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.

French artist Corinne Raye, known as "Coco" publishes a cartoon in the newspaper "Liberation" mocking Muslims in Gaza, who are being starved to death

French artist Corinne Raye, known as "Coco" publishes a cartoon in the newspaper "Liberation" mocking Muslims in Gaza, who are being starved to death

    Wednesday, March 13, 2024   No comments

Freedom of expression has no limits in the West, when the freedom of expression is used to attack Muslims, and now Muslims who are subjected starvation. The left-wing newspaper Liberation in France published a racist cartoon about the month of Ramadan in Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to a murderous, destructive Israeli war since last October 7.

 The French artist wanted to depict the scene of hunger in the Strip, so she showed the man chasing rats in search of food to satisfy his hunger.

Liberation newspaper's editor-in-chief is Dov Alfon, who formerly worked for Israel's military intelligence unit 8200. The newspaper is owned by French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi.

This happens at a time when UN agencies gave reported catastrophic conditions in Gaza due to US government repeated vetoes that prevented UNSC resolutions from being adopted, and thanks to Western governments lack of concern for the deaths among civilians, 31,000 at this point, 72% are children and women. 

 

In Gaza, thousands of children have been injured and killed, more are losing their lives to malnutrition and diseases, hundreds of thousands have been displaced.

All children in Gaza are exposed to widespread destruction, deeply distressing events and trauma. ~ UNICEF, Mar. 12, 2024.

  

Does providing weapons to state that kills civilians and children in disproportionate numbers represent complicity in alleged war crimes?

Does providing weapons to state that kills civilians and children in disproportionate numbers represent complicity in alleged war crimes?

    Saturday, February 24, 2024   No comments

While some other Western countries continue to supply Israel with weapons systems that are used in its war on Gaza that have resulted in the killing of more than 30,000 civilians thus far, Spain announced that it will not sell arms to Israel until the war stops.

Spain will not sell arms to Israel "as long as the current situation continues," said Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Friday.

During a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York, Albares said no new arms sales license was given to Israel after Oct. 7.

This statement comes after media reports have accused the Spanish government of double dealing: by words annouce that they will not sell weapons, while in reality they continue to sell weapons to Israel. News Reports have suggested that Turkiye, too, stated words contradict their action: "Contrary to Ankara’s political rhetoric on the war in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, Turkish exports to Israel rose by 34.8%."

 Stating that Spain announced that it will provide €3.5 million ($3.7 million) in financing to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Albares noted that Spain is looking at how this can be increased in the short term.

In Germany, lawyers acting on behalf of Gazans have also accused German officials of complicy in the alleged war crimes.

 Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas. The ensuing Israeli war has killed more than 29,500 people and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

 media reports suggesting that Spain continues to export weapons to the conflict zone:

A First: More than 800 Officials from ally nations across the Atlantic have united to publicly criticize their governments over the war on Gaza

A First: More than 800 Officials from ally nations across the Atlantic have united to publicly criticize their governments over the war on Gaza

    Friday, February 02, 2024   No comments

More than 800 officials in the US, the UK and the EU released a public letter of dissent against their governments’ support of Israel in its war in Gaza, The New York Times reported on Friday.

According to current and former officials spearheading or supporting the initiative, the letter marks the first time that officials from ally nations across the Atlantic have united to publicly criticize their governments over the war.

The officials argue that they are speaking up because they, as civil servants, consider that it is their duty to help improve policy and to work in their nations’ interests, and that they are speaking up because they believe their governments need to change direction on the war.

“Our governments’ current policies weaken their moral standing and undermine their ability to stand up for freedom, justice and human rights globally,” The New York Times quoted the letter as saying.

There is a “plausible risk” that their governments’ policies are contributing to “grave violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and even ethnic cleansing or genocide,” it added.

According to the newspaper, the document protected the identities of signers as they fear reprisal, said one organizer, an official who has worked in the State Department for more than 20 years.

