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Iran rejects Argentina’s ‘baseless’ accusations in 1994 AMIA case, urges fair probe

Press TV – July 18, 2025

Tehran has dismissed “baseless” accusations leveled by Argentina at Iranian nationals in connection with the deadly 1994 AMIA bombing, urging the country’s judiciary to handle the case fairly without third-party influence.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Friday, marking the 31th anniversary of the bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community centre in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, that killed 85 people and injured over 300 others.

It said that elements and currents linked to Israel exploited the “suspicious” explosion from the very beginning and diverted the case into a misleading and incorrect path, disrupting the longstanding Iran-Argentine relations.

It also noted that over the past three decades, Iran has repeatedly declared its position in condemnation of any act of terrorism and stressed the need for a transparent and fair trial into the incident.

“Completely rejecting the accusations against its citizens, the Islamic Republic has condemned the insistence of certain domestic circles in Argentine to pressure the country’s judicial system into issuing baseless charges and seemingly judicial rulings against Iranian citizens,” it said. “Iran has called for the real masterminds and perpetrators of the explosion to be identified.”

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry added that in the past years, clear and undeniable evidence has emerged indicating that the Zionist regime and its affiliated currents are exerting influence and pressure on the Argentinean judicial system to make accusations against Iranians.

It further highlighted frequent changes in the judicial team investigating the AMIA case, the revelation of corruption among some judicial elements, the resignation of judges and even attempts on their lives, as an evidence of a “purposeful will to divert the Argentinean judicial system from a transparent and fair probe into the case.”

With the sole aim of protecting bilateral ties and restoring the dignity of Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic entered into talks with Argentina, which resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding in 2013, the ministry said. Less than two years later, however, Buenos Aires unilaterally canceled the deal and prevented the formation of a transparent process aimed at revealing the truth and identifying those behind the blast.

“The Islamic Republic strongly emphasizes the baseless nature of claims against Iranian citizens, insists on the restoration of the accused citizens’ dignity and demands an end to the show trial, while expecting the Argentinean judicial authorities to handle the case in a transparent and fair manner free from politicization and undue influence by third parties,” it asserted.

“In accordance with international law, the Islamic Republic reserves its legal and legitimate rights to respond to any inappropriate and unreasonable action against itself and its citizens.”

July 18, 2025 Posted by | Aletho News | , , | Leave a comment

Fragmenting a nation: Israel’s enduring pursuit of Palestinian disunity

By Ramzy Baroud | MEMO | July 16, 2025

Israel is aggressively implementing plans to shape Palestine’s future and the broader region, sculpting its vision for the ‘day after’ its genocide in Gaza.

The latest, bizarre iteration of this strategy proposes fragmenting the occupied West Bank into so-called ’emirates,’ starting with the ’emirate of Hebron.’

This unexpected twist in Israel’s protracted search for alternative Palestinian leadership first surfaced in the staunchly pro-Israeli US newspaper, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). It then quickly dominated all Israeli media.

The report details a letter from a person identified by The WSJ as “the leader of Hebron’s most influential clan.” Addressed to Nir Barakat, Jerusalem’s former Israeli mayor, the letter from Sheikh Wadee’ al-Jaabari appeals for “cooperation with Israel” in the name of “co-existence.”

This “co-existence,” according to the “clan leader”, would materialise in the “Emirate of Hebron.” This “emirate” would “recognize the State of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people,” in exchange for reciprocal recognition of the “Emirate of Hebron as the Representative of the Arab residents in the Hebron District.”

The story may seem perplexing. This is because Palestinian discourse, regardless of geography or political affiliation, has never entertained such an absurd concept as united West Bank “emirates.”

Another element of absurdity is that Palestinian national identity and pride in their people’s unwavering resilience, especially in Gaza, are at an unprecedented apex. To float such clan-based alternatives to legitimate Palestinian leadership seems ill-conceived and is destined to fail.

Israel’s desperation is palpable. In Gaza, it cannot defeat Hamas and other Palestinian factions who have resisted the Israeli takeover of the Strip for 21 months. All attempts to engineer an alternative Palestinian leadership there have utterly collapsed.

This failure has compelled Israel to arm and fund a criminal gang that operated before 7 October 2023, in Gaza. This gang functions under the command of Yasser Abu Shabab.

