humiliation

Palestinians face mass arrests, displacement in the occupied territory as Netanyahu pushes settlement expansion.

Israeli forces have sealed off entrances to Tulkarem in the northern occupied West Bank, further escalating a campaign of raids, arrests and collective punishment that has displaced thousands of Palestinians as the military relentlessly destroys Gaza.

Footage from Thursday night shared by residents showed soldiers marching Palestinians in lines through the streets in what many described as a humiliating show of force.

Tulkarem Governor Abdullah Kamil appealed to the international community on Friday, urging the United Nations General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, and humanitarian groups to act against what he called “crimes” being committed against the city’s nearly 100,000 residents.

Kamil said Israeli forces were “arbitrarily and unjustly” carrying out mass arrests, storming homes, destroying property and “terrorising children and women”, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

On Thursday, Israeli forces in Tulkarem were allegedly struck by what Israel called an explosive device that injured two Israeli soldiers.

Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Doha, described “videos of the Israeli forces dragging hundreds and hundreds of Palestinians from their homes, from their cafes, from even a garage … in a show of humiliation”.

“They’re trying to remind everyone that if there is any incident in any place in the occupied West Bank that they do not like … they’re going to crack down, not just on the perpetrators … but on everyone in that vicinity,” said Ibrahim.

She added that Israel’s crackdown has displaced “tens of thousands of Palestinians out of their homes … rendering the city, the refugee camps into ghost towns”. Ibrahim said Palestinians see this as part of a broader policy, with Israeli forces trying “to crack down on Palestinians and really … remind them who has the upper hand and control in the occupied West Bank”.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, five young Palestinians were shot and wounded by Israeli forces in the village of Deir Jarir, Wafa reported. One of the injured was arrested before receiving medical treatment, according to the village council. Israeli soldiers also closed the village entrance for several hours.

Israeli troops stormed Nablus and the nearby town of Beit Furik at dawn on Friday, raiding several neighbourhoods in the Old City and surrounding areas.

Witnesses said shops were ransacked, while in Beitin, east of Ramallah, Israeli soldiers seized a house and converted it into a military barracks.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the raids, saying international silence had emboldened Israel to press ahead with unilateral measures aimed at destabilising the territory.

‘There will be no Palestinian state’

The escalation comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advances an illegal settlement expansion plan that would all but eliminate the possibility of a Palestinian state.

On Thursday, he signed an agreement to push forward with construction in the so-called E1 area near the illegal Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, several kilometres to the east of Jerusalem.

“We are going to fulfil our promise that there will be no Palestinian state. This place belongs to us,” Netanyahu declared at the signing ceremony, adding: “We are going to double the city’s population.”

The project, which has been driven by far-right ministers in the government, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, covers a 12sq km (4.6sq mile) stretch of land and foresees 3,400 new homes for Israeli settlers. Critics say the plan would cut off large parts of the occupied West Bank from East Jerusalem while linking together major settlement blocs.

Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Under international law, all Israeli settlements in occupied territory are illegal, regardless of whether they have Israeli government approval.

Amorim spoke in the summer about how emotional he gets on occasion. He vowed to be less forthright during his media commitments.

Some sympathy also has to be offered for the fact he was having to speak on the pitch with the backdrop of still gleeful Grimsby fans telling him he was going to be “sacked in the morning”.

Yet Amorim’s words do not smack of a renewed determination to deliver success to Old Trafford, just as his actions during the shootout did not give the impression of someone leading from the front.

And that is a problem.

For United’s restructure has been built around his famed system.

While it is fair to say Jadon Sancho and Antony did not have many supporters among the United fanbase and patience with Marcus Rashford was also wearing thin, those players’ values has reduced as the club have looked to move them on because Amorim does not play with conventional wide-men.

Amorim had been praised by some for his hardline stance with Alejandro Garnacho, and the Argentina international’s behaviour since he was exiled has not done him many favours.

But it is not that long ago that Garnacho, now in talks with Chelsea, was viewed as the future of United.

