Hamas and Bibi's hug

+I confess to thinking that Hamas, having lost so much of its leadership in Israeli assassinations is no longer capable of any serious strategic thought. With international opinion now increasingly coalescing behind recognition of a Palestinian state, Hamas’s continuing to hold hostages serves no real purpose, except to incite the Netanyahu/IDF nexus into further attacks. It’s an excuse which I believe Netanyahu relishes, since previous negotiations have broken down as Israel reneged on them.   As many have commented, Netanyahu’s government’s survival depends on his support from far-right zealots. To this extent he relies on a partnership with Hamas (whatever is left of it), apparently not for the first time.
 
+In a report on Labour’s last NEC meeting, NEC member Ann Black tells us that concerns were raised about the now proscribed ‘terrorist’ group Palestine Action. A big demo is set to take place in London on Saturday where supporters (or just opponents of genocide) aim to get arrested in such large numbers they will overwhelm police cells. In response to NEC members’ concerns, Black reported
 
‘Keir said that all organisations are held to the same standard, and Palestine Action has a history of break-ins, sabotage and targeting Jewish-owned businesses.  (The latter would indeed be disturbing but is not mentioned on the government website.)  He assured us that the ban is not intended to stifle debate on Palestine.   Though it is clogging up courts and police stations with pensioners for holding placards and Private Eye cartoons.’
 
It is true that some of the businesses which Palestine Action says it has targeted are Jewish owned, but their selection, they assert is based purely on their connections with the Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. Microsoft’s ‘Co-pilot’ suggests that Keysight Technologies (Berkshire) is one such non-Jewish owned business that has been attacked by Palestine Action. That Starmer thought only Jewish owned businesses were at risk is revealing but not surprising. Now it seems our spooks have lots more info on Palestine Action, as Craig Murray reveals in his report on the recent court case regarding Palestine Action’s attempt to lift the proscription. The court heard ‘evidence’ in secret away from our prying eyes. Really? Is Palestine Action threatening our national security now? All the examples so far known of the group’s actions could easily be dealt with under existing criminal law.