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London closing in on $2.7bn contract with Israeli firm to train 60,000 British troops per year

The Cradle | August 21, 2025

The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) is preparing to sign a $2.7-billion contract with Elbit Systems – Israel’s largest arms manufacturer – that would see the company train 60,000 British troops each year and be designated a “strategic partner,” according to a report by Private Eye.

The British branch of Elbit is competing against US firm Raytheon for the Army Collective Training Service contract. In February, the MoD reduced the shortlist to the two bidders.

If the contract is granted, Elbit would oversee a sweeping overhaul of British army instruction “through digitalisation, simulation, a different relationship with industry, and by changing how and where the military trains.”

This prospective contract follows revelations earlier this month that Elbit signed a $1.64-billion arms deal with Serbia to supply long-range precision rockets and other military systems.

Last month, Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for Palestine, said that “for Israeli companies such as Elbit Systems … the ongoing genocide has been a profitable venture.”

Elbit supplies around 85 percent of Israel’s drones and ground-based hardware, directly fueling its war on Gaza.

Since 2023, Elbit’s British arm has managed the MoD’s Project Vulcan, a £57-million (around $74.1 million) program providing simulation-based training for tank crews. The new $2.7-billion agreement would mark a major escalation of that relationship.

In September, the government suspended 30 of 350 arms export licences to Israel after a review found a clear risk of British-made components being used in violations of humanitarian law.

However, export permits for F-35 parts, which are deployed directly in Gaza, were exempt from the freeze.

Private Eye said it asked the MoD whether it considered it appropriate to hand such a contract to a company so deeply involved in the Gaza war, but the ministry did not reply.

Elbit subsidiaries in the UK have been the main target of Palestine Action, which the government banned last month as a terrorist group.

August 21, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

US expands sanctions against ICC

RT | August 21, 2025

The US has imposed sanctions on two judges and two prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for their role in pursuing cases against American soldiers and Israeli officials.

According to a State Department statement on Wednesday, Judge Kimberly Prost was blacklisted for approving The Hague-based court’s investigation into the conduct of US troops in Afghanistan.

Judge Nicolas Yann Guillou was sanctioned for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes in Gaza. In addition, deputy prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang were blacklisted for upholding the warrants. Neither the US nor Israel is a party to the ICC.

The ICC rejected the designations as “a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution, which operates under a mandate from 125 States Parties from all regions.”

US President Donald Trump imposed his first sanctions on the ICC in February, accusing the court of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.” Netanyahu similarly denounced the arrest warrants, calling the ruling “anti-Semitic.”

In 2024, the ICC placed Netanyahu and Gallant on its wanted list after finding “reasonable grounds” that Israel had denied humanitarian aid into Gaza, where more than 60,000 people have been killed since 2023.

August 21, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Netanyahu rejects Gaza deal, reviews plans to occupy Gaza City instead

Al Mayadeen | August 20, 2025

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided not to respond to the proposal recently approved by Hamas, despite efforts by mediators to push forward a deal.

US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, has also distanced himself from the formula he initially supported, with reports noting that he no longer trusts the mediators.

Despite endless Israeli claims that Hamas was being unreasonable and not flexible throughout previous negotiation rounds, the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza had already agreed to the new proposal, which is nearly identical to the Witkoff paper previously proposed.

On Monday, Hamas and other Palestinian factions announced their approval of the proposal put forward by mediators from Egypt and Qatar.

Netanyahu to review new genocide phase

Instead of adhering to the demands of his people, who have been protesting against the resumption of the war in Gaza, Netanyahu is expected to arrive at the Southern Command on Thursday to approve military plans to occupy Gaza City.

“Negotiations will be held under heavy fire, and everything depends on reaching an agreement,” Israeli media said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military spokesperson for the occupation army confirmed on Wednesday evening the launch of the second phase of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots (B)” aimed at occupying Gaza City.

According to the military spokesperson, the 162nd Division has begun operations from Jabalia in the northwest as part of a broader plan to tighten the siege on the city. The statement said the campaign may take an extended period, but could also be halted depending on political directives. It added that the maneuvers are being carried out by conscript units supported by 133,000 reserve soldiers.

At the same time, occupation authorities issued a statement to the settlers of the Gaza Envelope warning of the possibility of hearing heavy explosions and artillery fire “from now on.”

The operation is widely viewed as part of the broader ethnic cleansing plan against Gaza’s population, aiming to depopulate the city through siege, destruction, and forced displacement under the guise of military maneuvers.

