Al Mayadeen – October 28, 2024
Barghouti pressured, assaulted by Israeli guards, son says
Arab Barghouti tells Al Mayadeen that his father reaffirms to the Palestinian people and the world that "he stands firm against the occupation.
The son of prominent Palestinian leader and detainee Marwan Barghouti expressed deep concern after emerging reports about his father being subjected to brutal assault at the hands of Israeli prison guards and said he fears leaving Palestinian detainees at the mercy of the brutal conditions in occupation prisons.
"What we have heard about my father’s condition is very distressing for us as a family, especially after he was assaulted by prison guards," Arab Barghouti told Al Mayadeen.
He pointed out that since October 7 last year, Barghouti has been subjected to pressure, beaten, and forcefully dragged and has been transferred between four or five Israeli prisons.
"Despite everything he is enduring, my father met his lawyer with his head held high and his usual smile," Barghouti said, adding that his father reaffirms to the Palestinian people and the world that "he stands firm against the occupation."
According to the Palestinian leader's son, Barghouti's message has been clear throughout the past 22 years, "His sole concern is uniting the Palestinian people."
"We are optimistic and fully trust the negotiators that our detainees, including my father, will be freed from prison," the leader's son said.
Elsewhere, Barghouti told Al Mayadeen that Palestinian detainees are "freedom seekers who have rejected oppression and occupation."
"If we abandon them, then we are of no good."
Barghouti, nicknamed the "Palestinian Mandela", played a key role in both the first and second Intifadas (uprisings) and was sentenced by an Israeli court in 2004. His release has been a primary objective for various Palestinian Resistance groups opposing the Israeli occupation.
Barghouti, 12 other detainees subjected to brutal Israeli assaults
In the same context, the head of the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission, Qadura Fares, told Al Mayadeen that Barghouti, along with 12 other detainees from various factions, was subjected to brutal assaults by Israeli prison forces at Megiddo Prison.
Previously, a lawyer from the commission confirmed that during a recent visit, Barghouti reported being attacked with repressive tools and endured severe physical abuse, resulting in injuries across his body, fractured ribs, bleeding from his right ear, a wound on his arm, and persistent back pain.
The attack, which took place in September, was part of a series of recurring incidents involving the Israeli prison’s special units.
Fares condemned these repeated assaults, stating, "There is no justification for these attacks, which are systematically directed at detainees."
The Fatah Central Committee also strongly condemned the repeated brutal assaults against its member leader Marwan Barghouti.
It was noted that Barghouti has been gradually recovering in the weeks following the incident, during which he experienced difficulty moving, chest and back pain, and infections in his wounds and ear due to the blood clot caused by the bleeding, as he was denied any treatment or medication.
Barghouti had previously suffered two brutal assaults in the past year and has been held in solitary confinement since the beginning of the war on Gaza. The first assault occurred in December in the isolation cells of Ofer Prison followed by a second assault at Megiddo Prison on March 6.
The Popular Campaign for the Release of Barghouti and the detainees called on international institutions and organizations to fulfill their duty to protect the prominent leader and other detainees, in accordance with international law.
It added that the paralysis affecting international and human rights organizations when it comes to the rights of the Palestinian people and the crimes of genocide being committed is what encourages the occupation to continue its aggression and crimes.
Marwan Barghouti's 22 years of resistance in Israeli prisons
The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said that Marwan Barghouti and his colleagues, who are also detained, continue to be models of resistance, and sacrifice.
The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society released a statement commemorating the 22nd anniversary of the detention of the leader and national struggle detainee, Fatah Movement member Marwan Barghouti alongside the detainee Ahmad Barghouti.
The two organizations said this anniversary coincides with the catastrophic aggression against the Palestinian people and detainees in Israeli prisons and comes as the Israeli occupation continues its genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
It also comes at a time where the Palestinian struggle is going through a historical turning point serving as an extension of resistance and struggle by the Palestinian people through blood and sacrifice over long decades, the statement read.