But about 800 current officials have given approval to the letter as it has quietly circulated among employees at the national level in multiple countries, the official was quoted as saying.

The effort reveals the extent to which pro-Israel policies among American, British and European leaders have stirred dissent among civil servants, including many who engage in foreign policies of their governments.

Noting that some 80 of the signers are from American agencies, with the biggest group being from the State Department, one organizer said the governing authority most represented among the signers is the collective EU institutions, followed by the Netherlands and the US.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell: The destruction in Gaza is worse than what Germany witnessed during World War II

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell: The destruction in Gaza is worse than what Germany witnessed during World War II

    Tuesday, December 12, 2023   No comments

Borrell: The situation is catastrophic and horrific, and the human suffering in the Strip constitutes an unprecedented challenge to the international community

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday described the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic and horrific,” with relatively “greater” destruction than what Germany witnessed during World War II.

After chairing a meeting of European Union foreign ministers, Borrell said that the Israeli army's response to the attacks launched by Hamas on October 7 led to an "incredible number of civilian casualties."

Borrell did not refer to the fact that Israel's war on Gaza has killed more children than any other conflict, with more than 70% of confirmed deaths being women and children.

Borrell also expressed the European Union's "concern" about the violence of extremist settlers in the West Bank, who are represented in the Israeli government by supremacists who suggested Israel drops a nuclear bomb on Gaza. 

Borrell also condemned the Israeli government's approval of the construction of 1,700 new housing units in Jerusalem, which Brussels considers a violation of international law.

Borrell said, “The destruction caused to buildings in Gaza...is somewhat greater than the destruction inflicted on German cities during World War II.”

He said that he presented to the foreign ministers of European Union countries a discussion paper to consider “imposing sanctions against extremist settlers in the West Bank” whose attacks against Palestinian residents have increased in intensity.

He indicated that he would soon turn the paper into an official proposal, based on an initiative taken by the United States, which announced last week that it would refuse to grant visas to extremist Israeli settlers.

But he acknowledged that there is no consensus yet on the issue among the governments of European Union countries.

Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie condemns Israeli bombardment of Gaza

Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie condemns Israeli bombardment of Gaza

    Sunday, December 03, 2023   No comments

American actress Angelina Jolie is the latest international art and entertainment celebrity to join in support of the Palestinians, especially after the unprecedented Israeli bombing of the densely populated Jabalia camp, which resulted in the deaths and wounding of hundreds.

Jolie published a picture of the massive destruction caused by the Israeli raids, and commented on Instagram: “This is the deliberate bombing of besieged residents who have nowhere to flee to.” “Gaza has been an open prison for nearly two decades, and it is rapidly turning into a mass grave.”

In this context, many Hollywood celebrities expressed their support for Palestine and the people of Gaza, stressing their condemnation of the crimes committed by Israel. 

More than 2,000 artists around the world issued a statement in which they accused governments of helping Israel commit war crimes in Gaza, and demanded an end to military and political support for Israel.“This is the deliberate bombing of a trapped population who have nowhere to flee. Gaza has been an open-air prison for nearly two decades and is fast becoming a mass grave,” she said in an Instagram post.

Jolie added that world leaders are “complicit in crimes” by refusing to demand a humanitarian ceasefire and blocking the UN Security Council.

The Wall Street Journal: Nature and quantity of American weapons provided to Israel since October 7

The Wall Street Journal: Nature and quantity of American weapons provided to Israel since October 7

    Saturday, December 02, 2023   No comments

The American Wall Street Journal reported, in a report, about the United States supplying the Israeli occupation entity with large bunker-busting bombs, among tens of thousands of other weapons and artillery shells, during the ongoing war on Gaza.

The newspaper quoted American officials as saying, “The wave of weapons, including approximately 15,000 bombs and 57,000 artillery shells, began shortly after the October 7 attack, and has continued in recent days.”