August 20, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Armed Settler Militia Terrorizes Ibziq, Assaults ISM Volunteers

International Solidarity Movement | August 18, 2025

On the night of August 11th, two ISM volunteers were assaulted, beaten, and robbed by a mob of at least eight armed settlers dressed in full military-style uniforms in the rural shepherding village of Ibziq. The volunteers were engaged in protective presence, which includes documenting illegal intrusions into Palestinian communities and recording and opposing intimidation, threats, and attacks led by Zionist militias against Palestinians across the Jordan Valley.

The settler militia entered the remote village around 7PM in dune buggy-style military vehicles, wearing helmets and balaclavas, and carrying assault rifles. The militia canvassed the village for over an hour, trespassing into community school grounds and upon critical water infrastructure before moving on to block Palestinian traffic and terrorize local residents with threats of arson and theft.

When the settler militia directly entered a Palestinian family’s home, the ISM volunteers—both U.S. citizens, one residing in Jerusalem and the other in Liverpool, UK—intervened by approaching the settlers and stating the militia were illegally encroaching upon Palestinian lands, violating the human rights of Palestinians, and contravening international law.

Although the volunteers had their hands up to indicate that they were unarmed and nonviolent, the militia members pinned one ISM volunteer to the ground and he was repeatedly beaten. Amidst the thrashing, settlers also kicked sand and dirt into the volunteer’s face and eyes multiple times. When the second volunteer began filming, several members of the settler militia turned their rifles on him.

The ISM volunteer recording was held at gunpoint, ordered to his knees, and told he would be shot if he did not obey commands. The militia deliberately aimed laser targeting sights at the volunteer’s genitals, before physically forcing him to the ground and wrenching his arm wrenched behind his back. While held at gunpoint, he was elbowed in the back of the head after his phone was stolen.

Before leaving, the settler militia issued a final direct threat to the Palestinian family, shouting that the village would be attacked and burned down if they did not leave. According to one member of the family, the settlers “threatened to burn us alive.” Both volunteers were evacuated by a Red Crescent ambulance and treated at a nearby hospital in Tubas. Each were later released in stable condition and subsequently returned to Ibziq to resume on-the-ground protective presence with ISM.

According to the local community, the attack was perpetrated by a settler militia rather than active-duty military. However, these settler militias operate alongside and as part of the army, particularly when settlers are in uniform wielding the power and mandate of the state. In Ibziq, the active duty military has also collaborated with settlers on a number of attacks over the last month.

Notably, this assault is part of a broader wave of settler colonial violence and militia aggression sweeping across the occupied West Bank. At present, Palestinian and Bedouin communities are being systematically harassed, attacked, arrested, displaced, and murdered. Settler militia operatives are operating with the full knowledge—and support and protection—of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and Zionist apartheid regime. In many cases, including this one, settler militia are both afforded impunity and indistinguishable from official IOF soldiers and army units. They are given military vehicles, surveillance equipment, and weapons to collectively intimidate, terrorize, and dispossess Palestinian communities.

Markedly, this is neither an isolated case nor a recent phenomena. The occupied West Bank is however seeing a sharp escalation in racialized hostilities and frontier violence, where armed settlers, emboldened by Israeli policy and army support, are carrying out coordinated attacks on Palestinian life and land. Bedouin communities in particular face systemic racism, militarized demolitions, nighttime raids, and arson attacks, which are all part of a settler colonial project aimed at annexation and the elimination of Palestinian heritage, history, and presence.

ISM calls on international media, human rights organizations, and members of civil society to publicly denounce and take concrete action against the violence and crimes against humanity being committed by the Israeli apartheid regime. The settler militia attack in Ibziq is but one of countless examples of how Palestinian civilians and entire villages continue to be subjected to an illegal occupation, systemic terror, compounding trauma, and an intensifying colonial war that is being waged by the Zionist movement.

August 18, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Subjugation - Torture | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Britain: From arms supplier to accomplice in war crimes

By Adnan Hmidan | MEMO | August 18, 2025

When we speak of the devastation in Gaza, the blame does not rest solely on the generals and politicians of the occupying power. The tragedy is sustained by the international system that arms, trains and protects it. And Britain, far from being a neutral observer, is among the most significant enablers of this machinery of destruction.

For more than 22 months, the Gaza Strip has been subjected not to war, but to genocide. Entire families have been wiped out, refugee camps turned into mass graves, and civilian infrastructure systematically destroyed. The International Court of Justice has already confirmed that there is a “plausible risk of genocide” — yet Western governments continue to provide weapons, surveillance systems and diplomatic cover.

