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Israel accused of attempting to 'erase' Palestinian Muslim identity Simon Hooper on Fri, 03/13/2026 - 10:50 Report says destruction of mosques in Gaza and restrictions on worship at Al-Aqsa form part of systematic campaign to 'obliterate Palestinian life' Palestinians pray outside the Damascus Gate during the last Friday prayers of Ramadan in occupied East Jerusalem on 13 March 2026 (John Wessels/AFP) Off Israel is waging a systematic campaign of violence, destruction and persecution that threatens to erase the religious and cultural identities of Palestinian Muslims, according to a report to be published on Friday. The report, by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), a UK-based legal advocacy campaign group, found that Palestinian Muslims throughout the occupied territories and Israel had faced escalating anti-Muslim discrimination since October 2023, following the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel and the launch of Israel’s assault on Gaza. It said Muslims had been subjected to increased persecution during the current holy month of Ramadan, citing an attack in February by settlers on a mosque in Nablus, punitive measures restricting access to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, and the detention by Israeli security forces of more than 100 Palestinians during the first week of the month. In Israel, rights of religious freedom were under threat from legislation brought by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir which aimed to ban the call to prayer, as well as amendments to counter-terrorism laws which had led to Palestinians being accused of supporting Hamas for quoting verses from the Quran, the report said. It echoed calls by United Nations bodies and human rights organisations for Israel to immediately end attacks on cultural and religious sites and to respect the religious rights of Palestinians, citing the advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice last year which called on Israel to immediately end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territories including East Jerusalem and the West Bank. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); “The clampdown on religious freedom of expression contributes to the erasure of Palestinian Muslim identity and religious customs, extending apartheid practices into every facet of Palestinian Muslim life,” the report said. It accused Israeli forces of targeting mosques and religious sites in Gaza as a “core objective of Israel’s genocide … and part of a concerted Israeli campaign to obliterate Palestinian life in the enclave”. It said 1,160 out of Gaza’s 1,244 mosques had been destroyed or heavily damaged since the start of the war, often killing civilians, many of them women and children, who had sought safety inside. “Israel’s strategic targeting of mosques in Gaza has led to heightened civilian killings by Israel, due to the fact that mosques serve as places of refuge with large civilian populations and high numbers of women and children sheltering from Israeli bombardments,” it said. The Palestinian health ministry says that more than 72,000 people have been killed and more than 171,000 injured in Gaza since the start of the war, with women, children and elderly people accounting for more than half of those killed. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Mosques in the West Bank had also been deliberately targeted, the report said, citing an air strike that severely damaged Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin in October 2023. Israeli authorities had also aided and abetted a number of attacks on mosques by settlers, it said. 'Religious apartheid' The report highlighted restrictions imposed by Israel limiting Palestinians’ access to Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam, which it said violated the authority of the Islamic Waqf, the religious body responsible for managing the site. It said that only 2,000 people had been permitted to pass through the main checkpoint between the West Bank and East Jerusalem to pray on the first Friday of Ramadan. Last week, Israeli police closed all holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, citing the security situation following the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel, drawing condemnation from Muslim-majority nations which described the measures as “illegal and unjustified”. Israel bans Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque despite Purim celebrations proceeding Read More » Israel had imposed other restrictions on Ramadan-related traditions such as banning lanterns and decorations in the alleyways of the Old City, and banning “mesaharati”, volunteers who walk through the streets beating a drum before dawn to wake people up for the pre-fast meal. The ICJP’s report noted that Israeli authorities had permitted raucous celebrations marking the Jewish festival of Purim to take place elsewhere in Jerusalem. “In contrast the streets of the Old City were deserted, despite the fact they would usually be filled with Palestinian Muslims celebrating Ramadan. This represents a clear example of religious apartheid.” Dania Abu ElHaj, the ICJP’s senior legal officer who is currently in Jerusalem, told Middle East Eye: "It is becoming increasingly difficult to evade - even momentarily - Israel’s entrenched military grip on Palestinian life that has turned the entirety of the occupied Palestinian territory into an open-air prison for those living there. "At a time when Muslims would normally be focused on the spiritual reflection of the last 10 days of Ramadan and preparing for Eid, many Palestinians instead find themselves once again facing questions of survival." Occupation News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Iranian drone killed French soldier in Iraq's Kurdistan, commanding officer says France's first soldier to be killed in the Middle East war was hit by an Iranian drone, his commanding officer confirmed on Friday. Arnaud Frion, 42, was "killed by a Shahed drone strike on the position where he was located," said Colonel Francois-Xavier de la Chesnay. President Emmanuel Macron earlier Friday announced the French soldier had lost his life in an attack in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, after France's military said drones on Thursday hit a base where troops were taking part in counter-terrorism training.

