Pretty stoked to have finished my book 'We Can't Say We Didn't Know - Dispatches from an age of impunity.' It comes out March 9 and you can pre-order it here Events coming up in Sydney, Freo, Perth and more. Hope it will enrage & inspire you
I'm an American doctor who went to
#Gaza
. What I saw wasn't war - it was annihilation
“…a handful of children, all about ages 5 to 8, were carried to the emergency room by their parents.
All had single sniper shots to the head.”
#CeasefireNOW
Hard to get into the Christmas spirit when dear friends in Gaza are sleeping in tents, living in utter fear & going days without food. 2024 must be the year we all do as much as we can for Palestine: it’s truly the litmus test for justice & human rights. Will you?
#CeasefireNOW
Outrageous decision just now in a Sydney court
Climate activist Violet Coco given 15 month sentence, 8 months no parole after she blocked 1 lane of the Harbour Bridge for 25 mins in April
It's clear climate protesters are being targeted for disproportionate punishment
@hrw
The
#Christchurch
shooter clearly wanted that horrific footage shared. Don't do it. Don't watch it. It is a nightmare. Hearts are with New Zealand & muslim friends. What a horrible day. Numb.
@Twitter
take down his account ASAP.
UN has arrived. They are interviewing Rahaf. They gave their word that she would remain in their custody & that she is now safe. This is what they promised
@UNHCRThailand
@Reaproy
@melissarfleming
Glad you’ve gone from concerned to horrified, Minister. You should be. But why don’t you summon the Israeli ambassador? Why don’t you cancel our defence contracts with Israel? Why don’t you restore UNRWA’s funding? Why don’t you actually DO SOMETHING in response to this horror?
Just heard
@abcnews
7am bulletin describe the horrific Gaza war as Israel’s “ongoing crackdown against Hamas in Gaza.”
This language is incredibly dehumanising.
How can a brutal bombardment which has now killed so many thousands of civilians be described in such as manner?
Stunned
@abcnews
have confirmed
@antoinette_news
was sacked for sharing a post from
@hrw
because they deemed it too "controversial" to share a finding from the world's most credible human rights org.
This will create a dangerous chilling effect in the ABC
Absolute madness. I recently pitched a really important human rights story in Western Australia to 4 Corners and was told there was no budget to send a team here 🤯
The ABC has dispatched a staggering 27 people to the UK to cover the death of Queen Elizabeth II, including three local radio presenters.
And rumour has it that some are travelling business class,
@BernardKeane
reports [FREE TO READ]
I've confirmed with
@antoinette_news
that this post is what
@abcnews
said violated their 'social media policy' & is why they fired her.
@hrw
is the world's most prestigious human rights organisation.
This is deeply alarming censorship & intimidation by ABC management.
BREAKING: Human Rights Watch calls on countries to “use all forms of leverage, including sanctions and embargoes, to press the Israeli government to comply with the
@CIJ_ICJ
’s binding orders in the genocide case.”
@hrw
#Gaza
#CeasefireNOW
🚨BREAKING
The Israeli government is using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in the occupied Gaza Strip, which is a war crime says
@hrw
Human Rights Watch finds Israel is deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food & fuel into
#Gaza
I feel very uncomfortable with how Mr. Djokovic has been treated. No one deserves to be humiliated in this way. This could have been resolved before he travelled. Not a good image for
#Australia
to send to the world.
Mr Djokovic’s visa has been cancelled. Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders. No one is above these rules. Our strong border policies have been critical to Australia having one of the lowest death rates in the world from COVID, we are continuing to be vigilant.
There is nowhere safe to go in Gaza. No escape. No aid groups who can step in. How can 1 million+ people suddenly relocate amidst terrifying bombing? This is insane & will have devastating humanitarian consequences.
Horrifying scenes as Israeli forces attack the funeral procession of murdered Palestinian reporter
#ShireenAbuAkleh
This is what life under apartheid looks like
Everyone switch on to Al Jazeera right now. This is one of the most horrifying things I’ve seen.
IOF is attacking mourners carrying Shireen’s body from the hospital right now. They’re using stun grenades and tear gas and charging at them with horses and batons.
The UN responds to the shocking decision by Australia, the US, UK & Canada that they are suspending aid funding to the UNRWA agency in Gaza.
Calling it “collective punishment” that “stains all of us.”
This is deeply shameful
@SenatorWong
@AlboMP
UNRWA lifesaving assistance is about to end following countries decisions to cut their funding to the Agency.
