#Analysis / Generation Z around the world sees what is hidden from young people in Israel [Or-el Tamari]
Or-el Tamari is a 20 y/o freelance journalist
[...] The accusations that young people around the world are ignorant, and that their support for Palestinians is just a "trend" that confirms their progressiveness, are an attempt to reinforce the supposed superiority of Israeli youths, who allegedly know the Palestinian arena much better than their global peers.
[...] But before we criticize what is happening in the world, we should look at ourselves, Israelis, and see our role in Israel being portrayed globally, long before the current war, as a criminal and occupying state. We turned a blind eye, ignored Jewish-white supremacy, and did not make the connection to the regime change. We gave the green light to the ongoing occupation and dehumanization of Palestinians, which has reached disturbing dimensions in recent months.
[...] While in Israel the media largely ignores what is happening in the West Bank and Gaza, globally, and especially among youth, people see the occupation daily. On social media they are exposed to the reality of Palestinian life under settler violence, see pictures from refugee camps in Gaza, read about the humanitarian catastrophe.
[...] Often when I spoke to peers abroad they confronted me with videos of arrests and shootings of minors, soldiers calling to expel Gaza residents, a soldier saying the "new Jew looks the enemy in the eye and then cuts off his head".
[...] Meanwhile, in a parallel universe, Israeli youth are exposed to nationalist influencers brought to Gaza by the IDF, presenting a destroyed kitchen as an "Arab-Nazi kitchen with an oven for burning people". They see singers chanting to bomb Gaza, saying it is a "whore" and "garbage". https://kolektiva.social/@oatmeal/111971880313732554
#IsraelUSAHamasWar / UK to consider suspending arms exports to Israel if Rafah offensive goes ahead
For what ever it’s worth:
[…] Ministerial sources said that while no decision had been made about a suspension of arms export licences, the #UK had the ability to respond quickly if the legal advice to ministers said that #Israel was in breach of international humanitarian law.
[…] An article in the treaty obligates states not to authorise any transfer of conventional weapons if they know that those weapons will be used to commit acts of #genocide or crimes against humanity.
#Israel / Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich tells Israelis that returning the captives is "not the most important thing"
In an interview on Kan Bet network, #Smotrich was asked whether returning the captives is the most important thing - and he replied: "No, it's not the most important thing. Why make it a competition? What's important now? #Hamas must be destroyed."
[…] The United States has proposed a rival draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would underscore the body's "support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable," according to the text seen by Reuters on Monday.
[…] The U.S. put forward the text after #Algeria on Saturday requested the council vote on Tuesday on its draft resolution, which would demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church Bishops Council says American financial assistance to help Israel fight its war in #Gaza supports “mass genocide.”
[…] The Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church calls on the United States Government to immediately withdraw all funding and other support from Israel. Since 1954, #Israel has shown a willful disregard for the human dignity of Palestinians. Since October 7, 2023, in retaliation for the brutal murder of 1139 Israeli citizens by #Hamas, Israel has murdered over 28,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The United States is supporting this mass genocide. This must not be allowed to continue.
#IsraelUsaHamasWar / Humanitarian agencies and human rights organizations issue urgent joint statement on Rafah
Humanitarian agencies and human rights organizations have issued an urgent joint statement warning of "catastrophic" consequences if Israel launches a ground offensive in Rafah, Gaza. They also criticize the silence and material support for Israel's operations by powerful nations.
The statement was signed by CEOs of #Oxfam, #Amnesty International, #ActionAid, War Child, Danish Refugee Council, and Handicap International.
The statement says over 1.5 million people are sheltering in #Rafah as a last resort, with over half a million of them children. A ground offensive would kill thousands more civilians.
They accuse #Israel of forcibly displacing people to Rafah and then planning to attack it, as well as collectively punishing civilians by denying aid.
The statement also refers to a recent #ICJ ruling ordering Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid, which has not happened. It calls for an immediate ceasefire, release of detainees, and full humanitarian access to Gaza.
The agencies say the offensive has made it virtually impossible to deliver humanitarian aid in Gaza.
#Rafah / Israel struck Palestinian police escorting Gaza aid, says US envoy
David Satterfield, a top U.S. diplomat, said Israeli forces killed Palestinian police officers who were escorting a UN aid convoy in #Gaza on February 10.
Since then, Palestinian police have refused to escort aid convoys due to threats from criminal gangs in Gaza, severely hampering humanitarian deliveries.
#Israel has not yet commented on Satterfield's claim that they killed police escorting the convoy. Israel said at the time they struck #Hamas militants.
#Israel / Israeli officials respond to news about U.S. and Arab nations plan for postwar #Gaza and a timeline for Palestinian state
[...] While the United States and the partner countries in the plan, including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Palestinian representatives, are working to reach agreements among themselves, their concern is that a large-scale attack in #Rafah will lead to the collapse of this attempt, and to the collapse of the possibility of reaching a prisoner exchange deal.
