The Biden and Trump regimes are personally destroying the ancient Christian communities of the Middle East
By Mohammed ibn Faisal al-Rashid – New Eastern Outlook – September 28, 2025
Under the guise of fighting for democracy and freedom, Washington is waging an unprecedented war of annihilation against Arab Christians, forever altering the ethno-religious map of the region.
The Middle East, the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of Christianity, is experiencing a quiet but one of the most horrific humanitarian catastrophes of our time. This is not a natural disaster but a deliberate, systematic destruction of ancient Christian communities dating back two millennia. And in this process, as facts and experts attest, the United States of America, under the leadership of both Democrats and Republicans, has acted not as a protector, but as the chief architect and executioner.
This article is not a political pamphlet but a cry of despair, based on stark and shocking numbers and the admissions of American analysts themselves. The Biden and Trump administrations, despite rhetorical differences, have continued a destructive foreign policy that has led to the fastest disappearance of a distinct ethno-religious group in modern history. Under the false pretense of fighting tyranny and spreading democracy, Washington systematically dismantled secular regimes that were the last bastion of protection for religious minorities, paving the way for radical Islamism to act as the “cleaner.”
Syria: The Destroyed Ark. How the US Created a Vacuum for Slaughter
The civil war in Syria, instigated by the West led by the United States and its local allies and unleashed in 2011, became a point of no return for Syrian Christians. As Richard Gazal, Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Christians and a US Air Force intelligence veteran, writes in his July 7, 2025 article, Washington actively and deliberately facilitated the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s secular regime.
Criminal intent or monstrous stupidity? US policy in Syria was marked by hypocrisy from the very beginning. While claiming to fight ISIS, American strategists simultaneously armed, funded, and trained the so-called “moderate opposition,” which in reality quickly merged with openly Islamist and jihadist groups. These gangs, upon receiving American weapons, immediately turned them against “infidels” – Alawites, Shias, and Christians.
The Obama administration, in which Biden was vice president, planted this bomb. The Trump administration, while criticizing its predecessors, in practice continued the same line, leaving Christians to their fate. Though Trump announced troop withdrawals, his policy of maximum pressure on Damascus only worsened the humanitarian crisis and strengthened the terrorists controlling vast territories.
The result? Numbers that make your blood run cold. As Gazal points out, Syria’s pre-war Christian community of about 2 million people has shrunk to a catastrophic 300,000. This means the disappearance of over 85% of the community. Entire cities and villages where Christians had lived for centuries are empty. Ancient monasteries and churches lie in ruins. This is not “collateral damage” of war. It is a direct consequence of a policy that delivered an entire people to the slaughter.
Iraq: The Precursor to the Catastrophe. The 2003 Lesson No One Learned
The Syrian tragedy would have been impossible had the world learned the lessons from Iraq. Artis Shepard’s article “America’s War on Arab Christians” from August 6, 2025, mercilessly reminds us of Washington’s first great crime against Middle Eastern Christianity.
A liberation that became a pogrom. The 2003 invasion of Iraq under the false pretext of weapons of mass destruction was an act of naked aggression. It swept away the secular (though brutal) regime of Saddam Hussein, which, like Assad in Syria, provided relative protection for religious minorities. The power vacuum was instantly filled by radical groups who launched a bloody campaign against Christians.
Shepard provides horrifying data: 1.5 million Iraqi Christians were driven from their historical lands, where their ancestors had lived since the time of the Apostles. Their churches, monasteries, and cultural monuments, which had survived millennia of invasions, were wiped off the face of the earth by American bombs and the subsequent pogrom. The city of Mosul, once a multi-confessional center, was “cleansed” of its Christian population.
What did subsequent administrations do to stop this genocide? Virtually nothing. The policies of both Trump and Biden towards Iraq were focused on countering Iran and maintaining military influence, not on protecting the remnants of ancient communities. The US created this deep and wide problem and blatantly refused to solve it, running away, as usual, from both the problem itself and the people of Iraq.
