Bel Trew: The slaughter of Palestinian journalists is a horrific war crime that leaves the world blind as to what is happening in Gaza
Anas al-Sharif (28) feared he would be assassinated by Israel. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression were worried too.
The Al Jazeera star correspondent, who had tirelessly documented the horrors in north Gaza, faced a deadly smear campaign from the Israeli military. They accused the Palestinian father-of-two of being a Hamas militant, which Sharif vehemently denied, and the CPJ said they were completely unfounded accusations.
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Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich reveals plans to ‘bury' any hope of Palestinian state
The Palestinian government, allies and campaign groups condemned the scheme, calling it illegal and saying the fragmentation of territory would rip up peace plans for the region. Standing at the site of the planned settlement in Maale Adumim yesterday, Mr Smotrich, a settler himself, said prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president Donald Trump had agreed to the revival of the E1 development, though there was no immediate confirmation from either. 'Whoever in the world is trying to recognise a Palestinian state today will receive our answer on the ground. Not with documents nor with decisions or statements, but with facts. Facts of houses, facts of neighbourhoods,' Mr Smotrich said. Asked about his remarks, a US State Department spokesperson said: 'A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration's goal to achieve peace in the region', and referred reporters to Israel's government for further information. The spokesperson said Washington remained primarily focused on ending the war in Gaza. It would put an end to prospects of a two-state solution The United Nations urged Israel to reverse its decision to start work on the settlement. 'It would put an end to prospects of a two-state solution,' UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters. 'Settlements go against international law [and] further entrench the occupation.' Israel froze construction plans at Maale Adumim in 2012, and again after they were revived in 2020, amid objections from the US, European allies and other powers who considered the project a threat to any future peace deal with the Palestinians. Restarting the project could further isolate Israel, which has watched some of its Western allies condemn its military offensive in Gaza and announce they may recognise a Palestinian state. Palestinians fear the settlement building in the West Bank – which has sharply intensified since the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that led to the Gaza war – will rob them of any chance to build a state of their own in the area. In a statement headlined 'Burying the idea of a Palestinian state', Mr Smotrich's spokesperson said the minister had approved the plan to build 3,401 houses for Israeli settlers between an existing settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem. In Maale Adumim, Mr Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist in the ruling right-wing coalition who has long advocated for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, told Reuters the plan would go into effect on Wednesday. Breaking the Silence, an Israeli rights group established by former Israeli soldiers, said what it called a land grab 'will not only further fragment the Palestinian territory, but will further entrench apartheid'. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the Palestinian president's spokesperson, called on the United States to press Israel to stop building settlements. European Commission spokeswoman Anitta Hipper said: 'The EU rejects any territorial change that is not part of a political agreement between involved parties. So annexation of territory is illegal under international law.' Peace Now, which tracks settlement activity in the West Bank, said there were still steps needed before construction. But if all went through, infrastructure work could begin within a few months, and house-building in about a year, it said. We are standing at the edge of an abyss, and the government is driving us forward at full speed 'The E1 plan is deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution. We are standing at the edge of an abyss, and the government is driving us forward at full speed,' Peace Now said in a statement. Consecutive Israeli governments have initiated, approved, planned and funded settlements, according to Israeli rights group Yesh Din. Some settlers moved to the West Bank for religious or ideological reasons, while others were drawn by lower housing costs and government incentives. They include American and European dual-citizens. Palestinians were already demoralised by the Israeli military campaign which has killed more than 61,000 people in Gaza, according to local health authorities, and fear Israel will ultimately push them out of that territory. About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, a move not recognised by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank. The UN and most world powers say settlement expansion has eroded the viability of a two-state solution by fragmenting Palestinian territory. The two-state plan envisages a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, existing side by side with Israel. Israel says the settlements provide strategic depth and security. Most of the global community considers all settlements illegal under international law. Israel rejects this interpretation, saying the West Bank is 'disputed' rather than 'occupied' territory.
Irish Independent
11 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Bel Trew: The slaughter of Palestinian journalists is a horrific war crime that leaves the world blind as to what is happening in Gaza
Dispatch Anas al-Sharif (28) feared he would be assassinated by Israel. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression were worried too. The Al Jazeera star correspondent, who had tirelessly documented the horrors in north Gaza, faced a deadly smear campaign from the Israeli military. They accused the Palestinian father-of-two of being a Hamas militant, which Sharif vehemently denied, and the CPJ said they were completely unfounded accusations.
