Blinken’s fears come true as Houthis claim to pull off huge victory against US

Yemen’s Ansar Allah fighters also known as Houthis have claimed a huge victory over US as they claimed to shoot down a US drone, the eighth since the Gaza conflict started. Rifat Jawaid looks at the chronology of the conflict in the region and why this development is a huge blow to the US military.

Israel to make fighting for human rights a CAPITAL OFFENCE?

Director of Israeli organisation B'Tselem, Yuli Novak is accused of conspiring with the enemy for the crime of standing up for human rights.

Right, so if there is one thing you can imagine Israel could do without right now it is pesky human rights laws, after all, the people of Palestine are less than human in many of their eyes and the last thing such people want to be constantly reminded of, is the fact their own racism and apartheid doesn’t make them right here. So how about they legislate to make it that way instead?

Such is the dangerous road Israel appears to be on when standing up for the human rights of Palestinians could be criminalised and it’s no exaggeration that this could be about to come to pass as a particularly mad and nasty Israeli minister now wants to see the head of Israel’s own human rights organisation, B’Tselem arrested and prosecuted for aiding the enemy and done so under a law that is punishable by lifetime imprisonment, or even the death penalty.

Human Rights are now Hamas as well it seems. Right, so what the heck is going on now Damo, does Israel not have enough on it’s plate than to be taking chunks out of human rights campaigners in it’s ever weakening justification of the ongoing war against Gaza? You might be thinking or words to that effect. Well apparently not.

B’Tselem are now themselves in the sights of at least some in the Israeli government, Israel’s own human rights campaign agency as they are, The Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, Israelis actually concerned about the well-being and ill treatment of Palestinians by their own nation, proof as perhaps it needs saying that not all Israelis are hell-bent on the destruction and seizure of land that is not theirs, there are good ones standing up for what is right and what is just, they just don’t happen to be in government.

All of this has come about since last Wednesday when the Director of B’Tselem, Yuli Novak, via video link, addressed the UN Security Council. Here’s part of what she said, the full clip can be found via B’Tselem themselves on social media: Condemnation not just of Israel, for what she called enactment of Jewish Supremacy, but also condemnation of the criminal act Hamas committed on the night of October 7th.

She blames her government for cynically exploiting that though, to wage war on the entirety of the Palestinian people. Actions in Gaza that goes beyond revenge, making Gaza uninhabitable, infrastructure destroyed, mass displacement, all laying the ground work for long term occupation of Gaza including the re-establishment of settlements.

It was a damning statement, the rest is well worth hearing as well, laying out fact after fact without favouring Israel or Hamas, because ultimately it is the abuse of the people of Gaza that B’Tselem stands to highlight, somebody in Israel you imagine has to, and in no way do they let Hamas off the hook either, be that now or when they were in government in Gaza, as they have been functionally since 2006, up until Gaza pretty much as Yuli Novak said, got rendered uninhabitable in many places.

Death toll from Israel’s attack on Syria rises: Report

Syria’s SANA news agency is reporting that Israel’s attacks on areas near the city of Hama has killed five people and wounded 19 people, some of them critically. The agency cited a statement from the director of the public hospital in Masyaf, a city near Hama.

It added that the attack also caused damage to the Masyaf-Wadi al-Uyun highway and a fire in the Hair Abbas area.

Throughout Syria’s 13-year civil war, Israel has regularly carried out air raids in the country – mostly targeting Iran-linked sites. But the Israeli military does not confirm or comment on its operations in Syria.

Hamas denies proposing new conditions in truce talks

Hamas has responded to claims in US media that the group presented new conditions to mediators for the release of Israeli captives.

Spokesperson Basem Naim says the US officials who acted as sources for the story have “poisoned the negotiations”.

“Hamas has not presented any new conditions to the mediators, neither on the issue of prisoners nor any other matters. The movement reaffirms its commitment to what was agreed upon on July 2 of this year, which was based on President Biden’s proposal and the UN Security Council Resolution No 2735,” Naim told Al Jazeera.

“We are ready to immediately negotiate the implementation measures for this deal,” he added.

Clashes as Israeli forces raid Tulkarem, Balata refugee camps

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting clashes between Palestinian fighters and Israeli soldiers in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank after Israel’s military launched another raid on the area earlier this evening.

The raid came after Israeli forces laid siege to Tulkarem for 10 days, killing several Palestinians and destroying roads and infrastructure across the refugee camp, including water and power networks.

In Balata, meanwhile, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a Palestinian armed group, said its fighters targeted raiding Israeli troops with a “dense barrage of bullets” and were engaged in “violent clashes” with them.

Israeli settlers abduct, beat elderly Palestinian man

The Wafa news agency is reporting that Israeli settlers abducted 68-year-old Baji Salem Abu Sharakh from the town of ad-Dhahiriya in the occupied West Bank and beat him severely.

Local sources told the agency that Abu Sharakh was abducted while he was grazing his sheep in the al-Tarayan area of the town, which is located south of the city of Hebron.