A Consistent Cross-Cutting Policy: From Trump to Biden and Back?
Here we come to the key question: whose administration is more guilty? The answer is disheartening: both. The difference between them is only in style, not substance.
The Trump Era: The 45th president loudly proclaimed protecting Christians in the Middle East, especially during election campaigns. He signed executive orders to aid religious minorities. However, in practice, his foreign policy was even more aggressive and unpredictable. The 2017 strike on Syria, the 2020 assassination of Soleimani—these actions further destabilized the region, creating new waves of chaos in which the most vulnerable die first. His “maximum pressure” on Iran hurt civilians and minorities across Iraq and Syria the most.
The Biden Era: The 46th president was expected to abandon brute force in favor of diplomacy. But no. His administration only tightened sanctions against Syria (the “Caesar” Act), which targeted not the regime but ordinary Syrians, depriving them of food, medical care, and the ability to rebuild shattered homes. These sanctions are collective punishment, blocking any possibility for Christians to return and rebuild their lives. Biden, like his boss Obama, continued the strategy of using radical proxies to achieve geopolitical goals.
The Trump 2.0 Era: Complicity in Genocide and a Betrayal of Christian Values.
Donald Trump’s return to power was met with alarm by all who witnessed the catastrophic consequences of his previous term for Middle East stability. Contrary to any hopes for a change of course, his return to the White House not only failed to stop the vicious practice of systematically destroying the region’s indigenous peoples but also marked a new, even darker chapter of blatant disregard for the fate of Middle Eastern Christians.
This tragic symbiosis of Washington and Tel Aviv reached its apex in the figure of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Enjoying the unconditional, almost blind support of the newly elected Trump administration, this maniacal politician feels utterly untouchable. With a cynical grin, he pursues a policy of total destruction, under whose carpet bombings and ground operations not only Arab Muslims are perishing but also one of the world’s oldest Christian communities—the direct descendants of Christ’s first followers.
Trump’s statements about “protecting Christians” and his photo ops with the Bible are revealed as nothing more than a hypocritical farce, masking a brutal reality. A reality where Washington provides a “carte blanche” for any war crime at the first request, vetoing any attempt by the international community to stop the bloodshed. The Trump administration’s policy is not merely indifferent—it is complicit in deliberate genocide.
Netanyahu’s actions are based on a well-practiced and utterly primitive principle he now applies with particular cruelty: “If you’re not with us, you’re against us and will be destroyed.” Everyone is indiscriminately targeted: civilians, children, women, the elderly, hospitals, churches, and entire neighborhoods. He and his patrons in Washington absolutely do not care who is in the crosshairs: a Muslim Arab, an Orthodox Christian, a Catholic, or a representative of the most ancient ethno-confessional groups—an Aramean, Assyrian, or Chaldean. Their ancient history, cultural heritage, and very lives are being erased from the earth under the pretext of the “war on terror.”
Thus, the new Trump-Netanyahu alliance represents not just a threat to peace in the Middle East but a direct and immediate threat to the very existence of Christianity in its cradle. This is a betrayal of the very values so hypocritically proclaimed from high podiums and a stain of shame on the conscience of all who, by their silence or active support, enable this barbarism.
Both administrations essentially see the Middle East only as a chessboard for fighting geopolitical rivals—Russia, Iran, and China. Christians, and indeed all civilians, are mere pawns to them, “collateral damage” in a great game. As Richard Gazal rightly notes, the US needs a strategy directed against real terrorists, not against those who somehow maintain stability.
Is Redemption Possible?
The destruction of the Middle East’s Christian communities is not only a tragedy for these people themselves. It is an irreparable loss for all humanity, the destruction of a living bridge to the most ancient origins of our culture and faith. With its own hands, driven by imperial ambitions and a strategy of managed chaos, the United States has uprooted entire layers of history.
