‘They All F*cking Hate Me!’ – Trump’s Rant About ‘The Blacks’

By Fisher Jack
June 19, 2021

Donald Trump (Getty)

*We’ve learned that now ex-President Donald Trump regretted not taking a harder line against protesters in the wake of the late George Floyd’s death, lamenting that “the Blacks” hated him and would never vote for him anyway.

Mike Bender, a Wall Street Journal reporter, has an upcoming book called “Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost” coming out shortly. It was excerpted by Politico Playbook and it pictures Trump as seething in the immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, and regretting the criminal justice reform he supported because of his son-in-law Jared Kushner. (Thank God for Kushner.)

MORE NEWS ON EURWEB: A$AP Rocky Admits He Feared Trump’s Support During Sweden Arrest Would ‘Jeopardize’ His Case

Snoop – Trump – HarryO  (who Trump pardoned from prison before he left office)


“For Father’s Day in 2020, what DONALD TRUMP mostly wanted was to avoid his son-in-law. It was JARED KUSHNER who had talked the president into hiring BRAD PARSCALE to run a campaign that was now, just months before the election, in freefall. And when most Americans rejected Trump’s unreasonably truculent response to the civil unrest that was sweeping the country, the president also blamed Kushner. … Trump privately told advisers that he wished he’d been quicker to support police and more aggressive in his pushback against protesters.

“Trump had staked nearly his entire campaign in 2016 around a law-and-order image, and now groaned that the criminal justice reform that Kushner had persuaded him to support made him look weak and — even worse — hadn’t earned him any goodwill among Black voters.

“‘I’ve done all this stuff for the Blacks — it’s always Jared telling me to do this,’ Trump said to one confidante on Father’s Day. ‘And they all f—— hate me, and none of them are going to vote for me.’”

Trump Impeachment / Getty

If you paid any kind of attention, you know that Trump denounced the unrest around Floyd’s murder, continuously praised the National Guard crackdown on protests in Minneapolis. On the other hand, when white insurrectionists attacked the U.S. Capitol, Trump opposed deploying the National Guard, and praised the invaders while the assault was in progress.

In November, 87 percent of voters Trump refers to as “The Blacks,” cast their ballots for now-President Joe Biden, according to exit polls.

UK

Vow to end NHS reliance on foreign staff criticised

POLITICAL POSTURING? Baroness Dido Harding formally applied to succeed Simon Stevens as the head of NHS England last week. (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

By: Lauren Codling

24 June, 2021

HEALTHCARE leaders have warned that the NHS will not survive without the contribution of overseas staff, following reports a life peer was vowing to end the
health service’s reliance on foreign workers.

Baroness Dido Harding has apparently pledged to make the NHS less reliant on non-UK workers, if she becomes head of the NHS. Harding, the former head of the NHS’s Test and Trace programme, formally applied to succeed Simon Stevens as the head of NHS England last week.

The Times claimed Harding would challenge the “prevailing orthodoxy” in government that staff are better sourced from abroad. Around 14 per cent of the NHS workforce are non-UK nationals, according to the House of Commons Library.

Reacting to the claims, British Medical Association (BMA) council chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said the NHS would not survive without the contribution of overseas health workers. Non-UK staff played a “critical role” in supporting the health service, he argued.

“Their contribution to saving lives and caring for patients during the pandemic has been invaluable,” he said.

Professor (Dr) Kailash Chand, a former deputy chair of the BMA, echoed his remarks. “The NHS is so reliant on immigrant workforce that it would not survive without the contribution of overseas healthcare workers,” he told Eastern Eye. “We should be celebrating their contribution and thanking them for the difference they have made to the NHS. A NHS without a non-UK workforce input is, to say the least, unrealistic.”

Dr Chand argued Harding’s comments “demeaned the contributions (of overseas medics)”. “It is a slap on our faces and those who’ve sacrificed their lives protecting the public serving the NHS since its inception,” the Manchester-based doctor said. “Foreign vs indigenous is a discriminatory and devious way to describe cultural relationships and does not bode well for multicultural global Britain.”

Both doctors noted the severe staffing shortages within the NHS. The Kings Fund said hospitals, mental health services and community providers reported a shortage of nearly 84,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, affecting key groups such as nurses, midwives and health visitors.




Dr Nagpaul said: “With serious staffing shortages within the NHS, we must be doing all we can to attract and retain hardworking doctors and healthcare workers, both from overseas and within the UK, as that is what is needed to care for patients amid an enormous backlog of care.”

Dr Chand added: “Instead of demonising foreign staff, (Baroness Harding) should ask the government to improve the pay and conditions of NHS workers so home grown medics don’t emigrate to places like Canada and Australia.”

Dr Ramesh Mehta, president of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), agreed the NHS would struggle without the contribution of foreign doctors. Although he noted Harding was “ethically right” in acknowledging India needs more doctors than the UK, he said: “Since Dido is applying for the top NHS job, it may be her political posturing.”

Dr Mehta warned the Tory peer should resist from “making rash statements”. “She has certainly antagonised foreign-trained doctors in the NHS who provide sterling service and have stood by the NHS during the Covid disaster, even risking their lives,” he told Eastern Eye.

BAPIO’s national chairman, Dr JS Bamrah, said it was “regrettable” Harding had “failed to recognise our contributions, making many of us feel that we are an unwanted and undesirable part of the NHS workforce”.

“She would have done better to say she would do her utmost, if selected to be the boss of the NHS, to increase the uptake in UK medical schools and provide nurse bursaries to induce more nurses to join the NHS, so that the 100,000 vacancies in jobs can be filled,” he told Eastern Eye.

Others have also criticised Harding’s remarks. In response to the reports, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said the NHS “was built on internationalism, not xenophobia”, while Labour’s Angela Rayner called the vow “misguided and close to impossible”.

“It is also deeply offensive to all the NHS staff who have risked their lives during the pandemic,” said Rayner, the deputy leader of the opposition.

Simons was confirmed to be standing down as the NHS chief executive in April. Other reported frontrunners for the role include NHS England’s chief operating officer, Amanda Pritchard.

