Latest news with #TomerBar
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Israeli Air Chief's UK Visit Sparks Protests In London; Hundreds Rally Outside Foreign Office
Hundreds of pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered outside the UK Foreign Office in London to protest the visit of Israeli Air Force Chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar. Protesters waved Palestinian flags and carried signs accusing Israel of genocide and war crimes in Gaza. Tensions rose briefly when police intervened to separate them from a group of counter-protesters. Activists condemned the UK government for hosting Bar, citing indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes on civilians. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, meanwhile, called for an immediate ceasefire as the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsens. The Israel-Hamas war, which began on October 7, 2023, has already claimed over 58,000 Palestinian lives, according to Gaza health authorities. Hostilities resumed in March 2025 after a short ceasefire collapsed.#GazaCrisis #FreePalestine #UKProtests #TomerBar #GazaGenocide #CeasefireNow#IsraelHamasWar #HumanRights #WarCrimes #LondonProtests #KeirStarmer #PalestineSolidarity#MiddleEastCrisis #EndTheOccupation #ProtestNews Read More
The National
6 days ago
- Politics
- The National
I'm a journalist covering Palestine Action arrests. This is all absurd
This week's Behind the Headlines comes from editor Laura Webster. To receive the newsletter direct to your inbox every week for free, click here. Is this the new normal? Is this just the way things are going to be from now on? The scene: Friday, early afternoon, our Glasgow newsroom. One reporter is at a protest in Nelson Mandela Place, where an activist has been arrested for holding a sign stating "genocide in Palestine, time to take action". He is not the first to be arrested under new terror legislation – which came in less than a fortnight ago – proscribing the group Palestine Action. Meanwhile, another reporter is filing copy detailing an important visit by one Major General Tomer Bar (below). You may not be familiar with this name but you will certainly know of his work. This man is the head of the Israeli air force and, according to Israeli media reports, approves all aerial attacks on Gaza. He has been welcomed to the UK, because he is here for the Royal International Air Tattoo event at RAF Fairford. His former boss Yoav Gallant, the ousted defence minister, is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. We cover each story as best as we can. We are well aware of how ridiculous this situation is. We too are bound by the new law. Anything relating to Palestine Action goes straight to the lawyers for legal checking. It has been like this all week. Last night another reporter informed me that somebody in Glasgow's southside had been arrested and charged; apparently they had a poster up which they'd forgotten about. Okay, I say. Write your draft up and I'll send it for legalling. As I send the copy over, there is a screening of Doctors Under Attack (the film the BBC refused to show) on at Glasgow University. I commissioned a piece on it. The documentary tells the story of how Israel systematically destroyed Gaza's health system. It's absolutely harrowing. The people who decided to cause such carnage face no justice. In fact, these are the same people planning to force the people of Gaza into a camp which they will not be allowed to leave. [The National's description of this as a "concentration camp" prompted multiple letters complaining of antisemitism and demanding we issue a retraction/apology.] READ MORE: Activist slams 'draconian' law as protester arrested at Palestine Action demo None of it makes any sense to me, or our team. The people doing the killing and destroying face no consequences. The people raising the alarm are taken away in handcuffs. I wonder how many arrests our reporters will witness before the UK decides to take real action against Israel? If this really is the new normal, Scotland shouldn't have anything to do with it.
The National
6 days ago
- Politics
- The National
UK welcome for Israeli military chief responsible for Gaza slaughter
Major General Tomer Bar, the head of the Israeli Air Force, landed in Britain on Thursday afternoon, reportedly to attend a conference hosted by the Royal Air Force in Gloucester. He has been in post throughout the genocide in Gaza and since April, has approved all aerial attacks, ynet news reported. READ MORE: Activist slams 'draconian' law as protester arrested at Palestine Action demo Bar was reportedly forced to stamp his authority on air force operations amid growing unease in the ranks about the brutally high levels of civilian deaths. He is attending the Royal International Air Tattoo event at RAF Fairford, north of Swindon, which began on Friday and ends on Sunday. According to Israeli public broadcaster Kan, he is in the UK for 'a series of meetings with air force commanders'. (Image: AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) It comes amid growing pressure on the Labour government to take action against Israel as the death toll continues to rise from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign of destruction in [[Gaza]] and from growing settler violence against Arabs in the West Bank. The Israeli military has killed Palestinian children who were trying to access drinking water. Netanyahu is reportedly pressing ahead with plans to herd Palestinians into a concentration camp to be built on the ruins of the city of Rafah – plans that have received widespread condemnation, even from the UK and within Israel. READ MORE: Legal complaint filed after armed police threaten woman for holding Palestine flag The Israeli prime minister is demanding that the plans are made cheaper and carried out more quickly, according to Al Jazeera but is undeterred by criticism. The Ministry of Defence and the Royal International Air Tattoo were approached for comment.
