News & views related to the war in Palestine …
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April 10, 2025
Palestine Open Thread 2025-076
Comments
RE: “ Palestinians **lost. So have Iran Syria Hezbollah the Houthis and Hamas. Move along. It’s all over. Let it go. “
Posted by: julianh | Apr 16 2025 8:19 utc | 301
“lost” what?
What did they all “lose”… exactly?
Hitler had his fun for a few years too.
It’s hardly “over” for USReal.
Posted by: Trubind1 | Apr 16 2025 10:00 utc | 301
julianh
Better to enter Paradise halt or maim.
The USUKIS genociders will have plenty of time in Hell to regret what they have done.
Posted by: Giyane | Apr 16 2025 12:27 utc | 302
“Israel” strategy… or “how starvation of a civilian population is not a war crime”…
Journalist Suhaib Al-Masalma
• “Israel Katz:
For the first time, the Egyptians have set a condition for concluding a comprehensive deal and ending the war by disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza.
Israel’s policy in Gaza is clear and decisive:
1- Make every effort to return the prisoners.
2- Stop humanitarian aid and find another way to distribute it.
3- Continuously target Hamas members.
4- Evacuate the population and prepare the ground with massive firepower.
5- Incorporate the territories into the Israeli security zones and not withdraw from them.
If Hamas continues its intransigence, the operation will expand and move to other stages.”
• “Israel Katz:
As I explained in my statement, Israel’s policy is clear: No humanitarian aid will be allowed into Gaza.
Preventing the entry of aid is one of the central pressure tools preventing Hamas from exploiting this route to control the population, and it is unfortunate that there are those who are trying to mislead public opinion.
In the current situation, no one is planning to bring any kind of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and no preparations are being made for the entry of such support.
I emphasized that, in the future, a mechanism should be established that relies on civilian companies, so that Hamas will be prevented from accessing the aid issue later.”
Journalist Youssef Fares
• “Dr. Hussam Abu Safia’s lawyer:
He suffers greatly in captivity and is severely exhausted as a result of torture, abuse, and being subjected to pressure and insults to force him to confess to acts he did not commit.”
• “Government Media Office:
The Gaza Strip has entered a phase of humanitarian collapse .”
@289 Ed4
Palestinian National Islamic Forces are a broad inclusive Palestinian political coalition headed by Barghouti (in jail and subjected to torture). Hamas is a member. They are speaking here of the value of Gaza to Egypt from a resistance perspective (one which also has adherents in Egypt) . That is to say, they are saying Gaza acts to buffer direct “Israeli” attention/expansion into Egypt.
So ‘using’ is not what was said or meant. It de facto is a security zone, a buffer, from that point of view.
What definition of “using” are you describing ?
There are various ways, or scenarios, that could be interpreted as meaning…
Posted by: Ornot | Apr 16 2025 13:06 utc | 303
Posted by: Ornot | Apr 16 2025 13:06 utc | 306
RE: Regarding “Israel Katz”
Israel/USReal publish and talk all kinds of smack & lies.
A). No one buys their crap anymore. If they have “supporters”, it’s because their supporters are murderous & and vile too, not because they’re “fooled”. The “ignorance” stuff is a lie.
Remember the Jews:
“18 And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:
19 (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.)”
This is always the choice before all humanity.
Who/what do you “chant” for?
Framed various ways, quoted in various languages, themes, religions, but always a simple (yes simple) choice.
“Human rights, war crimes, starvation, torture, injustice, collective punishment, lies, plots, schemes”…all in front of a global audience, every day.
Anyways, thx for post.
Posted by: Trubind1 | Apr 16 2025 14:31 utc | 304
“A hint” for those in the west:
What you don’t see…
Palestinian journalists do not film their own people starving, as a matter of honour and dignity.
70% of Gaza is under evacuation orders, displacements are chaotic and unsupervised. Registry of population is not current.
Many refuse to relocate and essentially live in reclusion for the possibility of being targeted.
An unknown number of Palestinians are now being starved, are now starving to death.
…now you do.
Related reports :
From the telegram site of martyred journalist Hossam Shabat:
• “Government Media Office:
– The occupation continues to prevent the entry of any relief or fuel trucks
. – Thousands of trucks loaded with aid have been piling up at the crossings for many weeks.
