You might’ve heard commentators and recently defeated Labour councillors mocking Green Party voters for supposedly thinking local elections could free Palestine, campaigners and Green Party council hopefuls were clear on where they can help Palestinians: pensions
In England, local councils control pension investment funds worth millions of pounds, but these funds often include investments in companies complicit in war crimes and genocide in Gaza.
I spoke to councillors, campaigners and academics in the London boroughs of Islington and Hackney to find out what the recent local election results mean for Palestine in my first article for @thenewarabanalysis
Read the full article via the link in bio
A recent New York Times op-ed detailing the sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons was met with outrage from senior Israeli officials, with Israel’s foreign ministry dismissing the allegations as a “blood libel”
But testimonies from released prisoners, alongside investigations by international, Israeli, and Palestinian human rights organisations, continue to paint a horrifying picture of systematic abuse inside Israel’s prison system since the war on Gaza began in October 2023
The alleged acts of violence range from sexual abuse, electrocution, and waterboarding to sleep deprivation and the use of military dogs to intimidate and sexually assault Palestinian detainees
Prisoner advocacy groups estimate that at least 12,000 Palestinians from Gaza have been detained by Israel since October 2023. Many were reportedly held incommunicado, without access to legal counsel or independent monitors including the Red Cross
In 2024, Gaza-based journalist Mohamed Solaimane spoke to Palestinians released from Israeli detention for @thenewarab , documenting accounts of the abuse they suffered
Read the full article, published in collaboration with @egab.co , via the link in bio 🔗
Britain’s local election results signal a profound shake-up of the two party system, as mainstream support collapses and insurgent parties fill the vacuum
Reform (+1349) and the Greens (+346) saw the largest net change in seats, while Labour suffered heavy losses (-1193)
In modelling council results to predict the next General Election, Reform currently leads at 26%, with Greens following at 18% and Labour and Conservatives, once comfortably dominating UK politics, tied at 17%
What this shows is just how fragmented Britain’s political system has become, with Reform and the Greens set to become the defining rival forces in British politics
Read @jon_fentonharvey ’s article to find out more
Featuring insights from John Curtice, Britain’s leading elections analyst, @doylecjf , director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding @caabu , and Parveen Akhtar, senior lecturer of Politics and International Relations at Aston University
🔗 Link in bio
On Sunday, Atef Najib stood trial in Damascus, alongside former Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and seven other regime security officials in absentia
Najib was the former head of Daraa’s political security branch, where the 15 March 2011 arrest of students accused of writing anti-government slogans on the walls of their school became a catalyst for the Syrian uprising
He first appeared in court on 26 April for a preparatory session. In his second hearing, Najib was accused of crimes against humanity and other human rights violations, despite not being part of Syrian law
The proceedings mark a landmark effort in Syria to hold Assad-era officials accountable, bringing hope that the path towards justice has finally begun
Natacha Danon reports from the court case in Damascus, featuring interviews with Nouha al Masri, a lawyer from Daraa whose brother was killed in March 2011, and Human Rights Watch (@humanrightswatch ) researcher Hiba Zayadin.
Since Israel began repeatedly violating the fragile ceasefire that took effect on 17 April, a new phase of confrontation has taken hold in southern Lebanon, shaped less by large-scale offensives and more by a quiet but highly disruptive shift in battlefield tactics.
At the centre of this transformation is Hezbollah's growing use of fibre-optic guided drones, a weapon that has quickly evolved from a supplementary tool into a defining feature of the current fighting.
@skhalil01 and @ritaeljammal report. Link in bio 🔗
In its war against Iran, the US and Israel have heavily targeted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), striking its command structure, intelligence networks, air and naval assets, as well as broader military infrastructure.
US and Israeli strikes aimed to disrupt the IRGC’s chain of command, killing several senior officials, including the IRGC commander-in-chief, Mohammad Pakpour.
But the IRGC has moved quickly to restore its leadership, appointing new officials, including Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi as the new commander-in-chief.
Far from weakening the IRGC, external pressure from the US and Israel has reinforced its central role in Iran’s wartime order - a shift that could shape the country’s future balance of power long after the conflict ends.
