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Israel Detains Activists Bringing Aid to Gaza

By Kyle Anzalone and Will Porter | The Libertarian Institute | June 9, 2025

Hours after the Israeli defense minister threatened military action against a tiny aid ship carrying activists attempting to break the blockade on Gaza, the IDF intercepted the boat and detained all on board. The dangerous vessel was armed with rice and baby formula.

Late on Sunday night, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said the ship, named the ‘Madleen,’ was “under assault in international waters,” with quadcopter drones surrounding the vessel and “spraying it with a white irritant substance.”

The group later published a statement, saying the Madleen was “attacked/forcibly intercepted by the Israeli military at 3:02am [Central European Time] in international waters at 31.95236° N, 32.38880° E. The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo – including baby formula, food and medical supplies – confiscated.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the ship had been intercepted, but added that the activists were “safe and unharmed.” In a follow-up post, it said the vessel was on its way to Israel and that the passengers were “expected to return to their home countries.”

At the time of writing, the Madleen was sailing through international waters off the coast of Egypt, north of Sinai, according to tracking data provided by the FFC.

Earlier on Sunday, Tel Aviv’s Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a warning to the ship, suggesting the IDF would use force to prevent it from bringing aid to Gazans:

“I have instructed the IDF to act to prevent the ‘Madleen’ hate flotilla from reaching the shores of Gaza – and to take whatever measures are necessary to that end.

To the anti-Semitic Greta [Thunberg] and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokespeople, I say clearly: You should turn back – because you will not reach Gaza.

Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or assist terrorist organizations – at sea, in the air, and on land.”

Katz’s statement contained one important admission: Israel does, in fact, maintain a blockade on aid entering Gaza.

For over a year, the propaganda emanating from Tel Aviv has claimed that Hamas was simply stealing international aid and preventing it from reaching starving Palestinians. And yet, Israel’s Minister of Genocide just acknowleged a full-blown blockade on humanitarian assistance.

As the Madleen approached Gaza over the weekend, the activists faced increasing harassment from Israel, including GPS jamming, as well as close calls with military speed boats and drones.

Israel has used violence to prevent activist aid ships from reaching Gaza on more than one occasion in the past – most recently last month, when a small FFC vessel headed for the enclave was struck by a drone in international waters.

In 2010, Israeli troops killed 10 activists after raiding another boat attempting to bring supplies to Gaza, with the UN concluding some were shot “in a manner consistent with an extra-legal, arbitrary and summary execution.”

The presence of Greta Thunberg, a climate activist widely known across the West, is likely the only thing that prevented a similarly bloody fate for the Madleen.

Fortunately, US Senator Lindsey Graham did not have his way. The lawmaker joked in a post last week: “Hope Greta and her friends can swim!” – riffing on the hilarious and relatable premise of murdering unarmed civilians to stop them from feeding people desperately in need of aid.

This article originally appeared in the June 9 edition of the Libertarian Institute Debrief, our daily email newsletter.

June 9, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation, Solidarity and Activism, Subjugation - Torture | , , , | Leave a comment

Delegates from 32 nations march to Gaza, call for end to blockade and genocide

MEMO | June 9, 2025

An international solidarity march set off towards the Gaza Strip yesterday, aiming to break the ongoing blockade and demand an end to what participants describe as the genocide being committed by Israel since 7 October 2023.

Thousands of supporters from 32 countries are taking part in the march, with plans to reach Gaza’s border through the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Their goals include delivering humanitarian aid and expressing support for the Palestinian people.

Organisers said the participating convoys are expected to gather in Cairo on Thursday, before heading to the city of Arish in north-eastern Egypt. From there, participants will continue on foot towards the Rafah border crossing, where protest tents are planned to be set up.

The main organisers, the “Global March to Gaza”, said it has representatives in most European, North and South American countries, as well as in several Arab and Asian nations. This, it said, reflects growing international momentum in support of the Palestinian cause.

Leading the march is Algeria’s “Caravan of Steadfastness,” which departed from the capital Algiers yesterday towards Tunisia. From there, it will join the Tunisian convoy and continue through Libya to Egypt, with the aim of eventually reaching Gaza.

“The Caravan of Steadfastness set off on Sunday towards Tunisia. It will join the Tunisian convoy, travel through Libya to Egypt, and from there to Gaza via Rafah,” said Sheikh Yahya Sari, head of the Algerian Initiative to Support Palestine and Aid Gaza, in a statement.

June 9, 2025 Posted by | Solidarity and Activism | , , , | 1 Comment

Indonesia Shouldn’t Trade Palestine for OECD Membership

By Dr. Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat | MEMO | June 9, 2025

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto recently signaled that the country may consider recognizing Israel—if Israel, in turn, recognizes Palestinian statehood. The remarks, made during talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, surprised many. Yet they closely reflect Indonesia’s broader strategic ambition: to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

For years, Israel—a member of the OECD—has reportedly blocked Indonesia’s accession, citing the absence of diplomatic ties. Now, with Jakarta eager to elevate its global standing and strengthen economic relationships with the West, a question looms: Should Indonesia trade its decades-long commitment to Palestinian rights for the prestige and potential benefits of OECD membership?

