Palestinians protest to demand an end to war, chanting anti-Hamas slogans, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, March 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer

A Gaza family’s open admission this week that they killed an officer from the Hamas-run police force after they said a relative was shot dead has added to signs of popular dissent against the terrorist group after 18 months of war with Israel.

It drew a warning from the Hamas-run interior ministry that it would not tolerate actions that undermined public order.

But following protests against Hamas by hundreds of demonstrators in northern Gaza last month, the incident underscored the increasing willingness of some Gaza civilians to voice criticism or act against Hamas, which has run the enclave since defeating the rival Fatah faction in 2007.

Hamas deployed thousands of police and security forces across Gaza after a ceasefire in January, but its armed presence has sharply reduced since Israel’s large-scale attacks have resumed in the past weeks.

A video of the street killing of the police officer went viral on social media, showing him being shot in the head and then sprayed with bullets from an assault rifle as other men urged on the family members.

The family, well known in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, issued a statement on social media, which was shared by several relatives, saying they had killed the officer, without identifying who had pulled the trigger, but also said it had not been a planned action.

They said one of the family had been killed by a police officer as police tried to resolve a feud outside a flour storage site – rejecting that he had been caught by shrapnel.

“We will not allow any party to spread chaos in Gaza Strip or take the law into their hands,” Hamas said in a statement, adding that it had begun measures to bring those involved to justice.

In a separate statement, Hamas said the killing of the officer was a crime that only “serves Zionist goals in breaking the internal Palestinian front and spreads chaos and anarchy.”

In a different incident, in Gaza City, another family accused Hamas police of shooting and killing a relative and vowed vengeance.

“The blood of our son will not be wasted,” the family said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment by the Hamas-led police about that incident.

The post Hamas Warns Those Who ‘Spread Chaos’ Following Killing of Its Police Officer first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, Feb. 16, 2025. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begins a four-day visit to Hungary on Thursday, defying an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes in Gaza as Israel has expanded its military operation in the enclave.

As a founding member of the ICC, Hungary is theoretically obliged to arrest and hand over anyone subject to a warrant from the court, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made clear when he issued the invitation that Hungary would not respect the ruling.

Netanyahu, who is battling a political storm at home over an investigation into suspected ties between Qatar and three of his aides, is due to meet Orban ahead of a press conference at around 1000 GMT.

Netanyahu has rejected the accusations regarding his aides as “fake news.” A Qatari official has dismissed the accusations as part of a “smear campaign” against Qatar.

In Budapest, workers were constructing a stage in the Buda Castle on Wednesday, where Orban was scheduled to welcome Netanyahu in a ceremony with military honors on Thursday morning and security forces could be seen near the central Budapest hotel where Netanyahu will be staying.

The visit will be only the second he has made abroad since the International Criminal Court issued warrants to arrest both him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant last November, but details of his program have been limited apart from a planned visit to a Holocaust memorial.

He visited Washington in February to meet close ally US President Donald Trump. Neither Israel nor the United States are members of the ICC, with Washington arguing the ICC could be used for politically motivated prosecutions.

Orban invited Netanyahu to visit a day after the ICC issued its arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes in Gaza, where Israel launched an offensive following a devastating attack by thousands of Hamas fighters that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.

Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.

‘COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE’

Israel has rejected all the accusations, which it says are politically motivated and fueled by antisemitism. It says the International Criminal Court has lost all legitimacy by issuing the warrants against a democratically elected leader of a country exercising the right of self defense.

Orban has echoed Israel’s condemnation of the court, describing its decision to issue the warrants as “brazen, cynical, and completely unacceptable.”

The ICC said in a statement that member states were under a legal obligation to enforce the court’s rulings, adding that it is not for the states to determine the soundness of its legal decisions.

When it issued the warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant, the ICC also issued a warrant for the arrest of Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, whose death was confirmed after the warrant was issued.

Prosecutors had originally also sought to arrest Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and the group’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, who along with Deif masterminded the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in 2023. Both were killed by Israel before the request was approved.

The visit takes place as Israel has expanded its military operation in Gaza, announcing its intention to seize parts of the enclave to include in a security zone and evacuate large numbers of Palestinians, with the aim of pressuring Hamas into handing over 59 hostages still in Gaza.

The post Israel’s Netanyahu Heads to Hungary, Defying ICC Arrest Warrant first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

US produced kosher Manischewitz wine price tag is attached to an empty shelf in a store, following a government-controlled liquor store in Winnipeg removed all US-made products from its shelves, ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, March 28, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ed White

For Jews in Canada, much like their US counterparts, Manischewitz kosher wine has become a staple of Passover and other religious celebrations.

But now many are struggling to find the New York state-made drink for the wine-heavy spring holiday as Canadian government retailers and wholesale monopolies pull US-made products from shelves in protest of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats.

The missing wine illustrates how Trump’s tariff actions and his talk of annexation are causing pain for Canadian consumers and US beverage companies like Manischewitz owner E & J Gallo Winery, as well as potential opportunities for Canadian competitors.

Many Canadian consumers are embracing a “Buy Canadian” movement and avoiding US-made goods, but for some specialized products like sweet and fruity Manischewitz kosher wine, there is no true alternative, kosher goods retailers and consumers say.

Canada’s provincial governments control liquor sales and wholesaling, and since early March have all banned US alcohol imports as well as most distribution and sales, including Manischewitz wine and Jack Daniel’s bourbon whiskey.

Existing stocks have been taken off shelves across the country. Private stores, allowed to sell existing supplies, told Reuters their Manischewitz bottles were snapped up by shoppers soon after the provincial governments’ bans were announced.

“People are freaking out,” said Louise Waldman, a Winnipeg Jew who associates the particular taste of Manischewitz wine with a lifetime of Passover meals.

Manischewitz did not respond to requests for comment, and Gallo declined to comment.

During Passover, which begins on April 12, Jews gather for traditional meals, called seders, and eat specific foods including horseradish, parsley and eggs. Traditionally, each participant drinks four glasses of wine throughout the meal.

Aaron Bernstein of family-owned Bernstein’s Delicatessen, a Jewish food store and restaurant in Winnipeg in Western Canada, said he has had to tell patriotic Canadian shoppers that there are not domestically made versions of some kosher products.

“There’s no other product like Manischewitz wine,” he said.

MADE KOSHER IN CANADA

Canadian Jews seeking kosher wine to fulfill the ceremonial obligation might still find some Israeli wine in some government-operated liquor stores. Manitoba Liquor Marts offer three kosher wines, such as both red and white from the Galil Mountain Winery, a spokesperson said.

But for some kosher foods producers in Canada, the upsurge in patriotic pride and the desire for “Made in Canada” goods is a chance to expand business.

Ritesh Patel, the director of operations for Elman’s Food Products, a Winnipeg kosher foods processor since 1938, hopes to capture more of the domestic kosher market.

The company is in talks with major national chains about carrying their pickled products like sauerkraut, eggs and horseradish, he said.

To replace some US products, Bernstein said his deli has been ordering more products from Israel, but imports take longer to arrive because of the extended supply chain.

For some Canadian Jews who keep kosher, the concern goes beyond missing holiday foods and extends to the risk of tariffs and higher prices on other staple products making groceries unaffordable.

“We’re very concerned in general. The price of food is astronomical, and the price of kosher food is even more concerning,” said Richard Rabkin, the managing director of the Kashruth Council of Canada, the country’s largest kosher certification agency.

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