Olive oil remains a vital foundation of food, agriculture and society, storing power in the bonds of solidarity. Though Palestinians are under attack, they continue to press forward write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
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Prevent: the ‘safety net’ that’s full of holes
We should scrap the infamous anti-terror programme: it is ineffective and counter-productive, writes DIANE ABBOTT MP
Prevent trawls through entire communities, catching thousands of innocent people in its net each year
VIJAY PRASHAD looks at the web of militias and drug-trafficking gangs that emerged in the Sweida region through the Syrian civil war, and how they relate to recent clashes and Israel’s intervention
JOE ATTARD explains why trade unionists are rallying in solidarity against the recent arrest of political activists in Gilgit-Baltistan, the northernmost region of Kashmir, administered by Pakistan
by Roger D Harris and John Perry
Why not pay a visit to Feile an Phobail, a people’s festival of community arts with roots in the days of internment without trial, and where the spirit of solidarity remains undimmed, says LYNDA WALKER
VINCE MILLS says Scottish Labour has adopted better positions than its Westminster counterpart — but unless it starts to fight for them that will count for nothing
THIS week, Parliament debated the government’s new Counter-Terrorism Bill. In that debate, some of us opposed the continuation of the divisive Prevent programme. This position should be taken up not only by the left as a whole but by the labour movement, by all those fighting for a less divided society. It should also be adopted by all of us who want to combat the scourge of terrorism, which increasingly has a far-right component as well as terrorists whose outlook is based on some distorted view of the ravages in the Middle East.
The stakes in any debate about terrorism and how to successfully combat it are extremely high. They involve the lives and liberties of us all. Children as well as adults have lost their lives in the terrible attacks that have taken place, such as the horrific Manchester Arena bombing. Police officers have been murdered, among them PC Keith Palmer. We were all shocked by the murder of a MP when Jo Cox was brutally taken from us. There have been many others and it is right that we remember them all.
The purpose of any counter-terror legislation should be to minimise the recurrence of these terrible incidents. This needs a cool head and careful consideration of the effectiveness of all measures — whether they actually help to minimise terror attacks or whether they are ineffective or even hinder our counter-terror efforts.
More from this author
Our Foreign Secretary now condemns Israel in the Commons, yet Britain still supplies weapons and intelligence for its bombing campaigns — as the horror reaches perhaps the final stage, action must finally replace words, writes DIANE ABBOTT MP
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DIANE ABBOTT MP argues that Labour’s proposals contained in the recent white paper won’t actually bring down immigration numbers or win support from Reform voters — but they will succeed in making politics more nasty and poisonous
