Israel, Palestine & the Levant rolling events: Oct 23 on

As requested. WmC do you want to close the other thread?

Yair Wallach, who is an Israeli academic at SOAS very much not sympathetic to Likud/Bibi, is a good source on twitter atm, but like all the content out there atm, proceed at your own risk.

He retweeted this video of a young woman from one of the kibbutzes (kibbutzim?) that was attacked earlier:

By far the most powerful Israeli response I have seen.

This 19 year old girl survived the horrific massacre in Kibbutz Be’eri.

This is her message to her fellow Israelis and to the world.

Watch the whole thing.pic.twitter.com/qSPKZX4pzg

— Benzi Sanders (@BenzionSanders) October 14, 2023

Thanks, gyac.

Chotiner and Sari Bashi, the program director at Human Rights Watch:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-humanitarian-catastrophe-in-gaza

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W43C8xhh5E

Sam & Emma interviewing Omar Shakir, Israel & Palestine Director at HRW this morning

looks like David Dayen in there too

Yes, but trying to ask a question of the guest when Sam is in interview mode is a tall order

Why is our political class so invested in suppressing criticism of the apartheid regime? The answer is obvious. Western states support Israel in order to maintain their power at a crucial crossroads of world trade. Challenging that power is impermissible, because any attempt to hold Israel accountable for its crimes is – by definition – an attempt to hold our own states accountable for their involvement in them. Not only are our rulers prepared to let Israel level Gaza; they will even provide it with diplomatic cover and military supplies.

https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/impending-genocide

As noted, I know numerous IRL people with Israeli flag avatars saying that they stand with Israel no matter what.

Plus I know IlXorz and others who almost uniformly condemn Israel as a brutal apartheid state that continues to use "but the Holocaust" as a laminated carte blanche for every atrocity the IDF wishes to commit. (There is a bit of a strawman in there but that's another topic for another time.)

I have met exactly zero people in between. I know it is not about me and/or my feelz. And I don't love "both sides"ing US politics either. The discourse is polarized and will remain so.

Absolutely no-one has talked about this situation at work, there's been no conversation about it at all, maybe people don't talk about it at work in the US either I don't know.

No offence Tom but that was a post I was hoping could be left behind in the old thread

xp, thank you for that gyac, incredibly moving. I also recommend the NYTimes Daily from today on the situation on the ground in gaza from the perspective of people caught in it, difficult listening:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/podcasts/the-daily/gaza-israel.html

(the ep labeled "Voices from Gaza")

I’m just going to say that I am not in-between on this issue, but that should be obvious by now.

xp I know people are all about bearing witness but I find this stuff incredibly upsetting.

I don’t think it was mentioned but Humza Yousuf who is Scotland’s first minister has family trapped in Gaza. I am linking this video as I find this content extremely upsetting.

Bernard's mother and family went out of their way to tell me that they would be praying for my family in Gaza. We hugged, we cried, and we promised to re-dedicate ourselves to peace and to be unequivocal; no innocent man, woman, or child should pay the price of another's actions. https://t.co/Vv1fz9gXqJ

— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) October 13, 2023

Also, for context on the Kibbutz Be'eri post and those less familiar with the situation of the past 15-20 years (and again disclaimer I am hardly an expert myself): from Ariel Sharon onward, Israeli policy has been increasingly tilted toward a phony sort of "disengagement." In my mind, it traces back to the building of the West Bank wall although that could be simplistic take. But Netanyahu has turbo-charged this idea, basically that Israel could just kind of ignore the territories (at least other than soldiers stationed in the West Bank) rather than engage in any more ongoing negotiations, that the West Bank could continue to develop economically even without full agency or freedom, and that Gaza would be the kind of counterexample (i.e. life would be worse than in the West Bank) as long as Hamas was there. That terrorism could simply be prevented or minimized through "security," the settlements in the West Bank could continue quietly, and most Israelis would just live their lives and not worry.

