Palestine

Bassem Naʻeem, a senior Hamas official, told Al-Aqsa TV on Tuesday that the movement has informed mediators of its readiness to engage in a new round of negotiations, but not based on the proposal presented by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

He explained that Hamas cannot accept any agreement unless it includes a clear commitment to ending the war, saying: “Witkoff came back to us with a paper that is completely different from the one we had previously approved. It contains vague wording that does not guarantee a halt to the war on Gaza.”

Naʻeem also noted that many countries, including Israel’s allies, have become convinced that […] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the main obstacle to reaching a ceasefire agreement.

“We will not miss any opportunity to stop the war and ease the suffering of our people, provided there is a credible guarantee,” he stated.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Saudi TV channel Al-Hadath reported, citing unnamed Palestinian sources, that indirect negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza have continued in recent days.

According to those sources, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey have been pressing Hamas to show flexibility in its position amid Israeli intransigence. They added that mediators are waiting for Hamas to accept Witkoff’s revised proposal, which includes adjustments concerning prisoner exchange and increased humanitarian aid.

The sources also said that the mediators are pushing to reach a ceasefire before the start of Eid al-Adha.

“They have offered Hamas an American guarantee ensuring Israel’s compliance with the ceasefire terms. Discussions over ending the war would reportedly take place during the truce period,” the mediators added.

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/5127256

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/5057980

new video: The PFLP is the faction leftists relate to the most,yet know very little about it. How did it apply Marxism in Palestine? How do they differ from other leftist factions?Why did it get "weaker"? Watch:

Youtube link: youtu.be/_fXEt76xlQE

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A woman was murdered in her home in central Israel on Monday, one of several killings in recent days that have fueled growing criticism of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Israel's handling of violent crime.

The victim, in her 40s, was allegedly stabbed by her partner, who later barricaded himself on the roof of their building and threatened to jump. Police said a negotiation team is currently engaging with the suspect. An investigation has been opened.

The murder was one of five reported since Sunday, including two fatal shootings early Monday in central Israel and the discovery of a woman and her 13-year-old son dead in a burned apartment. Since the start of the year, 121 people have been murdered in Israel, including 15 women.

In Netanya on Monday morning, a man in his 30s was shot, and Magen David Adom emergency services reported that he had been wounded in a fight. According to a police source, the victim was known to police and had prior convictions for violent offenses, extortion, and robbery, for which he had previously served prison time.

Earlier, in Lod, Noor Moussa, a man in his 20s, was also shot and killed, and another man, aged 25, was moderately wounded.

Moussa, who was not known to police, was shot while riding a motorcycle, reportedly as part of his job as a delivery courier. Police suspect it is the result of a local feud between criminals in the city, and they are investigating if Moussa was the intended target or not.

Three suspects in their 20s were arrested Monday morning in connection with the murder. Police said they would request an extension of their detention, though two of the suspects were released shortly afterward.

On Sunday, a 51-year-old woman and her 13-year-old son were found dead in a burned apartment in Modi'in. Police suspect [that] she killed her son and then took her own life, though other leads are being examined.

MK Meirav Ben-Ari (Yesh Atid) addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X (formerly known as Twitter): "What did you think would happen when you appointed a criminal as national security minister? That there would be calm? That he'd show everyone who's 'the boss'? Not a single criminal respects him, and your citizens are paying the heavy price."

She added that "the police force is paralyzed and crippled, most appointments are sycophants, lacking knowledge and professionalism."

Leader of The Democrats Yair Golan issued a similar rebuke on X (formerly known as Twitter): "Another day and a half in Israel — another five murders. No governance, no security. From every sector and community, no citizen is safe … This is what a country looks like when the minister in charge of police is a convicted criminal, an avowed racist and Kahanist — all under the direction of the prime minister."

Three Israeli soldiers were killed in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday when an explosive device that had been planted on the logistical route they were travelling through in the Jabalya area detonated beneath their Humvee.

The three soldiers were named as Staff Sergeant Lior Steinberg, aged 20, from Petah Tikva; Staff Sergeant Ofek Barhana, aged 20, from Yavne; and Staff Sergeant Omer Van Gelder, aged 22, from Ma'ale Adumim, who was a relative of Staff Sergeant (Res.) Omer Gaeldor, who was killed some six months ago in a drone strike in southern Lebanon.

Two other soldiers were moderately wounded in the incident and were evacuated to hospitals for treatment.

Following the explosion, forces were dispatched to evacuate the casualties from the area, which was rigged with additional explosives. There was no fighting during the evacuation.

