UK bars Swedish academic
in latest crackdown on
pro-Palestine speech
October 31st, 9:36 am
(PressTV)
The UK Home Office revoked the travel authorisation
of Swedish academic Andreas Malm, claiming that
his presence is "not conducive to the public good."
The United Kingdom has barred a prominent Swedish
academic from entering the country after revoking
his Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), in what
he called a politically motivated crackdown on
pro-Palestine speech.
The UK Home Office cancelled the ETA of Andreas
Malm, an associate professor of human ecology
at Lund University in Sweden and the author of
How to Blow Up a Pipeline, on Wednesday,
stating that his "presence in the UK is
not considered to be conducive to
the public good."
Malm was scheduled to appear on a panel discussion
organised by the British socialist magazine Tribune
in London next week.
Huda Ammori, cofounder of the proscribed direct
action group Palestine Action... is also set to
appear on the panel, which will be chaired
by Hala Hanina of Palestine Deep Dive.
Malm said he was deeply dismayed by the sudden ban,
noting that he had been visiting the UK regularly for
decades without issue.
"I have been going regularly to the UK for decades. My
position on Palestine has always been public," Malm
said. "I haven't said anything in public about
Palestine during these intervening months
-- or written anything about it. The only
thing that could have caused this is
that I was due to be on a panel on
Wednesday evening, where I
would talk to Huda Ammori
of Palestine Action."
Malm said he had used an ETA to visit the UK in May,
which allowed him.... to travel to the country again,
later in the year, without seeking reauthorisation.
He said he had received no prior indication from the
Home Office that his ETA was at risk before
receiving an email on Wednesday
confirming its revocation.
In its email, the Home Office told Malm that if he wishes
to visit the UK in the future, he must apply for a visa,
after which the office will "consider your
circumstances in more detail"
before making a decision.
However, the government website states that the
processing time for a standard visitor visa is
three weeks, meaning Malm would not
receive it in time for next week's
panel -- even if his application
was approved.
A widening crackdown
The cancellation of Malm's ETA comes amid a systematic
and escalating crackdown on pro-Palestine activists,
authors, and academics by the UK government,
which has intensified since the proscription
of Palestine Action in July 2025.
Earlier this year, US left-wing commentators Cenk Uygur
and Hasan Piker were also barred from the UK on the
same grounds that their presence "may not be
conducive to the public good."
Most recently, Irish novelist Sally Rooney's books were
withdrawn from sale in the UK this month due to her
public support for Palestine Action. Rooney, who
described Malm as a "brilliant and influential"
intellectual, condemned the UK
government's decision.
"For the UK government to deny him entry to Britain
is not only an outrageous attack on a respected
climate expert, but a sad and frightening act
of cultural self-harm," she said.
The crackdown stems from the decision by Keir Starmer's
Labour government to outlaw Palestine Action in July
2025, after activists from the group broke into a
Royal Air Force base and sprayed red paint
on two aircraft to protest against UK
military support for the Israeli
regime's genocidal war
on Gaza.
The proscription means that expressing support for
or membership of the direct action group is now a
criminal offence in the UK, carrying a potential
prison sentence of up to 14 years.
The ban has been widely denounced -- as
draconian by human rights organisations.
Since the ban went into effect, police have arrested
more than 3,500 people in the UK for alleged
support of the group, many of them simply
for holding up placards, according to
rights groups.
Palestine Action has contested its proscription,
but the Court of Appeal, upheld it in June.
The Home Office's decision, suggests the UK
government, now led by Prime Minister Andy
Burnham, intends to continue suppressing
free speech and silencing dissenting
voices on Palestine.
__________________________________________
Israel seals off al-Khalil neighbourhood
as 8-day offensive displaces thousands
October 31st, 8am
(PressTV)
The offensive has forcibly displaced nearly 5,000
Palestinians, prompting the United Nations to
warn of "ethnic cleansing."
Israeli occupation forces have declared the Ain Deir
Baha neighbourhood in al-Khalil, south of the
occupied West Bank, a closed military zone
--- as troops carried out violent raids and
detained several young Palestinians,
according to local media.
The designation came as a wide-scale Israeli military
offensive in al-Khalil entered its eighth consecutive
day, forcibly displacing thousands of civilians,
detaining dozens of Palestinians, and
demolishing homes, commercial
properties, and infrastructure.
Anadolu Agency, quoting witnesses, reported that Israeli
military vehicles stormed the neighbourhood --------- and
announced over loudspeakers that the area had been
designated a closed military zone, prohibiting
residents from entering or moving freely
within it.
Videos circulated by local media outlets ---- showed
Israeli troops deployed throughout the neighbour-
hood, warning residents -- that remaining in the
area had become dangerous.
Other footage shared on social media, including by
the Quds News Network, showed Israeli soldiers
detaining a group of Palestinians --- who were
forced to place their hands on their heads,
before being escorted under heavy guard
to an unknown location.
The Israeli occupation army launched its offensive
in al-Khalil on October 23 following an operation
by two Palestinians that killed two Israeli
soldiers and injured three others near
a checkpoint. The army later killed
the two Palestinians.
Since then, Israeli forces have imposed a comprehensive
military closure on al-Khalil, and surrounding villages,
seizing Palestinian homes in the Jalda and Ain Deir
Baha neighbourhoods and converting them into
military barracks, with Israeli flags raised
above them, Anadolu reported.
The al-Khalil Municipality said Tuesday that 4,969
Palestinians from 780 families had been forcibly
displaced by the Israeli military.
During the first days of the offensive, Israeli forces
forcibly displaced residents, demolished homes
and commercial establishments, and
destroyed vital infrastructure.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club said Israeli forces
detained 110 Palestinians in the al-Khalil
governorate between Friday
and Wednesday.
UN warns of 'ethnic cleansing'
The escalating Israeli aggression has drawn sharp
condemnation from the United Nations, which
warned that the operation raises grave
concerns of "ethnic cleansing", and
constitutes collective punishment
- in violation of international law.
UN rights chief Volker Turk said the Israeli regime's
"aggressive operation" has already resulted in the
forcible displacement of thousands of
Palestinians, adding that it has
"demolished homes --- and
commercial property -
& deprived residents
of the ability to
move freely."
"The sweeping steps taken raise grave concerns of
unnecessary and disproportionate use of force —
which must end," Turk said.
He warned ---- that declarations by senior Israeli officials
indicate that the measures implemented are punitive in
nature: designed to instill fear. "This is unacceptable."
Turk stressed that collective punishment is a grave violation
of international law and warned that "threats to empty and
erase entire neighbourhoods also raise serious concerns
of ethnic cleansing."
Speaking earlier..... in Cairo, UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres said he was deeply alarmed by Israeli actions in
the occupied West Bank, noting that "evictions are
unrelenting with Palestinians driven from their
lands" and that settler violence is surging.
"We are seeing an increasingly coercive environment, with
the spectre of ethnic cleansing looming ever larger. This
must end," Guterres said, adding that there could be no
durable peace in West Asia "without the realization of
the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people ---- to
self-determination."