Most Gaza flotilla activists disembark in Greece, Israel brings two ringleaders in for questioning
Two of the activists, Saif Abu Keshek, suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization, and Thiago Ávila, suspected of illegal activity, brought to Israel for questioning.
Some of the detained activists
Almost all activists detained aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla will disembark in Greece, the Foreign Ministry said, thanking the Greek government for allowing the move.
A total of 175 activists were detained by the Israel Navy, including a reported 31 Spanish citizens and several New Yorkers.
However, two of the activists, Saif Abu Keshek, suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization, and Thiago Ávila, suspected of illegal activity, will be brought to Israel for questioning.
It further affirmed that all humanitarian activity in the Gaza Strip is being managed by the Gazan Board of Peace, calling GSF a “Hamas-led flotilla” that is nothing more than “another provocation designed to divert attention from Hamas’s refusal to disarm, and to serve the PR interests of professional provocateurs.”
“Israel will not allow the breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza.”
Trump admin. calls flotilla a political stunt, pro-Hamas initiative
The Trump administration used a similar sentiment when condemning GSF in a statement from the State Department, naming the flotilla a “pro-Hamas initiative and a baseless, counterproductive effort to undermine President Trump’s Peace Plan."
The State Department explained that GSF was organized by the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, specially designated as a terrorist organization in January for operating at Hamas’s behest, and that its founder has in the past “publicly expressed support for the Iranian regime and its terror proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah.”
Further, the State Department urged its allies and those participating in US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace deal to take action against “this meaningless political stunt by denying port access, docking, departure, and refueling to vessels participating in the flotilla."
Allies should also “deny berthing to vessels reasonably suspected of enabling terrorism or presenting security concerns.”
It slammed GSF for abusing “mechanisms designed to ensure humanitarian assistance is received by civilians.”
“The United States will explore using available tools to impose consequences on those who provide support to this pro-Hamas flotilla and support our allies’ legal actions against it,” the US concluded. “The flotilla has nothing to do with humanitarian aid or the welfare of Gazans.”
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-894831
Mamdani slams Israel for arresting Gaza flotilla activists
New York City Mayor criticizes Israel for intercepting the Global Sumud Flotilla and detaining over 175 activists
The Israeli Navy intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla and found - as in the cases of previous flotillas - that it was not carrying “humanitarian aid" for Gaza as its organizers had claimed.
The flotilla, which departed from several countries including Turkey, Spain, and Italy, included more than 100 vessels and around 1,000 participants.
Mamdani has long come under fire for his anti-Israel views. During his election campaign, he refused to disavow the phrase “globalize the intifada". He was also called out for criticizing Israel on October 8, 2023 - just one day after the Hamas massacre in southern Israel.
He has vowed to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York City.
Mamdani's wife, Rama Dawaji, liked several social media posts that praised or appeared supportive of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre.
Last month, Mamdani was introduced at a Ramadan event by a man who called for Hamas to bomb Tel Aviv.
An anti-Semitic terrorist was a 'martyr', the October 7 attack was a 'false flag' and Israel is a colony of 'rapists'... say the Green Party hopefuls running for election
Their job has been to nurture and educate the next generation. But now they are cultivating their own political ambitions by standing in the local elections – prompting alarm over their views and fears for the young people they are influencing.
A Daily Mail investigation has discovered that a primary school governor, secondary school teacher and recently retired university professor who are all Green party candidates in next week's polls, face accusations of 'gross anti-Semitism'.
They have posted or shared shocking images on social media variously including claims that the October 7 atrocities were either a 'false flag' [a covert Israeli operation] or self-defence on the part of the perpetrators and that a terrorist who stabbed two Jews to death in 2016 was a 'martyr'.
As Kemi Badenoch warned of an 'epidemic' of anti-Semitic attacks after this week's Golders Green knife rampage, major questions are being raised over the decision to select these prospective councillors in an election in which the Greens are expected to make substantial inroads.
The latest poll from Lord Hayward, the Tory peer and election expert, predicts that the Greens will gain 500 councillors next week.
Lord Polak, the peer who led Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) for 25 years, told the Daily Mail: 'Either the Green Party has not done any due diligence on their candidates – or if they have, then the people of Britain should have no doubt about the abhorrent views of individuals who are endorsed by and are representing the Green Party.'