An IDF official said that the five soldiers had been taking part in an operation to destroy terror infrastructure both above and below ground.

On Sunday, IDF chief Eyal Zamir ordered the expansion of the Israeli army's ground operation in the Gaza Strip and ordered the establishment of additional aid distribution centers for the residents of Gaza. During a tour of southern Gaza, Zamir said that Hamas has lost control and that the offensive is continuing "according to a structured plan, at an adjusted pace, until all combat objectives are achieved: the return of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas' governing and military capabilities."

Two days earlier, military operations had expanded in several densely populated areas in the northern part of Gaza, and the IDF declared five locations in the area as "dangerous combat zones." IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued an evacuation warning to residents of Jabalya and other nearby neighborhoods, urging them to move westward due to the presence of terrorist organizations.

Since October 7, 2023, a [confirmed] total of 861 soldiers have fallen in combat. Since Israel ended the cease-fire with Hamas on March 18, twelve soldiers and one officer from the Border Police's undercover unit have been killed in Gaza. One soldier was also killed in an operational traffic accident in the Gaza border area after being run over by a truck, and another combat soldier was killed in a separate operational traffic accident in the Golan Heights.

No comment.

Mattan here. As the genocide in the Gaza Strip marches forward, Israeli soldiers return from reserve duty shaken. Families are asking questions they didn't ask before. The justifications are wearing thin. As the untenable violence continues, and with it, a deepening disillusionment is spreading across Israeli society, leading to more and more people quietly refusing. We're seeing a shift in the public conscience, not just isolated acts of dissent. Refusal has entered the mainstream in a way that it never has, under the recognition that serving the Israeli war machine is against ordinary Israelis' interests.

Our new initiative,"Hitnagdut" (resistance in Hebrew), was created for this movement: we are cultivating a sustained anti-war and anti-occupation movement by providing training and support to spontaneous refusal and protest initiatives. We need to provide the activists with tools and infrastructure to sustain this momentum and end the genocide in Gaza and the occupation. We need your help to make it happen: help us reach our mid-year goal of $30,000 to launch Hitnagdut.

In the immediate aftermath of October 7th, opposing the war publicly was taboo and semi-illegal, let alone refusing. We did not have the power or infrastructure to oppose the war effectively and stop the Israeli attack before it even started. We realized we have to build real movement infrastructure. The first initiative we supported was "Ani Siravti", in Hebrew 'I Refused', which launched a media campaign to publicly share the stories of reserve soldiers who refused service in order to normalize the act during a time of heightened nationalism and reaction.

As the war trudged on, more and more people were beginning to realize that this war of annihilation was never about its stated goals of returning the Israeli hostages. Just one year ago, we began to work with a young group of reservists who were ready to publicly refuse on the eve of the invasion of Rafah in May 2024. With our help, they published an open letter alongside around 40 other signatories, sending shockwaves across Israeli society, and garnering a response from the Prime Minister himself and the country's war cabinet.

This was followed by several interviews in the studios of mainstream news channels, tailed by another public letter in October 2024 with an expanded list of signees. This fledgling group eventually decided to organize themselves under the banner Soldiers for Hostages.

A new initiative of Refuser Solidarity Network, Hitnagdut is a desert greenhouse for cultivating organised refusal. We exist to channel disillusionment into action, and action into strategy. Our goal: to transform individual grassroots initiatives into a coordinated anti-war movement from within.

Over the past six months, we have incubated one of the most visible expressions of this shift: Soldiers for Hostages, a group of reservists who returned from Gaza and publicly declared they would not serve again until the Israeli hostages return home, which necessitates an end to the war. What began as a handful of ex-soldiers has since grown into a movement of nearly 300 public refusers and growing, organizing on the streets, in the media, and in military circles across the country.

The work of Soldiers for Hostages has cleared the path for a radically different political landscape today: refusal has gone mainstream. Stickers line the streets of Tel Aviv calling on fellow patriots to refuse, while more and more reservists join the ranks of Soldiers for Hostages. "Refuse!" is now a common refrain, not limited to the anti-war left. Newspapers are chock full of emerging reports detailing more and more soldiers and reservists threatening to refuse duty. Refusal has not only become mainstream, but even patriotic.

Soldiers for Hostages grew into what it is today, a growing movement that turns individual refusers into a civil force that can end the genocide in Gaza. Through RSN's guidance and support through capacity-building, strategic coaching from experienced refusers, legal aid, mental health support, and training in media and public communications. Members of SFH have been beaten by police. Fined by the military. Branded as traitors. And in an unprecedented move, jailed by the government for their refusal, something we haven't seen here in several years.

