Tag: israel

Chilling moment Elias Rodriguez screams ‘Free Palestine’ after shooting Israeli diplomat couple dead

A pro-Palestinian gunman suspected of shooting a young Jewish diplomatic couple dead was filmed manically screaming ‘Free Palestine‘ as he was hauled into custody.

Footage emerged overnight of 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez as he was taken into custody after two Israeli embassy staffers were gunned down outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC.

Yaron Lischinsky and his girlfriend Sarah Milgrim were identified as the victims in the vile attack that was condemned by President Donald Trump.

The couple, who were set to get engaged next week, had attended a Young Diplomats event before they were shot.

In one image, Rodriguez is seen sitting calmly at a bench with one leg crossed over the other, while separate footage captures the moment he is hysterically hauled away while shouting.

‘Free, free Palestine,’ he shouts repeatedly as he squirms against the officers’ grip.

The haunting pictures and images surfaced as witnesses described seeing Rodriguez ‘pacing back and forth’ outside the museum cocktail reception.

He then approached a group of people that included Lischinsky and Milgrim and then shot them at ‘close range’ with a handgun, the Israeli Embassy said. 

Moments later, he casually walked into the museum. Yoni Kalin told Fox 5 News  Rodriguez was allowed inside by well-meaning security guards who assumed he was a victim.

‘He was clearly in trauma, he was in shock. Some of the people at the event sat him down, brought him water, asked if he was okay, and he was like ”call the cops”.’

Ten minutes later when authorities arrived, Rodriguez allegedly admitted to carrying out the shooting.

‘He grabbed a red kaffiyeh out of his pocket and started a “Free Palestine” chant: “There’s only one solution, Intifada revolution,” Kalin said. ‘Thank God he left the gun in the bushes outside.’

Kalin, still in shock himself and unsure of what had happened, noticed that the red kaffiyeh had fallen on to the ground and tried to offer it to Rodriguez as he was hauled away, the video revealed. 

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Mercenary Firm Set To Oversee Gaza Aid For Israel Goes On LinkedIn Hiring Spree

The US private military contracting firm set to oversee Gaza aid distribution on Israel’s behalf is actively hiring for positions on LinkedIn, according to job postings shared with Middle East Eye by current and former US officials.

The firm, Safe Reach Solutions, or SRS, says it is actively looking for “Humanitarian Liaison Officers” who will “serve as vital connectors between our operational teams and the broader humanitarian community,” according to one job description.

Another position on offer a week ago but has since closed is for a “Team Deputy/Manager” to support “day-to-day management, planning, and mission execution”.

A liaison officer position appears to be analytically focused. It says that hires will “advise on best practices for engaging with affected populations, local authorities, and community-based organizations” while monitoring developments that could impact “operational posture”.

The team deputy position is geared towards recruits with a background in operations. One of the requirements is “field experience in the Middle East, especially in conflict-affected or post-crisis settings”.

The positions want applicants with at least seven years of experience. They require applicants to be US citizens and say fluency in Arabic is preferred. 

Ironically, SRS is seeking people with UN experience, but the plan to take over aid distribution seeks to supplant the United Nations, which is already capable of delivering aid in Gaza. “These mid- to senior-career professionals will help bridge communication, coordination, and trust with NGOs, international agencies, and UN bodies operating in complex environments.”

Demand for the positions appears to be high. According to LinkedIn, more than 100 people applied for the humanitarian liaison officer position within two weeks.

The team deputy position also drew comments from interested users directed to “Ali Ali,” SRS’s recruiting consultant. “Hi Ali I worked in Gaza last summer with the US army. I was in charge of the humanitarian aid delivery through the trident pier. Please reach out to me at your best convenience to talk more,” a LinkedIn user wrote.

The former Biden administration floated a costly pier project to bring aid into the Gaza Strip last year, but it was widely considered a failure.

American private military contractors have already started arriving in Israel, according to photos shared on social media of khaki-clad and bearded men at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. MEE couldn’t independently verify the photos. 

Who is Phil Reilly and his firm SRS?

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Israeli Troops Fire Shots On International Diplomats Visiting West Bank

International pressure on Israel and the Netanyahu government is already at a historic high, even from Western allies which have been sanctioning hardline Israeli settler groups and individuals, and a new international incident has unfolded Wednesday in the West Bank.

“Israeli soldiers mistakenly fired warning shots at diplomats representing the European Union, UK, France, China, Russia and other countries on Wednesday,” Bloomberg writes.

An international group of diplomats and activists were visiting the West Bank town of Jenin when they reportedly came under gunfire from Israel Defense Forces.

