It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
A cyberattack that crippled fuel supplies on the East Coast of the US and sent gas prices soaring could have been an inside job conducted by American spooks, rather than foreign hackers, a prominent Russian IT expert has claimed.
After a massive systems failure caused the Colonial Pipeline to shut down, Natalya Kaspersky, the founder and former CEO of security software firm Kaspersky Lab, as well as one of Russia’s wealthiest women, made the explosive suggestions in an interview with RIA Novosti on Friday. She alleges that the US’ top foreign intelligence agency, the CIA, has a crack team of digital warriors who are able to masquerade as overseas hacking groups.
According to her, the group, known as UMBRAGE, is adept at hiding its online footprints. The existence of the team first came to light in a series of documents published by WikiLeaks in 2017 and subsequently picked up by American media. At the time, USA Today said that the shadowy operatives “may have been cataloguing hacking methods from outside hackers, including in Russia, that would have allowed the agency to mask their identity by employing the method during espionage.”
On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that the devastating blow to America’s infrastructure had been dealt from abroad. “We do not believe the Russian government was involved in this attack, but we do have strong reason to believe that the criminals who did the attack are living in Russia, that’s where it came from,” he said.
However, Kaspersky pointed to the list “of the countries under whose hacker groups this UMBRAGE is disguised – Russia, North Korea, China, Iran.” She claimed that “therefore, it cannot be said with certainty that the attack was carried out by a hacker group from Russia, and that it was not a provocation made themselves from there, or from some other country,” she said.
The day before, the operators of the Colonial Pipeline said that service had resumed, and that “we can now report that we have restarted our entire pipeline system and that product delivery has commenced to all markets we serve.” However, they added, it could take several days before gas supply issues were fully resolved.
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah tasked a command delegation, led by Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem, to visit Hamas and Islamic Jihad commander in Lebanon in order to highlight the Party’s complete support to the Palestinian people and resistance fighting honorably the Israeli enemy.
AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA):Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah tasked a command delegation, led by Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem, to visit Hamas and Islamic Jihad commander in Lebanon in order to highlight the Party’s complete support to the Palestinian people and resistance fighting honorably the Israeli enemy.
Hezbollah delegation, which also included the two politburo members Hajj Mahmoud Qomati as well as Sayyed Hasan Hoballah, met with the secretary general of the Islamic Jihad movement, Ziyad Nakhalah, and Hamas commanders, Osama Hamdan, Ali Barakeh, and Ahmad Abdul Hadi.
Sheikh Qassem stressed that the ongoing confrontation in Palestine is establishing a new conflict formula which unifies Gaza, West Bank, Al-Quds and the 1948-occupied territories in the battle against the Israeli aggression, adding that the new developments indicate the eradication of the normalization deals.
His eminence highlighted the silence of the Arab regimes, which concluded normalization deals with the Israeli enemy, about the Zionist crimes, underscoring their peoples’ rebellion and support to the Palestinian cause.
Sheikh Qassem emphasized that Hezbollah supports the Palestinian resistance against the Israeli aggression and assumes its responsibilities in accordance with the circumstances, stressing that voices support to Palestine must back the resistance.
Sheikh Qassem greeted the martyrs and the injured in Palestine, asserting that the Palestinians are the pride of all nations and hoping God will grant them the assistance they need to reach victory.
IRGC Quds Force cmdr., Hamas chief discuss latest development on Gaza
IRGC Quds Force Commander Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani held a phone talk with the Political Leader of Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Ismail Haniyeh on Sat. to discuss the latest developments on Gaza.
AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA):IRGC Quds Force Commander Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani held a phone talk with the Political Leader of Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Ismail Haniyeh on Sat. to discuss the latest developments on Gaza.
During the phone talk, Brigadier General Ghaani hailed the unique and successful response of the resistance movement to the aggression of the Zionist regime’s military forces and the defense of the Palestinian nation.
The commander of IRGC Quds Force strongly condemned the brutality of the occupying regime of Israel.
For his part, Hamas Political Leader Haniyeh said that the battle of Quds was the battle of all children of the Palestinian nation and praised Iran's position in support of the Palestinian people.
The clashes between the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, and the Zionist regime broke out on Monday after the end of the resistance movement’s deadline to Tel Aviv over the need for an end to the Zionist regime's aggression on the occupied lands and territories as well as Al-Aqsa Mosque.
