‘Too much change, but nothing really is changing for the better.’ Londoners shared mixed reactions to Keir Starmer’s resignation, voicing frustration over living costs, political turmoil and unfulfilled promises.
Published On 22 Jun 202622 Jun 2026
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Keir Starmer is under intense pressure from his own Labour party to announce plans to step down as Prime Minister.
By AFP, Reuters and The Associated Press
Published On 22 Jun 202622 Jun 2026
Prime Minister Keir Starmer could shortly announce a plan to step down, according to UK media reports, as his likely successor Andy Burnham is expected to be sworn in as a member of parliament.
Government ministers said the Labour leader was reflecting on his political future over the weekend.
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Starmer could set out an exit timetable on Monday, conceding to pressure from his Labour Party to hand over the reins of power.
The threat to the British leader, which has been building for months, increased sharply on Friday when Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, decisively won a parliamentary election to return to Westminster, beating a candidate from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, which has led national opinion polls for more than a year.
That victory gave hope to Labour lawmakers that Burnham, a career politician known for his communication skills, could transform the fortunes of a party that has lost support under Starmer, whose popularity ratings have sunk.
If Starmer does announce his exit, he will be the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside 10 Downing Street and announce a premature departure.
The beleaguered leader “is expected to announce on Monday that he will step down as prime minister after overwhelming pressure from Labour MPs to make way for Andy Burnham”, The Guardian said.
The BBC said “signs are growing” that Starmer could set out a plan to resign on Monday, while newspapers splashed with headlines like “Game Over”.
But the widely expected change of leader is not without risk.
Beyond saying that the country needs fundamental change and to bring down the cost of living, Burnham has yet to make clear his approach to foreign affairs, the economy and defence.
Like Starmer, he could find he has little room to manoeuvre, hemmed in by bond market investors opposed to any additional government borrowing, and confronted by an angry electorate who believe the country is not working properly.
Starmer had said on Friday he would stand in any formal Labour leadership contest that sought to replace him.
While Starmer’s team believes his landslide national election win in 2024 gives him the mandate to stay in post until 2029, business minister Peter Kyle said on Sunday the prime minister was reflecting on “the political challenges that he faces in this moment”.
If Starmer does step aside, it is unclear whether Burnham would face a coronation or a challenge. Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary last month to protest against Starmer’s leadership, has said that he will run in a contest if there is one.
Burnham, if he succeeds, would become Britain’s seventh prime minister since the Brexit vote to leave the European Union, which took place 10 years ago this week.
That level of turnover – the highest in Britain in nearly two centuries – underlines the struggle of maintaining the support of voters angry at successive failures to improve living standards, public services and tackle undocumented immigration.
UK minister says Starmer considering ‘political realities’ after Labour rival Andy Burnham secured decisive by-election win.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is weighing whether to resign within days, according to media reports, amid mounting pressure from his own Labour Party following a decisive by-election win by his rival, Andy Burnham.
Expectation is growing that Starmer could announce a resignation timetable as soon as Monday, the same day Burnham is sworn in as a lawmaker after winning Thursday’s vote by a wide margin – a result that has reportedly emboldened Labour figures, including Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, to call for Starmer to step aside.
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A resignation would lead to the United Kingdom’s seventh prime minister in a decade, a rapid rate of churn in the country’s modern history.
Starmer has been under growing pressure to step down after months of declining popularity, policy missteps and scandals.
In February, the premier came under fire when revelations from the Epstein files about Peter Mandelson, whom Starmer appointed as the UK’s ambassador to the US in December 2024, came to light.
Burnham, Greater Manchester mayor since 2017, has made clear he intends to challenge to lead the slumping centre-left party, warning in his by-election victory speech that it had a “final chance to change”.
If successful, he would become prime minister by default, given that the governing Labour has a huge parliamentary majority.
Starmer is deeply unpopular with voters, according to polling.
YouGov, a global public opinion and data analytics firm, reports that only 19 percent of British people have a positive opinion of the prime minister, and he ranks as the ninth most popular Labour politician.
Starmer has insisted he will fight any attempt to oust him.
But the emphatic nature of Burnham’s win in the Makerfield constituency in northwest England, where he nearly doubled Labour’s majority, has increased the internal pressure on Starmer to quit.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle said on Sunday that Starmer was “making time to reflect on the political realities, challenges and opportunities that he finds himself in”.
“He has been engaging in conversations with a wide, wide range of people,” Kyle told the Sky News broadcaster after having what he said was a “frank” conversation with Starmer on Friday.
The Observer newspaper headlined on its cover on Sunday that Starmer was “expected to resign” the following day, while the Sunday Telegraph also reported he was “ready” to go, citing allies of the embattled British leader.
The Observer said Starmer would “set out a timetable for his departure”, noting he had been holding weekend talks at Chequers, the countryside retreat for prime ministers.
Labour’s drubbing in local and regional polls in England, Scotland and Wales last month intensified the pressure on him.
The fallout from the polls saw Makerfield’s previous Labour MP resign to allow Burnham to stand there.
Burnham, a former MP and government minister under ex-prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, is due to be sworn back into parliament on Monday.
From the so-called soft-left wing of Labour, he reinforced his reputation as the party’s most popular figure by easily beating the hard-right populist Reform UK party’s candidate in this week’s by-election.
Reform, led by Brexit architect Nigel Farage, had won all of Makerfield’s wards in last month’s local elections.
Bystanders captured the moment police arrested a machete-weilding man, believed responsible for a suspected anti-Muslim stabbing rampage in Edinburgh. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has denounced the attacks as “absolutely appalling.”
Published On 21 Jun 202621 Jun 2026
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British PM resisting intensifying party pressure to step aside.
A landslide win, only two years ago – yet now British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is resisting calls to step down.
The return to parliament of Andy Burnham makes a leadership challenge more likely.
What’s gone wrong, so fast, for Starmer? And why is there so much turmoil at the top of British politics?
Presenter: Per Nyberg
Guests:
Peter Oborne – UK political commentator and associate editor of Middle East Eye – a digital news organisation
Jonathan Tonge – Professor of politics at the University of Liverpool and author of numerous books on British and Northern Irish politics
Peter Geoghegan – Editor of Democracy for Sale, an investigative news site in London
Published On 20 Jun 202620 Jun 2026
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More than 80 people received treatment after the crash and 28 remain in hospital.
Published On 20 Jun 202620 Jun 2026
At least nine people remain in critical condition after two passenger trains crashed into each other and killed one driver near Bedford, about 56 miles (90km) north of London.
British Transport Police said on Saturday that more than 80 people had received hospital treatment on Friday night after the trains collided.
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“As of this morning, 28 remain in hospital, and nine are in a critical condition,” Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said.
