Ecocide: Israel's systematic destruction of Palestinian agriculture revealed

British-based investigation unveils targeting, destruction of land by Israeli forces in Gaza Strip since last October

Dilara Hamit |05.05.2024 -AA

Israeli attacks continue on Gaza Strip

ANKARA

A British-based investigation group has unveiled the systematic targeting and destruction of orchards and greenhouses by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since last October, when the current conflict in Gaza began, undermining Gazan Palestinians’ ability to feed and provide for themselves.

Analysis by Forensic Architecture, a multidisciplinary research group based at Goldsmiths, University of London, identified more than 2,000 agricultural sites, including farms and greenhouses, that have been deliberately destroyed, and often replaced with Israeli military earthworks.

The destruction, particularly intense in northern Gaza, has led to the devastation of nearly one-third of the region's greenhouses and approximately 40% of agricultural land previously used for food production.

The investigation suggests that the destruction is a deliberate act of ecocide exacerbating the ongoing catastrophic famine in Gaza, part of a wider pattern of depriving Palestinians of critical resources for survival.

"Since 2014, Palestinian farmers along Gaza’s perimeter have seen their crops sprayed by airborne herbicides and regularly bulldozed, and have themselves faced sniper fire by the Israeli occupation forces. Along that engineered ‘border,’ sophisticated systems of fences and surveillance reinforce a military buffer zone," according to a statement from Forensic Architecture marking March 30, Land Day, a day when Palestinians protest and plant olive trees to reaffirm their connection to the land.

The investigation, built on collaborations with local farmers' associations and agricultural workers, highlights the ongoing Israeli destruction of vegetation in Gaza and its severe effects on Palestinian food security and livelihoods.

The analysis indicates the ongoing resilience of Palestinian farmers who continue to cultivate their lands despite forced alterations to the landscape by the Israeli occupation.

Greenhouses, farmland replaced by Israeli military construction

Before 2023, Gaza boasted 170 square kilometers (65 square miles) of agricultural land, or 47% of its total area. The fields and orchards were crucial for local food security amid the siege conditions faced by Palestinians under the 15-year blockade of Gaza since 2007, followed by the even harsher blockade since last Oct. 7.

"Our analysis shows that Israel’s ground invasion has advanced over nearly 50 percent of Gazan farms and orchards," said Forensic Architecture.

“We used remote sensing to measure the scale of agricultural destruction resulting from this military activity, by comparing the region’s ‘vegetation index’ (an indicator of the health and robustness of plant life, measured by analysing satellite imagery) before and after the invasion. This comparison reveals that as of March 2024, of the agricultural areas targeted, approximately 40 percent of the land in Gaza previously used for food production has been destroyed.”

The findings show that the destruction of agriculture along Gaza's perimeter suggests a potential expansion of the Israeli army's buffer zone, further limiting livable space for Palestinians.

Additionally, vital agricultural infrastructure like greenhouses has been systematically targeted since the onset of the ground invasion.

It stressed that satellite imagery reveals extensive destruction of greenhouses, with nearly one-third of Gaza's greenhouses demolished between last October and this March. Forensic Architecture identified more than 2,000 agricultural sites, including farms and greenhouses, destroyed during that period, often replaced by Israeli military constructions.

The destruction has been particularly severe in northern Gaza, where 90% of greenhouses were demolished in the early stages of the invasion, an area which the head of the UN World Food Program (WFP) said Saturday was in “full-blown famine.”

"As the Israeli military advances south, destruction of agricultural land and infrastructure moves with it. We observe that 40% of the greenhouses in the areas around the southern city of Khan Younis, where many hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are now displaced, have been destroyed since January 2024," said Forensic Architecture.

"Military support vehicles and tractors accompany the Israeli ground invasion, routinely building earthworks to reinforce military outposts. Once those vehicles depart, they leave behind a devastated and unliveable area," it added.

Steel giant ArcelorMittal warns Gove over Kent planning verdict

ArcelorMittal has told Michael Gove it may be forced to "cease operations in Britain" unless he blocks the redevelopment of Chatham Docks in a letter obtained by Sky News.


Mark Kleinman
SKY NEWS
City editor

@MarkKleinmanSky
Sunday 5 May 2024 



The world's second-largest steel company has warned the government that a planning verdict due this week could lead to a key division quitting the UK.

