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Spain’s Prime Minister Demands EU Suspend Trade Deal With Israel in Latest Effort to Isolate Jewish State
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez walks, in front of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, and Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, on the day of a meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, Sept. 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Susana Vera
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday urged other members of the European Union to suspend the bloc’s free trade agreement with Israel over its military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, marking the latest effort by Spain to isolate the Jewish state over the past year.
“The European Commission must respond once and for all to the formal request made by two European countries to suspend the association agreement with Israel if it is found, as everything suggests, that human rights are being violated,” Sanchez said during an event in Barcelona.
Sanchez was referring to requests made by Spain and Ireland in February to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement, over concerns that Israel had breached the pact’s human rights clause.
The socialist leader also said his government opposed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call for United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon to move out of harm’s way while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted military operations against Hezbollah terrorists embedded in nearby locations.
“Spain strongly condemns Netanyahu’s statement,” Sanchez said. “There will be no withdrawal of UNIFIL [UN Interim Force in Lebanon]. It is time for the international community to wake up and act decisively. The international order must be based on the rules that we all give ourselves, not on the strength of a few.”
España condena de forma rotunda la declaración de Netanyahu. No habrá retirada de la FINUL.
Es hora de que la comunidad internacional despierte. Que actúe con decisión.
El orden internacional debe asentarse en las normas que nos damos todos, no en la fuerza de unos pocos. pic.twitter.com/RNhmng5ROB
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) October 14, 2024
Israel has been fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where the Iran-backed terrorist organization wields significant influence, in recent weeks after a year of nearly daily drone, missile, and rocket strikes by Hezbollah forces on northern Israeli communities. The relentless barrages from Hezbollah caused tens of thousands of Israelis to evacuate their homes, and the Israeli government has pledged to make the area safe for the displaced citizens to return.
Sanchez’s call for Europe to halt its free trade agreement with Israel came three days after the Spanish premier urged other countries to stop supplying weapons to the Jewish state.
“I believe it is urgent that, in light of everything that is happening in the Middle East, the international community stops exporting weapons to the government of Israel,” Sanchez told reporters after meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican in Rome.
“This is an appeal that I will make … to the entire international community,” the socialist leader added, saying it was important “not to contribute in one way or another to the escalation of violence and to the war and its expansion in Gaza, the West Bank or, in this case, to Lebanon.”
Sanchez’s comments came as Israel continued to conduct military operations against not only Hezbollah in Lebanon to the north but also the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza to the south. Hamas and Hezbollah, which openly seek Israel’s destruction, are both backed by Iran.
Under Sanchez, Spain has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel since Oct. 7 of last year, when Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists invaded the Jewish state from neighboring Gaza. The terrorists murdered 1,200 people, wounded thousands more, and abducted over 250 hostages in their rampage, leading Israel to respond with a military campaign aimed at freeing those taken captive and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.
In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 atrocities, Spain launched a diplomatic campaign to curb Israel’s military response. At the same time, several Spanish ministers in the country’s left-wing coalition government issued pro-Hamas statements and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with one member of the cabinet from the far-left Podemos alliance falsely accusing Israel of “genocide.”
More recently, Spanish officials said they would not allow ships carrying arms for Israel to stop at its ports
In May, Spain officially recognized a Palestinian state, claiming the move was accelerated by the Israel-Hamas war and would help foster a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli officials described the decision as a “reward for terrorism.”
Spain, like many other countries around the world, experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents targeting the Jewish community following Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.
The post Spain’s Prime Minister Demands EU Suspend Trade Deal With Israel in Latest Effort to Isolate Jewish State first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Samidoun designated as a terrorist group by Canadian and U.S. governments
In a major victory for Canadian Jewish communities, leaders, and advocacy organizations, Samidoun—the Vancouver-based group also known as the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network—has been formally designated a terrorist entity by […]
The post Samidoun designated as a terrorist group by Canadian and U.S. governments appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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More Than 8 in 10 Americans Support Israel Over Hamas, Harvard Poll Finds
US President Joe Biden holds a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the 78th UN General Assembly in New York City, Sept. 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
An overwhelming majority of Americans support Israel over the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, according to a new Harvard-Harris poll.
The poll, conducted from Oct. 11-13, revealed that the American public wants Israel to prevail in its ongoing military campaign in Hamas-ruled Gaza. The data also indicated that the American people believe the Jewish state should continue to prosecute the war until it achieves its objectives, including the permanent removal of Hamas from the Gaza strip and the release of the remaining hostages kidnapped from southern Israel last October.
According to the poll, Americans support Israel over Hamas by a margin of 81-19 percent. This represents a slight uptick from September, when 79 percent of Americans indicated support for Israel over the terrorist organization. Among respondents that follow the war “closely,” 81 percent similarly indicated support for Israel and 19 percent support Hamas.
