American Friends Service Committee's Companies Profiting from the Gaza Genocide: https://afsc.org/gaza-genocide-companies
Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Guide: https://bdsmovement.net/Guide-to-BDS-Boycott
Boycott-Israel.org's Ethical Consumption Guide: https://boycott-israel.org/boycott.html
Boycott Wix: https://boycottwix.org/
CanLit Responds (authors and cultural workers against arms funding): https://www.canlitresponds.ca/
Disrupting Energy Corporations: https://bdsmovement.net/resources/disrupting-energy-corporations-liberation-palestine
Genocide Gentry (cultural and educational institution connections of board members of defense corporations): https://genocidegentry.org/
Mapping Genocide: https://www.mappinggenocide.com/
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights' Boycott of Chevron: https://uscpr.org/campaigns/boycott-chevron/
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights' Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS): https://uscpr.org/activist-resource/boycott-divestment-and-sanctions/
Writers Against the War on Gaza's Boycott of Artforum, Art in America, and ARTnews: https://writersagainstthewarongaza.com/scabforum
Writers Against the War on Gaza & The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel: https://writersagainstthewarongaza.com/pacbi
Amnesty International's Call for a Permanent Ceasefire: https://act.amnestyusa.org/page/137174/action/1?ea.tracking.id=spgcowst&_gl=1*kmikac*_gcl_au*MTg1MTA5OTA0NC4xNzU3NjQ4Nzcw
Amnesty International's Portal to Contact Members of Congress: https://amnesty.quorum.us/campaign/52827/
Amnesty International's "Tell Congress to stop arming this crisis, demand a permanent ceasefire, and help facilitate the unhindered entry and distribution of humanitarian aid to Gaza" Campaign: https://act.amnestyusa.org/page/138002/action/1?ea.tracking.id=spgcowst&_gl=1*9raau9*_gcl_au*MTg1MTA5OTA0NC4xNzU3NjQ4Nzcw
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Action Alerts: https://www.cair.com/action-alerts/
Arms Trade Treaty Conference Email: https://bdsmovement.net/resources/urgent-action-needed-ahead-arms-trade-treaty-conference
Block the Boat: https://bdsmovement.net/Stop-Illegal-Maritime-Transfers
CODEPINK's Cities for a Ceasefire: https://www.codepink.org/ceasefiretoolkit?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Free Palestine Anti-Genocide Pledge: https://www.antigenocidepledge.com/
Global Ceasefire Petition: https://www.change.org/p/sign-and-share-this-urgent-petition-calling-for-a-ceasefirenow-in-gaza-and-israel
Letter to the UN General Assembly President: https://bdsmovement.net/resources/letter-template-unga-president-suspend-israel-from-un-now
No Room for Genocide!: https://bdsmovement.net/news/no-room-for-genocide
Not My Tax Dollars Email Congress: https://www.notmytaxdollars.org/take-action
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights' "Block Bombs for Genocide!" Campaign: https://www.uscpraction.org/toolkit-pressure-elected-officials
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights' City Council Toolkit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ABRqjQ9ara_5fKTEGR85VEVX7cjciRx_Of141rBy1lw/edit?tab=t.0
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights' Congress Scorecard: https://www.uscpraction.org/scorecard
Anera: https://www.anera.org/donate-/
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR): https://action.cair.com/a/general
Doctors without Borders: https://events.doctorswithoutborders.org/campaigns/Humanitarian-Aid-for-Gaza
Human Appeal: https://humanappeal.org.uk/appeals/gaza-emergency-appeal
Islamic Relief USA: https://secure.irusa.org/donate/donate-now
Medical Aid for Palestinians: https://www.map.org.uk/?form=FUNFXHDCJPK
Not My Tax Dollars: https://www.notmytaxdollars.org/donate
Palestine Children's Relief Fund: https://pcrf1.app.neoncrm.com/forms/gaza-relief
Save the Children: https://www.savethechildren.org/us/where-we-work/west-bank-gaza
Teach Palestine: https://secure.everyaction.com/HGa42w95d0qsbe0nQQJSsA2
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF): https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/famine-confirmed-gaza?form=FUNHAFZDMVA&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=202507_eme-rv_gaz-sem&utm_content=textonly_na_na_na_na_na&initialms=google__cpc__202507_eme-rv_gaz-sem__textonly_na_na_na_na_na&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20674093084&gbraid=0AAAAAD3Kj53E1oZB1YazrF-rBFQo6Cpvb&gclid=Cj0KCQjwrJTGBhCbARIsANFBfgsqaBAThfaMOrfkHRc2_Vge-muGlhn5HKb0Kc4WGJNPm8bgXdJil-waAmBKEALw_wcB
UN Population Fund: https://www.unfpa.org/donate/Gaza/1?form=GazaAppeal
UN Relief & Works Agency (UNWRA): https://donate.unrwa.org/int/en/general
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights: https://secure.everyaction.com/LsmZ1X1ZqEqrcXHPysM_Kw2
World Central Kitchen: https://donate.wck.org/give/525879/?utm_source=googlepmax&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=gaza-1millionmeals&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22906974923&gbraid=0AAAAApcxQJtq9pgJP5Spr3P32jcPmeGDi&gclid=Cj0KCQjwrJTGBhCbARIsANFBfgv6WrU-1-gOHhfh8V-kjZkUlznzK8sztrR86irDTSikxih2ftZa90kaAspcEALw_wcB#!/donation/checkout?c_src=2025-paidmedia-fundraising-googlepmax-gaza-1millionmeals
Jewish Voice for Peace's Tweet at the Media: https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/resource/tweet-at-the-media-do-your-jobs-report-that-israel-is-continuing-its-genocide/
Writers Against the War on Gaza's "Flood the Newsrooms" Campaign: https://writersagainstthewarongaza.com/action
Palestine Legal's Resources for Palestine Activists: https://palestinelegal.org/resources
Palestine Poster Project Archives: https://www.palestineposterproject.org/poster/our-roots-are-still-alive-the-story-of-the-palestinian-people-cover
Palestine Solidarity Campaign's Events: https://palestinecampaign.org/events/
Protect Palestine Protest Safety: https://www.protectpalestine.org/protest-safety
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights' "Not My Tax Dollars" Flyer: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/65cfaf41d5454b2f7a157ad2/t/685dcc12eabe5c53fdc412c2/1750977558947/NMTD+2025+FLYER+crop+marks.pdf
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights' Pro-Palestine Protest Portal: https://uscpr.org/pro-palestine-protests/
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights' Protest Signs and Posters: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TrjoWz0sIo8swID52ilLRdfkREo-ajCb
Aaron Wilder's Body4Body Project: https://www.aaronwilder.com/gallery/body4body/
Amnesty International's Press Releases: https://www.amnestyusa.org/the-latest/?country=israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territory
Amnesty International's "Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity" Report: https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/israels-apartheid-against-palestinians-cruel-system-of-domination-and-crime-against-humanity/
Amnesty International's “'You Feel Like You Are Subhuman': Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza" Report: https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/you-feel-like-you-are-subhuman-israels-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/
Ancestors of Palestinian Liberation: https://www.anemoia.net/ancestors
Arab Center Washington DC's "The Estimated Cost of the Gaza War on the Israeli Economy": https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/the-estimated-cost-of-the-gaza-war-on-the-israeli-economy/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Ministry%20of%20Finance%20and,account%2C%20there%20is%20zero%20growth%20in%202024.
Artists Against Artwashing: https://www.instagram.com/stopartwashing/
ASCOMARE (International Law of the Sea Association) Legal Opinion--Coastal states must take necessary action within their territorial seas, including interrupting or suspending passage, against vessels carrying military supplies or other cargo that assists Israel in its illegal occupation, apartheid, genocide, or other violations of fundamental principles (peremptory norms) of international law, such as the right to self-determination of peoples and the prohibition on the acquisition of territory by force. https://ascomare.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/ascomare-legal-opinion-_-innocent-passage-and-due-diligence.pdf
Ethical and Professional Journalistic Principles: https://bdsmovement.net/7-points-ethical-and-professional-journalistic-principles
Eyewitness Palestine: https://www.instagram.com/eyewitnesspalestine/
Film Workers for Palestine: https://www.instagram.com/filmworkers4palestine/
Financing Land Grab "The DIrect Involvement of the Israeli Banks in the Israeli Settlement Enterprise": https://www.banktrack.org/download/who_profits_financing_land_grab/who_profits_financing_land_grab.pdf
Institute for Middle East Understanding: https://www.instagram.com/theimeu/
Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question: https://www.palquest.org/
Not My Tax Dollars Interactive Map: https://www.notmytaxdollars.org/
Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs: https://passia.org/
Palestinian Children's Days of Action Toolkit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/187DkIKatEPTxGTaCGxYygcMWZRR52fnr00l1gAGZS3o/edit?tab=t.0
Teach Palestine Curriculum: https://teachpalestine.org/curriculum/
Tech for Palestine's Daily Casualties: https://data.techforpalestine.org/docs/casualties-daily/
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights' Social Media Graphics: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1O6n_oW7AV0CJ9fpm2rIB-gW0_C6NHGwC
Visualizing Palestine: https://visualizingpalestine.org/
War on Want's Israeli Apartheid Factsheet: https://bdsmovement.net/resources/israeli-apartheid-factsheet
Writers Against the War on Gaza Bulletin: https://writersagainstthewarongaza.com/bulletin
Aaron Wilder's Gaza Journal:
12/10/25
The Israeli government continues to flout international law by expanding their illegal settlements in the West Bank. Does Israel care that what it's doing is a violation of international law? Nope. And if no one holds them accountable, they'll break other laws as well. What good is international law if it doesn't protect those vulnerable from attack by bullies?
"The ultra-nationalist [Bezalel] Smotrich, who opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, said that since the beginning of his term in late 2022, some 51,370 housing units have been approved by the government's Higher Planning Council in the West Bank, territory Palestinians seek for a future state."
"Most world powers deem Israel's settlements - on land it captured in a 1967 war - illegal and numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt all settlement activity."
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-approves-nearly-800-housing-units-three-west-bank-settlements-2025-12-10/
12/9/25
The Israeli government has contributed to greater regional instability on another frontier: Syria. After the Assad regime was overthrown after 14 years of war, Israel bombed many targets in Syria and invaded southern Syria in violation of a 1974 UN Security Council resolution.
"A year after Israeli forces entered southern Syria, crossing into a UN buffer zone and in some cases beyond, its occupation remains and the frequency of the Israeli military raids on towns is increasing. An Israeli incursion in the town of Beit Jinn at the end of November left at least 13 Syrians dead, including two children. Residents say they have traded the tyranny of Assad for a military occupation. Checkpoints are now operated by Israelis, not Assad officers. Night-time raids and phone searches continue."
So, to be clear, nobody invited Israel into Syria. No one invited Israel to police other countries. What right does one country have to invade and occupy a neighboring country that didn't threaten it with aggression? You protect your border at the border, not well inside the neighboring country. The equivalent would be the US invading and occupying northern Mexico after bombing all the Mexican military bases. I realize the US also does not have the authority to police the rest of the world. However, Israel's actions at least appear, on the surface, to be more extreme. And the Israeli military acts as if the Syrians in the area it illegally occupies should be grateful. Syrians should be grateful that they live in fear of being killed or detained with no due process? They should be grateful that the occupying military bulldozed their homes to build their own military bases?
"Ibrahim was one of the first to suffer under the Israeli occupation. His house, along with 14 others, was bulldozed to make way for an Israeli military base – one of six built across southern Syria over the last year."
And Israel will continue to do whatever it wants with impunity, because no one will hold them accountable.
"Syria’s government has made multiple appeals to the international community to curb the Israeli occupation, a violation of a 1974 UN security council resolution establishing the buffer zone between Syrian forces and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights."
Let's not forget that the area of "Israel" the Israeli military is "protecting" is also illegally occupied land: the Golan Heights.
"Israeli officers have told residents their presence is solely meant to prevent armed groups from operating on the border, but increasing military activity has left them wondering how long life under occupation will continue."
When you build multiple military bases in a neighboring country to "defend" "your" territory in one year, you are clearly annexing your neighbor's sovereign land and have no intent to leave. Trump, how would you feel about Mexico bombing and occupying Florida and bulldozing Mar-a-Lago to make way for a Mexican military base? Hold Israel accountable now!
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/09/fears-southern-syria-israel-growing-occupation
12/8/25
It is outrageous that the US government is supporting Israel's plan to keep the current "yellow line" between the Israeli-controlled and Hamas-controlled portions of Gaza as a permanent border.
"The chief of the general staff, Eyal Zamir, said Israel would hold on to its current military positions. These give Israel control of more than half of Gaza, including most agricultural land and the border crossing with Egypt... 'We have operational control over extensive parts of the Gaza Strip and we will remain on those defence lines,' Zamir said."
The Israeli-controlled portion of Gaza has essentially ousted all Palestinians to the Hamas-controlled portion. Israel controls all the land surrounding the Hamas-controlled portion, has a naval blockade along the coast, and is depriving essentially 2 million people of access to arable land and the entry points through which humanitarian aid can get to those who need it. The prison that Israel made of Gaza before 10/7/23 is basically now half the size it was before.
"Palestinians were forced out of this eastern portion of Gaza by Israeli attacks and evacuation orders. Almost all the surviving population, over 2 million people, are now crowded into a narrow zone of coastal sand dunes that is smaller than Washington DC.
Zamir’s commitment to keep troops in Gaza appears to contradict the ceasefire agreement signed in October, which specifies that 'Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza'."
This is clearly a violation of the ceasefire and evidence that the Israeli government is continuing its genocide by strangling the tiny plot of land containing the entire Palestinian population of Gaza. Any Palestinian, including children, even approaching the "yellow line" is shot with no consideration for who they are, what they need to survive, or where their home is.
"The Israeli army has built new concrete outposts along the 'yellow line' to fortify its positions and declared it a lethal boundary, even though it is not always clearly marked and a ceasefire is in place. Soldiers have repeatedly killed Palestinians they accuse of crossing it, including young children. Concrete bollards laid out to mark some stretches of the line have also been used to expand Israel’s military occupation of Gaza. Satellite images show that some markers have been placed hundreds of metres beyond the boundary agreed on ceasefire maps. The US military has also been planning for the long-term partition of Gaza along the 'yellow line', and one US official has described reunification as 'aspirational'. Documents seen by the Guardian envisage the territory split into a 'green zone' under Israeli and international military control, where reconstruction would start, and a 'red zone' to be left indefinitely in ruins."
This is a complete betrayal by the US government. By forcing Palestinians into this "red zone," Israel remains in complete control and is allowed to continue its genocide through a denial of access to resources Palestinians need to survive. For who is the "green zone" that will be redeveloped? Clearly not Palestinians, who are currently being forced to try to survive living on a pile of destruction. Remember when Trump said Palestinians would be relocated elsewhere so Gaza can be the "riviera of the Middle East"? That's what is happening here.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/08/yellow-line-that-divides-gaza-under-trump-plan-is-new-border-for-israel-says-military-chief
12/5/25
Not surprised, but saddened anti-genocide protestors are getting fired from their jobs. This case hits particularly close to home, because I used to work at SJSU, which is canning justice study professor Sang Hea Kil for violating university policies by participating in student-led pro-Palestine protests
“'All faculty should be able to protest all genocides without targeted punitive actions,' she said at her public appeal hearing, during which she described the university’s actions against her as 'New McCarthyism, where geopolitical interests interfere with constitutional rights and academic freedom on campuses across the nation and on this campus.'”
