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.”
Soldiers, Settlers Injure 20 Palestinians in Beita

International Solidarity Movement | October 11, 2025
October 10 was the opening of the Zaytoun2025 olive harvest campaign. Here’s a wrap-up of the events:
Beita, South Nablus
About one hundred farmers joined by some 60 Palestinian and solidarity activists, were attacked by armed Israeli citizens and soldiers, near a recently established Israeli settlement in the Jabal Qamas area. The soldiers both ignored the attacks on the farmers and used violence themselves to try and repel the harvesters from their lands, and ignored the assault of Palestinians by the Israeli civilians, and therefore enabling them. The soldiers used tear-gas concussion grenades and physical violence, while the Israeli civilians attacked harvesters with baton blows, stone throwing and by shooting live ammunition.
- 20 injuries were recorded. 11 of the injured Palestinians were evacuated to the Rafidia hospital in Nablus. In addition, one solidarity activist was evacuated to the Belinson hospital after Israeli civilians assaulted her with batons and broke her arm.
- One of the Palestinians suffered a gunshot wound after being shot by an Israeli civilian.
- Three of those injured are journalists: Wahaj Bani Mufleh, Saja al-Alami and Jaafar Astaya, whose car is one of those torched.
- Eight cars were torched by the Israeli civilians.
- An ambulance was attacked and flipped over. An attempt to torch it as well was foiled by Palestinians who came to the crew’s rescue.
Jorish and Aqraba, South-East Nablus
Israeli civilians armed with batons prevented farmers from the two villages accompanied by solidarity activists from accessing their lands in the Wad Issa agricultural area.
Duma, Sout-East Nablus
Israeli soldiers prevented farmers from harvesting their olives in the Houma and Khallet al-Hassad areas, asserting access to these lands requires security coordination with Israeli authorities. The Houma area is in Area B.
Yanoun, East Nablus
Israeli civilians expelled farmers and stole their harvested olives.
Deir Istia, North Salfeet
Israeli civilians harassed harvesters in an attempt to prevent them from accessing their lands near the Yaqir settlement.
Kufer Thulth, East Qalqilya
Settlers attacked harvesters and shepherds, killing several goats.
Farata, East Qalqilya
Israeli civilians shot at farmers harvesting olive with live fire in the presence of Israeli soldiers, who did not intervene. Both the soldiers and Israeli civilians then continued to raid the village, stop residents in the street and question them.
Kobar, North Ramallah
Israeli forces arrested harvesters in their lands near the village.
The silent collapse of the United States
By Lucas Leiroz | Strategic Culture Foundation | October 11, 2025
While Washington insists on presenting itself as the bastion of the “liberal world order,” the very foundations of the American state are showing clear signs of collapse. The internal reality of the United States today is marked by an insurmountable fiscal abyss, chronic political polarization, and an alarming inability to maintain even the most basic national security systems. The recent escalation of public debt, combined with the imminent breakdown of nuclear monitoring infrastructure, reveals that American hegemony is not just in decline — it is on the verge of functional collapse.
According to data from the U.S. Treasury, the gross national debt surpassed $37.5 trillion in 2025 — the highest level in the country’s history — exceeding 120% of its GDP. What is most alarming is the speed of this growth: in just the last 12 months, the debt increased by more than $2 trillion — without any emergency context such as war or a global pandemic. It is an unsustainable trajectory, typical of failed states, yet it is happening at the heart of the Western financial system.
At the same time, budget cuts imposed by Congress itself — deadlocked in endless partisan disputes — have directly jeopardized the security of the American nuclear arsenal. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), responsible for overseeing and maintaining the country’s atomic warheads, publicly admitted that its funds would only guarantee operations for “a few more days.” Once this period expired, a shutdown process for monitoring systems began — something unthinkable for any minimally functional power.
How can a country that spends hundreds of billions of dollars annually to fund wars in foreign territories — such as Ukraine and the occupied Palestine — be unable to finance the security of its own nuclear arsenal? The answer is simple: the United States is no longer a rational country, but a decaying “empire” driven by corporate lobbies, military-industrial interests, and a political elite entirely disconnected from national reality.
The current Republican administration tries to blame the Democratic opposition for the budget paralysis, while the Democrats sabotage any attempt at agreement in order to politically undermine the government. This argument is partially valid, but it also exposes the weakness of the Republicans themselves, who fail to counter the Democratic sabotage. This bipartisan theater is not only dysfunctional — it is suicidal. The U.S. is at the mercy of its own internal disorder, becoming a threat not only to itself but to the entire world, given the sensitive nature of the nuclear systems involved.
Thousands of NNSA employees and contractors have already been affected by shutdowns and funding freezes. Although the government claims that “critical operations” will continue, there are no guarantees or transparency about what exactly remains functional. A mistake, maintenance failure, or even a delayed response to an incident could have catastrophic consequences — including radioactive leaks or accidental detonation.
