World
Israel’s focus on political drama rather than Palestinian rape victim
The revelation last week by Israel’s top military lawyer, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, that she leaked the footage of a gang rape of a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military detention centre in 2024 has shaken the country’s political and media establishment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – whose leadership of the genocidal war on Gaza has drawn global condemnation – called the leak “perhaps the most severe public relations attack that the State of Israel has experienced”. Critics of Netanyahu’s view come from establishment voices desperate to defend the judiciary and state institutions, which they believe Netanyahu and his allies are exploiting the leak to undermine.
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Lost amid headlines fuelled by the leak’s admission is the gang rape of the Palestinian prisoner at Sde Teiman on July 5, 2024. The attack was so brutal that the man was admitted to hospital with what the Israeli daily Haaretz revealed was a ruptured bowel, severe anal and lung injuries, and broken ribs – injuries that later required surgery.
“It’s a huge story in Israel, but you won’t see the word ‘rape’ anywhere in it,” Orly Noy, editor of the Hebrew language Local Call, told Al Jazeera. “The contextualisation of the story is entirely different here than anything you or I might see.”
Instead of focusing on the rape and the ongoing legal proceedings against the five suspects, the story has instead centred on Tomer-Yerushalmi and those accused of helping her cover up the leak.
Speaking on Israeli television on Saturday night, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, Energy Minister Eli Cohen, told viewers that Tomer-Yerushalmi was “supposed to be the bulletproof vest, the protector, of the [Israeli military] soldiers”.
“Instead of that, she stabbed them in the back,” he said about the lawyer who leaked footage of soldiers appearing to rape a prisoner. “In this case, we are talking about treason.”
Defence Minister Israel Katz was no less damning, releasing at least seven statements targeting the military attorney in a week and accusing her of participating in “blood libel” against the five alleged rapists.
The politicisation of rape
Focusing on Tomer-Yerushalmi, rather than the alleged rapists, is nothing new.
The former chief military advocate had been the subject of political pressure and accusations of covering up the source of the leak since the first reports of the rape emerged in August 2024. That pressure continued to build, culminating in the announcement from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in early October of an investigation into the source of the leak.
On Friday, November 1, Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned and admitted that she had been the source of the leak. Two days later, she was reported missing for several hours following the discovery of what friends and family worried was a suicide note, which prompted a large-scale search.
Within hours of being found safe, Tomer-Yerushalmi was arrested, and the suicide note was dismissed by Israeli prosecutors as a ploy. She has been charged with multiple offences, including fraud, breach of trust, obstruction of justice, and abuse of office.
Since Sunday, police have also arrested the military’s former chief prosecutor, Colonel Matan Solomosh, on suspicion of helping Tomer-Yerushalmi cover up the leak. There have also been suggestions that the attorney general and her staff may have been involved.
“Rape doesn’t matter,” said political analyst Ori Goldberg, referring to how Israeli authorities are responding to news of the leak. “What matters is the woman who leaked the tape and what they want to call the deep state.”
“For Netanyahu and others, this is evidence that the deep state has gotten too big for its britches and that, by accusing Tomer-Yerushalmi of collaborating with the attorney general, they have evidence of the treachery and a further means of undermining any civilian oversight there may be over their workings.”
The ‘deep state’
Netanyahu and his allies’ fight with the judiciary dates back to what his critics call the “judicial coup” of 2023, when he proposed a sweeping legislative overhaul of Israel’s judicial system. He has also faced multiple charges of corruption since 2019.
The prime minister’s proposed judicial reforms would grant his right-wing coalition the freedom to act without the check of the Supreme Court, potentially leading to a further crackdown on dissent and the rights of Palestinians.
Attorney General Baharav-Miara has found herself in the firing line for resisting those reforms. In 2023, she issued legal guidance opposing the proposed judicial overhaul, writing that it would undermine Israel’s checks and balances, and that it was “a sure recipe for harming human rights and clean governance”. She also told the prime minister to distance himself from the judicial reforms, noting that it would be a conflict of interest amid his own corruption trial.
“They want to cover up the rape,” Aida Touma-Suleiman, a member of the Israeli parliament representing the left-wing Hadash-Ta’al faction, told Al Jazeera. “That’s why they’re dealing with the prosecutors and not the crime itself.”
“Benjamin Netanyahu is using this, just like the right wing is using this. They’ve been repeating the same messaging ever since the story broke. This is how the judiciary works. These are your so-called checks and balances. Look at them, they’re criminals.”
Justice lost
Amid the political furore, the likelihood of prosecuting the alleged rapists appears to be diminishing.
On Monday, it emerged that the rape victim had been returned to Gaza in October as part of the exchange of captives, leading to speculation that he might not appear in proceedings against his alleged attackers.
