Tag: palestine

PROPAGANDA WAR: PRO-ISRAEL TROLLS ARE MOBBING TWITTER’S COMMUNITY NOTES

Almost as important as its military campaign for Israel is its battle to control its public image. Even as it kills thousands of people in Gaza, the small Middle Eastern nation is spending millions of dollars on a propaganda war, purchasing ads on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and other online apps. At the same time, an army of pro-Israel trolls has invaded the Community Notes function on X/Twitter, attempting to influence the online debate around the ongoing crisis.

SPENDING MILLIONS TO WHITEWASH MASSACRES

Since October 7, Israel has inundated YouTube with advertisements, with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs spending nearly $7.1 million on ads in the two weeks following Hamas’ incursion. According to journalist Sophia Smith Galer, this equates to almost one billion impressions.

With its campaign, the Israeli government overwhelmingly focused on rich Western nations, its top targets being France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the United States. In France alone, the ministry spent $3.8 million. Other branches of the Israeli government undoubtedly also spent money on ads. The overwhelming message of the campaign was that Hamas are terrorists linked with ISIS and that Israel – a modern, secular democracy – is defending itself from foreign aggression.

Much of the content blatantly violated YouTube’s terms of service, including a number of ads featuring gory shots of dead bodies. Another ad that piqued public attention was played before videos aimed at babies. Amid a scene of pink rainbows and soothing music, text appears reading:

We know that your child cannot read this. We have an important message to tell you as parents. 40 infants were murdered in Israel by the terrorists Hamas (ISIS). Just as you would do everything for your child, we will do everything to protect ours. Now hug your baby and stand with us.”

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White House Says Israel Will Continue to Kill ‘Innocent Civilians’ in Gaza

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that Israel will continue to hurt “innocent civilians” in its onslaught on Gaza.

“This is war. It is combat. It is bloody, ugly and it’s going to be messy and innocent civilians are going to be hurt going forward,” Kirby said when asked if the US thought Israel’s bombardment was a disproportionate response to the Hamas attack on southern Israel.

“I wish I could tell you something different and wish that there wasn’t going to happen, but it is going to happen. And that doesn’t make it right, doesn’t make it dismissible,” Kirby added.

He also reiterated the US’s opposition to a ceasefire in Gaza, claiming it would only benefit Hamas. Both Kirby and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said they were open to the idea of a “humanitarian pause” to allow more aid to enter Gaza.

Kirby insisted the US would continue to urge Israel to minimize civilian casualties, but Israel has only increased its bombardment of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that airstrikes launched the day before were the hardest yet.

While Kirby framed civilian casualties as a fact of modern war, Israel’s bombardment has been particularly brutal, as attacks have been leveling entire neighborhoods. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, after 18 days of bombing, at least 5,791 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including 2,360 children.

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Florida’s DeSantis bans pro-Palestinian group from state campuses

Florida’s university system, working with Governor Ron DeSantis, ordered colleges on Tuesday to shut down a pro-Palestinian student organization, marking the first U.S. state to outlaw the group whose national leadership backed Hamas’ attack on Israel.

The State University System of Florida said chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) had to be dismantled as part of a “crack down” in the Republican-led state on campus demonstrations that provide “harmful support for terrorist groups.”

“Based on the National SJP’s support of terrorism, in consultation with Governor DeSantis, the student chapters must be deactivated,” the system’s Chancellor Ray Rodrigues wrote in a memo to university leaders.

SJP is active in at least two Florida universities, Rodrigues said.

The University of North Florida in Jacksonville and Florida State University in Tallahassee have SJP chapters, based on Instagram sites. The National SJP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tensions between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian students have led to harassment and assaults at U.S. universities since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s siege and bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Administrators at some U.S. universities criticized the National SJP after it called Hamas’ attack “a historic win for the Palestinian resistance” and called for a “day of resistance” on Oct. 12 with demonstrations by its chapters at over 200 colleges in America and Canada.

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Blinken says he asked Qatari PM to rein in Al Jazeera war coverage, per sources

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken told a group of American Jewish community leaders on Monday that he asked the Qatari prime minister less than two weeks ago to tone down Al Jazeera’s rhetoric about the war in Gaza, according to three people who attended the meeting.

Why it matters: Blinken’s comments suggest the administration, which has asserted its support for the independent press globally, is concerned Al Jazeera’s framing of the conflict could escalate tensions in the region.

