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Scottish Friends of Palestine
Briefing Paper
January 2026
Judicial decrees, decisions, positions, and orders issued by official Israeli bodies:
· An Israeli Knesset parliamentary committee approved a bill to impose the death penalty for Palestinian detainees, paving the way for its first reading before the Knesset plenum, despite objections from the legislature’s legal The draft law would allow the death penalty to be imposed by a majority of judges. (September 28, 2025)
· Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel is working with U.S. President Donald Trump on Washington’s plan to end the war in Gaza. He claimed that Israel’s priorities include freeing the hostages, ending Hamas’s rule, disarming Gaza, and reshaping its future, while once again rejecting any role for the Palestinian Authority or a path toward a Palestinian state. (September 28, 2025)
· According to media reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured significant changes to the U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, particularly the scope and nature of the IDF’s withdrawal and the disarmament of Hamas, while also establishing a security buffer zone around GAza’s perimeter to protect Israel. (September 30, 2025)
· Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir approved the establishment of the first prison designated for detaining [Palestinian] workers who enter Israel without official permits. (September 30, 2025)
· The Israeli army announced the seizure of 41 vessels in the flotilla attempting to break the maritime blockade imposed on Gaza. Around 400 activists were detained and taken to Ashdod Port for deportation, while all the seized ships are also being towed there. (October 2, 2025)
The Israeli government approved a comprehensive agreement for the release of hostages and Palestinian detainees in Gaza, marking a step toward ending the war. (October 9, 2025)
• Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stated that following the ceasefire agreement, Israel hopes to see the lifting of the arms embargo imposed by some European countries over the war in Gaza. He added that his ministry has succeeded in preventing new sanctions and in opening three new embassies worldwide. (October 9, 2025)
• Israeli Army spokesperson Avichay Adraee told all residents of the Gaza Strip that the area north remains a dangerous combat zone, emphasizing that the army is encircling Gaza City and that returning there is extremely hazardous. He urged residents to avoidapproaching areas where forces are deployed or operating until official instructions are issued. (October 9, 2025)
• The Israeli occupation army announced that the ceasefire agreement in Gaza had taken effect, confirming that its forces were deployed along new operational lines in accordance with the agreement. It said that army troops under the Southern Command would continue operations to remove any immediate threat. (October 10, 2025)
• The Israeli military spokesperson issued a statement to the residents of the Gaza Strip regarding the ceasefire, warning them not to approach areas where Israeli forces are deployed, as well as the maritime zone, Israeli territory, and the buffer zone. The statement emphasized that movement in these areas remains strictly prohibited until official instructions are issued. (October 10, 2025)
• Following Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s confirmation that he will uphold his predecessor Justin Trudeau’s pledge to honor the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister should he visit Canada, Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said that Carney should reconsider and instead welcome Netanyahu, describing him as the leader of the only Jewish and democratic state in the Middle East. (October 21, 2025)
• The Israeli Knesset approved, in a preliminary reading, two draft laws: the first to apply Israeli sovereignty over settlement areas in “Judea and Samaria” (the West Bank), and the second to extend sovereignty over the Ma’ale Adumim settlement. Both bills will be referred to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for further deliberations. (October 22, 2025)
• The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, describing it as a political attempt to impose measures against Israel under the guise of international law. (October 22, 2025)
• The Israeli High Court gave the government 30 days to clarify its policy regarding the independent entry of journalists into the Gaza Strip amid the ceasefire, following the 2024 petition filed by the Foreign Press Association demanding such access. The justices noted that the circumstances in Gaza have changed since the state’s previous response due to the ceasefire, and that security concerns may now be mitigated with the cessation of hostilities. (October 22, 2025)
• The National Security Committee of the Israeli Knesset approved in its first reading two bills entitled: Amendment—Death Penalty for Terrorists” The drafts stipulate imposing a mandatory death sentence on anyone convicted of killing out of “hostility against a population” or with the intent of “harming the State of Israel and the national revival of the Jewish people,” without any judicial discretion in sentencing. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir supported the law, emphasizing that it will change Israel’s security doctrine, and asserting that any terrorist who commits murder must know that the only punishment to be imposed on him is the death penalty. (November 3, 2025)
• The Israeli Supreme Court issued a final decision rejecting the appeal submitted by Palestinian Bedouin residents of the village of Ras Jaraba, paving the way for the evacuation of around 500 people. Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, which represented the residents, stated that the ruling provides “judicial cover for Israel’s policies of segregation and apartheid” in the Naqab (Negev). (November 13, 2025)
• The Knesset approved in its first reading an amendment to the 2025 UNRWA Suspension Law, which prohibits providing any property registered in UNRWA’s name with electricity or water services, and grants the state the authority to take possession of land classified as Israeli land that has been used by UNRWA in various compounds. (November 19, 2025)
• The Israeli Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approved, in its first reading, a bill on the Elimination of Discrimination in Real Estate Purchases in Judea and Samaria—the West Bank—of 2023, which stipulates the repeal of the 1953 Jordanian law that restricts the sale and leasing of land to foreigners (settlers). (November 25, 2025).
