🇯🇵🇵🇸 Japanese politician, Akiko Oishi, speaks up for Palestine at Japan’s House of Representatives.

“If this is not a genocide, what is?” pic.twitter.com/3WDK328CS4

— Censored Men (@CensoredMen) November 23, 2023

Qamar Taleb | The ICC's Chief Prosecutor keeps on asking for evidence regarding the Israeli genocide in Gaza, so here's the tip of the iceberg. | On October 30, 2023, Karim Khan, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) released a statement addressing the Israeli war on Gaza with a tint of poetry: "The laws that we have, the Rome Statute that I operate under, requires that innocent lives are particularly protected. And what is most important is that the application of the law is not theoretical. People have heard promises for a long time. There have been enough words to fill libraries. In my view, the protections afforded by the law apply equally regardless of one's race and one's religion, one's nationality, one's gender.” And he’s absolutely right, but the latter is only part of the words filling libraries if no action is taken by the Court.

Rachel Marsden | Brussels’ diktat on climate change and support for Ukraine is seen as more important than the people who actually feed the country | The French government is scrambling to get a whole lot of tractors off the nation’s major highways. Good luck with that when 89% of French citizens back the protesting farmers, according to a new Odoxa poll. ● France is joining a movement that now encompasses nearly 20% of the EU, with farmers in five of the bloc’s 27 countries convoying and blockading major roads. Farmers in Poland, Romania, Germany, and the Netherlands have now been joined by their counterparts from the country virtually synonymous with revolution. And one particular incident here in France has just shifted the nascent movement into overdrive.

Hundreds of entrance holes from the striking elements of a missile were found on the wreckage of the downed Il-76 military plane that crashed in Russia's Belgorod Region, the striking elements were also found in the fragments of the outer layer of the aircraft, a representative of the emergency services told Sputnik. | On Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said that an Il-76 military transport plane with 65 Ukrainian PoWs being transported for exchange had crashed in the Belgorod Region. All the PoWs along with six crew members and three accompanying persons on board died. ● The MoD accused the Ukrainian forces of downing the plane. Later, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry stated that its staff was not aware that Russia's Il-76 was transporting Ukrainian PoWs for a prisoner swap, but Ukrainian news portal Strana.ua reported that the ministry had confirmed a prisoner exchange between the parties was scheduled for Wednesday.

■ Pentagon Says Looking Into Whether US Weapons Used in Downing of Russian Il-76 Plane (Sputnik News)
■ West to be complicit in attack on Il-76 if use of Western weapons proven — diplomat (TASS)

■ APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS (.pdf)(84 pages) Press Release (.pdf)
■ The Expression of Hatred for Gentiles (Richard Edmondson/Nahida Izzat) (10/04/14)

The International Court of Justice [ICJ] at The Hague has confirmed that it will rule regarding measures requested in by South Africa in the case against the apartheid “Israeli” entity on Friday afternoon. | South Africa took “Israel” to the ICJ because of its continuous genocide against the Palestinian people, particularly during the latest aggression in Gaza. ● The South African delegation requested nine provisional measures from the court, which included ordering the “Israeli” army to end its military actions in Gaza while the case proceeds, aimed at forcing a ceasefire. ICJ Judge President Joan Donoghue had said, after the opening oral submissions, a decision would be rendered “as soon as possible.” Meanwhile, South Africa’s foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, is flying to The Hague to be present on Friday.

■ APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS (.pdf)(84 pages) Press Release (.pdf)
■ The Expression of Hatred for Gentiles (Richard Edmondson/Nahida Izzat) (10/04/14)
■ Likud Ministers endorse colonisation plans for Gaza: ‘We will claim this land’ (MEM)

Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu has extremist rhetoric against Palestinians | Israel's far-right Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu on Wednesday renewed his call for striking the Gaza Strip with a “nuclear bomb.” “Even in The Hague they know my position,” The Times of Israel newspaper quoted Eliyahu as saying during a tour in the West Bank city of Hebron, in reference to his previous call for using nuclear weapons in the Gaza Strip. ● In November, Eliyahu said dropping a “nuclear bomb” on the Gaza Strip is “an option.” The hardline minister, who has extremist rhetoric against Palestinians, also called for encouraging Gaza's population to migrate from the enclave.

