An Israeli influence operation run by a private intelligence firm branded two left wing French mayoral candidates as “pro-Palestinian”, “pro-Muslim” and “rapists”.

A joint investigation by liberal-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz and French outlet Liberacion exposed details of BlackCore, a shadowy disinformation operation. This is just the latest so-called ‘psy-op‘ to be exposed.

The targets were current Marseille and Toulouse mayoral candidates, Sébastien Delogu and François Piquemal.

Haaretz explained on Monday:

The French operation was first exposed by Le Monde on March 9, a week before the country’s local elections. The target was France Unbowed, the party of left-wing presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

The outlet said:

The first to be hit was Sébastien Delogu, the party’s mayoral candidate in Marseille; “Sophie,” a woman calling herself a blogger, accused him of rape and violence.

Adding:

A separate site published phony AI-generated photos that purported to be nude pictures of Delogu, presented as part of an alleged Gaza fundraising campaign.

A third website went after Toulouse mayoral candidate François Piquemal, while another “claimed to ‘help Muslim voters choose well’ and steered them toward Mélenchon’s hard-left slate”.

The whole package was amplified by a small army of fake accounts on social media.

BlackCore’s influencer operation

Haaretz said that once discovered, whoever was running the operation tried “to scrub their tracks, deleting avatars and websites, but digital traces remained online”.

French state security even stepped in.

A special investigative team from France’s General Secretariat for Defense and National Security, the Interior Ministry, the election commission and Viginum, the agency tasked with detecting foreign manipulation and disinformation on social media, picked up the trail and identified BlackCore as the main suspect. BlackCore’s name was first reported this weekend by Reuters.

The Haaretz/Liberacion expose revealed even more details about BlackCore.

Haaretz and Libération conducted an extensive analysis of BlackCore’s online digital footprint, including its website and other sites that seem to be part of the wider effort. For example, there is the company’s marketing website – a mini-site in Hebrew and English showcasing BlackCore’s alleged flagship product, “political campaign management.”

Adding:

It is built around the deployment of 1,600 avatars and fake social media accounts for the purposes of “infiltrating Facebook groups, manipulating trends, and skewing polls on TikTok and Instagram.”

Israeli business and intelligence links

A deeper look trawled up strange details and substantial inconsistencies about BlackCore.

The investigation could find no legal entity called BlackCore registered in any country. Its website contained no identifying details about owners or executives, or a physical address.

The domain blackcore.online was registered in an Icelandic registrar that allows owners to remain anonymous. The address was purchased only last August – by a company that presents itself as long-established.

Additionally, investigators identified “eight subdomains tied to BlackCore”.

One was active on a London-based server run by a Finnish cloud provider that hosted only a small handful of other websites that all had shared characteristics.

That server, which was “active until a few weeks ago” had “hosted a collection of different systems that required a username and password to log in to, tools through which an influence campaign could be conducted”.

For example, one login page was called “Galacticos AI Avatar Generator Login Page.”

A source told Haaretz that Galacticos “had developed a product that generates avatars that can be deployed both for influence operations and the monitoring of social media – as both require active accounts”.

Galacticos incorporated as a firm “in Tel Aviv in April 2022 under the name Pagecorn Ltd”.

 A year later it changed its name to Mycelium Intelligence Networks, and then to Galacticos in 2024.

The investigators discovered connections to two Israeli businessmen. One, Guy Geyor, is a “tech entrepreneur and former contestant on the Israeli versions of Survivor and The Bachelor“.

The other is lawyer Doron Afik. Both claimed when questioned to have no knowledge of BlackCore and denied “political activity in France”.

Less than two hours after they were asked for comment, the remaining digital infrastructure of both BlackCore and Galacticos was pulled offline.

Haaretz and Liberacion traced the various firms involved and found links to Israeli intelligence unit 8200 and to Yigal Unna, the former head of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate. Unna also denied any link to the operation.

It is rare — though not unknown — to get a glimpse inside a state influence operation. What is also remarkable is how quickly this one was shut down and traces of it scrubbed once it was exposed.

It is not exactly a secret that the settler-colonial state seeks to influence democratic outcomes in foreign states. But it is still fascinating when details of subterfuge and deception emerge.

Featured image via La Dépêche/ Adrien Nowak 

By Joe Glenton

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Wes Streeting‘s supporters – most likely his campaign team – are briefing the media that Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham will give a “senior job in No 10” to Josh Simons.

