian cause or opposition to the Israeli occupation and genocide in Gaza, we are witnessing the next level of repression, symbolised by the way that the Establishment is protecting a rogue state which treats international laws and conventions with contempt — Israel — and the war crimes and crimes against humanity which are the inevitable result of such protection.

The repression is expected to get worse, with the UK in particular on a very worrying downward trajectory.

Following the election in July of the new Labour government under Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, there was a brief moment when it looked as if the UK was ready and to offer more diplomatic and humanitarian support to the Palestinian people. There was even hope that the British government would not intervene to stop the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants sought for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and (now former) Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Now, though, we see the Labour government putting the brake on soon-to-be applicable legislation in order to cancel pro-Palestine activism on university campuses. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 was passed by the previous Conservative government in order to protect freedom of speech in universities and student unions by obliging them to take “reasonable steps” to promote free speech at the risk of facing legal action.

According to Labour’s Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, the government is applying the brake just days before the legislation is due to come into force, “In order to consider options, including its repeal.” She claimed that it “could expose students to harm and appalling hate speech on campuses.”

Despite the UK government insisting that it remains “absolutely committed” to freedom of speech, it is suspected by many of seeking to avoid at all costs the possibility of higher education institutions, figures and even officials being held to account over censorship of pro-Palestinian views and criticism of Israel.

Tragically, the state crackdown in the UK and other parts of the Western world could have serious implications for campaigners who refuse to stop advocating for Palestinian rights. The days of assassination, indefinite detention without trial or state-sponsored kidnapping of dissidents’ family members have generally long passed in the Western world — for now, at least — but so-called “extraordinary renditions” of dissidents to more brutal Western allies around the world are not unknown.

Western states and intelligence agencies have another trick up their sleeves, however, and one that is perhaps more powerful due to its facade of legitimacy: lawfare. False allegations, heavy-handed investigations and legal action under draconian laws look like being the bludgeon of choice for governments to attack political and other dissidents, including journalists and activists. Anything is possible in the clamour to protect the Zionist state of Israel.

Character assassinations are likely, and even so-called “sexpionage”.

The Western media is already largely complicit in such acts, being very pro-Israel in any case, so they would come as no surprise to anyone engaged in pro-Palestine, pro-justice activism.

Individuals and organisations in Britain have already faced such attempts to discredit them. No evidence is ever produced; it is enough for Israel to say “terrorist” and Western governments and media join the fray. Once the “terrorist” genie is out of the bottle, it is very difficult to get it back in. Mud sticks, whether thrown legitimately or not. The intention, of course, is to intimidate people into submission, so that Israel can continue to act with total impunity, free from criticism.

Even ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan has faced allegations of sexual misconduct recently. Is it coincidental that these allegations have surfaced when he is seeking the aforementioned arrest warrants against Israeli leaders over war crimes, and shortly after a pro-Israel group threatened him with legal action if he failed to reconsider his efforts?

Another key example of political lawfare in contemporary times is none other than Donald Trump, who has faced countless allegations, lawsuits and character assassinations that have never truly stuck. He may not be the finest moral example, nor is he any great advocate for the Palestinians, but it is naive not to acknowledge that many of the attempts to discredit him have been politically-motivated.

According to US Senator Chuck Schumer in 2017, Trump was “being really dumb” for taking on the US intelligence community regarding its analyses of Russia’s reported cyber activities. “Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you,” said Schumer in as clear an admission you can hear that if the government and its agencies truly decide to discredit anyone, they can and will do so.

That is true for most Western states, including the UK. If allegations of Anti-Semitism and support for Hamas don’t stop pro-Palestine activists, then lawfare surely will. That’s the Starmer government’s hope, anyway. And given that very few individuals have the same wealth, tenacity and popular support as someone like Trump to help them fight against the allegations, self-confessed Zionist Starmer is probably right to be optimistic. We are heading into dark times, and all in order to protect an alien state engaged in genocide. It’s a shocking and disgraceful situation.

November 6, 2024 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hamas says it will judge new US president on his stances towards Palestinians

Palestinian Information Center – November 6, 2024

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – The Hamas Movement has said that it will judge the new US administration on its actions and policy towards the Palestinian people and their national cause.