■ The Expression of Hatred for Gentiles (Richard Edmondson/Nahida Izzat) (10/04/14)

Jordanian Foreign Ministry calls for end to Israeli aggression, cease-fire in enclave | Jordan on Wednesday evening strongly decried the Israeli attack on a UN center sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, calling for an end to the Israeli aggression in the Palestinian enclave. 💬 “Israel's continued violations of international law is the result of the absence of an effective international stance to end this raging war in the Gaza Strip,” the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The statement described the attack as an "act that contradicts all human and ethical values, and violates the international law, especially the 1949 Geneva Convention.” It also called on the UN Security Council to urgently stop "Israel's blatant challenge to international law calling for a cease-fire.” The head of the United Nations Relief Works Agency in Gaza (UNRWA), Thomas White, wrote on X Wednesday that “an attack on the Khan Younis Training Centre took place Wednesday, during which two tank rounds hit a building that shelters 800 people.”

■ Criticism pours in after Israel strikes UN compound in Khan Younis (PressTV)
■ UN condemns Israeli attack on Gaza shelter (DD News)
■ Fighting rages in southern Gaza after deadly attack on UN shelter (France24)

ITV News footage shows a civilian brandishing a white flag being shot dead. | British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been questioned over an ITV News video which shows a civilian being shot dead while waving a white flag in Gaza. The shocking images have sparked war crime accusations, and Sunak was challenged to give his reaction on Wednesday. ● The video taken the previous day by Mohammed Abu Safia, an ITV News cameraman, showed a group of civilians in the enclave holding a white flag. An English-speaking man says they are trying to go back to an area under fire to rescue relatives. Moments later, one of the men is fatally shot in the chest. [...] During Wednesday’s prime minister’s questions, Scottish National Party MP Stephen Flynn challenged Sunak over the incident, asking him if “such an act constitutes a war crime?” In response, Sunak said “international humanitarian law should be respected, and civilians should be protected.” But Flynn pushed him further, saying: “I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask the prime minister of the United Kingdom to rise to that dispatch box and tell the people of these isles and elsewhere, that shooting an unarmed man walking under a white flag is a war crime.” ● Labour MP Tahir Ali also bitterly criticized the prime minister over the Israel-Gaza conflict, saying he had “the blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands,” and asking him if it was time to commit “to demanding an immediate ceasefire and an ending of the UK’s arms trade with Israel.”

■ UK's stance on Gaza raises 'significant ethical, legal questions': Expert | 'UK government’s diplomatic backing, military aid, direct involvement in conflict...make it complicit in facilitating genocide,' says Abd al-Fattah El-Awaisi (Anadolu Anjansi)

US and allied naval forces have been involved in near daily clashes with the Iran-backed militia | Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed to have fought off two US warships, reporting a “direct hit” on one of them while the vessels were “protecting two American commercial ships” in the Red Sea on Thursday, the group’s spokesman said. The US said it intercepted missiles fired at two ships operated by Maersk, the shipping company that handles about 15 per cent of container shipping globally.

■ Sayyed al-Houthi: US starving Gaza, turned Red Sea into battlefield (Al Mayadeen)
■ Ansarullah orders US, British UN staff to leave Yemen (PressTV)
■ How is Yemen protecting international law as US, 'Israel' violate it?

Türkiye has ratified Sweden’s membership application, leaving Budapest as the last holdout | The Hungarian government is in favor of Sweden joining NATO and will soon schedule a ratification vote in the parliament, Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Wednesday. The move will allow Stockholm to become a member of the US-led military bloc after almost two years of delays. ● Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022, citing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but ran into opposition from Türkiye and Hungary due to ongoing disputes with the two states. The bloc’s rules require unanimous consent before it can accept new member states.