While the Zionist regime continues to kill the Palestinian people in front of the eyes of the world, the United States and European countries have thrown their weights behind the fake regime of Israel.
According to the Civil Defense Organization in Gaza, the number of Palestinian people martyred since the beginning of the Zionist regime's attacks and bombings against various parts of Gaza until today has hit more than 140 people including 39 children and 22 women.
HEZBOLLAH IN LEBANON, HAMAS IN GAZA,
HESBOLLAH & IRANIAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS
IN SYRIA, A THREE BORDER WAR AGAINST
THE ZIONIST STATE
Tokyo Olympics: Why doesn't Japan cancel the Games? The Tokyo Olympics are now just over two months away and calls to ditch the Games in the face of the pandemic are getting louder by the day.
People stage a demonstration in Tokyo this week, demanding the Olympics be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: AFP
So why isn't Japan talking about cancelling the Games? The answer as it turns out, is not that simple.
The situation is not looking great in Japan.
A coronavirus state of emergency has been extended in the capital, Tokyo, and three other major prefectures as cases continue to rise.
Yet there's been no word about cancelling the Games, despite both health experts and public opinion being stacked against them.
Japan has long insisted there was no question the Olympics, which should have taken place last summer, would be held and will be safe.
Yet earlier this week, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for the first time appeared to bow to the pressure of public opinion, saying that the government would "not put the Olympics first" - but adding that ultimately, the decision would lie with the IOC. Decision rests solely with IOC
The contract between the IOC and host city Tokyo is straightforward: There's one article regarding cancellation and it only gives the option for the IOC to cancel, not for the host city.
That's because the Olympic Games are the "exclusive property" of the IOC, international sports lawyer Alexandre Miguel Mestre said. And as the "owner" of the Games, it is the IOC that can terminate the contract.
One reason given to justify a cancellation - aside from things like war or civil disorder - is that if "the IOC has reasonable grounds to believe, in its sole discretion, that the safety of participants in the Games would be seriously threatened or jeopardised for any reason whatsoever". Arguably, the pandemic could be seen as such a threat.
The Olympic charter also stipulates that the IOC should ensure "the health of the athletes" and promote "safe sports", Mestre said, but despite all this, the IOC seems determined to go ahead. The National Stadium in Tokyo - one of the main venues for the Olympics and Paralympics. Photo: AFP
So could Japan go against the IOC and pull out itself?
"Under various clauses within this host city agreement, if Japan was to unilaterally cancel the contract, then by and large, the risks and losses would fall with the local organising committee," Professor Jack Anderson at the University of Melbourne said.
The sports law expert said that the contract is fairly typical and that of course Tokyo knew what it signed up to. What it didn't know was that a global pandemic would enter the picture.
"Contracts can foresee certain contingencies, but the nature of the current situation is obviously unprecedented," he said.
"The Olympics are the biggest sporting event on the calendar, there are billions at stake for Japan and also the IOC in terms of broadcasting sponsorship. It is a huge event and there are huge contractual obligations for all sides."
Hence, the only realistic scenario is Japan pulling the plug jointly with the IOC, staying within the framework of their contract.
If that happens, that's where insurances would come in: The IOC has insurance, the local organising committee has insurance and the various broadcasters and sponsors will also have insurance.
"It's probably safe to say that if the Tokyo Olympics is cancelled, it would probably be the biggest insurance payout event of its kind, there's no question about that," Prof Anderson said.
Insurance would cover the concrete expenses by the organisers, but it would hardly cover all of the indirect cost raked up by investments across the country in anticipation of the spectacle - hotels and restaurants for example, that might have undergone renovations in preparations for tourists they thought they would receive.
It's been a rocky road - they were postponed from last year, the torch run has been disrupted, international fans won't be allowed to come and now even competitions in empty stadiums are on the cards.
THE GODS ARE NOT PLEASED👹 The traditional torch relay has been disrupted several times due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: AFP
At the same time, there's the concern for personal and public health in the middle of a global pandemic.
Japan's biggest sports star, tennis champion Naomi Osaka was one of the few to join the debate, but also only voiced cautious hesitation.
"Of course I want the Olympics to happen," she said this week. "But I think there's so much important stuff going on, especially the past year.
"For me, I feel like if it's putting people at risk... then it definitely should be a discussion, which I think it is as of right now. At the end of the day, I'm just an athlete, and there is a whole pandemic going on."
