Scottish Friends of Palestine

Briefing Paper                                              

September 2024           

Law for Palestine         SOURCE: Law for Palestine (/law4palestine.org)

•  Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated in his speech during the annual Qatif conference that blocking humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip is “justified and moral”, even if it causes two million civilians to die of hunger, but the international community won’t allow that to happen. “We bring in aid because there is no choice,” Smotrich added. He argued that withholding aid would more effectively pressure Hamas to release all hostages than current negotiations. He also expressed his opposition to the release of “terrorists” from Israeli prisons. (August 5, 2024)

• Following the circulation of a leaked video showing Israeli soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee in the Sde Teyman detention facility in Israel’s Negev Desert, Israeli right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for “an immediate criminal investigation to locate the leakers of the trending video, which was intended to harm the reservists and caused tremendous damage to Israel’s global reputation. The full severity of the law should be exhausted against them.”  (August 7, 2024)

• Israel’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Israel Katz, said that he “ordered the revocation of diplomatic status for eight Norwegian diplomats in Israel who were dealing with Palestinian Authority affairs.” He criticized Norway for its pro-Palestinian stance after October 7, which included recognizing a Palestinian state and joining the case against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Katz said that “Norway had pursued a one-sided policy towards the Palestinian issue and will therefore be excluded from any involvement in it,” emphasizing that “those who attack us and pursue a one-sided policy against us will pay a price.” (August 7, 2024)

• Israel announced the termination of Palestinian Authority tax revenue to Norway in response to Norway’s recognition of an independent Palestinian state. Israel is now seeking a new custodian country, with talks underway with Switzerland. (August 8, 2024)

• Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich approved the partial transfer of Palestinian tax revenues for July, marking the second consecutive month the Palestinian Authority has received some of its tax revenues after Smotrich had withheld them for several months. Smotrich also deducted about NIS 100 million ($26 million) from the funds, citing “the Palestinian Authority’s incitement to terror”, and stated that the money would instead be given to “the families of terror victims.” (August 8, 2024)

• Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stressed the need to continue pressuring Hamas until it surrenders completely, while halting the transfer of humanitarian aid and fuel to Gaza until all the hostages are returned. He also called for encouraging immigration and occupying the territory of the Strip to keep it under permanent Israeli control. (August 11, 2024)

• The Israeli military prosecution and defense have agreed to release the five defendants involved in the sexual abuse of a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention center, placing them under house arrest. The defense claimed that the suspects are reserve soldiers with families and do not pose a threat to the public. A medical report was presented, suggesting that no rape occurred and that the harm was allegedly caused by a foreign object the detainee inserted himself. (August 13, 2024)

• An investigation based on testimonies from soldiers and officers who served in the Israeli military during operations in Gaza since October 7, 2023, has revealed that the Israeli military used Palestinian civilians, including minors and the elderly, as human shields during its operations in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, these civilians were detained and forced to inspect tunnels and homes suspected of containing explosives before Israeli soldiers entered. (August 13, 2024)

• The Israeli Civil Administration has allocated a plot of land for the establishment of the first new settlement in the West Bank since 2017. Approximately 148 acres of land have been designated for the “Nahal Heletz” settlement, located southwest of Jerusalem and west of Bethlehem. This follows the Israeli government’s approval last June to establish the settlement and retroactively legalize four other outposts. (August 15, 2024)

• The Israeli military has issued a new evacuation order for Palestinians in northern Khan Younis and eastern Deir al-Balah, further reducing the boundaries of the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone. According to the military claim, this decision is due to numerous acts of terrorism, the exploitation of the humanitarian zone for terror activities, and the firing of rockets at Israel from neighborhoods in northern Khan Younis, making it increasingly dangerous to remain in these areas. (August 16, 2024)

• Israel’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, called for the UN building in Jerusalem “to be closed and erased from the face of the earth,” describing it as “crooked and distorted from within.” His statements were in response to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision issued in July, which he described as “distorted and immoral”, stressing that Israel would work to overturn it. Erdan also expressed confidence that the United States would use its veto power against any anti-Israel resolution in the Security Council. Additionally, he described the United Nations as “the most corrupt and morally twisted place,” calling for its dismantling and the establishment of a new body that “truly represents noble values”. (August 20, 2024)