Simons is the now-ex MP who stepped down to trigger the Makerfield by-election in which Burnham plans to stand. He is then expected to challenge Keir Starmer – and Streeting, if he goes ahead with his bid – for the Labour leadership and prime ministership.

Streeting’s motives for this briefing are obvious: he would lose to Burnham by a country mile. So claiming that Burnham will put Simons back into a position of influence is an obvious attack point. Simons was director of ‘Labour Together’ – now rebranded as “Think Labour”, but without significant change – when it spied on journalists. The journalists were investigating its sabotage of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour and its lie-campaign to install Keir Starmer to replace him.

The reports quote anonymous ‘Labour sources’, but other well-connected sources told Skwawkbox the briefing comes from Streeting’s cadre. Streeting’s other manoeuvres to try to nobble Burnham’s chances in Reform-run Makerfield include announcing that Streeting wants to rejoin the EU. This forced Burnham to into a no-win choice. Stick to his own earlier comments about rejoining, or u-turn and alienate Labour members he would then be asking to vote for his leadership.

Quid pro quo

The fact that the ‘No 10 job’ claims are campaign smears does not, however, remove concerns about Burnham’s indebtedness to the very saboteur outfit that brought down Corbyn and installed Starmer. A faction that destroyed Starmer by being found out in connection to Epstein-fan Peter Mandelson’s ambassadorial appointment and is desperately trying to retain control when Starmer is gone.

But the inside word is that the ‘quid pro quo’ currently on offer is Burnham then smoothing the way for a straight swap. Burnham would be Makerfield MP (if he wins). Former incumbent Simons would then be given a straight run at becoming Labour’s candidate in the mayoral election to replace Burnham.

Of course, none of these things are going to happen if Burnham fails to win a seat in which Reform are strong favourites. But it’s beyond reasonable doubt that the contingencies and ‘Plan B’s are being discussed – and that Streeting needs to nobble them to preserve his own chances.

Featured image via Getty Images/Gary Oakley

By Skwawkbox

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Amid the leadership turmoil in the Labour Party, pro-Israel lobbyists are rebooting their antisemitism smears to stave off even a mention of Jeremy Corbyn’s name.

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell told Times News on 15 May that part of reunifying the left meant:

reinviting Jeremy Corbyn back into the Labour Party.

But Corbyn has a long record of consistently supporting Palestinian rights. So Israel supporters hate him. And many spent years trying to derail his leadership of the Labour Party. That means the mere mention of Corbyn now has sparked a renewal of rage in pro-Israel and Labour circles.

Former Israeli embassy employee, pusher of smears, and election loser Ella Rose-Jacobs

Ella Rose-Jacobs, national chair of the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM), had a particular problem with the thought of Labour making amends with Corbyn. That’s unsurprising, considering that the JLM seemingly relaunched itself to fight Corbyn’s leadership and later proudly proclaimed it had helped to ‘see Corbyn off’.

As the Canary recently reported, Rose-Jacobs also once worked at the Israeli embassy, appeared in Al Jazeera’s undercover investigation into Israeli influence in British politics, and helped to push antisemitism smears against Corbyn and his supporters. She was a Labour councillor too, until she lost her seat in this year’s local election.

This person went straight from working at Netanyahu’s embassy in London to heading the “Jewish Labour Movement”

JLM is an Israel lobby group that weaponises antisemitism to destroy critics of the Zionist entity

Doesn’t work anymore. Everyone knows what’s going on https://t.co/0LbAeAmYTe pic.twitter.com/xJhRtfi9vX

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— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) May 17, 2026

Ella Rose is currently part of an aggressive push back by the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) against John McDonnell’s proposal that any new leader of the Labour Party should overturn Jeremy Corbyn’s expulsion and invite him to return to the Party.

Ella Rose is the current interim… pic.twitter.com/2Fx2bxLjId

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— MikeD (@mjdaly57) May 18, 2026

Rose-Jacobs also attracted attention for her dreams of physically assaulting Black Jewish activist Jackie Walker:

As journalist Asa Winstanley reported in 2022:

Rose had been hired by the JLM as director while she still worked at the Israeli embassy in London. The Electronic Intifada was the first to expose this link, in 2016.

In 2017 Rose was the subject of complaints by Labour members after Al Jazeera revealed in The Lobby that she had made comments implying she would like to physically attack left-wing anti-racist activist Jackie Walker.

