Police crackdowns on Israeli peace demonstrators combined with court rulings and settler organisations are designed to strip Palestinian families of their homes and land. The Israeli state has tried to silence both Israelis and Palestinians who resist, according to Zo HaDerekh (This Is The Way) the Communist Party of Israel’s Hebrew-language weekly
The truth about refugees in the central Mediterranean
BEN COWLES tells how civilian refugee rescue organisations saved the lives of 149 people in Malta’s search-and-rescue zone last weekend while the authorities and passing ships refused assistance
LAST Saturday morning, a rubber boat sailing away from war-torn Libya carrying 109 people contacted the distress hotline operated by the activist network Alarm Phone.
“The weather is rapidly deteriorating,” Alarm Phone tweeted soon after the call.
“The people report high waves and an ongoing storm. They need immediate rescue. [The] authorities are informed. Don’t let them drown!”
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BEN COWLES talks with the co-ordinator for the reconnaissance aircraft, Seabird, about dramatic events at sea last Friday, after a flimsy boat carrying 40 people was spotted near the island of Lampedusa