She added that “specialist investigators from British Transport Police are working with colleagues at the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) to gather the facts and determine what has happened”.
Moreover, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said that it was “too early to speculate” on the cause of the crash, and promised that “a thorough investigation … to ensure that lessons are learnt” would be launched.
Friday’s crash involved two London-bound trains on the same track, according to East Midlands Railway (EMR), which operates both services.
On Friday, police confirmed that the driver of one of the trains had died at the scene.
In a statement from Buckingham Palace, King Charles said he was “greatly saddened” by the incident and sent “his thoughts and sympathies” to the dead driver’s family and to those injured.
The East of England Ambulance Service said on Saturday that 11 people sustained “very serious” injuries, while a further 32 suffered serious wounds and 56 others had minor injuries.
EMR’s managing director, Will Rogers, also called the crash “a profoundly sad day for the railway community”.
“We are deeply saddened that our driver has tragically died, and a number of other people have suffered injuries,” he said, speaking at the scene alongside other officials.
He added that EMR was “fully supporting” the RAIB probe.
More than 20 ambulances, specialist hazardous area rescue teams and six air ambulances were dispatched to the scene of Friday’s crash.
While the investigation continues, officials have not said whether signalling issues played a role in the incident.
The first match of the 2026-27 Premier League season sees the reigning top-flight champions face the second-tier Championship winners.
Published On 19 Jun 202619 Jun 2026
Arsenal will kick off their Premier League title defence against promoted Coventry City on August 21.
The Premier League fixtures for the 2026-27 campaign were released on Friday, with the Gunners’ home game against Frank Lampard’s Coventry among the highlights in the opening round of matches.
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Coventry are back in the top flight for the first time in 25 years after winning the Championship last season.
Andoni Iraola’s first Premier League game as Liverpool manager will be at Newcastle United on August 23. Former Bournemouth boss Iraola’s Anfield debut is set for the weekend of August 29 against Nottingham Forest.
Manchester City start life after Pep Guardiola at home to Bournemouth on August 23.
City are expected to appoint former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca to replace Guardiola, who stepped down at the end of the season after a decade in charge.
New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso begins his reign with a west London derby at Fulham on August 24.
Hull City, who won promotion via the Championship playoffs, begin their first Premier League season since 2017 with a home fixture against Manchester United on August 22.
Elsewhere on the first weekend, Europa League winners Aston Villa travel to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Arsenal, champions for the first time since 2004, face a testing period after they host Coventry.
Mikel Arteta’s side head to Villa for their first away league game of the season, then meet Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on September 5.
The weekend of September 12 brings the first Manchester derby of the post-Guardiola era, while Liverpool host Manchester United on November 21.
City and Arsenal do not face each other until November 28 at the Emirates Stadium.
The first Merseyside derby of the season between Everton and Liverpool is scheduled for November 28 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Roberto De Zerbi will get his first taste of the north London derby on December 5 when Tottenham host Arsenal.
The pick of the Boxing Day schedule sees Coventry boss Lampard facing his old club Chelsea on December 26.
The final day of the Premier League will take place on May 30, with Arsenal at home to Brighton, while City travel to Sunderland and Liverpool host Bournemouth. Chelsea and United finish at home to Brentford and Fulham, respectively.
The start and end of the upcoming season are later than usual due to the FIFA World Cup 2026, which finishes just 34 days before the Premier League begins.
Arsenal will face FA Cup winners City in the Community Shield, which serves as the curtain raiser to the top-flight season, on August 16.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has cruised to victory in a high-stakes by-election in northern England, paving the way for him to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the leadership of the Labour Party and the United Kingdom.
Burnham handily defeated his closest challenger, Robert Kenyon, the candidate for the anti-immigration Reform UK, in the seat of Makerfield, vote results showed early on Friday, securing the House of Commons seat he needs to mount a bid for the prime ministership.
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Burnham won 24,927 votes, beating Kenyon by more than 9,000 votes.
Rebecca Shepherd of Restore Britain was a distant third, trailed by Michael Winstanley of the Conservative Party, Sarah Wakefield of the Green Party, and the Liberal Democrats’ Jake Austin.
“Everyone knows that politics is not working,” Burnham said in his victory speech.
“Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could – just could – be the turning point. From here on, I will give everything that I have got to make it so, to ensure the name Makerfield is forever synonymous with bringing about the change this country needs.”
Burnham’s victory is likely to either precipitate Starmer’s resignation or set off a leadership contest pitting the prime minister against the outgoing mayor and Wes Streeting, the former health secretary.
Under the UK’s political system, MPs can choose a new prime minister without holding a general election.
Burnham is widely considered a strong favourite to become the next prime minister if he challenges Starmer.
In an Ipsos poll published earlier this week, Burnham was chosen by 25 percent of British adults as the preferred prime minister, compared with 12 percent for Starmer.
If he does succeed Starmer, Burnham, who was the early favourite in the 2015 Labour leadership race before coming second to Jeremy Corbyn, would be the UK’s seventh prime minister since the country voted for Brexit in 2016.
After leading Labour to a thumping election victory in 2024, Starmer has been under mounting pressure to step down amid widespread public dissatisfaction with his leadership.
Calls for his resignation within Labour have mounted since the party suffered crushing losses in local and regional elections in May.
Twenty ministers have resigned from Starmer’s government in less than two years, nearly half of whom expressed a loss of confidence in his leadership or clashed with him on policy, including Streeting.
Starmer has rebuffed calls to resign, pledging to fight any challenge to his leadership and insisting that such a contest would be a “bad thing for the country”.
Burnham – dubbed the “king of the north” for his grassroots appeal across northern England and his willingness to challenge Westminster – ran on the promise to “change Labour” to “change politics and change the country”.
As mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham built an avid following across the UK’s less developed northern regions by channelling populist themes about elite apathy and industrial decline.
First elected mayor in 2017, and re-elected in 2021 and 2024, he has criticised the UK’s political system as “too London-centric” and taken aim at neoliberal economic policies and trickle-down economics that did not “trickle down very much at all”.
In his victory speech, Burnham said that Makerfield would be the “touchstone” for his politics.
“A Makerfield test at the heart of British politics will ensure that the places Westminster has neglected will now get fairness,” he said.
Burnham, who served in several ministerial portfolios under former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, had been the narrow favourite in the race, holding a five-point lead over Kenyon in an opinion poll released on Saturday by pollster Opinium.
Labour’s Josh Simons, who previously held the seat of Makerfield, triggered the by-election last month by resigning his seat to allow Burnham to challenge Starmer.
About 75,000 people were entitled to vote in the constituency, which is located about 320km (200 miles) northwest of London.
Turnout was 58.75 percent, up from 52.4 percent at the 2024 general election.
