Human Rights

By Nadia Hardman, Researcher, Refugee and Migrant Rights Division | – Joey Shea Researcher, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates ( Human Rights Watch ) – Less than a year after Human Rights Watch found Saudi border guards had committed widespread and systematic killings of Ethiopian migrants on its border with Yemen, the US […]

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UN: Israel Flattened Civilian Housing Complexes with 2000-lb. Bombs in absence of Specific Military Target

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report this week on “Indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks during the conflict in Gaza” during the first three months of the Israeli campaign against Gaza. The UN is painfully polite, so you may not be able to tell that the […]

Food Insecurity

The Looming Famine in Gaza is an Extension of Israel’s Colonial Power

Middle East Monitor

By Caroline Lund and Brendan Ciarán Browne ( Middle East Monitor ) – Since October last year, it is estimated that approximately 70,000 tons of bombs have been dropped by Israel on the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza. The devastating death toll currently stands at around 36,550 Palestinians, including more than 15,000 children, and a […]

censorship

Protesting the U of Minnesota Reneging on Job offer to Genocide Specialist Raz Segal over Gaza

Committee on Academic Freedom

Committee on Academic Freedom | Middle East Studies Association | – Jeff Ettinger Interim President University of Minnesota upres@umn.edu . . . Dear President Ettinger and colleagues: We write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom to express our grave concern about your decision […]

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Israel, Defying UNSC Ceasefire Order, “Completely Dehumanizes” Palestinians (MSF), Shooting Fish in a Barrel

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports on the humanitarian situation in Gaza this week in the aftermath of the United Nations Security Council demand (14-0 with Russia abstaining) for a ceasefire in Gaza. It required Hamas and Israel to reply with a letter outlining their response. […]

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UN Commission of Inquiry: Israel guilty of Crimes against Humanity, Hamas Guilty of War Crimes

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel issued a report on Wednesday in which it charged both Hamas and Israel with war crimes. The IICIOPTI made an extensive investigation into the October 7 massacre in Israel staged by the Hamas paramilitary and its […]

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UN: Israel-caused Famine to encompass all Gaza by July, killing as many as 19,800 a Month

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A new joint report from the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program warns that even as North Gaza is now facing famine, “it is highly likely that the rest of the Gaza Strip would be facing a risk of famine through July 2024, in a worst-case scenario.” […]

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Pegasus: The Zero-Click Threat to Democracy and Human Rights from Israel

Marc Martorell Junyent

Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– Pegasus, the main cyber-surveillance weapon developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, had been at the center of formidable reporting before July 2021. Still, the revelations presented by the Pegasus Project partners in a cascade of articles that began on July 18, 2021, represented a watershed moment. […]

Israel

Lebanon: Israel’s White Phosphorus Use risks Civilian Harm

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Israel’s widespread use of white phosphorus in south Lebanon is putting civilians at grave risk and contributing to civilian displacement, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch verified the use of white phosphorus munitions by Israeli forces in at least 17 municipalities across south Lebanon since October 2023, including 5 […]