What has been done cannot be undone. Returning 1.5 million exiles from Iraq or 1.7 million refugees from Syria is unrealistic. Their homes are destroyed, their memory desecrated, and their trust in the West, and especially the US, betrayed forever.
Muhammad ibn Faisal al-Rashid, political analyst, expert on the Arab world
Netanyahu admits Israel weaponizes social media to manipulate US public opinion
Press TV – September 27, 2025
Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has admitted that his regime has been using social media platforms to dominate US political discourse and secure unconditional support for its genocidal war on Gaza.
Speaking at a closed-door meeting with US influencers at Israel’s Consulate General in New York, Netanyahu was filmed describing social media as “the most important weapon … to secure our base in the US.”
The head of the Israeli regime singled out TikTok as “the most important purchase going on right now,” claiming that whoever controls this Chinese app will wield “consequential” influence.
He also claimed that gaining influence over TikTok and X would allow Israel to “get a lot.”
Netanyahu’s remarks came just a day after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order certifying a deal to transfer TikTok’s US operations to an American investor consortium including Oracle, Michael Dell, and Rupert Murdoch.
Concerns have since mounted that Oracle founder Larry Ellison—a staunch supporter of the Israeli regime—could ensure the platform’s power is exploited to advance the regime’s coordinated propaganda efforts.
The move comes as Israel faces mounting isolation over its genocidal war on Gaza, where more than 65,600 Palestinians—most of them women and children—have been killed since October 2023.
At the 80th UN General Assembly this week, Netanyahu addressed a largely empty hall after numerous delegations staged a walkout in protest of his regime’s war on Gaza, now entering its third year.
UN blacklist expands to 158 firms over Israeli settlement ties
Al Mayadeen | September 27, 2025
The United Nations has expanded its blacklist of companies linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, adding 68 firms from 11 countries accused of contributing to violations of Palestinian human rights.
The updated “database of companies,” released Friday by the UN human rights office, now includes 158 businesses, most of them Israeli. Others are headquartered in the United States, Canada, China, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
The list highlights firms engaged in activities deemed supportive of settlement expansion, which much of the international community considers illegal under international law. These include suppliers of construction materials, heavy equipment vendors, and providers of financial, security, and travel services.
Among the latest additions are German building materials giant Heidelberg Materials, Portuguese rail systems provider Steconfer, and Spanish engineering firm Ineco. US-based Expedia Group, Booking Holdings Inc., and Airbnb, Inc. also remain on the list.
First update since 2023
While 68 new companies were named, seven were removed following a UN review of 215 enterprises. The delisted firms include French transport company Alstom and online travel agencies eDreams (Spain) and Opodo (Britain).
“Businesses working in contexts of conflict have a due diligence responsibility to ensure their activities do not contribute to human rights abuses,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN human rights office. “We call on businesses to take appropriate action to address the adverse human rights impacts of their activities.”
Shamdasani added that governments also bear responsibility for ensuring that corporations under their jurisdiction are not complicit in rights violations.
The newly flagged companies are concentrated in industries such as construction, real estate, mining, and quarrying. Each was notified of its inclusion and granted the right of reply.
This marks the first update to the database since 2023, when 97 companies were listed, down from 112 in the original 2020 publication. Fifteen firms, including US food conglomerate General Mills, were removed during that previous revision.
Euro-Med: Israel blackmails Gaza families, forcing them to choose between cooperation or death
Palestinian Information Center – September 27, 2025
GAZA – The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has accused the Israeli occupation regime of pursuing a dangerous policy of extortion against Gazan families, forcing them to choose between two catastrophic options, either to cooperate with Israeli forces and their militias or face killing, starvation and displacement.
In a statement on Saturday, Euro-Med described this policy as “an escalating genocidal pattern that has shifted from individual coercion to collective extortion aimed at dismantling the social fabric of Palestinians.”
This policy “involves pressuring individuals to betray their society, destroy social bonds, and subject survivors to conditions that destroy their collective identity and their ability to stay alive,” Euro-Med added.
