分类： politics

A bipartisan cohort of Democratic lawmakers from both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate has issued a public appeal to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, demanding urgent diplomatic intervention to free a 20-year-old U.S. citizen held without formal charges in Israeli detention since early June. The detainee, Sama Safi, is a Palestinian-American student at Birzeit University based in the occupied West Bank, taken into custody alongside three other female students during a pre-dawn raid on her family home by Israeli armed forces. In the formally circulated congressional letter, legislators outline a rapidly worsening picture of Safi’s health amid what they describe as appalling prison conditions, warning that her ongoing detention could bring irreversible, life-threatening damage to her vital organs.

Sama Safi lives with Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF), a complex chronic genetic disorder that demands consistent daily medication, routine clinical monitoring, and specialized biologic treatments not available within either Palestinian or Israeli healthcare systems. As Nizar Farzakh, Safi’s relative and a part-time lecturer at George Washington University, explained to Middle East Eye, the young student previously traveled to Italy every three months to receive the life-sustaining treatment her condition requires. The congressional letter adds that coercive treatment in custody, including the use of stress positions and prolonged shackling, has sharply exacerbated her symptoms, triggering intense rheumatoid inflammation and persistent chest pain. Lawmakers also highlight that Safi’s transfer between multiple Israeli detention facilities—conducted while she was held blindfolded—included a movement from the occupied West Bank to Israel’s Damon Military Prison near Haifa, a step they call a clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention’s prohibitions on transferring detained civilians out of occupied territory.

Labeling Safi’s detention as arbitrary and unlawful, the legislators urge Rubio to leverage every diplomatic tool at the State Department’s disposal to secure her immediate release. Israeli authorities have defended the arrest, linking Safi to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Marxist organization classified by Israel as a terror group. But Lea Tsemel, an Israeli human rights attorney representing Safi, rejected all accusations against her client shortly after the arrest in comments to The Guardian. Farzakh clarified that Safi’s only connection to the group was attendance at a casual university book club meeting that included some PFLP members, emphasizing that the club functions as an informal student social gathering rather than a politically active cell.

Despite the congressional appeal, Farzakh expressed little optimism that the Trump administration will move to secure Safi’s release, noting that a plea deal appears to be the only foreseeable path forward. Under the expected terms outlined to Farzakh, Safi would be required to plead guilty to attending an event attended by members of an illegal organization in exchange for a short prison sentence and a substantial fine. If she rejects the deal, she faces a lengthier prison term and an even larger financial penalty, leaving her with no favorable options, Farzakh said.

Safi’s case comes amid a broader surge in detentions and violence in the occupied West Bank that has drawn growing scrutiny from U.S. legislators. In a separate development this week, 45 out of 47 Democratic U.S. senators sent an open letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for his direct personal intervention to protect U.S. citizens and their family members residing in the region. The senatorial letter notes a sharp recent uptick in bilateral violence that has prompted mass Palestinian arrests from Israeli security forces and documented attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian religious sites including mosques. While the senators did not name Safi specifically, they called on Netanyahu to implement measures to curb escalating violence, establish an independent, credible mechanism to investigate legal violations, and hold settler perpetrators of violence accountable, mirroring how Israel addresses violence against its own citizens. The letter specifically advocates for accountability for harassment, threats, and violence targeting Palestinian-American citizens, and calls on Israel to complete full investigations into the deaths of nine U.S. citizens killed in the West Bank in recent years. To date, Washington has never called for independent investigations outside the control of the Israeli military into these high-profile deaths, which include the 2022 killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the 2024 shooting death of activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi during an anti-settlement protest, and the 2025 beating death of ice cream shop worker Sayfollah Musallet at the hands of Israeli settlers.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society confirms that mass detentions of Palestinians in the West Bank have reached unprecedented levels following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, with more than 25,000 Palestinians arrested since the escalation began. Detainees regularly include students, political activists, and journalists: just last week, Palestinian journalist Abdulrahman Hasan was taken into custody and has not been seen since. Data shows that Israeli military and settler violence in the occupied West Bank has killed more than 1,100 Palestinians over the past three years alone, with the violence continuing unabated: earlier this week, Israeli forces shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy. Human rights groups have also documented repeated incidents where Israeli forces block Palestinian ambulances from reaching wounded civilians or transporting critical patients to hospitals in time to receive care. Middle East Eye attempted to secure comment from the U.S. State Department for this report but received no response prior to publication.