According to an internal US government list of weapons, which US officials transferred to the Wall Street Journal, among the munitions that Washington transferred to Israel were more than 5,000 unguided Mk82 bombs, and more than 5,400 bombs with Mk82 warheads. A 2,000-pound Mk84 bomb, about a thousand GBU-39 small-diameter bombs, and about 3,000 JDAM bombs, which convert unguided bombs into guided bombs.

The United States also sent nearly 57,000 155 mm artillery shells and 100 advanced BLU-109 bombs weighing about 900 kilograms to Israel.

But Washington did not previously reveal the total number of weapons it sent to Israel, nor the transfer of 100 BLU-109 bombs.

American officials say that “the failure to disclose these weapons is a result of the fact that Israeli weapons come through a different mechanism, including military sales.”

Diplomatic challenge

According to the Wall Street Journal, this airlift of ammunition worth hundreds of millions of dollars, especially on C-17 military cargo planes flying from the United States to Tel Aviv, shows the diplomatic challenge facing the Biden administration, as “This aid could undermine the administration’s pressure to protect civilians.”

It is noteworthy that "Israel" is the largest recipient of American foreign military funding. Most of this aid comes in the form of arms grants, while it also has access to some of the most advanced US military technology.

American support also represents about 15% of the entity’s annual defense budget, according to the Axios website.

In this context, Elias Youssef, an American weapons transfer expert at the Stimson Center, said, “American weapons are widely used in the current Israeli operations in Gaza.”

The Pentagon had stated that it "will not place restrictions on how the Israeli army uses weapons provided by the United States."

A few days ago, the White House requested the removal of restrictions on all categories of weapons and ammunition that Israel is allowed to access from American weapons stockpiles stored in Israel itself, according to the American “The Intercept” website.

Also, Bloomberg newspaper reported that the Pentagon has increased its military aid to Israel, especially laser-guided missiles for the fleet of Apache warplanes, 155 mm shells, night vision devices, bunker-busting ammunition, and new military vehicles.

It is worth mentioning that Washington asks the occupation “army” to limit civilian casualties, and supports a humanitarian cessation of fighting, despite the unlimited military support it provides to “Israel”, which is constantly met with rejection by a large segment of American officials.

Media review: An Israeli investigation suggests Israeli military helicopters may have been responsible for killing some Israelis

Media review: An Israeli investigation suggests Israeli military helicopters may have been responsible for killing some Israelis

    Sunday, November 19, 2023   No comments

 Israeli media indicated, in a new report, that the occupation's security establishment's assessment showed that Hamas had no prior knowledge of the Nova Festival in Kibbutz Ra'im, and learned about it from the air after the flight of its marches and gliders.

The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" reported that the Israeli police investigation into the incident concluded that Hamas planned to reach Kibbutz Ra'im and other kibbutzim in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, but it discovered the dance party at Kibbutz Ra'im during the raid itself.

The newspaper explained that the security assessment also shows that the military helicopter belonging to the Israeli occupation army arrived at the scene of the incident coming from the Ramat David base, and opened fire on the Palestinian resistance fighters, and it appears that it also injured a number of revelers who were there.

According to the police, approximately 364 people were killed at the festival, which was scheduled to be held on Thursday, Friday, and Tuesday evening of the same week, but the occupation army agreed to the organizers of the event to hold it on Saturday as well.

According to the assessment, this last-minute change reinforces estimates that Hamas was not aware of the incident. A senior police officer says they estimate "about 4,400 people were present at the event, the vast majority of whom managed to escape after the decision to disperse the party, which was taken four minutes after the rockets were fired."

The police analysis shows that the participants in the party were able to escape because it was decided to stop it half an hour before gunshots were heard, which is the period that separated between the start of the massive missile attack and the arrival of the resistance fighters to the cover kibbutzim.

The "Electronic Intifada" website reported that "an Israeli woman witnessed the Al-Aqsa Flood operation," and confirmed that Israelis were undoubtedly killed "at the hands of its security forces."