Our humanitarian operation, on which 2 million people depend as a lifeline in Gaza, is collapsing. I am shocked such decisions are taken based on alleged behavior of a…
Brilliant Finance report on
@abcnews
in
#Australia
tonight by
@AlanKohler
Alan runs through latest global inflation, mortgage rates… and then shows us the latest Antarctic record-low sea ice levels, concluding “that’s not finance yet, but it soon will be.”
#ClimateEmergency
Of all the horrific scenes last night from
#HongKong
this is the most heartbreaking. A young couple who have been beaten by police & pepper sprayed in the eyes... just hold each other, weeping and wailing in pain and fear. (Copyright Pakkin Leung)
UN experts warn Gazans now constitute 80% of those facing famine worldwide, amid ongoing Israeli bombardment & siege.
“
#Israel
is destroying & blocking access to farmlands and the sea & using food as a weapon against the
#Palestinian
people.”
#Gaza
This is not ok. My ABC colleague Osman Faruqi
@oz_f
has been forced off twitter & has received countless threats in the past few days, some which apparently remain on
@facebook
. Meanwhile, newscorp journos continue to attack him in the papers today. It’s shameful. We need change
I'm very excited to further my passion for human rights & justice by joining
@HRW
as their inaugural Australia Researcher. I've spent 17 wonderful years at the ABC & SBS. Thanks for the opportunities & everyone in public broadcasting who taught me so much along the way.
I just keep coming back to this:
The
@AlboMP
gov has taken stronger action against a UN aid agency & the alleged actions of 12 staff than it has against the Netanyahu gov in the wake of the world's highest court ruling that a genocide case against Israel is 'plausible.'
Shame.
Stunned
@SenatorWong
is choosing to pause increased funding to the UN aid agency
@UNRWA
in
#Gaza
at a time when Gazans are starving & without shelter.
And why did she choose to tweet this today but nothing re the landmark ICJ ruling re Israel & genocide? Deeply disappointing.
There are some very good journos working for
@sevenwestmedia
. The unashamed bias on tonight’s
@7NewsPerth
is beneath them. Such blatantly prejudiced election coverage, in a market where media ownership is so concentrated, is not the sign of a healthy democracy
I struggle to understand decisions made at my beloved
@abcnews
lately
The UN chief warning overnight “our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible” was not the lead story on AM!
Was 10 mins in, a story re cost of petrol came before!🤯
Shame on this world. The nightmare of Gaza's hospitals:
“The only thing worse than the screams of a patient undergoing surgery without enough anesthesia are the terror-stricken faces of those awaiting their turn, a 51-year-old orthopedic surgeon says”
Israel has just announced what it’s calling a “total siege” of Gaza. Defense Minster Yoav Gallant saying he has ordered all food, fuel and electricity to be stopped.
In the face of 10,000 dead Gazan children, the idea
@SenatorWong
that you can now just ask Israel to “exercise special care” in
#Rafah
is absolutely shameful & pathetic.
Take a concrete step. Do something! We are sick of hollow words by the
@AlboMP
government on
#Gaza
.
153 countries, including Australia, have already called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
Now many of Israel’s friends are expressing deep concerns about reports of an Israeli military operation in Rafah.
This would have devastating consequences for civilians.
UN special Rapporteur
@FranceskAlbs
warns countries like Australia that they are "most likely violating their obligations under the Genocide Convention" by cutting funding to UNRWA -
@SenatorWong
@AlboMP
The day after
@ICJ
concluded that Israel is plausibly committing Genocide in Gaza, some states decided to defund UNRWA, collectively punishing millions of Palestinians at the most critical time, and most likely violating their obligations under the Genocide Convention.
#HongKong
reporting by Hedley Thomas on front page of the
@australian
is misleading. Fails to give context to how the protests reached the violent point they are today. No mention of the mass peaceful marches that were ignored or months of police brutality
Hey I'm Rahaf. My father just arrived as I heard witch worried and scared me a lot and I want to go to another country that I seek asylum in
But at least I feel save now under UNHCR protection with the agreement of Thailand authorities. And I finally got my passport back🙏🏻❤️
The most important thing about journalism is not impartiality: it is investigating & exposing the facts, and telling the truth
ABC management's obsession with being 'impartial' results in false equivalency. And it's harming our public broadcaster
@abcnews
After such horrific impunity and utter disregard by Israel for international law in
#Gaza
it's absolutely spine-tingling to watch the South African legal team so methodically lay out the argument for genocide at the
@CIJ_ICJ
A historical day. Thank you South Africa
@GovernmentZA
Climate wars are over, declared
@AlboMP
Australia's now a serious player on climate,
@SenatorWong
told the region
The reality?
