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Exclusive: Met won't prosecute Kneecap over ‘Kill your MP'

Exclusive: Met won't prosecute Kneecap over ‘Kill your MP'

Spectator17 hours ago

How low is too low? Kneecap seem determined to find out, judging by their never-ending mission to troll the UK. But last month even the West Belfast trio seemed to go too far, after videos emerged of them calling for the death of British MPs and shouting 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah'. It prompted a grovelling statement from the band, insisting that they had never supported either terrorist group and would not incite violence against any individual. Real hard men, eh?
Of course, cynics suggested that Kneecap's capitulation had less to do with genuine remorse and concern for the likes of David Amess's family, and more to do with the very real fear of a police investigation. But now the not-so-funny trio can sleep easy, for Steerpike has checked and counter-terror police have confirmed they will not be charging the group. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said:
A thorough investigation has now been completed by detectives from the Counter Terrorism Command, which included interviewing an individual under caution and seeking early investigative advice from the Crown Prosecution Service. A range of offences were considered as part of the investigation. However, given the time elapsed between the events in the video and the video being brought to police attention, any potential summary only offences were beyond the statutory time limit for prosecution. Relevant indictable offences were considered by the investigation team and, based on all of the current evidence available, a decision has been made that no further action will be taken at this time.
The spokesman added that 'the safety and security of MPs is something that is taken extremely seriously across the whole of policing'. Parliamentarians concerned about their safety are told to 'contact their dedicated local Operation Bridger officer.' Talk about cold comfort…

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‘This land is ours': How Israeli settlers see life in the West Bank
‘This land is ours': How Israeli settlers see life in the West Bank

