Twelve countries announced on Tuesday that they will ban trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Canada, France, and the United Kingdom led the effort. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden pledged to follow. Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain already had restrictions in place.

The United States refused to join them.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament: “The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists, and all too often the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this.” Israel responded within hours. It ordered the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem and banned 12 British nationals, including members of Parliament, from entering the country.

The joint statement from all 12 governments said the settlements “pose a direct and urgent threat” to a two-state solution. Data from the United Nations shows that more than 1,040 Palestinians have been injured in settler incidents in 2026 alone. Seventy-nine Palestinians, including 19 children, have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers this year.

Twelve countries called it ethnic cleansing and acted. The United States sends $3 billion a year to the government doing it… and said no.

BREAKING

Five Oil Tankers Were Hit in One Day Near the Strait — and the Other Side Responded by Firing at a Military Base

American forces struck five Iranian oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. Democracy Now reported that Iran retaliated by firing missiles at an American military base in the region.

It is the first time American forces have targeted Iranian oil tankers directly. The strikes mark a new phase of the conflict… moving from military targets to economic infrastructure. The strait remains closed. The vice president said last week he would not call this a war. It is now in its seventh month.

The strikes came two weeks after the Treasury launched “Operation Economic Outcast” to cut off every country that trades with Iran. The military is enforcing the economic siege from the water. The conflict that the vice president refuses to name now has an air campaign, a naval blockade, and a sanctions regime running at the same time.

Five tankers in one day. Then the other side hit back. And the government still does not call it a war.

EXPOSED

Twenty-Five Years After the Towers Fell, the Government’s Cover-Up of Toxic Air Has Proven to Be a “Death Sentence” for Thousands

Tomorrow marks 25 years since the September 11 attacks. Democracy Now devoted its Wednesday broadcast to the anniversary, reporting that newly released city records show officials were still finding asbestos and other toxins in Lower Manhattan months after the government declared the air “safe to breathe.”

Thousands of first responders, residents, and cleanup workers have since developed cancer, lung disease, and other conditions linked to the toxic dust. More than 4,700 people enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program have died from illnesses connected to the exposure. DN anchor Juan González, who predicted the health crisis in 2001, called the cover-up “a death sentence for thousands.”

New York’s mayor released 170,000 pages of documents this week from the aftermath. The records confirm what survivors have said for decades: the government knew the air was dangerous and told people it was safe anyway.

Twenty-five years later, the people who ran into the smoke are still dying from it. The machine told them the air was clean. It was not.

DEVELOPING

An Israeli Newspaper Revealed That the Prime Minister Was Warned Before the Deadliest Day — and Did Nothing

Haaretz, one of Israel’s most respected newspapers, reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu received warnings about an impending large-scale attack before October 7, 2023, and failed to act on them. Democracy Now included the report in its Wednesday headlines.

The October 7 attacks killed roughly 1,200 people and resulted in more than 200 hostages being taken. The war that followed has now lasted nearly two years. It has spread from Gaza to Lebanon. The American war with Iran was launched in part as an extension of the same conflict.

The Haaretz report shows that the intelligence existed. The warning was delivered. And the leader who received it did not act. The deadliest day in Israeli history may have been preventable… and the person who failed to prevent it is still in power, still rejecting peace plans, and still receiving American weapons.

The warning was ignored. The people died. The war expanded. And the man who had the intelligence is still in charge. The machine does not hold leaders accountable. It arms them.

They rely on the shadows.
It’s time to turn on the lights.