Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Israel Was Less Flexible in Recent Gaza Cease-Fire Talks, Documents Show

from the NYT

For weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has denied that he is trying to block a cease-fire deal in Gaza by hardening Israel’s negotiating position. Mr. Netanyahu has consistently placed all blame for the deadlocked negotiations on Hamas, even as senior members of the Israeli security establishment accused him of slowing the process himself.

But in private, Mr. Netanyahu has, in fact, added new conditions to Israel’s demands, additions that his own negotiators fear have created extra obstacles to a deal. According to unpublished documents reviewed by The New York Times that detail Israel’s negotiating positions, Israel relayed a list of new stipulations in late July to American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators that added less flexible conditions to a set of principles it had made in late May...

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Hamas leader Sinwar wants a ceasefire deal, mediators say, but Netanyahu’s stance unclear

from CNN

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar wants a ceasefire deal — at least, that’s the message Egyptian and Qatari mediators have conveyed to Israeli officials in recent days ahead of a critical summit later this week, an Israeli source familiar with the matter said.

Whether the Israeli prime minister wants one remains shrouded in uncertainty.

Netanyahu’s allies have told journalists and other government officials that the Israeli prime minister is ready to make a deal, regardless of the impact on his governing coalition, two Israeli sources said. But the Israeli security establishment remains considerably more skeptical of Netanyahu’s willingness to strike a deal given fierce opposition from far-right ministers in his coalition...

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Venezuela’s Supreme Court To Rule on Documentation Submitted To Decide on Election Result

(Let me get this straight:

  1. there was a massive DDOS attack on the official election site of Venezuela that prevented them from publishing the official results
  2. the opposition claiming Gonzalez won 70+% of the vote decided to skip the Supreme Court hearing refusing to submit their fraudulent 'evidence'
  3. the opposition now claims their 'evidence' of election rigging isn't actually theirs and they have no idea who put it on their bullshit website. The same evidence even the ALT-LEFT here in the States have used to say Maduro must go

Is that about the size of it?)

from TeleSUR

The Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela announced this Saturday that it will review documents submitted by political organizations and former candidates to make a decision at the end of the “validation” process of the elections on July 28, whose result confirmed the victory of President Nicolás Maduro.

“The judges of this Electoral Chamber are committed to the expertise of all the electoral material of probative value recorded in physical and/or digital, as well as to the expertise on the massive cyber attack that was the object of the Venezuelan electoral system” said the judges declaration.

The judge recalled that the candidate of the main opposition coalition, the Democratic Unitarian Platform (PUD), Edmundo González Urrutia, was the only one of the ten candidates who did not appear before the TSJ for this process requested by the re-elected president Nicolas Maduro.

In addition, Caryslia Rodríguez stated that the citizens Manuel Rosales, representative of Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT), José Luis Cartaya, of the Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD) and José Simón Calzadilla, of the Movimiento por Venezuela (MPV), all members of the United Platform for Democratic Democracy and candidates of former candidate González Urrutia did not register any electoral material, arguing that they do not have any documentation related to this electoral process.

The judge added that they stated that they do not have records of the counting of witnesses at the tables, nor lists of witnesses, Further arguing that they did not participate in the process of transferring and storing any material and were unaware of who uploaded the information of the alleged voting records on the website...

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Ex-deputy IOF chief not sure 'Israel is a democratic state any more'

(While Glenn Greenwald doesn't think a two-state solution is possible because of settlers, this guy does. Who is this guy? Former IOF Deputy Chief of Staff, that's who.)

from al Mayadeen English

Former Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Deputy Chief of Staff Yair Golan questioned "Israel's" democratic status in a recent interview with The Guardian.

“I’m not sure whether Israel right now is truly a democratic state anymore. It is not a question of left or right anymore: these titles are meaningless,” the leader of the occupation's left-wing Democrats party said. 

Golan expressed his strong disagreement with the occupation's military presence in the occupied West Bank, denouncing right-wing voters' support of annexation and pursuit of implementing a revenge policy following the October 7 Hamas retaliation. 

“The right today in Israel is people who think we can annex millions of Palestinians, and Israel should adopt some sort of policy of revenge, that we can live by our swords and not attempt to reconcile with the Palestinians or any other hostile entity in the region," Golan said, asserting, “I think 180 degrees the opposite."

