Report: Israeli forces displace residents of Masafer Yatta village
Israeli forces are forcibly displacing residents of Khillet al-Daba', a village in Masafer Yatta south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, ahead of demolishing tents they had erected on the remains of previously destroyed homes, according to the Quds News Network.
This morning, dozens of Palestinians from the village of Khillet al-Daba' in Masafer Yatta region, south of Hebron, were forcibly displaced from their homes by the Israeli army ahead of demolishing tents that the residents erected on the ruins of previously destroyed structures. pic.twitter.com/WZCVnEwwGB — Quds News Network (@QudsNen) June 11, 2025
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Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Israel's coalition survives vote to dissolve parliament over army draft tensions
Israel's governing coalition narrowly survived a no-confidence vote on Thursday, following a last-minute effort to convince ultra-Orthodox parties to withdraw their support for a motion to dissolve parliament. Tensions had been running high for days, with Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) threatening to back the move to topple the government and trigger early elections. The political crisis was sparked by the government's failure to pass legislation exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service - a long-standing demand of both Shas and UTJ. Likud MP Yuli Edelstein, chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, said that compromise with the religious parties was reached late on Wednesday. "I am pleased to announce that after long deliberations we have reached agreements on the principles on which the draft law will be based," said Edelstein. 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 historic news, and we are on the way to a real correction in Israeli society and the establishment of the security of the State of Israel." 'Anyone living in Israel could have guessed that the issue of conscription would explode' - Pnina Pfeuffer, ultra-Orthodox activist According to the temporary arrangement, thousands of ultra-Orthodox are expected to enlist in the army in the coming years. Those who do not study in yeshivas, Jewish religious schools, and will not enlist will face sanctions such as revocation of car licences, cancellation of subsidies for academic studies, and a ban on leaving the country. Despite the agreement, two representatives of the Hasidic wing in the UTJ voted in favour of dissolving parliament. The agreement was criticised by opposition leaders. "Tonight, the Israeli government once again chose evasion instead of Zionism," Avigdor Liberman, leader of Yisrael Beiteinu party, said. "Once again, it puts politics above national and security interests, it abandons those who serve and enlist for the sake of those who evade." Ultra-Orthodox pressure The prospect of ultra-Orthodox men being conscripted into the Israeli army has placed sustained pressure on the leadership of the ultra-Orthodox parties, according to Pnina Pfeuffer, director general of the Ultra-Orthodox Public Organisation, a civil society group working within Haredi communities. "Aryeh Deri, the leader of Shas, does not want to bring down the government, but the party's leading Torah scholars are more open to the idea," Pfeuffer told Middle East Eye ahead of Thursday night's vote. Israel's ultra-Orthodox leaders failed. That's why they may stick with Netanyahu Read More » She was referring to internal tensions within Shas - a party rooted in the Mizrahi Jewish community, which traces its origins to the Middle East and North Africa. "Shas is under the most pressure because they know their communities face the greatest threat of being drafted," Pfeuffer added, linking the issue to longstanding discrimination against Mizrahi Jews in Israel. UTJ, the other major ultra-Orthodox party - which comprises both Lithuanian and Hasidic factions - has "been forced to align with Shas's demands," according to Pfeuffer. Another key factor, she said, is the worsening economic situation within ultra-Orthodox society, driven by fears of financial sanctions being imposed on draft evaders. "The legitimacy of ultra-Orthodox parties depends on their ability to protect the yeshiva world. No party can afford to be seen as agreeing to military conscription," Pfeuffer told MEE. Shortage of manpower Since the outbreak of Israel's war on Gaza, a heated public debate has erupted over the potential conscription of ultra-Orthodox men, who have traditionally been exempt from military service. Last year, Israel's High Court ruled that the government must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox youth, challenging long-standing arrangements. The ruling comes as the military faces a shortage of manpower, with officials saying they need an additional 10,000 soldiers. Earlier this week, the army's human resources directorate announced plans to issue 54,000 conscription orders to ultra-Orthodox men, in line with instructions from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. Despite the mass issuance of draft notices, the military has so far succeeded in attracting only a small number of Haredi recruits and continues to struggle with enforcing penalties against draft evaders. According to Pfeuffer, ultra-Orthodox Jews have long been vocal in their objection to conscription, but their leadership suffers from lack of long-term planning. "Anyone living in Israel could have guessed that the issue of conscription would explode," she said.