Macron announces first death of French soldier in Middle East war MEE staff on Fri, 03/13/2026 - 09:21 One officer was killed and several other wounded in an attack in Iraq, as pro-Iran group announces it will target 'all French interests' in the region French President Emmanuel Macron chairs a video conference of G7 leaders to discuss the consequences of the war in Iran on the world economy, in Paris on 11 March 2026 (Gonzalo Fuentes/AFP) Off A French soldier was killed and six others wounded on Thursday evening in an unclaimed drone attack in the Kurdish autonomous region of Iraq, French authorities announced. It is the first death of a member of the French armed forces in the expanding war in the Middle East. "Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion of the 7th Alpine Chasseurs Battalion in Varces died for France during an attack in the Erbil region of Iraq," President Emmanuel Macron announced on X, denouncing an "unacceptable" attack. According to the French defence ministry, six other soldiers were injured in the attack that struck the Kurdish base of Mala Qara, where French troops were stationed, about 40km southwest of Erbil.  Without directly claiming responsibility for the strike, a pro-Iran armed group called Ashab al-Kahf announced on Telegram on Friday that it would target French interests in the region following the deployment of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the eastern Mediterranean. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); "After the arrival of the French aircraft carrier in the area of ​​operations of the US Central Command and its engagement in operations, we announce that, starting tonight, all French interests in Iraq and the region will be targeted," the group said. Ashab al-Kahf urged Iraqi security forces to remain at least 500 meters from a base in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, where, it said, French military personnel are stationed. Macron said French troops were based in Iraq as part of the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group. “Their presence in Iraq is part of the strict framework of the fight against terrorism. The war in Iran cannot justify such attacks,” he added. The French soldiers affected were "engaged in counter-terrorism training activities with Iraqi partners", the French Armed Forces General Staff confirmed. 'Defensive role' The attack on Thursday was the most serious against French forces in external operations since August 2023, when a member of the French special forces was killed north of Baghdad in an attack claimed by IS. It comes just a day after a separate French military base in Iraq was hit with a drone strike. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Since the war in the Middle East began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan has suffered numerous attacks attributed to pro-Iranian factions, particularly targeting US military installations in the region. Most of these attacks have been neutralised by air defences. Thousands of Iraqis volunteer to defend Iran against US attack Read More » Al Jazeera has reported that many attacks in Iraq have been claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organisation of armed groups, some of which are backed by Iran. The threat to US and European forces has increased with at least 11 American troops so far killed in the conflict, including four in an aerial crash in Iraq on Thursday, and dozens injured. Central Command said four US crew members were killed when an American KC-135 aerial refuelling aircraft crashed in western Iraq, but that it was not caused by hostile or friendly fire. A British base was also attacked in Iraq by a drone strike on Thursday but no casualties have been reported. In recent days, the French president has emphasised France's "defensive role" in the war. Paris has reinforced its presence in the region to "protect French citizens" and provide support to France's allies, such as Lebanon and Gulf states, Macron said. At the heart of this deployment is the French aircraft carrier and its air and sea group in the Eastern Mediterranean. According to Macron, this deployment is intended to mobilise eight frigates and two amphibious helicopter carriers across a vast area that also includes the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Nato confirms interception of Iranian missile heading to Turkey Nato on Friday confirmed its air defences had shot down a third ballistic missile that was fired from Iran towards Turkey. "NATO remains vigilant and stands firm in its defence of all allies," Nato spokesperson Allison Hart said.

Eight killed in Israeli strike on south Lebanon village, health ministry says An Israeli strike killed eight people in Mieh Mieh, a south Lebanese village near the port city of Sidon on Friday, according to the health ministry, which added that nine others had been wounded. An AFP photographer on the scene saw paramedics working to evacuate people from the targeted building in the village. The building is part of a complex, most of whose residents are Palestinians. A man carries two children in his arms as he flees the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a neighborhood in the town of Mieh Mieh, some five kilometers east of the southern Lebanese city of Sidon on 13 March, 2026. (Mahhmoud Zayyat / AFP)

TEHRAN, Mar. 13 (MNA) – The Iranian Ministry of Health on Friday announced that 11 children, under five-year-old, have been martyred in the recent US-Israeli aggression.

The Uncanny Echoes of Iraq in Trump’s War With Iran  New Lines Magazine

Iran yesterday called on citizens to take to the streets, before Israel carried out a fresh round of strikes

The seamen died when Iranian warship the Iris Dena was sunk on 4 March by a US submarine near Sri Lanka.

Video shared on social media shows a projectile streaking across the sky near the Incirlik military base in Turkiye.

TEHRAN, Mar. 13 (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has emphasized the firm determination of government, people and Armed Forces of the country to exercise the legitimate right of self-defense against aggressors.

