UK FASCISTS

Trans activists 'attacked' at children's drag queen story time event

Patrick Sawer
Sat, 24 June 2023 

Trans activists accused right-wing protesters of attacking them outside London pub - Trans Safety Network/Twitter

Far-Right protesters have been accused of attacking a group of trans rights activists outside a drag queen story time event for children in south London.

The trans activists said they were assaulted by a small group of far-Right demonstrators outside the Honor Oak pub on Saturday morning.

Scotland Yard said three people had been arrested during the disturbances.

In a statement, the Met Police said three people had been arrested, two for assault, and one for a public order offence.

The trans rights activists claimed they had been attacked while protecting the Magical Stroytelling time event at the Honor Oak, with far-Right protesters breaking at least one window at the pub.

A number of trans activists said they were left bloodied and nursing wounds following the alleged attack.

The disorder began after the far-Right activists confronted a gathering of trans rights activists and their supporters outside the pub.

The Trans Safety Network tweeted:

Around 50 Right-wing demonstrators, including members of The League of Young British Patriots, held banners reading “Protect our Children: There is no such thing as a ‘trans child’” and “Leave Our Children Alone”.

Trans rights activists responded with banners reading “Love is a human right” and “Don’t let the far right divide us: Defend LGBT+ communities”, and cries of “We’re here! We’re queer! We will not live in fear!”

The Trans Safety Network also accused police officers of targeting the trans activists, tweeting a photograph of a trans man called Ada with blood streaming from his face and stating: “Police are now on scene, and targeted trans protesters whilst providing urgent first aid care. @‌adacable [Ada] was providing this first aid support and was punched across the face by TSG [Territorial Support Group] officers trying to arrest someone.”

Police made three arrests

The clashes outside the Honor Oak Pub appear to have been sparked over the venue’s monthly Magical Storytelling session, hosted by London drag queen That Girl, which have been picketed by Right-wing protesters.

In a statement on its website published before Saturday’s incident, the pub said: “It has come to our attention that there may be some misunderstanding about the event, so we wanted to reassure you all that our popular Magical Storytelling event will be age appropriate and it isn’t anything different to what families will see and experience together in a theatre.

“This event is an opportunity for families and friends to come together and listen to a reading of a storybook and have fun. The most important thing for us is that everyone is safe and happy when they are here.”

Some of the activists who took part in the anti-trans protest came from traditional Far-right groups such as the Football Lads Alliance, Blood & Honour and Britain First, which have their roots in the extreme Right-wing National Front, British National Party and British Movement.

But others are members of the conservative youth organisation Turning Point UK, an offshoot of a US group that seeks to challenge the view that young people are inherently Left-leaning and anti-free markets.

THEY LIE

Turning Point UK said in a statement: “There were no far-Right activists in attendance and instead the radical trans-activists attacked attendees of our demonstration with wooden clubs.”

GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn Floats Conspiracy Theory On Titanic Sub And Hunter Biden

Sara Boboltz

HUFFINGTON POST
Sat, June 24, 2023 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has appeared to suggest that an announcement about the fate of the missing Titan submersible was somehow planned to distract from accusations against the president’s son Hunter Biden.

“If the U.S. Navy suspected that the Titan Submersible imploded just hours after it began its voyage, why did the Coast Guard wait until Thursday—the same day the IRS whistleblowers testified before Congress—to make their announcement to the public?” asked the senator in a Friday night tweet.

Authorities searching for the Titan said Thursday afternoon that the vessel seemed to suffer a “catastrophic” failure not long after launching into the North Atlantic on Sunday, killing all aboard. It took several days to mobilize high-tech equipment and locate any sign of the sub. After a debris field on the ocean floor turned out to be remnants of the Titan, the U.S. Navy revealed that it had detected what was likely the sound of the vessel imploding Sunday, although the Navy said it could not be sure at the time.

Also on Thursday, the GOP-led House Ways and Means Committee convened behind closed doors and voted to release IRS whistleblower testimony criticizing a federal investigation into Joe Biden’s son.

The interviews with the two whistleblowers had taken place weeks ago, not the same day as the Titan announcement, as Blackburn suggested.

The pair alleged that the Justice Department improperly interfered with the investigation of Hunter Biden, which began as a tax probe and expanded to look at his business dealings. Attorney General Merrick Garland staunchly denied accusations of wrongdoing.

The younger Biden — who has long been a target of Republican ire — reached an agreement with prosecutors on two tax-related charges and one gun charge Tuesday. Republicans have been calling it a “sweetheart deal.”

Conspiracy theories about the Titan have abounded on social media in the days since the submersible vanished on its expedition to see the sunken Titanic. While some questions about the Titan’s doomed voyage still remain, such as precisely why it imploded, there is no evidence to back up Blackburn’s suggestion that its discovery was planned for political reasons.