Sky News has seen a letter sent by ArcelorMittal to Michael Gove, the levelling-up secretary, in which it says that a decision to allow the closure and redevelopment of part of Chatham Docks would have "seismic adverse consequences… [for] the British economy and multiple strategic industries".

In the letter from Matthew Brooks, who runs ArcelorMittal's construction solutions arm in the UK, the company urges Mr Gove to issue an urgent order to allow fuller government scrutiny of the redevelopment proposals ahead of Wednesday's decision by Medway Council.

"This is highly time-sensitive - calling in the application after next Wednesday will not be possible," Mr Brooks wrote.

He warned that if the proposals were approved, ArcelorMittal would "regrettably be left with no alternative but to leave Chatham Docks and, more than likely, cease operations in Britain, given the lack of suitable alternative sites".


"This, too, would likely be the case for the majority of businesses at the Docks," Mr Brooks wrote.

"This would have a significant impact on Britain's manufacturing and construction industries, delay countless critical national infrastructure projects, come at a significant cost to the economy, and leave Britain vulnerable and exposed to the volatility of international supply chain shocks."

The application, submitted by Peel Waters, part of the industrial conglomerate Peel Group, would see the site used to build housing and commercial facilities in place of part of the docks.

It has already been recommended for approval by local planning officers, according to reports last week.

ArcelorMittal uses the site in Kent to transport materials produced by its construction materials arm.

If the application was approved, it warned, it would "spell the end of Chatham Docks and have a significant impact on the UK reinforcement industry, leading to serious, potentially irreversible long-term harm, with immediate consequences for the resilience and carbon intensity of the sector".

ArcelorMittal, which has operations in more than 60 countries, is an integrated steel and mining company, serving the automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging industries.

The company, which is based in Luxembourg, is chaired by Lakshmi Mittal, the Indian businessman.

It is a significant supplier of steels in Britain, and has been involved in construction projects such as Wembley Stadium, Crossrail and the O2 arena in southeast London.

"Our concern is that Peel's application to redevelop Chatham Docks is not only wrong for Britain but has proceeded with little scrutiny and a lack of public awareness," Mr Gove was told in the letter.

"Many key stakeholders are therefore unaware of the consequences if it were to proceed.

"As the largest operator in the Docks, we of course believe that the application should be rejected.

"However, our sole request today is for an Article 31 holding direction so you can secure the time to assess whether to call in this application for consideration at the national level."

According to ArcelorMittal, Chatham Docks - which it described as "a 400-year-old thriving commercial port with a proud naval heritage" - employs nearly 800 people and generates economic value equivalent to £112,000 per worker, which it argued was "considerably higher than the Medway average of £63,900".

"This is in direct contrast to proposals put forward by Peel, whose economic proposition is unclear," Mr Brooks wrote.

He added that the redevelopment plan would spell the end for £20m of new investment with the potential to create nearly 2,000 jobs.

"However, none of this can be realised while there is uncertainty about the future of our lease on Chatham Docks," Mr Brooks warned, adding that £5m of investment had "already been delayed by Peel's application".

Peel Waters could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

UK
Editorial: Labour's weaknesses are opportunities to demand better


Labour Party leader Keir Starmer (right) celebrates with newly elected Mayor of West Midlands Richard Parker at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, May 4, 2024

SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024

MORNING STAR

LOCAL elections underlined the extent of the Tory collapse, but also Labour’s weaknesses.

Sky News’ Professor Michael Thrasher found the results pointed to Labour being the largest party after a general election — but failing to win a majority.

The projection rests on the vote shares being replicated evenly at a general election. And it necessarily ignores areas which didn’t vote last week, including Scotland, where the Scottish National Party’s troubles are likely to benefit Labour.

Even so, this is no ringing endorsement of Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. It picked up well under half the seats the Tories lost. Everyone did well against Tories — Lib Dems, Greens, many Independents.

The clearest regional cause of poor Labour performance is the party’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

Heavy losses in areas with large Muslim populations — a BBC analysis found a 21 per cent fall in Labour’s vote share in such wards compared to 2021 — indicate real anger, as does the very strong third place for a pro-Palestine independent, Akhmed Yakoob, in the West Midlands mayoralty. Labour won that, but only by a few hundred votes when Yakoob took almost 70,000 and 11.7 per cent — and its actual share of the vote fell, just by less than the Tories’.

For all Wes Streeting’s claims the party is “calling for a ceasefire now,” it has not pushed ministers to punish Israel for ignoring the UN security council vote ordering one, demanded an end to arms sales, or British support for the genocide case at the International Court of Justice.

