Shahzad Anwar

[Amnesty International @amnesty]

Members of former prime minister Imran Khan's family, including his three sisters, as well as activists from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have been arbitrarily detained.

The targeting of his family and PTI party activists is a flagrant violation of their rights to liberty, freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. Such actions speak to the severity of the current restrictions in Pakistan.

Amnesty International calls on the Pakistani authorities to immediately release Imran Khan’s relatives and PTI workers, who have been targeted simply for their familial ties, political affiliation and plans to protest.

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Pakistan seals roads into Islamabad, deploying 1,500 containers ahead of fuel-price protests, farmers’ marches and PTI rallies demanding Imran Khan’s release.

Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder reports.

[Yalda Hakim @SkyYaldaHakim]

Deeply concerning to see Aleema Khan, sister of jailed former PM Imran Khan, arrested and detained for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order law — days before PTI’s planned Sept 27 protest.

I interviewed her in December about her brother’s imprisonment.

Watch ⬇️

[Yalda Hakim @SkyYaldaHakim]

Imran Khan's sisters arrested and detained and security forces seizing ministers in broad daylight.

The arrests come a week before a planned protest march by Khan’s PTI party.

Pakistan's Interior Minister said the government would do everything it could to stop the march.

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Imran Khan’s family and PTI officials say three of the jailed former PM’s sisters have been detained in Lahore ahead of a September 27 march on Islamabad demanding his release.

Authorities have confirmed Aleema Khan was ordered to be held for 30 days.

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

The sister of jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been arrested at her house in Lahore, ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Long March on September 27, according to a PTI Punjab spokesperson.

🔴 More on https://t.co/MbrRGkFd1I

[Kasim Khan @Kasim_Khan_1999]

Sign this please:

https://t.co/uKZWOGrvnK

[Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn]

Sanctions against settlement goods are welcome, but they must only be a first step.

Britain must end all military cooperation, all intelligence sharing, and all forms of complicity in Israel’s apartheid, occupation and genocide.

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

Funny how immigrants get accused of hating the UK and not assimilating, meanwhile here is a British Zionist who was born, raised, educated in the UK, spent almost all of his life working in the UK, now attacking his country in a vicious and patronizing way.

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

“A Jewish Foreign Secretary Just Announced a Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements. Give Ed Miliband Credit, as the Bad-Faith Attacks on Him Escalate”

In which I argue that charges of antisemitism don’t work against the new UK foreign secretary.
Sorry Israel! https://t.co/2cGJJronq7

[Andy Burnham @andyburnham]

In a difficult and dangerous world, a decade on from Brexit, there is a risk that Britain loses the confidence to lead and stand up for its values.

I’m not prepared to let that happen. It is more important than ever that Britain stands for something.

We have called for years for a two-state solution in the Middle East, but we must recognise that those words are meaningless unless we back them up with action.

For too long, we have been hesitant to act, fearful of being accused of being anti-Israel.

Today we are announcing carefully judged, targeted steps that are not aimed at the Israeli people, but at the unacceptable policies of the current Israeli government.

The suffering of the Palestinian people is a scar on the conscience of the world. Innocent Palestinians, including children, continue to be killed in Gaza. And there is still a humanitarian crisis, with far too little aid getting in.

The scale of destruction is hard to comprehend. More than 70,000 people lie dead - at least 20,000 of them children. Families and communities have been torn apart. Millions displaced. And the population of Gaza is now penned into just one third of the territory.

I know that people across the UK feel very deeply about this issue - and so do I.

Before I became Prime Minister, I said our country’s response had been too slow and simply not good enough. That’s why I committed to changing the government’s approach.

I will not stand by as the horrific suffering continues to grow and the prospect of a two-state solution - the best hope for peace and stability in the region - comes under attack.

More settlements have been approved under the four years of this Israeli government than in the previous 20 years. The UN has reported more than 1,500 incidents of settler violence so far this year, aimed at driving out Palestinians. And the situation is growing worse, fast.

