International pressure on Israel continues.

On December 11, people in dozens of cities across the world participated in a general strike for Palestine to demand the end of the Israeli genocide in Gaza and a permanent ceasefire.

The United Nations General Assembly just voted overwhelmingly in favor of a humanitarian ceasefire. On Friday, the United States exercised its veto power to block a resolution in the Security Council calling for the same. 153 countries voted in favor of the UNGA resolution, 23 abstained, and 10 voted against, including the United States and Israel.

US President Joe Biden warned in an address to donors in Washington that it appears the world has turned against Israel. “They’re starting to lose that support,” said the President.

Biden also urged Netanyahu not to “make the same mistakes,” that the United States did in the wake of the September 11 attacks, referring to the long war in Afghanistan. “There’s no reason we did so many of the things we did,” Biden said.

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/12/13/is-israel-losing-its-biggest-ally/

Family members of the Israeli captives held by Hamas in Gaza are among the loudest voices opposing the carpet bombing of the besieged strip by the Israel Occupation Forces (IOF), killing over 18,000 Palestinians, about 70% of whom are women and children.

“We were in tunnels, terrified that it would not be Hamas, but Israel, that would kill us, and then they would say Hamas killed you,” protested a former Israeli captive at the meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet on December 5.

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/12/13/contradictions-deepen-in-israel-as-genocidal-war-on-gaza-enters-third-month/

🇵🇱 The short-lived third Law and Justice (PiS) party government led by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki lost the confidence vote in the Polish Parliament, effectively ending the eight-year-long rule of far-right party in the country.

Following that, Donald Tusk, leader of the liberal Civic Coalition (KO), was elected to lead the new government in the country, with the support of the centrist and left-wing parties represented in the parliament. Donald Tusk received 248 votes in support in the 460-seat lower house of the parliament, the Sejm.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/12/13/donald-tusk-returns-as-polish-premier-after-eight-years-of-pis-rule/

Trade unionists from all over Europe protested in Brussels at the meeting of finance ministers.

People reject budget cuts from governments while corporations make record profits.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed socialist who has received much criticism for his unwillingness to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, finally released a statement on December 13 calling for President Biden to “stop funding this war and to support UN efforts for a humanitarian ceasefire.”

While Sanders’ statement began with a denunciation of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation carried out on October 7, the bulk of his statement criticizes Israel’s disproportionate military response, mass human rights violations, and violations of international law.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/12/13/after-months-of-war-and-over-18000-gazans-killed-us-senator-bernie-sanders-calls-for-a-ceasefire/

According to Wafa News Agency, on Thursday, December 14, Israeli forces opened fire on displaced families taking shelter in a school run by UNRWA and executed them inside Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
The report stated that Israeli forces shot members of two families, including children, women, and the elderly at close range after entering the premises. The report did not give an exact number of civilians killed.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/12/14/israel-continues-to-kill-hundreds-of-palestinian-civilians-in-gaza-and-west-bank/

Flooding in parts of Gaza has exacerbated the already dire conditions for Palestinians. The over 1.8 million internally displaced people who have been forced into makeshift tents and shelters not only face the continued threat of Israeli bombs, but also of infectious disease and unsanitary conditions.

🇵🇸/🇺🇳 Amid the growing international consensus that the atrocities Israel has been committing in Gaza amount to genocide, a UN panel ahead has also concluded that “genocide is already happening” in Gaza.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/12/18/it-is-clear-that-israel-is-committing-genocide-in-gaza-un-panel-concludes/

🇬🇾/🇻🇪 Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his Guyanese counterpart Irfaan Ali met at the airport in Kingstown alongside representatives from CARICOM, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Brazil, Colombia, and the United Nations.

An article by Venezuela Analysis.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/12/16/venezuela-and-guyana-to-maintain-direct-dialogue-amid-essequibo-dispute/