“I can take her,” she told Al Jazeera’s undercover journalist, boasting of her prowess in the Israeli combat technique Krav Maga. “She’s five foot two and tiny.” Rose also said her critics should “die in a hole.”

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Labour Friends of Krav Maga have been triggered https://t.co/vjzUGCWTGm pic.twitter.com/9XpMN2ZVEy

— Hon. PolProf of Agile Ceremonies (@CeilNoyle) May 17, 2026

Winstanley also wrote about the links between Rose-Jacobs, the JLM, the Israeli embassy, and the campaign against Jeremy Corbyn:

The Jewish Labour Movement, founded in 2004, was revived in September 2015, the same month Jeremy Corbyn was first elected leader.

This was done in order to “battle” the new left-wing, Palestine campaigning leader, a transcript of an undercover recording obtained by The Electronic Intifada last month shows.

As part of this effort, [then JLM chair Jeremy] Newmark hired a new staff member, recruiting her out of the Israeli embassy.

In another secret transcript, obtained by The Electronic Intifada last year, former director Ella Rose admitted that her group worked in close coordination with the Israeli embassy and its agents.

“We work with [Israeli embassy spy] Shai [Masot], we know him very well,” she told an undercover journalist in 2016.

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The JLM website says Rose-Jacobs:

also serves as a trustee of KeshetUK, having previously been a trustee of Yachad, the London Jewish Forum and the Union of Jewish Students.

Yachad has also played a role in targeting prominent voices speaking up for Palestinian rights.

Little risk of Corbyn returning to Labour, but you can sense the panic among Israel apologists

Other Israel supporters have also come out against the prospect of Corbyn returning to Labour. One was anti-Palestinian censor Mike Katz, a former JLM chair and one of Labour’s whips in the House of Lords.

A key part of Keir Starmer’s project as leader of the Labour Party, of course, has been its commitment to Israel and underplaying of its crimes. Historian David Edgerton recently wrote about the death of the party, calling it:

a party deeply committed to the alliance with the United States, and the one country with which the US has a special relationship, Israel.

It’s of little surprise, then, that prominent figures hoping to take over from Starmer are hardly clamouring for human rights champion Corbyn’s return to the party.

Sources close to Andy Burnham, for example, have already said the Labour leadership hopeful is against readmitting Corbyn. And considering Corbyn’s cutting critique of Wes Streeting, the former health secretary is unlikely to call for the former leader’s return either:

As Health Secretary, Wes Streeting deepened the privatisation of our NHS and handed over our data to Palantir, a company involved in genocide.

I am sure his friend Peter Mandelson is very proud.

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Time to reinstate our NHS as a fully public service — and kick Palantir out!

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) May 14, 2026

In short, there’s little chance of Corbyn re-entering the party. But Israel supporters like Rose-Jacobs would love to keep it that way, showing a full commitment to warding off even the remotest possibility that this situation could change.

The problem is, the cynical smears of Israel apologists don’t work any more. Because the horrors of the genocide in Gaza have shown once and for all that supporters of Israel are very much on the wrong side of history, and Corbyn is very much on the right side.

Featured image via Getty Images/Brook Mitchell

By Ed Sykes

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The match between Nantes and Toulouse in the 34th and final round of the French League came to an abrupt end on 17 May. This happened after Nantes fans stormed the field of the La Beaujoire stadium to protest the team’s official relegation to the second division. The scenes were chaotic. As a result, the referee terminated the match.

Tensions from the start

France Info Sport reported that tensions began within the opening minutes. Nantes fans lit flares and threw projectiles towards the pitch, before storming the pitch just 20 minutes into the game.

The sports outlet added that players and staff from both teams quickly left the pitch. They then sought refuge in the locker rooms under security protection. At that point, the referee had ruled that the game must be suspended. This decision came in the absence of security guarantees. In addition, there was ensuing chaos inside and around the stadium.

Riot police deployed

The same outlet reported that riot control forces were deployed inside La Beaujoire stadium to control the situation. They secured the exit of players and referees.

For its part, Ouest-France reported that Nantes fans booed loudly from the beginning of the match, adding that security forces faced difficulty in containing the fans who stormed the pitch from several sides.

Amid a tense atmosphere that the newspaper described as ”chaotic”, the shock was clear on the Nantes players and the technical staff after the match was stopped.