The G7, BRICS and emerging powers are competing for influence in a changing global order.
For half a century, a handful of wealthy Western democracies wrote the rules of the global economy.
But the world order is becoming crowded, and even as the Group of Seven (G7) remains one of the world’s most influential clubs, a challenger has emerged.
BRICS has expanded, and says it wants a bigger voice for the Global South. This bloc of nations speaks for nearly half the world’s population – and accounts for a growing share of global output, energy and raw materials.
In the space between the two, a third force is gathering pace: the so-called middle powers, nations too big to ignore and unwilling to pick a side.
Published On 18 Jun 202618 Jun 2026
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Emotions seesawed across London and Zagreb as England met Croatia in a thrilling World Cup grudge match. The Three Lions came away 4-2 winners in Dallas, Texas.
Published On 18 Jun 202618 Jun 2026
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The small constituency of Makerfield in northwest England has found itself in the eye of the storm of British politics with a by-election on Thursday that will not only produce a new member of parliament but could also pave the way for a new prime minister.
The by-election was triggered last month when the previous MP, Josh Simons, stood down to allow Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to contest the seat. If Burnham wins, he intends to challenge UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the leadership of the ruling Labour Party.
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Starmer is facing mounting pressure to step aside following dismal council election results last month and this week’s resignation of Secretary of State for Defence John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns over the United Kingdom’s defence budget.
Seeking to derail Burham’s hopes for the Labour leadership, however, is far-right Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon, whose campaign has been dogged by controversy over alleged sexist and misogynistic social media posts but who remains within striking distance in the polls. Reform came second at the last election in Makerfield, however, and are seen as presenting a real challenge to Labour, which has held the seat since its creation in 1983.
Here’s a closer look at the race, why it matters and how its consequences could extend far beyond Makerfield.
Despite winning the 2024 general election in a landslide, Labour’s popularity has tanked over the past two years as support for the far-right, anti-immigration Reform UK has soared. In council elections last month, Reform swept up hundreds of council seats at Labour’s expense. Overall, Labour lost nearly 1,500 local council seats while Reform surged from 100 to about 1,450 seats.
On the right, Labour’s rhetoric on immigration has failed to stem support for Reform UK, which continues to attract both former Conservative voters and sections of Labour’s traditional working-class base – particularly in the north of England. On the left of the party, many voters who feel aggrieved by Starmer’s stance on Israel and cuts to welfare have shifted towards the Green Party.
Now, according to polling group Ipsos, Starmer is the most unpopular prime minister since it began voter surveys in the late 1970s.
As Labour’s internal tensions have grown as a result, Burnham has consistently emerged as one of the party membership’s preferred alternatives to Starmer. Recent polling suggests Starmer would defeat most potential challengers in a leadership contest, with one notable exception: Burnham.
As Mayor of Manchester, Burnham is not an MP and cannot currently stand for leadership of the Labour Party. Earlier this year, he was blocked from standing for Parliament via another by-election in Gorton and Denton, a seat Labour ultimately lost to the Green Party.
As pressure on the prime minister has mounted, however, Labour’s National Executive Committee has been increasingly unwilling to block Burnham from standing as an MP again.
Announcing his resignation as Makerfield MP following the council elections, Simons said Labour was heading towards a divisive leadership contest with “no hope, no energy that anything would change”. He described Makerfield as “where Andy Burnham has lived for 25 years” and said the mayor was “coming home”.
“Labour needs to change and the whole government needs to change,” Simons added.
Burnham currently serves as the highly popular Mayor of Greater Manchester, having left Westminster after previously serving in several cabinet positions under former Labour prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
As mayor, Burnham has built a reputation as one of Labour’s most recognisable politicians, benefitting from his distance from Westminster while arguing that it could learn from what he calls “Manchesterism” – a blend of pro-business policies designed to attract investment while bringing essential services back under public control.
Known by some supporters as the “King of the North”, Burnham gained national prominence for challenging the Conservative government during the COVID-19 pandemic and for his long-running campaign for justice for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster.
His appeal to Labour’s working-class base in the north of England has led some party members to view him as Labour’s strongest candidate for winning back the so-called “Red Wall” – former industrial constituencies that have increasingly shifted towards Reform UK in the north of England.
Political commentator and journalist Aaron Bastani told Al Jazeera that Burnham’s personal reputation “makes a difference” and that he represents Labour’s best chance against Reform UK.
“A lot of Reform voters actually like him. Many people have a good word to say about him, and he’s been a politician in the area for 25 years.”
But he added that, among some voters, he is still tarred by his “association with Labour as the party of government”.
“Many Reform voters see Labour as the party that backed the Iraq war, and there’s a deep sense of disillusionment with the political establishment … What’s interesting is that some Reform voters were making left-wing criticisms of Burnham, such as the cuts to winter fuel payments and broader dissatisfaction with the government’s direction.”
Hoping to spoil Burnham’s chances is Reform’s Kenyon, affectionately referred to by some members of the UK media as “the plucky plumber” in reference to his profession. He represents a party whose rapid rise and anti-immigrant message has transformed Britain’s political landscape.
Reform UK’s rise has largely been driven by Nigel Farage, the architect of Brexit, whose party has capitalised on the collapse of support for the former ruling Conservative Party. Many big names from the Conservatives have defected to Reform in recent months. That has enabled Reform to attract both traditional right-wing voters and some former Labour supporters, largely on a platform that directs local grievances towards migration.
“For many voters, the proliferation of vape shops and takeaways on high streets has become a shorthand for a sense of decline,” Bastani told Al Jazeera.
“It’s often one of the first things people talk about when discussing immigration and changes to their local area. The concern isn’t really about vape shops themselves – they’re seen as visible symbols of a declining economic model, the loss of local identity and a feeling that places are deteriorating.”
Bastani, however, described Kenyon as “unimpressive”. His campaign has been overshadowed by allegations relating to historic social media activity.
Anti-extremism group HOPE not hate published posts attributed to Kenyon that included COVID-19 conspiracy theories, endorsements of sexualised comments about television presenter Carol Vorderman and remarks about female rugby players.
The group also highlighted comments on an online forum in which Kenyon allegedly described himself as sexist and suggested women make false rape allegations to obtain abortions.
Another factor is Restore Britain, a breakaway far-right party founded by former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe, who argues that Reform UK has become too mainstream and is no longer hard enough on combating undocumented immigration.
Lowe, a former Reform member, was suspended by Reform UK in March 2025 after publicly criticising party leader Nigel Farage and was later expelled following a series of workplace bullying allegations and complaints from female staff members, which he denies.
Since launching the new party less than four months ago, Restore Britain claims to have attracted more than 96,000 members and 13 councillors, many of them former Reform figures. Should a significant share of those voters ultimately switch from Reform UK, it could dent Reform’s share of the vote just enough to benefit Labour.