Britain’s historic and present responsibility

Britain’s complicity is not new. From the Balfour Declaration in 1917, which laid the foundations for the settler-colonial project, to today’s arms shipments and political protection, the United Kingdom has been central to the dispossession of Palestinians. The government in London cannot claim ignorance: under international law, providing material support to a state committing war crimes or genocide makes the supplier complicit in those crimes.

This is not about maintaining a “strategic ally.” It is about directly enabling bombardment, mass displacement and collective punishment of two million besieged Palestinians.

Evidence of involvement

The evidence is clear and overwhelming:

  • Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows that the UK exported key components for F-35 fighter jets — including radar and targeting systems — worth over £17 million in 2023 alone.
  • Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) estimates that British-made parts account for around 15 per cent of every F-35 jet currently bombing Gaza.
  • Even after the UK government announced in September 2024 that it was suspending 30 export licenses, human rights groups documented new shipments, including more than 8,600 rounds of ammunition and 150,000 bullets in the following months.
  • Palestinian and international human rights organisations brought a case before the UK High Court, arguing that such exports breach international law. Yet in June 2025, the court dismissed the case, claiming that arms licensing falls outside judicial review — effectively granting the government a free hand in supplying a military accused of genocide.

Such facts leave little room for ambiguity. Britain is not merely arming a strategic partner; it is aiding and abetting grave breaches of international humanitarian law.

Silencing solidarity

The British government has also moved to suppress those who expose this complicity. Campaign groups such as “Pal Action” have been targeted with bans, activists have been arrested, and even banners confiscated. But repression cannot erase reality. The blood of civilians testifies to the fact that this is not a conflict between equals, but a massacre sustained by Western capitals.

A moral and legal imperative

As Palestinians living in the UK, we speak not only with the voice of memory and history, but also with the authority of law and morality. International law is explicit: states that knowingly provide weapons used in the commission of genocide share responsibility for that crime. Silence, therefore, is not neutrality. It is complicity.

Britain’s record will be judged harshly. Just as the Balfour Declaration is remembered as a colonial betrayal, today’s arms exports will be recorded as enabling one of the most documented genocides of the modern era.

The call to conscience

Yet Britain is also home to countless free voices: campaigners, lawyers, journalists and politicians who understand that what is unfolding in Gaza is not distant, but deeply tied to Britain’s own decisions. They know that complicity today will stain this country for decades to come.

The choice before Britain is stark: continue to arm and shield a regime accused of genocide, or align with international law and the universal values it claims to uphold.

Until justice prevails

Our struggle is not simply to lift a siege, but to end decades of settler-colonialism and military occupation. Freedom will not be gifted; it will be won. And as Palestinians, in Gaza, across the diaspora, and here in Britain, we carry the same message passed down from one generation to the next: never accept injustice, and never let the flag of freedom fall.

READ ALSO: US-based contractor hired by UK to continue spy flights over Gaza

August 18, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Full Spectrum Dominance, Timeless or most popular, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Israel dangles aid for South Sudan amid reports of Gaza expulsion talks

The Cradle | August 18, 2025

Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced on 18 August that it plans to provide “urgent” humanitarian assistance to South Sudan, following recent reports that Tel Aviv was engaged in efforts to expel Palestinians from Gaza to the east African nation.

Israel’s Agency for International Development Coordination “will provide urgent humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations in the country” due to “the severe humanitarian crisis in South Sudan,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The aid will include medical supplies, water purification supplies, gloves and face masks, special hygiene kits, and food packages.

This comes as a cholera outbreak is plaguing the country, which “suffers from a severe shortage of resources,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry added.

IsraAID, an Israeli NGO operating in South Sudan, will also assist in the aid plan, the Foreign Ministry went on to say.

The visit comes as Israel is preparing to occupy Gaza City and forcibly displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is committed to implementing an expulsion plan announced by US President Donald Trump at the start of the year, framed as a humanitarian initiative to “relocate” Palestinians to a safer place.

Trump said he would make Gaza the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

Israel and the US have reportedly been in contact with several countries as part of the effort to expel Gaza’s population.

Last week, several sources cited by AP said Israel is in talks with South Sudan about the potential relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to the East African country.

The sources said it is unclear how far the negotiations have advanced.

Following the report, South Sudan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on 13 August denying that it is engaged in negotiations with Israel to take Palestinians from Gaza, rejecting such claims as unfounded and not representative of the government’s position.