• The head of the Israeli General Security Service (Shin Bet), Ronen Bar, stated in a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ministers and the attorney general, that Jewish terrorism, committed by extremist settlers, especially known as the “Hilltop Youth,” poses a serious threat to Israel’s existence. He stressed that the incompetence of the police and the hidden support for these groups has led to the escalation of violence, which has changed “from focused covert activity to broad, open activity. From using a lighter to using weapons of war. He pointed out that these groups receive legitimacy from some officials, which harms state security and constitutes a “A large stain on Judaism ”. Bar warned that such actions could drag Israel “to profuse bloodshed and change the state’s face unrecognizably.” (August 22, 2024)

• Ofer Prison Commander Vadim Goldstein requested that security prisoners remain handcuffed during court hearings due to concerns that prison guards could be at risk. Goldstein argued that the handcuffs were necessary to prevent potential threats to state security, claiming that ‘the prisoners have nothing to lose.’ However, Judge Bella Gelfand ordered the handcuffs to be removed, emphasizing the importance of allowing the prisoner to testify freely. Meanwhile, the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, criticized the judge’s decision, stating it endangered the lives of guards and supported the prison administration’s stance on the matter. (August 22, 2024)

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A Palestinian journalist visited Ismail Haniyeh’s home in Gaza to report on his death. Israel assassinated him too  Tareq Hajjaj Mweiss 01/08/2024

Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul was assassinated by Israel in the line of duty as he covered the commemoration of Ismail Haniyeh. He and another journalist who was a part of his team were in a clearly identifiable press vehicle when a missile directly hit them. It killed both reporters and a young boy walking by. The strike left Ismail al-Ghoul’s body headless. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/a-palestinian-journalist-visited-ismail-haniyehs-home-in-gaza-to-report-on-his-death-israel-assassinated-him-too/?ml_recipient=128555509454211046&ml_link=128555496255784534

In supporting Israeli army rapists, right-wing protesters signal the coming Israeli civil war  Ofer Neiman Mweiss 01/08/2024  Yosian has gained cult status and notoriety since October 7 through his dramatic genocidal incitement against Palestinians and toxic invective towards liberal Zionists. He often appears on Israeli right-wing Channel 14, where he’s not alone in preaching the Gaza genocide gospel. Yosian has repeatedly stated that Israel should have “killed 50,000 Gazans” immediately following the October 7 attack. He reiterates that “there are no innocent civilians in Gaza, just 2.5 million terrorists.” Yosian rejects “foreign liberal Westernized” values, and wants to replace them with (his version of) Jewish morality. Yosian regularly tweets his provocative opinions. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/in-supporting-israeli-army-rapists-right-wing-protesters-signal-the-coming-israeli-civil-war/?ml_recipient=128555509454211046&ml_link=128555496277804645

Warning of catastrophic polio epidemic in Gaza  Yumna Patel Mweiss 02/08/2024

In mid-July, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, the Gaza health ministry conducted an analysis of samples of sewage water in the Gaza Strip, and found the presence of poliomyelitis, or as it is more commonly known, the polio virus. The highly infectious disease, which in severe cases can cause paralysis or death, was eradicated in Gaza more than 25 years ago. The detection of the virus in July caused the health ministry and the WHO to set off the alarm bells. The ministry declared a ‘polio epidemic’ in the Gaza Strip, and the WHO called for immediate intervention to prevent the spread of the disease. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/an-entirely-preventable-disaster-health-officials-warn-of-catastrophic-polio-epidemic-in-gaza/?ml_recipient=128646079967135044&ml_link=128646071054239283

Haifa – facing police oppression Yoav Haifawi Mweiss 04/08/2024

In the 78% of Palestine that has been occupied since 1948-49, and where those Palestinians that survived the ethnic cleansing are formally citizens of Israel, all democratic rights were suspended as of October 2023 and a terror campaign started against Palestinians. Hundreds were arrested and tortured for showing the slightest expressions of sympathy with the plight of their sisters and brothers in Gaza. Much of the Israeli Jewish public suddenly became an enthusiastic lynch mob, as Jewish student organizations spied on their Arab counterparts, reporting them to the universities’ leadership, who began expelling them from their studies and turning them over to the police for detention and torture. The same scenes repeated themselves in many workplaces, including hospitals where Arabs constitute a large proportion of the medical teams. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/palestinian-demonstrators-are-back-in-haifa-and-facing-police-oppression/?ml_recipient=128827299682322259&ml_link=128827288266475114

Israeli legal charade Mati Yanikov EI  05/08/2024

The World Court couldn’t have been more clear.

