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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

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

Israel excluded from upcoming Bari trade fair in Italy

MEMO | August 17, 2025

Organizers of the upcoming Fiera del Levante, an annual international trade exhibition scheduled to take place in Italy’s Bari city from Sept. 13 to 21, have decided not to invite Israel due to concerns raised by the city mayor about the Gaza situation, local media reported on Sunday, Anadolu reports.

According to Italian news agency ANSA, the fair’s organizing body confirmed the decision, following an appeal by Bari Mayor Vito Leccese, who on July 1 had called “not to let Israel participate in the fair activities within the Bari exhibition district, both institutional and economic.”

“For a commonality of ethical and political views, the Nuova Fiera del Levante has from the outset expressed a clear distancing from the atrocities of the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people and has supported, becoming its promoter, the initiative to propose the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to the children of Gaza,” the fair organizer body said in a statement.

The note explained that the initiative, launched by the Latiano-based foundation L’isola che non c’e, seeks to nominate children in Gaza for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

The fair described the proposal as “a moral appeal to the international community to recognize the right to peace and life for every child, everywhere in the world.”

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

Israeli daily reveals Mossad-MKO collaboration during aggression against Iran

Press TV – August 17, 2025

An Israeli newspaper has revealed collaboration between the Mossad spy agency and the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorist cult during the recent illegal aggression against Iran.

In a blog in Times of Israel, US-based freelance journalist Julian Rennell said the Mossad-MKO collaboration, which dates back to at least 2002, reached “new levels of sophistication” over the course of the 12-day Israeli-US assault against Iran.

The MKO’s “operational elements” had established “team houses in Tehran, where they built launchers and handheld mortars” and conducted “propaganda and information-gathering activities” in support of Israeli objectives, he said.

The notorious terror group provided targeting data for high-value assassinations in Iran and “precise coordinates” of critical infrastructure during the June’s aggression.

Rennell also quoted US officials as saying that the MKO has been “financed, trained and armed by Israel’s secret service” to assassinate Iranian nuclear scientists.

He further cited Tehran’s Criminal Court as documenting how MKO operatives coordinated with Israeli intelligence by gathering data on traffic flow near Kermanshah’s Farabi Hospital and passing it to the Tel Aviv regime for a deadly strike.

Meanwhile, he referred to remarks by an Iranian judge, who confirmed “active cooperation” between MKO terrorists and Israeli operatives, particularly in identifying and targeting Iranian nuclear scientists.

Rennell urged Israel to “formalize” its relationship with the MKO and move beyond covert cooperation to strategic partnership regardless of significant backlash, both among Iranians and internationally.

The MKO – the most despised group among ordinary Iranians – has a dismal history of perpetrating heinous attacks against Iranian civilians and officials, killing around 12,000 people since the victory of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

MKO members spent many years in Iraq, where they were hosted and armed by the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. They sided with Saddam during the 1980-88 imposed war against Iran.

MKO terrorists, who are now based in Albania, enjoy freedom of activity in the US and Europe.

A top Iranian criminal court has held 36 hearings on crimes of MKO members. It will hold more trial sessions for the case.

August 17, 2025 Posted by | War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , | 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 | , , , | 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

Israel destroyed 400 homes in Gaza’s Zeitoun neighborhood: Euro-Med Monitor

Smoke rises as Palestinians flee after Israeli army conducts attacks over al-Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza on August 6, 2025. [Khames Alrefi – Anadolu Agency]
MEMO | August 16, 2025

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor on Saturday said that Israeli forces have destroyed some 400 homes in the Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City, over the past six days through aerial bombardment and the use of booby-trapped robots, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the rights group said Israeli forces have been “leveling Zeitoun to the ground” since Aug. 11 as part of a large-scale military assault aimed at imposing full control over Gaza City and forcibly displacing its residents.

The monitor noted that “more than 90,000 Palestinians have fled the neighborhood under intense shelling.”

It added that Israeli forces have “deployed quadcopter drones to encircle residential blocks and force residents to evacuate at gunpoint, while advancing with ground units under heavy fire cover.”

The group stressed that the destruction of “nearly half of the homes in the Zeitoun neighborhood was not justified by any military necessity, as no armed clashes had been reported in the area recently.”

It said the “systematic use of robotic explosives and aerial strikes after residents were evacuated indicated the aim of the operation is not to achieve a legitimate military objective but rather the destruction of civilian life and forced displacement.”