Amirhossein Miresmaeili speaks to people in Tehran who endure internet blackouts and military strikes from fighter jets as they say their greatest fear is the regime surviving the conflict

Anti-Muslim bias in British media is off the charts. Will anyone step in? Faisal Hanif on Wed, 03/11/2026 - 23:04 In a study examining more than 40,000 articles, a stunning 70 percent framed Islam or its practitioners in a negative light GB News ranked among the worst across every bias indicator, according to a new study from the Centre for Media Monitoring (Screenshot/GB News) Off Let us dispense with the polite fiction that British journalism treats Muslims fairly. It does not. And the data, now more comprehensive than ever before, proves it beyond any reasonable doubt. The Centre for Media Monitoring has just published the findings of the most rigorous analysis of Muslim representation in the British media ever undertaken. The study examined 40,913 articles across 30 major news outlets - an entire year of coverage dissected, coded and measured against five clear indicators of bias.  The conclusion is damning: nearly half of all British media coverage of Muslims in 2025 was biased. Half: this does not point to fringe outliers, but rather a systemic problem. Seventy percent of all articles analysed associated Muslims or Islam with negative themes or behaviours. And here is the methodological point that makes this figure even harder to dismiss: the study did not restrict itself to articles where Muslims were the central subject.  A singular, passing mention was sufficient to enter the dataset. By that measure, the methodology was generous, even lenient. And yet nearly half still came back biased. The 50 percent figure might be a floor, not a ceiling. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Now place that alongside the historical record. Five years ago, the centre published an assessment of more than 48,000 articles published during a 12-month period spanning 2018-19 using the same parameters. The negative framing rate was then around 60 percent; it has now reached 70 percent. This is not a marginal drift, but structural deterioration.  Coverage of Muslims has not just become more hostile. It has become more obsessive. The British media is producing articles about Muslims with greater contempt than ever before. Commentator Peter Oborne was not being hyperbolic when he said it is getting worse - much worse. The data confirms it. Distorted terminology  The right-wing media is no longer reporting on Muslims. It is campaigning against them.  There is a difference between covering a community and targeting it; between scrutinising a religion and weaponising it. The outlets at the core of this crisis have made their choice: the Spectator, GB News, the Daily Telegraph, the Jewish Chronicle, the Daily Express, the Daily Mail and the Times.  These are not peripheral voices. These are the institutions that set the agenda. And they are, by the evidence of this report, systematically hostile towards British Muslims. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Look at the language. The report’s analysis of distorted terminology reads like a lexicon assembled by people who want Muslims gone: gangs of Muslim men, murderous ideology, hate march, death cult, Islamist Jew-haters, overthrowing modernity, rampaging.  The right-wing media is no longer reporting on Muslims. It is campaigning against them These are not descriptors. They are weapons. GB News, despite its recent launch, ranked among the worst across every bias indicator. One headline from 2025 captures the editorial culture perfectly: “Let me be impolite: Muslims are racist against Jews”. The writer’s contempt is framed as courage. When bigotry is marketed as bravery, you are no longer in journalism. You are in incitement. The Spectator recorded the highest concentration of severe bias, with more than one in four of its articles classified as “very biased”. This is not a publication that occasionally stumbles into prejudice; it is one for which anti-Muslim hostility appears consistently.  The Spectator also published a piece expressing apparent bewilderment that Prime Minister Keir Starmer would wish people Eid Mubarak. That a British leader acknowledging one of the most widely observed religious occasions in this country is treated as something requiring explanation, tells you everything you need to know about the terms on which Muslim presence in public life is still being contested. And the campaign has not paused for the new year. Into 2026 it continues, with Muslim democratic participation now in the crosshairs. The framing of Muslim voters exercising their rights as sectarian voting, as family voting blocs, as something suspect and coordinated, is the latest addition to the Islamophobic lexicon.  When a Muslim person votes, it is bloc voting. When a Muslim community organises, it is a threat to democracy. These are the terms of those who campaign against Muslims in print - and of those who, stripped of pretence, simply wish we were not here at all. 'Dangerous and poisonous' One finding implicates everyone, not just the right-wing media. Contextual omission, the failure to provide information that would allow a reader to understand a story properly, was found in 44 percent of biased articles. It is the single most prevalent media failure in the entire dataset. And it does not require malice.  Cover a story about extremism without contextualising the infinitesimal numbers involved. Quote a politician’s inflammatory remarks without a word of pushback. None of this requires hatred; it requires only negligence. But negligence, repeated across thousands of articles and dozens of outlets, becomes indistinguishable from malice in its effects. The BBC recorded the lowest rates of bias across all metrics. In a landscape this bleak, that matters. It demonstrates that it is possible to cover Muslims and Islam at scale, under commercial and political pressures, without resorting to dehumanising framing.  UK media revels in hate after Manchester synagogue attack  Read More » Public service obligations are not just regulatory bureaucracy. They are a meaningful check on the worst instincts of the industry - which makes the case for defending them, in the current political climate, more urgent than ever.  Kevin Maguire, one of British journalism’s most experienced voices, called the centre’s findings “shameful, dangerous and poisonous”. He is right. And the fact that a journalist of his standing felt compelled to say so publicly is itself a measure of how far things have deteriorated. The question is no longer whether this is happening. The data has settled that. The question is what happens next. Do editors read this report and make genuine changes to commissioning, to training, to the culture of their newsrooms? Do regulators, who have shown a spectacular appetite for looking the other way, finally act with the seriousness this evidence demands?  Do politicians, many of whom have fed off and amplified this hostility for electoral gain, reckon honestly with their own complicity? Or do we file this report alongside all the ones that came before it, express concern in the appropriate quarters, and wait for the next study to confirm what we already know? British Muslims are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for the same basic standards of accuracy and fairness extended to every other community. That is the minimum requirement of a functioning media in a democratic society. The minimum is not being met. The people failing to meet it know exactly who they are. And so, now, does everyone else. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye. Media Opinion Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:29 Update Date Override 0

