Israel

Palestine

UN rights chief urges Israel to drop death penalty bill

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged the Israeli government to abandon proposed legislation that would mandate death sentences exclusively for Palestinians in specific cases—for crimes committed both in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Türk stated that the legislation is “inconsistent with Israel’s obligations'” under the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights. He also raised concerns over the “introduction of mandatory death sentences, which leave no discretion to the courts, and violate the right to life.” The rights chief asserted that Israel has frequently violated the fair trial protections enshrined in the Fourth Geneva Convention for Palestinians in the West Bank or Gaza, adding that this “amounts to a war crime.” (Photo: RJA1988 via Jurist)

Africa

Somaliland and Western Sahara: forbidden symmetry

Israel has become the first country on Earth to recognize the de facto independent Republic of Somaliland, in exchange for a commitment from Somaliland to join the Abraham Accordsand recognize Israel. However, not three years ago, Israel joined the US as the only two countries on Earth to recognize Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara—a betrayal of the occupied Sahrawi Arab people who seek an independent state. And of course both these deals constitute a betrayal of the Palestinians. Somaliland and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic should be natural allies, and instead they are being pitted against each other in the Great Power game. Yet another example of how a global divide-and-rule racket is the essence of the state system. In Episode 311 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg breaks it down. (Photo: Horn Diplomat via Wikipedia)

Europe

Finland seizes ‘shadow’ vessel in cable caper

Finnish authorities announced that they are investigating damage to an undersea telecommunications cable in the Gulf of Finland after seizing a vessel suspected of sabotage in the incident. After telecommunications authorities detected a fault in the undersea cable linking Helsinki and Tallinn, Estonia’s capital, Finland’s Border Guard was mobilized, and located a suspicious vessel within the country’s exclusive economic zone. After taking control of the vessel, Border Guard officials told reporters that the cargo ship had been sailing from the Russian port of St. Petersburg to Israel. Officials linked it to Russia’s “shadow fleet” allegedly used to circumvent Western sanctions, describing the incident as part of a broader pattern of “hybrid threats” targeting critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. (Map: Google)

Africa

World leaders reject Israeli recognition of Somaliland

A group of 21 Arab, African and Islamic nations issued a joint statement formally rejecting Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent state. The statement asserted that recognizing Somaliland as a nation independent of Somalia constitutes a grave violation of international law, emphasizing the “serious repercussions of such [an] unprecedented measure on peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, and its serious effects on international peace and security as a whole.” This statement followed a declaration signed by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, making Israel the first country on earth to recognize Somaliland. As part of the deal, Somaliland is expected to recognize Israel under the Abraham Accords. President Donald Trump brokered the Abraham Accords in his first term, seeking to establish diplomatic ties between Israel and Arab nations. However, despite the Trump administration’s failed proposition earlier this year for Somaliland to take in Palestinians from Gaza, the US State Department announced that Washington will continue to recognize the territorial integrity of Somalia, “which includes the territory of Somaliland.” (Map: Somalia Country Profile)

Palestine

Amnesty International: block vessel carrying arms to Israel

Amnesty International urged all states to prevent the Portuguese-flagged Holger G vessel, carrying munition components bound for Israel, from docking at their ports. Having departed from India in November, the cargo is destined for Israel’s biggest arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems, and its subsidiary IMI Systems. Erika Guevara Rosas, senior director for research and campaigns at Amnesty, said: “The hundreds of tonnes of deadly cargo on board the Holger G must not reach Israel. There is a clear risk that this colossal transportation would contribute to the commission of genocide and other crimes under international law against Palestinians.” (Photo: VesselFinder)

Palestine

US imposes sanctions on two more ICC judges

The US government announced sanctions on two judges from the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court due to their “illegitimate targeting of Israel.” The sanctions barthe named individuals from entry into the US, and extends to their family members. The measures also block any assets the individuals hold in the US. The move came after the ICC rejected Israel’s legal challenge to the case that has been opened over possible war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Both of the targeted judges, Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, voted in favor of rejection of the appeal. (Photo: OSeveno/WikiMedia)