Winstanley is the former mayor of Wigan, standing as candidate for the former ruling Conservative Party. He was elected as a councillor for the local ward of Orrell and 2000, and served for 16 years.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called Winstanley “an excellent champion of the area having lived in, worked in and represented the local community for years”.
Observers do not expect any great show of Conservative voters at this election, however. In May’s local elections in Wigan, Labour won 42 seats, Reform 25, and the Conservatives got none. And, in the last general election in Makerfield, the Tories came in third – behind Labour and Reform – with just over 10 percent of the vote.
Polling suggests the contest is effectively a two-horse race between Labour and Reform UK. The largest survey of the campaign, conducted by Opinium for Forward Democracy, indicates Burnham holds a narrow lead.
Based on a mixed-method survey of 543 local residents, Burnham leads Kenyon by five percentage points among voters most likely to cast a ballot. Among those rating themselves at least seven out of 10 likely to vote, Burnham stands on 46 percent compared with Kenyon’s 41 percent.
However, Kenyon’s share may have been damaged by the 7 percent that Shepherd is expected to win in Restore Britain’s first parliamentary outing. The Conservatives are polling at just 2 percent.
Furthermore, while Labour currently leads in the by-election campaign, the constituency’s longer-term political trajectory may ultimately favour Reform UK. When respondents were asked how they would vote in a future general election, Reform UK led with 42 percent compared with Labour’s 34 percent, suggesting that Burnham’s personal appeal may be helping Labour outperform its own national reputation.
In May, Labour lost all eight of its local council seats in Makerfield to Reform.
Tom de Grunwald, founder of Forward Democracy and StopReformUK.Vote, said tactical voting could prove decisive. “If you live in Makerfield and you would normally vote Green, Liberal Democrat, or anyone else, and you don’t want Reform UK to win this seat, the maths is clear: Andy Burnham is the only candidate who can stop them,” he said.
However, Bastani said he is sceptical that many Restore Britain supporters will ultimately return to Reform UK. “A lot of those voters now see Farage as part of the establishment,” he said, adding that Restore Britain could outperform expectations on polling day – which could split the far-right vote and benefit Burnham. While he expects Burnham to win, Bastani said the result should not obscure the rise of Reform.
“I’d be surprised if Burnham didn’t win. But if Reform were running a stronger candidate, this could look very different. If Farage somehow managed to win a seat like this against someone with Burnham’s profile, it would rank among the most significant political achievements of his career.”
London, United Kingdom – Activists who gained access to the widely condemned Great Israeli Real Estate Event in London have shared photos with Al Jazeera that show property in illegal settlements being marketed.
The invite-only event, held at Edgware United Synagogue, was part of a roadshow promoting the sale of land and property in Israel, but in reality, these included homes in areas such as Givat Zeev and Tivuch Shelly in the occupied West Bank, as well as settlements in East Jerusalem.
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“Exciting new project just 10 minutes from Jerusalem!” read a leaflet advertising homes, “some with pools!” in Maale Adumim, a West Bank settlement illegal under international law.
Isabel, a member of the Jewish Anti-Zionist Action group who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, said that the mood at the fair was peaceful and heavily protected, including by plainclothes men fitted with body cameras.
She did not hear any participants mention Palestinians, she said, adding that when it came to the occupied Palestinian territory, real estate agents spoke of “Anglo-communities” where English-speaking people from the United States, the UK and South Africa could relocate to.
She said a popular selling point used by real estate agents was that due to the war on Gaza, it was a good time to buy property in Israel, as prices had dropped and they might be willing to offer a discount.
The atmosphere reminded her of the opening week of university with social chatter, stalls and strangers pushing flyers at attendees.
“Unlike outside the synagogue, where there was lots of protests, it was calm inside with a heavy police presence, [security] people even wearing body cams. The room was all set up with stalls, in what I would describe as like freshers’ fair. On the tables were free pens, chocolates.”
When Isabel spoke with representatives from the Israeli real estate company Harey Zahav, she was shown advertisements for properties in Jerusalem as well as Netanya, a resort city in central Israel.
More than 100 British legislators, including members of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, had signed a letter on Friday urging the government to “uphold its obligations under international law” and ensure the event “promoting illegal activities does not proceed”.
Layla Moran, a British MP of Palestinian descent and one of the letter’s signatories, described the sales as “unacceptable”.
When Isabel told participants she was interested in something a little quieter, they said in hushed tones that they also had a portfolio of properties in “Judea and Samaria”, the Israeli term for the occupied West Bank.
One representative said that organisers asked them not to advertise properties in these locations. When asked why, he said it was due to these “crazy times” when people wanted to stop purchasing property in Israel.
He said they had all the information packs for those properties, but requested her details so he could send them to her afterwards.
At the stand of Tivuch Shelly, another Israeli real estate company, Isabel said representatives were more reticent to discuss properties in the occupied West Bank, but were openly advertising properties in Givat Hamatos and Ramat Eshkol, two settlements in occupied Jerusalem, on their flyers.
An activist with Jewish Anti-Zionist Action at one point shouted out that “this event sells property on illegally occupied stolen Palestinian land” before he was removed by security.
But the overall mood inside the fair was in sharp contrast to the protests and tense atmosphere outside the event.
In the buildup, rights groups, including Amnesty International, as well as the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, slammed the event for openly advertising the sale of land in illegal Israeli settlements.
Outside, hundreds of protesters shouted slogans and held posters reading, “Stop Israel’s illegal sale of stolen Palestinian land” and “Thou shalt not steal”.
The Metropolitan Police said 15 people were arrested during the demonstrations “for a range of offences, including public order matters”.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has written to Khan, calling for the event to be investigated by the Metropolitan Police.
Khan earlier said he had discussed the event with the London police force and had been told that any allegations of criminality relating to the potentially unlawful sale of property at the fair would be assessed by the Met as part of a probe.
Israeli settlers are Israeli citizens who live illegally on Palestinian land.
Israel started building illegal settlements after capturing the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the June 1967 Six-Day War, and now, more than 700,000 settlers – 10 percent of Israel’s population – live in 150 illegal settlements and 128 outposts spread across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The government has openly funded and built settlements, and Israeli authorities give their settlers in the occupied West Bank about $5.6m a year to monitor, report and restrict Palestinian construction in Area C, which is administered solely by Israel and comprises more than 60 percent of the West Bank.
United Nations bodies and most countries view the West Bank settlements as illegal, citing international conventions.
But the US has provided diplomatic cover to Israel for decades, with Washington consistently using its veto power at the UN to protect Israel from diplomatic censure.