The gang has been implicated in a litany of violent activities. These include hijacking humanitarian aid to perpetuate famine in Gaza and orchestrating violence associated with aid distribution, among other egregious crimes.

Like the clan leader of Hebron, the Abu Shabab criminal gang possesses no legitimacy and no public support among Palestinians. But why would Israel resort to such disreputable figures when the Palestinian Authority (PA), already engaged in “security coordination” with Israel in the West Bank, is ostensibly willing to comply?

The answer lies in the current Israeli extremist government’s adamant refusal to acknowledge Palestinians as a nation. Thus, even a collaborating Palestinian nationalist entity would be deemed problematic from an Israeli perspective.

While Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is not the first Israeli leadership to explore clan-based alternatives among Palestinians, the Israeli prime minister and his extremist allies are exceptionally determined to dismantle any Palestinian claim to nationhood. This was explicitly stated by extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. He famously declared in Paris, in March 2023, that a Palestinian nation is an “invention.”

Thus, despite the PA’s willingness to cooperate with Israel in controlling Gaza, Israel remains apprehensive. Empowering the PA as a nationalist model fundamentally contravenes Israel’s overarching objectives of denying the Palestinian people their very claim to nationhood and, consequently, statehood and sovereignty.

Though Israel has consistently failed to establish and sustain its own alternative Palestinian leadership, its repeated efforts have invariably proven disruptive and violent.

Prior to the Nakba of 1948, the Zionist movement, alongside British authorities colonizing Palestine, heavily invested in undermining the Arab Higher Committee, a nationalist body comprising several political parties. They achieved this by empowering collaborating clans, hoping to dilute the Palestinian nationalist movement.

When Israel occupied the remainder of historic Palestine in 1967, it reverted to the same divide-and-conquer tactics. For instance, it established a Palestinian police force directly commanded by Israeli military administrations, in addition to creating an underground network of collaborators.

Following the overwhelming victory of nationalist candidates in the 1976 elections in occupied Palestine, Israel responded by cracking down on PLO-affiliated politicians, arresting, deporting and assassinating some.

Two years later, in 1978, it launched its ‘Village Leagues’ project. It hand-picked compliant traditional figures, designating them as the legitimate representatives of Palestinians.

These individuals, armed, protected and financed by the Israeli occupation army, were positioned to represent their respective clans in Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Gaza and elsewhere.

Palestinians immediately denounced them as collaborators. They were widely boycotted and socially ostracised.

Eventually, it became evident that Israel had no alternative but to engage directly with the PLO. This culminated in the Oslo Accords in 1993 and the subsequent formation of the PA.

The fundamental problem, however, persisted: the PA’s insistence on a Palestinian state remains anathema to an Israel that has shifted dramatically to the right.

This explains the Netanyahu regime’s unwavering insistence that the PA has no role in Gaza in any ‘day after’ scenario. While the PA could serve Israel’s interest in containing the rebellious Strip, such a triumph would inevitably recenter the discussion of a Palestinian state—a concept repugnant to most Israelis.

There is no doubt that neither the Abu Shabab gang nor the Hebron emirate will govern Palestinians, either in Gaza or the West Bank. Israel’s insistence on fabricating these alternatives, however, underscores its historic determination to deny Palestinians any sense of nationhood.

Israel’s persistent fantasies of control invariably fail. Despite their profound wounds, Palestinians are more unified than ever, their collective identity and nationhood hardened by relentless resistance and countless sacrifices.

July 17, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism, Timeless or most popular | , , | Leave a comment

Israel’s Druze policy in Palestine and Syria

By Ahmet Vefa Rende | MEMO | July 17, 2025

Israel, with its small population, has a socially and politically fragile structure due to its different minority groups. The fact that Arabs are the largest minority group has led Israel to establish more careful relations with other groups and to try to strengthen the ties between these minorities and Jewish elements. In this context, Israel’s relations with the Druze, its efforts to integrate them into society, and how this group is used as a political lever should be examined.

There are approximately 150,000 Druze in Israel; they live mainly in the Carmel, Galilee, and Golan regions. Druze, which emerged in Egypt in the 11th century, is seen as a common interpretation of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. The Druze, who do not intermarry with other religious groups, have a very closed social structure. The exact number of Druze is unknown, but today they live as a small minority group in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

The Druze are being integrated into Israeli society

After the Ottoman Empire withdrew from Palestine, Zionist leaders sought to establish close relations with the Druze in order to benefit from their support in the process of establishing a state. These leaders positioned the Druze as a group distinct from the Arabs and attempted to gain the support of this minority by claiming that there was a religious connection between them.

