'Israel Not Reliable': Iran Says Ceasefire Could Collapse, Military Ready For All Scenarios
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Mint
43 minutes ago
- Mint
Israel's ex-PM Ehud Olmert draws Nazi comparison: Netanyahu's Gaza ‘humanitarian city' would be a ‘concentration camp'
The 'humanitarian city' proposed by Israel's defence minister to be built on the ruins of Rafah would in effect be a concentration camp, and forcing Palestinians into it would amount to ethnic cleansing, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has warned. Israel's defence ministry has reportedly floated a plan to confine a large portion of Gaza's population to a heavily damaged, tightly controlled zone in the southern part of the Gaza enclave, in Rafah, bordering Egypt. The controversial proposal risks derailing ongoing ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. In recent weeks, Israeli officials have briefed journalists and international diplomats on an informal plan to relocate hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians to an area near the Gaza-Egypt border, under Israeli military control. While the Israeli government has yet to officially confirm or comment on the proposal, the concept of a new encampment in southern Gaza was first introduced by Defence Minister Israel Katz. He reportedly shared the idea with Israeli military correspondents during a briefing, The New York Times reported. Katz has reportedly directed the Israeli military to begin drafting operational plans for the 'humanitarian city', to be built on the rubble of southern Gaza. The encampment would initially accommodate 600,000 people and ultimately house Gaza's entire population, which exceeds two million. 'It is a concentration camp. I am sorry,' Olmert said bluntly to the Guardian when asked about Katz's proposal. 'If they [Palestinians] will be deported into the new 'humanitarian city', then you can say that this is part of an ethnic cleansing. It hasn't yet happened,' he said, adding that such a move would be 'the inevitable interpretation' of creating a camp for hundreds of thousands of people. Olmert clarified to the Guardian that he does not currently consider Israel's campaign in Gaza to be ethnic cleansing. He argued that the evacuation of civilians to protect them from conflict is permitted under international law and noted that many Palestinians have returned to areas where Israeli military operations have ended. However, the former prime minister has been sharply critical of Israel's military conduct and political leadership throughout the Gaza conflict. In May, he told CNN he could no longer defend Israel against accusations of war crimes. 'What is it if not a war crime?' he asked rhetorically, pointing the finger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right cabinet members, accusing them of 'committing actions which can't be interpreted any other way'. Olmert said that after months of inflammatory rhetoric — including statements by ministers calling for Gaza to be 'cleansed' and plans to construct Israeli settlements there — the claim that the 'humanitarian city' is meant to protect Palestinians rings hollow. 'When they build a camp where they [plan to] 'clean' more than half of Gaza, then the inevitable understanding of the strategy of this [is that] it is not to save [Palestinians]. It is to deport them, to push them and to throw them away. There is no other understanding that I have, at least,' Olmert said. The 'humanitarian city' is a proposed Israeli initiative to construct a massive, enclosed zone in southern Gaza, built on the ruins of Rafah. The camp would serve as a settlement for displaced Palestinians, beginning with 600,000 and eventually expanding to the entire population of Gaza — over two million people. The Israeli government, under Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Katz, claims the initiative aims to offer humanitarian assistance and encourage voluntary emigration. The zone would be monitored by the Israeli military 'from a distance' to ensure security. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office hit back at Olmert's remarks, branding him a 'convicted felon disgracing Israel on CNN.' 'We evacuate civilians. Hamas blocks them. He calls that a war crime?' the statement read, referencing Olmert's 16-month prison sentence for corruption, served before his release in 2017. Despite the backlash, Olmert — who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2009 — doubled down on his criticism, particularly given the gravity of comparing Israeli actions to Nazi-era concentration camps, a comparison rarely made in Israeli political discourse. Yet, Olmert maintained that this was the 'inevitable interpretation' of the current plans. Yair Lapid, leader of Israel's opposition, also condemned the humanitarian city proposal, accusing Netanyahu of enabling far-right ministers to 'run wild with extreme fantasies just to preserve his coalition.' On social media, Lapid urged a ceasefire and demanded the return of hostages. Hamas has pointed to Katz's plan as a major roadblock to any renewed ceasefire. In return for releasing around 25 hostages, Hamas demands Israeli troop withdrawals from most of Gaza. However, the proposed encampment would ensure continued Israeli control over a strategic area, undermining Hamas's objectives. Senior Hamas official Husam Badran denounced the encampment proposal as a 'deliberately obstructive demand' that would hinder already fragile peace talks. 'This would be an isolated city that resembles a ghetto,' Badran said in a text message. 'This is utterly unacceptable, and no Palestinian would agree to this.'