Background: The Al Jazeera Media Network is funded by the Qatari government but maintains it operates independently. Critics have said it reflects the foreign policy position of Qatar, which has faced scrutiny over its ties to Hamas.

  • Israel has accused Al Jazeera of being “a propaganda mouthpiece” for Hamas.
  • The Al Jazeera press office did not respond to requests for comment.
  • Al Jazeera has been described by the Council on Foreign Relations as one of the Qatari government’s soft power tools that allows it to have political influence in the Middle East and around the world.
  • Blinken appeared to be talking about Al Jazeera Arabic, not Al Jazeera English.

Behind the scenes: Blinken told American Jewish leaders on Monday that when he was in Doha on Oct. 13 he asked the Qatari government to change its public posture towards Hamas, three people who attended the meeting said.

  • According to the three attendees, Blinken said he gave toning down Al Jazeera coverage of the war in Gaza as an example of steps the Qatari government can take to do this. Blinken said he asked the Qataris to “turn down the volume on Al Jazeera’s coverage because it is full of anti-Israel incitement,” according to one source.
  • Blinken didn’t give any examples of the heightened rhetoric he asked to be dialed back.
  • The State Department declined to comment on Blinken’s remarks about Al Jazeera.
  • The Qatari Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

The big picture: Speaking alongside Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani in Doha, Blinken said “there can be no more business as usual with Hamas.”

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Pentagon Expects ‘Significant Escalation’ of Attacks on US Troops Over Gaza War

A Pentagon official told reporters on Monday that the military is preparing for a “significant escalation” of attacks on US troops stationed in the Middle East due to President Biden’s support for Israel’s onslaught in Gaza.

The comments came the same day US Central Command said its forces downed two drones that were fired at a base in Syria. Starting last week, there have been a series of attacks on bases housing US troops in Iraq and Syria.

“They’ve been under an increase of attacks for the really for the last three days or so at various locations,” said a senior Pentagon official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, according to Military Times.

A group that calls itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed it launched drones at US forces in Syria on Monday, but the US has not attributed blame. The Pentagon official pointed the finger at Iran due to Tehran’s support for Shia militias that operate in Syria and Iraq, although there’s no indication Iran is directly involved.

“We see a prospect for much more significant escalation against US forces and personnel in the near term,” the official said. “And let’s be clear about it: the road leads back to Iran. Iran funded, armed, equipped and trained militias and proxy forces all across the region.”

Separately, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said there was no sign Iran is ordering the attacks, but said the US still blames Iran. “We don’t necessarily see that Iran has explicitly ordered them to take these kinds of attacks,” he said. “That said, by virtue of the fact that they are supported by Iran, we will ultimately hold Iran responsible.”

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Israeli think tank lays out a blueprint for the complete ethnic cleansing of Gaza

Update, October 24, 2023

After this article was originally published, the Israeli outlet Calcalist reported on a separate plan for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza that is being circulated by the Israeli Intelligence Ministry headed by Gila Gamliel. The leaked document was reportedly created for an organization called “The Unit for Settlement – Gaza Strip” and was not meant for the public.

In the plan being proposed by the Intelligence Ministry, Palestinians in Gaza would be displaced from Gaza to the northern Egyptian Sinai peninsula. In the report, the ministry described different options for what comes after an invasion of Gaza and the option deemed as “liable to provide positive and long-lasting strategic results” was the transfer of Gaza residents to Sinai. The move entails three steps: the creation of tent cities southwest of the Gaza Strip; the construction of a humanitarian corridor to “assist the residents”; and finally, the building of cities in northern Sinai. In parallel, a “sterile zone”, several kilometers wide, would be established within Egypt, south of the Israeli border, “so that the evacuated residents would not be able to return”. 

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To Kill in Darkness

Further attacks on sheltering civilians loom as Israel prepares a ground offensive in northern Gaza: Tel Aviv has ordered Al-Quds hospital and five UNRWA schools in Gaza City to evacuate to escape imminent bombardment.

The Al-Quds hospital is reportedly treating over 400 patients and sheltering 12,000 displaced civilians.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to tighten its grip on internal dissent and media coverage of the carnage.

News reports indicated Friday that U.N. relief agency UNRWA’s representatives said Israel told them to evacuate five schools “as fast as possible… We did what we could protest and reject this decision, but this means that from now on these facilities are no longer safe.”

Journalist Max Blumenthal wrote on social media: “Israel is implying it plans to bomb UN schools. The message below was sent to UNRWA.”