The occupation is unlawful, Israel’s presence in occupied territory must come to an end as “rapidly as possible,” Israel is guilty of “systematic” racial discrimination, Israel must immediately cease all settlement activity, and Israel owes reparation to Palestinians. Read more: https://electronicintifada.net/content/far-right-pulling-masks-israeli-legal-charade/48181

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The World Court has ended the Oslo ruse Craig Mokhiber Mweiss 07/08 2024

The 76-year-old wall of impunity, built brick-by-brick by the US, the UK, and other Western governments, is beginning to crumble. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/the-world-court-has-ended-the-oslo-ruse/?ml_recipient=129099081915040830&ml_link=129099071372658205

Israeli rape of detainees is the result of a society that sees Palestinians as ‘human animals’  Jonathan Ofir Mweiss 06/08/2024  On August 3, Shaiel Ben-Ephraim shared an interview on social media with two Israeli security officials involved in the Sde Teiman torture facility, which has become a cause célèbre for right-wing protesters demanding the right of Israelis to gang rape Palestinian prisoners with impunity. Ben-Ephraim is an academic who left UCLA as a post-doctorate following allegations of sexual harassment. . . The level of sadism enacted upon Palestinians really defies description. Palestinians are now coming forth with the most graphic details about their sexual torture, like this victim on video (trigger warning): Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/israeli-rape-of-detainees-is-the-result-of-a-society-that-sees-palestinians-as-human-animals/?ml_recipient=129008494675232536&ml_link=129008483351659628

Two more schools bombed in latest massacres Qassam Muaddi Mweiss 08/08/2024

The Palestinian civil defense said earlier this week that Israeli forces had been systematically attacking sheltering centers. The Palestinian presidency reacted to Thursday’s massacre in a statement calling on the international community to “intervene and force Israel to halt its aggression on the Palestinian people.” Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-307-at-least-56-palestinians-killed-across-gaza-as-israel-bombs-two-more-schools-in-latest-massacres/?ml_recipient=129189712813361094&ml_link=129189704528561399

Israel increases restrictions at Haram al-Sharif Mousa Qous EI 08/08/24

On 2 August, Israel detained Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, head of the Jerusalem Supreme Muslim Council and the imam of al-Aqsa Mosque. The ostensible reason for his arrest was a sermon he gave the same day, mourning the murder of Ismail Haniyeh, assassinated in Tehran on 31 July. Sabri has now been banned from entering the mosque compound, al-Haram al-Sharif, for six months and Israel is threatening to revoke his Jerusalem residency permit. The cleric is only the most prominent person to have been barred from al-Aqsa – in Islam, the third holiest site in the world – since 7 October. After Israel launched its genocide in Gaza last October, Israeli police have repeatedly thwarted religious freedoms at al-Aqsa mosque, notably during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Meanwhile, led by extremist Israeli ministers like Itamar Ben-Gvir, the public security minister, a growing number of Israeli settlers have been allowed not only to enter the site, but to pray there, in direct contravention of the status quo agreement that is supposed to govern the area and which forbids non-Muslim prayer in the area. Read more: https://electronicintifada.net/content/israel-increases-restrictions-haram-al-sharif/48251

Kahanists infiltrate US Democratic Party Asa Winstanley EI 08/08/2024

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich represent a political trend known as Kahanism, the ultra-rightist followers of Meir Kahane, a extremist Zionist rabbi from New York City who founded the Jewish Defense League, a terrorist group that carried out a nationwide bombing campaign in the US in the 1970s and 1980s. Kahane later moved to Israel where he founded the Kach party and won a seat in the Israeli parliament on a platform of expelling all Palestinians from the entirety of historic Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

But in the latest episode of The Electronic Intifada Podcast, journalist David Sheen explained how pro-Zionist liberals in both the US and Israel have been directly responsible for the rise of the Kahanists. Read more: https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/how-ultra-right-kahanists-infiltrated-us-democratic-party