The same is also true of England international Kobbie Mainoo, who feels marginalised to such an extent that if a decent offer came in for him from a club he liked, he would be willing to leave, despite being a local boy and a childhood United fan.

Given a start at Grimsby after not playing for a single minute in the opening two Premier League games, Mainoo was left on for the full 90 minutes.

He didn’t produce a display that demanded repeated selection. But neither was he the worst player on the pitch.

To many, if the system is the reason why 20-year-old Mainoo may leave, the system needs changing. Amorim has said Mainoo is in contention with skipper Bruno Fernandes for a starting spot in the league.

The United boss felt his method of playing at Sporting, with three central defenders, two wing-backs, two central midfielders, two number 10s and a central striker, was the reason for his success.

This may be true. He was also at a club famed for developing highly talented young players in a league far less physically demanding than he has encountered in England, and where the competition, other than a couple of notable exceptions in Benfica and Porto, is typically limited.

On Sunday at Fulham, Silva explained clearly the tweak to his side’s formation that allowed Fulham to take control of the midfield area and turn a game that had threatened to get away from them in the early stages.

The game didn’t race away from Fulham because United failed to take their chances, a problem that Amorim repeatedly complained about last season.

This is why he spent £200m on attacking players this summer.

Matheus Cunha has looked a decent buy. If the Brazilian had converted his spot-kick in the shootout at Grimsby, United’s blushes would have been spared.

Yet his shot was saved, Bryan Mbeumo missed the decisive penalty, and it was surprising to many that Benjamin Sesko – the third of the expensive attacking additions – was the last outfield player to step forward for United.

There would still have been big questions to answer if Amorim’s side had managed to sneak through to round three.

At clubs like United, performances like this do not get brushed under the carpet. The noise around them is too loud for that to happen.

Amorim will speak to the media on Friday on the eve of his team’s home game against Burnley. Victory against the Clarets will be expected but it certainly is not guaranteed.

Beyond that, no-one can be sure what the future looks like for United.

Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip – Jehad Al-Assar left his tent in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah early in the morning on a new and exhausting journey to get food for his family.

His destination on Wednesday: an aid distribution point in Rafah, in the far south of Gaza, run by the United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Jehad walked a “gruelling” 10km (6.2 miles) to reach the site, driven along primarily by the weight of responsibility for his pregnant wife and two hungry daughters.

With starvation spreading throughout Gaza, a direct result of Israel’s months-long blockade on the territory, the GHF site was Jehad’s only hope.

This is despite the controversy surrounding the organisation, whose own head resigned on Sunday, saying that the GHF could not adhere “to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence”.

The GHF’s lack of experience in dealing with aid distribution was highlighted on Tuesday, when at least three Palestinians were killed in the chaos that surrounded the relief effort.

But in Gaza, people are hungry and desperate. Jehad is among them.

After walking for 90 minutes, the 31-year-old reached the iron gates of the distribution centre, alongside thousands of others, before they suddenly opened.

“Crowds surged in – thousands of people. There was no order at all,” Jehad told Al Jazeera. “People rushed towards the yard where aid boxes were stacked and moved into the inner hall, where there were more supplies.”

“It was chaos – a real struggle. Men, women, children, all crammed together, pushing to grab whatever they could. No queues, no system – just hunger and disorder,” Jehad added.

Inside the hall, people snatched whatever they could carry. “Anyone who could lift two boxes took them. Sugar and cooking oil were the priorities. They grabbed what they wanted and rushed out.”

“There was no trace of humanity in what happened,” he said. “I was nearly crushed by the crowd.”

Just a short distance away, armed foreign forces stood watching without intervening. Jehad said he approached one of them and confronted him.

“I told them, ‘You’re not helping – you’re overseeing a famine. You should leave. You’re not needed here.’”

Jehad managed to retrieve only a few items: cans of tuna, a small bag of sugar, some pasta and a packet of biscuits scattered on the ground. He carried them in a plastic bag slung over his shoulder and made the long journey back home.

