At least 30 Palestinians seeking aid injured in shots fired by Israeli soldiers
Nearly 900 Palestinians have been killed by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund, which has been distributing food since late May, displacing human rights groups who had been working for decades in Gaza.
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Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Palestine Action court case: UK decision makes it an 'international outlier'
The banning of protest group Palestine Action has made the UK government an 'international outlier' when it comes to political protest, lawyers representing one of its co-founders told the High Court in London on Monday. The group uses direct action to oppose Israel's policies in Palestine and especially companies involved in the Israeli arms trade. It was proscribed by UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper earlier this month. Palestine Action has denied any links to terrorism and described the government's move as politically motivated. It means it is now a criminal offence to be a member of Palestine Action, or to 'invite or recklessly express support for the group'. Those found guilty can face up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act of 2000. The designation puts Palestine Action on a par with al-Qaeda and Islamic State, among others. Ammori is seeking permission from the High Court for a judicial review of the government's decision. Opening the one-day hearing, Ammori's barrister Raza Husein KC, said: 'The proscription... renders the UK an international outlier in comparison to its partners in Europe and other parts of the world.' Blinne Ni Ghralaigh KC, also representing Ammori, argued that the proscription of Palestine Action has had 'real-time' effects on the British public. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Using examples of arrests that have taken place since Palestine Action became a proscribed group, Ni Ghralaigh highlighted the case of Laura Murton, a woman who was threatened with a terrorism arrest in Canterbury by an armed officer for holding a sign that said 'Free Gaza". Mr Justice Chamberlain, who was presiding over the hearing, responded to Ni Ghralaigh's example and said the police were misapplying the law when shutting down legal pro-Palestine protests using terrorism laws. 'This is obviously an officer who doesn't understand the law at all,' he said. The court also heard that the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre did not take into account the break-in at the RAF base at Brize Norton by members of Palestine Action - which ultimately led to the group being banned - when assessing whether to ban the organisation. James Eadie KC, representing the UK government, argued against a judicial review, saying it was not the appropriate forum to review the proscription. In written submissions, he said that Palestine Action and Ammori should rely on the Proscribed Organisation Appeal's Commission ( POAC) to oppose any proscription order, that parliament had 'made specific provision for challenging such decisions' and there was 'no good reason for going behind that process in the present case'. A portion of the hearing was also closed to the public to allow for the government to present classified evidence to bolster its case. Chamberlain said he would deliver a judgment next Wednesday, taking into account the secret evidence presented to him. Earlier moves to overturn ban Ammori's attempt to request a judicial review follows the High Court's rejection of calls to temporarily halt Cooper's ban on Palestine Action two weeks ago. Chamberlain, who presided over Monday's case, also heard the case on that occasion. In that judgement, Chamberlain 'concluded that the harm which would ensue if interim relief is refused but the claim later succeeds is insufficient to outweigh the strong public interest in maintaining the order in force". The Court of Appeal later upheld the court's decision, less than two hours before the order banning the group was due to take effect. Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr, said: 'In conclusion, we have found no arguable error of law in the judgment nor have we found any arguable basis for a finding that his decision was not one that was open to him on the facts and the evidence. For these reasons we have concluded that there is no real prospect of a successful appeal and no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.' More arrests at weekend Over the weekend, police arrested more than 100 people at events related to Palestine Action, in the third week of protests since the group was banned. Demonstrations occurred in Bristol, Cornwall, Edinburgh, and London as part of a campaign organised by Defend Our Juries to protest the banning of Palestine Action. In London, police arrested 55 demonstrators after protesters gathered next to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi. During Saturday's national demonstration for Palestine in central London, the police also put up signs reminding protesters that showing support for Palestine Action could lead them to be prosecuted under the Terrorism Act. The ban came after Palestine Action activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire last month, using electric scooters and spraying two RAF planes with red paint. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the act as 'disgraceful', while the Ministry of Defence claimed the activists caused £7m in damage. Following the parliamentary vote, Palestine Action criticised the Home Secretary for 'bundling our domestic civil disobedience protest group in with two violent neo-Nazi militias'. Ten Labour MPs, including Liverpool MP Richard Burgon, voted against the government. Burgon warned that the ban risked 'criminalising thousands of volunteers and supporters. United Nations special rapporteurs also said they had contacted the British government to tell it that 'acts of protest that damage property, but are not intended to kill or injure people, should not be treated as terrorism.'