Middle East Eye
6 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Israeli air force chief who oversees Gaza strikes visits UK
Israel's air force chief has landed in Britain for a conference hosted by the Royal Air Force. Major General Tomer Bar has been in position throughout Israel's war on Gaza, and from April this year has reportedly personally approved air strikes carried out by the Israeli air force. He landed on Thursday afternoon and is reportedly in the UK to attend the Royal International Air Tattoo event, which is held at a Royal Air Force base in Gloucestershire. The major event at RAF Fairford, which features air shows and aircraft displays, began on Friday morning and will last until Sunday. According to Israeli public broadcaster Kan, Bar will have a series of meetings with air force commanders from around the world. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters In April this year, Bar warned Israeli air force reservists not to sign a letter criticising the war on Gaza, telling them they would be dismissed from service if they did so. A UN-backed report on Tuesday found that 10 children a day are losing one or both limbs in Gaza due to Israel's assault on the Palestinian enclave. According to the Gaza health ministry, more than 17,000 of the 58,573 Palestinians killed since October 2023 are children and they account for 30 percent of the wounded. This number excludes thousands more missing and presumed dead. On Thursday Luis Moreno Ocampo, the founding chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, told Middle East Eye that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, a position backed by numerous legal experts, rights groups and governments. Parliamentarians demand sanctions Bar's visit to Britain comes as political pressure piles on the Labour government to cease political, military and economic cooperation with Israel. On Friday morning, 112 British parliamentarians wrote to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Attorney General Richard Hermer. 'How many more Palestinians need to be killed or forced into starvation before our government takes the action so desperately needed?' - Imran Hussain, Labour MP They demanded that the government immediately publishes its response to the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion on 19 July last year that Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian territory. The MPs urged the government to "address the unlawful situation occurring in the OPT [Occupied Palestinian Territories], as well its own obligations under international law". They said the "failure of the government to publish its response" a year on from the advisory opinion, must be "rectified". Chris Doyle, the director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu), said: "It is an utter nonsense that a year on from this historic advisory opinion that the government has not issued its formal response. Sources have told Caabu that the legal response was drafted months ago. "It is also not that complex a legal document based on many previous legal opinions," he added. "What it highlights is the government's continued aversion to hold Israel to account, its failure to uphold international law, and respect these international judicial institutions as it claims it does." 'Karim Khan did his job': Founding chief prosecutor on threats against ICC Read More » On Thursday evening, more than 80 MPs and peers from nine political parties signed a letter organised by Labour MPs Richard Burgon and Imran Hussain urging the government to impose comprehensive sanctions on Israel. The letter calls on the government to "suspend the UK-Israel trade agreement until Israel complies with international law" and to "ban all trade in goods and services with illegal Israeli settlements". The MPs urged an end to all arms transfers to Israel, "including F-35 components, that can be used in violations of international humanitarian law". Hussain said: "What is the government waiting for? How many more Palestinians need to be killed or forced into starvation before our government takes the action so desperately needed?" Burgon said: "We need tough action to force Israel to end its atrocities against the Palestinian people. That means ending all arms sales and imposing widespread sanctions on Israel - just as were rightly imposed on Russia over Ukraine."
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Fire in the sky! Israeli F-15 nearly touches down in Tehran after mid-air emergency
An Israeli fighter jet, the F-15 belonging to the Israeli Air Force , came very close to an emergency landing in enemy territory after it experienced a grave fuel system failure deep within Iranian airspace , as per a Jerusalem Post report. Sudden Malfunction Leaves F-15 Jet Stranded Without Fuel Access The plane, on a bold mission near Tehran in Operation Rising Lion , suddenly suffered a catastrophic failure in one of its fuel tanks, which made it difficult to access necessary fuel during the mission, according to the report. The sealing off access to fuel and causing shortage reserves midflight almost threatened to compromise the operation and left the pilot racing against time, according to the report. There was no planned aerial refuelling deployed in advance of the mission, unlike some previous IAF missions, as per the report. After the pilot identified the issue, he reported it in real time, which led to an urgent response, according to the Jerusalem Post report. ALSO READ: Musk shocks xAI team with mandatory surveillance app, asks employees to download tracking app on all devices Emergency Refuel Mid-Air Then a tanker aircraft quickly reached the fighter jet in time to conduct an emergency refueling, as per the report. Even though there were complications, the air crews managed to resolve the problem without deviating from the flight path, as reported by the Jerusalem Post. Live Events Backup Plan: Land Anywhere But Iran However, a contingency plan was thought of as a backup, which included the option of landing in a neighbouring country in case the malfunction continued, according to the report. This plan was made in order to avoid the possibility of an Israeli warplane being forced down in central Tehran, as reported by the Jerusalem Post. ALSO READ: Wall of lies? V.A. reported fake cuts to DOGE while real pain hit veterans hard Risk Was Expected While IAF Commander Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar had already outlined a worst-case scenario even before the operation started, as reported by the Jerusalem Post. Forecasted Jet Losses Did Not Materialize The Jerusalem Post reported that, according to the internal military assessment, about 10 Israeli aircraft could be hit or crash within the first 72 hours of fighting. The scenario was presented during a closed briefing as part of the IDF's operational risk planning, but the grim forecast, however, did not come to pass, as reported by the Jerusalem Post. FAQs What happened to the Israeli F-15 jet? It experienced a critical fuel tank failure mid-flight over Iran during a combat mission. Where was the fighter jet flying? Near Tehran, deep within Iranian airspace as part of Operation Rising Lion.