Lawyer: Death of John McAfee surprised the US mogul’s family


BY ARITZ PARRA ASSOCIATED PRESS
JUNE 25, 2021


John McAfee, creator of McAfee antivirus software is seen on a screen while testifying via video during an extradition hearing at the National Court in Madrid, Spain, on June 15, 2021. McAfee has been found dead on Wednesday June 24, 2021, in his jail cell near Barcelona in an apparent suicide, hours after a Spanish court approved his extradition to the United States to face tax charges which may have been punishable by decades in prison. Inset photo bottom right is a view of the courtroom. (Chema Moya, Pool photo via AP) CHEMA MOYA AP

MADRID

Authorities in Spain say a judge has ordered an autopsy for John McAfee, the gun-loving antivirus pioneer, cryptocurrency promoter and occasional politician who died in a prison cell pending extradition to the United States for allegedly evading millions in unpaid taxes.

A court spokeswoman for the Catalonia region said Thursday that a forensic team would need to perform toxicology tests on McAfee's body to determine the cause of death and that results could take “days or weeks.”

Authorities say everything at the scene indicated that the 75-year-old tycoon killed himself.

The judicial investigation is being handled by a court in Martorell, a town northwest of Barcelona with jurisdiction over the prison where McAfee died. The spokeswoman wasn't authorized to be identified by name in media reports.

McAfee's Spanish lawyer, Javier Villalba, said the entrepreneur's death had come as a surprise to his wife and other relatives, adding he would seek to get “to the bottom” of his client's death.

“This has been like pouring cold water on the family and on his defense team," Villalba told The Associated Press on Thursday. “Nobody expected it, he had not said goodbye.”

Although Villalba said he had no evidence of any foul play but blamed the death on “the cruelty of the system” for keeping a 75-year-old behind bars for economic, not violent, crimes after judges refused to release him on bail.

”We had managed to nullify seven of the 10 counts he was accused of and even so he was still that dangerous person who could be fleeing Spain if he was released?" the lawyer said. “He was a world eminence, where could he hide?”

Spain's National Court on Monday ruled that McAfee should be extradited to the U.S. to face charges for evading more than $4 million in taxes in the fiscal years 2016 to 2018. The judge dropped seven of the 10 counts in the initial indictment.

Villalba said McAfee had learned about the ruling on Tuesday and that his death on Wednesday didn't come in the heat of the moment. He also said McAfee and the legal team had been preparing an appeal to avoid being extradited.

A penitentiary source told the AP that McAfee was sharing a cell in the Brians 2 jail where he had been put in preventive detention since he was arrested in October last year on a U.S. warrant, but that at the moment of his death he had been alone.

Prosecutors in Tennessee accused McAfee of failing to report income from promoting cryptocurrencies while he did consulting work, earnings made in speaking engagements and for selling the rights to his life story for a documentary. The criminal charges carried a prison sentence of up to 30 years.

The British-born entrepreneur led an eccentric life after selling his stake in the antivirus software company named after him in the early 1990s. He twice made long-shot runs for the U.S. presidency.

McAfee often professed his love for drugs and guns in public remarks. And some of his actions landed him in legal trouble beyond Tennessee, from Central America to the Caribbean. In 2012, he was sought for questioning in connection with the murder of his neighbor in Belize, but was never charged with a crime.





1 of 3
FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015, file photo, John McAfee announces his candidacy for president in Opelika, Ala. McAfee, the outlandish security software pioneer who tried to live life as a hedonistic outsider while running from a host of legal troubles, was found dead in his jail cell near Barcelona , Spain, on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. His death came just hours after a Spanish court announced that it had approved his extradition to the United States to face tax charges punishable by decades in prison, authorities said. (Todd J. Van Emst/Opelika-Auburn News via AP, File) TODD J. VAN EMST AP

Mumford & Sons’ Banjoist Quits After Andy Ngo Praise Controversy

Winston Marshall provoked a backlash in March after tweeting his support for a book by Ngo, a right-wing provocateur.


BY ABID RAHMAN

JUNE 24, 2021

Winston Marshall TIM MOSENFELDER/WIREIMAGE

Winston Marshall, the banjoist and guitarist of Mumford & Sons, has quit the Grammy-winning British band months after provoking a fan and public backlash following his support for a book by right-wing provocateur Andy Ngo.

In a post on Medium, Marshall outlined the reasons he is leaving the band he had been a part of since they were founded in 2007. He expands on his initial apology but also says he could not continue to “self-censor” his views. “I have spent much time reflecting, reading and listening. The truth is that my commenting on a book that documents the extreme far left and their activities is in no way an endorsement of the equally repugnant far right,” Marshall writes.

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“For me to speak about what I’ve learnt to be such a controversial issue will inevitably bring my bandmates more trouble. My love, loyalty and accountability to them cannot permit that.” he added. “I could remain and continue to self-censor but it will erode my sense of integrity.”

He continued, “I hope in distancing myself from [the band] I am able to speak my mind without them suffering the consequences.”

On Twitter, the official Mumford & Sons account tweeted: “We wish you all the best for the future, Win, and we love you man.”

In March, in a now-deleted tweet, Marshall, who also goes by the music aliases Country Winston and WN5TN, congratulated Ngo on the publication of his book Unmasked, which promises to take the reader “inside ANTIFA’s radical plan to destroy democracy.”

“Finally had the time to read your important book. You’re a brave man,” Marshall tweeted, before deleting the message following a backlash and intense mockery of the band.

Ngo, a conservative journalist who rose to prominence filming left-wing protests in Portland, has become notorious for his associations with the neo-fascist white nationalist groups the Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer.

A few days after his tweet, Marshall announced he was “taking time away” from the band.

While a member of Mumford & Sons, Marshall courted controversy for associating with notorious right-wing personalities. In 2018, Marshall invited Canadian academic Jordan Peterson, who has been accused of transphobia, misogyny and Islamophobia, to visit the band’s London studios.

After pictures of Peterson and members of the band appeared on social media, Marshall told a Canadian radio station, “I don’t think that having a photograph with someone means you agree with everything they say.” He added, “Primarily I’m interested in his psychological stuff, which I find very interesting.”