Although a paramilitary alliance between Jews and Druze began in the late 1930s, it cannot be said that this alliance encompassed the entire Druze minority. This is because part of this minority participated in the Arab uprising that began in 1936 and then fought against the Jews in 1948.

Israel, given its demographic structure, sought to strengthen its ties with small minority groups other than Arabs. The state’s policies and privileges toward the Druze were intended to separate this community from the Arab community and bring it closer to the Jewish community. In this context, the Druze were defined as a separate nationality in 1962 and separated from their Arab identity. This situation has created a perception that the Druze are favoured both in state institutions and in Jewish society. In addition, in 1976, a separate Druze education sector was established to protect the Druze culture, and this community was made subject to compulsory military service.

Israel applied this policy against the Palestinian Druze and, after occupying the Golan Heights, also applied it to the Syrian Druze. After occupying the Golan, Israel forced a large part of the 130,000-strong population to migrate, while allowing 6,396 Druze to remain in the region, adopting a moderate approach similar to that toward the Palestinian Druze in order to separate them from the Arabs. However, the Syrian Druze did not respond in kind to Israel’s policy. Although they did not like the Syrian regime, they continued to see themselves as part of Syria and dreamed of becoming part of Syria again.

Role of the army in establishing special relations with the Druze

In Israel, the army is seen as an institution that unites different segments of society. The army serves to strengthen the ties between the state and both Jews who have immigrated to Israel and minority groups who are drafted into military service. In particular, members of minority groups who serve in the military are viewed with a certain degree of respect by the Jewish community. Therefore, the conscription of the Druze minority has been part of Israel’s policy to integrate them into Jewish society. After October 2023, many Druze soldiers served in the Israeli army that entered Gaza, and more than 430 Druze lost their lives as a result of Hamas attacks.

In response to Israel’s policy of separating the Druze from the Arabs and integrating them into Jewish society, Druze leaders have also been receptive to serving in the army in order to gain certain advantages. Through this approach, Druze leaders hoped to overcome structural issues such as insufficient investment in Arab and Druze villages and employment problems resulting from the state’s institutional discrimination.

Israel lifts the veil of institutionalised discrimination against Druze

Despite the Israeli government’s policy toward the Druze, they continue to face discrimination from the Jewish community. Although the Druze sought to escape discrimination by serving in the army, they reported that they were subjected to discrimination by the Jewish community after leaving military service. Indeed, Druze Member of Parliament Said Nafaa said, “We hoped that serving in the army would give us equal rights with other Israelis. However, we soon discovered that this was an illusion.” For this reason, some Druze men today refuse to enter military service. For example, although Druze do not face problems in terms of education, most encounter difficulties in finding employment. Additionally, Druze who wish to live in Jewish areas are required to pay above-average rent. These and similar problems faced by the Druze do not currently pose a security threat in Israel. However, if Israel does not improve its policy toward the Druze, there is a possibility that the Druze could become a security threat by separating themselves from Jewish society. Israel’s latest move to address this issue has been the approval of a five-year plan worth $1.1 billion to solve the housing problem of the Druze minority living in the north of the country.

Israel’s intention to use the Druze as leverage in Syria

Just as it did during its occupation of the Golan Heights, Israel is currently attempting to intervene in areas of Syria with a high Druze population. On the one hand, Israel is inciting the Druze population in the region against the new Syrian government, while on the other hand, it is attempting to gain their support by offering them certain opportunities. In this context, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz recently announced that Syrian Druze would soon be allowed to enter the country for work purposes. In addition, during the recent tensions in the Druze neighbourhood of Cermana in Damascus, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered to send military forces to Cermana to protect the Druze. However, the Druze rejected this offer. In the recent events in Suwayda, Israel launched attacks on the Syrian army to support the Druze in their conflict with the Syrian army. Israel wants to use the Druze in Syria for its own strategic purposes, just as it has done with the Druze in Palestine, by offering them various opportunities. Thus, Israel, which sees stability in Syria as a threat to its interests, is stirring up the Druze issue that has arisen in the new Syria and supporting the Druze in order to destabilise the region and prepare it for its own occupation.