The rights group said that the assault on Zeitoun, Gaza City’s largest neighborhood, falls within a “broader Israeli policy of genocide aimed at erasing Palestinian urban centers through mass destruction of homes, infrastructure, and essential services.”

It urged the international community, including the UN and legal institutions, to “act urgently to stop the attacks, protect civilians, and hold Israeli leaders accountable.”

The group also called for the enforcement of International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The latest Israeli military campaign began on Aug. 11, following a government-approved plan to gradually reoccupy Gaza, starting with Gaza City.

Witnesses reported widespread home demolitions using robotic devices, artillery fire, indiscriminate shooting, and forced displacement.

Israel has killed nearly 61,900 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and brought it to the verge of famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

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

United Nations Secretary-General offices shield Israel and blacklist Hamas: EX-UN official

Press TV – August 16, 2025

A former senior UN human rights official has criticized offices controlled by the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) for their actions in shielding Israel and blacklisting Palestinian resistance movement Hamas during the ongoing genocidal war in the Gaza Strip.

Craig Mokhiber, former director of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a post on his X account on Saturday that the UNSG offices only report politically convenient issues rather than the reality of abuses committed in Gaza, which he said has led to a lack of accountability.

Mokhiber said there is a need for a more comprehensive and impartial approach to address human rights violations in the besieged Palestinian territory.

He further mentioned his longstanding criticism of the “politicized thematic offices under the UNSG”, while highlighting their reporting practices, which differ from the UN’s independent human rights rapporteurs.

The human rights lawyer went on to say that the failure to effectively address the Israeli regime’s actions in Palestine has highlighted the political corruption that exists within those offices, adding that they are often under pressure from powerful states, particularly in areas such as genocide, sexual violence, and children in conflict.

The former UN official further denounced as “shameful” a recent report issued by a UNSG-controlled office monitoring sexual violence in conflict for creating a new category called “on notice” to avoid blacklisting Israel, despite substantial evidence that exists to condemn the regime.

Conversely, the report has blacklisted Hamas, even though there is an acknowledged lack of evidence against the group, he said.

Mokhiber further slammed the double standard of the report for saying that a lack of access to Israel and areas in the Occupied Palestinian Territory had prevented the listing of Israel, while the same reason did not apply to Hamas.

He said these offices “do more harm than good” to the protection of human rights, adding that their dismantling has long been overdue.

Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to its intensified campaign of death and devastation against Palestine.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed over 61,776 Palestinians, many of them women and children, while displacing the territory’s entire population of nearly two million people.

August 16, 2025 Posted by | Corruption, Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Iran blasts ICJ vice-president’s ‘blatant bias’ toward ‘Israel’

Al Mayadeen | August 16, 2025

Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi has sharply condemned what he described as a “shocking breach of judicial ethics,” accusing International Court of Justice (ICJ) Vice-President Julia Sebutinde of openly siding with “Israel”, an entity currently facing multiple cases before the Court.

He warned that such “blatant bias” undermines the ICJ’s integrity and violates the core principle of judicial impartiality.

Gharibabadi’s comments follow Justice Julia Sebutinde’s controversial remarks defending her dissenting opinion in the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Sebutinde, the only judge to oppose provisional measures against “Israel”, has now further stoked anger with a public speech that critics say confirms long-standing suspicions of personal bias and ideological alignment with Zionist narratives.

“There are now about 30 countries against Israel… the Lord is counting on me to stand on the side of Israel. The whole world was against Israel, including my country,” she declared on August 10 at Watoto Church in Uganda.

Speaking during the launch of the Golden Legacy ministry for members aged 55 and above, Sebutinde added, “I will never forget the day the judgment came out. Even though the government was against me, I remember one ambassador saying, ‘Ignore her because her ruling is not a representation of Uganda.’ The media ran this to fuel more anger and sentiment. Such sentiments can only come from the pit of hell.”

Her speech, laced with religious justification and inflammatory rhetoric, has intensified scrutiny over her role at the court, especially given the gravity of the charges brought against “Israel” by South Africa.

Controversial dissent at ICJ

Justice Sebutinde stood alone among the 17-judge panel at the ICJ, voting against emergency measures directing “Israel” to prevent and punish incitement to genocide in Gaza. Her lone dissent drew widespread condemnation and triggered accusations of both political and religious bias, particularly due to her openly expressed Zionist leanings.

