Once the bustling heart of Christian pilgrimage, Bethlehem now faces shuttered hotels, empty streets and a shrinking Christian community, while Israel’s assault on Gaza and the tightening grip of occupation destroy hopes of peace at the birthplace of Christ, writes Father GEOFF BOTTOMS
The war criminal ‘victim’: Netanyahu’s inevitable fate
The Israeli PM has won political favour by repeatedly playing the victim card – but when the war on Gaza ends this kind of manoeuvring will no longer suffice in order to maintain his coalition, says RAMZY BAROUD
[World Economic Forum/Jolanda Flubacher/Creative Commons]
After years hidden away, Oldham’s memorial to six local volunteers who died fighting fascism in the Spanish civil war has been restored to public view, marking both a victory for campaigners and a renewed tribute to the town’s proud International Brigade heritage, says ROB HARGREAVES
The June 2025 attacks on Iran have heightened the risk of a wider war, exposed the fiction of a rules-based international order and left ordinary Iranians trapped between external aggression and internal repression, says the Committee for Defence of Iranian People’s Rights
While pretending to seek peace, Europe is heading toward a collision course with Russia – using security guarantees, troop deployments, expropriation and censorship as tools, writes SEVIM DAGDELEN
A WWI hero, renowned ornithologist, medical doctor, trade union organiser and founder member of the Communist Party of Great Britain all rolled in one. MAT COWARD tells the story of a life so improbable it was once dismissed as fiction
The long-term effects of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange mean that the impact of war lasts well beyond a ceasefire
SUDDENLY, Yoav Gallant, Israel’s notorious minister of defence, disappeared into obscurity. The man who served in his country’s military for about 35 years, in politics for nearly 10, and oversaw major wars, including the ongoing genocide in Gaza, quickly retreated from headlines and political significance.
In his resignation letter, Gallant accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who fired him on November 5, along with his replacement, Israel Katz, of endangering the country’s security. However, he kept his criticism largely focused on the issue of military conscription for Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community.
Gallant’s refusal to offer an exemption to Israel’s Haredim had always been a source of tension between him and his domineering boss. Yet, the political weight of that issue seems to have been greatly inflated by all parties, each with a political purpose in mind.
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Netanyahu’s failed attempt to replace Shin Bet’s chief violates longstanding Israeli political taboos, as the apartheid state’s internal power struggle spirals to a new level of crisis while Gaza burns, writes RAMZY BAROUD
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Unlike previous military campaigns in Gaza, there is no significant strand of Israeli society claiming victory, and a political crisis long-brewing has now reached crisis point, argues RAMZY BAROUD