Naomi Osaka is one of the few athletes who has voiced an opinion on the Olympic Games going ahead in July. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The US track and field team earlier this week cancelled its pre-Olympics training camp in Japan out of safety concerns. And even the governor of the province that would have hosted the team, said he believed "they made the best decision possible in the current situation".
The same uncertainty trickles through from many of those involved in organising the Games.
Several of the towns which were set to host the athletes across the Tokyo region have reportedly pulled out for fear the programme might add to the spread of Covid-19.
A doctors union this week said in a statement to the government that it was "impossible" to hold the Games given the development of the pandemic.
None of these things are clear-cut calls for the Games to be cancelled, but with the warnings by health experts and public opinion turning against the games, the trickle of doubters is becoming a steady chorus over the past weeks. More than just money
There is more at stake though than just the financial cost of cancelling the Olympics.
The next Games on the global calendar are already next year, the Winter Games in February 2022, hosted by regional rival China in Beijing.
So there is little doubt that overall, Japan is prepared to go to great lengths to get the Tokyo Games done.
The last time Japan hosted a Summer Olympics was in 1964 and at the time, they were seen as an important symbol for the country's rehabilitation and rebuilding process after World War II.
For the Tokyo 2020/21 Games, there's again a symbolic significance, Prof Anderson said.
"Japan has seen economic stagnation for a long time, there has been the tsunami and the nuclear disaster of Fukushima, so the Games would be seen as symbolic of a revival of Japan," he says. "It does take a special importance in that sense."
Ultimately, the question of whether the Games should go ahead is separate from whether they will go ahead. In the history of the modern Olympics, there have been only three instances the spectacle has been cancelled: in 1916, 1940 and 1944 - all three cases due to the two World Wars.
So despite mounting headwinds, the IOC's refusal to even consider a cancellation has most observers agreeing that the Olympics will go ahead from 23 July - in what shape or form still remains unclear.
- BBC
15 May 2021
FIJI
Spike in violence – Women urged to seek immediate help
LUKE NACEI
16 May, 2021, 10:22 am
Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre co-ordinator and human rights activist Shamima Ali. Picture: SOPHIE RALULU/FILE
Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre has reported a spike of more than 60 per cent in domestic violence cases over the past three weeks.
FWCC co-ordinator Shamima Ali said amid the health concerns linked to COVID-19, women needed to find a safe space if they were being abused.
“We have received many calls, we have received a spike in our helpline numbers,” she said.
She said the centre had been working with police to ensure the calls were attended to.
Ms Ali said all FWCC staff members were on duty during the Suva-Nausori lockdown from their respective homes.
“Our staff is all on duty from home and whatever needs to be done we are referring to police.
“Women need to get out of dangerous situations, they need to move place to place — especially from contained areas.
“We are getting them out through police and police has been very good with us.”
Ms Ali urged women, girls and children not to suffer in silence if they were going through any form of abuse and to call the national domestic violence toll-free helpline on 1560.
She also said FWCC had a men’s referral line as well for men experiencing trauma caused by job losses because of the COVID-19 pandemic
UK’s first Romanian County Councillor hit with hundreds of racist comments upon getting elected
Dr Alexandra Bulat posted a video on TikTok to mark her success on behalf of the Labour Party on Cambridgeshire County Council’s Abbey division.
In the video, she said: “Last year I realised there are 800,000 Romanians in the UK and no Romanian County Councillor. So I thought, here’s an idea, I will actually stand for election.
“Didn’t expect it but today I became the first Romanian Labour County Councillor!”
TikTok trolls not impressed with Dr Alex’s political shake-up
But not all her followers were as willing to raise a glass to fair political representation.
After posting the 15-second video, she said she woke up with more than 600 comments.
She said at least 200 comments were racist and xenophobic, and one threatened with an official complaint to Labour.
Dr Alex added: “I am not a stranger to racist and xenophobic comments, but the volume of it is huge.
“I sometimes wonder, if a British citizen became a councillor in Romania, whether they would get the same reaction on social media.”
Dr Alex’s brilliant responses to racists
One comment she received read: “Shouldn’t be allowed to vote, nevermind be a councillor. I will take this up with the Labour Party. No wonder they can’t win an election.”
Dr Alex said in response: “Do you know what? I would actually love if you took this with the Labour Party. I would really love to see that complaint saying ‘to whom it may concern, I think that Dr Alexandra Bulat shouldn’t be a Labour councillor because she was born in Romania’.