🔗 Link in bio
In late April, the United Arab Emirates made headlines by announcing its decision to leave the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and OPEC+
As the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, the move is being viewed as a huge blow for the organisation that will weaken its influence
But beyond the immediate implications for markets, the UAE’s OPEC exit underscores a broader geopolitical shift
Tensions with Saudi Arabia have been growing in recent years amid a divergence over regional issues ranging from Sudan and Yemen, to Palestine and Somaliland
Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, has been moving towards a closer alignment with both the US and Israel, pursuing a more independent foreign policy
Amid the backdrop of the Iran war, the UAE’s departure may prove consequential far beyond energy markets, impacting the future of the region’s geopolitics
Read Giorgio Cafiero’s article to find out more
🔗 Link in bio
Under the fog of the Iran war, Israel has dramatically escalated its attacks on Gaza.
Israel reduced the amount of aid entering the enclave by 80%; expanded the fully occupied and depopulated area under its control; unleashed its proxy gangs to carry out attacks; and intensified daily airstrikes on Gaza, particularly targeting journalists, local police, paramedics, and Gaza’s few remaining solar-powered charging stations.
Israeli forces have also continued to expand their territorial grip on the Palestinian territory. The ‘Yellow Line’ has been pushed further westwards, leaving over 60% of Gaza under the control of Israeli forces.
All these are fuelling fears that a return to war is imminent as Israeli elections loom. 🔗 Link in bio
Israel and Lebanon extended their fragile ceasefire on 23 April, but on the ground, it’s barely holding. The truce is meant to create space for talks on a new security arrangement, with Israel demanding the disarmament of Hezbollah.
But Lebanon’s government faces an impossible choice: disarm Hezbollah and risk internal conflict, or refuse, and face escalating Israeli attacks.
In southern Lebanon, the ‘ceasefire’ exists largely in name only. Israeli airstrikes, shelling, and demolitions have continued.
Meanwhile, a new reality is taking shape. Israel has declared a 10km ‘Yellow Line’ buffer zone along the border, drawing comparisons with Gaza, where 60% of the territory is now under military control. Entire villages have been emptied and destroyed.
With the ceasefire deadline approaching, a bigger question looms: is this temporary, or the start of a permanent Israeli displacement of the south’s population and occupation of the region? @matnashed looks at what could happen next in Lebanon.
In late April, a large group of Israeli settlers stood atop a building in the Syrian village of Al-Hader in the occupied territory of Quneitra, waving the Israeli flag and chanting songs
They belonged to the ‘Pioneers of Bashan’, a settler movement founded in 2025 with the explicit aim of establishing Israeli settlements in southern Syria, including the provinces of Quneitra, Deraa, and Suweida
Since the fall of the Assad regime, this movement has crossed into Syria on multiple occasions, once even laying a foundation stone for a proposed new settlement near Tal Al-Hara
The reach of Israel’s settler movement has expanded dramatically since 7 October, with new groups seeking to expand Israel’s borders into lands newly occupied by the military in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria
Championed in the heart of government, these new settler movements aim to make the dream of ‘Greater Israel’ a reality
Read @c.p.ward ’s report to find out more 🔗 Link in bio
As Israel expands its war on Lebanon and openly discusses a new "northern border", many are once again confronting a question that has overshadowed the republic since its independence: why has the south so often been left to bear the burden of conflict with so little protection from the state?
@skhalil01 reports 🔗 Link in bio
With the stalling of US-Iran talks, Washington and Tehran are in a tense ‘No War, No Peace’ limbo.
Both sides are betting that they can outlast the other, but economic sanctions, the dual blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and the threat of military escalation keep the global stakes high.
Although blockades and rising inflation are severely straining Iran’s economy, Tehran seems better positioned to endure the pressure stemming from this deadlock than either the US or the global economy.
With this extremely fragile Pakistani-brokered ceasefire still in place, the prospects for triumphant diplomacy will hinge on security guarantees, phased sanctions relief, and careful mediation to prevent minor incidents from spiralling back into full-scale war.
🔗 Link in bio