Meanwhile, countries like Russia and China continue to strengthen their energy sovereignty, defense systems, and institutional stability. The multipolar approach being built by these nations — particularly within the expanded BRICS+ framework — demonstrates strategic maturity and responsibility toward global order, in stark contrast to what is observed in Washington.
America’s decline is not expressed solely through numbers or economic graphs. It is visible in the inability to protect its own population, maintain basic infrastructure, or prevent political games from eroding the state’s structural integrity. When even the nuclear arsenal — supposedly the ultimate red line — is left vulnerable to budget cuts, the message is clear: the U.S. is no longer capable of leading the world.
The collapse on the horizon will not be merely economic. It will be institutional, military, and geopolitical. And in the face of this scenario, the world must begin looking to other — multiple, stable, sovereign, and genuinely peace-oriented — leaderships to guarantee global security.
From NATO’s flank to Eurasia’s core: Türkiye’s break with the West begins
By Farhad Ibragimov | RT | October 10, 2025
For decades, Turkish nationalism marched under the NATO flag. But now, one of Türkiye’s most influential right-wing leaders is calling for a turn East – toward Russia and China. His proposal may mark the country’s clearest ideological break with Atlanticism since joining the Alliance.
In September, Türkiye’s political landscape was shaken by a statement that many experts called sensational and potentially transformative. Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and a long-time ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan within the People’s Alliance, proposed the establishment of a strategic trilateral alliance involving Türkiye, Russia, and China to counter the “US-Israel evil coalition.”
Bahceli emphasized that such an alliance is “the most suitable option, considering reason, diplomacy, the spirit of politics, geographical conditions, and the strategic environment of the new century.” The proposal extends far beyond the usual nationalist agenda, positioning Türkiye as a player capable of initiating new formats of international cooperation.
To grasp the importance of this statement, we must note the historical context. Turkish pan-Turkism has traditionally been oriented toward the West, and nationalists were seen as staunch defenders of the pro-Atlantic course. In this light, Bahçeli’s call for an alliance with Moscow and Beijing marks a symbolic break from that tradition, reflecting growing distrust toward NATO and the US within Türkiye’s political landscape.
Bahceli’s comments are not random. Over the past few years, he has steadily ramped up his criticism of the West, advocating for Türkiye’s sovereign development “beyond blocs and alliances.” But this is the first time he has explicitly named Russia and China as preferred partners.
Reactions inside Türkiye were mixed. Right-wing circles called Bahceli’s words “revolutionary,” while leftists saw them as confirmation of a broader anti-Western consensus. Internationally, the statement underscored Ankara’s growing distance from Western power centers and its gradual rhetorical shift toward the East and Greater Eurasia.
Shortly afterward, Erdogan made a cautious comment, saying he was “not fully familiar” with Bahceli’s initiative but adding, “Whatever is good, let it happen.” The ambiguity is typical for Erdogan, who avoids publicly rejecting the ideas of key allies while keeping his political options open.
On one hand, the president is wary of provoking open conflict with Western partners, given Türkiye’s economic vulnerabilities. On the other, his comments suggest that Bahçeli’s initiative could serve as leverage – a way to pressure the US and EU by signaling that Ankara might strengthen ties with Moscow and Beijing.
A day later, Bahceli clarified his position, saying, “We know what we are doing. Türkiye should not be the implementer of regional and global projects put forward by others, but rather must be the leading actor of its own unique projects.”
In other words, Bahçeli not only intensified his anti-Western rhetoric but also asserted Türkiye’s claim to be an independent power center in the emerging multipolar world order. His stance reflects the desire of part of Türkiye’s leadership to move from being a peripheral NATO ally to a pioneer of alternative alliances in Eurasia.
From NATO loyalism to Eurasian realism
For decades, Türkiye was one of NATO’s most loyal allies. Since the Cold War, the Turkish elite believed that integration into Euro-Atlantic structures was the only viable strategy. A world order based on American leadership seemed stable and predictable.
Erdogan shared similar views when he first became prime minister in 2002. But as global competition intensified, disagreements with Washington deepened, and multipolar trends gained momentum, he realized that the unipolar system could not last. Türkiye, he concluded, must adapt – and play a role in shaping the new order.
Seen in this light, Bahceli’s proposal is more than nationalist fervor. It reflects an understanding among parts of Türkiye’s leadership that the country’s future lies in greater strategic autonomy and in building ties with alternative centers of power. His words echo those within Erdoğan’s circle who believe Türkiye can assert itself only through closer engagement with Russia and China.
This shift reveals how Türkiye’s elites have moved from trusting the stability of a Western-centric system to recognizing its limits – and searching for new frameworks in which Ankara can act as a key player rather than a subordinate.
Redefining Türkiye’s place in the world
Bahceli’s remarks highlight deep shifts within Turkish nationalist circles and Ankara’s growing readiness to reconsider its global role. He argues that neither China nor Russia is Türkiye’s enemy, despite efforts by Western ideologues to claim otherwise. Instead, he sees the West as the true obstacle – determined to prevent Türkiye from becoming an independent power center and confining it to a role of “watchdog” in the Middle East.
