From https://alethonews.com/
MEMO | December 22, 2023
Expressing support for Palestinians in the ongoing conflict in Gaza risks Canadians being fired, suspended from their jobs and calls not to be hired, the country’s public broadcaster reported on Friday, reports Anadolu Agency.
It is a development in other countries, including the US and Europe, and affects various employment fields, such as the service sector, education, health care, the law and media. “I can tell you personally, in the last month and a half, I’ve probably spoken with someone at least once a day [about this],” Jackie Esmonde, a labour lawyer at the Toronto-based firm Cavalluzzo Law, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). “They’re not always cases that we take on, but we do have eight to 10 cases that we’re actively working on at the moment.”
She said these are not cases of hate speech or support for terrorism. … continue
By Maryam Qarehgozlou | Press TV | December 23, 2023
… In recent weeks, the Israel regime’s random and reckless raids and arrests in Jenin have resulted in the killing of three members of Freedom Theatre: 17-year-old Yamen Jarrar, 26-year-old Jehad Naghniyeh, and 30-year-old Mohammed Matahen.
“For decades, Palestinian artists have been arbitrarily detained by the Israeli regime, sometimes for years,” the Freedom Theater said in a statement on Thursday.
“In the last few weeks in Gaza, an unprecedented number of writers, poets, theater makers and journalists have been killed,” the statement added.
The theater authorities said the regime “continues to target and destroy buildings of cultural heritage, a war crime under international law,” referring to a surge in raids since October 7.
During the latest raid on the theater house, the Israeli military shot from inside, destroying the offices and knocking down a wall of the building that houses the theater.
The statement further noted that Ahmed Tobasi, the theater’s artistic director, Mustafa Sheta, the theater’s general manager, and Jamal Abu Joas, a recent graduate of the Freedom Theatre Performing Arts School, were detained following last week’s raid.
Rasha Sheta, Mustafa Sheta’s wife, was quoted as saying by Freedom Theater that he was taken by the regime forces from his house in Jenin and remains in their custody.
“He was handcuffed and taken in front of our children with no mercy or any consideration to our feelings. My children spent their night crying. We felt so scared without him being around with us,” she said.
“We feel very sad for him being away, especially since we don’t know why he was arrested.”
Sheta is believed to have been taken to the Megiddo military prison north of occupied territories, MAYDAY, artist-led citizen journalism from inside Jenin Refugee Camp said in an update on Sheta’s detainment on Monday.
“It is believed that Mustafa will have a “trial” on Wednesday or Thursday, in an Israeli court by the Israeli occupying army,” MAYDAY said, adding that “there is no justice or judicial process and military orders always take precedence over Israeli and international laws.”
MAYDAY predicted that Mustafa will be held for six months in administrative detention, meaning that he will be imprisoned without trial or charge, under allegations that he plans to commit a future offense.
According to Freedom Theater, Abu Joas, who was severely beaten upon his arrest, remains in Israeli detention, without any charges.
Tobasi, released after 24 hours, told Democracy Now on December 15 that Israeli soldiers broke all the computers in the theater, blindfolded him and threw him in the mud by a jeep. He said he was afraid they were going to run him over.
In the video interview, Tobasi, sitting in his ravaged office said “everything is destroyed” in the theater.
“This is a theater. It’s not a military base. It’s not a terrorist house. There are no guns. There are books, pictures, cameras, music, instruments. All of it been destroyed,” he said. … Read full article
IMEMC | DECEMBER 23, 2023
On Friday evening, illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers injured two Palestinian siblings in the Khalayel Al-Louz area, southeast of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.
The colonizers attacked the two siblings, Nassef Naseef Ismael, 38, and his brother Hotheifa, 36, before the locals rushed to their aid, forcing the colonizers to flee the area.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the siblings suffered numerous cuts and bruises to various parts of their bodies and were taken to a medical center.
On Saturday dawn, dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded the Deheishe refugee camp south of Bethlehem, searched and ransacked homes, and confiscated a Palestinian car.