Egyptian army controls secret funds, report finds


An Egyptian army conscript stands guard outside a polling station before the start of the first day of the 2018 presidential elections, in Boulaq al-Dakrour neighbourhood in the capital Cairo's southwestern Giza district on 26 March 2018, with an electoral poster seen behind inside the station depicting incumbent President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (C) between late Presidents Anwar Sadat (L) and Gamal Abdel Nasser (R) with a caption reading in Arabic "Support the Egyptian Army against terrorism". [KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images]

Arabi21
June 25, 2021 

Informed Egyptian sources have revealed specific information and exclusive details about vast secret funds controlled by the Egyptian military institution as part of its financial assets, which are not subject to any sort of supervision. These funds are not included in the general budget of the state or even the armed forces' budget, not least because a large part is kept outside Egypt.

These "secret" funds clarify some of the ambiguities and answer many questions about the sources of Egypt's financial allocations for various national projects.

In response to questions about the source of the funds he spends on projects, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said in February this year that, "The money comes from Egypt, our country… It has been granted to us by Allah the Most Gracious." He stressed that what the regime is doing "is beyond the people's capacity, above the Egyptian state's capacity, and you are still asking about the source of the funds."
The truth is bigger than Sisi

At the 8th National Youth Conference in September 2019, Sisi responded to the huge commotion caused by artist and contractor Mohammed Ali by saying, "The truth is bigger than me… Bigger than me." This prompted some to wonder what this bigger truth is that he cannot reveal.

According to the sources, there is a general budget allocated for the armed forces that is deposited in a special account in the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and some other (unnamed) banks. They manage it quite independently, but there is a secret budget the details of which are known only to a very limited number of senior military commanders. This budget includes many items, most importantly Operation Urubah 90, special funds, dollar deposits and other items that are not represented on the board of directors of any economic entity controlled by the army.

READ: Biden writes another blank cheque for Sisi

Article 203 of the Egyptian Constitution is clear that: "A National Defence Council is to be established, presided over by the President of the Republic and including in its membership the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minister of Defence, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of the Interior, the Chief of the General Intelligence Service, the Chief of Staff of the armed forces, the Commanders of the Navy, the Air Force and Air Defence, the armed forces Chief of Operations and the Head of Military Intelligence."

This council is responsible for looking into matters pertaining to the methods used to ensure the safety and security of the country, and discussing the armed forces' budget. This incorporated as a single figure in the state budget. The council's opinion must be sought in relation to draft laws on the armed forces.



Egyptian walk past a huge poster of Egypt's former Defence Minister and armed forces chief General Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi outside the High Court in downtown Cairo, on 27 March 2014. [KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images]

Its other jurisdictions are defined by law. When discussing the budget, the head of the financial affairs department of the armed forces and the heads of the Planning and Budgeting Committee and the National Security Committee at the House of Representatives shall be included. The President of the Republic may invite whoever is seen as having relevant expertise to attend the council's meetings but they will not have a vote.

In April 2013, the armed forces' general budget was first included in the state budget for the fiscal year 2013-2014. The total military budget was estimated at 31 billion Egyptian pounds compared with 27 billion in the 2012-2013 budget.

In preparation for the ground offensive to liberate Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait provided the Egyptian armed forces with a grant of $1.1 billion. Former President Hosni Mubarak agreed that the armed forces would invest these funds for their own benefit provided that the money would be exploited to improve their efficiency.

The funds were deposited in various accounts in Greek and Swiss banks. Two years after the liberation of Kuwait, the Minister of Defence, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, obtained Mubarak's agreement to release 150 million Egyptian pounds to be distributed as rewards to commanders and officers, especially after questions were raised among military personnel about the Saudi grant.

There was also a sub-account allocated by the Saudi armed forces for funds to be granted as allowances for food, transportation and personal expenditure for officers and soldiers who participated in Operation Urubah 90. The sources confirmed that commanders gave officers and soldiers small monthly amounts while keeping the allocated funds for themselves.

Brigadier General Fathy Zaghlul, the operations coordinator in Hafr Al-Batin in Saudi Arabia, was responsible for this sub-account. After the Kuwait war it was discovered that Zaghlul had made an arrangement with his brother to go to Switzerland to open a bank account. He then transferred 32 million Egyptian pounds from the food, transportation and pocket allowances into his brother's Swiss account.

This fraud was discovered, but it took several months to find Zaghlul. He was ordered to return the looted funds but the military institution could not get the money out of the bank account. The then Minister of Defence, Youssef Sabri Abu Taleb, did not initiate any legal action against Zaghlul for fear of the scandal it would cause. Instead, Zaghlul was forced into retirement.

Such funds were still being invested abroad throughout Mubarak's term of office under the personal supervision of Tantawi and Major General Mahmoud Nasr, who was head of the Financial Affairs Authority for the Armed Forces, monitored by military intelligence. A portion of the money was invested in various projects abroad, as well as in transactions and speculations that were not included, of course, in the official records of the armed forces' economy or that of the state.

READ: New death sentences in Egypt demand us to seek clemency for the accused

"As soon as the 2011 January Revolution broke out," explained the sources, "Tantawi stopped all transactions on this account, which at that time was worth about $16 billion, as he wanted to transfer it to the official account of the armed forces in Egypt out of fear of the repercussions of the revolution. This forced him to reveal the truth about the amount and his position to the military council to involve it in the decision."

However, General Nasr suggested at one of the meetings of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that these funds should not be touched, nor returned to Egypt, under the pretext that the internal political conditions were not favourable. Out of fear that this matter would be revealed by the media, he proposed an alternative plan to say that this amount was deposited abroad for the purpose of sealing huge arms deals that did not take place because of the revolution. Tantawi was convinced of this idea and the amount remained abroad, but he made steady profits by depositing the money in the bank without making any transactions, or trading and speculating.

During the period leading up to the 2012 presidential election, Tantawi apparently started to have more concerns about depositing funds abroad, not least in case the incoming president was not on the same page as the military council. He was alarmed about General Ahmed Shafik's victory, because Shafik knew a lot about military affairs. Even though he had been away from the military institution for years, he maintained good relations with some senior officers, intelligence chiefs and former presidency officials.

General Nasr proposed a plan to Tantawi to transfer the affiliation of the National Investment Bank (NIB) to the Ministry of Planning, with the aim of freeing the institution from the Central Bank's supervision, and then appoint a consensus minister of planning; he wanted to task Ashraf Al-Arabi with this. Afterwards, and according to the same plan, the funds would be transferred to the NIB. Hence, Tantawi issued decision No. 285 of 2012 which stipulated the transfer of the bank's affiliation to the planning ministry as a first step to bring the funds from abroad.