Netanyahu is also notoriously corrupt and venal, and he has maintained power through a coalition with right-wing settler and religious parties, giving both more power (which also angers the more secular wings of Israeli politics as Israel gradually takes on additional trappings of theocracy, though it is hardly a full theocracy).

Netanyahu also favors his voters. The kibbutzes near Gaza tend actually to be center-liberal to left. They are not Netanyahu voters. There is a strong sense that Netanyahu "neglected" these areas as the girl expressed in her video, and that is also reflected in the sense that he neglected security near the Gaza border. I genuinely do not know whether Netanyahu "allowed" the attack but I seriously doubt it for reasons I stated in the prior thread. I think this was more hubris and stupidity and myopia.

"I don’t think it was mentioned but Humza Yousuf who is Scotland’s first minister has family trapped in Gaza. I am linking this video as I find this content extremely upsetting."

Mentioned this in the last Israel thread.

You can count on one hand the number of European leaders who have talked about Palestinians as human beings

And they’re all backpedaling now given protests and public pushback.

The President of the University of Pennsylvania has released her 3rd or 4th public statement apologizing for letting a Palestinian writers conference take place last month

The President of the University of Pennsylvania has released her 3rd or 4th public statement apologizing for letting a Palestinian writers conference take place last month

people are so fucking gross

Public statements issued by university presidents are generally tailored to a narrow and specific segment of the public, mainly anyone with influence over university revenues or endowments. They are paid to know how to read that room.

Aimless, we know. No offense.

Well, yeah. When you've got Dick Wolf threatening your donations because you let Palestinians into a building named after him...

a name like Dick Wolf must never be besmirched

Always guarantee the BBC will always be fucked.

The BBC admits that it misled the public about pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the UK. pic.twitter.com/oi4nVf5DN7

— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) October 16, 2023

i think about this poem by Palestinian poet Najwan Darwish all the time pic.twitter.com/jv5WOOjobb

— هستی hasti (@youarehasti) October 16, 2023

xp - That retraction was also poorly phrased and could be misleading.

This is @GhassanAbuSitt1, a surgeon who is currently saving the lives of Palestinians in a hospital in Gaza. He's just reported that counter terrorism police have showed up at his house in the UK and harrased his family.pic.twitter.com/GOvl5aQLHG https://t.co/bugmmZPAMM

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) October 16, 2023

That retraction was also poorly phrased and could be misleading.

glad i'm not the only one who thought this

OTM

I know this is old news, but it still blows my mind that the range of Acceptable Opinions on Israel is narrower in the West than it is in Israel.

That Darwish poem is great. Notable that Armenians were just cleansed from Artsakh by Azerbaijan and absolutely no-one in the west cared.

Yup. Armenia could be invaded in the next few weeks btw.

xxp two words: Social Media.

Nuanced discussions are often lacking in the echo chambers of social media and the 24 hour news cycle. The only place where I've seen nuanced discussions about the topic are on platforms that favor more nuanced discussion, such as ILX and (yes, believe it or not) Reddit.

I do wonder if the "outrage economy" of clickbait extremism online and the 24 hours news cycle will finally hit a limit of societal acceptability in western democracies, but I'm not holding my breath, they still make $$$

"We called a pro-palestinian march pro-Hamas. We accept that this was a thing that we said". WTF.

Now here's the weather.

True, I understand in theory how misinformation supposedly works. But I'm finding it extremely challenging to trust some of the news sources being cited and finding myself turning to reddit, and other news sources that I don't normally consult trying to see what areas of dispute exist over even just the factual reporting.

xp

Interestingly enough, a private forum I participate in is completely avoiding talking about this, and honestly it might be for the best.

The ukpolitics sub is overall fanatically pro-occupation and pro-genocide, and they are gradually losing their shit as they observe the public becoming turned off by this stance. Also they are usually witheringly critical of the Tories but have suddenly become staunchly supportive of Sunak and Braverman.

Are you taking about Reddit or something

I have met exactly zero people in between.

To the extent I've talked to people about this, almost everybody I know IRL is "in between" the two positions you describe.