July 17, 2025 Posted by | Timeless or most popular, Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

Bogota Summit launches Global South’s legal intifada against Israel and US impunity

By José Niño | The Cradle | July 17, 2025

From 15–16 July, Bogota became the unlikely capital of a global insurrection against western legal impunity. Over 30 countries – including key powers from the Global South and even some European states – gathered in the Colombian capital for the Hague Group Emergency Summit.

This was the most ambitious multilateral initiative yet to directly confront what participants unflinchingly termed Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and the broader culture of impunity that has shielded the occupation state since 1948.

From steadfast client to anti-imperial spearhead

That the summit was held in Colombia – a long-standing US vassal in Latin America – was not incidental. Once regarded as Washington’s most loyal client in the hemisphere, Colombia’s dramatic pivot under President Gustavo Petro represents the boldest regional defiance of US authority in decades.

Petro, who severed diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv in 2024, has placed Bogota on a collision course with the US over his unwavering opposition to the occupation state’s onslaught in Gaza.

Washington reacted predictably by issuing warnings to allies against the “weaponization of international law,” and sanctioning UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her “illegitimate and shameful efforts” to advance the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutions of Israeli and US officials. Bogota responded with direct defiance. In the run-up to the summit, Petro publicly backed Albanese, declaring that “the multilateral system of states cannot be destroyed,” in a thinly veiled rejection of US diktats.

Over 30 nations participated, including the eight founding members of the Hague Group – Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal, and South Africa, co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa. They were joined by more than 20 additional states spanning Latin America, Africa, Asia, and even Europe.

The participation of European countries such as Portugal and Spain was noteworthy. Both states only established full diplomatic relations with Israel in the latter part of the 20th century: Portugal in 1977 and Spain in 1986, emblematic of their historic caution over Israel’s contested legitimacy.

But since Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza began in late 2023, Madrid has adopted a string of punitive diplomatic moves.

Spain canceled a €6.6 million (around $7.2 million) ammunition purchase from an Israeli firm, scrapped a €285 million (around $310.7 million) anti-tank missile deal with the Spanish subsidiary of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, banned Israeli weapons from port entry, formally recognized Palestinian statehood, and pushed to suspend the EU–Israel Association Agreement.

Though neither European state fully endorsed all of Bogota’s proposals, their participation and scathing denunciations of Israeli policy reflect a deeper fracture within Europe over Tel Aviv’s legitimacy and the cost of complicity.

Laying the legal gauntlet

Central to the summit was a blistering legal and moral condemnation of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The Hague Group issued a detailed catalog of war crimes: the mass killing of over 57,000 civilians, the targeting of hospitals and schools, the weaponization of starvation and siege, and the deliberate use of forced displacement.

The apartheid state in the occupied West Bank, enforced through racial segregation, parallel legal systems, and land confiscations for settlements, was cited as a textbook violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and, per the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) 2024 advisory opinion, a breach of international prohibitions against forced territorial acquisition and apartheid.

Francesca Albanese delivered the summit’s keynote, setting the tone with an uncompromising indictment:

“For too long, international law has been treated as optional – applied selectively to those perceived as weak, ignored by those acting as the powerful … That era must end.”

The ICC arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant – citing crimes such as starvation as a weapon, indiscriminate civilian targeting, and the murder of Palestinian non-combatants – were repeatedly invoked as a historic turning point.

The Resistance Axis of lawfare

The summit’s ethos was clearly to rupture the impunity enabled by the UN Security Council’s paralysis. The Hague Group, founded in January 2025, framed itself as the Global South’s corrective to a postwar order that protects violators so long as they are shielded by US power.

That paralysis, most attendees argued, was not accidental but structural: The P5 veto system ensures impunity for those, such as Israel and its allies.

Meeting in the San Carlos Palace, delegates from 12 states – Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and South Africa – announced six binding measures. These included a full arms embargo on the occupation state, port bans for Israeli military vessels, contract reviews to terminate commercial complicity with the occupation, and firm support for domestic and international prosecution of Israeli officials.

These policies were anchored in the ICJ’s 2024 opinion declaring Israel’s occupation illegal and the UN General Assembly’s September 2024 resolution urging decisive global action within 12 months.

A global rift – but still an uphill battle

Despite the breakthrough, significant limitations remain. Only 12 states adopted the measures outright. Others were given until the UN General Assembly in September to sign on. Key powers, including China, withheld endorsement – despite supporting the initiative’s aims – likely due to economic entanglements with Israel, including port infrastructure investments.