– The tight siege does not exclude any aspect of daily life and strikes at the basics of survival.
– Service and humanitarian facilities are on the verge of complete collapse.
– Hospitals are operating at limited capacity and without medicine or fuel.
– It is likely that all hospitals will stop working within the next two weeks.
– Bakeries have stopped working as they cannot find flour or operating sources.”
– Water stations have stopped pumping due to fuel shortages and power outages.
– We warn of the risk of mass deaths due to hunger, lack of health care, and the spread of diseases.
– We demand urgent international action to stop the crime of genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
• “Hamas representative in Iran, Khaled al-Qaddoumi:
– Any ceasefire proposal that does not take into account the interests of our people will not be implementable.
– There is a consensus among our people and its factions to reject any agreement that does not completely stop the aggression, does not guarantee the withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, and does not achieve a serious exchange deal.
– The word “catastrophe” is not enough to describe the extremely critical conditions in Gaza .
– The genocide is taking place with a green light from the United States and Western countries
. – Practical steps and effective pressure movements must be taken in Islamic countries in support of Palestine.
– Many Arab and Islamic countries have not taken any practical steps to stop the crimes of the occupation army.
– The global and widespread boycott of the Zionist entity is one of the important and effective means of struggle.
– The Zionist entity seeks to occupy more Palestinian and Arab regions and territories and continue to commit massacres as part of its goal of establishing a “Greater State of Israel.” ”
• “Civil Defense spokesman in Gaza:
– The situation is becoming increasingly difficult in the Strip due to the continued closure of the crossings.
– The humanitarian situation is becoming increasingly difficult in light of the severe shortage of supplies.
– Famine has become a clear phenomenon in the Strip, and the situation has become extremely catastrophic.”
Posted by: Ornot | Apr 16 2025 14:36 utc | 305
Going to have to look in the archives for a Palestine thread in the next day or so.
Posted by: teri | Apr 16 2025 14:52 utc | 306
@307 Trubind
Yes, but when they state it as policy, when they openly acknowledge their intent as official position, even if it has an air of excuse or attempted deniability, the fact that starvation of the civilian population has been admitted to as a purposeful “strategy” is damning in every sense. It self condemns “Israeli” society as a whole for the act, it condemns western and arab society and organisations to a status of full complicity should they not react effectively to counter that approach.
It is not “collateral” , it is not chain of command.
It is to purposefully close off exit and access to around two million people.
And then watch them starve to death.
Apart from maybe carpet bombing the whole of Gaza, and which some might even consider merciful by comparison , I don’t see how “Israeli” actions could not be any more blatantly criminal and announced.
The deceit is the illusion that “Israel” isn’t actually doing anything against the population.
“Why, they aren’t shooting or bombing them or anything” …”If they cannot survive without help then that is not our fault but of those that have led them to that circumstance” etc.
All very obviously false, but passable as the window of “acceptability” gets reshaped once again.
If we allow it to be, if we accept or excuse in any way.
After a fact, people are inclined to accept that normalisation, for not wanting to address own inadequacy or sense of guilt. That continues until they no longer have any moral sense, or no longer assume any kind of responsibility or moral duty, whatsoever.
Posted by: Ornot | Apr 16 2025 15:05 utc | 307
see the 1:57 video at the links
and see/read Sana Saeed’s thread too, some of which is below.
https://x.com/SanaSaeed/status/1912318554126327931
Sana Saeed @SanaSaeed
This is an incredible video – and it condemns not only the Democrats to their irrelevancy and moral death but also Sanders. As the cops aggressively remove the protestors, the entire crowd is booing – not at the protestors, but at the cops. Sanders ignores what’s happening, doesn’t engage with it at all and he’s unable to continue over the booing.