Ouest-France also indicated that there are fears of disciplinary sanctions being imposed on the club by the French League, against the backdrop of riots and fans storming the pitch, on one of the most turbulent nights in the club’s modern history.

Featured image via One Football

By Alaa Shamali

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With Labour’s NEC allowing Andy Burnham to run for selection for the Makerfield by-election and Wes Streeting confirming at the weekend’s Progress conference that he will stand in any potential Labour leadership contest, Keir Starmer is soon to be replaced at the top of the party. But one man’s shadow continues to loom over the top echelons of the party: war criminal Tony Blair.

One of Wes Streeting’s first jobs was a one-year stint at Progress, a New Labour pressure group set up in 1996 to support Tony Blair’s bid for power. Progress was funded by David Sainsbury, another Blair ally who also just happens to be a major backer of Labour Together, and in 2021, the organisation merged with the Policy Network think tank founded by Peter Mandelson, widely seen as a mentor to Streeting.

In 2010, during his first Labour leadership bid, Andy Burnham said that he would be “proud” to be seen as the candidate who would carry on where Blair left off. Burnham described the illegal invasion of Iraq, which he voted for, as giving “20 or so million Iraqis hope of a better life”.

Blair’s rise

Blair’s initial rise to power was largely financed by Michael Levy, also known as “Lord Cashpoint”, who would go on to raise over £100 million for the Labour Party. Blair first met Levy at a dinner party hosted by Gideon Meir, the deputy chief of mission at the Israeli embassy at the time. Levy was “entranced by Blair’s drive and religious commitment”, and would later say that he and the Labour Prime Minister were “like brothers”, whereas Blair,

a politician spellbound by wealth, was in thrall to a rich man whose prodigious fundraising ability had definite promise.

The enduring significance of this relationship should not be underestimated. A 2006 report in the Sunday Times states the “crucial accomplishment” of Levy’s input was:

to cut Labour’s dependence on trade union funding so that the party’s reliance has declined from two-thirds in 1992 to about a quarter now.

Blair and Levy had a mutual friend in Eldred Tabachnik, a former head of the Board of Deputies and a senior barrister at the law chambers at which Blair trained. Michael Levy’s son, Daniel, is a former Israeli soldier who later served as an assistant to Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister who once described Blair as “a true friend of the State of Israel”.

Blair’s Zionist backers

Levy convinced other wealthy pro-Israeli donors to back Labour: Emmanuel Kaye, who is “closely associated” with Labour Friends of Israel; Westfield chairman Frank Lowy, who served in the terrorist Haganah militia (a predecessor to the Israeli army); and Trevor Chinn, a director and funder of McSweeney’s Labour Together.

One of Tony Blair’s first acts upon entering parliament in 1983 was to join Labour Friends of Israel. Lobbyist Jonathan Mendelsohn explained:

Zionism is pervasive in New Labour. It is automatic that Blair will come to LFI meetings.

Through his Red Capital Ltd outfit, now Labour peer Mendelsohn has also funded Wes Streeting.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle, a former vice-chair and current member of Labour Friends of Israel who served as a special adviser under Blair, has celebrated his continued influence. Kyle once opined that Starmer would benefit from having an:

elder statesman … people around the world know and trust.

In 2023, the Tony Blair Institute paid for Kyle and Streeting to attend a conference in Brussels.

On May 3rd, Blair’s biographer Anthony Seldon suggested that Starmer should appoint Blair as foreign secretary to save his own failing government. But in reality, Blair’s influence is “from policy to personnel … everywhere.”

Featured image via Leon Neal / Getty Images

By Jody McIntyre

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Margaret Connolly, sister of Irish president Catherine Connolly, has been illegally kidnapped in international waters by the ‘Israeli’ Occupation Forces (IOF).

Margaret was part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a group of ships containing representatives from across the world. They are attempting to reach Gaza and provide the humanitarian aid desperately needed by a population still being denied necessities by so-called ‘Israel’.

Margaret’s message

Speaking in a prerecorded message created for release in the event of her capture, Margaret said:

If you are watching this video, it means I have been kidnapped from my boat in the flotilla by the Israeli Occupying Forces, and am now being held illegally in an Israeli prison.

She continued:

As you know, the Israeli Zionist regime has imposed a siege on Gaza since 2007. For over 75 years, they have persecuted and tortured the people of Gaza. Millions and millions of people have been displaced.