This is basically a power play. By disproportionately punishing Kil relative to her "crimes," the SJSU administration is deliberately sending a message to other, similarly inclined, faculty; probably staff too. This power play is obvious, because a faculty review committee recommended not firing Kil and the university president did it anyway.
"A faculty committee that reviewed the dismissal confirmed some of the allegations that Kil had violated university policy but concluded that the dismissal was disproportionate and not justified, according to internal documents reviewed by the Guardian. But the university president, Cynthia Teniente-Matson, upheld Kil’s dismissal despite the review and rebukes from the American Association of University Professors, Middle East Studies Association and California Scholars for Academic Freedom, among other groups."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/05/tenured-professor-fired-pro-palestinian-protests
12/3/25
Part of genocide is erasing the culture of the population under attack. In targeting important historical sites, the Israeli military attempted to eradicate a sense of belonging for Palestinians in Gaza. Killing individuals destroys lives. Killing cultural treasures aims to destroy an entire civilization.
The sites destroyed "include Gaza's most important cultural site, the great Omari Mosque in Gaza's Old City, which Israeli forces struck during the war to destroy what they said was a tunnel under its grounds used by fighters. Palestinians say there is no sign of such a tunnel there, and blame Israel for blasting apart the enclave's religious and cultural heritage."
Despite the Israeli government's attempt to eradicate Palestinian culture in Gaza, those who have survived vow to reclaim their heritage.
"If the occupation (Israel) believes that by destroying these buildings it can erase the history of this people, it is mistaken."
-Hamuda al-Dahdar, an architect and heritage expert at the Centre for Cultural Preservation, which is based in the West Bank city of Bethlehem
Unsurprisingly, the Israeli military claims they "minimized" destruction of historic sights and civilian populations. I don't know who could possibly believe that. Actions are far louder than words. Based on recent news of Israelis evicting Palestinians from their homes and land in East Jerusalem because Yemeni Jews lived there beforehand, I'm a little surprised Israel even made the claim that it endeavored to not destroy Palestinian cultural heritage. I'm sure right-wing nutjobs in Netanyahu's government were happy these historical sites were destroyed because Jews were there at some point. You can't claim everything is yours because ancestors in your religion were there at some point. Palestinians were there too.
"Sites of cultural heritage and locations of historical and cultural significance are treated with the utmost sensitivity by the IDF and constitute a central consideration in the planning of strikes, with the aim of minimising harm to these sites and to the civilian population," the Israel Defense Forces said.
And as someone who works for a museum that was severely impacted by a disaster, obviously under very different circumstances, it breaks my heart that a local museum and its priceless collection were completely erased.
"Also lying in ruins is the Pasha's Palace, a landmark partly dating back to the 13th century, which housed a museum whose treasures are now gone."
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gazans-race-preserve-cultural-heritage-damaged-war-2025-12-03/
Then, on the other side of colonized Palestine, the violence continues to escalate. Foreigners have volunteered to go to the West Bank in allyship to attempt to shelter besieged Palestinians from attacks by Israeli terrorists who have illegally stolen Palestinian land are are using violence to take more land and support their government's genocide.
"Three Italians and a Canadian were attacked early on Sunday morning in the village of Ein al-Duyuk, near Jericho, where they had volunteered to help protect the Palestinian population from intensifying settler violence."
This is violence Palestinians in the West Bank live with daily. It's not about heroizing the foreign volunteers, it's about witnessing the constant harassment, intimidation, and violence Palestinians experience in their own land and standing in solidarity with a civilian population who is being made the victim of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
"The woman, who did not want her name published for safety reasons, added: 'This is not about us. We were beaten for 15 minutes. Palestinians here endure this violence every day, every hour, a thousand-fold.'”
And Israel claims it's the Palestinians who are the terrorists. It is the Israelis who are terrorists. The Israeli government doesn't even pretend to hold criminal settlers accountable for their crimes.
"Villagers and activists say there has been no meaningful police intervention to stop the attacks or dismantle the [illegal] outpost."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/01/italian-canadian-volunteers-beaten-robbed-israeli-settlers-west-bank
12/2/25
The Israeli government is continuing its takeover of Palestinian land in East Jerusalem and the West Bank by evicting Palestinians who have lived there all their lives. Why? The argument is that the land that is now the majority-Palestinian neighborhood of Batn al-Hawa was occupied by Yemeni Jews who were evacuated by British authorities in the 1930s. The Israeli government says it doesn't matter who lives there now, the rightful inhabitants were the Jews who were forced to leave in the 1930s. But who lived there before then?
“We know what the decision will be … but we are going to fight anyway. I think within the month all 52 of us will have to find somewhere else to live.” -Zohair Rajabi, who will likely be evicted from land his grandfather bought in East Jerusalem in 1965.
"Ir Amim, a Jerusalem-based NGO active in Batn al-Hawa, said Rajabi and his family were among 34 families, numbering some 175 people, who face 'imminent displacement and settler takeover of their homes.' If carried out, this could lead to 'the largest expulsion and coordinated state and settler takeover of a Palestinian neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem since 1967,' said Amy Cohen, a spokesperson for Ir Amim."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/01/i-have-been-defeated-hundreds-of-palestinians-face-eviction-from-east-jerusalem
11/27/25
https://theintercept.com/2025/11/27/gaza-thanksgiving-family/
11/26/25
An interesting opinion piece in The Guardian today. It provides information on the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges sanctioned by the US for issuing an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu. I also didn't realize that the ICC has jurisdiction in Israel not because Israel is party to the treaty that formed the ICC, but instead because Palestine is party to it and Israel occupies Palestine.
"Only because Palestine acceded to the court a decade ago does the ICC now have jurisdiction over crimes committed on its territory or by its citizens."
I also didn't know that two US agencies made the determination in 2024 that Israel was withholding humanitarian aid, which is a war crime, while failing to stop the flow of weapons to a terrorist state that this determination should have triggered.
"In spring 2024, two US government agencies concluded that Israel was deliberately blocking humanitarian aid – an assessment that, according to US legislation, required halting all arms transfers. The US government disregarded its own law."
What is not surprising is that the US supports Israel's defiance of international law. This is because the US (and Israel too) believes it is above being held accountable for its actions around the world. The American government perceives that it alone can determine what is right and wrong and police everyone else and that its own "benevolence" makes it exempt from being policed by anyone else. And Israel follows the US' lead in applying this logic to itself.
"The obliteration of Gaza, the indiscriminate killing of its people, the systematic targeting of civilian infrastructure – we could go on – has led to a consensus among genocide scholars that Israel is committing genocide. But for the US and its allies, maintaining Israel’s impunity matters more than preserving any semblance of an international order."
The goal is clear with regard to Israel's impunity: enable the erosion of US support for Israel. With out the staunch support of the US, Israel would not have been able to carry out its genocidal campaign (which continues despite the ceasefire). Holding the US accountable is far more challenging, but perhaps if the erosion of US support for Israel can be achieved, maybe, just maybe, progress can be made toward a stronger global system of international justice. How many thousands in Palestine and elsewhere have to be slaughtered between today and that prospective future?
"The US regards Israel as an indispensable strategic asset, which is why it is the biggest ever recipient of US foreign aid, including military assistance. Washington will keep supplying the weapons that enable Israeli war crimes – and then threaten anyone who tries to hold the perpetrators to account."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/26/israel-international-law-donald-trump-us-sanction-judge
11/25/25
In The Guardian today was a UN report that the destruction of Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank have decimated the Palestinian economy. It will take at least a generation to undo the destruction of the last two years.
"The UN’s trade and development agency (Unctad) said in a report that Israel’s military operations had 'significantly undermined every pillar of survival” and that the entire population of 2.3 million people faced “extreme, multidimensional impoverishment'... The report also found that 'violence, accelerated settlement expansion and restrictions on worker mobility' had 'decimated the economy' in the West Bank."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/25/rebuilding-human-made-abyss-gaza-un
Also, an Al Jazeera article today continued to analyze the worsening state of affairs in the West Bank.
“We are witnessing the total abandonment of Palestinian lives. Israel has already shown it is capable of far greater violence, as we are seeing in the Gaza Strip. The situation in the West Bank is deteriorating by the day and will only worsen, because there is no internal or external mechanism to restrain Israel or stop its ongoing policy of ethnic cleansing. The international community must put an end to Israel’s impunity and hold those responsible for crimes against the Palestinian people to account.”
-Yuli Novak, Israeli human rights group B’Tselem’s executive director
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law. Unsurprisingly, Israel doesn't care it is violating international law. They just say they're not breaking the law and leave it at that, because no one, particularly the US, will hold them accountable.
"More than 700,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem."
Last week, the international nonprofit organization Human Rights Watch both drew attention to and denounced Israel's forced displacement of Palestinians by bulldozing their homes in three West Bank refugee camps.
"According to Israel’s military spokesperson, the demolitions were carried out for 'operational necessity', and residents were allowed to submit objections and petitions to Israel’s Supreme Court. All such petitions, including those claiming that Israel’s actions breached international humanitarian law, have been rejected."
Again, no accountability. The Israeli government makes excuses for their behavior by claiming Palestinians have the "right" to contest its actions at the high level of the country's supreme court even though it knows these same Palestinians won't be heard. This is continuing genocide, plain and simple.
"Palestinians say the attacks are part of an attempt by settlers to make life increasingly unbearable for the indigenous population, and eventually force them out."
The 4th Geneva Convention, to which Israel is party, specifies (in article 27) that occupying powers have a duty to protect civilians “against all acts of violence or threats thereof.” Article 29 specifically states that an occupying power is responsible for ensuring civilians’ protection even if the abuse is committed by private individuals who are allowed to act with impunity. Article 42 prohibits violence, intimidation, or persecution of protected persons. Articles 45 and 49 prohibit "forcible transfer," which includes pressuring inhabitants to exit their homes through intimidation or other coercion. Israel voted in favor of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007, which says states must prevent “any form of forced assimilation or destruction of their culture,” and must not permit actions that dispossess them of land or resources. Harassment that makes daily life unbearable can amount to cultural destruction or forced displacement. In 1991, Israel ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which outlines that occupying powers must ensure right to life, security, and non-discrimination as well as banning cruel/inhumane treatment.
And does the state of Israel give two shits that it is flagrantly violating international treaties and mechanisms it itself has voted for, agreed to, and ratified? Clearly not. This is the result of a self-supremacy mindset institutionalized into governmental policy. The Israeli government rationalizes that these international laws only apply if another entity is persecuting Israelis or Jews. If the Israelis or Jews are the ones doing the persecuting, this is apparently not a violation of international law in the minds of Israeli politicians. Does it make sense? No. Is it hypocritical? Absolutely. And does it matter that this doesn't make sense and is hypocritical? Only if someone is capable and willing to hold Israel accountable.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/25/israels-push-to-displace-thousands-from-the-occupied-west-bank
11/21/25
There continue to be violations of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Both sides are guilty of these violations. And yet, the killing is disproportionate as it has been throughout the last two years. The number of Israelis killed by Hamas is 1% of the number of Palestinians killed by Israel since 10/10/25.
"Since Wednesday, medical staff in northern and southern Gaza have treated women and children with open fractures and gunshot wounds to their limbs and heads."
In addition to the numerical disproportionality, there's also an imbalance between combatants and civilians. All Israelis killed by Hamas since the ceasefire went into effect have been soldiers. The death toll on the Palestinian side has been overwhelmingly civilian. While the Gaza Health Ministry, whose reporting on deaths is considered legitimate by the UN and other international groups, does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, I believe it is fair to assume that children aren't combatants. Unsurprisingly, the Israeli government says it does not target civilians and that only "terrorists" are targeted. I don't think the nine year old girl mentioned in the article who was shot in the face was a terrorist. And anyway, how can anyone take such Israeli claims seriously. The Israeli government has shown time and again that it is indeed targeting civilians, not just in Gaza, but also the West Bank.
"Israel's military has said that since October 10 it has killed individuals it described as 'terrorists' crossing the yellow line, and carried out strikes it has said were in retaliation for attacks on its soldiers."
This "yellow line" that the Israeli military has withdrawn to in Gaza as part of the ceasefire terms is a new and artificial boundary. Palestinians in Gaza have been forcibly displaced multiple times over the last two years. Many are trapped on one side of the line when their home and/or family is on the other. The Israeli military kills anyone approaching the yellow line regardless of whether they're 9 or 90 years old.
"According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 312 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli military since October 11... Israel's military says three of its soldiers have been killed in attacks in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire."
Israel continues to punish the entire Palestinian population as retribution for attacks by Hamas. Holding a civilian group based not on who they are as individuals, but who they are as a group responsible for actions by combatants is very clearly a genocidal act and a crime against humanity. The 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines genocide as certain acts (including killing) committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Israel signed the Convention on August 17, 1949, and ratified it on March 9, 1950. Geneva Convention IV (1949) – Article 33 says “No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.” Israel signed Geneva Convention IV on 8 December 1949 and ratified it on 6 July 1951. Israel is committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and terrorism that violate international law that Israel itself has formally committed to not doing.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-women-children-injured-by-israeli-military-during-shaky-ceasefire-msf-says-2025-11-21/
11/20/25
A report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) was recently published documenting the Israeli government's crimes against humanity in the West Bank. While it touches on many subjects, the main focus is on Israel's forced removal of Palestinians and the destruction of their homes.
"32,000 residents of Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps were forcibly displaced by Israeli forces during 'Operation Iron Wall' in January and February. The displaced have been barred from returning, and hundreds of homes were demolished."
As per usual, the Israeli government claimed it conducted these forced removals and demolitions as defense against terrorism. This is not defensive, it is offensive. And the Israeli government itself is a terrorist organization.
"The Israeli military said in a statement to Reuters on Wednesday that it needed to demolish civilian infrastructure so that it could not be exploited by militants."
The removals and demolitions were conducted with no advance warning and the Israeli government offered no shelter. 32,000 civilians were chased out of their homes in their own land.
"The report describes soldiers storming homes, ransacking property and ordering families out via loudspeakers mounted on drones. It said residents reported bulldozers razing buildings as they fled and that Israeli forces offered no shelter or aid, leaving families to crowd into relatives’ homes or seek refuge in mosques, schools and charities."
These are not mansions the Palestinians were living in, they were refugee camps Palestinians were forced into by Israel roughly 75 years ago. While the camps were insufficient, it is the only home these people have known.
HRW "found more than 850 structures destroyed or heavily damaged, while a U.N. assessment put the figure at 1,460 buildings. The camps, established in the 1950s for Palestinians displaced with Israel's founding in 1948, had housed generations of refugees."
In addition to crimes against humanity, HRW accuses the Israeli government of war crimes because of the link between increasing Israeli government aggression against Palestinians in the West Bank and their genocidal campaign in Gaza. To be clear, Israel's actions in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, etc. are all one campaign of terror and genocide.
Since 10/7/23, "Israeli forces have killed nearly 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, expanded detention without trial, demolished homes and accelerated settlement building, while settler violence and torture of detainees have surged."
All of you western governments who symbolically recognized the state of Palestine a couple months ago: what more are you waiting for? Israel's atrocities could not be clearer and still you waffle about sanctions, military sales, intelligence sharing, and economic cooperation with Israel. Sanction the terror regime now!
"HRW urged governments to impose targeted sanctions on Israeli officials and commanders, suspend arms sales and trade benefits, ban settlement goods and enforce International Criminal Court warrants."
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/human-rights-watch-accuses-israel-war-crimes-west-bank-expulsions-2025-11-20/
11/19/25
Israel's prime role in Middle East destabilization continues with aggressive actions in Syria and Lebanon.
Israel infiltrated a UN monitoring zone in Syria, which infuriated the new Syrian government, understandably so as it is part of Syria's territory. This Al Jazeera article discusses a fiery exchange between ambassadors to the UN from Syria and Israel.