US-Israeli attack kills woman near Tehran rally, report says Shrapnel from US-Israeli strikes killed an Iranian woman attending Al-Quds march in Tehran, Press TV reported. Shrapnel from US-Israeli airstrikes kills an Iranian attending the International Quds rallies. https://t.co/mLGcUTS2ei pic.twitter.com/7pNre5kM4I March 13, 2026

A state visit is a connecting of people, not governments; of cultures, not commentators – our national bonds should be honoured Should King Charles’s state visit to the United States next month be cancelled? The case for doing so is powerful. America is waging an unprovoked war on Iran in which more than 1,000 innocent people have already been killed. The collateral damage to the global economy, including Britain’s, is becoming astronomical. All Donald Trump can do is insult Britain’s prime minister as a “loser” and “no Winston Churchill” for failing to join him. Should the monarch honour such a man by attending a Washington banquet? The call is close. The occasion is the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States with the declaration of independence. Of course this merits celebration. But now? British public opinion is emphatically opposed to the US war on Iran. Many more Britons think the royal visit should be abandoned (46%) than think it should go ahead (36%), with 18% undecided. Just as the war is staged by Trump for personal political gain, so he can be expected to exploit a royal visit. Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist and the author of A Short History of America: from Tea Party to Trump Continue reading...

Israeli defence minister threatens to raze Lebanese national infrastructure MEE staff on Fri, 03/13/2026 - 09:48 Israel Katz warns Lebanese government it will 'pay an increasing price' until Hezbollah is disarmed Off Israeli defence minister Israel Katz has threatened to destroy Lebanese national infrastructure used by Hezbollah until the group is disarmed. Katz said the Lebanese government had "misled and failed to uphold its commitment to disarm Hezbollah," warning that it will "therefore pay a price until it fulfils that obligation". His comments follow a statement by the Israeli military claiming it had struck a bridge on the Litani River, which it said had been used by Hezbollah fighters. “This is only the beginning, and the Lebanese government and the Lebanese state will pay an increasing price through damage to Lebanese national infrastructure that is used by Hezbollah terrorists,” Katz said. This is a developing story... Israel's war on Lebanon News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Larijani and top Iranian officials appear in Al-Quds Day march MEE staff on Fri, 03/13/2026 - 09:37 Iran's security chief along with head of judiciary take part in annual pro-Palestine protest despite ongoing US-Israeli war Off Iran's security chief Ali Larijani and top officials took part in the Al-Quds Day march in Tehran on Friday, videos from the protest have shown. The head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, was also seen in pictures aired by state television. The officials marched despite the apparent risk of US-Israeli attacks, which have killed dozens of senior figures, including the supreme leader, since the war on Iran began on 28 February. In one video, Larijani gave an interview to the local ANA TV reacting to the war. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); “It’s clear they’re running out of steam,” Larijani said while marching. "Trump’s problem is that he doesn’t understand that the Iranian nation is mature and determined," he added. More to follow...  War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

COLOMBO, March 13 (Reuters) - The bodies of 84 Iranian sailors killed in a U.S. submarine attack on a warship off Sri Lanka's coast last week will be repatriated, a Iran embassy source and local media in Sri Lanka reported on Friday. (Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe, writing by Hritam Mukherjee; Editing by YP Rajesh)

Sri Lanka is repatriating on Friday the remains of 84 Iranian sailors who perished when their frigate was sunk nine days ago by a US submarine, the Foreign Ministry said. The seamen were killed when IRIS Dena was torpedoed on March 4 just off the coast of Sri Lanka, in a move that extended the Middle East war to the Indian Ocean. "All domestic procedures have been completed, and the Iranians are bringing a chartered aircraft for the repatriation," spokesman Thushara Rodrigo told AFP. "The 32 sailors who were rescued by our navy will remain in Sri Lanka."