The NIB is one of the economic and investment branches of the Egyptian state. It was established under the provisions of Law No 119 of 1980 for the purpose of financing all projects included in the general economic and social development plan of the State, by contributing to the capital of these projects or extending them through loans or other means, and monitoring their implementation. The bank describes itself as "a tool that the state can use to intervene in controlling the markets and implement its economic and social policies."




10 years on from the Egyptian Revolution
[Mohammed Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

As one of the leading financial and development institutions with massive potential and capabilities, the NIB is required to engage in events as a source and a recipient of influence and play an important role In light of recent economic changes in the local and international scene.

Following Mohamed Morsi's victory in the presidential election, Tantawi felt reassured that Shafik had lost and so did not feel the need to bring the money back from abroad. Nasr persuaded him to wait for some time under the pretext that they could convince the Muslim Brotherhood that there was good reason for keeping such a large amount of money abroad.

Meanwhile, Ashraf Al-Arabi actually became a minister. Not quite as planned, though; he was appointed in the Brotherhood government and the situation was not fully secured despite the prior agreement between them. This is why the decision to return the amount was postponed, despite the unjustified decision to transfer the NIB's affiliation to the planning ministry.

The sources pointed out that after 3 July, 2013, the coup leader, Minister of Defence Al-Sisi, met with the Military Council to thrash out the plan for him to run for the presidency, while telling it that all bank accounts, surpluses and profits of the armed forces would be at his personal disposal as President of the Republic and Supreme Commander. This was setting a precedent.

READ: Egypt to buy $4.5bn worth of Rafale fighter jets from France

The financial situation of the armed forces when Sisi became Minister of Defence in August 2012 can be summed up as follows: 164 billion Egyptian pounds of accumulated budget surpluses; $16 billion in deposits abroad (Urubah 90); and 3.6 billion Egyptian pounds in revenues from economic activity. The profit for the year's economic activity has been estimated at 113 million Egyptian pounds.

After Sisi took office as president officially in 2014, this file was assigned to Major General Nasr, who followed his time as head of the military's Financial Affairs Authority by becoming a financial advisor to President Al-Sisi in June 2019. Accordingly, Nasr was able to transfer the authority to approve disbursing all armed forces' funds to Sisi, who entrusted him with the task of collecting profits on a regular basis.

The sources maintain that the secret Urubah 90 deposit is still in a foreign bank account.
Army bank accounts abroad

A leak broadcast by the opposition Mekameleen TV channel in February 2015 indicated that Sisi requested Major General Abbas Kamel, who was serving as his office manager, to inform the former Saudi Royal Court chief Khaled Al-Tuwaijri to deposit $30 billion in aid from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait in the armed forces' account. Kamel asked how such a large amount could be transferred to that account. Sisi is said to have replied that it could be done by pumping it directly into the armed forces' accounts in those countries; in other words, into the accounts of the military attaches in the Egyptian Embassies in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait City.

The sources noted that some funds related to the armed forces' economic activities abroad are always placed in the military attaches' accounts, and not in private bank accounts, of course.

One of the reasons why Sisi dismissed his son-in-law, Lieutenant-General Mahmoud Hegazy, who served as chief of staff, was that the latter had reservations about managing these secret funds in this way. Hegazy apparently preferred to conduct the process in a legal manner. He was also in almost permanent disagreement with Kamel, who previously held the position of head of the defence attaches branch. Although they served in the army together, their conduct and actions were completely different.
The armed forces' massive funds

Al-Sisi is said to have sold land plots belonging to the armed forces between 2018 and 2020, along with the Suez and Ain Sukhna Roads, the Ismailia Suez Road and the Yellow Mountain, for 6.8 billion Egyptian pounds. The carry forward surpluses of the armed forces' budgets jumped to 342 billion Egyptian pounds this year, with a 200 billion increase since Sisi took charge of the Ministry of Defence. This entire amount, which has been transferred to a special presidency bank account, is under the control of the president.

"All these revenues, profits, invested funds, deposits and surpluses are increasing very rapidly, because the armed forces receive every penny they spend on projects, in addition to the government profits," added the sources. "However, in spite of cancelling subsidies and doubling the prices of all services, the budget deficit jumped to about 450 billion Egyptian pounds instead of decreasing, an amount paid annually by the government in dues for the armed forces."

Sisi instructed the defence minister to evacuate the area located on the other side of Salah Salem Street, including the main tank repair workshop, the main vehicle workshop, the railway station for the armed forces and the veterinary hospital, in preparation for selling these properties, along with the Military College. The price was set at nearly 1.1 trillion Egyptian pounds, under the supervision of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt.

Since 2015 Sisi has seized the accounts, revenues and profits of the Arab Organisation for Industrialisation (AOI) via the Ministry of Military Production. He has also seized the profits of the contracts allocated by the ministry to buy materials locally and abroad, separately from its factories. The president's profits are estimated at 2 trillion Egyptian pounds.



Billboards of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are seen in Cairo, Egypt [Mohammed Bendari/Apaimages]

"Military prisons, along with some civilian prisons, have been implicated in the furniture industry in an extensive and professional manner, in order to control the business," said the sources. "Thus, the regime agreed with a large number of furniture dealers to supply them with furniture with the aim of paralysing the original and traditional furniture industry in Damietta governorate in favour of the New Damietta, in which the army has secretly invested."

The profits ensured by the military prisons are transferred to a special account controlled by the Financial Affairs Authority for the Armed Forces, and cannot be used without Sisi's approval and the defence minister's signature. This is in addition to revenues generated by the furniture workshops led by the Second Field Army, the Third Field Army, the Northern Region, the Red Sea Sector and the workshops of the General Services Authority and Missions Authority, as well as the quarries.
The Central Auditing Organisation's monitoring mission

It is noteworthy that in March 2021, General Nasr stated that all the activities of the armed forces' production base are subject to the oversight of the Central Auditing Organisation (CAO), which commits to hundreds of oversight committees annually. He presented scanned copies of the first pages of the CAO's reports on the activities of the various companies affiliated with the armed forces, especially the National Service Products Organisation (NSPO).