Organizers acknowledged the uphill road ahead: absent broader UN uptake and stronger alignment from economic powers, Washington’s veto and European hesitation could neuter the Hague Group’s legal insurgency. But the coalition remains adamant that justice is no longer negotiable.

Colombian Vice Minister Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir captured the summit’s urgency:

“The Palestinian genocide threatens the entire international system … The participating states will not only reaffirm their commitment to opposing genocide, but also formulate concrete steps to move from words to collective action.”

A warning – and a promise

The Bogota summit was not just another international conference. It openly challenged the post-1945 legal fiction of a “rules-based order” – a system long exposed as a euphemism for western prerogative.

As South Africa’s International Relations Minister, Roland Lamola, asserted

“No country is above the law, and no crime will go unanswered.”

Yet the struggle remains unfinished. The Hague Group’s bold confrontation with Israeli impunity marks a decisive break, but the future of this legal uprising hinges on whether its momentum can breach the fortified walls of New York and The Hague, and whether powers like China, India, and Brazil shift from quiet endorsement to active alignment.

On 16 July, as thousands gathered in Plaza Bolivar in support, the message was unambiguous: either the era of impunity ends, or the legitimacy of the global order collapses with it.

July 17, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

China Ready to Work With SCO Countries to Restore Peace in Middle East

Sputnik – 17.07.2025

China is ready to cooperate with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries and the international community to promote a political settlement and the speedy restoration of peace in the Middle East, the Chinese Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asked the SCO to promptly consider the situation with Israel’s aggression against the Islamic Republic, as well as to provide Tehran with political support in light of the June conflict with the Jewish state.

“The peoples of China and Iran are bound by traditional friendship. China is committed to maintaining friendly cooperation with Iran in order to benefit the peoples of both countries and bring positive factors to maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East,” the ministry said when asked to comment on Iran’s request to the SCO.

The ministry noted that “the situation in the region currently remains complex and sensitive.”

“China is ready to cooperate with members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the international community to uphold peace, promote a political settlement and quickly restore peace and stability in the Middle East, which meets the common interests of the countries in the region and the international community,” the ministry added.

July 17, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Solidarity and Activism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Iran: World bodies giving up legitimacy, ‘sense of mission’ to bullying, unilateralism

Press TV – July 17, 2025

Iran says the imposition of US sanctions targeting a UN-appointed human rights expert and the mass resignation of members of the UN Palestine inquiry show that the world bodies are no longer allowed to even record the truth.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei made the remarks in a post on his X account on Thursday after the US on July 9 announced punitive measures against Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, while all three members of the UN commission investigating crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories submitted their resignations on Monday.

In his post, Baghaei said the sanctions and the resignations should not be taken lightly as they are an “alarming sign of the erosion of the global legal and normative order.”

“International institutions are giving up their legitimacy, effectiveness, authority and ‘sense of mission’ to militant bullying & radical unilateralism,” the Iranian spokesperson wrote.

He said future generations would affirm that silence, indifference, and double standards in the face of grave injustices and wars led to the collapse of the world normative order.

Albanese, independent from the UN bureaucracy, operates under a UN Human Rights Council mandate. She has faced repeated smears and threats from Israeli officials and lobby groups for her accurate, evidence-based reporting on the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Despite growing political backlash, human rights defenders continue to raise the alarm over the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.

Since October 2023, the Israeli regime has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians—most of them civilians, women, and children—amid widespread destruction and blockade-induced starvation.

July 17, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Colombia must sever ties with NATO – president

RT | July 17, 2025

Colombia must cut ties with NATO as the leaders of the military bloc support “genocide” of Palestinians, President Gustavo Petro has declared.

Colombia, a traditional US ally in South America, became the first country in the region to obtain the status of NATO global partner in 2017. Petro, who took office in 2022 as Colombia’s first leftist president, severed diplomatic relations with Israel last year over what he describes as a genocide being carried out by the Israeli government against Palestinians.

”What do we do in NATO? If NATO’s top brass are for genocide, what are we doing there?” Petro said at a pro-Palestinian international conference in Bogota on Wednesday.

”Hasn’t the time come for another military alliance? Because how can we be with armies that drop bombs on children?” he added. “Those armies aren’t armies of freedom, they’re armies of darkness. We must have armies of light.”

