Sunday, March 31, 2024

Biden Claims Arab States Are Ready to Recognize Israel

from Sputnik News

Significant progress in defusing the Hamas-Israel conflict "remains elusive" given Tel Aviv's irreconcilable stance on a Palestinian state, Dr. Imad Salamey, an associate professor of political science and international affairs at the Lebanese American University, told Sputnik.

Speaking at a recent campaign event in New York, US President Joe Biden announced the willingness of Arab nations to recognize the Jewish state, but remained mum on the status of a Palestinian state.
 
"I’ve been working with the Saudis and with all the other Arab countries, including Egypt and Jordan and Qatar. They’re prepared to fully recognize Israel. There has to be a post-Gaza plan, and there has to be a trade to a two-state solution. It doesn’t have to occur today. It has to be a progression and I think we can do that," Biden said.

read more here

‘Replace him’: Thousands rally against Netanyahu’s government in Tel Aviv

from the NYT

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night in one of the largest demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government since October, when the Hamas-led attack on Israel ignited a war.

Tel Aviv has been the scene of weekly demonstrations calling on the government to strike a cease-fire deal to free the hostages who have been held in Gaza since October. Those protests have been growing in size as the war has dragged on and anger at Mr. Netanyahu’s government has mounted.

On Saturday night, the sounds of whistles, horns and drums filled the air along with chants from the crowds, video from The Associated Press showed. Protesters waved flags and carried pictures of the Israeli hostages with signs reading “Hostage deal now.” Other banners made clear the anger directed at Mr. Netanyahu over the plight of the hostages — with one reading “Replace him, save them.”...

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Biden proclaims Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter Sunday

(Biden admin says Easter is now for the transvestites and kids aren't allowed to paint anything religious on Easter eggs... cus you know... Easter has nothing to do with religion. WTF?!?)

from RT

US President Joe Biden is facing an angry backlash from conservative and religious critics after he made his annual proclamation of March 31 as Transgender Visibility Day – a date which this year coincides with Easter Sunday.

According to the White House, the celebration is designed to “honor the extraordinary courage and contributions of transgender Americans and reaffirm our Nation’s commitment to forming a more perfect Union.”

“Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans: You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire Administration, and I have your back,” Biden wrote in his proclamation on Friday.

As a part of the inclusivity campaign, the White House has also prohibited children from submitting Easter eggs decorated with “questionable content” such as “religious symbols, overtly religious themes” from the traditional Easter Art contest. The event is a core component of the White House’s annual Easter celebration that has been in place for nearly 50 years...

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Lebanese PM condemns Israeli attack on UN staff

from Press TV

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has condemned an Israeli attack that led to injuries for three United Nations observers and a translator in the south of the country.

A Saturday statement from Mikati's office said that he had spoken with Aroldo Lozaro, who serves as commander of the UN peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL, to deplore the “targeting” and wounding of UN staff in southern Lebanon.

In a statement, UNIFIL called the attack in the morning on a vehicle carrying the UN observers outside the border town of Rmeish “unacceptable” and said it is investigating the incident.

Local authorities said the three unarmed technical observers, who are reportedly from Norway, Chile and Australia and work under a mission known as UNTSO, are being treated for their injuries along with the Lebanese interpreter. 

The Reuters news agency cited security sources as saying that the attack had been carried out by Israel. The Israeli regime denied responsibility...

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Int'l pressure mounts on Israel after ICJ's Gaza aid ruling

from Daily Sabah

Countries and international rights groups on Friday mounted pressure on Israel to comply with an International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to facilitate the unimpeded delivery of aid into Gaza, where famine is escalating.

Despite growing opposition, Israel persists in defying a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave.

Judges at the U.N.'s highest court, currently examining South Africa's accusation of Israeli genocide, unanimously issued a legally binding ruling on Thursday.

It stipulates that Israel should "take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay ... the unhindered provision ... of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance" in Gaza.

South Africa's presidency welcomed the order, considering it a provisional measure in their genocide case. "The fact that Palestinian deaths are not solely caused by bombardment and ground attacks, but also by disease and starvation, indicates a need to protect the group’s right to exist," it said in a statement...

read more here

Saturday, March 30, 2024

Chris Hedges Insults Christians on Easter with CIA Asset Rapey Jesus Assange

Chris Hedges Insults Christians with CIA Asset Rapey Jesus Assange https://www.mintpressnews.com/chris-hedges-crucifixion-julian-assange/287142/

Oh look. They're Starting to Figure It Out

by Scott Creighton

Little Entitled Randie and Bill Maher have figured out that there's been something rotten in Denmark for some time now. 

Yep. There has always been an agenda hiding behind the imposition of the mRNA fake vaccines and folks are just now coming to that conclusion. Too late though since the next once in a century plandemic is right around the corner (see WHO Pandemic Treaty for a timeline)

They want to live forever folks. They want to code the human condition. They want a worker caste and a soldier caste while allowing for the fortunate ones born to privilege to live nice healthy lives for 200+ years and they've been promised by the likes of Bill Gates that they only need a couple billion test subjects and a little time with no oversight to 'get her done'

'This is the BEGINNING of Humans Leaving Low Earth Orbit' NASA Astronaut on ISS

Yeah, they're now saying the quiet part out loud. Moon landings were faked. Obviously. They don't want the first person to actually set foot on the moon to be robbed of their place in history.


 

WHO Member States agree to resume negotiations aimed at finalizing the world’s first pandemic agreement

(Link in article is to the most recent (March 2024) draft of the PLANDEMIC agreement.)

from the WHO

WHO Member States agreed to resume negotiations aimed at finalizing a pandemic agreement during 29 April to 10 May. The decision came at today’s end of two weeks of intensive country-led discussions on critical subjects aimed at making all countries of the world better prepared for, and able to effectively and equitably respond to, future pandemics.

This ninth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB9) started on 18 March and ended today. Government negotiators discussed all articles from the draft agreement, including adequate financing for pandemic preparedness, equitable access to medical countermeasures needed during pandemics and health workforce strengthening.