And yet they keep organizing, because now they're not alone, and count hundreds of new refusers among their ranks. Reservists are what keep the Israeli military operating: they fly the planes that bomb Gaza, and they staff intelligence and logistics centers. As Soldiers for Hostages gains momentum, they get closer to bringing the war to a stop.

That's the power of Hitnagdut. It offers what spontaneous refusal cannot: strategy, organizing, resources and the ability to scale. What we're building is not a campaign. It's an ecosystem. It's a container strong enough to hold the grief and moral reckoning happening across Israeli society, and turn it into real political power. We started with Soldiers for Hostages, and now we are ready to expand our work. Whoever wants to strategically organize and fill the voids of the movement: we are waiting for you.

Help us to build long-term movement infrastructure–if you believe in refusal not just as a moral act but as a political strategy–support us in reaching our mid-year campaign goal today.

We are raising $30,000 in order to expand Hitnagdut, to assist the mosaic of actors who want a different reality. The disillusionment is already here, and we are here to give it shape.

In solidarity,

Mattan Helman
Executive Director
Refuser Solidarity Network

(Taken from an email sent to me by the Refuser Solidarity Network. Emphasis original.)

Added archived link since pigs took down the original

For the wrong reasons but still LMAO.

Protesters […] yesterday stormed the headquarters of the ruling Likud Party in Tel Aviv in protest against the delay in agreeing a captive release deal.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, dozens of […] demonstrators broke into Metzudat Ze’ev, which houses the headquarters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party, and chained themselves outside his office in protest, to mark 600 days since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

Videos shared by activists on X (formerly known as Twitter) showed Israeli police trying to remove protesters by force, while some were seen tying their hands to the staircase inside the building.

Outside, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in protest, blocking nearby streets. Some wore masks resembling Netanyahu and his ministers, and dressed in orange jumpsuits resembling those worn by death row inmates.

The Israeli government had rejected numerous deals that would have involved the release of all Israeli captives held in Gaza in return for ending the war, Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip, and the release of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

The families of […] captives claim [that] Netanyahu has continued the bombing campaign in Gaza in an effort to save his political career as far-right members of his coalition have threatened to quit if the war is brought to an end. The continuation of the bombing has also meant that court cases in which Netanyahu faces charges of corruption have been temporarily suspended.

This week, we've asked for your support so [that] we can keep exposing the truth about the horrific reality on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank. In order to keep that work going, I wanted to share an urgent update about proposed legislation that threatens to shut down Breaking the Silence and our partners.

Right now, the Israeli government is pushing through legislation that would impose a devastating 80% tax on all donations from foreign governmental entities to nonprofits like ourselves. This isn't just a financial hit — it's a direct attack on critical support for human rights, education, and aid, exactly when it's needed most.

SUPPORT OUR WORK

We're no strangers to pushback: dissent is built into our organizational DNA. But with most of our budget at stake, the "NGO bill" is an existential threat. Just today, there was another Knesset hearing on the bill, which could become law in a matter of weeks. And the timing is no accident: it seeks to silence us precisely when the state is carrying out some of the most egregious abuses of power in its history.

It's no secret why we're being targeted. We're obstacles on our government's path to wage endless war and apartheid. From Netanyahu to Trump, leaders around the world are working to destroy civil society by cutting off our sources of funding. And with [neo]fa[s]cism on the rise, it's clear that we cannot rely on shifting political agendas to sustain our work.

Their attempt to silence dissent will only succeed if we don't have the resources to fight back. That's why your donation today matters. Supporters like you have already helped us raise 70% towards our goal of one million shekels.

Will you help us close the gap, so we can keep exposing the truth of occupation through soldier testimony?

DONATE NOW

In solidarity,

Nadav Weiman,
Executive Director,
Breaking the Silence

(Taken from an email sent to me by Breaking the Silence. Emphasis original.)

Some 1,300 academics from universities and colleges across Israel sent a letter on Tuesday to the heads of the academic system in Israel, urging them "to mobilize the full weight of Israeli academia to stop the Israeli war in Gaza."

The academics, organizing under the name Black Flag, criticized institutions of higher education for playing a central role in opposing the government-led judicial overhaul, yet remaining silent in the face of the current events in Gaza.

"This is a horrifying litany of war crimes and even crimes against humanity, all of our own doing," the letter reads, adding, "We cannot claim that we did not know. We have been silent for too long."

Prof. Ido Shahar of the University of Haifa told Haaretz that the initiative began with meetings between students and lecturers, during which "a cry emerged — saying this can't go on."

