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Anti-Israel Social Justice Activist Shaun King Gets Banned From Instagram
Left-wing activist Shaun King. Photo: Roman Iwasiwka/Flickr.
Prominent left-wing and anti-Israel activist Shaun King had his Instagram account blocked on Monday after repeatedly posting pro-Hamas content on the social media app as well as posts criticizing Israel’s military campaign against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
The well-known Black Lives Matter activist, who had 6 million followers on the Meta-owned social media application, posted a video message on a friend’s Instagram account about being banned. In the clip, he also accused Israel of committing a genocide in Gaza during its ongoing war against Hamas terrorists controlling the region, a military campaign that twas launched in response to the horrific Hamas terrorist attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, where 1,400 civilians were killed and 240 others were kidnapped.
“I’ve been through hard times. This is not hard times. Hard times is Gaza right now,” said King, 44, in the video. He further claimed that Meta, Instagram and Facebook — another social media platform owned by Meta — “have decided to stand in the way of those of us fighting for the human rights and dignity of Palestinians.” King’s Facebook account remains active as of Monday and he continues to repost messages critical of Israel on X/Twitter.
The activist added that he would like to get his Instagram account back “but not if that means compromising my values, speaking up for Palestinians.” He also said he is speaking with “attorneys and other people involved” about being booted from Instagram.
In the caption for the video, King said he is “frustrated” by being banned “for fighting for Palestine” and continued to rail against Israel for allegedly carrying out “genocide and the war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.” He added, “You can NEVER mince words about genocide. You can never mince words about war crimes.”
King has repeatedly bashed Israel for its military actions after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and even shared Hamas propaganda videos claiming that the hostages were being treated kindly. He also falsely claimed in late October that he played a part in the release of Natalie Raanan, 17, and her mother, Judith Tai Raanan, two Americans taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7 and held in captivity in the Gaza Strip for nearly two weeks before being released.
“First and foremost, we make it clear that he is lying!” Raanan family members wrote in a statement. “Our family does not and did not have anything to do with him, neither directly nor indirectly. Not to him and not to anything he claims to represent.”
In late November, King shared on social media a video of a Hamas shooting attack targeting Israeli civilians in Jerusalem but the caption claimed that the video showed Israelis shooting Palestinians in the West Bank. The video remains on his X account as of Monday, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Even before the start of the Israel-Hamas war, King has repeatedly promoted hatred towards and violence against Israel, while also making other offensive comments targeting the Jewish community. He has accused Israel of apartheid; claimed on social media that the Holocaust is only considered important because its victims were Europeans, defended Nation of Islam leader and notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan, and promoted the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Also on Monday, pro-Palestinian activist Mohammed el-Kurd — who has been promoted antisemitism, anti-Zionism and antisemitic tropes about Israel — had his X account removed.
The post Anti-Israel Social Justice Activist Shaun King Gets Banned From Instagram first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.