“Like seriously, how do you think you’d come across, don’t you think you’d come across a bit xenophobic perhaps? I mean maybe it’s not such a good idea to do that. Maybe.”
She then gave trolls a legislation lesson based on People’s Representation Act 1983.
She pointed out EU citizens can vote and stand in local elections across the UK, and that from 2020, they can also vote in Scotland and Wales national elections.
But the same cannot be said about EU citizens who live in England and Northern Ireland and do not have a say in national decisions which impact on them as taxpayers too.
Dr Alex ended her response with a “final fun piece of news” for her follower: “I also have a British passport, so I’m both British and Romanian. Very best of luck with your complaint.”
Another comment read: “Well that’s all wrong! It’s time you all went home and helped run your own country and leave us to run our country”.
Dr Alex replied: “Well I have both British and Romanian citizenship and home is here in the UK so not going anywhere love.”
Who is Dr Alex?
Dr Alex has been living in the UK for the past nine years, and she decided to run in the 6 May elections 2021 because of Brexit.
As an officially elected county councillor, she wants to tackle problems related to children and poverty.
She recently managed to obtain more Twitter followers than anti-immigration group Migration Watch and told her audience to “enjoy the positive migration content” she puts out.
Climate change is putting the much-loved British cuppa at risk as extreme weather and rising temperatures hit tea-growing countries, a report warns.
The UK and Ireland drink more tea per person than any other countries in the world, with Kenya alone producing half the black tea drunk in the UK.
But a report from Christian Aid warns that Kenya, the world’s biggest exporter of black tea, faces more erratic rainfall, making floods and droughts more common, and rising temperatures.
Research suggests climate change is going to slash optimal conditions for tea production in Kenya by a quarter (26 per cent) by 2050, and areas with only average growing conditions will see production fall by 39 per cent by mid-century.
Taste of tea
Other major tea-producing countries including India, Sri Lanka and China, the world’s largest producer whose green tea is growing in popularity in the UK, also face rising temperatures and new weather extremes, the report said.
A changing climate could hit the taste of tea, as increasing amounts of rain produce inferior quality leaves, and reduce the compounds that make the brew beneficial to health, the report warned.
Big British tea brands and the Fairtrade Foundation have also raised concerns about the impact climate change is having on tea growers and the future of production.
The warning comes as the UK prepares to host the G7 meeting of major economies next month – where Boris Johnson has said climate, and finance for poor countries to cope with global warming, will be centre stage – and key UN Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow in November.
Dr Kat Kramer, Christian Aid’s climate policy lead, said: “This year the UK Government has a key role in overseeing the global response to the climate emergency.
“As host of both the G7 in June and the Cop26 climate summit in November, the UK can ensure that countries on the front line of this crisis can adapt and respond to the impacts of climate change.
“With countries starting to announce improved climate plans, there is a unique opportunity to accelerate cuts in emissions and boost the finance needed to help countries adapt to the changing climate.” “Temperatures are rising, rainfall is more erratic”
Richard Koskei, 72, a tea farmer from Kericho in Kenya’s Western Highlands, said: “We are proud that the tea that we grow here is the best in the world but climate change poses a real threat to us.
“We cannot predict seasons anymore, temperatures are rising, rainfall is more erratic, more often accompanied by unusual hailstones and longer droughts which was not the case in the past.
“If this continues then it will make growing tea much harder and life for us extremely difficult.”
He added: “Farmers like us are bearing the brunt of this crisis but we aren’t the ones that have caused it.”
“We small-scale farmers cannot fix this problem ourselves. This needs a joint effort from developed countries who enjoy our tea abroad,” he urged, as he called on richer countries to cut their emissions.
Fiachra Moloney, of PG Tips maker Unilever, said: “The climate crisis affects people all over the world.
“In East Africa, where so much of our tea comes from, climate change is putting the livelihoods of the people who grow tea for us at risk.
“As Unilever, we call on governments to bring forward ambitious climate targets, policies and plans ahead of Cop26 that will help us all work together to limit global average temperature rise to 1.5C.”
Under the international Paris Agreement, countries have committed to action to try to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels because beyond that level climate impacts will become increasingly severe.
Glasgow: uplifting reactions as men detained by immigration enforcement released after protest
Police have released men detained by Border Force officials in Glasgow after protesters surrounded their van and prevented it from leaving.