Euro-Med affirmed that its field team documented an unprecedented escalation in Israel’s use of extortion tactics against Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip. “Entire families are facing a horrific dilemma, either to join militias formed by Israel or face persecution, mass killing, starvation and forced displacement, as part of a systematic effort to dismantle the Palestinian society and force it to yield to the will of the Israeli occupation.”
Euro-Med said that Gazan families are explicitly threatened with death if they do not comply with the Israeli occupation army’s orders.
Euro-Med called on all countries to shoulder their legal responsibilities and take urgent action to stop Israel’s genocidal crimes in Gaza, provide the Palestinian population with protection, and ensure Israel’s compliance with international law and the International Court of Justice’s rulings.
Visual evidence shatters Israeli claims over attack on Gaza hospital
Al Mayadeen | September 27, 2025
A Reuters investigation into the Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital in Gaza has dismantled the occupation’s official narrative of the massacre. Visual evidence and corroborating reports reveal that the camera targeted as a supposed Hamas asset was in fact owned and operated by Reuters, routinely used by one of its journalists.
The strike on August 25 killed 22 Palestinians, including six journalists. Israeli occupation forces reportedly planned the attack using drone footage that allegedly showed a Hamas camera. However, Reuters’ findings indicate the footage actually depicted the agency’s own camera, used consistently by its reporter.
After Reuters presented its investigation, an Israeli military official admitted that troops had acted without the required approval from the senior regional commander in Gaza. “The troops acted without the required approval of the senior regional commander in charge of operations in Gaza,” the official told Reuters, acknowledging a breach of command protocol.
The day of the harrowing massacre
The day after Israeli tanks shelled Nasser Hospital, the official said the occupation’s initial review concluded that troops had targeted a Hamas camera allegedly filming them. The device, covered by a cloth, raised suspicion. “A decision was made to destroy it,” the official said.
Drone footage shows the camera on a hospital stairwell draped with a two-toned cloth. The military official confirmed this was the intended target.
Reuters’ investigation, however, revealed that the cloth was not a Hamas disguise but a prayer rug belonging to Hussam al-Masri, a Reuters journalist killed in the brutal Israeli massacre. Since May, al-Masri had positioned his camera at that spot at least 35 times for live broadcasts, often covering it with the rug to protect it from heat and dust.
Confirmation of ownership
Comparisons of photos of al-Masri with IOF drone images confirmed ownership of the targeted device. One picture, taken on August 13, shows al-Masri beside his camera, covered with the same prayer mat seen in the drone screenshot.
This investigation provides the most detailed account yet of the attack and confirms that the camera was Reuters‘ property. The Associated Press, which also lost a journalist in the strike, had earlier noted indications that the device “Israel” alleged as Hamas-owned was, in fact, Reuters’.
Unsurprisingly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attack as a “tragic mishap”. The military official claimed that al-Masri and other journalists present were not the intended targets and were not suspected of Hamas ties.
Hamas rejects PA president’s alignment with Zionist narrative in UN speech
Palestinian Information Center – September 26, 2025
DOHA – The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, responded Thursday to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s speech before the United Nations General Assembly, affirming that Palestinian resistance is a “national and moral responsibility, deriving its legitimacy from our steadfast Palestinian people and their natural right to resist occupation, as recognized by international laws and conventions.”
Hamas categorically rejected what it described as Abbas’s “alignment with the false Zionist narrative,” asserting that accusing the resistance of targeting civilians is an attempt to distort its image.
The Movement underlined that “all attempts to impose guardianship over our people and their will are doomed to fail,” adding that Abbas’s declaration that Hamas will have no role in governance constitutes “an infringement on the inherent right of our Palestinian people to determine their own destiny and choose their leadership, and an unacceptable submission to external agendas and projects.”
Hamas emphasized that “the weapons of resistance are untouchable as long as the occupation remains entrenched on our land.”