The Palestinian Red Crescent wrote via X:

“PRCS faces an imminent threat. The IOF demands the evacuation of Al-Quds Hospital, a sanctuary for over 400 patients and around 12,000 displaced civilians. We call [on] the international community to act urgently, averting another catastrophe like Al-Ahli Hospital”

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Disgraced BLM activist Shaun King says he helped free American hostages released from Gaza and knows them personally, hostages say they never heard of him

On Saturday, left-wing activist Shaun King took to social media to claim that the family of Natalie Raanan, one of the American hostages freed by Hamas, were supporters of his and that he helped to facilitate her and her mother’s release. However, the family says they had no idea who King was until after the release. 

In a post on Instagram, King wrote, “Hamas has just freed the teenager Natalie Raanan and her mother. I’m grateful.” He noted, “As I said last week, Natalie and her family have been supporters of mine and protested police violence in America alongside us.” 

“I am also thankful for the Qatari government for helping to negotiate this. Dozens of us worked frantically behind the scenes to help make this possible,” King added. “I spoke to Natalie’s family this afternoon and they are anxiously awaiting more updates.” 

After the post, Journalist Yuna Leibzon refuted King’s assertion in a long thread on X, she said, “It is important to clarify: the family of Natalie and Yehudit Ra’anan says they have no idea who Sean King is and they first found out about his existence after their release and reading the posts.”

She noted that King discussed Natalie’s half-brother Ben, and said “Uri, the father of Ben and Natalie told me tonight that he had no idea about this referral, and that the family simply turned everywhere to anyone who could help.” 

Leibzon noted that King is a “known hater of Israel” and that “Judith is part of the Chabad community in her city and according to her associates it is ridiculous to say that she is anything other than a lover of Israel.” She claims that King’s goal is to raise “‘doubts’ to the point that people have already determined that they support Hamas.” 

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CEO of Web Summit tech conference resigns over Israel comments

The chief executive of one of the world’s largest technology conferences resigned on Saturday amid furor over remarks he made about the Israel-Hamas war sparked a boycott that led to droves of speakers and companies to pull out of the gathering.

Organizers for Web Summit, which drew more than 70,000 attendees last year, said the event will still take place in Lisbon next month and that a new CEO will soon be appointed.

Paddy Cosgrave, the Irish entrepreneur who founded Web Summit and has been running the event since 2009, announced his departure after a flurry of companies, including Google, Meta, Amazon and Intel, withdrew from the event in the wake of Cosgrave’s comments.

Last week, he wrote on X that he was shocked at the rhetoric of so many Western leaders and governments in response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza following the Hamas terrorist attack that killed more than 1,300 people.

“War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are,” Cosgrave wrote, referring to Israel’s wave of attacks on Gaza after the violence committed by Hamas.

The statement set off outrage, with venture capitalists, Israeli startup founders and Big Tech companies all pulling out of Web Summit, an annual conference that for the past 14 years has brought together some of the industry’s top leaders and companies.

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Genocide Unfolding

Tonight has been the most violent bombardment of Gaza so far, notably concentrated on precisely the areas into which Israel ordered the population to evacuate. I find it almost impossible to believe that this genocide is under way with the active support of almost all western governments.

I want to look at two questions – what will happen internationally, and what is happening in western societies.

Israel plainly is on the course of further escalation and intends to kill many thousands more Palestinians. More than 2,000 Palestinian children alone have now been killed by Israeli aerial attack in the last fortnight.

Gaza has no defence from bombs and missiles, and there is no military reason why Israel cannot keep this up for months and simply rely upon aerial massacre. We are perhaps within a week of thirst, starvation and disease killing even more people per day than bombardment.

The population of Gaza are simply defenceless. Only international intervention can stop Israel from doing whatever it wishes, and those countries which have influence with Israel are actively abetting and encouraging the genocide.

The question is, what is Israel’s aim? Do they intend to reduce the Gaza Strip still further, annexing half or more of it? Will starvation and horror enable the international community to force Egypt to accept the expulsion of the population of Gaza into the Sinai Desert as a “humanitarian” move?

That appears to be the end game: expulsion of population and territorial expansion into Gaza. That would require a ground invasion, but probably not until after even more intense aerial bombardment to eliminate all resistance. This territorial ambition of course accords with the violent expansion of illegal settlement in the West Bank which is currently under way, with the world paying almost no attention.  It is very hard indeed to comprehend the passivity of Fatah and Mahmoud Abbas at the moment.

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