Indonesia has long been a consistent and principled advocate for Palestinian self-determination. That position is not mere posturing—it is grounded in the country’s anti-colonial identity and moral commitments. Since its founding, Indonesia has refused to normalise relations with Israel, viewing its occupation of Palestinian land and repeated military campaigns in Gaza and the West Bank as incompatible with international justice.

To reverse that position now—particularly while Israel continues a devastating campaign in Gaza—would signal a betrayal of these long-held values. It would also risk undermining Indonesia’s standing in the Muslim world and among nations in the Global South that have long looked to Jakarta as a moral voice in global affairs.

Critics of Indonesia’s policy argue that normalisation with Israel is the cost of entry to the OECD. But that is a false choice. Several OECD members, including Turkey and Mexico, maintain complicated or strained relationships with Israel while retaining full membership. There is no reason Indonesia cannot pursue the same path: engaging with the OECD while holding firm to its commitment to Palestinian rights.

Indeed, accession to the OECD could be a powerful platform for Indonesia—not to silence its principles, but to project them. From within the organisation, Indonesia could push for greater scrutiny of member states’ positions on occupation and apartheid, challenge prevailing double standards, and advocate for justice in global governance. It could use its voice to call out the complicity of powerful countries and demand accountability for ongoing violations of international law.

The OECD should not be treated as a reward for political alignment, but as a forum for constructive engagement. If Indonesia joins on the condition that it compromises its moral foundation, its membership will be hollow.

The broader problem is the international community’s continued commitment to a two-state solution—a model that has long failed Palestinians. The facts on the ground, including the unchecked expansion of Israeli settlements and the fragmentation of Palestinian land, make the vision of two viable, sovereign states increasingly implausible.

Indonesia, with its legacy of anti-colonial resistance and principled diplomacy, has the credibility to challenge the outdated two-state framework. It should advocate for a rights-based approach that guarantees equality, dignity, and justice for Palestinians. Whether through a single democratic state or another inclusive model; any viable solution must start with the recognition that the current status quo is untenable.

Prabowo’s statement raises a deeper concern: the risk of transactional diplomacy displacing principled foreign policy. The Indonesian people, by and large, remain steadfast in their support for Palestine. Any move toward normalisation with Israel would likely provoke a public backlash and raise questions about democratic accountability at home.

International legitimacy cannot be bought through silence or moral compromise. It must be earned by standing firm in the face of injustice. Indonesia’s foreign policy has historically exemplified this principle, from its leadership in the Non-Aligned Movement to its outspoken defence of oppressed peoples. That legacy must not be discarded for short-term political or economic advantage.

Indonesia’s true influence in the world has never stemmed from wealth or military might. It has come from moral clarity and bold leadership. If the country seeks a place among the world’s most developed economies, it should do so on its own terms—without abandoning the values that have long defined its role on the global stage.

The world does not need another silent bystander. It needs countries willing to speak hard truths. That is the Indonesia the world respects—and the one its people deserve.

June 9, 2025 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , | Leave a comment

Key Canadian Zionist body loses final appeal against revocation of its ‘charity status’

Press TV – June 8, 2025

The Canadian branch of the so-called Jewish National Fund (JNF), one of the country’s oldest Zionist organizations, has officially lost its status as a “registered charity” after a Canadian federal court rejected its final legal appeal.

The ruling, issued on May 30, confirmed the government’s decision to revoke JNF-Canada’s “charitable designation,” and effectively forced the organization to begin shutting down operations after 57 years of activity.

The decision marked a major legal and political setback for the JNF, which had faced growing scrutiny over its use of Canadian tax-exempt donations to fund projects tied to Israeli military activity and displacement of Palestinians.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) first announced revocation of the body’s status in August 2024, citing violations linked to the organization’s overseas funding practices.

The JNF challenged the decision in court, but the May 30 ruling definitively upheld the CRA’s findings and cemented the group’s loss of its legal status.

With the court’s rejection of its appeal, JNF-Canada is now legally defunct as a “registered charity,” bringing an end to decades of financial support from Canadian donors for controversial programs inside the occupied Palestinian territories.

Human rights groups and pro-Palestinian advocates have long denounced the so-called fund for channeling donations into projects that support the Israeli military, saying the body’s activities contribute to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

Critics have also condemned the organization for “greenwashing” — planting forests over the ruins of depopulated Palestinian villages to obscure the history of displacement.

While the organization has marketed its self-proclaimed environmental and land development activity as “charitable,” rights groups and campaigners have argued that its activities in occupied territory served only to entrench illegal Israeli settlements and erase Palestinian identity.