She stated in her speech that this happened "when Israeli forces clashed in violent gun battles with Palestinian fighters in Kibbutz Be'eri, and opened fire randomly on Israeli fighters and prisoners."

The settlement added, in an interview with Israeli Radio: “They eliminated everyone, including their Israeli prisoners,” adding that “there was a very intense exchange of fire” and there was even tank shelling.

Israeli military pilot Nof Erez said that it is possible that Israeli forces implemented the “Hannibal Protocol” during their response to the attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7th.

Hannibal, a controversial military protocol attributed to the use of the Israeli army since its official adoption in 2006, allows the lives of captured soldiers to be risked, and it returned to the forefront again after Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip captured dozens of Israeli soldiers, including high-ranking military personnel, in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7 last. .

In a statement to the Haaretz newspaper on Tuesday, the pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Nof Erez, indicated the possibility of the Israeli army that intervened to deal with the Hamas attack implementing the Hannibal Protocol, which the occupation army uses to prevent the capture of its soldiers, even if it leads to their killing.

Erez said, "It is not known whether the warplanes and drones opened fire on the hostages when they responded to the attack launched by Hamas."

He added, "It appears that the Hannibal Protocol was implemented at some point on that day, because when a hostage situation was discovered, this required Hannibal, knowing that the Hannibal maneuvers that we conducted over the past 20 years were limited to one vehicle carrying hostages. As for what we saw in the 'Flood' Al-Aqsa is considered a large-scale Hannibal.

Media review: New York Times: Gaza is a graveyard for children

Media review: New York Times: Gaza is a graveyard for children

    Saturday, November 18, 2023   No comments

After weeks of Western politicians and media outlets refusing to accept the death figures of civilians in Gaza or casting some doubt about the accuracy of the statistics, some Western media are now providing some coverage of the massacres. Better Late than Never.

The New York Times published an investigation into the tragic situation in the Gaza Strip, highlighting the Israeli aggression targeting civilians, especially children and women.

The American newspaper recalled the stories of children who died under Israeli bombing, and the effects of devastation left by these attacks on the surviving children.

The New York Times reported the story of Khaleda Joudah (9 years old), who ran barefoot, crying, towards dozens of bodies wrapped in white shrouds, blankets and carpets, outside the crowded morgue, shouting, “Where is my mother? I want to see my mother,” before adding, “Where is Khalil?” He is his 12-year-old brother.

A morgue worker opened a white shroud so Khaled could kiss his brother's body for the last time, then said goodbye to his 8-month-old sister. Another shroud was pulled back, revealing the blood-stained face of a child, whose hair was red.

Khaled burst into tears when he recognized her. Her name was Misk. “Mama was very happy when she gave birth to you,” he says, gently touching her forehead, and tears streaming down her face.

His relatives later mentioned that “Misk” was the source of joy for his family, and she was born after 3 boys. Umm Khaled was happy for Misk to wear colorful dresses and fix her small curls with shiny hair clips.

The newspaper says that Khaled bid farewell with tears to his mother, father, older brother and sister, and only he and his younger brother Tamer (7 years old) survived, after an Israeli raid on October 22 last year, which brought down two buildings housing Khaled and Tamer’s large family, where 68 members of the Joudeh family were killed. They are sleeping in their beds in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.

The New York Times points out that determining the exact number of children killed in Gaza - in the midst of a ferocious bombing campaign, the collapse of hospitals, the burial of bodies under rubble and destroyed neighborhoods - is a “futile task.”

Anne Boyer, a poetry writer for the American New York Times Magazine, resigned in protest against the Gaza war

Anne Boyer, a poetry writer for the American New York Times Magazine, resigned in protest against the Gaza war

    Friday, November 17, 2023   No comments

Anne Boyer, a poetry writer for the American New York Times Magazine, resigned in protest against the Gaza war and the Israeli lies, which she called “the American-backed Israeli war against the people of Gaza”

Anne Boyer wrote:

I have resigned as poetry editor of The New York Times Magazine.  