However, private sources completely denied the validity of Nasr's claim. "None of the military economic activities are subject to any supervisory or even regulatory authority, not by the CAO, the Administrative Control Authority (ACA) nor the Parliament or the Ministry of Finance, despite the fact that very limited formal procedures took place in the past," they insisted. Indeed, everyone is well aware that there are certain things that cannot be addressed or approached, because this area is a major red line.

How, in this context, is it possible to monitor companies and transactions without even knowing they exist?

READ: Egypt biggest purchaser of Italy weapons systems, once again

We will fight for our projects

To explain the reason why senior officers of the armed forces insist on carrying on with these declared and undeclared economic activities, and their absolute refusal to apply any real oversight measures to supervise the flow of profits, the sources cited previous statements issued by Nasr after the outbreak of the revolution. "We will fight for our projects, this is a battle that we will not leave behind," he said. "The effort that we have been putting in for 30 years will not be destroyed by anyone else, and we will not allow anyone else to approach the projects of the armed forces."

The armed forces' economic activities were initiated in the 1960s, especially after the 1967 Six Day War against the occupation state of Israel, during which there was a campaign of popular donations to support the military institution and contribute to rebuilding it. This prompted the armed forces, pushed by feelings of humiliation, to have its own independent revenues and budgets that have been getting bigger ever since, to be exploited in legitimate and illegitimate ways that deviate from the norm, especially after the military institution became a deep state in its own right.

It is noteworthy that the defence ministry rejected a request by the then President Mohamed Morsi to allocate $1.5 billion to help the government deal with the aggravating shortage in fuel and other basic commodities. This illustrates perfectly the significant difference in the way that the armed forces as an institution dealt with Morsi and the way it deals with Sisi.

This report appeared in Arabic in Arabi21 on 23 June 2021

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

 Palestine security forces disperse protest against assassination activist Nizar Banat

 
Security forces block Palestinian demonstrators gathered to protest against the death of Nizar Banat, on 24 June 2021, in Ramallah, West Bank. [Issam Rimawi - Anadolu Agency]

June 25, 2021 

Palestinian security forces yesterday dispersed a rally organised by activists in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, condemning the assassination of activist and political opponent, Nizar Banat, Anadolu reported.

Eyewitnesses told the agency that the Palestinian security forces dispersed the rally, which started in Al-Manara Square in central Ramallah and headed towards PA President Mahmoud Abbas' headquarters, to protest against the targeting of Banat.

The eyewitnesses said security forces fired tear gas canisters and beat dozens of activists with wood and iron batons, causing many of them to suffer breathing difficulties or bruising.

The participants raised pictures of Banat and chanted slogans accusing the Palestinian security services of assassinating him.

A similar stand was organized in Ibn Rushd square, in Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, during which the participants raised Banat's pictures .

Banat, an outspoken critic of the Palestinian Authority and a former candidate in parliamentary elections called off earlier this year, died after Palestinian security forces arrested him and beat him with batons yesterday.

Family spokesman, Ammar Banat, accused the Palestinian security forces of assassinating him.

Ammar said the Preventive Security and General Intelligence forces stormed Banat's home at 3am local time and beat him with iron and wooden batons.

Banat sparked controversy after he demanded the European Union stop financial support for the Palestinian Authority (PA), following the decision to cancel the elections and over their heinous record of human rights violations.

Hamas: Abbas responsible for Palestinian activist's murder

Palestinians protest against the death of activist Nizar Banat in Gaza, on 24 June 2021 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

June 25, 2021 

Hamas says it holds Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas fully responsible for the assassination of activist and political opponent, Nizar Banat.

"The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, strongly condemns Abbas' security forces' assassination of the activist and political opponent, Nizar Banat, deputy head of the Freedom and Dignity List in the legislative elections," it said in a statement, adding that "this orchestrated and premeditated crime reflects the intentions and behaviour of Abbas' authority and his security services towards our people, opposition activists, and political opponents."

"Hamas holds the President of the Oslo Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and his authority full responsibility for all the repercussions and consequences of this heinous crime that is added to the series of crimes and violations of this authority against our people," it continued.

It added that it rejects the decision of PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh to form a committee to investigate the circumstances of the assassination, saying: "There is no trust in a committee formed by the authority, its government, and services for they all carried out the assassination, and must bear full responsibility for this heinous crime".

The statement called on the Palestinian people, factions and institutions to shoulder their responsibilities, take bold and responsible national decisions towards those involved in this heinous crime, and work to protect Palestinian people from the oppression, arrogance and criminality of the PA.

An outspoken critic of the PA, Banat was due to run in the parliamentary elections which were called off by Abbas earlier this year. His family said PA security forces arrested and beat him with batons yesterday, he was later found to have been killed.

Why did the PA kill Nizar Banat?

Palestinians gather for a demonstration in protest against the death of activist Nizar Banat, who died during his arrest by Palestinian security forces, in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on 24 June 2021. [MOSAB SHAWER/AFP via Getty Images]

Motasem A Dalloul
abujomaaGaza
June 24, 2021 

Today at dawn, Palestinians across the occupied territories were shocked to learn that a well-known activist in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Nizar Banat, had been killed by Palestinian Authority security forces.

The PA Governor in Hebron, Jibreen Al-Bakri, issued a statement about the killing. He claimed that the security forces aimed to enforce the law as they went to detain Banat on the basis of a detention order issued by the Public Prosecutor. He said that the activist died during the detention process due to health problems. He did not mention the "brutal" and "barbaric" way that Banat was beaten on his head and face. Bakri said that Banat was transferred to hospital, but his friends and family have searched for him everywhere, and insist that wherever he was taken, it was not to hospital.

According to Banat's family, "The PA security services detonated the door of the house, broke into the building and immediately started beating [Banat] with iron bars and batons while he was asleep, along with two of his brothers. They emptied three bottles of pepper powder in his face when he got up; stripped him of his clothes; lynched him; insulted him while he was bleeding; kidnapped him; took him to an unknown location; and murdered him."

Palestinian factions, leaders, activists and international officials have condemned Banat's "murder". The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, described what happened as a "full-fledged crime that reflects the bloody policy of the PA." It blamed the government of Mohammad Shtayyeh for "this unethical crime which is rejected by all Palestinians and unacceptable to all Palestinian traditions and norms."