The Biden-Modi Meeting Was a Failure for Democracy

Knox Thames

TIME
Sat, June 24, 2023 

President Biden Hosts India Prime Minister Modi For State Visit

US President Joe Biden, left, and Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, toast during a state dinner at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, June 22, 2023. Biden and Modi announced a series of defense and commercial deals designed to improve military and economic ties between their nations during a state visit today. Credit - Al Drago-Bloomberg

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received VIP treatment at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue this week, including a state dinner with President Biden and an address to Congress. Modi’s red-carpet treatment was a significant endorsement of his governance, and one few world leaders have received. However, under Modi’s premiership, India has moved away from shared values and democratic norms, embracing Hindu nationalism and scapegoating religious minorities. While President Biden and Congressional leaders spoke about human rights and religious freedom, talk alone will not move Modi to change course.

Modi accomplished much during his brief time in Washington, at little cost to his political agenda. The Joint Statement from the United States and India covers a laundry list of Indian priorities. While the document references human rights at the beginning, its 58 paragraphs overwhelmingly focus on technology and trade in ways hugely beneficial to India. Modi also scored a renewed pledge to permanently include India in a reformed United Nations Security Council and joint slap down of archrival Pakistan for terrorism.

But did Modi deserve this treatment? The U.S. secured little in hard security commitments from him or other items that could bolster democracy and human rights in the region. For instance, Modi has been lukewarm at best regarding support for Ukraine. During the White House press conference, Modi could only vaguely speak of ending the “dispute through dialogue and diplomacy.” There was no joint condemnation of Russian aggression, a low bar to meet.

In contrast, Modi’s visit vastly exceeded Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s recent trip, who received neither coveted invitation of a state dinner or congressional speech, “special relationship” notwithstanding. In fact, when Modi took the rostrum before Congress on Thursday, it was his second address before a joint session, while the last British Prime Minister spoke in 2006.

But in the contest with Beijing, commitment to “shared values” was a constant refrain to justify Modi’s lavish treatment. Indeed, a democratic India would be a powerful partner in countering authoritarian China, but these values are under attack in India. Indian activists and political analysts I contacted all expressed deep concern about the state of affairs, most only agreeing to talk off the record. One highlighted, “Serious violations of human rights, especially of Muslims, Christians, and other minorities, and of human rights defenders and dissenters, have been increasing in India over the past years, some becoming widespread and systematic.” Another analyst described the defamation case against opposition leader Rahul Gandhi as “pure vendetta politics.” A third activist spoke of the ongoing “desecration, destruction and torching of over 300 Churches in Manipur [that] is unprecedented in the history of religious violence in India,” which continues in India’s far east.

Read More: India Isn’t An Ally and Never Wanted to Be

When a journalist asked Modi at the White House about declining respect for human rights and democracy, he dodged, saying, “I’m actually really surprised that people say so.” While Biden acknowledged our shortcomings, demonstrating humility but a commitment to civil rights, Modi offered no such concession, saying Indian democracy has delivered for all “regardless of caste, creed, religion, gender.” He added, “There’s absolutely no space for discrimination,” which would surprise religious minorities in India.

As the visit approached, many feared officials would overlook these issues, and 75 Democratic Members of Congress wrote Biden to urge him to raise human rights. To his credit, the President did so repeatedly, but always as a joint endeavor. For instance, he said, “Equity under the law, freedom of expression, religious pluralism, and diversity of our people—these core principles have endured and evolved, even as they have faced challenges throughout each of our nations’ histories, and will fuel our strength, depth, and future.” At another point, he noted, “Indians and Americans are both peoples who … cherish freedom and celebrate the democratic values of universal human rights, which face challenges around the world and each—and in each of our countries but which remain so vital to the success of each of our nations: press freedom, religious freedom, tolerance, diversity.”

While understandable Biden wouldn’t be too pointed with his guest, Modi is savvy enough to know that nods towards human rights will be shunted aside for commercial and military relations. He’s seen it before, as silence towards problems in India is not unique to this administration. Then-President Trump ignored riots against Muslims in New Delhi during his 2020 visit, and his administration resisted calls to designate India a “country of particular concern” for the persecution of Christians.

Consequently, to counter India’s drift away from shared values, the U.S. must decide to visibly support Indian civil society, publicly discuss our concerns, and establish consequences for abuses. Aakar Patel, Chair of Amnesty International’s India Board, stressed to me the importance of U.S. human rights advocacy. Amnesty’s India office was forced to close in 2020, and the Indian government tried to prevent him from traveling internationally in 2022. Patel underscored how “India’s friend must press it to do the right thing because often it works.” Jesuit Priest Cedric Prakash, a long-time human rights and peace activist, also agreed. Despite our complicated history in the region, Fr Prakash said, “it’s imperative that the U.S. raise these sensitive issues with the PM and stop pretending that all is well in India.”

India is too important for U.S. policymakers to ignore these trends, and Modi’s damaging policies should not lead to self-censorship. The U.S.’s recent criticism of important partners like Poland, Bangladesh, and Israel demonstrates we can raise concerns and deepen relationships simultaneously. In addition, we can learn from our disastrous all-carrots-and-no-stick approach to China in the early 2000s. Many believed preferential trade could encourage China in a positive direction when the Senate voted for most-favored-nation status in September 2000. Instead, the Chinese Communist Party gained technology and resources while nose diving on human rights and consolidating power. Modi’s windfall of trade policies absent consequences for rights abuses risks repeating the same mistake.