• Israeli outlet Walla reported that a “record high” number of 110 Palestinians have died under prison policies implemented by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in the past two and a half years, marking the highest number compared to available data from previous decades. Meanwhile, a report issued by the Israeli Public Defender’s Office revealed that the conditions of Palestinian security prisoners have sharply deteriorated since October 7, 2023, citing severe overcrowding, hunger, and near-daily beatings. (December 8, 2025)
• Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich launched a plan with a budget of 2.7 billion shekels over five years aimed at reshaping the reality in the West Bank, including the relocation of Israeli army bases, the construction of infrastructure for dozens of new settlement clusters, and the paving of roads. ( December 8, 2025)
• The Israeli High Court of Justice approved a ninth extension for the government to petitions seeking unfettered press access to Gaza. The extension, granted until December 21, allows the government additional time to submit its official response to the journalists’ requests. The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which filed a petition, described the situation as “beyond absurd,” saying that it has deprived the world of a fuller glimpse of conditions in Gaza. (December 9, 2025)
• The Israeli government approved granting legal status to 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank, including two settlements that had been vacated nearly 20 years ago under the disengagement plan led by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.(December 12,2025)
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Who's really encouraging attacks like the one on a synagogue? Look to our leaders Jonathan Cook 03/10/2025
It’s well past time to burst the highly manufactured narrative bubble that says terror attacks like the one yesterday at a Manchester synagogue are proof of a rising tide of antisemitism. Read more: https://jonathancook.substack.com/p/whos-really-encouraging-attacks-like
Half a million Palestinians in Gaza City considered ‘terrorists’ if they don’t evacuate Qassam Muaddi M/Weiss 01/10/2025 According to the Israeli daily Maariv, the Israeli army is avoiding combat with Palestinian resistance fighters, concentrating on air and artillery strikes to increase pressure on residents before sending in ground troops. Yet armored Israeli vehicles have still reached several areas, including the vital Jalaa street and the vicinity of the al-Shifa Hospital. Read more:
UN’s complicity in Israel’s mass rape propaganda since October 7 Feminist Solidarity Network for Palestine M/Weiss 06/10/2025
We conclude that the UN Secretary-General’s decision to blacklist Hamas, pandering to Israeli propaganda while disregarding the UN’s own evidence of Israel’s systematic use of sexual violence, will go down in history as a stunning example of UN complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/10/a-short-history-of-the-uns-complicity-in-israels-mass-rape-propaganda-since-october-7/?ml_recipient=167602863191623029&ml_link=167602791659865394&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2025-10-07&utm_campaign=Daily+Headlines+RSS+Automation
Gaza’s children face genetic harm Shaima Madly IAK 08/10/2025 While starvation, stress, and trauma do not mutate DNA, they still mark it with chemical changes that affect how genes are expressed, without altering the underlying sequence. This process is known as epigenetics, where the weight of war is passed down across generations. During the Nazi occupation, food supplies were cut off from the western parts of the Netherlands between 1944 and 1945, causing widespread starvation. Decades later, researchers found that children born to pregnant women exposed to the famine faced higher risks of serious health problems later in life.“Studies show that stress hormones in the mothers affect the babies’ bodies and brains,” said Professor Tessa Roseboom, a biologist at the University of Amsterdam who led research on the Dutch famine’s genetic impact.“We’ve also studied how fathers living in unsafe, stressful, and malnourished conditions affect their babies,” Roseboom added. Read more: https://israelpalestinenews.org/gazas-children-face-genetic-harm/
Returning to homes made of rubble Tareq Hajjaj M/Weiss 11/10/2025 Those returning describe a mix of relief and devastation. “We walked eight hours to reach our neighborhood in al-Shuja’iyya,” said Mahmoud Wady, one of the returnees. “When we arrived, we were shocked by the destruction. My home is gone, and the entire area has been flattened. Still, we are grateful to be back and to know that the bombing has stopped, but we are terrified over so many things — our lives, our children, our future. We don’t know whether we will live in a tent again for a long while or not. We have no sense of what the future holds. But we are grateful and happy that the war has ended.” Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/10/gazans-march-north-again-returning-to-homes-made-of-rubble/?ml_recipient=168055780187047890&ml_link=168055738021709622
