KSA FM: Normalization with KSA is off the table... What is happening in northern Gaza ... can only be described as a form of genocide

KSA FM: Normalization with KSA is off the table... What is happening in northern Gaza ... can only be described as a form of genocide

    Thursday, October 31, 2024   No comments

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said on Thursday that normalization between Saudi Arabia and "Israel" is not on the table until the "two-state solution" is achieved and a Palestinian state is established.

He stressed, during a dialogue session within the activities of the "Future Investment Initiative" in Riyadh, that "the issue of normalization is not the only one at stake now, but the situation in the entire region as well, if we do not find a solution and a clear path to establish a Palestinian state."

Bin Farhan hoped "that the Israeli leadership will see that this is the right and just thing to do, and it also serves Israel's security and strategic interests."

The Saudi Foreign Minister said that establishing a Palestinian state is linked to the principles of international law, not to recognition by "Israel."

He pointed out that the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza have repeatedly collapsed due to new demands from "Israel". He said that "the Israeli occupation is committing genocide in Gaza".

He added: "We are working to ensure that the Palestinians obtain their legitimate rights, and that Palestine is a member of the international community".

In a related context, he stressed that the Kingdom supports international efforts to stop the escalation in Lebanon.

He believed that Saudi-Iranian relations are moving in the right direction, but are complicated by regional conditions.

He touched on "Vision 2030", noting that Saudi Arabia aims through it to stabilize neighboring countries.

Macron to Netanyahu: Defending civilization is not about sowing barbarism

Macron to Netanyahu: Defending civilization is not about sowing barbarism

    Saturday, October 26, 2024   No comments

10/25/2024 : French President Emmanuel Macron criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's description of the war on Gaza and Lebanon as a "war of civilization," saying that "defending civilization is not done by sowing barbarism."

The tension between Netanyahu and Macron continues to escalate after the latter called for an arms embargo on Israel.

In a speech he delivered in Paris during the opening of the international conference in support of the people and sovereignty of Lebanon, on Thursday, Macron responded to Netanyahu's description of the Israeli war on Gaza and Lebanon as a "war of civilization against barbarism."

Macron said: "Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the war of civilizations or civilizations that must be defended, but I do not believe that civilization is defended by sowing barbarism."

In an interview with French media on Wednesday, Netanyahu said that "Israel is waging a war of civilization against barbarism."

He continued: "We are not only fighting for ourselves, but for you as well."

Previously, Macron called on Israel to stop killing Gaza's women and babies.

Related, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, warned the world of a "big fire, after losing its humanity by ignoring the conflicts in the Middle East." Borrell said that "the world is on the brink of a big fire, and as long as the war continues in Gaza and Lebanon, we will remain on the edge of a spark that ignites a bigger fire."

Borrell's statement came to the Spanish radio "RNE", commenting on the genocide committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip for more than a year, and its aggression on Lebanon since September 23. The European official pointed out that the United Nations confirms that the Gaza Strip is witnessing the most violent and dangerous humanitarian crisis the world has witnessed since World War II. Borrell added, "What is happening in the Middle East shows that we have lost our humanity."

An Arab country with a peace treaty with Israel just blasted the government of Israel for statements made by one of its ministers. Jordan condemned, the extremist efforts of the Israeli government to change the status of the occupied Palestinian territories, the latest of which was the call by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to apply Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday evening (Oct. 27), Smotrich called during a conference held in occupied Jerusalem to apply Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

He said in a video clip he shared on Monday via the "X" platform that "the land division agreements did not succeed and will not succeed, simply because they want the whole country," referring to the Palestinians.

He added that "Palestinians who agree to adopt the decision (annexing the West Bank and Gaza) will be granted the benefits of Israeli citizens," and "whoever refuses this will be displaced, and whoever refuses both will be treated as a terrorist."

In response, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it "condemns in the strongest terms the extremist racist provocative statements made by Smotrich, calling for the annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories, expanding settlements therein, and displacing Palestinians from them."

The ministry considered these statements "a flagrant violation of international law and the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent, sovereign state on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital."

It stressed "the Kingdom's rejection and condemnation of these provocative settlement calls, in a blatant violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 2334, which condemns all Israeli measures aimed at changing the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem."

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry stressed that "the racist ideology evident in the statements of the Israeli Finance Minister is an extension of the extremist policy of the Israeli government, which continues its aggression on Gaza, besieges the northern part of the Strip and prevents the entry of food and medicine to its residents in an attempt to displace them from their homes."

 [This news story was update to include related developments]

Nihon Hidankyo: "In Gaza, bleeding children are like in Japan 80 years ago"

Nihon Hidankyo: "In Gaza, bleeding children are like in Japan 80 years ago"

    Monday, October 14, 2024   No comments

The Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs at the end of World War Two, won the award on Friday in what was seen as a plea to nuclear-armed countries not to use those weapons. Toshiyuki Mimaki co-chairs the organization.

Mimaki said after the prize was announced on Friday that the plight of children in Gaza was similar to what Japan faced at the end of World War II.

"In Gaza, bleeding children are being held (by their parents). It's like in Japan 80 years ago," Mimaki said.

Responding to Mimaki, Israel's ambassador to Japan attacked the comparison as "outrageous and baseless", and said such comparisons "distort history and dishonor the victims".

A representative for the Hiroshima chapter of Nihon Hidankyo could not be reached for comment about Cohen's post.

Around 140,000 people were killed when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and 74,000 more were killed in Nagasaki three days later.

Survivors of the blasts later formed Nihon Hidankyo to tell the stories of those atomic bombings and to press for a world without nuclear weapons.

   

Israel is normalizing the assassination of religious leaders by targeting Sistani

Israel is normalizing the assassination of religious leaders by targeting Sistani

    Wednesday, October 09, 2024   No comments

Channel close to Netanyahu included Sistani on Israeli assassination list. Channel 14 Israel published a photo of the highest Shiite authority in Iraq, Ali al-Sistani, as one of the targets of Israeli assassination plans.

The photo of al-Sistani appeared alongside photos of the leader of the Houthi Ansar Allah group, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, Naim Qassem, deputy secretary-general of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Yahya Sinwar, head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The Israeli channel, which is close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, broadcast the photos yesterday, Tuesday, with the word “target” over the head of each of the aforementioned figures, without explaining the reasons for placing al-Sistani on the assassination list.

The photos appeared while one of the right-wing channel’s correspondents was talking about the possible Israeli response to the missile attack launched by Iran on Israel last Tuesday.