The Journal
12 hours ago
- The Journal
Millionaire Áras hopeful launches presidential campaign in the Shelbourne - here's what he said
THE MILLIONAIRE MILLENNIAL Gareth Sheridan chose the Constitution Room, the birthplace of the Irish Constitution in 1922, in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin as the location to launch his presidential campaign today. It's the second presidential launch we've had this summer, with the pharma tycoon worth €16 million, fielding robust questions from the Irish media as he enters the race. With his wife Heidi and his campaign team seated at the large Cabinet-style table next to the podium, the pharma tycoon (a terms he says he wouldn't use to describe himself) answered questions about the range of controversies that have emerged since his name first entered the race last weekend. The entrepreneur and former CEO of US-based company Nutriband, which describes itself as a 'values-based company' that manufactures abuse deterrent transdermal patches aimed specifically at opioid and fentanyl abuse, took questions on his finances, a united Ireland, the Triple Lock, migration, the Occupied Territories Bill, and housing. Gareth Sheridan answering questions from the media in Dublin today. Christina Finn Christina Finn So what did he have to say? Here's a rundown: How much money does he have? Sheridan's net worth right now is around €16 million and he has €500,000 cash in the bank to fund his presidential campaign. If he wins the election, he would likely place any Nutribrand company interests in a trust fund. He rents an apartment in Dublin with his wife and daughter, paying out over €3,000 per month. He drives a 2021 used Mercedes hybrid. What councils does he claim he has in the bag in terms of a nomination? Sheridan claims he has Tipperary and Laois councils backing his nomination, but stayed coy on the other two councils required. In order to run for president, a person needs at least four local authorities to nominate them or at least 20 Oireachtas members. Would he sign the Occupied Territories Bill into law as president? Sheridan said he would have 'no issue whatsoever' in signing the bill into law. Once the legislation is passed by the Oireachtas, the president must sign it into law. The former pharma boss said that he 'shares the opinions of the majority of the country, if not the entire country, that what's happening now in Palestine is nothing short of a disgrace'. 'When you start weaponising food and water and children are dying. I think it's the utmost finality of evil. Essentially, I think Israel will be on the wrong side of history indefinitely for what's going on over there. So I just want to make that point really clear,' he told The Journal. Advertisement He added that he has no shares that are linked to Israel. Did his company pay an Israeli hospital that trains Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers $50,000 as part of a medical technology deal? The Ditch reported yesterday that his company paid an Israeli hospital that trains Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers $50,000 as part of a medical technology deal. Sheridan told The Journal the 2020 transaction was connected with two doctors who happened to work at the hospital. They had developed a device that liquefied tablets for people that couldn't swallow or were incapacitated. The device would do very well in terms of treating people on the spot, explained Sheridan. 'It was a technology that we thought was very interesting, will be impactful on the world. Essentially, we took a gamble on it. The technology itself needed far more development than we initially thought… We don't have a continuing relationship,' he said. Was he fined in 2018 for making misleading statements about his company? Yes, he was fined $25,000. Nutriband was investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission over company filings in the US. The (SEC) is is an independent federal agency of the US government that is responsible for regulating the securities markets and protecting investors. The SEC fine was related to a disclosure on a product that Sheridan says they were planning to launch with FDA approval. He told reporters they relied upon the advice from two attorneys and the dermatologist advising the company on that particular product. 'It happened to be a wrong opinion, and we basically took our fine and our cease and desist and said he will not do it again. We've had an excellent relationship with the SEC since. It was an honest mistake. You pay your dues and you move on,' he said. Did his mother object to social housing? After a story appeared in the Irish Examiner today, Sheridan confirmed that his mother did object to a housing project through her work. He said his mother 'broke down' when Sheridan asked her about it yesterday. 'It's something that is not in the personality of my mother by any means. My mother grew up in social housing. You know, she is one of my inspirations to tackle the housing crisis, and she's fully behind it. So I'm just really stressed about that. As a family, we find this as a core issue that needs to be tackled,' he said. What does he think about immigration and racist attacks? Asked about the recent attacks on the Indian community, Sheridan said 'it's certainly troubling but has become a 'little bit more prominent' now. 'I really stress that if that's something that you support or get behind, and I'm definitely not your candidate,' he said today. Describing immigration and migration in general as a 'tricky subject', Sheridan said these are 'not statistics at the end of the day. We're talking about people'. 'I think we have a migration problem both ways, right? We have an emigration problem because the youth are leaving in their droves, but we don't have an immigrant problem,' he said. Related Reads The millionaire millennial seeking the presidency: How did Gareth Sheridan get so rich? Catherine Connolly is using American-style grassroots fundraising for her presidential campaign Catherine Connolly, presidential hopeful, has given her first press conference — here's what she said The Journal / YouTube Sheridan said the government were unprepared and lacked foresight with the immigration system, which he said was set up in an inadequate way to deal with the inflow of people that want to move here. 'It should be no surprise to us that Ireland has become a destination where people want to live and want to raise a family and want to grow their life, and we should have seen that coming,' he said. 'But we also have to understand that immigration is healthy for the economy, right? It's a matter of making sure that we all get along,' he added. Is he against removing the Triple Lock? Sheridan said today that he is against changes to the Triple Lock. This is one of the key pieces of legislation that the next president may have to sign off on if government is successful in pushing it through. The triple lock system dictates that Irish troops in groups of more than 12 cannot be deployed abroad without approval from Cabinet, the Dáil and a resolution from the United Nations Security Council. The changes proposed by government include removing the UN Security Council element. 'I think we're Irish first and European second and they need to listen to the people a little bit more,' said Sheridan. 'I think there's an overwhelming objection of the idea that we would move forward with that. And I want to stress that we're militarily neutral, but we've never been morally neutral, and that's important as well,' he said. Would Sheridan like to see a united Ireland? Sheridan said it is something he would love to see in his lifetime, but he said it is a complex issue that cannot be rushed. He told the media that the idea of a united Ireland needs to be 'very seriously thought out', stating that 'the narrative that we need to rush to bring that through is a little bit unprepared'. Is housing going to be one of his key talking points? Yes, Sheridan said he is not going to bring his toolbox and start building houses, but he will champion the issue. My ideal home here is we claim to 'make Ireland home again'. He said there has been complete ignorance to Article 41.21 of the Constitution which enshrines the right to a peoples' domestic needs. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