“Our position on the new US administration depends on its positions and practical behavior towards our Palestinian people, their legitimate rights and their just cause,” Hamas said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The new US administration must realize that our Palestinian people will continue to confront the abominable occupation and will not accept any trajectory that detracts from their legitimate rights to freedom, independence, self-determination, and the establishment of their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital,” Hamas underlined.

“Unfortunately, all the successive US administrations, since the occupation of Palestine in 1948, have had negative positions on the Palestinian cause and have always been the biggest supporter of the [Israeli] occupation in all fields and situations,” Hamas said.

“The previous US administration took a supportive path towards the occupation and its aggression by granting its war criminals political and military cover to help them persist in the most heinous wars of extermination known in modern history, which confirmed its role as a full partner in the killing of tens of thousands of our people, including children, women and elderlies,” Hamas added.

Hamas called for ending the blind bias in favor of the occupation state and working seriously on putting an end to the genocidal war on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The Movement urged the US president-elect “to listen to the American community’s voices that have been resounding for over a year in rejection of the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip” and their country’s support for the occupation state.

Donald Trump was elected the 47th president on Wednesday, four years after his defeat by outgoing president Joe Biden.

November 6, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

How Israel invented the Gaza ‘Strip’ during its founding war of ethnic cleansing

If Americans Knew | November 4, 2024

Ilan Pappé, a renowned Israeli historian, challenges common perceptions of the Gaza Strip’s history. He asserts that prior to 1948, Gaza was not known as a “strip” but was a cosmopolitan town with a rich, diverse culture. In a video circulating online from January 2024, Pappe emphasises that the term “Gaza Strip” emerged post-1948, following the Israeli invasion, reshaping Gaza’s identity and geography.

SOURCE: Middle East Eye Apr 10, 2024    • How an Israeli war criminal turned Ga…  

RELATED: “Israeli communities near Gaza are on stolen land, former owners consigned to the Gaza ghetto” – https://israelpalestinenews.org/israe…

November 6, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular, Video, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Israel secures victory over the biggest terrorists in Gaza: aid workers

Laura and Normal Island News | November 4, 2024

Israel has finally cancelled its agreement with the only organisation capable of getting significant quantities of food and medicine into northern Gaza: the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Israel has decided Unrwa is guilty of “terrorism” because it has been getting food and medicine to civilians designated for extermination, an accusation Unrwa does not deny. Thankfully, Israel put a stop to this terrorism at the start of October and now every civilian in northern Gaza is at imminent risk of death. As everyone knows, the only way to defeat terrorism is to kill enormous numbers of civilians (who have the wrong skin colour and/or religion).

Israel is rightly outraged that Unrwa employs terrorists because the only organisation allowed to send terrorists into Gaza is the IDF. Outrageously, I’m told Unrwa incinerated civilians from Apache helicopters on October 7th, a privilege reserved only for IDF pilots following the Hannibal Directive.

An investigation found no evidence of Israel’s central allegations against Unrwa, but Israel Katz crayoned a picture of an Unrwa worker holding a severed baby’s head. If you question Israel’s evidence, I honestly don’t know what to say to you.

After a year of starving Palestinians, Israel has assured us it will get the necessary aid into Gaza. This is the most sensible move since Dr Harold Shipman decided to administer medicine to his patients. The IDF says it will try to resist gunning civilians down as they queue for aid, but obviously it can’t make any promises. Antony Blinken said that if Israel does attack the aid queues, he expects the killers to investigate themselves. This is a privilege reserved for the only democracy in the Middle East.

Israel has been so angry with Unrwa workers who fed and treated Palestinians that it initially wanted to blow them all up. Thankfully, Israel has shown restraint and only blown up 102 of them. Israel was particularly angry with the people whose job it was to vet Unrwa workers, until it realised that was Israel’s job. This was a tiny bit embarrassing so never mention it again, okay?

While Israel is courageously tackling terrorism in Gaza, British police are doing everything they can to defeat terrorism back home, including beating the shit out of anyone who expresses solidarity with Unrwa. Well, they’ve not done that yet, but I remain optimistic.