Only the U.S. has the ability and global influence to move India. At the arrival ceremony, President Biden noted that we face “an inflection point” where “the decisions we make today are going to determine our future for decades to come.” An inflection point is approaching, not on trade but on human rights, as India dangerously shifts towards illiberalism and the victimization of minorities. If the U.S. says human rights matter in the Indo-Pacific, they should matter, fully integrated into every engagement with friends and foes alike. Should the Indians balk, that’s their sovereign right, but a genuinely bilateral relationship must go in two directions, with human rights embedded in a consequential way.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for HINDUISM IS FASCISM 

Netanyahu halts wind turbine construction following Druze uprising

Despite Itamar Ben-Gvir's insistence against 'succumbing to threats', the prime minister has listened to the advice of several prominent security advisors, including the police commissioner, and instructed suspension of work on wind turbines in the Golan Heights; 'We are on the brink of an escalation,' says Druze chief

Yair Krauss, Itamar Eichner| YNET

JUNE 25,2023

Following several days of clashes in the Galilee and the Golan Heights, and amid warnings from the Druze community about potential escalation if wind turbine construction resumed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to halt work begining on Sunday. This decision was reached after a late-night assessment of the situation, going against the stance of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who advocated for construction to proceed.

Following several days of clashes in the Galilee and the Golan Heights, and amid warnings from the Druze community about potential escalation if wind turbine construction resumed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to halt work begining on Sunday. This decision was reached after a late-night assessment of the situation, going against the stance of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who advocated for construction to proceed.

During the assessment, input was provided by Head of the National Security Council Tzachi Hanegbi, Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar and Police Commissioner Ya'akov Shabtai, who all advised the prime minister against allowing work to take place. Netanyahu eventually acquiesced to their advice. Ben-Gvir acknowledged the threats voiced by the Druze community, warning of a potential intafada, but emphasized the importance of not succumbing to such threats, particularly those made over the weekend.


Druze demonstration in the Golan Heights against the wind turbines
(Photo: Effi Shrir)

Netanyahu held discussions with Sheikh Mawafak Tarif, the leader of the Druze community, and conveyed the decision to honor his request by refraining from recommencing work in the Golan Heights until after the Feast of Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha), which starts on Tuesday. Additionally, Netanyahu expressed his intention to use the holiday period to engage in discussions with community dignitaries, with work resuming on the following Sunday.

A statement released by the Prime Minister's Office emphasized Netanyahu's directive to take action in the coming days to "address the planning and housing challenges faced by Druze settlements in Carmel and the Galilee. These challenges have adversely affected the entire Druze community, including the valuable contributions of young individuals who have been discharged from the IDF and continue to contribute to the state's security."

Tarif said on Sunday: "Our protest to obtain the rights and equality of the community is just and legitimate, especially for the sake of the youth of the community and their future.

"I was happy to hear about the Prime Minister's announcement regarding the promotion of solutions to the housing and construction crisis in the Druze villages. I thank the Prime Minister and hope to take advantage of the coming days to promote real, applicable and real solutions," Tarif said.

"The IDF is outside of any controversy or protest. Our young men serve with honor and genius and will continue to make a force there and be partners in the national burden in protecting the security of the country. This is their duty and their right. I wish the public and civil systems would learn from the IDF how to maintain equality in practice," Tarif added.

During the discussion regarding the ongoing protest measures, Tarif had issued a warning on Friday evening, stating, "We are on the brink of an escalation in the struggle. We are facing challenging times, and this uprising is justified." However, he also emphasized the importance of upholding the law and protecting public property, urging: "Let us safeguard the law and public property." The majority of those present, including numerous clerics, responded to the sheikh's words with cheers.

There was audible booing in the crowd directed toward Minister Ben-Gvir, who had previously declared on Thursday, "The work in the Golan will persist until the eve of the Feast of Sacrifice, pause during the holiday, and resume immediately afterward."

A Druze crowd trying to storm police station

A significant number of members of the Druze community took part in the protest in the Golan Heights on Wednesday, estimated in the thousands. The demonstrations turned violent, resulting in injuries to ten protesters, with five of them sustaining serious injuries.

 
Law enforcement authorities swiftly responded to the unrest, dispatching a large number of police forces to the protest site. The officers had to address various violations of order committed by the protesters, including the burning of tires, hurling stones, launching fireworks and even throwing Molotov cocktails at the police.

Simultaneously, in a separate incident on the same day, hundreds of protesters attempted to forcibly enter the police station located in the village of Ma'sade. This illicit act involved the use of live ammunition, stone-throwing and the launching of fireworks. The police officers successfully repelled the attackers and prevented the breach.

 

Palestinian Youth Killed by Israeli Gunfire in Jerusalem

B.M | DOP - 24 June, 2023

A Palestinian youth was reportedly killed by Israeli gunfire for allegedly carrying out a shooting attack at Qalandia checkpoint, north of occupied Jerusalem on Saturday early morning, June 24, 2023.

Israeli occupation police said in a statement that a Palestinian youth opened fire at a group of Israeli soldiers at Qalandia, slightly injuring one.

It added that the Israeli occupation forces shot and killed the Palestinian man, without providing further details about his identity.