Demonstrators in Kenmure Street, Pollokshields, blocked the immigration enforcement van for hours on Thursday, with one lying underneath the vehicle.
Around 200 protesters were at the scene, with chants of “Leave our neighbours, let them go” and “Cops go home” being heard as a ring of police stood around the van.
Shortly after 5pm, Police Scotland released a statement saying the men would be released.
One of the men, Lakhvir Singh, 34, from India, spoke to the PA news agency through a translator.
“At around 9.30am immigration enforcement carried out a raid and we were taken to security in the van.
“There were only five or six people at the time but word spread and then there were crowds of hundreds.
“We are so grateful for the support.”
Nicola Sturgeon has said the Home Office needs to ask “itself hard questions” after mass protests took place over the detention of men in Glasgow. Reactions
Of course not everyone agreed with their release, but those that did indicated it showed the strength of community of the people of Glasgow and the support from around the UK and beyond:
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And finally…
Demonstrations held across Canada amid escalating conflict between Israel and Palestinians
Demonstrations were held across Canada on Saturday amid escalating violence in the Middle East, with pro-Palestinian groups gathering in cities from coast to coast and a pro-Israel virtual event planned for Sunday.
The latest developments in the confrontation between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants saw more deadly airstrikes from Israel into Gaza on Saturday. Israeli forces destroyed a highrise building housing media outlets, including the Associated Press and Al Jazeera, and bombed the home of a senior Hamas leader. Hamas continued a stream of rocket volleys into Israel, including a late-night barrage on Tel Aviv.
In , pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrators were separated by more than a dozen police officers outside the Manitoba provincial legislature. Despite tensions between the groups, Winnipeg police said no arrests had been made in connection with the rallies as of Saturday afternoon.
Idris Elbakri, a Palestinian-Canadian from Jerusalem who attended the rally, called on the federal government "to take a much more balanced, principled approach" to the ongoing situation in the region. "Unfortunately right now, I don't think that's the case," he said.
Protesters on both sides of the police line at the Winnipeg rally broke provincial public health orders; under Manitoba's current restrictions, gatherings in outdoor public spaces aren't supposed to exceed five people.
The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg said in a social media post on Friday the event was not done in consultation with the city's organized Jewish community and that it wasn't encouraging people to attend the rally on Saturday — the Jewish Sabbath.
In , organizations representing the city's Palestinian community rallied outside the Human Rights Monument to condemn Israeli attacks on Gaza and other Palestinian territories. Police estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 people attended.
"It's devastating to see the impact that it has on my family," Janan Arafa, one of the organizers, told CBC's Krystalle Ramlakhan. "I'm on edge all the time. I don't know what's going to happen.
"I feel helpless so the least I can do is remind Canada, the global community, that Palestinian human rights should matter," said Arafa, vice-president of the Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians (APAC) in Ottawa.
In , thousands of people demonstrated in the city's downtown amid blaring horns and firecrackers. Participants chanted pro-Palestinian slogans and urged the Canadian government to come to the aid of Palestinians.
The Montreal crowd also called for a boycott of goods from Israel and an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories. There were also several other small gatherings that took place in different parts of the city
In , around 1,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered downtown in front of the CBC broadcast centre before marching to the U.S. consulate. Speakers called for an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories as well as a cessation of the violence and bombings in Gaza.
On Sunday, members from B.C.'s Jewish community are planning a march in support of Israel.
In , pro-Palestinian demonstrators held a car rally outside Saint Mary's University. In response to this gathering, and an unrelated event at Citadel Hill, police said 21 tickets were issued.
Police said 200 vehicles participated in the rally and charges were laid under the Health Protection Act, Emergency Management Act and the Motor Vehicle Act. "Significant police resources were tied up clearing the traffic backlog," police said in a statement, adding that arrests were made.
Organizers of the car rally had posted warnings on social media that participants should stay in their vehicles to avoid violating COVID-19 safety guidelines.
On Thursday, Canadian Jewish community groups — including B'nai Brith Canada, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) — posted a joint statement in support of Israel and condemning the rocket attacks from militants in Gaza.
"B'nai Brith is contacting police in the relevant jurisdictions, urging them to caution rally organizers and issue fines if rallies proceed in violation of provincial health orders," the statement read.