Founded in 1901, the body has played a central role in the Zionist movement’s efforts to arrogate and settle land in historic Palestine.

In the years leading up to and following the 1948 Nakba (Catastrophe), when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly displaced during a heavily-Western-backed war, the JNF was instrumental in appropriating territory for exclusive use by the Israeli regime’s illegal settlers.

In recent decades, the JNF has maintained a quasi-official role within the Israeli regime, while presenting itself abroad as a private “charitable entity.” This has allowed it to operate with fewer restrictions under international law, while advancing agendas aligned with Tel Aviv’s policies, including illegal settlement expansion and military education.

Internationally, the JNF has drawn criticism for its lack of transparency and its marked and aggressive pro-Israeli lean.

The JNF’s operations have come under investigation in the United Kingdom also. The UK Charity Commission has previously raised concerns about the organization’s military-linked activities and its political alignment with a foreign regime.

Senior figures associated with JNF-UK have also faced scrutiny for making Islamophobic remarks, leading to public backlash and investigations by regulatory bodies.

Despite these controversies, the organization has historically enjoyed support from prominent political figures in the West, including former British prime ministers and senior Israeli intelligence officers.

Observers, however, say the recent Canadian court decision represents one of the most significant legal challenges to the JNF’s international operations to date, potentially setting a precedent for other jurisdictions reviewing the activities of organizations with “charitable status,” but political agendas.

June 8, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | 1 Comment

Remember America’s Dead on the USS Liberty

Israel is no friend and never has been one

By Philip Giraldi • Unz Review • June 5, 2025

It often pays, literally, to be perceived as a perpetual victim, a status that Israel and the Jewish institutional constituency have exploited relentlessly since 1945. It is now eighty years since the Second World War ended and the numbers of those receiving “holocaust” reparations from the German government hardly seems to diminish and may now include children of survivors who presumably were somehow damaged in the womb after the conflict ended and the camps in Europe were “liberated.” More than 20,000 Jews fled to Shanghai in China before and during the war, avoiding the prison camps in Europe, but they too are reported to be eligible for reparations. And then there are the still sprouting-everywhere taxpayer funded holocaust memorials and museums throughout the US even though the alleged events commemorated took place a long time ago and far away from America. Public schools and some state colleges in America are also increasingly being compelled to teach about the so-called holocaust as part of the required history syllabus, so the brainwashing will continue into the next generation.

Excuse me, but if all of the above cannot be perceived at least in part as special consideration granted to a tiny part of the US population which is admittedly hugely disproportionately wealthy and politically powerful, it begs one to provide a satisfactory explanation for the developments. The latest turn of the wheel comes in the wake of the killing of two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington DC. It is not widely known that the US Department of Homeland Security gives out discretionary grants of aid money to help provide security for nonprofit entities and groups that are perceived by the government as being threatened. The largest tranche of those grants, to the tune of more than $275 million in 2024 went to Jewish groups, monuments and buildings. A number of Jewish organizations and Israel-First congressmen are now calling for that money to be increased dramatically by an additional $1 billion. The money is justified by the much-touted claim that Jews are experiencing a surge in what is described as “antisemitism.” As many of the compilers of the statistics behind the surge are themselves Jewish groups that in some fashion benefit from the cash in hand, like the dreadful Anti-Defamation League (ADL) headed by the ghastly Jonathan Greenblatt, one might reasonably suspect that the numbers are cooked to include incidents so minor as to pass under normal circumstances. And there is also the issue of Israel itself, which is carrying out a genocide in Gaza and an occupation by Jewish settlers of what remains of historic Palestine on the West Bank. As the US government and groups like ADL define criticism of Israel as antisemitism any such commentary is rolled neatly into the statistics claiming the surge in anti-Jewish sentiment when it is really about the monstrous behavior of the Jewish state, which, in fact declares itself to be just that in law, that is, a Jewish state.

And it doesn’t all end there. There are numerous Jewish or neocon think tanks and foundations, all of which are well funded without any real need for a federal government handout to provide their security. Most of them claim to be “charitable” or “educational” to secure a tax exemption while they dig their talons deep into government in the United States at all levels down even to the state and local levels where many citizens cannot even write a letter to the editor to protest against Israel’s behavior without being denied benefits as an antisemite. Witness the recently passed antisemitism in education act in Arizona, which takes an extreme response to fear of antisemitism and makes it even more outrageous. The legislation bars public schools and public colleges from promoting what it describes as “antisemitic conduct” and creates disciplinary procedures for violations.