Watching the Shadows

Podcast: Trump for War-is-Peace Prize II

Trump continues to pursue his perverse ambition to win the Nobel Peace Prize—now proffering “peace” plans for Ukraine and Gaza that would actually reward war crimes, and therefore portend wider war. In both cases these new “peace” plans are merely sanitized recapitulations of earlier proposals—for the surrender of the Donbas and Crimea to Russia, and for Israeli annexation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories and “transfer” of their indigenous inhabitants. Meanwhile, the actual winner of this year’s Peace Prize, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, is obsequiously pandering to Trump, and playing along with his bellicose designs on her country. In Episode 306 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg cuts through the Orwellian war-is-peace propaganda. (Image via Twitter)

Syria

Podcast: the new Syria in the Great Game

Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa’s White House meeting with Donald Trump followed the removal of his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from the list of designated “terrorist organizations” both at the State Department and at the UN. It also coincided with raids against ISIS by his security forces, raising the prospect of his government being invited to join the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. The Washington visit also came just a month after al-Sharaa’s similar trip to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where a deal was brokered allowing Russia to keep its military bases in Syria. Amid all this, Syria continues to see forced disappearances and other abuses targetting Druze, Alawites and Kurds—pointing to the looming threat of an ethnic or sectarian internal war. The US troop presence in Syria is largely embedded among the Kurdish forces in the east. As al-Sharaa becomes a new “anti-terrorist” partner (or proxy) for the Great Powers, will these troops be withdrawn—providing a “green light” for Damascus to attack the Kurdish autonomous zone? In Episode 305 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg weighs the risks at this critical moment in Syria’s transition process, nearly one year after the fall of the Assad dictatorship. (Image: Pixabay)

Palestine

UN endorses US-backed Gaza ‘peace’ resolution

The UN Security Council passed a US-backed resolution endorsing the Trump administration’s 20-point Gaza peace plan. The resolution, passed by a vote of 13 members in favor with China and Russia abstaining, recognizes the proposal’s “Board of Peace” (BOP) as a “transitional governance administration” in Gaza. The resolution also authorizes the BOP to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza. The ISF will consist of forces contributed by participating states in consultation with Egypt and Israel. The force, along with Israel, Egypt, and a newly trained Palestinian Authority police force, will secure border areas and enforce the permanent disarmament of Hamas. Under the White House proposal, the BOP will be chaired by President Trump, with other international leaders serving, including former British prime minister Tony Blair. (Photo: displaced Palestinians returning home during this January’s ceasefire. Credit: UNRWA via Wikimedia Commons)

Palestine

Gaza and Lebanon: the ceasefires that aren’t

The word “ceasefire” seems like a misnomer for the situation in the Gaza Strip since Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal that was supposed to end two years of war a month ago. The Israeli military is still deployed in over 50% of the territory and continues to shell and fire on Palestinians, killing more than 240 and injuring over 600 since Oct. 11. Aid is also still entering the enclave at a trickle—far from the levels needed to address a hunger crisis caused by months of Israeli-enforced deprivation. A UN resolution creating an international stabilization force for Gaza—a key part of the 20-point US peace plan—may face delays over disagreements about its mandate and the timetable for Israel’s withdrawal from the territory. Observers point out that the situation is beginning to resemble south Lebanon, where Israel has continued to occupy land and carry out attacks despite a ceasefire agreement that went into effect at the end of November last year. In recent weeks, Israel has carried out near-daily attacks in south Lebanon. (Photo: WAFA via WikimediaCommons)

The Andes

US imposes sanctions on Colombian president

The US administration announced sanctions against Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family, and Colombia’s Minister of the Interior Armando Benedetti. The US will also reduce financial assistance to Colombia by about $18 million. The Department of State said the move was “due to President Gustavo Petro’s disastrous and ineffective counternarcotics policies.” The Colombian government has recalled its ambassador to the United States in protest. Simultaneously, the Pentagon announced that it is moving the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its group to the Caribbean Sea, where the US military already hasapproximately 10,000 personnel pre-positioned. (Photo via MROnline)

Palestine

‘Skyrocketing’ settler attacks on West Bank

The regional head of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned that Israeli settlers are increasing violence against Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank. Ajith Sunghay said: “Settler violence has skyrocketed in scale and frequency, with the acquiescence, support, and in many cases participation, of Israeli security forces—and always with impunity.” The statement comes at the start of the critical olive harvest season, a main source of income for many Palestinian families. The Israeli Knesset meanwhile voted to advance legislation that would effectively annex the West Bank. (Photo: B’Tselem)