The correspondent said during his interview accompanying the photos that Israel "has made a decision to strike Iran, but the targets that will be attacked have not yet been determined," and he also indicated that the date of the possible Israeli response has not yet been determined either.

He said that unless a decision is made regarding the determination of targets and the date of the response, all possibilities are possible.

Israel has not previously spoken about the assassination of Sistani, although a number of its officials have mentioned the names of all the other figures whose pictures were shown on the channel as potential targets on the Israeli assassination list.

Sistani, who was born in 1930, is a religious authority for the fundamentalist Twelver Shiites and resides in the city of Najaf in central Iraq, which is the center of the main religious science schools known as the "Najaf Seminary," and he is one of the most influential figures in the country due to his broad religious authority. His name might have been added to Israel's assassination list due to his statements about the assassination of the Lebanese leader of Hezbollah. Sistani issued a statement, then, saying that "Martyr Nasrallah is a leadership model that is unparalleled in recent decades"

In his official statement he added: "We received with great sorrow and regret the news of the martyrdom of the great scholar, the hujjat al-Islam and Muslims, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and a group of his brothers in the honorable Lebanese resistance, and dozens of innocent civilians in the horrific massacre committed by the Zionist enemy army in the beloved suburb of Beirut."

He added, "The great martyr was a leadership model that was rarely seen in recent decades. He played a distinguished role in the victory over the Zionist occupation by liberating Lebanese lands and supported the Iraqis with everything he could in liberating their country from the ISIS terrorists. He also took great positions in support of the oppressed Palestinian people until he paid his precious life as a price for that." He added, "As we offer our sincere condolences and deepest sympathy to the noble Lebanese people and all oppressed peoples in this great loss and affliction, we implore God Almighty to bestow His vast mercy and satisfaction upon the deceased and to unite him with His saints, Muhammad and his pure family, in the highest heavens, and to inspire his family and all those who are grieving his loss with patience and solace. To God we belong and to Him we shall return."

Iraqi government responds

In the first reactions, the Iraqi government said that it rejects in the strongest terms any infringement on the status of the supreme religious authority.

The spokesman for the Iraqi government, Bassem Al-Awadi, stressed in an official government statement that "after the Zionist entity has gone too far in its genocidal war, committed blatant crimes against humanity, and openly practiced murder and aggression in Gaza and Lebanon, it is the turn of its inciting and racist media, in a cheap attempt to harm the image of the supreme religious authority."

He added, "the Iraqi government rejects in the strongest terms any infringement on the status of our authority, which is appreciated and respected by all the Iraqi people, the Arab and Islamic worlds, and the international community, and warns of the danger of these attempts based on a racist intellectual background, and foundations that have gone too far in disregarding the sanctities of peoples, which encourages the expansion of the circle of aggression and exposes international security and peace to a real threat."

He continued, "the Zionist entity proves, once again, that it is nothing but a criminal group that thrives on fabricating crises, feeding aggression and wars, and its isolation increases day after day, and the popular and international positions in the world rejecting its behavior are nothing but confirmation of this aggressive trend."

Based on these facts, the Iraqi government- according to the statement - "call on the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and all international and UN forums, to reject and denounce everything that affects the feelings of Muslims in the world, and attempts to undermine figures with global influence and respect."

The statement explained that Iraq, government and people, have made every effort to stop the war, but Israel and its extremist government, in addition to the failure of the international community, have caused the situation to worsen, and today it is trying to spread insults to cover up the clear crimes, which we reject in general, and consider it a dangerous aggression that will not change Iraq's firm and principled position on all fateful issues.

Media review, CNN: "Israel’s military tells Gaza residents to go home but they find only rubble"

Media review, CNN: "Israel’s military tells Gaza residents to go home but they find only rubble"

    Sunday, September 01, 2024   No comments

For the first time since the Israeli military began ground operations in Gaza in October, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has sent out messages to people’s phones and on social media saying that the residents of some areas can return to their neighborhoods.

The IDF posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday that people who had been ordered to leave three neighborhoods of Deir Al Balah in central Gaza could go home.

CNN interviewed a number of families who had returned to find scenes of destruction.

One man, Abdulfattah Al Bourdaini, said: “We came home and found nothing, no power, no gas, no house, and we cannot change our clothes.”

All he had been able to salvage was a teddy bear for the son he hoped one day to have.

“I am penniless like the day I was born,” Al Bourdaini said. “I have nothing. I came to check on my house, didn’t find a house or anything, nothing is left… There is nothing left to cry about.”

‘Nothing is left’: Israel’s military tells Gaza residents to go home but they find only rubble.

US Air Force engineer resigns: “Absolutely appalled by Biden and Pentagon’s complicity in genocide”

US Air Force engineer resigns: “Absolutely appalled by Biden and Pentagon’s complicity in genocide”

    Sunday, August 18, 2024   No comments

The news website, "The Intercept", reported about the resignation of an engineer in the US Air Force, in protest of the complicity of US President Joe Biden and the Department of Defense with the genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The website said that the engineer Riley Livermore joined the Air Force 16 years ago, and his subsequent career as a flight test engineer took him to "Israel", where he spent two years conducting missile guidance research, but, shortly after October 7, he decided that he "could not continue anymore."

The website quoted Livermore as saying that he was "absolutely horrified" by the way Biden and the Department of Defense were complicit in the genocide, revealing that since late October he had begun the process of separating from the Air Force, as this path is now in its final steps, stressing that once he officially leaves the army, he will never work again in what he describes as the "military-industrial complex."

Livermore's resignation comes in the wake of a long series of resignations within the Biden administration and the US military, in protest of the US role in the genocide. This protest took its most intense form when 25-year-old US pilot Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington last February.

   

Al-Azhar, Sistani, world condemn the "massacre of worshippers" in Gaza

Al-Azhar, Sistani, world condemn the "massacre of worshippers" in Gaza

    Saturday, August 10, 2024   No comments

Al-Azhar condemned the "massacre of worshipers" that claimed the lives of more than 100 martyrs who had taken refuge in a school building in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City. The highest Shiite authority in Iraq, Ali al-Sistani, also condemned the massacre, saying that it is added to the series of crimes of the Israeli occupation.

Al-Azhar said in a statement published today, Saturday, on its official account on the social networking platform "X" that it confirms "that this treacherous criminal act that targeted innocent civilians who were standing before God in performing the dawn prayer, along with their women, children and elderly; is a crime that all human languages ​​are unable to express its cruelty, heinousness and barbarism."

