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Amnesty International’s ‘Genocide’ Slur About Israel Is a Complete Lie
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 28, 2023. Photo: ABIR SULTAN POOL/Pool via REUTERS
Amnesty International wants us to believe that Israel has tried (but dramatically failed) to destroy the Palestinians population of the Gaza Strip.
These words — tried, destroy, population — aren’t figures of speech. The group alleges that the Jewish State’s actual intent was to physically or biologically destroy the roughly two million Palestinians living in that territory, erasing that group as a separate and distinct entity.
This is the distillation of Amnesty’s recent report accusing the Jewish State of “genocide” in the war that began with Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.
If this sounds like an absurd way to describe the unquestionably destructive war — a uniquely challenging overlap of urban and subterranean warfare, fought against a barbaric and antisemitic enemy, in which the estimated rate of civilian casualties appears to be well below that from the US-led campaign to dislodge Saddam Hussein — then wait until you see how Amnesty defends its “genocide” slur.
The relevant international convention defines genocide as a specific set of devastating acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.”
Clearly, there has been no such destruction. So Amnesty’s accusation hinges on “intent,” with its report citing, as proof of genocidal intent, supposedly incriminating comments by top Israeli officials.
After the Hamas slaughter of 1,200 people in October 2023, for example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the Biblical commandment to “remember what Amalek did to you.” With these words, he “called for the total destruction of Gaza, making no distinction between civilians and Hamas as a military target,” insists Amnesty.
Incredibly, the organization then immediately admits it doesn’t actually know what those words mean: “It is unclear from these statements alone whether Prime Minister Netanyahu intended only to refer to the verses of the Bible that are an injunction to remember the acts of the people of Amalek,” which they source to Deuteronomy, “or also to allude to those passages that call for the people of Amalek to be attacked and for none of them, not even children, to be spared,” which they source to Samuel.
Notwithstanding Amnesty’s performance, it is perfectly clear which verse Netanyahu quoted. The words don’t appear in Samuel. They do appear in Deuteronomy. (And not just there. The purportedly “genocidal” call to Remember Amalek — essentially a Biblical precursor to “Never Forget” — also appears in the pleas of Holocaust victims, the memoirs of Holocaust survivors, in Yad Vashem, and on other Holocaust memorials.)
Amnesty likewise claims that Netanyahu showed genocidal intent by describing, just after the Oct. 7 massacre, a war between the children of light and children of darkness. This, claims the report, was “an apparent reference to Palestinians in Gaza,” and thus “racist and dehumanizing.”
But it was not a reference to Palestinians.
“[W]e have gone to war, the purpose of which is to destroy the brutal and murderous Hamas-ISIS enemy, bring back our hostages and restore the security to our country, our citizens and our children,” said Netanyahu. “This is a war between the children of light and the children of darkness.”
Amnesty pulls the same stunt with Yoav Gallant’s reference to children of darkness, though he, too, used the phrase in reference to the fight against Hamas: “We will reach all the terror infrastructure. We will reach all the tunnels. We will reach all the Hamas operatives.” Clearly, this is not evidence of genocide.
Maybe Gallant’s reference to fighting “human animals” was? According to Amnesty, it was “dehumanizing language” that implies Palestinians, as a whole, are “subhuman.”
But if President Joe Biden referred to Hamas as “animals,” if relatives of hostages referred to Hamas as “human monsters” and “savages,” and if other world leaders referred to Hamas as “inhuman” “beasts” and “animals,” is there any indication that Gallant meant something different? To the contrary. He has consistently made clear that the fight is against Hamas, and that the “animals” are Hamas.
Surely, at least, Isaac Herzog “implied that all Palestinians in Gaza were legitimate targets,” as claimed in Amnesty’s report?
In a briefing just after the Oct 7 attack, Israeli President Herzog did respond to a journalist’s question by charging that “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible; it’s not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved.” But did those words mean Israel viewed all Palestinians as “legitimate targets”?
We can find the answer in the very same briefing: “We are very cautious in the way we operate,” Herzog said. “The IDF uses all the means at its disposal in order to reduce harm to the population. For example, many resources are invested in gathering intelligence and in trying to locate the enemy separately from civilian population, in evacuating the civilian population from the center of the battle, in warning citizens, in monitoring [the] humanitarian situation.”
Herzog was even asked if his harsher comment meant to imply that Palestinians legitimate targets. “No, I didn’t say that. I did not say that. I want to make it clear.”
Clear enough. But it was not clear enough for Amnesty, which strained to rescue its case that these comments by Herzog, Gallant, and Netanyahu are proof of genocide. But Herzog knew his harsh words would be broadcast, Amnesty said — as if he didn’t equally know his words about protecting civilians would be broadcast. But Netanyahu referred to a “commandment” about Amalek — though the verse from Deuteronomy about remembrance is indeed a Biblical commandment, and though the belligerent verse from Samuel is not.
It is telling that Amnesty flails to this absurd extent. And it is even more telling that the flailing represents Amnesty’s best shot.
Gilead Ini is a Senior Research Analyst at CAMERA, the foremost media watchdog organization focused on coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The post Amnesty International’s ‘Genocide’ Slur About Israel Is a Complete Lie first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
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