Press TV – December 23, 2023
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has called for the release of detained PRCS workers by the Israeli regime, emphasizing the urgency of the situation in the occupied Palestinian lands, specifically Gaza.
The PRCS, on Saturday, urged the international community to apply pressure on the Israeli occupation authorities to secure the immediate release of Awni Khattab, the head of the PRCS ambulance center in Khan Younis, who has been held for over a month.
“More than a month has passed since the arrest of our colleague Awni Khattab, head of the PRCS ambulance center in Khan Younis,” PRCS said on X, formerly Twitter, adding, “We urge the international community to exert pressure on the occupation authorities for the immediate release of our teams and to ensure their protection.”
PRCS pointed out that the Israeli forces continue to incarcerate Red Crescent workers based in the Jabalia ambulance center in northern Gaza. … Full article
MEMO | December 23, 2023
The Hamas movement announced on Friday that the Israeli army committed multiple executions by shooting entire families in several areas inside Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, with support from Washington.
This came in a statement by the Palestinian movement after the Israeli army escalated its military campaign on the Gaza Strip by land, air and sea, increasing the number of deaths and injuries among civilians.
Hamas reported: “Several areas in Gaza City and in the northern Gaza Strip recorded liquidations and executions by the fascist Israeli occupation army of entire families, which happened to the Enaya family in Gaza City, whose members’ bodies were found in their home after the occupation’s withdrawal.”
“Several cases were also recorded of the execution of civilian men in front of their families, including women and children, after their homes were stormed, according to the testimonies of families and survivors of these terrorist massacres,” added Hamas. … Full article
MEMO | December 23, 2023
During the first six weeks of the war on Gaza, Israel routinely used one of the largest and most destructive bombs supplied by the US in areas it deemed safe zones for civilians, according to an analysis of visual evidence conducted by the New York Times published on Friday.
The report showed Israel’s bombardment using bombs weighing approximately one tonne in an area in southern Gaza, to which civilians were displaced under the pretext of seeking safety. … continue
The Cradle | December 23, 2023
Israel’s Broadcasting Authority on 23 December revealed that Tel Aviv is planning to switch to a new phase of the war in the coming weeks, bringing to an end to ground operations and shifting the focus to continued heavy airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
“The Israeli army is preparing to move to the third phase of the fighting in Gaza in the coming weeks,” the sources said, citing sources in the know.
The Israeli broadcaster added that this phase will include “ending the ground operation in the Strip, reducing forces, and demobilizing reserve forces.”
The new phase will focus on heavy bombardment and the establishment of a “buffer zone” near the strip’s border in line with a longstanding Israeli goal.
While the sources claimed the Israeli army “took control of most of the northern Gaza Strip area,” battles with the Palestinian resistance continue to rage across both north and south Gaza.
The Israeli report comes days after the elite Golani Brigade withdrew from Gaza to “reorganize its ranks.” The Golani Brigade faced huge losses while fighting Hamas’ Qassam Brigades, the Quds Brigade, and other groups entrenched across the strip.
According to a retired Israeli general, the elite force lost a quarter of its troops.
The Qassam Brigades have been releasing footage of its ambushes against Israeli forces on a near daily basis. The videos include scenes of guided missile strikes, sniping operations, and RPG attacks on tanks, vehicles, and bulldozers. … Full article
RT | December 23, 2023
More than 90 Palestinians, including 76 members of one extended family, have reportedly been killed in Israeli airstrikes that leveled two homes in Gaza, marking one of the deadliest bombardments in West Jerusalem’s campaign against Hamas.
Friday’s strike in Gaza City killed 16 heads of household from the al-Mughrabi family, local health and rescue officials said on Saturday. Among those who perished was a 56-year-old staffer with the UN Development Program (UNDP), Issam al-Mughrabi, as well as his wife and five children. He had worked for the agency for nearly three decades. … Full article
