Just a day in Claude Monet's garden to recharge...
30/09/2025
29/09/2025
Bristol Palestine Film Festival 2025
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27/09/2025
South Africans march in Cape Town to condemn violence in Gaza
Demonstrators march towards South Africa's parliament during a protest to show support to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Cape Town, South Africa, September 27, 2025. REUTERS/Esa Alexander
26/09/2025
Yamine Hamdan - interview
A trailblazing comeback: Yasmine Hamdan weaves memory, grief, and joy into her first album in six years
The New Arab Meets: Lebanese singer Yasmine Hamdan to discuss her musical comeback after burnout, Lebanon's collapse, and renewal in solitude
7 min read
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Read here:
https://www.newarab.com/features/poetic-powerful-and-personal-yasmine-hamdans-musical-return
23/09/2025
My report on the 3rd edition of DZ Fest, the Algerian festival in London!
DZ Fest showcases Algerian culture in the UK
DZ Fest held its third such festival in London in the latter half of September, celebrating the culture and unity of a growing Algerian anglophone community, with events in both the capital and Nottingham.
Founder and creative director Rachida Lamri - an artist at heart, musician, and member of the London-based Arabo-Andalusian orchestra - curated a programme showcasing Algerian music, traditions, and cuisine.
https://www.rfi.fr/en/video/20250923-dz-fest-showcases-algerian-culture-in-the-uk
21/09/2025
UK recognises Palestinian state, Starmer announces
Keir Starmer has announced the UK's recognition of a Palestinian state. "Today, to revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution, I state clearly - as prime minister of this great country - that the United Kingdom formally recognises the state of Palestine," he says in a video statement.
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You can listen to him on his social media:
"Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine," he said.
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Also on the BBC:
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cpw1qkyke4nt#player
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Starmer urges Israel to stop 'cruel tactics' and let 'aid surge in' as he warns hope of a two state solution is 'fading'
Starmer continued: "We have evacuated the first group of sick and injured children to the United Kingdom to be treated by the NHS, and we continue to increase our humanitarian support, but still nowhere near enough aid is getting through. We call again on the Israeli government to lift the unacceptable restrictions at the border, stop these cruel tactics, and let the aid surge in. With the actions of Hamas, the Israeli government escalating the conflict and settlement building being accelerated in the West Bank, the hope of a two state solution is fading. But we cannot let that light go out.
"That is why we are building consensus with leaders in the region and beyond, around our framework for peace. This is a practical plan to bring people together behind a common vision and a series of steps, including the reform of the Palestinian Authority, that takes us from a ceasefire in Gaza to negotiations on a two state solution. We will keep driving this forward. As part of this effort I set out in July the terms upon which we would act in line with our manifesto to recognise Palestinian statehood. That moment has now arrived.
"So today, to revive the hope of peace and a two state solution, I state clearly, as prime minister of this great country, that the United Kingdom formally recognises the state of Palestine. We recognise the State of Israel, more than 75 years ago, as a homeland for the Jewish people. Today we join over 150 countries who recognise a Palestinian state also, a pledge to the Palestinian and Israeli people that there can be a better future. I know the strength of feeling that this conflict provokes."
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Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty’s crisis response manager, has welcomed Starmer’s announcement, but said it will be a “hollow gesture” if the British government does not to take stronger action to help end Israel’s “genocide” against Palestinians.
Benedict said:
"Recognition is no doubt significant but will be a hollow gesture if the UK does not also seek to end Israel’s genocide, illegal occupation, and system of apartheid against the Palestinian people. For recognition or any ‘political solution’ to be effective, it must be firmly rooted in respect for human rights and international justice.
The UK needs to take action now to ensure Israel lifts the blockade on Gaza, dismantles illegal settlements, ends apartheid, respects Palestinians’ right to return, and upholds the rights of victims on all sides to justice and full reparation.
