🇮🇱 Israeli Minister Ben Gvir: 'Palestinian prisoners must be shot in the head.'
💬 “The law on the execution of prisoners will pass its third reading in the Knesset. Until then, we will give them little to live on and nothing else.”
"I want to be clear that everybody who followed this issue from inside the U.S. government—whether it's the military, the intel world, the State Department, USAID—was fully aware of not only everything that was happening in terms of destruction and civilian deaths in Gaza, but also the expected consequences and expected trajectory of the Israeli campaign in Gaza.
What I've told you is not really my unique analysis or has anything to do with my own personal genius judgments. I think they're widely shared, or widely at least understood by everybody who works on this topic professionally. And I emphasize that because I think even in the past month, we've seen demands from our government that the Israelis must have a day-after plan, or that the Israelis still must work towards reducing civilian casualties, or that they must work towards a number of these sort of very basic steps that it was clear nine months ago that they weren't going to do anything about. [...] Anybody could have told you back in October, back in November, that we'd get somewhere like where we are today."
MSF physiotherapist killed in Gaza while on his way to work （MSF, 2024-06-25）
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“Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (#MSF) is outraged and strongly condemns the killing of our colleague, Fadi Al-Wadiya, in an attack this morning in Gaza City.
“Al-Wadiya was killed along with five other people, including three children, near an MSF clinic. He was cycling to work at the time, on his way to provide medical care to others who had been injured.”
Great piece by D. Danyelle Thomas @blackmastodon#StopGenocide#Juneteenth
"No one can truly thrive in a persistently barren land without anything to sustain living. Although there is little in which to take solace, we are not without hope."
#Kyoto hotel's refusal to accommodate Israeli man illegal: city (Kyodo News, 2024-06-21)
"A Kyoto hotel illegally refused accommodation to an Israeli man, citing possible ties with his country's military engaging in conflict in the Gaza Strip, the local government said Friday.
"The city has instructed Hotel Material in Higashiyama Ward that such an act violates a law..."
This incident (boycotting Israeli guest) circulated in X/FB for some time, but I haven't noticed any significant media in Japan dealing it.
Now, as the local authority scolded the Hotel, it's worth reporting.
U.S. military members discuss seeking conscientious objector status over support of Israel in Gaza (NBC News, 2024-06-22)
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“Two Air Force enlistees are requesting to become conscientious objectors over U.S. support of Israel, a decision they said was emboldened by the ongoing war in Gaza…”
Brussels refuses to host Belgium-Israel match over security fears (Voice of America, 2026-06-19)
"#Brussels has refused to host a Nations League football match between Israel and Belgium on September 6 because it could spark demonstrations, city authorities said on Wednesday..."
... BBC also speak of security problems. Not so much as an act to #boycotIsrael ?
States and companies must end arms transfers to Israel immediately or risk responsibility for human rights violations: UN experts (OHCHR, 2024-06-20)
“These companies, by sending weapons, parts, components, and ammunition to Israeli forces, risk being complicit in serious violations of international human rights and international humanitarian laws”...
Jewish voices for Palestine (Jewish Voice for Labour, 2024-06-11)
"On 8-9 June, after four years of meeting monthly online, the International Jewish Collective for Justice in Palestine (#IJCJP) met in London to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to the genocide, and a call to Jewish communities world-wide to join the global movement for justice. The Collective – represented at the London conference by 22 organizations on the 6 continents in 16 countries –met to strategize, share approaches, and strengthen its organizing to participate with all its power as a strong and principled partner in the Palestinian-led movement for justice."
Interview | Yael Bartana: “The Idea of Utopia in the Wrong Hands Can Be Very Dangerous” (Hanno Hauenstein | Spike Art Magazine, 2024-06-09)
Israeli artist Yael Bartana co-opened German Pavilion at the 2024 Venice #Biennale.
The best part of this interview for me:
HaH: What did you make of the decision of Ruth Patir, the artist representing the Israeli Pavilion, not to open her show to the public – until a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement is reached?
YB: Every Israeli artist right now is under pressure to take a stance, and everyone I know wants a permanent ceasefire and the hostages released. The artist and curators have my respect for taking what must have been a very tough decision.
Israel Will Not Participate in the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, Prompting Criticism (Art World, 2024-06-05)
"Israel has decided not to take part in the 19th Venice Architecture #Biennale next year, with officials at the ministry of culture allegedly claiming that they need to renovate Israel’s pavilion."
In the midst of Israeli Pavilion's closure* in ongoing Art Biennale, this decision could be interpreted as a sign of fragility. Cultural boycott is not at all that useless...?
*) Israeli artist Ruth Patir and the curators decided to keep their Pavilion closed until a cease-fire and hostage release agreement is reached. ✊
According to a United Nations official, the extensive rubble and unexploded ordnance left behind by Israel's devastating war in the Gaza Strip could require up to 14 years for removal. Pehr Lodhammar, a senior officer at the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), made this statement during a briefing in Geneva.
While everyone wants a permanent ceasefire, the US still talks of a temporary one.
'Earlier Monday, US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told reporters it is “the best, most realistic opportunity to bring at least a temporary halt to this war”."
X post of Francesca Albanese, UN
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in oPt:
Relieved that four hostages have been released. It should not have come at the expense of at least 200 Palestinians, including children, killed and over 400 injured by Israel and allegedly foreign soldiers, while perfidiously hiding in an aid truck.
This is "humanitarian camouflage" at another level.
Israel has used hostages to legitimise killing, injuring, maiming, starving and traumatising Palestinians in Gaza. And while intensifying violence against Palestinians in the rest of the occupied territory and Israel.
Israel could have freed all hostages, alive and intact, 8 months ago when the first ceasfire and hostage exchange was put on the table. Yet, Israel refused in order to continue to destroy Gaza and the Palestinians as a people.
This is genocidal intent turned into action. Crystal clear.
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Israel's deliberate targeting of UNRWA sites sheltering displaced Palestinians has become a daily occurrence, sparking global outrage at these heinous crimes.
Max Bergmann, a former State Department official and now program director with the Center for Strategic International Studies, predicts Russian-fueled turbulence at the Democratic national convention in August. He foresees attempts of Russian operatives to infiltrate groups of protestors and attempt to turn protests violent.
He also notes that social media has “become way more of a cesspool than it was in 2016.”
@wdlindsy good cover to suppress the opinion of the people . Pretty obvious they will use our tax payer money to plant the violence against us during our protest of their genocide. All to further degrade us from within and create cover for their violence upon us. Staring early with their #Russia smear campaign. #ceaseifrenow#stopgenocide#usa#uspolitics#dnc#chicago
Analysis | The Only Ones Still Buying the Israeli Army's Version of the Rafah Strike (Haaretz, 2024-05-28)
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“According to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, this strike had two targets: Yassin Abu Rabia and Khaled Al-Najjar. ... Both men were said to have carried out attacks in the early 2000s and transferred funds for terrorism.”
“The announcement did not disclose that the two men were released in deal … in 2011 and that both were West Bank residents … who had been deported to Gaza. ”
“… We don't know whether they were targeted because … they were still operating in the Hamas military arm, … or if they were targeted in #revenge for their attacks in the early 2000s. We don't know what these men would have chosen to do had they been released to their homes in the West Bank. …”
Palestinians with disabilities subject to unbearable consequences of the ongoing hostilities and violence in the OPT (Statement | OHCHR, 2024-05-27)
——— @palestine #UN#OHCHR #StopGenocide