FlyTheNest

AnatolyKasparov wrote: ↑Sat 13 Apr, 2024 11:29 am Its a complete non-story about Rayner, let's all remember that.

frog222 wrote: ↑Sat 13 Apr, 2024 11:54 am Another one on so-called 'crime' is the proportion of the US electorate supposedly not voting for DJT IF he's convicted on any of the multiple counts , as though they can't make up their own minds ?

refitman wrote: ↑Sat 13 Apr, 2024 11:46 pm Stronger words from Starmer, than when Israel murdered 3 UK citizens

Their accounts were shared exclusively with the Guardian in advance of publication. All six said that Lavender had played a central role in the war, processing masses of data to rapidly identify potential “junior” operatives to target. Four of the sources said that, at one stage early in the war, Lavender listed as many as 37,000 Palestinian men who had been linked by the AI system to Hamas or PIJ.

Lavender was developed by the Israel Defense Forces’ elite intelligence division, Unit 8200, which is comparable to the US’s National Security Agency or GCHQ in the UK.

Several of the sources described how, for certain categories of targets, the IDF applied pre-authorised allowances for the estimated number of civilians who could be killed before a strike was authorised.

Two sources said that during the early weeks of the war they were permitted to kill 15 or 20 civilians during airstrikes on low-ranking militants. Attacks on such targets were typically carried out using unguided munitions known as “dumb bombs”, the sources said, destroying entire homes and killing all their occupants.

Lawyers acting for a Palestinian activist and Labour member have complained to the party over its decision to hire an alleged former Israeli intelligence officer to help run its social media strategy.

Assaf Kaplan was hired by Labour as a social listening and organising manager, a new post described as “a crucial new role at the heart of Labour’s new approach to digital campaigning”.

The complaint from Bindmans solicitors alleges that Kaplan worked for Unit 8200, the cyber branch of the Israeli Defence Force, from 2009 to 2013. It adds that the unit has been mired in controversy over its surveillance practices against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza.

In 2014, 43 veterans of Unit 8200 signed a public letter refusing to serve in operations involving the occupied Palestinian territories because of the widespread surveillance of residents, which could be used for blackmail. Hundreds of reservists then signed a counter-protest letter.

It is not clear what Kaplan did within the unit or whether he had any knowledge of the monitoring of citizens.

The job description for his Labour role says: “You will help to move the social media listening framework of the party to be laser focused on those we need to win over to form the next government.”

Bindmans, acting for Adnan Hmidan, say the party’s stance on illegal occupation of Palestinian territories should have precluded Kaplan’s employment, and they urged Labour to explain the decision. His appointment has also drawn a complaint from the former shadow chancellor John McDonnell.

“Any information that might enable extortion of an individual is considered relevant,” one Unit 8200 reservist explained in the letter. “Whether said individual is of a certain sexual orientation, cheating on his wife, or in need of treatment in Israel or the West Bank – he is a target for blackmail.”

Another explained that: “Any Palestinian is exposed to nonstop monitoring by the Israeli Big Brother, without legal protection, and with no way of knowing when they too would become an objective – targeted for harassment, extortion or physical injury.”

In a profile of Kaplan on an ex-employer’s website, he is proudly described as a “Unit 8200 veteran.”

AnatolyKasparov wrote: ↑Sun 14 Apr, 2024 11:46 am John O'Farrell shui Laura K up about the Rayner non-story this morning. That's him not getting invited on there again for a while.