Al-Azhar added that this massacre "is devoid of all meanings of mercy and humanity," as "this enemy has gone too far in killing the weak and innocent, starving them to death, and has become adept at blowing up their homes and bombing their shelters, in full view of the international community that has been paralyzed and unable to stand up to the terrorism of this brutal entity and its supporters."

After expressing his condolences for the martyrs of the massacre, Al-Azhar called on "all free people of the world to continue to pressure this terrorist entity by all means, to stop its crimes and the acts of genocide that it practices daily against the owners of the land in Palestine." He added: "Let everyone know that history will not have mercy on those who are complacent and silent about these heinous crimes."

In the same context, the highest Shiite authority in Iraq, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, condemned today, Saturday, the major massacre committed by the occupation in the Tabi'in School, and said in a statement issued by his office: "Once again, the Israeli occupation army committed a major massacre in the proud Gaza Strip by targeting those sheltered by (the Tabi'in School) of displaced and homeless people... in a horrific crime that is added to its series of crimes that have been ongoing for more than 10 months."

Al-Sistani called on "the world - once again - to stand up to this terrible savagery," and especially "the Islamic peoples... to unite and unite to pressure to stop the war of extermination in Gaza."

By targeting the "Tabi'in School," the number of schools sheltering displaced people that the Israeli army bombed in Gaza City alone in one week has risen to 6, which has left a large number of martyrs and wounded.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described Israel's "fatal strike" on Saturday at dawn on a school housing displaced people in Gaza as "horrific," saying he was "horrified" by the images of the massacre.

"Images coming from a school housing displaced people in Gaza that was hit by a horrific Israeli airstrike, with dozens of Palestinian casualties reported," Borrell wrote on the X platform.

"At least 10 schools have been targeted in recent weeks. There is no justification for these massacres," he added, stressing that "a ceasefire in Gaza is the only way to stop the killing of civilians and secure the release of hostages."

For her part, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, said that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in one school after another in the Gaza Strip, with American and European weapons, amidst the indifference of all "civilized nations."

Arab and international condemnations of the "Fajr Massacre" against worshippers in Gaza

Arab and international reactions condemned the Israeli aggression that targeted worshipers at dawn today, Saturday, in the "Al-Tabi'een" school that houses displaced people in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City, which resulted in the death of more than 100 martyrs and dozens of injuries.

Syria: "Israel's" crimes will increase the determination of the people of this region to resist it

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the horrific massacre in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in the middle of the Gaza Strip, stressing that "the entity's persistence in shedding the blood of innocents in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria will increase the determination of the people of this region to resist the occupation and respond to its crimes, despite all the Western support it enjoys."

The Syrian Foreign Ministry saluted this legendary steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the face of their occupiers over the decades, while affirming its firm and strong support for them in their just struggle.

Lebanon: "Israel" intentionally prolongs and expands the war

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry condemned in the "strongest terms" the occupation forces' targeting of the "Tabi'een" school, which houses defenseless displaced Palestinians in Gaza City.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry confirmed that the deliberate killing of these huge numbers of civilians provides conclusive evidence of "Israel's" intention to prolong and expand the war.

For its part, the Beirut Scholars Association said that the crime of the "Tabi'een" school is a described crime that requires the global conscience to put an end to the genocide that the "Nero of the age" is determined to carry out.

The association stressed that "the cost of confrontation, despite the enormity of the brutality, remains less than the humiliating submission that the Israeli occupation seeks to impose on us by force," stressing that "we have no choice but to confront and resist, no matter how high the price and how great the sacrifices."

She also held all supporters of this "criminal Israeli entity that thirsts for murder and is insatiable for bloodshed" responsible for the massacres, saying: "What kind of world do we live in that falsely, hypocritically claims civilization and human rights?"

Yemen: For a strong, deterrent, and earth-shattering response to the occupation

The head of the Sana'a negotiating delegation, Mohammed Abdul Salam, condemned the massacre at the "Al-Tabi'in" school prayer hall in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in the center of Gaza City, saying: "We strongly condemn this Zionist fascism and denounce the United States' continued provision of full support to Israel to continue committing crimes of genocide against the people of Gaza."

The head of the Sana'a negotiating delegation pointed out that this brutal massacre committed by the criminal entity is with full American support.

He stressed that Arabs and Muslims bear a great responsibility towards Gaza, while stressing that "shame and fire will befall anyone who neglects his religious and humanitarian duty, and that this neglect encourages the Israeli enemy to continue its unprecedented crimes of genocide."

The Ansar Allah Political Bureau also condemned the new Israeli massacre against worshipers, pointing out that "Arab and Islamic governments are resorting to silence and helplessness as if they do not see, hear or speak in the face of the massacres of the Zionist entity."

The Ansar Allah Political Bureau confirmed that the Israeli occupation entity is persisting in committing bloody massacres, one massacre after another, in an unprecedented violation of Palestinian blood.

He renewed the covenant with Palestine and its people, and stressed that "Yemen continues to provide popular support and military escalation" and will not stop until the aggression on Gaza stops.

For its part, the Yemeni Scholars Association expressed its condemnation of the massacre, and stressed that the occupation's perpetration of a massacre against worshipers at the "Al-Tabi'een" school imposes on all Arab regimes, peoples and armies to carry out the duty of support and declare general mobilization.

It added in a statement, "We mobilize the human conscience and Islamic affiliation in the face of thousands of bloody massacres committed by the Israeli enemy for 10 months against the people of Gaza."

It called on the Jerusalem, Jihad and Resistance Axis to respond with a strong, deterrent and devastating response to the occupation.

Iraq: The world must stand up to the brutality of the occupation

The Iraqi presidency condemned the "Al-Tabi'een" massacre, noting that after a series of crimes committed by the occupying entity that usurped the occupied Palestinian territories, the usurping entity returns to commit a new massacre, exploiting the silence of the international community and the major countries concerned with maintaining international balance and influencing the United Nations resolution.

The Iraqi presidency also stressed that the blood of the Palestinian people will continue to be shed as long as the occupying entity's hand remains free from accountability and questioning by the international community.

In turn, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the massacre, as did the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, which stressed that these repeated attacks against civilians constitute a flagrant violation of international norms and conventions and demonstrate the Israeli entity's disregard for international initiatives aimed at stopping the aggression on Gaza.