The United Nations is now a proscribed terrorist organisation, all criticism of Israel has been banned, and in unrelated news, several government ministers have really nice holiday homes. Mossad has clarified that just because its spies were arrested for blackmailing officials in Italy, does not mean they would behave like this in the UK. Blackmail is unnecessary here because our officials are much more open to bribes.

You will be pleased to know British police are taking their role as enforcers of the Israeli state so seriously that they’ve arrested a Jewish Israeli academic because he explained Israel is fighting an unwinnable war. Professor Haim Bresheeth pointed out that British police have been arresting people for opposing genocide, leaving police with no choice but to arrest him under the Terrorism Act. I literally can’t tell the difference between this professor and ISIS.

Metropolitan police explained they actually arrested Prof Bresheeth for “expressing support for a proscribed terrorist organisation”. Awkwardly, a recording of his speech shows he said no such thing, but anyone who shares the footage online risks being visited by a Hermes drone. Be warned, Mossad has your IP address as part of Twitter’s terms and conditions and those drones don’t have to come far because they are made in Leicestershire

November 4, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Pezeshkian: Ceasefire and stopping massacres ‘could affect’ Iran’s response to Israel

Press TV – November 3, 2024

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says a truce in Gaza and an end to Israel’s massacre of civilians “could affect” Tehran’s response to its recent strikes on the country’s military sites.

“If they (the Israelis) make a revision in their behavior, accept a ceasefire and stop killing the oppressed and innocent people of the region, it could have an effect on the type and intensity of our response,” Pezeshkian said in a cabinet session on Sunday.

However, he insisted that Iran will not leave “unanswered” any act of aggression against its sovereignty and security.

The Iranian president warned the Israeli authorities that they will receive a “tooth-breaking” response if they “commit a mistake” against the Islamic Republic.

On October 26, Israeli warplanes used US-controlled airspace over Iraq to fire projectiles at military installations in Iran’s Tehran, Khuzestan, and Ilam provinces in flagrant breach of the country’s national sovereignty.

The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces confirmed that a significant number of the missiles were intercepted, and the Israeli warplanes were blocked from entering Iran’s airspace.

Iran has said it is resolved to respond to the act of aggression and will not abandon its right.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Saturday warned the United States and Israel that they will definitely receive a crushing response for their atrocities.

Pezeshkian further slammed the hypocritical approach of the United States and European countries to the regional crisis and said all countries in the region now know that “Iran seeks to establish peace and stability and the Zionist regime seeks to intensify the crisis and war in the region.”

“We have never started a war and have never recommended any country to go to war. It has been the United States that has always waged wars in different parts of the world, including our region,” he emphasized.

The president added that the US keeps the fire of war raging in the region through its support for the Israeli regime.

Pointing to Israel’s acts of crime and aggression to fan the flame of war and bloodshed in the region, he said the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, in Tehran late in July exposed its warmongering policies.

Some countries had called on Iran to show self-restraint in the hope of a ceasefire and secession of Israel’s massacre of innocent women and children but the regime escalated its crimes and spread its criminal acts to Lebanon, Pezeshkian pointed out.

He blasted the “shameful and disgraceful” silence of the self-proclaimed defenders of human rights towards Israeli killing of thousands of innocent and oppressed women and children in Gaza and Lebanon.

“We have never dropped bombs and missiles on the women and children of any country and we have never deprived any people of water, food, and medicine, but they have committed all these crimes against humanity,” the Iranian president said.

They are leveling unfounded allegations against Iran to force nations into obeying their demands, he added, emphasizing that the free peoples in the world will never succumb to oppression.

November 3, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Israeli reservist killed in Lebanon ‘happily’ slaughtered women and children in Gaza

Shuva’el Ben Natan, an Israeli reservist, who was killed in southern Lebanon last week.
By Alireza Akbari | Press TV | November 2, 2024

Shuva’el Ben Natan, an Israeli reservist involved in the killings of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank for years, was neutralized during combat in southern Lebanon last week.

He had been dispatched to southern Lebanon from Gaza after the Israeli regime announced the “ground invasion” of southern Lebanon recently, which has proved a complete disaster for the regime.