@MadeleineMHKing
has just announced **10 new ocean sites for oil & gas exploration**
This is devastating for every Aussie who voted for climate action
How can anyone watch the horrific videos after Israeli strikes overnight on civilian targets & not demand an immediate
#CeasefireNOW
13 yr-old Rozan says she lost both her parents & siblings
“Why can't you feel for us?!” she cries
@AlboMP
@SenatorWong
Australian officials last night were surprised by the sudden Canada development. Rahaf, while obviously overjoyed at being safe & headed to a 3rd country, had still hoped to come to Australia (where her close friends are.) But congratulations Canada! Our loss is your gain.
Honestly, what did
@abcnews
management think would happen? Of course
@hrw
, the world’s leading human rights organisation, would get involved if sharing their material was why Antoinette was fired! More evidence of why this decision was so wrong & plain nuts!
This is the 100% accurate video that Australia's
@ABCNews
fired Antoinette Lattouf for posting on Instagram. Why? Because it was "controversial," a euphemism for criticizing Israel.
@antoinette_news
😭This is incredible. Australian officials told Abdullah, a Syrian refugee, in 2014 that he could be reunited with his family in several months if he went to Cambodia under their ‘refugee deal’ with the Hun Sen regime - it took more than 4 years
Some of
#Saudi
's bravest, most extraordinary women remain locked up tonight simply for asking for their rights. They have been tortured & abused. Hung from the ceiling. Sexually harassed. This is MBS's Saudi Arabia in 2019. How can we live with this?
#4Corners
#EscapeFromSaudi
Absolute madness.
@MSF
live tweets the attempted forced evacuation of their hospital in Khan Younis while the world just looks the other way. 850 patients trapped, thousands of desperate civilians sheltering there with nowhere to go. This has to end!
#CeasefireNOW
@POTUS
@AlboMP
UPDATE: Following Israeli forces’ evacuation order of the block where Nasser Hospital is located, MSF staff are hearing bombs and heavy gunfire close to the hospital.
Stunned
@SenatorWong
is choosing to pause increased funding to the UN aid agency
@UNRWA
in
#Gaza
at a time when Gazans are starving & without shelter.
And why did she choose to tweet this today but nothing re the landmark ICJ ruling re Israel & genocide? Deeply disappointing.
Allegations UNRWA staff were involved in the abhorrent October 7 terror attacks are deeply concerning.
Australia welcomes UNRWA’s swift response and will engage closely on investigations.
We are speaking with partners and will temporarily pause disbursement of recent funding.
While I'm obviously delighted Rahaf is safe & can now share the news she is headed to Canada, I am disappointed she is not being resettled in Australia. This had been the plan. Rahaf went to the Australian Embassy in Bangkok on Wednesday 1/
Really weak coverage of Violet Coco's case by
@abcnews
Not a single human rights voice quoted or Violet's lawyer, but a quote from police calling climate protesters "nothing short of criminal" & the NSW AG labelling them "anarchists" - Not good enough ABC
URGENT: The situation in
#KhanYounis
is horrifying. Gazan civilians are trapped under fire from Israeli tanks, planes & drones. My dear friends just fled for the 3rd time in 3 months. Now they have no tent, no shelter. They're sleeping on the street terrified, with nowhere to go.
Terrifying news from Khan Younis. My dear friend was among those injured yesterday after Israeli tanks shelled tents. The barrage so intense I could barely hear him in the last message. Now no word for hours... It's madness. Every time they flee, they're hit again.
#CeasefireNOW
!
‘ABC federal politics reporter resigns over Gaza coverage’
What a massive loss for
@abcnews
@NourHaydar
is an excellent journo.
There are clearly serious issues at the ABC which are impacting both its journalism & the ability to retain top diverse staff
Roebourne prison in Western
#Australia
's Pilbara region has no air conditioning in prisoners cells
Today it reached 50.5°C at Roebourne
Approx 80% of the inmates there are Indigenous.
This is outrageous & must be fixed immediately
@MarkMcGowanMP
You will have heard thousands of different opinions over the years about Israel and Palestine. But much of the video from the last few days speaks for itself. This is life under apartheid ⬇️
The Australians were processing her case. But the UN was concerned at how long it was taking. Security wise it was not ideal for her stay too long in Bangkok. Canada stepped up yesterday & completed her visa process in just one day.
Unbelievable
@Dom_Perrottet
finds it “pleasing” a peaceful climate activist was given 8 months prison time
The nerve to claim it’s people like Violet putting “our way of life at risk.” If that’s who you want to jail Premier, you’ll have to start arresting fossil fuel executives
Premier Perrottet backs sentencing of Deanna “Violet” Coco. He says it is “pleasing to see” and warns others against taking part in protests that “inconvenience people”. “If protesters want to put our way of life at risk then they should have the book thrown at them.”