"During the Security Council meeting, Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, did not directly address Netanyahu’s visit but instead lectured Syria’s ambassador. 'Show us that Syria is moving away from extremism and radicalism, that the protection of Christians and Jews is not an afterthought but a priority. Show us that the militias are restrained and justice is real and the cycle of indiscriminate killings has ended,' Danon said."
My response to Danon: "Show us that Israel is moving away from extremism and radicalism, that the protection of Arabs and Muslims is not an afterthought but a priority. Show us that the IDF and Israeli settlers are restrained and justice is real and the cycle of indiscriminate killings has ended." Syria doesn't need to show you shit. Israel is the one being aggressive, not Syria, and Israel is the one violating another country's sovereignty in addition to international law.
The reaction of Syria's ambassador: “The proving, Mr Ambassador, tends to be on your shoulders. You have struck Syria more than 1,000 times, and we have responded with requests for diplomacy … and responded with zero signs of aggression towards Israel. … We have engaged constructively. and we still await for you to do the same.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/19/syria-condemns-israeli-pm-netanyahus-illegal-visit-to-seized-territory
The Guardian reported today that evidence of Israel recently using cluster munitions (bombs that explode across broad geographic areas with smaller bombs, always leading to indiscriminate killing of civilians--the US used them in Vietnam, for example) has been proven in southern Lebanon.
"Israel used widely banned cluster munitions in its recent 13-month war in Lebanon, photos of munition remnants in south Lebanon seen by the Guardian suggest."
These bombs, like the unexploded ordnances in Gaza, will continue to kill Lebanese civilians for generations, a vicious "gift" from the racist, genocidal, warmongering state of Israel to future humans.
About cluster munitions:
"Cluster munitions are container bombs which release many smaller submunitions, small 'bomblets', over a wide area the size of several football fields. The use of cluster munitions is widely banned as up to 40% of submunitions do not explode upon impact, posing a danger to civilians who might later stumble upon them and be killed when they explode. To date, 124 states have joined the convention on cluster munitions, which forbids their use, production and transfer. Israel is not a party to the convention and is not bound by it. 'We believe the use of cluster munitions is always in conflict with a military’s duty to respect international humanitarian law because of their indiscriminate nature at time of use and afterwards,' said Tamar Gabelnick, the director of the Cluster Munition Coalition. 'Their wide area impact means they cannot distinguish between military and civilian targets and the cluster munition remnants kill and maim civilians for decades after use.'”
And here comes the hypocrisy. Israel itself has called another country that uses cluster munitions a "terror regime." Israeli government: you yourself are a terror regime. One terrorist government calling another terrorist government a terrorist is stupid and pointless.
"Despite not being a party to the convention, Israeli officials condemned Iran’s use of cluster munitions in Israel during this summer’s 12-day war. 'The terror regime seeks to harm civilians and even used weapons with wide dispersal in order to maximise the scope of damage,' said the Israeli military spokesperson, Brig Gen Effie Defrin, after an Iranian strike used cluster munitions in populated areas in southern Israel."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/19/israel-used-widely-banned-cluster-munitions-in-lebanon-photos-of-remnants-suggest
11/18/25
There was an important opinion piece in The Guardian today by Yuli Novak, executive director of the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. It includes an acknowledgment that hundreds of Palestinian civilians have been killed by the Israeli military since the ceasefire went into effect.
"more than 200 civilians have been killed since the ceasefire supposedly went into effect"
Novak outlines the actions that amount to genocide and, more importantly, identifies the conditions that enabled genocide.
"Palestinians in Gaza were bombed, then forcibly displaced, then deliberately starved. More than 68,000 people were killed, a third of them children and women. This number might be much higher, with tens of thousands more who are still missing. Hundreds of thousands were injured. Hospitals and journalists were systematically targeted. Children buried alive under rubble. Entire familial lines erased. Infrastructure demolished. Israeli officials openly stated the goal: to destroy Gaza and make it uninhabitable. By textbook definition, this is genocide: the deliberate targeting of people not for who they are as individuals, but because they are members of a group marked for destruction. The origin of this genocide didn’t begin on 7 October 2023, nor did it end with the ceasefire deal. Its roots lie in decades of Israeli military rule over Palestinians, apartheid, impunity and dehumanization, driven by a system built to ensure Jewish supremacy over the entire land."
To dismantle the power at the center of a genocidal campaign, the perpetrator must be named.
"A growing movement of citizens is rising, not only against the genocide, but against the system that enables it. That system must be named: a regime of violent control over millions marked as inferior. An apartheid regime, led by an Israeli government that embraces racism, empowers settler militias to terrorize West Bank communities, runs torture camps holding thousands of Palestinians without trial, and carries out daily war crimes."
The system enabling the Israel government's genocide of Palestinians has been developing over decades. Not holding the Israeli government accountable communicates to other genocidal regimes that they can get away with it too: Sudan and Myanmar are only two of many examples.
"When one nation is allowed to erase another without consequence, it tells future governments: you can do this too – and get away with it."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/18/israel-accountability-gaza-genocide
Another important article in The Guardian today accounts for the violent Israeli settler terrorist attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank. This is a major component of the overall genocide and its intensity has become more acute since the 10/10 ceasefire. In a genocide, those targeted are terrorized and are intentionally made to be afraid.
"In Beit Lid, Mahmoud Edeis said he wanted merely 'to feel that my children are safe, that when I go to sleep I can say: OK, there’s nothing [to worry about]. But at any moment something could happen … This can’t go on. It can’t be that we keep living our whole lives in a state of fear and danger.'”
Israeli government officials have stated publicly, shockingly, that these attacks are unacceptable, but the only reason they are doing so is because settlers also attacked businesses and Israeli soldiers in addition to Palestinians.
"Criticism by top Israeli officials of violence by settlers and their supporters is extremely rare. Palestinians and human rights campaigners say Israeli authorities make little effort to control settlers in the West Bank, with only one in 20 investigations opened into settler violence ending with charges and even fewer leading to convictions."
This is what impunity looks like. Saying that something is unacceptable means nothing if the government doesn't prosecute and punish these terrorists. Many outsiders have tried to enter the West Bank to monitor the violence, protect Palestinians, and help farmers harvest, but the Israeli government has stopped those efforts. While it doesn't prosecute or punish settler terrorists for harming Palestinians, it does detain and deport those seeking to aid Palestinians. This is part of genocide too.
"On Friday, Israeli authorities stopped hundreds of Israeli activists and volunteers from reaching the village of Burin, where they were to assist Palestinians with their olive harvest. Authorities have repeatedly blocked such efforts. Hanna Uihlein, a UK-based volunteer, was among a group of more than 30 volunteers from Europe and the US who were held in prison for between 36 hours and five days by Israeli authorities after being detained near Nablus last month. All were eventually deported, accused of violating the conditions of their tourist visas. 'We were there to observe and protect … We were treated as criminals and the whole experience was dehumanising. It was also very clear from the beginning that it was strategic – to intimidate, deter and prevent any form of solidarity with Palestinian farmers,' she said."
Terrorizing an entire population so they live in fear, not doing anything to stop the attacks, denying volunteered assistance to those attacked, and destruction of economic opportunities are all acts of genocide.
"The revenue from olives in the West Bank is now a fraction of the $130m (£99m) that it was annually before the war, compounding a deep economic crisis. About 110,000 farmers in the West Bank directly profit from the olive harvest with another 50,000 people earning much of their livelihood from working with the trees and produce."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/18/west-bank-surge-settler-violence-israel-palestine
11/17/25
Israeli settler terrorists' violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, a key component to Israel's genocide, continues to escalate.
"In violence on Monday, Israelis torched homes and vehicles in Jab'a, a Palestinian village near Bethlehem after an earlier attack on property and civilians in the village of Sa’ir."
The Israeli government makes hollow statements of "concern" about these attacks, likely only because the US is closely monitoring Israel's conduct. Once the US government gets distracted or loses interest, the Israeli government will go back to silence and inaction, as they've done all along, with regard to these terror attacks.
"I view with great severity the violent disturbances and the attempt to take the law into their own hands by a small, extremist group." -Benjamin Netanyahu
Netanyahu, your words are meaningless. Your previous silence and inaction speak much louder. It has been well documented that the Israeli military stands idly by while Israeli settlers attack Palestinians in their own land. Often, the military only gets involved when Palestinians defend themselves and it's not to help Palestinians. In those circumstances, the Israeli military aids the settlers in their attacks by joining in on the violent assaults or detaining Palestinians as if they were the criminals. No settler terrorists have been charged with crimes. The vast majority aren't even arrested.
"the Palestinian cabinet urged the international community to act swiftly to halt attacks they said were carried out with the protection and support of the Israeli government in violation of international law."
These terrorist settlements in the West Bank violate international law. Ministers in the Israeli government actively encourage settler violence, which is why these statements are meaningless. Last month, there were more than 250 individual instances of settler violence against Palestinians, a record high. The Israeli government has not done anything before. Why believe them now? There is zero accountability and settler terrorists are following the lead of their own government who views Palestinians as worthless insects to be exterminated. Netanyahu, take a look in the mirror. You are a terrorist. If you want to do something about this violence, start with yourself and your racist, right-wing nutjob ministers: Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Israel Katz.
"This month, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said settlers staged at least 264 attacks on Palestinians in October — the highest monthly tally since the U.N. began tracking incidents in 2006."
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/netanyahu-vows-crackdown-israeli-violence-after-attacks-palestinian-villages-2025-11-17/
11/14/25
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3dn3g4jdxjo
11/13/25
No action is too small. Stand up against apartheid and genocide. Do something.
"'Boycott is one of the most effective and enduring efforts that one can take to fight a militarized, overtly violent, three-headed monster of a system,' blues poet Aja Monet, one of the participants, tells NPR. 'We're in a place where capitalism rules everything. The most effective thing we can do is to be strategic about where we put our resources.'"
"'As a U.S citizen, I have a connection to this genocide that is happening using my tax dollars. As a musician, I am sensitive — I think that is necessary for making art,' composer and singer-songwriter Julia Holter, another participant in the campaign, said in a statement shared with NPR. 'Every day for over a year and a half now, we have seen horror stories abound in Gaza, and every malnourished baby I see with horrific injuries, every mother or father I see hovered over their child targeted by a sniper makes me think of my child, makes me think of anyone I have ever loved. I feel a responsibility to do something, however small it may be.'"
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/13/nx-s1-5599908/no-music-for-genocide-israel-boycott
11/12/25
Israeli settler terrorists in the West Bank continue their campaign of violence in the West Bank. At least 1,000 Palestinians have been killed. No one knows how many have been injured, because the Israeli officials care so little about Palestinians, they don't even bother to keep records. In many cases, the Israeli military join in on the assaults or at least turn a blind eye.
"Israeli settler violence has surged since the war in Gaza started two years ago, with at least 1,001 Palestinians killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem by settlers and Israeli soldiers."
The Israeli president's "rare" statement condemning the recent attack reminds me of when Trump declared there were "good people on both sides" after white supremacists committed terrorism during his first presidential term.
"In a rare statement on Wednesday, the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, condemned the latest attacks, saying the 'shocking and serious' incident had been carried out by a 'handful' of perpetrators. He called for authorities to 'act decisively to eradicate the phenomenon and to strengthen the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] fighters and security forces who protect us day and night1."
Israeli police and soldiers have been caught on camera standing by as settlers attack Palestinians in the West Bank. They only involve themselves if Palestinians fight back and even then their involvement is only to then attack the Palestinians defending themselves.
"Israeli police and armed forces are regularly filmed standing by as settlers carry out acts of violence against Palestinians, intervening only if Palestinians fight back."
The only reason the Israeli president even said anything is because the settlers then attacked Israeli military personnel and equipment and a business. How can anyone claim Israel is not committing genocide?
"The Israeli army said soldiers had responded to Tuesday’s settler attacks, causing the settlers to flee to a nearby industrial zone, where they attacked soldiers and damaged a military vehicle."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/12/israeli-settlers-new-attack-violence-west-bank-palestinians
In other news today, two Palestinian kids in Gaza were seriously injured by an unexploded ordnance while they were scavenging for anything that could possibly help their family.
"Whatever it was, the boys reasoned, maybe it could help their families in some way. 'When we brought it back to the tent,' says Zain, 'the adults said, ‘Go return that to where you found it,’ so my cousin tossed it, and then it exploded.'"
And the medical system in Gaza is mostly nonoperational, leaving little to help the children. One of the kid's scalps was ripped open. There weren't even painkillers to give the boys.
"Their hair is covered in dust and their bodies are blackened by the blast. Dime-sized scabs from the black pellet shrapnel cover their little bodies. The larger reddish wounds ooze white pus. Joud’s scalp was ripped open and sewed shut with rudimentary stitches. 'When we arrived to the hospital, it was out of painkillers and there weren’t many doctors to help us,' says Mohammad Nour. 'Finally we found some medicine and were able to clean their wounds, but because there aren’t any surgeons left in northern Gaza, we’re waiting for operations to remove the rest of the shrapnel from their bodies.'”
Gaza is littered with unexploded bombs, a vicious "gift" from the Israeli government to ensure Palestinians continue to be killed under the ceasefire.
"The United Nations Mine Action Service estimates between 5% and 10% of Israeli weapons fired into Gaza in the past two years have failed to detonate, leaving behind unexploded ordnance that has killed at least 328 people."
The vast majority of specialists who can identify, diffuse, and safely dispose of unexploded bombs were killed by the Israeli military, so that Palestinians in Gaza will continue to be killed or injured by these devices for years, maybe even generations.
“The problem is 90% of my colleagues who were capable of defusing these bombs have been killed in Israeli attacks.” -Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Civil Defense in Gaza
And because unexploded bombs are considered part of the disarmament of Hamas, the Israeli military will kill those seen handling any of these devices. So, if the devices themselves don't kill, the Israeli military will. What are Palestinians in Gaza supposed to do? They have no homes, no food, no healthcare, no schools, no infrastructure, no sense of safety or security. They are so desperate for anything to better their situation, just to get blown up by one of these devices or shot for nearing one. The genocide continues despite the ceasefire.
"A high-ranking official in the unexploded ordnance division of Gaza's interior ministry who is not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan, unexploded bombs are being treated as part of the disarmament of Hamas because Hamas often recycles these bombs to be used against Israel. As such, this official said, Israel’s military is targeting any Gaza civilians who try to handle Gaza’s unexploded bombs."
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/12/g-s1-96887/gaza-unexploded-ordnance-uxo-israel
11/11/25
Do we see a pattern here? Arab governments are reluctant to commit troops without there being a Palestinian police and governance and pathway to an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. Israel rejects any possibility of a Palestinian state, Turkey’s involvement in a transitional force, and any involvement from the Palestinian Authority in Gaza’s future government. There will be no peace until Israel has no say in anything about Palestine. And that is exactly what Israel is counting on. It’s hoping Hamas refuses to disarm (because it will only do so if there’s a Gaza governed by Palestinians and path to statehood, both of which Israel refuses to let happen) to show to the US that there’s no alternative to war. This is to encourage the US to cease its involvement so that Israel can continue its genocide unimpeded.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/partition-gaza-looming-risk-trumps-plan-falters-2025-11-11/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/11/israel-attacks-palestine-water
I am so disgusted by what Israel is doing behind the "yellow line" it has withdrawn to as part of the ceasefire. The Israeli military is completely demolishing the few buildings still standing in Gaza.
"Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in areas of Gaza that have remained under its control since the ceasefire with Hamas started on 10 October, satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify show."
This is yet another violation of the ceasefire.