After failing to achieve its key military objectives in the Gaza Strip after one year of genocidal war that has claimed nearly 43,300 lives so far, the Israeli regime ordered a “ground invasion” of southern Lebanon early last month despite warnings from the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.

Despite its attempts, the Tel Aviv regime has not succeeded in breaching the Lebanese border, facing strong resilience from the Lebanese-based resistance Hezbollah.

According to Israeli media, including Yedioth Ahronoth, around 50,000 Israeli troops as part of five military divisions and reserve brigades have failed to occupy even one Lebanese village or town in more than a month while losing hundreds of soldiers to Lebanese resistance operations in the process.

One of them is Ben Natan, who had the blood of many Palestinian children on his hands.

Just after the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October last year, a hate-spewing military reservist killed 40-year-old Bilal Salah, a Palestinian olive harvester in the village of Sawiya, located south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

He also participated in the burning of several Palestinian villages, destroying homes and vehicles in the occupied region, according to eyewitness reports.

After that, he was deployed to the besieged coastal Palestinian territory at a time when hospitals and schools were being indiscriminately bombarded and civilians killed in cold blood in broad daylight.

He engaged in horrendous war crimes in Gaza, where he was involved in setting fire to homes and killing Palestinians, including women and children, without regard for human life.

The extent of his brutality became alarmingly evident during his funeral, where his brother Uriyah and friends openly recounted his war crimes and expressed a desire for “revenge.”

Their speeches were subsequently interpreted as explicit admissions of the slain reservist’s heinous atrocities committed against Palestinian civilians, emphasizing his direct involvement in war crimes.

This disturbing portrayal garnered widespread attention as the video of the funeral circulated online, igniting outrage and condemnation among netizens.

During Ben Natan’s funeral, his brother Uriyah delivered a eulogy that shocked many in attendance.

“You entered Gaza to revenge as much as possible, women, children, everyone you saw, as many people as possible, that’s what you wanted,” he exclaimed, referring to his brother’s main motive.

“And on this day, a year after Simchat Torah, when we thought we would massacre the enemy, massacre them all, drive them out of the land, we are here at your funeral… the entire nation of Israel will have the opportunity to avenge your revenge, blood revenge, not the revenge of burning houses, not the revenge of burning trees, not the revenge of burning cars, but the revenge of blood you spilt.”

https://twitter.com/GozukaraFurkan/status/1850487651242999952

Uriyah’s words laid bare the chilling extent to which the concept of “massacre” has taken root in the mindset of Israeli settlers, reflecting a deeply ingrained ideology that glorifies violence and vengeance.

Ben Natan’s father also mourned his son by reminiscing about their shared experiences, recalling how they would patrol together while shooting at Palestinians who threw stones, describing their aim to “control and blow them up from a distance.”

During the eulogy that further exposed Ben Natan’s war crimes, an Israeli soldier referenced Ben Natan, saying, “You were the happiest and most optimistic and frivolous person in the platoon. We saw it for the first time in Gaza when you unauthorizedly burnt a house just to lift the atmosphere.”

The statement not only highlighted Ben Natan’s barbaric behavior but also underscored the normalization of violence within Israeli military circles as well as the settler population.

Ben Natan’s barbaric mindset, exposed during his funeral, sheds light on his affiliations with the Hilltop Youth which is a far-right Jewish settler movement in the occupied West Bank led by Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

This group is recognized as one of the most radical factions associated with Israeli settler extremism.

Emerging in the early 2000s, the Hilltop Youth is a loosely organized collective primarily composed of young, extremist Israeli settlers who are driven by the belief that establishing illegal outposts on the forcibly seized Palestinian land is a religious obligation.

The group’s ideology revolves around expanding Jewish presence in the occupied West Bank, an initiative aimed at fulfilling their aspiration for a “Greater Israel.”

Their activities are marked by violent attacks against Palestinian civilians, destruction of property, and instances of verbal harassment, contributing to the ongoing cycle of tension and conflict in the region.

In a poignant reflection on Ben Natan’s funeral, Lebanese Islamic scholar Sayyid Hussain Makke took to X (formerly Twitter) to express a powerful sentiment.