There’s another “threat to global rules”that I’m deeply concerned about
@AlboMP
How did we ever get to a point where we care more about delays to shipping than thousands of dead and starving kids?
#Gaza
#CeasefireNOW
The continued Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea are unacceptable.
Australia alongside other countries has supported the United States and United Kingdom to conduct strikes to deal with this threat to global rules and commercial shipping.
This is absolutely terrifying. The world cannot allow an attack on
#Rafah
.
All governments must urgently speak out & make it crystal clear to Netanyahu that this cannot go ahead.
@PowerUSAID
you have to stop this. Your whole life’s work means nothing if you don’t stop this.
The Prime Minister's Office:
It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war of eliminating Hamas by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah.
On the contrary, it is clear that intense activity in Rafah requires that civilians evacuate the areas of combat.
This is the very brave Amy Ip who produced our
@4corners
report on the ground.
#HongKong
journalists are sick of being targeted by the police for doing their job.
Profoundly disturbed by this video of refugees fleeing for their lives in Gaza, being harassed over a loudspeaker by Israeli troops as they file past facial recognition cameras.
This is just shocking
@abcnews
ABC footage ‘betrayal’ leads to arrests of three more climate activists
"One of the people arrested on Thursday, Tahlia Stolarski, said police had confirmed to her that she had been arrested as a result of the ABC footage"
Sea ice collapse kills thousands of baby penguins: “We have never seen emperor penguins fail to breed, at this scale, in a single season”😢
When your kids ask what you did to save the emperor penguins, what will you be able to tell them?
#NoNewFossilFuels
The ABC regularly reports on
@hrw
findings & rightly filed a story on the same news
@antoinette_news
posted
David Anderson needs to urgently clarify his position
@abcnews
staff must be able to freely share
@hrw
research without fear of losing their jobs
Finally. But what an embarrassing mess this has been. Australia instantly jumped at the Israeli gov request, walking away from Palestinians when they needed it most - only now to say
@UNRWA
can be trusted (as facts proved all along) & funding restored. How shameful
@SenatorWong
#BREAKING
: Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has announced Australia is “unpausing” (restoring) funding to UNRWA in
#Gaza
. “UNRWA is not a terrorist organisation.” More to come
@10NewsFirst
Every ABC reporter in Jerusalem has done this story every year for the past 3+ decades.
That why it’s past time to call what Israel is doing in the West Bank for what it is
@hrw
&
@amnesty
have found Israeli authorities are committing the crime against humanity of
#Apartheid
Israel is rapidly expanding settlements in the West Bank, in a move that goes against international law and which activists say is designed to permanently establish Jewish Israelis on land that Palestinians want as a future state.
Why haven’t you publicly called this out
@SenatorWong
? Why haven’t you restored the
@UNRWA
funding?? We will never forget where this government stood when Gazans were starving.
"Israel is intentionally starving Palestinians and should be held accountable for war crimes – and genocide, according to the UN’s leading expert on the right to food."
Israel is now warning residents to flee parts of SOUTHERN GAZA, where hundreds of thousands already fled to, signalling a possible expansion of their offensive!
This is utterly inhumane.
THERE IS NOWHERE TO GO.
#CeasefireNOW
🚨Pay attention: This Israeli airstrike was in South Lebanon, so
@hrw
could more easily investigate it.
On Nov 5, Israel said it struck a car carrying “several terrorists.”
But HRW found it killed 3 girls & their grandma and is an apparent war crime.
This morning as lawyers for
#Australia
's environment minister
@sussanley
argue in court that she does not have a duty of care to protect young people from climate change, 20 yr old Mia is blocking coal trains heading to Newcastle port
Shame on the
@australian
newspaper for their consistent bullying & harassment of
@yassmin_a
. It's racist, unacceptable & needs to be called out
@walkleys
(Not going to link to or retweet any of their shit cartoons.)