“Our Member States are fully aware of how important the pandemic agreement is for protecting future generations from the suffering we endured through the COVID-19 pandemic,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “I thank them for their clear commitment to finding common ground and finalizing this historic agreement in time for the World Health Assembly.”...

read more here

Money Transfers Proof That Crocus 'Terrorists For Hire' Followed Orders From Ukraine

from Sputnik News

A report by Russian investigators has confirmed the discovery of data on the receipt of money and cryptocurrency from Ukraine by the perpetrators of the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. Furthermore, a cryptocurrency account supposedly used by the organizer and perpetrators of the crime has been discovered.
 
It is of paramount importance that data in the technical devices seized from the suspects in the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack has confirmed their connection with the Ukrainian side, Kirill Kabanov, chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Committee, told Sputnik.
 
Initial data received from those detained in the case related to the terrorist attack indicated Ukraine pulled the strings. However, the fresh report by the Russian Investigative Committee points to the Ukrainian special services, and “we must understand that they are directly connected with the CIA and MI6 and MI5,” Kabanov said...

read more here

Israel likely tortured Palestinian to record rape confession, say rights groups

from Press TV

Human rights groups have questioned the credibility of an Israeli military video of an alleged Islamic Jihad member admitting to raping an Israeli woman during the Hamas-led operation on October 7.

On Thursday, the Israeli forces shared a video online featuring a man named Manar Mahmoud Muhammad Qasem, who is said to be associated with the Islamic Jihad’s naval division, confessing to the rape during an interrogation conducted by the Israeli Intelligence Division.

However, the credibility of the confession has been called into question by human rights groups and commentators, who suspect that it may have been obtained through the use of torture. They have highlighted the rise in arbitrary arrests and the inhumane treatment of Palestinian detainees by Israeli forces since October 7.

“In light of Israel’s decades-long track record of mistreating and torturing Palestinian detainees and resulting well-founded concerns that the interrogations could have involved the use of torture or other forms of ill-treatment, Human Rights Watch does not rely on, nor consider credible, accounts recorded in videos of interrogations of detained Palestinians they say participated in the October 7 assault,” said Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch.

Additionally, Amnesty International’s researcher on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories, Budour Hassan, said “any public ‘confession’ made by the defendants should be excluded from the evidence considered by court.”...

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Israeli PM Netanyahu OKs new Gaza cease-fire talks amid pressure

from Daily Sabah

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved new discussions on a cease-fire in Gaza, as his country continues to violate the recent U.N. Security Council resolution urging an immediate cease-fire and the World Court ordered it prevent enforced starvation of Palestinians and to ensure vital humanitarian aid reached the blockaded enclave.

But despite a binding United Nations Security Council resolution this week demanding an "immediate cease-fire," Israel continued to carry out attacks on Friday, including around hospitals.

Regional fallout from the conflict also flared, with Israel saying it killed a Hezbollah rocket commander in Lebanon, and several Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria strikes that a war monitor blamed on Israel.

Netanyahu's office said new talks on a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release will take place in Doha and Cairo "in the coming days... with guidelines for moving forward in the negotiations," days after they appeared stalled...

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US approves bombs, jets for Israel amid threat of offensive in Gaza’s Rafah

from al Jazeera

The United States has greenlighted the transfer of billions of dollars worth of bombs and fighter jets to Israel, The Washington Post reported, even as it publicly expresses concerns about the long-threatened Israeli invasion of Gaza’s Rafah and the rising civilian casualties in the enclave.

The new arms package includes more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, according to Pentagon and Department of State officials, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

The 2,000-pound bombs, which can inflict damage to people up to 1,000 feet (300 metres) away, have been “linked to previous mass-casualty events throughout Israel’s military campaign in Gaza”, the report said. The US gives $3.8bn in annual military assistance to its longtime ally.

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said the transfer “amounts to about $2.5bn”, adding that “this is taking place despite a growing rift between both the Israeli and US governments”...

read more here

Friday, March 29, 2024

The Israel lobby is fractured, and so at last is the Jewish community

from Mondoweiss

The historic rebuke to Israel the U.S. government allowed to take place in the UN Security Council on Monday was pushed by progressive activists. Biden fears that supporters of Palestinian human rights won’t turn out in November if he continues to give a green light to genocide. Indeed, the Democratic base is overwhelmingly critical of Israel’s actions. As James Carville says, the starvation and slaughter are not just a problem for college kids.

But in breaking with the Israeli government, Biden took on the Israel lobby, the most powerful force in setting U.S. policy for the Middle East.

Biden would not have done so if he did not feel he had support inside the Jewish community. He got that from Chuck Schumer, who speaking as the “guardian” of Israel and the most powerful Jew in U.S. political history, rose in the Senate last week to say Israel was killing too many civilians, and it might be time for the U.S. to leverage aid to Israel to stop the onslaught...

read more here

'Void peace treaty with Israel': Moroccans join Jordanian protests

from Press TV

Thousands of protesters have rallied in Jordan and Morocco in solidarity with the Palestinians, who have been subjected to a genocidal Israeli war for nearly six months, calling for severing ties with the occupying regime.

Protesters rallied near the Israeli embassy in the Jordanian capital Amman on Thursday for the fifth consecutive day, carrying Palestinian flags and placards reading “Amman-Gaza one destiny.”

Chanting “No Zionist embassy on Jordanian land,” the demonstrators called on their government to close the Israeli embassy and cancel the 1994 so-called peace treaty that normalized ties with Tel Aviv.

They also expressed their support for the Palestinian resistance and chanted slogans against Israel and the US...

read more here

ICJ orders additional measures against Israel in Gaza genocide case

from Daily Sabah

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to take additional provisional measures to ensure urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza, as part of the ongoing genocide case lodged by South Africa.

"The catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated further," said the ICJ order, referring to the change in the situation since its interim ruling on Jan. 26.

Israel began its onslaught on the Gaza Strip after the Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border offensive by Palestinian group Hamas, in which about 1,200 people were killed.

Since then, Israel has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians in its relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave, besides causing mass destruction, displacement and shortage of basic necessities. Palestinians face famine almost six months into the devastating campaign...

read more here

Israeli Supreme Court orders government to stop funding religious schools that defy enlistment, in blow to Netanyahu

from CNN

The Israeli Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the government to stop funding religious schools whose students defy the country’s mandatory military service, posing one of the most serious threats to date for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews have long held a privileged position in Israel, with their schools receiving generous government subsidies. The young men of the Haredim, as they are known in Hebrew, are in all practical terms exempt from mandatory military services – an issue that has bedeviled Israeli society since the country’s founding.

