Defining war vs. genocide in modern context | The David Hearst Podcast with Norman G. Finkelstein

“What the difference between a war and genocide? They are the opposite.”

In our latest episode of The David Hearst Podcast, Norman G. Finkelstein rejects the description of Gaza as a conventional war. He distinguishes between a war, whose principal aim is the military defeat of an opposing force and genocide, whose objective is the destruction of a population.

He argues that describing what happened in Gaza simply as a “war” accepts the language and framing of Israeli propaganda.

The episode is now out on Middle East Eye’s YouTube channel

American activist blasts Macklemore outside Israeli embassy

US activist John Jacobs staged a protest at the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, using a modified Ed Sheeran song to speak out against genocide, child casualties, and hospital bombings in Gaza. He followed the performance by blasting Macklemore tracks outside the building.

Video credit: @maybachdiamonds

Macklemore ‘Free Palestine’ tour sparks debate on Channel 5

English actor James Sutton and Seena Shah, Chairman of Chelmsford Conservatives, held a debate on Jeremy Vine & Daytime on 5 over Macklemore’s upcoming "Free Palestine" tour.

Hosted by Jeremy Vine on Channel 5, the discussion followed Macklemore's drop from Ed Sheeran’s tour lineup. Sutton argued that the plight of the Palestinian people should always be kept in the spotlight and that artists have a responsibility to highlight it. Meanwhile, Shah stated that Macklemore’s tour comes “against a backdrop of apparent antisemitism” and called out the rapper for not condemning the 7th October attack on Israel.

US Jewish activists display New York billboard to reject Zionism

American Jewish organisations unveiled a billboard display in New York City's Times Square reading "Netanyahu does not represent American Jews" and "Zionism is not Judaism". 

Organised by Torah Jews and Voice of Rabbis, the message was displayed in response to comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his address to the UN General Assembly.

Trump rejects Iranian proposal to open Hormuz and end fighting

US President Donald Trump said he rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and put an end to the fighting.

Iran raised the initiative at the UNGA in New York, saying it had transmitted a proposal to the Americans via Qatari mediators and that it could reopen the strait within seven days.

But in comments to reporters at the White House, Trump rejected their deal, saying, “They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately, because they're losing so badly”.

Araghchi says war ‘not a solution’ but Iran ‘fully prepared’ should it resume

Speaking to NBC News on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran was “fully prepared” should the US resume its war on the country, “even if it comes to a doomsday war”. 

“War is not a solution … We stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose,” he added. 

US President Donald Trump has rejected an Iranian proposal for a seven-day truce but told Axios that he expects negotiations to resume.

Over 100 Israeli settlers raid Palestinian village, torch homes

A mob of more than 100 Israeli settlers raided the village of Jalud in the occupied West Bank on the night of Monday to Tuesday, torching homes and vehicles. 

Settlers threw rocks at the Toubasi family as they were escorted by the Israeli army back to their home, from which they had been expelled by settler attacks for two months.

Israeli man caught trying to urinate on monastery in Jerusalem

CCTV footage shared online shows a Jewish Israeli man seemingly trying to urinate on the outer walls of the St James monastery in the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem before a man rushes out and tells him to leave. 

The monastery is frequently targeted by Jewish extremists who spit at its door as they walk by.

The question that turned an arms trade book towards Gaza | Andrew Feinstein | UNAPOLOGETIC

"I want to know who made the bomb that murdered my family, who made the plane that the bombs dropped out of that murdered my family, and who has profited from the murder of my family?"

Andrew Feinstein had spent years investigating the arms trade and was writing a book about the war in Yemen when he met Palestinian journalist Ahmed Alnaouq. One night, Ahmed learned that his family home in Deir al-Balah had been bombed. 21 members of his extended family were killed. 14 of them were under the age of 12.

Ahmed's three questions changed the book entirely. Making a Killing: How the West Profits From Slaughter in Gaza and Yemen follows the chain from the weapons to the companies that make them, the banks that finance them and the politicians who license them.

Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/u3I8cF2pNqI

'Herd impunity' in Biden admin officials during Gaza genocide - One on One with Akbar Shahid Ahmed

How did the concept of "herd impunity" result in officials at all levels of the Biden administration repeatedly enabling some of the worst Israeli violations of international and human rights law during the genocide in Gaza?

After years of insider reporting and more than 175 interviews with Biden’s aides and closest advisers, diplomatic correspondent and author Akbar Shahid Ahmed reveals the intricacies of the injustices that shaped the Biden administration’s Gaza policy in his new book, Crossing The Red Line, out now.

The full One on One conversation with Ahmed, delving into these uncovered truths and more, is now live on Middle East Eye’s YouTube channel.

Netanyahu celebrates Lebanon pager attack anniversary as thousands are permanently scarred

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned the pager attacks and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s killing into a party montage. @mayanoraa wonders whose story this video is telling?

