Israel rejects Amnesty genocide claim as ‘no surprise’ and ‘fake news’

Published

11 months ago

December 6, 2024

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Israel has dismissed allegations it is committing genocide in Gaza, saying the claims from Amnesty International are “no surprise”.

Government spokesman David Mencer called it “fake news” and told Sky’s Mark Austin the human rights group’s “raison d’etre is to criticise Israel – they do that at every opportunity and this is sadly just another example”.

Amnesty accused Israel of trying to deliberately destroy Palestinians by launching deadly attacks, demolishing infrastructure and preventing food, medicine and aid deliveries.

It said such actions met the legal threshold for genocide and was not justified as a response to last year’s Hamas terror attack – which killed around 1,200 Israelis and saw about 250 taken hostage.

Amnesty’s secretary general Agnes Callamard said the report “must serve as a wake-up call to the international community”.

According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, 44,500 Palestinians – at least half of them women and children – have been killed in the war so far.

The fighting has devastated Gaza and pushed thousands to the brink of starvation.

Israel maintains that it takes the utmost care to avoid civilian casualties and Israel’s spokesperson said the genocide claim was a “classic example of antisemitism” and “Holocaust inversion”.

Mr Mencer said Amnesty “fails to address Hamas‘s genocidal rhetoric – their leaders call for the eradication of Jews, the wiping of my country off the face of the Earth”.

“This is nothing but accusing us – the victims of this terror – of permitting the genocide which has been committed on our people by Hamas’s design,” he added.

South Africa – supported by other countries – has also accused Israel of genocide and in October submitted a 5,000-page document to the UN’s top court.

And last month, a United Nations committee said Israel’s methods in Gaza were “consistent with the characteristics of genocide”.

Israel’s spokesman claimed South Africa was being “paid by Iran” – and insisted Israel was in fact “the only people to get ordinary Gazans out of harm’s way”.

The US State Department also said on Thursday that it still believes claims of genocide against Israel are unfounded.

‘Conquering, annexing, ethnic cleansing’

Mr Mencer rejected comments by his country’s former defence minister, Moshe Ya’alon, that the army was “conquering, annexing, ethnic cleansing” in northern Gaza.

Israel has for several months been targeting what it says is a resurgent Hamas operation in the north and has told civilians to go south.

Many have refused to leave, however, fearing for their future in supposed humanitarian “safe” zones, which have been hit by strikes in the past.

Mr Mencer reiterated that civilians are being told to go for their own protection – so they are not used as human shields – as Israel continues its aim of wiping out Hamas’s military capability and freeing hostages.

The Gaza war has lasted 14 months so far and efforts to secure a ceasefire have so far proved unsuccessful.

The prime minister of Qatar – a key intermediary – told Sky’s Yalda Hakim this week that Donald Trump’s team wants a deal done before he retakes the White House on 20 January.

“We are trying to coordinate with them our efforts, and all of us, we agree, and we are hoping to get over this situation before the president comes to the office,” said PM Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al Thani.

World

Police helicopter targeted with lasers by ‘mob intent on violence’ in Dublin

Published

7 hours ago

October 22, 2025

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Police helicopter targeted with lasers by 'mob intent on violence' in Dublin

A police officer has been injured after a night of violent protests outside an asylum hotel in Dublin – with six arrests made.

Bricks were thrown and fireworks were discharged outside the Citywest Hotel – with glass bottles used as missiles and a police van set on fire.

A Garda helicopter was also targeted with lasers, and the police service says some of those on the streets were seen carrying garden forks.

Commissioner Justin Kelly added: “This was obviously not a peaceful protest. The actions this evening can only be described as thuggery. This was a mob intent on violence.

“We will now begin the process of identifying those who committed crimes and we will bring those involved in this violence to justice.”

It is the second night of demonstrations after an alleged sexual assault in its vicinity in the early hours of Monday morning.

Some of the crowd threw stones and other missiles at the public order officers as they moved the protesters back – and water cannon was deployed at the scene.

A line of officers was preventing the protesters from approaching the hotel.

This protest felt different

There had been a small protest on Monday outside the former Citywest Hotel, now an asylum centre, but last night’s felt very different.

The 26-year-old man who allegedly attacked the young girl had appeared in court yesterday morning, charged with sexual assault. He can’t be named but an Arabic translator was requested. Anger grew online, and another protest was called.

It’s hard to get a clear estimate of numbers, partly due to the street geography around the former hotel, but it’s thought up to 2,000 attended. Most were peaceful, some were not. After a Garda van was torched, a major policing operation began.

The smell of fireworks hung in the air as youths hurled missiles at the Gardai. A Garda water cannon truck was deployed for the first time in the Republic of Ireland, parked visibly behind the riot officers.

I spoke to local residents who had reasonable concerns about the influx of asylum seekers to the community in recent years. Most did not approve of violent protest, but they articulated the anger and pain felt by many here after the attack on the young girl.

Although it has not been confirmed officially that the accused is an asylum seeker, most of the local residents had the same message: the enemy is not necessarily those who come to Ireland, rather it’s the perceived open-doors policy of the Irish government.

‘Those involved will be brought to justice’

Ireland’s premier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, paid tribute to the officers who were on the frontline of the protests.