Petro argued that NATO is a Cold War relic and asserted that nations like Colombia are treated as “half-members” within the US-led military bloc, granted symbolic partnerships but not full accession.

The two-day conference in Bogota hosted representatives from a dozen countries in the Global South. Attendees signed a joint declaration calling for economic sanctions and legal actions against Israel, including an arms embargo, restrictions on dual-use goods, port denials for vessels carrying cargo for Israeli forces, and support for international accountability for crimes allegedly committed in occupied territories.

Petro’s criticism reflects a break from Colombia’s historically warm relationship with Israel. The late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez once dubbed Colombia the “Israel of Latin America,” arguing it served a similar geopolitical role in the region.

Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following a deadly raid led by the militant group Hamas in October 2023. The first independent study of casualties in Gaza, published last month, estimated the number of fatalities in the enclave at almost 84,000 by January 2025. Israel is currently pushing Palestinians to move to a “humanitarian city” that would purportedly be free of Hamas influence – which critics say is just a euphemism for a concentration camp.

July 17, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Israeli-linked lawyer told ICC chief prosecutor: Drop Gaza case or be ‘destroyed’

MEMO | July 16, 2025

“They will destroy you and they will destroy the court,” an Israeli ICC lawyer connected to Benjamin Netanyahu warned Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan while urging him to drop the war crimes probe against the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

The warning was delivered during a private meeting in The Hague on 1 May by Nicholas Kaufman, a British-Israeli lawyer who currently defends former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte at the ICC. According to an internal note seen by Middle East Eye, Kaufman told Khan he had spoken to Netanyahu’s legal adviser and had been “authorised” to propose a confidential solution to help the prosecutor “climb down the tree”, meaning to back away from the case discreetly.

Kaufman advised Khan to reclassify the case files as confidential so that Israel could respond to the allegations in private, rather than through public proceedings. But he also issued a warning: if Khan were to pursue further charges, such as for far-right Israeli ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, “all options would be off the table.” He then added, “They will destroy you and they will destroy the court.”

Khan and his wife, who was present at the meeting, both understood the words as a direct threat. Kaufman later denied issuing any threat and claimed he was acting on his own initiative, not on behalf of the Israeli government.

The case at the heart of this controversy concerns the ICC’s investigation into war crimes committed during Israel’s ongoing military assault on Gaza. On 20 May 2024, Khan formally applied for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged crimes including the starvation of civilians and the targeting of protected populations. Six months later the court issued arrest warrants for the Israeli leaders.

This attempt at intimidation is not an isolated incident. It follows a pattern of pressure, threats and political interference aimed at protecting Israel from international accountability. In February, the US imposed personal sanctions on Khan, revoking his visa and freezing his assets. His family was also barred from entering the US. In June, four ICC judges who approved the arrest warrants were similarly sanctioned.

Shortly after the 1 May meeting with Kaufman, allegations of sexual misconduct were leaked to the media against Khan. While the ICC initially closed its investigation due to the lack of cooperation by the complainant, the allegations re-emerged in the press through anonymous sources, prompting a new probe. Khan has denied all allegations. Although the proximity of events has prompted speculation, there is said to be no evidence to suggest a connection between the allegations against Khan and his meeting with Kaufman.

These efforts mirror tactics used against Khan’s predecessor. Fatou Bensouda, the former ICC chief prosecutor, has publicly revealed that she too faced threats and surveillance when she began investigating Israeli war crimes. In an interview with The Guardian, she described “thug-style tactics” that included hacking, harassment of her family and threats that she would “pay the price” for her work.

Israel’s allies in the West have also played a key role in undermining the court’s independence. Then British Foreign Secretary David Cameron reportedly warned Khan in April 2024 that issuing arrest warrants against Israeli officials would be “like dropping a hydrogen bomb.” Around the same time, US Senator Lindsey Graham threatened ICC staff with further sanctions if they moved forward.

The ICC is not the only international body under fire. Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, has also been targeted. In July, the US imposed sanctions against her, citing her “direct engagement” with the ICC’s investigation into Israeli war crimes.

Albanese has faced sustained smear campaigns and death threats—part of what observers describe as a broader effort to silence those demanding accountability for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Rights groups and UN experts have condemned the sanctions as an attack on the independence of international human rights mechanisms and a chilling warning to other officials who might support the ICC’s work.

