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Forums - Politics Discussion - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ on 06 January 2024

Thousands protest in Tel Aviv in ‘unprecedented’ anger towards Netanyahu

An incredible unprecedented turnout since the war started, since the October 7 attack. This is an anti-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu protest; civil society [groups] have come together to organise this.

This is unprecedented because throughout the beginning of this war, everyone had agreed, including the anti-government protesters, that they needed to be unified at a time when there is war, at a time when captives are still being held in Gaza, The turnout here is much, much higher than what we’ve seen in the last few weeks, a few hundred, before that it was a few dozen, and now, quite a few thousand people gathered here.

Just to give you an idea of some of the things they’d been shouting: “Bushah bushah, bushah”, which means “shame, shame, shame”. They’ve said this government is morally corrupt, they’ve even pointed out that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including some of his ministers, haven’t even sent their children to fight the war in Gaza.

They’ve said that October 7 is directly to do with Netanyahu in that he is the reason that it happened, and the reason being the incompetence, the decisiveness, because of the political infighting in the most far-right government Israel has seen in its history.




‘Deliberate starvation not famine’: UN human rights expert

Gaza is experiencing “deliberate starvation not famine”, Tlaleng Mofokeng, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, has said in a post on X

“We need an immediate ceasefire,” Mofokeng added.

Mofokeng, who serves as an independent UN human rights expert, made the comments in response to a report from the UN secretary general, warning that “widespread famine looms” in Gaza.



New Yorkers rally for Palestine in ‘Little Yemen’, The Bronx, New York



Hundreds of protesters in London have staged a sit-in on Westminster Bridge, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in the first big demonstration of the year.

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 06 January 2024

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SvennoJ on 07 January 2024



LurkerJ on 07 January 2024
SvennoJ said:

The title says it all; the most documented genocide in history. I have been trying to put it in a sentence for a month, but that's the one; the most documented genocide in history (all thanks to twitter and tiktoc, I hope this is remembered the next time the left advocates for misinformation and censorship laws). 

Never forget who stood behind it, encouraged it, armed it and funded it. The west is not just complicit, but an active player. I hope sequences are suffered in the upcoming elections.

I no longer think Trump would be worse for Palestinians (worse for everybody else for sure though) because:

1. How the fuck can it be any worse for them?

2. If Trump is in charge, at least MSNBC/CNN and the rest of the neoliberal gang would be on our case on the daily "are you outraged yet? are you? are you? this is much bigger than a pussy grabbing comment caught on tape, get outraged!" which may result in a larger public outcry, boycotts etc. Let's face, despite how enthused I am about alternative media, the MSM is still king. 



SvennoJ on 07 January 2024

Car-ramming injures two Israelis in occupied West Bank: Emergency services

Two people are lightly injured “in a car-ramming attack at an East Jerusalem checkpoint, near the Palestinian town of Biddu”, according to a spokesman for Israel’s emergency medical services.

The suspected attacker was “neutralised”, or killed, by Border Police officers, according to police.

Israeli police fatally shot Palestinian toddler during attack

Israeli media outlets have reported that a three-year-old Palestinian child was killed during what Israeli authorities said was a car-ramming attack that targeted a military checkpoint near the Givat Ze’ev settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Haaretz cited Israeli police as saying that the child was shot by Israeli border police officers and was not in the vehicle. The Jerusalem Post also reported that the toddler was “accidentally shot and killed”.



Israel appears to have directly targeted Al Jazeera journalists’ car: Watchdog

Antoine Bernard from Reporters Without Borders has said it appears that “a single rocket fell on the car” of Hamza Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya, both of whom worked for Al Jazeera.

“If this is the case, it would qualify as another war crime against journalists for Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera. “It’s a massive slaughter and this has to stop.”


The wrecked car after two more Palestinian journalists who have been identified as Hamza Wael Al-Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh, and Mustafa Thuraya, were killed in an Israeli bombing on their car in the city of Khan Younis, Sunday

Attacks on journalists allowed because of Israel’s dehumanisation of Palestinians

Oren Ziv, an Israeli journalist for +972 magazine, spoke to Al Jazeera’s Sara Khairat in Tel Aviv about Israel’s continued targeting of journalists. Here’s what he had to say: “Unfortunately, although Israel declares publicly [that] they allow freedom of speech, through the years we’ve seen again and again, especially while covering events in the occupied West Bank and in occupied East Jerusalem, but also inside ‘48 Israel‘, that in almost every event, if you’re talking about Palestinian gatherings, and of course, protests, we’ve seen attacks against the media.