After five days of violence, the worst fighting between Israelis and Palestinians since 2014, at least 145 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza — including 41 children and 23 women. There are eight dead on the Israeli side, all but one of them civilians, including a 6-year-old child.
Thousands gather at pro-Palestine demonstration in Montreal
Chanting “Free free Palestine” and waving Palestinian flags and placards, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters filled the streets of downtown Montreal on Saturday to condemn the escalating conflict in Israel and Gaza.
“We are here to raise awareness of what is going on in Gaza, because we don’t think many people know what is happening,” said Mohamed Akkak. “We are Algerians, but we are here in support of our Palestinian brothers and sisters. We want the world to act. People are suffering there.”
Protesters gathered outside the office towers at 1 Westmount Square, home to the Israeli consulate, at the corner of Ste-Catherine St. and Wood Ave., near Atwater Ave. at 1 p.m. in a peaceful gathering, under the watch of Montreal police. After an hour at the square, protesters marched down Ste-Catherine St. to congregate at Dorchester Square and listen to speeches.
There were few incidents, with the exception of one individual who smashed a plate glass window at the office tower, and was quickly berated by other protesters, and then arrested by police. Small groups of protesters threw projectiles at police, the Montreal police force reported, but no arrests were made. Police pepper sprayed some protesters who refused to vacate the area at Westmount Square.
Motorcades of protesters honking their horns, waving flags and shouting support snaked through the streets surrounding the demonstration. Montreal’s rally was one of hundreds held around the world over the last days, including in New York, Barcelona, London, Cape Town and Sydney, as the worst escalation in violence between the two groups since 2014 continued to spiral.
A 12-storey Gaza tower block housing the offices of the U.S.-based Associated Press and Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera as well as other offices and apartments collapsed on Saturday after being struck by Israeli missiles.
The owner of the building had been warned in advance of an impending Israeli missile strike, a Reuters reporter said, and the building had been evacuated. No injuries were reported.
Hamas militants fired barrages of rockets overnight and during the day at Israel.
Gaza’s ruling Hamas group began launching rocket attacks at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Monday in retaliation for Israeli police clashes with Palestinians near Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and following an escalation in tensions over the previous weeks linked in part to the expulsion of Palestinian families from Jerusalem. Gaza militant groups have fired more than 2,000 rockets into Israel, the Israeli military has reported. Israel has responded with hundreds of airstrikes and military fire.
On Friday, Palestinian officials reported more than 139 people had been killed, including 39 children, in Gaza since Monday.
Israel reported seven civilians, including two children, and one soldier, have been killed.
The hostilities have fuelled tension between Israeli Jews and the country’s 21 per cent Arab minority. Violence continued in mixed communities overnight after street fighting and tit-for-tat attacks that prompted Israel’s president to warn of civil war.
“We want to show the world that what is happening in Israel is a war crime,” said a young Montreal demonstrator from Tunisia who gave her name as Rim. “We are here to talk about Israelis who are taking Palestinian homes. The world needs to know, and the world needs to stop it.”
One young couple who were married Saturday morning decided to celebrate their nuptials by protesting for their cause. Patricia Alfaro and Mohamed Jmaiel were wed at 11 a.m. in a virtual ceremony in downtown Montreal, then came to the Westmount Square protest, still attired in wedding dress and suit.
They wanted to do their part “to raise awareness of the conflict,” Alfaro said.
Afterward, they planned to deliver wedding cake to their loved ones who could not be at the service. Among protesters at Palestinian demo were Patricia Alfaro and Mohamed Jamiel, who were married downtown at 11 am. at a virtual ceremony. “I think we need to do our part to raise awareness of the conflict”. Alfaro said. Afterwards they plan to deliver wedding cake to friends pic.twitter.com/Ky5graSWgH— Rene Bruemmer (@ReneBruemmer) May 15, 2021
Thousands of people have gathered in central London to march in solidarity with the people of Palestine amid the ongoing conflict with Israel.
Organisers say “immediate action” is needed by the UK Government to help end the “brutal” violence against the Palestinian people.
At midday on Saturday, demonstrators arrived at Hyde Park near Marble Arch to march to the Israeli embassy, holding banners and chanting.
Thousands of people marched through the park chanting “free, free Palestine”, and holding banners calling for an end to the bombing of the territory by Israeli forces.
Huge crowds of protesters then arrived outside the gates of the Israeli embassy in Kensington.