Five of those indicted for the assault saw their charges downgraded to “severely abusing” the detainee on Sunday, when they appeared outside Israel’s Supreme Court wearing balaclavas to hide their identity.
A lawyer for the suspects, Moshe Polsky, told journalists that his clients could not expect a fair trial due to the leak, saying “the wheel cannot be turned back” and that, consequently, the indictment process had been tainted.
One suspect, who declined to be identified, described himself and his fellow suspects as loyal patriots wrongfully targeted by a legal system they see as undermining their service. “We knew we had to defend the country [following the October 7 attack],” he said.
“Since that day, dozens of fighters are still fighting for justice not on the battlefield, but in courtrooms.”
For observers such as journalist Noy, however, there is little to do with justice in the saga of accusation, counter-accusation and cover-up that has come to overshadow the brutal rape of a prisoner in Israeli custody.
“For the two sides, this is all about the system and nothing to do with the Palestinian victim,” she reflected.
“One side sees it as [about] the old elite protecting itself, and the other about safeguarding the institutions of the state,” Noy said. “But don’t forget, these are the same institutions they need to protect to continue the abuse of Palestinians. These are the defences they offer up whenever they’re criticised from overseas.”
World
‘Criminal Minds’ Star Paget Brewster Tells TV Journalist to ‘Work at a Shelter’ After Mixed Review, Sparking Outrage From Other Critics
“Criminal Minds” star Paget Brewster lashed out at ScreenRant staffer Shealyn Scott over X on Saturday afternoon for her story lamenting the changes Paramount+ has brought to the long-running procedural drama.
“Hello critic Shealynn Scott,” Brewster wrote in the since-deleted post. “You’re young. You don’t know that bad pics and bad reviews can lead to 350 people losing their jobs. Sell vintage. Work at a shelter. Do something better than what you do now. Because right now you suck.”
Film and TV critics were quick to hit back in the replies. David Rooney, chief film critic at The Hollywood Reporter, wrote in his response to Brewster, “This is a very bad look. An actor on a long-running show attacking a young reviewer who contextualizes her respectful criticisms with obvious knowledge of the material — says way more about u being thin-skinned than it does about her professionalism. ‘Work at a shelter,’ really?!”
Senior ScreenRant writer Andy Behbakht also came to the defense of Scott, writing, “This is disgusting behavior on your part, and really tragic to see you tearing down a young female journalist whom you are literally telling that she ‘sucks’ and that she shouldn’t be in the field that she is in. I stand by my colleague, and you owe her an apology.”
Brewster released an apology for the post on Sunday. She wrote on X, “Hi guys, I was mean to Shealyn Scott last night and I profoundly regret it. Shame on me for insulting a human being for doing their job. I’m very sorry, Shealyn. And I’m sorry to those who follow me that you saw me behave like that. Turns out, last night, I sucked.”
“Criminal Minds” premiered its 15th and final season on CBS in 2020, and then was revived for Paramount+ in 2022 under the title “Criminal Minds: Evolution.” Scott’s piece discussed the changes “Criminal Minds” underwent when it went from linear to streaming.
“From details as small as a ratings change to TV-MA— which allows David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) and Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) the occasional heated expletive— to new main cast members like Tyler Green (Ryan-James Hatanaka), there’s no doubt that ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ has its own unique identity,” Scott wrote in her story. “Plenty of the continuation’s changes have been received warmly, and ‘Criminal Minds’ unquestionably still works as a gripping crime drama, but there are just as many tweaks that feel more like downgrades— including the new 10-episode season structure. Though logical in theory, the shortened seasons are unfortunately working against ‘Criminal Minds’’ greatest strengths.”
World
Meloni’s spat with Trump is calculated strategy to boost her approval ratings: expert
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s escalating feud with President Donald Trump is nothing but a calculated political strategy aimed at boosting her standing at home, a leading Italian political analyst told Fox News Digital on Sunday.
After the row between Trump and Meloni escalated on June 20, analysts also said the Italian leader may see little downside in confronting Trump, particularly as she faces declining approval ratings ahead of Italy’s 2027 general election.
The diplomatic dispute had reached a boiling point after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced June 19 that he was scrapping a trip to Washington, where he had been scheduled to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“Giorgia Meloni must have calculated that a public row with Trump yields no tangible consequences, other than an increase in her domestic and international standing,” Mattia Diletti, a political science lecturer at Sapienza University of Rome, said.
TRUMP SAYS MELONI ‘WANTS TO BE FRIENDS AGAIN’ AFTER ITALY REFUSED TO HELP US AMID IRAN WAR
Giorgia Meloni said President Trump’s statements were “completely made up” and that “neither I nor Italy ever beg.” (Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP via Getty Images; Bastien Ohier / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images))
Giovanni Orsina, a political scientist at Rome’s Luiss University, also told the Financial Times that the row would offer a “positive image” for Meloni and a “silver lining” to a confrontation she had “desperately tried to avoid.”