Ugandan officials moved quickly to distance themselves from her stance. Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Adonia Ayebare, clarified in January: “Justice Sebutinde’s ruling at the ICJ does not represent the Government of Uganda’s position on the situation in Palestine. Uganda’s support for the plight of the Palestinian people has been expressed through our voting pattern at the United Nations.”

Public reaction in the region has been overwhelmingly critical. A Kenyan social media user wrote: “Judge Julia Sebutinde is such an embarrassment to her country and a disgrace to humanity. She didn’t just vote against South Africa’s petition; she voted against reason and morality, justice and freedom, love and compassion. She voted against the very soul of humanity.”

South Africa’s genocide case

On December 29, 2024, South Africa filed a case against “Israel” at the ICJ, accusing it of committing genocidal acts during its military campaign in Gaza. The case prompted global attention, with legal experts and rights advocates calling it a historic test of international law.

Uganda’s Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vincent Bagiire Wasswa, reinforced the government’s position, saying, “She made an independent decision that was being misconstrued to be a decision of Uganda. The comments were to make clear that her decision was independent.”

Adding another layer of controversy, Sebutinde revealed that at the time of her dissent, she was also seeking election as ICJ vice-president. She claims she was hesitant to continue due to public backlash but said she was “compelled by God” to go through with it.

She added that a fellow judge later told her she had been elected because of her “character and independence.”

“So whatever the devil had planned for me, God turned it around. This happened a day after the verdict,” she added

Critics argue that such remarks, invoking divine guidance in judicial matters and portraying dissenters as influenced by “the devil”, raise serious questions about her suitability for one of the highest judicial offices in the world.

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

Lin: China opposes invocation of UN Security Council ‘snapback’ sanctions against Iran

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian
Press TV – August 15, 2025

China reaffirms its commitment to the peaceful resolution of Iran’s nuclear issue and opposes the invocation of the UN Security Council’s “snapback” mechanism.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin issued the statement on Friday in response to the European troika’s warning to reimpose sanctions if a diplomatic solution is not achieved by the end of August.

“China stays committed to peacefully resolving the Iranian nuclear issue through political and diplomatic means, opposes invoking Security Council ‘snapback’ sanctions,” Lin said.

He argued that reimposing sanctions on Iran would not foster trust or bridge differences among parties and would hinder diplomatic efforts to resume talks promptly.

Lin emphasized that any actions taken by the Security Council should facilitate the achievement of new agreements rather than undermine the negotiation process.

The Chinese diplomat reiterated that China is committed to maintaining an objective and fair stance, continuing to promote conversations aimed at peace, and playing a constructive role in bringing the Iranian nuclear issue back to diplomatic negotiations at the earliest opportunity.

He also highlighted Beijing’s intention to safeguard the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and to promote peace and stability in the region.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that the country is actively collaborating with China and Russia to prevent the reactivation of UN sanctions through the so-called “snapback” mechanism.

“We are working with China and Russia to stop it. If this does not work and they apply it, we have tools to respond. We will discuss them in due course,” he added.

The snapback mechanism, embedded in the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), allows the automatic reinstatement of UN Security Council sanctions that had been lifted under the agreement. The deal terminates in October.

Iran, however, disputes the legitimacy of the European powers’ efforts to trigger the provision.

In a joint letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council on Wednesday, the European troika — France, Germany and the United Kingdom – said they were “committed to us(ing) all diplomatic tools at our disposal to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon” unless Tehran meets a deadline to speak with them.

“We have made it clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, the E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism,” the ministers wrote.

In a detailed letter to the UN Security Council last month, Iran laid out its position, asserting that Britain, France, and Germany are no longer legitimate JCPOA participants with the authority to reinstate sanctions through snapback. This position is supported by China and Russia, who share Tehran’s view on the matter.

China and Russia’s backing plays a critical role in Iran’s diplomatic efforts to counter the snapback threat. Both countries are permanent members of the UN Security Council and have veto power over resolutions, including those related to Iran’s nuclear program.

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

Dehumanize and destroy: How western media helped target Gaza’s journalists

By Robert Inlakesh | The Cradle | August 14, 2025

On 29 September 2024, an Israeli airstrike targeted the home of displaced Palestinian journalist Wafa al-Udaini in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. She, her husband, and their two young daughters were killed. Her two sons survived but were left injured and orphaned.

