The Free

UK: Activists against Genocide crash into Elbit’s Israeli drone factory

Another great Action Against Genocide! Way to Go!

from thefreeonline on Oct 25th by Freedom News

Just 12 hours after the Israeli regime massacred at least 500 wounded, starving, and displaced Palestinians in Gaza’s Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital in a targeted missile strike, activists breached and shut down the Leicester factory of Israel’s drone supplier Elbit, outfitters of the Israeli military regime.

These bombing attacks are designed to remove as much Palestinian life as possible from Gaza and are made possible with Western-made weapons and technologies.

This includes the military drone technologies Elbit’s UAV Tactical Systems, based in Braunstone Town, Leicester, has regularly exported to the occupation military.

The ML10 category military drones, which comprise the vast majority of the site’s £5m yearly exports to Israel, are a backbone of the Israeli air bombardment operation currently decimating Gaza.

The activists have prevented the site from operating by driving through the barricades of the UAV Tactical Systems factory, which has faced unrelenting direct action campaigning for over two years.

Positioning the modified van so that the gates can’t be closed, the activists have taken to the roof of the vehicle, from which they have lit flares, unfurled banners and Palestinian flags, destroyed the war criminals’ property within their reach, and have covered the opening of the factory in red paint.

Shouting that ‘Sunak is the real criminal’ and reading out the family names that, this week, have been wiped from the registry, activists have ensured that anyone involved with UAV Tactical Systems’ collaboration with Israel is not permitted to forget the blood that they have spilt.

The Al-Ahli massacre, even before Israel had killed 3,000 Gazans with their airstrikes, is the clearest demonstration of the genocidal intent of the Israeli regime, which is backed to the hilt with Western support and arms.

Elbit Systems supplies 85% of Israel’s drone fleet and 85% of its land-based military equipment, yet their business of bloodshed is still allowed to operate on our streets.

Palestine Action has always and will continue to refuse complicity in this barbarity and is committed to ending the British operations of Israel’s largest weapons company.

UAV Tactical Systems is a joint enterprise of Israel’s Elbit Systems and France’s Thales, specialising in manufacturing drone technologies, including for Elbit’s Hermes drones.

In previous bombardments of Gaza, Hermes 450 and Hermes 900 drones played a prominent role.

Either dropping explosive payloads for bombing strikes, in the case of the Hermes 900, or by targeting guided missile strikes, in the case of the 450, these drones are responsible for vast numbers of Palestinian dead.

They are certainly playing a role in the current genocidal terrorism committed by the Israeli occupation forces. The Hermes drones have been used in attacks widely and rightly described as ‘war crimes and crimes against humanity‘.

Publicly, the company only advertises the sale of its Watchkeeper drone, which is based almost entirely on the Hermes 900 used by Israel with identical components and design specifications.

çIsrael is not a customer of the Watchkeeper programme, meaning that the drone exports made to Israel from Leicester are, in all likelihood, the Hermes drones or components.

Elbit Systems, more widely, including its subsidiaries such as IMI Systems, manufactures tank munitions and mortar rounds used to murder Palestinians in prior bombardments of Gaza. Elbit Systems has for over two decades been a supplier for the F-16 jets, of which Israel has over 300, along with supplying equipment for the F-35, which is being used to devastating effect against Gaza.

It is widely reported that the Al-Ahli massacre used a JDAM strike, which F16s, F/A-18, and F35 can deploy – with Elbit supplying many parts and equipment for these jets.

The past days of bombing and the rocketing numbers of Palestinian dead, both civilian and resistance fighters, means undoubtedly that thousands of victims’ blood is caked on the hands of Elbit, its shareholders, partners, accomplices, and workers.

“The massacre at Al-Ahli Arabi shows these demons for who they are – not that we didn’t already know. The Western world is standing, not idly by, but firmly on the side of the genocidal Israeli regime as it seeks to make all Gazans either permanently displaced from Palestine or permanently dead.

Those of us in this country who can see these crimes against humanity for what they are have the duty to defy the government and its complicity, to refuse contributions to these actions in our name by dismantling our land’s military ties to the occupation regime.

How many more thousands of dead will it take before the people realise our moral responsibility to shut down Elbit, Thales, Rafael, and all the other companies operating here which make these horrors possible?”

~ Palestine Action

Battling desertification: Bringing soil back to life in semi-arid SE Spain

‘Capitalist agriculture forces farmers to use chemical fertilizers and toxic insecticides that destroy ecosystems, aided by accelerating Climate change. Here in Andalusia some are banding together in resistance’..

from thefreeonline on 25th Oct 2023 by Jaime Velázquez, Xaume Olleros at Mongabay via https://desertification.wordpress.com/

Southeastern Spain is experiencing the northward advance of the Sahara Desert, leading to declining rainfall, soil degradation, and climate change-induced droughts, threatening agricultural lands that have been farmed for many centuries.
Local farmers recently began adopting regenerative agriculture practices to better withstand long, persistent droughts punctuated by torrential rains and subsequent runoff.

