#MaineACLU Denounces ‘Cruel’ Use of #NewHampshire #FederalPrison to Hold #ICEDetainees

By Edward TomicMarch 11, 2025

"The #Maine American Civil Liberties Union (#ACLU) has issued a statement denouncing the use of a New Hampshire federal prison by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain suspected illegal aliens.

"Last month, media outlets began reporting on a leaked memo, signed Feb. 6, that indicated ICE was intending to use #FCIBerlin, a medium-security prison in Berlin, N.H., to hold immigration detainees in custody.

"That memo noted that the units at FCI were not currently available due to there being a 'substantial amount of preparation and resources' needed before the prison could accept detainees, such as additional funding for staffing, food, utilities, clothing and other items.

"The memo also indicates that the federal Bureau of Prisons or warden at each locally designated prison may approve or reject a request by ICE to hold an ICE detainee for any reason, such as for lack of space, or medical, mental health, safety or security reasons.

"ICE lodges immigration detainers against unlawfully present noncitizens who have been arrested on criminal charges or who the agency has probable cause to believe are deportable from the U.S.

"'The government should not be using federal prisons to support the president’s #MassDeportation efforts,' said Carol Garvan, legal director of the ACLU of Maine, in a Monday statement.

"'The federal government itself acknowledged that FCI Berlin would require a ‘substantial amount of preparation,’ yet just weeks later they have already begun detaining people there,' Garvan said. 'We have strong concerns about the #inhumane treatment of people in ICE custody, and we will not stand by while our region is used to carry out these cruel policies.'"

themainewire.com/2025/03/maine…
#HumanRightsViolations #ICEDetention #IndefiniteDetention #PrivatePrisons #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ResistICE #ImmigrantsRights

#Israel cuts off #electricity supply to #Gaza, affecting a #desalination plant producing drinking water

By MELANIE LIDMAN and SAMY MAGDY
Updated 5:09 PM EDT, March 9, 2025

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — "Israel cut off the electricity supply to Gaza, officials said Sunday, affecting a desalination plant producing drinking water for part of the arid territory. Hamas called it part of Israel’s '#StarvationPolicy.'

"Israel last week suspended supplies of goods to the territory of more than 2 million #Palestinians, an echo of the siege it imposed in the earliest days of the war.

"Israel is pressing the militant group to accept an extension of the first phase of their ceasefire. That phase ended last weekend. Israel wants #Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce.

"Hamas instead wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, which would see the release of remaining hostages from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.

"The militant group — which has warned that discontinuing supplies would affect the hostages — said Sunday that it wrapped up the latest round of ceasefire talks with #Egyptian mediators without changes to its position."

apnews.com/article/gaza-israel…
#IsraeliWarCrimes #BibiIsAWarCriminal #WaterIsLife #FreePalestine #Gaza #WarCrimes #WaterIsLife #Genocide #HumanRightsViolations #HumanRights #PalestianRightsAreHumanRights

Behind #Israel’s ‘end game’ for #Gaza: Theft of #OffshoreGas reserves

By Betsey Piette
November 14, 2023

"In 1999, #BritishGas (BG) discovered the existence of natural gas in the #GazaMarineFields, 20 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza, at a depth of 610 meters below the surface. Further exploration by BG through two successful wells — Gaza Marine 1 and Gaza Marine 2 — determined the field could contain up to 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. (EgyptOil-Gas.com, April 5, 2018)

[Fast forward to 2022...]

"On June 18, [2022], Israel gave preliminary approval for the development of a gas field off the coast of Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claiming progress would hinge on 'preserving the State of Israel’s security and diplomatic needs' and coordination with the Palestinian Authority and neighboring Egypt. At the same time, Hamas official Ismail Rudwan told Reuters: 'We reaffirm that our people in Gaza have the rights to their natural resources.'

"Two months before Oct. 7, [2023], the Pentagon began building a $35.8 million troop facility in Israel’s #NegevDesert, 20 miles from Gaza, allegedly as a radar site to monitor for missile attacks on Israel. The base is part of a 'secret' U.S. military presence in Israel. (The Intercept, Oct. 27)

"Since Oct. 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that Israel intends to kill as many Palestinians as possible in order to pressure others to leave the Gaza Strip and move to the Sinai in Egypt.

"Netanyahu has been adamant in refusing to order a cease-fire to let in aid to stop the horrific genocide being carried out in Gaza.

"The people of Gaza are well aware, as their grandparents experienced with the 1948 Nakba, that once Israelis forcefully remove Palestinians from Palestinian land, returning is a near impossibility.

"Israel’s genocidal war on Palestinians has not stopped the Israeli regime’s plans for further oil and gas exploration. On Oct. 29, Israel announced that it awarded 12 licenses for exploring additional offshore natural gas fields to six companies, including #BritishPetroleum and Italian energy giant #Eni. These awards show that Israel has no intention of letting the genocide it is carrying out against Gaza’s people interfere with its ongoing theft of Palestinian resources."

Read more:
iacenter.org/2023/11/15/behind…
#BigOilAndGas #BP #BG #Genocide #LandTheft #FreePalestine #GazaGenocide #Genocide #BibiIsAWarCriminal #IsraeliWarCrimes #KamalAdwanHospital #HumanRightsAreNeverWrong #StopArmingIsrael #IDF #GenevaConvention #HumanRightsViolations #NoWar #WorldWarBibi #GazaGasFields