The former Knesset representative stated that although his political party advocates for the end of the IOF's military and civilian presence in the West Bank, as well as the establishment of a two-state solution, it recognizes the occupation's need for "security."...

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Ex-Twitter executive calls for arrest of Musk

(Here is a US businessman openly calling for legal charges being brought to bear against those who will not censor our speech. Not in the UK where the psyop just took place but rather right here in the US.)

from RT

Tech mogul Elon Musk should be threatened with arrest and detention if he refuses to censor right-wing content on X, the platform’s former vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa has suggested.

In an op-ed published by The Guardian on Monday, Bruce Daisley lamented the free-speech idealism that Musk brought to Twitter when he bought the platform (and renamed it X) in 2022. Before Musk’s takeover, Daisley claimed, Twitter was “joyously good fun to use,” thanks to restrictive policies that stifled “antisocial behavior.”

Musk must now be punished for lifting these policies and allowing right-wing thought to spread, Daisley declared. By allowing users to share content related to the recent riots in the UK, and by posting about the riots himself, Musk has “sowed discord.”...

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'Continued cycle of deprivation’: UN says Israel blocking crucial aid missions in Gaza

from PressTV

The United Nations says that since the start of this month, Israel has obstructed access to Gaza for nearly one-third of all aid missions, a move that perpetuates "a continued cycle of deprivation and distress" for the area's beleaguered residents.

The latest situation report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in August, out of the 85 coordinated humanitarian assistance missions to northern Gaza, only 34 received approval, while 32 were denied, 13 were impeded and six were canceled "due to various logistical, operational, or security challenges."

In southern Gaza, out of the 122 coordinated aid missions, 36 were denied, eight were impeded, and 15 were canceled...

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Hundreds of illegal Israeli settlers, led by notorious minister Ben Gvir, storm al-Aqsa mosque

(More antagonism from the genocidal Zionists as the world strives for peace. What a shock.)

from PressTV

Hundreds of illegal Israeli settlers have stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, with far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir joining them, sparking new tensions with Palestinian Muslims worshiping at the holy site.

More than 1,600 Israeli settlers, who were organized into 13 groups, intruded into al-Aqsa Mosque in the holy occupied city of al-Quds on Tuesday morning, according to the al-Aqsa Mosque affairs department, also referred to as the Waqf.

The settlers' intrusion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound came in response to a call from extremist Jewish groups to commemorate Tisha B'Av, an annual Jewish fast day that marks the occurrence of several disasters in Jewish history.

The Waqf reported that Israeli forces prevented worshipers from accessing the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque, and deployed a significant presence at its entrances to enable the incursion of settlers into the holy Islamic site, which resulted in clashes with Palestinian worshipers...

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Pressure on Israel necessary for Gaza cease-fire: Fidan to Blinken

from Daily Sabah

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan underlined the need to put more pressure on Israel for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza on Monday.

The two top diplomats were discussing regional developments in a phone call made at the request of Blinken, Foreign Ministry spokesman Öncü Keçeli said.

Fidan told Blinken that Israel's assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh shows Benjamin Netanyahu's administration is not interested in peace, Keçeli said.

He continued by highlighting that Hamas had previously displayed a positive stance for a cease-fire and that the U.S. needs to keep putting pressure on Israel, as he told Blinken that the escalation of tensions in the region was concerning. Israel needs to refrain from taking provocative steps that would lead to further spillover, Fidan said.

The phone call between the two foreign ministers came after the U.K. joined France and Germany in a call for Middle East de-escalation...

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Israeli PM, defense minister bicker over 'total victory' in Gaza

from Daily Sabah

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant got into an argument on Monday, highlighting the inner disagreements about Tel Aviv's ongoing war in Gaza.

Following Israeli media reports quoting Gallant dismissing Netanyahu's war aim of total victory against Hamas in Gaza as "nonsense," Netanyahu's office put out a statement rebuking Gallant.

"When Gallant adopts the anti-Israel narrative, he harms the chances of reaching a hostage deal," the statement said.

It said Israel's war aim remained "total victory," with the elimination of Hamas and the release of the remaining hostages seized by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

"This is the clear directive of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Security Cabinet, and it obligates everyone - including Gallant," it said...

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Monday, August 12, 2024

Raygun V Cyraxx and Other World News of the Day

It's all going down the toilet fast. But at least we got each other. And these boss dance moves.