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Democratic National Convention to Host Panel on ‘Palestinian Human Rights’
A scene from the anti-Israel protest that took place outside the exhibit “Nova: Oct. 7 6:29 AM, The Moment Music Stood Still” in New York City on June 10, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) on Monday will host a panel on “Palestinian human rights,” the latest indication of the growing influence of progressive activists on the Democratic Party’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The convention in Chicago this week to nominate the Democrats’ presidential and vice-presidential nominees for the 2024 US election will feature a panel discussion on Arab and Palestinian issues organized by members of the “Uncommitted National Movement” — an initiative which encouraged voters to withhold support from US President Joe Biden in protest of his support of Israel’s war against the Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza.
Monday will mark the first time that the anti-Israel movement will be given such a platform at the DNC. The panel will take place six miles from the main convention action, at a satellite location.
“This week, 30 Uncommitted delegates will be engaging with Democratic leaders inside the DNC, asking them to unite the party, win a ceasefire, and save Palestinian lives by no longer arming Israel. Democratic leaders need to know the delegates represent a grassroots movement,” the Uncommitted movement said on X/Twitter.
“We thank the DNC for recognizing this pivotal issue and remain dedicated to pushing [US President Kamala] Harris to stop providing weapons for Israel’s assault on Gaza,” the organization added.
Uncommitted leaders will attempt to push Harris, the Democratic nominee, to endorse a US arms embargo on Israel along with a permanent ceasefire between the Jewish state and Hamas. The organization argues that its demands will help end a so-called “genocide” in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Top Democrats have spent recent weeks engaging in meetings with leaders of the Uncommitted movement, hoping to mollify angry Arab Americans, a voting bloc which could prove critical in key swing states such as Michigan.
Harris recently held a meeting with Uncommitted leaders ahead of a campaign rally in Michigan. The New York Times and reported that Harris indicated she would be “open to” arranging a meeting with pro-Palestinian activists to discuss an arms embargo on Israel. The Harris campaign later denied such reports, insisting that the nominee “does not support an arms embargo on Israel” and “will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups.”
Harris also reportedly arranged a secret meeting with Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, the state with the largest Arab population in the US. Hammoud has repeatedly condemned Israel’s military operations in Hamas-ruled Gaza, accusing the Jewish state of committing a “genocide” in Gaza and an “ethnic cleansing” in the West Bank. On Oct. 7, following the slaughter of roughly 1,200 people throughout southern Israel by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists, Hammoud condemned the Jewish state as a “racist apartheid system that criminalizes Palestinian existence.”
“Israel’s decades of illegal military occupation and imprisonment of Gaza make peace impossible and tragic violence inevitable,” Hammoud tweeted on Oct. 7. Israel has trapped millions of Palestinians in Gaza in what is recognized by the international community as the world’s largest open-air prison. Failure to recognize this context is the inability to comprehend what is unfolding overseas.”
Hamas-led terrorists kidnapped some 250 hostages during their Oct. 7 rampage and perpetrated mass atrocities, including rampant sexual violence.
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Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville
i24 News – The United States has warned the UK and France not to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference scheduled for June 17 in New York, the Middle East Eye reported Tuesday.
France and Saudi Arabia will co-host this conference on the two-state solution, with Paris reportedly preparing to unilaterally recognize Palestine. France is also pressuring London to follow this path, according to sources from the British Foreign Office.
French media reports indicate that French authorities believe they have the agreement of the British government. Meanwhile, Arab states are encouraging this move, measuring the success of the conference by the recognitions obtained.
This initiative deeply divides Western allies. If France and the UK were to carry out this recognition, they would become the first G7 nations to take this step, causing a “political earthquake” according to observers, given their historical ties with Israel. The Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer threatened last week to annex parts of the West Bank if this recognition took place, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary David Lammy publicly opposes unilateral recognition, stating that London would only recognize a Palestinian state when we know that it is going to happen and that it is in view.
However, pressure is mounting within the Labour Party. MP Uma Kumaran, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the government was elected on a platform that promised to recognize Palestine as a step towards a just and lasting peace. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, believes that there is no legitimate reason for the United States to interfere in a sovereign decision of recognition, while highlighting the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump on this issue.
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Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack
A small number of Jewish worshipers pray during the priestly blessing, a traditional prayer which usually attracts thousands of worshipers at the Western Wall on the holiday of Passover during 2020, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
i24 News – The Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police thwarted another Iranian attempt to recruit Israelis, according to a statement on Tuesday, arresting a resident of East Jerusalem for allegedly carrying out missions for the Islamic Republic.
Iranian agents recruited the suspect, who in turn recruited members of his family. He is a resident of the Isawiya neighborhood in his 30s, and is accused of maintaining contact with a hostile foreign entity to harm the state by carrying out a terrorist attack against Jews.
The suspect had already begun perpetrating acts of sabotage and espionage, including collecting intelligence about areas in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and Mahane Yehuda Market. He also hung signs, burned Israeli army uniforms, and more in exchange for payment totaling thousands of shekels.
He was also charged with planning a terror attack in central Israel, including setting fire to a forest, and was told to transfer weapons to terrorist elements in the West Bank.
The suspect’s sought the help of family members, including his mother. A search at his home revealed sums of cash, a spray can used in some of his activities, airsoft guns, suspected illegal drugs, and more.
His indictment is expected to be filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.
The statement said that the case is yet another example of Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis. “We will continue to coordinate efforts to thwart terrorism and terrorist elements, including those operating outside Israel, while attempting to mobilize local elements in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Shin Bet and Police said.
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Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt holds a chart showing the development of antisemitic crime, during a press conference on Figures for Politically Motivated Crime in the Country, in Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Cybercrime in Germany rose to a record level last year, driven by hacker attacks from pro-Russian and anti-Israeli groups, the BKA Federal Crime Office reported on Tuesday as the government said it would boost countermeasures to combat it.
“Cybercrime is an increasing threat to our security,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. “It is getting more aggressive but our counter-strategies are also becoming more professional,” he said.
Some 131,391 cases of cybercrime took place in Germany last year and a further 201,877 cases were committed from abroad or an unknown location, a BKA report said.
The actors behind the hacker attacks on German targets were primarily either pro-Russian or anti-Israeli, said the BKA, adding targets were mostly public and federal institutions.
Ransomware, when criminals copy and encrypt data, is one of the main threats, said the BKA, with 950 companies and institutes reporting cases in 2024.
German digital association Bitkom said damage caused by cyberattacks here totaled 178.6 billion euros ($203.87 billion) last year, some 30.4 billion euros more than in the previous year.
Dobrindt said the government planned to extend the legal capabilities authorities could use to combat cybercrime and set higher security standards for companies.
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