"US President Donald Trump's 20 point peace plan for Gaza - the basis for the ceasefire - stated 'all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended'... We looked at buildings destroyed behind the Yellow Line - a boundary running along the north, south and east of Gaza. Under October's ceasefire deal Israel agreed to withdraw its forces to that marker, annotated by a yellow line on maps released by the IDF. Many of the razed buildings did not appear to be damaged prior to being destroyed."
There is an active campaign by the Israeli government to destroy the lives of Palestinians. Imagine if your home was one of the few still standing after two years of war and it gets demolished after the ceasefire is in effect. Israel has taken everything from Palestinians. It continues to punish the entire Palestinian population for the actions of Hamas on 10/7/23.
"Lana Khalil used to live in Abasan al-Kabira before she was displaced to nearby al-Mawasi. She described her home as being a 'heaven' and full of 'farms and vegetables'. Now, like so many other parts of Gaza, the area has been reduced to rubble. 'The Israeli military left nothing to us, they demolished everything,' she said. Ms Khalil added that former residents could hear the demolition of the area 'from our tents in al-Mawasi'."
The Israeli military is saying they can do whatever they want behind their "yellow line." It is clear Israel will continue its genocide in any way they can get away with.
"Eitan Shamir, ex-head of the National Security Doctrine Department in the Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs, suggested that the IDF's actions were not a violation of the ceasefire terms, arguing that they don't apply to areas of the Strip behind the Yellow Line. Verified videos showing controlled demolitions and excavators tearing down buildings published to social media since the ceasefire have also been geolocated to areas behind the Yellow Line."
The Israeli government is overtly expecting the fighting will resume, so it is sabotaging any prospect for actual peace. This is so outrageous! Trump, what the fuck are you doing? Israel is basically just waiting for you to lose interest and allow this genocide to continue. Do something!
"Mr Shamir denied the IDF was breaching the ceasefire. He told BBC Verify that according to his sources within the IDF there was a view that: 'Hamas is allowed to do what it wants in the territory it controls, and Israel is allowed to do what it wants in the territory it controls.' The IDF was taking the view that it was unlikely Hamas would follow through with the second stage of the agreement, according to his sources. 'Therefore, the space must be prepared for the continuation of the fighting, so as not to leave [them] any options to ambush our soldiers.'"
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mxylxw48yo
11/10/25
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/10/israeli-soldiers-breaking-ranks-gaza-civilians-human-shields
11/6/25
With a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, watched closely by the US, the Israeli government is channeling their aggression north toward Hezbollah in Lebanon. There's supposedly a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that was agreed to a year ago. Since the US doesn't seem to care, Israel continuously violates the ceasefire.
"Fears have been mounting in Lebanon that Israel could resume a full-blown aerial bombing campaign, particularly after Israeli leaders warned they would take action against Hezbollah if Lebanon did not step up efforts to disarm the group."
It's laughable that Israel "insists" on the enforcement of the ceasefire, because Israel is the only side violating it.
"'Israel will continue to defend all of its borders, and we continue also to insist on the full enforcement of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel,' Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told reporters on Thursday."
While Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, so is the Israeli government. It's notable that Hezbollah has not fired on Israeli forces since the ceasefire was agreed to, despite constant antagonization from Israel.
"Hezbollah said on Thursday it was committed to the ceasefire, but that it retained a "legitimate right" to resist Israel. It has refused to disarm in full, but has not obstructed the army's efforts in the south and has not fired on Israel since the truce deal came into force last year."
The Lebanese government has been working to demilitarize Hezbollah. They would be making more progress if Israel stopped attacking.
"The army has said it could clear all of southern Lebanon of arms outside of state control by the end of the year. Two senior Lebanese security officials told Reuters hours before the heavy strikes on Thursday that their troops were making swifter progress every month on disarmament."
Again, Israel continues to be the single greatest contributor to the destabilization of its region.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-warns-residents-three-southern-lebanon-villages-evacuate-2025-11-06/
11/5/25
There's a supposed "yellow line" marking the boundary between the half of Gaza controlled by Israel and the half back under Hamas control. Ceasefire violations stem almost exclusively from interactions at this invisible boundary. Like the Palestinians killed by the Israeli military trying to access food distribution sites pre-ceasefire, the Israeli military shoots at anything that approaches them, because displaced people trying to return to their destroyed homes are supposedly threatening.
"Envisioned under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which was brokered in part by President Donald Trump, the line has become a flashpoint as Palestinians have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of opening fire on people near the border that marks off more than half of the territory. The United Nations human rights office said in a statement Tuesday that it had 'recorded continued daily shootings by the Israeli military of Palestinians in the vicinity of the Israeli forces’ redeployment line in Gaza, which remains unclear on the ground.' Some Palestinians say they have been unable to return to their homes on the Israeli side of the yellow line."
The Israeli military's perspective on why they think the fighting will resume:
“Hamas is a terror organization. Hamas will keep trying, and this is part of their mentality as a jihadi terror organization.” -Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, Israeli military spokesperson
My perspective on why the fighting will resume: The Israeli government is a terror organization. It will keep trying to finish its genocide of the Palestinians as soon as the US puts its blinders back on. This is part of the mentality of the Israeli government as a genocidal terror organization.
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/gaza/israel-defense-forces-gaza-yellow-line-outpost-rcna242118
11/4/25
The "agreement" between Israel and Hamas is that Hamas releases the remains of one of its Israeli hostages that Israel releases 15 of its Palestinian hostages (let's call them what they are: the Palestinians Israel has been detaining without charge are leverage against Hamas and are, therefore, hostages no different from those Hamas abducted on 10/7/23).
"Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians in exchange for the return of the remains of one Israeli hostage and has now handed over the bodies of 270 Palestinians to authorities in Gaza, all unidentified and many of them badly decomposed."
When Hamas is slow to deliver remains due to Gaza being in near total ruin or releases the remains of someone who is found to not be one of the Israeli hostages, Israel accuses Hamas of violating the ceasefire and uses that as justification for attacking Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Let's pause to acknowledge something. Israel expects Hamas to know the identities of corpses buried under the territory Israel destroyed while there's minimal medical examination capability in Gaza because its health system has basically collapsed as a result of Israel's aggression and most medical supplies and equipment and medical professionals are not allowed into Gaza. On the flip side, Israel dumps the bodies of Palestinians with zero information as to the identities of the corpses, the cause of death, the origin of these people, or the reason they were taken hostage, despite Israel having one of the strongest medical examination capabilities in the region. This is not only the definition of hypocrisy, but also validates accusations of Israel committing genocide. In all genocides, the perpetrator refers to its victims as sub-human. In recording or publicizing no information about the bodies of its deceased Palestinian corpses, the neglect of Israel to even bother with any records shows it regards Palestinians as a sub-species to be exterminated (meaning genocide).
"Gaza’s health system has been largely destroyed during the two-year conflict and authorities there have struggled to identify remains returned by Israel without DNA kits or other specialist equipment... It is unclear if the Palestinians whose remains have been returned by Israel were killed inside Israel during the Hamas-led attack in 2023 that triggered the war, died in Israeli custody as detainees, or were recovered from Gaza by troops during the war."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/03/israel-remains-hostages-gaza-hamas
Today there was also an interesting article about Navi Pillay, the South African judge who chaired the UN commission that determined Israel was committing genocide of Palestinians. I'll quote a bit here:
"she says the current truce falls far short of a peace agreement. It fails, she says, to address the occupation that is the root cause of the conflict, or to grant a seat at the table for the Palestinian leadership. 'Palestinians have a right to self-determination. They know how to govern themselves. I wouldn’t even say they should be consulted: no, they should have the leading role here. The people for whom this matters most must be at the table.'"
While subtle, this is a profound acknowledgment that Israel's genocide was not triggered by the horrifically violent Hamas attack on 10/7/23. Pause to let that sink in for a moment. She identified the "occupation" as the "root cause of the conflict." While this may seem obvious to those who have been up on the Israel-Palestine conflict from long before the past 2 years, I think it is incredibly important to underscore for those not as familiar with the history here that the root of the conflict is Israel's occupation of Palestine. In 1948, what is now the state of Israel slaughtered Palestinians, stole their land, and pushed them to what are now Gaza and the West Bank. Israel has militarized the borders of Gaza and the West Bank and functionally made them cages. Palestinians in the West Bank can't even use some of the roads, because only Israeli settlers can use them and they can't fly out of the international airport in Tel Aviv (they have to trek to Jordan and be granted "permission" to leave the West Bank).
The occupation is the root cause of the conflict.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/04/world-must-fight-israel-genocide-gaza-like-aparthied-navi-pillay?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1
11/3/25
The Israeli military's "advocate general," Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, is receiving death threats as she admitted to leaking a video showing Israeli soldiers assaulting a Palestinian. She didn't do this as a whistleblower to show human rights abuses are happening, something everyone already knows is happening, she did it to try to ease criticism of Israeli lawyers investigating soldiers.
"Police in Israel have arrested and detained the military’s top legal officer after she admitted leaking footage of soldiers allegedly attacking a Palestinian detainee and then in effect lying about her actions to Israel’s high court."
Right-wing nut jobs in Israel are applauding the soldiers accused of human rights abuses. While I'm not surprised, I continue to be aghast. This is so blatantly wrong. Not only are most of these Palestinians being held hostage without be charged with a crime, the abuse of these men (again--who likely have done nothing wrong other than "walking while being Palestinian") is celebrated by these sick fucks. Some of them are elected politicians! I sincerely hope there are Israelis who recognize this is wrong and oppose these extreme politicians.
"Rightwing politicians and pundits championed soldiers detained over the case as 'heroes', attacked military investigators as traitors, and called for the case against the soldiers to be dropped."
A likely innocent Palestinian was hospitalized after being sodomized:
"In July 2024 prosecutors raided the Sde Teiman military detention centre, which has become notorious for torture, and detained 11 soldiers for interrogation. They were suspects in a violent assault on a Palestinian from Gaza, including anal rape. The victim was hospitalised with injuries including broken ribs, a punctured lung and rectal damage, according to the indictment, and Tomer-Yerushalmi launched an investigation."
And the perpetrators aren't being punished at all:
"five soldiers were charged with aggravated abuse and causing serious bodily harm. They have not been named and are currently not in custody or under any legal restrictions"
And the prosecution and death threats against the advocate general are effectively reducing the likelihood that there will be any accountability for human rights abuses. Not dissimilar to what's happening in the US, Israel appears to be careening into a fascist state (okay, maybe it already was one...) with its government not even pretending to be a democracy.
"Tomer-Yerushalemi subsequently refused to open or advance investigations into other cases of possible war crimes by the Israeli military, because of the pressure of public attacks over the case... Traditionally Israel’s government and military have considered the existence of an independent judiciary a crucial barrier to international legal tribunals investigating Israel for alleged abuses against Palestinians."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/03/israels-top-military-lawyer-arrested-after-she-admitted-leaking-video-of-soldiers-abuse
In other news, discussions continue about an "international stabilization force" to act as peacekeepers and their relationship to a Palestinian-run police and civilian government. One thing is clear: the Muslim-majority nations willing to devote troops to such a force will only do so if the US remains engaged, because Israel will sabotage any future of Gaza if left to its own devices.
"One western diplomat said he did not detect any resistance to the US being in the lead in the stabilisation force without needing boots on the ground. He said: 'I don’t think any of the countries will participate unless the Americans are heavily involved in a leadership role because otherwise people will think there is no constraint on the Israelis, frankly.'"
Thankfully, there appears to be consensus about the international force not governing Gaza as Palestinians should be entrusted to do that.
"Jordanian foreign minister, Ayman Safadi... said it was imperative to establish a deconfliction mechanism, adding: 'You cannot have the International Stabilization Force doing the policing of the Palestinian community.'”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/03/un-resolution-on-international-stabilisation-force-for-gaza-could-be-ready-within-two-weeks
And on the subject of that Palestinian governance, Egypt is facilitating a dialogue between different Palestinian groups. I had been wondering why Egypt seemed less involved in the discussion of being a part of the "international stabilization force". Maybe because they've been facilitating this inter-Palestinian dialogue? Egypt, a word of caution: preemptively take a defensive posture. If Israel attacked Qatar while mediating with Hamas, you can bet your ass they'll bomb Cairo while you're convening high-level talks between Palestinian movers and shakers. Don't assume that just because the US is involved that you won't be attacked by Israel. By announcing this inter-Palestinian summit, you are advertising to Israel an irresistible opportunity to kill virtually all Palestinian leaders in one attack. Tread cautiously and be on guard.
"The eight Palestinian factions and armed groups involved in the discussions — including most notably the Fatah party, which leads the Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank, and Hamas — are working to reach a consensus over key elements of an interim administration as early as this week, when they meet again in Cairo, according to Palestinian and other Arab officials and individuals involved in the talks. This spring, even as war in Gaza was still raging, Egyptian officials solicited from Hamas and Fatah the names of about 40 nonpartisan technocrats of Gazan origin. That formed the pool of candidates currently being considered for the committee."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/11/02/gaza-fatah-hamas-technocratic-committee/
10/31/25
As Trump pats himself on the back for his brokered ceasefire in Gaza, the true work of the Arab mediators is now becoming clearer. While I haven't seen much public recognition of Egypt's contribution to mediation between Hamas and Israel, it's clear the ceasefire would not have happened without what appears to be tireless efforts of Qatar.
"Qatar’s chief negotiator had not had more than two days off since 7 October, and the pressure of the work had led to colleagues being admitted to hospital, [Majed al-Ansari, adviser to Qatar’s prime minister and spokesperson for the foreign ministry] added. In September, pressure on Qatari negotiators reached an unprecedented peak when Israel fired missiles at a meeting in Doha of Hamas officials gathered to discuss the US ceasefire proposal... Ansari said the missiles were aimed at Hamas leaders, but the timing suggested Qatar’s diplomatic work on global conflicts was a secondary target. 'It was designed to push us out, not only out of these [Gaza] talks, but to push us out as an internationally trusted mediator,' he said. 'We were working on more than 10 mediations on the day of the attack'... Qatar underlined its diplomatic clout by concluding the first round of talks between Colombian factions and securing the release of an elderly British couple and an American citizen from Taliban captivity."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/31/gaza-no-war-no-peace-qatari-diplomat-majed-al-ansar-international-force-israeli-withdrawal
10/30/25
In addition to sporadic violations of the ceasefire with Hamas and ever-intensifying Israeli settler abuse of Palestinians in the West Bank, the Israeli government continues to destabilize the entire region by continuing to launch attacks in Lebanon.
"Lebanese state media identified the slain man as Ibrahim Salameh, an employee of the Blida municipality, a village near the border with Israel. The Israeli military confirmed the raid and said it was attacking Hezbollah infrastructure when it fired at a 'suspect'."
Like Qatar, Lebanon is a sovereign country. This doesn't stop Israeli from doing whatever it pleases. It claims its actions are justified as self-defense. Bombing Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, and Iran are not defensive actions, they are offensive actions. And killing 104 people in air strikes in Gaza as retaliation for one Israeli soldier being killed (in which which Hamas denied involvement) is an offensive action. Israel's actions are the most significantly destabilizing of the Middle East. What it doesn't seem to understand is that these offenses will end up increasing, not decreasing, the likelihood of future attacks on Israel. You can only provoke people so much before it bites you in the ass. Mark my words: Israel's destabilizing offensive actions today will result in more attacks on its population tomorrow.
"In the hours after the raid, Israel carried out airstrikes in Labouneh, in south-west Lebanon, and Israeli drones could be heard flying low over Beirut."