Wafa said Abu Sharakh was brought back by the Israeli military.

The incident comes as Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians and their homes in the occupied West Bank escalate in the wake of Israel’s brutal war on Gaza.

Israel bombs residential buildings in Khan Younis



At least two people, including a mother and child, were killed in an Israeli attack on residential buildings in southeast Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday.

Three Palestinians killed in Israeli attack on Nuseirat

The Palestinian Civil Defence said rescuers have recovered the bodies of three people after an Israeli air attack on a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The Wafa news agency, citing medical sources, said at least seven others were also wounded.

Earlier on Sunday evening, a Palestinian child was killed in an attack on the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City.

Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting that four people have been killed in an Israeli attack on a house in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Billionaire Zionist Donors CONTROL Kamala Harris’s Israel Policy With Jordan Chariton

Journalist Jordan Chariton and Katie react to the Kamala Harris interview which revealed that her Gaza policy is identical to Biden’s.

Jordan explains, “the media can cheer on [that] her crocodile tears are a little better than Biden's, but she's not going to do anything because the money comes first. They believe they need to outraise Trump. I believe that's kind of fool's gold. Hillary Clinton in 2016 outspent Trump two to one.

Follow the donors. Biden's top donors and now Harris's top donors. Jeffrey Katzenberg is the co-chair of this campaign. His net worth is just under a billion dollars. Ardent Zionist. Haim Saban, net worth three billion dollars. He’s a top donor to the Democrats. The last time Israel was bombing Gaza, not to this degree, a couple of democratic senators said something tepid and he came down on them. They just happened to be taking his money and they quickly reversed.”

Jordan also describes what he saw on the ground in Dearborn, Michigan: “I got news for you. They're not voting for her. I can't speak for all Arab Americans, but I talked to a lot of people and, one woman said it best, ‘your sympathy doesn't stop the bombs’.”

Israeli forces fire live rounds, tear gas in West Bank raids

We’ve been covering renewed Israeli raids on the Tulkarem and Balata refugee camps in the northern West Bank and have more information on military operations elsewhere in the occupied territory.

According to the Wafa news agency, Israeli forces have:

Jordan-West Bank bridge to remain closed today

The Public Security Directorate of Jordan has announced that the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge will remain closed for passengers and cargo for today. The public security agency said the closure will remain in effect “until further notice” but did not elaborate, according to the state-run news agency Petra.

Palestinians stranded as Jordan border crossing remains closed

Jordanian authorities say the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge crossing will remain closed until further notice. It was previously hoped that it would be reopened at 10am which is this hour but that has not happened.

Around 9am, there were passengers arriving here in anticipation of the border crossing being reopened in order to return to their homes in the occupied West Bank, but authorities turned them away.

There aren’t many passengers, vehicles or buses at the moment. Initially, the opening was just for passengers and all three crossings between Jordan and Israel were supposed to be reopened but the status of the crossings in the north and the south remains unclear.

Palestinians who we have spoken to have said they are stranded and are unable to get home.

Palestine mission circulates draft UNGA resolution on occupied territory

The Palestine mission at the UN has circulated a draft resolution for the General Assembly – to convene on Tuesday – that demands an end to illegal Israeli presence in the occupied Palestinian territory.

It also calls on the 79th UNGA to vote for convening a special committee that would examine Israeli violations, and for convening an international conference that would advance implementation of UN resolutions on Palestinian issues.

As a result of a vote in May, from tomorrow the mission will gain more privileges in line with the effective recognition of a Palestinian state but still will not have a vote.

NEW: @Palestine_UN circulates #UNGA draft resolution demanding #Israel ends its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (in no later than 6 months from the the time resolution is adopted). Draft, which builds on #ICJ's advisory opinion, calls for convening of a… pic.twitter.com/Wep0gKSCf7

— Rami Ayari (@Raminho) September 8, 2024

UN rights chief calls on states to challenge Israel over occupation

The UN human rights chief Volker Turk says ending the 11-month-long war in Gaza is a priority and asked countries to act against what he called Israel’s “blatant disregard” for international law in the occupied Palestinian territory.

“States must not, and cannot, accept blatant disregard for international law, including binding decisions of the Security Council and orders of the ICJ, neither in this nor any other situation,” Turk said in a speech at the opening of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

He cited an opinion released by the UN top court in July that called Israel’s occupation illegal and said this situation must be “comprehensively addressed”.

Israel has rejected the opinion.

Japanese-Palestinian rapper raises awareness about Israeli occupation

Danny Jin is the grandchild of a Palestinian who survived the 1948 killing and forced displacement of hundreds of thousands by Israeli forces in the events that culminated in the establishment of the State of Israel.

Now he raps to raise awareness about the Palestinian cause in Japan.

Are restrictions on pro-Palestine speech ‘the new McCarthyism?’

Is there an attempt to chill debate on Palestine and Israel on both sides of the Atlantic?