In a sweeping new move targeting pro-Palestinian advocacy groups, the outgoing Trump administration has added UK-based activist network Palestine Action to the U.S. government’s Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) list, framing the designation as part of a broader crackdown on what it calls “violent far-left terror networks”.

Wednesday’s designation marks one year exactly after the United Kingdom formally banned Palestine Action under national counterterrorism law, following a series of the group’s direct actions targeting facilities owned by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems. Elbit, a top supplier of military technology to the Israeli military, operates amid mounting global condemnation of Israel’s nearly three-year military campaign in Gaza, which the United Nations and leading Holocaust scholars have formally characterized as a genocide against Palestinian civilians.

In an official statement, the U.S. Department of the Treasury justified the sanctions by arguing Palestine Action has “materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods and services to or in support of, an act of terrorism”. The department further claimed the group has carried out multiple high-profile break-ins at British defense infrastructure and military installations, causing millions of dollars in damage to military equipment, and has promoted its tactics across social media to encourage copycat actions internationally, including within U.S. borders and along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The SDGT framework at the center of this action is not a new tool: it was created just days after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when then-President George W. Bush signed Executive Order 13224 to enable sweeping counterterrorism sanctions. The very first entity targeted under the order was the Holy Land Foundation, once the largest Muslim charity operating in the U.S. In a widely criticized outcome, five Palestinian-American men connected to the charity were tried twice and sentenced to decades in prison on allegations of funneling funds to Hamas-affiliated groups, despite no court ever presenting evidence linking the men to violent activity.

Addressing growing concerns over potential censorship of protected political speech, the Treasury’s statement asserted that “the United States does not sanction persons for engaging in political speech or other constitutionally protected activities”. It went on to cite the text of E.O. 13224, which defines terrorism as “violent acts and acts dangerous to human life, property, or infrastructure, that appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, or to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion”.

Palestine Action is not the only Palestinian rights group targeted in the Trump administration’s latest announcement. Officials also unveiled new sanctions against Masar Badil, a movement that advocates for a “alternative revolutionary path” to secure Palestinian rights and self-determination after decades of stalled peace negotiations failed to deliver progress. According to the Treasury, Masar Badil is inextricably linked to Samidoun, another Palestinian advocacy network that was sanctioned by both the U.S. and Canada in 2024. Samidoun has repeatedly and publicly denied any connection to terrorist activity.

Founded in 2020, Palestine Action launched after a group of activists broke into and spray-painted Elbit Systems’ London headquarters, marking the start of its campaign against what it calls the “corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex”. Since its founding, the group’s decentralized network of activists has relied on non-violent direct action tactics to target companies that supply the Israeli military, with Elbit remaining its primary focus. Group members have broken into corporate offices and factory facilities to spray-paint or damage equipment they argue is used to enable war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza.

The campaign has yielded tangible impacts for the group: Palestine Action says its pressure has forced multiple companies to sever ties with Elbit, costing the arms manufacturer “billions” in lost contracts and shareholder divestments. Most recently, British banking giant Barclays sold its 16,000-share stake in Elbit in October, and the UK Ministry of Defence canceled a £280 million portfolio of contracts with the firm.

Last July, the UK government proscribed Palestine Action under Section 3 of the country’s 2000 Terrorism Act, a move that criminalizes membership in the group as well as any public invitation or reckless expression of support for the organization. In the months since the ban went into effect, British police have arrested hundreds of protesters — including elderly and disabled activists — solely for holding signs declaring public support for Palestine Action. Videos of these arrests circulating widely on social media have drawn intense backlash, with critics dismissing the crackdown as political theater that wastes valuable law enforcement resources. Multiple Palestine Action activists who participated in actions against Elbit have also reported developing severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following their detention by British counterterrorism police.

The group’s crackdown in the UK has already resulted in a high-profile legal case that spotlights divisions over the government’s ban. Eight Palestine Action activists face charges of violent disorder and criminal damage connected to an August 2024 break-in at an Elbit Systems plant in Filton, near Bristol. The defendants are accused of coordinating the raid by carrying out pre-action reconnaissance and purchasing supplies, though prosecutors do not allege any of the eight entered the factory during the action. In a recent development, defendant William Plastow, 35, was acquitted of violent disorder by presiding judge Patrick Field, who ruled the prosecution had failed to present sufficient evidence to support the charge; Plastow still faces separate criminal damage charges. After an eight-week trial and 37 hours of deliberations at London’s Old Bailey court last week, jurors were unable to reach unanimous verdicts for the remaining seven defendants, who are now expected to face a retrial.