It condemned Abbas’s call to surrender arms, especially “in light of the genocidal war being waged against our people in Gaza, and the brutal crimes and savage assaults committed by armed settlers and the occupation army against unarmed civilians in the occupied West Bank.”
Hamas reiterated that the only path to safeguarding the national cause and confronting the occupation’s plans to “exterminate and displace our people in Gaza, annex the West Bank, and Judaize Jerusalem and al-Aqsa,” lies in “national unity and consensus around a comprehensive resistance program to confront the criminal Zionist occupation, until our people’s aspirations for liberation, return, and the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital are fulfilled.”
The statement concluded by affirming that “our steadfast people are the source of legitimacy, and the weapons of resistance are a red line that cannot be compromised.”
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli occupation forces, backed by the United States and Western countries, have been waging a devastating war in Gaza, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of approximately 233,000 Palestinians to date. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, 442 Palestinians, including 147 children, have died from starvation.
White House backs plan for Tony Blair to lead interim Gaza authority
Al Mayadeen | September 26, 2025
The White House is reportedly supporting a proposal that would place former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair at the helm of a temporary administration to govern the Gaza Strip, according to reports in Haaretz and The Times of Israel, which completely sidelines the demands and stances of the Palestinian people.
The plan envisions the creation of the Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA), which would act as Gaza’s “supreme political and legal authority” for up to five years. Blair would lead a 25-member secretariat and chair a seven-person board overseeing an executive body responsible for managing the territory.
Initially based in the Egyptian city of El-Arish, GITA would later move into Gaza, accompanied by a UN-endorsed multinational force largely drawn from Arab states. The proposal is modeled on transitional administrations that previously oversaw Kosovo and Timor-Leste.
The White House argues the initiative offers a middle ground between US President Donald Trump’s earlier proposal for the US and the Israeli regime to directly control Gaza and a UN-backed plan endorsed by over 140 states calling for a one-year technocratic administration under the New York declaration.
Divisions over Blair’s role
Blair’s potential appointment is controversial, for while he enjoys credibility among several Gulf leaders, many Palestinians view him with deep mistrust due to his support for the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and his record as Middle East envoy from 2007 to 2015. Western diplomats noted it was not guaranteed that Blair would take on the role and suggested the administration could last only two years.
The proposal’s lack of a clear timeline for transferring authority to the Palestinian Authority (PA) may complicate its acceptance by Palestinians and Arab leaders. Critics fear the plan could amount to another form of foreign-imposed governance, albeit under an international framework rather than the Israeli occupation.
Details of the plan surfaced after Trump met in New York with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Trump described the discussions as “successful”, adding that “we’re close to getting some kind of deal done.”
Arab states have stressed that any international involvement must be tied to a credible timeline for Palestinian statehood. Without such assurances, some argue the Blair-led body risks being perceived as an extended foreign trusteeship.
Palestinian response
Addressing the UN General Assembly, PA President Mahmoud Abbas reaffirmed that Gaza remains “an integral part of the state of Palestine” and said the PA was ready to assume full responsibility for governance and security. He rejected any role for Hamas in postwar administration, echoing US and Israeli conditions after Washington revoked his visa ahead of the 80th UN session, which forced him to deliver his speech via video.
Meanwhile, Trump told reporters at the White House that he would not support the Israeli occupation’s “annexation” of the West Bank. “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope. I won’t allow it. It’s not going to happen,” he said.
Arab and Muslim forces in Gaza?
Washington is pushing for Arab and Muslim states to commit troops to Gaza as part of a so-called peacekeeping force that would enable an Israeli withdrawal. The US is also seeking financial pledges from these countries for reconstruction and to support Gaza’s transitional administration.
On Monday, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced that his country was prepared to send soldiers as part of such a mission.