Freed from Israeli prison, denied reunion Qassam Muaddi M/Weiss 13/10/2025
The family left Jenin in the northern West Bank at 6 a.m. to avoid the Israeli army’s expected road closures, as it did during the previous ceasefire. “The Israeli Shabak came to our house yesterday and warned us not to show any signs of celebration, and they told us that Murad will be released here.” After all the prisoners left the bus, the family discovered that Murad wasn’t among them. Minutes later, they received confirmation from the Red Cross that he had been deported to Egypt. As the cousin shared the news, the elderly mother broke into tears and random screams in her wheelchair. As her daughters helped her into the car, one of them tried to console her. “He went to Egypt to study! He’ll be back later,” she said. The mother moved her hand in an apparent refusal to hear, continuing to weep. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/10/palestinians-freed-from-israeli-prison-denied-reunion-with-families-as-trump-claims-a-forever-peace/?ml_recipient=168237006124484058&ml_link=168236954108822949
Reshaping the occupied West Bank since October 2023 Fahya Shalash IAK 13/10/2025 Since October 2023, the Israeli army and settlers have carried out 38,359 attacks, during which settlers killed 33 Palestinians, set 767 fires, and displaced 33 Bedouin communities comprising 2,853 people, from their homes to other locations, according to a report by the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission. Anti-settlement activist Ayed Ghafari told us that settlers have begun engaging in numerous practices over the past two years. They have started using pastoral settlements to seize land by bringing their cows to graze on Palestinian land, adopting a “cowboy approach” to control every area they reach and preventing Palestinians from accessing it. The settlers’ audacity in attacking Palestinian communities and committing direct attacks has increased after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir issued a decision to arm them. “The settler now can storm a village alone, armed, and if the villagers confront him, he immediately opens fire without hesitation. On top of that, the Israeli soldiers raid the village and begin arresting everyone who participated in confronting the settler. This is how they built a settler state in the West Bank,” Ghafari continued. Read more: https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-forcibly-reshaped-the-west-bank/
Israeli Scramble for Palestine’s Energy Reserves IAK 17/10/2025 Ever since the late 1990s, the Eastern Mediterranean has become highly attractive to energy interests, with major fields like Israel’s Leviathan (600 billion cubic meters, bcm), Egypt’s Zohr (850 bcm), and the Gaza Marine field (28–30 bcm). Relative to Israel’s Leviathan, which generates $10 billion annually in export revenue, or Egypt’s Zohr field, which meets 40% of Egypt’s gas demand, the Gaza Marine field has a lower potential output. However, it could have a transformative impact on Gaza’s economy and Palestinian living standards. Read more: https://israelpalestinenews.org/the-israeli-scramble-for-palestines-energy-reserves-pt-1/
On the limitation of statistics Nicki Kattoura M/Weiss 20/10/2025
In a Drop Site interview with Dr. Zaher al-Wahaidi, the Director of the Information Center, he describes how the identity of each martyr is corroborated and counted by every hospital that receives the injured. Not included in the number are those trapped underneath the rubble of collapsed buildings or those who die “indirect deaths.” These include children who are starved to death, cancer patients who can’t access treatment, or those who are killed by disease because of a collapsed healthcare system. The only ones they count in the official toll are those killed by the impact of a missile. 680,000 is the new projected death toll, based on the rate, longevity, and intensity of Zionist brutality. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/10/the-burden-of-imprecision-on-the-limitation-of-statistics/?ml_recipient=168871204101293591&ml_link=168871146713777264
Israel’s policies: “Shoot first,” IAK 21/10/2025The Israeli army said on Monday that its troops shot two Palestinians in the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza City after they crossed the Yellow Line: “The forces fired at the terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line in order to remove the threat to the troops,” the military said. In a separate incident, the army reported that another “group of terror operatives crossed the Yellow Line” in Shujaiya and posed a threat to troops. “The soldiers again opened fire on the operatives to remove the threat,” the army added Read more: https://israelpalestinenews.org/israels-policies-shoot-first-humanitarian-blackmail-this-is-ceasefire-day-11/
Trump’s ‘peace plan’ traps Gaza in limbo Mitchell Plitnick M/weiss 25/10/2025