Reddit is a paragon of “nuanced discussion” now. We are truly fucked.

Actually was just thinking about this specific issue in non-Reddit terms which still definitely apply to Reddit. How this conflict is a godsend for the extreme right (and whatever apologists they may have claiming to be “leftist”). Because it so thoroughly divides actual leftists from liberals steeped in realpolitik or whatever they’re on.

a name like Dick Wolf must never be besmirched

There's nothing decent to besmirch. The Law & Order "franchise" is a formulaic, sensationalist pile of shit. All 1,316 episodes of it.

Also pretty depressing how my social media feed was blissfully Ben Shapiro-free until various people decided his thick-headed, one-dimensional take on the Middle East was the voice of reason this past week.

xxp two words: Social Media.

Nuanced discussions are often lacking in the echo chambers of social media and the 24 hour news cycle. The only place where I've seen nuanced discussions about the topic are on platforms that favor more nuanced discussion, such as 4chan and (yes, believe it or not) Stormfront.

We get it. You don't like Reddit.

I don’t like social media illiterates upholding a literal right wing extremist-captured disinformation service as their go-to for balanced discussion.

lol what

Lol hey i wasnt even posting here viborg

Yes, the famously extremist platform, reddit

Extremely milquetoast maybe

A dire situation for Lebanon and Syria. Resistance, in whatever way, is the only way.

1. Lebanon’s appointment of a political figure to lead talks with Israel for the first time in decades, exposes the reality of normalisation without peace, not even an unjust one. Israel is not seeking to normalize itself as a state pursuing security or stable borders, as its…

— Amal Saad (@amalsaad_lb) December 3, 2025

Got round to a review of this book on Zionism, which has some interesting passages on Lebanese politics.

"Jiryis is a scholar; he witnessed the start of the Nakba and its consequences, and is not writing for those who won’t listen."

https://thebaffler.com/latest/given-this-reality-turfah

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/watched-tracked-targeted-israel-surveillance-gaza.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=s1&utm_campaign=nym

long detailed article by a Palestinian journalist who has since left Gaza, about how Israel tracks Palestinians on their phones, online, via drones ,etc.

Thank you for sharing, my god

It’s horrible and I wish some of my hometown Zionists would read it.

Since you were talking around anti-racist work on the uk thread and calling me out maybe shove this in front of them, and be confrontational and loud with it?

Why don’t you do something more useful with your time than biting my ankles, shawty?

No biting here, just something that simply occurred to me that you could easily do for anti-racism.

Sorry for name-calling but you are massively getting on what passes for my tits.

So you are telling me your hometown Zionist will stay uninformed? That's a shame.

Never mind.

So you are telling me your hometown Zionist will stay uninformed? That's a shame.

Never mind.

So you are telling me your hometown Zionist will stay uninformed? That's a shame.

Never mind.

Hamas announced the death of senior Al-Qassam Brigades commander Raed Saad, known as Abu Mu’ath, in an Israeli assassination operation yesterday (Dec 13).

He was targeted by an Israeli drone in his car while driving on the Al-Rashid road, west of Gaza City. The strike killed five people and injured at least 25 others, including civilians, according to Al Jazeera.

In a statement published on its official website, Hamas said Saad was killed alongside three other Al-Qassam members: Riyad al-Luban, Abd al-Haqq Zakout, and Yahya al-Qayali. The group said the four had played prominent roles within the armed wing.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/12/16/israeli-raids-across-west-bank-as-gaza-reels-from-aftermath-of-storm

Infants dying of cold in Gaza

Egypt can say what it wants but purchasing $35bn of gas from Israel violates int'l law, including the ICJ advisory opinion of 2024, and is, honestly, an incredible sign of support to Israel during the genocide of the Palestinians.
States must stop placing profits above humanity. https://t.co/J3F7tMbPP1

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) December 20, 2025

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/26/israel-becomes-first-country-to-recognise-somaliland

From Haaretz - Iranian hackers said they hacked into the phone of PM Netanyahu's chief of staff and will soon publish sensitive information they obtained about the premier and his aides' alleged ties to Qatar. Far-right minister Ben-Gvir said that anyone involved in Qatargate "should be sent to prison for many years," while saying that he believes Netanyahu was not involved in qatargate affair

was looking up Somaliland and quelle surprise it is a zone of British neocolonial interest with no credible claims of sovereignty in the region other than from Israel.