A 35-day education reform protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Delhi’s iconic Jantar Mantar demonstration ground wrapped up on July 25, but a viral clip showing young female protesters using expletives has reignited a fierce national conversation about gender bias, double standards, and the state of India’s public discourse. Weeks after the protest concluded, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has injected new energy into the debate by calling out Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s framing of the women’s language as a “culture shock” as a product of systemic patriarchy.

The protest, which spread to multiple Indian cities, was organized in response to widespread public anger over repeated exam paper leaks, with demands for sweeping education policy changes. During the weeks of demonstrations, a number of young female participants used aggressive, foul language targeting Prime Minister Modi, sparking swift outrage from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s base. Even some Modi opponents argued the women had crossed acceptable lines of political speech. Viral clips and images of the exchanges quickly spread across social media, drawing national attention and putting a 15-year-old female participant at the center of the controversy. The teen received violent online harassment, including rape threats, ultimately forcing her to release a public apology and remove her original post. Her single mother later told local media the ongoing harassment had forced the family to relocate multiple times to escape abuse.

After the protest ended, Modi addressed the incident in an Instagram selfie video, framing the young women’s language as a deeply upsetting “culture shock.” “Some naughty children used extremely abusive expletives which have no place in a civilised society,” he said, noting the language targeted him and even his late mother. While he extended forgiveness to the young protesters, saying childhood mistakes should be a learning opportunity rather than a cause for permanent condemnation, he did not address two key points: the violent police crackdown deployed against demonstrators, and the ongoing violent threats targeting women who participated in the protest.

Weeks later, during a student gathering in the western city of Pune, Gandhi – leader of the opposition Congress party in India’s lower parliamentary house – pushed back directly against Modi’s framing. Pointing out that male protesters also used foul language during the demonstration, Gandhi questioned why Modi only called attention to the language used by women. “If boys swear, there is no problem and it is allowed. But if a girl swears, it is a cultural shock,” he said, arguing that this selective criticism grows out of patriarchal mindsets that restrict women’s public speech while granting men full freedom to express anger. “We have to smash this patriarchy,” he added.

Leading gender journalists and activists have echoed Gandhi’s critique of double standards, pointing to longstanding cultural traditions that normalize women’s use of profanity in many parts of India. Namita Bhandare, a prominent gender columnist for the Hindustan Times, told the BBC that women using profanity is nothing new in Indian society: in many northern Indian rural communities, a traditional pre-wedding ritual sees women from the bride’s family sing songs full of expletives to welcome the groom’s party, a practice that is widely accepted and rarely considered offensive.

Bhandare also highlighted the hypocrisy of political leaders calling out women’s profanity, noting that politicians across the ideological spectrum – including Modi and senior BJP leaders – have a long history of misogynistic slurs and offensive language targeting women. This contradiction, she pointed out, comes as Modi has positioned himself as a champion of women’s empowerment: in his 2022 Independence Day address, he called on Indians to combat misogyny, and his government runs multiple high-profile programs aimed at advancing women’s social and economic status, with Modi holding strong popularity among many female Indian voters. Still, he has faced repeated criticism for misogynistic language, including offensive remarks made at political rallies in 2004 and 2012. Criticism for misogynistic speech is not limited to the BJP: senior leaders from Gandhi’s own Congress party have also faced public outrage for offensive comments targeting women in recent months.

“Women are treated so shabbily and it’s so easy to target them. And then when they use profanity, then everyone asks, how can our girls cuss and swear,” Bhandare said.

Not all observers frame the debate solely around gender. Social activist Sunil Jalan, who has run the national Gali Bandh Abhiyan campaign to curb public use of profanity since 2014, argues that the focus should be on reducing harmful expletive language across the board, regardless of who uses it. “we must focus on swearing, not on the gender of who uses it,” he said. A 2025 survey conducted by Jalan’s NGO, which included more than 70,000 participants across 28 Indian states and 8 union territories, found that 55% of respondents admitted to regular use of foul language, with particularly high prevalence in northern Indian states: 80% in Delhi, 78% in Punjab, and 74% in both Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Rates were far lower in southern India, and between 15% and 18% in India’s northeast. Jalan noted that the current national conversation is the first widespread public dialogue about the normalization of profanity in Indian society, and he hopes it will lead to meaningful change, arguing that popular culture from comedy to films has normalized aggressive language that needs to be reined in.