The initiative comes as negotiations to end the war and secure a prisoner exchange remain stalled. On the ground, “Israel” has launched a large-scale offensive, deploying three armored and infantry divisions into Gaza City, in hopes of forcibly displacing the city’s residents.
Meanwhile, at UN headquarters in New York, a conference on the “two-state solution” concluded with France and several European countries recognizing the State of Palestine. The Gaza Ministry of Health reports that more than 65,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the Israeli assault since October 7.
An Israeli plan relayed to Washington?
A US official told Axios that “tomorrow’s meeting could be fairly significant,” stressing that the Trump administration wants “regional buy-in and support to make it successful.” An Arab official added that Trump is seeking “feedback and support for the US plan to end the war and then push it forward.”
Officials insisted the proposal would be a US initiative rather than an Israeli plan relayed through Washington. However, Israeli officials acknowledged that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is aware of its outlines.
One Israeli official admitted that “there will be bitter pills we’ll have to swallow,” particularly regarding any potential role for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza.
Malaysian army ready to join possible peacekeeping force in Gaza, says army chief
MEMO | September 25, 2025
Malaysian Army Chief Gen. Muhammad Hafizuddeain on Thursday said that his force is ready to join a possible peacekeeping force in Gaza, according to state-run media, Anadolu reports.
Speaking to reporters at the closing ceremony of the 14th Indo-Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference, he said that the Malaysian forces have experience in peacekeeping and are ready to join any mission, including a possible deployment to Gaza, Palestine, if asked to do so, Bernama News reported.
“We have been involved in peacekeeping operations since 1960, starting in Congo, and then in Somalia, Bosnia and Cambodia,” he said.
However, Hafizuddeain noted that any participation would depend on the government’s decision, as well as an evaluation of the mission’s effectiveness and safety.
His statement came after Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said Tuesday that his country is ready to deploy 20,000 peacekeepers in Gaza.
Addressing the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Prabowo said: “If and when the Security Council and this Assembly decide,” Indonesia is ready to dispatch 20,000 or “even more” soldiers to “help secure peace in Gaza or elsewhere in Palestine as part of a united multilateral force — so that peace in both Palestine and Israel, can become real, not just envisioned.”
The Israeli army has killed more than 65,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.
Greece is aiding Netanyahu regime’s genocidal project: Former Greek Finance Minister Varoufakis
MEMO | September 25, 2025
Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has accused Athens of “violating International Law to aid and abet the Netanyahu government’s genocidal project” after a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla was attacked by drones off southern Crete, Anadolu reports.
Varoufakis, a prominent author, opposition politician, and commentator, said on X that he had spoken to the crew of the Family, the main vessel of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was struck on the night of Sept. 23 by “a swarm of drones with explosives and CS (tear) gas.”
The flotilla, he said, had requested urgent help from the Greek Coast Guard to repair damage and provide protection while sailing through Greece’s Search and Rescue area.
“Remarkably, nauseatingly to be precise, the Greek Coastguard turned both requests down!” he said.
“Such is the determination of the Greek government to aid and abet Israel’s genocide in Gaza and, more generally, its ethnic cleansing of Palestine, that the Greek authorities took the step of refusing assistance that the Law of the Sea obliges them to provide.”
According to Varoufakis, the refusal highlights how “readily, in a bid to satisfy (Israeli Prime Minister) Netanyahu, the Greek government has forfeited not only its responsibilities but also its sovereignty.”
Under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he added, “a long process by which Greece has become a satellite of the last Apartheid State is now complete,” referring to Israel’s policies of discriminating against and oppressing Palestinians.
He also pointed to wider evidence of complicity. On the night of the flotilla attack, Varoufakis claimed, a Beechcraft King Air 350 spy plane took off from the US Air Force base at Souda in northwestern Crete and flew south.
The aircraft, he said, belongs to the US leasing company Metrea Special Aerospace ISR and had previously been used to monitor Gaza from a British base in the Greek Cypriot Administration.
“One thing is clear from all of the above,” Varoufakis added.