It can be small things like pushing us away and using tear gas and other weapons against us. Or, of course, there are more severe tools. But the general trend is very clear. It’s preventing, again and again, media crews from doing their work, even when they’re marked as press, even when they stand aside in big groups.

I think this can be allowed because of the general way the Israeli government, but unfortunately, also the public, doesn’t see [Palestinians] as humans, and this also allows [for] the attacks against journalists, especially in Gaza.”

Israel’s killing of journalists must be denounced: Al-Monitor

Daoud Kuttab, a columnist for Al-Monitor news website, tells Al Jazeera the killing of two more journalists, Hamza Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya, is “a despicable act, one that has to be denounced by anyone”. “The journalism sector must demand an investigation into Israel and that Israel opens the border for international journalists, as well as for Israel to stop targeting journalists,” he said from Jordan’s capital Amman.

“It is a very sad day. Firstly because for 90-something days we have not been able to allow a single international journalist to enter Gaza. The Israelis have been blackmailing the Egyptians to not allow any international journalists to enter,” Kuttab said. “So the only source of information has been Palestinian journalists and the Israelis have been killing them one after the other. Killing the journalists, killing the families of journalists – this is unacceptable. This is a violation of international law. Going after civilians is a war crime.”

Houthi official says killing of journalists in Gaza exposes West’s ‘lies’

Mohammed Abdulsalam notes that more than 100 journalists have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza.

He criticised what he insinuated was the double standards of Western nations in speaking about democracy, human rights and free expression, while continuing to support Israel, despite its actions in Gaza.

“With the killing of each journalist of Gaza – Mustafa Thuraya and Hamza Dahdouh being the latest of them – Western propaganda falls and its falsity and lies are exposed,” Abdulsalam wrote in a social media post.

Press freedom watchdog calls for independent probe into Dahdouh, Thuraya killings

The Committee to Protect Journalists says that the killings of Al Jazeera journalists Hamza Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya must be independently investigated to determine whether they were targeted, and those behind their deaths must be held accountable.

“The continuous killings of journalists and their family members by Israeli army fire must end,” said CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa programme coordinator Sherif Mansour. “The Dahdouh family and their journalist colleagues in Gaza are rewriting what it means to be a journalist today with immensely brave and never-seen-before sacrifices,” he said in a statement.






Israeli drones target Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza: Director

Iyad Abu Zaher, the general director of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, has said in a brief statement that the medical centre in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza is “under threat and direct targeting by Israeli drones”.

Israel trying to put Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital ‘out of service’

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza has said the medical centre in central Gaza is coming under heavy Israeli drone fire that is targeting “anything that moves” and that is aimed at disabling the hospital.

“Putting Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital out of service would be a death sentence for thousands of wounded people and patients in the central area,” the ministry said in a statement.

Hamas condemns Israel’s ‘heinous massacre’ in Jabalia

Hamas has accused Israel of targeting a home sheltering civilians in Jabalia in northern Gaza, saying that Saturday’s attack killed dozens of people, mostly women and children. The Palestinian group said the bombing is a “new war crime” and “an extension of the genocidal war” Israel is waging against civilians.

Hamas also slammed the international community for its inaction to stop “what Palestinians are enduring”, and specifically hit out at US President Joe Biden, calling him the “chief partner” in Israel’s crimes.





German foreign minister calls for end to ‘eternal cycle of violence’

Annalena Baerbock, who is heading to Israel to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Israel Katz, has said on X that “terrorism must end, people’s humanitarian need must end, the region must emerge from the eternal cycle of violence”.

To achieve this, she said, the following must happen:

  • Gaza can no longer pose a threat to Israel’s existence.
  • Hamas must lay down its weapons.
  • Hezbollah must stop attacking northern Israel from southern Lebanon.
  • Yemen’s Houthi rebels must stop their attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
  • Palestinians finally need the chance to live a life of security, dignity and self-determination.