Qalandia Checkpoint is one of the largest Israeli checkpoints that bear witness to the suffering of Palestinian people, especially West Bank worshipers heading to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

For Palestinians, the checkpoint is a source of humiliation and a gateway to great suffering for employees, workers, patients, and students traveling to and from Jerusalem.

The incident at Qalandia coincided with waves of violence carried out by Israeli occupation forces and settlers in several Palestinian villages and towns, which resulted in the killing of one Palestinian in addition to mass destruction.

Israeli Forces Kidnap 3 Palestinian Kids in Occupied Jenin

M.S | DOP - 24 June, 2023

Israeli occupation forces have detained Saturday, June 24, three Palestinian children during a military incursion on the towns of Ya’bad and Araba, east of occupied Jenin.

Local Palestinian sources reported that Israeli troops have detained the two Palestinian kids Rayyan Hamarsha, 15, and Wisam Al-Kilani, 15, after brutally assaulting them.

Consequently, confrontations broke out between Israeli forces and Palestinian citizens.

In Oraba town, Israeli forces have detained the child Karim Talalwa, 12, while storming the town, which led to the outbreak of confrontations during which Israeli troops fired live bullets and toxic gas bombs at citizens.

On a daily basis, Israeli troops storm the Palestinian cities and towns of the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, detaining, killing, and injuring citizens there.

last May only, IOF detained 430 Palestinian citizens, including 52 kids and 11 females, throughout occupied Palestine.

Israeli Minister of National Security Ben-Gvir calls for Killing Thousands of Palestinians and Squatting on their Property

By Juan Cole

June 24, 2023
Source: Informed Comment


Jordan’s al-Ghad [Tomorrow] newspaper reports from occupied East Jerusalem that on Friday the extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Bin-Gvir called on Israeli squatters on the Palestinian West Bank to take over the territory and to settle it with support from the far right-wing government.

Ben-Gvir made the remarks at the illegal Evyatar squatter settlement near the Palestinian hamlet of Beeta south of Nablus.

All Israeli squatter settlements on occupied Palestinian territory are illegal in international law, but even Israel considers some of them illegal. Most squatters build on land usurped by the Israeli state. But some just invade the West Bank and set up homes on privately owned Palestinian land. Evyatar is in the latter category.

Ben-Gvir said that it is incumbent on the Israeli government to kill dozens, or hundreds, or even thousands of Palestinians, so as to stabilize the security situation. He called the Palestinians “terrorists.”

Addressing hundreds of Israeli squatters who returned to the site the previous night with no opposition from the Israeli army, he said, “My position is well known, and I grant you complete support and cover. A complete settlement must be built here, and on every surrounding hill. The country must be settled in parallel with movement toward a military operation that will include the destruction of [Palestinian] buildings and the purge of terrorists, not one or two, but dozens and hundreds and if necessary we must kill thousands.”

He continued, “At the end of the day, this is our land and we will cling to it and we will return security to its inhabitants. The land of Israel is for the people of Israel. You have our complete support, so advance on the hills, and settle. We love you.”

The Palestinian West Bank was never awarded to Israel by the UN or any other international authority. The Israelis opportunistically seized it in 1967. The UN Charter forbids the acquisition of neighbors’ territory by aggressive force. The UN Security Council has repeatedly called for the Israeli withdrawal from territories seized in 1967. For Israel to flood its own citizens into militarily occupied territory is a war crime under the Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Rome Statute that underpins the International Criminal Court at the Hague.

Israel has gobbled up large swathes of Palestinian-owned land in the West Bank and has kept the Palestinians stateless and without basic human rights, as little better than slaves. Like slaves, they do not have the right to own property, which can be taken from them by Israelis any time. Like slaves, they can be beaten and even shot arbitrarily by Israeli squatters and security forces, and they have little recourse to courts to claim damages– just as Dred Scott and his wife were slapped down by the antebellum racist US Supreme Court. Like slaves, they are not allowed to defend themselves from these Israeli attacks or to challenge the stealing of their land, or they are lambasted as “terrorists” and are further assaulted.

On Friday, dozens of confrontations took place between the Israeli occupation army and squatter militias on the one hand and Palestinian protesters on the other. In Nablus, dozens of Palestinians said their Friday prayers in front of Jabal Sbeih in the town of Beeta, before marching in protest to Evyatar, which was set up on the hill. They rejected the reestablishment of the squatter settlement or its legalization. The protesting youth were attacked by the Israeli army, which fired military-grade tear gas at them and fired rubber-coated metal bullets at them. Youth set tires on fire near Evyatar.

Israeli security forces attacked protesting Palestinian youth in several other West Bank locales on Friday. In Qalqilya in the town of Kafr Kafr Qaddum, protesters started at the mosque of Omar B. al-Khattab and marched, protesting Israeli squatter settlements on Palestinian land and demanding that the town’s main street, closed for 20 years by the occupiers, be reopened.

In East Jerusalem, 50,000 Palestinians gathered to prayer at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Palestinian Authority Blames Netanyahu for Persisting Settler Terrorism in West Bank

2023-June-25 

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Palestinian Authority (PA) held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fully responsible for rising settler attacks against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, saying the ongoing violence is fueled by far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the rise in Israeli crimes “reflects a policy adopted by the far-right Netanyahu administration, and is also a direct reflection of the campaigns of incitement to murder Palestinians, especially by extremist racists like Ben-Gvir and his followers”, presstv reported.