This comes as the Greens' leader is criticised for retweeting a post on X, suggesting the policemen who disarmed the terror suspect in the Golders Green attack after he stabbed two Jews had been too heavy-handed – 'repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head'.
Zack Polanski with Stoke Newington ward candidates L to R: Ifhat Shaheen, Reiner Tegtmeyer, Jacob Cable
Ms Ifhat Shaheen is a Green candidate in Stoke Newington, north London. She has pledged that if elected she will put 'kindness at the forefront of decision making'
She shared – with an applause emoji – a post describing the unfolding atrocities in Israel as a Palestinian 'fightback' against 'Zionist oppression'
A Green Party spokesman said: 'Where there are examples brought to our attention that do not fit in with the views of the Green Party, we are looking into them.'
So who are the educators whose views will offend so many?
Primary school governor, 'parent advocate' and board member at her local Sure Start [a government initiative to help the development of children under five], Ms Ifhat Shaheen is a Green candidate in Stoke Newington, north London.
She has pledged that if elected she will put 'kindness at the forefront of decision making' and ensure 'compassion permeates every aspect of support for residents'.
Her social media suggests a very different story. On the day of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, Shaheen – using an account in the name Ifhat Smith – defended the ongoing killing of almost 1,200 people, rape of women and kidnapping of 240 civilians, as Palestinians trying to 'defend themselves'.
She also shared – with an applause emoji – a post describing the unfolding atrocities in Israel as a Palestinian 'fightback' against 'Zionist oppression'.
Months after the attack she posted the conspiracy theory that Hamas were somehow not responsible for all the killings and that some victims had been shot by Israeli helicopters.
More recently she has reposted and supported claims that no women were raped in the Hamas attacks, despite the UN finding that 'sexual violence' including rape and gang rape occurred in 'multiple locations' on October 7.
Over the last four years she has variously described the Muslim-led 'advocacy' group Cage as a 'vital organisation' that had been doing good work for 'decades' – and repeatedly urged her followers to donate to it.
On the day of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, Shaheen – using an account in the name Ifhat Smith – defended the ongoing killing of almost 1,200 people, rape of women and kidnapping of 240 civilians, as Palestinians trying to 'defend themselves'
More recently she has reposted and supported claims that no women were raped in the Hamas attacks, despite the UN finding that 'sexual violence' including rape and gang rape occurred in 'multiple locations' on October 7
The aftermath of the scene in Golders Green after four Hatzolah ambulances were set on fire overnight next to Machzike Hadath Synagogue, on March 23
This is despite the fact that Cage described Islamic State executioner Jihadi John – real name Mohammed Emwazi – as a 'beautiful young man' in 2015.
After last month's arson attack on four Jewish ambulances, also in Golders Green – a short distance from the ward she is standing in – Shaheen initially posted a message blaming it on the mainstream media and politicians.
Soon afterwards, she reposted a message saying that 'since Golders Green is now in the news, I want to take the opportunity to make people aware that the Jewish community in North London host IDF [Israel Defence Force] soldiers in their synagogues and raise funds for the IDF during a 'family fun day'.'
In other posts she questioned whether 'Zionist funding' was behind marches organised by racist thug Tommy Robinson. She has also claimed that Jeremy Corbyn would have been a 'great' Prime Minister but the 'Zionist lobby worked hard to keep him out'.
Despite her shocking claims, in a video launching the Greens' Stoke Newington campaign the party's London mayoral candidate Zoe Garbett described her and her two colleagues as 'great candidates'.
Lambeth Green Party candidate Mark Bittlestone, a privately educated Cambridge graduate who now teaches history to sixth formers at a South London school, has reposted material suggesting the October 7 atrocities were a covert 'false flag' attack.
Bittlestone, a part-time comedian, has also shared other individuals' posts describing Israel as a 'colony of inbreds, rapists and thieves'.
He has also reposted claims that Israel should be invaded as it has no right to exist and that Labour's lack of criticism for it is a 'silence bought by donations'.