The 2026 World Cup will have 13 different kickoff times. You can use the Al Jazeera Sport widget to find out exactly when your team is playing in your local time.
Who: England vs Croatia
What: FIFA World Cup 2026 Group L match
Where: AT&T Stadium, Dallas, Texas
When: Wednesday, 3pm local time (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
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Chants of “It’s Coming Home” will ring around parts of England on Wednesday as the European heavyweights begin their 2026 World Cup title bid with a test against familiar foes, Croatia.
It has been 60 years since England were last crowned world champions, but they are genuine contenders for the title this year.
While coach Thomas Tuchel’s squad selection divided fan opinion in the run-up to their journey to North America, bookmakers still believe this crop of English talent, headlined by Harry Kane, can achieve a deep run in the tournament.
Their first hurdle, though, is a challenging one.
Once labelled underdogs, Croatia have grown into one of international football’s most consistent tournament performers, finishing as World Cup runners-up in 2018 and earning third place at the last edition, in 2022, as well as 1998.
Their 40-year-old captain Luka Modric may well be heading into his last tournament, but he remains the heartbeat of the team, and as has been the case for years, Croatia pose a threat under his leadership.
Al Jazeera tells you everything you need to know about England vs Croatia:
After a string of near-misses at recent European Championships and World Cups, England head into the 2026 tournament chasing their first world title since 1966.
They are led by captain Kane, who has arrived in North America in some of the best form of his career, and fresh off the high of lifting his second Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich.
“For sure, it’s one of the best opportunities we will have as a team to win it,” Kane told reporters, talking about England’s odds of winning the tournament.
“I think everyone is eager to just start well and prove that we have the capabilities of going far in this tournament.”
The 32-year-old has urged his team, who had a 100 percent record in the qualifiers, to “go for it” and be “free in the mind” when they launch their World Cup title charge in Texas.
Tuchel, too, knows the expectations from fans are high, with England among the top contenders in the 48-team tournament.
Their best run in recent times has been reaching the semifinals in 2018, while their last campaign ended in the quarterfinals in 2022 – both under former manager Gareth Southgate.
“We have a right to dream, but we don’t want to be delusional,” Tuchel has said.
Croatia’s head coach Zlatko Dalic has warned his team to be wary of goal-scoring machine Kane, who netted a whopping 61 times in 51 matches in all competitions for Bayern Munich last season.
“They have the best striker in the world, they have Kane, and Kane can do a hell of a lot,” said Dalic. “We will do a lot, we will do our best not only to defend ourselves but to attack, to go forward.
“There will be set pieces, which will be quite difficult, but we are prepared for that. I expect a great game, and it will be great preparation for the next two games in the group.”
Just as Kane is central to England’s hopes of a deep run, veteran Modric is crucial to Croatia’s World Cup dreams. After playing a key role in Croatia’s previous World Cup campaigns, Modric is set for his fifth and possibly final appearance.
The ageing midfielder, also the Balkan nation’s captain, still enjoys a hero’s status among a side that has often defied expectations on the global stage. And by Dalic’s own admission, the team still relies heavily on him, not least for his playmaking prowess.
“He means a lot, both as a captain of our team and as a person,” Dalic said of Modric, ahead of his 199th appearance for the team.
“He is my right hand on the pitch.
“It means a lot to the team that we have a couple of older players alongside Luka who are leading the younger players, and they can do very good things,” Dalic added.
“They are very lucky to have him, Luka, as a role model in how to fight for the national team jersey, and we’re lucky to still have him with us.”
Stats provider Opta’s supercomputer has handed England a 55.9 percent probability of winning against Croatia, who have a 20.8 percent chance of winning. There is a 23.3 percent probability of a draw.
Overall, England are fourth in the list of title favourites – with a 10.02 percent probability – behind Spain, France and Argentina.
In the United Kingdom, England vs Croatia kicks off at 9pm BST and will be shown on STV, STV Player, ITV1 and ITVX.
For fans in Croatia, the match is scheduled for 10pm and will be shown on HRT.
In the United States, viewers can tune into FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, FOX and Peacock.
To check the TV listings for your country, head to FIFA’s TV listing schedule here.
England, Croatia, Ghana and Panama are in Group L.
The top two teams from each of the 12 groups – along with the eight best third-placed teams – proceed to the next phase, the round of 32, which has been introduced at the World Cup for the first time.
(Last five games, latest first)
England: W-W-L-D-W
Croatia: W-L-L-W-W
England have a slightly better record than Croatia in their last five matches. Both teams have won three games each, but England lost and drew the other two, while Croatia suffered defeats in both games.
England won against Costa Rica and New Zealand in pre-World Cup friendlies earlier this month, but lost to Japan in an unexpected result in late March. Before that, they drew with Uruguay in a friendly and beat Albania in a World Cup qualifier.
Croatia won against Slovakia but fell to Belgium in their World Cup warm-up matches, while also losing to Brazil in a friendly in late March. But before that, they beat Colombia in a friendly and won against Montenegro in a World Cup qualifier.
Wednesday will be the 12th meeting between the two sides, with England holding a big advantage over Croatia in their head-to-head record.
England have won six times against Croatia, who have won three times. Two matches ended in a draw.
They have met at the World Cup three times before, with England losing their last tournament encounter 2-1 at the 2018 World Cup semifinal in Moscow.
On Tuesday, England defender Tino Livramento was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a calf injury and was replaced by Trevoh Chalobah. The Newcastle United right-back sustained the injury during a training session at the team’s Kansas City base on Sunday.
No injury concerns in the Croatia camp.
(4-2-3-1): Pickford; James, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly; Anderson, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane
(4-2-3-1): Livakovic; Stanisic, Sutalo, Vuskovic, Gvardiol; Modric, Kovacic; Pasalic, Kramaric, Perisic; Budimir
The United Kingdom’s Court of Appeal has ruled that the British government was right to proscribe the Palestine Action activist group as a “terrorist” organisation last year.
Palestine Action is a British protest group which was founded six years ago and describes itself as a movement “committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”.
On Monday, police made more arrests of protesters demonstrating in support of Palestine Action outside the Court of Appeal in London.
Since the group’s proscription, which also bans support for proscribed groups, about 3,000 people have been arrested.
The Metropolitan Police welcomed the ruling and said it would continue to arrest those who protest in support of the group.
Here is what we know about the ruling:
The judgement released on Monday states: “The proscription of an organisation like Palestine Action is highly controversial. But it is a fundamental mistake to overlook the fact that Palestine Action overtly promotes unlawful violence amounting to terrorism”.
The ruling was made by a five-strong panel, including the two most senior judges in England and Wales.
