True Left

Turkey's parliament removed Coca Cola and Nestle products from its restaurants over their alleged support for Israel amid the Hamas war, according to a parliament statement

"It was decided that the products of companies that support Israel will not be sold in restaurants, cafeterias and tea houses in the parliament campus," the statement said.

The decision was taken in response to public demand, it was reported.

"The parliament speaker's office did not remain indifferent to the public outcry and decided to remove products of these companies from the menu of cafes and restaurants in parliament," the source told Reuters.Both companies have been named in social media posts in recent days by Turkish activists calling for a boycott of Israeli goods and Western companies that they view as endorsing Israel.

Turkey's government has sharply criticised Israel's attacks in Gaza and Western support for Jerusalem.

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has slammed the European Commission’s annual report assessing its long-stalled bid to join the European Union, saying it was unjust and biased.

“the insincerity of EU’s approach and a clear double-standard”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was on a brief and tense visit to Germany amid deep differences between the two NATO allies over the war in Gaza.

 Western allies, including Germany, for supporting the military’s “massacres” in Gaza.

“Our solidarity with Israel is not up for discussion,” he said at a joint news conference with Erdogan.

“In our country, anti-Semitism is not permitted in any way,” said Scholz at the news conference.

This month, Germany announced a complete ban of Hamas activities, as well as those of the German branch of Samidoun, known as the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, claiming it “supports and glorifies” groups including Hamas.

I have fought against anti-Semitism. I am a leader who is leading this fight,” he said.

German authorities have prohibited many pro-Palestinian demonstrations in what they said are efforts to prevent public anti-Semitism and curb disorder.

Germany’s responsibility for the Holocaust underlines Berlin’s staunch defence of Israel and its bans on expressions of Palestinian solidarity

Germany: the country's ironclad special relationship with Israel

German government and all major political parties condemn the Hamas attack on Israel while brooking no discussion on the context of the current conflict.

On the foreign policy front, the German position has been in line with the US on the Gaza war

our duty to stand up for the existence and security of the state of Israel”.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was the first Western leader to visit Israel  following the Hamas attack.

The next day, US President Joe Biden was on the tarmac at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, where he walked into Netanyahu’s arms.

Both visiting leaders called for humanitarian pauses, but not a ceasefire

Germany has seen an explosion of anti-Semitic incidents over the past month.

“Anti-Semitism is not to be tolerated in any form,” said Habeck. “Anyone who is German will have to answer for it in court. If you’re not German, you also risk your residency status. Anyone who doesn’t have a residence permit provides a reason to be deported.”

“German politicians are cleaving to the old position, indeed doubling down on it,” said Neiman. “Politicians and most media are absolutely holding on to the idea that we have to support Israel, right or wrong

“Right-wing politicians have called for making unconditional support for Israel a condition of living in Germany.

Angela Merkel, who elevated Germany’s already close ties to Israel.

The FBI is investigating New York City Mayor Eric Adams' trips to Turkey. Two of the mayor's aides, including his top campaign fundraiser, are currently under FBI investigation.

Chris Cuomo says not to let allegations become convictions.

Turkish authorities rounded up dozens of people allegedly linked to Israeli Mossad in Turkey and claimed that they were plotting to target Palestinians, including Hamas members, on the Turkish soil. The crackdown comes weeks after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Israel against any move to target Hamas leaders in Turkey. Watch the video for more.

Turkey announced on Tuesday it had detained 34 people suspected of planning abductions and spying on behalf of Israel's Mossad intelligence service.

14 December 2023, 5:20 pm 5

The Mossad and the Shin Bet hail Denmark’s intelligence agencies for their “intensive and comprehensive intelligence investigation” that led to the arrest in Denmark of “seven terrorist operatives acting on behalf of the terrorist organization Hamas, and foiled an attack aimed at killing innocent citizens on European soil,” according to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Danish authorities said today they prevented a terror attack, after three arrests in Denmark and a fourth in the Netherlands. Officials did not go into details of the suspects or give any indication as to the possible target of the alleged plot.

The discrepancy in the number of arrests between the Israeli statement and the Danish announcement was not immediately clear

“It was a group that was planning an act of terror,” Flemming Drejer, head of operations at the PET intelligence service, told a news conference today.

There were “ramifications involving other countries” and organized crime, he added.

“In recent years, and even more so after the murderous attack on October 7, Hamas strives to expand its operational capabilities around the world and in Europe in particular in order to realize its ambitions to hit Israeli, Jewish and Western targets at any cost,” the Mossad and Shin Bet say in the statement.

The Israeli security agencies say they back “our partners in the intelligence and security bodies in Denmark for the successful countermeasures that culminated today with the realization of the arrests and the extensive exposure of Hamas infrastructure on European soil,” and urged legal proceedings against the suspects...

Is Denmark part of the United Nations?

As one of the founding nations of the United Nations, Denmark is strongly committed to the ideals and aspirations enshrined in the UN Charter. As the main forum for dealing with global issues, the UN - with its universal mandate - is one of the cornerstones of Danish foreign policy.

Does UN recognize Hamas?

There are multiple consequences of the UN not recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization. Nov 17, 2023

The British administrative headquarters for Mandatory Palestine, housed in the southern wing[1] of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, were bombed in a terrorist attack[2][3] on July 22, 1946, by the militant right-wing[4] Zionist underground organization the Irgun during the Jewish insurgency.[5][6][7] 91 people of various nationalities were killed, including Arabs, Britons and Jews, and 46 were injured.[8]

The hotel was the site of the central offices of the British Mandatory authorities of Palestine, principally the Secretariat of the Government of Palestine and the Headquarters of the British Armed Forces in Palestine and Transjordan.[8][9] When planned, the attack had the approval of the Haganah, the principal Jewish paramilitary group in Palestine, though, unbeknownst to the Irgun, this had been cancelled by the time the operation was carried out. The main motive of the bombing was to destroy documents incriminating the Jewish Agency in attacks against the British, which were obtained during Operation Agatha, a series of raids by mandate authorities. It was the deadliest attack directed at the British during the Mandate era (1920–1948).[8][9]

Disguised as Arab workmen and as hotel waiters, members of the Irgun planted a bomb in the basement of the main building of the hotel, whose southern wing housed the Mandate Secretariat and a few offices of the British military headquarters. The resulting explosion caused the collapse of the western half of the southern wing of the hotel.[9] Some of the deaths and injuries occurred in the road outside the hotel and in adjacent buildings.[9]

Controversy has arisen over the timing and adequacy of any warnings.[9] The Irgun stated subsequently that warnings were delivered by telephone; Thurston Clarke states that the first warning was delivered by a 16-year-old recruit to the hotel switchboard 15 minutes before the explosion. The British Government said after the inquest that no warning had been received by anyone at the Secretariat "in an official position with any power to take action."[10]...