Lack resilience? How insulting. Us millennials at the ABC were usually paid less but expected to do so much more than many of our older colleagues, plus many are on insecure contracts for years -
@ItaButtrose
clearly needs to go & meet more of them
BREAKING: Australia will offer Saudi teen asylum if she's found to be a genuine refugee by the UNHCR Oz to announce tonight. Normal security checks will apply
@monaeltahawy
@heyracheddie
@TheNewDailyAu
No
@RichardMarlesMP
it’s not “within the rules of war” for Israel to cut off water & food to civilians, indiscriminately bomb civilian neighbourhoods, block humanitarian aid, issue mass evacuation orders, use white phosphorus. You don’t fight war crimes with more war crimes
#Gaza
Former New Zealand PM & ex-head of
@UNDP
@HelenClarkNZ
calls on
@SenatorWong
to restore the funding Australia cut to
@UNRWA
the lead UN agency in
#Gaza
, calling it “harsh & collective punishment” and “completely disproportionate.”
UNRWA is the primary humanitarian agency in
#Gaza
, with over 2 million people depending on it for their sheer survival.
93% of displaced families in southern governorates of📍
#Gaza
have reported inadequate food consumption.
People are desperate, hunger stalks everyone.
RIP Australian Zomi Frankcom reportedly killed by an Israeli airstrike in
#Gaza
People like Zomi are absolute heroes. Rushing in to help as Gazans are being starved, while our leaders provide cover for these Israeli crimes. Heartbroken for her family
The Israeli gov have made it crystal clear that they're willing to massacre Palestinian civilians at a scale that is utterly disproportionate & a war crime.
@AlboMP
@SenatorWong
it's unconscionable for you to continue to support this war
The reality is undeniable
#CeasefireNOW
!
CNN's Wolf Blitzer: You knew that there were innocent civilians in that refugee camp, right?
IDF spox: This is the tragedy of war. We told them to move south.
Blitzer: So you decided to drop the bomb anyway.
IDF spox: We’re doing everything we can to minimize civilian deaths.
Perth violinist Madeline Antoine was fined $120 for “playing too loudly” last night at our
@GreenpeaceAP
peaceful vigil against
@WoodsideEnergy
’s planned deafening seismic blasting in endangered whale habitat. Oh the irony! But Madeline refused to be intimidated✊🏼💚
#StopWoodside
PM says Australian gov is demanding "full accountability" over Zomi Frankcom’s murder in suspected Israeli airstrike
It’s time to actually DO SOMETHING
@albomp
for Zomi & 30k others!
Cut diplomatic ties, ban weapon exports, sanction Israel
#EndImpunity
Chilling.
@OHCHR_Palestine
reports it has received "disturbing information alleging that the IDF summarily killed at least 11 unarmed Palestinian men in front of their family members in Al Remal neighbourhood, Gaza City"
#WarCrimes
#Gaza
“They will die of hunger, they will die because they don’t have insulin
@UNRWA
brings in, or they will die because a woman had a complicated childbirth & there was no
@UNRWA
midwife”
@JulietteTouma
@Independent
lives at risk in📍
#Gaza
after funding paused
Important remarks overnight by UN chief
@antonioguterres
He called out fossil fuel companies for undermining climate action and highlighted the alarming global crackdown on climate activists
#ProtectProtest
Giuseppe De Vincentiis
@UNHCRThailand
country rep just told us
#Thailand
has assured him Rahaf would NOT be deported. But he directly contradicted what his officials promised me earlier. Now he is saying she will be in Thai police custody.. World is watching
#Thailand
@refugees
If only the boat in the Med packed with hundreds & hundreds of asylum seekers received as much attention and rescue support as those 5 missing people on the submarine...
Terrifying heat in Western Australia - our hottest February EVER on record
Carnarvon reached 49.9C today, the 2nd hottest temp EVER recorded in Australia.
This is climate change.
Too hot for kids to play. To go outside. To do anything. We have to stop new fossil fuels NOW.
Its nearly 3pm in Bangkok.
@UNHCRThailand
officials have still not been given access to Rahaf
@Reaproy
says an injunction has been filed by Thai lawyers to stop a deportation. Concern is once attention wanes another attempt will be made to force her on
@KuwaitAirways
#SaveRahaf
So
@rahaf84427714
is safe and fine. She’s just been receiving a lot of death threats. She will be back on twitter but for now she’s apparently having a short break
The Australian gov must urgently speak out & make it crystal clear to Israel an attack on Rafah is not acceptable under any circumstance
1.5 million civilians are in Rafah seeking protection
All UN agencies, MSF, HRW, Amnesty warn this would be catastrophic
@AlboMP
@SenatorWong
The Prime Minister's Office:
It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war of eliminating Hamas by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah.
On the contrary, it is clear that intense activity in Rafah requires that civilians evacuate the areas of combat.
The Australian is reporting that
@abcnews
has banned the use of 'apartheid' & Israel. Apartheid is not just a term or an opinion, it is a crime against humanity under international law &
@hrw
has found that Israel is committing that crime
#FactsMatter