Rights group says six Gaza aid boat activists to be deported from Israel
The deportation of the six is expected to happen on Thursday or early on Friday, Adalah said.Among those expected to be deported is Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament.A post on her X account said Hassan had left prison and was inviting people to meet in Paris' Place de la République at 21:00 (20:00 BST).The other five activists are said to be Mark van Rennes from the Netherlands, Suayb Ordu from Turkey, Yasemin Acar from Germany, Thiago Avila from Brazil, and Reva Viard from France. Adalah said the two others yet to be deported are Pascal Maurieras and Yanis Mhamdi, both French nationals. It said they were still in custody in Givon prison and were expected to be deported on Friday afternoon.In a statement, Adalah said: "While in custody, volunteers were subjected to mistreatment, punitive measures, and aggressive treatment, and two volunteers were held for some period of time in solitary confinement."It added: "Adalah calls for the immediate release of all eight volunteers and for their safe passage to their home countries. Their continued detention and forced deportation are unlawful and a part of Israel's ongoing violations of international law."The Israeli foreign ministry previously said those who refused to sign deportation documents would face judicial proceedings to have them deported, in accordance with Israeli law.
A group of 12 people had been sailing on the yacht Madleen when it was intercepted by Israeli authorities on Monday, about 185km (115 miles) west of Gaza.The expedition, organised by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), had been aiming to deliver a "symbolic" amount of aid to Gaza in defiance of Israel's blockade and to highlight the humanitarian crisis there.At the time, the Israeli foreign ministry dismissed it as a "selfie yacht" carrying "less than a single truckload of aid".Following the activists' detention, four, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and two French nationals, agreed to be deported immediately.Upon her arrival in France, Thunberg accused Israeli authorities of kidnapping her and other activists on the boat while they were in international waters.Israel's foreign ministry said unauthorised attempts to breach its blockade of Gaza were "dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts".It added that the aid transported on the FFC boat, which included baby formula and medicine, would be transferred to Gaza "through real humanitarian channels".
Israel stopped all deliveries of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies to Gaza on 2 March and resumed its military offensive two weeks later, collapsing a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.It said the steps were meant to put pressure on the group to release the hostages still held in Gaza, but the UN warned that Gaza's 2.1 million population were facing catastrophic levels of hunger because of the resulting shortages of food.Three weeks ago, Israel launched an expanded offensive to take control of all areas of Gaza. It also partially eased the blockade, allowing in a "basic" amount of food.Israel is now prioritising distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which it backs along with the US. The UN and other aid groups are refusing to co-operate with the new system, saying it contravenes the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence.It has been 20 months since Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led cross-border attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.At least 55,207 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
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BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
The US military vets helping Afghans fight deportation
As a journalist in Afghanistan, Abdul says he helped promote American values like democracy and freedom. That work, he said, resulted in him being tortured by the Taliban after the US withdrew from the country in he's in California applying for political asylum, amid the looming threat of deportation."We trusted those values," he said. "We came here for safety, and we don't have it, unfortunately."But when Abdul walked into a San Diego court to plead his case, he wasn't veterans showed up for his hearing – unarmed, but dressed in hats and shirts to signify their military credentials as a "show of force", said Shawn VanDiver, a US Navy vet who founded 'Battle Buddies' to support Afghan refugees facing deportation."Masked agents of the federal government are snatching up our friends, people who took life in our name and have done nothing wrong," he 200,000 Afghans relocated to the US after Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, as the US left the country in chaos after two decades fighting the war on terror. Many say they quickly felt embraced by Americans, who recognised the sacrifices they had made to help the US military and fight for human since the Trump administration has terminated many of the programmes which protected them from deportation, Afghans now fear they will be deported and returned to their home country, which is now controlled by the Taliban. Mr VanDiver, who also founded #AfghanEvac in 2021 to help allies escape the Taliban when the US withdrew, said US military veterans owe it to their wartime allies to try and protect them from being swept up in President Trump's immigration raids."This is wrong."The Battle Buddies say they have a