"At a certain point, the realization sinks in that we can't go on normalizing the current situation and behaving as if a horrifying war of deception isn't happening — one that leads to mass killing, sacrifices the hostages and whose sole purpose is transfer and settlement," he added.

Among the letter’s signatories is also Prof. On Barak of Tel Aviv University. According to him, the name Black Flag was chosen as “an attempt to speak to Israeli society in its own terms.”

According to Barak, the term Black Flag is familiar to every Israeli who served in the military. "It carries historical weight," he said, "as it was coined by [then Jerusalem Magistrate Court] Judge Benjamin Halevy following the 1956 Kafr Qasim massacre, in which 48 innocent Palestinians were killed by the Israeli Border Police."

The use of the term, he added, “is a reference to a [legal and moral] protocol — one that marks the moment when Israelis from across the political spectrum recognize the need to hit the brakes.”

Barak adds that Israeli academia has a vital role to play in the re-humanization of Gaza's population. "The widespread indifference [toward Gazans] among many Israelis is the result of an intensive dehumanization campaign that must be actively resisted," he said.

“Historical research shows that the devastating effects of famine endure for generations. The tragedy unfolding before us now will leave its mark for years to come, even if it were to end today.”

According to Prof. Yael Hashiloni-Dolev of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, there is a direct connection between opposing Israel's actions in Gaza and concern for the hostages held by Hamas.

“One can’t deny that the violence directed outward — toward the population of Gaza, the vast majority of whom are uninvolved civilians — also turns inward, toward the hostages and their families,” she said.

"Anyone who kills mothers and starves babies in Gaza is also harming the mothers of the hostages."

“That’s why there’s only one solution: end the killing in Gaza and release the hostages. This war knowingly and deliberately puts the hostages at risk, and anyone who refuses to acknowledge that is simply denying reality,” she added.

“Anyone with even a shred of responsibility or humanity can no longer buy into the propaganda. We must recognize that war crimes and crimes against humanity are openly being committed in Gaza. We’re in the midst of a moral collapse.”

According to Hashiloni-Dolev, “it’s the Israeli government — not its critics — that is endangering the soldiers. It’s the government that has entangled them with international courts, not the human rights organizations; and it’s the government that sends them to kill and be killed, without rescuing them if they're taken hostage.”

"The shame and blame must be redirected to where they truly belong," she added.

“I hope all of us will stop cooperating, because as long as we normalize the situation and go on with our lives, the war won’t end, and the sadism toward Gaza’s population and the hostages will continue,” she said.

"A black flag flies over these crimes. I call on people to refuse such illegal orders."

"Black Tuesday" was declared yesterday by the group across Israeli academia, marking a coordinated day of protest at numerous universities and colleges. Students and lecturers, dressed in black, stood silently on campuses, while black flags were hung on bulletin boards.

"This is the first action against the ongoing denial and the silent support for crimes being committed in our name," the organizers said.

At Tel Aviv University, dozens of faculty members and students gathered in the central square near the library, holding black flags. They read poems and held discussions.

Tensions flared when the campus security chief demanded that protesters leave the premises and remove the signs and black flags they had displayed, claiming the demonstrations violated university regulations.

Witnesses told Haaretz that the security chief attempted to snatch a sign from one of the participants. According to those present, he also shoved a protester who was filming the scene, as well as a female student who confronted him.

The security chief called the police, but officers arrived only after the protesters had dispersed. Later, according to video recording and testimonies from participants, a student draped in an [apartheid] flag appeared and shouted racist slurs at one of the Arab students. He was joined by a faculty member opposed to the protest, who was seen pushing one of the students.

One of the lecturers who helped organize the protest, speaking to Haaretz on condition of anonymity, said she believed the demonstration had made an impact.

“There’s a sense of a breakthrough, that from now on, it won’t be possible to hold back,” she said. “There’s a whole community living under a kind of censorship, feeling stifled, with a scream lodged in their throats. The message we got from the students is clear: they need us to stop staying silent.”

https://archive.ph/LOmFl

A leader of a criminal gang linked to the Daesh terrorist group loots the limited aid convoys entering Gaza amid a severe humanitarian crisis.

As reported by the Quds News Network news agency, Yasser Abu Shabab and his gunmen are in the area under the pretext of “securing aid,” wearing uniforms and claiming to safeguard the limited humanitarian assistance entering the besieged enclave.

The group has been intercepting humanitarian aid trucks in eastern Rafah under the protection of Israeli forces, facilitating large-scale looting and sabotage of relief efforts in Gaza, the report said.