No, Palestinians need the chance to live a life of security, dignity and self-determination first, then the rest will happen automatically. What the past decades have proven is that it does not work the other way around. And what does Gaza no longer posing a threat mean? Can someone explain what the goals are here since Gaza is only becoming more of a threat the longer this genocide goes on.

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 07 January 2024

SvennoJ on 07 January 2024

More than 10 children lose limbs every day in Gaza: Advocacy group

“Small children caught up in explosions are particularly vulnerable to major, life-changing injuries. They have weaker necks and torsos, so less force is needed to cause a brain injury,” said Jason Lee, Save the Children’s director for the occupied Palestinian territory, in a statement. “Their skulls are still not fully formed, and their undeveloped muscles offer less protection, so a blast is more likely to tear apart organs in their abdomen, even when there is no visible damage.”

Since October 7, more than 1,000 children have had one or both legs amputated, according to UNICEF.

Many of these operations on children were done without anaesthetic, with major shortages of doctors and nurses, and medical supplies like anaesthesia and antibiotics, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).


Eman Al-Kholi, whose limb was amputated after being wounded in an Israeli strike that killed her parents, lies on a bed as she receives treatment at the European Hospital, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip

https://www.savethechildren.net/news/gaza-more-10-children-day-lose-limb-three-months-brutal-conflict


UNICEF calls for ceasefire and humanitarian corridor

UNICEF says it needs the fighting to stop to protect children after the delivery of 600,000 doses of vaccines.

“UNICEF continues to call for a ceasefire and humanitarian corridor for the provision of critical child survival interventions to avert unnecessary deaths associated with communicable diseases,” the organisation said in a post.

“Today the situation is unimaginably stressful for children in Gaza. We do not want to see children who survive the bombing to die because they are not vaccinating,” said the organisation’s Maulid Warfa.




‘Non-human animals’: Monitor details Israeli army abuse of detainees

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor detailed mistreatment and “torture” of Palestinians taken prisoner by the Israeli army.

In a report built on testimony from newly released people who spent days in Israeli custody, the Geneva-based rights group detailed how army and Shin Bet members treat Palestinians as “non-human animals”.

Detainees are regularly beaten, stripped naked, and made to sit on their knees on the street for long periods. They are also made to curse themselves and Palestinian groups, endure electric-shock torture, are burned with cigarettes, and held in iron cages, it said.


Last edited by SvennoJ - on 07 January 2024

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SvennoJ on 07 January 2024

‘Immediate end to the aggression’: Jordan to US

Jordan’s King Abdullah warned the US secretary of state of “catastrophic repercussions” from the continuation of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and Washington has a major role to play.

In a meeting with Antony Blinken, Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, emphasised the “necessity of the immediate end to the aggression, of the protection of civilians in the Gaza Strip, and delivering adequate and lasting humanitarian and medical aid to all the areas of Gaza”.

Inside a World Food Programme warehouse stocked with pallets of aid, the senior UN official in Jordan Sheri Ritsema-Anderson described the situation in Gaza as unlike anything she’d seen during 15 years in the Middle East.

“[It is] catastrophic. This is epic,” she told reporters.

US warns Israel of failure in war with Hezbollah: Report

Israel will likely not succeed in winning a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon as it invades Gaza because its forces would be stretched too thin, a news report says.

Citing the assessment from the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), The Washington Post reported that Biden administration officials have “privately” warned Israeli leaders against entering into direct conflict with Hezbollah.

It also cited unnamed officials as saying Israel’s military has targeted “US-funded and trained Lebanese Armed Forces” more than 30 times since the Gaza war began. “US officials are concerned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may see an expanded fight in Lebanon as key to his political survival amid domestic criticism,” the news report said.







Official Gaza death toll surpasses 22,800 with 9,600 children killed

At least 22,835 Palestinians, including over 9,600 children, have been killed by the Israeli army since the start of the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

It said at least 113 Palestinians were killed and another 250 injured in the past 24 hours.

Real numbers are believed to be much higher as the authorities in Gaza have been unable to regularly update casualty numbers since last November amid a collapse of the enclave’s health system.

Jenin: Israel’s main target in the occupied West Bank

Six Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air raid in Jenin. At least 332 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza.


Witnesses: Human remains scattered at scene of Jenin attack

Witnesses say Israel’s bombing of a public gathering in Martyrs’ Square in Jenin resulted in many casualties. Human remains are scattered at the scene, and the wounded have been taken to a hospital in the city.