Footage from FyDubai plane shows injured pilots, one restrained by crew

Footage filmed by a passenger onboard a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv shows two injured pilots covered in blood, one of them being restrained by a crew member, and one Israeli passenger saying he is guarding the cockpit door to allow another pilot to land the plane. 

The flight made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after the co-pilot allegedly attempted to crash the plane after stabbing the captain. 

Passengers reportedly broke into the cockpit and intervened, and regained control of the plane.

81st UN General Assembly Highlights

The 81st UN General Assembly brought together world leaders amid wars, diplomatic divisions and growing international pressure over Gaza.

From the speeches that made headlines to the moments that unfolded away from the podium, Middle East Eye takes a look at the moments that everyone was talking about 👉

Netanyahu says West Bank settler violence is a ‘tremendous hoax’

Speaking to CNN on Thursday, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed the severity of Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank, describing it as a “tremendous hoax”. 

“It’s not settlers actually, it’s about 150, 200 juvenile delinquents who are doing this. And I can’t stomach that … We’re a country of laws,” he said, adding that Palestinians who attack Israeli citizens occupying their lands are "barbarians".

In a report published last month titled ‘The Elimination Project’, Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem concluded that settler violence in the occupied West Bank is part of a state-backed official Israeli policy aimed at forcing Palestinians off their land and cementing permanent Israeli control over it.

'Stop the game': Pro-Palestine Protesters rally ahead of second Ireland-Israel Nations League match

“I strongly object to these two games against Israel going ahead, because basically it is sports-washing a genocide.”

Palestine solidarity protesters gathered outside Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Thursday to oppose Ireland playing its second game against Israel in the Nations League.

Demonstrators held Palestinian flags and signs reading “Stop the game” and “Show Israel the red card”.

The protest came after the Irish team defeated Israel 3-0 in Hungary last Sunday.

Ireland’s players had faced calls to boycott the match over Israel’s war in Gaza, but ultimately played the fixture. One player, Gavin Bazunu, refused to participate. 

Ireland's second game against Israel is scheduled to take place in Serbia on Sunday.

Bringing voices from Gaza to the world | The Gaza Podcast | NEW by Middle East Eye

“This podcast gives Palestinians the space to tell their own stories and relate their own experiences”

In our new podcast, Middle East Eye will give Palestinians in Gaza a platform to speak directly about their lives amid Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Hosted by Hussam Tannera, a survivor of the ongoing genocide, The Gaza Podcast will centre the voices and experiences of ordinary Palestinians living in the enclave, bringing listeners closer to the people behind the headlines.

Each episode will feature conversations with Palestinians about what life is like in the strip, from displacement and destruction to shortages of food, water and medical care, as well as the struggles to maintain family life.

Stay tuned, episode 1 coming today

Flydubai pilot speaks to Indian Prime Minister Modi after cockpit attack

Indian pilot Smit Machchhar has spoken publicly for the first time since being stabbed by his co-pilot during a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
Speaking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from hospital in Abu Dhabi, Machchhar described how he continued fighting despite being seriously wounded because he feared the safety of his passengers.

“I was trying to save myself,” he said, “but I also knew that I can't let anyone die".

Machchhar eventually opened the cockpit door, allowing people on board to enter and overpower the attacker as the plane was nose-diving. The aircraft was later diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, where it made an emergency landing. 

Modi praised Machchhar’s courage during the call, telling him prayers and chants were being offered in temples across India.

Is the arms trade builds weapons that make killing easier? | Andrew Feinstein | UNAPOLOGETIC

"Why can we get better images on our phones than these drone operators are getting? And I would suggest as a simple answer, it's easier to kill."

From drones that play the sound of a crying baby to draw families into the open, to AI targeting that marks people for sharing a taxi service or a gym, Andrew Feinstein lays out how the world's biggest tech companies are reshaping war in Gaza.

@AndrewFeinstein spoke to @ashfaaqC about the technology of killing, and why the West could stop it within a week.

Full episode on Middle East Eye YouTube channel
https://youtu.be/u3I8cF2pNqI

In this first episode of Middle East Eye's The Gaza Podcast, Palestinian doctor Maryam Youssef says that foreign doctors who come to work in Gaza quickly adapt to the mindset of local healthcare workers, changing so profoundly after just two weeks that "they are not the same" when they leave.

Speaking to host Hussam Tannera, she explains that visiting medical professionals constantly feel a desperate urge to return because Gaza feels real and true compared to a world that treats the war as "collateral damage" or "political talks".

Watch the full episode on MEE's YouTube channel now.

Palestinian doctor: We're not just numbers | The Gaza Podcast

In this first episode of Middle East Eye’s The Gaza Podcast, Palestinian doctor Maryam Youssef says that Palestinians are much more than what the media shows, insisting, "we’re not just numbers" but "human beings with a complete life".
Speaking to host Hussam Tannera, she urges people consuming the news not to treat the crisis as something distant or unrelatable, arguing that having to explain one's basic humanity to another person is "the most unjust part about it".