So now is the time to press demands. Election campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden says Labour will work to rebuild trust and claims “a better future for the Palestinian people would be a really high priority for Labour” in government.

So prove it: demand an arms embargo, call out the wave of repression against Palestine solidarity activists, condemn the government bid to ban the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. Reverse Starmer’s decision to drop Labour’s policy of recognising a sovereign Palestinian state if elected, one disgracefully taken as Palestinians are being killed in their thousands. Without these concrete steps, there is no reason to give Labour’s leaders the benefit of the doubt.

Besides Palestine, Labour’s 35 per cent share is nothing to crow about. It polled the same in 2018’s locals, a year before a heavy defeat.

Given near-universal rejection of the Conservatives, this suggests a lack of enthusiasm for the main electoral alternative.

And no wonder. People are sick of the way things are — yet Labour’s offer can be summed up as “more of the same.”

That’s not to deny the value of the few remaining left policies — rail renationalisation, or the new deal for workers, though the latter is now an active battleground. Unite’s Sharon Graham is right to threaten consequences if Labour continues to retreat on it — unions will get nothing through mute loyalty.

But on a wider range of issues, on public services, welfare, foreign policy — Labour will change nothing, and it is struggling to mobilise voters with the non-offer.

That, too, is an opportunity to make demands. Britain’s Establishment has rewritten the history of Labour’s last defeat: blanking out the appeal of socialist policies demonstrated in 2017, and ignoring the complete dominance of the 2019 election by Brexit to blame those policies.

But the polls are consistent. A majority want public ownership not just of rail, but of mail, water, energy. Most want higher taxes on the rich and corporations. Most want more investment in public services, especially the NHS.

Labour has not turned its back on all that to make itself electable, but to cosy up to the corporate crooks running Britain into the ground.

Unions have the reach, particularly if combining with the emerging anti-cuts campaigns at local level, to make who owns Britain an election issue too.

UK

Head teachers’ union confirms detrimental impact of school funding cuts at annual conference

School leaders’ jobs have been “made far harder by this Conservative government. School buildings are falling apart, pay has been driven down and teachers are being driven out.”

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead 5 May, 2024 - Let Foot Forward

Hundreds of school leaders from across the UK and leading union figures gathered in Newport this week for the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) annual conference.

Addressing the challenges affecting schools in Britain, speakers pointing to the reality of school cuts.

Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said the job of school leaders has been made “far harder” by the current government, which does not understand the “value of school leadership.”

In a speech to school leaders, Nowak said that “every child deserves a good education.”

“This takes leadership, and we are all grateful to head teachers, assistants, deputies, and school business leaders for the incredible job they have done leading schools through difficult times.

“But their job has been made far harder by this Conservative government. School buildings are falling apart, pay has been driven down and teachers are being driven out.”

The TUC general secretary reminded the conference how, since 2010, head teachers’ pay has been slashed by 20 percent, which is “pushing good leaders out of the profession.”

NAHT was founded in 1897. It currently has 49,000 members. Its annual conference enables members to share their experiences and debate about the current issues affecting schools.

The 2024 conference came as austerity and cuts to schools are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. A recent survey by the Sutton Trust showed that 32 percent of school leaders reported having to make cuts to teaching staff. This included 69 percent to teaching assistants and 46 percent to support staff.

Rachel Young, who was introduced as NAHT’s incoming president at the conference, said that it is often the children with the highest needs that “really suffer because [you lose] the people who give those children the support they need.”

Young, who is also the NAHT’s Blackpool branch secretary, says it is vital that the challenges facing schools are raised, “because we’re trying to make things better.”

She said that being a school business leader has given her “unique insight into the impact of over a decade of austerity, the funding cuts on schools and the tough decisions they must make every single day.”

Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, also spoke at the conference. He said:

“We’ve been clear in calling for a series of restorative pay rises for school leaders after more than a decade of real terms pay cuts.

“We have evidenced beyond doubt that a real recruitment and retention crisis exists. Teacher pay is too low and workload too high.”

The conference debated a series of motions about the challenges schools face. This included trade union law and the impact it will have on the education sector, and in particular school leaders. The conference said it is “appalling at the continued on the democratic right of trade union members to strike, as set out in the government’s Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and accompanying regulations.”

Delegates also debated a child poverty motion, noting the “stress and anxiety that insecure housing causes to families and the life chances of young people.”