Gulf Today
2 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Unjust retaliation
The Trump administration could declare a US travel ban on widely acclaimed rights lawyer Amal Clooney for her role in advising the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor who issued arrest warrants against Israeli leaders. The warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant were made public in November 2024 after the US imposed sanctions on ICC prosecutor Karim Khan. Donald Trump warned at that time he could instigate measures against 'those responsible' for building the case. In a May 2024 statement published on the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) website, Clooney said she served on the panel recommending the warrants 'because I believe in the rule of law and the need to protect civilian lives.' She added, 'As a human rights lawyer, I will never accept that one child's life has less value than another's.' In 2016, she and her husband, US actor George Clooney, co-founded the CFJ which provides legal support for victims of abuse and injustice and 'fight systematic injustice against vulnerable communities,' such as journalists, women and girls, democracy defenders, individual dissenters and monitories. Since its establishment, the CFJ has expanded its reach to 40 countries, representing victims in court cases, getting journalists out of prison, triggering trials of genocide perpetrators, and helping girls to access school and jobs when under pressure to marry. The potential threat against Amal Clooney coincided with George Clooney's Broadway production of 'Good Night and Good Luck.' The play is a historical drama about CBS television journalist Edward R. Murrow who, in the 1950's, battled Senator Joseph McCarthy's campaign against people he accused of being Communists or Communist sympathisers. By compelling accused persons to defend themselves in Senate hearings, McCarthy caused many to lose their jobs and others to flee the US. When Murrow exposed his terror tactics and lies, McCarthy accused Murrow of being a Communist. After Murrow denied the charge and one of the accused committed suicide, the tide turned against McCarthy. The Broadway play, an adaptation of a 2005 film written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, coincides with Trump's crusade against liberal media and educational institutions, especially Harvard University, the oldest and most prestigious in the US. Amal Alamuddin Clooney is a British citizen of Lebanese descent. Her father is a Druze businessman from the village of Baakleen in the Chouf mountains overlooking Beirut and her mother a Sunni rights activist from Tripoli. The family emigrated to London during the Lebanese civil war (1975-90) when Amal was two. She attended St. Hugh's College, Oxford, and graduated in 2000 with a degree in jurisprudence. She proceeded to the New York School of Law where she received a Master of Laws degree. She is qualified to practice law in England, Wales, and the US. After clerking for high profile US judges and engaging in key cases, she became involved in prosecutions for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon trying suspects for the 2005 assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. As well as Khan, Trump has imposed sanctions on four ICC female judges investigating possible war crimes committed by the US in Afghanistan and Israel in occupied Palestine. ICC Second Vice-President Reine Alapini-Gansou (Benin), Solomy Balungi Bossa (Uganda), Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza (Peru) and Beti Hohler (Slovenia) have been targeted. The European Union promptly extended bloc support for the ICC, calling it 'a cornerstone of international justice whose independence and integrity must be protected.' In a post on X, European Council President Antonio Costa wrote: 'The ICC does not stand against nations, it stands against impunity. The rule of law most prevail over the rule of power.' The governments of the Netherlands, Belgium and Slovenia have denounced the sanctions as an effort to halt the work of the ICC. Neither the US nor Israel are signatories of the 2002 Rome Statute which established the ICC which has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. As non-signatories, the US and Israel argue they cannot be compelled to submit to ICC jurisdiction. However, their citizens can be prosecuted of they commit crimes in countries – such as Afghanistan and Palestine – which have joined the Rome Statute. While the International Court of Justice deals with crimes committed by states, the ICC investigates and prosecutes war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by individuals if their home countries fail to deal with accountability. The US argues that joining the ICC would undermine US sovereignty, infringe on national security and the independent of the government and target US personnel for political reasons. The latest round of sanctions is nothing new. In April 2019, the US revoked the US visa of ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, a prominent Gambian lawyer, who prepared to investigate possible war crimes committed by US servicemen during the war in Afghanistan. After the investigation began, Trump authorised the imposition of sanctions against her and Phakiso Mochochoko who served as head of the court's jurisdiction division. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo charged the ICC with being a 'kangaroo court.' Shortly after taking office in 2021, US President Joe Biden lifted the sanctions against ICC personnel although Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed Washington's objection to ICC efforts to assert jurisdiction of citizens of non-ICC members such as the US and Israel. As usual, 'double standards' have come into play. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Biden welcomed the ICC arrest warrant issued for President Vladimir Putin on charges of transporting Russian children into Russia from Ukraine. However, once the ICC began considering warrants over Gaza for Netanyahu and Gallant, Biden – a fervent Zionist – denounced the ICC's action as 'outrageous' and vowed 'ironclad' backing for Israel. Photo: TNS
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
EU Commission and states indirectly fund Israeli military industry, report says
