Articles by: Jean Shaoul

Biden administration agrees arms sales to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to counter China’s growing influence

Biden administration agrees arms sales to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to counter China’s growing influence

Just a few weeks after US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, aimed at shoring up relations with the murderous regime, his administration has approved two massive arms sales worth more than $5 billion to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It follows $650 million in air-to-air missiles sent to Riyadh in November 2021 for its criminal[Read More…]

by 19/08/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Smoke rises following Israeli airstrikes on a building in Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood, Sunday, August. 7, 2022. [Photo: Hatem Moussa/WSWS]

Israeli airstrikes massacre Palestinian children in Gaza

For three days, Israel has bombarded the densely and impoverished coastal enclave of Gaza, targeting leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), civilians and their property in the worst flare up since May 2021. As of Sunday evening, Israel’s “surgical” air strikes have killed at least 43 Palestinians, including Taysir al-Jabari and Khalid Mansour, senior PIJ military leaders in northern and[Read More…]

by 08/08/2022 Comments are Disabled Palestine
Jafar Panahi

Iran imprisons film directors amid escalating crackdown on dissent and protests

In the largest crackdown on its film industry since 2010, Iran ordered internationally acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi, 62, to serve a six-year jail sentence after he criticised the government. Panahi was arrested on July 11 when he went to the prosecutor’s office to follow up on the arrest of Mohammad Rasoulof, another well-known filmmaker, and Mostafa Aleahmad. The two were[Read More…]

by 23/07/2022 Comments are Disabled World
UN investigation finds Israeli forces killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh with “seemingly well-aimed bullets”

UN investigation finds Israeli forces killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh with “seemingly well-aimed bullets”

A UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) investigation has shown that the bullets that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and injured her colleague Ali Sammoudi, were fired by Israeli forces. It is a damning refutation of Israel’s preposterous lie about her murder, including that she was shot by Palestinians firing indiscriminately at its troops. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters Friday, “All[Read More…]

by 27/06/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Afghanistan earthquake exposes disaster caused by decades of US occupation

Afghanistan earthquake exposes disaster caused by decades of US occupation

A 6.1-magnitude earthquake in a remote area of Afghanistan has killed at least 1,000 people and injured at least 1,500. While the worst affected area is the mountainous Paktika province, deaths have also been reported in the eastern provinces of Khost and Nangarhar. Many more bodies are thought to be buried in mud as heavy rain hampers rescue efforts. The[Read More…]

by 24/06/2022 Comments are Disabled World
UN report declares “perpetual occupation” as “the underlying root cause” of Israeli-Palestinian conflict

UN report declares “perpetual occupation” as “the underlying root cause” of Israeli-Palestinian conflict

A report commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council states that Israel’s “perpetual occupation” of Palestinian areas and its refusal to end it underpin the tensions between Palestinians and Israelis. The authors insist that ending of the occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza since their capture by Israel in the 1967 Arab Israeli war in full[Read More…]

by 10/06/2022 Comments are Disabled Palestine
In this Sunday, June 14, 2020 photo, seven-month-old Issa Ibrahim Nasser is brought to a clinic in Deir Al-Hassi, At seven months old, Issa weighs only three kilos. Like him, hundreds of children suffer from acute severe malnutrition because of poverty and grinding conflict. Yemen. (AP Photo/Issa Al-Rajhi)

UN’s highest ever humanitarian appeal falls on imperialism’s deaf ears

On Thursday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) launched an appeal to the major powers for a record $41 billion to help the 183 million people most in need of life-saving assistance. This was a large increase on the $35 billion requested for 2021 and double the amount sought just four years ago. It is[Read More…]

by 06/12/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Israel outlaws six Palestinian human rights groups, branding them “terrorist organisations”

Israel outlaws six Palestinian human rights groups, branding them “terrorist organisations”

On Friday, Israel’s Defence Minister Benny Gantz signed a military order declaring six of the most prominent Palestinian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the occupied Palestinian territories “terrorist organizations.” The decree is an attack on Palestinian human rights activists and the communities they represent, and on the local and international public’s right to information about the situation in the occupied territories.[Read More…]

by 26/10/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Pandemic and surge in food prices deepens global hunger

Pandemic and surge in food prices deepens global hunger

Global food prices have risen 33 percent in the last 12 months, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Basic staples such as vegetable oil, grains and meat have shown some of the highest increases. Coming on top of the economic catastrophe visited on billions by the pandemic, these pressures will fuel inflation making it difficult for[Read More…]

by 23/09/2021 Comments are Disabled World
US sanctions on Iran turn coronavirus into a catastrophe

US sanctions on Iran turn coronavirus into a catastrophe

Yesterday, the Iranian health authorities announced that another 54 people had died from the coronavirus in the previous 24 hours. This, the highest toll in a single day since the start of the outbreak, brings the total number of deaths to nearly 300. Another 881 new cases have been confirmed, increasing the total infection count to 8,042. At least 23[Read More…]

by 11/03/2020 Comments are Disabled World
Israel pounds Gaza, stoking fears of invasion

Israel pounds Gaza, stoking fears of invasion

Just days after being sworn into Israel’s new parliament following the victory of his far-right bloc in last month’s elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorised a massive aerial assault on Gaza’s defenceless population, targeting at least 150 sites over the weekend. In addition, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the most powerful military force in the region, used artillery fire to[Read More…]

by 06/05/2019 1 comment Palestine
Britain rejects International Court of Justice order to return Chagos Islands to Mauritius

Britain rejects International Court of Justice order to return Chagos Islands to Mauritius

The British government has rejected both the ICJ’s order and its unanimous ruling that its jurisdiction relates to a UN process of decolonization, not a dispute between two states. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Britain to hand back the Chagos Islands, including Diego Garcia, to Mauritius “as rapidly as possible.” This follows its landmark ruling that the[Read More…]

by 06/03/2019 1 comment World
Netanyahu to face charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust

Netanyahu to face charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust

Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced on Thursday his decision to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in connection with three separate cases on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, pending a hearing at which Netanyahu can challenge the charges. The indictment announcement, following three years of deliberations over recommendations to prosecute by numerous authorities, comes just 40 days[Read More…]

by 01/03/2019 Comments are Disabled World
Netanyahu Steps Up Settlement Construction

Netanyahu Steps Up Settlement Construction

Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has launched a series of provocative moves against the Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and inside Israel itself. His aim is to distract public attention from the corruption probe that could force his resignation and bring down his government. In doing so, he has been emboldened by strong support from the incoming Trump administration.[Read More…]

by 31/01/2017 1 comment Palestine
Israel Implements Collective Punishment After The Stabbing Of Teenager

Israel Implements Collective Punishment After The Stabbing Of Teenager

Following the stabbing of a 13-year-old Israeli girl in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba by a young Palestinian on Thursday, Benyamin Netanyahu’s coalition government moved swiftly to implement their now standard measures of collective punishment, in flagrant violation of international law. At the same time, the government is using the attack to expand the settlements and incorporate Area[Read More…]

by 04/07/2016 2 comments Human Rights, Palestine