The Israeli state's U.S-backed war against the people of Gaza is not a war for anyone. There is no safety in it or from it, not for Israel, not for the United States or Europe, and especially not for the many Jewish people slandered by those who claim falsely to fight in their names. Its only profit is the deadly profit of oil interests and weapon manufacturers.

...

I can’t write about poetry amidst the "reasonable" tones of those who aim to acclimatize us to this unreasonable suffering. No more ghoulish euphemisms. No more verbally sanitized hellscapes. No more warmongering lies. 

... full statement

 

 

The world, the future, our hearts—everything grows smaller and harder from from this war. It is not only a war of missiles and land invasions. It is an ongoing war against the people of Palestine, people who have resisted through decades of occupation, forced dislocation, deprivation, surveillance, siege, imprisonment, and torture.

A memorandum now signed by 100s of State Department employees and the US Agency for Development accuses Biden of spreading misleading information about the war in Gaza

A memorandum now signed by 100s of State Department employees and the US Agency for Development accuses Biden of spreading misleading information about the war in Gaza

    Wednesday, November 15, 2023   No comments

The American website Axios leaked a memorandum signed by 100 (today NYT reported 500) employees of the State Department and the US Agency for Development, accusing President Joe Biden of spreading misleading information about the war in the Gaza Strip, and also accusing Israel of committing war crimes in the besieged Strip.

The memorandum, signed by 100 employees of the State Department and USAID, urges the American leadership to reconsider its policy towards Israel and demand a ceasefire in Gaza, where the number of Palestinians martyred in this war has reached more than 11,000 according to Palestinian Health.

The five-page memorandum also shows clear divisions and disagreements within the Biden administration regarding the Israeli war on Gaza, and is characterized by sharp language, as one of the signatories of the memorandum indicated that Biden’s support for Israel made him a “partner in genocide” in Gaza, which is a rare allegation within The corridors of American diplomacy.

The memo explicitly accuses Biden of spreading incorrect information in his October 10 speech in support of Israel, and calls for pressure from the United States to release hostages by Hamas and Israel, referring to the thousands of Palestinians detained in Israel.

The memorandum reviews the events of the Hamas attack on October 7, but focuses on the Israeli response, considering that the Israeli actions constitute “war crimes and/or crimes against humanity in accordance with international law.”

The memorandum refutes these measures, explaining that they included cutting off electricity, reducing aid, and carrying out attacks that led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

She pointed out that "we failed to re-evaluate our position towards Israel," adding: "We have firmly adhered to our consistent military assistance to the government of Israel without clear red lines or implementable measures."

The memo also monitors broader criticism of US policy in the Middle East and its failure to provide a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and points to White House members’ disdain for the lives of Palestinians and a lack of strategic foresight.

This leak reveals new challenges facing Biden's 2024 presidential campaign, in light of escalating anger and protests within the Democratic Party.

One million signatures on an Amnesty petition calling for an end to the aggression against Gaza

One million signatures on an Amnesty petition calling for an end to the aggression against Gaza

    Sunday, November 12, 2023   No comments

More than one million people around the world have signed an Amnesty International petition demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where the Israeli war machine has claimed more than 11,000 lives.

The organization called on activists to continue to sign the petition “to demand that all parties to the conflict cease fire immediately,” and also urged countries to “act” now to contribute to stopping the aggression.

The number of martyrs who have fallen so far in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli bombing has reached more than 11,100 people, including more than 8,000 children and women, and the number of wounded is more than 28,000.

The occupation also destroyed 41 thousand housing units completely and 222 thousand housing units partially.