The conference called on the National Executive to work with housing and homelessness organisations, to support appropriate campaigns to highlight the situation for families and young people and the impact this has on education, and to lobby government to meet its existing obligations and commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

UK

George Galloway HANGS UP in feisty LBC interview after being challenged over gay relationship comments

The Rochdale MP claimed he had been 'ambushed'

By Chris Slater

Senior Reporter

MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS

 5 MAY 2024

George Galloway accused the station of playing an 'edited clip' of his comments which have sparked controversy (Image: Getty Images)

George Galloway angrily cut off a live radio interview after being challenged over comments he made about gay relationships.

The Rochdale MP and leader of the Workers Party of Britain hung up after being asked by the LBC's Lewis Goodall about the remarks he made in the interview with Novara Media, in which in which he suggested he did not think gay relationships were equal to heterosexual ones.

When the remarks were played by Mr Goodall on his Sunday show in the station, and put to him afterwards, Mr Galloway said: “This is a clip of a clip. It is an edited clip of an edited clip", a point which Mr Goodall denied.

However, Mr Galloway suggested a wider point he had made about gender identity had been lost. He also claimed that Mr Goodall had 'got this interview to talk about the election' and that the radio station was “ambushing” him, adding: “I have got a simple answer. Listen to the whole thing tonight.”

Mr Galloway then stated he was going to hang up the phone, saying: “More fool me thinking that your request that I come on and talk about the elections was genuine.”

Mr Galloway ended the interview with LBC's Lewis Goodall (Image: LBC)

In a clip from the interview with Novara Media, Mr Galloway said: “I don’t want my children prematurely sexualised at all, I don’t want them taught that some things are normal when their parents don’t believe that they’re normal.

“Now there’s lots of things not normal, doesn’t mean you have to hate something that isn’t normal. But if my children are taught that there’s – whatever the current vogue number is – 76 or 97 or whatever the number of purported genders that exist, I don’t want my children taught that.”

Mr Galloway became the MP for Rochdale in February, gaining almost 40 percent of the vote in a contest mired in chaos and controversy and dominated by the Gaza conflict.

George Galloway MP with Shabaz Sarwar who unseated Manchester City Council's Deputy Leader Luthfur Rahman at Thursday's local elections (Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)

Mr Galloway said he did not want children to be taught “that gay relationships are exactly the same and as normal as a mum, a dad and kids”.

He added: “I want my children to be taught that the normal thing in Britain, in society across the world, is a mother, a father and a family.

“I want them to be taught that there are gay people in the world and that they must be treated with respect and affection, as I treat my own gay friends and colleagues with respect and affection but I don’t want my children to be taught that these things are equal because I don’t believe them to be equal.”

Mr Galloway has previously represented seats in Glasgow, east London and Bradford in the Commons, for Labour and later the Respect Party.

He has said he hopes to act as a challenger to Labour at the general election, and has claimed his party will field candidates to stand against the opposition’s key figures.

They caused an upset at the Manchester City Council local elections, where the council's Deputy Leader Luthfur Rahman was ousted from his seat in Longsight by the Workers Party's Shahbaz Sarwar in a contest said to have been dominated by the war in Gaza and Labour's position on the conflict.

They also won two seats from Labour in Rochdale. Speaking afterwards, he said: "We have two new councillors in two target wards, both by thumping victories," he said.

Adding: "You could say I'm a happy man, I'm as happy as inside Keir Starmer is unhappy because he's lost a very key part of the demographic make-up."

Man arrested over death threats made to NI councillor who vows not to be deterred




SDLP Councillor Lilian Seenoi-Barr

SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC LABOUR PARTY

Allison Morris

Sun 5 May 2024 

Police investigating online threats against SDLP councillor Lilian Seenoi-Barr have arrested a 30-year-old man.

Ms Seenoi-Barr has received death threats since it was announced she will become Northern Ireland’s first black mayor.

She was chosen last week by the SDLP as the next mayor of Derry City and Strabane. She said she was “proud to be a Maasai woman and a Derry girl”.

The PSNI said yesterday evening that a man was in custody after he attended Strand Road police station in Londonderry and was detained on suspicion of harassment, threats to kill and improper use of a public electronic communications network. Police are treating the alleged offences as a racially motivated hate crime.

The 42-year-old Kenyan has said racism will not deflect her but is “disappointed” two councillors from her party resigned after her selection. Current deputy mayor Jason Barr and Shauna Cusack, who both put themselves forward for the post, resigned over the “undemocratic” manner of the selection.