At daybreak on Sunday, Israeli forces stormed the city of Jenin and its refugee camp. Gunshots and explosions rang out, according to witnesses. An Israeli attack helicopter bombed the refugee camp, but no casualties were reported immediately. Activists say an Israeli military vehicle was damaged in an improvised explosive device blast.

 



SvennoJ on 07 January 2024

More lies

Resettlement of Palestinians out of Gaza is "absolutely not" Israel's position, President Herzog says

The resettlement of Palestinians out of Gaza is “outright, officially and unequivocally” not Israel’s position, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said on Sunday.

Speaking to NBC’s Kristen Walker on Meet the Press, Herzog was asked whether recent comments made by some Israeli cabinet members, who appeared to suggest a forced displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza, reflect the Israeli government's official position. 

Herzog said this is "absolutely not” the position of the “Israeli government or the Israeli parliament or the Israeli public,” but added, “In a society where free speech is the basis of our national DNA, people can say whatever they want.” (As long as it isn't anything pro Palestinian...)

The Israeli president said that his colleagues “were speaking about the wilful leaving of the Gaza Strip, but… I'm saying outright, officially and unequivocally this is not the Israeli position.”

Herzog also spoke of Israel’s determination “to undermine the ability of Hamas to operate terror throughout the world and of course, in Israel.”

He said his country was “utterly grateful” to US President Joe Biden for his “steadfast stand” in supporting Israel, and that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming visit to Israel is “another expression of the huge impact and importance that the United States places as to the direction and the exit from this conflict.”



Israel in talks with Congo and other countries on Gaza ‘voluntary migration’ plan

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-in-talks-with-congo-and-other-countries-on-gaza-voluntary-migration-plan/

Senior official says Jerusalem working on postwar resettlement of Palestinians from Strip; some ministers tout Saudi Arabia as destination for Gazans seeking construction work

The “voluntary” resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza is slowly becoming a key official policy of the government, with a senior official saying that Israel has held talks with several countries for their potential absorption.

Zman Israel, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew sister site, has learned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is conducting secret contacts for accepting thousands of immigrants from Gaza with Congo, in addition to other nations.

“Congo will be willing to take in migrants, and we’re in talks with others,” a senior source in the security cabinet said.


Poll: 83% of Israelis Support Voluntary Emigration from Gaza

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/gaza/poll-83-of-israelis-support-voluntary-emigration-from-gaza/2023/12/24/

The Direct Polls survey that was published last Thursday (Direct Polls: Gantz and Bibi Neck-and-Neck, Smotrich Beats the Threshold) included the question: “To what degree do you support encouraging the voluntary emigration of Gaza Strip residents?”

The response of 1,487 adults (18+) who are a representative sample of the general population in Israel, with a statistical sampling error of ± 3.9%, at a 95% probability, was overwhelmingly in favor of the idea.




But no doubt, NBC will simply report it as 'truth'. (As well as CNN with no 'CNN cannot verify' disclaimer with this article)

Meanwhile after the IDF claimed it now has full control of Northern Gaza

Aid has not been allowed into northern Gaza despite an Israeli claim Hamas has been defeated there


The Israeli claim it “dismantled” Hamas’s command in northern Gaza could be related to increasing pressure to produce results in its bloody three-month war, according to analyst Adel Abdel Ghafar. “The Israelis need to show to their domestic constituency that they are actually achieving something on the ground,” said the director of the foreign policy and security programme at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs.

“But if you look at some of the statements coming from the far-right members of the Israeli cabinet, they don’t want any aid to come back or any Palestinians to come back to northern Gaza. What they are advocating for is actually the mass expulsion of Palestinians. “So it remains to be seen whether the Israeli cabinet will be aligned to allow further aid in or allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza,” said Abdel Ghafar.

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 07 January 2024

SvennoJ on 07 January 2024

More lies on CNN

Blinken says the focus of the Qatar talks is on preventing wider conflict

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he’s focused on preventing a wider conflict during a moment of “profound tension” in the Middle East that could “easily metastasize.” He made the comments during a news conference with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha on Sunday.

“We have been intensely focused on working to prevent the conflict from spreading. And that is indeed a major focus in what is now my fourth visit to the region since October 7. It was at the heart of discussions yesterday with President Erdogan and Prime Minister Mitsotakis, this morning with King Abdullah of Jordan and in the meetings that I just had with the Emir with the prime minister,” he said.

