Israeli strikes across Gaza kill multiple Palestinians and shatter ceasefire with Hamas [Update @post#234]

[Cricket Warrior]

Israeli minister approves gun licences for 18 illegal West Bank settlements

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has approved the issuance of gun licences to Israelis in 18 additional illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, as the right-wing government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushes to expand illegal outposts that undermine prospects for a two-state solution.

“The importance of the decision lies in the fact that these settlements will now be able to submit applications for a personal weapon licence,” Ben-Gvir, a far-right minister, wrote on Telegram on Wednesday, claiming that the efforts were to “enhance self-defence and increase personal security”.

Israeli settlers have been emboldened by a wide-scale armament programme spearheaded at the start of Israel’s genocidal war in the Gaza Strip by Ben-Gvir, and the near-total impunity they enjoy when carrying out attacks.

Israelis living illegally in the occupied West Bank have been armed with military-grade weapons ranging from US-made M16s to pistols and drones. Israeli authorities maintain that holding arms is necessary for their safety, but local and international organisations have long documented the organised, forced displacement of Palestinians from their ancestral lands.

Last year, Israel formalised plans to develop the illegal E1 settlement project, and this year, it is expected to push forward the plan to expand settlements near Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and across Ramallah.

In December, another 19 settler outposts built without government approval were retroactively approved by Israel’s government as official settlements. In all, the number of settlements and outposts in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem has risen by nearly 50 percent since 2022 – from 141 to 210 now.

Israeli minister approves gun licences for 18 illegal West Bank settlements

UN says more than 1,800 settler attacks against Palestinians - about five per day - were documented in 2025.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[LordJames]

Listen to first 25 minutes:

 

[sweep_shot]

Tucker has been pretty good since he left Fox News.

He cornered Huchabee there.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Israeli military drops charges against soldiers accused of sexually assaulting Palestinian detainee

Israel’s military on Thursday said it was dropping charges against five soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee in an alleged assault partially caught on camera.

The decision closed a case that has bitterly divided the country since the soldiers were arrested in 2024 at the notorious Sde Teiman military prison, prompting anger from members of the far-right government and hard-line ultranationalists who violently overran the prison in protest. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Thursday’s announcement, while human rights groups accused the military of whitewashing one of the gravest instances of abuse in the country’s network of wartime prisons.

Sde Teiman was set up after Oct. 7, 2023, to hold Palestinians rounded up in Gaza during Israel’s war against the Hamas militant group. The secretive facility quickly gained notoriety as employees and Palestinians freed from detention described scenes of abuse and torture. Those allegations gained steam after Israeli news broadcast a leaked video that appeared to show soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian prisoner.

The soldiers were accused of dragging the Palestinian on the floor, tasering him, and sexually assaulting him by stabbing him in the rectum, causing multiple injuries, according to the indictment. He was taken to an Israeli hospital with fractured ribs and blunt trauma to the abdomen and the chest and underwent surgery for a perforated rectum before being returned to the prison.

Israeli military drops charges against soldiers accused of sexually assaulting Palestinian detainee

The Israeli military said it is dropping charges against five soldiers accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee in an encounter partially caught on camera.

apnews.com

 

[Rana]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2032149596617785442

 

[Devadwal]

Australia's prime minister has been heckled during an event at a Sydney mosque marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke were at Lakemba Mosque - one of the largest in Australia - after being invited by community leaders to attend Eid prayers on Friday morning, local time.

Several attendees accused the pair of being "genocide supporters", shouting "boo" and "get out of here" as a mosque leader gave a speech calling for the government to better engage with Muslim Australians.

There is deep upset within much of Australia's Muslim community over the government's response to the Israel-Gaza war and rising Islamophobia at home.

A man who was shouting at Albanese was removed from the mosque by police but later released without charge and told to move on, according to news agency Australian Associated Press.

After the speech finished, the prime minister made his way out of the mosque through the crowds and continued to be shouted at by several people, with one asking: "Why is he here? Get him out of here! It's a disgrace".

Shortly after the event finished, the Lebanese Muslim Association - which operates the mosque - released a statement saying Albanese was welcome at the prayers and that they would "continue to open" their doors.

"We understand that emotions are high, particularly given the ongoing suffering in Gaza and the devastation in Lebanon. These are not distant issues for our community," it said.

"But we also need to be clear. Choosing to engage with the elected leadership of this country is not a betrayal of those concerns. It is how we give them a voice."

Albanese later told media he was welcomed by most of the 30,000-plus crowd at the mosque - which has been the target of several threatening letters in recent months.

"Overwhelmingly the reception was incredibly positive," he said, according to the Guardian Australia.

He suggested the unrest from a few protestors may be over his government's recent moves to outlaw extremist organisations such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, a group which calls for a single Islamic government across the Muslim world and which has been accused of celebrating terrorism.

Earlier, Albanese had posted about the visit on social media, writing that it was "an honour" to join the prayers, alongside smiling photos of him greeting worshippers.

During his speech in the mosque, community leader Gamel Kheir told attendees that "we can neither totally disengage nor invite politicians for some cheap token photo opportunity".

The mosque also said, in a social media post, that Friday's event was the first time the prime minister had been invited to attend prayers since the start of the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Community tensions - and reports of both antisemitism and Islamophobia - have been rising in Australia since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel's offensive in Gaza has led to more than 72,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Friday's incident is not the first time politicians have received mixed receptions at Eid events in recent years, with critics saying the religious celebrations should not involve politics.

During last year's federal election campaign, Jason Wood - from the conservative Liberal Party - had to be escorted out of an Eid event after he was heckled at a Melbourne mosque.

The Albanese government, which joined the UK and Canada in recognising a Palestinian state late last year, has been under fire for its response to the Gaza conflict and the Bondi mass shooting in December which killed 15 people at a Jewish event.

One gunman was shot dead at the scene and the other is currently facing court proceedings. Allegedly inspired by Islamic State ideology, it was Australia's worst mass shooting in almost three decades.

Anthony Albanese: Australia PM heckled at Sydney mosque Ramadan event

The government's response to the Israel-Gaza war and rising Islamophobia has angered many Muslim Australians.

www.bbc.com