“The ruling Israeli coalition systematically undermines any regional and international efforts to restore the political horizon to resolve the conflict and creates more escalation in an attempt to impose the logic of military occupation,” the statement added.

The ministry also called on the international community to stop its double standards in dealing with international principles, resolutions and agreements signed under the auspices of world bodies.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Al-Quds.

All the settlements are illegal under international law. The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.

According to human rights groups, acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property are a daily occurrence throughout the occupied West Bank.

Earlier on Saturday, several houses and vehicles were set on fire by extremist Israeli settlers in the village of Umm Safa, North of Ramallah.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing local sources, reported that scores of Israeli settlers, some armed with rifles and guarded by Israeli army forces, stormed the village and fired indiscriminately at everything they came across, including homes and vehicles.

The shooting attack also caused damage to an ambulance. A paramedic was slightly injured by a gunshot while moving a patient in urgent condition to a hospital.

Israeli soldiers and settlers have been escalating their attacks against Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories, in an attempt to forcibly expel Palestinians from their lands and make way for expanding illegal Jewish-only settlements.

Meanwhil, the official Palestinian news agency reported that a Palestinian man succumbed to his wounds a day after being shot by Israeli forces during a raid in the Northern part of the occupied West Bank.

WAFA, citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health, announced the death of 39-year-old Tareq Mousa Idris on Saturday.

The ministry said Mousa was shot in the stomach as Israeli troops stormed Askar refugee camp, located on the outskirts of the city of Nablus, on Friday morning.

Following his injury, the Palestinian man was moved to Specialized Arab Hospital in Nablus, where he underwent operations and stayed in a critical condition until he was pronounced dead.

The development comes a few hours after a Palestinian teenager was left bleeding to death after a shooting attack at Qalandia military checkpoint.

Ishaq Hamdi Ajlouni, 17, was shot and killed by Israeli forces after he opened fire at the checkpoint on Saturday, lightly wounding a security guard, WAFA reported.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the armed wing of the Fatah movement, said in a statement that Aljouni was its member.

“Our heroic fighters … were able to directly target occupation [Israeli] soldiers at Qalandia checkpoint,” the brigades said in a statement.

Israel said the young gunman, from the Kafr ‘Aqab neighborhood just North of the checkpoint, used an M-16 rifle to carry out the purported shooting.

Meanwhile, doctors at An-Najah National University Hospital in Nablus had to remove an eye of five-year-old Khaled Akram Malalha, who was injured on Friday during confrontations that erupted near the village of Bizzariya, located 13.3 kilometers (8.2 miles) Northwest of Nablus.

The Palestinian child was shot in the eye while he was in his father's vehicle.

Israeli forces have killed at least 180 Palestinians, including 26 children, so far this year, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The death toll includes 36 Palestinians who lost their lives during a four-day Israeli onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip between May 9 and 13.

Will the IDF really treat settler violence as ‘terrorism’?
Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur on bureaucratic reasons why life is more difficult for the Palestinians; military correspondent Emanuel Fabian on five days of vigilante attacks

By TOI STAFF

Today, 
Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, 


Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur and military correspondent Emanuel Fabian join host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

Yesterday, during Shabbat, several dozen settler vigilantes rampaged for the fifth consecutive day following Tuesday’s fatal Palestinian terror shooting, this time through the Palestinian West Bank village of Umm Safa, setting fire to vehicles and homes. What else do we know about this attack and where was the IDF?

Rettig Gur speaks at length about how Israel is failing to follow through on “managing” or “shrinking” the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. What are some “boring” bureaucratic ways in which Palestinians are being blocked from basic necessities such as electricity and sewage?

Discussed articles include:

Settlers riot in another Palestinian village; IDF spokesman: ‘Shameful acts of terror’

Suspects in settler reprisals ordered to remain behind bars; fourth person detained

Off-duty soldier among 4 detained in latest settler attack on Palestinian village

IDF, Shin Bet and police heads slam settler attacks as ‘terror,’ vow to fight them

Ministers slam security chiefs for calling settler attacks on Palestinians ‘terror’

Israel’s police minister Ben-Gvir rebukes forces over ‘punishment’ of settlers

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrives at the scene of a suspected Palestinian shooting attack that killed four people near the Jewish settlement of Eli, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on June 20, 2023. (Reuters)

Reuters, Jerusalem
Published: 25 June ,2023: 

Israel’s far-right police minister rebuked the force on Sunday for what he called “collective punishment” of Jewish settlers, as cracks widened between the security services and the government over sectarian violence in the occupied West Bank.

Settler rampages in Palestinian towns and villages after the killing of four Israelis in a Hamas gun ambush have drawn international condemnation and US statements of concern.

US-brokered peace talks aimed at founding a Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza collapsed in 2014. Most countries deem the settlements Israel built on land it seized in the 1967 war as illegal, a view Israel disputes.

Israel’s military, police, and domestic security service chiefs said in a statement on Saturday that the settlers’ actions over the last week amounted to “nationalist terrorism,” which they pledged to fight.