Times

time21 minutes ago

  • Times

‘This land is ours': How Israeli settlers see life in the West Bank

The leafy children's playground was idyllic, if you ignored the men with automatic weapons slung over their shoulders, as well as the barbed-wire fence that stretched the length of the Israeli kibbutz. Migdal Oz, with a population of about 500, was built almost 50 years ago on a plateau in the West Bank, the Palestinian territory that has been occupied by Israel since 1967. Like all of the hundreds of Israeli settlements in the area, its very existence is considered illegal under international law, as well as by the International Court of Justice. The reason for the heavy security at Migdal Oz, which translates from Hebrew as Tower of Strength, is its proximity to the Palestinian village of Beit Fajjar, says Rabbi Benjy Myers, the deputy head of its emergency response team. At its closest point, Beit Fajjar is just 500 metres away from the kibbutz's metal gates, across sun-parched land dotted with rocks. 'There are a lot of people there who don't like us and the threat is credible. The nightmare scenario is that a few hundred or a few thousand of the residents of Beit Fajjar decide to march on us. If that happens, we're in a lot of trouble,' Myers said. His concerns are not groundless. When Hamas fighters burst out of the Gaza Strip in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting more than 200 in southern Israel, Migdal Oz also briefly came under attack, Myers said — before the threat was eliminated by its security team. None of its residents were hurt. The kibbutz has also had a number of other security scares in recent years, including a car bomb exploding nearby and the murder of a teenage boy outside its gates, in what Israel said was a Hamas killing. More recently, Iranian ballistic missiles hurtled over Migdal Oz on their way to Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities, sending its residents rushing to bomb shelters. Yet Myers, a father of six from Bradford, Yorkshire, who has been living in the kibbutz with his wife since 2011, rejected suggestions that it would make sense to move his family to a safer region, rather than make them spend their playtimes under the watchful gaze of men with guns. 'On a personal and a practical level, maybe. But on a national level, I have a responsibility for the continuity of the Jewish people. We are here because we belong here. Why should the Jewish people leave Judea?' he said, using the Israeli term for the areas of the West Bank south of Jerusalem. He pointed out a rocky hill where Abraham is said by locals to have been ordered by God to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, as a test of his faith. 'Is God happy that I'm here? As far as I can understand, yes. We're very much in a place where we are in the footsteps of our forefathers. That makes me feel pride and responsibility,' he added. 'I believe ideologically that the Jewish people should stick to their land. I know I have a right to live on this land, and I know that this place is the best place for me as a Jewish person to live. And that it is the right thing to do,' he said. Ministers vow to annex the Gaza Strip and West Bank The religious and political convictions voiced by residents of Migdal Oz are at the heart of what is driving Israel's latest round of expansion across the West Bank, as well as a surge in deadly violence against Palestinians. Israeli troops and extremist settlers have killed more than 950 Palestinians, among them 200 children, in the West Bank since October 2023, according to the United Nations. The killings go unpunished in the vast majority of cases. About 40 Israelis have been killed in the same period, government officials say. Last July, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, approved the distribution of 120,000 firearms to settlers. He also said that Palestinian prisoners 'should be shot in the head' rather than fed. Israel says its soldiers are stationed in the West Bank to keep the peace between Jewish and Palestinian residents, as well as to thwart terrorist attacks. Israel has been building on Palestinian land for decades, yet its government has never been so open about the scope of its ambitions. On the eve of the war with Iran, government ministers including Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister who also holds a senior post in the defence ministry, vowed at an ultra-nationalist conference to annex the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Like President Trump, Smotrich, who has said 'there is no such thing as the Palestinian people', has also called for the removal of Gazans from their territory, an idea likened by organisations such as Human Rights Watch to ethnic cleansing. So far, 56,000 people have been killed by Israeli forces since 2023 in the strip, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The conference earlier this month came as Israel approved the construction of more than 20 new settlements in the West Bank, the biggest increase for years. Both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, who are themselves settlers, were sanctioned this month by Britain for inciting 'extremist violence' against Palestinians. On Tuesday Ireland became the first European country to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, a move that it said was a response to Israel's 'genocidal activity' in Gaza. 'Netanyahu is just waiting for an excuse' On the sun-scorched streets of Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinian territories that are partially controlled by the Palestinian Authority, a sworn enemy of Hamas, people were wary of speaking to outsiders, especially in sight of Israeli surveillance cameras that are mounted on the walls and barbed-wire topped fences that separate the city from the nearby homes of settlers. 'We have never before witnessed such extremists in the Israeli government,' said Mohammad Abualrob, the spokesman for Mohammad Mustafa, prime minister of the state of Palestine. He also said that Israeli settlers had recently hurled stones at his car while his children were inside. 'They hide close to the checkpoints or in the hills,' he said. 'Luckily, the glass didn't break and I was able to get away and save my children.' The increase in settler violence has sparked concerns that Netanyahu's government could seek to exploit tensions to justify a military campaign in the West Bank. 'This is a scenario that we are taking into consideration,' said a senior Palestinian security official. 'At some point, the Palestinian people might react violently. This could be a spark. We think Netanyahu is just waiting for an excuse.' His comments were echoed by Mustafa Barghouti, a prominent Palestinian politician and the head of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society charity. 'When a government makes its strategic plan the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, then what remains is how to find the opportunity and the way to do it,' he said. Although Israel has operated checkpoints in the West Bank for decades, they reached an unprecedented level after the start of the war with Iran. About 900 iron gates now block the entrances of West Bank cities and villages, cutting off families from one another, in what Israel says is a necessary security measure. 'It has always felt like we are in prison, but now it feels like we are in a maximum-security prison,' said Ahmad, 29, who lives in Ramallah. Israeli soldiers also stepped up raids into the West Bank after the start of the war with Iran, locals say, detaining dozens of people, frequently without charge. They have likewise increased their demolitions of Palestinian homes in the region, usually giving families just three days to pack up their lives before sending in bulldozers. The clampdown has exacerbated a widespread sense of despair in the West Bank, where one in three people are unemployed, and hopes for an independent Palestinian state now seem like a distant memory. 'Tell the world we are dying here,' said a young man outside a café. He refused to give his name, for fear of arrest. Back at Migdal Oz, Abigail, a former resident who now studies at its women's college, nodded when asked if she believed that Israeli Jews and Palestinians could ever live in peace with one another. 'If they know that we are strong and that we govern here, that this land is ours, then can there be peace,' she said. 'But only if the last word is ours.'