No one agrees on what ‘Jewish values’ are. That’s why they matter Joseph Grim Feinberg Mweiss 10/08/2024  For most people, the decision to engage politically “as Jews” is not the result of introspection or ethnic pride. More often, it’s a decision thrust upon us. Sometimes directly, by antisemitism that won’t allow us to cease being seen as Jews. Sometimes indirectly, by a supposed philosemitism that celebrates Jewish identity with anti-Palestinian violence, which compels us to respond in protest. And sometimes pressure comes from pro-Palestinian activists who rightly recognize that disproportionate authority is granted to Jewish voices on issues related to Palestine. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/no-one-agrees-on-what-jewish-values-are-thats-why-they-matter/?ml_recipient=129370888357283439&ml_link=129370883658614702

70 kg bag of human remains is considered a martyr Tareq S Hajjaj 11/08/2024

At dawn on Saturday, August 10, the Israeli army bombed a mosque while dozens of displaced people were praying the Fajr prayer, the daily Islamic prayer offered in the early morning. The bombing killed more than a hundred people, most of whom were dismembered or destroyed beyond recognition. For this reason the identification of the bodies has so far been incomplete. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/the-fajr-massacre-every-70-kg-bag-of-human-remains-is-considered-a-martyr/?ml_recipient=129461459291735326&ml_link=129461453853820203

Israeli media’s coverage of the rape of Palestinian detainees shows support for sexual violence in service of genocide Jonathan Ofir Mweiss 12/08/2024

Israel’s drama around the investigation of ten soldiers suspected of gang-raping a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman torture facility keeps reaching new lows. The reaction from Israelis, not just on the right, but also in the Israeli mainstream, has revealed a lust for sadistic revenge and an obsession with Hamas that is used to justify releasing all hell on Palestinians, including sexual abuse.  In fact, the media coverage of events last week paints a grim and revealing picture of Israeli society. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/israeli-medias-coverage-of-the-rape-of-palestinian-detainees-shows-support-for-sexual-violence-in-service-of-genocide/?ml_recipient=129552077974144649&ml_link=129552061772596231&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2024-08-20&utm_campaign=Daily+Headlines+RSS+Automation

Israeli crowds storm Al-Aqsa Mosque, West Bank villages al Jazeera 13/08/24

Israeli crowds have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, as well as villages in the occupied West Bank, as they marked a Jewish holiday.

Far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir led a crowd of thousands into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday and performed prayers. Despite Jewish religious rites being banned at the location, Israeli police reportedly offered protection, as well as to illegal settlers involved in violence in the West Bank. Read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/13/israeli-settlers-raid-palestinian-areas-on-temple-destruction-anniversary

BDS is not merely a right, but an obligation Craig Mokhiber Mweiss 13/08/2024

. . . Foremost among these efforts has been the Israeli campaign to penalize calls to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel for its gross violations of human rights. As a result, countless laws and policies are now on the books across the U.S. and the broader West, trampling on core constitutional principles and internationally guaranteed human rights in defense of Israeli impunity. But an advisory opinion issued last month by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) should help to turn that around. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/the-icj-finds-that-bds-is-not-merely-a-right-but-an-obligation/?ml_recipient=129642700312937971&ml_link=129642684851684746

The scars I saw on Gaza’s children will take generations to heal Dr. John Kahler, reposted from USA Today, August 16, 2024  More than 2 million people live in the Gaza Strip, and about 96% are on the brink of starvation. This isn’t just about lack of calories − it’s about the destruction of an entire generation’s future. Children starved from birth will bear the scars of this trauma for life, physically and mentally. History tells us what happens to kids who survive trauma and starvation. Read more: https://israelpalestinenews.org/im-a-pediatrician-the-scars-i-saw-on-gazas-children-will-take-generations-to-heal/

Shift in how Canada views the Israeli occupation Miles How Mweiss 17/08/24

Two high-profile ‘proposal to revoke’ notices, published in the August 10, 2024, edition of the Canada Gazette, suggest a sea change may be underway within the charities enforcement arm of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The first revoked recipient, The Jewish National Fund of Canada . . .    & . . . .     The second proposed revocation, the Ne’eman Canada Foundation . . . operates as a charitable flow-through, specifically for Canadian private foundations . . . Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/revocation-of-the-jnfs-charitable-status-indicates-massive-shift-in-how-canada-views-the-israeli-occupation/?ml_recipient=130005030172362296&ml_link=130005025148634703