The organization accused the international community of failing for more than a month to act in the face of “the horrific levels of civilian bloodshed, destruction, and unimaginable human suffering in Gaza,” saying that this failure constitutes “a stain on humanity,” noting that, more Therefore, some countries continue to supply parties to the conflict with weapons that are used to commit flagrant human rights violations.

In response to the signature campaign, Amnesty International's Director of Campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas, said that the world “watches in horror as more and more civilians are lost every day amid Israel’s relentless bombings and ongoing ground operations, and as chapters unfold.” "The unprecedented man-made humanitarian catastrophe in the occupied Gaza Strip."

According to the organization, "Israel's tightening of its illegal blockade of Gaza has deprived two million people of access to drinking water, food, medical supplies, and fuel, leading to the collapse of the health system" at a time when the number of wounded exceeds 28,000 people.

At least 1.5 million Gazans were forcibly displaced from their homes due to attacks and as a result of orders issued by the Israeli army for them to move to the south of the Strip.

Doctors in the Al-Shifa hospital are now being forced to carry out artificial respiration by hand on the 36 babies that they’re caring for

Doctors in the Al-Shifa hospital are now being forced to carry out artificial respiration by hand on the 36 babies that they’re caring for

    Saturday, November 11, 2023   No comments

Biden was moved by a fake news story about 40 babies beheaded by Palestinians. But he is not moved by actually killed children stories, including these 36 babies living through pain and facing death, as reported by CNN, not Palestinian sources that he does not trust.

No commentary is needed for this.

  

US administration, Blinken: "We need to do more to protect Palestinian civilians" | Angelina Jolie: “World leaders complicit in the crime of turning Gaza into a mass grave.”

US administration, Blinken: "We need to do more to protect Palestinian civilians" | Angelina Jolie: “World leaders complicit in the crime of turning Gaza into a mass grave.”

    Friday, November 03, 2023   No comments

The US credibility is hemorrhaging at a rate so fast that if no dramatic action is taken immediately, it will not be able to recover in a generation of more.  For example, the fact that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has to take a second trip Israel in a matter of weeks, and also just weeks from a visit by Biden, speaks to rash decisions that must be now revised given the events on the ground. For Blinken to say now that the US needs “to do more to protect Palestinian civilians”, reflects total disconnect with reality. Because of Biden’s and Blinken’s unconditional support to Israel’s disproportionate, unhinged reaction to the Oct. 7 attacks, any measures the US could do now will be dwarfed by the numbers of the dead and injured among civilians, especially children in Gaza. 

If Blinken is “shocked” that “the brutality of Hamas’ attack ‘has receded so quickly in the memories of so many’”, and just needs to see the brutality of the response. Unless, of course, the lives of the Palestinians do not have the same values as the lives of the Israelis.

He does not have to see the images of dead Palestinian children is he does not want to. But he will be able to get the picture even by looking at the statements and reactions of Americans, especially influential Americans like artists or even ordinary persons. The recent statement by Angelina Jolie is a good example. She concluded that “World leaders [obviously that would include US leaders] are complicit in the crime of turning Gaza into a mass grave.”

American actress Angelina Jolie said on her official Instagram account, “This is the deliberate bombing of a besieged population who have nowhere to flee.”

She added in a post that she accompanied with a photo of the devastation caused by the Israeli raids on the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, “Gaza has been an open prison for nearly two decades, and is rapidly turning into a mass grave. 40% of the dead are innocent children, Entire families, got killed.

She continued, “As the world watches and with the active support of many governments, millions of Palestinian civilians - children, women and families - are being subjected to collective punishment and dehumanization, all while being deprived of food, medicine and humanitarian aid, which is contrary to international law. By rejecting the claim “By providing a humanitarian ceasefire and preventing the UN Security Council from imposing a ceasefire on both sides, world leaders are complicit in these crimes.”

The post achieved widespread interaction among the American star’s followers, exceeding 2 million likes, and a number of celebrities from the Arab world commented on Jolie’s message. Lebanese broadcaster Joelle Mardinian wrote, “Thank you for telling the truth about this massacre in Palestine.”