News18
an hour ago
- News18
‘True Muslims Know...': Zohran Mamdani's Ex-Intern Calls Political Activism 'Jihad'
Last Updated: Hadeeqa Malik, ex-intern for Zohran Mamdani, faced backlash after calling activism against Israel's Gaza war "jihad". A former intern for New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani faced backlash on social media after a video surfaced of her describing political activism against Israel's war in Gaza as 'jihad" as she urged Muslims to risk arrest, suspension and doxing for the cause. Hadeeqa Malik, a City College of New York student and activist, made the comments during a CUNY4Palestine webinar titled Islamic Political Activism. In the clip, widely shared on social media, Hadeeqa Malik said, 'The true believer knows that none of this is in vain, that this is all jihad, this is all ibadah (worship)." She went on to encourage Muslims to stop fearing the consequences of activism, including doxing or suspension from school, saying, 'I think it's time for Muslims to start to say, 'All right, so what? Do what you want. I'm going to do what I got to do.'" In the video, Hadeeqa Malik criticized those who had not joined the movement against what she called 'settler colonialism" and 'Israeli oppression" in Gaza, where more than 58,000 Palestinians have been reported killed over the course of a 21-month war, including in recent attacks on aid distribution points. 'If you're not seeing this as your issue to deal with, then something is wrong," she said, adding, 'There is an illness… something messing up the system inside." She also challenged Muslim activists directly, asserting, 'If you get suspended, if you get doxed… it will never, ever be in vain. And the true believer does not fear that." Hadeeqa Malik's Comments Under Scrutiny Hadeeqa Malik previously served as an intern in Zohran Mamdani's New York State Assembly office during the summer of 2024, working on communications, policy and constituent services. A photo on her LinkedIn profile shows Hadeeqa Malik and Zohran Mamdani smiling together. Zohran Mamdani has not commented publicly on the video or Hadeeqa Malik's remarks. Who Is Hadeeqa Malik? Hadeeqa Malik is currently studying international relations and human rights and leads the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at City College. She also works as an Outreach Coordinator for CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) and serves as a Racial Justice Fellow at the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. In a separate incident earlier this year, Hadeeqa Malik was filmed confronting New York police officers at a pro-Palestine rally, where she appeared to single out a Muslim officer. 'Let's read the badges of the pigs," she shouted while reading officers' names aloud, adding, 'To the pigs who can call themselves by the name of Islam- put some respect on their names!" Footage of the confrontation was widely shared on social media. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: July 15, 2025, 20:30 IST
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Italy minister warns concert with pro-Putin conductor risks turning into propaganda coup
A concert in Italy by a top Russian conductor shunned in the West since the invasion of Ukraine could send the wrong message, the Italian culture minister said on Tuesday, stopping short of asking organisers to cancel it. Valery Gergiev – regarded as close to Russian President Vladimir Putin – is expected to lead a local orchestra and soloists from St Petersburg's Mariinsky Orchestra on July 27 at the Reggia di Caserta palace near Naples. The event has drawn protests from Italian politicians and international activists, including the wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who have all urged Italy to cancel it. 'There is a big problem' with the festival, Yulia Navalnaya wrote in an op-ed on Tuesday's la Repubblica newspaper, calling Gergiev a 'conscious and active accomplice of Putin's regime'. Gergiev, 72, did not immediately comment. Italy's Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said in a statement: 'Art is free and cannot be censored. Propaganda, however, even if done with talent, is something else.' The minister said that the concert could 'turn a high-level but objectively controversial and divisive musical event into a sounding board for Russian propaganda'. Giuli added that the centre-left regional authority of Campania, which organised and paid for the 'Un'Estate da RE' festival, was free to choose which events to host. The president of Campania, Vincenzo De Luca, rejected criticism, telling reporters that blocking cultural exchanges 'does not help peace, but only serves to fuel the rivers of hatred'. De Luca, a critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, said last week Gergiev had been invited, along with Israeli conductor Daniel Oren, to keep 'channels of communication open even with those who do not think like us'. Italy's right-wing government has supported Ukraine and international sanctions against Moscow. In 2022, several Western cultural institutions, including Milan's La Scala, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and New York's Carnegie Hall, severed ties with Gergiev over his failure to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A year after, he was made director of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre, despite being banished from many international concert halls. Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation wrote last week to the Italian interior minister, urging him to deny entry to Gergiev, and to the culture minister and the director of the Reggia di Caserta asking them to cancel the concert.