Case in point: Lebanon is positioning its military to defend its sovereignty. Given the Israeli government's reckless behavior so far, it's reasonable to assume Israel will stop attacking Lebanon just because the Lebanese military is, in addition to Hezbollah, will respond with defensive actions.
"The Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, condemned the raid and ordered the Lebanese army to confront Israeli soldiers in any future incursions on Lebanese territory. In a statement, Aoun instructed the army to 'confront any Israeli incursion into liberated southern territory, in defence of Lebanese territory and the safety of citizens'."
Israel is not only violating its ceasefire with Hamas, it is also violating its ceasefire with Hezbollah. What is the use of a ceasefire if it is repeatedly violated by one side of the agreement, the more powerful side?
"The raid and the killing occurred despite a November 2024 ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel which mandated the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the cessation of hostilities between both parties. Israel carries out near daily airstrikes on south Lebanon and the Bekaa valley despite the agreement, which it says is directed at preventing the rebuilding of Hezbollah. It has kept Israeli soldiers at five locations within Lebanon. Hezbollah has said it complies with the terms of the ceasefire deal."
Will no one hold Israel accountable for its blatant violations of international law? Come on European leaders! Your words recognizing a Palestinian state are meaningless if you don't sanction Israel for its reckless, violent, destabilizing offensive actions.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/30/lebanese-president-orders-army-to-confront-israeli-soldiers-after-municipal-worker-killed-in-raid
10/29/25
The Kingdom of Jordan has pressed the Trump administration to evacuate thousands of wounded children out of Gaza for treatment in their country. Only about 250 have been "permitted" to leave Gaza. Thousands need critical care not available because of the Israeli military's near eradication of a functioning medical system in Gaza. Israel won't allow more out because of "security reasons" and those reasons are not public. So, there's no telling if there really are security reasons or if Israel wants Palestinian children to suffer. Given how untrustworthy Israeli has been with negotiations with Hamas for a ceasefire (they bombed Qatar, a sovereign country that has been valiantly working as an intermediary between Israel, Hamas, and the US) and given broad global condemnation of Israel for committing genocide, I think it's more than fair to to assume Israel is not letting out more wounded children on purpose.
"253 children have been evacuated to Jordan. In all, more than 5,000 have been medically evacuated, most to Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. More than 15,000 Gazans are still awaiting evacuation, including about 3,000 children, according to the World Health Organization. To get children and their guardians out of the territory they must undergo a comprehensive security check by Israel and host countries. The World Health Organization has described the process as 'excruciatingly slow'. The Israeli military group which oversees aid for Gaza - Cogat - insists it places 'great importance' on facilitating humanitarian aid to Gaza, including the evacuation of patients with "complex medical conditions". It stresses the necessity of security checks on individuals travelling through Israeli territory."
The King of Jordan has said his military is willing, capable, and ready to train a new Palestinian police force in Gaza, but refuses to be involved if third party countries are expected to enforce the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. He's also stated other third party countries feel the same.
"Peacekeeping is that you're sitting there supporting the local police force, the Palestinians, which Jordan and Egypt are willing to train in large numbers, but that takes time. If we're running around Gaza on patrol with weapons, that's not a situation that any country would like to get involved in." -King Abdullah of Jordan.
And the Queen of Jordan, who is of Palestinian descent, condemned the international community (particularly the US) for not doing more to end the suffering of Palestinian children in Gaza earlier.
"You know what it's like to be a parent over the last two years? To watch your children suffering, starving, shaking in terror, and to be powerless to do anything about it, and to know that the whole world is watching and not to do anything about it. That nightmare, it's the nightmare of any parent, but that nightmare has been the daily reality for Palestinians for the last two years." -Queen Rania of Jordan
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cge5ngz11xpo
10/27/25
Israeli military strikes killed 104 people, violating the October 10 ceasefire. Israel claims it is Hamas who violated the ceasefire by killing an Israeli soldier in Rafah. Hamas has denied involvement. While it's fair to assume Hamas is lying, it's equally fair to assume the Israeli government is lying. In the indiscriminant killing of more than a hundred people, Israel continues to collectively punish the entire Palestinian population in Gaza for any action it accuses Hamas of. And the casualties are disproportionate. Why are 104 people, including at least 40 children, deemed in the eyes of the Israeli government equal to the life of one soldier? This claim of Hamas killing an Israeli soldier, whether true or not, is a pretext for Israel's continued genocide. And since Trump said Israel's retaliation is warranted, Israel now knows it can get away with more bloodshed. It will choose when to violate the ceasefire and claim the ceasefire is back in effect after its killing. This is to manipulate Trump into going along with Israel's violence and it so far, devastatingly, appears to be a winning strategy.
"Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defense agency, said the strikes "targeted homes, tents and gatherings in various cities," with heavy shelling He added that the assault had continued into the morning, with the death toll 'expected to rise...' The IDF announced that an Israeli reservist soldier identified as Master Sgt. (Reserve) Yona Efraim Feldbaum had been killed in Rafah. Hanan Greenwood, a spokesperson for the Binyamin regional council, told NBC News on Wednesday that Feldbaum, 37, held an American passport. Hamas denied any involvement in the incident, calling Israel's strikes a "flagrant violation" of the ceasefire deal as the group urged mediators to step in and pressure Israel to halt its attacks... Tensions have also been mounting over the return of hostage remains... Both Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has helped facilitate the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel, had warned it would be difficult to locate bodies under the Gaza rubble.
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/gaza/israel-gaza-strikes-ceasefire-hamas-trump-netanyahu-rcna240428
10/24/25
Hamas has supposedly agreed to cede authority in Gaza to an international security force:
“A joint statement published on the Hamas website said the groups had agreed in a meeting in Cairo to hand ‘over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a temporary Palestinian committee composed of independent ‘technocrats’, which will manage the affairs of life and basic services in cooperation with Arab brothers and international institutions’.”
Many Palestinians have sought the release of Marwan Barghouti from indefinite Israeli imprisonment. Many see Barghouti as someone who can lead the future of Palestine.
“In a letter addressed to Trump, Fadwa Barghouti, whose husband is serving multiple life sentences since 2002 for deadly attacks on Israelis but is seen by many Palestinians as a potential leader who could unite their national movement, urged Trump to push for his discharge. ‘Mr President, a genuine partner awaits you – one who can help fulfil the dream we share of just and lasting peace in the region,” her appeal said. “For the sake of freedom for the Palestinian people and peace for all future generations, help release Marwan Barghouti.’
Unfortunately, the appeal is unlikely to have any effect as Israel has refused multiple times to release Barghouti. I thought it still important to include this information in this post, because how Barghouti has been treated is an indication of how Israel has and continues to treat the Palestinians it holds as hostages.
“Arab Barghouti, the leader’s son, said his father was assaulted and beaten unconscious by eight guards on 14 September as he was being transferred between Ganot and Megiddo prisons. The alleged beating followed a prison visit to the Palestinian leader by the Israeli national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, in August. Ben Gvir, a member of a far-right party who has past convictions from Israeli courts for incitement to racism and support for a terrorist organisation, taunted Barghouti in a video clip published at the time.”
It's important to note Ben Gvir’s convictions, particularly for supporting a terrorist organization. This is not information I was aware of previously. It goes to show, though, that the Israeli government is hypocritical for labeling anyone who criticizes them as a terrorist.
I think Hamas must be scheming something, because I highly doubt that they trust what they’re hearing about “guarantees” that Israel’s genocide is over.
“Hamas said Friday in a statement it had received ‘clear guarantees’ from mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey that ‘the war has effectively ended’.”
And Israel continues to violate the ceasefire by not allowing into Gaza sufficient humanitarian aid for the starving population.
“The World Health Organization said Thursday there had been little improvement in the amount of aid going into Gaza - and no observable reduction in hunger.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/24/palestinian-factions-say-they-agree-to-let-independent-technocrat-committee-run-gaza
The Turkish government is one of the entities that has “guaranteed” to Hamas that Israel’s aggression is in the past, but if Israel has anything to do with Gaza’s “international security force,” and the US has indicated Israel can veto any country’s involvement, then Turkey won’t be involved. How valuable of a “guarantee” is it for a country to claim the war is over who likely won’t be involved going forward?
“NATO member Turkey, one of the most vocal critics of Israel's attacks on Gaza, has joined the ceasefire negotiations as a mediator after largely indirect involvement. Its increased role followed a meeting last month between Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. ‘As Turkey, we are doing our utmost for the ceasefire to be secured. The Hamas side is abiding by the ceasefire. In fact, it is openly stating its commitment to this. Israel, meanwhile, is continuing to violate the ceasefire,’ Erdogan told reporters on his return flight from a regional Gulf tour… Israel must be forced to keep its promises via sanctions, halting of arms sales.’”
What countries would Israel be “comfortable with” having a role in this “international security force”? Guaranteed, Israel will veto anyone who has criticized it (Turkey, Indonesia) or liaised with Hamas to mediate the ceasefire (Qatar—who it already attacked militarily—and Egypt). Who does that leave? Jordan? And anyway, Israel should have no say in Gaza’s future. It has already had enough say in that it has obliterated the entire territory and was well on its way to killing all Palestinians there when the US strongarmed it into a ceasefire.
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted on Wednesday that he would be opposed to any role for Turkish security forces in the Gaza Strip. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to Israel aimed at shoring up the ceasefire, said on Friday that a planned international security force for Gaza would have to be made up of ‘countries that Israel's comfortable with,’ but declined to comment specifically on Turkey's involvement.”
And who will be involved in financing Gaza’s reconstruction? This can’t fall to Arab countries alone. Israel bears an immense responsibility to make the reconstruction happen. They destroyed an entire territory! And tried to kill an entire population! They should be forced to pick up the tab. And European countries and the US need to be financing the reconstruction more than Arab governments. The US has been complicit in Israel’s genocide. European countries were too initially and if they really support an independent Palestinian state, they need to put their money where their mouths are too.
[The Turkish president] “also reiterated a previous call for Gulf countries to take action now on financing efforts to rebuild Gaza, saying nobody could single-handedly complete this task.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/erdogan-says-us-others-must-press-israel-abide-by-gaza-ceasefire-2025-10-24/
Meanwhile, Palestinians in the West Bank worry Israel will start bombing there, since Israel will find any way it can to continue its genocide.
“Israeli soldiers have occupied Jenin camp since January, expelling all 14,000 residents from their homes and erecting earthen berms, raised barriers, to cut it off from the rest of the city. Though the military operation – dubbed ‘Iron Wall’ – has successfully crushed Palestinian militants there, the soldiers remain. Jenin was once known as the ‘martyrs’ capital’ of Palestine. The Jenin battalion, a militant group unique for its alliance of fighters from different Palestinian factions, fiercely resisted Israeli incursions. It was said that Jenin and Gaza were the two places Israel could never conquer… To the residents of the West Bank, the war in Gaza was a warning. As they watched bombs destroy 88% of the Gaza Strip over the last two years, they realised there was no limit to what Israel would do to crush Palestinian militants.”
Even though Israeli settlers have relentlessly attacked Palestinians in the West Bank and stolen their land, Palestinians in the West Bank are demoralized. What can they do? Israel will just arrest them, holding them without charge as hostages intefinitely.
“Eager to avoid incurring the same wrath as Gaza, voices of resistance have kept silent, even as the number of daily settler attacks and restrictions rises sharply… Videos of soldiers rounding up dozens of young men and forcing them to march, heads down, hands behind their backs, in mass arrests… Mustafa Sheta, the general manager of the Freedom Theatre arts centre in Jenin camp, was arrested at his home in December 2023 by Israeli soldiers, alongside hundreds of other Palestinians. He was held for 15 months in administrative detention without charge – a common practice used by Israel to detain Palestinians indefinitely without trial. He described prison guards filming him and other inmates on their phones as they were strip-searched, and guards making detainees lie on their stomachs while they used their backs as springboards, jumping back and forth on their prone bodies.”
This is torture, plain and simple. And Israel continues to get away with it.
“’They don’t deal with us even as animals, they consider us as nothing,’ Sheta said.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/24/west-bank-residents-fear-they-may-be-israels-next-target-after-gaza
10/23/25
Will Gaza have a future free from unexploded bombs that will continue Israel's genocide after live fire eventually dies? Not if the Israeli government has anything to do with it. People have already been killed by these unexploded bombs and there's no way to know how many.
"More than 53 people have been killed and hundreds injured by lethal remnants from the two-year Israel-Hamas war, according to a U.N.-led database, which is thought by aid groups to be a huge underestimate."
By some estimates, the unexploded bombs will never be completely gone, a vicious "gift" from Israel to future Palestinians in Gaza. Even the unexploded bombs on the surface won't be cleared for decades (and that's a very optimistic view).
"'If you're looking at a full clearance, it's never happening, it's subterranean. We will find it for generations to come,' said Nick Orr, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal expert at Humanity & Inclusion, comparing the situation with British cities after World War Two. 'Surface clearance, now that's something that's attainable within a generation, I think 20 to 30 years,' he added."
Like most humanitarian aid groups, Israel has blocked access to an organization seeking to start clearing the unexploded bombs. Is this because the Israeli government is counting on sabotaging the ceasefire so they can resume their genocide? Most likely. They're not allowing in the personnel or equipment to start clearing these, because they want as many future Palestinians to be killed by these explosives as possible.
"aid groups like his have not been given blanket Israeli permission to start work on removing and destroying the ordnance nor to import the required equipment, he said... Orr said it was seeking permission to import supplies to burn away bombs rather than detonate them, to ease concerns about them being repurposed by Hamas."
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/clearing-gazas-surface-bombs-will-take-up-30-years-aid-group-says-2025-10-23/
10/22/25
So, Trump sends his lackey, JD Vance (with so much “foreign policy” experience) to Israel so that Vance and Netanyahu could discuss Gaza’s future. Hello?! No Palestinians, let alone Gazans, were a part of the “visioning” exercise? That’s like Trump and Putin discussing Ukraine’s post-war future. It is incredibly irresponsible of Reuters to not clearly call out that the inclusion Palestinian voices was conspicuously absent.
“Speaking in Jerusalem alongside visiting U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Netanyahu said they had discussed the "day-after" for Gaza, including who could provide security in the territory shattered by two years of war.”
Israel should have no say in Gaza’s future as its occupation of Gaza is illegal under international law. Turkey intends to be involved, but Israel rejects that, because why? The Turks had the “audacity” to criticize Israel about its conduct in Gaza. I’m surprised the Israeli government hasn’t already called the Turkish government a terrorist organization, because everyone knows that Israel alone has the authority to determine who’s a terrorist (never mind that Israel itself is a terrorist organization by its own definition…). And anyway, it’s infuriating that Trump’s lackey referred to Gaza as Israel’s land. Stop legitimizing this illegal occupation!
“Vance said on Tuesday there would be a ‘constructive role’ for Turkey to play but that Washington wouldn't force anything on Israel when it came to foreign troops ‘on their soil’.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/netanyahu-hints-opposition-any-turkish-forces-gaza-2025-10-22/
In other news, doctors in Gaza received the bodies of more Palestinian “prisoners” (a.k.a. hostages—come on, let’s call them what they truly are).
“The director general of the health ministry, Dr Munir al-Bursh, and a spokesperson for Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, where the bodies are being examined, said a document found inside each body bag indicated the bodies came from Sde Teiman, a military base in the Negev desert, where, according to photos and testimonies published by the Guardian last year, Palestinian detainees were held in cages, blindfolded and handcuffed, shackled to hospital beds and forced to wear diapers.”