Trump says US is 'not going to stand' for Netanyahu's corruption trial
Trump says US is 'not going to stand' for Netanyahu's corruption trial

The Herald Scotland

timean hour ago

  • The Herald Scotland

Trump says US is 'not going to stand' for Netanyahu's corruption trial

"How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING (Cigars, Bugs Bunny Doll, etc.). It is a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure," Trump said on June 28 in the post on Truth Social. Netanyahu thanked Trump in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Together, we will make the Middle East Great Again!" he said. Israel's main opposition leader Yair Lapid criticised Trump's statement, saying he should not "intervene in a legal process of an independent state," the BBC reported. Trump said the trial complicates negotiations with both Iran and Hamas. The United States targeted several nuclear sites in Iran after Israel launched an air war on June 13 and tensions erupted between the Middle Eastern nations. Hamas attacked Israel out of Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023 and is still holding hostages, while Israel has unleashed strikes on the strip for nearly two years. Trump also said the ongoing trial "tarnishes" the "victory" from bombing Iran, which agreed to a ceasefire after the US bombed several nuclear enrichment facilities. "It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu," Trump said in a separate post earlier in the week. "THIS TRAVESTY OF "JUSTICE" CAN NOT BE ALLOWED!"

UK warns: businesses in Georgia and Armenia aiding Russia's sanctions evasion will be sanctioned
UK warns: businesses in Georgia and Armenia aiding Russia's sanctions evasion will be sanctioned

JAMnews

timean hour ago

  • JAMnews

UK warns: businesses in Georgia and Armenia aiding Russia's sanctions evasion will be sanctioned

UK to Georgia and Armenia regarding Russia sanctions The UK government has published special guidance for non-British businesses operating in Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The document aims to help local entrepreneurs understand the UK's sanctions against Russia and how violations could affect their business operations, including outside the UK. The document, available on the UK government's official website, outlines practical steps and provides concrete examples of what constitutes assistance in evading sanctions. It clearly states: anyone helping Russia circumvent sanctions will themselves be subject to sanctions. The British Embassy in Georgia published a post on its Facebook page, stating: 'The UK has published new sanctions guidance to support businesses in Georgia. The guidance aims sets out Georgian and UK laws relevant to sanctions and identifies practical steps for businesses to manage sanctions risks and promote compliance.' Summary of the UK's new guidance on sanctions compliance regarding Russia The document outlines several tactics used by Russia to circumvent sanctions, including: Indirect delivery routes Falsification of end-user destinations Professional evasion networks According to the guidance, this may involve the following scenario: A company operating in Georgia receives an order from a Russian importer for goods that fall under UK sanctions and therefore cannot be delivered directly from the UK. The local company then orders the goods from a UK supplier without informing the supplier—or other relevant parties such as banks, insurers, or freight companies—that the final consumer is in Russia. The UK supplier exports the goods to the local company, which subsequently re-exports them to Russia. The guidance also outlines the risks that may affect local businesses. While only UK nationals are legally required to comply with UK sanctions, non-UK nationals who help circumvent them face certain risks, including: The UK may impose sanctions directly on you as an individual or on entities you own or control if you are involved in activities that support Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Even if you are not a UK national, being sanctioned by the UK can have serious consequences for your business and financial operations. UK sanctions apply to UK citizens and entities worldwide. Every UK bank—and many international banks—may freeze your assets and deny you any services. If UK companies are part of your insurance or shipping/freight supply chain, they will also refuse to work with you if you or any related party or goods are under sanctions. According to the guidance, as a result of the above, many UK companies will refuse to do business with such individuals or entities unless they can prove they have taken effective steps to prevent any goods or services from being forwarded to Russia or to Russia-linked parties. News in Georgia News in Armenia

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