"Words alone won’t stop the atrocities. Recognition must be tied to real accountability: the UK must halt UK arms exports, divest from arms companies that continue to sell arms to Israel, sanction Israeli officials implicated in crimes under international law and stop trade with settlements. The occupation and apartheid system must be ended, and justice must be delivered – anything less while Palestinians continue to be slaughtered by Israeli forces in an ongoing genocide is just empty words."
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Palestinian President Says UK Recognition A Step Toward 'Lasting Peace'
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Sunday that Britain's recognition of a Palestinian state was a necessary step toward lasting peace in the region.
"His excellency praised the United Kingdom's recognition of the independent State of Palestine, affirming that it constitutes an important and necessary step toward achieving a just and lasting peace in accordance with international legitimacy," Abbas's office said in a statement.
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Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said Western countries are motivated by a desire to be seen to be doing something, but will not stop the genocide in Gaza.
“I think they’re under increasing pressure from the international community and also from their local populations to do something,” he told Al Jazeera.
“This is, I think, their way of doing something or saying that they did something without actually taking substantive action.”
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Later on Sunday, Portugal also recognised Palestine.
19/09/2025
Reminiscence غروب
The most beautiful song I've heard in a long time...
Reminiscence غروب
Reminiscence غروب · Yasmine Hamdan I remember I forget بنسى وبتذكر ℗ Hamdanistan Records|Kwaidan Records Released on: 2025-09-19 Lead Vocals: Yasmine Hamdan Mixing Engineer: Hugo Bracchi Producer: Yasmine Hamdan Producer: Marc Collin Composer: Yasmine Hamdan
Portishead for Palestine
A special treat from the 'Together for Palestine' event last night in London: Portishead recorded 'Roads' especially for the fundraiser:
18/09/2025
KALAMANTINA / كلمنتينا
KALAMANTINA / كلمنتينا
KALAMANTINA / كلمنتينا · Saint Levant · Marwan Moussa Love Letters / رسائل حب ℗ 2025 SALXCO UAM LLC Released on: 2025-02-14 Writer: Marwan Abdelhamid Writer: Marwan Moussa Producer: Ratchopper
17/09/2025
Faraj Suleiman
Faraj Suleiman will be performing tonight with Palestinian artists Adnan Joubran and Nai Barghouti, as well as Palestinian Chilean singer Elyanna and Palestinian Algerian sensation Saint-Levant, at 'Together for Palestine in London's Wembley stadium.
For more, read:
https://www.newarab.com/features/together-palestine-story-behind-artist-solidarity
From Gaza to Wembley: Inside the sold-out Together for Palestine concert
'Together for Palestine' goes beyond music, as activists reveal why they are uniting for Gaza's justice, resilience and lasting global solidarity
https://www.newarab.com/features/together-palestine-story-behind-artist-solidarity
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Lyrics
I might search for a small piece in my memory, and cut it out with a protrusion.
And if one day I find a girl to tell me a story, it ends sadly.
I dig from my heart an image that makes me resemble her in a moment.
We become mirrors for each other, and a great love shines within us.
A light-year grows within us, and we see it in a ridiculous moment, it's over...
And I go back and search through the pain until I build an idea for myself.
I dig through the hills of yesterday, planting a cactus or a rock in each hill, and I carry it.
To a house whose roof and walls I build, waiting for my fate.
And a girl knocks on my door, entering without asking me or her.
She likes me a little, without love, and a terrible fear shines within us.
It lights up all the dark stories of the past, and we decide to start over.
And I keep searching through the pain until I give myself meaning.
I weave a breeze from the threads of regret, and a winter that benefits us. And we wear
Evening and day I light the heater and try to draw my dreams with charcoal
And the green wishes within me I leave on the dam and they are forgotten
And turn to ash, affectionate, filling a pillow for the children
They wake up in the morning to colour their drawings and we hang them on the refrigerator of sorrow
16/09/2025
Newsletter's new post: Côte d'Ivoire and more
Côte d'Ivoire election D-40, a new Africa podcast episode, and more...