A temporary stage has been set up on Kensington High Street and organisers have urged people to keep moving down the road as numbers continue to swell.
Dozens of police officers are lining nearby streets.
The Metropolitan Police said: “Officers are engaging with a group of people who have gathered for a demonstration in central London this afternoon.
“A policing plan is in place to ensure everybody is kept safe and to reduce the spread of Covid-19.”
Huge crowds of demonstrators gathered outside the gates of the Israeli embassy were addressed by multiple speakers.
Husam Zumlot, Palestinian ambassador to the UK, said: “This time is different. This time we will not be denied any more. We are united. We have had enough of oppression.
“Today we are saying enough, enough with the complicity. Thank-you for standing with us.”
Organisers said crowds stretched back to Bayswater Road from Kensington High Street and total 100,000.
Former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott told those present: “We must remember we are part of an international movement. This is a worldwide movement for justice.
“Palestinian people are having their land seized… and they are now being killed in their homes. All of this is illegal.”
It comes as the Associated Press (AP) reported that an Israeli air strike destroyed a high-rise building that housed the AP, Al-Jazeera and other media in the Gaza Strip.
The AP said the air strike came roughly an hour after the Israeli military ordered people to evacuate the building.
The news agency said there was no immediate explanation as to why the building was targeted.
Thousands of Palestinians have been forced to flee from their homes after a week of sustained conflict.
Since Monday night, Palestinian militant group Hamas has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, whose military responded by barraging the Gaza Strip with tank fire and air strikes.
At least 126 people have been killed in Gaza, including 31 children and 20 women.
In Israel seven people have been killed, including a six-year-old boy and a soldier.
The demonstration in London has been organised by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Palestinian Forum in Britain, Stop The War Coalition, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Muslim Association of Britain.
A spokesperson for the organisers said: “It is vital that the UK Government takes immediate action.
“It must stop allowing Israel’s brutal violence against and oppression of the Palestinian people to go unpunished.
“The bombardment of Gaza which is killing civilians including children is a war crime.
“The UK Government is complicit in these acts as long as it continues to offer Israel military, diplomatic and financial support.”
EU powers back Israeli war on Gaza, banning anti-war protests
European Union (EU) governments are endorsing the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip. In a further attack on basic democratic rights, they are banning peaceful protests in favor of the Palestinians in European cities, based on the slander that those attending are violent anti-Semites.
The fighting that has escalated since Israeli riot police rampaged through the Al-Aqsa Mosque last weekend is a one-sided slaughter. The Israeli military is bombing the Gaza Strip and boasting of assassinating Palestinian military commanders, who can reply only with a few crude rockets. As of yesterday, there were over 126 Palestinian had been killed, along with six Israelis and one Indian national. Ten Palestinians were also killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank yesterday. Yet the EU and its member states are lining up behind the Israeli government, denouncing the Palestinians.
People gather outside Downing Street to protest against Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, in London, Saturday, May 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen set the tone, taking to Twitter to declare herself “concerned.” She then endorsed the Israeli position against the Gaza Strip, writing: “I condemn indiscriminate attacks by Hamas on Israel. Civilians on all sides must be protected. Violence must end now.” Similar remarks came from both Berlin and Paris.
After German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert denounced Palestinian “terror attacks” and hailed Israel’s “right to self-defense,” the Elysée presidential palace in Paris released a statement yesterday. It said French President Emmanuel Macron had called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “He presented his condolences for the victims of fire from Hamas and other terrorist groups that he again firmly condemned. And on the anniversary of Israel’s creation, the president stressed his unwavering support for Israel’s security and its right to self-defense.”
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) blamed Hamas for the conflict and called for bans on demonstrations in defense of the Gaza Strip. “At the very least, Hamas has wantonly caused the latest escalation, by firing over a thousand rockets at Israeli cities,” he told the Bild newspaper. He said pro-Palestinian demonstrations should be banned “if criminal actions can be expected there.”
The EU powers are supporting Israeli aggression, though they know it could trigger a broader war.
On May 12, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the French Senate he was “very concerned at the gravity of the situation in the Near East.” Israel has repeatedly bombed Syria this year, targeting both Syrian government and Iranian forces, and Le Drian noted the danger that a regional war could erupt: “The ongoing spiral of violence in Gaza, Jerusalem, in the West Bank and several Israeli cities threatens to provoke a major escalation. In less than 15 years, the Gaza Strip has seen three bloody wars. Everything must be done to avoid a fourth.”