Now, when the protestors are removed – the crowd doesn’t burst into a “Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!” – the way Dems did for over a year to drown out anti-genocide protestors at Biden / Harris rallies. They, instead, chant “Free Palestine!” again and again and again,
https://x.com/zei_squirrel/status/1911961520595927059
☀️👀 @zei_squirrel
some anti-genocide people unfurled a Free Palestine flag behind Bernie Sanders at his rally just now and police thugs arrested them as Bernie Sanders looked on and let it happen without saying a word. A minute earlier Sanders said “Israel has the right to defend itself” and repeated his lie about “not one more nickel to Netanyahu” when he opposes sanctions and an actual arms embargo and to this day refuses to recognize the genocide
https://x.com/SanaSaeed/status/1903887437446713438
Sana Saeed @SanaSaeed
This whole Bernie-AOC rebranding project feels like brain rot surrealism – like Sanders didn’t support the genocide of Palestinians before remembering he hates Netanyahu and AOC chiding anti-genocide voters who she said needed to ‘be adults’ and vote for Biden.
https://x.com/SanaSaeed/status/1903891409268027818
if as a progressive or leftist you still think salvation is through the party that oversaw – gleefully – the extermination of a nation of 2.2 million people, half of whom are children.. you absolutely deserve this country….
https://x.com/SanaSaeed/status/1903891042438656316
like what are you building exactly? this is just PR management for the dead Democratic Party, that’s it. people are desperately looking for real leadership and opposition in this terrifying moment and we get.. Sanders and AOC, who are fully resigned to the Democratic Party……
Posted by: michaelj72 | Apr 16 2025 15:33 utc | 308
https://x.com/gazetenisan/status/1912557444976222233?t=raQOZ0Uat8VCJwGFXwkUxw&s=19
Selçuk Kozağaçlı freed. A lawyer in Turkey, he was jailed years ago for among other things taking on the Syrian state’s case that Syrian property was being stolen by Turkish businessmen and officials in the parts of Syria then controlled by the “opposition”. Perfectly true, but there were howls of outrage from those in Turkey claiming he was a “traitor” and he was accused of being a “Syrian agent”, a “terrorist” etc.
Posted by: Waldorf | Apr 16 2025 17:57 utc | 309
Please… tens of thousands reportedly in Rafah without aid…forcible transfer of Palestinians in Gaza into spaces where they have little or no access to lifesaving services, including water, food and shelter…. one meal a day for 1 million people supplied to 2 million people…90% water insecurity…nutrient supplement for severely malnourished at 10% of requirements…aid delivery within Gaza very restricted…and I add that there are untold tens of thousands out of reach in other displacement order zones.
Please, figure out for yourselves what the circumstance is for Palestinians in Gaza now, it is not so very hard to understand.
I will explain it in simple words, words that the relief organisations are not allowed to use, for not wanting their existing efforts interrupted, for not being able to access large parts of the population:
As I write, as you read this, numerous thousands will be starving to death with no strength or ability to reach aid, and with no perspective of aid reaching them.
Information taken from a recent report:
“As of 9 April, over 401,000 people are estimated to have been displaced again…with no safe place to go….
In total, about 69 per cent of the Gaza Strip is under active displacement orders, within the “no-go” zone or both. According to the SMC, over 401,000 people are estimated to have been displaced between 18 March and 9 April…
31st March Tens of thousands of Palestinians were reportedly in Rafah, with no access to humanitarian aid, and tens of thousands have reportedly been displaced from the governorate under very difficult conditions amid ongoing attacks…
The increasing issuance by Israeli Forces of ‘evacuation orders’ – which are, in effect, displacement orders – have resulted in the forcible transfer of Palestinian [sic] in Gaza into ever shrinking spaces where they have little or no access to lifesaving services, including water, food and shelter, and where they continue to be subject to attacks…
Since 18 March, OHCHR recorded at least 23 incidents of strikes on IDP tents in Al Mawasi area of Khan Younis, where Israeli military orders instructed civilians to relocate, and a large percentage of overall fatalities recorded by the Office were children and women. “In some 36 strikes about which the UN Human Rights Office corroborated information, the fatalities recorded so far were only women and children,” …
As of the second week of April, over one million individual meals are being prepared daily at approximately 175 community kitchens supported by more than 20 Food Security Sector (FSS) partners that are sharing the remaining limited food commodities available in the Gaza Strip…
FSS emphasizes that one cooked meal per day is far from sufficient to meet a person’s daily minimum caloric intake and dietary diversity needs—particularly as the entire population of over two million people remains entirely dependent on food assistance for survival…
In March alone, 3,696 children were newly admitted for acute malnutrition, out of 91,769 children screened—marking a sharp increase compared with February, when 2,027 children were admitted from a total of 83,823 screened…
In March, the number of children who received blanket supplementary feeding – medium-quantity, lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS-MQ) – decreased by more than 70 per cent, from 84,509 children reached in February to only 22,382 children. This represents less than 10 per cent of the Nutrition Cluster’s target of all 290,000 children between 6 and 59 months…
The survey found that 91 per cent of assessed households experienced water insecurity between the end of February and the beginning of March…
Widespread water insecurity in Gaza is fueling a severe survival crisis with far-reaching public health and protection consequences. Water is essential for survival, yet access to safe water has become dangerously limited… ”
https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/humanitarian-situation-update-280-gaza-strip
Posted by: Ornot | Apr 16 2025 19:11 utc | 310
Waldorf
Turkey is still a member of the Councile of Europe! And as the holder of an Associate Agreement with the EU it receives subsidies of all sort!
