By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. Editor’s note: After we published this article, Dutch attorney Meike Terhorst informed The Defender that the Netherlands made a “reservation” against the IHR 2022 amendments on Aug. 16, 2022. Terhorst added that the Netherlands never ratified the 2005 IHR, which is currently in effect. New Zealand and at least three other countries […]
WHO Exhibiting Signs of ‘Desperation’ as New Zealand, Iran Reject Amendments to International Health Regulations
from thefreeonline on February 14, 2024 by Pol Pareja / Olga Rodríguez at Geupotortuga
“Since October 7, 2023, there has been no arms sales operation to Israel.” The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, was blunt on January 23 on SER when he was asked why a “total embargo” of arms on the Jewish country was not promoted.
“Of course, it is something that Spain has done,” he said, referring to the embargo. On October 7, the Hamas attack on Israel took place, causing 1,200 deaths, which was followed by an Israeli offensive on Gaza that has caused almost 28,000 deaths so far and the forced displacement of two million people.
Albares had assured the same in parliamentary headquarters on December 5. “Since October 7, there have been no export operations of Spanish weapons to Israel,” he stated in plenary session after EH Bildu’s claim that an embargo be imposed. “Therefore, don’t worry, that’s not going to happen.” On January 29, he repeated the same thing again in the Foreign Affairs Commission of Congress.
Last November, however, ammunition was exported to Israel from Spain worth 987,000 euros, according to data appearing on the official foreign trade portal Comex analyzed by Center Delàs researcher Alejandro Pozo and verified by elDiario.es.
Specifically, goods were exported corresponding to a subcategory that includes “bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, missiles, cartridges and other ammunition and projectiles, and their parts, including slugs, shot and wads for cartridges” to be used for “weapons of war”, according to another of the subcategories of this database in which the importation of material appears.
The Secretary of State for Commerce assures this medium that the export “corresponds to licenses authorized before October 7” and maintains that it contains “material for tests or demonstrations, in no case for final use or capable of being used in the conflict”. The next day they contacted elDiario.es again to specify that what had been sent was “medium caliber non-explosive ammunition.”
The fact that the export was authorized does not prevent the permit from being revoked, as established by the defense material trade control regulations. The text indicates that authorizations can be canceled if there are “rational indications” that the material may be used in actions “that disturb the peace,” that may “exacerbate tensions” or “that may be used in a manner contrary to due respect and dignity.” inherent to the human being”, among other precepts.
EEUU confirma el envío de más munición a Israel
It is not the only time that ammunition has been sent to Israel during 2023. Spain exported a total of 1.48 million euros in war material of that category during 2023. Two thirds of these imports were made in November, after Spain had allegedly frozen shipments due to the conflict in Gaza.
All the ammunition sent last November to Israel comes from Palencia, where there are three arms companies but only one that manufactures ammunition: Nammo Palencia, a company 50% owned by the Norwegian Government and the other 50% by a Finnish public company.
No matter how much the company’s capital is foreign, that shipment of ammunition has been exported from Spain. For this reason, it has to be authorized by the Interministerial Defense and Dual Use Board (JIMMDU), a government body in which various ministries participate and whose deliberations on whether to approve or reject an arms export are secret.
This is Maryam Qadouha, an 8-year-old Palestinian girl murdered at dawn today along with her entire family in a Zionist bombing that targeted her home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza.… 13 feb 2024
Although it is not possible to determine exactly what type of ammunition was sent in that shipment to Israel last November, it is possible to know what type of weapons from this company the Israeli army has.
Continue reading “Spain sent ammunition to Israel despite announcing that it had suspended arms exports- Eng/Esp”The Chiapas Support Committee invites you to take solidarity action with EZLN support bases forcibly displaced by the rightwing violence. Click here
from thefreeonline on by Art of the Commune | Arte de la comuna Leave Comment at original
1 day ago By Desinformemonos | February 12, 2024 Mexico City |
Desinformémonos. Residents of the autonomous region of Moisés & Gandhi, Chiapas, reported a new armed attack against the Support Bases of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (BAEZLN) by the Regional Organization of Coffee-
The assault with high-caliber weapons began around 8 p.m. on February 11, when members of ORCAO from the town of 7 de Febrero attacked Zapatista territory. There were no wounded reported as of 11 p.m but the shootings continued.