The debate has grown more fierce since Israel launched its invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7 terror attack, which has put the country on a war footing for nearly six months with the prospect of more to come.

Netanyahu relies on two Ultra-Orthodox parties – Shas and United Torah Judaism – to maintain a governing coalition. His wartime cabinet partners – Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, of the National Unity Party – have been heavily critical of Netanyahu’s approach to the issue of Ultra-Orthodox conscription...

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The crisis that could bring down Benjamin Netanyahu, explained

from VOX

This Sunday, Israel is scheduled for a political crisis.

At midnight Israel time on April 1, the government will hit a deadline for changing its policy on the military draft. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will then be required to send conscription notices to roughly 66,000 ultra-Orthodox men, who had been previously exempted by a law carving out special privileges for students at religious academies, or yeshivot.

This might sound like an obscure internal Israeli political fight, but it actually has the potential to alter the entire trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The conscription issue splits Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government apart at the seams. Netanyahu depends on ultra-Orthodox parties for his parliamentary majority; if he permits mass conscription of yeshiva students, they’ll abandon him. But if he gives the ultra-Orthodox what they want, he’ll run afoul of key members of his own right-wing Likud party, potentially prompting their defections.

These scenarios both end the same way: with the collapse of Netanyahu’s governing coalition and new elections, which Likud would (per every poll) lose by a wide margin...

read more here

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Conclusions - Anatomy of a Genocide report by Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur (video)

 Yes indeed the investigation into whether or not Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza is complete and guess what? Yep.

Under Cover of Gaza, Fake Left Busy at Regime Change Again (video)

 The fake left is busy pushing neoliberal Deep State agenda items under the cover of the Israeli genocide in Gaza. 

Under Cover of Gaza, Fake Left Busy at Regime Change Again

by Scott Creighton

 The fake left is ready to kick some regime changes into gear and are openly supporting regime change ops in both Turkey and Haiti. In Turkey they use 'smear by association' tactics to demonize Erdogan while in Haiti the fake left (associated with Max Blumenthal and is neoliberal Clintonite daddy Sidney Blumenthal) is calling for the US to install CIA's BBQ thug as the new Papa Doc dictator.


 

Both of these accounts are using the popularity they are receiving due to their stance on Gaza to push for neoliberal regime change ops on behalf of the Deep State.

That's how controlled opposition works.

Erdogan supports Palestine and the establishment of a true Palestinian state. BBQ is a murderous thug backed by the CIA who destabilized Haiti for a long time so they couldn't hold an election and elect another Aristide into office who would kick Hillary Clinton's business associates out of the country.

Just as Gaza has exposed zionists hiding among us in the alternative media sphere, don't forget, agents of the NWO expose themselves in all sorts of ways.

Jackson Hinkle and Dan Cohen should never be trusted again.

Another Israeli soldier admits to implementing the ‘Hannibal Directive’ on October 7

from Mondoweiss

In Israeli military terminology, the so-called “Hannibal Directive” is the policy of firing upon one’s own soldiers to avert a prospective captive situation. 

There is a growing amount of evidence and testimony that suggests that on October 7, the Hannibal Directive was implemented, at least to a certain extent, on Israelis. What’s more, growing testimonies indicate that this policy was extended to Israeli civilians in the form of indiscriminate fire from helicopters and tanks. The recent outstanding Al Jazeera investigation, “October 7,” addresses this question at considerable length.

Last week, another testimony involving such acts appeared on Channel 13 and was repeated a day later on Ynet, in which an armored company commander, Captain Bar Zonshein, tells of how he fired tank shells at vehicles driving towards Gaza near Kisufim — about 2 kilometers away from the Gaza perimeter fence. 

“We identified two pickups driving Toyotas, and on them, there was a large number of people standing in the cabin, and there was a pile of people. I don’t know whether they were corpses or living people…And I decide to attack these vehicles,” Zonshein says. 

One must point out that Zonshien’s description of a “pile” of people could either be military or civilians, but those distinctions apparently did not factor into his calculations. This is, of course, significant in Israeli terms because the Hannibal doctrine had hitherto only been limited to soldiers. ..

read more here

Israel has ‘no choice’ but Rafah offensive, Netanyahu tells US members of Congress

(The article fails to mention which Israel-firster congress critters took AIPAC money to attend the junket to the genocidal Israel in support of Bibi)

from CNN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told a group of US members of Congress that “victory” in Gaza and “getting” Hamas’ senior leadership in the enclave are just “a few weeks away.”

Speaking to a bipartisan group from Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu said: “We’ve killed many senior leaders [of Hamas], including number four in Hamas, number three in Hamas. We’ll get number two and number one. That’s victory. Victory is within reach. It’s a few weeks away.”

Hosting the congressional delegation, which the Prime Minister’s Office said was organized by the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said it was “very important to maintain bipartisan support” but “especially in these trying times.”

Netanyahu said that Israel “had no choice” but to move into Rafah as the country’s “very existence is on the line.”...

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U.S. Says Israel Has Agreed to Reschedule Key Meeting (as Bibi says they haven't)

(The important take-away here is that Bibi Netanyahu's office has not confirmed this report out of the White House and merely hours before Biden's flunkies made the statement, Bibi himself said the meeting was NOT back on. What does this mean? It means it looks like the White House and the financial powers that direct it, are planning an end-around Bibi if he doesn't shape up)

from the New York Times

A White House spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the Israeli government had agreed to try to reschedule a visit by a group of officials whose trip to Washington to discuss a possible assault on a key southern city in Gaza was scrapped over the U.S. decision not to veto a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

President Biden had asked Israel to send a delegation to Washington to discuss alternatives to a ground offensive in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than a million people have sought refuge. But Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called off the delegation’s trip at the last minute after being angered by the U.S. decision to abstain from a vote on the resolution at the U.N. Security Council on Monday.

“The prime minister’s office said that they want to reschedule this meeting so that we can talk about the Rafah operations,” the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, told reporters. “We welcome that. And we’re going to work with their teams to make sure that happens.”

There was no immediate confirmation of a desire to reschedule from Mr. Netanyahu’s office, which just hours earlier had issued a statement denying reports that a meeting was back on. “Contrary to reports, the prime minister didn’t approve the departure of the delegation to Washington,” the statement said...