In his latest statement, Bahceli stressed the need for a new strategy:
“We believe that Türkiye, located at the center of Eurasia, which is the strategic focus of the 21st century, should pursue multidimensional and long-term policies aimed at strengthening regional peace and stability and developing cooperation opportunities, especially with countries in the Black Sea and Caspian Basin, including Russia, China, and Iran. Considering the changing and complex structure of international relations, producing permanent and comprehensive solutions to global issues such as terrorism, illegal migration, and climate change is a responsibility that no country can achieve alone.”
Essentially, Bahceli is saying that Türkiye must transcend old constraints and stop being a tool in the hands of external forces. His stance embodies a new paradigm: only through an independent, multilateral, and Eurasian policy can Türkiye become a true architect of regional stability and a major player in the future global order.
The end of oscillation
Türkiye has long oscillated between Atlantic alignment and independent ambition. These cycles rarely evolved into a lasting doctrine. But the current geopolitical environment is forcing Ankara to make a choice.
Economic dependency, regional instability, and Israel’s aggressive behavior – including attacks on Iran and Qatar – have created a sense of urgency. In Ankara, some now fear that Türkiye itself could become a target.
Globally, the old unipolar order is losing balance, and an alliance with Russia and China may offer Türkiye not guarantees, but strategic advantages – especially in securing its autonomy and status as an independent power center.
At the UN General Assembly, US President Donald Trump urged Erdogan to stop buying Russian oil and even floated bringing Türkiye into the anti-Russia sanctions regime. For Ankara, that would mean economic damage and deeper dependence on the West – a risk the leadership is no longer willing to accept.
Bahceli’s initiative, and Erdogan’s carefully measured reaction, mark a pivotal moment. Türkiye is beginning to institutionalize its search for an alternative political philosophy – one grounded in multipolarity, strategic pragmatism, and a redefined vision of its place in the 21st century.
Farhad Ibragimov – lecturer at the Faculty of Economics at RUDN University, visiting lecturer at the Institute of Social Sciences of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration
‘Lies, misinformation’: Israeli military produced videos to justify Gaza genocide
Press TV – October 10, 2025
A new analysis has found that the Israeli military produced three-dimensional or animated visualizations not based on verified intelligence but fabricated content and digital assets to justify the Tel Aviv regime’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
A months-long investigation by the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, together with the research collective Viewfinder, the Swiss network SRF, and the Scottish outlet The Ferret analyzed 43 animations released by the Israeli army over the past two years and found that many contain “serious spatial inaccuracies or pre-fabricated assets”.
The videos, including those depicting the alleged tunnels beneath the al-Shifa Hospital and a UN-run school in Gaza, are “sourced not from classified intelligence but rather from commercial libraries, content creators, and cultural institutions,” the study found.
The clips are typically published across the Israeli military’s Telegram, YouTube, Facebook, X, and Instagram channels, and may be paired with a press conference by the occupation army’s spokesperson.
International media outlets will use the ready-made visuals, in many cases amplifying them uncritically.
“Instead of revealing hidden truths — as Israeli military officials insist, and as the international media readily amplifies — the visualizations actually blur them,” according to the investigation.
It further said that interviews with soldiers involved in the production of these videos further illuminate how the Israeli army prioritizes the aesthetic value of the animations over their accuracy.
The analysis also found that more than half of the videos contained 3D assets, which were taken from third-party sources.
Over 50 different third-party assets were identified in total, which were replicated hundreds of times across animations of sites supposedly in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran, it added.
“A parking lot from Washington state, scans from a boat-building workshop in Scotland, and commercial storefront kits from the video game industry — all of these have been inserted, without credit, into animations presented as ‘illustrations’ of Hamas bunkers or Iranian weapons facilities.”
Eyad Elyan, a Palestinian academic at Scotland’s Robert Gordon University specializing in AI and 3D modeling, said he was “deeply disturbed” to learn that Israel has been using Scottish assets in its propaganda animations, saying the practice aligns with the regime’s “long history of exploiting others’ resources and employing every means possible to promote baseless claims.”
“What is especially troubling, however, is how such fabricated content is uncritically accepted and amplified by mainstream media outlets,” he continued. “Much of this material consisted of outright falsehoods — for instance, the widely circulated animation alleging that Hamas operated a command center beneath the al-Shifa Hospital. No such facility was found, but [this claim] was used to destroy almost the entire healthcare system in Gaza.”
Scottish lawmaker Patrick Harvie said the Israeli military made and distributed the videos in order to “justify” its Gaza genocide.
“When lies and misinformation are such a core part of an army’s strategy, it makes it all the more important that our governments take a stand and act to stop the atrocities that they are inflicting,” he added.