The friction between Trump and Meloni intensified after an interview broadcast by Italy’s La7 television network, where the president claimed she had asked for a photograph with him at the G7 summit and that he agreed only out of pity.
“She begged me to take a picture with her,” Trump said. “She wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her.”
RUBIO MEETS MELONI AS TRUMP–POPE CLASH CLASH ESCALATES US STRAINS WITH KEY EUROPEAN ALLY
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends her annual press conference in Rome on Jan. 9, 2026, addressing government priorities and policy challenges for the year ahead. (Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)
Meloni fired back, releasing a video statement on X rejecting the president’s narrative.
“I am frankly stunned,” Meloni said in the video message. “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his own allies. But there’s one thing he must remember: Neither I nor Italy ever beg.”
Trump doubled down on Truth Social and tied the row directly to Meloni’s political fortunes.
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America… when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a nuclear weapon … She wouldn’t even let us use Italy’s landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience … Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up.’ No thanks!!!”
Within hours, Meloni responded on social media: “As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it … My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interest… In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”
TRUMP ‘RIGHT TO BE OUTRAGED’ BY EUROPE’S BETRAYAL ON IRAN, SAYS FORMER THATCHER ADVISOR
Rubio will travel to Italy on Wednesday for meetings with Pope Leo and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. (Maria Grazia Picciarella/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The back-and-forth marks a reversal for two leaders who once enjoyed a close political alignment.
When Meloni first came to power, she positioned herself as a bridge between Washington and Brussels while pushing ties with Trump based on shared nationalism and stances on immigration.
“Politically, Trump has favored Meloni,” Diletti noted, pointing out that she had previously visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in 2025. She was the only European Union leader to attend his second inauguration.
The cracks also appeared in April when Trump criticized Meloni for siding with Pope Leo XIV’s condemnation of the U.S. conflict with Iran.
On Sunday, Trump also criticized Italy and Giorgia Meloni over their approach to Iran, accusing the NATO ally of failing to help confront Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
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“As the 2027 Italian general election approaches, Meloni is facing a decline in approval ratings for the first time,” Diletti explained.
“The opportunity to counter a President so unpopular in Europe and Italy helps bolster her approval ratings and allows her to build European solidarity,” he claimed.
World
Mourners gather to remember Lebanese conservationist killed by Israel
Renowned turtle conservationist Mona Khalil had been wounded in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon.
Published On 21 Jun 2026
Mourners have gathered in Beirut to pay their respects to a much-loved Lebanese conservationist who died from wounds caused by an Israeli strike on her home on the country’s southern coast.
Mona Khalil, 77, who spent more than two decades protecting sea turtles along Lebanon’s coastline, was critically injured in the attack in the village of al-Mansouri in Tyre province on June 4 and succumbed to her wounds more than two weeks later, on Friday.
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News of her death triggered an outpouring of grief among environmentalists and those who volunteered and worked with her over the years, many of whom gathered in Beirut on Sunday.
The Orange House Project, which Khalil helped build into a small conservation hub and ecotourism site in al-Mansouri, became a refuge for endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles and a training ground for volunteers documenting nesting activity along the coast.
Khalil was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1949. She held Dutch as well as Lebanese citizenship, having lived in the Netherlands before returning to Lebanon and settling in what had once been her grandmother’s home – the building that would later become known as the Orange House.
At the heart of Khalil’s work was a narrow stretch of coastline, al-Mansouri beach, where a fleeting encounter with a turtle that had emerged from the ocean to lay its eggs in 1999 propelled her on a lifelong journey devoted to animals.
Each nesting season, Khalil and volunteers would patrol the beach at night, marking fresh tracks in the sand and carefully relocating vulnerable nests away from human activity and coastal light pollution.
Journalist and environmental activist Fadia Jomaa first met Khalil in 2016 while researching sea turtles in Lebanon and then decided to volunteer with her project.
During the previous war between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in 2024, Khalil initially refused to leave al-Mansouri beach, Jomaa said. The Lebanese army ultimately persuaded her to evacuate for her safety.
“She was the last one to leave the area,” Jomaa noted.
“She had an awful time in Beirut,” the journalist said, adding that Khalil longed to return to the south, to the Orange House and the beach she had spent years protecting.
“She used to say, ‘My soul will stay here,’” Jomaa said, recalling conversations in which Khalil would point to an olive tree or a small hill overlooking al-Mansouri beach. “She used to say, ‘This is where you will bury me.’”
Where Khalil will ultimately be buried remains uncertain and is tied to the security situation in the area, Jomaa said.
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