The Israeli occupation forces acknowledged their use of live ammunition against protesters in southern Syria, claiming the action targeted what they described as a "threat."

According to an IOF statement, one protester sustained a gunshot wound to the leg in the village of Maaria.

The incident unfolded during a demonstration against the Israeli military presence and its encroachment on agricultural lands in the area.

It is worth noting that the IOF recently occupied two villages in the Yarmouk Basin region of Daraa province in southern Syria. These actions are part of what appears to be an ongoing expansion of Israeli-occupied territories in Syria, particularly since the emergence of new regime forces in the country.

The suspect in the deadly ramming at a Christmas market in Germany on Friday was an anti-Islam activist who shared pro-Israel content on social media in the wake of the October 7 attacks, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to the Journal report, the suspect, a Saudi national who had moved to Germany in 2006, ran a website and social media channels warning against Islam and discussing women’s rights, as well as posting content in support of Israel.

He also showed support for Germany’s far-right anti-immigration AfD party, the report said.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has publicly accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of attempting to bribe him with €500 million in exchange for Slovakia’s backing of Ukraine’s NATO membership bid. Fico made the explosive allegation during a press conference in Brussels on Thursday, following a private meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of an EU leaders' summit.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/23825981

By Ed Augustin
Dec 20, 2024

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/23826424

cross-posted from: https://hcommons.social/users/adachika192/statuses/113687584725899167

MP: UK activists are doing the gov't's work, stopping arms to Israel (2024-12-17)

[https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241217-mp-uk-activists-are-doing-the-govts-work-stopping-arms-to-israel/] ------

"British MP John McDonnell said yesterday in parliament that ‘It’s time to act now. All arms licences [to Israel] need to be closed down', adding that the UK government is failing by ‘supplying arms to a regime that’s killing children.’"

With a short clip, also on Youtube:
https://youtube.com/shorts/MLjF/_yOK-H4

Edited version of the speech:
https://labouroutlook.org/2024/12/19/end-all-arms-sales-to-israel-john-mcdonnell/

@palestine@lemmy.ml @palestine@a.gup.pe @israel
#StopArmingIsrael

https://archive.ph/LtVfz

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/23826676

cross-posted from: https://hcommons.social/users/adachika192/statuses/113687349654378110

On the decision by the Government of Sweden to stop funding UNRWA in 2025 | UNRWA (2024-12-20)

[https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/decision-government-sweden-stop-funding-unrwa-2025] ------

"The decision by the Government of #Sweden to stop funding #UNRWA in 2025 is disappointing and comes at the worst time for Palestine Refugees.

"The decision is one day after the members of the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution in support of UNRWA. Sweden has been a reliable longstanding partner to UNRWA providing both political and financial support for decades.

"This is a sad day for Palestine Refugees and the multilateral system which Sweden has spearheaded..."

@palestine@lemmy.ml @palestine@a.gup.pe

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/23820941

Oct 01, 2024

After years of telling the public that the United States has about 900 troops in Syria, the Pentagon has revealed there are approximately 2,000 soldiers there — double the previous estimate.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said the additional US forces have been in Syria since before the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad this month, though he did not specify a timeframe.

“We have been briefing you regularly that there are approximately 900 US troops deployed to Syria. In light of the situation in Syria and the significant interest, we recently learned that those numbers were higher,” Ryder said.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has accused Israel of engaging in “ethnic cleansing” in the Gaza Strip, detailing the severe humanitarian toll of the 14-month conflict in a report released Thursday.

The report, titled “Gaza: Life in a Death Trap”, provides a comprehensive account of attacks on medical personnel, restricted aid deliveries, and the widespread displacement of Palestinians

The report documents 41 attacks on MSF staff, including airstrikes targeting health facilities and direct fire on humanitarian convoys. MSF was forced to evacuate hospitals and health centers 17 times during the conflict, disrupting medical services for thousands.

To get around pay wall: https://archive.is/RHuUy

Excerpts:

While Palestinians are officially prohibited from entering, the reality is more severe than a simple exclusion zone. "It's military whitewashing," explains a senior officer in Division 252, who has served three reserve rotations in Gaza. "The division commander designated this area as a 'kill zone.' Anyone who enters is shot."

A recently discharged Division 252 officer describes the arbitrary nature of this boundary: "For the division, the kill zone extends as far as a sniper can see." But the issue goes beyond geography. "We're killing civilians there who are then counted as terrorists," he says. "The IDF spokesperson's announcements about casualty numbers have turned this into a competition between units. If Division 99 kills 150 [people], the next unit aims for 200."

These accounts of indiscriminate killing and the routine classification of civilian casualties as terrorists emerged repeatedly in Haaretz's conversations with recent Gaza veterans.

[...]

Haaretz has gathered testimonies from active-duty soldiers, career officers, and reservists that reveal the unprecedented authority given to commanders. As the IDF operates across multiple fronts, division commanders have received expanded powers. Previously, bombing buildings or launching airstrikes required approval from the IDF chief of staff. Now, such decisions can be made by lower-ranking officers.

"Division commanders now have almost unlimited firepower authority in combat zones," explains a veteran officer in Division 252. "A battalion commander can order drone strikes, and a division commander can launch conquest operations." Some sources describe IDF units operating like independent militias, unrestricted by standard military protocols.

'We took him to the cage'

The chaotic reality has repeatedly forced commanders and fighters to face severe moral dilemmas. "The order was clear: 'Anyone crossing the bridge into the [Netzarim] corridor gets a bullet in the head,'" recalls a veteran fighter from Division 252.

"One time, guards spotted someone approaching from the south. We responded as if it was a large militant raid. We took positions and just opened fire. I'm talking about dozens of bullets, maybe more. For about a minute or two, we just kept shooting at the body. People around me were shooting and laughing."

But the incident didn't end there. "We approached the blood-covered body, photographed it, and took the phone. He was just a boy, maybe 16." An intelligence officer collected the items, and hours later, the fighters learned the boy wasn't a Hamas operative – but just a civilian.

"That evening, our battalion commander congratulated us for killing a terrorist, saying he hoped we'd kill ten more tomorrow," the fighter adds. "When someone pointed out he was unarmed and looked like a civilian, everyone shouted him down. The commander said: 'Anyone crossing the line is a terrorist, no exceptions, no civilians. Everyone's a terrorist.' This deeply troubled me – did I leave my home to sleep in a mouse-infested building for this? To shoot unarmed people?"

Similar incidents continue to surface. An officer in Division 252's command recalls when the IDF spokesperson announced their forces had killed over 200 militants. "Standard procedure requires photographing bodies and collecting details when possible, then sending evidence to intelligence to verify militant status or at least confirm they were killed by the IDF," he explains. "Of those 200 casualties, only ten were confirmed as known Hamas operatives. Yet no one questioned the public announcement about killing hundreds of militants."