It renewed Iraq's full solidarity with the Palestinian people, stressing the need for the international community and Islamic countries in particular to take a firm and unified position to stop these crimes.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia condemn targeting of Al-Tabi'een School

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli occupation forces' targeting of Al-Tabi'een School, expressing its denunciation of the international community's failure to hold "Israel" accountable for these violations.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry stressed the need to stop the mass massacres in the Gaza Strip, which is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian disaster due to the violations of the Israeli occupation.

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned in the strongest terms the occupation's bombing of a school housing displaced persons east of Gaza City, which led to the martyrdom and injury of dozens, stressing that this bombing is a horrific massacre and a brutal crime against defenseless civilians.

It called for an urgent international investigation after the Israeli bombing of the school in Gaza.

Egypt: "Israel" lacks political will to end the war

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry, in turn, indicated that "the deliberate killing of defenseless Palestinians is conclusive evidence of the lack of political will on the Israeli side to end the war in Gaza."

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry condemned, in a statement, "Israel's" bombing of the "Al-Tabi'in" school, which houses displaced persons in the Al-Daraj neighborhood east of Gaza City, and also denounced "the continued Israeli attacks against civilians in the Strip, in an unprecedented disregard for the provisions of international law and international humanitarian law."

It called for "a unified and effective international position that provides protection for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and puts an end to the series of targeting defenseless civilians."

Jordan: Massacre is a violation of international laws

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned in the "strongest terms" the Israeli bombing of the school, and considered it "a flagrant violation of the rules of international law, and a systematic targeting of civilians and shelters for the displaced."

The official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sufian Qudah, said that this targeting, which comes at a time when mediators are seeking to resume negotiations, is an indication of the Israeli government's efforts to obstruct ceasefire efforts.

He stressed "the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities, especially the Security Council, to immediately stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza, stop the ongoing and continuous Israeli violations of international law, and hold those responsible accountable."

Iran: The occupation aims to continue the war and thwart the negotiations

The advisor to the leader of the Islamic Revolution for political affairs in Iran, Ali Shamkhani, considered that the sole goal of the occupation entity in killing the worshipers in the "Tabi'in" school in Gaza, and assassinating the martyr Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, is to continue the war and thwart the ceasefire negotiations.

For his part, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, expressed his condemnation of the Israeli aggression on the "Tabi'in" school in Gaza, describing it as "brutal" and a clear example of the crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity that are being committed simultaneously.

The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry also stressed that "the continuation of these Zionist attacks proves once again that the occupation is not committed to any international resolutions and moral and humanitarian principles."

Kanaani stressed that the only way to confront this murderous entity is "taking firm and decisive action by Islamic countries and the free people of the world in practical support for the Palestinian people and their resistance struggle."

Turkey said, "Israel committed a massacre" Turkey, for its part, condemned the massacre, stressing that "Israel committed a new crime against humanity by slaughtering more than 100 civilians who took refuge in a school."

Dehumanizing Opponents as an Instrument of Supremacism: "human animals"

Dehumanizing Opponents as an Instrument of Supremacism: "human animals"

    Monday, July 15, 2024   No comments

We have not forgotten the descriptions and expressions that Yoav Galant, the occupation's Minister of War, made at the beginning of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, when he said, "Israel is fighting human animals and is acting accordingly," until he returned, after more than nine months of the war of extermination that "Israel" is practicing in the Strip, to repeat the same descriptions about the resistance and its people. Is it a coincidence that Galant, followed by Netanyahu, returned two or three days later to the same speech, or is the matter related to considerations and a general context that governs Israeli colonial behavior. The expressions that Minister Galant used at the time, or those he uses today, were not born of the moment of the shock of the flood or the "outburst of anger" that was generated in Israeli society immediately after October 7, as some like to describe it, and this behavior of "Israel" is not a new policy that it is practicing today, but rather an extension of a colonial policy that it has been practicing for many years, the title of which is death, destruction, pain and terror, and what it produced in this war is nothing but a double mixture of the same horrors.

Looking at "others" with inferiority, from a position of superiority, as something "different", as "goyim", primitives, or "human animals" living in this universe that is harnessed to serve the "chosen Jew" and is fed by a huge store of hatred and arrogance.

This superior, “Western in origin” view of the “backward” world has not disappeared since the time of colonial Europe, just as racism has not disappeared today in the Zionist racial mentality, even after 9 months of massacres, and even after these racist, supremacist descriptions were used against “Israel” and its leaders by the South African representative and by judges in the International Court of Justice.

Although it was met with strong international human rights rejection, as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch considered the statements of the occupation’s minister of war “disgusting and an explicit call to commit war massacres,” Netanyahu and his Zionist minister of war still see Gaza as a “human animal cage,” slaughtering whoever he wants, whenever he wants, and however he wants, then razing it to the ground, and torturing its “primitive” people, who are cut off from electricity, water, and food, just as the Minister’s European ancestors did with the “human animals” they brought from Senegal and the Congo until they died of thirst, cold, and disease outside the walls of the Roman Catholic Church in Brussels, because they are “human animals, nothing more.” This description, which Galant deliberately and provocatively uses, is enough to indicate Israel's intention, coupled with action, to do everything and anything to take revenge on the Palestinians, even if this revenge results in killing children and the elderly and demolishing hospitals, shelters, schools and mosques on the heads of the displaced. As long as these are just "human animals", any harm that Israel inflicts on them, no matter how heinous, is "permissible and legitimate because they deserve it".

More importantly, in addition to what we have indicated about the deep-rootedness of this approach in the Israeli consciousness and behavior since the inception of this usurping entity, understanding the Israeli reaction, which adopts a policy of complete destruction without restrictions and without any regard for the rules of international humanitarian law, requires understanding the backgrounds and motives that specifically drive it today and push its leaders to return and insist on repeating its ABCs, especially describing the Palestinians as "human animals".

The first of these motives is to reproduce the narrative of the war and its spirit within Israeli society as if it were its first day, so that Israeli society remains led by its government and its agenda, thus silencing all voices and protests calling for an end to the war and demanding a negotiating path that leads to political arrangements, allowing Netanyahu and his partners to evade the societal accountability that will end the rule of this extremist right-wing coalition if the war stops, as if the charge of anger that is being fueled by the continued evocation of the narrative of “human animals” will, over time, reduce the extent of what many of them described as the massive military and security failure on October 7 and what followed. Because this narrative needs support to remain present in the consciousness of Israelis and the world, it must continue to be reminded and broadcast through media platforms from time to time. The second is the fierce competition in which the leaders of "Israel" compete to incite against the Palestinians and the people of Gaza in particular, as Israeli politicians, military personnel and religious men excel in inciting against the Palestinians, to the point that repeatedly describing the Palestinians as "animals" has become an essential part of their political discourse.