This is a new aggression by ORCAO against the BAEZLN of Moisés & Gandhi, which on January 19 recorded the forced displacement of 28 Zapatistas, including ten girls and boys, from the La Resistencia community due to the violence of the paramilitary group in the region.
by Elio Henriquez, La Jornada correspondent | February 3, 2024
San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. The National Network of Civil Human Rights Organizations “All Rights for All” (Red TDT, Red Nacional de Organismos Civiles de Derechos Humanos Todos los Derechos para Todas, Todos y Todes), reported that 28 support bases of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), were forcibly displaced from the autonomous community of La Resistencia, located in the Moisés and Gandhi region, in the official municipality of Ocosingo, “by more than 40 members of the Ocosingo Regional Coffee Growers Organization (ORCAO), who carried firearms, machetes and sticks.”
In an “urgent action” communique, they said that “during the attack, the autonomous primary school and 15 houses made of tin and wood were destroyed, in addition to ‘books belonging to education promoters being burned and a store robbed.’”
They added: “The community was stripped of various material goods: backyard animals, work tools, a coffee pulper and presses for making tortillas,” apart from the fact that the attackers “destroyed nearby crops and threw away stored foods such as corn, beans, coffee and sugar”.
The urgent action also noted that “according to the information received, on January 17, 2024, the community was threatened. The attacking group arrived at the Zapatista town of La Resistencia, carrying sticks and machetes. At this moment they stated that the Zapatista bases had two days to abandon their homes.”
The Red TDT stated that “in the same region, on January 19, 2024, 54 people from the ORCAO from the town of Sacrificio La Esperanza came to burn a pasture of the EZLN bases in the town of Emiliano Zapata, leaving the grazing animals without food.”
The Red TDT expressed “concern about the permissiveness and overlap of the Mexican State,” since, “based on information received in this office, we document that on January 14, 2024, the municipal councilor of Ocosingo inaugurated an ORCAO municipal agency in the space stripped from the Zapatista bases in November 2021, where the Zapatista Arcoíris collective store was located at the Cuxuljá highway junction.”
Geo-grafías Comunitarias on Twitter: “RT @yretiemble: Ayer en la
They recalled that “the aggressions of the ORCAO towards the EZLN have been a constant in the area of Moisés and Gandhi, which has caused a continuity of serious violations of human rights in the region such as forced displacements, torture, forced disappearance and attempted homicides.”
Red TDT commented that “on May 5, 2022, the La Resistencia community was forcibly displaced in a similar attack, reported by this organization. On May 23, 2023, Jorge López Sántiz, a Zapatista support base, a neighbor of Moisés and Gandhi, was the victim of an armed attack that put his life at serious risk.”
The Network demanded that the federal and state governments “guarantee respect for the territory of the Zapatista bases, their free determination and autonomy, as well as a life free of violence; “that an immediate and diligent investigation be carried out to generate a route that prioritizes ending this climate of violence and adopting actions aimed at repairing the damage and initiating a justice process” in favor of the 28 displaced people, including ten girls and boys.
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Published in Spanish on-line by La Jornada on February 3, 2024 and translated by the Chiapas Support Committee. Read the original here: https://www.jornada.com.mx/—-
The Chiapas Support Committee invites you to take urgent action in solidarity with the EZLN support bases that were forcibly displaced by the rightwing violence. The Red TDT petition, “Forced displacement of 28 Zapatistas in the Moisés and Gandhi region,” is in Spanish. Click here to sign the Red TDT urgent action alert: https://redtdt.org.mx/archivos/18769?fbclid=IwAR2diVLc_LNLROZgqroExHmTUt91yF-0l0wZMhX85ruozypKcXq1iau7-sI
from thefreeonline on February 13, 2024 by Turkish Minute
Human Rights Watch, which released an extensive report in October about the damage caused by Turkish airstrikes to critical infrastructure northeast Syria, has once again warned about the humanitarian impacts of the airstrikes on the region.
Firemen put out a blaze at a power station in Qamishli which was reportedly targeted by Turkish drones on January 15, 2024 as Turkey carried out another series of airstrikes against Kurdish sites in northeastern Syria and northern Iraq in what Ankara said was a response for the deaths of nine Turkish soldiers. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
Hiba Zayadin, a senior researcher at HRW’s Middle East and North Africa Divisions, wrote at a time when “the world’s attention remains fixed on the devastating conflict unfolding in Gaza, another crisis is intensifying under the radar in northeast Syria.
There, Türkiye’s airstrikes and drone attacks on critical civilian infrastructure are putting livelihoods at risk and severing communities from electricity, medical care, and other essential services.”