Worse than that, some states require applicants for jobs or benefits to sign a document confirming that they will not ever support the so-called BDS movement (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) which calls for pressuring the war criminals in Tel Aviv using economic measures. Indeed, the federal government is even worse with a national campaign against America’s universities being given alleged “credibility” by the depiction of college campuses as hotbeds of Jew-hatred even though in reality it is not about Jews per se and is rather Israel’s behavior that is arousing student anger as the mass starvation makes the piles of dead Palestinian babies continue to grow.

Israel’s perpetual victim status is part of the cover story that has been developed, most particularly in the United States, to explain away atrocities that have been carried out by the Israelis against their neighbors since and even before the founding of the state. As early as 1917 during the First World War, Britain, the colonial power in Palestine, responded to Jewish pressure from its major banking families with the Balfour Resolution, which promised a Jewish homeland. During the later post World War 2 period of the transition from British colonial rule which foresaw a division of Mandate Palestine into two separate states, Jewish terrorist groups brought pressure by assassinating British officials and soldiers and blowing up hotels and residences. They even went so far as to bomb and destroy the British Embassy in Rome!

Israel kills Americans whenever it believes there is some advantage to be gained from doing so and no presidents since John F Kennedy and George HW Bush have dared to push back to protect United States civilians and military even when major US interests are at stake. This reticence about confronting Israel has clearly been due to the widely recognized malignant power and wealth of the Israel Lobby. To cite only the most egregious killing of Americans by Israel, I would recall the June 8th, 1967 attack on the USS Liberty, which killed 34 crewmen and injured 171 more. The crew’s dwindling number of survivors are this very weekend having a reunion in Norfolk Virginia.

The attack was followed by a cover-up that demonstrated clearly that at least one president of the United States named Lyndon Johnson even back nearly sixty years ago valued his relationship with the state of Israel above his loyalty to his own country. The two-hour assault on the Liberty was, in truth, the worst attack ever carried out on a US Naval vessel in peace time. It was a surprise attack which was clearly intended to destroy the intelligence gathering vessel operating in international waters collecting information on the ongoing Six Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors. The Israelis, whose planes had their Star of David markings covered up so Egypt could be blamed, attacked the ship repeatedly from the air and using gunboats from the sea. When the ship’s distress signal was received, the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga launched fighters to go to its assistance, but they were called back under orders from President Johnson. The incredible courage and determination of the surviving crew was the only thing that kept the Liberty from sinking.

The Israelis and their political and media supporters in the United States have always claimed the attack was a tragic mistake while many of the Liberty crew have indicated their firm belief that it was anything but, that the vessel was flying an oversized American flag and was clearly and easily identifiable as a US Navy vessel. The ship’s commanding officer Captain William McGonagle was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic role in keeping the ship afloat, though President Lyndon Baines Johnson broke with tradition and refused to hold the medal ceremony in the White House, also declining to award it personally, delegating that task to the Secretary of the Navy in an unpublicized presentation made at the Washington Navy Yard. The additional medals given to other crew members in the aftermath of the attack made the USS Liberty the most decorated ship in the history of the United States Navy.

The Liberty crew was sworn to secrecy over the incident and a hastily convened and conducted court of inquiry headed by Admiral John McCain acted under orders from Washington to declare the attack a case of mistaken identity. The inquiry’s senior legal counsel Captain Ward Boston, who subsequently declared the attack to be a “deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew,” also described how “President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered him to conclude that the attack was a case of ‘mistaken identity’ despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.” The court’s findings were rewritten and sections relating to Israeli war crimes, to include the machine gunning of life rafts, were excised. Following in his father’s footsteps, Senator John McCain of Arizona later used his position on the Senate Armed Services Committee to effectively block any reconvening of a board of inquiry to reexamine the evidence. The cover-up continues to this day. Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis is one of the most ardent Israel-firsters in national politics. He describes his state as the most “Pro-Israel” in the US. When he was a congressman representing a Florida district several retired Liberty survivors who were his constituents sought to meet with him. He turned them down. Most of the documents relating to the Liberty incident have never been released to the public in spite of the 58 years that have passed since the attack took place.

Israel famously has long sustained the doctrine that Jews are somehow chosen by God and can do no wrong when they are advancing their own interests. This belief has meant near constant warfare directed against neighbors like the Palestinians, as well as against Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Currently the Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is intent on destroying Iran’s military capabilities with the help of the United States of America. Netanyahu has argued repeatedly for over twenty years that Iran is on the verge of building a nuclear weapon, which would threaten both Israel and the region, but both the CIA and even Mossad agree that there is no such development being pursued on the part of the Iranian government. Ironically, Israel is the only country in the Middle East region that is “nuclear.” It has a substantial secret arsenal consisting of 200-300 nuclear bombs that was obtained illegally by theft from the United States. JFK may have paid a price for his temerity when he tried to expose Jewish groups that were acting as fronts for the Israeli government while also stopping the nuclear development and disarming them. I am not aware of any American politician having ever challenged Israel’s secret nuclear arsenal publicly and it is widely believed within the federal government that to do so would be “illegal.” That is what putting “Israel First” is all about!