Videos show the diplomatic group fleeing and running to their vehicles in a chaotic scene. Some of the vehicles appeared marked with flags of their respective countries.

The Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the West Bank, issued a statement condemning Israel troops. The statement claimed the IDF “deliberately targeted by live fire an accredited diplomatic delegation.”

The IDF for its part, issued a statement alleging that while the diplomatic group was approved to be in the area, it departed from the ‘approved route’. The IDF did confirm that “warning shots” were fired. 

“IDF soldiers operating in the area fired warning shots to distance them away,” the IDF said in the statement. “The IDF regrets the inconvenience caused.” The army said an investigation into the incident will follow.

Bloomberg lists that diplomats from the following were on the ground at the time: the EU, Portugal, Morocco, Brazil, Austria, Japan, Canada, India, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Romania, France, the UK, Mexico, China, Egypt and Jordan.

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The Hostile Takeover of Gaza Relief

With over half a million people in Gaza on the brink of starvation and aid groups warning of an “imminent famine,” Israel has agreed to allow a token number of relief trucks into the besieged enclave. But what’s entering Gaza now isn’t humanitarian aid, it’s a Trojan horse.

A new, U.S.-backed private aid scheme staffed by former C.I.A. operatives, ex-Marines, and mercenaries tied to Israeli intelligence and Wall Street elites has been deployed in Gaza under the guise of relief. The project is led by a shady NGO registered in Switzerland just months ago, and human rights groups are calling it what it is: a hostile corporate takeover of the aid sector, designed to militarize relief, displace civilians and profit from Gaza’s agony.

At the heart of this scheme is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a nonprofit created in February and backed by Israeli authorities. Despite Gaza requiring a minimum of 500 aid trucks per day to meet basic survival needs, the Israeli military allowed just 1 percent of that to enter this week.

GHF, which now controls the operation, was launched by individuals with no background in humanitarian work — David Papazian, formerly with the Armenian National Interests Fund; Samuel Marcel Henderson; and David Kohler, CEO of Kohler Co. They are corporate executives, not aid workers.

According to a leaked internal proposal circulated in May, GHF plans to establish four “secure distribution sites” in Gaza capable of feeding just a fraction of the population (300,000 people), while giving the Israeli military and its contractors full operational oversight.

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Israel Preparing Possible Preemptive Attack On Iranian Nuclear Facilities: US Intelligence

At a moment it has become very clear that Netanyahu could care less about ‘pressure’ from Western allies the US, UK, and Canada, there are breaking reports Tuesday evening that a preemptive Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear sites could be imminent. According to CNN:

The US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Tehran, multiple US officials familiar with the latest intelligence told CNN.

Such a strike would be a brazen break with President Donald Trump, US officials said. It could also risk tipping off a broader regional conflict in the Middle East — something the US has sought to avoid since the war in Gaza inflamed tensions beginning in 2023.

The same report underscores that no ‘final decision’ has been made yet, and this is perhaps another ploy by the Israelis to show the West and the Mideast region that it means business, in the wake of “Israel’s 9/11” – the Oct.7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks. 

The late in the day headline resulted in an immediate spike in oil prices… 

The United Kingdom on Tuesday suspended its free-trade agreement negotiations with Israel over the growing Gaza crisis, and after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed disgust at newly expanded Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, also as famine threats at least 500,000 Palestinians.

Starmer described that he and his French and Canadian counterparts are “horrified” by the Netanyahu government’s escalation in Gaza. This also comes as international headlines and warnings grow more dire. For example Al Jazeera has the following new headline: “Starving Palestinians resort to eating animal feed, flour mixed with sand”.

“We repeat our demand for a ceasefire as the only way to free the hostages, we repeat our opposition to settlements in the West Bank, and we repeat our demand to massively scale up humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” Starmer told parliament.

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Timing of sexual misconduct allegations against ICC prosecutor ‘suspicious’ – analyst 

The timing of the sexual assault allegations brought against International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan is extremely suspicious, geopolitical analyst Alessandro Bruno told RT in an interview on Friday.

The fact that the ICC’s head prosecutor was working on a high-profile case at the time, which involved the issuance of arrest warrants against the Israeli leadership, “raises many questions,” he added.

Last May, Khan announced that he would apply for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his then Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as top figures in the Hamas leadership, for war crimes committed in the Gaza conflict. The ICC issued the warrants last November, around the time when accusations against Khan surfaced.

The Chief Prosecutor has since taken leave from his role, pending the outcome of an external investigation, multiple media outlets reported on Friday, citing the ICC. Khan has denied any wrongdoing.

“The timing of the allegations is, in my view, extremely suspicious. Extremely!” Bruno told RT on Friday.