#Accountability
Posted by: Tom | Apr 16 2025 19:19 utc | 311
“Israel” gives false estimates, so as to enact genocide, and to later be able to try to present a form of deniability:
Today, Suhaib Al-Masalma
“Kan Hebrew Channel:
The security establishment estimates that the food available in Gaza will only last for about one month”
Posted by: Ornot | Apr 16 2025 19:40 utc | 312
Suhaib Al-Masalma
“US aircraft launched 30 raids on areas in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, this evening.”
Posted by: Ornot | Apr 16 2025 19:48 utc | 313
Palestinians have an inalienable right to use force against foreign oppression, colonisation, occupation and domination and that should not be considered terrorism.
The use of force needs to in line with international law.
In February 2024 the Chinese ambassador stated before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that “the struggle waged by peoples for their liberation, right to self-determination, including armed struggle against colonialism, occupation, aggression, domination against foreign forces should not be considered terror acts”.
Regarding the October 7 attack, the Al Aqsa Flood operation:
“To the extent that there is real evidence of atrocities accompanying the October 7 attack, those would constitute violations, but the attack itself is something that, in context, appears entirely justifiable and long overdue”, renowned American international law and relations scholar and former UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine (2008-2014), professor Richard Falk, told the Palestine Chronicle.
Full: Breaking the Silence on Palestinian Armed Struggle: A Call for Legal Clarity
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/breaking-the-silence-on-palestinian-armed-struggle-a-call-for-legal-clarity/
Posted by: JB | Apr 16 2025 19:57 utc | 314
https://x.com/ejmalrai/status/1912420786863829084
Elijah J. Magnier 🇪🇺 @ejmalrai
It is not anti-Semitic to oppose the policies of the Israeli government or to criticise the political ideology of Zionism. What is anti-Semitic is the hatred of all Semites—regardless of religion—through physical attacks, verbal abuse, or the spread of dangerous stereotypes and conspiracy theories.
Ironically, in today’s context, no entity has been responsible for the death and displacement of more Semitic people—particularly Palestinians—than Israel. This reality is often ignored in Western narratives that equate Semitism exclusively with Jewish identity, while overlooking the Semitic heritage of Arab populations who bear the brunt of Israeli military actions.
https://x.com/Ema97n/status/1912434732521897990
Ema🇵🇸 @Ema97n
I’ll set the bombing aside—though it’s not something you can truly set aside. Gaza hasn’t received a single good or drop of water in 7 weeks. Hunger is hollowing out the children. & now, back to the bombing I tried to set aside: they’re being bombed while starving—Genocide.
https://x.com/mehdirhasan/status/1912445169258856842
Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan
If you still believe Hamas, not Netanyahu, is the block on a hostage deal and ceasefire agreement then you are either the dumbest person in the world, or you have never read a word published in the Israeli press, or… both.
Posted by: michaelj72 | Apr 16 2025 20:48 utc | 315
Related:
Lebanon has banned ‘Snow White’ from playing in movie theaters due to Gal Gadot’s casting.
According to a representative for Italia Films, Gadot has been on an Israeli boycott list in Lebanon for a long time — no movie she stars in is released in the country.