The terminology upset far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, who in the past have rejected comparisons between Jewish and Palestinian militants.

One of them, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said on Sunday he had demanded police explain why they had blocked the gates to the settlement of Ateret to screen those coming and going and “tased a person who was standing nearby”.

Ben-Gvir told the police chief that “he opposes any violation of the law” but cannot accept “collective punishment” of settlers, a statement from the minister’s party said.

Police spokespeople did not immediately respond for comment.

The military said it detained a soldier suspected of taking part in a “violent confrontation” in Umm Safa village, where bystander video showed two men aiming rifles in the direction of a Palestinian shouting at them in Arabic. Gunshots can be heard.

Netanyahu has sought to calm Western concern about his ultranationalist partners, saying he would steer policy. But the veteran politician has raised US, hackles with settlement building.

Last week he issued a general censure of rioting in the West Bank. Asked if Netanyahu agreed with the security chiefs’
designation of the rampages as “terrorism,” his office referred Reuters to that statement and declined further comment.

At least two cabinet ministers from Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party shied from the term.

“I think the (rampages) are actions, nationalist actions -- as they have been designated -- taken against a nationalist backdrop, and that’s something that shouldn’t be permitted,” Likud’s Energy Minister Israel Katz told Army Radio.

“Terrorism is something different.”

Israel settlers shoot at journalists, attack ambulance in West Bank

The New Arab Staff
24 June, 2023

Settlers stormed the Palestinian village of Umm Safa near Ramallah, shooting at homes, said local mayor Marwan Sabbah.

Palestinian Health Minister Mai Al-Kaila (right) condemned an Israeli settler attack on an ambulance [Patrizia Cortellessa/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty-archive]

Israeli settlers shot at journalists and homes and attacked an ambulance on Saturday amid a period of heightened violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Settlers stormed the Palestinian village of Umm Safa near Ramallah, shooting at homes, said local mayor Marwan Sabbah.

A horse was killed and some homes partly caught alight, he was cited as saying by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

An ambulance and other vehicles were damaged, with a paramedic shot and mildly wounded while transporting someone to a hospital.

Wafa said the ambulance was shot. There were reportedly dozens of settlers who stormed Umm Safa.

The Palestinian health ministry issued a statement on the messaging app Telegram saying an ambulance with a patient on board had been attacked near Umm Safa.

RELATED

Israeli settlers attack Palestinian villages in West Bank

MENA

Sam Hamad

Health Minister Mai Al-Kaila, who condemned the attack, said settlers threw stones at the vehicle, with the driver left injured.

The patient was not hurt, she said, urging the international community to protect medical staff and Palestinians from ongoing Israeli settler terrorism.

It was unclear why the details of the incident differed between Wafa and the health ministry's accounts.

It did not appear that two different ambulances were attacked as photos published by the two organisations seemed to be of the same vehicle.

A cameraman for the official Palestine TV, Mohammad Radi, said settlers shot at him and his colleague while they reported on the assault against Umm Safa. Their camera was damaged by a bullet, Radi said.

Separately, settlers attacked Palestinians and destroyed six tents in Al-Mughayyir, a village in Ramallah and Al-Bireh province.

Settlers attacked Bedouins camping in the village, witnesses said. An 80-year-old was taken to hospital after being hurt in the violence.

Calls for President Vučić to resign as protests enter eighth week in Serbia


By Euronews with EFE • Updated: 25/06/2023 

People are angry with President Vučić's government and his close ties with the tabloid media they claim incites hatred and promotes violence.

Thousands of people gathered on Saturday in the centre of Belgrade for the 'Serbia against violence' march.

It was the eighth week of protests in a row in the country's capital and this time extended to 20 other cities.

These included Serbia's next largest cities of Novi Sad and Kragujevac, and in the smaller towns of Kraljevo, Subotica, Vranje, Sabac and Leskovac.

The demonstrators, including members of some opposition parties are calling for the resignation of President Aleksandar Vučić, and also top representatives in media, the police force, and security services.

Critics of the president accuse him of authoritarianism and say the tabloid media his government is close to incites hatred and promotes violence. Protestors also want an end to reality TV shows.

What happened in May?

A growing number of cities are joining the demonstrations, triggered by a wave of outrage following two shootings in early May that left 19 people dead.

On 3 May, a 13-year-old student at a Belgrade school shot dead nine classmates and a security guard. Less than 48 hours later, a 21-year-old killed nine people in a central Serbian town.


Protesters are calling for government accountability and the resignation of the Minister of the Interior and the director of the Information and Security Agency.

The opposition has rejected an offer of dialogue from Vučić as well as early elections.

Prigozhin Rising ‘Deadly for Putin’s Reputation’ among Russians, Pastukhov Says

Ukraine war: 24 hours of chaos ends with Belarus-sponsored deal to settle abortive Wagner Group insurrection

Published: June 22, 2023  Updated: June 25, 2023 

Even in such a fast-moving war, still some events have the ability to surprise. The decision by Wagner Group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to launch an apparent coup attempt, leading his troops into Russia, where he occupied the military HQ in Rostov and was heading towards Moscow, appeared to have left the Kremlin floundering.