I'll be in Abidjan in less than a month for this key vote, in one of the most stable countries in West Africa, still close to European powers including France. And more news from Africa and Gaza.
Côte d'Ivoire election D-40, a new Africa podcast episode, and more...
I'll be in Abidjan in less than a month for this key vote, in one of the most stable countries in West Africa, still close to European powers including France. And more news from Africa and Gaza.
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Genocide in Gaza: Another damning report
Top UN legal investigators conclude Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza
Most authoritative report by the UN on genocide paves way for ICJ ruling, authors say
The UN’s investigative body on Palestine and Israel ruled on Tuesday that Israel is guilty of the crime of genocide in Gaza, in the most authoritative pronouncement to date.
It provided a 72-page report, prepared by the UN commission of inquiry on Palestine and Israel, which finds Israel has committed four of the five acts prohibited under the 1948 Genocide Convention, and that Israeli leaders had the intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a group.
“For the finding on Israel's responsibility for its conduct in Gaza, the commission used the legal standard set forth by the International Court of Justice. This is therefore the most authoritative finding emanating from the United Nations to date,” the commission's chair, Navi Pillay, said.
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The finding echoes reports by Palestinian, Israeli and international rights groups that have reached the same conclusion over the past year, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
This is the first comprehensive legal probe by a UN body, serving as an indicator of a judgment by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is currently hearing a case by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide.
The ICJ case is expected to take several years to be concluded. “For the finding on Israel's responsibility for its conduct in Gaza, the commission used the legal standard set forth by the International Court of Justice.
This is therefore the most authoritative finding emanating from the United Nations to date,” Pillay said.
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UN News:
Gaza: Top independent rights probe alleges Israel committed genocide
16 September 2025
Peace and Security
Senior independent rights investigators appointed by the Human Rights Council alleged on Tuesday that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide, a charge flatly rejected by Tel Aviv.
In a new report published against the backdrop of intensifying Israeli military operations in Gaza City, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, urged Israel and all countries to fulfil their obligations under international law “to end the genocide” and punish those responsible.
Details:
“The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza,” insisted Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission. “It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention.”
Israel's Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Danny Hanon, dismissed the Commission's "cherry-picked" findings outright, maintaining that the 70-plus page report "promotes a narrative serving Hamas and its supporters in attempting to delegitimize and demonize the state of Israel. The report falsely accuses Israel of genocidal intent, an allegation it cannot substantiate."
At a press conference in Geneva, the Commission of Inquiry's members Ms. Pillay and Chris Sidoti - who are not UN staff but instead appointed by the Human Rights Council’s 47 Member States - explained that their investigations into the war in Gaza beginning with Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023 had led to the conclusion that Israeli authorities and security forces “committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide”.
These acts are:
- killing,
- causing serious bodily or mental harm,
- deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinians, and
- imposing measures intended to prevent births.
Ms. Pillay maintained that responsibility for the atrocity crimes “lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons”, amid “explicit statements” denigrating Palestinians by Israeli civilian and military authorities.
The Commission also analysed conduct of Israeli authorities and the Israeli security forces in Gaza, “including imposing starvation and inhumane conditions of life for Palestinians in Gaza…genocidal intent was the only reasonable inference that could be concluded from the nature of their operations”, the panel said.
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The whole report is here:
15/09/2025
London, Mid September 2025, snapshots
Who doesn't like a September dramatic sky? Blue sky, white clouds and early autumn wind over the Canal, London, York St.
Coal Drop Yard
14/09/2025
And DZFest 2025 is now open!
What a lovely day at Khamsa Restaurant in Brixton, London, celebrating Algerian cuisine and culture with these adorable people! Djamel, the restaurant's chef, led the couscous workshop!
More on the festival soon. Check: https://dzfest.com/
Chef Djamel with Rachida, the founder and director of DZFest
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