Gal Gadot = Gal Greenstein, who (as I understand it) killed Lebanese while serving in the IDF.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 16 2025 21:21 utc | 316
why oh why do they hate us?
https://x.com/xIsraelExposedx/status/1912499850564022638
IsraelExposed @xIsraelExposedx
Aljazeera released their entire database of war crimes and Israeli soldiers they investigated.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2025/4/16/israeli-soldiers-filmed-themselves-destroying-gaza-see-the-video-evidence
The first livestreamed genocide
Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit compiles evidence of potential Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Despite a ceasefire agreed upon in January, Israeli forces have resumed bombing Gaza. On March 19, a day after the bombing resumed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the latest air strikes, which have killed hundreds of people, were “only the beginning.”
Eighteen months into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, more than 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been confirmed killed. At least 10,000 more are missing, buried under the rubble and presumed dead.
The Al Jazeera Investigative Unit’s feature documentary GAZA exposes Israeli war crimes through the use of videos and photographs posted online by Israeli soldiers themselves.
Here we present the database that lies behind that film, described by international law expert Rodney Dixon as “a treasure trove you very seldom come across, … something which I think prosecutors will be licking their lips at.”…..
Posted by: michaelj72 | Apr 16 2025 21:32 utc | 317
US Adds to Long Hospital-Bombing History
By Alan MacLeod
MintPress News
April 16, 2025
This brief rundown of the past five decades shows that last month’s attacks on the Al Rasool Al-Azam Oncology Hospital in Yemen are far from an aberration, writes Alan MacLeod.
In repeatedly targeting and destroying a cancer center in Yemen, the United States has carried on a long pattern of bombing hospitals.
On March 24, the United States carried out a premeditated attack on the Al Rasool Al-Azam Oncology Hospital in Saada, Yemen, turning it into rubble. At least two people were killed and 13 more injured.
This was not an isolated incident. Eight days previously, on March 16, Washington launched 13 separate airstrikes against the building, systematically destroying the hospital’s five blocks.
The Anti-Cancer Fund, a local government medical organization, described the events as a clear “war crime.”
“These attacks are not just airstrikes, but systematic executions, intended to eliminate hope and wipe out life amid a suffocating blockade,” it said in a statement.
The Yemeni Cancer Control Fund, a government body tasked with overseeing the country’s healthcare system, agreed, alleging that they were part of what it called:
“A systematic American policy that has targeted the Yemeni people for years through bombings and a suffocating blockade, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and spreading deadly diseases, including cancer, which has surged due to the use of internationally banned weapons since 2015.”
The newly built Al Rasool Al-Azam Hospital was the centerpiece of the region’s healthcare network. Costing over $7.5 million, the center provided crucial treatment to hundreds of cancer patients who previously went without any care at all or faced an eight-and-a-half-hour round trip to the capital, Sanaa, for therapy.
The repeated strikes on healthcare facilities in Yemen have received virtually zero attention in the United States. Indeed, Washington’s attacks on Yemen have elicited almost no critical coverage, with corporate media seemingly more outraged that senior Trump officials used a Signal group chat to plan their operations than those deeds leading to the deaths of dozens of civilians.
The United States returned to bombing Yemen because its government, in an effort to halt the Israeli assault on Gaza, stopped Israeli ships traveling through the Red Sea. And like Palestine, Yemen is under an international blockade, depriving its people of basic necessities.
MORE…
https://consortiumnews.com/2025/04/16/us-adds-to-long-hospital-bombing-history/
Posted by: Menz | Apr 16 2025 22:11 utc | 318
Judge blocks deportation of Columbia protest organizer Mahdawi
By Al Mayadeen English
A federal judge has blocked the deportation of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian green card holder and Columbia University protest organizer, after his sudden arrest by immigration officials.
A federal judge on Monday blocked the deportation of a detained Columbia University protest organizer, Mohsen Mahdawi, a green card holder from Palestine, court records show.
Mahdawi was arrested Monday by the Department of Homeland Security agents at a Vermont immigration office where he expected to be interviewed about finalizing his US citizenship, his attorneys said. His attorneys filed a petition the same day, demanding his immediate release, insisting that his detention violates First Amendment, statutory and due process rights
Mahdawi’s attorneys argued that the Trump administration is pursuing his removal under the same legal provision used to detain Columbia University alumnus Mahmoud Khalil.