And Israel denies it tortured its hostages, despite photographic evidence that is too graphic to be published. One hostage still had a rope around his neck. If you didn’t torture him, what’s the purpose of the rope? Do you honestly think someone would believe he himself put the rope around his neck before you killed him? It’s difficult to hang yourself when you’re blindfolded and your hands are tied behind your back. But I’m sure the Israeli government will claim the doctors in Gaza put the rope, blindfold, and hand restraints on the dead bodies to try to incriminate Israel. No one needs to do that Netanyahu! You’ve done a better job than anyone else to incriminate yourself.
“Some photographs of Palestinian bodies seen by the Guardian – which cannot be published owing to their graphic nature – show several of the victims blindfolded, their hands tied behind their backs. One image shows a rope fastened around a man’s neck. Doctors in Khan Younis said official examinations and field observations ‘clearly indicate that Israel carried out acts of murder, summary executions and systematic torture against many of the Palestinians’.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/21/first-thing-mutilated-bodies-of-palestinians-had-been-held-at-notorious-israeli-jail-say-gaza-officials
I applaud the Jewish individuals from around the world who recently wrote an open letter asking the UN and others to sanction Israel for its genocide.
“Prominent Jewish figures around the world are calling on the United Nations and world leaders to impose sanctions on Israel over what they describe as “unconscionable” actions amounting to genocide in Gaza.”
Everyone is aware Israel is committing war crimes, so why aren’t more countries sanctioning Israel? Sanctions should have been imposed a long time ago, before, I don’t know, more than 68,000 people have been slaughtered? But, better late than never. Sanction Israel now!
“The signatories urge world leaders to uphold international court of justice (ICJ) and international criminal court rulings, avoid complicity in international law violations by halting arms transfers and imposing targeted sanctions, ensure adequate humanitarian aid to Gaza, and reject false claims of antisemitism against those advocating for peace and justice.”
There’s nothing in Jewish teachings that calls for the obliteration of Palestinians, as the letter’s signatories explain:
“’Our solidarity with Palestinians is not a betrayal of Judaism, then, but a fulfillment of it,’ the signatories write. ‘When our sages taught that to destroy one life is to destroy an entire world, they did not carve exceptions for Palestinians. We shall not rest until this ceasefire carries forward into an end of occupation and apartheid.’”
Thankfully (because it’s not called out enough), the letter specifically mentions that the West Bank, a significant part of Palestine, is not mentioned in Trump’s “peace plan”:
“The public letter says that the truce makes no reference to the West Bank, where settler violence continues, and the underlying conditions of occupation remain unaddressed.”
And the Guardian importantly points out that virtually all Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians on Palestinian land aren’t convicted of a crime:
“The Israeli civil rights group Yesh Din has found that just 3% of investigations into settler violence between 2005 and 2024 led to convictions. Shortly after taking office, Donald Trump lifted the limited sanctions Joe Biden had imposed on dozens of violent settlers and settler groups.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/22/jewish-notables-open-letter-un-sanction-israel
Speaking of the West Bank, today the Israeli parliament (who, like the US congress, is essentially a puppet of the main ruling party masquerading as a democratic institution) set the wheels in motion for Israel to illegally annex Palestinian land in the West Bank.
“A bill applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, a move tantamount to annexation of land which Palestinians want for a state, won preliminary approval from Israel's parliament on Wednesday.”
The UN and others have rightfully identified Israel’s annexation of the West Bank is a violation of international law. Arab countries, EU, and the US: punish Israel now for moving forward with this annexation. If you don’t hold Israel accountable to its responsibilities under international law, no one else will. Israel is obviously not going to hold itself accountable. UAE: what are you doing? Your government has said multiple times that Israel’s annexation of the West Bank is a “red line”. Then why are you doing nothing about Israel continuing to cross that line? Put your money where your mouth is and abandon the Abraham Accords and sanction Israel (and the US for being complicit).
“The U.N.'s highest court in 2024 said that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, and its settlements there are illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israels-parliament-gives-initial-nod-occupied-west-bank-annexation-2025-10-22/
10/21/25
And the weaponization of aid by the Israeli government continues...
"Israel... is now taking unprecedented steps to de-register major nongovernmental aid groups for ideological reasons."
Part of the ceasefire Israel agreed to was to let in aid to Gaza. Israel is choosing to not comply with the ceasefire agreement, is choosing to continue starving Palestinians, and is choosing to commit a war crime in weaponizing humanitarian aid.
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Article 8(2)(b)(xxv): “Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions.”
While Israel is not party to the ICC's Rome Statute, it did agree to Geneva Convention IV (Protection of Civilians in War) on 7/6/1951. By not allowing humanitarian aid to access the starving population in Gaza, particularly during a ceasefire, Israel is indeed overtly committing a violation of international law it committed to uphold nearly 75 years ago.
"The ceasefire agreement in the Gaza war brokered this month by President Trump committed Israel to a surge in aid into Gaza, where food security experts declared famine in parts of the territory. But Israel continues to severely restrict crossings open for aid shipments and who can send aid through them. Of seven Israeli border crossings with Gaza, only two are currently open. Of those that are open, the U.N. and nongovernmental aid groups say many requests to enter Gaza are routinely rejected, without explanation. The Israeli military has claimed, without providing evidence, that its aid restrictions are needed for security."
The Israeli government is refusing humanitarian aid organizations access to Gaza untransparently by not explaining why requests are rejected.
(yes, I realize "untransparently" is not an official English word, but it makes more sense in this context than any other "official" English word, such as "secretly," so fuck grammar)
Israel saying that rejecting requests to deliver aid to Gaza is "for security" is complete bullshit. It's a cop out. It asserts that Israel alone has the "authority" to define what is in its (not Palestinians') security interests without defining why the requests it's rejecting violate its "security." While not directly or publicly saying that a humanitarian organization is a "terrorist group" or engages in "inciting racism," those two things being criteria in reviewing such requests clearly shows it is discriminating against organization who have officially or unofficially (such as their employees making statements for themselves and not the organization) criticized Israel's actions in Gaza (and/or the West Bank). The Israeli government accuses anyone of being a "terrorist" and/or "antisemitic" that challenges it. Hell, the security contractors the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) hired for its militarized aid distribution sites are outright racists. But Israel's okay with that, because the racism is toward Palestinians and not Israelis (and the Israeli government itself is also racist toward Palestinians).
"Reasons for delisting aid groups include supporting 'terrorist groups and activities in accordance with Israel law' and 'inciting racism,' according to COGAT, the Israeli military's arm that is part of NGO approval process. Aid organizations say the reasoning appears to be used to refer to a wide variety of comments the Israeli government classifies as antisemitic. Israel has in the past accused some aid groups and medical providers of being terrorist organizations."
It's not that there's no humanitarian aid, but rather that Israeli is outright refusing the tons of trucks of humanitarian aid waiting outside Gaza into Gaza.
"Many of those aid groups waiting to be re-registered have had hundreds of trucks waiting for months in Egypt and Jordan intended for Gaza."
And the aid Israel is authorizing to enter Gaza is "ideologically driven" (a.k.a. racist and/or Islamophobic), is inexperienced in distributing aid, or supports GHF's "aid" that kills Palestinians instead of helping them (or is any combination of those three designations).
"Humanitarian officials said Israel has approved a dozen NGOs that do not coordinate within traditional U.N.-led structures and are either ideologically driven or have little experience in humanitarian aid or both. They include one U.S. aid group that partnered with the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — a militarized aid response in which almost all other aid groups refused to participate."
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/21/nx-s1-5580351/israel-humanitarian-aid-ngos-gaza-west-bank
10/20/25
Who is violating the ceasefire? Honestly, I think it is safe to assume both Hamas and the Israeli government are intentionally violating the ceasefire for different reasons (Israeli to bait Hamas into violating it for the pretext of continuing their genocidal campaign and Hamas to try to show that Israel is doing it already). As has been shown throughout this entire conflict, the casualties are disproportionate. Should two Israeli soldiers have been shot by Hamas or some other militant group? Absolutely not. But those were indeed soldiers and they were shot and not blown up. The Israeli government killing 26, at least some of whom were civilians, with bombs continues to show Israel's intent is, as it has been this whole time, to kill as many Palestinians as it can get away with.
"The Israeli military said on Sunday a ceasefire in Gaza had resumed after an attack killed two of its soldiers and prompted a wave of airstrikes that Palestinians said killed 26 people, in the most serious test yet of this month's truce... The strikes killed at least 26 people, including at least one woman and one child, according to local residents and health authorities. At least one strike hit a former school sheltering displaced people in the area of Nuseirat, residents said."
Hamas is a terrorist organization, so it is reasonable to think they're violating the ceasefire even though they claim to have no knowledge of two Israeli soldiers being shot and killed in Gaza. However, the Israeli government should also be considered a terrorist organization based on its obvious genocide that has killed at least 68,000 Palestinians; its abduction, detention, and abuse of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank with no due process or charges filed simply for "leverage" in negotiating with Hamas; and its weaponization of humanitarian aid.
"The armed wing of Hamas said it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement, was unaware of clashes in Rafah, and had not been in contact with groups there since March... Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to respond forcefully to what he described as Hamas' violations of the ceasefire."
In addition to the Israeli soldiers who were shot, the Israeli government is also saying that Hamas is not delivering the remains of the deceased hostages it violently abducted on 10/7/23. Is there a pattern here? Again, the Israeli government will point to as many things as it can to "show" that Hamas is breaking the ceasefire, because they will make any claim to justify the continuation of their genocide.
"Israel says Hamas is being too slow in handing over bodies of deceased hostages. Hamas last week released all 20 living hostages it had been holding and in the following days has handed over 12 of the 28 deceased captives. Hamas says it has no interest in keeping the bodies of remaining hostages and that special equipment is needed to recover corpses buried under rubble."
The Israeli government is retaliating for its claims Hamas is violating the ceasefire by refusing the inflow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. This is again proof the Israeli government is intentionally punishing the entire Gaza population for something it claims Hamas did. Weaponization of aid to a starving civilian population is a war crime. Saying that feels a little redundant, because Israel has already committed several war crimes, but I guess it bears repeating, because it continues to violate international law.
"On Saturday, Israel said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which had been expected to be reopened this week, would remain closed and that its reopening would depend on Hamas fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire... The Rafah crossing has largely been shut since May 2024. The ceasefire deal also includes the ramping up of aid to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people were determined in August to be affected by famine, according to the IPC global hunger monitor."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2025/10/20/israel-ceasefire-resume-airstrikes-gaza/86796955007/
10/16/25
Let's be clear, while the fragile ceasefire is sort of holding for now, Israel's genocidal campaign against Palestinians isn't over. Netanyahu's government salivates at the possibility of Hamas not upholding its side of the ceasefire so that can be used as a pretext for re-launching its offensive. And let's not forget genocide is also being waged in the West Bank. As the author of this opinion piece points out, there has been plenty of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since Trump's so-called "peace plan".
In the West Bank, "the words of peace are but a weak and distant voice, but the horrifying sounds of settler violence and terror still echo loudly. More than 30 occurrences of settler violence against Palestinians have been documented since the announcement of Trump’s 20-point plan at the end of September, including physical assaults, theft of agricultural produce and torching of vehicles and property... During the 2024 harvest period, Yesh Din (an Israeli human rights group that collects and disseminates information regarding violations of Palestinians’ human rights in the West Bank) documented 113 separate incidents of violence, harassment, harvest-thwarting or damage to olive trees and crops involving Israeli civilians and soldiers, which took place on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian villages, towns and communities."
As per usual, Trump is getting way too much credit for this ceasefire.
"Trump may have inflicted pressure on Netanyahu to halt the genocide, but he probably only did so because the burden of his relationship with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become too great. The mass protests across the globe for the liberation of Palestine, and the unwavering anti-government demonstrations inside Israel, are the real forces behind this pressure. It is thanks to this enormous civil movement that a ceasefire has been signed, the hostages released and the people of Gaza can enjoy safeguard from annihilation. After the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is vital to keep applying this pressure. The world has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in Gaza for too long; it must not repeat the same mistake in the West Bank."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/16/gaza-israeli-settlers-west-bank-impunity-palestinian-farmers
10/15/25
There are multiple reports explaining the difficulty of Hamas returning the remains of deceased hostages, because they're mostly under crushed buildings. It's tempting to assume Hamas is not acting in good faith, but multiple US advisors and negotiators, as well as Trump himself, have vouched that Hamas is doing its best to uphold its end of the bargain, despite not having sufficient equipment to exhume corpses from the rubble.
"Hamas and the Red Cross have previously said recovering slain hostages is a challenge because of the widespread destruction in Gaza — a fact that was acknowledged during ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange talks... President Donald Trump commented on the retrieval of the hostages' remains in a gathering of reporters on Wednesday. 'They’re looking for, absolutely, they’re looking. So we have the living hostages all back. They return some more today. It’s a gruesome process,' he said. 'I almost hate to talk about it so, but they’re digging. They’re actually digging. There are areas where they’re digging and they’re finding a lot of bodies, then they have to separate the bodies.'"
The Israeli government, meanwhile, is already planning to resume its offensive operations in Gaza. Far-right officials are chomping at the bit to resume the genocide, looking for any opportunity to suggest Hamas isn't meeting its commitments under the ceasefire so that they can use that as a pretext to continue killing Palestinians. I'm assuming Trump is the only one holding them back, which sounds laughable, considering it's Trump.
"Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, told senior IDF commanders on Wednesday to prepare a military plan to defeat Hamas if the militant group refuses to implement Trump's peace plan, according to Katz's spokesperson."
And Israel is already weaponizing aid desperately needed in Gaza by limiting what can enter Gaza.
"Hamas' slow release of the remains of hostages has sparked fears that Israel could restrict humanitarian aid until the remains of the hostages are returned... The United Nations said Tuesday it had received a letter from COGAT, the Israeli military’s liaison with the Palestinians, informing them they would half the amount of aid due to the slow release of the remains of hostages."
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/gaza/body-returned-hamas-not-hostage-israel-says-rcna237720
The UN calls out Israel for weaponizing the amount of aid entering Gaza. Not that criticism from the UN will have any effect on Israel's behavior...
"Aid trucks rolled into Gaza on Wednesday and preparations resumed to open the main Rafah crossing on Thursday, but Israel has warned it could keep the crossing shut and reduce aid supplies if Hamas returned bodies too slowly... Tom Fletcher, the UN’s most senior relief coordinator, called on Israel to facilitate the 'massive surge of humanitarian aid – on which so many lives depend, and on which the world has insisted'. 'We need more crossings open and a genuine, practical, problem-solving approach to removing remaining obstacles. Throughout this crisis, we have insisted that withholding aid from civilians is not a bargaining chip. Facilitation of aid is a legal obligation,' Fletcher said.
And while unsurprising, it's also illuminating how Israel has treated its Palestinian hostages. It's further evidence that the Israeli government's true aim in this operation is to collectively punish Palestinians for Hamas' actions.
"The deal also requires Israel to return the bodies of 360 Palestinians. Many of the 90 bodies returned by Israeli authorities so far showed signs of torture and execution, including blindfolds, cuffed hands and bullet wounds in the head, according to doctors’ accounts. 'Almost all of them had been blindfolded, and had been bound up and they had gunshots between the eyes. Almost all of them had been executed,' said Dr Ahmed al-Farra, the head of the Nasser hospital’s paediatric department in Khan Younis."
Clearly war crimes.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/16/hamas-hostage-bodies-recovered-amid-israel-gaza-fighting-ceasefire-deal
10/14/25
Let’s cool our jets and not praise Trump for “bringing” peace to the Middle East. Both Hamas and Israel have accused each other of breaking the ceasefire, but so far it has given some small amount of respite to Palestinians in Gaza. However, there’s still insufficient aid and support to Palestinians in Gaza to try and move forward after so much death and destruction in their homeland. For example, there’s no machinery in Gaza to help clear the rubble and exhume bodies smashed under blown up buildings.