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Why the US decided to give peace in Gaza a chance

(Hmmm. Noted on March 12, Chinese exports surge across the world. US abstains from UNSC resolution vote for binding resolution forcing cease fire in Gaza on March 22. China Development Forum wraps up March 24 with many US businesses in attendance. Top US business leaders met with Xi Jinping March 28.  Gee I wonder who convinced US leaders to start putting more pressure on Israel to wrap this up)

from RT

In a historic move on Monday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) achieved a breakthrough by passing a binding resolution aimed at securing a “lasting, sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza and advocating the release of all hostages held by Hamas since the October attacks on Israel last year. 

This momentous step forward in international diplomacy signals a potential turning point in the protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict, offering a glimmer of hope for peace in a region long plagued by violence and discord.

The decision by the UNSC comes after several failed attempts to broker a ceasefire. It underscores the growing global consensus on the urgent need to address the root causes of the conflict and pave the way for a peaceful settlement. The resolution, which was passed with overwhelming support from the international community, reflects a shared commitment to upholding international law and promoting stability in the region.

The US, traditionally a staunch ally of Israel, notably abstained from vetoing the resolution this time, signaling a shift in its approach and a willingness to engage constructively in multilateral efforts to end the violence – though it has said that it does not represent a change in policy. This decision reflects a recognition of the need for a balanced approach that takes into account the legitimate concerns and aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians...

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'More pressure on Israel needed to make it comply with cease-fire' - Erdogan

from Daily Sabah

More pressure needs to be put on Israel to make the country comply with the U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an urgent cease-fire in Gaza, President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan said Wednesday.

"Pressure must be increased on Israel, the spoiled and lawless child of the West, for it to comply with this decision," Erdoğan said at an election rally of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in eastern Türkiye's Batman province.

He also vowed that Türkiye would "do its part" for the Security Council decision to be fulfilled.

"As Türkiye, we will do our part for this decision, which we welcome, to be fulfilled," he said.

Ankara will "make every effort" for peace and tranquility in Gaza as soon as possible, added the Turkish president...

read more here

Definition of Genocide and Israel Found to be Committing Genocide in Gaza

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), or the Genocide Convention, is an international treaty that criminalizes genocide and obligates state parties to pursue the enforcement of its prohibition.

Article 2 of the Convention defines genocide as:

'Genocide, as the denial of the right of a people to exist and the subsequent attempt or success in annihilating them, entails various modes of elimination. Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term “genocide”, observed that genocide is “a composite of different acts of persecution or destruction”, ranging from physical elimination to the “forced disintegration” of a people’s political and social institutions, culture, language, national sentiments and religion. Genocide is a process, not an act.' Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied West Bank and Gaza

---

... any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group; (32,000+ killed)
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (destruction of homes)
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (withholding aid and food)
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (destruction of hospitals neonatal facilities)
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.(NAKBA pier?)
— Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Article 2[7]

Article 3 defines the crimes that can be punished under the convention:

(a) Genocide; (Israel)
(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide; (war cabinet Israel, United States)
(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide; (Israeli and US press)
(d) Attempt to commit genocide; (Israel)
(e) Complicity in genocide. (United States)
— Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Article 3[7]

---

“...I want to be clear in reiterating what I have said many times in the last few months," he said, adding, "What we are seeing in Gaza now, represents the blatant violation of international humanitarian law on a mass scale.”

He pointed to the withholding of aid, targeting of civilians and infrastructure, the "indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in populated areas" and the "collective punishment of an entire population."

"The list goes on," said Martin. "It has to stop. The view of the international community is clear. Enough is enough." Press TV

 ---

'The overwhelming nature and scale of Israel's assault on Gaza and the destructive conditions of life it has inflicted reveal an intent to physically destroy Palestinians as a group. This report finds that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of the following acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza has been met: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to groups’ members; and deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. Genocidal acts were approved and given effect following statements of genocidal intent issued by senior military and government officials.' Anatomy of a Genocide (pdf)

 

Conclusions - Anatomy of a Genocide report by Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur

Anatomy of a Genocide (pdf)

CONCLUSIONS 

93. The overwhelming nature and scale of Israel's assault on Gaza and the destructive conditions of life it has inflicted reveal an intent to physically destroy Palestinians as a group. This report finds that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of the following acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza has been met: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to groups’ members; and deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. Genocidal acts were approved and given effect following statements of genocidal intent issued by senior military and government officials.


94. Israel has sought to conceal its eliminationist conduct of hostilities sanctioning the commission of international crimes as IHL-abiding. Distorting IHL customary rules, including distinction, proportionality and precautions, Israel has de facto treated an entire protected group and its life-sustaining infrastructure as ‘terrorist’ or ‘terrorist-supporting’, thus transforming everything and everyone into either a target or collateral damage, hence killable or destroyable. In this way, no Palestinian in Gaza is safe by definition. This has had devastating, intentional effects, costing the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians, destroying the fabric of life in Gaza and causing irreparable harm to its entire population.


95. Israel’s genocide on the Palestinians in Gaza is an escalatory stage of a long-standing settler colonial process of erasure. For over seven decades this process has suffocated the Palestinian people as a group – demographically, culturally, economically and politically –, seeking to displace it and expropriate and control its land and resources. The ongoing Nakba must be stopped and remedied once and for all. This is an imperative owed to the victims of this highly preventable tragedy, and to future generations in that land.

UN expert: I received threats and asked not to disclose info on Israel’s genocide

from Press TV

A United Nations human rights expert says she has received threats throughout her mandate of compiling a report about Israel’s genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, said on Wednesday that she had been threatened during the time she was preparing a report on Israel’s acts of genocide in Gaza.

Her report, titled “Anatomy of a Genocide”, was submitted to the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday. Israel said it “utterly rejects” the report.

When asked whether she received threats during her mandate, Albanese said, “Yes, I do receive threats. Nothing that so far I considered needing extra precautions. Pressure? Yes, and it doesn't change either my commitment or the results of my work.”  

The UN expert, who found Israel committed genocide, did not elaborate on the nature of the threats, nor did she say who had issued them.