13thFeb 2024..Police detain 6 more journalists working for Kurdish media in western Turkey According to DHA, the journalists were detained because they were allegedly involved in spreading “terrorist organization propaganda” on “banned” news websites.Turkey is ranked 165th in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2023 World Press Freedom Index, among 180 countries,
On October 5 Turkey launched an aerial campaign in northern Iraq and Syria’s northeast after the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for a bombing near government buildings in Ankara that injured two police officers. Turkey claimed the attackers came from and were trained in Syria.
The semi-autonomous Kurdish administration has denied the claim and said dozens of people, including security personnel and civilians, have been killed in the Turkish attacks.
In December and January, Turkey intensified its airstrikes to include medical facilities and crucial access roads used by humanitarian responders, according to the Northeast Syria (NES) NGO Forum, a coalition of international organizations operating in the area.
Zayadin said attacks that cause disproportionate damage to civilians and civilian objects are prohibited under international humanitarian law and that deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure is a war crime.
On January 29 the NES NGO Forum said 1 million people in cities and villages had been cut off from electricity and that over 2 million had limited access to safe water.
Damage to medical facilities targeted in December has disrupted the oxygen supply to more than a dozen private and public hospitals, and strikes on 28 health facilities have disrupted their services, increasing the risk of water-borne disease.
The forum warned that the “scale of damage far supersedes the humanitarian community’s capacity to sustain emergency life-saving service provision.”
Turkey has for years carried out military operations and airstrikes in northern Syria with the stated aim of targeting the Syrian Kurdish armed group, the People’s Protections Unit (YPG).
Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of the international community.
Zayadin said as the crisis in northeast Syria escalates, action is needed to mitigate the humanitarian impacts on the civilian population.
She called on Turkey to immediately stop targeting critical civilian infrastructure, respect international humanitarian law and hold to account those responsible for serious violations.
“All countries need to address the plight of the region’s populace even if other conflicts are dominating the headlines,” she added.
In its October report HRW warned that drone airstrikes by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on Kurdish-held areas of northeast Syria between October 5 and 10 damaged critical infrastructure and resulted in water and electricity disruptions for millions of people and warned of a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the region.
The Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, which governs the targeted areas, confirmed that the attacks on water and electrical power stations resulted in the “complete cutoff of electricity and water supply” from the al-Hasakeh Governorate.
Following the attack in Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said all infrastructure, large facilities and energy facilities belonging to armed Kurdish groups in Iraq and Syria were legitimate targets for the TSK.
His remarks were interpreted as a declaration of war.
from thefreeonline on 13th Feb 2024 info from English.aawsat
A Dutch court has blocked the exports, citing risk of human rights violations in Gaza- Exports an insult to 1000’s of children murdered by Israeli bombing
File photo: A Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet, June 22, 2022. Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP
Finally some sanction has been approved by Euroopean elites supporting Israeli government genocide in Gaza. This is in contrast to Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine when all European states outdid each other in following the US and taking all imaginable sanctions. But in this war they have followed the US in supporting and selling weapons to the Israeli aggressors. Israel isn’t even penalized in sports or Eurovision.
Israeli F-35s Taking Part in Joint Exercise with US, Italy, Britain
Responding to a lawsuit launched by several human rights groups in December, a lower court ruled that the sale of fighter-jet parts was a political decision. The appeals court disagreed.
The Netherlands “must prohibit the export of military goods if there is a clear risk of serious violations of the humanitarian law of war,” the judges said on Monday.
The Dutch government might be allowed to export F-35 parts to Israel in the future, but only on condition that they are not used in operations in Gaza, according to Presiding Judge Bas Boele.
“We hope this ruling will strengthen international law in other countries so that the citizens of Gaza are also protected by international law,” said Michiel Servaes, director of Oxfam Novib, one of the groups involved in the litigation.
Dutch Court Orders Halt to Export of F-35 Jet Parts to Israel
The Dutch government must comply with the court order within seven days. Its request to suspend the order pending appeal to the Supreme Court has been rejected.
However the Appeals Court in The Hague ruled on Monday that the Netherlands must stop sending Israel spare parts for its F-35 fighter jets, saying that there is a risk that the US-made aircraft are being used for “serious violations of international humanitarian law” against Palestinians.
The parts in question are owned by the US, but the Netherlands houses a regional warehouse where they are stored and sent to countries that comprise the F-35 consortium. Israel has received at least one shipment since October last year.
“The delivery of US F-35 parts to Israel in our view is not unjustified,” said Trade Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen, adding that the jets allow West Jerusalem to defend itself from threats “from Iran, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.”