I am sad to observe over this USS Liberty weekend how President Donald Trump is apparently crawling to Netanyahu and his murderous associates, just like his predecessor in office Genocide Joe Biden. The US has again in the UN Security Council vetoed an otherwise unanimous vote to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, supporting Israel but no conceivable US or even humanitarian interest. Instead of taking the relatively simple step to contact Netanyahu and tell him that he must end the slaughter of the Palestinians using weapons, money and political cover all provided in abundance by Uncle Sam or face the consequences immediately. No more money, weapons and visits from pathetic grifter Senators like Lindsey Graham. In fact it might be a good thing to suggest to Bibi that he-she Lindsey just might be tried for treason as he is interfering illegally with US foreign policy in both Gaza and Ukraine. But we will save that story for another time, maybe next week!

Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org.

June 6, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular | , , , | 2 Comments

After losing its propaganda war, Israel silencing critics over Gaza genocide: UK scholar

By David Miller | Press TV | June 5, 2025

A British scholar, who is being sued for his pro-Palestine activism on social media, says Israel is seeking to silence its critics after losing a propaganda war regarding the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

David Miller, a producer and co-host of Press TV’s weekly Palestine Declassified show, made the remarks in an X post  on Wednesday, after the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), a pro-Israel NGO, launched a private prosecution against him.

The CCA said it has brought three charges against Miller, alleging that he had used X to send messages of a menacing character.

Miller said the CAA acts on behalf of Israel, which is “a hostile and illegitimate genocidal Jewish supremacist” regime.

“This attempt at a private prosecution is a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), and an act of desperation by … Israel in a propaganda war it has already lost,” he added.

“Israel, via the CAA, is attempting to buy its way into the criminal justice system to silence critics of Zionism. They will fail.”

Miller’s three messages mentioned in the case were posted from November 2024 onwards. They also concluded with the hashtag “Dismantle Zionism.”

The first hearing into the case is expected to take place at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on July 2.

Miller previously worked as a professor of political sociology at the University of Bristol, but he was unfairly and wrongfully dismissed in October 2021 over his pro-Palestine advocacy.

Anger against Israel has increased worldwide since October 7, 2023, when the occupying regime launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Almost 20 months into its brutal aggression, Israel has failed to achieve its declared objectives in Gaza despite killing at least 54,607 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 125,341 others.

June 5, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , , | Leave a comment

US once again blocks UN push for immediate Gaza ceasefire, humanitarian aid access

MEMO | June 5, 2025

The US yesterday vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution that called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip.

The draft resolution expressed “grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation, including the risk of famine,” and stressed all parties’ obligations to abide by international humanitarian and human rights law.

Slovenia proposed the draft resolution on behalf of the Security Council’s ten elected members – Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Panama, Pakistan, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Slovenia – and received 14 votes.

US Charge d’Affaires ad interim Dorothy Shea said before the vote that “US opposition to this resolution should come as no surprise.”

“It is unacceptable for what it does say, it is unacceptable for what it does not say, and it is unacceptable for the manner in which it has been advanced,” she added, accusing the Palestine resistance group Hamas of rejecting ceasefire deals.

“Any product that undermines our close ally Israel’s security is a non-starter,” Shea said.

She once more argued that “Israel has a right to defend itself” and claimed that “it is unconscionable that the UN still has not labelled and sanctioned Hamas as a terrorist organisation.”

The US previously vetoed four Security Council draft resolutions that called for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza, marking yesterday’s resolution the fifth veto.

The US vetoed resolutions in October 2023, December 2023, February 2024 and November 2024 while abstaining in votes on other draft resolutions.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US sent a “strong message” by vetoing a “counterproductive” UN Security Council resolution on Gaza targeting Israel.

“We will not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas, does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza, draws a false equivalence between Israel and Hamas, or disregards Israel’s right to defend itself,” he said in a statement.

Rubio noted that Hamas could end “this brutal conflict immediately” by laying down its arms and releasing all remaining hostages, including the remains of four Americans.

“Many members of the Security Council still refuse to acknowledge this reality and performative efforts like this resolution undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire. This resolution would have only empowered Hamas to continue stealing aid and threatening civilians,” he added.

“The United States will continue to stand with Israel at the UN. The United Nations must return to its original purpose – promoting peace and security – and stop these performative actions,” he said.

Neither Israel nor the US has provided proof that Hamas is stealing aid in Gaza, while the UN has refuted claims such actions have occurred, saying it has robust systems to ensure aid reaches its intended targets.

June 5, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | 1 Comment

More evidence implicates ‘Israel’ in harrowing Gaza aid massacre: CNN

Al Mayadeen | June 5, 2025

A CNN investigation has revealed compelling evidence suggesting that invading Israeli units opened fire on Palestinians gathered at a humanitarian aid site in Rafah, southern Gaza, debunking official Israeli claims and raising serious questions about the safety of the aid distribution system supported by the US and “Israel”.