Marwa Haidar | Day after another, Israeli atrocities committed against the oppressed people of Gaza are being uncovered. Throughout the brutal war, today in its 109th day, Gazans have been informing about acts of savagery against both living and dead people in the war-torn besieged strip. | In the latest heinousness, Israeli occupation forces have been destroying the cemeteries in Gaza and desecrating the deceased people’s final resting place, with Gaza residents reporting that some corpses of their beloved ones have been stolen. Desecration of at Least 16 Cemeteries in Gaza: In a report on January 20, the CNN reported that the Israeli military has destroyed at least 16 cemeteries in Gaza, citing satellite imagery and social media footage. Gravestones in Gaza have been ruined and the ground overturned. In some cases, bodies have been unearthed, CNN reported. Based on its examination of satellite pictures and videos, the US news network concluded that in other situations, the Israeli occupation army appears to have utilized graves as military outposts, with bulldozers converting many graveyards into staging grounds. Legal experts quoted in the report emphasized that deliberately destroying religious sites like cemeteries and turning them into military targets violates international law, suggesting that the Israeli occupation’s actions could be considered war crimes.

■ Israel 'stealing organs' from bodies in Gaza, alleges human rights group (EuroNews)
■ Doctor admits Israeli pathologists harvested organs without consent (The Guardian)
■ Israeli Organ Trafficking and Theft: From Moldova to Palestine (If Americans Knew)
■ How Israeli regime mutilates and steals organs from dead bodies of Palestinians (Humaira Ahad)
■ ”Våra söner plundras på sina organ” (Donald Boström)

■ APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS (.pdf)(84 pages) Press Release (.pdf)
■ The Expression of Hatred for Gentiles (Richard Edmondson/Nahida Izzat) (10/04/14)

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan hails the Palestinian Resistance for its serious effort in confronting the Israeli occupation and the US project in the region. | Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan pointed out on Tuesday that the al-Maghazi operation reveals a lack of prospects for the ongoing aggression to lead to favorable outcomes for the Israeli occupation. ● Speaking to Al Mayadeen, Hamdan stated that the theory about Israeli security has collapsed, indicating that the Israeli occupation military is unable to protect itself and is fleeing the confrontation. ● The Palestinian official indicated that the United States should seriously consider that the circle of Resistance will expand, and other forces may join it. He ruled out that Egypt would accept part of its territory to be occupied if "Israel" took control of the Philadelphia Axis. ● Hamdan revealed that several proposals have been submitted for a ceasefire, explaining that the essence of the Israeli proposals is a temporary ceasefire, followed by a return to fighting. [...] He added that the United States wants to restructure the region according to its interests and is aware that the continuation of the battle will unravel any front in the region that includes "Israel".

The Aerospace Force has dispatched a panel of inquiry to probe into the incident | A military transport plane Ilyushin-76 crashed in the Belgorod Region on Wednesday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew and three escorts.

■ Kiev attack on POW plane ‘insane barbarism’ – Moscow (RT.com)
■ Transport Plane Il-76 With Ukrainian PoWs on Board Crashes in Belgorod Region - Russian MoD (Sputnik News)

The Israeli occupation army acknowledged late Monday the death of three officers during fierce clashes with the Palestinian resistance groups in Khan Younis. | 535 Israeli soldiers and officers have been killed in Gaza since October 7, and 198 since the start of the Zionist invasion of Gaza, according to the official toll of the Zionist enemy. The Palestinian resistance has always affirmed that the Israeli casualties are much higher than the announced toll. The spokesman of the Israeli Rescue Service said that 22 soldiers and officers were killed in Khan Younis, reporting a large number of injuries and big explosions in the area. The Israeli media indicted that it was the blackest day for the occupation army since October 7. Hamas military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, announced that its fighter targeted a tank in Khan Younis, adding that the enemy’s war jets struck it after the ground troops failed to pull it due to the clashes.