Read more

• SDLP leader slams far right over death threats against NI’s first black mayor Lilian Barr
• Second SDLP councillor announces resignation over Mayor ‘debacle’
• Who is Alex Jones? The conspiracy theorist who targeted Londonderry’s first black mayor

Speaking on BBC’s Sunday Politics programme, Ms Seenoi-Barr said despite the abuse and death threats, the majority of people in Derry stood with her.

Play

Unmute

“It is an honour to be considered mayor and be selected, it is a lifetime opportunity,” she said.

“It was obviously a disappointment that two of my colleagues who I have worked with the last three years decided to resign, but I’m focused on the way forward.

“I was elected by the people of Derry who have really taken me into their hearts and been kind to me and I want to be able to serve them properly.

“It’s not about making history, but it is about delivering for the people and representing the people that elected me.”

She said her selection was an “open process... a robust interview, very competitive”.

She added: “I was very prepared for the interview, I work very hard for my community.”

The SDLP conceded communication with its representatives was poor and said is will change how it appoints civil leadership positions in the future.

The party is expected to propose an amendment at its next annual general meeting to “regularise the process”.

Councillor Lilian Barr will soon be appointed Mayor of Derry City and Strabane.

Ms Seenoi-Barr has received hundreds of messages of congratulations, including from party leader Colum Eastwood and First Minister Michelle O’Neill.

Her selection was also widely reported in Kenya.

Senator Ledama Olekina posted on X: “Please join me in congratulating my baby sister Councillor Lilian Seenoi for being elected as the first black Maasai Mayor of the City of Derry.”

In response to the abuse she has received, Ms Seenoi-Barr said: “Since I put myself forward to represent my community, since I came to this country, I’ve been experiencing racism.

“But obviously it’s beyond what I had been experiencing.

“The death threats have been extremely hurtful to my family and to myself too.

“But I’m more focused on the positives, I have had enormous support across the island.”

She joined the SDLP team on Derry City and Strabane District Council in June 2021 after being co-opted in the Foyleside ward.

She retained her seat in last year’s council local elections.

Condemning the racist abuse, Mr Eastwood said: “We will not be led into the gutter by far-right activists, whether they are coming from America, Dublin or Derry online.”

RESISTING RWANDA
Defiance in the face of immorality

Source: Sul Nowroz

TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2024
Real Media – The View From Below

Ruptures and Splinters

On Monday April 29th a new fracture line appeared across parts of the UK. A country already divided was about to splinter again. On one side – the Home Office, the Bibby Stockholm and the Safety of Rwanda Act 2024. On the other, a loose coalition including volunteers from Anti Raids Network, Black Lives Matter UK, Right to Remain, Solidarity Knows No Borders, SOAS Detainee Support and These Walls Must Fall. While the former represents the top-down authoritarian and violent reach of the current British government, the latter is a grassroots movement of defiance and solidarity.

The Act

The infamous Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 received Royal Assent and became law on Friday April 26th. The Act has been widely criticised for undermining human rights, and is nonsensical and hugely costly.

Under the Act the UK Home Office pays into a fund misleadingly named the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund (ETIF). The fund is a smokescreen, an attempt to legitimise payments to the Rwandan government to traffic asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda. The Home Office has paid some £200 million into ETIF since 2022, and further instalments of £50 million will be made each year for the next three years. Using the Home Office’s ‘five-year processing and integration package’ assumptions, it will cost the UK £150,874 for each person forcibly relocated to Rwanda.

The twisted nature of the Bill isn’t limited to its economics. More disturbingly, it casts asylum seekers as tradable chattel, cargo that can be shipped over the horizon without care or concern about what happens to them next. The commodification of this population is particularly distressing as they come from high-risk environments, often displaced by war and brutal conflicts, forcibly separated from friends and family. It is traumatic to leave your home unplanned and motivated only by fear, taking with you only what you can carry.



Rwanda

Source: Yvonne Deeney/BristolLive

There is a peculiar perversion to it all. A white nation state (ranked the sixth largest economy in the world), whose government and parts of its population fetishize on othering, commandeers a black nation state (ranked the 140th largest economy in the world) and unashamedly uses it as a type of purification filter; a place where the unwanted are discharged.