Palestine Action, which was formally proscribed by the UK last July, is a British protest group founded six years ago. It says it uses “disruptive tactics” to target “corporate enablers” and companies involved in the manufacture of weapons for Israel, such as Israeli group Elbit Systems, Italian aerospace company Leonardo, French multinational Thales and Teledyne from the United States. The group has targeted British facilities linked to those companies.
In all, British police say action by the group has resulted in millions of pounds of criminal damage.
A court in London ruled on June 12 that four Palestine Action members convicted of criminal damage at a British facility owned by Israeli weapons group Elbit Systems near Bristol, west England, would be sentenced on the basis that their actions had a “terrorist connection”.
Following the proscription of Palestine Action last year, the group’s co-founder, Huda Ammori, challenged the decision in the High Court. In February, the High Court ruled that the government’s “terror group” ban was unlawful and disproportionate.
The government immediately said it would appeal. “I am disappointed by the court’s decision and disagree with the notion that banning this terrorist organisation is disproportionate,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said.
The judgement on Monday agreed with her. Its ruling states: “The Home Secretary had the institutional competence and the democratic accountability to make the decision. The Proscription Decision was consistent with the Home Secretary’s Proscription Policy and was proportionate. It was not unlawful.”
On June 20, 2025, Palestine Action activists broke into the Royal Air Force base at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and sprayed two military aircraft with red paint.
Days after the Brize Norton attack, members of parliament voted in favour of proscribing the group. That classified Palestine Action as a “terrorist” organisation, bringing it into the same category as armed groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).
Critics decried the vote, arguing that while members of the group have caused damage to property, they have not committed violent acts that amount to terrorism. More than 130 high-profile public figures have spoken out against the proscription.
Other previous actions the group has taken include:
In a statement read by a representative following the ruling, Palestine Action’s Ammori said the group will challenge the judgement in the UK’s Supreme Court.
“We will fight this all the way. We will seek permission to appeal to the Supreme Court and, if need be, take this to the European Court of Human Rights,” Ammori said.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), established by the Council of Europe, allows individuals to hold member states accountable for rights violations through a dedicated court. When the ECHR finds a violation, its judgements are legally binding on the state concerned under the European Convention on Human Rights.
“We will not stop fighting to overturn one of the most extreme attacks on free speech and the right to protest in modern British history,” Ammori added.
“This unprecedented abuse of power has devastated the lives of thousands of people while silencing dissent over Israel’s slaughter of the Palestinian people during the genocide, when that dissent could not be more urgent.”
Anas Mustapha, Head of Public Advocacy at CAGE International, said: “This ruling tells us exactly what these powers are for. They are not safeguards against violence, they are authoritarian tools for crushing dissent.”
Mustapha added: “No ruling from any court is going to convince people that their conscience is wrong, and no amount of legislation will make support for Palestine disappear. The only sustainable outcome is the abolition of these laws in their entirety.”
Thomas Bell, acting UK Director of Human Rights Watch, said: “This disastrous decision further cements the UK’s place among countries that are backsliding on human rights by classifying acts of protest as terrorism.”
“When Palestine Action members have committed criminal damage, that should be dealt with under normal criminal laws, not by misusing overbroad and poorly defined terrorism powers. Defining a protest group as terrorists has created an absurd situation where thousands of people peacefully holding up signs have been arrested,” Bell added.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the UK will ban social media for teens under the age of 16 and impose tighter rules on gaming and livestreaming platforms, with regulations to follow by the end of the year. He says the move is aimed at protecting children, and will curb the power of big tech companies through tough online safety measures.
Published On 15 Jun 202615 Jun 2026
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British PM warns social media platforms are exposing children to content that is ‘dangerous’ and ‘designed to be addictive’.
Published On 15 Jun 202615 Jun 2026
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a ban on social media sites for under-16s as the United Kingdom plans to join a growing list of countries that place online restrictions on children.
The sweeping changes will reflect Britain’s values, help to protect children online and push back against the power of big technology companies, Starmer said at a news conference on Monday.
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“It is clear to me a full ban is the right choice,” he told reporters.
“This will change the conversations that parents have and the expectations of children over time. It will make a huge difference. It will make our children safer. It will make our children happier. It will give them more time, more security, more freedom to grow up, more opportunity.”
As well as a ban on sites such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, he said his government would take action against gaming and livestreaming services that allow children to talk to strangers.
“Is there a situation in the offline world where you would just let your child pair up with a stranger, an adult that you don’t know anything about? No, so we’re taking action on that,” Starmer said.
The prime minister warned that social media platforms are “exposing them to content that is dangerous” and “designed to be addictive”.
Starmer said he hoped to pass the regulation by late December so the ban could come into force in the spring next year.
The government said in a statement it will also consider overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for under-18s and will announce more details in July.
Starmer said the upcoming ban was influenced by the experience of Australia, which in December became the first nation to ban people under 16 from social media.
Canada’s culture minister last week put forward a bill that would prohibit anyone under 16 from having social media accounts and oblige AI chatbot platforms to curb the creation of harmful content.
The UK announcement followed government-led consultations in which British teenagers trialled social media bans and time limits on apps.
A spokesperson for YouTube responded with a warning that such a blanket ban would push children towards “less safe services”.
EXPLAINER
US President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders say a deal has been agreed to end more than 100 days of war that killed thousands.
By Agence France Presse and Reuters
Published On 15 Jun 202615 Jun 2026
United States President Donald Trump and Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Sunday that they had reached an initial deal to end the war and to resume traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said the deal allows for toll-free shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed since the US and Israel launched an assault on Iran on February 28.
“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
The US and Iran will sign a memorandum of understanding in Switzerland on Friday, said the prime minister of Pakistan, whose country has served as a mediator.
Monday marks 108 days since the war began, with the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran. Here is what’s happening:
Published On 14 Jun 202614 Jun 2026
Deepti Sharma took five wickets, and India bowled out Pakistan for 106 to successfully begin their latest quest for a first Women’s Twenty20 World Cup title with a 64-run win over their archrivals.
Sharma spun out the last three wickets in five balls as India defended 170 on Sunday in front of a heavily partisan sellout crowd at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
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Seven months after Sharma starred in India’s victory in the final of the Women’s ODI World Cup with five wickets and 58 runs, she started this T20 World Cup with another standout performance. Shree Charani supported her with 3-21.
Sharma took the first two wickets of Pakistan’s chase, which actually started strong, but by the 10th over, India were on top.
Pakistan needed Muneeba Ali, dropped twice, to go big, but Sharma ran her out on 41 in the 11th over with a great direct hit on the run from backward point.
When Pakistan captain Fatima Sana fell in the next over at 77-5, her team fell away too.
Sharma’s late burst for 5-10 made her the highest wicket-taker in the women’s T20, with 166.
“I always believe in myself, that whenever the right time comes, I will step up,” the prolific all-rounder said.