Jolie also published information about Jabalia refugee camp, the largest in the Gaza Strip out of eight camps, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Jolie, who holds the position of Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, explained, “After the 1948 war, a number of Palestinian refugees settled in the camp, after being displaced from villages in southern Palestine. The camp covers an area of 1.4 square kilometers, and 116,011 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA live in it.” .

China, Russia and Brazil demand an end to the aggression: “Israel” is causing an unparalleled disaster

China, Russia and Brazil demand an end to the aggression: “Israel” is causing an unparalleled disaster

    Tuesday, October 31, 2023   No comments

On Tuesday, Russia, Brazil, and China condemned the aggression launched by “Israel” on the Gaza Strip, during the UN Security Council meeting.

Russia's representative, Vasily Nebenzia, expressed his astonishment at what happened in Gaza, "the blind killing and displacement of 1.6 million people, the killing of 63 international employees, the management of UNRWA buildings, and the application of a comprehensive siege on the Strip."

He also condemned the prevention of aid entry through the Rifaat border crossing with Egypt, as Israel allowed only 90 trucks to enter, explaining that the population in the Gaza Strip had reached a state of despair, at a time when Israel entered into a ground attack from several fronts.

Nebenzia indicated that "Israel" is "working on a plan to expel the population," considering that "Israel's" position on the United Nations was "defiant and contemptuous."

He added that Washington and "Israel" had a plan other than stopping the fighting, noting that "the tension and raids launched by the United States and "Israel" against Syria's sovereignty should not be ignored, which would spark a conflict that includes the entire region.

The Russian delegate explained that what is currently required is “to stop the fighting and move to a comprehensive solution to the conflict by establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.”

Nebenzia also asked the US representative, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, about her refusal to call for a ceasefire, accusing her of "practicing double standards between Ukraine and Palestine."

For his part, China's representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, recalled the General Assembly's decision, noting that "Israel" "turned a deaf ear and continued the ground attack on Gaza," causing an unparalleled humanitarian catastrophe.

Jang explained that the people of Gaza are experiencing an "unparalleled" humanitarian catastrophe, under a siege that has been going on for 16 years, expressing his "deep sympathy" with the people of the Strip, and calling on the parties to stop the fighting and prevent further escalation.

The Chinese representative called on “Israel” to lift the siege on Gaza “so that a greater catastrophe does not occur.”

In turn, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira considered that the killing of a thousand children in Gaza, a week ago, is “a morally intolerable matter,” considering that the world is “staring at the Council’s inability to do anything to stop these massacres.”

Vieira pointed out that "the justification for the existence of the Security Council is at stake," explaining that the Council must be "saved like humans," which can only be achieved if "politicization is abandoned, as well as morality."

The Brazilian Foreign Minister added that the Council must follow up on calls to stop the fighting and bring in aid, which were called for by both the Secretary-General of the Council and the General Assembly, noting that "the situation is deteriorating by the hour, and there is an urgent need for aid and the release of hostages."

Vieira stressed that the “hostages” cannot be released under bombardment, noting that his country asked the Council to advance the issuance of a resolution requiring the release of “the hostages without delay, and that food, water and medicine must be brought in quickly.”

Vieira considered that the Security Council's record is "very weak" when it comes to the Middle East, as it used the veto 35 times out of 250.

The positions of the countries' delegates and representatives come at a time when the Israeli "army" continues to attack the Gaza Strip, with various weapons, in the wake of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, on October 7, which caused thousands of martyrs and wounded, and difficult humanitarian conditions inside the Strip.