“There can be no justification for the vile abuse against them, or the attempted assaults and attacks on members of the force that will shock all right-thinking people,” he said.

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said those involved in the violence will be brought to justice.

“The scenes of public disorder we have witnessed at Citywest must be condemned,” he said.

“People threw missiles at Gardai, threw fireworks at them and set a Garda vehicle on fire.

“This is unacceptable and will result in a forceful response from the Gardai.

“Those involved will be brought to justice.”

‘No excuse’ for violence

The minister said a man had been arrested and had appeared in court in relation to the alleged assault in the vicinity of the hotel.

He added: “While I am not in a position to comment any further on this criminal investigation, I have been advised that there is no ongoing threat to public safety in the area.”

He said attacks on officers would “not be tolerated”, adding: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. Violence is not.

“There is no excuse for the scenes we have witnessed.”

The demonstration on Monday night passed without a significant incident.

It comes two years after anti-immigrant demonstrators triggered a major riot in the centre of Dublin after three young children were stabbed.

World

Violent protests at Dublin hotel housing asylum seekers after alleged sexual assault

Published

11 hours ago

October 21, 2025

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Violent protests at Dublin hotel housing asylum seekers after alleged sexual assault

A police van has been set on fire and missiles have been thrown at officers as protesters gathered outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Dublin.

It is the second night of demonstrations outside the Citywest Hotel after an alleged sexual assault in its vicinity in the early hours of Monday morning.

A large crowd has gathered in the area and members of the Garda’s public order unit have been deployed.

Footage from the scene showed a Garda vehicle on fire as well as several protesters displaying Irish flags.

Some of the crowd threw stones and other missiles at the public order officers as they moved the protesters back.

A Garda helicopter hovered overhead and a water cannon was deployed on the scene.

Ireland’s justice minister, Jim O’Callaghan, said those involved will be brought to justice.

“The scenes of public disorder we have witnessed at Citywest tonight must be condemned,” he said.

“People threw missiles at Gardai, threw fireworks at them and set a Garda vehicle on fire.

“This is unacceptable and will result in a forceful response from the Gardai.

“Those involved will be brought to justice.”

The minister said a man had been arrested and had appeared in court in relation to the alleged assault in the vicinity of the hotel.

He added: “While I am not in a position to comment any further on this criminal investigation, I have been advised that there is no ongoing threat to public safety in the area.

He said attacks on gardai will “not be tolerated”, adding: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. Violence is not.

“There is no excuse for the scenes we have witnessed tonight.”

It was the second night of protest outside the hotel, which is being used as state accommodation for people seeking international protection. The demonstration on Monday night passed without a significant incident.

It comes two years after anti-immigrant demonstrators triggered a major riot in the centre of Dublin after three young children were stabbed.

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World

Putin-Trump Budapest meeting in doubt as official says ‘no plan for immediate future’

Published

12 hours ago

October 21, 2025

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Putin-Trump Budapest meeting in doubt as official says 'no plan for immediate future'

There are no plans for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to meet in person in the near future, according to a White House official.

The presidents last week agreed to meet in Budapest after a phone call Mr Trump called “extremely frank and trustful”.

The US leader suggested it was possible it could happen within a fortnight, though no date was set.

However, it appears that’s now off the table – and there are fears the meeting could be shelved altogether due to Russia‘s rigid stance on the Ukraine war.

The White House official, speaking to Sky’s US partner network NBC, said secretary of state Marco Rubio and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had spoken on Tuesday.

The call was described as “productive” but the official added there was no plan for the presidents to meet “in the immediate future”.

The last Trump-Putin meeting was in Alaska in August, but it ended without any meaningful progress towards a ceasefire.

The Budapest plan was announced shortly before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Washington last Friday to try to get approval for long-range Tomahawk missiles.

Mr Zelenskyy accused the Russian leader of acting out of fear Ukraine could get the green light and the ability to hit targets far deeper into Russia.

In his nightly address on Tuesday, he said Russia “almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy” after it became clear Mr Trump had backed away from any decision on the Tomahawks.

Two US officials told Reuters that plans for the Budapest meeting had stalled over Russia’s insistence any peace deal must give it control of all of the Donbas region.

Those terms are said to have been reiterated over the weekend in a private communique known as a “no paper”.

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The Kremlin’s refusal to budge effectively rejects Mr Trump’s latest assessment that the frontlines should be frozen as they are.

The president shifted position last week after previously telling the UN General Assembly that Ukraine could win back all the land it has lost.

Ukraine and European nations issued a joint statement on Tuesday insisting “international borders must not be changed by force” and accusing Russia of “stalling tactics”.

But, in an apparent effort to keep the US leader onside, it added: “We strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave the impression his country was in no rush to arrange another Trump-Putin meeting, saying on Tuesday “preparation is needed, serious preparation”.

Such talk is likely to increase concerns Russia does not want to stop fighting and is “playing” President Trump – all while continuing to launch drone barrages at Ukrainian cities.

Russia currently holds about a fifth of Ukraine after its invasion in February in 2022. It also annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

Meanwhile, NATO’s secretary general Mark Rutte is travelling to Washington to meet with President Trump on Wednesday.

He will “discuss various aspects related to NATO’s support to Ukraine and to the US-led efforts towards lasting peace”, an official for the alliance said.