Israel operates the most well-documented network of rape dungeons on earth.
@AliAbunimah: "I want to contrast that with what the same UN Secretary General's report says about the sexual violence against Palestinians. The headline finding from his report to the security council is that the UN actually verified conflict related sexual violence including rape and torture by Israeli forces against 31 Palestinians from Gaza in the West Bank.
The victims were 14 men, 7 women, 9 boys and 1 girl. The crimes that the UN verified included and this is going to be very graphic. I warn people in advance:
Rape, rape with objects, gang rape, attempted rape, forced nudity, threats of rape, unwanted touching of breasts and genitals, genital violence, targeted shooting of the genitals, and strip and cavity searches without apparent justification.
Rape and gang rape, sometimes repeated, were verified against 9 victims, most of them from Gaza. The perpetrators identified by the UN include the Israeli army, the Israel prison service, its Keter special forces, and Yamam, the police counter terrorism unit.
These abuses took place mainly during detention and interrogation at prisons and detention sites including Etzion, Megiddo, Offer, Ramla, Hasharon, and the Gushkon police station.
The victims included journalists and human rights defenders. Some of the violations were filmed or photographed, including one rape. Men and boys were subjected to rape, attempted rape, and genital violence.
5 male victims suffered severe rectal bleeding or swelling for days or weeks, in some cases without medical treatment.
So this is what the UN's report says about the 31 cases and it stresses that these are 31 cases that it verified but that there are many many more cases, where there are strong allegations that it could not yet verify, and that is, again, largely due to obstruction by Israel because Israel refuses to allow uh UN access to its detention centers or to allow investigators into Gaza where many of those detainees were released back after lengthy detention.
And again, this is entirely consistent with other independent reporting which is all based on firsthand accounts and medical evidence such as the @EuroMedHR report I mentioned which contains utterly horrific firsthand accounts. We've written about that as well. And you find nothing analogous on the Israeli side.
Absolutely nothing analogous. you find these vague uh uh accusations, these very uh sweeping general statements, but no really specific well documented cases.
@briebriejoy: "I think that it is so important that you did what you just did...."
#OnThisDay 1868 James Connolly, the socialist, trade unionist & founder of the Irish Citizen Army was born in Cowgate, Edinburgh to Irish parents. Connolly was one of the signatories of The Proclamation & one of the 16 executed leaders of the Easter Rising.
#Ireland#History
"Trickle down economics doesn't work, so let's try piñata economics. That's the one where we beat the billionaires until the hoarded wealth falls out."
🇫🇷 French Member of Parliament:
“The sexual assaults and rape suffered by humanitarian aid activists at the hands of Israeli soldiers are a direct result of the open support they receive. We must examine ourselves; do we really live in a country that defends human rights?”
🚨🎙️ Roy Keane on the handball decisions and the shocking officiating favouring Arsenal in the Champions League final:
“Nah, it’s a disgrace, it really is. How many handballs do we have to see before the referee actually does something about it? We’ve seen it with Saka and others – arms out, deliberate movement, clear as day – and nothing! The officials are bottling it again, giving Arsenal all the big calls.
They’ve got VAR, they’ve got everything, and still they can’t get the big decisions right when it matters. It’s unacceptable. Players are getting away with murder out there because the referee is weak and it’s all favouring Arsenal. Sort it out! This is ruining the game – we’ve seen it all tournament with these decisions.”
Trigger alert!
Footage circulating online shows Dutch police smashing a PREGNANT Palestinian woman into the ground, while posing no threat at all, in the Netherlands.
Israel spent 2 years running an elaborate lobbying campaign to have Hamas added to this UN sex-abuse blacklist, making the case that the UN designation was thorough, evidence-based and widely respected, which was why it was so important for them to get Hamas added to it.
Now that Israel has been added to it, they say the whole thing is a sham.
Simon Harris says profits from Electric Ireland’s latest price increases will be held in a special emergency fund in case Paschal Donohoe wants to change job.