Nine EU countries urge review on trade linked to Israeli settlements
According to Palestine News and Info Agency (Wafa) the joint appeal was announced by Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot in a post on X. The countries backing the initiative are Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
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New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
UK arrests 365 backing banned pro-Palestine group
LONDON: Police in London arrested at least 365 people Saturday for supporting Palestine Action, at the latest and largest protest backing the group since the government banned it last month under anti-terror laws. The Metropolitan Police said it made the hundreds of arrests, thought to be one of the highest ever at a single protest in the UK capital, for "supporting a proscribed organisation". It also arrested seven for other offences including assaults on officers, though none were seriously injured, it added. The government outlawed Palestine Action in early July days after it took responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England that caused an estimated £7 million (US$9.3 million) of damage to two aircraft. The group said its activists were responding to Britain's indirect military support for Israel amid the war in Gaza. Britain's interior ministry reiterated ahead of Saturday's protests that Palestine Action is also suspected of other "serious attacks" that involved "violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage". But critics, including the United Nations and NGOs like Amnesty International and Greenpeace, have lambasted the move as legal overreach and a threat to free speech. A group called Defend Our Juries, which organised Saturday's protests and previous demonstrations against the ban, said "unprecedented numbers" had risked "arrest and possible imprisonment" to "defend this country's ancient liberties". "We will keep going. Our numbers are already growing for the next wave of action in September," it added. Attendees began massing near parliament at lunchtime bearing signs saying "oppose genocide, support Palestine Action" and other slogans, and waving Palestinian flags. Psychotherapist Craig Bell, 39, was among those holding a placard. He branded the ban "absolutely ridiculous". "When you compare Palestine Action with an actual terrorist group who are killing civilians and taking lives, it's just a joke that they're being prescribed a terrorist group," he told AFP. As police moved in on the demonstrators, they applauded those being arrested and shouted "shame on you" at officers. "Let them arrest us all," said Richard Bull, 42, a wheelchair-user in attendance. "This government has gone too far. I have nothing to feel ashamed of." Defend Our Juries had claimed only a "fraction" of the hundreds who turned out had been detained, but the Met insisted that "simply isn't true" and that all those showing support for Palestine Action would be arrested. The London force noted some of those there were onlookers or not visibly supporting the group. The Met also detailed how the hundreds arrested were taken to temporary "prisoner processing" points, where their details were confirmed and they were either instantly bailed or taken into custody elsewhere. Police forces across the UK have made scores of similar arrests since the government outlawed Palestine Action on July 5, making being a member or supporting the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Police announced this week that the first three people had been charged in the English and Welsh criminal justice system with supporting Palestine Action following their arrests at a July 5 demo. Seven people have so far been charged in Scotland, which has a separate legal system. Amnesty International UK Chief Executive Sacha Deshmukh wrote to Met Police chief Mark Rowley this week urging restraint be exercised when policing people holding placards expressing support for Palestine Action. The NGO has argued arrests of such people are in breach of international human rights law.
New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: The troubling language of the New York Declaration
THE signatories to the New York Declaration issued on July 30 following the "International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Palestinian Question and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution" may be in a self-congratulatory mood. Not so fast, we tell them. We have studied the language of the 42-point declaration with a tooth comb and the inescapable conclusion is this: it is more about mollifying Israel than helping the Palestinian cause. Small wonder, Malaysia, one of the 122 at the conference, is uneasy with several of its preconditions, the secret work of seven or eight countries. Putrajaya hasn't made public what all of those are, but here are several troubling things about the declaration. Firstly, the declaration states very early on its goal to see an end to the war in Gaza. This is good, but disappointingly, just as quickly, it goes on to talk about a ceasefire, meaning Israel would decide when the war ends. Judging from Benjamin Netanyahu's expressed desire to fully occupy Gaza, Israel isn't interested in "a just, peaceful and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict", to borrow the words of the declaration. Preconditions to a permanent ceasefire secretly drafted by a few only help further the dastardly aim of the Zionist regime. Secondly, there are some disturbing usage of words, which again points to appeasing Israel. "War" is one. A nuclear-armed Israel, with a generous supply of bombers and bombs from its Western allies, at "war" with Palestinians fighting to free their land from the occupier? Hamas is condemned, but not Israel for its 77-year-old genocide of the Palestinians. Is this why the European Union signed onto it? If international law recognises Palestinians' right to armed struggle against an occupying force, why can't the EU? We tell the bloc, take the advice of your former diplomats who recently condemned Israel's genocide in Gaza and urged the EU to end it now. The use of the word "terrorism" in this regard is most unfortunate, implying the word only applies to Palestinians. Why ignore the 1949 Geneva Convention that affords lawful combatant status to organised resistance movements against foreign occupiers? Why ignore, too, United Nations General Assembly resolutions 37/43 (1982) and 38/17 (1983) that reaffirm the legality of struggles for liberation from foreign occupation by armed struggle? Why this blatant unjust treatment of the Palestinians? Isn't the infamy of the 1917 Balfour Declaration enough, we ask the West? The Palestinians deserve dignity, like the rest of us. Do not get us wrong. We are not saying that the entire New York Declaration is against Palestinian interests. Not at all. Its aim of a two-state solution is one. But the language of the text is disturbing in parts. A homeland for the Palestinians is not possible if there isn't a permanent ceasefire now, not when Israel decides. Hamas is asked to lay down its arms as a precondition, but there is no similar language asking Israel to immediately withdraw from all the Palestinian territories it is occupying, including illegal settlements. This cannot be just in a rules-based world order. Why let Israel get away with bloody murder, literally?
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Thousands gather at Dataran Merdeka in solidarity with Palestinians
KUALA LUMPUR: About 2,000 people from diverse backgrounds gathered at Dataran Merdeka today to show solidarity with the Palestinian people during the "Malaysia Bangkit Untuk Gaza" rally. The rally commenced with marches from three main points: Masjid Negara, Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Samad and Kompleks Sogo, before participants convened in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. Despite rain around 4pm, participants remained enthusiastic, continuing their march while wearing mufflers in the colours of the Palestinian flag and chanting slogans such as 'Bebaskan Palestin' and 'Undur Israel dari Gaza'. The event at Dataran Merdeka resumed at around 5pm with a pantomime performance by Palestinian children, followed by songs and speeches from various attendees. Participants also performed the Maghrib prayers in congregation at the assembly site before the programme, organised by the Humanity 4 Gaza (H4G) secretariat, continued. The event brought together 20 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) from across the country. Dang Wangi police chief ACP Affendy Sulaiman said that 400 police personnel were deployed to ensure security and manage traffic throughout the rally, working closely with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL). "As of 8.30pm, we estimate that more than 2,000 participants attended the rally. The entire event was conducted peacefully and in a controlled manner," he said when contacted. – Bernama