An estimated 1,200 Israelis died in a series of raids by Hamas in the vicinity of Gaza on October 7, most of them military or reservists, (and an unknown number of them victims of the Israelis themselves in a brutal chaotic attempt to kill Palestinian escapees and stop captive taking.)
The Israeli government, including the extreme far right included to avoid a Netanyahu party defeat, responded by declaring “war” on Hamas, the Palestinian government of Gaza, deeming all to be terrorists to be exterminated and launching a total war offensive against the enclave.
Most of Gaza’s two million residents have since been displaced and their homes destroyed by carpet bombing with more than 28,000 Palestinians confirmed killed and at least 7,000 more still disappeared in the onslaught, mostly under the rubble of their neighbourhoods, according to local authorities.
Israel has spouted a litany of obvious lies, swallowed by Israeli media, whipping up many people accustomed to impunity into a fascist frenzy.
Israel denies committing any war crimes or any violations of humanitarian law in Gaza in front of photos of 12,000 innocent murdered children. .
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is still resisting a long series of criminal charges against him, has insisted that the nearly 30,000 Palestinians killed are “terrorists” and Hamas fighters.
But a growing section of Israelis is by now unconvinced by the Netanyahu regime’s lie machine and demonstrating daily against him clinging to power by the refusal to get the remaining hostages freed by declaring a ceasefire and insistence on an impossible “Final Solution”
Last month, the International Court of Justice ordered West Jerusalem to “prevent acts of genocide” in its war against Hamas, acting on a complaint pressed by South Africa.
Human rights groups have cited the ruling in calls to block the sale of weapons to Israel, and shown that the order has already been defied with hundreds of killings and is about to be buried with a nazi style pogrom in Rafah..
By Maxwell Radwin The government in Ecuador is looking for ways to keep open a controversial oil block in the Amazon Rainforest, defying the results of a referendum to close the operation due to pollution and public health risks. Officials said they are considering ways to avoid closing the 43-ITT oil block, located inside Yasuní National […]
Ecuador government weighs delaying closure of controversial ITT oil block
from thefreeonline on 13th February 2024
The successful Yemeni campaign to help Gaza by blocking Israeli/US/UK ships through the Red Sea has vanished from the headlines of the US dominated media. But it is still working, pressurizing Israel and its Western backers by costing them billions of dollars.
Attempts are also being made to twist and suppress news of the campaign..e.g. In the latest attacks UK sources refused to name or tell the owner of a US ship, that was hit without victims by Houthi missiles.
Scant mention is made of damage and deaths caused by the ongoing US/UK reprisals blitz on Yemen, one of the poorest and famine hit countries on Earth, and no mention at all of the fact that the accurate Houthi missiles have so far killed NONE at all of the semi slave crews of these ships.
In the last two attacks yesterday the we find no claim that any of the home made Houthi missiles, some of which hit the ships, have been intercepted by the huge US/UK fleet, air force and satellites, which include the latest Spanish based NATO anti-missile ships and the Eisenhower Aircraft Carrier groupings.
On February 12, there was a new round of escalation in the Red Sea. The Yemeni armed forces reported an attack on the US ship Star Iris. The ship was reportedly hit by Houthi anti-ship missiles.
The Maersk Detroit: fled the Red sea carrying US arms after Houthi attack, 24/1/24Houthis win missile battle as Maersk turns back US war supplies for Gaza.
According to Yahya Sare’e, the military spokesman of the Houthis, the Yemeni Navy struck the American ship Star Iris with several anti—ship missiles in the Red Sea. He added that the strikes “were accurate and direct”.
Are the Houthis Being Punished for ‘Doing the Right Thing’? – new attacks hit Brit and US ships!
Ansar Allah warned that such operations will continue until the aggression against the Palestinian people stops and the blockade of the Palestinian enclave is lifted. They strikes will also be held in response to the US-British aggression against Yemen.
The report reads:
“In vindication of the oppressed Palestinian people, in support and solidarity with our brothers in the Gaza Strip, and as a retaliation to the American-British aggression on our country.
The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted the American ship “Star Iris” in the Red Sea with a number of suitable naval missiles, and the strikes were accurate and direct
Tanker on fire for hours after attack by Houthis in Gulf of Aden: Jan 27, 2024
Continue reading “US/UK fleet Fails again as Houthi missiles hit their Ships to protest Gaza Genocide .. killing nobody.”
The Free 