Rwanda has been violated. The territory has been raped and ruled, first by Germany, then by Belgium. It has been plagued with mass killing sprees, even genocide. Abusive colonial rule has left the country in a semi psychotic state, unstable and prone to violence. It is a country conditioned to normalise abuse, and preferences self-preservation over collective humanity. So, when the colonial carriages rode into town, with bags of silver and crooked smiles, a broken country responded in the only way it knew how: servitude.

A Landless Nation

Refugee Nation Flag: Yara Said

There are around 110 million forcibly displaced people world-wide, of which sixty million are internally displaced, thirty-five million have refugee status, and about six million are asylum seekers, or in the process of becoming refugees. Approximately forty million are below the age of eighteen. It’s enough to populate a nation.

The 2016 Olympics were memorable. Held in the iconic city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, several records were broken including the men’s 400 metres, the women’s 5,000 metres, the women’s hammer throw, and the men’s pole vault. It was also the first-year refugees were allowed to participate. A squad of ten athletes competed under the officially recognised black and orange flag of the Refugee Nation.

Syrian Yara Said later shared that she designed the flag using inspiration from the life vests worn by many “brothers and sisters who were searching for a safer land to live on.” The expanse of orange represents the vast horizons that so often surrounded them as they moved across land and water.

Said continued: “The design is meant to evoke a sense of hope and solidarity, and to show that refugees are not just victims but also survivors and fighters.” With the introduction of the flag, Said was reclaiming the status of displaced people, who for too long have been marginalised and denied the most basic rights. On Monday, several hundred campaigners assembled at immigration centres across the UK to act in solidarity with asylum seekers, whose rights are once again under threat.

Small Boats

It is a singularly English phenomenon: Small Boats. Large parts of the English psyche are obsessed with separation. Integration is a nauseating word, a concept that repels and repulses in equal measure. The channel, a god-given gift, is designed solely to keep ‘them’ over ‘there.’ Why have equality when you can have exceptionalism?

The government feed the media – unchecked – who embellish and entertain the public, who get frenzied and kick the government, who obsess and blame the foreigner, and the easiest foreigner to blame is the one with the fewest rights. It’s a loop: small boats, dark faces, tricksters, undeserving, stigmatized. Sadly, the lie goes largely unchallenged, and soon it becomes the truth.

Monday Morning Raids

Source – Sul Nowroz

On Monday the Home Office swung into action emboldened by the depraved Rwanda act. Raids followed, some were filmed and pushed through government channels: The Sun and The Daily Mail. By Thursday, immigration offices, where asylum seekers are asked to periodically sign-in, were being targeted. Instead of their regular check-in meetings, asylum seekers were being challenged to see if they met the Rwandan criteria: an asylum claim on or after 1st January 2022, a journey to the UK that could be described as having been dangerous (the small boat clause), and no family members under the age of 18. If the criteria were met individuals were escorted onto vans and coaches to be transported to a holding pen, the controversial Bibby Stockholm. Asylum seekers were not allowed to collect their personal belongings or say goodbye to friends and neighbours. The process was callous, mentally and emotionally harmful and designed to humiliate and degrade. It was painful to watch.

But by the time the first vans were ready to depart there was a problem. Anti-raid campaigners blocked immigration vehicles, immobilising them through sheer strength of numbers. The Rwanda roundup, much touted by Home Office Minister James Cleverly, came to a standstill as acts of solidarity and resistance blocked roads in Croydon and Peckham and Hounslow and Loughborough and Solihull and Birmingham and Perth and Glasgow. Police were called, force was used, and vehicles were freed. State thuggery can be effective.

More immigration swoops followed on Friday; most were met with resistance. A coach hired by immigration services in Peckham was rendered useless after Lime bikes were wedged underneath it. Others resisted by staffing pop-up information centres advising asylum seekers of their rights.

By Friday evening some forty-five campaigners had been arrested. The Home Office didn’t disclose how many asylum seekers had been detained but did confirm that the initial list for relocation to Rwanda consisted of some 5,700 individuals.

Solidarity is Resistance

When the powerful deliberately attempt to purge humanity, solidarity becomes a daring act, a subversive act that will get you arrested. Over the last few days, we witnessed a natural coming together, a self-forming, self-governing community that rose to challenge a law that is morally wrong, and a government that is ethically bankrupt. The campaigners applied nothing more than their bodies against a menacing state apparatus that traffics people who have been forcibly displaced and still carry the scars of war and conflict.