Lest anyone mistake the Trump administration’s actions for beneficence, there was complete silence from Washington the previous day, when Israeli forces fired on a Palestinian civilian vehicle near Gaza City, wiping out a family of eleven, including seven children. Trump has continued to accuse Hamas of breaching the ceasefire, while ignoring Israel’s actions, which have thus far led to over 100 Palestinian deaths in Gaza since the ceasefire began. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/10/trumps-peace-plan-traps-gaza-in-limbo/?ml_recipient=169324126764270864&ml_link=169324096425821307
Shocking statistics expose the devastating scope of Israel’s genocide in Gaza IAK 26/10/2025 reposted from Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor
Most residents of the Gaza Strip show clear symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including hypervigilance, panic attacks, sleep disturbances, and recurring flashbacks or nightmares of traumatic events. They also experience a constant sense of losing control over their lives due to the ongoing risk of being targeted or killed, witnessing the loss of loved ones, repeated scenes of destruction, limited chances of survival, and the total absence of security . . . The ceasefire and the reduction in Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip do not signify an end to the genocide, as Israeli authorities continue to perpetrate it systematically and continuously, despite the decrease in overt bombings. They persist in directly targeting civilians and enforcing arbitrary measures, including a suffocating blockade, the closure of crossings, and severe restrictions on the entry of heavy equipment needed to clear rubble and search for missing persons. They also impose arbitrary limitations on the entry of food, humanitarian aid, and medical supplies. Read more: https://israelpalestinenews.org/no-one-fully-survived-shocking-statistics-expose-the-devastating-scope-of-israels-genocide-in-gaza/
A Moon Will Rise from the Darkness - Reports on Israel’s Genocide in Palestine By Francesca Albanese [Pluto Press October 2025] ‘Albanese is perhaps the one figure of our times that future historians will recall as the one who did the most to redeem our generation from its guilt over the genocide of the Palestinian people. Her reflections in this book are not just timely – they are for the ages’ – Yanis Varoufakis . . . . First outlining the case that this period should be understood as a genocide, Albanese goes on to explain how the ongoing violence fits into a longer history of Israel’s settler colonialism, and finally presents a devastating indictment against the international corporations that treat mass killing and destruction as a business opportunity. Read more: https://www.plutobooks.com/product/a-moon-will-rise-from-the-darkness/
Gaza genocide and our duty to history Louis Allday M/weiss 30/10/2025 A recent article published by the Institute for Palestine Studies about the destruction of printing and publishing houses in Gaza immediately made me think of the Palestine Research Center in Beirut and the attacks it faced during Israel’s onslaught against Lebanon in 1982-83. For those unfamiliar with the Center, could you please explain briefly what it was, how you came to run it, and its central role in cultural resistance to Zionism at the time? What parallels do you see between then and now? Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/10/palestinian-scholar-who-wrote-iconic-book-on-zionism-reflects-on-the-gaza-genocide-and-our-duty-to-history/?ml_recipient=169777156825548703&ml_link=169777109191885978
Zohran Mamdani’s historic run will also help free Jews, and U.S. politics, from Zionism Philip Weiss M/weiss October 2025 Zohran Mamdani’s historic run for New York mayor is a huge moment for Jewish identity, giving a boost to Jews who argue that Judaism is not synonymous with Zionism. According to polls, two out of three young Jews are expected to vote for Mamdani, and overall, a substantial minority of Jews will support him (43 percent). These Jews accept or even celebrate Mamdani’s Palestinian solidarity. Mamdani takes positions that were previously a third rail in politics: He supports BDS against Israel, he says Israel committed a genocide in Gaza, and he says he would seek to arrest Netanyahu as a war criminal if he came to New York. . . . The New York Times is compelled to quote Jewish Voice for Peace, the anti-Zionist group that hails Mamdani’s campaign as a fight “for the humanity, dignity, and freedom of all people — from NYC to Palestine.” JVP has generally been invisible or the subject of scare commentary, banished from Columbia University under pressure from donors. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/10/zohran-mamdanis-historic-run-will-also-help-free-jews-and-u-s-politics-from-zionism/?ml_recipient=169867717839422876&ml_link=169867688120681712
Trump administration detains British journalist over Israel criticism