His lurch into hatred comes despite having a near-perfect middle-class upbringing. Bittlestone has previously described having a very 'privileged' background, a child of loving and wealthy parents who sent him to the 'amazing' King's College School in Wimbledon, south London.
He then went to Cambridge University – where he was in the famous Footlights comedy troupe – and took master's degrees in business management and film.
Lambeth Green Party candidate Mark Bittlestone, a privately educated Cambridge graduate who now teaches history to sixth formers at a South London school, has reposted material suggesting the October 7 atrocities were a covert 'false flag' attack
Bittlestone, a part-time comedian, has also shared other individuals' posts describing Israel as a 'colony of inbreds, rapists and thieves'
He said he had previously lost a job at a school after 'pulling a sicky' to miss a parents' evening so he could attend a comedy gig.
His Green Party campaign profile describes how he is now back in teaching but was prompted into standing for the party after feeling 'unabashed, unrelenting fury' at Israel's war in Gaza.
'Howling about it on social media and raising funds for Medical Aid for Palestinians failed to abate his rage and, realising the interconnected nature of struggle, he decided to channel this fury into fighting local injustice.'
Recently retired Professor Kamel Hawwash spent over 36 years teaching civil engineering at Birmingham University where he says he interacted with 'thousands of students and staff'.
Now he is standing as the Green Party's candidate for Stirchley in Britain's second city.
But in 2024, while still lecturing students – commenting on a news story about an Israeli strike in Lebanon that killed children – he claimed on Twitter that Israel slaughtered civilians to 'demonstrate Jewish supremacy fed by Zionism'.
At the time of the October 7 attacks he described the atrocities as an 'operation', adding 'occupied people have the right to resist the occupation'.
He also claimed that Hamas's 'atrocities committed against civilians in the settlements' during the October 7 terror were 'not the objectives of the attack' despite the mass slaughter in kibbutzes close to the Gaza border.
In 2022, Hawwash was presented with an award for his Palestinian activism by Zaher Birawi of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, who in January this year was sanctioned by the US over alleged ties to Hamas.
Recently retired Professor Kamel Hawwash is standing as the Green Party's candidate for Stirchley in Britain's second city
In 2016 he described Islamic Jihad terrorist Mohand Halabi, who was shot dead by police after knifing two Israeli men to death and injuring a woman and toddler, as a 'martyr' carrying out an 'act of revenge'
Mr Birawi, who is originally from the West Bank, has always denied links to the terror group and described the accusations as 'baseless'.
In 2016 he described Islamic Jihad terrorist Mohand Halabi, who was shot dead by police after knifing two Israeli men to death and injuring a woman and toddler, as a 'martyr' carrying out an 'act of revenge'.
If other people found his actions 'unacceptable... that's up to them', he said at a Palestine Return Centre event held in Parliament. 'He was killed by Israeli soldier, so to us he is a martyr.
'Actually, I consider what he did an act of revenge for what the Israeli occupation does to the Palestinians.'
Two Green Party candidates arrested in UK over antisemitic posts
Two Green Party candidates in Britain arrested for stirring up racial hatred after posting a series of antisemitic comments on social media.
British police have arrested two Green Party candidates standing for election in the London borough of Lambeth on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred through antisemitic comments posted online, The Telegraph reported.
Saiqa Ali, the candidate for Streatham, and Sabine Mairey, running for Clapham Town, were detained by Metropolitan Police officers on Thursday morning, the report said.
One post attributed to Ali featured an image of an armed man wearing a Hamas headband alongside the slogan “resistance is freedom." Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organization in the United Kingdom.
Mairey’s posts included a photograph of a man holding a placard stating “ramming a synagogue isn’t antisemitism, it’s revenge," placed above an image of two children described as having been “murdered by Israel." She also compared Israel to Nazi Germany.
Another post by Ali showed a cartoon of a young girl asking her mother, “Why won’t US politicians end the Gaza Holocaust?" The mother replies, “Because Israel is blackmailing them with the Epstein files, honey."
In additional now-deleted Facebook posts, Ali claimed that the September 11, 2001 attacks were a “false-flag attack" orchestrated by Israel and alleged that the British Government was over-represented by “Zionist Jews."
