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Palestinians across the occupied West Bank observed a general strike on Wednesday in protest against a new Israeli law allowing the execution of prisoners, as international condemnation mounted.

Fatah, the movement led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, called for the strike, describing the legislation as a “dangerous escalation” against Palestinians.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/general-strike-leaves-west-bank-streets-empty-over-death-penalty-bill
“This criminal law will not break the will of our people or the determination of our prisoners, but will instead strengthen our resolve to continue the struggle for their freedom and legitimate rights,” it said in a statement.

The Knesset approved the bill in its final readings on Monday by 62 votes to 48, despite international calls to abandon it.

The legislation has drawn widespread criticism for violating the right to life and for its potentially discriminatory application.

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Leading lawyers and legal experts have called on the governing bureau of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to uphold the findings of a judicial panel that cleared the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, of wrongdoing following a sexual misconduct complaint.

The 21-member bureau of the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties (ASP) is set to convene again on Monday for the third time to discuss its response to the report by three senior judges and the next course of action in the long-running saga, which has sidelined Khan since he took indefinite leave in May 2025.

Speaking to Middle East Eye ahead of Monday’s meeting, Khan’s lead counsel, Sareta Ashraph, said the process followed by United Nations investigators and judges had been “gender-competent” after a number of civil society groups called on the bureau to reject the panel’s findings.

Other legal experts voiced confidence in the competence and experience of the three-judge panel in their handling of the highly sensitive and complex case.

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The Supreme Court sided with a Christian counselor on Tuesday in her free speech challenge to Colorado’s ban on counselors attempting to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the 8-1 majority, said lower courts used too lenient a standard in upholding the ban.

The law regulates counselors’ speech in an attempt to silence a certain viewpoint, Gorsuch wrote.

“Fortunately, that is not the world the First Amendment envisions for us,” the justice wrote.

The court’s decision is poised to have ripple effects across the country, with more than 20 states having enacted similar measures. But two of the court’s liberal justices, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, signaled that states that write more tailored laws could still prevail.

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An Israeli court has drawn criticism after closing an investigation into the death of a Palestinian teenager in custody, despite finding indications he had been starved prior to his death.

Walid Ahmad, a 17-year-old from the occupied West Bank, died in Israeli custody in March 2025, six months after he was detained for allegedly throwing stones, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs.

Judge Ehud Kaplan ruled the case should be closed, stating there was no proven link between Ahmad’s deteriorating physical condition, such as severe weight loss and infection, and the immediate cause of his death. Details of the ruling emerged on Tuesday after a gag order was lifted.

Nadia Dakka, a human rights lawyer who has followed the case, criticised the decision as reflecting a narrow legal approach that fails to address the broader conditions contributing to detainees’ deaths.

Dakka said the ruling highlights the difficulty of establishing criminal responsibility in cases involving systemic abuse.

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He has buildings, institutions, government programs, warships, currency, and now Donald Trump is getting an airport that bears his name even as he looks forward to a towering Trump presidential library in Miami.

Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, signed a bill on Monday saying the Palm Beach international airport was being renamed to the President Donald J Trump international airport.

Trump’s family business filed a trademark application for the airport name in February. If approved, the name change would take effect on 1 July.

The Florida airport is the latest in a series of buildings, institutions, government programs, navy battleships, national parks passes and even money to be named after the US president.

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Israeli forces blocked two senior Catholic leaders from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied East Jerusalem to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch, and Father Francesco Ielpo, custos of the Holy Land, were stopped en route to the church.

The leaders had attempted to enter privately without any ceremonial procession or public gathering, but were refused access.

The church bodies said this was the first time in centuries that the heads of the Catholic Church had been prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at the Holy Sepulchre.

“This incident is a grave precedent, and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem,” they said.

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Drones are no longer just shaping the war in Ukraine – they are defining it. What began as an improvised response to a lack of manpower has evolved into a technological arms race, shaping not only how battles are fought but where they reach.

Ukrainian forces, driven by innovation and necessity, have managed not only to hold the front line but to strike far beyond it – targeting military infrastructure, ammunition depots, drone production sites and even oil refineries deep inside Russian-held territory.

At the center of this transformation are specialized units like Typhoon, a special-purpose unmanned systems unit of Ukraine’s National Guard, established in 2024. Operating across key directions such as Kharkiv and Pokrovsk, the unit focuses exclusively on drone warfare and electronic systems, from reconnaissance and strike UAVs to electronic warfare and interception.

Built largely by volunteers and veterans of special forces units, Typhoon combines technical expertise with battlefield experience, constantly adapting to a rapidly evolving war.

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A Palestinian middle school student in Michigan who was publicly admonished for refusing to stand for the pledge of allegiance as part of a personal protest against the war on Gaza has settled with her school district following a lawsuit around her first amendment free speech rights.

The teenager, identified as DK in court documents, said she faced racism from a teacher at the West Middle school in Canton, Michigan, after she did not participate in the pledge. The teacher reportedly told DK to “go back to her country”, Fox 2 Detroit reported.

In a statement following the settlement, DK called the ordeal “terrifying” and “overwhelming” at times.

“But it taught me the importance of speaking up for what I believe is right,” said DK. “I feel proud of the outcome and of being part of something that reinforces how important free speech is. I’ve learned that even when it feels uncomfortable or risky, speaking out can make a difference, not just for me, but for others as well.”

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