Michael Arria M/weiss 30/10/2025 In a social media post, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin announced that Hamdi’s visa was revoked and that he was pending removal. “Under President Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country,” she wrote.The arrest is yet another example of how far-right commentators wield influence in this administration. Days before Hamdi was detained, the Islamophobic right-wing activist Amy Mekelburg called on the government to deport him. She claimed that he was “training U.S. Muslims in digital agitation, electoral sabotage, and political warfare in alignment with Muslim Brotherhood doctrine.” Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/10/the-shift-british-journalist-detained-over-israel-criticism/
Like Gaza, Israel is threatening to destroy the Lebanon ceasefire Mitchell Plitnick M/Weiss 02/11/25 In Gaza this week, we’ve seen yet another bloody demonstration of Israel’s odd definition of “ceasefire.” In Israel’s view, it means the other side ceases while Israel continues to fire. If the opposition “behaves” according to Israeli diktats, Israel’s firing will be lessened, though not eliminated. If the opponents take even the slightest action outside of Israel’s orders, the firing increases very quickly and by many orders of magnitude. Gaza and the West Bank are prime examples. But another is Lebanon, where a year-old “ceasefire” is maintained despite near daily Israeli military attacks. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/11/like-gaza-israel-is-threatening-to-destroy-the-lebanon-ceasefire/?ml_recipient=170052722360321911&ml_link=170052679786038420
Israeli restrictions stifle recovery of Gaza’s farmlands IAK 06/11/2025 Alongside the widespread destruction of cultivable land, the policy is designed to eradicate any possibility of recovery. Since October 2023, Zaqout reported that almost no agricultural imports had entered Gaza. This includes something as innocuous as seeds, which Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat) deems “dual use”. Even fruit and vegetables containing seeds were stopped at the border. NGOs were instructed to remove the pits from dates. “Not even a tomato seed was let through,” Mariam Al-Jaajaa, general manager of the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN), said. “Seeds are weaponized because they’re a source of life.” Read more: https://israelpalestinenews.org/israeli-restrictions-stifle-recovery-of-gazas-farmlands/
Middle East Eye details Israeli attacks, arrests, and aid blockades since last month’s truce IAK 06/11/2025 As of 28 October, Israeli forces had carried out 52 shootings and 55 shellings across the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza-based Government Media Office. Further air strikes have been launched since. The attacks have killed 226 people, including 97 children – nearly 40 per cent of all fatalities – and wounded a further 594. Israel has also demolished at least 11 civilian homes, with troops continuing to deploy remotely controlled, explosive-laden robots to destroy buildings. No Palestinian group, including Hamas, has claimed responsibility. Israel launched more heavy air strikes, killing scores of people. Read more: https://israelpalestinenews.org/full-list-of-israel-ceasefire-violations-in-gaza/
Outrage over video leak of Israeli soldiers’ gang rape of Palestinian exposes rot in Israeli society Jonathan Ofir M/Weiss 04/11/2025 Israelis are having a meltdown over the leak of a video of Israeli soldiers gang raping a Palestinian prisoner at the notorious Sde Teiman torture camp. The uproar isn’t about the dozen or so Israeli soldiers who inserted a sharp object into a Palestinian prisoner’s anus and ripped his rectum apart. No, it’s over the fact that it was made public at all — and leaked by Israel’s Chief Military Advocate, no less. On Sunday night, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the top lawyer supposedly in charge of making sure the Israeli army follows the law, was arrested after having revealed last Friday that she was the one who had leaked the infamous rape video to the media over a year ago. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/11/outrage-over-video-leak-of-israeli-soldiers-gang-rape-of-palestinian-exposes-rot-in-israeli-society/?ml_recipient=170324558031619527&ml_link=170324487986743083
How Western Media Helped Justify the Rape of Palestinians Romana Rubeo [Palestine Chronicle] IAK 07/11/2025 Contrast this silence with the wall-to-wall coverage of October 7, when Israel accused Hamas fighters of “mass rape.” Those claims, still unproven, became the moral foundation of Israel’s campaign of annihilation in Gaza. In his latest interview with American journalist Candace Owens, political scientist Norman Finkelstein called the Israeli allegations “genocidal atrocity propaganda.” After examining more than 5,000 photographs and fifty hours of footage from that day, Finkelstein said he found “not a single shred of evidence of even one rape.” Yet those unverified stories, repeated endlessly by Western outlets, were enough to cast an entire population as subhuman and to legitimize the killing of more than 68,000 Palestinians. Read more: https://israelpalestinenews.org/western-media-justifies-palestinian-rape/