In this race of incitement, "Israel", its leadership and its army are using everything they have at their disposal without limits, crushing all of Gaza and leveling it to the ground without mercy. For the people of Gaza and Palestine in general, mercy has always been outside the dictionary of Israeli aggression, which means that the repeated mention of "human animals" in Galant and Netanyahu's speech was nothing more than a "natural" description in the context of the spirit of war and fighting that has inhabited Israeli society since its inception.

The third is that "peaceful" and "civilized" "Israel" must weave its vision of the other "barbaric and backward" party, as the Palestinians are not human beings, and it is determined to give the world a new narrative that moves it from the position of self-defense to the position of "exterminating animals", while preserving its "humanity".

In order to ensure that it "whitens its image and behavior", Israel must continue to criminalize and dehumanize the "other", to ensure that the world does not turn against it while it exterminates "these animals", accusing it of confronting what it calls "atrocities" with greater atrocities, and what it calls "terrorism" with more horrific terrorism. This is what was expressed by the position of the Chief of Staff of the occupation army, Herzi Halevi, a few months after the beginning of the war, when he said: "We fight with determination and remain human, unlike the other side that fights like animals."

The fourth motive is the contempt for international law and its institutions, as "Israel" has a superior ability to destroy, and its history is littered with the rubble of cities and villages and human remains, and its record also has a long history of destroying international law, kicking it and turning its back on it, as Netanyahu stood proudly a few days ago, saying: "We have proven that no force in the world can stop us."

Because international law, when it comes to "Israel", is very theoretical, very timid, very weak, and far removed from reality, all its prohibitions are violated and violated to the point of insane chaos as long as the victim is a "Palestinian Arab" and the killer is an "Israeli Jew." Perhaps this is also a message to those who rely on the rules of international law and the Geneva Conventions, and bet on "rationalizing" "Israel's" behavior and preventing it from targeting unarmed civilians, as the Israeli army, according to Galant, does not see itself bound by these agreements, as it kills "human" animals, and these rules and agreements do not include them. It seems that stripping opponents of their humanity has become a basic method in racist wars, and "Israel" is the protégé of the colonial West and its creation and image, imitating today, as it used to do in the past, what its early Western European colonial ancestors did, and it is inhabited by narratives of violence that shape the public conscience in "Israel", and in which religion, culture, and art intertwine by pressing the trigger of the fire that Gaza is burning with Today, the earth is uprooted and its "human animals" are burned alive.

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Muhammad Halsa, Writer and researcher; content of byline articles express the opinion of author(s).

Why the US and West are losing the Rest?

Why the US and West are losing the Rest?

    Thursday, July 11, 2024   No comments

Citing international law and invoking the claim of self-defense against occupation forces, US and the West stood by Ukraine providing it with military, political and economic support to defend itself from what the West describes as an act of aggression by Russian occupation forces.  Just this week it was reported that the first batch of United States-built F-16 fighter jets are being transferred to Ukraine; that is according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who revealed the development as world leaders pledge continued support for Kyiv at a NATO summit in Washington DC.

❝Those jets will be flying in the skies of Ukraine this summer to make sure that Ukraine continue to effectively defend itself.❞ US Secretary of State announcing that F-16 fighter jets from Denmark and the Netherlands are on their way to Ukraine 

With total lack of awareness of how hypocritical that position is, during the same time, it was reported that the Biden administration has resumed shipping 500-pound bombs to Israel, according to unnamed US official quoted by media outlets on Wednesday. Given the level of destruction and death that these weapons are causing, this makes the US administration complicit in the Israeli war crimes against Palestinian civilians in Gaza by providing the Israeli military with heavy bombs which are being used against residential areas in Gaza.

Israel has committed heinous atrocities against civilians during its ongoing genocide in Gaza for over nine months. These accusations of war crimes and illegal acts in occupied territories are not just the findings of human rights organization, independent investigators, the ICC investigators, UN experts, and even members of the US military, including some in the US Defense Intelligence service;  the criminal acts are documented and reported by Israeli soldiers themselves, as reported by Israeli media reports and as posted on social media by Israeli troops who are committing these atrocities.

Some in the West started to see the hypocrisy of Western leaders, they categorize it as "double-standard" instead of willful disregard to the rights of non-Western peoples. For instance, the Spanish PM seems to realize the problem of seeing the West applying a 'double standards' over Gaza war. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called on Western countries not to adopt a policy of “double standards” regarding the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. “If we tell our people that we support Ukraine because we defend international law, we must do the same with regard to Gaza,” Sanchez said at a NATO summit in Washington. He called for a consistent political position on the issue, without adopting a policy of double standards, noting the need to create conditions for an immediate and urgent ceasefire.

The West lost the moral high ground to invoke respect for human right, self-defense, and moral and legal imperatives. If Ukrainians are entitled to resisting occupation, so are the Palestinians. Therefore, if the West wants to be consistent and invoke the obligation to protect human rights, the West must provide Palestinians with military, political, and economic support the same way they are providing it to Ukrainians. Without this consistency, they West will be seen for what it is: a club of supremacists who put their interests above and beyond the basic needs of non-whites for life with dignity.

12 US officials who resigned denounce Biden's policy towards Gaza

12 US officials who resigned denounce Biden's policy towards Gaza

    Tuesday, July 02, 2024   No comments

Twelve US government officials who resigned over the Biden administration’s stance on the war in Gaza have issued a joint statement denouncing Biden’s Gaza policy, which they said has failed and poses a threat to US national security.

The statement added that the current crisis illustrates the damage that the current US policy in Gaza is causing to the Palestinians, Israel, and US national security.

The statement considered that the US diplomatic cover for Israel and the ongoing flow of weapons are undeniable complicity in the killing and starvation of the besieged Palestinian population in Gaza.

The statement also said that this stubborn policy threatens the United States and the lives of its soldiers and diplomats, as was evident in the killing of 3 US service members in Jordan last January.

The statement stressed that this policy severely undermines the credibility of the United States around the world.

The officials who signed the statement are:

Maryam Hassanein, who was a special assistant at the Department of Interior, quit her job on Tuesday. She slammed Biden's foreign policy, describing it as "genocide-enabling" and dehumanizing toward Arabs and Muslims. Israel denies genocide allegations.

Mohammed Abu Hashem, a Palestinian American, said last month he ended a 22-year career in the U.S. Air Force. He said he lost relatives in Gaza in the ongoing war, including an aunt killed in an Israeli air strike in October.