Why the Israeli ‘peace camp’ disappeared Rifat Kassis Mweiss 18/08/2024

Throughout Israel’s history, there have been occasions of internal opposition to the state’s military actions. During the 1982 Lebanon War, the Peace Now movement staged mass protests, decrying the invasion and occupation of parts of Lebanon. The First Intifada in the late 1980s also saw significant opposition, as some Israelis grappled with the moral implications of the military occupation and the harsh measures used against Palestinians. . .  The once vibrant voices of protest have been replaced by a chilling silence. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/why-the-israeli-peace-camp-disappeared/?ml_recipient=130095657898738959&ml_link=130095646501766660

New evacuation orders as Netanyahu insists on additional ceasefire conditions Qassam Muaddi Mondoweiss 19/08/2024

However, Netanyahu’s office released a statement upon Blinken’s arrival on Sunday, saying that Israel insists on maintaining a military presence in the Philadelphi corridor to “prevent terrorists from rearming,” while affirming on continuing to support a deal to release “a maximum possible number of hostages.” . . . Simultaneously, Hamas said in a statement that the latest U.S. proposal has aligned with Israeli desires. Hamas called upon mediators to work on implementation steps for the deal proposed by Biden in June and which Hamas accepted in early July. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-318-gazans-given-new-evacuation-orders-as-netanyahu-insists-on-additional-ceasefire-conditions/?ml_recipient=130186249425126462&ml_link=130186235061733285

65% of Israeli Jews oppose criminal prosecution for soldiers suspected of raping Palestinian detainees Jonathan Ofir Mweiss 19/08/2024

The poll asks, among else, how people would want to handle the soldiers suspected of gang-raping Palestinian detainees at the Sde Teiman torture facility if it turned out that the suspicions were strong. 65%, almost two out of three Jewish Israelis, opposed criminal prosecution, and would prefer them be “handled in a disciplinary manner, by the commanding level only.” Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/65-of-israeli-jews-oppose-criminal-prosecution-for-soldiers-suspected-of-raping-palestinian-detainees/?ml_recipient=130186249425126462&ml_link=130186235043907490

We have become numb to Gaza’s destruction Hala Ayan The Guardian 19/08/2024

Dehumanization is a prerequisite of most forms of violence. Well before a bomb drops on a school where children are sheltering – because you ordered them there to shelter – you have to make that act acceptable. The more dead, starving, weeping, and shredded Palestinian bodies the public sees, the more the brain becomes psychically numbed to them. Palestinians disappear into “hordes”, “masses”, numbers so high it becomes impossible to imagine their nicknames or favorite songs. The body of a Palestinian is a negotiable thing – a child becomes a “minor”. The dead become “alleged”, numbers in unreliable mouths. Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/19/gaza-palestine-israel-violence?CMP=share_btn_url

Nightmare at Sde Teiman  Yousef M Aljamal  Mweiss  20/08/2024

Israeli forces arrested Ibrahim Salem, age 35, in December 2023 from the Kamal Edwan Hospital in Jabalia in the Gaza Strip. He was with his children who were in the intensive care unit after an Israeli airstrike targeted his family home, killing some of his siblings, nephews, and nieces. After his arrest, he was stripped naked for two days, put in an underground hole in an unknown location, and transferred to the Negev prison. After complaining to his interrogators about why he was arrested, he was moved to the Sde Teiman detention center, where he lived through “a nightmare” for 52 days that included being subjected to torture, electrocution, beating, humiliation, and rape. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/nightmare-at-sde-teiman-the-untold-story-of-ibrahim-salem/?ml_recipient=130276833801274851&ml_link=130276826889061836

Netanyahu’s latest strategy to avoid a ceasefire explained  Qassam Muaddi Mweiss 21/08/2024 One has gained widespread attention in the international press, claiming that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted the U.S. ceasefire deal, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken stating that the ball is now in Hamas’s court.The second only gained traction in Israeli media: Netanyahu told a group of families of Israeli captives held in Gaza that he isn’t sure a ceasefire deal is going to happen because Israel would not withdraw from the Netzarim and Philadelphi corridors in Gaza “under any conditions.” Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/netanyahus-latest-strategy-to-avoid-a-ceasefire-explained/?ml_recipient=130367430694274192&ml_link=130367423324882739

Israeli army invades ‘most crowded displacement camp in history’