India laboured through their power play, and it took Smriti Mandhana to be dropped on 27 off 24 balls to be inspired by the reprieve to lash out at the Pakistani bowling. She needed only another 10 balls to reach 50.
The left-handed opener was dropped again on 55 and top-edged onto her own helmet, forcing a concussion check. She passed, smacked her ninth boundary, and was out to a great low grab by Sana.
Mandhana’s wicket started a mini-collapse, including captain Harmanpreet Kaur on 36. India started the 19th over at 132-5, hoping for 150.
That’s when Richa Ghosh exploded with 34 off 17 balls and combined with Sharma to take 23 runs off World Cup debutant Tasmia Rubab.
“If it is in my hands, I would love to send [Ghosh] on the first ball,” Kaur said. “But she has a role to play, and she is doing well.”
Sana conceded 15 in the last over, and a 171 target looked steep, given Pakistan’s history against their neighbours.
India have dominated the World Cup rivalry with Pakistan, having beaten them in all meetings across the 20- and 50-over formats.
Continuing the trend set by their men’s team in last year’s Asia Cup, the Indian team did not shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts for a second World Cup in a row, following their meeting in the 50-over tournament in October.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh pulled off a record chase on the same pitch to win against the Netherlands in the European side’s first Women’s T20 World Cup match.
Bangladesh reached 141-4 with five balls remaining after having never scored more than 126 in a successful World Cup chase.
Replying to the Netherlands’ 139-8, the South Asian team were taken to the last over even after a great platform set by opening batter Juairiya Ferdous, who hit her second 50 since her T20 debut in January.
Ferdous had 26 of the first 27 runs, and 33 of the 47 in the power play. But the 20-year-old also had two lives. On 7, the third umpire disputably ruled out a catch at deep midwicket by Sterre Kalis, and on 18, Ferdous was dropped.
Both of her sixes flew over the midwicket rope, and by the time she was out for 50 off 33 balls at 67-1 in the eighth over, Bangladesh were almost halfway home.
Dutch spinners Silver and Heather Siegers and Caroline de Lange (2-27) slowed down Bangladesh, but they were not persevered with.
An unbeaten partnership of 56 between Sharmin Akhter and Shorna Akter clinched Bangladesh’s fourth win in seven T20 World Cups.
Netherlands captain Babette de Leede won the toss, and the one-down batter held her team together with 50 from 45 balls until the 17th over, when she was run out trying for a second run.
Bangladesh’s attack was led by medium-pacers Marufa Akter, 2-31, and Ritu Moni, 1-17 .
On Tuesday, defending champions New Zealand take on Sri Lanka, and hosts England face Ireland.
British armed forces intercepted an oil tanker believed to be part of Russia’s sanctioned shadow fleet. The oil tanker ‘SMYRTOS’ was taken in an first-ever operation by the British military in the English Channel.
Published On 14 Jun 202614 Jun 2026
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A UK court has sentenced four pro-Palestine activists to jail for a raid on an Israeli arms factory near Bristol in 2024. Palestine Action says their aim was to ‘dismantle drones and weaponry’ they believed would be used to kill people in Gaza.
Published On 13 Jun 202613 Jun 2026
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Four activists from the Palestine Action group face sentencing in the United Kingdom as “terrorists” on Friday, despite only being convicted by a jury of other criminal charges.
Palestine Action was formally proscribed as a “terrorist” organisation in the UK last July.
Last month, four of six activists on trial were convicted at Woolwich Crown Court in London of criminal damage during a 2024 raid on a factory in Filton, Bristol, operated by Israeli defence firm Elbit. One of the defendants was also found guilty of striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.
The possibility that the judge will rule that the offences have a “terrorist connection” for sentencing purposes has prompted protests.
The protest group Palestine Action, launched in July 2020, describes itself as a movement “committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”.
It seeks to use “disruptive tactics” to target “corporate enablers” and companies involved in the manufacture of weapons for Israel, such as Israel-based Elbit Systems, Italian aerospace company Leonardo, French multinational Thales and Teledyne from the United States. The group has targeted British facilities linked to those companies.
The UK parliament voted in favour of proscribing the group on July 2, 2025, classifying it as a “terrorist” organisation, and bringing it into the same category as armed groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). The proscription came days after its activists sneaked into an air force base in southern England.
Critics decried the move by MPs, arguing that while members of the group have caused damage to property, they have not committed violent acts that amount to terrorism.
In August 2024, Palestine Action activists raided a factory in Filton near Bristol in southwest England, operated by Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. They entered the site and caused extensive damage in an attempt to disrupt the production of weapons and drone components they say would be used by Israel in Gaza.
The raid, which prosecutors said caused about one million pounds ($1.36m) of damage, happened 10 months into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza that began in October 2023.
Last month, jurors at Woolwich Crown Court convicted Charlotte Head, 30, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, and Fatema Zainab Rajwani, 21, of criminal damage. The four activists have become known as “the Filton 4”.
Corner was also found guilty of striking a police officer with a sledgehammer and convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Two other Palestine Action activists, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, were found not guilty.
The verdict followed an earlier trial, at which all six defendants were acquitted of aggravated burglary, while the jury was unable to reach verdicts for the criminal damage charges.
Each of the defendants gave evidence, admitting that they damaged Israeli military drones and equipment inside Elbit’s research and development facility in Filton – in order to “save lives in Palestine”, according to a statement by their lawyers.
The jury was not told that, if they convicted, the four could be sentenced under terrorism laws. Criminal damage is not usually a terrorism offence, but in England and Wales judges can decide to treat an offence as having a “terrorist connection” at sentencing, even when the charge itself is not a terrorism offence.
If the court decides there was a terrorism connection, the activists would have to serve their entire sentences in prison, unless they have already completed at least two‑thirds of the sentence and a parole board decides they can be released.
Conversely, non-terrorist prisoners usually serve about 40 percent of their sentence in custody and are released early, but under conditions and supervision, sometimes called licence conditions. If they break those conditions, they can be sent back to prison to finish their sentence.
Additionally, if the activists are sentenced in this way, they can be recorded as “terrorists” for the rest of their lives, would be required to register new mobile devices, email addresses and bank accounts with the police for their lifetime, and face being returned to prison if they breach their licence conditions or reoffend.
On Wednesday, a group of more than 50 lawyers and law professors published an open letter denouncing plans to sentence the four Palestine Action members as terrorists.
The letter highlights that damage to property has been a recurring feature of protest campaigns from the Suffragettes who fought for women to have the right to vote, to environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion.
“It has never previously even been suggested that those taking such action should be treated as terrorists. Blurring the distinction between principled direct action and terrorism is the hallmark of authoritarian regimes,” the open letter stated.