Riley Livermore, who was a U.S. Air Force engineer, said in mid-June that he was leaving his role. "I don't want to be working on something that can turn around and be used to slaughter innocent people," he told the Intercept news website.

Stacy Gilbert, who served in the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, left in late May. She said she resigned over an administration report to Congress that she said falsely stated Israel was not blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Alexander Smith, a contractor for USAID, quit in late May, opens new tab, alleging censorship after the U.S. foreign aid agency canceled publication of his presentation on maternal and child mortality among Palestinians. The agency said it had not gone through proper review and approval.

Lily Greenberg Call, a Jewish political appointee, resigned in May, having served as a special assistant to the chief of staff in the Interior Department. "As a Jew, I cannot endorse the Gaza catastrophe," she wrote in the Guardian, opens new tab.

Anna Del Castillo, a deputy director at the White House's Office of Management and Budget, departed in April and became the first known White House official to leave the administration over policy toward Gaza.

Hala Rharrit, an Arabic language spokesperson for the State Department, departed her post in April in opposition to the United States' Gaza policy, she wrote on her LinkedIn page.

Annelle Sheline resigned from the State Department's human rights bureau in late March, writing in a CNN article, opens new tab that she was unable to serve a government that "enables such atrocities."

Tariq Habash, a Palestinian American, quit as special assistant in the Education Department's office of planning in January. He said the Biden administration was turning a "blind eye" to atrocities in Gaza.

Harrison Mann, a U.S. Army major and Defense Intelligence Agency official, resigned in November over Gaza policy and went public with his reasons in May.

Josh Paul, director of the State Department's bureau of political military affairs, left in October in the first publicly known resignation, citing what he described as Washington's "blind support" for Israel.

Background: Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed settlements on the other side of the security fence built by Israel to blockade the Strip on 7 October. The attack resulted in the killing of about 1,200 people and detaining of 250 soldiers and civilians.

However, over time, it has been revealed by Haaretz that helicopters and tanks of the Israeli army had, in fact, killed many of the 1,139 soldiers and civilians claimed by Israel to have been killed by the Palestinian Resistance factions.

Meanwhile, the US officials finally acknowledged that Israel has been using Palestinians as human shield; yet, they refuse to call for independent investigation.

US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel tells reporters that they have seen disturbing reports about the Israeli military using civilians as human shields.

He said the US calls Israel again to quickly investigate and ensure accountability for any violations.

He added that the Israeli army had said that it is investigating the video and that it does not reflect its values because it is a violation of its orders and procedures.

Journalist, Ed O’Keefe Asks: "How Many More Charred Corpses Does the President Need to See" to Change Gaza War Policy

Journalist, Ed O’Keefe Asks: "How Many More Charred Corpses Does the President Need to See" to Change Gaza War Policy

    Thursday, May 30, 2024   No comments

 Journalist, Ed O’Keefe Asks: How Many More Charred Corpses Does the President, Joe Biden, Need to See to Change Gaza War Policy?

Lily Greenberg Call: Biden corrupted the idea of Jewish safety, weaponizing my community as a shield to dodge accountability

Lily Greenberg Call: Biden corrupted the idea of Jewish safety, weaponizing my community as a shield to dodge accountability

    Tuesday, May 28, 2024   No comments

 Former Biden Political Appointee, Lily Greenberg Call, writiing to the Guardian: 

> I resigned on Wednesday, 15 May – the 76th anniversary of the Nakba – because I could no longer serve at the pleasure of a president who refuses to stop another catastrophe. 

> My former boss is the person who makes me feel most unsafe as an American Jew.

> The president of the United States has persistently corrupted the idea of Jewish safety, weaponizing my community as a shield to dodge accountability for his role in this atrocity.

> I am certain that Jews are not better protected by a war effort, endorsed by the United States and waged in the name of Jewish safety, that furthers a genocide of a whole people collectively framed as “our enemy”.

> Around the world, over Memorial Day weekend here in America, people watched on social media in horror as the IDF dropped 60 2000-pound bombs on a displaced persons camp in Rafah, burning tents and the refugees sheltering inside.

> Making Jews the face of an unrelenting, genocidal campaign only puts us at risk even more.

Greenberg Call comes after the Tents Massacre that burned children alive in Rafah.

Spanish Defense Minister: What is happening in Gaza is a real genocide... something that cannot be ignored

Spanish Defense Minister: What is happening in Gaza is a real genocide... something that cannot be ignored

    Saturday, May 25, 2024   No comments

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles confirmed today, Saturday, that the war on the Gaza Strip is a “true genocide,” in light of the deterioration of relations between “Israel” and Spain, after Madrid’s decision to recognize the Palestinian state.

“We cannot ignore what is happening in Gaza, which is a true genocide,” Robles said during an interview with the official TVE television, pointing out that Madrid’s recognition of a Palestinian state aims to help “end the violence in Gaza.”

Robles' statements came after similar statements from Yolanda Diaz, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister yesterday, who also confirmed that the war on Gaza is genocide.

Diaz pledged to continue pressing, from her position in the government, to defend human rights and put an end to the genocide committed against the Palestinian people.

Diaz's pledge came in a video clip circulated by activists on social media, in which she expressed her welcome of Spain's recognition of the State of Palestine, and stressed that her country's move towards recognizing the Palestinian state, on May 28, is "just the beginning, and we cannot stop at this point."

“We are living in a moment where doing the bare minimum is heroic, but it is not enough at the same time,” added Díaz, who also serves as Minister of Labor and Economy.

She said, "Palestine will be liberated from the river to the sea," referring to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, between which Palestine lies.

In a related context, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albarez, said in a post on the “X” platform that “the precautionary measures taken by the International Court of Justice, which included the decision to stop the Israeli attack in Rafah, are mandatory,” calling for their implementation. The ICC, too, has moved to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders accusing them of crimes against humanity and other war crimes.

Yesterday, the International Court of Justice ordered the Israeli occupation to stop the military attack on Rafah, stressing that any additional military action will lead to partial or total destruction in the region, in accordance with the Genocide Convention, without urging a comprehensive ceasefire in the Strip.

It is noteworthy that Spain, Norway, and Ireland announced, two days ago, officially recognizing the State of Palestine as of May 28, amid Arab welcome and Israeli anger.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday, "If more countries recognize the Palestinian state, this will increase international pressure for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip."

Before this development, European Union member countries had previously recognized the State of Palestine, including Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Sweden.