■ Resistance kills 21 invading Israeli soldiers in central Gaza in 1 day (Al Mayadeen)
■ 21 Israeli soldiers killed in largest military loss suffered in war with Hamas (UPI)
■ 24 Israeli soldiers killed in deadliest day for IDF in Gaza offensive (Washington Post)
■ Haaretz: Israel's Army Drafted and Armed Thousands of Settlers. Accounts of Their Violence Are Piling Up

■ APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS (.pdf)(84 pages) Press Release (.pdf)
■ The Expression of Hatred for Gentiles (Richard Edmondson/Nahida Izzat) (10/04/14)

Hagar Shezaf | 'Regional defense' battalions have grown fivefold since the war in Gaza started, and there are more and more accounts of settlers serving in them assaulting and threatening Palestinians | A week after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israeli communities near the Gaza border, Aisha Al-Aza, a 19-year-old Palestinian resident of Hebron, went up to the roof of her home. ● A man she recognized appeared across from her – a settler who was her neighbor. But there was something different. He was wearing a military uniform and was armed with an M16 assault rifle. "He swore at me, called me a bitch, and loaded his rifle," she says. "He threw stones at me, too." Al-Aza says the neighbor continued to hurl stones after she came down from the roof. ● About a month ago, on her way home from a military checkpoint, she met another settler who lives near her, also in uniform. He ordered her to show him her ID card and then her phone. She refused to hand over her phone, and he threatened to detain her. "As soldiers, the settlers are much harsher than the ordinary soldiers," she says. "Now they're in charge here."

■ 94% of probes into settlers violence led to no indictment: NGO

The United States and Britain launched a new aggression on Yemen, aerially raiding targets in Sanaa and other provinces. | Four raids targeted Duleimi military base; four sorties struck Al-Hafa area in Sanaa; meanwhile, 2 others hit Al-Sarf area. The aerial aggression also targeted several areas in Taiz, while the US-UK war jets flew over Hijja. The Yemeni command has confirmed that blocking the passage of the Israeli-affiliated vessels are aimed at supporting Gaza against the Zionist war, not disrupting the Red Sea navigation as the aggression forces claim. The Yemeni navy missiles struck a US cargo ship (OCEAN JAZZ) in the Gulf of Aden, according to a statement released Monday by the Armed Forces.

■ New US-UK aggression targets Yemen (Al Mayadeen)

Moscow has previously dismissed claims that it plans to strike NATO as “complete nonsense” | Germany should be ready to respond to a possible Russian attack, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has warned. He said that to prepare for such a scenario, Germany and its NATO allies must commit to strengthening their military capabilities. [...] The German tabloid Bild reported earlier this month, citing a classified document, that Germany is preparing for a scenario in which Russia launches an “open attack” on NATO in mid-2025, following major victories in Ukraine. Moscow mocked the prediction as a “zodiac forecast.” ● Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed claims that Russia could attack NATO as “complete nonsense,” arguing that Moscow has “no geopolitical, economic… or military interest” in doing so. Still, the Kremlin has for decades voiced concerns about the US-led military bloc’s expansion towards Russian borders, viewing it as an existential threat.

The death toll from Ukraine's January 21 shelling of a market in Donetsk has soared to 27. The attack – slammed by Moscow as a barbaric terrorist act against Russia's civilian population - left 25 more injured. | Western leaders have remained tight­-lipped on the Kiev regime’s deadly terrorist attack against Donetsk on Sunday, with many mainstream media headlines only mentioning the very fact of the event without singling out who was behind the tragedy. ● On Sunday, Ukrainian troops shelled Donetsk’s Kirovsky district, a busy area with markets and shops, which are full of people, especially on weekends. It left 27 civilians killed and 25 more injured. ● The BBC went so far as to cite a “Ukrainian army group operating in the region” as saying that they “did not carry out the attack” – despite the fact that Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, confirmed that Ukrainian troops used 152mm and 155mm artillery systems during the shelling. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was the only official who decisively denounced Ukraine’s shelling attack on Donetsk.