The letter has been signed by law professors from universities in the UK, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada as well as by dozens of practising barristers and solicitors.
According to local news reports, a protest is expected at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday against the potential judgement.
At a motion for a vote of no confidence against Arwa Elrayess, the first Palestinian president of the University of Oxford’s debating society, Oxford Union, she was accused by a 20-year-old student of contributing to “an atmosphere of hostility and harassment”.
In a video of the forum last week at the prestigious university, which was shared with Al Jazeera, Elrayess is seen replying to Ben Ashworth, “Not just in my career within the union but in my existence as a Palestinian, there seems to always be this post-mortem vilification of Palestinians.”
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The room was full of onlookers as Elrayess, who became the head of the Oxford Union late last year, stood tall in a green sequinned dress.
“Palestinians, when they talk, are for some reason a danger. Our very existence is something that is scary,” she added.
The motion was filed after screenshots of text messages from Elrayess were quoted in outlets including The Telegraph and the BBC as saying that the Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023 was “proportional”.
The text also said groups branded as terrorists were often later “lauded as heroes”.
Ashworth cited the Sunday Telegraph directly in his accusation. The newspaper’s political editor, Camila Turner, whose father serves as chief executive of UK Lawyers for Israel, had carried the claim that Elrayess said Hamas would be “lauded as heroes”.
But Elrayess did not make any statement of support for Hamas.
Nine months ago – before Elrayess was president – she was in a group chat of students meant to discuss politics.
In the group chat, October 7 and Palestine – and broader conversations on resistance groups – were discussed.
“Analysing something is not giving it moral legitimacy,” she told Al Jazeera. “Even though I described explicitly in all the messages that I’m not describing this as legitimate or morally justified, I’m just providing analysis; all of this was stripped away when it was reported in The Telegraph or the Daily News.”
The full quote in question on the group chat read: “Any resistance group will inevitably be deemed a terrorist organisation by the West until they achieve their liberation, by which time they’ll be lauded as heroes as history has historically proven.”
The messages were not meant as commentary on Hamas specifically, she argued.
“It was entirely misquoted; I believe it was entirely intentional to frame as having said something that I simply did not say,” she told Al Jazeera.
To the Jewish Chronicle, though, Elrayess reiterated her position by saying, “I condemn Hamas’ targeting of innocent civilians, just as I condemn the targeting of innocent civilians by the [Israeli army] or any other actor.”
After refuting the allegation and misquotations, Ashworth is seen in the video yelling at Elrayess, asking whether she condemns Hamas again.
Ashworth, who is not Jewish, has faced criticism for recently visiting Israel with the Pinsker Centre, a think tank formerly known as the Pinsker Centre for Zionist Education.
The motion for a vote of no confidence overwhelmingly failed, receiving 126 votes, 116 of which were online signatures, far below the 150 needed to proceed to a poll.
This is not the first misinformation campaign against Elrayess.
In October 2025, just before her election as president of the debating society, falsified minutes were ratified by an unnamed member of the union, alleging that Elrayess “argues that alumni members shouldn’t be allowed to vote, reiterating her claims that they are incapable of making a rational judgement”.
Elrayess believes that the minutes were made up and spread to “paint me as someone who hates alumni of this institution”.
After an internal disciplinary process, the person who falsified the minutes was suspended from office and the minutes were de-ratified.
Shortly after her win, opposition within the Union brought forward a number of charges against Elrayess, ranging from misuse of social media to antisemitism. In January, it was found that the charges were un-evidenced. By this point, however, Elrayess had lost two months of her presidency.
Alongside this, an article was published in the Oxford Standard alleging that she was related to a leader of Hamas who happened to share the same surname as her, and that she had created and shared a cartoon of herself stepping on a lizard and a hook-nosed anti-Semitic caricature to celebrate her victory.
The claims, again, were false. The cartoon linked to an anonymous meme page that Elrayess had nothing to do with, and she had no family ties to Hamas. The article had no author attributed to it, and the Oxford Standard did not contact Elrayess or reply to her emails, fact-checking the article.
Within days, Elrayess had emails from journalists at The Jerusalem Post, Jewish Chronicle and The Telegraph, asking her to clarify her family affiliation with Hamas and her views of Jewish people, stemming from the stark untruths shared in the nameless Oxford Standard article.
![Arwa Elrayess [Courtesy of Arwa Elrayess]](https://i0.wp.com/occasionaldigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/original-1C35F445-DBD0-445D-9835-200DAAC9C332-1781175489.jpeg?w=640&ssl=1)
The only cause for the allegations, some have observed, appeared to be Elrayess’s Palestinian identity.
A colleague and friend of Elrayess, who wished to remain unnamed, described to Al Jazeera a sense of distress among Elrayess and her friends.
“The level of attacks that Arwa and her friends received was astounding,” he said.
The Oxford Standard, which no longer exists, deleted both the article and their website altogether. But the rumours they began, with no facts to back them up, have snowballed into national news headlines of Oxford Union’s first Palestinian president being a supporter of Hamas and a proud anti-Semite.
Tweets by prominent Zionist influencers like Eylon Levy, former spokesperson for Israel, sharing the lie that Elrayess is a Hamas heiress, with now-broken Oxford Standard links and no factual corrections.
Elrayess’s dedication to debate and free speech has brought controversy to her tenure. She invited prominent Israel supporter Tommy Robinson to a debate, triggering widespread protest in Oxford, and has engaged with conservatives and Zionists in her union and her own appointed committee.
Oliver Jones-Lyons, director of finance of the Oxford Union, works alongside Elrayess and describes himself as a “pretty public Zionist”.
Still, despite their diametric positions, Lyons-Jones does not endorse the growing smear campaign against Elrayess.
“I have never felt oppressed, abused or discouraged from sharing my views openly, quite the opposite in fact,” said Jones-Lyons in a statement to Al Jazeera. “Me and Arwa obviously vehemently disagree on a lot of issues; however, our conversations about issues that are deeply personal to both of us have never once been aggressive and have always been productive, in fact I can certainly say Arwa has changed my mind on issues I never thought I would.”
Oxford Union member Oliver Goldstein said, “Personally, I like Arwa. I don’t agree with many of her comments, but do I feel unsafe as a Jewish student at the Oxford Union? No … I don’t think she’s an anti-Semite.”
Despite the inundation of misinformation, Elrayess remains determined.
“My father is from Gaza,” she said. “He would always tell me, ‘It doesn’t really matter what you say or do not say; people will always find a way to spin it in such a way that you become a target, because you’re already a target.”
She said she lives by her father’s words.
“I’m not resigning from my position. They can throw 1,000 different letters in 1,000 different articles. I’m very vocal, and I’m a very proud Palestinian.”