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Sudan war intensifies in Kordofan as RSF razes villages
A village in the Sudanese state of North Kordofan was razed to the ground after a massacre by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries, new satellite imagery shows. Hundreds of civilians were killed by the RSF on Saturday and Sunday as its war with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) intensifies in the strategically vital Kordofan region. Images collected by Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL), which has monitored the war in Sudan since it began in April 2023, show the smouldering ruins of the Shaq al-Noum, one of several villages in North Kordofan attacked by the RSF over the weekend. The HRL identified smoke rising from several recently razed structures as well as disjoined areas of thermal scarring 'indicative of intentional arson attacks'. Also visible, it said, was a pattern consistent with vehicle tracks 'around buildings and throughout the community'. More than 200 civilians are believed to have been killed, most of them burned alive in their homes or shot dead, in the attack on Shaq al-Noum, which began on 12 July. The massacre is believed to be one of the deadliest to have taken place during the war in Sudan. Footage reportedly shot in Shaq al-Noum and cited by Sudan War Monitor showed structures ablaze and RSF troops running between houses. Shouts and gunfire could also be heard. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The Emergency Lawyers human rights group said at least 38 others were killed in simultaneous massacres in the nearby villages of Fojah, Umm Nabag, Jakouh and Mishqah, while dozens were forcibly disappeared or detained. Faheem, a man from one of these villages, told campaign group Avaaz that the RSF had arrived in his village, Fojah, in a convoy of around 30 vehicles. 'The vehicles surrounded the village, forced people to line up, and began detonating explosives in homes,' he said. 'Our houses are mostly made of straw, so fires broke out quickly. 'I saw my aunt's house burning. She's one of the oldest women in the village. I grabbed my children and we ran. We didn't hear from anyone else.' The importance of Kordofan Kholood Khair, a Sudanese analyst and founder of the Confluence Advisory think tank, told Middle East Eye that the intensification of 'back and forth' fighting across Kordofan was reminiscent of the beginning of the war, when the two sides were yet to settle into their respective power bases - the RSF in the western region of Darfur, the army in the central and eastern areas of the country. The city of el-Obeid, a strategically vital point that sits close to roads that run to Darfur and to the capital Khartoum, is held by the army but was previously under an RSF siege. The paramilitaries are now shelling it again to try and wrest back control. On 13 July, 46 civilians, including pregnant women and children, were killed in an RSF attack on the village of Hilat Hamid, close to the town of Bara, which has been under paramilitary control for most of the war. Egypt hosts secret talks between Sudan's Burhan and Libya's Haftar in bid to mend ties, sources say Read More » In West Kordofan, SAF air strikes killed at least 23 civilians from 10 to 14 July, and on 17 July at least 11 more civilians were killed in another strike in the Bara locality. 'Kordofan is now the strategic point,' Khair said. Key roads run through North Kordofan to el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur besieged by the RSF, and Khartoum and its twin city Omdurman, which have recently been retaken by the army. With Sudan's rainy season at its worst between June and September, Khair said that both the RSF and the army are looking to make gains in Kordofan to mount offensives on el-Fasher or Omdurman when the dry weather comes in October and November. Witnesses told MEE that drones are being used by both sides across Kordofan - as they are in other parts of Sudan. The back and forth fighting comes as both sides await a diplomatic intervention from international actors - particularly the US administration of President Donald Trump. 'Both sides very much want to pursue a military push while they are putting in place all the necessary conditions for themselves ahead of any diplomatic mediation - particularly from the US,' Khair said. Sudan's army-led government is being run from Port Sudan, on the Red Sea coast, while the RSF has set up a governing alliance in Nyala, South Darfur. Humanitarian operations The intensification of fighting across Kordofan has 'badly affected' the operations of aid agencies there, Shihab Mohamed Ali, a senior programme manager for Islamic Relief in Sudan, told MEE. The charity runs 36 health centres in West Kordofan and 48 health centres in North Kordofan in collaboration with the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) and Unicef. Islamic Relief distributes food, water and cash to Sudanese civilians whose lives have been upended by the war, which has now forced over 12 million people to flee their homes. How Trump's assault on USAID 'will lead to surging mortality' in Sudan Read More » Two Islamic Relief offices in West Kordofan have been looted - one in August 2024, the other in May 2025, Ali said. In both cases, the looting took place in the midst of RSF invasions, though the charity cannot say for sure who was responsible. 'Most parts of West Kordofan are under RSF occupation and the conflict is continuous,' Ali said. 'In that state, Islamic Relief, Unicef and the WFP are trying to distribute aid.' Ali said that away from Kordofan, 'the situation is improving. The local community has played a great role with the community kitchens, where they provide food for people,' referring to the kitchens run by Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms, a network of mutual aid groups. 'They have managed to pass a difficult time,' Ali said, referring partly to the threatened withdrawal of US funding following the dismantling of USAID. 'But the situation is improving in different parts of the country.'
Middle East Eye
3 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Israeli strike on Gaza City kills at least one Palestinian
An Israeli air strike on Gaza City has killed at least one Palestinian and and injured several others, Wafa news agency is reporting. According to the report, the attack targeted a residential building in Gaza City's al-Rimal neighbourhood. This follows another Israeli strike on the neighbourhood targeting a water desalination plant that killed five Palestinians earlier on Monday.