READ: When will the Palestinians unite?

The UN Envoy to the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, wrote on twitter: "Alarmed & saddened by the death of activist, former parliamentary candidate, Nizar Banat following his arrest by [Palestinian security forces] in Hebron… I call for a swift, independent & transparent investigation. Perpetrators must be brought to justice."

The EU Delegation to the Palestinians also turned to Twitter: "Shocked and saddened by the death of activist and former legislative candidate Nizar Banat following his arrest by the PA security forces last night. Full, independent, and transparent investigation should be conducted immediately."

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Palestine, Lynn Hastings, added: "Disturbing news on the death of activist Nizar Banat shortly after his arrest by Palestinian Security Forces from his home in Hebron. I note that an investigation has been initiated and call on the authorities to ensure that those responsible are swiftly brought to justice."

Palestinian activists and journalists joined in the condemnation of the killing of Banat. Some made it clear that, in their view, he was "murdered" by the PA.

"The PA murdered Nizar Banat in a shameful way," said journalist and activist Ismail Al-Thawabteh. "The liquidation by the PA of activist Nizar Banat today at dawn is strongly condemned and must be deterred in order not to be repeated.



The wife (L) of the Palestinian activist Nizar Banat, who died during his arrest by Palestinian security forces, grieves in her house in the village of Dura near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, on 24 June 2021. [MOSAB SHAWER/AFP via Getty Images]

Thousands of words have already been written and spoken about Banat's "murder", and his name has trended on Twitter. Why, though, did the PA kill him?

Nizar Banat was an outspoken critic of the PA, Fatah and the PLO, all of which are headed by Mahmoud Abbas. He exposed many cases of corruption linked to them. The latest example was the PA-Israeli deal to exchange soon-to-expire Israeli Covid-19 vaccines for newly-produced vaccines intended for the West Bank. The deal was cancelled after it was exposed.

Banat intended to run for the Palestinian parliamentary election, and has been posting videos on his Facebook page about PA corruption and criticising the security cooperation between Ramallah and Israel at the expense of the Palestinian resistance and the principles of the Palestinian cause.

He was arrested eight times by the PA and tortured because of his views and activism against PA corruption. He was open about rejecting the peace made by the PA with Israel because, according to him, it met all the demands of the Israeli occupation and undermined all the rights of the Palestinians.

Recently, Banat phoned Muhannad Karaja from Lawyers for Justice, and told him that the PA was threatening him. He explained to Karaja that the PA intelligence services asked him to end his criticism of the PA and officials from Fatah and the PLO.

This suggests that the PA killed Nizar Banat to silence him, because he embarrasses the authority by exposing its conspiracies with the Israeli occupation plotted against the Palestinians. The PA killed him because he was a nationalist who believed that the authority is nothing more than a Zionist project intended to serve the Zionist project in the region.

Even though Prime Minister Shtayyeh has already announced that an investigation will go ahead, Banat's family, Palestinian activists and rights groups are sceptical about it being "independent and transparent" as demanded by representatives of the international community.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian NGO Network has warned that the PA's political crackdown on its opponents will turn it into "a police state governed by repression and a disregard for people's lives and their dignity under the reality of the occupation." It called for PA President Mahmoud Abbas to put an end to all infringements of civil rights and public freedoms to preserve the dignity of Palestinian citizens.

READ: 'There is no Plan B,' but accolades from Abbas are still forthcoming

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor

More US labour unions join alliance against 'Israeli apartheid'

June 19, 2021 

MEMO

People gather in Brooklyn to demonstrate in support of Palestinians in New York City, United States on May 15, 2021. Protests are taking place worldwide against Israel’s recent escalated actions towards the Palestinian people [Tayfun Coşkun / Anadolu Agency]

Vermont State Labour Council has announced joining alliance of Labor for Palestine which stands against "Israeli apartheid," raising the number of American labour bodies which joined this alliance to 15.

"Our affiliate Vermont State Labor Council AFL-CIO joins its counterpart at the Connecticut Labor Council in standing against Israeli apartheid," the council said in a statement posted on Facebook.

"This should come as no surprise," it said, citing its leadership's "reputation of standing on the right side of history and embracing rank-and-file unionism."

Meanwhile, in the statement, the council said:

We congratulate our affiliate for its undeterred and uncompromising solidarity with the Palestinian fight for freedom, and call on all in Organized Labor to support Vermont AFL-CIO's righteous vision of building a united, powerful labor movement.

On the issue, Executive Board Member, Helen Scott, said: "We have heard the call of Palestinian workers' organizations for global solidarity in their struggle for freedom and justice and we applaud the growing number of US unions that have responded with resolutions, statements, and workplace actions, such as the Block the Boat campaign. We, therefore, endorse US Labor Must Stand with Palestine."

The Zionism Discourse on Palestine Crumbling: Israel is an 'Apartheid State'

Several US unions and bodies have joined the alliance prior to Vermont, including UMN Clerical Workers Union, Black Attorneys of Legal Aid, Attorneys of Color of Legal Aid, Labor Against Racist Terror, Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, Central Jersey DSA, NYC DSA Labor Branch and others.

The alliance blamed continuous Israeli crimes against the Palestinians, which started in 1948, to the continuous US support for Israel.

"These crimes are only possible because of $3.8 billion a year (or $10+ million *per day*) in bipartisan US military aid that gives Israel the guns, bullets, tanks, ships, jet fighters, missiles, helicopters, white phosphorus and other weapons to kill and maim the Palestinian people," a statement said.

'Death to the Jews' would have caused an international scandal, yet Israel's incitement gets a free pass

June 19, 2021  MEMO

A Palestinian youth is detained by Israeli forces as a group of Palestinian gather to protest against far-right Israelis' slogans insulting Prophet Muhammad during yesterday's "flag march" at Damascus Gate in Old City of Jerusalem on June 17, 2021 [Mostafa Alkharouf / Anadolu Agency]


Asa Winstanley
June 19, 2021 

Go along with me on a thought experiment for a few minutes.

Imagine that British police forces permitted a crowd of thousands to march through an area of London with a high Jewish population chanting "Death to the Jews" and other similar violently bigoted obscenities.