In February, Hebrew news outlet Channel 12 reported that Morocco, the Puntland State of Somalia, and the Republic of Somaliland are being considered as places to relocate Palestinians as part of Trump’s controversial plan.

Somalia and Somaliland denied these reports earlier this year – saying they received no such proposals.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Israel has identified six countries to negotiate with regarding relocating Gaza residents, including Syria, Libya, Somaliland, and South Sudan. The report says the efforts are not going well, and that previous talks on the matter “didn’t make much progress.”

Syria and Libya have not responded to requests for comment.

Sources who spoke with NBC News earlier this year had said Trump is working on a plan to “permanently relocate” as many as one million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya.

August 18, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hamas agrees to Gaza ceasefire proposal presented by mediators

Palestinian Information Center – August 18, 2025

GAZA – An official Hamas source said on Monday that the Movement delivered a positive response to an Egyptian-Qatari proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

An informed Palestinian official also said, on condition of anonymity, that the proposal forms a framework for indirect negotiations over a permanent ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

The response came after internal consultations held by Hamas with major Palestinian factions.

The source did not reveal details of the proposal, but other informed Palestinian sources reported that the proposal stipulates a prisoner exchange deal that includes the release of 10 living Israeli captives and 18 bodies in exchange for the release of 140 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 60 others serving sentences of more than 15 years, as well as 1,500 from Gaza.

The sources explained that the new Egyptian-Qatari proposal includes a modification to the Israeli withdrawal lines from the Gaza Strip during the 60-day truce period, limiting them to a distance of 800 meters along the eastern, northern, and southern borders of the coastal enclave.

According to the proposal, discussions on a comprehensive agreement or permanent ceasefire will begin immediately once this truce takes effect

The proposal also includes the entry of urgent humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip immediately after the agreement enters into force, including fuel and water, and stipulates the rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and the provision of rescue teams with rubble removal equipment.

The UN and its agencies, along with the Red Crescent and international organizations operating in the Gaza Strip, should be responsible for aid distribution.

Over the past two years, the Hamas leadership has accepted proposals for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners only for Israel to reject them and insist on continuing the war.

The major sticking point has been the duration of the ceasefire. Hamas wants a permanent end to the war, but Israel has been seeking a temporary truce that would allow it to resume its genocide and its destruction and displacement campaign in Gaza after its captives in the territory are released.

August 18, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Serbia exposed as EU nation behind $1.64bln ‘Israel’ arms deal

Al Mayadeen | August 17, 2025

Israeli media reported that Serbia was the European country behind a $1.64 billion deal signed with Israeli defense company Elbit Systems.

Last week, Elbit announced a deal for the supply of its long-range precision strike artillery-rocket systems and unmanned aerial vehicles, though it did not disclose the identity of the customer, The Times of Israel reported. Under the five-year defense contract, Elbit was set to supply a suite of AI-powered unmanned aerial combat systems, which included personally operated drones for tactical and operational missions.

The contract covered the supply of Elbit’s long-range precision artillery rockets and defense systems equipped with advanced intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities, along with communications and signal intelligence systems, as well as the delivery of advanced electro-optical and night-vision equipment.

Investments in Elbit Systems soar despite genocide

Elbit Systems is an Israeli arms firm and the main supplier for “Israel’s” land-based equipment and UAVs used in its wars.

According to a May 31 report by Novara Media, a UK government-backed pension scheme tasked with managing retirement funds for British workers had been investing in the major Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems.

UK workers who contributed to Nest’s Retirement Date Fund starting in December 2024 were indirectly financing Elbit Systems, described as “Israel’s” largest defense company, which marketed its weapons as battle-tested by the Israeli military during operations in the Palestinian territories.

In February 2025, Morocco signed a defense contract with Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, further solidifying its military cooperation with the Israeli occupation.

According to French newspaper La Tribune, the deal involved the purchase of 36 ATMOS 2000 self-propelled artillery systems, while the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) found that this would make Israel Morocco’s third-largest weapons supplier, representing up to 11% of its total arms imports.

August 18, 2025 Posted by | Militarism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

American Nun: Hamas is a resistance movement, and Christians suffer under occupation

Palestinian Information Center – August 17, 2025

WEST BANK – An American nun said that Israeli policies have made the lives of both Palestinian Christians and Muslims “extremely difficult,” due to restrictions on movement, land confiscation, and settlement construction. She also stressed that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is a resistance movement that defends its people and land.