It's kind of a self-negating move from a country that doesn't recognise one that 81% of the world does. But shameless is how they roll.

https://apnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-bomb-yemen-mukalla-weapons-uae-9fc56e4678a12f56d61b1ecf855d4a4e

thought this interview with a Palestinian writer was really interesting:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/magazine/raja-shehadeh-interview.html

"At the end of another brutal year of strife and suffering, with a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas holding"

Great interview, and yes I know it has been contentious here but the way he identifies Zionism as the central problem..

Something that has struck me in talking to you is a calm or lack of stridency in how you make your arguments, which seems very different than the stridency of younger pro-Palestinian activists. I’m curious if you see generational differences in how pro-Palestinian voices express themselves and the tactics that they call for? Yes, but I think that even when I was young I always had a mild tone.

So it’s you, not generational? I always try to understand the other side because I want to be effective and speak to the other side in a language that they can understand. I’ve always been hesitant to use strident language and to be extremist in order to win over the other side. That has been my effort all along — to win the other side — but it has never worked

This is something else.

Israel has attacked Lebanon nearly 30 times today alone. The latest drone strike targeted a vehicle in the village of Yater, south Lebanon.

— roqayah رقية (@roqchams) January 11, 2026

The Israeli army struck an area of southern Lebanon on Sunday, January 11, after issuing an evacuation warning, Lebanese state media said, with the military saying it attacked Hezbollah infrastructure. The strikes came days after the Lebanese military said it had completed disarming Hezbollah south of the Litani River, the first phase of a nationwide plan, though Israel has called those efforts insufficient

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/01/12/israeli-army-strikes-south-lebanon-after-warning_6749308_4.html

Just adding more details re latest Israel strikes in Lebanon

Israel Is Still Demolishing Gaza, Building by Building
More than 2,500 structures have been destroyed since the start of the cease-fire, an analysis by The New York Times has found.

https://archive.ph/mNHmy

Just about to post that too re: Gaza

Curmudgeon - thanks.

I almost posted about babies in Gaza freezing to death a few days ago, but decided not to since there were also several depressing articles about the West Bank and I wasn't sure what the point of posting was. Everyone understands the genocide is still ongoing, right?

yes

https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/statistics-bureau-says-gaza-population-fell-106-due-killing-and

The hunger strike for Palestine in British jails has ended in victory as Elbit Systems is denied £2bn contract with UK military.

In addition to improved conditions and the disclosure of Elbit export licenses during genocide.

History has been made by hearts hungry for justice.

— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) January 15, 2026

that is good news, was hearing very worrying reports about the strikers

This is a statement on all of this.

https://prisonersforpalestine.org/statement-three-end/

xp

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/charlie-kirk-israel-award-antisemitism-b2900983.html

Netanyahu announces Israel will honor Charlie Kirk with award for fighting antisemitism

lmao

I'm old enough to remember when Netanyahu was vehemently denying that he had anything to do with Kirk's death, so obv going by his standard m.o. he did have him killed then!

absolutely zero credit goes to scumbag war criminals Starmer and Lammy in ending the hunger strike. These evil fucks would have idly stood off until people died and didn't care a jot.

We'll see whether this is the case soon.

"The Washington Post reported yesterday that the Israeli and Iranian governments passed messages to each other via Russia late last month, before the Iranian protests began, with each disavowing any plan to attack the other. The Israelis, according to this story, are planning a major military operation against Hezbollah and wanted to minimize the chances of Iran getting involved. Maybe that explains Netanyahu’s position."

Contract that was intended to go to Elbit has apparently gone to Raytheon instead.

Yeah the (right wing) accounts posting below this just said "this is a tender process". Time will tell.