“The gang's activities, coordinated with the Israeli military, have contributed to worsening humanitarian conditions, particularly in areas facing severe food shortages,” it stressed.

The report stressed that Abu Shabab had “established a fortified base in an Israeli-controlled area in Rafah,” routinely looting aid convoys, especially in areas such as eastern Rafah and the Karem Abu Salem border crossing.

International media, including the U.S. daily The Washington Post and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, have also confirmed reports that Abu Shabab gangs are affiliated with Daesh and operate under the backing of Zionist forces.

Citing witnesses and internal UN memos, these newspapers note that Abu Shabab men are involved in the looting of aid convoys and were often seen near Israeli military positions, without the occupation forces intervening or preventing the theft.

“The gunmen beat the drivers and take all the food if they don't pay them [protection money],” Haaretz relates.

Meanwhile, other media outlets report the Israeli regime's systematic targeting of Palestinian police and security officers assigned to protect aid deliveries.

“While Israel allows and facilitates the looting, its propaganda blames HAMAS for stealing aid, deflecting responsibility and masking its own role in orchestrating the chaos and famine in Gaza,” they denounce.

Some 31 aid trucks passed through the main traffic circle on Salah Adin Street near Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip last Tuesday, but Abu Shabab gangs opened fire on the convoy, attempting to seize desperately needed supplies.

According to local reports, a group of Palestinian security officers intervened to stop the attack, but Israeli forces turned on them, killing six officers as they attempted to protect the aid.

The Gaza Government Media Office said in a statement that occupation forces launched eight attacks on security guards protecting the aid.

Abu Shabab, which has a history of drug trafficking and collaboration with extremist groups, seized a gas truck in Gaza last year and set it on fire to block roads and prevent aid deliveries.

The Zionist regime on Sunday allowed a small number of aid trucks into the Gaza Strip after imposing a total siege on March 2, following international pressure and widespread condemnation, as the Palestinian territory faces imminent famine.

Mattan here. I am the executive director of Refuser Solidarity Network and an Israeli refuser. Last week, for the first time in many years, a reserve soldier was jailed for refusing to serve in protest of the ongoing genocide. His name is Daniel Yahalom, and he is refusing over the barbaric genocide in Gaza and the ongoing settler-military takeover of the West Bank.

From the beginning, we've made it clear: the military cannot afford mass refusal. They're trying to project strength, but the longer this war drags on, the more the cracks begin to show. They hoped punishment would break our resolve, but they're only strengthening our movement. Let's show him that he is not alone! Write a support letter to Daniel and ask 3 friends to do the same.

Daniel had already served more than 200 days since the war began. But when he understood the destruction, he made a choice. In his words: "Since October 7, I have served over 235 days in the reserves with a heavy heart. I was haunted by a heavy feeling that the fate of the hostages was being forsaken and that the war, which is largely unbridled, is being paid for in Gazan blood... The situation in the West Bank also got worse and worse... Meanwhile, what about the hostages? Every day they were dragged to the margins of the exhausted Israeli consciousness."

Following Daniel's arrest, "Soldiers for the Hostages", a group of soldiers who refuse to take part in the war on Gaza, held an emergency protest outside the military prison where Daniel is being held. They showed up wearing shirts that read: "One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust wars." Our movement made itself heard, reminding Daniel he is not alone.

This isn't just about one soldier, it never was. His arrest is a test. The government is betting that fear will silence us, that one prison cell will be enough to keep the rest in line. But his arrest has had the opposite effect, and it has only given our movement momentum. As opposition to the government and calls for the end of the war grow, the arrest of refusers continues to bring our movement into the mainstream. Hundreds have signed our refusal letter, more are joining every day, and we're not going anywhere till the end of the genocide and the occupation.

This moment marks an escalation on the part of the government, but also an opening. The media is watching while the public asks questions. People who once believed refusal was unthinkable are beginning to reconsider. That's where we come in. We're opening another way forward, a way of hope and resistance.

We fight to end the genocide, and to the systems of occupation that make wars like this inevitable. Until then, we will support all those wrongfully jailed for refusing service and the current state of affairs. We will continue to show up. At jails. At protests. In the streets. In the press. Now is the time for civil resistance. For those supporting us from afar, let's show Daniel that he is not alone! Write him a support letter and ask 3 friends to do the same.

In solidarity,

Mattan Helman
Executive Director
Refuser Solidarity Network

(Taken from an email sent to me by the Refuser Solidarity Network. Emphasis original.)

A song by a Palestinian about how the west created the apartheid and genocide in Palestine. I cried after watching this. Check out the rest of his songs, they are really good.