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How NYT Reports on Weaponized Famine So You Don’t Have to Give a Damn

More than two months ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a complete blockade of aid—including food, water and medical supplies—from entering the besieged Gaza strip. It’s a severe escalation of Israel’s now 19-month genocide against Palestinians in Gaza—and what the World Health Organization (5/12/25) has described as “one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time.”

With no replenishing stock, aid groups have begun running out of supplies to distribute to families in need.

The UN Relief and Works Agency (5/16/25) reports that their “flour and food parcels have run out,” and that “one third of essential medical supplies are already out of stock.” More than a week ago, World Central Kitchen reported that they no longer have supplies to cook hot meals and bake bread for starving families—they’ve since repurposed their pots to distribute filtered water.

With Gaza’s entire population experiencing crisis-level food insecurity, and with three-quarters facing “emergency” or “catastrophic” levels of deprivation, the famine has been recognized by Human Rights Watch interim executive director Federico Borello as “a tool of extermination.”

At first glance, the April 29 New York Times offered what many would call an objective account with the headline: “UN Faults Israel Over Blockade of Aid for Gaza” (web version here: 4/28/25).

A closer look at the piece however, reveals the Times’ usual spinelessness in its Gaza coverage, unquestioningly accepting Israeli framing in its supposed right to carry out its ongoing genocide.

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Trump administration working on plan to move 1 million Palestinians to Libya

The Trump administration is working on a plan to permanently relocate up to 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya, five people with knowledge of the effort told NBC News.

The plan is under serious enough consideration that the administration has discussed it with Libya’s leadership, two people with direct knowledge of the plans and a former U.S. official said. 

In exchange for the resettling of Palestinians, the administration would potentially release to Libya billions of dollars of funds that the U.S. froze more than a decade ago, those three people said.

No final agreement has been reached, and Israel has been kept informed of the administration’s discussions, the same three sources said.

The State Department and the National Security Council did not respond to multiple requests for comment.  

Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said that Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist group that has run Gaza, was not aware of any discussions about moving Palestinians to Libya.

“Palestinians are very rooted in their homeland, very strongly committed to the homeland and they are ready to fight up to the end and to sacrifice anything to defend their land, their homeland, their families, and the future of their children,” Naim said in response to questions from NBC News. “[Palestinians] are exclusively the only party who have the right to decide for the Palestinians, including Gaza and Gazans, what to do and what not to do.”

Representatives of the Israeli government declined to comment. 

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Militant Zionists Spur Arrest of Pro-Palestine Student, Judge Rules

A U.S. federal court in Massachusetts has ruled that the detention of a former student who expressed pro-Palestine views was unconstitutional and that it was a punitive measure triggered almost solely by a complaint from the Zionist militant group Betar.

Late last week, Judge Angel Kelley wrote in her decision that a former student at the University of Massachusetts (UMass), detained unlawfully by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), be released, providing the first court admission that a Zionist extremist groups is working with U.S. authorities to violate free speech rights.

Judge Kelley wrote that the government’s “pursuit of [the former student’s] detention seems to have been almost exclusively triggered by Betar Worldwide.” 

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Spain’s Prime Minister Labels Israel a “Genocidal State,” Escalates Diplomatic Tensions

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez ignited an international firestorm on Wednesday after publicly calling Israel a “genocidal state” during a heated parliamentary session, marking the first time the socialist leader used such language, despite his government’s long-standing alignment with anti-Israel rhetoric.

The remarks came in response to Gabriel Rufián, a leftist Catalan MP, who accused Sánchez of hypocrisy for maintaining trade ties with Israel amid its ongoing military campaign in Gaza. Sánchez, pushing back sharply, stated:

“I want to make one thing clear here, Mr. Rufián. We do not do business with a genocidal state, we do not.”

The statement, echoing the language of Sánchez’s far-left coalition partner, the Sumar party, represented a new level of official condemnation. Until now, the prime minister had refrained from personally using the term, even as Spain formally joined South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging genocide by Israel.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned Sánchez’s statement and swiftly summoned the Spanish ambassador, Ana Salomon, to its Jerusalem office for a formal reprimand. The Ministry accused Sánchez of spreading inflammatory and unfounded accusations, saying his words distort the reality of the ongoing conflict and ignore the suffering of Israeli victims.

Elsewhere in Europe, similar rhetoric emerged. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, addressing the city council, referenced the term “genocidal violence” and cited Holocaust scholars critical of Israel’s actions. Her remarks were also met with swift pushback. Israeli Ambassador to the Netherlands Modi Ephraim said he was “deeply dismayed,” calling her speech a distortion of both historical memory and present-day realities.

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