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Irish Band Guitarist Says ‘Free Palestine, F—k Zionism’ on Stage at Rolling Stone UK Awards
Carlos O’Connell of the group Fontaines DC during the Romance European Tour 2024, 25 June 2024, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome, Italy. Photo: Emanuela Vertolli/SportReporter/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
The guitarist of the Irish post-punk band Fontaines DC condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Zionism, and voiced support for a “Free Palestine,” when receiving the award for Best Album at the 2024 Rolling Stone UK Awards on Saturday.
“What a night,” Carlos O’Connell began by saying at London’s Roundhouse, upon accepting the award on behalf of his band for their latest album “Romance.”
“I don’t know, I just think there’s only a couple of words to say here,” O’Connell continued. He then added, “It’s kind of weird that this is the first time it’s been said all night, but I’m just gonna say it: Free Palestine. Free Palestine. Free Palestine. F—k Netanyahu. F—K Zionism. Free Palestine.”
O’Connell’s remarks garnered applause from some in the audience.
In May, O’Connell participated in a “Voices For Gaza” initiative in which several musicians read out letters written by Palestinians suffering in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The project also helped raise funds for the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians.
The five-part band Fontaines DC includes lead singer Grian Chatten, guitarist Conor Curley, bassist Conor Deegan III, and drummer Tom Coll. In August, the Dublin band cancelled a concert in Istanbul, Turkey, in solidarity with the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. They said in a statement at the time that they would refuse to perform at the Zorlu Performing Arts Center in Istanbul until the concert hall “fully divests from the supply of energy” to Israel, which the band accused of genocide.
“We were really looking forward to visiting and playing beautiful Istanbul; however in this instance, we must be clear in our convictions and put solidarity with the people of Palestine first,” the statement further read.
Fontaines DC has also previously called for a ceasefire to end the ongoing Israel-Hamas war “in solidarity with the Palestinian people living under a brutal military operation.” Over the summer, the band won a viral music quiz on TikTok and donated the cash prize of $2,560 to Doctors Without Borders “for Palestine.”
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US Moves Patriot Missile Batteries from South Korea to Middle East
A Patriot missile battery. Photo: IDF.
i24 News – American Patriot missile defense batteries will be moved from South Korea to the Middle East, according to reports in Asian media on Friday, amid speculation over a potential military action against Iran’s nuclear program and escalating bombardments of Iran-backed jihadists in Yemen.
US President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program, and the United States has moved additional warplanes into the region.
Washington and Seoul have reportedly recently agreed on the “monthslong” partial deployment of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, in what is understood to be the first known case involving the relocation of United States Forces Korea (USFK) assets to the Middle East.
Iran in recent years has largely dropped the pretense of enriching uranium for a civilian atomic energy program, as it’s reportedly teetering on the nuclear precipice. Israel believes that a nuclear Iran represents a grave existential threat, consistent with the exterminationist antisemitism of the Islamic Republic’s anti-Israel rhetoric.
After the election of Trump, a known Iran hawk, the likelihood of an U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has increased precipitously.
The post US Moves Patriot Missile Batteries from South Korea to Middle East first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Iranian Plot to Assassinate Azerbaijani Rabbi Foiled
The Azerbaijani capital of Baku. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – Iran enlisted the services of a Georgian drug trafficker to carry out an assassination of a prominent Azerbaijani rabbi, the Washington Post reported Saturday, citing security officials.
The plot to murder Rabbi Shneor Segal, foiled by the State Security Service of Azerbaijan in early January, also involved a plan to attack a Jewish education center, the officials said.
The plot was set in motion by an officer with Iran’s Quds Force, who met with Georgian criminal Agil Aslanov, handing him a photo of Segal and detailed instructions on how to murder him, the officials cited by WaPo said. Aslanov’s fee for the foiled hit was $200,000.
The State Security Service said the two men “worked to collect information about a member of a religious community, and sent the location of his residence and workplace to a representative of a foreign special service agency via the appropriate mobile phone application.”
Iran is known to be behind multiple plots against Israeli and Jewish targets, many of which have been foiled by Israeli and foreign security services.
However a recent plot saw three citizens of Uzbekistan murder an Israeli rabbi in the United Arab Emirates on Iranian orders. The three were sentenced to death earlier this week for the murder of Zvi Kogan in November.
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Netanyahu to Depart for Washington on Sunday Directly from Hungary to Meet with Trump
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
i24 News – Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will depart to Washington DC on Sunday directly from Hungary—where he is presently on an official visit—to meet with US President Donald Trump, i24NEWS learned on Saturday from an Israeli source.
The visit comes following a phone conversation between the leaders on Friday, and a call with State Secretary Marco Rubio a short while ago.
As a result, the planned visit to Washington of Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz will be postponed once again.
Topics of discussion between the two leaders are expected to include the possible military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Gaza war and the future of the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave, the US bombing campaign against Iran-backed Houthi jihadists in Yemen, and the recent imposition of tariffs on Israeli products.
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