Amazon sales of merchandise bearing a slogan that last week triggered the suspension of a long-serving MP have come under scrutiny in the UK as the company says it is committed to its procedures on controversial products.
Labour MP Andy McDonald was recently suspended from the Labour Party for borrowing from the phrase as he addressed a rally called in protest at the Israeli-Gaza war.
“We won’t rest until we have justice, until all people, Israelis and Palestinians, between the river and the sea can live in peaceful liberty,” he was quoted as saying.
The phrase, which is enshrined in Hamas’s 2017 constitution but dates back to the 1960s, refers to the land that sits between the Jordan river to the east of Israel and the Mediterranean to the west.
The outbreak of the Israeli-Gaza war has put the spotlight on the use of the phrase, which has now become a political issue. On social media the UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman, said the language implies the erasure of Israel. She claims it has become “a staple of anti-Semitic discourse”.
No 10 Downing Street reacted to her intervention by saying the term was “deeply offensive” to many.
Palestinian-American writer Yousef Munayyer has take issue with that perspective, saying the phrase encapsulates a desire for a state where Palestinians can live as free and equal citizens “neither dominated by others nor dominating them”.
Amazon refused to comment in response to a request by The National. Several items available on the shopping site, as first reported by Newsweek, bear the phrase, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, including T-shirts and mugs.
The company instead pointed out its publicly available policy on the issue, which states: “Our offensive and controversial products policies prohibit the sale of products that promote, incite, or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual, or religious intolerance or promote organisations with such views, as well as listings that graphically portray violence or victims of violence.
“We periodically review and update these policies based on experience, current events and other relevant developments, and in consultation with internal and external resources.
“We have a dedicated team that is responsible for developing and updating our policies, refining and maintaining our systems and processes, continuously monitoring our store, and manually evaluating questionable products.”
It added: “To enforce our policies, we have proactive mechanisms in place to prevent noncompliant listings before a customer ever sees them.”
Mr McDonald made the comments at a recent protest in London organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and has since said his words were part of a wider “heartfelt plea for an end to the killings” in Gaza.
In an interview on Newsnight, he urged people to look at the words he used, "calling for Israelis and Palestinians to live in peaceful liberty together".
He said his comments were "a call for peace and a two-state solution".
He added: "I'm not provoking a view to say Israel should not exist or Palestine should be eradicated and settlements expanded, and so on. I am saying the exact opposite. I am saying please, the only way we will resolve this isn't through military means. It's through a peace process that needs to be resurrected."
He has been suspended pending an investigation into his comments.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
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Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)