The “Israeli hunger trap massacre” occurred early Sunday near the Tal al-Sultan distribution site and resulted in the killing of at least 31 Palestinians, with dozens more wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Video evidence, geolocation analysis, and eyewitness testimonies strongly indicate that Israeli gunfire at the Gaza aid site was responsible for the victims, CNN reported.

According to the news network, more than a dozen eyewitnesses, including injured survivors, reported that Israeli troops fired in volleys at the crowd. Footage reviewed by CNN, geolocated to the Al-Aalam roundabout approximately 800 meters from the fenced aid area, shows sustained bursts of gunfire. Forensic analysis confirmed the firing pattern matched machine guns typically mounted on Israeli tanks.

Weapons experts interviewed by CNN noted the fire rate, ranging from 900 to 960 rounds per minute, aligned with Israeli FN MAG machine guns. Bullets removed from the wounded were identified as 7.62mm NATO standard, consistent with Israeli military weaponry.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of terror as they sought food. Mohammed Saqer, 43, told CNN he witnessed people being shot in the head around him. “We survived a night that was worse than we could imagine,” he said. “The reality for people was one of death and hunger searching for food.”

GHF, IOF deny responsibility despite growing evidence

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed aid mechanism operating outside UN frameworks, confirmed that Israeli forces were active in the area but denied any gunfire within or around the “aid site”. In a public statement, GHF alleged, “All aid was distributed today without incident. These fake reports have been actively fomented by Hamas. They are untrue and fabricated.”

The Israeli occupation military initially claimed no troops had fired at civilians “while they were near or within the aid site.” Later, a military source admitted to firing warning shots at individuals “about 1 kilometer away.” However, the CNN Gaza investigation presents a far more troubling account.

Pressed by CNN, the Israeli military declined to comment further. At a press briefing, IOF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin rejected the report entirely, calling it “false” and accusing CNN of echoing what he described as “Hamas propaganda”. He dismissed the reported casualty numbers without offering an alternative.

Yet survivors and witnesses continue to challenge the official narrative. Ihab Musleh said his 13-year-old son, Yazeed, was shot after waving at an Israeli tank. “Within seconds, he was hit with gunfire and fell to the ground,” Musleh said from the hospital.

Humanitarian fallout, global scrutiny mount

The Rafah aid convoy deaths mark the most harrowing Israeli massacres in recent months and underscore mounting global criticism of the GHF’s heavily militarized distribution system. The United Nations has warned that the initiative risks becoming a “death trap”.

Unlike UNRWA and other UN agencies, the GHF does not register aid recipients or vet civilians approaching distribution points. Despite claims that the system was created to prevent aid diversion, recent attacks suggest it lacks essential safeguards.

CNN’s reporting further revealed that multiple TikTok videos, including some taken by 30-year-old Ameen Khalifa, captured panicked scenes during the attack. Khalifa was later killed in an Israeli drone strike while attempting to return to the site two days later.

Following Sunday’s attack, GHF updated its public aid maps, placing a red stop sign over the Al-Aalam roundabout and warning Palestinians to avoid the area. Nonetheless, similar attacks occurred on Monday and Tuesday, resulting in nearly 30 additional killings. The IOF admitted its forces opened fire again after spotting “several suspects moving toward them.”

UN criticizes GHF framework as political, dangerous

UN officials have sharply criticized the GHF for creating a system that is both politically selective and operationally unsafe. In remarks before the UN Security Council, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher condemned the program:

“It restricts aid to only one part of Gaza, while leaving other dire needs unmet. It makes aid conditional on political and military aims. It makes starvation a bargaining chip. It is a cynical sideshow. A deliberate distraction. A fig leaf for further violence and displacement.”

As Israeli assaults against Palestinians escalate around “aid distribution points,” the credibility of Israeli denials of civilian targeting continues to erode under growing visual and forensic evidence. Humanitarian organizations warn that if these patterns continue, the entire aid infrastructure in Gaza may collapse under the weight of mistrust, militarization, and unchecked Israeli brutality.

June 5, 2025 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Subjugation - Torture | , , , , | Leave a comment

Gaza security service warns mercenaries are located east of Rafah

MEMO | June 5, 2025

A security source in the Palestinian resistance said the security services are closely monitoring the movements of “mercenary” groups operating with direct support from the Israeli occupation forces and stationed in areas under its control east of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip.

A circular published yesterday on the Al-Hares security platform indicated that these groups are engaged in activities that serve the Israeli occupation’s objectives, including conducting field reconnaissance missions and gathering intelligence information. “They also participate in sweeping buildings and clearing areas, and attempt to lure resistance members into revealing their locations and combat tactics,” it added.

