Former Irish president says US is the 'most complicit' in Gaza genocide
She made the comment during an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic during a visit to the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Monday, as part of a delegation from the Elders group of global leaders.
She also said there is a famine underway in Gaza and that thousands of trucks are prevented from entering Gaza on "illogical pretexts, and that states need to do everything they can to stop the genocide".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
7 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
UN describes video of Ben-Gvir threatening Barghouti as 'disturbing'
United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the video of far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's threatening visit to Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti in prison was "distrubing", Al Jazeera reported on Friday. 'I can tell you that the video is disturbing,' Dujarric told Al Jazeera. Family members said they were concerned by how gaunt and tired the 66-year-old, much-loved leader looks. Barghouti has been dubbed the Palestinian Nelson Mandela. 'It's worth reminding that, prisoners need to be treated… in a way that abides by international law and that respects their inherent dignity,' Dujarric added. 'He, like any other prisoner, needs to have his rights fully respected and his safety needs to be ensured,' the spokesperson added. Barghouti has been detained since 2002 and has been assaulted while in prison, including as recently as last year.
Middle East Eye
14 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Indonesia cannot claim solidarity with Palestine while sending students to Israel
In April, I warned that Indonesia's quiet pipeline of students into Israeli institutions was not just diplomatically incoherent, it was morally indefensible. That pipeline remains open, even as Indonesia amplifies its support for Palestine at the United Nations, sends thousands of tonnes of humanitarian aid and stages massive protests across the country. This contradiction is no longer subtle. It is a full-blown alarm. In late July, another group of Indonesian agriculture students from East Nusa Tenggara departed for Israel as part of a nearly year-long internship at the Arava International Centre for Agricultural Training (Aicat). This is not a fringe programme. It is part of a formal agreement signed in 2014 between Chinese-Indonesian businessman Agus Suherman and the Israeli-based training centre. A total of 100 Indonesian students were enrolled in the 2024-2025 cohort. The Indonesian government may not officially recognise Israel, but this programme is recognition by another name. These students enter on Israeli visas, train at Israeli institutions and work on Israeli land - even as Palestinians are starved, bombed, displaced and imprisoned by the same state. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters This is not an agricultural exchange but complicity masquerading as pragmatism. Hollow stance On 3 August, thousands of Indonesians gathered at Jakarta's National Monument, waving Palestinian flags and holding placards demanding justice for Gaza. The protest was peaceful yet powerful - a collaboration between civil society groups and the Indonesian Ulama Council, supported by thousands of ordinary citizens. A day earlier, demonstrators had rallied outside the Egyptian embassy, calling for the opening of the Rafah crossing. No amount of rice or aid Indonesia contributes can offset the political damage done by sending even a single student to Israel These rallies were not symbolic acts. They reflected real rage, grief and solidarity. And yet, they also revealed something deeply uncomfortable: that even as Indonesians mobilise in the streets, the country's institutions are quietly undermining that resistance - making decisions that normalise and legitimise the very regime responsible for Gaza's devastation. Indonesia has sent substantial amounts of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. Just last week, Foreign Minister Sugiono announced an additional 10,000 tonnes of rice, along with a long-term cultivation initiative in Sumatra and Kalimantan to support Palestinian food security. These are meaningful contributions. But no amount of rice can offset the political damage done by sending even a single student to Israel. It is impossible to condemn apartheid while enrolling in its institutions, or wave the Palestinian flag in Jakarta while validating the systems that trample Palestinian lives. These contradictions do not cancel each other out but instead expose the entire framework of Indonesia's pro-Palestine stance as hollow. Whitewashing apartheid Some argue that academic exchange programmes are apolitical, and that students are simply there to learn agriculture, not endorse an apartheid regime. But that is a fiction. War on Gaza: Universities that resist BDS are at risk of losing legitimacy Read More » Israeli agricultural "advances" are not developed in a vacuum. They are achieved on stolen land, with stolen water and through an economy built on occupation. While Indonesian students irrigate crops in the Arava desert, Palestinian farmers watch their orchards wither under blockade and bombardment. Education, in this case, is not neutral. It is a tool of whitewashing. Moreover, Aicat is not a Unesco facility. It is a cog in a machine built to showcase Israel's technological prowess while obscuring the brutality of its policies. Every Indonesian student who participates becomes - knowingly or not - a testimonial: proof that even critics of Israel are willing to engage, given the right incentives. What otherwise would have been a knowledge exchange is simply a trade of principle for access. No excuse Indonesia's policy of non-recognition was never just bureaucratic. It was a moral line that has been crossed, marked not by headlines but by quiet departures to Tel Aviv airport and internships stripped of political context. This is how normalisation happens: not through embassies, but through loopholes, internships and the slow erosion of outrage by routine. Follow Middle East Eye's live coverage of Israel's genocide in Gaza Indonesia has alternatives. If the goal is agricultural advancement, countries such as Japan, South Korea, India, Turkey and Brazil offer high-tech training without compromising their values. There is no excuse for choosing a country that demolishes homes in Jenin, bombs hospitals in Rafah, and jails children from Hebron to Nablus. Palestine does not need charity from Indonesia. It needs solidarity, and solidarity requires sacrifice Palestine does not need charity from Indonesia. It needs solidarity, and solidarity requires sacrifice - even if that means giving up access to cutting-edge irrigation systems, especially when that technology is soaked in injustice. Indonesia must decide: is Palestine a political cause or a branding tool? Is the occupation a red line or a grey area? Is the suffering in Gaza just another headline - or a moral call to action? If Indonesian leaders want their protests to matter, their donations to mean something and their statements at the UN to carry weight, then the country must stop enabling a system it claims to oppose. No more students should be sent to Israel - not now, not ever, not under any excuse. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Middle East Eye
19 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
UN says Israel risks inclusion on a list of countries accused of wartime sexual violence
The United Nations has warned Israel that its military could be added to a global list of forces suspected of committing sexual violence during conflict, citing credible evidence of violations. In his annual report, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said both Israel and Russia risked joining a roster that includes Myanmar's military and Sudan's army. The list identifies parties believed to have carried out acts such as rape during wartime. 'Due to significant concerns regarding patterns of certain forms of sexual violence perpetrated by Israeli armed and security forces and Russian armed and security forces and affiliated armed groups, these parties have been put on notice for potential listing in the next reporting period,' the report said. The concerns, it added, 'relate primarily to violations recorded in detention settings.' For Israel, the report cites 'credible information' that its military and security forces engaged in repeated sexual violence, including 'genital violence, prolonged forced nudity and repeated strip searches conducted in an abusive and degrading manner.'