His detention adds to the Israeli occupation's targeting of Barghouti by pursuing him, deporting him, and repeatedly attempting to assassinate him during the al-Aqsa uprising when Palestinians exhibited great resistance and struggle in standing up to the occupation, the groups added.
They further highlighted that leader Marwan Barghouti and his detained comrades continue to be icons of resistance, sacrifice, and giving, regardless of all Israeli attempts to suppress and torture the Palestinian people through systematic policies.
The statement added that since October 7, Palestinian detainees and leaders of the detainees' movement, one of whom is Marwan Barghouti, have been subjected to unprecedented levels of torture, isolation, and assault, as the Israeli Prison Service utilized all means possible to target Palestinian detainees and deprive them of the rights they obtained through blood and sacrifice.
Solitary confinement
The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society stressed that the Israeli Prison Service had repeatedly isolated and transferred Barghouti and his comrades as an act of suppression. Since December 2023, they transferred Barghouti from "Ofer" prison to solitary confinement at "Ramla" prison then moved him to solitary confinement at "Ohalay Kedar" prison, and then to solitary confinement at "Ramla" prison again. He is currently detained in solitary confinement at "Megiddo" prison.
Through those transfers, he was subjected to brutal attacks by Israeli special forces, especially in "Megiddo" prison as he was tortured and assaulted in a cruel way following October 7, they added.
The statement also said that all of these actions and policies taken by the occupation are not newly born as they go back to the start of the Israeli occupation and have only escalated since October 7.
A front of Resistance
The groups pointed out that this solitary confinement imposed on Marwan Barghouti was not the first one during his detention and emphasized that he was isolated many times before and that did not prevent him from utilizing his experience to benefit the front of Resistance, further conveying his revolutionary ideals through his actions and constant readiness for sacrifice.
They added that Barghouti persistently continued his resistance to reinforce the phrase: "The Israeli occupation's prisoners have turned into universities and educational institutions," adding that in the past, the latter was a metaphor, but now it is a reality as he managed to do that through providing means of knowledge and enlightenment as well as promoting education and culture.
The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Society Prisoner’s Society paid tribute to leader Marwan Barghouti and all his comrades in Israeli prisons who continue their struggle through utmost determination and resilience.
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/marwan-barghouti-s-22-years-of-resistance-in-israeli-prisons
Yemen announces striking 3 ships violating its ban on sailing towards Israel
Yemen’s Armed Forces announce carrying out strikes against three ships violating the country’s ban on sailing towards the ports of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the forces’ spokesman, made the announcement in a televised statement on Monday.
“The ship SC Montreal was targeted in the southern Arabian Sea with two drones,” he said, adding that another vessel, identified as ”Maersk Kowloon,” was targeted in the Arabian Sea with a cruise missile.
“The ship Motaro was targeted in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab with several ballistic missiles,” the official noted.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), meanwhile, reported that a ship had been struck 25 nautical miles south of the Red Sea port city of al-Mukha in southwestern Yemen.
The forces have been conducting hundreds of strikes against ships sailing towards or away from the ports of the occupied territories, besides hitting numerous targets lying across the territories since October last year.
The operations began after the Israeli regime embarked on a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, tightened its already stifling siege on the coastal sliver, and notably escalated its deadly attacks against Lebanon.
“The Armed Forces vow to continue enforcing the naval blockade on the enemy and conduct strikes on all targets associated with the Israeli enemy in occupied Palestine,” Saree asserted.
The forces “will not stop until the aggression ends, the siege on Gaza is lifted, and the attacks on Lebanon are halted,” he stated.
The remarks came a day after the forces simulated multiple combat operations, dubbed "To Make Your Faces Disgraced."
Featuring the country’s naval and ground forces, the drills took place as a means of invigorating their response to the Israeli regime’s ongoing atrocities.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/10/28/736183/Yemen-attacks-three-ships-sailing-Israel-Gaza-Lebanon
‘Netflix succumbs to Zionist lobby pressure, removes Palestinian films
By Maryam Qarehgozlou
Following Netflix’s decision to not renew the licenses for its “Palestinian Stories” collection, under the pressure of the Zionist lobby, the streaming giant has faced global backlash.