Hours after his arrest, Mahdawi’s attorneys filed for a temporary restraining order to halt his transfer. US District Judge William Sessions granted the request, blocking both his removal from Vermont and his deportation, according to the court order.
Vermont’s congressional delegation condemned the arrest in a joint statement, criticizing the federal agents who detained Mahdawi—reportedly armed and masked.
“This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal,” wrote Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Peter Welch, and Rep. Becca Balint. “As a legal U.S. resident, Mr. Mahdawi is entitled to due process and must be released immediately.”
Who is Mohsen Mahdawi?
Born in a refugee camp in the West Bank, Mahdawi has been a lawful permanent resident in the US for 10 years, according to his attorneys. The petition describes him as a committed Buddhist who believes in “non-violence and empathy as a central tenet of his religion.”
“Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and an activist and organizer in student protests on Columbia’s campus until March of 2024, after which he took a step back and has not been involved in organizing,” the petition states.
Donning the Koufiyyeh, in a December 6, 2023, 60 Minutes segment, where, as co-president of Columbia’s Palestinian Students Union, Mahdawi states, “The fight for freedom of Palestine and the fight against antisemitism go hand-in-hand, because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident of the US and graduate student who was recently detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Mahdawi is expected to graduate from Columbia University in May, having been admitted to a Master’s program at Columbia, according to the court filing
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/judge-blocks-deportation-of-columbia-protest-organizer-mahda
Posted by: Menz | Apr 16 2025 22:15 utc | 319
Drop Site
@DropSiteNews
Doctor Safiya “Exhausted From the Torture” as Israel Pressures Him to Confess to Acts He Didn’t Commit, Lawyer Says
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the detained director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, is being held in “inhumane” conditions and subjected to “physical and psychological intimidation,” his lawyer Gheed Qassem told AFP after visiting him at Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank on March 19:
➤ Qassem said: “He is suffering greatly, he is exhausted from the torture, the pressure and the humiliation he has endured to force him to confess to acts he did not commit.” Interrogators are demanding that Abu Safiya confess to operating on Hamas fighters or Israeli captives—accusations he denies.
➤ Abu Safiya was arrested on December 27 during Israel’s assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital. He was first held at the Sde Teiman military base, where Qassem said he was subjected to beatings, mistreatment, and torture during interrogations.
➤ He was then transferred to a cramped cell in Ofer, where he spent 25 days under further questioning. His case has been designated “confidential,” blocking his defense team from viewing the files.
➤ Qassem said Abu Safiya has lost 20 kilos, fractured four ribs during interrogations, and is suffering from arterial tension, cardiac arrhythmia, and vision problems—without receiving proper medical care.
➤ She also said Israeli authorities have designated him an “illegal combatant” for an unlimited period of time and placed strict limitations on legal visits. Detainees, she said, are not allowed to know the time, date, or even their location.
➤ “He remains calm,” Qassem said, “but wonders what crime he has committed to be subjected to such inhumane conditions.” “Everything he did was out of a moral, professional and human duty towards the patients and the wounded.”
Drop Site
@DropSiteNews
Doctor Safiya “Exhausted From the Torture” as Israel Pressures Him to Confess to Acts He Didn’t Commit, Lawyer Says
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the detained director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, is being held in “inhumane” conditions and subjected to “physical and psychological intimidation,” his lawyer Gheed Qassem told AFP after visiting him at Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank on March 19:
➤ Qassem said: “He is suffering greatly, he is exhausted from the torture, the pressure and the humiliation he has endured to force him to confess to acts he did not commit.” Interrogators are demanding that Abu Safiya confess to operating on Hamas fighters or Israeli captives—accusations he denies.
➤ Abu Safiya was arrested on December 27 during Israel’s assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital. He was first held at the Sde Teiman military base, where Qassem said he was subjected to beatings, mistreatment, and torture during interrogations.
➤ He was then transferred to a cramped cell in Ofer, where he spent 25 days under further questioning. His case has been designated “confidential,” blocking his defense team from viewing the files.
➤ Qassem said Abu Safiya has lost 20 kilos, fractured four ribs during interrogations, and is suffering from arterial tension, cardiac arrhythmia, and vision problems—without receiving proper medical care.
