Spanish actress Adriana Ugarte, 40, star of the hit Spanish TV drama “The Time in Between,” has, upon recently receiving her award at the Almería Film Festival, stated that what is happening in Palestine cannot be considered the end of Israeli crimes.
Ugarte emphasized that what is being marketed to the world as a "ceasefire" does not reflect the true reality on the ground, stressing that the tragedy is far from over and that the occupation continues to escalate its crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
She explained that since the ceasefire was announced, Israel has killed 342 Palestinians and committed 497 violations of the agreement, which she considers evidence of the ongoing genocide against civilians.
So far Israel has murdered 18,000 children and 1,034 medical doctors in Gaza, not to mention that the terrorist Israeli Death Forces (IDF) and lawless illegal settlers have killed over 1,000 Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023. The world should never forget that Israel still holds over 10,000 Palestinian hostages, most of whom are held without trial or charges for years.
On November 3, 2025, the Knesset approved a law that would allow Israel to execute Palestinian hostages, including children. The law stipulates that the sentence be carried out within 90 days without the right of appeal, specifically by lethal injection. Meanwhile, a representative of the Doctors' Syndicate confirmed that the participation of doctors in executions is internationally prohibited.
This new law does not apply to Israeli Jews who kill Palestinians. So, basically Israel claims to be the only democracy in the Middle East, however, when it comes to Palestinians' rights, the only democracy in the Middle East is making a mockery of democracy by ignoring its basic element of due process of law and presumption of innocence of Palestinian hostages.
Al Jazeera reported last August that approximately 3,000 olive trees were destroyed by the Israeli military in the village of al-Mughayyir near Ramallah. Additionally, in another area, about 850 olive and grape trees were uprooted by settlers in Khirbet Khallat al-Homs. These incidents highlight the ongoing violence and destruction of Palestinian agricultural land by settlers and the IDF. Not to mention the numerous burnings of homes and cars throughout the West Bank.
The Times of Israel has obtained a footage of a settler attack last October on a Palestinian hamlet in the South Hebron Hills of the West Bank with the clip showing the brutal slaughter of sheep belonging to one of the residents, then gouging the animals' eyes.
The livestock belonged to Mahmoud Drameen, who identified the masked men as local settlers in a complaint filed to Israel Police. The complaint also included graphic security camera footage documenting the attack, which also caught the masked men smashing the windows of his car. Complaints by Palestinians usually end in the trash can. That's how life is under the brutal Israeli occupation.
Western media misrepresent the news about the war in Gaza
I find it ironic that an Associated Press found that Israeli deaths were reported at a rate of nearly four times greater than of Palestinian deaths. Earlier studies found similar or even larger distortion according to If Americans Knew website. Not only that, Western media and AP in particular misrepresent the news about the war in Gaza. The AP claims a Gazan rocket fired into Israel broke the "CALM" ceasefire, even though Israeli forces had fired missiles into Gaza, shot at Gazans, and invaded Gaza numerous times.
Last October, my friend Jessica Gillotte placed this eloquently put Facebook post on the subject in which she raised excellent points, "Do you know why third-world countries hate America? It is because we support Israel, and by proxy is responsible for countless atrocities abroad, including assassinating the elected leaders in favor of dictators and one who exploit their people." Jessica added, "Americans have been lied to by our government and our media. Rachel Corrie, an American, was bulldozed to death in 2003. Israel is child murders. This is about Israel wanting what isn't theirs because they feel ENTITLED."
Finally, I should say, Adriana spoke at a time when many stars and celebrities urged silence on the subject and instead chose to speak louder and stand visibly with the Palestinian people. I am glad Adriana Ugarte has pointed out the impact of the Israeli continued violations of the ceasefire and that she reminded the world that the suffering hasn’t stopped and the so-called ceasefire is misleading.
Mahmoud El-Youseph is a Palestinian freelance writer and retired U.S. Air Force veteran. He writes on U.S. foreign policy, Middle East affairs, and justice. Email: elyousseph6@yahoo.com