“I only got a little. I was afraid to stay longer and get trampled in the stampede – but I had to bring back something. My girls need to eat. I have no choice,” he said.

When he returned to the tent, his daughters greeted him joyfully – even for the little he had brought.

“My wife and I divide the food we bring home so the kids can eat over several days. We often skip meals. The children can’t endure this… and I bear the full responsibility for feeding them,” he said.

Apocalyptic

Awad Abu Khalil was also among the desperate crowds on Wednesday. The 23-year-old described the crowds rushing to get to the food as “apocalyptic”.

“Everyone was running. It was chaos. The aid was piled up and everyone just attacked it, grabbing what they could.”

Awad said he heard gunfire in the distance, likely targeting young men trying to bypass the designated routes.

He expressed deep frustration with the staff. “I expected the American staff to distribute aid at tables, handing each person their share – not this madness.”

The images that emerged on Tuesday and Wednesday have added fuel to international criticism of the GHF, with representatives from several countries denouncing Israel’s decision to prevent the United Nations and international humanitarian organisations from bringing aid into Gaza.

Israel stopped the entry of aid into Gaza in early March, while a ceasefire was still ongoing. It has since unilaterally broken the ceasefire, and doubled down in its war on Gaza, with the official death toll now more than 54,000 Palestinians.

“We used to receive aid from international agencies and the UN,” said Jehad. “It was delivered by name, in an organised way – no chaos, no humiliation.”

By the end of Wednesday, Gaza’s Government Media Office reported that at least 10 Palestinians desperately seeking aid had been killed by Israeli forces in the previous 48 hours.

Humiliation

Awad and Jehad were both able to return home with some food.

Jehad said that his wife and mother made bread from the pasta, soaking it and then kneading it into dough. His wife used the sugar to make a simple pudding for the children. He will return on Thursday, he said.

Even that is better than it is for most people in Gaza.

Walaa Abu Sa’da has three children. Her youngest is only 10 months old.

The 35-year-old could not bear watching people return to the displacement camp in al-Mawasi in Khan Younis carrying food while her children starved, so she decided to go to Rafah by herself.

“I fought with my husband who refused to go out of fear of the [Israeli] army. I swore I would go myself,” Walaa told Al Jazeera.

Entrusting her children to her sister, she joined the crowd heading towards the distribution site.

“My children were on the verge of starving. No milk, no food, not even baby formula. They cried day and night, and I had to beg neighbours for scraps,” she said. “So I went, regardless of what my husband thought.”

But by the time Walaa made it to Rafah, it was too late.

“People were fighting over what little remained. Some were carrying torn parcels,” she said.

Walaa left the distribution site empty-handed. On the way back, she saw a man drop a bag of flour from his torn parcel.

“I picked it up and asked if I could have it,” she said. “He shouted, ‘I came all the way from Beit Lahiya in the far north [of Gaza] to get this. I have nine children who are all starving. I’m sorry, sister, I can’t give it away,’ and he walked off.

“I understood, but his words broke me. I wept for what we’ve become.”

Walaa described the experience as deeply humiliating. She was filled with shame and inferiority.

“I covered my face with my scarf the whole time. I didn’t want anyone to recognise me going to get a food parcel,” Walaa, who is a teacher with a bachelor’s degree in geography, said.

Despite her sorrow, Walaa says she will do it again if needed.

“There’s no dignity left when your children are crying from hunger. We won’t forgive those who allowed us to reach this point.”

Amid escalating global instability and a fractured Western alliance, nations in the Global South are reassessing their geopolitical alignments and economic strategies. The BRICS bloc, which includes Russia, Brazil, India, China, South Africa and other emerging economies, has emerged as a counterweight to the US-dominated financial order.

So, can BRICS countries fulfil its potential as a significant force in a multipolar world?

This week on UpFront, Redi Tlhabi speaks with historian and journalist Vijay Prashad.

SOME very close to Donald Trump are deeply worried he may have bitten off more than he can chew in his boast that he can end the bitter war in Ukraine.