moral and legal obligation to stand and support Afghans. They now have more than 900 veteran volunteers across the of the federal agents working for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security are veterans themselves, he said, and the Battle Buddies think their presence alone might help deter agents from detaining a wartime ally."Remember, don't fight ICE," Mr VanDiver told his fellow Battle Buddies outside court before Abdul's hearing, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE."If somebody does fight ICE, capture it on video. Those are the two rules."As Abdul and his lawyer went into court, the veterans stood in the corridor outside in a quiet and tense faceoff with half a dozen masked federal agents. It was the same hallway where an Afghan man, Sayed Naser, a translator who says he worked for the US military, was detained 12 June. "This individual was an important part of our Company commitment to provide the best possible service for our clients, who were the United States Military in Afghanistan," says one employment document submitted as part of Naser's asylum application and reviewed by the BBC's news partner in the US, CBS News."I have all the documents," Mr Naser told the agents as he was handcuffed and taken away, which a bystander captured on video. "I worked with the US military. Just tell them."Mr Naser has been in detention since that day, fighting for political asylum from behind bars. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the BBC that there is nothing in his immigration records "indicating that he assisted the US government in any capacity".Whichever way Mr Naser's case is decided, his detention is what inspired veterans to form the Battle Buddies. They say abandoning their wartime allies will hurt US national security because the US will struggle to recruit allies in the future."It's short sighted to think we can do this and not lose our credibility," said Monique Labarre, a US Army veteran who showed up for Abdul's hearing. "These people are vetted. They put themselves at substantial risk by supporting the US government." President Trump has repeatedly blamed President Biden for a "disgraceful" and "humiliating" retreat from the the US's withdrawal from Afghanistan was initially brokered by President Trump during his first term. In their wake, American troops left behind a power vacuum that was swiftly and easily filled by the Taliban, who took control of the capital city, Kabul, in August 2021. Afghans, many who worked with the US military and NGOs, frantically swarmed the airport, desperate to get on flights along with thousands of US the ensuing years, almost 200,000 Afghans would relocate to the US - some under special programmes designed for those most at risk of Taliban retribution. The Trump administration has since ended this programme, called Operation Enduring Welcome. It also ended the temporary protections which shielded some Afghans, as well as asylum seekers from several other countries, from deportation because of security concerns back home."Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilising economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement about terminating Temporary Protected Status for added that some Afghans brought in under these programmes "have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security".Afghans in the United States scoff at the suggestion that they'd be safe going back, saying their lives would be in danger."I couldn't work," said Sofia, an Afghan woman living in Virginia. "My daughters couldn't go to school."With the removal of temporary protected status, the Trump administration could deport people back to Afghanistan. Although that is so far rare, some Afghans have already begun to be deported to third countries, including Panama and Costa and other members of her family were among the thousands of Afghans who received emails in April from the Department of Homeland Security saying: "It is time for you to leave the United States." The email, which was sent to people with a variety of different kinds of visas, said their parole would expire in 7 panicked. Where would she go? She did not leave the United States, and her asylum case is still pending. But the letter sent shockwaves of fear throughout the Afghan asked about protecting Afghan wartime allies on 30 July, President Trump said: "We know the good ones and we know the ones that maybe aren't so good, you know some came over that aren't so good. And we're going to take care of those people – the ones that did a job." Advocates have urged the Trump administration to restore temporary protected status for Afghans, saying women and children could face particular harm under the Taliban-led are hopeful that Naser will soon be released. They say he passed a "credible fear" screening while in detention, which can allow him to pursue political asylum because he fears persecution or torture if returned to Battle Buddies say they plan to keep showing up for wartime allies at court. It's not clear if their presence made a difference at Abdul's hearing – but he wasn't detained and is now a step closer to the political asylum he says he was promised."It's a relief," he said outside court while thanking the US veterans for standing with him. But he said he still fears being detained by ICE, and he worries that the US values he believed in, and was tortured for, might be eroded."In Afghanistan, we were scared of the Taliban," he said. "We have the same feeling here from ICE detention."
Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Albo's minister in extraordinary attack on Netanyahu after he called PM ‘weak'
Tony Burke has lashed out at Benjamin Netanyahu after the Israeli Prime Minister called Anthony Albanese a 'weak leader', with the Immigration Minister claiming 'strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up'. Netanyahu took to X on Tuesday evening to brand the Australian Prime Minister 'weak' and accused him of 'betraying Israel '. He wrote: 'History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews.' But, in a significant deepening of the diplomatic rift between the two countries, Burke claimed on Wednesday morning that 'strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many people you can leave hungry'. 'Strength is much better measured by what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has done, which is when there's a decision we know Israel won't like he goes straight to Benjamin Netanyahu,' Burke told ABC Radio.
Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Read the scathing letter Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent Anthony Albanese
A letter from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has surfaced, sent just days before he launched a scathing public attack on Anthony Albanese, accusing the Australian Prime Minister of having 'abandoned Australia's Jews'. On Tuesday evening, Netanyahu took to social media to denounce Albanese as 'weak' and claimed he had 'betrayed Israel'. He wrote: 'History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews.' Following Netenyahu's comments, minister for home affairs Tony Burke snapped back. 'Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many people you can leave hungry. Strength is much better measured by what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has done, which is when there's a decision we know Israel won't like he goes straight to Benjamin Netanyahu.' The attack follows Israel's decision to revoke the visas of Australian diplomats who engage with the Palestinian Authority. This was in retaliation for Australia's announcement to recognise Palestine as a state and its cancellation of visas for several far-right Israeli politicians, including Simcha Rothman and Ayelet Shaked. Before the public attack on Australia's prime minister, Netanyahu had sent Albanese a strongly worded letter on August 17, condemning him for failing to address what he described as an 'epidemic' of antisemitism that had 'intensified' under his leadership. 'Prime Minister, antisemitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders stay silent. It retreats when leaders act. I call upon you to replace weakness with action, appeasement with resolve, and to do so by a clear date: the Jewish New Year, September 23, 2025,' Mr Netanyahu writes in the letter. The Israeli PM claimed Australia's announcement to support a move to recognise a state of Palestine 'rewards Hamas terror, hardens Hamas' s refusal to free the hostages', 'emboldens those who menace Australian Jews and encourages the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets.' 'It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement,' Netanyahu wrote in the letter. 'Following Hamas's savage attack on the people of Israel on October 7, 2023, pro-Hamas extremists and left-wing radicals began a campaign of intimidation, vandalism and violence against Jews across the free world,' Mr Netanyahu wrote to Mr Albanese. 'In Australia, that campaign has intensified under your watch.' He went on to highlight several acts of anti-semitism against the Jewish community in Australia. 'In June, vandals defaced a historic Melbourne synagogue with graffiti praising Iran and calling to 'Free Palestine',' Mr Netanyahu wrote. 'In July, arsonists targeted the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation during Shabbat dinner, forcing twenty worshippers to flee for their lives. 'That same night, masked rioters stormed an Israeli-owned restaurant in central Melbourne, destroying property, hurling furniture and shouting 'Death to the IDF'. These are not isolated incidents. This is an epidemic.' For examples of how Albanese could support Israel, Netanyahu pointed to the US, and went on to praise president Donald Trump. 'As President Trump has shown, antisemitism can and must be confronted,' he states. 'The President is protecting the civil rights of American Jews, enforcing the law, protecting public order and prosecuting antisemitic crimes. He has also deported Hamas sympathizers and revoked the visas of foreign students who incite violence against Jews.' At the end of the tense letter, Netanyahu told Albanese: 'History will not forgive hesitation. It will honour action.' On Monday, it emerged that Australia had revoked the visa of far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman over some of his provocative comments including describing children in Gaza as enemies. Australia has also denied entry to former Israeli minister Ayelet Shaked, based on anti-Palestinian comments, and Israeli advocate Hillel Fuld. In response, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said the visas of Australia's representatives to the Palestinian Authority had been revoked. He also instructed the Israel Embassy in Canberra to carefully examine any official Australian visa application for entry into Israel. The diplomatic tit-for-tat prompted Foreign Minister Penny Wong to accuse Benjamin Netanyahu of 'isolating Israel'.
