Tens of thousands of #Israelis thronged central #Jerusalem on Sunday in the largest anti-government #protest since the country went to #war in Oct. Protesters urged the govt to reach a #CeaseFire deal to free dozens of #hostages held in #Gaza by #Hamas militants & to hold early #elections.
In #Jerusalem outside of #Israel's parliament, some called for the removal of PM Benjamin #Netanyahu, & many said they want the govt to do more to bring the remaining #hostages home.
"This government is doing horrendous things in #Gaza, not in our name, & we want the government to take responsibility & resign today, right now," protester Karen Saar told Williams.
Answering a question about Israel's Knesset's vote against a Palestinian state, violating international law and the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says "Ultimately Israel will have to make its own decisions as every sovereign country does."
#israel / After a Decade Inside the Most Radical Circles of Israel's Far-right, He's Ready to Tell All
Q: Apropos tailor-made laws, the coalition agreement between Otzma Yehudit and #Likud stipulates that the clause in the law which prevents inciters to #racism from running for the #Knesset will be revoked. But it doesn’t seem to be on the agenda, from Ben-Gvir’s point of view.
“Correct – he understands that the way things are aligned politically does not enable this at the moment ... But Ben-Gvir isn’t really interested in this. He’s gathered around him a group that obeys his authority and does as he says. He has no interest in bringing Marzel and Ben-Ari back to the Knesset at this stage. But today, if the hard core of Otzma Yehudit would be allowed a little more political leeway, they would take the racial and ethnic segregation laws that Rabbi #Kahane promoted and enact them word for word. Absolute racial separation, with a hope for obliteration.”
Israeli Knesset Passes Draconian Amendment to the Counter-Terrorism Law Criminalizing “Consumption of Terrorist Publications”
The law amends Article 24 of Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Law to include a new offense, specified as the “systematic and continuous consumption of publications of a terrorist organization under circumstances that indicate identification with the terrorist organization”. This offense carries a penalty of up to one year’s imprisonment. The “specific publications” referred to in the law encompass expressions of praise, support, or encouragement of terrorist acts, direct calls to commit an act of terrorism, as well as documentation of an act of terrorism.