Bringing the Russians to the table is proving to be significantly harder than the self-proclaimed dealmaker says publicly, hence his warm words toward Putin in recent weeks.

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But whether it was a temper tantrum yesterday or something more calculated, hopes of peace look further away than ever after one of the most remarkable Oval Office meetings ever broadcast to the world.

The ritual, bullying humiliation of wartime hero Volodymyr Zelensky at the hands of the leader of the free world last night was a sad sorry spectacle.

And now you can see why Sir Keir Starmer was so worried about his own White House meeting with the President.

What a difference a day makes, Don the Fury was back following his OTT love in for the Brits on Thursday.

The notoriously thin-skinned President, and VP JD Vance ganged up to pummel the man who has led three years of war-effort following Russia’s savage invasion of his homeland.

His crime? Apparently disrespecting the President, his literal office and not saying thank you enough – despite Zelensky endlessly thanking his allies around their world for their support.

Warning signs were there on arrival as Zelensky turned up in his signature military fatigues he has donned since the day Putin’s tanks rolled over his border.

On the steps on the White House, Trump teased that he had “dressed up” for the visit.

And within minutes of their Oval Office talks – in front of the rolling cameras just like Starmer’s own visit 24 hours previously – things were getting testy.

The problem Zelensky had was he was totally correct to point out that Putin had broken previous ceasefire agreements, so any deal cut would need proper weight behind it to make the Kremlin-tyrant think twice.

Sir Kier made the identical point the day before, but a little more tactfully.

But Trump was clearly itching for a fight, despite his apparent softening of his stance toward Zelensky who he has long hated, in recent days.

Regardless, the torrent unleashed by the President and VP response saw their true feelings about the war.

Despite all his warm words about seeking peace, the tirade suggests Trump cares more about extracting America from picking up the tab rather than any other consequence of forcing Ukraine to compromise.

And despite what looked like some progress in the last week, that leaves Starmer and his other European leaders back at square one about how to to fix this unholy mess.

MANCHESTER UNITED hit a new rock bottom on Sunday as Ruben Amorim labelled this current team the worst in the club’s history.

A harrowing, humiliating 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Brighton sees the Red Devils slumped down in 13th in the Premier League table.

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And this is also the worst home start to a campaign for more than 130 YEARS. 

But exactly what went wrong against the Seagulls as United suffered their tenth league defeat of the season?

SunSport’s tactical guru Dean Scoggins broke down the game in the latest episode of Tactics Exposed… 

1. DE LIGT AND YORO WEL BEATEN

At 34 years old, United could do with Danny Welbeck back at Old Trafford. How many strikers over a consistent period have done a good a job as him since he left in 2014?

It was a great performance up front but it was also the way he and Joao Pedro absolutely led Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro on a merry dance.

This is not the first time we’ve talked about defenders getting dragged out by a striker on a rope but this is the longest rope I’ve ever seen.

It was absolutely ludicrous where they were going.

Because both strikers dropped in, both defenders just decided to go with them which then left space for the really dangerous wingers Yankuba Minteh and Kaoru Mitoma to run into. 

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As soon as you’ve got those two running in behind, then good luck. 

It was 4-4-2 demolishing 3-4-3. 

It happened all day, not just once. 

Harry Maguire must have been absolutely doing his nut, ‘Just stay with me.’

We’ve talked previously about the positives of a centre-back coming out of the line to meet the ball but that’s when you’re defending on the edge of the box and you go three or four yards to nick it when you’ve got cover behind you, not when you’ve got 50 yards of pitch behind you.

The backline was not even a zigzag – that would be a compliment – it was just this higgledy-piggledy line. De Ligt and Yoro, Yoro particularly, didn’t know whether to stick or twist.

He looked confused and as though the message of what they’re doing hasn’t got through.

For the first goal, De Ligt, where are you going? If he sits, it’s a back pedal and header or a turn and hook clear over his shoulder. It was horrible. 

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2. WING-BACKS PINNED BACK

But we also have to give enormous credit to Brighton and Fabian Hurzeler. 