Israel unleashed its brutal onslaught on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out its historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
The Tel Aviv regime failed to achieve its declared objectives of eliminating Hamas and freeing all captives in Gaza, despite killing, according to the health ministry of Gaza, 67,194 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 169,890 others.
Trump’s Gaza peace plan won’t work, it’s an ultimatum under genocide
By Finian Cunningham | Strategic Culture Foundation | October 9, 2025
The so-called peace plan put forward by U.S. President Trump is a non-starter that won’t work, according to international legal expert Alfred de Zayas.
De Zayas says Trump’s much-ballyhooed initiative is not a peace offer. It is an ultimatum demanded by criminal rogue regimes that are responsible for genocide – the United States and Israel.
Professor De Zayas points out that Donald Trump and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu have no credibility. Both are complicit in the genocide of Palestinians. The very idea of Trump proposing a peace deal amidst an ongoing U.S.-backed mass slaughter, where there is no legal prosecution of the perpetrators of genocide, nor for the illegal occupation of Palestinian land, and numerous other war crimes, is grotesque and absurd.
The appointment of British former leader Tony Blair to oversee Trump’s “peace plan” in Gaza is another insult.
“He should be behind bars as a war criminal,” says de Zayas, referring to Blair’s role in launching the U.S.-British war on Iraq in 2003, based on lies, killing over one million people.
On the issue of Gaza, the problem is that Israel, with support from the U.S. and European states, has been grossly violating international law and UN treaties for decades with impunity. This shameful lack of accountability and enforcement of international law makes Israel and its Western sponsors criminal regimes. It is nonsense to expect such serial violators to now propose a peace deal when they have not been held to account for a litany of crimes.
De Zayas says we need a ceasefire in Gaza urgently, with massive humanitarian aid for a population being deliberately starved to death by Israel. But any resolution must be applied with international law and justice for the horrific crimes.
Trump’s plan is a whitewash of the genocide. The Western mainstream media are also guilty of covering up the depth of horror. The media are ridiculously spinning Trump’s offer as genuine and credible, perhaps with a few flaws pooh-poohed here and there. The media are not reporting on the true horror and Western complicity in genocide. That’s because their long-time role is to serve as a propaganda service to sanitize the crimes and systematic lawlessness of Western rogue regimes.
Professor Alfred de Zayas teaches international law and history at the Geneva School of Diplomacy. He has worked as a UN staff expert on human rights for nearly 50 years.
His latest book is The Human Rights Industry (Clarity Press, 2023), see here: https://www.claritypress.com/product/human-rights-industry/
Catch his recent articles on wide-ranging international issues at Counterpunch: https://www.counterpunch.org/author/alfred-de-zayas/
No evacuation for Palestinian gangs collaborating with Israel in Gaza: Report
With a ceasefire in effect, ISIS-linked smuggler Yasser Abu Shabab and his militia face an uncertain future
The Cradle | October 9, 2025
Palestinian collaborator with Israel and Wall Street Journal columnist Yasser Abu Shabab and his “Popular Forces” will stay in Gaza following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, according to a report by Israel Hayom on 9 October.
The Hebrew news outlet noted that Abu Shabab’s militia is deployed in areas that will not be evacuated by the Israeli army in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, allowing the group to enjoy further Israeli protection, at least temporarily.
The Popular Forces established a base under Israeli guidance in the area east of the destroyed city of Rafah on the Gaza border with Egypt.
This area is far behind the “yellow line,” to which Israeli troops must withdraw, according to the map detailing US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan.
Abu Shabab’s men are also behind the “red line” of withdrawal, up to which an international force will allegedly be deployed. Areas occupied by the group in the destroyed cities of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, and eastern Khan Yunis, are also behind the yellow line.
In early 2024, as Israel was imposing its starvation siege on Gaza, Israeli intelligence armed and funded Abu Shabab’s militia, tasking them with attacking and looting convoys carrying humanitarian aid into Gaza, including from the UN.
Israeli officials then blamed the attacks and chaos on Hamas, using the excuse to seize control of aid distribution in Gaza via the deadly Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Abu Shabab was arrested by Hamas in 2015 and sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of drug trafficking and theft.
He escaped in October 2023 after Israeli airstrikes hit the prison where he was being held. Leaders of Abu Shabab’s Tarabin clan publicly disowned him and have called for his killing for collaborating with Israel.
Hossam al-Astal, the Popular Forces commander in eastern Khan Yunis, claimed the group would remain in Gaza, while Hamas would be forced to leave.
“The Hamas dogs will not be happy, we exist and they are (the ones) leaving,” Astal claimed.
On the other hand, a security source in the Ministry of Interior in Gaza told Quds Press on Thursday that members of Abu Shabab’s militia fear being prosecuted after the genocide ends.
The source said members of the group have recently begun communicating with several families and tribal leaders, in hopes of opening indirect channels with the Ministry of Interior to resolve their legal and tribal status and ensure they are not subject to prosecution.