Mother Agapia Stephanopoulos, who has lived since 1996 in the Palestinian town of Bethany in the occupied West Bank, appeared in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson on a popular US television program, sparking wide controversy after she spoke about her two-decade-long experience in the occupied Palestinian territories.

She affirmed that Christians there face suffering similar to that experienced by Muslims under Israeli occupation.

She added that the number of Palestinian Christians has significantly declined since the Nakba in 1948 due to restrictions and displacement, emphasizing that “the problem is not religious but national,” as Christians face the same discrimination because of their Palestinian identity.

The nun criticized what she described as the “blind support” of some Christian Zionists in the United States for Israel, saying they ignore the suffering of Palestinian Christians and justify settlement expansion and land confiscation.

Mother Agapia Stephanopoulos also pointed out that churches and Christian institutions in the West Bank and Gaza have been bombed and destroyed, considering this part of a systematic targeting of Palestinians.

She explained that Palestinian Christians live in natural cohesion with Muslims, citing the example of Christian schools in Bethlehem and Jerusalem where the majority of students are Muslims, stressing that coexistence is the prevailing feature of Palestinian society.

The interview, titled “This is How Christians Live in the Holy Land,” received over 12 million views and was considered one of the most prominent episodes shedding light on the conditions of both Palestinian Christians and Muslims under occupation, and the violence and restrictions they face from settlers and Israeli authorities.

August 17, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | Leave a comment

‘No relaxation haven for murderers’: Israeli cruise ship triggers pro-Palestine protests in Greece

Press TV – August 16, 2025

An Israeli cruise ship touring the Greek islands has faced repeated protests, culminating in nationwide demonstrations, as activists would denounce the Israeli regime’s war of genocide on the Gaza Strip and oppose provocative behavior by Israeli tourists.

The Crown Iris, making regular trips from the occupied port of Haifa to Athens and the Greek islands, has been met with protests at nearly every stop this summer, Drop Site News, an American investigative outlet, reported on Friday.

The 10-deck vessel, with a capacity of 2,000 passengers, includes a casino, a theater, a waterslide, and a basketball court.

Since late July, protests have targeted its route, with demonstrators waving Palestinian flags, lighting flares, and in some cases attempting to block its docking.

On July 22, more than 300 protesters confronted the ship on the island of Syros, leading to most passengers staying onboard.

Throughout the vessel’s tour around Greece, activists and organizers pointed to growing frustration over “a recurring pattern of Israeli tourist provocations,” sometimes involving off-duty Israeli forces, the website reported.

Locals and activists cited acts of incitement by the tourists, who would gloat over the Israeli regime’s genocidal aggression against Palestinians and its decades-old occupation of Palestinian territories.

Those actions included “tearing down pro-Palestinian posters in streets and shops or verbally and physically harassing people wearing keffiyehs (Palestinian headscarves) or pro-Palestine T-Shirts,” the report said.

‘We can’t have Greece become Israeli forces’ playground’

“What kind of simple, innocent tourist keeps” the Israeli regime’s flag “handy while traveling?” asked Petros, a 30-year-old construction worker.

“We can’t have Greece become a playground for IDF (Israeli military) soldiers… It’s also a matter of dignity,” he added.

Subsequent stops saw escalating confrontations.

On July 28 on the Rodos Island, the police arrested at least eight protesters. The following day in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, demonstrators broke police barricades, unfurled a massive Palestinian flag, and clashed with riot police, who used tear gas against them.

These actions formed part of broader mobilizations culminating on August 10, when organizers said tens of thousands demonstrated in more than 120 locations across Greece in one of the largest pro-Palestinian mobilizations in the country’s history.

March to Gaza, Greece – a pro-Palestinian body – initiated the call, declaring, “As millions of tourists flood the country, let’s make our presence visible and loud. Let’s turn islands, beaches, alleys, mountaintops, and shelters into places of solidarity, not relaxation for murdering IDF soldiers.”

Paris Laftsis, a 33-year-old member of the coordination team, said the turnout “exceeded the most optimistic expectations” and included both the largest demonstrations in decades and entirely new initiatives.

The protests were supported by such pro-Palestinian organizations as BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) Greece and the Palestinian Community in Greece as well as dozens of local groups.

August 16, 2025 Posted by | Solidarity and Activism | , , , | 1 Comment

UK to prosecute over 60 people for backing Palestine Action after mass arrests

The Cradle | August 16, 2025

London’s Metropolitan Police announced on 15 August that over 60 people will face prosecution for “showing support” for the banned Palestine Action network, alongside three already charged under the Terrorism Act.