July 16, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Yemen’s naval blockade forces closure of Israel’s only Red Sea port

Press TV – July 16, 2025

Israel says its only Red Sea port in Eilat will shut down next week, as a deepening debt crisis—triggered by a months-long naval blockade by Yemen’s Ansarullah movement—brings the strategic facility to a standstill.

The regime’s Ports and Shipping Authority said in a statement Wednesday that the port will permanently close on July 20.

Authorities acknowledged that the crippling blockade by Yemeni forces has effectively paralyzed operations at Eilat, once a key hub for maritime trade.

“Due to the shutdown of the Port of Eilat and its deteriorating financial situation amid the ongoing crisis, the Eilat Municipality has notified port management of the seizure of all bank accounts over unpaid debts,” Israel’s National Emergency Authority said in a memo.

“As a result, the Shipping and Ports Authority announced that the port will cease all operations starting this Sunday.”

Local media described the move as “a dramatic step” that could severely undermine Israel’s maritime logistics in the Red Sea.

Situated at Israel’s southernmost tip, the Port of Eilat has long functioned as a vital alternative to the Suez Canal. But since late last year, after Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement imposed a naval blockade in response to Israel’s war on Gaza, commercial activity at the port has come to a halt.

Shortly after the Gaza war began in November 2023, Ansarullah enforced a blockade on key maritime routes—the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Arabian Sea—aimed at disrupting military shipments to Israel.

Yemeni forces have since stepped up drone and missile attacks on Israeli and commercial vessels, vowing that operations will not stop until Israel ends its devastating war on Gaza.

July 16, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Cairo rejects Rafah plan, says it violates peace treaty

MEMO | July 16, 2025

Egypt has officially informed the United States and Israel of its firm rejection of a proposed plan to establish humanitarian camps in the border city of Rafah, according to Egyptian diplomatic sources quoted by the the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar on Tuesday.

The sources said Cairo warned that the plan could violate terms of the peace treaty’s security agreement with Israel, which prohibits any breach of agreed security arrangements in the border areas.

The report, titled “Rafah Ghetto concerns Cairo”, said Egypt may reconsider several regional arrangements, stressing that “all scenarios are on the table, including those beyond the diplomatic level.”

Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 13 reported that Egypt views the proposed “tent city” as a “ticking human time bomb” near the Egypt-Gaza border, warning that the relocation of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to the area poses a serious threat, according to RT Arabic

In addition, Israeli Channel 7 reported that Egypt’s security delegation, currently involved in mediation efforts, strongly opposed Israel’s latest military deployment map, arguing that such plans threaten Egypt’s national security, as reported by Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper website.

July 16, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Tucker escalates war with neocons over Iran

By Jack Hunter | Responsible Statecraft | June 6, 2025

Five months into President Donald Trump’s second term, spring is looking like winter for the neoconservatives.

This might be best gauged right now looking at the back and forth war between conservative media giants, Tucker Carlson and Mark Levin.

When Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said in an interview in May that, “the neocon element believes that war is the only way to solve things,” Levin took offense. The reliably neoconservative talk host blasted Witkoff and added, “By the way, neocon is a pejorative for Jew. Unbelievable.”

Carlson was perplexed by this statement. In an interview with comedian and libertarian activist Dave Smith, Carlson said, “So you have Mark Levin calling Steve Witkoff an anti-Semite. We’ve reached peak crazy, I mean, I think Witkoff is Jewish, right?”

That made Levin even more mad. On Thursday, Carlson shared a lengthy post on X that read, “Mark Levin was at the White House today, lobbying for war with Iran. To be clear, Levin has no plans to fight in this or any other war. He’s demanding that American troops do it. We need to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons, he and likeminded ideologues in Washington are now arguing. They’re just weeks away.”

Carlson reminded his audience what a farce this was.

“If this sounds familiar, it’s because the same people have been making the same claim since at least the 1990s. It’s a lie,” Carlson wrote. “In fact, there is zero credible intelligence that suggests Iran is anywhere near building a bomb, or has plans to. None. Anyone who claims otherwise is ignorant or dishonest.”

A ten paragraph essay followed, dismantling some of the usual arguments neoconservatives make to push for war with Iran, with Carlson using Levin in particular to make his points.