The US, and the West in general, are in a “dire period” of repression of speech on Palestinian freedom or criticism of Israel, argues Dima Khalidi, founder of Palestine Legal.

Khalidi tells host Steve Clemons that despite strong constitutional protections for free expression, “there seems to be this exception when it comes to Palestine”, as witnessed by the wave of censorship, intimidation, firings and restrictions on activism in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza.

The situation is similar across Europe, says British journalist Richard Medhurst, who’s been covering Gaza closely and was arrested for “speech crimes” upon arrival in London recently.

Upcoming defence expo in Australia disrupted by demonstrators

Pro-Palestinian antiwar activists have held protests in Melbourne disrupting a defence expo that is set to open on Wednesday.

Protesters gathered in front of companies connected to weapons manufacturing across Melbourne as police were called to prevent an escalation of the events, according to 7News Melbourne.

Police presence was visible in front of company buildings.

Demonstrations are expected to move across the city to different areas ahead of the Land Forces military expo, where more than 25,000 participants are expected.

On Sunday, Extinction Rebellion activists blocked Montague Street near the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre where the expo is being held. Pro-Palestinian protesters in Australia have been urging the government to impose sanctions on Israel for its war on Gaza.

Why is Extinction Rebellion protesting in solidarity with Gaza?

Formed in 2018, Extinction Rebellion has gained notoriety by employing disruptive tactics targeting roads and airports to denounce the extraction and burning of fossil fuels.

However, since the war on Gaza, they have taken a strong position on the fighting and have called for an immediate ceasefire.

“If we believe in climate and ecological justice, we must seek justice in all forms. The climate and ecological emergency has roots in centuries of colonial violence, exploitation and oppression,” the UK-based group said in a statement in November.

Not to forget the impact on climate change from ongoing wars. Militaries already represent 5.5% of global emissions and Gaza is at another level
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/09/emissions-gaza-israel-hamas-war-climate-change

How Israel’s war has affected education in Gaza

The Palestinian Ministry of Education says:

Orphaned children attend maths classes in Khan Younis

For children in Gaza, going back to school is not possible.

Over the course of the war, now in its 12th month, 10,490 students have been killed and 16,700 wounded, according to the Palestinian Education Ministry. At least 600,000 Palestinian students are being deprived of an education due to Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

In Khan Younis, Eman Ahmed, an orphaned child learning maths in a tent for displaced families, said she ended up in the camp after losing her father. “Now I am living and studying here. Today we are trying to learn and remember what we started before the war which destroyed our future dreams,” she said.

Raheen Shareef Abed, a displaced orphan in the camp, added that by going to the classes, they are “defying all odds and are adamant to march forward despite the hard living conditions under the war”.

Gaza residents rue children staying out of school

Umm Zaki’s 15-year-old son Moataz was supposed to start 10th grade. Instead, he woke up in a tent in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza and was sent to fetch a container of water from more than a kilometre away.

“Usually, such a day would be a day of celebration, seeing the children in the new uniform, going to school, and dreaming of becoming doctors and engineers,” she told Reuters news agency. “Today, all we hope is that the war ends before we lose any of them.”

The Palestinian Education Ministry said all Gaza schools were shut and 90 percent of them had been destroyed or damaged in Israel’s assault on the territory since October.

“The longer the children stay out of school the more difficult it is for them to catch up on their lost learning and the more prone they are to becoming a lost generation, falling prey to exploitation, including child marriage, child labour, and recruitment into armed groups,” Juliette Touma, UNRWA Director of Communications, said.

Israeli forces target Beit Hanoon in northern Gaza

We are getting reports from the ground the Israeli army has attacked the Beit Hanoon area with artillery shelling. In June, Palestinian municipal authorities declared Beit Hanoon and Jabalia, another city in northern Gaza, as “disaster areas”.

Fuel shortages threaten lives of children in northern Gaza hospital

The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Hussam Abu Safia, has shared these updates with Al Jazeera on the situation at the northern Gaza hospital:

Operations at Indonesian Hospital could stop within 48 hours: Hospital director

Marwan al-Sultan, the director of the Indonesian Hospital, spoke to Al Jazeera about the situation at the northern Gaza health facility:

Israeli military orders evacuation of northern Gaza neighbourhood

The Israeli military has ordered Palestinians in a neighbourhood in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya to evacuate after it said rockets were launched from the area at the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon last night.

The military’s spokesperson released a map marking the area which has been designated in “blocks”, adding that “the specified area has been warned many times in the past” and it is now “considered a dangerous combat zone”.

The military had earlier said one of the rockets was intercepted and another fell into the sea.

Death toll in Syria attack rises to 16: Health director

At least 16 people have now been killed and 36 wounded in the Israeli attack on the Hama countryside of Syria, Hama Health Director Maher al-Younes was quoted as saying by Syrian state media.

Six people are still in critical condition, al-Younes added.

On late Sunday night Israeli strikes targeted a number of military sites in Hama, state media reported, adding that the country’s defence systems intercepted and shot down some of them.