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Japanese Hotel Asks Israeli Guest to Sign Pledge Denying Involvement in War Crimes
Skyline of Kyoto at night. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
A hotel in the Japanese city of Kyoto defended itself last week after an Israeli guest informed the Israeli embassy in Japan that staff had insisted that he sign a statement saying he had not engaged in war crimes, prompting a visit from officials at the city’s Medical and Health Center.
The unnamed Israeli traveler, a member of the Jewish state’s Navy reserves and a combat medic, told the Israeli publication Ynet that after showing his passport to check-in at the Wind Villa Guesthouse, “the clerk handed me this form and told me that without signing it, I wouldn’t be allowed to check in.” He called the statement “ridiculous and absurd,” noting that he told the clerk, “We don’t kill women and children. Why would we do that?”
The tourist initially resisted signing until being pressured to do so, saying that “in the end, I decided to sign it because I have nothing to hide,” and that “the statement is true — I did not commit any war crimes, and Israeli soldiers do not commit war crimes. I signed because I didn’t want to create problems, and because this form means nothing.”
The hotel posted the document on X titled “Pledge of Non-Involvement in War Crimes” and then sought to explain its company policy over a series of nine threaded, Japanese-language posts on the social media platform.
The pledge requires guests to sign “I have never committed war crimes,” and then the form offers such examples as “attacks on civilians (children, women, etc.)” and “sexual, violence, forced displacement, or looting.”
In addition, the hotel wants those staying to affirm “I pledge to continue complying with international law and humanitarian law and to never engage in war crimes in any form.”
Wind Villa disputed that it required guests to sign or that it singled out its customer because of his nationality.
“1) We ask all guests who are suspected of having committed war crimes to sign a pledge. 2) It is not discriminatory because it is not only targeted at Israelis,” the hotel wrote on X. “3) Filling out the form is optional, and not filling it out will not mean you will be denied accommodation.”
Wind Villa further justified its actions on the basis that “Israel has a universal conscription system, and the possibility that young men in particular will be involved in military operations after Oct. 8, 2023, cannot be ignored,” referring to the day after Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists invaded Israel and launched the current war in Gaza. It also stated that “so far, there have been no guests who have refused to fill out the pledge form, and there have been no cases of guests being refused accommodation. Therefore, there is no violation of the Inns and Hotels Act.”
The Wind Villa is not the only hotel to become embroiled in controversy after allegedly discriminating against Israelis amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Last year, for example, an Israeli family visiting Paris was denied service at the Novotel Paris Porte de Versailles after an attendant noticed their Israeli passport.
The post Japanese Hotel Asks Israeli Guest to Sign Pledge Denying Involvement in War Crimes first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Suspected Israeli Hackers Claim to Destroy Data at Iran’s Bank Sepah
A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration
An anti-Iranian government hacking group with potential ties to Israel and a track record of destructive cyberattacks on Iran claimed in social media posts on Tuesday that it had destroyed data at Iran’s state-owned Bank Sepah.
The group — known as Gonjeshke Darande, or “Predatory Sparrow” — hacked the bank because they accused it of helping fund Iran’s military, according to one of the messages posted online.
The hack comes amid increasing hostilities between Israel and Iran, after Israel attacked multiple military and nuclear targets in Iran last week. Both sides have launched multiple missile attacks against each other in the days since.
Reuters could not immediately verify the attack on Bank Sepah. The bank‘s website was offline on Tuesday and its London-based subsidiary, Bank Sepah International plc, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Customers were having problems accessing their accounts, according to Israeli media.
Gonjeshke Darande did not respond to multiple messages sent via social media.
“Disrupting the availability of this bank’s funds, or triggering a broader collapse of trust in Iranian banks, could have major impacts there,” Rob Joyce, the former top cybersecurity official at the NSA, said in a post on X.
In 2022, Gonjeshke Darande claimed responsibility for a cyberattack against an Iranian steel production facility. The sophisticated attack caused a large fire at the facility, resulting in tangible, offline damage. Such attacks are usually beyond the capabilities of activist hackers, security experts say, and would be more in line with the capabilities of a nation state.
The group has also been publicly linked by cybersecurity researchers to a 2021 cyberattack that caused widespread outages at gas stations across Iran.
Israel has never formally acknowledged that it is behind the group, although Israeli media has widely reported Gonjeshke Darande as “Israel-linked.”
The post Suspected Israeli Hackers Claim to Destroy Data at Iran’s Bank Sepah first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Qatar Says Its Output at Gas Field Shared With Iran Is Steady, Following Israeli Strike
A fire burns at South Pars gas field, in Tonbak, Bushehr Province, Iran, in this screen grab from a handout video released on June 14, 2025. Photo: Social Media/via REUTERS
Qatar‘s gas production at the South Pars field is steady and supply is proceeding normally, it said on Tuesday, after the world’s largest gas field was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, prompting Iran to partially suspend its production.
Qatar, the world’s third-biggest liquefied natural gas exporter after the US and Australia, shares the South Pars gas field with Iran.
“So far, gas supplies are proceeding normally. However, the ill-advised targeting raises concerns for everyone regarding gas supplies,” Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said.
“This is a reckless move … The companies operating in the fields are international, and there is a global presence, especially in the North Field,” he said during a weekly press briefing in Doha.
QatarEnergy has instructed tankers to remain outside the Strait of Hormuz and to enter the Gulf only the day before loading, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
Concerns over LNG supply disruptions have boosted LNG prices at the Japan Korea Marker (JKM), widely seen as an Asian benchmark. It reached $13.948 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) on Tuesday, up $1.19 since Thursday June 12, before Israeli launched its attack on Iran on June 13, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.
The EU benchmark gas price at the Dutch TTF hub rose 4.27 percent to 39.05 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 1600 GMT, up 2.67 euros since June 12.
The South Pars field is located offshore in Iran‘s southern Bushehr province and accounts for the bulk of production in Iran, the world’s third-largest gas producer after the United States and Russia.
Loading of LNG from Qatar‘s Ras Laffan LNG Terminal, which usually loads about 90 cargoes a month, remains within the usual range so far, according to shipping data from ICIS LNG Edge.
“There appear to be more than a dozen vessels in ballast (not carrying any cargo) waiting outside the port. These would ordinarily be expected to load quickly, but it remains to be seen if these will be delayed,” said ICIS’ LNG analyst Robert Songer.
LNG tanker, HLAITAN, which delivered a cargo to India earlier this month, was on its way back to Ras Laffan but is idling away from the Strait of Hormuz, according to LSEG data.
“The current pattern — more idling vessels during summer — is typical, and the only tangible impact appears to be a few diversions and minor delays in loading,” said Go Katayama, LNG and gas analyst at data analytics firm Kpler.
Critical energy infrastructure in Israel and Iran has not escaped unscathed from the first few days of the countries’ conflict.
US President Donald Trump said he wanted a “real end” to the nuclear dispute with Iran, and indicated he may send senior American officials to meet with Islamic Republic officials as the Israel-Iran air war raged for a fifth straight day on Thursday.
The post Qatar Says Its Output at Gas Field Shared With Iran Is Steady, Following Israeli Strike first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Moving Fighter Jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran War Rages
US Air Force F-16 “Falcon” fighter jet takes off at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, US, Oct. 3, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tom Brenner
The US military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, bolstering US military forces in the region as the war between Israel and Iran rages, three US officials said.
One of the officials said the deployments include F-16, F-22, and F-35 fighter aircraft.
Two of the officials stressed the defensive nature of the deployment of fighter aircraft, which have been used to shoot down drones and projectiles.
The post US Moving Fighter Jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran War Rages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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