Imagine such a group of racists parading through areas such as Golders Green or Stamford Hill spewing "May your shtetl burn" and threatening that a "second Holocaust" would come soon.

Then, imagine that the police, far from trying to stop such a poisonous event from taking place, actually took the side of the racists, protecting them as they went along. Imagine the police attacking not the racists, but instead a small group of anti-racist counter-protestors trying to voice objection to the anti-Jewish incitement taking place. Imagine the police assaulting the counter-protestors and snatching away their placards or flags.

Then, imagine that senior British politicians praised the police for allowing the racist demonstration to take place, bizarrely insisting that the "Death to the Jews" demonstration "had to be approved" and applauding the "excellent" management of the event.

Imagine that a well-known elected politician from an opposition party even attended the "Death to the Jews" demonstration himself. Imagine the same politician was recently exposed by the media as having praised 2018's Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, in which 11 Jewish people were murdered in their place of worship.

Imagine the politician suffered no negative consequences as a result of the exposure of his genocidal anti-Jewish racism. If anything, his hatred seemed to endear him even more to his voters. His party gained more seats in parliament and came close to entering a coalition government during the subsequent election.

Imagine that all this took place not just once, but every year.

All of this is surely an impossible scenario.Well, yes. Thankfully, it's certainly impossible in London, Paris, Berlin or New York.

But not in Israel.

Read: Israel shoots, kills 15-year-old Palestinian in Nablus

With a few adjustments, the same appalling scene just took place in Jerusalem, the city that Israel claims as its capital. With one key difference: the gang of racist thugs were calling for "Death to the Arabs" not "Death to the Jews", since they were themselves Jewish.

All this took place because Israel is an irredeemably racist state. A settler-colonial entity whose existence is premised on the violent expulsion and racist dispossession of the indigenous population of the land of Palestine.

One of the underreported aspects of the appalling festival of anti-Palestinian racism that we saw the Israeli government and police encourage in Jerusalem this week was the sheer age of the demonstrators chanting these filthy slogans.

The videos show young teens, and even children, chanting "Death to the Arabs" in Hebrew as they raged through eastern Jerusalem – the area of the city where the most Palestinians live.

The politician who joined them was Itamar Ben-Gvir, the leader of the Religious Zionism extremist party. Footage uncovered by Israeli television earlier this year showed Ben-Gvir dressing up as Baruch Goldstein.

Goldstein was a fanatical settler who came from Brooklyn, New York and massacred 29 Palestinians while they prayed in Hebron's Ibrahimi Mosque in 1994.

This bloody terrorist act was actually rewarded by the Israeli Labor government of the day, as they imposed curfews on the city – not of the extremist Jewish settlers who plague that city, but of the native Palestinians who are the majority.

Yet – as I alluded to in my scenario above – Ben-Gvir suffered no damage to his political career, and came very close to entering a coalition government with the last Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

These forces are the future of Israel, the future of Zionism – the youth of the demonstrators show this.

Read: Calls to boycott Zara after head designer attacks Palestinian model

Yet, such genocidal scenes among the mainstream of Israeli society and the state are met with little more than a shrug by the West's hypocritical politicians. Thankfully, you cannot imagine the same silence were "Death to the Jews" demonstrations to be held.

In fact, the opposite is true. Israel's supporters seem to actively invent, exaggerate and fabricate anti-Semitism in order to malign, smear and harass Palestinians and their supporters in the West.

As many activists have pointed out, there is more fear and condemnation in the mainstream in the US, Canada and European political cultures of Palestinian calls for freedom and equality than of genocidal Israeli calls for "Death to the Arabs".

"From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free" is a call for exactly what it says – freedom and equality for all in the entirety of historical Palestine. Yet those who use this honourable slogan are systematically demeaned and smeared as "anti-Semites".Even the call for an "Intifada" or Palestinian uprising for freedom is slandered as "anti-Semitic" by Britain's anti-Palestinian racists, such as Dave Rich of the Community Security Trust (a pro-Israel lobby group).

Until we impose and force a change on this hypocritical political culture that has been put into place by rut leaders, there is very little hope for change and freedom for Palestinians.

Amnesty highlights Israeli far right 'Tonight we are not Jews, we are Nazis' comment

June 24, 2021 MEMO

Far-right Israelis holding Israeli flags in Jerusalem on 15 June 2021 [Esat Fırat/Anadolu Agency]

June 24, 2021 at 3:42 pm


Israeli far-right supremacists shared selfies posing with guns and messages such as "Tonight we are not Jews, we are Nazis" during the occupation state's recent crackdown on protestors, a new report by Amnesty International has confirmed. The brutal clampdown followed an unprecedented show of solidarity by Palestinian citizens of Israel, who staged a general strike in protest at Israel's 11 day onslaught against the Gaza Strip which killed more than 250 people, including women and children.

The report investigated the conduct of Israeli police during May and June's crackdown on Palestinians. It found that a catalogue of violations were committed by security officials against Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem, including the use of unlawful force against peaceful protesters, sweeping mass arrests and subjecting detainees to torture and other ill-treatment.

The human rights group verified 45 videos and other digital media to document more than 20 cases of Israeli police violations between 9 May and 12 June. Hundreds of Palestinians were injured in the crackdown and a 17-year-old boy was shot dead.

Highlighting the systematic police brutality, the findings are as damning as they are deeply worrying. Israeli police actions were not only repressive, but were also discriminatory, targeting Palestinians disproportionately. The report found that Israeli officials failed to protect Palestinian citizens of Israel from premeditated attacks by groups of armed Jewish supremacists, even when plans were publicised in advance and police knew or should have known of them.

By 10 June, Israeli police had arrested over 2,150 people. More than 90 per-cent were Palestinian citizens of Israel or residents of East Jerusalem. The report found that most Palestinians were detained for offences such as "insulting or assaulting a police officer" or "taking part in an illegal gathering" rather than for violent attacks on people or property.

On top of the brutal crackdown, Israeli police also failed to protect Palestinians from Jewish supremacists who had organised attacks and publicised their plans in advance. Amnesty verified 29 text and audio messages on open Telegram channels and WhatsApp revealing how the apps were used to recruit armed men and organise attacks on Palestinians in cities such as Haifa, Acre, Nazareth and Lod between 10 and 21 May.