Udaini had long been a target. At the start of the war on Gaza, she appeared on a TalkTV broadcast hosted by British anchor Julia Hartley-Brewer, who had just finished a soft interview with Israeli army spokesperson Peter Lerner. When Udaini described Israeli attacks on Palestinians as a “massacre” – using the same word Lerner had applied to Hamas – she was ridiculed and cut off. The segment went viral. Israeli media outlets weaponized the interview to smear Udaini. She was soon receiving direct threats from the Israeli military. In private conversations, she described herself as a marked woman. In the months that followed, when asked by The Cradle if she had moved from her home in Al-Rimal, Gaza City, she said, “I can’t say, sorry.” She added:

“The anchor killed me … They are using the interview to justify killing me.”

Months later, Israel killed Wafa.

Wafa’s assassination was not isolated. It was the culmination of a campaign to normalize the erasure of Palestinian journalists. The occupation army even has a special unit dedicated to this war crime, known as the ‘Legitimization Cell.’

The killing of Anas al-Sharif

The most prominent recent example was Israel’s assassination of one of Gaza’s most famous reporters, Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif, and his entire crew. Nearly 270 Palestinian journalists have been killed since October 2023. Western press has actively facilitated the cover-up of the murder of journalists in Gaza and failed to hold the occupation state accountable. Calls for accountability have been challenging Israel and western media outlets that have provided cover for the deliberate campaign to murder journalists.

Back in October 2024, the Israeli military published a hit list consisting of six Palestinian journalists working for Al Jazeera, claiming that the occupation state had obtained documents proving they were either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militants. Sharif was on that list.

Al Jazeera outright rejected the allegations. The so-called intelligence files released by Israel were riddled with contradictions, fabrications, and recycled narratives. One claimed Sharif had been a commander in the Qassam Brigades’ Nukhba unit; another stated he had been injured in a training exercise in early 2023 and deemed unfit for combat. Both cannot be true. In reality, neither is.

When the occupation state announced Sharif’s assassination, it escalated its smear campaign by accusing him of firing rockets. Speaking to The Cradle on condition of anonymity, a senior Hamas official dismisses the claim as “ridiculous,” noting that rocket units and Nukhba forces are not the same, and that Anas was never affiliated with either.

These were not the first threats Anas received. On 22 November 2023, he publicly revealed that Israeli officers had threatened him via WhatsApp, and pinpointed his location. Weeks later, his 90-year-old father was killed in an airstrike on the family home in Jabalia Refugee Camp.

The Israeli military’s documents alleging Anas was a militant have been available for almost a year. Yet no major media outlet attempted to verify them. On the contrary, both the UN Special Rapporteur on press freedom, Irene Khan, and the Committee to Protect Journalists dismissed the Israeli claims. But the disinformation campaign intensified.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry began circulating old images of Anas with Hamas figures. Pro-Israel social media accounts unearthed decade-old tweets in which he expressed support for resistance. US attorney Stanley Cohen tells The Cradle:

“Under international humanitarian law and the law of war, journalists are protected as civilians, thus targeting them can constitute a war crime whether they are seen interviewing combatants or in their reporting have favorably written of or even supported them and their goals.”

Collusion and amplification

Possessing access to all this information and Israel’s long record of fabricating stories, the western media continued to amplify Tel Aviv’s talking points and character assassinations of Gaza’s journalists.

While Israel produced a series of claims to justify the murder of Anas al-Sharif, no such justifications were issued to explain why they struck the well-known tent used by the Al Jazeera broadcast team – which included correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, assistant Mohammed Noufal, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Aliwa.

Yet Reuters ran with the headline “Israel kills Al Jazeera journalist it says was Hamas leader,” a title triggering so much backlash that it forced them to change it to the sanitized “Israel strike kills Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza”. German outlet Bild, which is also the bestselling newspaper in Europe, published perhaps the most outrageous headline of all, entitled “Terrorist disguised as a journalist killed in Gaza,” also later altering their piece to read “Killed journalist allegedly was a terrorist.” Fox News and Canada’s National Post joined the chorus, parroting the occupation army’s narrative.

BBC coverage was equally complicit. In a profile-style article, the British broadcaster stated, “The BBC understands Sharif worked for a Hamas media team in Gaza before the current conflict.” This unverified claim contradicts Sharif’s own criticisms of Hamas, aired before the war. Even the Palestinian resistance movement has denied any formal affiliation. Hamas official Bassem Naim tells The Cradle that there is no known relationship between Sharif and “the movement or its military wing.”