The ‘Yellow Line.’ What is it, and is it here to stay? Qassam Muaddi & M/Weiss Pal Bureau 06.11.2025 Today, there are essentially two Gazas. One is ruled by Hamas as the de facto governing body in the Strip, and makes up about 47% of the territory. The remaining 53% is under the total military control of the Israeli army. Separating these two zones is an invisible border that’s being called “the Yellow Line,” splitting Gaza roughly in half down the middle. Even though Israel has been placing yellow cement blocks all across Gaza to demarcate the line, it’s supposed to be temporary. But what makes it very real is the number of people who are being killed near it. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/11/theres-a-yellow-line-dividing-gaza-is-it-here-to-stay/
How Israel uses archaeology to erase Palestine David Schutz TRTWORLD 07/11/2025 With roughly 6,000 archaeological sites in the occupied West Bank, nearly every Palestinian village inhabits antiquity. Archaeology carries as much meaning for the future as the past, but as Israel advances its annexation, it is about erasing history — stripping away every non-Jewish layer; excising Palestinians from their past — in clear violation of international law, which forbids an occupying power from appropriating land or cultural heritage. Read more: https://www.trtworld.com/article/68ebc60b131c
Israel’s wants death penalty for Palestinian prisoners Qassam Muaddi M/Weiss 12/11/2025 “The bill’s stipulation that courts should impose the death penalty on individuals convicted of nationally-motivated murder with the intent of ‘harming the state of Israel or the rebirth of the Jewish people’ is yet another blatant manifestation of Israel’s institutionalized discrimination against Palestinians, a key pillar of Israel’s apartheid system, in law and in practice,” Rosas explained. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/11/israel-wants-to-implement-the-death-penalty-for-palestinian-prisoners-heres-what-you-need-to-know/?ml_recipient=170958696156759600&ml_link=170958645010368360
Israel’s Desperate Quest to Erase the History of the Gaza Genocide Ramzy Baroud 13/11/2025 The perfect little story, built on myths and outright fabrications — that of a small nation fighting for survival amid ‘hordes of Arabs and Muslims’ — is rapidly collapsing. It was a lie from the start, but the Gaza genocide has made it utterly indefensible.The harrowing details of the Israeli genocide in Gaza were more than enough for people globally to fundamentally question the Zionist narrative, particularly the racist Western trope of the ‘villa in the Jungle’ used by Israel to describe its existence among the colonised population. Read more: https://www.juancole.com/2025/11/israels-desperate-genocide.html
The Prison is inside me Defence for Children International – Palestine 13/11/2025
. . . were all abducted by Israeli forces while seeking aid over the summer and transported outside of Gaza to Sde Teiman, an Israeli military detention camp in southern Israel, where they were subsequently starved and tortured. Mohammad and Mahmoud were abducted while seeking aid at a U.S.-administered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation site. “Palestinian children are being brutally tortured by Israeli soldiers while the United States continues sending weapons and funding in support of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “These three boys, alongside countless others, are facing a lifetime of recovery from Israeli forces’ torture. Israeli soldiers and officials must be held accountable for their pain.” a hard read: https://www.dci-palestine.org/_the_prison_is_inside_me_three_released_palestinian_boys_abducted_tortured_by_israeli_forces_while_seeking_aid
The central role of liberal Zionism in the Gaza genocide Jonathan Ofir M/Weiss 15/11/2025 The event included a recorded message by Israel’s President, Isaac Herzog. Herzog is not merely a racist liar, who has called ‘intermarriage’ in the U.S. ‘a plague’ and then said that people misunderstood him – he has also incited genocide, by pushing the notion that there were no ‘uninvolved’ in Gaza, in October 2023. When it was pushed back against, and also became part of the ICJ genocide case, he again claimed that people misinterpreted him. At least Itamar Ben-Gvir, the more openly fascist National Security Minister, stands by his words. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/11/israeli-conference-honoring-yitzhak-rabin-showcased-the-central-role-of-liberal-zionism-in-the-gaza-genocide/?ml_recipient=171230451318391855&ml_link=171230417568924852&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2025-11-18&utm_campaign=Daily+Headlines+RSS+Automation+-+8am
Understanding the mindset behind Israel’s usage of rape as a weapon of genocide Jonathan Ofir M/Weiss 17/11/2025