While the California-headquartered subscription video-on-demand streaming service claims that the decision was part of its “standard licensing practices,” pro-Palestine campaigners remain unconvinced and have joined a growing movement to cancel their subscriptions in protest.
The removal of at least 24 films that explore Palestinian narratives and experiences from the streaming service amounts to a lack of Palestinian representation on the platform, according to activists.
As a form of protest and to express solidarity with Palestinians amid the year-long genocidal war, a growing number of Netflix users have started canceling their subscriptions.
They believe subscriptions to Netflix equate to financially supporting the “erasure of Palestine.”
Many former Netflix users say the streaming platform is perpetuating harmful stereotypes, promoting biased narratives, and contributing to the marginalization of already oppressed Palestinians.
The streaming giant has been accused of complicity in the Israeli-American genocidal war on Gaza.
Palestinian Stories on Netflix
Netflix launched the “Palestinian Stories” collection in October 2021, a curated selection of films showcasing the talent of renowned filmmakers from the Arab and Muslim world, and offering viewers a glimpse into the rich and diverse stories of the region.
“The collection is a tribute to the creativity and passion of the Arab film industry as Netflix continues to invest in stories from the Arab world,” read a Netflix announcement at the time.
The collection was initially slated to feature 32 films, with plans to add more over time.
However, as of October 14, nearly all films from Netflix's “Palestinian Stories” collection have been removed much to the chagrin of streaming service users across the world.
Streamers in the United States are left with only one available film: Lina Al Abed’s 2019 documentary “Ibrahim: A Fate to Define," which deals with the circumstances surrounding the enforced disappearance of Abed's father.
Following The Intercept’s investigation using various countries’ IP addresses, it was discovered that Netflix had removed many titles from its “Palestinian Stories” collection across the globe.
In some parts of the world, like the Israeli-occupied territories and Korea, the collection’s landing page has been entirely inaccessible.
Upon accessing the “Palestinian Stories” collection page with an Israeli IP address, the entire category seems to have vanished, with the URL redirecting to a 404 error page.
The page previously featured 28 films.
Among the notable films removed from Netflix’s “Palestinian Stories” collection are Mai Masri’s Children of Shatila and Basil Khalil’s Ave Maria.
Masri’s documentary offers a poignant look into the lives of two children living in a refugee camp, while Khalil’s satirical short film follows Palestinian nuns assisting an Israeli settler family.
‘Marginalizing Palestinian voices’
The removal of Palestinian stories from Netflix has taken on a heightened significance against the backdrop of the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, with the Israeli regime trying to ethnically cleanse Palestinians by bombing and starving them for more than one year.
The humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian territory is dire, with Israeli genocidal actions killing close to 43,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children.
The coastal territory’s entire population of 2.3 million is facing displacement daily, while the regime’s genocidal tactics, including weaponized starvation, threaten to push the region towards famine.
Activists and rights groups have launched petitions urging Netflix to reinstate the Palestinian films it deleted, with many accusing it of coming under the pressure of influential Zionist lobbies.
“Storytelling is a crucial aspect of keeping Palestinian history alive — Netflix is literally erasing Palestinians’ stories and perspectives from popular culture,” anti-war group Code Pink wrote in a petition posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The petition warned that Netflix’s deletion of its entire catalog of Palestinian films will marginalize Palestinian voices at a time when over two million Palestinians in Gaza are being subjected to genocide by the Israeli regime using US-made and US-supplied bombs.
“The systemic erasure of Palestinian voices prevents broader audiences from understanding the reality of Israel’s brutal occupation, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and now, the genocide of Palestinians,” the petition added.
Influence of Israeli lobby groups
A letter calling for the reinstatement of the films from 30 pro-Palestinian organizations, including Freedom Forward, noted that given the “horrifying reality” of Gaza, Netflix should be promoting – not deleting – Palestinian films so that more people can learn about Palestinian life under Israeli military domination and occupation.
“This erasure of Palestinian voices by Netflix follows many ugly decades of suppression of Palestinian viewpoints and narratives by Western news and entertainment media companies,” read the letter.