TODAY: Israeli authorities demolish the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem.

Videos by @OrenZiv_ pic.twitter.com/7VT389NWQc

— +972 Magazine (@972mag) January 20, 2026

🇮🇷 🎥 WATCH: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brags at Davos about the role U.S. sanctions have played in collapsing Iran’s economy, fueling public anger, and driving the recent nationwide protests.

Speaking to Fox News, Bessent said: “It’s worked because in December, their… pic.twitter.com/BmzobJJPgT

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) January 20, 2026

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/31/israeli-strikes-gaza-kill-at-least-12-reports

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg5x2l3v0qo

Palestinians, Arab countries, Israeli anti-occupation groups and the UK have condemned new steps approved by Israel's security cabinet for the occupied West Bank, saying they amount to de facto annexation.

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the moves that would make it easier for Jewish settlers to take over Palestinian land. "We will continue to kill the idea of ​​a Palestinian state," he said.

All settlements are seen as illegal under international law.

The measures - which are expected to be signed off by Israel's top military commander for the West Bank - aim to increase Israeli control over the territory in terms of property law, planning, licensing and enforcement.

The partial reopening of Gaza’s southern Rafah crossing with Egypt has been marked by chaos and severe restrictions imposed by Israel, as tens of thousands of Palestinians continue to wait for medical evacuation to receive urgent care outside the Gaza Strip. According to U.N. data, only 36 Palestinians in need of medical treatment were allowed to leave Gaza during the first four days of the crossing’s reopening. Palestinians permitted to reenter Gaza have also reported abuse and hourslong interrogations. This comes amid growing skepticism over the implementation of the second phase of the Trump-brokered ceasefire, which Israel has repeatedly violated with near-daily attacks across Gaza since the truce took effect in October.

“No one inside Gaza is calling this a ceasefire,” says Arwa Damon, former CNN correspondent and the founder of INARA, a nonprofit organization that supports children impacted by war. She says ongoing Israeli restrictions on medical evacuation are essentially a death sentence for many people, including children. “They are either going to end up with permanent injury or they are going to die.”

Transcript

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israeli-soldiers-accused-of-using-polymarket-to-bet-on-strikes-72d53012?st=WX5EDN&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Israeli Soldiers Accused of Using Polymarket to Bet on Strikes

Internal security agency alleges suspects used classified information from their jobs to inform their wagers

Israel has arrested several people, including army reservists, for allegedly using classified information to place bets on Israeli military operations on Polymarket.

Shin Bet, the country’s internal security agency, said Thursday the suspects used information they had come across during their military service to inform their bets.

One of the reservists and a civilian were indicted on a charge of committing serious security offenses, bribery and obstruction of justice, Shin Bet said, without naming the people who were arrested.

vile but I wonder if the entire world needs a cleansing fire

Israeli military activities have been a popular subject for bets on the platform. With tension again growing over Iran’s nuclear and ballistic-missile programs after they were pounded by Israel and the U.S. last June, there were more than $3 million in bets on “Israel Strikes Iran” by Feb. 28, March 31 or June 30 this year, with most of the action focused around the end of March.

Users can also bet on the date Israel next strikes Gaza or Lebanon, the number of countries Israel will strike in February, and progress in Gaza peace talks. There are bets on U.S. strikes on Iran and whether the U.S. or Israel will strike Iran first.

Among the questions with the highest trade volume on Polymarket currently is when Washington will carry out military action against Iran. The current trading volume for that question is over $238 million.

On organ harvesting of Palestinian bodies..

https://thebaffler.com/latest/im-not-done-with-you-turfah

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-offer-passport-services-west-bank-settlement-first-time-2026-02-24/

Recognition of settlers by the US

From Haaretz re Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon-

Israel has indirectly communicated to Lebanon that if Hezbollah joins any U.S.-Iran confrontation, Israel would respond with major force, including by targeting civilian infrastructure such as Beirut's airport, two senior Lebanese officials told Reuters on Tuesday.