➤ She also said Israeli authorities have designated him an “illegal combatant” for an unlimited period of time and placed strict limitations on legal visits. Detainees, she said, are not allowed to know the time, date, or even their location.
➤ “He remains calm,” Qassem said, “but wonders what crime he has committed to be subjected to such inhumane conditions.” “Everything he did was out of a moral, professional and human duty towards the patients and the wounded.”
https://x.com/DropSiteNews/status/1912560483082686777
Posted by: Menz | Apr 16 2025 22:16 utc | 320
Drop Site
@DropSiteNews
Israel Admits Blocking All Aid to Gaza as a “Pressure Tool”
Israel’s Defense Minister declared Wednesday that “Israel’s policy is clear and no humanitarian aid is about to enter Gaza,” and openly described the aid blockade as a deliberate tactic: “Preventing humanitarian aid to Gaza is one of the main pressure tools … and it is a shame that there are those who try to mislead.”
He added: “In the current reality, no one is prepared to bring any humanitarian aid into Gaza, and no one is preparing to bring in any such aid.”
The remarks amount to a public admission of collective punishment—an act prohibited under international law.
https://x.com/DropSiteNews/status/1912508195026674075
Posted by: Menz | Apr 16 2025 22:17 utc | 321
Posted by: michaelj72 | Apr 16 2025 21:32 utc | 320
###########
Al Jazeera is not anti-Zionist.
It is very pro Arab-monarchy, all of which are American vassals and complicit in the genocides (Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, etc).
Thank you for sharing the information, despite my concerns about the source.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 16 2025 22:20 utc | 322
💧Mary Kostakidis
@MaryKostakidis
Extraordinary protest action in South Africa by Jewish activists protesting Israel’s actions in this video.
While arts administrators in Australia cancel artists calling out the genocide or deemed to have produced a work of art at some point in their career associated with the Palestinian struggle – @jaysongillham
and Khaled Sabsabi – Jewish protesters in Johannesburg disrupt pianist Yaron Kohlburg’s concert. Kohlburg, like most Israelis, has served in the IDF.
Kohlburg has performed for the Knesset, and has also partnered with a Palestinian pianist. But today, artists are caught between the establishment that is demanding neutrality (on the Palestinian matter but not if it is apropos Russia Ukraine), and anger in the community by those protesting the genocide. There are two issues here I think: one is an artist’s position on the genocide, the other the position of countries, with growing calls for sanctions against Israel in the same way there were against SA, to pressure the regime to dismantle apartheid.
Extraordinary scenes at this concert and outside the venue.
https://x.com/MaryKostakidis/status/1912480005302763815
Posted by: Menz | Apr 16 2025 22:22 utc | 323
Craig Murray
@CraigMurrayOrg
Syria to Recognise Israel By End 2026 – A British diplomatic source tells me that “President” Al Jolani aka Al-Sharaa has assured the UK that Syria will “normalise relations” with Israel, recognise the State of Israel and exchange Ambassadors, by the end
https://x.com/CraigMurrayOrg/status/1911828102533050686
Posted by: Menz | Apr 16 2025 22:24 utc | 324
I wouldn’t sweat Jolani, I read earlier today that he just evaded a coup attempt. Arab leaders do not live long or comfortable lives.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 16 2025 22:46 utc | 325
Journalist Yousef Fares
“Gaza did not leave a veil covered over anyone’s face, this war was our biggest test, starting with the individual, family and society, all the way to parties, entities, countries, alliances, laws, charters and international organizations, everyone was tested in their values, slogans, will and honesty, the Muslim Brotherhood was the biggest failure, the biggest opportunists and careerists, at the end of last year I had described them in a post as “the biggest disappointment, the most failed nation, and the most fallen of God’s creation, heroes in the season of destruction and neglect in the seasons of construction” and I received a wave of reproach and blame from friends and loved ones and later party figures with whom I have a brotherly relationship: “Criticism is right, but why the harsh words?” The statement of the Brotherhood in Jordan, in which it denies any honorable position, relieved me of any self-blame, but more importantly, we will soon hear the name of the Muslim Brotherhood again in the most degrading role, as they will be Israel’s stick with which it will punish the Ansar Allah group in Yemen for its position supporting Gaza, They will invent justifications and pretexts to attack them from the ground after the Americans complete their mission of striking their capabilities from the air. Remember the name “Yemeni Islah Party” well!
