The trial over the stabbing of Iran International presenter Pouria Zeraati turned to the alleged money trail behind the attack, with prosecutors describing payments routed through a west London construction company and relatives of one defendant.
Israel Prison Service says treatment of flotilla activists was 'according to procedure' The Israel Prison Service said its personnel acted "according to procedure" in a video shared by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir showing security personnel abusing activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, Haaretz reported on Friday. "All actions were carried out in accordance with procedures and professional considerations," the prison service said. The national security minister was filmed waving an Israeli flag and confronting activists as they were being manhandled and forced to kneel facing the ground by officers.
Deported flotilla activists allege 'sadistic' sexual abuse and torture in Israeli captivity Submitted by MEE staff on Fri, 05/22/2026 - 09:43 Activists report being stripped, 'water-tortured' and dragged along the ground with bound hands and feet Italian flotilla activists gesture upon arrival at Fiumicino Airport in Italy after being deported from Israel on Thursday (Remo Casilli/Reuters) Off Flotilla activists who were abducted and jailed by Israeli authorities while in international waters have reported being subjected to sexual abuse and torture while in Israeli captivity. Some 430 activists, who were held after Israeli forces raided the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla , were deported to Istanbul on Thursday evening. Footage showed activists arriving at airports clad in grey prison tracksuits and keffiyehs with their fists raised, as families and supporters greeted them.
French commission advises against deporting Egyptian-Palestinian activist Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Fri, 05/22/2026 - 08:49 Ramy Shaath hails 'embarrassing' ruling for French government against removal from country, which does not cancel threat of deportation Palestinian political activist and leading figure of the 2011 Egyptian revolution Ramy Shaath speaks during a rally outside Nanterre District Court on 21 May (Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP) Off Egyptian - Palestinian activist and academic Ramy Shaath has won a provisional victory against the French government after a commission ruled against his deportation from the country for comments made at pro-Palestine demonstrations and involvement in Palestine solidarity groups. On Thursday, the Hauts-de-Seine departmental deportation commission ruled that deporting the prominent Arab Spring veteran - on the basis of being a "serious threat to public order" - would violate his respect for privacy and freedom of expression. Shaath, who spent 900 days in Egyptian detention between 2019 and 2022, no longer has Egyptian citizenship and could not be sent to his home region of Gaza due to the ongoing war .
Morocco launches mass deportations to block Europe migration route Submitted by Kate McMahon on Thu, 05/21/2026 - 10:24 As the EU rolls out its new, stricter migration pact, Morocco intensifies crackdown and interceptions of sub-Saharan Africans at Europe’s behest A man looks on while standing with other sub-Saharan migrants at a tramway rail construction site in Morocco's city of Casablanca on 19 January 2023 (Fadel Senna/AFP) Off Since 14 April, Morocco has been conducting large-scale deportation operations targeting sub-Saharan Africans migrating to Europe, reportedly arresting over 100 per day, local sources told Middle East Eye. According to Moroccan human rights groups, around 800 people were detained during coordinated raids in the forests between Fnideq and Belyounech, in the northern tip of the North African state, where many were sheltering before attempting to reach Europe. The operation is still ongoing, with authorities then moving their focus to operations in and around Tangier.
How activists pushed the UK's largest pension megafund to divest from Israel Submitted by Sebastian Shehadi on Wed, 05/20/2026 - 16:19 Local government workers were shocked to discover their pensions were being invested in Israeli bonds at the height of the Gaza war. But within a few months the bonds had been quietly sold Campaigners protest outside the South Yorkshire Pensions Authority office in Barnsley in June 2025 (Supplied) Off The UK’s largest public sector pension pool quietly sold its holdings of Israeli government bonds last year following months of activist pressure, Middle East Eye can reveal. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership currently manages nearly £120bn ($160bn) in assets on behalf of around two million people working in local government.
Activists onboard Gaza-bound flotilla recount abuse in Israeli detention Global Sumud Flotilla activists arrived in Turkey on Thursday after being released from Israeli detention, with several participants alleging they suffered torture, humiliation, and violent beatings while in custody. Footage shared following their arrival showed a number of activists with visible bruising and injuries, as supporters gathered to welcome them back. The Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Adalah, previously said that activists were subjected to electric shocks as well as physical and psychological abuse.
Israel to release hundreds of activists seized from Gaza-bound flotilla Israel said it deported all foreign activists who were illegally seized from a Gaza-bound flotilla seeking to break the Israeli blockade on the besieged enclave. Some 430 activists from countries around the world had been placed in detention in Israel, despite the ship being illegally raided in international waters.
World must not get 'accustomed to seeing Palestinians killed', Palestine's UN envoy says Palestine's UN envoy Riyad Mansour said that Israel has continued to unleash and incite violence on Palestinians, warning that it was taking ""blatant steps towards the destruction of the Palestinian state and the two-state solution". "Nothing can justify collective punishment against over 2 million Palestinians," Mansour said at the UN Security Council, referencing Israel's ongoing restrictions on humanitarian aid entering Gaza. "We have a duty to ensure the world does not get accustomed to seeing Palestinians killed," he added.
UN says Gaza healthcare system near collapse under Israeli siege The UN has warned that Gaza’s healthcare system remains under severe strain as Israel’s siege continues to block essential supplies needed to operate hospitals and critical medical equipment. The World Health Organization said it has documented 22 attacks on healthcare facilities and services in Gaza, causing casualties and disrupting medical transport and hospital operations. Access to water also remains a major challenge, with three out of four Palestinian families now dependent on trucked water supplies.