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The UN Embraces Colonialism Craig Mokhiber M/weiss 19/11/2025 More than two years into the genocide in Palestine, the UN Security Council has finally acted. But rather than acting to enforce international law, protect the victims, and hold the perpetrators accountable, it adopted a resolution that openly flouts key provisions of international law, disempowers and further punishes the victims, and rewards and empowers the perpetrators. Most disturbingly, it hands control of Gaza and the survivors of the genocide over to the United States, a co-perpetrator of the genocide, and provides for the participation of the Israeli regime in decision making. Under the plan, Palestinians themselves are to be granted no such participation in decisions on their own rights, governance, and lives. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/11/the-un-embraces-colonialism-unpacking-the-security-councils-mandate-for-the-u-s-colonial-administration-of-gaza/?ml_recipient=171592874635298700&ml_link=171592818449450089&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2025-11-20&utm_campaign=Daily+Headlines+RSS+Automation+-+8am
Israel Is the Global Rape Capital Elias Akleh The Unz Review: an Alternative Media Selection 23/11/2025 Mass Jewish Israeli demonstrations took place in front of the Supreme Court expressing their outrage over the leaking of the sexual abuse video of the Israeli soldiers and their dog raping a Palestinian prisoner, demanding the protection of these soldiers’ “right to rape Palestinians” and the persecution of Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who leaked the video. Read more: https://www.unz.com/article/israel-is-the-global-rape-capital/
UN condemns torture in landslide vote, but Israel oppose resolution Middle East Monitor 24/11/2025The Israeli government’s vote against the resolution comes amid extensive documentation of its use of torture, particularly against Palestinians. Human rights groups, including B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch, have long accused Israel of subjecting detainees to beatings, stress positions, sleep deprivation and other coercive tactics, often targeting minors. The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) has recorded hundreds of complaints, most of which are closed without investigation. UN documents and testimonies confirm that Palestinian prisoners, including children, are frequently held without charge under administrative detention, interrogated without legal counsel, and subjected to solitary confinement and abuse. Read more: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20251124-un-condemns-torture-in-landslide-vote-but-israel-oppose-resolution/
Israel is violating ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon Mitchell Plitnick M/Weiss 27/11/2025 According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “ceasefire” means: “a suspension of active hostilities.” The so-called “kids’ definition” is: “a temporary stopping of warfare.” That all seems clear enough. But Israel’s definition differs significantly. They understand “ceasefire” to mean: “they cease, we fire.” This is not news to Palestinians, Lebanese, or any of Israel’s neighbors. Much like how Israel and its supporters like to say that there was “peace” before October 7, 2023, questions of violence are always defined not by whether there is shooting or bombing but by whether Israelis are getting hit with those bullets and bombs. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/11/israel-is-violating-ceasefires-in-gaza-and-lebanon-and-trump-is-allowing-it/?ml_recipient=172317671340115423&ml_link=172317600649315586
Thousands of Israelis seeking to apply for Portuguese citizenship Middle East Monitor 30/11/2025 Portugal, through a law adopted in 2015, granted the right to apply for citizenship to Sephardic Jews who were persecuted during the Inquisition in the 16th century. But due to the high volume of applications, the Portuguese government announced in 2023 that the law had achieved its purpose and introduced more restrictive requirements. It is noted that Israelis seek Portuguese citizenship for benefits such as free movement within EU countries, lower living costs, easier admission to European universities and lower tuition fees. Since Israel launched its offensive on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the number of Israelis seeking a second passport has increased. Tens of thousands of Israelis have left the country, and interest in Portuguese citizenship continues to rise. Read more: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20251130-thousands-of-israelis-seeking-to-apply-for-portuguese-citizenship/
Israeli society’s dehumanization of Palestinians is now absolute Meron Rapoport +972 Magazine 23/08/2024 “In war, schools are off limits,” Prof. Yuli Tamir, Israel’s former education minister, wrote in Haaretz. “Isn’t there a single commander who will say, ‘No more?’” The answer is a resounding no. Every war entails a certain level of dehumanization of the enemy. But it seems that in the current war in Gaza, the dehumanization of Palestinians is close to absolute.