Israel's largest state-owned defence company, which is directly involved in the war on Gaza, has received millions of euros in EU defence funding, an investigation has revealed. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is participating in EU-funded projects through the Greek company Intracom Defense, which it acquired in May 2023. According to a report published on Wednesday by Investigate Europe, the French newsroom Disclose and the Greek outlet Reporters United, Intracom Defense is currently involved in 15 European Defence Fund (EDF) projects worth at least €15m (around $17.5m). Seven of them were awarded after October 2023 and its sale to IAI. Among them are the Triton and Marte projects, which started in December 2024 to develop AI-driven cybersecurity technology and tank systems for combat. Intracom Defense's most significant involvement is as the lead coordinator of Actus, a four-year programme aimed at developing drone technologies for weapon integration and other capabilities for European use. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Launched in December 2024, the project will design, test and certify Nato-compliant drones that can track and identify people as potential targets in real time. Actus is focused on weaponising France's Patroller drone and certifying Greece's surveillance drone Lotus for operational use. In total, Actus is funded to the tune of €59m. The European Commission has allocated €42m in public funding to 23 manufacturers responsible for the tactical development of the drones. 'We have a state that denounces violations of international law and [yet] is prepared to collaborate with a company owned by the Israeli state' – Amnesty International France According to the investigation, seven European defence ministries are also funding the project: France, Belgium, Greece, Norway, Sweden, Cyprus and Finland. Intracom Defense and Safran, the companies behind the two drones, received more than half of the €42m released by the European Commission. Intracom Defense was allocated €14m while Safran, in which the French state is a shareholder, received €10m. While Intracom Defense is registered and based in Greece, 94.5 percent of its shares are owned by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which holds 100 percent of voting rights in the Greek firm. 'Strengthening the Israeli war machine' IAI is the arms company at the heart of Israel's war on Gaza. It manufactures the Heron surveillance and armed drones used by the Israeli Air Force. While the EDF aims to promote domestic innovation, a clause in article 9 of its regulations states that firms need only to be based in Europe to be eligible for funding, as long as they provide guarantees to the government where they are registered. These guarantees, which include ensuring that sensitive information is not transferred to the foreign owner, are sent to and approved by the government where the company is based, in this case Greece, one of Israel's closest European allies. The revelations that a subsidiary of an Israeli military firm is involved in developing Europe's defence systems raise security concerns. New report accuses France of 'continuously' delivering military equipment to Israel Read More » Belgian leftist MEP Marc Botenga, a member of the European Parliament Committee on Security and Defence, told the report's authors that the arrangement reflects a 'structural security issue'. Human rights advocates are also likely to highlight the contradiction with the tougher stance adopted by European governments vis-a-vis Israel in recent weeks. Several of those funding the IAI-linked project are also reportedly among those calling for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. In May, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that if Israel did not respond appropriately to the humanitarian situation in Gaza "in the coming hours and days... we will have to harden our collective position" and "apply sanctions" on Israel. Meanwhile, according to the investigation, the French government is doubly involved in Actus: as a co-financier and as a beneficiary, through the drone manufacturer Safran. 'On the one hand, we have a state [France] that denounces violations of international law and, on the other, it is prepared to collaborate with a company that is owned by the Israeli state,' Aymeric Elluin, an arms trade campaigner at Amnesty International France, said in response to the findings. 'Self-certification in this sector is obviously insufficient at best, a joke at worst' – Marc Botenga, Belgian MEP "How can you advocate the establishment of peace when, at the same time, through a fund supposed to strengthen European defence, you are bringing into play the Israeli industry, which is committing a crime of genocide and whose leader is the subject of an arrest warrant for crimes against humanity?" he added. In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. More than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel's war on Gaza, which several countries, as well as many international rights groups and experts, now describe as "genocide". "Indirectly, the European fund and the states are strengthening the Israeli war machine," Tony Fortin, researcher at the French think tank Armaments Observatory, told Disclose. Coveted Israeli know-how According to the investigation, the inclusion of an Israeli subsidiary in the EDF reflects the EU's pressing need to improve its military power through specialist knowledge and skills. 'We need the Israeli know-how that we lack. In my opinion, that explains the Intracom manoeuvre,' said a global defence expert. 'We want to develop our own loitering munitions [drones that can crash into targets], and we also want an 'Israeli input' in this segment.' Arab states received 12 percent of Israeli arms exports in 2024 amid surge in arms sales Read More » While there is no evidence to suggest that products developed in these projects will be used by IAI in the Palestinian territories, there are no strict ethical guidelines surrounding the export of technology produced via EDF projects, the authors said. Article 7 of the EDF regulations only states that projects shall comply with relevant national, EU and international law, requiring companies to conduct a project self-assessment, which can be examined by the Commission and a panel of 'independent experts' whose identity is not made public. 'The EDF regulation is extremely weak on ethics and transparency… Self-certification in this sector is obviously insufficient at best, a joke at worst,' Botenga said. 'It is clear that the EDF's current framework does not sufficiently prevent EU-funded projects from contributing to violations of international humanitarian law.'