She added:

I feel utterly compelled as a mother, a doctor, and as a human being to help in this flotilla.

Following the news of Margaret’s abduction, president Connolly said:

It seems like this happened in international waters and it’s a cause of worry really, and I’m very proud of my sister but I’m worried about her.

Impunity of Zionist kidnappings

It is Connolly’s second abduction by terrorist forces from the illegitimate land theft project. She was previously one of around 175 activists taken in international waters by the IOF in late April and early May.

The ‘Israeli’ goons dumped most of the activists in Greece. However, numerous flotilla members were brutally beaten by the Zionist thugs when peacefully objecting to the IOF decision to illegally imprison Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila.

The terrorists took the two men back to the genocidal settler-colony, where they were tortured and paraded in front of a court. Tel Aviv ultimately released the men following an international outcry. Tragically, Ávila’s mother died during his imprisonment.

The president’s sister ultimately rejoined the flotilla. She is one of at least 11 Irish activists that the IOF abducted in the flotilla’s latest wave. Others include Fra Hughes and Helena Kearns, organisers for charity Palestine Aid Ireland and Gaza Ground Aid respectively.

60 boats illegally intercepted

At the time of writing, the Global Sumud Flotilla tracker is reporting that 60 boats have been illegally intercepted by forces of the apartheid regime. 10 heroically continue to sail towards Gaza.

Margaret Connolly’s husband Declan Bree highlighted the outrageous impunity the ‘Israelis’ enjoy as they conduct these abductions. He said:

it has to be said that the abduction of civilians in the middle of the Mediterranean in the full view of the world clearly confirms that Israel is rogue state with no respect for international law.

What we’re talking about here is the unlawful seizure of Irish citizens and citizens of other nations on the open sea, essentially an assertion that the Israeli regime can operate with total impunity far beyond its own borders with no consequences.

No state has the right to police or occupy international waters and that’s exactly what Israel is doing.

The flotilla is not merely an attempt to get aid to the people of Gaza. It is also an excellent means of highlighting further lawlessness by the Zionist entity, and the extraordinary acquiescence of governments across the world, even when such crimes are carried out against their own citizens.

Taoiseach offers meaningless words but no action

Genocide participant Micheál Martin had little more than feeble words to offer in response to the illegal taking of his own citizens by the apartheid entity. He said:

Such interceptions and detentions are wholly unacceptable and must stop. The government will also discuss with EU partners how we can ensure the safety and wellbeing of our citizens.

It would be more useful to be discussing and implementing sanctions against the land thieves. A core demand of the flotilla activists has been for Irish citizens to use the present moment as an opportunity to pressure TDs into backing the Sanctions Against the State of Israel Bill proposed by People Before Profit. It would bring in far-reaching boycott measures against Tel Aviv, including a complete ban on importing and exporting technology and goods to and from the Zionist pseudo-state.

Martin’s government continued to dodge by dismissing the bill as not “the most effective or legally sustainable path forward.” Its chances are slim, given that the weak Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) has been on the table for eight years, with the current government doing everything possible to delay and water it down.

Martin’s preferred response to Palestine activists is to pepper spray and brutally beat them, as the Garda did once again when a group of demonstrators attempted to gain entry to Fianna Fáil’s ard fheis (conference) on Saturday May 16.

Margaret Connolly concluded her video message by calling on the government to, at minimum, pass the OTB and:

follow the will of the Irish people to support the people of Palestine to establish an independent, sovereign state. It is the least we can do for our brothers and sisters, and for ourselves.

Featured image via X 

By Robert Freeman

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Three Muslim men have been killed after a horrific shooting at a mosque in San Diego where the authorities later found the attackers dead in their car.

One of the victims, a security guard, lost his life while trying to protect others from the gunfire.

Police chief, Scott Wahl, said “Islamophobia has no home in San Diego” and praised the man’s heroism.

Undoubtedly, he saved lives today.

Imam Taha Hassane, director of the Islamic Center of San Diego, added:

We have never experienced a tragedy like this before. It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship.

I would like also to thank all the people that contacted us from across the country and overseas, to give condolences and to ask if there is anything they can do to help.

San Diego victims all tried to help when shots fired

However, not unexpectedly, the Board of Deputies has yet to condemn this hate-fuelled murder of Muslims.

Akin to the UK’s mainstream media, they have yet to show the same horror at this attack on a mosque.