Another US governmental official and a Biden Appointee, who is also Jewish, resign protesting Biden's handling of the war in Gaza calling it a Genocide

Another US governmental official and a Biden Appointee, who is also Jewish, resign protesting Biden's handling of the war in Gaza calling it a Genocide

    Friday, May 17, 2024   No comments

In a move that some observers described as a resounding rejection of Biden's handling of the war in Gaza, a high-ranking Jewish employee in the administration of US President Joe Biden announced her resignation from her position on Wednesday, due to what she described as his disastrous and ongoing support for the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

In an article published by the Washington Post, Lily Greenberg Call, Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff at the Interior Ministry, cited her Jewish upbringing and relationship with Israel and recounted how her family fled from Europe to America to escape anti-Semitic persecution there.

In her resignation letter (see below), Greenberg Call - who made the first public resignation by a Jew over Biden's support for Israel - wrote, "I can no longer in good conscience continue to represent this administration amid President Biden's disastrous and continuing support for the genocide in Gaza."

In an interview she conducted with writer Yasmine Abu Talib Yasmine Abu Talib, Greenberg Call said that resigning was a difficult decision because of the society in which she grew up, but the Jewish values ​​in which she was raised led her to make this decision.

“Judaism is the most important part of my identity, and all the values ​​I was raised with and all my Jewish education are what led me to this decision,” Greenberg Call said. She added, "What Israel is doing in Gaza and to the Palestinians throughout the land does not represent the Jews and is a shame to our ancestors."

Commenting on her position in the Biden administration, she said, “Everyone here is thinking about achieving the American dream and rising to the top, but I asked myself several times during the past eight months: What is the benefit of power if it is not used to stop crimes against humanity?”

Earlier this week, a US Army major working for the Defense Intelligence Agency resignedUS Army major working for the Defense Intelligence Agency resigned, writing in an open letter that he felt “incredibly ashamed and guilty” when he realized that his work contributed to the suffering and killing of Palestinians.

A political official also resigned from the Ministry of Education last January, and an employee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who worked on transporting weapons to foreign countries last October.

In february of this year, U.S. airman Aaron Bushnell U.S. airman Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire at the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., after he described his action while walking to the location as an extreme act of protest against the war in Gaza—a desperate plea to “free Palestine,” as he screamed while flames engulfed his body.

As early as October of last year, some US officials, including State Department officials, have resigned rejecting Biden's blind support of a genocidal war in Gaza.

Whi is Lily Greenberg Call

 An American Jewish politician and human rights activist at the local and international levels. She served as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff at the US Department of the Interior, and participated in the election campaigns of US President Joe Biden and his Vice President, Kamala Harris.

She worked for many years within Zionist groups supporting Israel, then took an anti-occupation stance, opposed violence in the occupied Palestinian territories, and called for peaceful coexistence between Palestinians and Jews.

Lily Greenberg Cole was born and raised in San Diego, California. Her origins go back to a Jewish family that immigrated to the United States of America to escape the persecution practiced against Jews in Europe.

Her family lived on Ellis Island, New York, and spent decades suffering under the weight of racial discrimination, which affected Lily's upbringing and her vision of issues of justice and discrimination.

Greenberg grew up in a Jewish community in which unconditional support for Israel prevails, to the point where it is considered part of the Jewish identity, so she was a prominent youth in pro-Israel activism in her high school years, and has been involved in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) since her freshman year of high school. She was elected president of the Israel Defense Club at her school.

When she was 16 years old, she went on a trip to the occupied territories and stayed there for a full year, as part of a program for the “Jewish Youth” movement, which included making trips in the occupying state and joining educational courses. Among the activities were meetings with Palestinian teenagers, the goal of which was Developing the spirit of coexistence between the two parties.

When she joined the University of California, she joined pro-Israel groups, and became the leader of a student movement supporting Israel and known within the university.

In 2017, she led a trip to Israel, organized by the Hillel Berkeley Jewish Student Center. Students from a wide range of ethnic and religious backgrounds joined the trip, visited Palestinian cities such as Bethlehem and Ramallah, and met Palestinians and settlers.

Greenberg worked for many years as an activist to defend Israel, but experiences began to change her convictions. During a relief mission in Greece, she forged friendly relations with refugees of Palestinian origins, developed deep relationships with Palestinians through academic programs, and established close relationships with Palestinian Americans during periods of study and campaigns. Electoral relations, and those relations had a significant impact on changing the ideas on which they grew up.

In her article about severing its relationship with AIPAC, Lilly stated that she realized that the organization, through its unconditional support for the Israeli government, was supporting violence, which was contrary to its values, and so she joined to work with other groups.

Greenberg also worked with non-Zionist organizations, such as the "If Not Now" organization, which opposes the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

  

US Government: Infants were placed in the oven and cooked alive

US Government: Infants were placed in the oven and cooked alive

    Friday, April 26, 2024   No comments

When the president of the United States, Biden,  amplified the fake story of 40 babies beheaded by Hamas, some excused his actions by claiming that he was duped by Israel intelligence to ascertain his unwavering support for the war Israel intended to unleash. 

With another US government official making a similar and even more shocking allegation, amplifying another fake story, that excuse becomes untenable.  

The third in line in the order of succession in the US government, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Johnson, on the same "trusted" news outlet that propagated the beheadings, CNN, repeated a story that was first made by some Israel person, Eli Beer, speaking at the Republican group’s summit in Las Vegas on October 28, that were later debunked by more than one investigative reports. Johnson, on that basis, claimed that Hamas "placed infants in the oven and cooked them alive". 

  

Media review: Israel arresting and assassianting family members of Hamas political leaders including chidlren

Media review: Israel arresting and assassianting family members of Hamas political leaders including chidlren

    Thursday, April 11, 2024   No comments

Three of the sons of the head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Ismail Haniyeh, and several of his grandchildren were assassinated, on Wednesday, in an Israeli raid on a civilian car in the Beach Camp in Gaza City, north of the Strip.

Aljazeera journalist, Ismail Al-Ghoul, reported that the “martyrs, who were at least 5, fell while they were traveling in a car to perform family ties and congratulate residents on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr.”

He pointed out that the toll is temporary and is likely to rise because a larger number of people were on board the targeted car.

The head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Ismail Haniyeh, received the news, while visiting the wounded in Gaza, with patience and composure. The moment he heard the news, he said, “May God make it easy for them.”

Haniyeh insisted on continuing his visits to the wounded after receiving the news.