The source explained that this communication took place in secrecy, via intermediaries from local and tribal leaders, who relayed messages between the police leadership in Gaza and the militia members who wished to settle their status.
A specific mechanism was agreed upon for them to surrender and stand trial, while ensuring the confidentiality of the proceedings, the source added.
Sources also revealed to Quds Press that Abu Shabab’s group had helped Israeli forces arrest Dr. Marwan al-Hams, the director general of field hospitals, from a medical facility in Rafah about two months ago.
The sources said that additional information regarding the militia’s crimes would be revealed “in the coming days.”
Pakistan’s Gaza assignment: Policing resistance for Trump’s ‘peace’
By F.M. Shakil | The Cradle | October 9, 2025
Washington is looking to draft Pakistan into a sweeping plan to reshape Gaza under the guise of a 20-point “peace” initiative led by US President Donald Trump. At the heart of the proposal is an International Stabilization Force (ISF) tasked with enforcing “internal stability” in the devastated Palestinian enclave – a euphemism for dismantling resistance and tightening Israeli control.
Trump, standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a September press conference, laid out a scheme to forcibly relocate Palestinians and reconstruct Gaza as a neoliberal outpost he previously branded “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
Pakistan’s public backlash builds
Details of the initiative have raised alarm in Pakistan, where any military collaboration with Israel is a red line for the establishment and the population, given that Islamabad does not recognize the state. Public backlash has intensified since revelations surfaced of Pakistan’s potential participation in the ISF, alongside forces from Egypt and Jordan.
The people of Pakistan would not accept Washington’s plan to deploy joint military forces from “like-minded Islamic countries” to eliminate resistance forces in Gaza. The opinion-makers, intellectuals, and political circles have already questioned the authority of the rulers to enter into a process that is aimed at transforming Palestine into a part of a “Greater Israel.”
Facing mounting domestic scrutiny, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar revealed in a 30 September press conference that the 20-point plan diverged sharply from what was initially agreed in Washington. His statement came amid growing demands for transparency from political leaders and civil society, many of whom accuse Islamabad of capitulating to Washington’s demands without a national consensus.
Pakistan’s refusal to join the Saudi and UAE-led coalition against the Ansarallah-aligned forces in Yemen still looms large in public memory. In 2015, Islamabad’s parliament voted unanimously to remain neutral, citing the dangers of waging war on a Muslim country and the risks of further sectarian entanglement. That restraint is now being contrasted with the military’s apparent willingness to deploy forces into a conflict zone tightly controlled by Israel.
It is equally important to note that, despite Tel Aviv’s lack of trust in Pakistan’s military establishment and the latter’s threats to target its nuclear assets in solidarity with Iran, it still chose to assign Pakistani forces a leading role in the proposed ISF. This suggests that Pakistan’s military leadership has offered significant, and so far undisclosed, concessions to Washington.
Pakistan’s business community is equally concerned about the reports regarding the US investment in Pasni Port terminals, located 120 kilometers from Iran and the Chinese-built Gwadar seaport. If the investment targets naval or military bases, there are concerns that it could draw regional ire from both Tehran and Beijing.
Imtiaz Gul, Pakistan defense analyst and Executive Director of the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad, tells The Cradle:
“By all indications, Pakistan is likely to be part of the multinational Islamic force, albeit in a zone that will be totally at the mercy of and surrounded by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). To what extent this force can neutralize and eventually eliminate Hamas, which has backing from Iran, Turkiye, and Qatar, is difficult to forecast at this time.”
Gul adds that since Pakistan, Egypt, and Jordan are all military-run states, they may coordinate more easily to oversee Gaza under occupation. The hope, he says, is that this cooperation might at least put a stop to Israel’s relentless slaughter of Palestinians.
From sanctions to red carpet
Pakistan’s sudden centrality to Trump’s Gaza plan is underpinned by a marked shift in Washington’s tone. Since the brief Pakistan–India skirmish in May, the US has rolled out the red carpet. Last month, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir were hosted in the Oval Office for a high-profile meeting with Trump.
The recent developments concerning West Asia have unequivocally revealed the transformation in Washington’s diplomatic approach toward Pakistan. President Trump expressed a strong belief that additional Muslim nations will soon become part of the Abraham Accords and commended Prime Minister Sharif and Field Marshal Munir for their full alignment with his peace initiative.
“Formally joining the Abraham Accords may be difficult currently, but informally following the path that the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar pursued looks quite probable,” Gul says. He asks if countries around Israel and Palestine can reconcile with ground realities, then why should Pakistan have a problem with a country that is not even a distant neighbor?
“The challenge is whether Pakistan can stay stable and can develop a national consensus on engaging with Israel – even if informally,” he explains.
Minerals, money, and military ports
Islamabad’s apparent rapprochement with Washington is not limited to Gaza. In October, Pakistan delivered its first shipment of enriched rare-earth elements to US Strategic Metals (USSM), part of a $500-million deal signed with the Pakistan army’s commercial arm, Frontier Works Organization (FWO). The minerals will feed a new polymetallic refinery funded by Washington.