“It’s been a difficult time,” Albanese said. “I've always been attacked since the very beginning of my mandate.”

read more here

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Majority of people in US against Israeli actions in Gaza: Survey

from Daily Sabah

Over 50% of the people in the United States oppose Israel's military actions against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, up from November, according to a Gallup poll published Wednesday.

According to the latest results from the March 1-20 survey, approval has dropped from 50% to 36% since November, while 55% currently disapprove.

As many as 74% of U.S. adults say they are following news of the Israeli-Hamas situation "closely," similar to the 72% Gallup measured in November. One-third of Americans (34%) say they are following the situation "very closely."

All three major party groups in the U.S. have become "less supportive" of Israel’s actions in Gaza than they were in November, which includes declines of 18 percentage points in approval among both Democrats and independents and a seven-point decline among Republicans.

"Independents have shifted from being divided in their views of the Israeli military action to opposing it. Democrats, who were already largely opposed in November, are even more so now, with 18% approving and 75% disapproving...

read more here

Jordan riot police use batons to push back protesters near Israel embassy

from MEMO

Jordanian anti-riot police beat and arrested dozens of demonstrators trying to march towards the heavily guarded Israeli embassy in the capital Amman, witnesses and residents said today according to Reuters.

More than 2,000 protesters gathered late yesterday, the third day of demonstrations which have been marred with clashes, after baton wielding police pushed back hundreds of angry crowds seeking to storm the embassy compound in the affluent Rabae district of Amman.

Many demonstrators chanted slogans in support of Hamas. Jordanian authorities are alarmed that Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza could broaden the popularity of the Hamas movement among many Jordanians.

“Oh Hamas…All of Jordan’s people are behind you,” the protesters chanted.

Passions have run high among Jordanians, many of whom are of Palestinian origin, over the carnage in Gaza as Israel’s relentless bombing campaign has led to tens of thousands of civilian deaths and flattened many parts of the densely populated enclave.

Jordan has seen some of the biggest outpourings of public anger in the region since Israel launched its war on 7 October...

read more here

Israel executed 13 children in Gaza in front of their families, says human rights NGO

from MEMO

Documented testimonies have been collected regarding the execution of Palestinian children in Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces in and around Al-Shifa Hospital, at a time when a UN expert has confirmed her belief that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor confirmed that it has “documented the execution of 13 children by the Israeli occupation forces in Al-Shifa Hospital and its surroundings.”

The NGO also confirmed that it had received “identical statements and testimonies regarding the crimes of executing Gaza children between the ages of 4 and 16.” Two of the children, named as Ali Islam Salouha. 9, and Saeed Mohammad Sheikha, 6, are said to have been killed “in cold blood in front of their families and residents of the area having been targeted deliberately using live bullets.”

Some of the children were killed while surrounded by the occupation army inside their homes with their families, said Euro-Med. Others were displaced and following routes that the occupation army had specified as “safe” for them to use.

“The documented cases of the execution of Gazan children embody a flagrant violation of international law, including international humanitarian law, and constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity in and of themselves,” the NGO pointed out, “and have been committed in the context of the crime of genocide to which the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip have been subjected for six months.”..

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Who's the Victim Here?

Who's the victim?

Image

The fatality numbers from Oct 7 2023 are as follows:

  • 256 soldiers killed (armed)
  • 53 police and security officers (armed)
  • 63 security guards civilian (armed)
  • 782 civilians (unarmed) (36 children 13 under 12 years old)

But how many Israeli civilians were actually killed by IDF guns, tanks and drones?

Over 32,000 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF since Oct 7th.

On March 5th the Media Office in Gaza reported the number of children who lost their lives due to IDF bombing in Gaza was at 13,430.

36 Israeli children (some killed by the IDF) to 13,430 Palestinian kids.

Any questions?

Benjamin Netanyahu Is Israel’s Worst Prime Minister Ever

from The Atlantic

One man’s ambition has undermined Israel’s security and consumed its politics.

If Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted defeat in June 2021, finally yielding the stage to a coalition of his opponents, he could have retired at the age of 71 with a decent claim to having been one of Israel’s more successful prime ministers.

He had already surpassed the time in office of Israel’s founder, David Ben-Gurion, becoming the country’s longest-serving prime minister in 2019. His second stretch in office, from 2009 to 2021, coincided with perhaps the best 12 years Israel had known since its founding in 1948. The country enjoyed relative security, with no major wars or prolonged Intifadas. The period was one of uninterrupted economic growth and prosperity. Thanks to its early adoption of widespread vaccination, Israel was one of the first countries in the world to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. And toward the end of that span came three agreements establishing diplomatic relations with Arab countries; more were likely on the way...

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Trump warns Israel that it’s ‘losing a lot of support’

from Politico

Former President Donald Trump said Israel has to “finish up” the war in Gaza in a Monday interview with an Israeli news outlet, adding that the country “has to be very careful” because it is “losing a lot of support.”  

The presumptive Republican nominee’s comments come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled an Israel delegation that was set to visit Washington after the U.S. allowed a resolution calling for a cease-fire to pass the U.N. Security Council. Trump’s remarks also come as President Joe Biden’s administration has grown increasingly critical of Israel’s planned military offensive in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than 1 million Palestinians have sought refuge from the conflict.

In an interview with Israel Hayom, a publication owned by the family of the late conservative real estate magnate Sheldon Adelson, Trump suggested he would have acted very similarly to Israel’s government in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants. But he also said Israel made “a very big mistake” with photos and imagery of bombs dropped on Gaza helping push public opinion against the war.  

“I wanted to call [Israel] and say don’t do it,” Trump told the outlet. “These photos and shots. I mean, moving shots of bombs being dropped into buildings in Gaza. And I said, Oh, that’s a terrible portrait. It’s a very bad picture for the world.” ...

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Hey Israel: When Mossad Asset Alex Jones Turns on You, Time to Rethink Your Actions

 




Jones has bragged about being close to Mossad agents. He comes from the Steve Bannon zionist network and now even he (because of Trump's recent statements?) has to finally address the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Israel is losing allies FAST.

Nas Daily accepts award from Israel’s genocide lobby

from Mondoweiss

Nuseir Yassin, the Palestinian viral video maker better known as Nas Daily, has been a useful tool for the Israel lobby as the Israeli government commits genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

This month Yassin accepted an award from the Anti-Defamation League “for his work in building bridges of understanding between Jews and Muslims,” the right-wing group said.

