Author: Steven Sahiounie

Four British arms factories supplying components for the F-35 stealth fighter jets used by Israel to bomb Gaza have been temporarily shut down by hundreds of workers and demonstrators protesting against the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Footage posted online on Thursday showed activists blocking the entrances into the factories. The factories are: Eaton Mission Systems in Bournemouth, BAE Systems at Samlesbury Aerodrome in Lancashire, L3Harris factory in Brighton, and the BAE Systems Govan site in Glasgow. L3-Harris’ systems are integral to several US combat aircraft including the F-22, F/A-18 and F-35. It also manufactures bomb-release mechanisms for the F-35 combat aircraft…

Iran has condemned “baseless” claims against it in a statement of G7 leaders after their virtual meeting, saying some members of the group are the main cause of instability and insecurity in the region and the world. The Wednesday statement of the G7 members, comprising Japan, the US, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and the EU, called on Iran “to refrain from providing support for Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other non-state actors” and “never develop a nuclear weapon”. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani on Thursday strongly condemned the claims which he said resembled “a bitter historical joke”, as he reiterated the…

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has called for an immediate stop to the Israeli “genocide and crimes against humanity” in the besieged Gaza Strip as he met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday. President Putin greeted his Iranian counterpart in the Kremlin, where their talks centered on the Israeli invasion and expanding relations between Tehran and Moscow. “Gaza is a land where a child is martyred every ten minutes, so it is necessary to stop these bombings as soon as possible and find a quick and immediate solution,” President Raeisi said, adding “what is happening in Palestine is a…

The letter outlines the severity of the situation in Gaza, the imminent danger faced by its civilians, and also the potential risks for the maintenance of international peace and security. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has activated Article 99 of the United Nations Charter, issuing a letter to the President of the Security Council regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric announced on Wednesday. This marks the first instance of Guterres utilizing Article 99 of the UN Charter to call for the Security Council’s action since assuming his position in 2017, Dujarric said. “This is the first…

A Palestinian man identified as Awad Tayeh Anbar, 47, injured by Israeli army gunfire in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm three weeks ago, today succumbed to his wounds, according to medical sources. They said Anbar was critically injured on November 14 during an Israeli army incursion into Tulkarm refugee camp. He was getting treatment in hospital until he was pronounced dead. Source: WAFA

The Israeli occupation forces today detained at least 44 Palestinians in raids across the occupied West Bank, more than half of them workers from the Gaza Strip who were stranded in the West Bank following Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip two months ago. They said that soldiers rounded up 19 Gaza workers who were staying in the town of Faroun, south of the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm district, in addition to two others detained in the Nablus-district village of Qousin, and three other workers detained in Deheisheh refugee camp in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. The…

The Russian Central Election Commission can also decide on holding a multi-day vote within ten days after the resolution is published The Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament, or senate) unanimously agreed to officially designate March 17, 2024 as the date for next year’s presidential election at a plenary meeting on Thursday. “The Russian Federation Council rules to set March 17, 2024 as the date for [next year’s] presidential election. The resolution comes into force on the date of its official publication,” the senate said. Andrey Klishas, chair of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and Statehood, told…

The ancient archaeological Othman bin Qashqar Mosque in the old town of Gaza City was bombed today by Israeli warplanes, which also caused casualties among people and damage to nearby homes. The mosque was built in the year 620 Hijra (1220 AD), and despite its small area, it is one of the oldest mosques and archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip. It is located in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City, and is adjacent to the Great Al-Omari Mosque, which was also destroyed by the occupation warplanes during this aggression. Since the start of the aggression on the Gaza…

The Jordanian army says it deployed parachutes to carry out the fourth airdrop of “urgent relief aid” to a private Jordanian field hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. In a statement, the military said a Royal Air Force plane unloaded “boxes containing medical and therapeutic aid” to help the hospital keep operating. The aid is part of Jordan’s effort to relieve the displaced Palestinians “of the difficult circumstances they are exposed to” amid continuous Israeli bombardment, it added. Jordan also promised to continue to increase the capacity of medical personnel at its Gaza facility and “enhance and develop the hospital’s…

Alongside funding for Ukraine and other foreign policy issues, the $106bn bill would provide about $14bn to Israel to restock its missile defence systems. All Senate Republicans voted against moving forward with the measure as they called for border security provisions to be included. Bernie Sanders also voted against the bill, saying earlier this week that he opposed providing more funding to the “extremist Netanyahu government”. Rights advocates have called on the Biden administration to condition US aid to Israel – which totals $3.8bn annually – and argued that the funding contributes to Israeli abuses against Palestinians and violations of…