READ: Arab-Israeli MKs and civic leaders call on international community to act

The rights groups paints a shocking picture of the hateful communal violence targeting Palestinians. Amnesty found that messages included instructions on where and when to gather, types of weaponry to use and even what clothing to wear to avoid confusing Jews of Middle Eastern heritage with Palestinian Arabs. It was then that group members shared selfies posing with guns and messages such as "Tonight we are not Jews, we are Nazis".

Elected parliamentarians joined the wave of hate which was described at the time as "pogroms". According to Amnesty on 12 May, hundreds of Jewish supremacists gathered on the Bat Yam Promenade in central Israel, in response to messages received from the political party Jewish Power and other groups. Verified video footage shows scores of activists attacking Arab-owned businesses and encouraging attackers.

The report also documented torture carried out by Israeli security forces. One example cited in the report involved torture at the Russian Compound (Moskobiya) police station in Nazareth on 12 May. An eyewitness is reported as saying that they saw Special Forces beating a group of at least eight bound detainees who had been arrested at a protest.

"It was like a brutal prisoner-of-war camp," said the witness. "The officers were hitting the young men with broomsticks and kicking them with steel-capped boots. Four of them had to be taken away by ambulance, and one had a broken arm."

Amnesty is calling on the UN Human Rights Council's recently-announced Commission of Inquiry to investigate the alarming pattern of violations by Israeli police.

Israel slams new Polish Holocaust law as ‘immoral’ and ‘a disgrace’

The legislation, which must still be approved by Poland’s senate, sets a 30-year deadline for Jews to recover seized property

By AMY SPIRO

Poland's lawmakers during voting – some in parliament, some remotely – in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called new Polish legislation that would bar Holocaust restitution claims in the country “immoral” and suggested it would damage Polish-Israeli ties.

“No law will change history,” said Lapid on Thursday, saying the bill “is a disgrace that will not erase the horrors or the memory of the Holocaust.”

The legislation, which passed late Thursday evening with 309 votes in favor, zero votes opposed and 120 abstentions, according to Polish state news agency PAP, sets a 30-year deadline for Jews to recover property seized by Nazi German forces, essentially preventing any World War II-era compensation claims or appeals of past decisions. The legislation must now reportedly be approved by the Polish Senate after being okayed by the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s parliament.

“It is a horrific injustice and disgrace that harms the rights of Holocaust survivors, their heirs, and members of the Jewish communities that existed in Poland for hundreds of years,” said Lapid. “This is an incomprehensible action. This immoral law will seriously harm relations between the countries.”

Lapid said it was “extremely worrisome and grave” that Poland was ignoring the 2009 non-binding Terezin Declaration, which laid out guidelines for Holocaust-era property restitution.


“The State of Israel will stand as a wall of protection in defense of the memory of the Holocaust, as well as to defend the honor of Holocaust survivors and their property,” said the foreign minister.

In this February 5, 2018 photo, far-right groups hold a demonstration in front of the presidential palace to call on President Andrzej Duda to sign a bill that would limit some forms of Holocaust speech in Warsaw, Poland. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Social Equality Minister Meirav Cohen, a member of Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, also denounced Polish lawmakers for advancing the bill.

“Polish lawmakers should bow their heads and be ashamed of the step they took this evening,” Cohen tweeted.


A Polish Foreign Ministry official told the Kan public broadcaster that Lapid’s statement misrepresented the situation.

“Lapid’s statement showed a lack of knowledge because, like the Jews, the Poles were the target of horrific acts by the Nazis,” said the official, “and the law approved yesterday actually protects those Polish heirs from false claims and injustice.”

Earlier this week, the World Jewish Restitution Organization called for the legislation to be withdrawn.

“We urgently call upon Prime Minister Morawiecki and the Polish government to address the issue of private property restitution in a just and timely manner,” said Gideon Taylor, WJRO’s chair of operations. The legislation “would further harm Polish Holocaust survivors who have already suffered so much. In 2021, new, insurmountable legal conditions, that would make it impossible to recover property or receive just compensation, should not be imposed.”

Bix Aliu, the chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Warsaw, reportedly objected to the legislation in a letter to the speaker of the Polish parliament.

“Our understanding is that this draft bill would effectively make restitution or compensation for Holocaust or Communist era property unobtainable for a large percentage of claims,” Bix Aliu wrote according to the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily, reported Reuters.


According to Ynet, President Reuven Rivlin wrote a letter earlier this week to Polish President Andrzej Duda expressing his opposition to the legislation.

The law would “very much obscure our joint efforts in strengthening the relations between our countries and in securing the partnership between our nations,” Rivlin reportedly wrote. “Since I very much appreciate the relationship between us, I have decided to appeal to you that your esteemed government consider the consequences of such legislation.”

On Feb. 6, 2018, Polish President Andrzej Duda announces his decision to sign legislation penalizing certain statements about the Holocaust, in Warsaw, Poland. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

Holocaust restitution in Poland is unpopular among many citizens, and Duda campaigned against it ahead of his reelection last year. Many Polish citizens believe that claims should only be addressed to Nazi Germany and that it is unfair for Poland to pay out any damages from the Holocaust era.

“There won’t be any damages paid for heirless property,” Duda said last year. “I will never sign a law that will privilege any ethnic group vis-à-vis others. Damages should be paid by the one that started the war.”

Poland is the only country in the European Union that has not passed comprehensive national legislation to return, or provide compensation for, private property confiscated by the Nazis or nationalized by the communist regime.

Issues of Holocaust restitution and revisionism have repeatedly plagued Israeli-Polish ties. In 2018, Warsaw passed a law that made it illegal to accuse the Polish nation or state of complicity in Nazi German war crimes. The move sparked an outcry from Israel, but the standoff largely ended when Poland agreed to amend the law to remove any criminal penalties.

Last January, Duda refused to attend the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem after he was not invited to speak at the event. A week later, during a meeting in Krakow, Rivlin asserted that “many Poles stood by and even assisted in the murder of Jews” during the Holocaust, something Poland has worked to deny, despite historical evidence.

Leading Israeli historians have claimed that Poland consistently attempts to understate anti-Jewish atrocities committed by Poles before, during and after World War II.

JTA and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.