After every war in recent decades that Israelis have fought in, there have been public displays of remorse. This has often been criticized as a mentality of “shooting and crying” — but at least the soldiers were crying. Read more: https://www.972mag.com/dehumanization-moral-abyss-israelis/
98% of Gaza’s Tree Cropland Destroyed by Israel Kimberly Cartier Eos 03/12/25 “This is unprecedented damage,” said He Yin, a geographer and remote sensing researcher at Kent State University in Ohio and lead researcher on the project. “I have never seen anything like this,” said Yin, who previously studied other areas of armed conflict, including Syria and the northern Caucasus. Gaza, he said, has “become like a barren land.” Read more: https://eos.org/articles/98-of-gazas-tree-cropland-destroyed-by-israel
Nations ‘concerned’ about Israel opening one-way Gaza exit aljazeera 05/12/2025 Hanan Ashrawi, a former member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, has slammed Israel’s “unilateral decision” to open Gaza’s southern Rafah crossing with Egypt, but only for Palestinians seeking to leave the enclave. The move “is not only a violation of the ‘ceasefire’ but also a disingenuous & cruel tool for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza”, Ashrawi wrote on social media. Israel said this week the crossing would be opened in the coming days, but Palestinians would not be allowed back into the Strip. The ceasefire deal reached last month stipulated that Israel must allow freedom of movement both in and out of Gaza. Read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/12/5/live-israel-sets-military-budget-at-34bn-keeps-attacking-gaza?update=4153602 ‘A new form of genocide’ Tareq Hajjaj M/Weiss 05/12/2025 The strain being felt by Gaza’s institutions, particularly its hospitals, and by ordinary Gazans, remains alarmingly close to wartime conditions. The Government Media Office in Gaza says that the humanitarian situation has not changed during or after the ceasefire, contrary to Israeli claims, and that the siege on Gaza has continued, with border crossings remaining effectively closed. What little goods do enter Gaza, the government says, does not meet “even the minimal needs of the population.” Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/12/a-new-form-of-genocide-gazans-feel-little-relief-from-israeli-strangulation-since-the-ceasefire/?ml_recipient=173042371613688950&ml_link=173042341995612032
Bezalel Smotrich calls a lie “the biblical truth” Kathryn Shihadah IAK 22/03/2023 “Is there a Palestinian history or culture? No. The Palestinian people are an invention of less than 100 years ago. There were Arabs in the Middle East who arrived in the Land of Israel at the same time as the Jewish immigration and the beginning of Zionism. After 2,000 years of exile, the people of Israel were returning home, and there were Arabs around [us] who do not like it. So what do they do? They invent a fictitious people in the Land of Israel and claim fictitious rights in the Land of Israel just to fight the Zionist movement.” Read more: https://israelpalestinenews.org/bezalel-smotrich-calls-a-lie-the-biblical-truth/
Israel approves NIS 2.35 billion on propaganda budget Israeli journalist Tobias Holcman IAK 08/12.2025 The budget will also be used, among other things, to fund social media campaigns, collaborate with civil society organizations, and bring delegations of leaders, elected officials, influencers, and others to Israel, the government said in a statement. Read more: https://israelpalestinenews.org/smotrich-saar-approve-nis-2-35-billion-in-hasbara-budget-for-campaigns-influencers-in-2026/
Measures To Protect Israel From Global Arms Restrictions Dave DeCamp IAK 10/12/2025 Page 1,269 of the roughly 3,000-page document details the new amendment, which requires the US secretaries of war and state, as well as the director of national intelligence, to conduct reviews of the impact of “the scope, nature, and impact on Israel’s defense capabilities of current and emerging arms embargoes, sanctions, restrictions, or limitations imposed by foreign countries or by international organizations.” Read more: https://israelpalestinenews.org/measure-to-protect-israel-from-global-arms-restrictions-tucked-into-us-defense-budget/
After the Rape: The challenges Majd Jawad M/Weiss 20/12/2025 We have collected numerous testimonies over the years, but we lack witnesses willing to step forward,” says Abdel Ghafour, deputy head of the documentation unit at PCHR. “The silence forced by fear and social stigma means that files on rape and sexual torture remain some of the most challenging, and heartbreaking—to work on. Without witnesses, accountability remains almost entirely out of reach, and survivors continue to bear the weight of these crimes alone.” Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2025/12/after-the-rape-the-challenges-of-monitoring-sexual-violence-in-gaza/?ml_recipient=174405109043692618&ml_link=174405071828681823
Kairos Palestine document calls for repudiation of Zionism Jeff Wright M/Weiss 20/12/2025 “We raise this cry from the heart of the assault on Gaza — a war that has left behind hundreds of thousands of martyrs and wounded, and nearly two million displaced people. Many were buried beneath the rubble, burned alive, tortured to death in prisons or forcibly displaced more than once. Others endured starvation, targeted even as they ran in search of food. Tens of thousands of children were killed in the most horrific ways. Gaza’s health, education, economic, and environmental sectors—indeed, every component of life—have been destroyed.” . . . .Turning to the global reality of Christian Zionism, the document describes the ideology as a “theology of racism, colonialism and ethnic supremacy… a theology that has produced apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide of indigenous people.” . . . . Kairos II insists that religious conversations and interfaith dialogue with Christian Zionists must be ended. . . . “After all efforts to invite Christian Zionists to genuine repentance have been exhausted,” Kairos II reads, “moral, ecclesial and theological responsibility requires that they be held accountable and that their ideology be rejected and boycotted. The time has come for the churches of the world to repudiate Zionist theology and to state clearly their position on Palestine: this is a case of settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing of an indigenous people.”
Hugh Humphries
Secretary
Scottish Friends of Palestine 0141 637 8046 info@scottish-friends-of-palestine.org