Smotrich: "We will not agree in any way to this plan, which in practice says that the Palestinians deserve a prize for the terrible massacre they carried out against us: a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. The message is that it pays off greatly to massacre Israeli citizens. A Palestinian state is an existential threat to Israel - Kfar Saba will not become Kfar Gaza. I will demand today at the cabinet meeting to make a clear and unambiguous decision that Israel opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state and the imposition of sanctions on more than half a million settlers. I expect clear support from Netanyahu, Gantz, Eisenkot and all the ministers."
Ben-Gvir wrote: "The intention of the United States together with other Arab countries to establish a terror state alongside the State of Israel is absurd and part of the mistaken concept that there is a partner for peace on the other side. After October 7th, it is clearer than ever that they must not be given a state. When we are in government, a Palestinian state will not be established."
Gideon Sa'ar: "In my speeches yesterday in Berlin, I warned against the dangerous plan taking shape for unilateral international recognition of a Palestinian state. This plan will not only fail to resolve the conflict, but will make it insoluble. The Palestinians will receive recognition of a state without paying the price of compromise and will continue the conflict from an upgraded position that will undermine Israel's right to self-defense."
Ze'ev Elkin: "It won't happen! The establishment of a Palestinian state means the establishment of a Hamas state, which will win any election held there. This step will bring about the risk of a recurrence of the events of October 7th across the entire country. No one offered the United States after the events of September 11 to establish an Al-Qaeda state along the US border. The Israeli public will not allow this to happen."
#IDF / Raid on Nasser Hospital explained differently to foreign media vs. family of hostages
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari described the raid on Nasser Hospital as "precise and limited" and said it was based on credible information that Hamas was hiding in the facility, had kept hostages there and that bodies of hostages may still be there.
... on Israeli media, though, they seem to be far less sure:
No concrete information on the presence of abducted bodies at Nasser Hospital
Following the announcement by the IDF spokesperson about the activity of special forces at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, liaison officers notified the families of the abducted that at this stage there is no concrete information about the presence of abducted bodies at the location. The families were also informed that if any relevant findings are made, they will be immediately updated.
#Eurovision / US artists sign open letter calling for continued inclusion of Israel in the competition
Creative Community for Peace (#CCFP), a pro-Israel organization which was founded to counter the #BDS movement, has released an open letter “signed by over 400 leaders from the entertainment industry”, expressing support for #Israel's continued inclusion in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest.
The letter is a response to demands calling for Israel to be disinvited from the Eurovision.
#ICJ / ‘What use is this court if it can’t stop the war?’ Gazans react to ICJ ruling (Mahmoud Mushtaha and Ruwaida Kamal Amer)
[…] Abu Malik, a 45-year-old lawyer displaced from the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of #Gaza City and now sheltering in Al-Shifa Hospital, agreed: “The world has failed to provide justice for the Palestinians since 1948, and it continues to ignore us in its silence.
#US / Biden acknowledges Gaza Health Ministry numbers
Slightly outdated, but still.
[…] The past four months, as the war has raged, the Palestinian people have also suffered unimaginable pain and loss. Too many — too many of the over 27,000 Palestinians killed in this conflict have been innocent civilians and children, including thousands of children. And hundreds of thousands have no access to food, water, or other basic services.
Despite refuting these numbers, Israel has been using them as well, according to leaked reports.
#US / Biden acknowledges Gaza Health Ministry numbers
Slightly outdated, but still.
[…] The past four months, as the war has raged, the Palestinian people have also suffered unimaginable pain and loss. Too many — too many of the over 27,000 Palestinians killed in this conflict have been innocent civilians and children, including thousands of children. And hundreds of thousands have no access to food, water, or other basic services.
Despite refuting these numbers Israel has been using them as well according to leaked reports.
#Netherlands / Future of Dutch arms sales to Israel to be decided today
The Hague Court of Appeal will announce its verdict in the case brought by Oxfam Novib, PAX and The Rights Forum against the Dutch government regarding the delivery of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel.
Other EU countries like Wallonia and Spain have already decided to stop arms exports to Israel due to the risk of contributing to serious violations of international humanitarian law.
The NGOs are confident ahead of the verdict, but regret that legal action was necessary. They warn about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in #Gaza with disease and acute hunger outbreaks amidst ongoing bombings and fighting. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has vowed "total victory."
The NGOs criticize the contradiction of the Netherlands providing medical aid while also supplying F-35 parts used to bomb Gaza, saying this narrative cannot be justified.
#StrikeMoMA / Pro-Palestine protests shut down MoMA
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City was forced to close on Saturday after hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters staged a sit-in demonstration inside the gallery. Organizers distributed mock museum guides calling for the removal of trustees with alleged financial ties to Israeli military efforts.
Protesters occupied the atrium chanting "Free Palestine" while unfurling banners demanding an immediate ceasefire, Palestinian liberation, and emptying of prisons. Another banner accused #MoMA trustees of funding "genocide, apartheid, and settler colonialism."