Israel Has Killed More Kids in 3 Weeks Than Were Killed in All Global Conflicts Annually Since 2019

Israel Has Killed More Kids in 3 Weeks Than Were Killed in All Global Conflicts Annually Since 2019

    Monday, October 30, 2023   No comments

More children killed in Gaza than in global conflicts annually over past 4 years, Save the Children says

GAZA: 3,195 Children Killed in Three Weeks Surpasses Annual Number of Children Killed in Conflict Zones since 2019

The number of children reported killed in Gaza in just three weeks has surpassed the annual number of children killed across the world's conflict zones since 2019, Save the Children said.

Since October 7, more than 3,257 children have been reported killed, including at least 3,195 in Gaza, 33 in the West Bank, and 29 in Israel, according to the Ministries of Health in Gaza and Israel respectively. The number of children reported killed in just three weeks in Gaza is more than the number killed in armed conflict globally—across more than 20 countries—over the course of a whole year, for the last three years.

Children make up more than 40% of the 7,703 people killed in Gaza, and more than a third of all fatalities across the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel. With a further 1,000 children reported missing in Gaza assumed buried under the rubble, the death toll is likely much higher.

On Friday, Israeli forces announced “expanded ground operations” in the Gaza Strip, with Save the Children warning it will bring more deaths, injuries, and distress while calling for an immediate ceasefire.

  

Queen Rania: Israel commits atrocities under the guise of self-defense

Queen Rania: Israel commits atrocities under the guise of self-defense

    Wednesday, October 25, 2023   No comments

Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan expressed the Arab world's shock and disappointment at the world's "blatant double standards" and "deafening silence" in the face of the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

She confirmed, in a live interview with journalist Christiane Amanpour on CNN yesterday evening, Tuesday, that despite the prevailing narrative in Western media, “this conflict did not begin on the seventh of October.”

Most networks cover the story under the headline “Israel is at war,” she said, but for the Palestinians on the other side of the separation wall and the other side of the barbed wire, the war has never left. This is a 75-year-old story, a story of death and displacement of the Palestinian people.

She added - during the interview - that the novel neglected to highlight that nuclear-armed regional superpower that occupies, persecutes and commits documented daily crimes against the Palestinians.

She pointed out that Palestinian mothers were forced to write their children's names on their hands because of the high probability of them being bombed to death and their bodies turning into corpses and body parts.

She stressed that the rules of engagement must apply to everyone, noting that Israel commits brutal acts under the guise of self-defense.

She said, "6 thousand civilians have been martyred so far, 2,400 children. How can this be considered self-defense? We see massacres on a large scale using high-precision weapons. So over the past two weeks, we have seen indiscriminate bombing of Gaza. Entire families have been exterminated, and residential neighborhoods have been leveled." On the ground, targeting hospitals, schools, churches, mosques, medical workers, journalists, and United Nations aid workers. How is this considered self-defense?!”

Complicit West

Queen Rania pointed out that for many in the region, the Western world is complicit in this war through the support and cover it gives to Israel.

She said, "This is the first time in modern history that we are witnessing such human suffering, and the world is not calling for a ceasefire."

Speaking about what the Palestinian people are suffering from, she said, “There are more than 500 checkpoints spread throughout the West Bank,” stressing that Israel is violating at least 30 UN resolutions demanding that it alone work to withdraw from the territories occupied in 1967, and stop settlement and the separation wall. and human rights violations.

She noted that Israel has been classified as an “apartheid regime” by Israeli and international human rights organizations.

She considered that Israel's allies were doing it no favors by providing blind support to it. “Accelerating and expanding the scope of providing lethal weapons to Israel will only lead to the expansion of this conflict. It will only prolong and deepen the suffering.”

Duality of standards

In criticizing the role of the media in covering the current conflict, Queen Rania pointed to the double standards of interlocutors in the West who ask those representing the Palestinian side to issue immediate condemnations.

She also spoke about the suppression of expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians in Western democracies, noting that, "When people gather in support of Israel, they are exercising their right to assemble. But when they gather for the sake of Palestine, they are considered sympathizers with terrorists or anti-Semites."

"Freedom of expression is a universal value, except when Palestine is mentioned," she said.