“Gaza’s civil defense agency said over the weekend that families and rescue crews searching for loved ones killed in Israeli bombings and still under the rubble had to do so through ‘arduous manual labor,’ without access to heavy machinery and other digging tools.”
And the Israeli military is still killing people for “stepping over” the imaginary line behind which they’ve withdrawn. People are trying to return to their homes and pick up the pieces of their devastated lives. How is this threatening to the Israeli military and what indication is there of this “line” people are supposedly crossing?
“In accordance with the first phase of Trump's plan, Israeli forces have moved to an initial withdrawal line within Gaza. On Tuesday, the Israeli military said its forces had opened fire at several people who it said had crossed this ‘yellow line.’ It said the people had violated the deal by crossing the withdrawal line, though it is not clear how evident the outlines of that boundary are to residents.”
And the Israeli government is saying their reign of terror isn’t over yet because there are groups continuing to threaten them. Who is threatening you? Palestinians simply living in their homes in the West Bank you’re trying to steal? The Israeli government is still destabilizing the entire region despite the ceasefire. Case in point: Israel launched attacks in Lebanon after the ceasefire was in place.
“Over the weekend, Netanyahu maintained that Israel’s ‘campaign is not over’ as he emphasized that ‘some of our enemies are trying to recover in order to attack us again.’ His comments on Sunday, a day after Israel launched strikes in neighboring Lebanon, signaled that the halt to the fighting in Gaza did not mean an end to the wider conflict in the region.”
And the Palestinian prisoners Israel has agreed to release in “exchange” for the last remaining hostages Hamas violently abducted are mostly hostages the Israeli government illegally detained with no official charges. That’s what these detainees are: hostages. And Israel will clearly abduct more without any sense of due process.
“While 250 Palestinian prisoners convicted of serious crimes and some 1,700 detainees, including children, were expected to be released on Monday as part of the agreement, more than 9,000 remain in Israeli prisons, according to data published by HaMoked, an Israeli human rights organization. Thousands of them are being held under ‘administrative detention,’ according to the organization — a practice in which Israeli authorities hold people without trial or other usual legal proceedings, often based on alleged secret evidence they often don’t not share with detainees, their families or legal representatives. Their fates are among the questions not addressed in Trump’s plan.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/trump-celebrates-peace-middle-east-really-resolved-rcna237487
Another article out today outlines the conditions under which Israel is detaining these Palestinian hostages.
“Like the other detainees released back to Gaza, Radee was never charged with a crime. And like many others, his detention was marked by torture, medical neglect and starvation at the hands of Israeli prison guards… His description of his time in prison is part of what the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem says is a policy of abuse towards Palestinians detainees in Israeli prisons and detention centres… ‘The signs of beating and torture were clearly visible on the prisoners’ bodies, such as bruises, fractures, wounds, marks from being dragged on the ground, and the marks of restraints that had bound their hands tightly,’ said Eyad Qaddih, the director of public relations at Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, which received detainees on Monday… He said that many of the returnees had to be transferred to the emergency room due to their ill health. In addition to physical injuries from beatings, he said prisoners appeared to have not eaten for long periods.”
How are these people not hostages themselves? Since 10/7/2023, the Israeli government has made it easier to abduct these hostages and threat them as such. And who has the authority to declare someone is an “unlawful combatant”? The Israeli government and no one else has the authority to challenge such a designation.
“The mass incarceration of Palestinians from Gaza without due process has been permitted by changes made to Israeli law since the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas-led militants that killed about 1,200 people… In December 2023, the Israeli parliament amended the unlawful combatants law to allow for administrative detention without charge where an officer has ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ the person is an unlawful combatant. Administrative detention can be extended virtually indefinitely… Israeli legal advocates say the mass incarceration of Palestinians by Israel coincides with a drastic degradation in detention conditions and that this has become a matter of policy.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/14/freed-palestinians-describe-horrors-of-israeli-jail
Two very important determinations exist when it comes to genocide: some notion of power (military, political, etc.) of the aggressor and the dehumanization of the group being attacked. Both are the case for Israel’s actions toward Palestinians as one important opinion piece noted today:
“Every genocide requires the total dehumanisation of its victims, and Palestinians are no exception. They were ‘human animals’ and ‘human beasts’ who would suffer ‘hell’, declared Israeli leaders. ‘It is an entire nation out there that is responsible,’ said Israeli president Isaac Herzog. Other Israeli politicians called for ‘erasing all of Gaza from the face of the Earth’. ‘It is not a far stretch to say there are very few innocent Palestinian civilians,’ declared Republican Congressman Brian Mast, while Fox News host Jesse Waters labelled Palestinians ‘savages’… But this dehumanisation goes beyond its most violent expressions. There has been no pretence that a Palestinian life has even a fraction of the worth of an Israeli life. Look at what has been normalised. Hospitals bombed and destroyed, with more than 1,700 health workers killed. Civilians massacred while sheltering in schools. More than 2,600 starving Palestinians gunned down trying to collect food since May. Teenagers shot in different parts of the body “like a game of target practice”, as British surgeon Dr Nick Maynard testified: ‘One day they’d be coming in predominately with gunshot wounds to the head or the neck, another day to the chest, another day to the abdomen.’ Industrialised torture against detainees, from amputations of legs caused by handcuff injuries, to Israeli soldiers reportedly taking turns to rape a man with M16 rifles… Listen to Israeli scholar Shmuel Lederman when he argues that Gaza became ‘a laboratory for genocidal violence’ – but also a testing ground for ‘new weapons and security technologies.’ Israel, notes Australian journalist Antony Loewenstein, has long tested its inventions on Palestinians, and then exported them: spyware, facial recognition and biometric databases, drones, smart fences and AI-enabled targeting systems.”
And this same dehumanization Israel applies to Palestinians will be used elsewhere, such as in the US. People in the US are having their visas revoked for saying anything remotely negative about Charlie Kirk. This opinion writer warns that this systemized dehumanization will be a pretext for persecution of and violence toward anyone the Trump labels a “threat.”
“The price paid by Palestinians is beyond our imagination. But what price will we pay? The west has dehumanised itself, just as a far-right movement that sees Muslims and the left as enemies within is on the rise. After the US bombed Venezuelan boats allegedly smuggling drugs, the US attorney general promised ‘the same approach with antifa: destroy the entire organisation, from top to bottom. We’re going to take them apart.’ ‘Antifa” – or antifascism – is a phantom, a bogeyman that can be applied to any leftwing dissidents.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/14/horrors-gaza-west-history-empire
10/13/25
Let's remember that it was the Israeli government back in March who violated the ceasefire at the time. Many risks lie ahead under the current ceasefire, including the Israeli government using anything as a pretext to resume its genocide.
"There is no evidence yet that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the extremists in his government have been fully convinced by this deal to abandon their stated expansionist plans in Gaza and the West Bank. There is a risk they might see every bit of vagueness in the agreement as an opportunity to test the waters. Anything from Hamas’s refusal to accept terms of transitional period, completely disarming, or a violent incident could become a pretext to violate the ceasefire. By breaking the ceasefire agreement in March, Netanyahu has already demonstrated that he needs little excuse to violate a deal if it ceases to serve his broader strategic and political goals."
It may sound like a lot that the Israeli government will release 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 20 living and another 28 bodies of hostages. This is misleading. The Israeli government as a colonial regime that controls two Palestinian territories arrests Palestinians for anything it deems illegal. Many Palestinian prisoners are held without any charges. So, it doesn't mean much that Israel will be releasing 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of this ceasefire. They could arrest another 2,000 the next day and there's no one to hold the Israeli government accountable.
"Few fully understand the importance of the prisoners’ issue among Palestinians as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been arrested throughout the decades of occupation, without serious recourse, affecting nearly every family. Israel is holding about 11, 000 Palestinians, including about 400 children, and retains the capacity to arrest as many more as it desires. And Israel will be releasing around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held without charges, most of whom were arrested in the past two years."
As this article astutely points out, every US president has enabled the state of Israel to commit atrocities against the Palestinian population under its rule. Both Biden and Trump bear particular responsibility for not intervening in the Israeli government's slaughter of 67,000+ Palestinians in Gaza over the last 2 years. Israel has no intention to halt its annexation of land in the West Bank, so why would it not do the same in Gaza? Until there is an independent Palestinian state (and maybe even after), there's no reason or precedent to trust the Israeli government in not sabotaging the possibility of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
"On Israel and Palestine, every U.S. president in recent decades, including Trump, has been part of the problem instead of being part of the solution. President Biden singularly stands out in his callous enabling of the horrors inflicted on Gaza for more than a year. On Trump’s watch, Israel killed more than 20 children every day with complete American military, economic, and diplomatic support. Yet it would be a stunning achievement if President Trump succeeds in bringing about an equitable and enduring end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For that to happen, Trump would have to do what no American president has been able to do in recent decades: Stop shielding Israel from the consequences of its expansionist behavior that violates international laws and norms."
https://time.com/7325340/challenges-trumps-gaza-peace-plan/
10/11/25
10/9/25
Let's not celebrate prematurely. I'm still very skeptical of this tentative peace deal working out. Case in point:
"Live television footage from Gaza showed plumes of smoke rising over the ruins of buildings in northern Gaza, suggesting some fighting continued."
Additionally, I'm concerned about what appears to be a non-simultaneous release of prisoners. It seems Hamas will first release it's remaining hostages and then Israel will provide a "list" of Palestinian prisoners it will release. What's to stop Israel from not only reneging on it's release of prisoners at all, but also resuming it's offensive in Gaza? Hamas will have no more leverage and officials in the Israeli government have already suggested they are seeking a "full victory" in Gaza, which would be the killing of all remaining Hamas militants, if not, as has been shown to be Israel's true aim, killing all remaining Palestinians in Gaza for Israeli settlement expansion.
"Egyptian officials and others briefed on the deal said mediators are still hashing out the arrangements for Hamas to return the roughly 20 hostages believed to be alive in Gaza, in addition to the bodies of around 28 others. In exchange, Israel has to agree to a list of Palestinian prisoners it will set free."
The Israeli government has shown time and again that not only can it not be trusted (including the bombing of Qatar), but that it is also determined to assert the right of Israeli settlers to displace Palestinians and determined that there be no Palestinian state. Arab governments that have supported this deal are, in my opinion, being far too trusting of both Israel and the US. What's to stop the Israeli government from continuing its genocide after Hamas' release of hostages? And what's to stop the US from not challenging Israel when it does so? This is where Arab and Muslim-majority states and, possibly more importantly, western governments who recently officially recognized the State of Palestine need to plan for what they'll do when Israel doesn't hold its end of the bargain and when the US turns a blind eye to Israel continue its genocidal campaign. You should anticipate this. Publicly announce what you will do (diplomatically, economically, militarily) with regard to Israel and the US not fulfilling responsibilities in the peace deal. This needs to be publicly stated now and related mechanisms (such as sanctions) need to be proactively prepared.
"Talks on that broader plan will have to tackle a number of difficult issues where Hamas and Israel remain far apart. Among them is Israel and Trump’s insistence that Hamas be disarmed, and the group’s demand that a deal include a path to a Palestinian state. That issue is important as well to Arab countries, which worry about being painted as flunkies if they send troops in to police an area that ultimately will remain under Israel’s sway."
https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-hamas-gaza-hostage-ceasefire-deal-815d533f
10/8/25
It is increasingly clear the true objective of the Israeli government: complete obliteration of not only Palestinians, but all Muslims. The status quo in Jerusalem is that only Muslims can pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Today (for at least the 2nd time apparently), Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir thought it appropriate to go and publicly pray there as non-Muslim, because Israelis (although he implied Jews, Israel cannot claim to speak for all Jews) “own” Temple Mount, the term Jews use to refer to the broader site on which Al-Aqsa sits. Israel’s war is not, and never was, about releasing the Israeli hostages Hamas violently abducted. It is about supremacy; the expulsion of Islam from the land Israel claims to own. Right now that looks like stealing land from and incarcerating Palestinians in the West Bank and killing Palestinians in Gaza. The next stage of Israel’s war will be on Islam more broadly.
“In a video on the edge of one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East, Ben-Gvir said that two years after the October 7 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the Gaza war, Israel was ‘winning’ at the Jerusalem compound known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. A second video showed him praying at the compound, in a fresh challenge to a decades-old understanding which allows only Muslim worship at the site. ‘Every house in Gaza has a picture of the Temple Mount, and today, two years later, we are winning on the Temple Mount. We are the owners of the Temple Mount,’ Ben-Gvir said in the video released by his Jewish Power party. ‘I only pray that our prime minister will allow a complete victory in Gaza as well – to destroy Hamas, with God's help we will return the hostages, and we will win a complete victory,’ Ben-Gvir said.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israels-ben-gvir-calls-gaza-victoy-al-aqsa-mosque-compound-2025-10-08/
10/3/25
10/2/25
I am quite surprised by how strong the words of the Turkish government were in a statement responding to Israel’s stop of a convey of civilian boats attempting to deliver aid to Gaza. Of course, actions would be more useful than strong words. Turkey needs to use tools at its disposal to pressure Israel to end its genocidal campaign.
Part of Turkey’s foreign ministry statement reads, "The attack carried out by Israeli forces in international waters against the Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, constitutes an act of terrorism that gravely violates international law and endangers the lives of innocent civilians. This assault, targeting civilians who were acting peacefully without resorting to violence, demonstrates that the fascist and militarist policies pursued by the genocidal Netanyahu government - which has condemned Gaza to famine - are not limited to Palestinians, but extend to all those who resist Israel’s oppression. Legal steps will ... be pursued to hold the perpetrators of this attack accountable. We call upon the United Nations and all relevant international organizations to take immediate action to lift the unlawful blockade on Gaza, to allow the entry of humanitarian aid into the region, and to guarantee the freedom of navigation."
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/reaction-israels-interception-global-sumud-flotilla-2025-10-02/
And yet, we know the Israeli government will continue in its slaughter of Palestinians as long as the US continues to support it.
In another article, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert warned that Israel has completely isolated itself globally. “We have become a pariah state,” Olmert says. “There’s an ever-widening gap between the appalling atrocities Hamas inflicted on Israelis on Oct. 7 and what we are now inflicting on the Palestinians.” Again, how many Palestinians must be killed until Israel feels its revenge is satisfied? We’re at 66,000+ now. Their thirst for revenge will not be satiated at 100,000 or one million. It will go on and on and on. Olmert also suggested Israel likely is sabotaging Trump’s “peace proposal” so the genocide can continue: “Olmert is skeptical of the Gaza proposal’s chances of success, arguing that the last-minute additions Bibi managed to sneak in, including slowing and limiting the Israeli withdrawal and vague language about the prospects for a Palestinian state, were likely a sabotage maneuver to force Hamas to reject the deal… ‘Bibi doesn’t want an agreement, and he doesn’t want to stop the war.’” Why have so many leaders around the world supported Trump’s plan when it excludes Palestinians from an international “stabilization force” after the war, is likely a setup by the Israeli government to get Hamas to reject the deal so Netanyahu can continue the genocide, and that even if the proposal brings the war to an end, we all know Israel won’t hold up its end of the bargain anyway? Nadav Shtrauchler, a former Netanyahu political strategist said, “For average Israelis, they look at Trump, they look at Washington, and if the U.S. is on our side, then it’s okay, things are not that bad. Netanyahu sees that Trump is aligned with him, and won’t force him to do things, and will back him. He feels confident being aligned with Trump. If it were Kamala Harris in the White House, I don’t think he’d feel the same way.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/israel-war-in-gaza-benjamin-netanyahu/
And again, we’re back to the point where the Israel government won’t do anything differently as long as the US continues to support it. Ahead of the UN meetings last week, Trump told reporters he wouldn’t “allow” the Israeli government to annex the West Bank. It wasn’t mentioned again, it was a point glossed over in the Netanyahu-Trump press conference, and Israel will go on annexing the West Bank even though Trump isn’t “allowing” it. Trump, wake up you idiot! Netanyahu is playing you.