The recent delivery to the USSM on 2 October has catalyzed a notable transformation in the dynamics of the Pakistan–US relationship.
Concurrently, reports surfaced of the aforementioned strategic proposal to build a port terminal in Pasni, Balochistan, submitted to US authorities by Pakistan’s military-linked business interests. Any such move carries profound strategic implications for China and Iran, which view Pasni’s proximity to Gwadar and Chabahar as vital to their own maritime interests.
Gwadar serves as a crucial component of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), featuring China’s strategically constructed Gwadar seaport.
On 4 October, senior security sources informed a select group of media representatives in Islamabad that Pakistan will not be extending an invitation to the US for a naval base in Balochistan. The reports circulating in foreign media regarding potential future public-private partnerships are simply proposals.
The security sources pointed out the immense potential of Pakistan’s coastline for both large and small commercial ports, noting that nations globally evaluate such partnership proposals.
“We shall uphold the primacy of Pakistan’s national interest in this framework. The nature of what defines the interests of the US holds no significance for us. Our primary concern is the advancement of Pakistan’s interests,” a defense spokesman remarked.
The official clarification only added confusion, claiming the port terminal proposal came from private business collaboration, even though the FWO is not a private entity but an army-run unit, raising questions about how such sensitive decisions are made.
Former Karachi Chamber of Commerce president Majyd Aziz tells The Cradle that it was imperative to limit the foreign military utilization of Pasni Port to uphold regional stability and prevent any discontent from Tehran and Beijing:
“Pakistani entrepreneurs are hesitant to invest in maritime sectors, leading to a dependence on foreign investment. This situation subsequently attracted the US interest in Pasni Port, which may carry serious implications for China’s influence in the region.”
Aziz adds that Gwadar’s underperformance has made smaller ports like Pasni, Ormara, and Jiwani more attractive. These offer lower costs, shorter routes, and better local integration. With over 85 percent of Pakistan’s trade dependent on maritime routes, diversifying port infrastructure is seen as essential to economic resilience.
Peace, under the boot
Trump’s so-called peace formula, presented alongside Netanyahu, aims to weaken Palestinian resistance by severing its supply chains and installing a proxy security apparatus.
The US-led ISF, with a significant Pakistani component, is the linchpin of this plan. But critics argue the operation is little more than a smokescreen for Tel Aviv’s next phase of territorial expansion.
As the details unfold, Islamabad faces a stark choice: yield to US pressure and risk regional isolation, or heed domestic voices warning against entanglement in a colonial project masquerading as peace.
Israel rules out Marwan Barghouti’s release as Hamas says Netanyahu seeking to ‘blow up truce’

The Cradle | October 9, 2025
Israel will not release prominent Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti as part of a prisoner exchange deal accompanying the ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza, an Israeli government spokesperson announced on 9 October.
“I can tell you at this point in time that he will not be part of this release,” spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian stated in a press conference on Thursday, as the ceasefire is expected to take effect.
However, Palestinian sources told Al Jazeera and Ynet that Barghouti’s case is still on the table, and Hamas is pressing hard for his release.
Barghouti is a prominent Palestinian legislator and leader of Fatah, a nationalist political party that dominates the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
After surviving multiple assassination attempts by Israeli intelligence, Barghouti was imprisoned during the Second Intifada in 2002.
He is serving five life sentences, allegedly for organizing attacks that killed five Israelis.
After his conviction was announced, Barghouti stated in Hebrew, “This is a court of occupation that I do not recognize … A day will come when you will be ashamed of these accusations … I have no more connection to these charges than you, the judges, do.”
Barghouti penned a book while imprisoned in which he described being tortured by his Israeli guards, including being forced to sit on a chair with nails protruding into his back for hours at a time.
Despite his imprisonment, Barghouti has remained politically active and is widely viewed as more popular than Palestinian Authority (PA) President and fellow Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas.
As part of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that went into effect Thursday, Hamas agreed to release 20 living Israeli captives and the bodies of 26 captives who died due to Israel’s bombing and starvation siege on the strip over the past two years. The fate of the two final captives is unknown.
In return, Israel committed to releasing 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Palestinians detained from Gaza. Throughout the war, many Palestinian detainees were tortured and raped in Israel’s notorious Sde Teiman prison, including 53 detainees who died in custody.
Israeli sources speaking to Israeli Army Radio and CNN stated Thursday that the bodies of slain Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and his brother Mohammad will not be released as part of the exchange deal.
Sinwar was killed by the Israeli military in Gaza in October 2024, while his younger brother, Mohammad, who succeeded him as military leader of Hamas’s armed wing, was killed by Israel earlier this year.