“Through a mixture of omission and commission, the Greek government is violating International Law to aid and abet the Netanyahu government. Our party, MeRA25, will fight this government on the streets, in the workplaces, across a country – Greece – which refuses to be counted as complicit with Israel’s genocide.”
Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave all but uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.
Italy redirects navy ship to assist Global Sumud Flotilla after drone attacks
The Cradle | September 24, 2025
Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in a statement on 24 September that an Italian navy ship has been redirected towards the Global Sumud Flotilla to provide it with “possible assistance,” after it came under a series of Israeli attacks overnight.
The Italian defense minister strongly condemned the overnight drone attacks.
Activists on board several of the flotilla’s boats reported at least 10 explosions after witnessing drones launch several attacks early on Wednesday. The boats were situated off the coast of Greece.
“Multiple drones, unidentified objects dropped, communications jammed, and explosions heard from a number of boats. We are witnessing these psychological operations firsthand, right now, but we will not be intimidated,” Global Sumud Flotilla said.
US activist Greg Stoker said a quadcopter “dropped a little popper on deck,” adding that “other boats experienced that as well.”
“Our VHF [very high frequency] radio was hijacked by adversarial comms, and they started playing ABBA,” he added. One boat was reportedly sprayed with chemicals as well.
Israel has not commented on the attacks targeting the Gaza-bound flotilla.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the flotilla was “pursuing a violent course of action” that “highlights the insincerity of the flotilla members and their mission to serve Hamas, rather than the people in Gaza.”
The International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza (ICBSG) had warned on Sunday that unidentified drones were flying close to the vessels.
Workers across Italy launched a nationwide strike on 22 September to oppose Israel’s genocide in Gaza, halting public transport, rail services, schools, public offices, and ports in more than 60 cities. Italian grassroots trade union, Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), called the strike to force Rome to “immediately break off relations with the terrorist state of Israel, which is the concrete way in which Italy can, and must, react to the genocide that is taking place.”
Rail freight was suspended on Sunday night, with ports including Ravenna, Livorno, Trieste, and Genoa joining the actions. In Genoa, dockworkers blocked a vessel scheduled for Israel, while in Livorno, access to the port was restricted by protesters.
The flotilla bombarded early on 24 September is the third to attempt to break the siege of Gaza in the last four months.
The Global Sumud Flotilla also came under two attacks earlier in September.
The vessels are carrying hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, who are being starved and bombarded by the Israeli army. It has been described as the largest civilian flotilla in history.
In late July, the Gaza Freedom Flotilla’s Handala vessel was intercepted and seized by Israeli forces as it was trying to break the siege and deliver aid to the strip. Crewmembers were detained.
The month before, Israeli forces intercepted the Gaza Freedom Flotilla’s Madleen vessel in international waters as it was approaching Gaza to break the siege, seizing the boat and detaining the 12 activists on board.
In May this year, an Israeli drone bombed a Freedom Flotilla aid vessel that was en route to Gaza, blowing a hole through the ship, causing a fire, and putting it at risk of sinking.
Settler arson attack on vital West Bank agricultural hub is blow to Palestinian food security
International Solidarity Movement – Palestine | September 23, 2025
The Mishtil Al-Junaidy Al-Hadith plant nursery in Deir Sharaf, a major West Bank seed distributor and the heart of the region’s agriculture, was set on fire by illegal Israeli settlers on 8 September 2025, costing the owners over three million shekels and seriously damaging the already fragile Palestinian food system.
The footage captured by security cameras shows seven masked settlers descending on the nursery at 8pm to destroy the agricultural hub. Using diesel fuel, the settlers set fire to several buildings, stole supplies, and broke the windows of the main office, destroying seeds, computers, and most importantly, invaluable data centers holding information on agricultural practices in the region, which cannot be retrieved.