The Israeli government has now approved 104 new settlements since it took office in December 2022, and ahead of the October elections in Israel, it is allowing tenders for the construction of the E1 mega settlement to go ahead. This would cut a swathe through the heart of the West Bank - snuffing out the hope of realising a two-state solution. It cannot be allowed to happen.

That’s why we are announcing a new package of tough measures to put pressure on the Israeli government:

First, we will ban the trade in goods with illegal settlements in Palestine.

Second, we have formally changed the view of the British government to say for the first time that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful - independent of, but in line with, the conclusion of the international court of justice.

And third, we will sanction individuals and companies that support, facilitate or profit from illegal settlements. That includes any businesses or investors that take part in the construction of the E1 settlement.

In addition, we are announcing a new package of desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza.

We are taking these steps because it is the right thing to do.

I have condemned the monstrous terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 in the strongest possible terms - and continue to condemn Hamas. However, it does not justify the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza or the West Bank.

The measures we are taking are about targeting illegal settlements and increasing the pressure on the Israeli government to change course. We are not imposing sanctions on Israel as a whole, which would punish the Israeli people, many of whom disagree with their government’s position.

The Israeli people are not responsible for the actions of their government. And nor is the Jewish community in the UK. Blaming British Jews for the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is wrong, plain and simple. And it is antisemitism, plain and simple.

I met the representatives of the Jewish community just last week. I know the fear they live with day by day. My government will stop at nothing to ensure they are safe and to stamp out antisemitism in every part of our society.

The measures we are announcing today are about protecting the only solution that could see the Israeli and Palestinian people living side by side in peace and security - something that people up and down the UK desperately want to see.

The government I lead will keep working with our partners around the world to keep that hope alive.

[Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn]

My statement on Israel's decision to ban me and 10 other British MPs from entry.

"I have visited all parts of Palestine on several occasions, where I have witnessed the horrors of occupation, as well as the resilience and humanity of the Palestinian people.

They are the ones who suffer from Israel's apartheid. It is their freedom which is egregiously curtailed, alongside thousands of Palestinian refugees who are denied the right of return.

As the world wakes up to the genocide in Gaza, it is shocking that Israel continues to deny entry to UN investigators and international journalists. Israel doesn't want the world to see what it is doing - but we can never give up in our attempts to expose the truth.

That is the real scandal. Israel’s genocide cannot go unpunished - and I will keep speaking up for peace, freedom and justice for the Palestinian people."

[Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt @FranceskAlbs]

I welcome the stance taken by the UK government on Israel’s occupation and its illegality. A much-needed beginning, even if it does not yet reverse all policies undermining Palestinian self-determination.
May the UK government and people hold firm. The pressure will be fierce.

[Ajmal Jami @ajmaljami]

Hello @OfficialDPRPP !
Anyone there in ShakarGarh?

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

Hi @piersmorgan remember when you asked me on your show two years ago what Israel's goal in Gaza could be, if not fighting Hamas, and I said they wanted to depopulate the strip of Palestinians?

Well.... ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Jailed Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safia continues to face abuse in Israeli detention, according to his lawyer, raising renewed concerns about his safety inside prison.

Here is the latest from the jailed doctor: https://t.co/8PfVXsgX3o

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

White racists said stuff like this about Yusuf’s parents when they moved to the UK from Sri Lanka in the 1980s but now their son, who isn’t white, but wants the votes of white racists, is saying stuff like this about Somali immigrants.

Truly disgusting.

[Reuters @Reuters]

Israeli military bulldozers uprooted dozens of olive trees in the Palestinian town of Arraba in the occupied West Bank

[Becky Anderson @BeckyCNN]

Imran Khan's family, political party and fellow cricket players are sounding the alarm over his deteriorating health in prison. I spoke to his close aide Zulfi Bukhari about his latest condition and the court case his party's filing against the Pakistani government over Khan's hospital visit last week:

[Pat Cummins @patcummins30]

Adding my support here to GC and the other former international captains. I hope the court ordered medical assessment be allowed to run its course, and that family visits continue. I hope Imran Khan is treated with the dignity anyone deserves