The resistance movement has demanded the release of other high-profile prisoners, including PFLP Secretary-General Ahmad Saadat and chief Qassam Brigades engineer and leader, Abdullah Barghouti. Senior Hamas leader Abbas al-Sayed and Hassan Salameh are also among those the movement wants released.
A Hamas official speaking with Al Jazeera said that negotiations to finalize the list of Palestinian prisoners to be released are ongoing. The source added that Hamas is consulting with other Palestinian resistance movements regarding the list.
Hamas delivered its final response this morning regarding the timelines for implementing the agreement, the source stated.
Regarding the prisoner exchange, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Al Jazeera on Thursday that Israel is trying to “manipulate the dates, lists, and some of the agreed-upon steps.”
“The occupation [Israel] must adhere to what was agreed upon, and we call on the mediators to pressure it,” Qassem added.
Another Hamas official, Mahmoud Mardawi, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is seeking to blow up the ceasefire agreement” by “backtracking on the prisoner lists in an attempt to sabotage the understandings.”
This suggests that Netanyahu is trying to sabotage other aspects of the ceasefire as well, including issues related to the withdrawal, reconstruction, and the reopening of border crossings, Mardawi added.
According to Israeli media, Netanyahu has sabotaged multiple ceasefire agreements since the start of the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza two years ago.
Since the start of the war, Israeli forces have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, about three percent of Gaza’s population, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. Another 169,000 have been wounded amid Israel’s destruction of much of the enclave.
However, in July, The Lancet medical journal published a research correspondence on the difficulty of accounting for the number of those killed by Israel’s war on Gaza, highlighting that both direct and indirect deaths should be considered.
Gaza ceasefire: How Israel’s war goals crumbled and the resistance prevailed
Press TV | October 9, 2025
Israeli regime and the Hamas resistance movement, with the mediation of the US as well as Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, inked a new ceasefire deal early on Thursday, marking two years and two days since the start of the devastating genocidal war on Gaza
These two years, since October 7, 2023, have witnessed the Tel Aviv regime, supported by its Western allies, particularly the United States, commit horrendous war crimes, killing more than 67,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women, according to the Gaza Media Office.
The outcome has been a humanitarian catastrophe on a scale unseen in modern times, and yet, an enduring Palestinian resistance has defied all odds, proving that right ultimately prevails over might.
What began as a pledge of “total victory” has turned into a defining and decisive failure for the Zionist project. Despite relentless bombardment, siege, and starvation, the Benjamin Netanyahu-led regime in Tel Aviv has failed to achieve any of its strategic or political objectives in Gaza.
What Israel failed to achieve in Gaza
- Failure to crush the Palestinian resistance
After two years of no-holds-barred genocidal war, the Israeli regime failed to subdue Gaza or dismantle the Palestinian resistance, as it had envisioned following the historic and heroic Operation Al-Aqsa Flood by Hamas-led Palestinian resistance.
From the ruins of their homes and refugee camps across Gaza, new forms of resistance, resilience, and defiance emerged over the past two years.
The Palestinian resistance led by Hamas, though battered by the ruthless occupation, has remained organized, determined, and deeply rooted in national consciousness.
The vow to “erase Hamas” has become a symbol of hubris for the Zionist occupation, which was eventually compelled, under pressure from the Trump administration, to enter into a new truce with the very resistance it had sought to annihilate.
- Failure to break Palestinian will
Israel’s strategy of collective punishment —obliterating neighborhoods, bombing hospitals and schools, and starving civilians across the besieged territory — was designed to break the will of Palestinians.
Yet, even amid unimaginable suffering, the spirit of steadfastness, or sumud, has only grown stronger among Palestinians over the past two years, who refuse to submit, surrender, or abandon their homeland.
Families displaced multiple times have refused to leave. Resistance has evolved and expanded beyond armed struggle, becoming deeply embedded in other spheres of life.
- Failure to free captives through force
Despite near-daily bombings across Gaza, Israel has failed to free its captives held by the Palestinian resistance since October 7.
Every attempt to free them through military means has led only to further losses and humiliation for the occupation regime. In many instances, indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes have resulted in the deaths of captives alongside local Palestinians.
Negotiations have remained the only viable path to secure their release, from the very resistance Israel vowed to destroy.
- Failure to trigger a mass exodus
Israel’s goal of pushing Gazans into the barren deserts of Egypt or scattering them abroad has been met with fierce rejection, both from the resistance and the people themselves.
Gaza’s population, even when confined to makeshift tents or the ruins of their homes, has refused to accept the fate of another Nakba. They have resisted uprooting despite the regime’s repeated massacres.
- Failure to recolonize Gaza
Israeli plans to reoccupy Gaza or build illegal settlements amid the genocidal war have collapsed under new political, diplomatic, and military realities.
As the new ceasefire takes effect, Gaza remains uncolonized—and every bomb dropped has only strengthened Palestinian resolve and intensified global opposition to Israel’s settler-colonial ambitions.