The police confirmed they had “put arrangements in place that will enable us to investigate and prosecute significant numbers each week if necessary,” following more than 700 arrests since the designation took effect in early July.

Among them were 522 demonstrators detained in London last weekend for carrying placards backing the group, a figure described as the highest ever number of arrests at a single protest in the capital.

Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said the charges represent “the first significant numbers to come out of the recent protests, and many more can be expected in the next few weeks.”

He warned that “people should be clear about the real-life consequences for anyone choosing to support Palestine Action.”

The police said those convicted could face up to six months in prison and additional penalties.

British Interior Minister Yvette Cooper defended the Labour government’s decision, declaring that “UK national security and public safety must always be our top priority,” and insisting that “the assessments are very clear – this is not a non-violent organisation.”

Metropolis Police Commissioner Mark Rowley praised the prosecutions as proof that “our police and CPS teams have worked so speedily together to overcome misguided attempts to overwhelm the justice system.”

Palestine Action is a British pro-Palestinian direct action network, established in July 2020, with the stated aim of ending Israeli apartheid.

The movement is known for its overt and disruptive – yet non-violent – actions in their mission for ending Israeli apartheid and halting UK complicity in the arms trade with Israel.

This includes occupying, vandalizing, and destroying properties linked to Israeli arms trade, such as Elbit Systems factories and RAF Brize Norton military infrastructure.

On 20 June, one activist broke into the Royal Air Force (RAF) Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire.

In response to these direct actions, the group was branded a terrorist organization on 5 July under the Terrorism Act 2000 by the UK government, making membership to the group a criminal offence.

Various groups and individuals described the move as “grotesque,” “chilling,” and an “unprecedented legal overreach.”

UN experts had urged the UK not to go through with the ban, saying, “According to international standards, acts of protest that damage property, but are not intended to kill or injure people, should not be treated as terrorism.”

The experts added that the actions of vandalism committed by some protesters should be “properly investigated as ordinary crimes or other security offences” and stressed that the actions of protesters do not constitute terrorism when properly defined.

August 16, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance, Solidarity and Activism | , , , | Leave a comment

Microsoft forced to probe Israel’s use of its tech for mass Palestinian surveillance

Press TV – August 16, 2025

Microsoft has been forced to respond to reports of the Israeli military’s use of its Azure Cloud for mass spying on Palestinians by opening an external inquiry into the issue.

Leaked documents have recently revealed that Israel’s spy agency used Microsoft’s cloud to intercept and store millions of Palestinians’ phone calls and target them both in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The system, operational since 2022, was built by Unit 8200, the Israeli military’s notorious, secretive cyber-intelligence arm.

The cloud-based system helped the Israeli military to guide deadly air strikes and raids across the occupied Palestinian territories.

Moreover, sources cited in the investigation said the stored data had also been used to justify detentions and even killings of Palestinians.

Coming under scrutiny following the recent revelations, the American technology conglomerate announced on Friday that it has launched an external inquiry into the reports of Israel’s use of the company’s technology to facilitate the mass surveillance of Palestinians.

In a statement, Microsoft claimed that “using Azure for the storage of data files of phone calls obtained through broad or mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank” would be prohibited as it constitutes a potential breach of the company’s terms of service and human rights commitments.

The inquiry is the second external review commissioned by Microsoft into the use of its technology by the Israeli military.

The first was launched earlier this year amid dissent within the company and media reports about Israel’s reliance on the company’s technology during its genocidal war on Gaza.

The company is also facing pressure from a worker-led campaign group, No Azure for Apartheid, which has condemned Microsoft for “complicity in genocide and apartheid” and demanded it cut off “all ties to the Israeli military” and make them publicly known.

Responding to the announcement, the pro-Palestine group criticized Microsoft’s decision to launch a new inquiry, describing it as “yet another tactic to delay” meeting its demands.

Earlier this month, a report by Quds News Network revealed that Microsoft is among the most prominent global technology companies that have established a strong and influential presence in the Israeli war on Gaza by providing the occupying entity with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools, finances, and workforce.

The report said in the months after October 7, 2023, when the regime launched its onslaught on Gaza, the Israeli military’s reliance on Microsoft’s cloud services surged more than 200-fold and petabytes of data from drones, checkpoints, and biometric scanners poured into the company’s servers, feeding AI systems that human rights groups warn are being used to target civilians in Gaza.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 61,827 people and wounded 155,275, most of them women and children.

Moreover, at least 10,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

August 16, 2025 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

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