Documented targeting and newsroom dissent

Western media failures began long before these assassinations. Israel’s systematic targeting of media workers has been copiously documented. In August 2024, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published an open letter signed by over 60 rights groups and journalist unions, calling on the EU to take action against Israel’s “unprecedented killing of journalists and other violations of media freedom” in Gaza as part of “widespread and systematic abuses.”

Inside newsrooms, dissent has grown. Marina Watanabe, formerly of the LA Times, was barred from covering Palestine for three months after signing a petition against the killing of journalists. In July, over 100 BBC employees and 306 media professionals signed an open letter accusing the broadcaster of “anti-Palestinian racism.”

The BBC letter also states:

“The BBC’s editorial decisions seem increasingly out of step with reality. We have been forced to conclude that decisions are made to fit a political agenda rather than serve the needs of audiences.  As industry insiders and as BBC staff, we have experienced this firsthand. The issue has become even more urgent with recent escalations in the region. Again, BBC coverage has appeared to downplay Israel’s role, reinforcing an ‘Israel first’ framing that compromises our credibility.”

According to Cohen, if media agencies or reporters are found to have willingly participated in propaganda that gives cover for targeting journalists in Gaza, “it could constitute conspiracy to further acts of genocide as it carries with it a state of mind and intent.” He argues that while such cases against the media and journalists can be difficult to win in court, there is precedent for punishment.

However, western corporate media has not only been accused of intentionally aiding Israel in whitewashing war crimes, but has also been implicated in specific cases of outright dehumanization of Gaza’s journalists that have directly correlated to threats and harassment.

Impunity paved by past killings

The UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has been sounding the alarm on the murder of journalists in Gaza since 14 December 2023. Yet western corporate media has continued to feign ignorance and treat Israel’s repeated lies as if they are credible.

Reuters, which just published and then changed its biased headline covering the assassination of Sharif, is perhaps one of the worst offenders in willfully providing cover for Israel. On 13 October 2023, Tel Aviv targeted a group of journalists in southern Lebanon, killing Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah. At the time, Reuters refused to name the attacker, saying only that the munition came from the direction of Israel. It took until 7 December for the outlet to publish an investigation confirming what everyone already knew: Israel was responsible. By then, the window for accountability had closed.

On 11 May 2021, Al Jazeera‘s Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by an Israeli sniper while covering an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Despite overwhelming evidence and international outrage, her killers faced no consequences – a precedent that paved the way for today’s open season on Gaza’s journalists.

That silence, or worse, that complicity has consequences. Honest journalism demands scrutiny, not stenography. Every time western media echoes Tel Aviv’s lies, it helps normalize the slaughter of Palestinian journalists – not out of ignorance, but to deliberately spread propaganda.

August 14, 2025 Posted by | Fake News, Full Spectrum Dominance, Mainstream Media, Warmongering, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Normalisation is death of Arab sovereignty, Syria is the best example

By Robert Inlakesh | Al Mayadeen | August 14, 2025

We have reached the stage where it can no longer be denied that the Syrian leadership is at the complete mercy of the US and its allies. Its normalisation drive, whereby its officials meet with their Israeli counterparts, are not negotiations but discussions aimed at achieving the best implementation of Tel Aviv’s orders.

When Arab states make the decision to capitulate to the Israeli-US normalisation and neo-liberal economic model, they set themselves up for a loss of sovereignty and to become at best a tool for policy makers in Washington.

If we look at the Jordanian and Egyptian models, we see that their agreements have not saved them from growing instability and economic decline, particularly in Egypt’s case. Once, it had become a big deal when President Hosni Mubarak began selling gas to the Israelis, now, Cairo purchases gas through its own pipelines that have reversed the flow.

Turning our focus to the current predicament of Syria, it is not even correct to assess it is based upon the Egypt model. In fact, despite some similarities, it is in even worse a predicament than Sudan.

The Sudanese state, following the fall of its former leader Omar Bashir, went into a transitional phase whereby the Army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia agreed upon a power-sharing phase. During this time, the Zionist Entity swept in to take advantage of the situation, fostering relations with both sides, but particularly with notorious goldmine owning war-lord Hemedti’s RSF.

