Links to reports from Middle East Eye and the Cradle, an essay from West Bank Alerts, and an analysis from Middle East Eye; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll up or down for LEBANON, WEST BANK, UKRAINE and IRAN, and down for GAZA 5-18-26.) — MCM

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Israel’s Bezalel Smotrich says ICC arrest warrant request is ‘declaration of war.’ From Middle East Eye. Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich on Tuesday said the arrest warrant application for him at the International Criminal Court amounts to a “declaration of war” and threatened immediate retaliation against Palestinians. READ MORE . . .

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Italian port authorities halt Israel-bound shipments of ‘military-grade steel’ from India. From the Cradle. Italian authorities are holding three shipments suspected of carrying military-grade steel from India to Israel after activists from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and No Harbour for Genocide exposed their contents, Middle East Eye reported on Monday. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 15  Full list of Israel’s ceasefire violations in Gaza, seven months on, by Mera Aladam | Middle East Eye  More than seven months have passed since a U.S.-mediated ceasefire was announced with the stated aim of ending Israel‘s two-year genocide in Gaza. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 12  Who knew? by Cara Marianna | West Bank Alerts  Who could have guessed . . . READ MORE . . .

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Zionism was built as a bulwark against socialism, by Joseph Massad | Middle East Eye  Since the late 19th century, the Zionist movement has sold itself to imperial sponsors as a bulwark against socialism, and western imperialist powers adopted it precisely as a tool against socialism and communism. READ MORE . . .

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