■ ‘Barbaric attack using Western arms’ – Moscow decries Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk (01/22/24)

Following the presentation of arguments by South Africa and Israel regarding allegations of 'genocide' in Gaza, 17-judge panel will decide whether to approve petitioner's request for a interim injunction to halt war | Less than two weeks after the opening of hearings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, as part of a petition lodged by South Africa against Israel for alleged "genocide" in the Gaza Strip, the court is anticipated to deliver in the coming days a ruling on the petitioner's request for a provisional order to halt the war. While deliberations pertaining to the petition could last for months and years, Pretoria seeks to compel Israel to cease hostilities via provisional measures enacted by the court. Should such an order be issued and Israel opts to disregard it, it may face sanctions and international isolation.

■ Gaza’s Death Toll Surges Amid Ongoing Israeli Genocide (Al Manar TV)
■ APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS (.pdf)(84 pages) Press Release (.pdf)

■ APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS (.pdf)(84 pages) Press Release (.pdf)
■ The Expression of Hatred for Gentiles (Richard Edmondson/Nahida Izzat) (10/04/14)

Israeli forces have destroyed at least 1,000 mosques during their ongoing genocidal war against the Gaza Strip while desecrating dozens of cemeteries, the territory's officials say. | The Palestinian Information Center quoted Gaza's Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs as providing the information in a statement on Sunday. "The Israeli occupation forces have destroyed more than 1,000 out of 1,200 mosques in the territory since October 7 last year," the ministry said, adding that reconstruction of those mosques would cost around $500 million. The Palestinian ministry added that the Israeli aggression has also destroyed a number of churches across Gaza, including the historical Greek Orthodox Church, as well as Zakat religious committees, schools for teaching the Holy Qur'an, and the headquarters of the Endowment Bank.

■ Israel kills at least 190 people in Khan Younis in 24 hours (PressTV)
■ Israeli soldiers desecrate Jenin mosque during invasion (Al Mayadeen)
■ Israel Resorting to Terror to Make Up for Defeat in Gaza: Iran’s FM (Tasnim)
■ Gaza’s Death Toll Surges Amid Ongoing Israeli Genocide (Al Manar TV)
■ Global support for Israel plummets: Report (Iran Front Page)

It’s unclear when Houthi military capabilities will be sufficiently damaged, officials have told the paper | The US is preparing for a “sustained” bombing campaign in Yemen after ten days of airstrikes failed to undermine the ability of Houthi fighters to target ships in the Red Sea, the Washington Post has reported, citing unnamed officials. ● The administration of President Joe Biden does not expect a protracted operation such as the US campaigns in Iraq or Afghanistan, but at the same time it cannot provide a timeframe for when Houthi military capabilities will be adequately diminished, the newspaper reported on Saturday. ● Washington’s strategy is to curb the ability of the Shiite militant group to target ships off the coast of Yemen, or at least create safe conditions for shipping companies to resume sending vessels through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, sources added. ● The Houthis have launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the area in recent months, declaring support for Gaza amid Israel’s military operation in the Palestinian enclave.

■ “Mysterious” incidents in the southern Red Sea.. Who is behind them? (Al Jazeera)

The US and its allies are pushing Kiev towards increasingly reckless steps, Russia’s foreign ministry has said | The shelling by Ukraine of the Russian city of Donetsk on Sunday, which claimed the lives of at least 25 civilians and wounded 20 others, was “a barbaric terrorist act” carried out with the support of the West, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said. Sunday's bombardment of a busy market in the capital of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic was inflicted with weapons supplied to Kiev by the US and its allies, the ministry said in a statement. 💬 “This again confirms [the West’s] direct involvement in the conflict and makes it complicit in the criminal acts of the Zelensky regime, which has once again displayed its inhumanity and hatred towards innocent people,” it said.