Many farmers in the region have formed a collaborative group called Alvelal to address encroaching desertification, depopulation, and the lack of opportunities for youth.
Alvelal members manage more than 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of farmland using regenerative agriculture techniques and aim to expand further, conserving more farmland against the onslaught of climate change, while restoring natural corridors and promoting biodiversity.

LOS VÉLEZ, Spain — Much has been reported about the Sahara Desert’s inexorable shift southward into Africa’s semiarid Sahel, and of dogged efforts by local villagers to grow a Great Green Wall as a buffer against encroaching sands. But little has been written about the Sahara’s northward advance into Spain.

Farmers here, though, are deeply aware of the swift changes coming to their orchards, crops and pastures, as these agricultural lands turn dryer and dryer.

In 2023, these farmers endured both a record parching drought and dangerously destructive downpours — both likely intensified by global warming. In Almería, in southeasternmost Spain, rural residents continue grappling with the consequences of human-driven desertification, marked by dwindling rainfall due to a changing climate, punctuated by disastrous deluges, shrinking forests, and severe soil degradation.

The lasting effects of torrential rain. Runoff washed away all the soil here, until the erosion reached down to the bedrock. Image by Xaume Olleros for Mongabay.

This year, Spain suffered its worst drought in almost a century. The Los Vélez region in Almería, with average precipitation of just 400 millimeters (15.7 inches) annually, didn’t receive a single drop of rain for more than 150 days. Then, in May, more than 200 mm (7.9 in) fell in a single week.

This drought-deluge cycle did serious harm to soils. In the first half of 2023, scorching sun dried up the soil, then torrential rains washed away its nutrient-rich organic matter, turning once-productive croplands into barren sand. Today, struggling groves of almond trees bear deep erosion scars caused by runoff.

But such harm isn’t seen everywhere. Santiaga Sánchez, daughter and granddaughter of shepherds, says her farm has proven more resilient than others. “It’s only now that I’ve realized the importance of the soil restoration techniques I’ve been using on my farm,” she says from her cortijo, a farmhouse, outside the small town of Chirivel.

For years, Sánchez has practiced regenerative agricultural methods: doing terrace farming, carving out swales, cultivating green cover crops under her almond trees, and increasing the soil’s capacity to absorb and retain water. This helped her trees better withstand this year’s drought and mitigate the torrential rain.

Sánchez isn’t alone. Nearly a decade ago, she and other local farmers founded Alvelal, a collaborative that includes farmers, livestock breeders, entrepreneurs, university researchers, and a variety of institutions to address current regional threats brought on by desertification, depopulation, and lack of opportunities for youth.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/AX6Flvycb_U?si=uq5Rj33Hi_Euan5B

‘Prepare and adapt!’

The climate change denialism rife in the U.S. and elsewhere doesn’t seem predominant among these Iberian farmers. They’ve watched firsthand as desertification advances in Spain, consuming 1,500 square kilometers (579 square miles per year, according to Spain’s State Meteorological Agency (AEMET).

More than 700 Palestinians have been killed in overnight Israeli air raids on Gaza

If you’re just joining us, here are the latest updates

from thefreeonline on 24th Oct 2023 by Al Jazeera / SouthFront

It’s nearly 20:00 GMT (11pm in the Palestinian territories and Israel). Here’s all you need to know about the latest developments:

At least 50 people have been killed in various areas across the Gaza Strip in the past hour, says Ashraf al-Qedra, the Palestinian Health Ministry spokesperson

More than 700 Palestinians have been killed in overnight Israeli air raids on Gaza, according to Palestinian officials, creating the highest 24-hour death toll since Israel’s offensive on Gaza began.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari says Israel is still staunchly opposed to allowing fuel into the Gaza Strip.Al Jazeera

The WHO has called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” to allow for the passage of fuel and healthcare supplies into Gaza, warning that thousands of vulnerable patients will be at risk otherwise.

The UN says 20 trucks that were due to deliver aid to Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt have not yet entered the enclave, marking a day without any aid delivery.Al Jazeera

https://southfront.press/israel-given-green-light-to-kill-in-gaza-strip-video-18/

Al Jazeera

Israeli Anarchist on Gaza /Nationalism – ‘We can’t afford to remain silent’- interview

from thefreeonline on Oct 24th 2023 via thecollective at anarchistnews.org ( 8 comments) by 161 Crew (Poland)

Interview with an Israeli anarchist

Situation in Gaza Strip is getting more catastrophic every day. In our attempt to better understand the situation in the region , we made an interview with an Israeli anarchist. We talk about the modern anarchist movement, the Israeli occupation of Palestine, resistance against it and prospects for the future.

Hi there. Maybe we could start with you quickly introducing yourself?

Sure. I’m an anarchist from Haifa, Occupied Palestine. Been active for more than a decade, mainly in the anti-colonial movement and solidarity with Palestinians, animal liberation and ecological issues.

How did you become an anarchist?