While watching last week’s acts of solidarity, of citizen-against-state, I am reminded of a quote: “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.“

©2024 Sul Nowroz – Real Media staff writer

   

Rwandan government ‘cannot say’ how many migrants it will take from UK

Ross Hunter
Sun, 5 May 2024 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomes the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, to 10 Downing Street (Image: Stefan Rousseau)


THE Rwandan government cannot guarantee how many migrants it will take from the UK under Rishi Sunak’s flagship deportation scheme.

But Yolande Makolo, a spokeswoman for the east African state, did say Rwanda would be able to welcome more than 200 migrants initially.

The Prime Minister’s plan to deal with asylum seekers arriving in the UK via irregular routes including the English Channel crossing is to place them on a one-way flight to Kigali.


He hopes this will deter other small boats attempting the journey from France.

Rwanda has entered into a five-year deal to take in migrants from the UK.

Asked by the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg if Rwanda would be able to process tens of thousands of migrants as part of the deal, Makolo said: “We will be able to welcome the migrants that the UK sends over the lifetime of this partnership.

READ MORE: John Swinney: Leadership challenge from SNP activist will 'delay' rebuild

“What I cannot tell you is how many thousands we are taking in the first year or the second year. This will depend on very many factors that are being worked out right now.”

She had earlier claimed there was a “misconception” that Rwanda was only prepared to take 200 initial migrants, telling the BBC: “Journalists have been visiting the initial accommodation that we have secured since the beginning of the partnership. This is Hope Hostel.

“That particular facility is able to take up to 200 people.

“However, we have already started initial discussions with other facilities around Kigali and further afield and these will be firmed up and signed once we know how many migrants are coming and when they are coming.

“So it has never been the case that we can only take 200 initially, that has been a misconception.”

The National:

Keir Starmer has said Labour will not keep the Rwanda policy if it wins the next election, but this has prompted questions about what the party would do instead.

Makolo urged critics of the plan not to attack Rwanda “unjustly”, and to present a solution to the migrant crisis which was “not just deterrence and enforcement”.

“People are suffering here so we need good solutions and we need to rethink the migration crisis,” she said.

The spokeswoman later added: “Living in Rwanda is not a punishment. It is a beautiful country, including the weather.”

Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden said if the party was in power it would spend the cash set aside for the Rwanda scheme on “a proper operation to crack down on the criminal gangs”.

READ MORE: Independence support unchanged as Labour take lead over SNP, poll finds

A PA news agency fact check found payments to the Rwandan government as part of the deal would add up to £490 million by the end of the 2026/27 financial year, should a milestone of 300 migrants sent to Rwanda be reached.

PA found Labour’s claim that the scheme would cost £2 million per migrant to be mostly true, with the price tag decreasing substantially if many more were deported to Rwanda.

McFadden said Labour believed the Government “will get flights off” but did not believe the scheme would provide “value for money for the taxpayer”.

He also said he doubted Labour would work to return migrants to the UK from Rwanda should they form the next government.

Gaza war surgeon feels ‘criminalised’ after being denied entry to France

Geneva Abdul
Sun, 5 May 2024 

THE GUARDIAN


Ghassan Abu-Sitta, a Palestinian-British surgeon, was due to speak at the French senate about the Israel-Gaza war.Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

A London surgeon who provided testimony on Israel’s war in Gaza after operating during the conflict has said he feels criminalised after being denied entry to France over the weekend.

Prof Ghassan Abu-Sitta, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon was due to speak about the war to the French parliament’s upper house on Saturday. However, after arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport north of Paris on a morning flight from London, he was informed by French authorities that Germany had enforced a Schengen-wide ban on his entry to Europe.

Abu-Sitta said he had no knowledge that German authorities, who had previously refused his entry to Berlin in April, had put an administrative visa ban on him for a year, meaning he was banned from entering any Schengen country.

“What I find most difficult to accept is this complete criminalisation,” Abu-Sitta said on Sunday, adding that he was previously told by authorities he would be unable to enter Germany for the month of April.

“I was put in a holding cell and marched in front of people at Charles de Gaulle with armed guards and then handed over to the staff in the plane, all so that I’m unable to give evidence,” he said.

Instead of taking part in a conference at the French senate to speak about Gaza, on invitation from Green party parliamentarians, Abu-Sitta was stripped of his possessions and taken to a holding cell. Before being deported to the UK, he was able to attend the conference via video on his lawyer’s phone from the detention centre.