The ADL, an Israel lobby group that also masquerades as a civil rights organization, sent notices to US universities urging them to punish students who are protesting Israel’s slaughter in Gaza and designate them as “terror supporters.”

The video blogger gave an acceptance speech talking about promoting “peace” between Muslims and Jews in the region.

The award was presented to Yassin by Duke University professor Abdullah Antepli, himself a previous awardee. Antepli co-directs the Muslim Leadership Initiative, which promotes faithwashing junkets to Israel operated by the Shalom Hartman Institute, an organization with ties to the Israeli military.

Also co-directing the Muslim Leadership Initiative is the American-born author Yossi Klein Halevi, a former adherent of genocidal anti-Palestinian rabbi Meir Kahane. The organization is also bankrolled by anti-Muslim extremists...

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Israel Deploys Expansive Facial Recognition Program in Gaza

from the New York Times

Within minutes of walking through an Israeli military checkpoint along Gaza’s central highway on Nov. 19, the Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha was asked to step out of the crowd. He put down his 3-year-old son, whom he was carrying, and sat in front of a military jeep.

Half an hour later, Mr. Abu Toha heard his name called. Then he was blindfolded and led away for interrogation.

“I had no idea what was happening or how they could suddenly know my full legal name,” said the 31-year-old, who added that he had no ties to the militant group Hamas and had been trying to leave Gaza for Egypt.

It turned out Mr. Abu Toha had walked into the range of cameras embedded with facial recognition technology, according to three Israeli intelligence officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. After his face was scanned and he was identified, an artificial intelligence program found that the poet was on an Israeli list of wanted persons, they said.

Mr. Abu Toha is one of hundreds of Palestinians who have been picked out by a previously undisclosed Israeli facial recognition program that was started in Gaza late last year. The expansive and experimental effort is being used to conduct mass surveillance there, collecting and cataloging the faces of Palestinians without their knowledge or consent, according to Israeli intelligence officers, military officials and soldiers...

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Hamas demands delusional – Israel

(The objective is to take all of Palestine for Israel but short of that they wish to remove Hamas from Gaza and replace it with something sycophantic to Israel like the P.A. is. Regime change in other words)

from RT

The United Nations Security Council has emboldened Palestinian militants to make unacceptable demands, jeopardizing the prospects of a hostage release deal and Gaza ceasefire, Israel claimed on Tuesday.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of demonstrating “utter disinterest in a negotiated deal,” after a UNSC resolution on Monday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and unconditional release of the remaining Israeli hostages being held by the Palestinian militant group.

According to Israel, Hamas demanded an “immediate halt to the war, the complete withdrawal of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] from the Gaza Strip and leaving in place its administration.”

“Israel will not address Hamas’s delusional demands. Israel will pursue and achieve its just war objectives: Destroying Hamas’s military and governmental capacities, release of all the hostages, and ensuring Gaza will not pose a threat to the people of Israel in the future,” Netanyahu’s office said...

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Over 100 MPs urge UK government to ban arms sales to Israel

from Press TV

More than 100 British MPs have urged the UK government to immediately ban arms sale to Israel, as the occupying regime continues its brutal war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

The appeal was made in a letter signed by 130 parliamentarians on Wednesday, calling on UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron to act as other countries like Canada who have halted arms exports to Israel.

The letter argued that “business as usual” for UK arms exports to Israel is “totally unacceptable,” noting that an F-16 fighter jet made with UK parts was probably responsible for bombing British doctors in Gaza two months ago.

The letter further noted that the UK government has suspended arms sales to Israel during the two previous wars on Gaza.

“The scale of violence committed by the Israeli military is vastly more deadly, but the UK government has failed to act,” it said...

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China urges Israel to comply with UNSC Gaza cease-fire resolution

from Daily Sabah

China called on Israel to fulfill its obligations under the U.N. Charter and comply with the U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, saying that the council's resolutions are "binding on Israel."

China "calls on the parties concerned to fulfill their obligations under the U.N. Charter and to take due action as required by the resolution,” Lin said in response to a question by Anadolu Agency (AA) about comments by the U.S. top envoy to the U.N. who claimed a resolution passed Monday was "non-binding” on parties to the conflict in Gaza, which has been under an onslaught by Israel since Oct. 7.

More than 32,333 Palestinians have since been killed and over 74,694 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The U.N. Charter stipulates that all Security Council resolutions are legally binding under international law...

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China's Xi meets American business leaders amid sluggish investment

from Daily Sabah

Chinese President Xi Jinping convened with American business leaders at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, as part of the government's efforts to attract foreign investors and assuage concerns among international companies regarding the effects of new regulatory changes.

Beijing wants to boost the growth of the world's second-largest economy after foreign direct investment shrank 8% in 2023 amid heightened investor concern over an anti-espionage law, exit bans and raids on consultancies and due diligence firms...

Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder and CEO of private equity firm Blackstone, Raj Subramaniam, head of American delivery giant FedEx, and Cristiano Amon, the boss of chips manufacturer Qualcomm were part of the around 20-strong all-male U.S. contingent.

The audience with Xi – organized by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the U.S.-China Business Council, and the Asia Society think tank – lasted around 90 minutes, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter...

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My executed Israeli children story was untrue, admits ZAKA's Yossi Landau

 


The fatality numbers from Oct 7 2023 are as follows:

  • 256 soldiers killed (armed)
  • 53 police and security officers (armed)
  • 63 security guards civilian (armed)
  • 782 civilians (unarmed) (36 children 13 under 12 years old)

But how many Israeli civilians were actually killed by IDF guns, tanks and drones?

On March 5th the Media Office in Gaza reported the number of children who lost their lives due to IDF bombing in Gaza was at 13,430.

36 to 13,430

Any questions?


Kibbutz Be’eri Rejects Story in New York Times October 7 Exposé: “They Were Not Sexually Abused”

from The Intercept

“It’s not true,” said the kibbutz spokesperson, of one of the stories featured in the paper’s controversial article. 

Two of the three victims specifically singled out by the New York Times in a marquee exposé published in December, which alleged that Hamas had deliberately weaponized sexual violence during the October 7 attacks, were not in fact victims of sexual assault, according to the spokesperson for the Kibbutz Be’eri, which the Times identified as the location of the attack.