It really was virtually an old-school 4-4-2, albeit with the centre-backs dropping so that the wingers could go on.

The United wing-backs don’t trust the centre-backs because they couldn’t afford to push on in case they lost possession as De Ligt and Yoro could not cover as they were occupied by the strikers.

So Harry Maguire was kind of like not doing anything – and that’s not a criticism of Maguire – because there was no passing on of players to pick up.

Consistently throughout the game, the wing-backs were deeper than the three centre-backs which is mad. 

Maybe Maguire is being told not to leave that central square and not dragged out of position whatsoever – but they’ve got to be more intelligent. 

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There are two solutions.

Either the wing-backs are the ones who actually push on a little bit and invert to cover the space that those strikers are dropping into.

The other option is Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo split out and pass the strikers on to them so the defenders can pick up the wingers flying forward. 

It wasn’t pretty, they were all over the place, and they didn’t solve it at half-time because it kept happening again in the second half.

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3. I’M A BALEBA

Yes he gave away the penalty for United after Joshua Zirkzee did very well with his pressing but that was his only mistake because Carlos Baleba was excellent. 

He was the consistent one, the single pivot who Brighton played off. 

With the ball, he can drop in between the two centre-backs then without it, he sat in front and just mopped everything up. 

It was 2v1 – Ugarte and Mainoo against Baleba – but he bossed it. 

What I liked most was he knew when to go with that direct ball to the wingers and when to put his foot on the ball. 

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It was a top-class performance and how Manchester United fans wish he was in a red shirt.

Would he make them better? Yes, I think he’s better than Ugarte but maybe not quite as technical a footballer as Mainoo but has other things. 

Plus United haven’t got many players in that position that Amorim trusts. 

Brighton have got a big job keeping hold of him.

4. ONANA, OH-NO-NO!

The horrible, horrible error was woeful and let’s not forget at that stage United were still in the game.

The set-up looks good with one centre-back going into midfield with one of the two midfielders, usually Ugarte, while the other two centre-backs split and Mainoo can join Bruno Fernandes in the No10s with the wing-backs high and the centre forward.

They get into a good position, Onana was brought in because he is good with his feet, but he doesn’t play it and I think it’s because he doesn’t trust the centre-backs to play the pass back.

He looks a bit static and doesn’t seem to want to play those ten-yard passes to receive it back to draw the opposition out of position. 

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It’s like he’s a bit spooked by the whole scenario and feels like the ball-playing goalkeeper has been stifled by the way that they want to play out. 

Maybe it’s time for Altay Bayindir to have a go because they’ve got to sort it out very, very quickly.

United have done well when they can be a low block, they’ve done okay against teams with a very low block but have struggled against a mid-block. 

Man Utd ratings vs Brighton

By Ken Lawrence

ANDRE ONANA was back to his worst as Manchester United fell to another Old Trafford defeat.

It appeared Ruben Amorim’s side had turned a corner in recent weeks with a draw at Anfield and an FA Cup penalty shoot-out win at Arsenal.

But dreadful individual mistakes cost them yet again with Onana the chief culprit.

The keeper dropped a huge clanger as he palmed a simple cross straight to Georginio Rutter under no pressure whatsoever.

There were few positive notes for the Red Devils as Amad once again provided a spark.

Here is how SunSport’s Ken Lawrence rated the United display…

ANDRE ONANA: 2 – No chance with either of the Seagulls’ first two goals. But an awful howler to gift them their third.

MATTHIJS DE LIGT: 5 – Certainly doesn’t look like he likes players running at him as Kaoru Mitoma constantly did. Looked unsure of himself throughout.

HARRY MAGUIRE: 6 – The one member of United’s three-man central defence who looked like he knew what he was doing. Beginning to believe in himself again.

LENY YORO: 5 – The £52m youngster is still settling into the Premier League to be fair to him. But he is certainly taking his time about it.