Nonetheless, Le Drian came down in support of Israeli aggression, declaring, “France condemns in the strongest terms the rocket and missile fire from the Gaza strip targeting Jerusalem and several inhabited areas in Israeli territory, including Tel Aviv.”
Without condemning Israel’s far greater bombardment of the Gaza Strip, Le Drian cynically tried to adopt an evenhanded posture. Condemning Israel’s forced resettlement of Palestinians from East Jerusalem, he pledged to work with German, Egyptian and Jordanian officials to “restart dialog between the conflicting parties to attain a just and lasting settlement of the conflict.” He also called for the right to protest to be respected in Israel.
EU governments’ own policy at home exposed the hypocrisy of Le Drian’s statements of concern about democratic rights in the Middle East. Amid growing working-class anger at police brutality, social inequality and the over one million deaths caused by the EU’s policy of malign neglect towards the circulation of the COVID-19 virus, governments across Europe are banning or threatening to ban anti-war demonstrations.
On Thursday, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin banned today’s pro-Gaza protest in Paris. “I asked the prefect of police to ban demonstrations Saturday that are linked to the recent tensions in the Near East,” he tweeted, adding that across France, “orders have been given to the prefects to be especially vigilant and firm.” He told France’s police prefects to “mobilize the intelligence services [to] closely follow these movements” and “anticipate any risk of troubles.”
The sole justification Darmanin gave for this drastic attack on civil liberties was that seven years ago, there was violence at a pro-Palestinian protest in Paris against the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza.
The Association of Palestinians of Île-de-France, which is organizing the Paris protest, condemned Darmanin’s ban. Its spokesman Walid Atallah said: “By banning this demonstration, France shows its complicity with the state of Israel, which wants to ban all expression of solidarity with the rights of Palestinians, who are suffering occupation, colonization, and bombardments.”
The Paris administrative court rejected a first appeal of Darmanin’s ban by the association, which appealed to France’s State Council. It maintained the call for the protest, nonetheless, noting that “too many demonstrators have planned to make the trip in order to express themselves.”
Frankfurt city authorities have banned a rally in the city center this afternoon by several pro-Palestinian organizations. The reason given on yesterday was that criminal acts committed by demonstrators could endanger public safety. City official Markus Frank (CDU) accused the organizers of making “anti-Semitic calls.”
Such accusations of anti-Semitism serve to suppress any protest against Israel’s murderous actions.
Before the protest, in fact, organizers repeatedly spoke out against anti-Semitism, especially after a few dozen people chanted anti-Semitic slogans outside a synagogue in Gelsenkirchen. A statement released Thursday by the group “Palestine Speaks” stated, “If you hate Jews, you have no business being here.” The official leaflet for the Frankfurt demonstration calls on everyone to show “solidarity against expulsion, against land theft, against ethnic cleansing, against the ongoing Nakba and for the right of return and for an open society for ALL.”
That does not stop European politicians and media from denouncing any protest against Israel’s war policies as anti-Semitic. However, criticism of the right-wing Netanyahu government’s brutal actions has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. On the contrary, the claim that the terror-bombing of a largely defenseless population is an expression of Judaism is itself an anti-Semitic argument.
Nothing could make the reactionary nature of the official propaganda campaign clearer than the fact that it is led in Germany by the far-right AfD (Alternative for Germany), whose members glorify the Nazi Wehrmacht and are agitating against the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.
It is not anti-war demonstrators, but the EU governments that promote anti-Semitism. They not only court the far right across Europe, but also collaborate with openly anti-Semitic forces to pursue their political goals. This was notably the case with the far-right coup in Ukraine in 2014, when then-German Foreign Minister and current President Frank-Walter Steinmeier met the leader of the fascist Svoboda party, the notorious anti-Semite Oleh Tyahnybok, in the German embassy in Kiev.
As for France’s interior minister, Darmanin, he is a sympathizer of the far-right Action française on record as declaring that he dislikes seeing kosher foods in French supermarkets.
The EU governments’ response to the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, including their banning of legitimate public protests, is a serious political warning. To advance their interests at home and abroad, they increasingly rely on war and dictatorship, with fascistic indifference towards human life. War can be stopped only by mobilizing the enormous opposition that exists among workers and youth across Europe, the Arab countries and Israel itself on the basis of a socialist and internationalist program.
