Israeli Rights Activist Condemns Europe's Silence over Netanyahu's Policy

People stage a protest against Israeli PM Netanyahu in Paris on Saturday. (AP)
People stage a protest against Israeli PM Netanyahu in Paris on Saturday. (AP)
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Israeli Rights Activist Condemns Europe's Silence over Netanyahu's Policy

People stage a protest against Israeli PM Netanyahu in Paris on Saturday. (AP)
People stage a protest against Israeli PM Netanyahu in Paris on Saturday. (AP)

Israeli human rights defender Yehuda Shaul denounced Tuesday Europe's "silence" regarding the policy of Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which he said is seeking to annex the occupied West Bank and transform Israel into an "illiberal democracy."

During a press meeting in Paris, Shaul said Europe's silence regarding the Israeli government's policy "is being strongly heard in Israel and Palestine."

Shaul is the co-founder of the Breaking the Silence organization, which includes former Israeli soldiers who denounce the practices of the army that has occupied the West Bank since 1967. He is the founder of the Ofek Center for the peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Shaul told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that his country is witnessing a "double revolution," an internal one that could transform Israel into a "completely illiberal democracy" - a reference to the amendments to the judicial system that Netanyahu proposed.

The second revolution was linked to Israel's policy in the occupied Palestinian territories, "which ultimately aims at one thing: annexation."

He emphasized that tens of thousands of Israelis are protesting against Netanyahu's attempts, especially in Tel Aviv, but everyone is silent regarding the government's policies in the West Bank.

Shaul said Netanyahu believes in the "law of the strongest" and does not believe in "human rights or liberal democracy."

He condemned international silence, noting in particular France's abstention from voting in late December on a UN resolution calling on the International Court of Justice to give opinion on the issue of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Shaul stressed the need for more monitoring by the international community, stressing that he is an "extreme" supporter of the two-state solution and sees no other way for the two peoples to live in dignity and equality.



US to Pull Some Personnel from the Middle East amid Rising Tensions with Iran

The US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (Reuters file)
The US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (Reuters file)
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US to Pull Some Personnel from the Middle East amid Rising Tensions with Iran

The US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (Reuters file)
The US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (Reuters file)

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday US personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because "it could be a dangerous place," adding that the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that the US is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region, according to US and Iraqi sources.

The four US and two Iraqi sources did not say what security risks had prompted the decision and reports of the potential evacuation pushed up oil prices by more than 4%.

The State Department updated its worldwide travel advisory on Wednesday evening to reflect the latest US posture. “On June 11, the Department of State ordered the departure of non-emergency US government personnel due to heightened regional tensions,” the advisory said.

The decision by the US to evacuate some personnel comes at a volatile moment in the region. Trump's efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran appear to be deadlocked and US intelligence indicates that Israel has been making preparations for a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

"They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we'll see what happens," Trump told reporters. "We've given notice to move out."

Asked whether anything can be done to lower the temperature in the region, Trump said: "They can't have a nuclear weapon. Very simple, they can't have a nuclear weapon."

Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if stuttering talks over its nuclear program fail and in an interview released earlier on Wednesday said he was growing less confident that Tehran would agree to stop enriching uranium, a key American demand.

Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh also said on Wednesday that if Iran was subjected to strikes it would retaliate by hitting US bases in the region.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, a US official said.

"The State Department is set to have an ordered departure for (the) US embassy in Baghdad. The intent is to do it through commercial means, but the US military is standing by if help is requested," a third US official said.

Iraq's state news agency cited a government source as saying Baghdad had not recorded any security indication that called for an evacuation.

Another US official said that there was no change in operations at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military base in the Middle East and that no evacuation order had been issued for employees or families linked to the US embassy in Qatar, which was operating as usual.