As Canary reporter, Ani, posted on X:

The San Diego Mosque shooting again highlights the lack of importance put on Muslims lives and the growing trend of attacks internationally. #america #mosque #muslim #news #facts pic.twitter.com/LhZfHsHWnE

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) May 19, 2026

Teen gunmen dressed in camouflage and were armed

The San Diego Police led a press conference confirming that two teenagers, aged 17 and 19, carried out the three murders.

Officials described one of them as a “juvenile runaway”. This followed earlier concerns raised by the mother of one of the suspects who had originally called the police fearing that her son was suicidal.

However, after speaking with the concerned mother, police quickly concluded that the two intended to carry out violence, particularly after learning they had both dressed in camouflage.

Additionally, they took “several of her weapons” and her car.

Subsequently, the police raised the threat level and sent out officers to search for the pair.

Whilst police were still with the mother nearby the mosque, they then became aware of an active shooter at the Islamic Center and scrambled teams to attend.

Upon arrival, the officers sadly found three Muslim victims who had died at the hands of these two juveniles.

Police are investigating the shooting as a hate crime after it was revealed that a note left with the mother contained what he described as “hateful rhetoric”.

In a public plea for further information, FBI special agent, Mark Remily, said they are “meticulously” investigating the situation and would work to get to the bottom of this tragic and horrifying incident.

Children evacuated from the Islamic Center

The Islamic Center also houses the Al Rashid School, where Muslim children, from age five, attend on weekends. Reports indicate that children were inside the centre during the shooting, with footage showing people being evacuated through the car park.

The centre hosts a variety of programmes for children and families, and is a busy hub for community, educational and religious events. Subsequently, schools nearby have been put on lockdown.

As a result, the local community is living in heightened fear of another violent attack, amidst a concerted far-right agenda to whip up hate towards Muslim people in the US. Hostility which has been rising for years.

In these circumstances, it’s vital the public and media closely scrutinise how law enforcement handles this fatal incident as more details are disclosed.

Featured image via Sandy Huffaker/ Getty Images

By Maddison Wheeldon

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In a move that clearly panicked Sky presenter Cathy Newman, former left-wing Labour MP Laura Pidcock called out the Labour government’s complicity with Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Sky‘s Cathy Newman covers for Israel

Speaking about how awful Labour’s current elites are, Pidcock stressed:

We’ve just watched a Labour government be complicit in a genocide in Gaza

There is overwhelming consensus among genocide scholars, including many from Israel, that the apartheid state has committed genocide against Palestinians in occupied Gaza. Countless human rights groups, humanitarian organisations, UN experts, and legal scholars agree. (You can see our in-depth list here.)

Countless Israeli war crimes, which have led to the issuing of international arrest warrants for Israeli criminals, have killed 72,760 people since October 2023, including over 20,000 children.

Newman, however, rushed to interrupt and challenge Pidcock for saying the word ‘genocide’, asserting:

You know that that word is disputed

Who exactly disputes that Israel has committed genocide? Well, Newman cleverly avoided clarifying that. But the disputers in question are primarily:

• The Israeli government itself, which is full of wanted war criminals.
• Israel’s political and corporate allies in the West, which have enabled and benefitted from its crimes.
• Unscrupulous lobbyists who funnel money into political parties and establishment media (like Sky) to fuel and normalise genocide denialism and apologism.
• Fascists who think the word genocide only applies to white Europeans.

So yes, some despicable human beings trying to justify Israel’s genocidal colonialism absolutely do dispute the word ‘genocide’.

But you would expect a responsible, professional journalist to ignore their warped assessment of the situation and instead focus on the judgement of genocide scholars and other people who actually care about human rights and international law.

.@LauraPidcock: "Wes Streeting is continuity Starmer, but so will be Burnham"

And watch what happens when Laura brings up the subject of Israels genocide. Cathy Newman claims "that word is disputed" & then says "we're off the point of the Labour leadership" pic.twitter.com/4F3vCpOAIj

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 19, 2026

Labour is complicit in genocide. But the corporate media is too!

When Pidcock suggested that no ethical person would dispute the word ‘genocide’, Newman quickly tried to change the topic, saying:

We’re sort of off the point of the Labour leadership battle

But Pidcock replied:

This is important. Because if we are thinking about why there is such a huge amount of discontent at the polls, we have to look at the record of the Labour government.