The rejection of the Times reporting in the kibbutz by Be’eri spokesperson Michal Paikin further undermines the credibility of the paper’s controversial December article “‘Screams Without Words’: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7.”

The Times article described three alleged victims of sexual assault for whom it reported specific biographical information. One, known as the “woman in the black dress,” was Gal Abdush. Some of her family members have contested the claims made by the Times. The other two alleged victims were unnamed teenage sisters from Kibbutz Be’eri whose precise ages were listed in the New York Times, making it possible to identify them...

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Israeli propagandist behind Hamas ‘mass rape’ narrative exposed as grifter, fraud

from The Grayzone

... Through her Deborah Institute, Elkayam-Levy has raised millions of dollars. But if the government sources who spoke to YNet are to be believed, she conned wealthy American Jewish donors like Rahm Emanuel, currently the Biden administration’s ambassador to Japan, and channeled the money into her personal bank account.

According to YNet, Elkayam-Levy appealed for $8 million to launch her “Civil Commission,” requesting $1.5 million for “management and administration.” “Rahm Emanuel, the US ambassador to Japan, donated money to her, she took donations from a lot of people, and started asking for money for lectures,” the Israeli official complained.

After more than five months of research, however, the publicity-hungry lawyer has produced nothing of substance to justify her massive fundraising haul. Indeed, the “atrocity report” Elkayam-Levy had promised supporters, which would have provided clear evidence of systematic sexual violence by Hamas on October 7, has yet to arrive.

Meanwhile, she reportedly attempted to obstruct a visit to Israel by United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten, whose report was ultimately touted by Israel as “proof” of sex crimes by Hamas despite Patten’s own admission that it contained no evidence and lacked any investigative mandate from the UN.

I first became aware of Elkayam-Levy’s penchant for fudging facts during a November 11, 2023 presentation she delivered to Harvard University’s Maimonides Society. There, she presented images of female Kurdish fighters killed in combat as Jewish Israeli women who had been killed and raped by Hamas militants at the Nova Electronic Music Festival on October 7...

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Israeli “commission” on 7 October rape claims exposed as fraud

from Electronic Intifada

In early December, the White House received Cochav Elkayam-Levy, whom it described in a press statement as the “Chair of Israel’s Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children.”

The subject of multiple media profiles, Elkayam-Levy played a key role in giving international legitimacy to Israel’s baseless atrocity propaganda about mass rapes.

But now Elkayam-Levy and her commission have been exposed as frauds...

During her meeting with Biden administration officials, Elkayam-Levy “spoke about her work to gather testimony and document evidence of the events of 7 October and develop a comprehensive accounting of gender-based violence committed by Hamas,” the White House said...

The article’s shocking headline asserted that “The Scope of Hamas’ Campaign of Rape Against Israeli Women Is Revealed, Testimony After Testimony.”...

One clue that this was rubbish was buried in the Haaretz article itself, the admission that “Thus far, the commission has not taken testimony directly, but it will begin to do so soon.”...

It turns out that Elkayam-Levy’s “civil commission” – described by the White House as if it were an official Israeli body – does not even exist...

“It’s no joke. Little by little, professionals have begun to distance themselves from her because she is unreliable,” the source added, citing the damage such false accounts do to Israel’s already battered credibility.

It had previously been exposed that Elkayam-Levy also tried to pass off an old photo of a deceased Kurdish female fighter in another country as a victim of the 7 October violence...

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Cabinet discussion on Haredi draft postponed amid marathon coalition talks

from Times of Israel

A planned cabinet discussion on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed amendments to the Haredi military enlistment law scheduled for Tuesday at noon was postponed at the last minute as the premier held marathon talks within his coalition on the controversial reform.

The postponement came after National Unity party chairman and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz on Monday reiterated an earlier threat to bolt the coalition if an agreement cannot be reached on ultra-Orthodox enlistment.

Netanyahu released an amended version of the draft on Monday following pushback from within his coalition and a warning by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara that she would be unable to defend the initial proposal in court...

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Protest leader: Netanyahu is causing Israel to crumble

from Jerusalem Post

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is causing the country to crumble, attorney Gonen Ben Yitzhak, from the "Crime Minister" movement told 103FM following protests outside Netanyahu's home in Caesarea.

After the demonstration and the arson that took place Saturday night at the entrance to the Prime Minister's Residence in Caesarea, attorney Ben Yitzhak, clarified: "No one had the intention of approaching, and certainly not breaking into, the Prime Minister's Residence."

Later, Ben Yitzhak referred to the current political situation in the shadow of the controversy of the haredi draft law: "The enemies of the State of Israel want to see the country crumble, and the one causing it to crumble it is Benjamin Netanyahu by continuing to wage war. There really is no war, he is dragging this war out. He is worried that groups in Israeli society will not enlist in the army."...

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How US Facilitated Creation of Terror Groups Like ISIS

from Sputnik News

In their efforts to draw suspicion away from Ukraine by pinning the blame of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack on ISIS*, US political strategists who came up with this ploy effectively backed themselves into a corner, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
 
Just like the US meddling in Afghanistan in the 1980s paved the way for the rise of al-Qaeda*, the 2003 US invasion and subsequent de facto occupation of Iraq resulted in the creation of ISIS, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova elaborated in her recent op-ed.
 
Her assessment was shared by Hasan Abdullah, a political scientist at Global Security & Strategy Institute and expert on Islamic militancy, who noted that the US actions in Afghanistan during the Soviet military intervention produced a “conducive environment which was created for the emergence of many groups” that would later “operate in neighboring countries as well.”
 
“You can talk about al-Qaeda as well. Al-Qaeda was one of the groups that emerged from there. So, you could say that the environment that was created, did ultimately pave the way for al-Qaeda as well,” he said.
 
The United States’ attempts to wage a proxy war against the USSR in Afghanistan resulted in the emergence of “a completely new generation of Mujahideen with the Jihadi mindset that still haunts world's peace,” added Syed Fakhar Kakakhel, a Peshawar-based senior journalist who specializes in covering politics and militancy in Afghanistan and Pakistan...