He emphasized that, despite the immense suffering endured by him and many others in Lebanon amid the ongoing massacres, there is no desire for “revenge” against Israeli women and children.

“Despite having lost so many loved ones, and despite my father being abducted by Israel as a teenager, and despite all the suffering inflicted upon us personally since I was born, and despite being displaced with my family right now and after having our whole village destroyed – neither I nor anyone I know has ever wished ‘revenge’ on Israeli women and children,” he wrote.

His remarks highlighted a stark contrast to the narratives perpetuated by settlers’ extremist ideology.

November 2, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular, War Crimes | , , | Leave a comment

Euro-Med: International community showed disgraceful failure to stop genocide in Gaza

Palestinian Information Center – November 2, 2024

GENEVA – The Euro-Med Monitor said the foot-dragging by the international community regarding taking decisive decisions towards the massacres committed by the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip, especially in northern Gaza, indicates its complicity in those heinous crimes, gives the Israeli army a green light to escalating its genocidal war, and shows its shocking disregard of Palestinians’ lives and dignity.

The Euro-Med indicated in a statement on Saturday that the international community, including the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the European Union, and the various UN organizations, showed a 13-month disgraceful failure to protect civilians and stop the crime of genocide committed by the Israeli occupation army against Palestinians in Gaza.

The Euro-Med emphasized that the international community did not deal seriously with the Israeli occupation crimes and ignored its atrocities, which encouraged the Israeli army to expand such crimes with the support and armament from the US and a number of European countries.

The Euro-Med voiced concerns that Israel, despite officially denying it, is implementing a displacement plan in northern Gaza, known as the “General’s Plan” by evacuating shelters in Jabalia and Beit Hanoun by committing massacres, killing, displacing, and starving civilians through blocking the entry of aid or goods into northern Gaza for a whole month.

It called on the International Criminal Court to shoulder its responsibilities to issue arrest warrants and hold accountable the perpetrators of the Israeli crimes.

The human rights group also urged the United Nations and the international community to intervene immediately to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents in northern Gaza, stop the crime of genocide, impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, and to take all decisive measures to protect Palestinian civilians.

November 2, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Israeli commandos carry out kidnapping operation in north Lebanon

The Cradle | November 2, 2024

Israeli naval commandos conducted a raid in northern Lebanon on 1 November, abducting one Lebanese man, prominent journalist Hasan Illaik reported for Al-Mahatta.

Some 25 soldiers landed Friday on the Lebanese coast in Batroun, a Christian town south of Tripoli. They raided a chalet near the beach and abducted a Lebanese man before escaping in speedboats, the report says.

Illaik provided surveillance camera footage from the incident showing a group of soldiers taking the abducted person with them.

The abducted man has been identified as Imad Amhaz, who had been attending a month-long captain’s training course at a maritime institute located in the area.

Illaik reported further that Lebanese security forces are investigating the incident and suspect the Israeli commandos collaborated with German naval forces deployed to the Lebanese coast as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

By collaborating with German naval forces, the Israeli commandos could ensure that the Lebanese Navy, which is active in the region to combat smuggling to Europe, would not be able to disrupt the operation.

Illaik suggested that the Israeli commandos were likely from the Shayetet 13 or Sayeret Matkal divisions of the Israeli military.

Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, sabotage, maritime intelligence gathering, maritime hostage rescue, and boarding.

Sayeret Matkal is a special reconnaissance unit (sayeret) of Israel’s General Staff (matkal).

On Saturday afternoon, Lebanon’s Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Ali Hamieh, told the media that “The kidnapped person is a sea captain of civilian and commercial ships and is receiving his education at a civilian institute.”

He added that the government and security institutions are conducting the necessary investigations.

Saudi news station Al-Hadath claimed that the abducted man was a top Hezbollah operative, citing sources within the Islamic resistance movement.

However, Hezbollah’s media relations department rejected the Al-Hadath claim.

The media relations department issued a statement, saying: “Our policy is very clear; we have previously explained and confirmed in past statements that there are no sources in Hezbollah or sources close to Hezbollah that would provide such alleged information to Al Hadath and its affiliated channels, which are openly engaged in the Zionist propaganda machine against our resistance and the Lebanese people.”

November 2, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

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