According to the circular, the groups have also set up checkpoints to screen those suspected of being affiliated with the Palestinian resistance.

The sources confirmed the resistance’s determination to pursue anyone proven to be involved in “mercenary” activities or “highway banditry” and warned citizens against being deceived by offers to return to areas controlled by the Israeli occupation forces in return for collaborating with the enemy.

June 5, 2025 Posted by | Corruption, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , | Leave a comment

How world leaders stand with genocide

By Ramona Wadi | MEMO | June 5, 2025

Do world leaders really want the genocide in Gaza to end? Israel’s arms sales record for 2024 paints a clearer picture of where the international communities’ loyalties lie.

For the fourth consecutive year Israel broke its arms sales record, totalling $14.8 billion in 2024. Israeli media reports note that European countries were the largest purchaser of arms exports at 54 per cent, surpassing Asia-Pacific which amounted to 23 per cent of total sales, down by 2 per cent for 2024. Notably, countries that signed the Abraham Accords and normalised relations with Israel increased their weapons purchases from 3 per cent in 2023, to 12 per cent in 2024.

According to Yair Kulas, head of Israel’s International Defence Cooperation Directorate, there is political pressure on countries to refrain from purchasing Israeli weapons. “The militaries want our top-tier products, but political forces are blocking them. I hope necessity outweighs politics.”

Judging from the record sales, the politics of genocide are reaping profits for Israel and instability in the rest of the world. Between these looming dangers, Palestinians are experiencing the might of Israel’s weapons first-hand. And what does the world do? Encourage further genocide by purchasing more weapons from Israel.

Diplomatically, Israel is far from isolated. Israel will be participating in the EU-Southern Neighbourhood ministerial meeting in which governance, climate change, migration, economic development and energy will be discussed. An unnamed EU official has already stated that “the ongoing war in Gaza” will not be discussed during the meeting. There is also no fixed date for the review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

The EU cannot even pretend that there is a rift in diplomatic relations between the bloc and Israel. It is merely stalling for time, even though genocide is by now acceptable within diplomatic circles that have made a mockery out of international law.

The same governments that feign concern over humanitarian aid in Gaza are supporting the genocidal framework that bans humanitarian aid and causes humanitarian devastation in Gaza. Maybe the international community can articulate which part of genocide it specifically opposes? Not bombs, surely.

It is not necessity that will outweigh politics, to use Kulas’s words. Necessity is created by politics, in this case the politics of colonialism and genocide.

While Israel gloats in its successive terror narrative and its profits, Germany, for example has reiterated its commitment to delivering weapons to Israel. “Germany must know where it stands and say it clearly: alongside Israel,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stated. But what if Germany clearly stated the meaning of this diplomatic jargon – that it stands with Israel’s genocide in Gaza? Since October 2003, Germany approved over $550 million of arms exports to Israel.

Only a few weeks ago, the EU attempted to give the impression that the tide is turning for Israel. Of course, no one believed the statements. Since then, the Gaza Humanitarian Fund is obstructing aid by killing Palestinians and closing its hubs. More Palestinians have been burnt to death. More Palestinians have starved to death. Just mere hours ago, the US vetoed a resolution for an unconditional and permanent ceasefire because the text is unacceptable, according to the US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea.

World leaders have only left one gap in their narrative – an unequivocal statement that they stand with genocide.

June 5, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Netanyahu does not deny arming ISIS-affiliated group to fight Hamas

Al Mayadeen | June 5, 2025

Former Israeli Security Minister Avigdor Liberman has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of secretly authorizing the transfer of weapons to an armed criminal group affiliated with the terrorist so-called “Islamic State” in Gaza without cabinet approval.

In remarks to the Kan public broadcaster, Liberman, who leads the opposition Yisrael Beytenu party, said the weapons were supplied to a group of militants near the Karem Abu Salem crossing, in an area currently under Israeli military control.

“The Israeli government is giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons, identified with Islamic State, at the direction of the prime minister,” he stated.

“To my knowledge this did not go through approval by the cabinet,” he added.

Abu Shabab clan’s reputation and recent activity

While Liberman did not name the group directly, he appeared to be referencing the Abu Shabab clan, an armed faction in Gaza reportedly opposed to Hamas.

According to Tel Aviv University researcher Michael Milshtein, the group is known in Gaza for drug trafficking, theft, and looting humanitarian aid convoys.

Footage published online in recent days, including by clan leader Yasser Abu Shabab, shows members wearing military-style uniforms emblazoned with the Palestinian flag and the label “Counter-Terrorism Mechanism.”

Security establishment kept in the dark?

Liberman added that the head of the Shin Bet is aware of the weapons transfers but questioned the level of involvement or knowledge within the Israeli occupation military.

“I don’t know how much the IDF chief of staff was in on it,” he said, referring to the Israeli military.