Other content included an image of the Earth being strangled by a serpent bearing the Star of David on its skin, as well as an AI-generated image of a Jewish caricature accompanied by the caption: “Don’t you know the rules? We went through the Holocaust, and now we get to kill everyone, forever!"
The two women were arrested under Section 19 of the Public Order Act and taken into custody for questioning, according to The Telegraph.
The arrests of the two candidates occurred only hours after an antisemitic terror attack in Golders Green, north London, in which two Jewish men were stabbed. A 45-year-old British national of Somali origin was arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the Wednesday morning incident.
The attack in Golders Green came amid a growing wave of antisemitic incidents in Britain.
Since March 23, Britain has seen a series of arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish-linked targets. On that date, four ambulances belonging to Hatzolah in Golders Green, north London, were set on fire.
Two weeks ago, two petrol-filled bottles and a brick were thrown at the Finchley Reform Synagogue in London.
Where are Hamas' leaders? Homeless and evicted from Qatar
Hamas is looking for a new home, both metaphorically and literally. Erdogan may be waiting in the wings, but the facts are that Hamas leaders have been forced to leave their Qatari luxury accommodations. And no one cares.
Doha, Qatar
Under the fog of the Iran war, Hamas has been evicted from its luxury and protected home in Qatar without anyone noticing.
Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’ chief negotiator, left his five-star exile in Doha for what was intended to be a quick diplomatic trip to Cairo.
After he rejected the U.S.-backed disarmament proposal that offered a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, he received a text message notifying him that he had been evicted from his luxury lodgings and was officially barred from re-entering Qatar.
It appears that Hamas’ latest bout of intractability has finally broken its patron’s back - for now. After 20 years, Qatar is pulling its investment in the terror group. According to publicist Amit Segal, Doha will no longer play the role of host and negotiator, and most of Hamas’ leadership has already departed the country.
Why now?
The decisive turning point wasn’t Cairo, nor was it October 7 which, truth be told, represented a major appreciation of Doha’s investment. In fact, Qatar, which had sent suitcases filled with cash to Hamas (ostensibly to Gazans) via Israel before October 7, was to become the negotiation venue for negotiations on freeing the hostages, playing both sides.
But -
The breaking point was Operation Roaring Lion. After 16 agonizing days of silence, torn between their two patrons, Hamas ultimately issued a statement defending Iran’s “right of self-defence," but asked Tehran to refrain from targeting “neighbouring countries." For Qatar, a nation whose sovereign territory was actively being struck by Iranian missiles, this relatively weak, delayed condemnation from the group they had been funnelling cash and support to for decades did not go down well.
In exchange for their luxury accommodations, Hamas had provided Qatar with a highly marketable service: terrorist mediation. But it made Qatar, intentionally driving a wedge between the US and Israel, look bad.
Alongside their shared ideological alignment, this mediation is precisely why Qatar reached out to Hamas after the group’s 2006 electoral victory when the rest of the world cut contact. Doha cornered this unserved market. But the value of that service is in steep decline-not only because a new status quo is settling over Gaza, but because the primary consumer of Qatar’s service, the United States, has developed a distaste for such intimate terrorist ties.
So now Hamas is looking for a new home, both metaphorically and literally.
Since the regional war began, a civil war has been raging inside Hamas. The more pragmatic camp led by Khaled Mashal wants to diversify their patronage through Sunni Arab states, while the hardline faction led by al-Hayya wants to maintain their membership in Iran’s Axis of Resistance.
At one point, they successfully kept a foot in both camps, with a house in Tehran and a house in Doha. Now, they are locked out of one, and the other is a smoking ruin. Still, a smoking ruin is better than no house at all. Qatar cutting Hamas off will likely encourage the Iran-aligned faction, despite the negligible amount of support a battered Tehran can currently offer, not to mention the bad publicity.
There remains one wild card - Erdogan. A place for them may be opening up in Ankara, with Turkey offering sanctuary in exchange for more regional influence, all this under the umbrella of Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace.
For now, the arrangement remains tentative. The amount of tangible support flowing to Hamas is unclear.
Despite the infamous fog, this war has an intensely clarifying effect. It answers the fundamental questions: what you stand for, who your enemies are, and who your friends are.
Even when the guns stop firing and life returns to normal, those understandings remain. Watch this situation closely.
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