Sudan, working closely with US President Donald Trump’s administration at the time, managed to get sanctions lifted, remove itself from the State Sponsors of Terrorism List, receive sanctions relief and aid, while almost paving the way to adopt a neo-liberal economic model; seeking IMF and World Bank loans.

Khartoum had pledged that in exchange for these “gifts” from the US, they would join the so-called “Abraham Accords” and began negotiations behind closed doors with the Israelis.

Is this starting to sound familiar?

Then, in April of 2023, the Civil War erupted, and the Israelis swept in to back both sides, after having covertly provided the RSF with military capabilities that enabled it to balance the power on the battlefield in the first place. While the Mossad supported the RSF, the Israeli Foreign Ministry leaned towards the Sudanese Army.

In Syria, almost the exact same process has occurred. Yet most pretend as if we haven’t seen this same story before.

The key difference, however, is that the new Syrian government of Ahmad al-Sharaa has less control than when the RSF and Sudanese Army ran an interim unity government. The recent sectarian bloodshed in Sweida proved this without a shadow of a doubt.

There are now separatist militias in Sweida who actually coordinated with Israeli-Druze army forces who had set up a joint communications room to help locate targets during the latest round of bloodshed. Meanwhile, the Syrian security forces had coordinated the entry of tanks into Sweida with the Israelis, yet were bombed anyway, leading to as many as 700 dead amongst their ranks.

While the majority of the Syrian Druze and wider Syrian public oppose ties with the Israelis, the Zionist Entity finds inroads with both sides and watches on as they slaughter each other, all in the interest of further weakening the country.

Ahmad al-Sharaa was basically non-existent, as it appeared for over a week that Syria was heading towards another civil war, only offering brief statements before the US envoy announced a bizarre arrangement, claiming that Damascus and Tel Aviv had agreed to a truce.

It was especially strange because the announcement didn’t initially come from the Syrians themselves, but also due to the fact that there was no Syrian-Israeli war. What was happening was that Syrian forces were getting blown to pieces and ordered to stand down. The only relevance the Syrian government forces had was in their failed role inside Sweida, where they went out of control and participated in civilian massacres, alongside Bedouin tribal forces.

Never in the known history of war has a nation been invaded, occupied, its capital repeatedly bombed and hundreds of its soldiers blown to pieces, and the country being attacked did not respond in any way. Not only have Ahmad al-Sharaa’s forces failed to fire a single bullet towards their occupiers, they have not even threatened the use of force.

Even worse, rather than respond, they give the Israelis gifts like infamous spy Eli Cohen’s belongings, cracking down on the Palestinian Resistance forces, and declaring fellow Muslims and Arabs their enemies, despite them being the only ones willing to stand up for Syria.

Meanwhile, every minority group in the country is isolated, and every community feels the need to bear arms and protect themselves, as nobody trusts the ill-trained, unprofessional security forces.

This is what capitulation looks like, a leadership which exists more so on Facebook, X, and Instagram than it does in real life. A sectarian bloodbath, with no stability, no national unity, no sovereignty, and whose leaders are collaborating with the genocidal entity, in violation of all the regional, national, cultural, and religious moral obligations.

This is normalisation. This is capitulation. This is what happens when you worship at the feet of your occupiers. Syria is the worst case of all, because there is no longer even a united nation or cause that it embodies, which has, for the current moment, died.

Only through a unified resistance front will Syria liberate itself. It may take time, but this is the only path, and historically, the Syrian people had resisted the Ottomans, the French, and even got themselves back on their feet after the CIA overthrew their government in 1949. It can happen, but it will take the Syrian people coming together in order to overcome their predicament.

There is no example of where normalisation with the Zionist regime, or total capitulation to the US, saves a nation in turmoil. Even in the cases where the US poured trillions into attempts to set up new regimes, like what happened with Iraq and Afghanistan. The only examples of where a regime has not yet declined or sacrificed its security predicament due to normalisation, are in the cases of the UAE and Bahrain, but both were already immensely rich, and nothing much changed upon normalisation.

However, even in the cases of the UAE and Bahrain, their positioning themselves as part of the Israeli-US regional anti-Iran alliance puts them in the firing line and could risk national stability in the event of a broader war.

The positions of the current regime in Syria are indefensible. Not even from a selfish materialist perspective could you argue their case without engaging in mental gymnastics. There is no strategic depth, nor a demonstration of competent governance in the direction we see the nation going, and at a time when unity is needed the most.

August 14, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | Leave a comment

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