In his first comment on the assassination, he said in an interview with Aljazeera: “I thank God for this honor with which he bestowed upon us the martyrdom of my three sons and some grandchildren... With this pain and blood, we create hopes, a future, and freedom for our people, our cause, and our nation.”

He added, "The occupation believes that by targeting the sons of leaders, it will break the resolve of our people. We tell them that this blood will only make us more steadfast in our principles and adherence to our land."

 The assassiantion took place after Israel arrested Hanieh' sister just lastr week. 

The Israeli police and the Shin Bet said in a joint statement that their forces, along with border guard reinforcements, carried out a security operation dubbed “Early Sunrise,” during which they arrested a relative of the Hamas leader who lives in the town of Tel Sheva, east of the city of Beersheba.

The statement added that she was arrested on suspicion of having made contact with leaders and activists in the Hamas movement and inciting to carry out "terrorist operations" in Israel.

Sabah Abdel Salam Haniyeh (57 years old) lives with her family in Tel Sheva, a few kilometers east of the city of Beersheba.

 

 

Why does it take the killing of non-Gazans for the West to see war crimes?

Why does it take the killing of non-Gazans for the West to see war crimes?

    Wednesday, April 03, 2024   No comments

Politico reported that the US and other Western governments were “outraged” by the “devastating” attack that killed 7 workers from the World Central Kitchen, just another a war crime. Ironically, these governments do not seem to be outraged by the fact that these seven aid workers were killed because they were in Gaza feeding 2 million people starved by a war that is enabled by them. 33,000 civilians killed in Gaza, 70% of whom are children and women, did not cause outrage to summoned Israel diplomats. But this incident does.

The news outlet reported that

 "Israel’s strike against aid workers trying to get food to residents in Gaza reverberated across Washington on Tuesday, particularly resonating because of the American death and the connections the group’s founder — José Andrés — has to the capital. Administration officials lashed out at new levels, and Israel was left struggling for damage control."

Western media provided extensive coverage as if these are the only seven uninvolved civilians killed by Israelis strikes in the past 6 months. 

Canada bans the export of weapons to Israel... Will other Western governments follow

Canada bans the export of weapons to Israel... Will other Western governments follow

    Sunday, March 24, 2024   No comments

In a remarkable decision, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie announced that her country would suspend arms exports to Israel, describing the decision as important and that it was “not a symbolic change.”

This step comes after Parliament approved a non-binding resolution proposal presented by the New Democratic Party, urging the government on a set of points, including demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, halting further arms export permits to Israel, and ensuring continued support for UNRWA and active work to establish the State of Palestine. As part of a comprehensive and just peace in the Middle East.

Despite the non-binding nature of the resolution, it represents a historic step, according to what many observers described, and comes in line with the shift witnessed in Ottawa’s speech towards the war on Gaza.

Following the October 7 operation, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement in support of Israel and its right to defend itself, before later announcing his condemnation of the pro-Palestinian marches.

The contrast between Ottawa and Tel Aviv became clear with Canada voting in favor of a UN resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza in December, while Jolie later stated that her country had not agreed to issue a permit to export military lethal products to Israel since October 7, as It has stopped issuing any permits at all since January 8.

The stage before submitting the proposal to a vote witnessed strenuous efforts by representatives of the ruling Liberal and New Democratic parties to amend a proposal from the latter that included many points, the most important of which was urging the government to call for an immediate ceasefire, suspension of trade in all goods and military technology with Israel, and official recognition of the state of Israel. Palestine.

These efforts resulted in fundamental amendments to many items, as a more flexible formula was agreed upon, including “stopping further permits and transferring arms exports to Israel, and working with international partners to actively pursue the goal of reaching a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, including: This is the establishment of the State of Palestine as part of a negotiated two-state solution.”

The move of the ruling party’s representatives is due to many reasons, the most important of which is that voting on the proposal in its initial form, yes or no, would have led to damage to the party’s popularity among one of the two blocs, whether supporting Israel or opposing the war on Gaza.

This is important given that next year's general election will be held amid an unprecedented decline in the Prime Minister's popularity, according to a Mainstreet Research poll, which showed Trudeau trailing his biggest rival, the Conservative Party, by more than 15 points. While 63% of respondents expressed a somewhat negative or unfavorable view of Trudeau.

The arrival of the Liberals and New Democrats to a settlement formula also strengthens the agreement between the two parties, as the two parties signed an agreement in 2022 that allowed the Trudeau government to continue without the threat of a no-confidence vote against it in Parliament by the opponents, as the two parties have 181 deputies out of 338.

Canada, the main ally of the United States, provides Israel with military aid annually, but it has already reduced its arms shipments to Israel to non-lethal equipment, such as communications equipment, after the war that Israel declared on Gaza following the October 7 attack.

A Canadian official told news agencies, requesting anonymity, that the conditions on the ground make it difficult for Canada to export any type of military equipment to Israel.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie confirmed to the Toronto Star that Ottawa will halt future arms exports.

The issue of arms delivery to Israel raises public anger in a number of countries around the world and has led to legal measures being taken in many of them.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed great concern about the possible Israeli attack on the city of Rafah, which houses hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

Canada is not the first to decide to suspend arms sales to Israel. The Netherlands, Japan, Spain and Belgium preceded it, and many other countries said that they would no longer buy Israeli weapons.

Last week, a group of Danish NGOs said they would sue Denmark to stop arms exports to Israel, citing fears that its weapons would be used to commit serious crimes against civilians during the war in Gaza.

Meanwhile, a Dutch court in February ordered the Netherlands to ban all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they would be used to violate international law in Gaza.

Israel denounced the decision to suspend arms sales, and its Foreign Minister Israel Katz commented by saying that the decision “undermines Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas terrorists.”

“History will judge Canada’s current behavior harshly,” he wrote on the X platform.

But US Senator Bernie Sanders welcomed the Canadian move and wrote on X: “Given the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, including the spread and worsening of hunger, the United States should stop sending a dime to Netanyahu’s war machine.”

Israel is one of the most prominent importers of Canadian weapons, as it received military equipment worth 21 million Canadian dollars in 2022, according to Radio-Canada, and this was preceded by shipments worth 26 million dollars in 2021.

This puts Israel in the top 10 recipients of Canadian arms exports. But a Canadian government official explained that his country has not sent any exports to Israel since the beginning of this year.

This month, a group of Canadian lawyers and activists of Palestinian origin filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government demanding the suspension of arms exports to Israel, considering that Ottawa, with these exports, violates domestic and international law.