It questioned the causes and motives behind the abrupt purge, suggesting that Palestine-related films were deleted under pressure from Zionist lobby groups amid Israel’s devastating war on Gaza.
“How does Netflix justify the removal of so many films by or about Palestinians, one of the world’s most politically marginalized communities, especially at a time when Palestinians are facing genocide in Gaza?” the rights groups asked in the letter.
“Did pro-Israel lobbying or advocacy organizations push Netflix to delete these films by or about Palestinians?”
Pertinently, soon after Netflix introduced its “Palestinian Stories” collection three years ago, the films faced strong opposition from the influence-peddling Zionist lobby in the US.
The Times of Israel reported at the time that Im Tirtzu, an Israeli far-right watchdog, voiced criticism against the collection, claiming that 16 of the 19 featured directors endorsed the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
At the time Netflix responded that it “believes in artistic freedom and is continuously investing in authentic storytelling from all over the world,” leaving the films up for viewers.
It appears that the persistent efforts of Zionist lobbyists have ultimately borne fruit, with Netflix’s recent decision not to renew licenses for the films in the “Palestinian Stories” collection.
Subscribers switch off Netflix
Social media users, expressing their outrage and disappointment at Netflix’s removal of Palestinian movies and voices from their library, have chosen to cancel their subscriptions.
One user on X known by the handle “CryptoCaliph” announced his decision to cancel his Netflix subscription, citing the platform’s promotion of “Zionist Racism & Genocide” as his reason.
“Netflix removed all Palestinian movies and voices from their library. Instant canceled subscription. What’s your reason for canceling? ‘Zionist Racism & Genocide’.”
Another user highlighted a pattern of cultural erasure targeting Palestinians, citing multiple instances where Palestinian artistic and cultural expressions have been suppressed or removed, and encouraged individuals to cancel their Netflix accounts.
“They are trying to erase Palestine culturally - NYPD confiscating music and stopping dabke dancers, Netflix removing Palestinian movies from its platform. Amplify Palestinian artists, writers, cultures. And cancel your Netflix account,” the user wrote.
“The time has come… Bye bye, Netflix,” wrote another social media user Abier Khatib.
X user Shahnon Salleh also said the removal of films that depict the everyday experiences of Palestinians living under apartheid and occupation is preventing viewers from gaining a more nuanced understanding of the Palestinian perspective.
He slammed Netflix for the decision, warning that the remaining Palestine-related films available on the platform portray Palestinians in a negative light and perpetuate harmful stereotypes of Palestinians as “terrorists.”
“Films that show the day-to-day realities of the Apartheid and the occupation, like ‘The Present’ are now gone,” he wrote.
“What’s worse is the fact that the only Palestinian-related films still available on Netflix are those that portray them as terrorists. Netflix is complicit,” he added.
“If you’re still subscribed to Netflix, you’re actively funding the erasure of Palestine,” wrote user Jonny Graz.
Another user wrote, “Netflix has removed 30 Palestinian films from its catalog because it’s anti-Semitic to watch films made by Palestinians.”
X user writing under the handle “EverydayJoeDC” also lashed out at Netflix's content decisions, particularly the removal of Palestinian shows and movies while keeping Israeli propaganda, such as the show “Fauda.”
“Just canceled Netflix ... They got rid of all the Palestinian shows and movies but left that […] Israeli propaganda Fauda on. I’m not even Palestinian but that ‘Palestinians are the bad guys’ theme is super offensive,” he wrote.
The plot of “Fauda” (meaning chaos in Arabic) revolves around an elite Israeli undercover unit called the Mista’aravim, who pose as Palestinian civilians to apprehend resistance fighters.
The series mainly perpetuates harmful stereotypes and ignores the reality of Palestinian suffering under Israeli occupation.
Sunjeev Bery, the executive director of Freedom Forward also expressed outrage over Netflix’s decision to remove Palestinian media from its platform and drew a parallel between Israel’s attempts to erase the Palestinian people from Gaza and the West Bank, and Netflix’s actions.