Netanyahu’s office does not deny Liberman allegations

In response to Liberman’s claims, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement defending the government’s multi-pronged approach to defeating Hamas.

“Israel is working to defeat Hamas through various means, based on the recommendations of all the heads of the security establishment,” the statement read.

However, it notably did not deny the allegations raised by Liberman.

June 5, 2025 Posted by | Corruption, Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Gaza’s ‘humanitarian’ façade: A deceptive ploy unraveled

By Ramzy Baroud | MEMO | June 4, 2025

Just one day before the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating officially inside the Gaza Strip, its executive director, Jake Wood, resigned.

The text of his resignation statement underscored what many had already suspected: GHF is not a humanitarian endeavor, but the latest scam by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to control the Gaza Strip, after 600 days of war and genocide.

“It is clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence,” Wood said in the statement, which was cited by CNN and other media.

This begs the question: why had that realisation become ‘clear’ to Wood, even though the aid operation was not yet in effect? The rest of the statement offers some explanation, suggesting that the American contractor may not have known the extent of the Israeli ploy until later, but knew that a disaster was unfolding – the kind that would surely require investigating and, possibly, accountability.

In fact, an investigation by Swiss authorities had already begun. The US news network, CBS, looked into the matter, reporting on 29 May that GHF originally applied for registration in Geneva on January 31 and was officially registered on February 12. However, in no time, Swiss authorities began noticing repeated violations, including that the Swiss branch of GHF is “currently not fulfilling various legal obligations”.

In its original application, GHF “pursues exclusively charitable philanthropic objectives for the benefit of the people.” Strangely, the entity that promised to provide “material, psychological or health” services to famine-stricken Gazans, found it necessary to employ 300 “heavily armed” American contractors, with “as much ammunition as they can carry,” CBS reported.

The ‘psychological’ support in particular was the most ironic, as desperate Gazans were corralled, on 27 May, into cages under extremely high temperatures, only to be given tiny amounts of food that, according to Rami Abdu, head of the Geneva-based Euro-Med Monitor, were in fact stolen from a US-based charitable organization known as Rahma Worldwide.

Following the CBS news report, among others, and following several days of chaos and violence in Gaza, where at least 49 Palestinians were killed and over 300 wounded by those who promised to give aid and comfort, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that the funding for the operation is coming directly from Israel.

Prominent Israeli politician and Knesset member Avigdor Lieberman went even further, claiming that the money, estimated by The Washington Post to be $100 million, “is coming from the Mossad and the Defence Ministry.”

But why would Israel go through all of this trouble while it can, at no financial cost, simply allow the massive shipments of aid, reportedly rotting on the Egyptian side of the border, to enter Gaza and to stave off the famine?

In Netanyahu’s mind, the aid mechanism is part of the war. In a video message, reported by The Jerusalem Post on May 19, he described the new aid distributing points, manned jointly by GHF and the Israeli army, as “parallel to the enormous pressure” Israel is putting on the Palestinians – exemplified in Israel’s “massive (military) entrance (into Gaza)” – with the aim of “taking control of all of the Gaza” Strip.

In Netanyahu’s own words, all of this, the military-arranged aid and ongoing genocide, is “the war and victory plan.”

Of course, Palestinians and international aid groups operating in Gaza, including UN-linked aid apparatuses, were fully aware that the secretive Israel-US scheme was predicated on bad intentions. This is why they wanted to have nothing to do with it.

In Israel’s thinking, any aid mechanism that would sustain the status quo that existed prior to the war and genocide starting on 7 October, 2023, would be equivalent to an admission of defeat. This is precisely why Israel laboured to associate the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, with Hamas.

This included the launching of a virulent campaign against the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres himself, and other top officials and rapporteurs. On July 22, the Israeli Knesset went as far as to designate UNRWA a “terrorist organisation”.

Still, it may seem to be a contradiction that the likes of extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich would agree to such an ‘aid’ scheme just days after declaring that Israel’s intention is to “entirely destroy” Gaza.

However, there is no contradiction. Having failed to conquer Gaza through military force, Israel is trying to use its latest aid scheme to capitalise on the famine it has purposely engineered over the course of months.

Luring people to ‘distribution points’, the Israeli army is trying to concentrate the population of Gaza in areas that can be easily controlled through leveraging food, with the ultimate aim of pushing Palestinians out, in the words of Smotrich, “in great numbers to third countries.”

The latest scheme is likely to fail, of course, like other such stratagems in the last 600 days. However, the inhumane and degrading treatment of Palestinians further illustrates Israel’s rejection of the growing international push to end the genocide.

For Israel to stop scheming, the international community must translate its strong words into strong action and hold, not just Israel, but its own citizens involved in the GHF and other ploys, accountable for being part of the ongoing war crimes in Gaza.

June 4, 2025 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , | Leave a comment

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