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Russia responds to claims Islamic State behind Moscow terror attack

from RT

Western attempts to push the narrative that the Crocus City concert hall shooting was staged by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) without waiting for the investigation to conlcude, look extremely suspicious, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov has said.

On Friday, at least four gunmen attacked the popular venue, located outside Moscow, ahead of a performance by the Russian rock band Picnic, indiscriminately shooting civilians and setting the venue on fire. It was the worst act of terrorism on Russian soil since the early 2000s and left 139 people dead and more than 180 injured.

Russian security services detained four alleged perpetrators who had fled the scene, identified as ethnic Tajiks, in Bryansk Region not far from the Ukrainian border. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the suspects as “radical Islamists,” saying they were caught fleeing “towards Ukraine where, according to preliminary data, a window to cross the border was prepared.”...

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UK farmers plow into central London

from RT

Over 150 tractors descended on Britain’s Parliament on Monday evening in a protest against post-Brexit regulations and trade agreements that they say will endanger their livelihoods and undermine food security.

Farm vehicles flying UK flags made their way across London and through Westminster, carrying signs with slogans such as ‘Save British farming’ and ‘No farming, no food, no future’. The tractor rally became the largest among the latest protests launched by farmers across the country.

According to the campaign groups Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers of Kent that organized the march, cheap food imports and unsupportive policies are putting food security in the country at major risk...

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Israel continues strikes in Gaza despite UN ceasefire resolution

from Press TV

There is no let-up in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an “immediate ceasefire.”

Israel carried out air raids and artillery strikes on several parts of Gaza on Tuesday, hitting residential buildings and gatherings of displaced people, “killing and wounding hundreds of people”, the Palestinian Information Center said.

Among the victims are 15 people, including four women and children, who were killed in an attack on a house in the neighborhood of Mosbeh, north of Rafah.

Media reports also said that fighting on the ground continued unabated.

That’s while the UN Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution for an “immediate ceasefire” for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The resolution was put forward by the 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. The US abstained and the 14 other council members all voted in favor of it.

After the vote, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on social media platform X that failing to implement the resolution “would be unforgivable.”...

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Clear evidence Israel committed 'genocide' in Gaza: UN expert

from Daily Sabah

A top U.N. rights expert has accused Israel of committing several acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing in its brutal war on Gaza.

Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, said Monday there were clear indications that Israel had violated three of the five acts listed under the U.N. Genocide Convention.

"The overwhelming nature and scale of Israel's assault on Gaza and the destructive conditions of life it has inflicted reveal an intent to physically destroy Palestinians as a group," she said in a report, which was immediately rejected by Israel as an "obscene inversion of reality."

Albanese, an independent expert appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council but who does not speak on behalf of the United Nations, said she had found "reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of ... acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza has been met."...

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Palestine welcomes EU's 'readiness' to recognize its statehood

from Daily Sabah

Palestine welcomed a statement by some European Union countries to recognize the sovereignty of a Palestinian state.

The leaders of Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and Malta said Friday that they stand ready to recognize a Palestinian state as the "only way to achieve peace and security” in the war-ridden region.

In a joint statement issued on the sidelines of a summit in Brussels to discuss their "readiness to recognize Palestine," the four leaders said they stand ready to do so "when it can make a positive contribution and the circumstances are right."

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry termed the joint statement by the four European countries as a "step in the right direction.”

"The recognition of a Palestinian state is a strategic necessity to protect the two-state solution and achieve peace,” it added in a statement...

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Monday, March 25, 2024

UNSC Passes Cease Fire Demand: US Abstains While Netanyahu Rages

US abstained from voting on UN Security Council resolution calling for immediate cease fire in Gaza. Bibi is angry as he senses this sudden shift in support bodes ill for his remaining in power. 

UN Security Council adopts resolution demanding immediate Gaza ceasefire

from al Jazeera

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) demands an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the release of all captives as the United States abstains from the vote.

The remaining 14 council members voted in favour of the resolution, which was proposed by the 10 elected members of the council. There was a round of applause in the council chamber after the vote on Monday.

The resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends in two weeks, and also demands that Hamas free captives seized on October 7 when it led attacks on Israel.

“The bloodbath has continued for far too long,” said Amar Bendjama, the ambassador from Algeria, the Arab bloc’s current Security Council member and a sponsor of the resolution. “Finally, the Security Council is shouldering its responsibility.”

The US had repeatedly blocked Security Council resolutions that put pressure on Israel but has increasingly shown frustration with its ally as civilian casualties mount and the UN warns of impending famine in Gaza.

Speaking after the vote, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield blamed Hamas for the delay in passing a ceasefire resolution.

“We did not agree with everything with the resolution,” which she said was the reason why the US abstained.

“Certain key edits were ignored, including our request to add a condemnation of Hamas,” Thomas-Greenfield said. She stressed that the release of Israeli captives would lead to an increase in humanitarian aid supplies going into the besieged coastal enclave.

The White House said the final resolution did not have language the US considers essential and its abstention does not represent a shift in policy.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the US failure to veto the resolution is a “clear retreat” from its previous position and would hurt war efforts against Hamas as well as efforts to release Israeli captives held in Gaza.

His office also said Netanyahu will not be sending a high-level delegation to Washington, DC, in light of the new US position...

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Netanyahu to AIPAC: I suggested idea of Gaza-aid sea route to Biden

from JNS Mar 18

... “Everything that you see: The airdrops, that’s with us; the sea route, that’s with us—it actually started out as an idea that I presented to President Biden two weeks into the war,” Netanyahu said during the meeting in Jerusalem, a recording of which was shared by his office...

In his March 7 State of the Union address, Biden announced the establishment of a floating pier on the Gaza coast to deliver supplies following an inspection. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant welcomed the initiative, saying that it would help collapse the Hamas terrorist group.

Two days after Biden’s speech, IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari revealed that “following the directive of the minister of defense, and together with our partners in the United States and the United States Central Command, we are coordinating the establishment of a temporary floating pier, intended to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.”...

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'Proportionality should be a guideline in war'



The principle of proportionality prohibits attacks against military objectives which are “expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated”. International Committee of the Red Cross

' Proportionality should be a guideline in war. Killing 50% to 90% of the people of 67 Japanese cities and then bombing them with two nuclear bombs is not proportional, in the minds of some people, to the objectives we were trying to achieve' Robert McNamara