The poll also showed a generational divide on Israel. Americans over 65 support Israel over Hamas by a staggering margin of 94-6 percent. Those aged 35-44 support the Jewish state over the terrorist group by a margin of 74-26 percent. Young Americans aged 18-24 are far more divided on the conflict, with 57 percent supporting Israel and 43 percent supporting the Hamas terrorist group.
The Jewish state also enjoys strong support across party lines, according to the poll. An overwhelming 85 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Democrats said they support Israel. Meanwhile, 15 percent of Republicans and 24 percent of Democrats indicated they back Hamas.
A commanding majority of voters also said they believe that Israel should strike a ceasefire deal with Hamas after it achieves its key military goals. Among respondents, 68 percent believe a ceasefire “should happen only after the release of all hostages and Hamas being removed from power.” Only 32 percent of Americans support an “unconditional ceasefire that would leave everything in place as is.”
Most Americans also believe that the Hamas terrorist group should no longer be allowed to run Gaza. According to the poll, 81 percent of Americans believe Hamas should be “removed from running Gaza.” In contrast, 19 percent believe the terrorist group should be “allowed to continue to run” the Palestinian enclave.
The polling results show that Israel enjoys robust support among the American public despite a barrage of media criticism leveled at the Jewish state.
The results came amid growing pressure on the Biden administration by far-left progressives to adopt a tougher posture against the Jewish state. However, the data suggests that adopting such an approach toward the Israel-Hamas war, such as imposing a US arms embargo on Israel, might harm the Democrats in November’s US elections.
According to the poll, Americans believe Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will be more “effective” on resolving the Israel-Hamas war than Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris by a margin of 47-37 percent.
The post More Than 8 in 10 Americans Support Israel Over Hamas, Harvard Poll Finds first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Sham Charity’: US, Canada Sanction Anti-Israel Samidoun Network as Fundraiser for Palestinian Terror Group
Anti-Israel protesters demonstrate in front of Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck, New Jersey, US, on March 10, 2024. Photo: Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
The US and Canada announced on Tuesday that they jointly imposed sanctions on Samidoun, explaining that the prominent anti-Israel group has been operating as a “sham charity” fundraising for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an internationally designated terrorist group.
“Organizations like Samidoun masquerade as charitable actors that claim to provide humanitarian support to those in need, yet in reality divert funds for much-needed assistance to support terrorist groups,” Bradley Smith, the US Treasury Department’s acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. “The United States, together with Canada and our like-minded partners, will continue to disrupt those who seek to finance the PFLP, Hamas, and other terrorist organizations.”
The US Treasury Department said in its announcement that the PFLP “uses Samidoun to maintain fundraising operations in both Europe and North America” and that it was also “designating” Khaled Barakat, a member of both Samidoun and the PFLP’s leadership.
“Together, Samidoun and Barakat play critical roles in external fundraising for the PFLP,” the department said.
Meanwhile, the Canadian government in a coordinated effort listed Samidoun as a terrorist entity under its Criminal Code.
“Canada remains committed to working with our key partners and allies, like the United States, to counter terrorist organizations and their fundraisers,” Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a statement. “Today’s joint action with the US sends a strong message that our two nations will not tolerate this type of activity and will do everything in our power to ensure robust measures are in place to address terrorist financing.”
Samidoun, which identifies itself as a “Palestinian prisoner solidarity network,” is a radical anti-Israel advocacy organization that has taken part in pro-Hamas protests across the West, including in the US, Canada, and countries in Europe.
Germany banned Samidoun, whose demonstrations in Berlin have featured cries of “Death to the Jews,” in the days following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7.
Samidoun previously described the Oct. 7 atrocities as an act of “heroic Palestinian resistance” and recently hosted a webinar for a Hamas official who pledged that the Palestinian terrorist organization will repeat its slaughter of Israelis “again and again” to bring about the Jewish state’s “annihilation.”
However, Samidoun, which is based in Vancouver, Canada, purports to organize demonstrations, organize campaigns, and provide resources that inform the public on the supposed plight of Palestinian prisoners.
“We work to raise awareness and provide resources about Palestinian political prisoners, their conditions, their demands, and their work for freedom for themselves, their fellow prisoners, and their homeland,” the group claims on is website.
The PFLP gained prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s for pioneering armed hijackings of airplanes and has also been involved in suicide bombings, shootings, and assassinations. For decades, the group has attacked Israeli and other Western targets. Just last year, the PFLP posted pictures and videos online showing its participation in and support of the Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel.
Samidoun and Barakat were sanctioned on Tuesday for “being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the PFLP,” according t the US Treasury Department.
As a result, any property or other entities they may own or have interest in, directly or indirectly, that are in the US or in the possession or control of Americans are “blocked” and must be reported to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The sanctions also prohibit Samidoun and Barakat from engaging in any property-related transactions with people or entities located or incorporated in the US.
The post ‘Sham Charity’: US, Canada Sanction Anti-Israel Samidoun Network as Fundraiser for Palestinian Terror Group first appeared on Algemeiner.com.