- Israeli forces have shot and wounded a young man in the town of ar-Ram, in the occupied West Bank.
- In Gaza, flooding from a storm has exposed more damaged shelters, revealing a drainage system no longer working.
‘I couldn’t be more scared’: Palestine Action hunger strike enters day 45.
A friend of a Palestine Action activist on hunger strike in a British prison has spoken of growing concern for their health as the protest enters its sixth week.
Rowan Wilson said their friend, 30-year-old Amu Gib, has been refusing food for 45 days while being held on remand.
“In resisting with the only tool prison affords them, they join a tradition of prison protest that stretches from HMP Bronzefield to Ireland to Palestine,” Wilson said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them – and I couldn’t be more scared.”
Gib was among the first of the group to begin a hunger strike. Supporters say eight Palestine Action-affiliated prisoners are currently refusing food across five prisons, with five hospitalised.
Gib is accused of breaking into RAF Brize Norton, Britain’s largest air force base, and damaging two military aircraft alongside three other people. Gib has said the planes were used for surveillance flights over Gaza and to transport weapons.
Palestine Action, the group linked to the protest, has since been proscribed as a “terrorist” organisation by the UK government. UN legal experts called the decision “unnecessary” and a misuse of counterterrorism laws.
Israeli army confirms killing Palestinian child for throwing stones
The Israeli army says its soldiers shot dead a teenage Palestinian boy for throwing stones at them in the occupied West Bank yesterday.
The army claimed in a short statement cited by The Times of Israel that a “riot” erupted in the area near Bethlehem, and stones were thrown at the Israeli forces.
“The troops used riot dispersal means and then opened fire on a main instigator,” the military said, adding that “a hit was identified.
The Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry identified the victim as 16-year-old Ammar Yasser Muhammad Taamra. Local media showed his family grieving over the teenager’s body today.
Europe’s efforts to undermine Trump’s plan on Ukraine may backfire
![German Bundestag President Julia Kloeckner welcomes Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ahead of their talks in Berlin, Germany December 15, 2025. [Lisi Niesner/Pool via Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-15T133649Z_1931956598_RC21HIAT1TRA_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-GERMANY-ZELENSKIY-1765808928.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
German Bundestag President Julia Kloeckner welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before their talks in Berlin, Germany, on December 15, 2025 [Lisi Niesner/Pool via Reuters.
This week is shaping up to be crucial for the European Union’s policy on Ukraine. EU foreign ministers met in Brussels on Monday; EU heads of state will gather on Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting United States envoy Steve Witkoff. At the top of the agenda is the peace plan put forward by US President Donald Trump and continuing funding for Ukraine’s war effort.
The European strategy so far has been to alter the US-proposed peace plan in such a way that it becomes completely unacceptable to Russia. This, as European leaders hope, will reinforce the core narrative emanating from their capitals over the past two months – that Russian President Vladimir Putin is just playing games and doesn’t really want peace.
The idea behind it is to try to sway Trump to their side and have him apply additional military and economic pressure on the Kremlin rather than pressing Ukraine into signing an unsavoury peace deal right away. But this effort could easily backfire.
The main practical issue with regards to Ukraine’s capacity to withstand Russian aggression during 2026 is who is going to fund its army as well as its state and social welfare system. Trump proudly states that the US is no longer financing Ukraine’s war effort because, in his parlance, it is “Biden’s war” – ie, his predecessor Joe Biden is to blame.
The burden of funding is now squarely on Europe – the EU and rich non-EU countries, such as the United Kingdom and Norway. The US keeps providing weapons to Ukraine, but these are being paid for with money from European coffers. US intelligence support, crucial in Ukraine’s war planning, is currently available to Kyiv for free.