Another article today makes this clear: “As U.S. President Donald Trump announced a plan this week to end the Gaza war and suggested a possible path to a Palestinian state, Ashraf Samara in the Israeli-occupied West Bank watched bulldozers around his village help bury his hopes for statehood. Surrounded by armed security guards, the Israeli machinery shoved aside earth to create new routes for Jewish settlements, carving up the land around Samara's village of Beit Ur al-Fauqa and creating new barriers to movement for Palestinians… With each new road that makes movement for Jewish settlers easier, Palestinians in the West Bank who are usually barred from using the routes face fresh hurdles in reaching nearby towns, workplaces or agricultural land.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-bulldozers-west-bank-carve-up-hopes-palestinian-state-2025-10-02/
10/1/25
By issuing an ultimatum to Palestinians to vacate Gaza City, Israel’s defense minister (Israel Katz) is acting as if the Israeli government is some overly benevolent entity that has in all actuality shown it couldn’t give two shits about the lives of Palestinians. He goes on to say that those who don’t leave will be considered terrorists.
“Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said the warning was the last opportunity for people to move to southern Gaza as the military encircled the city. Gaza’s civil defence agency said on Wednesday that Israeli forces had killed at least 46 people, including 36 in Gaza City… Katz said: ‘This is the last opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move south and leave Hamas operatives isolated in Gaza City.’ Those who remained ‘will be considered terrorists and terrorist supporters’, he said.”
First of all, Israel has already functionally treated all Palestinians as terrorists in Gaza or anywhere else. They have for the entire existence of the state of Israel. The message is merely a statement to other countries that the Israeli government will be justified after making this “final warning” in continuing their genocidal campaign.
Secondly, where are these people supposed to go? They have absolutely nothing other than their continuing struggle to see the next day. They are starving, have no or minimal shelter, and are suffering from disease and injuries already inflicted by the Israeli military. Where Israel is telling them to go has no capacity for or infrastructure to support them.
And anyway, Israel has already forcibly displaced the entire Palestinian population multiple times over the last two years. This is a war crime.
“International humanitarian law experts have said evacuation orders amount to forced displacement and that civilians who remain in evacuated areas do not lose their protected status under international law.”
Unfortunately, international law affords no relief to Palestinians. Israel does not care if it is accused of committing war crimes, because its leaders live in a reality of their own making. They claim to have the right to declare what international law is and to determine who a terrorist is and that any allegations contradicting Israel are illegitimate. The only “international law” that could be externally enforced is what Israel’s staunchest ally, the US, could enact. And Trump has already guaranteed it will not take such action. As a result, Israel will continue to do whatever it wants and no one will hold them accountable. And even when the US put forward a peace proposal that included the withdraw of Israeli forces from Gaza, the Israeli government just ignored it.
“Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video after Trump announced his plan that the Israeli military would stay in most of Gaza, contrary to the plan’s public terms.”
The only alternative to the US-complicit and Israel-imposed genocide is for all other countries to band together and collectively apply pressure through stopping the supply of weapons and imposing financial and other sanctions, not just on Israel, but on the US too.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/01/israel-last-opportunity-for-gaza-city-residents-to-leave
9/30/25
Today, the Israeli government is sowing the seeds of eternal destabilization in Gaza by arming and empowering small groups of Palestinians to rival Hamas. This is a classic colonialist approach to “managing” opposition: divide and conquer. Infamously, the Belgian colonial government did this in Rwanda by supporting the smaller Tutsi group over the Hutus. And that eventually led to the Hutu-perpetrated genocide of the Tutsis.
This strategy was used broadly by colonial governments and it is largely to blame for the instability of the countries former colonies have become. One example of many is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). While rich in natural resources, the DRC has never become prosperous because it is plagued by extreme social divisions stoked by the Belgian colonial administration that led to the DRC’s weak central government incapable of resolving armed clashes between militias. If you’re not seeing the parallel to Israel’s actions in Gaza you’re in denial about Israel being a colonial authority.
Hamas has to go, but the Israeli government is not considering the consequences of its support of armed militias. While this approach might aid Israel’s determined defeat of Hamas, it will be (and already seems to be) creating dueling factions that are armed, thanks in large part to the Israeli military. So, if Israel ends up not being successful in killing all Palestinians in Gaza through its military actions or deliberate starvation, it will guarantee endless tragedy by creating perpetual chaos.
The ”international administration” proposed by the US, possibly run by former UK prime minister Tony Blair, would essentially function as a de facto colonial government that will be at the beck and call of Israel to the detriment of any surviving Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The administration, because it is comprised of foreigners who know nothing about Palestinian society, will undoubtedly rely on these “convenient” “preexisting” armed factions for police, border security, etc. Then, when the interim administration leaves with the supposed intention of supporting a democratic government, idiots with no foresight will be confused when Gaza ends up in long-term civil war with competing warlords. And the foreigners after leaving will say “we did everything to set them up for success, so they must deserve to be slaughtered.” If Israel thinks the Hamas government is brutal, its heirs in a completely destabilized Gaza will be much bigger threats to the lives of Israelis.
Don’t believe me? Look at Iraq since the 2003 US invasion.
“Yaakov Amidror, a former major general and [Israeli] national security adviser, said last week Israel could exploit divisions within Gaza’s society to build forces that would oppose Hamas. One possibility would be to support major families who are descendants of original inhabitants of the territory against others whose parents or grandparents arrived in 1948, when forced to flee what became Israel. ‘They can be the local strong people and take control of their area, family or tribe and not let Hamas be there, and then we can support them and if they can be part of the solution then [that’s] great … If the worse comes to the worse it will be like Somalia … No one will be in control. It will be bad for Israel but better than having Hamas,’ Amidror said.”
“Analysts have warned that empowering groups… in an already highly-fractured society could accelerate internal conflict and strengthen criminal elements. ‘Without strict oversight, they could even morph into rogue actors who fuel instability rather than mitigate it,’ wrote Neomi Neumann, an adjunct fellow at the Washington Institute and former head of the research unit at Israel domestic security service, Shin Bet, earlier this year.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/30/israel-backed-militia-groups-potentially-threaten-new-peace-plan-for-gaza
9/29/25
It goes without saying that you can’t believe anything Trump says. In meetings last week with the French president and other international figures on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Trump told reporters he would “not allow” Israel to annex parts of the West Bank. Where was that topic in today’s press conference? It’s an egregious omission that can only mean one thing: Trump wasn’t sincere about “not allowing” Israel to annex all or part of the West Bank, which Israel is already moving forward with.
Another major point to underscore about this Reuters article about the joint Trump-Netanyahu press conference today is the quote below. If Hamas rejects whatever this “peace plan” is, about which they weren’t a part of negotiating, the US government would endorse any action by the Israeli government. Does this mean killing all the rest of the Palestinians in Gaza? I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume Israel will finish off their genocide. The Israeli government has already shown they will punish all Palestinians for Hamas’ 10/7/23 terror attack, because that’s what they’re doing now. And confrontations, unjustifiable detentions, and land theft will continue in the West Bank despite Trump "not allowing" it.
“Speaking at a joint White House press conference following a meeting with Netanyahu, Trump said they were ‘beyond very close’ to an elusive peace deal for the Palestinian enclave. But he warned the Islamist group Hamas that Israel would have full U.S. support to take whatever action it deemed necessary if the militants reject what he has offered.”
The article points out that Trump is usually all talk, no action. The reporter noted there was no ceasefire brokered between Ukraine and Russia when Trump met with Vladimir Putin in August and suggested the same might happen with Israel’s murderous campaign in Gaza after this flowery press conference with meaningless words. Other than the likely parallel of no ceasefire between Trump’s meeting with Putin and his meeting with Netanyahu, it is clear that all three are either already dictators or are aspiring dictators. I will say here that I believe Netanyahu is an aspiring dictator and I think some would say he already is. The same goes for Trump.
“He has previously hailed international deals that delivered less than promised. He headed into an August summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin seeking a ceasefire in the Ukraine war and emerged with no such deal. Nonetheless, he called the meeting ‘a 10’ on a scale of one to 10.”
And what is this crap about the Qataris needing to “put the screws” to Hamas? Why would the Qataris ever work with Israel again? The Israeli government bombed their sovereign country when they were facilitating the negotiations between Israel and Hamas. I think it is beyond ludicrous and arrogant to expect Qatar would do anything now when Israel has demonstrated that it not only can’t be trusted and is destabilizing the entire region, but also is clearly participating in negotiations in bad faith. How can the US broker a ceasefire without Qatar’s facilitation of negotiations? It would do Trump well to think about that.
“Steven Cook, a senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank, said an end to the war may be closer but cautioned that further work was needed. ‘The Qataris now must put the screws to Hamas and Netanyahu needs to sell to his security cabinet,’ he said.”
9/26/25
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9/12/25
I don’t understand why it is that people are shocked by the Israeli government’s belligerent, insanely aggressive actions. Yes, Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Yes, Israel is committing egregious land theft and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Yes, Israel is the single biggest contributor to regional instability. And yes, all of these actions will later result in others currently abused by Israel taking violent revenge (and likely succeeding) against Israeli civilians. All of this has been going on for a long time. The fact that it’s only now being recognized (supposedly with shock) is beyond frustrating. Wake up world (particularly Americans)! Broader global violence tomorrow is being created today by Israel’s current deliberate, reckless, unapologetic, self-righteous, and out of control violence.
“Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, warned that its teams were seeing a ‘risk of ethnic cleansing’ in the West Bank, with Palestinians facing ‘forced mass displacement’ in the territory ‘by Israeli forces and settlers’ amid a rise of violence against Palestinians in the area.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/israel-detains-dozens-palestinian-men-west-bank-rcna230763
9/11/25
On this 24th anniversary of 9/11, I urge all Americans to not only mourn the deaths of American civilians as a result of vicious terrorism, but also the innocent victims of the bloodthirsty revenge of the American government. Innumerable innocent Afghans and Iraqis, among others, were needlessly captured, tortured, and killed. Abu Ghraib prison and the sadistic torture of Iraqis by members of the American military are particularly important to remember. The same thing is happening today. Almost 65,000 Palestinians have been slaughtered in the Israeli government’s bloodthirsty revenge as a response to Hamas’ vicious attack on innocent Israelis. And more than that, Palestinians have been relentlessly demonized and victimized by decades of Israeli government policies and actions. The Israeli prime minister signaled today that this history of abuse of an entire people will not only continue, but will become more extreme. Netanyahu has approved the expansion of an Israeli settlement in the West Bank that will divide Palestinian land and is considered illegal under international law. History is important, because we must learn from it and strive to be better humans than our previous selves.
"There will never be a Palestinian state. This place is ours.” -Benjamin Netanyahu, 9/11/25
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/netanyahu-signs-west-bank-settlement-expansion-plan-rules-out-palestinian-state-2025-09-11/
9/10/25
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8/28/25
I applaud the bravery of 500 UN workers in raising their voices to demand the UN acknowledge Israel’s genocidal actions in Gaza. While it appears insufficient in bringing change, they risk more than most of us in the US, a country whose government could end the war in a heartbeat if they weren’t blinded by willful ignorance.
8/27/25
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Israel’s strike on Nasser Hospital in Gaza that killed many journalists: "It is an unacceptable attack on press freedom and on all those who courageously risk their lives to report on the tragedy of war.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/italys-meloni-condemns-killing-journalists-gaza-by-israeli-fire-2025-08-27/
8/26/25
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8/22/25
“Without a ceasefire and immediate large-scale and unimpeded aid, at least 132,000 children under the age of five were at risk of death from acute malnutrition through June next year.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gazas-hungry-children-slide-towards-starvation-emergency-treatments-dwindle-2025-08-22/
8/21/25
8/20/25
8/19/25
“According to the UN World Food Programme, one-third of the Palestinian population in Gaza goes for days without eating, and half a million are on the brink of starvation.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/16/malnourished-palestinian-woman-dies-in-italy-after-gaza-evacuation?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1
8/17/25
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“The letter denounces Israel’s ‘mass killings of civilians’ and ‘the use and threat of starvation as a weapon of war.’ The Jewish leaders say Israel's actions damage not just the country's reputation, but Judaism itself.”
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/01/nx-s1-5486700/humanitarian-aid-gaza-starvation
7/31/25
“Whatever happens tonight, history will condemn those of us who failed to act in the face of these horrors.”
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5429072-sanders-resolution-fails-israel-military/
7/31/25
"We have seen the most horrific scenes. The global community is deeply offended by children being shot and killed as they reach out for aid."
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly6rl6158no
7/29/25
“The international community must impose crippling sanctions on Israel until it ends this brutal campaign and implements a permanent ceasefire.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/29/letter-sanctions-israel-gaza-starvation?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1
7/28/25
Finally, humanitarian organizations in Israel have called what the Israeli government is doing in Gaza by its true name: genocide. And yet, the Israeli government continues to deny its responsibility for the deaths of nearly 60,000 civilians by parroting the same cop-out, cowardly line that Hamas bears sole responsibility. The US needs to leverage its influence to stop this genocide.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c776xkvz6vno
7/25/25
7/24/25
7/23/25
“I don’t know what you would call it other than mass-starvation – and it’s man-made.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/23/we-faced-hunger-before-but-never-like-this-skeletal-children-fill-hospital-wards-as-starvation-grips-gaza?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1
7/22/25
"I ask the world to stop the war," she said. "Open the borders and provide milk and diapers for the children. It's not fair what's happening to us."
https://abcnews.go.com/International/indescribable-crisis-deepens-mothers-malnourished-children-gaza-idf/story?id=123949937
7/21/25
The Israeli government seems to have convinced itself and the US government that it has no responsibility for the deaths of more than 50,000 civilians in Gaza. At last, other governments are publicly acknowledging this lie. But will it make a difference until the US does the same?
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-france-23-other-nations-condemn-israel-over-inhumane-killing-civilians-2025-07-21/
7/18/25
“It’s like organizing on quicksand.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/17/what-is-the-3-5-percent-protest-rule?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1
7/14/25
Calling the creation of a small area within Gaza to forcefully relocate all Palestinians in Gaza a “humanitarian city” is an offensive euphemism. It’s basically taking the cage that was Gaza and shrinking it to a a much tinier cage for the same number of people minus the 50,000+ civilians killed by the Israeli military. And I think characterizing the former Israeli prime minister’s comment that such a settlement would amount to ethnic cleansing as antisemitic is yet another example of how any statement in support of Palestinian lives is being bullied into silence. This “humanitarian city” doesn’t have to be created to constitute ethnic cleansing. It’s already happening in plain view for the world to see. And this dispute the article mentions between the military and the Israeli government doesn’t mean one side is opposed to the creation of this camp because it’s wrong. The dispute is merely over money.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/14/israels-military-and-political-leadership-clash-over-proposed-camp-for-palestinians?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1
7/11/25
Like the Israeli government, the US government could not care less about the murder of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. It’s outrageous that Israeli settlers can kill with no consequences. To whom can one appeal to protect Palestinians from murder in their own homes?
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/12/palestinian-american-killed-settlers-west-bank
7/8/25
6/11/25
While unsurprising, it’s disturbing nonetheless.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/10/mike-huckabee-independent-palestinian-state?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1
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