NOUSSAIR MAZRAOUI: 4 – Has been one of the few consistent successes of Amorim’s tactical revolution. Yet he had a real shocker this time around.

MANUEL UGARTE: 5 – Supposedly “tired” in the 3-1 win over Southampton the midfielder looked brighter here. Yet he still doesn’t look that switched on.

KOBBIE MAINOO: 4 – Where is last season’s Kobbie? Looks nothing like the buzzing homegrown midfielder who burst on the scene last season.

DIOGO DALOT: 5 – Did his duties as a left wing-back to the best of his abilities. Another United player, however, who looked nothing like sharp enough.

AMAD DIALLO: 7 – Thursday night’s 12-minute treble hero on a high again – unlike, again, so many team-mates. Sometimes his footwork is just dazzling.

BRUNO FERNANDES: 6 – Ultra-cool from the spot but that goal didn’t do much to raise his performance level. Had one of those days where nothing really clicked.

JOSHUA ZIRKZEE: 5 – “Won” the penalty after being brought down although Carlos Baleba’s challenge would have looked good in a wrestling ring. There’s a footballer in there somewhere…

SUBS

ALEJANDRO GARNACHO (for Mainoo 64): 5 – Struggled to make an impact in a team that was being taken apart.

TOBY COLLYER (for Ugarte 64): 5 – Plenty of youthful commitment but still too inexperienced to lift a side as poor as Amorim’s.

ANTONY (for Mazraoui 84): 4 – Talk about a last throw of the dice by Amorim…

RASMUS HOJLUND (for Zirkzee 84): 4 – Given a thankless task in the closing moments of another depressing display.

5. MISSING IN ACTION

There’s a very, very high-end nerdy statistic about player positions under certain managers which is effectively worked out by if a player is a striker, where he goes other than that striker position – or how much he deviates from his position.

Amorim’s teams – especially Sporting – are very focused and do not deviate much from a rigid structure of what he wants.

It is different from average positions but is more similar to heat maps and how concentrated they are.

This Manchester United team are all over the place. 

There was a moment against Southampton where there were seven players in shot and five of them are out of position.

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It’s just wild that they’re that far out of position and that comes from earlier on in a move where you’ve been sucked out.

Mainoo is not unfit or slow but sometimes makes these half-sprints, these jogs out, to the No10 position, doesn’t get there and is played around, leaving Ugarte on his own and he presses and the ball goes around him too then centre-backs are sucked out. 

They are just not in their positions at all. 

It just wasn’t very good and it looks like, from the shape, that they aren’t trying very hard. 

I think they are trying hard. They’re just getting sucked out of positions that they shouldn’t be in.

One mistake breeds the second one, then the dominoes go and then you’ve got five people out of seven out of position.

The solution could be as simple as what a coach does with an Under-11s, Under-12s team and puts the cones out on the pitch and says, ‘You don’t leave your square.’

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DRAMATIC footage showed the moment a Ukrainian kamikaze drone blitzed Putin’s war factory.

Two pure alcohol plants were attacked and one site burst into a firey inferno following an earlier raid.

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The Anninsky ethanol distillery, located in Russia’s Voronezh region, was hit by drones just moments after a previous attack.

These plants were used to produce fuel for the explosives used by the Russian military in its war against Ukraine.

Shocking footage showed how the flammable site exploded after the targeted air strike.

The power from the strike forced debris to shoot into the air.

The Governor for the Voronezh region revealed two employees at the Anninsky site were injured.

This fire also damaged several buildings and machinery around the alcohol plant.

A second plant, in the Novokhopersky district of the same region, was damaged by the drone strike but it did not result in a blazing inferno.

The local governor said a roof and tank were damaged in the second attack.

A Ukrainian official explained why these factories were important targets in the war.

The head of the Centre for Combating Disinformation at the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, Andrei Kovalenko, revealed these alcohol plants have a much sinister purpose.

Kovalenko said: “Russian distilleries are used to produce not only alcohol, but also military fuel and explosives.”

He added: “These are all military objects, despite being disguised as something else.”

More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online

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