For India’s Gen Z and the CJP organizers, however, profanity has long been a core tool of grassroots protest. CJP spokesperson Sourav Das told the BBC that “Profanity and protest have gone hand in hand for ages. There’s a shock-and-awe factor to it, which is fundamental to protest. It may be distasteful to some people and not to others. But it absolutely can’t be criminal.”

The incident also shines a light on a broader erosion of civility in India’s public discourse, where expletives and personal attacks have become increasingly common across every space, from street protests to television panels, courtrooms, and even parliament. Just this week, a viral video showed a public altercation on state-owned Doordarshan television, where a temple priest unleashed a volley of expletives at a Congress spokesperson, who retaliated with the same language. In 2023, sitting BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri faced widespread national criticism after using Islamophobic slurs and threatening a Muslim opposition MP directly on the floor of parliament, only issuing an apology after sustained public outrage.

Sociologist Shiv Vishwanathan argues that the growing normalization of profanity in all spaces of public life is a symptom of a far deeper breakdown in India’s democratic culture. “the use of expletives is the symptom of a deeper breakdown of democracy, it shows there’s end of discussion and a lack of respect,” he explained. When expletives become common in institutions designed for deliberation, like parliament and the courts, “it shows there’s a breakdown of language, there’s a decline of argument and decline of democracy.” For grassroots protesters, he added, the turn to aggressive language is a natural response when marginalized groups are denied respect and a platform to be heard: “when there’s a weaker sense of respect, expletives become a response.”

In a landmark step toward national unity after decades of conflict in Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has formally announced its dissolution, fulfilling a long-negotiated agreement with the country’s interim government. The announcement, delivered Tuesday in a televised public address, marked the conclusion of a journey that began a decade ago when the coalition of Kurdish and Arab factions formed in 2015 with a singular core mission: to defeat the expansion of the Islamic State (IS) group across northern Syria.

Speaking after a high-level meeting with interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharra, SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi confirmed that the group has wrapped up its original mandate, and all its fighters and structures will be absorbed into Syria’s official national military institutions. “We want this day to mark a real transition: from the battlefield to the field of development, from the era of arms to the era of peace, and from defending Syria to building Syria,” Abdi said in his address.

The path to this agreement has not been smooth. The two sides first reached a preliminary framework for force integration on January 29, but bitter disagreements over key terms derailed the process, sparking violent armed clashes that put the entire deal on hold for months. This week’s announcement comes after renewed negotiations that resolved outstanding sticking points, according to statements from both sides.

On Wednesday, Syrian local publication Al-Majalla released what it reported to be the full text of the finalized agreement between Abdi and Sharra. Among the most notable concessions outlined in the document is a national commitment to recognize Kurdish as an official minority language, with provisions allowing “theoretical” coursework to be taught in Kurdish in public schools. The deal also specifies that the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), the prominent all-female combat brigade that formed a core part of the SDF’s counter-IS campaign, will be transferred to the Syrian Ministry of Interior to serve as part of the country’s internal security and counterterrorism force. Middle East Eye attempted to confirm these details with the Syrian Ministry of Information ahead of publication, but received no official response by the time of reporting.

The announcement has drawn largely positive reactions from key regional players, including two nations that have long held opposing views of the SDF: Saudi Arabia and Turkey. For decades, Turkey has classified the SDF as a terrorist organization due to its historical ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a group labelled terrorist by Ankara and much of the international community. Despite this historic tension, Turkish officials welcomed the dissolution as a critical step forward for Syria. Burhanettin Duran, communications director for the Turkish presidency, wrote on the social platform X that “At this stage, the dissolution of the SDF represents an important step forward in strengthening state authority across the country and uniting the various segments of society.” He added that continued inclusive governance from the interim Syrian administration would be essential to locking in lasting stability across the war-torn nation.

This development comes against a fragile backdrop for Syria’s new leadership, which has faced immense challenges since the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Ahmed al-Sharra’s interim government has struggled to reunify a country fractured by 13 years of civil war, which left deep divisions between armed factions and minority communities across the country. Thousands of people have been killed in renewed violence since Assad’s ouster, with clashes breaking out between armed groups and security forces, and between the state and minority populations including Alawis, Druze, and Kurds.

At the height of its power, the SDF controlled vast stretches of territory across northern Syria, and was credited with driving IS out of almost all the territory the extremist group once held in the country, a campaign supported heavily by U.S. air power. But the geopolitical landscape shifted dramatically after Assad’s fall: the U.S. withdrew its military and political backing for the SDF to align with the new interim government in Damascus, which also seized control of most of the territory the SDF once administered, setting the stage for the negotiations that led to this week’s announcement.