“It was critical for me that we do this, that they’re unable to silence us,” said Abu-Sitta, who has worked in Gaza since 2009, as well as in wars in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

During October and November 2023, at the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza, which has since killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, Abu-Sitta operated from al-Shifa and al-Ahli hospitals. During his 43 days, he described witnessing a “massacre unfold” in Gaza and the use of white phosphorus munitions, which Israel has denied.

Abu-Sitta has since provided evidence to Scotland Yard and the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague. He intends to challenge his entry ban in the German courts and is considering going to the European court of human rights.

In April, Abu-Sitta travelled to Berlin to participate in the Palestine Congress forum, where he was denied entry by authorities because they “could not ensure the safety of attendees in the conference”, he said. The German federal police have been approached for comment.

His lawyer, Tayab Ali, said the German government issued the Schengen-wide ban without any consultation with Abu-Sitta, and without disclosing the information the ban is based on.

“It is clear to us that there is an organised attempt to discredit medical witnesses and in particular Prof Ghassan from providing details about the consequences of Israel’s military action in Gaza,” said Ali, who is also the director of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP).

“The ban appears to be a cynical attempt to silence eyewitnesses giving testimony to parliamentarians and law enforcement agencies.”

The incident comes after diplomats from G7 nations urged officials at the ICC not to announce war crimes charges against Israel or Hamas officials, amid concerns that such a move could disrupt the chances of a breakthrough in ceasefire talks.

Germany, widely seen as the second largest arms exporter to Israel behind the US, is facing a domestic lawsuit over weapons sales to Israel. Last week, the international court of justice (ICJ) rejected a request by Nicaragua to issue Germany emergency orders to desist selling arms to Israel, but declined to throw out the case altogether.

“The only reason the Germans would want a European-wide ban is to stop me from getting to The Hague,” said Abu-Sitta.

“It communicates to me the complete complicity of the German government in the genocidal war.”

UK
Rail services will be 'severely impacted' by strikes


Alice Cunningham,BBC News, Essex

Greater AngliaGreater Anglia services will be impacted this week by strikes

Strikes will impact rail commuters in the East of England next week.

The Aslef union announced action from Tuesday through to Thursday impacting different rail operators, including Greater Anglia, each day.

An overtime ban was also called between Monday and Saturday.

Passengers have been advised to check before travelling and plan accordingly.

What is happening on Tuesday?

Greater Anglia said services would be "severely impacted" on Tuesday.

It planned to run a reduced train service on a small number of key routes into London across fewer hours.

The affected routes are:Norwich/Colchester and London Liverpool Street
Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street
Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street
Cambridge and London Liverpool Street

The operator added that most routes would have no services at all.

Other operators including c2c, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern and South Western Railway including Island Line are also expected to be impacted on Tuesday.

What is happening on Wednesday and Thursday?

On Wednesday, Greater Anglia's first trains of the day on most routes will start at about 07:00 BST.

"Most of our train services will be running," a Greater Anglia spokesperson said.

"West Anglia services are expected to be extremely busy, passengers are advised to check before they travel and consider travelling at alternative times.

"Stansted Express will be operating a reduced service of two or three trains per hour."

Wednesday will see operators including Avanti, Chiltern, CrossCountry and others impacted by the strike.

Thursday will similarly see LNER, Northern and TransPennine disrupted.

Some engineering works on Saturday may also impact journeys on Greater Anglia routes.

Greater Anglia recommended making use of its journey planner before setting out.

UK

Reading Sikh street parade returns after five years

By Minreet Kaur and Marcus White,

BBC

Jasmeet Singh

The Nagar Kirtan parade has been staged in Reading since 2002

An annual Sikh street procession has been staged in a town for the first time in five years.

The Nagar Kirtan parade was held in Reading from 2002 until 2019 before stopping because of the Covid pandemic.

About 2,000 priests and worshippers joined the procession from Cumberland Road to London Road earlier.

The event celebrates the festival of Vaisakhi, which marks the founding of the Sikh community, the Khalsa, in 1699.

Jasmeet Singh

The event marks the important Sikh festival of Vaisakhi

The parade included prayers and the singing of hymns as well as flag-waving and martial arts displays.

Organiser Gurpal Singh said: "In British society Sikhs have been well integrated for many years.


"We have fought wars together and have seen good and bad times together. But still it's about educating people."

Avi Kaur Birdi, who attended, said: "With people leading busy lives it's not always easy to see the community, so coming to one place to mark a huge festival makes me feel really happy to be with my family and friends."
J

asmeet Singh

About 2,000 people joined the procession