The short answer is punk. The longer answer is of course a bit more difficult. Growing up as a settler under a colonial apartheid regime, on the „right” side of the fence, being assigned Jewish by the state, naturally you’re expected not to rebel and become a prison guard like the rest. You’re growing up surrounded with militarist imagery, Zionist indoctrination in school, and historical events like the holocaust and the Jewish religion are weaponized to boost patriotism and nationalist propaganda. The version of Judaism being taught here is that we are the chosen people, this land belongs to us by divine decree, God is a real estate agent that can be used in any land dispute, and everyone else is destined to be second class citizens at best.

It’s really hard to explain to comrades abroad how collective the Zionist project is. Israel doesn’t have a real civil society. everything is acceptable, as long as it is within very limited, pre-defined borders. You can be leftist, gay, freak, whatever you want- we’re enlightened liberals and there’s a place for everyone- but be a Zionist, serve in the army, be a loyal citizen, and don’t push it. If you can, be also white and rich on top of that. Any step outside the national consensus and you’re an illegitimate traitor.

The narrow vision or rebellion within Zionist landscape can be demonstrated for example in the mass protest movement to „save Israeli democracy” during the land few months (currently on hold due to war) against the judicial reform.

Even when Israelis would step out to the streets in their hundreds of thousands every weekend against what is clearly a far-right coup attempt, they would still do anything they can to not mention apartheid and occupation over the Palestinians, and would fight to save „Jewish democracy”; i.e., ethnic superiority regime only for them, the status quo.

The two sides of this movement characterize an inner-settler conflict of how to manage apartheid better, the liberal approach versus the fascist approach. Obviously, whoever wins, the non-Jewish populations of this land, first and foremost Palestinians, would always lose.

So, given this context, the „Israeli left” is not appealing to anyone looking for actual justice for this place. For me, given the nature of the situation here, settlers with good conscience looking to join the anti-colonial resistance, which is the only revolutionary movement in region and the forefront of any actual radical change, cannot do it as an Israeli, from inside the Israeli society, looking for ways to reform and improve it.

On the contrary, we must shed ourselves off any colonial identity and develop tools and resources for effective race treason. We must develop an anti Israeli politics, turn against our society, and join the oppressed and the colonized, under their terms and leadership.

Anarchism gives me both the language and the tools to imagine this politics. For me, there is no ‘anarchist society’ to strive for as this is not an end goal, I see anarchism as a resistance movement, an arsenal of tools for the oppressed around the world to fight the current dystopia, and this is mainly what draws me to it.

You used to be involved in a project called „Radical Haifa” , but you told us it’s defunct now. It sounds like a very interesting initiative. Can you tell us more about it?

Nothing much to say here to be honest! We had a small group of friends in Haifa, organized as an anarchist collective a few years ago. We did stuff like having mutual aid and food distribution project during the covid lockdowns, initiating other community organizing, and joining local struggles in the city.

The group is currently not active, although maybe a new collective will appear in the near future. Meanwhile, Radical Haifa became mainly a Twitter account, circulating news and analysis from Palestine from a pro-resistance and anti-authoritarian perspective, and after the platform was taken over by fascists the account moved to Mastodon/Kolektiva.

One of the most well known anarchist groups coming from that area seems to be Anarchists Against the Wall. Were you involved? What is your opinion about that group?

Anarchists Against the Wall were definitely the most active and significant group amongst Israeli radicals and anti-authoritarians during the 2000’s. Born in the midst of the second Intifada, by solidarity activists participating in local struggles in West Bank villages against the construction of the apartheid wall, its main significance was in the fact that it broke every established norm and rule of operations of the Israeli left.

For once, people on both sides of the fence met not as enemies, nor as some shallow „coexistence” spectacle, but as fighters for the same cause, comrades, co-conspirators and accomplices, on equal terms. Aspects of co-resistance and joint struggle were prioritized, and under a regime like this, the sole action of meeting a Palestinian as a human being and a friend was enough for it to be considered radical and outside the mode of operation of the regular, established left.

During its peak, the group was able to bring hundreds of Israelis to the West Bank, to march with Palestinians directly and experience resistance first hand. Also, many direct actions have been conducted, like physically damaging the fence and sabotaging equipment. In the end, though, the group slowly withered away and no longer exists.

Personally, I was involved near the end, as a teenager coming out of the then Tel Aviv anarcho-punk scene, and as many well-intentioned radical solidarity initiatives organized by people from the privileged side in a colonial context, the group was not exactly immune to power relations and a hidden hierarchical behavior.

Many criticisms have been made about the group towards the end, and what role do settlers joining the anti-colonial resistance actually have. At a certain point, we also saw some of our privileges physically slipping away from us and it became impossible to act in the old way. Right-wing „investigators” infiltrated a protest with hidden cameras and the images broadcasted on television.

Comrades got in legal troubles for direct actions in a way that paralyzed their ability to continue. Others have been doxed and attacked by fascists. The political situation has changed, with it the available means of struggle. Overall, I do think it was a valuable experience with many lessons to teach comrades everywhere.