The fire department was informed immediately, but the Israeli authorities didn’t permit the firemen to reach the site for 45 minutes, which uninterrupted would only be a ten minute drive from the station in nearby Nablus. The attack was caught on camera, and the Israeli military, Shin Bet and Civil administration all arrived, but – just like past attacks – no updates on the investigation have been provided and no arrests have been made.
Sameer Al Junaidy, one of the four Al Junaidy brothers who owns and runs the nursery, says he doesn’t hire security because he would rather take damage to the property than put a Palestinian’s life at risk. Unarmed guards would be powerless against armed settlers, who regularly assault and murder local Palestinians.
The nursery is situated next to the illegal Shavei Shomron settlement, one of the West Bank’s first illegal settlements built in 1977 on land seized from Deir Sharaf and An-Naqura. Just before October 7, 2023, illegal settlers established an outpost on the other side of the nursery and have been intent on building a road that goes through it to connect them.
Since then, settlers have attacked the nursery at least five times. Recently, they set fire to bulldozers, a truck, and a forklift owned by the nursery. Settlers have also burned down olive trees, destroyed water pipes, and attacked Palestinians in neighboring communities. Footage from previous attacks that contains the assailants’ faces captured by Al Junaidy has been handed over to police, but no arrests were ever made.
Al Junaidy says that the Israeli Civil Administration told him that they understand how important the center is to West Bank agriculture and communities but they said: “There are two policies on the ground”, and some in the Israeli government want to see the assailants go unpunished. The nursery is also adjacent to Kedumin, the settlement where Israeli far-right Finance Minister Benzamar Smotrich lives, which is in the same council of settlements as Shavei Shomron.
The attack is a devasting blow to an already precarious food system in the besieged territory, bound to raise costs for local farmers who buy their seeds through the company. The nursery produces 80% of the West Bank’s olive tree saplings and all of its almond tree saplings, two crops central to Palestinian food security.
The destruction of over forty years of data could have far reaching impacts on agriculture across the West Bank. The data which has been lost included detailed information on how to best cultivate their thousands of seeds, meaning without this data, farmers may not know the ideal way to cultivate the crops. It is also used by agricultural engineering students at universities across Palestine.
Assaults on the West Bank’s economy and food systems through attacks like this one on the Al Junaidy Nursery are just one tactic in the occupiers’ overall project to ethnically cleanse the territory of all of its Palestinian inhabitants by disconnecting them from their land, their traditions, and the resources they need to survive.
Dozens missing after Israeli strike levels residential building in central Gaza
MEMO | September 23, 2025
At least 60 Palestinians are missing after an Israeli airstrike flattened a residential building in central Gaza City on Monday, local sources reported. Residents of the building were inside when it was bombed without prior warning, according to eyewitnesses.
The strike took place near the Shawa Building in the Al-Samar area, which itself has been threatened with attack. Gaza has come under heavy Israeli bombardment since 11 August as part of the army’s ongoing military campaign to seize control of the city.
Eyewitnesses said efforts to recover those trapped under the rubble are severely hampered by the lack of rescue equipment. Videos shared by Palestinians on social media showed the building reduced to rubble.
In one video, a woman—whose name was withheld—said her brother and his family were among those missing. Another man, standing nearby in tears, was heard calling out for his daughter trapped beneath the debris.
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Fourteen Incredible Facts About 9/11
By Kevin Ryan | Dig Within | August 8, 2015
… What is known about 9/11 is that there are many incredible facts that continue to be ignored by the government and the mainstream media. Here are fourteen.
- An outline of what was to become the 9/11 Commission Report was produced before the investigation began. The outline was kept secret from the Commission’s staff and appears to have determined the outcome of the investigation.
- The 9/11 Commission claimed sixty-three (63) times in its Report that it could find “no evidence” related to important aspects of the crimes.
- One person, Shayna Steiger, issued 12 visas to the alleged hijackers in Saudi Arabia. Steiger issued some of the visas without interviewing the applicants and fought with another employee at the embassy who tried to prevent her lax approach.
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