Antiterrorism laws and the fight against anti-Semitism have been used by governments in the West to gag pro-Palestine protests in the past two years, the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights has said.
A 56-page report by the group examined the “disproportionate restrictions” imposed in the US, the UK, Germany and France to expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people since the war in Gaza began.
Israel forces have killed almost 68,000 people in the aftermath of the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed.
“These mobilisations reflect a universal demand for justice, freedom, and human dignity,” said the report. “The crackdown on solidarity with Palestinians reveals a profound crisis: not only of human rights in the occupied territories, but of freedom itself in societies that claim to be democratic.”
The report's purpose, its authors said, was to “highlight rights violations against solidarity and anti-atrocity crime protests undertaken against the genocide in Gaza and in solidarity with Palestinians around the world.”
In the month following the October 2023 attacks, there were demonstrations in support of Palestine in about 60 countries.
Repression of political speech has contributed to the worsening of long-standing problems including growing Islamophobia and racial profiling, the report said. It added that it has created a chilling effect among academics, elected officials and civil society groups, many from Muslim, Arab or migrant backgrounds, which threatens democratic discourse.
A central concern is the “growing conflation of anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of Israeli state policies”, it said. “This deliberate confusion has allowed authorities to delegitimise and penalise a wide range of actors … who publicly denounce Israeli actions in Gaza or advocate for Palestinian liberation,” it added.
The adoption by a growing number of countries of the contested International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism has censored critiques based on the ideologies that underpinned the creation of the Israeli state, the report said.
'Hate marches'
It says one example of repression of free speech in the US has been the detention of Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil, whose green card was revoked. The government also issued sanctions against institutions and people perceived to be critical of Israel, including judges at the International Criminal Court. The report said the US also failed to uphold free speech after 38 media workers at the Los Angeles Times newspaper were restricted in December 2023 from covering topics related to Palestine after signing letters condemning the killing of journalists in Gaza.
The report said that in the UK the depiction of protest movements as “hate marches” by then home secretary Suella Braverman in a letter to the Metropolitan police on October 30, 2023 was “stigmatising”.
At least 1,000 people were arrested between October 2023 and August 2025 at pro-Palestine events in Britain. Most recently, hundreds have been arrested at demonstrations for showing support for the proscribed group Palestine Action.
It said that in France politicians used the Israel-Palestine conflict to attack rivals during July 2024's snap elections, where pro-Palestine protests have taken place despite attempts to ban them. A representative of the populist far-right framed the election as a struggle between “those who love France … and those who love Hamas”.
Terrorism laws, which were strengthened after the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks, are increasingly used to stifle free speech, the report said. Examples quoted include the summoning of left-wing politicians by police as part of antiterrorism investigations after they made statements on the Gaza conflict.
In Germany, where the relation with Israel is shaped by the events of the 1930s and the Holocaust that followed, the concept of “imported anti-Semitism” has gained traction in the past decades as a reference to Muslim migrants.
German authorities have been strongly driven by a desire to silence dissenting voices, the report said, pointing at political attacks against the Palestinian and Israeli co-directors of the documentary No Other Land which addressed apartheid in Israel. About half of all pro-Palestine protests have been banned.
However, the report also pointed at inconsistent court rulings in Germany notably when it comes to the interpretation of the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
EXPATS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Barings Bank
Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal.
Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson.
Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.
Results
6.30pm Madjani Stakes Rated Conditions (PA) I Dh160,000 I 1,900m I Winner: Mawahib, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm Maiden Dh150,000 I 1,400m I Winner One Season, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar
7.40pm: Maiden Dh150,000 I 2,000m I Winner Street Of Dreams, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8.15pm Dubai Creek Listed I Dh250,000 I 1,600m I Winner Heavy Metal, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.50pm The Entisar Listed I Dh250,000 I 2,000m I Winner Etijaah, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
9.25pm The Garhoud Listed I Dh250,000 I 1,200m I Winner Muarrab, Dane O’Neill, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
10pm Handicap I Dh160,000 I 1,600m I Winner Sea Skimmer, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Australia World Cup squad
Aaron Finch (capt), Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Last-16
France 4
Griezmann (13' pen), Pavard (57'), Mbappe (64', 68')
Argentina 3
Di Maria (41'), Mercado (48'), Aguero (90 3')
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Ukraine%20exports
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The Saga Continues
Wu-Tang Clan
(36 Chambers / Entertainment One)