This is the egregious revealing Gaza ”
“In recent times, the primary state backers of the Muslim Brotherhood have been Qatar and the AKP-ruled Turkey” Wiki
I am wary of Al-Jazeera also, will link all the same if unique relevant item but tend to avoid as far as possible now. For the above reasons (as mentioned by LoveDonbass) and too much of a sense of agenda.
Posted by: Ornot | Apr 16 2025 22:58 utc | 326
I often (probably wrongly) assume others are up to date on on the ground events in Gaza, but then afterwards I think not everyone checks updates regularly.
Shelling and bombing continue, and including on hospitals and aid , sometimes with staff lost. This evening was particularly horrific, with over fifteen (mostly women and children) martyred/killed in their shelter tents after an airstrike, with many more injured. To spare the images I just include a post of pictures of one of the martyrs (not graphic) . Anyone can copy translate the text for themselves, it is just too sad to repeat.
https://t.me/NewsPs0/173483
Posted by: Ornot | Apr 16 2025 23:11 utc | 327
I am hearing that Al-Qassam brigades ambushed 3 Merkavas with Yasin RPGs.
Hamas has been quiet but they are still around.
I also read today that Aoun (the leader of Palestine) is trying to fold Hezbollah into the Lebanese armed forces to disarm them. I don’t follow Lebanese news closely, but Hezbollah is the largest political party in the country, and last I heard, they were shifting some of their operations to Iraq, so any attacks they make on the Occupation should not blow back on Lebanon.
Not that the Zionists need a watertight reason to bomb civilians.
Appeasement is the way to armageddon. Get strong or get strong allies. Anything not to submit.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 17 2025 0:18 utc | 328
From Reuters Arabia
The UAE and Saudi Arabia deny reports of their participation in talks regarding a ground offensive in Yemen.
They both have a lot to lose if Yemen decides to destroy their oil drilling capacity.
I noticed a lesser Prince of KSA went to Tehran today, ostensibly to beg for mercy and give false assurances that they are not aiding the Zionists (pick one).
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 17 2025 0:36 utc | 329
https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1912198390349271247
Max Blumenthal @MaxBlumenthal
Netanyahu freaked out when Trump’s team initiated direct talks with Hamas for Edan Alexander, who is a dual US-Israeli citizen
Now it appears Israel has targeted the site where Alexander was held, raising new questions about its use of the Hannibal Directive to kill hostages in Gaza, and thereby reduce the main point of political leverage for Hamas
Since Oct 7, Israel has killed dozens of Israeli citizens in Gaza, and there is every reason to believe it was done according to official Hannibal orders
https://x.com/sahatenglish/status/1912168468750663887
Sahat English 🇵🇸 @sahatenglish
What Did #Netanyahu Do to Edan Alexander — the Israeli-American Soldier Held in #Gaza?
🔴 “We announce that we have lost contact with the team guarding soldier Edan Alexander following a direct Israeli bombardment targeting their location. We are still trying to reach them.” — Abu Obeida, spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades.
📌 The Hannibal Directive is a military protocol that allows Israeli forces to prevent the capture of soldiers—even if it means endangering or killing the soldiers themselves.
📌 Abu Obeida had issued a warning 10 days ago, holding Netanyahu and his government responsible for the safety and lives of the hostages.
📌 The resistance accuses the Israeli government of “deliberately trying to kill [Alexander] in order to relieve themselves of the pressure caused by dual-citizen captives, and to continue its genocide against our people.”—Abu Obeida
#EdanAlexander #GazaGenocide
https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1912198391796281641
Max Blumenthal @MaxBlumenthal
In his last message from captivity, Alexander hints that he believes Netanyahu would rather he wind up dead, because the political price of getting him out alive is too high
Posted by: michaelj72 | Apr 17 2025 3:11 utc | 330
Itamar Ben Gvir and his buddies have stormed a mosque on the West Bank.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RcFdez-qnkI
Posted by: WMG | Apr 17 2025 6:45 utc | 331