Tareq Hajjaj Mweiss  22/08/2024   Over the past week, the Israeli army has ordered a million civilians to evacuate central Gaza, and has bombed two schools sheltering displaced people in Gaza City mere minutes after issuing warnings. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/israeli-army-invades-most-crowded-displacement-camp-in-history-bombs-palestinians-in-shelters/?ml_recipient=130458041283773990&ml_link=130458031548794522&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2024-08-27&utm_campaign=Daily+Headlines+RSS+Automation

“The sniper was shooting him for fun” Abubaker Abed EI 22/08/2024

“Our days were filled with panic and death,” said Khalil al-Ramlawi, Abdul Karim’s brother. “Drones buzzed over our heads, Israeli tanks relentlessly bombed around us, and F-16 warplanes randomly leveled houses.”The family was also nearly starving. “We were fasting all day and barely could afford half a loaf of bread per day,” Khalil, age 36, said.

They boiled contaminated water to drink and ate their soggy bread. Read more: https://electronicintifada.net/content/sniper-was-shooting-him-fun/48416

Western media can be held legally accountable for its role in the Gaza genocide Craig Mokhiber Mweiss 24/08/2024

But there is an essential third pillar: the role of complicit Western media corporations knowingly disseminating Israeli disinformation and propaganda, justifying war crimes and crimes against humanity, dehumanizing Palestinians, and blacking out information on the genocide in the West. From the perspective of international human rights law, such actions could and should be subject to sanctions. And there are historical precedents. Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/western-media-can-be-held-legally-accountable-for-its-role-in-the-gaza-genocide/?ml_recipient=130639196885878174&ml_link=130639193548260618

Israel tightens restrictions on food, medicine at Gaza crossings Nora Barrows-Friedman EI 31/08/2024 In August, Israel almost doubled its previous rate of denials of entry to humanitarian aid missions, compared with July, according to the United Nations.

Aid groups say that approximately 1,600 trucks full of essential medicines, health and hygiene supplies and food are currently stuck at crossing points along the Gaza boundary with “no progress” on their movement. Israel’s repeated and incessant displacement orders, which are pushing Palestinians into an ever-shrinking corner of Gaza, have also impacted storage warehouses for humanitarian aid, the organizations say.

“Numerous warehouses, including four UN and one HI [Handicap International] warehouse, have reported that their locations are no longer within the ‘humanitarian zone,’ leaving them with no space to store supplies being shipped into Gaza,” the groups state. Read more: https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/israel-tightens-restrictions-food-medicine-gaza-crossings

UK related articles

LSE admits discriminating against professor opposing Zionism David Cronin EI 04/08/24  In November last year, the LSE’s British Politics and Policy blog rejected an article by James Hughes, who has taught at the university since 1994. The piece referred to the strong connections between the Conservatives, then Britain’s ruling party, and the pro-Israel lobby. The pressure group Conservative Friends of Israel was supported by most lawmakers in the party, it noted. “The expansion of that lobby has been nurtured by Israel over recent years,” Hughes stated. “This explains the almost unanimous pro-Israel positioning of the current Conservative government and its mirroring of the policy of the Israeli state itself by fusing criticism of the Israeli state with anti-Semitism, and attempts to ban anti-Israeli political expression.” Read more: https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/david-cronin/lse-admits-discriminating-against-professor-opposing-zionism

Church of England  - Israeli occupation must end Jeff Wright Mweiss 11/08/2024

“For the first time,” Marshall told Mondoweiss, “we did not see the Archbishop apply ‘balance’, but rather stand in full support of the Palestinian people, stating that the occupation has ‘denied the Palestinian people dignity, freedom and hope.’” Read more: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/in-significant-reversal-church-of-england-head-says-israeli-occupation-must-end-following-icj-opinion/?ml_recipient=129461459291735326&ml_link=129461453869548852

Israel lobby funded 15 new MPs before election John McEvoy Declassified UK 27/08/24 The donations were provided by the Labour and Conservative Friends of Israel groups, which aim to promote Israel’s interests in Britain but do not disclose their own sources of funding. Twelve successful Labour candidates and three Conservatives travelled to Israel with these organisations in the year leading up to Britain’s general election.The total cost of the trips was over £30,000, with some of them taking place amid Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and being described as “solidarity” missions. Read more: https://www.declassifieduk.org/israel-lobby-funded-15-new-mps-before-election/

Hugh Humphries  

Secretary                                   

Scottish Friends of Palestine     0141 637 8046       info@scottish-friends-of-palestine.org