On enrichment, Carlson observed, “[M]any Americans would die during a war with Iran. People like Mark Levin don’t seem to care about this. It’s not relevant to them. Instead they insist that Iran give up all uranium enrichment, regardless of its purpose. They know perfectly well that Iran will never accept that demand. They’ll fight first. And of course that’s the whole point of pushing for it: to box the Trump administration into a regime change war in Iran.”

The Quincy Institute’s Executive Vice President Trita Parsi shared Carlson’s post and echoed the importance of his enrichment comments.

“The most crucial part of Tucker’s tweet is on enrichment,” Parsi noted. “He doesn’t just issue a generic warning against war. He addresses the impasse of the talks: The neocon red line of zero enrichment.”

Parsi added, “At a crucial moment, Tucker wisely advises Trump to drop this deal-killing demand. Huge!”

Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna (Calif.) also shared Carlson’s X post, writing, “No war with Iran. The war in Iraq was the biggest foreign policy blunder of the 21st century. Americans — right and left — do not want more dumb wars.”

Former Republican congressman Matt Gaetz (Fla.) shared Carlson’s post, adding a 100 percent emoji.

Senior Editor of The American Conservative Andrew Day shared and highlighted the dangerousness of having Levin around Trump at this moment. Carlson said from the beginning of his post that he believed Levin was at the White House to agitate for war.

“Mark Levin is the last person who should be whispering in Trump’s ear at this stage of negotiations,” Day wrote. “I hope Vance and Gabbard are actively exerting a counter-influence.”

Vice President JD Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard have been against a U.S. war with Iran.

Carlson finished his post, writing, “The one thing that people like Mark Levin don’t want is a peaceful solution to the problem of Iran, despite the obvious benefits to the United States. They denounce anyone who advocates for a deal as a traitor and a bigot. They tell us with a straight face that Long Island native Steve Witkoff is a secret tool of Islamic monarchies. They’ll say or do whatever it takes. They have no limits”

“These are scary people,” he concluded. “Pray that Donald Trump ignores them.”

I noted in an essay in late May that established neoconservative media voices on the right were beginning to be outshined by new conservative, libertarian and independent influencers, almost all of them antiwar.

Carlson is the largest figure on the American right this side of Donald Trump right now and he has been consistently against America’s involvement in any new wars, the mirror opposite of Levin.

As of this writing, Carlson’s Levin-Iran X post has over 5.4 million views.

Mark Levin has used his large platforms on talk radio and Fox News to promote neoconservative foreign policy for many years. Now Tucker Carlson appears to be using his arguably even larger platform on social media to shut that down.

Good.

July 15, 2025 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , , | Leave a comment

US pundit challenges ex-Israeli PM over Epstein files

Press TV – July 15, 2025

US commentator Tucker Carlson has called out former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, urging him to address claims linking disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to the Israeli regime in a formal interview, rather than dismissing them as conspiracy theories.

In a post on X on Thursday, Carlson invited Bennett to discuss Epstein’s ties to Israel, promising to contact his office to arrange the interview.

This followed Bennett’s Monday statement on X, where he denied accusations, including from Carlson, that Epstein was an intelligence asset for Israel’s Mossad.

“As a former Israeli Prime Minister, with the Mossad having reported directly to me, I say to you with 100% certainty: The accusation that Jeffrey Epstein somehow worked for Israel or the Mossad running a blackmail ring is categorically and totally false,” Bennett wrote, addressing persistent reports that Epstein worked for the Israeli regime.

Epstein’s 2020 death in US federal custody, recently ruled a suicide by the Trump administration, has reignited speculation of a cover-up.

Reports have long suggested Epstein, a wealthy New York socialite, operated a blackmail ring targeting influential figures and was murdered in jail, with many saying he acted on Israel’s behalf.

Bennett dismissed these claims, stating, “Epstein’s criminal and despicable actions had no connection to the Mossad or Israel.”

He accused high-profile figures like Carlson of spreading falsehoods, adding, “There’s a vicious wave of slander against [Israel], and we won’t stand for it.”

Carlson fired back on X, challenging Bennett’s response: “Instead of issuing threats on social media, why not sit for a rational interview about Epstein’s ties to the Israeli government? We’ll reach out to your office today.”

On Friday, speaking at the Turning Point USA conference, Carlson doubled down, asserting it was “obvious” Epstein had ties to a foreign regime, implying Israel.

His remarks were met with enthusiasm from the pro-Trump audience.

July 14, 2025 Posted by | Corruption, Deception, Wars for Israel | , , | Leave a comment

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