As Palestinians pushes for statehood, Israel finds itself more isolated
POSTED BY: Niki2
UPDATED: Monday, May 25, 2026 02:10
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rumors now say British will recognize the State of Palestine
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France recognizes State of Palestine, Macron declares at UN
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/09/22/macron-reco
gnizes-state-of-palestine-for-peace-vows-to-keep-up-existential-fight-against-antisemitism_6745641_4.html
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Nobody better represents Israeli politics today than Itamar Ben-Gvir
He may be the most brazen of the nation’s leaders, but his ideological spirit is found throughout its government, and beyond
By Ben Reiff | Fri 22 May 2026 11.36 EDT
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/22/israel-politics-
itamar-ben-gvir
No, you’re not hallucinating: western governments really are condemning Israel, one-by-one, without equivocation. Not because of the ongoing genocide in Gaza that has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, of course, but because of a PR stunt in which Israel’s national security minister filmed himself taunting foreign activists.
On Wednesday morning, Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived at the port where Israel had detained hundreds of participants in an international aid flotilla that was attempting to breach the naval blockade of Gaza. In a video he posted to social media, the minister can be seen mocking the activists as they are forced to kneel in rows with their heads on the ground and hands bound with zip ties. Israel’s national anthem can be heard blasting over loudspeakers, before we see Ben-Gvir waving an Israeli flag and shouting: “Welcome to Israel. We are the landlords here.”
The international reaction was swift and unequivocal – including from Britain’s foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, who said she was “truly appalled” at the video, and that it “violates the most basic standards of respect and dignity in the way people should be treated”. Representatives of the French, Italian, Canadian, German, Dutch, Spanish, Polish, Greek, Irish, Australian and New Zealand governments joined the chorus, with some of them additionally summoning their respective Israeli ambassadors for formal censure. Even the Trump administration voiced its condemnation, with the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, asserting that Ben-Gvir had “betrayed [the] dignity of his nation”.
Many of those speaking out, including Huckabee, consoled themselves with the fact that Ben-Gvir’s actions were denounced by his own government. While describing the flotilla activists as “Hamas terrorist supporters”, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that the national security minister’s stunt was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms”. Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, went further. “You knowingly caused harm to our state in this disgraceful display,” he exclaimed on X. “No, you are not the face of Israel.”
Except, he very much is. In fact, there is no one who more plainly epitomises today’s Israel than Itamar Ben-Gvir – and it is high time the international community woke up to that reality.
Let’s start with the obvious: far from being a marginal figure in Israeli politics, Ben-Gvir is one of the most senior ministers in the government. The national security ministry, which was created specifically for Ben-Gvir, grants him supreme authority over Israel’s regular and militarised police forces both within and beyond the state’s internationally recognised borders.
. . . While Ben-Gvir may be the most provocative and brazen of Israel’s current leaders, the truth is that he’s in good company – and not only in the political sphere. His ideological spirit can increasingly be felt among the country’s youth, in its police and army, and at the top of its security agencies.
What better face could there be for Israel today?
Much more at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/22/israel-politics-
itamar-ben-gvir
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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