Genocide complicity is a big part of that record. And it’s a key reason why today’s Labour is so repulsive to so many people. It has become a vile vacuum of morality and principles, where its leader – a former ‘human rights lawyer’ no less – has enabled genocide and openly engaged in genocide denialism.

Judging by how clearly awful and deceitful Keir Starmer’s project has been for years now, Pidcock asserted:

It really doesn’t wash with me – these cynical resignations now, at a time when we’ve just gone through the most horrific genocide and [have] a Labour government which has done nothing for the poorest people in society.

That’s why leadership hopefuls Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham – very much part of the same vacuous right-wing ecosystem that spawned Starmer – just represent more of the same. They didn’t meaningfully object to Starmer dragging Labour far to the right, so we can just consider them “continuity Starmer”, Pidcock said.

The Labour right is synonymous now with support for mass murder. And we can say the exact same about our corporate media too, as Cathy Newman demonstrated well in her interview with Laura Pidcock.

Featured image via Sky News / Saul Staniforth

By Ed Sykes

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Donald Trump has cancelled an imminent attack on Iran at the request of the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE and the prospect of ‘serious negotiations’.

However, he instructed the US military to be ready to launch a “full, large-scale assault” of Iran at “a moment’s notice”. This is if the US, Israel, and Iran do not reach an “acceptable” deal.

BREAKING: President Trump says he has called off a US “Military attack” on Iran which was scheduled for tomorrow after leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE called him and asked him to “hold off.”

Trump has instructed the US Military to “be prepared to go forward with a… pic.twitter.com/OQbBYuEP5u

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) May 18, 2026

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Trump toddler mode

In his usual toddler-style rant on Truth Social, Trump said that:

the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran which was scheduled for tomorrow.

According to the leaders, a deal will be made that will be “very acceptable” to the US.

However, according to the Wall Street Journal:

Several Gulf officials from some of the countries Trump mentioned said they were not aware of the imminent plan to attack Iran he described.

It is still unclear if Iran, Israel and the US have made a breakthrough in their peace talks.

Importantly, Trump finished by saying that the US needed to be ready to attack Iran, if and when he decided it was the right time. He said:

I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, The Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Caine, and The United States Military, that we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.

Nuclear weapons

Only days before this Truth Social rant, Trump wrote that the “clock is ticking” for Iran to strike a deal. He also said there “won’t be anything left of them.”

In the latest rant, along with previous ones, Trump continues to reiterate that a deal must include:

NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!

However, there is zero evidence that Iran either has the desire to build a nuclear weapon or has attempted to make one.

Israel has been claiming for the last 30 years that Iran is only weeks away from developing a nuclear bomb.

In 2025, the US Director of National Intelligence stated that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon.

Additionally, nuclear experts, including the chief of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also said there was no evidence that Iran was close to a nuclear weapon.

Iran has always insisted its nuclear programme is for civilian use only, such as for power generation and medical research. This requires uranium enrichment of between 3% and 5%.

Some research-grade uranium sits between 20 and 85% enrichment. Some countries use this in specialised research reactors to produce medical isotopes. It is well recorded that Iran uses its nuclear facilities to develop and test many drugs, including those for cancer treatment.

Non-Proliferation Treaty

Uranium has to reach at least 90% enrichment for nuclear weapons even to be possible. Experts suggest that Iran is at around 60% enrichment, the level used for research purposes.

However, in June 2025, the US and Israel launched even more illegal attacks on Iran over the course of 12 days.

The strikes severely damaged enrichment facilities, weapons depots, and command centres. This set back Iran’s nuclear program by years. Trump claimed the attacks “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities. However, it’s unclear whether that is true, as in February 2026, Trump claimed that Iran’s enriched uranium was the reason for its illegal attacks.

Hilariously, though, Israel is one of only five countries which have not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

It was established in 1968 and is a landmark international agreement. It aimed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Iran is a signatory to this pact. Israel is not. What does that tell you?

Imperialism

Netanyahu has been claiming Iran is close to nukes since 1992. Still, every single time he says it, the US, along with the rest of the colonialist West, laps it up.

It’s the same playbook that the US and UK used in their illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003. A Western colonial power attacks a majority-muslim country under the guise of weapons of mass destruction. They never existed. It is the same racist, imperialist mindset that led to the creation of Israel, and every war, US-led regime change, and illegal invasion since then.

Feature image via Alex Wong /Getty Images

By HG

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