“Israel is already trying to erase the Palestinians of Gaza and the West Bank. Why is Netflix erasing Palestinian media from its platform?” he wrote in an X post.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/10/28/736149/Subscribers-hit-pause-on-Netflix-over-Palestinian-stories-omission
The West is in denial about BRICS
This week marked a turning point for the organization, and this will become apparent with time
By Manish Chand
The main take away from the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan is that all of us who gathered there this week witnessed a turning point in the history of the association. The results of the summit suggest that the group has made a very serious attempt to change the international order.
It was not easy to take this decisive step in the development of the group, as the Kazan Summit took place at a time when the gap between the West and the rest of the conflict-ridden world is wider than ever.
In this critical situation, the event presented a blueprint for reforming the international order that reflects the growing aspirations of the Global South.
For new members and partner countries, BRICS has provided an alternative platform to discuss issues such as debt relief, climate finance and sustainable development.
These are areas where the dominance of Western institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF has not delivered the expected results.
Algeria, Uganda and Nigeria will join BRICS as partner countries, reflecting widespread recognition of Africa’s growing global role. In Latin America, Bolivia and Cuba have taken steps towards more cooperation with the group. The rapprochement between BRICS and ASEAN will be facilitated by the addition of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to the list of partners. This is likely to be just the beginning. More than 30 countries want to join the organization in one form or another.
The centerpiece of the Summit was the adoption of the Kazan Declaration, an ambitious document outlining a shared vision of a fairer world order. The declaration reaffirmed a commitment to multilateralism and called for the reform of global governance.
The main aim is to make international institutions more representative of emerging and developing countries. This call for reform is particularly aimed at institutions such as the UN, the IMF and the World Bank, which have long been dominated by Western powers.
India, along with the other founding members, played a key role in drafting the Kazan Declaration. In his speech, Prime Minister NarendraModi advocated a ‘people-centred BRICS’ and called for accelerated reforms of global governance institutions.
While the Kazan Summit marks an ambitious step towards a multipolar world order, the success of the event will depend on the extent to which the enlarged BRICS maintains cohesion and coherence, as new members and partner countries may bring their competing interests to the BRICS agenda.
The BRICS states will also have to keep a close eye on the West, which has criticized and ridiculed the expansion of the association and dismissed the Kazan forum as a meaningless show.
In this regard, the BRICS leaders will have to ensure, going forward, that the association does not become a platform for anti-Western positioning, but a forum for a non-Western alternative narrative in global politics.
This article was first published by the newspaper Kommersant and was translated and edited by the RT team.
Manish Chandis the CEO of Global India Centre.
https://www.rt.com/news/606609-west-brics-turning-point/
X suspends Iranian supreme leader’s Hebrew account
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s new Hebrew-language page has been blocked by Elon Musk’s platform for allegedly violating i.ts r
ules
Elon Musk’s X platform (formerly Twitter) has suspended the Hebrew-language account of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei a day after it was launched.
Khamenei’s new page, which was created on Saturday, became inaccessible on Sunday.
"Account suspended. X suspends accounts which violate the X Rules,” a message by the platform read. X has not yet provided any further explanations for its move.
The ban came just hours after a message was posted on the page, reading: “The Zionist regime made a mistake. It erred in its calculations on Iran. We will cause it to understand what kind of strength, ability, initiative, and will the Iranian nation has.”
In his post, Khamenei was apparently referring to the IDF attack on Iran early on Saturday. West Jerusalem said that it targeted some 20 military sites in the country in retaliation for Tehran’s missile strike on Israel earlier this month. The Islamic Republic has confirmed that the bombardment took place, but insisted that it caused only “limited damage.”
On October 1, Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, saying that it was acting in response to the killing of the Hamas and Hezbollah leaders as well as an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general.
Khamenei’s English-language account on X, which has 1.3 million followers, remains operational. In one of his most recent posts on the page, the Iranian supreme leader said “we must make the Zionists [the Israelis] understand the power of Iranian people.”
In another message, he blamed the UN and other international bodies for “not doing their duty… of confronting” Israel, which in addition to targeting Iran is also involved in military operations in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