Then, with his troops reportedly only 200 miles from the Russian capital, Prigozhin announced they would make an about turn and return to their bases to avoid shedding Russian blood.



Under the terms of the deal, which was apparently brokered by the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin will go to Belarus and will not face prosecution. Nor will any of his troops who took part in the abortive uprising.

But the episode clearly unnerved the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, who had appeared on state TV on Saturday morning describing his former close associate’s move as “equivalent to armed mutiny”.

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The Wagner Group have borne the brunt of much of the fiercest fighting, especially during the bloody battle for Bakhmut.

Read more: Ukraine war: Yevgeny Prigozhin and the 'warrior constituency' that could threaten Putin from the right

The reasons for Prigozhin’s apparent mutiny are not yet clear. But Prigozhin’s statements have explicitly been aimed against Russia’s military leadership and the ministry of defence. According to the Institute for the Study of War, the Wagner Group boss claimed that the Wagner Commanders’ Council made the decision to stop “the evil brought by the military leadership” who neglected and destroyed the lives of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers. This appears to be a direct reference to his claims during the Bakhmut campaign that his units were being deliberately starved of ammunition.

In the past few weeks ministry of defence – apparently with Putin’s backing – announced it would bring the Wagner Group and other irregular forces and militias under its direct control. The announcement was seen as an indication of Russia’s desperate need for manpower and the Kremlin’s desire to avoid full-scale mobilisation of the population.

It was also taken as evidence of the growing animosity between Prigozhin and defence minister, Sergei Shoigu. Prigozhin flatly refused to sign a contract, but the Akhmat group of Chechen forces became one of the first to sign up.
Changing the law

Deputy Defence Minister Nikolai Pankov’s announcement is significant. It wasn’t until Putin signed changes to defence regulations in November 2022 that the inclusion of “volunteer formations” was legalised for the first time.

Previously, Article 13 of the constitution of the Russian Federation had explicitly banned “the creation and activities of public associations, the goals and actions of which are aimed at creating armed formations”.

Article 71 of the constitution also states that issues of defence and security, war and peace, foreign policy,and international relations are the prerogative of the state, and therefore private companies cannot be involved.

The criminal code also identifies mercenary activity as a crime, including the “recruitment, financing or other material support of a mercenary” as well as the use or participation of mercenaries in armed conflict.

Putin’s amendments to the Law on Defence appear to change this. The amendments were implemented by Shoigu’s order of 15 February 2023, which set out the procedure for providing volunteer formations with weapons, military equipment and logistics as well as setting out conditions of service.

There have been signs of increasing prominence and acceptance of private forces within Russia. In April 2023, the deputy governor of Novosibirsk announced that employees of private military companies would be able to use the rehabilitation certificate issued to state military veterans of the Ukraine war to access a range of services.

There have also been reports in the Russian media that Wagner recruitment centres have opened in 42 cities across the country (the Wagner Group notoriously recruited heavily from Russian prisons.

There are a range of irregular forces operating in Ukraine, including Ramzan Kadyrov’s Chechen forces, the Kadyrovtsy, which officially come under the command of the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya), alongside private forces such as Wagner, Redut, Patriot and Potok.

These volunteer formations offer a more flexible force than conventional military forces which operate under a notoriously rigid chain of command.

They also provide a convenient “cut-out” for the Russian state: private groups and individuals bear the human, financial and political costs that would otherwise be borne by the government. And the Kremlin can fudge the list of official military casualties, otherwise a source of considerable public anxiety directed at the government and its leader.
A force at war with itself

But the increasing visibility of these groups in Ukraine and the public infighting between the ministry of defence and the groups’ leadership is a reminder of the system of patronage and fealty that characterises political culture in today’s Russia.

Turf wars are common, as rivals compete for resources, influence and, of course, the ear of Vladimir Putin himself. You only have to look at the insults hurled at each other by Prigozhin and Shoigu.

Fighting talk: Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, has openly criticised Russia’s military leadership for its conduct of the war. 

Press service of Prigozhin/ Credit: UPI/Alamy Live News

Prigozhin has been very vocal in his criticism of Shoigu and the Russian generals running the war, frequently accusing them of incompetence and corruption. The long-running acrimony between the pair reportedly stems from the defence minister cutting off Prigozhin’s access to profitable defence contracts.

This rivalry serves Putin’s interests to a certain extent. As long as any potential challengers are busy fighting each other, they pose little threat to his position. But it also hinders the country’s combat effectiveness as the fragmentation of forces makes command and control difficult, and means there is little unity of effort.

The move by the Russian defence ministry to bring “volunteer formations” under its control must be understood against this backdrop of fragmentation and in-fighting, as well as the ongoing conscription round. The current conscription window, which opened on April 1, closes on July 15, has a stated goal of recruiting 147,000 soldiers.

But Prigozhin’s revolt against Russia’s military leadership and his seeming open defiance of his formerly close ally Vladimir Putin will also have significant implications for Russia’s ability to react to Ukraine’s counteroffensive which will become clearer in the days and weeks ahead.

This article has been updated on June 25 to reflect the most recent events concerning Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group.