■ Blood of Killed Donetsk Civilians on Those Sending Weapons to Kiev - Lavrov at UNSC (Sputnik News)
■ Kremlin condemns Kiev’s deadly attack on Donetsk market as 'monstrous act of terrorism' (TASS)
■ Donetsk Market Massacre: A Local’s Account (Sputnik News)
■ UN condemns Ukrainian attack that killed 27 civilians in Russian city (RT.com)

Firebrand Israeli parliamentarian says in Israel 'there is an assault on freedom of speech of those who raise voice against the war' | Member of Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al party argues 'region will explode’ if Israel does not get rid of Netanyahu's 'terrible government. Says he supports ICJ genocide case for impartial investigation of Gaza bombardment; save lives. Terms efforts to expel him from parliament 'persecution and silencing' of those who support peace. ● In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with Anadolu, Cassif said rejection of Israel's military response has led to "an assault on freedom of speech," including death threats. 💬 “People are arrested for tweets and posts, not in support of Hamas, of course, but in supporting ending the war, or before even cease-fire. Students are suspended from the universities and colleges. People are fired from their workplaces. The police are brutally violent towards the demonstrators,” Cassif said. ● “There is an assault on freedom of speech of those who raise voice against the war ... there are death threats. Because it's not only violence from above, from the government from the prime minister, legitimization of the violence against the protesters, of course by [Itamar] Ben Gvir (national security minister) and the police, which unfortunately mostly became a kind of a private militia of Ben Gvir. But it also penetrates the society as a whole. And you can see that within the society, a growing a part of the public supports, literally and explicitly, violence against those who oppose the war, including death threats." Cassif said everyone will pay a "huge price" and the entire "region is going to explode" if Israel does not get rid of the "terrible government" headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

■ APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS (.pdf)(84 pages) Press Release (.pdf)
■ The Expression of Hatred for Gentiles (Richard Edmondson/Nahida Izzat) (10/04/14)

A senior member of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says the Israel is collapsing at all levels as the regime is committing the most egregious crimes against humanity. | Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas' political bureau, made the statement on Sunday as he pointed to the latest developments regarding Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip. 💬 “The Zionist regime is collapsing by committing the biggest crimes against humanity at the internal, social, military and political levels and, today, has been brought to international courts,” Hamad said, referring to lawsuits lodged by South Africa and Indonesia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the regime’s rights violations in the Gaza war. “Now, this opportunity has been provided for all Palestinian groups to adopt a firm stance and force the international community to reclaim the rights of our nation.” Hamad also praised South Africa for its “great” position at the Hague-based tribunal and said the move will “go down in history.”

■ 178 Palestinians killed in Gaza in last 24 hours, death toll climbs to 25,105 (Anadolu Ajansi)
■ 94 uni professors, 100s teachers, 1000s students killed by 'Israel' (Al Mayadeen)
■ Local news outlet confirms Israel ordered the “Hannibal directive” on Oct. 7 (Natural News)
■ 'Israel' violently bombs Khan Younis, killing and wounding dozens (Al Mayadeen)
■ APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS (.pdf)(84 pages) Press Release (.pdf)

Berlin has declared itself an expert in mass extermination of people by making the move, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman says | Russia is not surprised that Germany has decided to defend Israel in a genocide case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as unconditional support for the Jewish state is obligatory in Washington’s ‘rules-based international order,’ Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. ● In late December, South Africa brought proceedings against Israel at the ICJ, alleging it had breached the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in its aerial and ground bombardment of Gaza in response to the Hamas cross-border attack on October 7. [...] Berlin has disputed the genocide charge. On January 5, a spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Foreign Office said that Israel’s “targeted action against armed attackers; that is, fighters in an armed conflict, is not action with the intention of destroying an ethnic group.”

■ APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS (.pdf)(84 pages) Press Release (.pdf)