- Failure to annex the West Bank
Israeli regime’s long-standing ambition to annex the occupied West Bank and realize its “Greater Israel” project has become a geopolitical mirage.
Local resistance, international scrutiny, investigations by the International Criminal Court, and growing internal divisions within the Zionist entity have hindered its advancement.
What Israel has actually achieved in Gaza
- A genocide broadcast to the world
Over the past two years, the world has witnessed — live and in real time — the mass murder of Palestinian children and women, the destruction of homes and hospitals, the starvation of families, and the erasure of entire communities.
Gaza has become the first genocide in history to be live streamed to billions across the globe, documented by journalists, civilians, and satellites alike.
History will remember this as one of the darkest moral collapses of the modern age, enabled by global silence and facilitated by Western regimes, especially the United States and its allies.
- Global condemnation and legal reckoning
From the United Nations to the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the Human Rights Council, and global NGOs, there is a consensus today Israel committing war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and genocide in Gaza.
The ICC has issued arrest warrants against Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and former military affairs minister Yoav Gallant, while legal scholars continue to demand accountability.
The Brussels-based Hind Rajab Foundation — named after a young Palestinian girl murdered by the Israeli regime in Gaza — has documented Israeli war crimes and pressed governments worldwide to act against Israeli soldiers visiting their countries.
For the first time, the impunity once guaranteed by Western powers to the illegitimate regime has begun to fracture.
- Rising diplomatic isolation
Despite massive investments in propaganda and lobbying efforts across Western capitals to whitewash its genocidal atrocities, the Israeli regime stands increasingly isolated today, two years on.
Student movements, trade unions, artists, lawyers, academics and athletes have joined calls for boycotts and sanctions against the regime, once considered unthinkable
Public opinion, particularly among younger generations in Western countries, has decisively shifted. The once-dominant narrative of so-called “self-defense” has been exposed as hollow and hypocritical.
- Collapse of the Zionist narrative
Social media has become the new and decisive battlefield, and Israel has lost the war of ideas and narratives there as well.
Despite enlisting influencers and spending millions to spread Zionist propaganda about October 7 and its aftermath, the regime has failed to convince global audiences.
Citizen journalists in Gaza, armed with smartphones and unbreakable courage, have shattered decades of deception and lies.
The world now sees the truth unfiltered: a besieged population fighting for survival and liberation against an illegitimate occupier.
- Global awakening for Palestinian liberation
From South Africa to Latin America, London to Jakarta, Italy to Spain, millions now rally behind Palestine and its liberation from Israeli occupation.
It is no longer about a so-called two-state solution but about one and unified free Palestinian state, from the river to the sea.
The Palestinian cause has become a universal symbol of resistance against decades of illegal occupation, oppression, and settler-colonialism.
Calls for self-determination echo louder than ever, uniting diverse movements for justice under one cry: Free Palestine.
Two years on, as the new truce deal comes into effect, Israel’s genocidal campaign has not destroyed Gaza, but immortalized it. From the ashes, the Palestinian spirit still rises. Children continue to recite poems of return.
Resistance endures as the human will to exist, to remember, and to reclaim dignity.
Hamas, Israel agree to first phase of Gaza ceasefire under Trump plan
The Cradle | October 9, 2025
The newly announced ceasefire agreement, which was reached by mediators overnight, is set to take effect in Gaza on 9 October.
Phase one of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan will begin in the coming hours and days.
According to Israel’s Channel 14, the signing of the agreement will be followed by Israeli cabinet and government meetings to ratify the deal.
The Israeli army will then carry out its first withdrawal from Gaza’s population centers, in line with the agreement’s withdrawal map.
Twenty living Israeli captives will be released following 72 hours. In exchange, Tel Aviv is required to release 250 prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Palestinians detained from Gaza since 7 October 2023.
It remains unclear if Israel has approved the list of high-profile prisoners whose release Hamas has demanded, as the names have not been published.
Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said five border crossings will be opened for aid to enter the strip and be distributed by the UN and international aid groups.
According to an Israeli official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, cited by Channel 12, the ceasefire will not come into effect until the government ratifies the agreement on Thursday afternoon.
Drone strikes and artillery shelling have been reported in Gaza, despite announcements of the ceasefire.
Trump announced early Thursday that the “first phase” of the deal has been signed off on following hours of negotiations in Egypt.
“This means that ALL of the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw [its] troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a strong, durable and everlasting Peace,” he added, calling it a “great day for the world.”
“Tonight, an agreement was reached on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid. The details will be announced later,” said Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari.
Hamas also released a statement confirming that an agreement has been reached.
“An agreement has been reached to end the war on Gaza, withdraw occupation forces from the strip, allow the entry of aid, and carry out a prisoner exchange,” Hamas said. “We call upon President Trump, the guarantor states of the agreement, and all Arab, Islamic, and international parties to compel the occupation government to fully implement the terms of the agreement and prevent it from evading or delaying.”
“We affirm that the sacrifices of our people will not be in vain,” it added.