BRUSSELS, 21st May, 2026 (WAM) -- The European Parliament Thursday adopted a resolution condemning the deterioration of human rights conditions in Iran, calling for more decisive international action, including the imposition of additional sanctions and the strengthening of accountability mechanisms.
Leading NGOs slam Board of Peace for 'failing' to deliver Gaza aid pledges Submitted by Yasmine El-Sabawi on Thu, 05/21/2026 - 19:33 Organisations say Israel is actively obstructing aid despite Trump's own 20-point plan calling for assistance to 'proceed without interference' A Palestinian woman sits amid the rubble from an Israeli strike in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on 20 May 2026 (Mahmoud Issa/Reuters) Off A group of some of the world's leading aid organisations on Thursday said US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" for Gaza is "failing", precisely because Israel is still obstructing the vast majority of aid into the enclave. At a briefing for reporters at the United Nations in New York, Janti Soeripto, the CEO of Save the Children US, said her organisation, among several others, has reached out to the Board of Peace and offered meetings, expertise, and direct reporting from local staff on the ground. Little to nothing has come of it.
Amnesty dismisses Netanyahu claim that flotilla abuse was outside Israel’s values Amnesty International official Erika Guevara Rosas has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that the mistreatment of Gaza flotilla activists was an exception that does not reflect Israel’s “norms”. “While the hundreds of [flotilla] activists unlawfully detained by Israel are en route back to their countries, Palestinian prisoners will have to continue to endure unspeakable abuse,” Guevara Rosas wrote. “Israel’s systematic use of administrative detention – detaining Palestinians without charge or trial – is a cornerstone of its system of apartheid,” she added.
Amnesty dismisses Netanyahu claim that flotilla abuse was an 'exception' outside Israel’s 'norms' Amnesty International official Erika Guevara Rosas has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that the mistreatment of Gaza flotilla activists was an exception that does not reflect Israel’s “norms”. “While the hundreds of [flotilla] activists unlawfully detained by Israel are en route back to their countries, Palestinian prisoners will have to continue to endure unspeakable abuse,” Guevara Rosas wrote. “Israel’s systematic use of administrative detention – detaining Palestinians without charge or trial – is a cornerstone of its system of apartheid,” she added.
Responding to the charges brought against detained Ekattor Television journalists Farzana Rupa and Mozammel Haque by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), reportedly in relation to a ‘misleading’ report on the deadly crackdown on protesters at the Shapla Square in May 2013, Smriti Singh, South Asia Regional Director of Amnesty International said: “Freedom of expression extends […] The post Bangladesh: Authorities must immediately drop ICT charges against journalists for carrying out their work appeared first on Amnesty International .
European authorities have grown concerned about a rise in Iranian intelligence activity in Europe in the wake of the U. S. -Israeli war in Iran.
Father of Gaza flotilla activist says UK ignored call for help after son seized by Israel Submitted by Kayla Rahaman on Thu, 05/21/2026 - 15:13 Jafer Taasleem said he has received no help from the government or his local MP Shabana Mahmood after his son who took part in the Global Sumud Flotilla was abducted by Israel Protesters holding Palestinian flags and placards march along Piccadilly in central London during a "Nakba" demonstration in support of Palestine and against the Far Right, organised by Stop The War coalition on 16 May 2026 (AFP) Off The father of a British student activist seized by Israeli forces who raided a Gaza -bound aid flotilla said the UK government did not respond to his calls for help after his son's capture. Hasnain Jafer, a student officer at King’s College London, was abducted by the Israeli navy earlier this week when the Gaza Sumud Flotilla was raided in international waters near Cyprus. The student activist, originally from Birmingham, was among dozens of international activists aboard the convoy attempting to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave.
Israelis slam Ben Gvir for ‘damaging country's image’ with flotilla abuse video Submitted by Nadav Rapaport on Thu, 05/21/2026 - 14:39 Officials and opposition accuse security minister of harming Israel’s image while overlooking abuse shown in footage Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir taunted detained activists as they were manhandled by Israeli officers (Screengrab/X/@itamarbengvir) Off The video of Itamar Ben Gvir overseeing the mistreatment of Gaza-bound flotilla activists on Wednesday has sparked a backlash inside Israel , with both allies and opponents accusing him of damaging the country’s image while largely ignoring the abuse shown in the footage. The national security minister was filmed waving an Israeli flag and confronting activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla as they were being manhandled and forced to kneel facing the ground by officers from the Israel Prison Service (IPS). The footage drew condemnation from several world leaders, including officials from countries whose citizens were among those detained by Israel.
Oxford Union's Palestinian president on why she invited Tommy Robinson to debate Islam Submitted by Imran Mulla on Thu, 05/21/2026 - 11:10 Arwa Elrayess says she aims to show Muslims are not afraid of scrutiny as outrage escalates over planned event British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, at a rally organised by Unite The Kingdom, in London on 16 May (AFP) Off Another term, another Oxford Union scandal. This time the highly prestigious free speech society has invited far-right activist Tommy Robinson to a debate on Islam. Outrage has erupted.
Macron once campaigned for Ramy Shaath's freedom. Now he wants to deport him Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Thu, 05/21/2026 - 09:49 The Palestinian-Egyptian academic and organiser faces deportation from France over his Gaza activism Palestinian-Egyptian activist Rami Shaath in Paris on 27 January 2022 (Joel Sagat/AFP) Off In January 2022, Ramy Shaath arrived in Paris after spending 900 days in an Egyptian prison. Forced to renounce his Egyptian nationality upon being freed, the Palestinian academic and organiser was greeted at the airport by his French wife and cheers from supporters.