Author

Tracey German
Professor of Conflict and Security, King's College London
Disclosure statement
Tracey German is affiliated with RUSI.

 

 

 

 

 

Prigozhin Rising ‘Deadly for Putin’s Reputation’ among Russians, Pastukhov Says

            Staunton, June 25 – Prigozhin and his forces may not have reached Moscow but they have achieved one goal: they have destroyed Putin’s reputation as a strongman capable of handling any situation, Vladimir Pastukhov says; and that may prove more fateful to the current regime than anything else

            In the course of 24 hours, the London-based Russian analyst says, “tragedy turned into comedy:” but that is not going to be for long and “the consequences will be serious. The next attempted coup is coming, and the regime will respond by becoming increasingly repressive (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=649761104F68E).

            In this situation, Pastukhov argues, “Putin looks like a fool” and there is nothing either he or anyone else can do about it.

            The last 24 hours have been “a day of disgrace for the authorities and Putin personally,” he continues. “The helplessness of the police and the National Guard, Putin’s initial silence and then dubious speech about what he described as a rebellion, cities surrendering without a fight, planes carrying the elite without clear destinations, and propagandists left without guidance.”

            All these things have been “deadly for the reputation of Putin and his regime, and they will remain stuck in the public consciousness forever … Now everyone knows that the king has no clothes and is a figure of fun. Prigozhin, himself a jester succeeded in casting the entire Putin regime in a jester’s light.”

            According to Pastukhov, “there will be less fear, and the time will come when there will be those who will want to repeat” the last day but this time “not as a joke but as something serious” – and that is what Putin, his regime, the Russian people and the world are going to be living with in the coming days, weeks or months.

Report: US Knew of Wagner Coup Plans in Advance


2023-June-25 

TEHRAN (FNA)- US intelligence agencies strongly suspected that Evgeny Prigozhin was planning a major move against the Russian government, days before the Wagner chief ordered his troops to march on Moscow, The New York Times reported on Saturday, citing sources.

According to unnamed US officials interviewed by the paper, the administration of US President Joe Biden and military commanders were briefed on the Wagner preparations as early as Wednesday. As additional details came in, another briefing attended by a narrow group of congressional leaders was reportedly held on Thursday.

The situation escalated only on Friday night, when Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry of launching a deadly missile strike on a Wagner camp, and vowed retaliation. The ministry denied the allegation, accusing him of an “informational provocation”.

In the following hours, Wagner troops captured military facilities in the Southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, while Prigozhin announced that his forces were beginning a “march for justice” with a plan to reach Moscow.

On Saturday, the Wagner boss agreed to halt his advance and withdraw his forces in exchange for “security guarantees”, as part of a deal brokered by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko.

According to NYT sources, prior to the uprising, Washington officials were in no hurry to alert Russian President Vladimir Putin of an impending threat, as they feared that Moscow could accuse them of orchestrating a coup. Moreover, the US “had little interest” in helping Putin amid the Ukraine conflict and Russia’s stand-off with the West, the article says.

Still, US officials were reportedly alarmed by a possible conflict between Prigozhin and Moscow, as they worried that Russia’s descent into chaos could create considerable nuclear risks.

The NYT report was echoed by CNN, which claimed on Saturday that US officials had believed Prigozhin was planning to challenge the Russian military “for quite some time”, but did not know what his ultimate goal was.

According to CNN sources, Western officials had prior knowledge of Prigozhin’s preparations, including his efforts to accumulate weapons and ammunition. However, the outlet’s source noted that “it all happened very quickly”, and it was difficult to say whether the Wagner chief was serious about delivering on his threats to the Russian military.

On Saturday, when the Wagner insurrection was still in full swing, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned the West that any its attempts to use the unrest “to achieve their Russophobic goals” would be futile. Meanwhile, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev noted that a coup in a major nuclear power could result in catastrophic consequences, and Moscow would never allow this to happen.

ZIMBABWE

Two Women Apply For Hangman Job
Sun, 25 Jun 2023 


A number of people, including two women, have applied for the hangman post.

The applicants may, however, have to wait a little longer to find out if they will get the job as the Government is considering abolishing the death penalty.

The recruitment process has been shelved, for now.

The Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs conducted nationwide consultations with the public and various stakeholders on a proposed move to abolish the death penalty.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Permanent Secretary Virginia Mabiza told The Sunday Mail they are now awaiting funds from Treasury to complete the exercise. She said:

I am told that consultations were done in all provinces, but they managed to carry them out in three districts per province.

They then intend to go back to the Government with their findings.

We are going to make a summary and recommendations to Cabinet.

Once Treasury provides the funds, we will start the process by July and expect to complete it by, say, September. By year-end, all will be done.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who reportedly avoided the hangman’s noose during the liberation struggle on a technicality, has called for the abolition of the death sentence.

Section 48 of the Constitution allows the execution of convicts aged between 21 and 70, but women are spared from the death penalty.

Supporters of the death penalty argue that the prospect of facing the ultimate punishment may discourage potential offenders from committing certain crimes.

Another argument is that the death penalty provides a sense of justice for victims and their families.

However, those who are against capital punishment believe that there is a risk of executing innocent people.

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