Perhaps you should be focused on ending the conflict ?!?

Al Thani also warned of an escalation of conflicts in the region and specifically condemned the recent strikes in Beirut and Syria. “Recent events that we have witnessed within Lebanon or Syria, unfortunately, are a violation to the sovereignty of those countries and we can see also a continuous violations. Our main target or purpose is to stop this war and to avoid the bigger escalation in the region,” he said. Al Thani reiterated his calls for a ceasefire and said it would have a “positive implication” on the region.

Blinken skirted a question about whether Arab countries were correct in calling for a ceasefire. He said the US wanted to ensure the October 7 attacks would not happen again, which "means dealing with the threat that Hamas continues to pose,” Blinken said. "But as we've made clear also from day one, it's imperative that in dealing with this very, very difficult challenge, that it do so in a way that puts a premium on protecting civilians. Making sure that people get the assistance they need,” Blinken added, speaking of Israel’s war against Hamas.

In response to a question about whether the US should make providing weapons to Israel conditional, Blinken said they will continue to make sure any US military assistance is used in accordance with international law.

“Any military assistance we provide – to any country, including Israel – comes with requirements including weapons be used in accordance with international and humanitarian law – the laws of war. And that is something we look at very carefully on an ongoing basis. And we will make sure in this case, as in any other case, that any weapons we provide are used accordingly. That is something we take very, very seriously and will continue to do so,” he said.




https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/07/us-israel-military-support-scrutiny-human-rights

The law requires that the US vet any foreign military receiving US arms. However, that doesn’t happen with Israel


https://www.justsecurity.org/90010/a-law-and-policy-guide-to-us-arms-transfers-to-israel/

When it comes to current arms transfers to Israel, the implementation of the “more likely than not” standard deserves scrutiny. Josh Paul, who served as the chief liaison between the State Department’s political-military affairs bureau to Congress and the public, resigned in protest of U.S. arms transfers to Israel and insisted in a PBS interview that the United States is “certainly not acting within the Conventional Arms Transfer policy.”

The Biden administration is supposed to faithfully apply the CAT Policy for all recipients of U.S. weapons – including Israel. Amid growing evidence of possible violations of international humanitarian law during the current war in Gaza, the CAT Policy requires the administration to assess whether its current arms transfers to Israel are “more likely than not” to facilitate future IHL or human rights violations. Congress could also exercise oversight of the administration’s implementation of the CAT policy to ensure it is applied properly and universally.




https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/12/11/israel-us-white-phosphorus-lebanon/

Israel used U.S.-supplied white phosphorus munitions in an October attack in southern Lebanon that injured at least nine civilians in what a rights group says should be investigated as a war crime, according to a Washington Post analysis of shell fragments found in a small village.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/lebanon-evidence-of-israels-unlawful-use-of-white-phosphorus-in-southern-lebanon-as-cross-border-hostilities-escalate/

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/photos-by-anadolu-serving-as-evidence-in-south-africas-genocide-case-against-israel/3097006

South Africa's submission highlights that over 55,000 Palestinians, mainly children and women, were injured in Israel's attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7.

Typical injuries include burns and loss of limbs, while the file underscores reports of Israel using white phosphorus in densely populated areas, noting its potential for severe burns, bone damage, and re-ignition after initial treatment. It highlights the absence of functional hospitals in northern Gaza, emphasizing that the injured lack access to treatment or surgery, often leaving them with no alternative but to await death.

Earlier this month, Anadolu published a book titled "Evidence," containing visuals that expose possibly criminal actions by Israel in Gaza. It features photos of white phosphorus artillery shells, a violation of the UN Convention on Conventional Weapons, used by the Israeli army in densely populated civilian areas of Gaza.



CNN doesn't even bother to fact check with their own reporting

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/13/politics/us-conditions-military-aid-israel/index.html

The Biden administration currently has no plans to place conditions on the military aid it is providing to Israel, officials told CNN, despite growing calls by Democratic lawmakers and human rights organizations for the US to stop providing weapons unless Israel does more to protect civilians in Gaza.

In a move underscoring how committed the US remains to arming Israel, the State Department transmitted an emergency declaration to lawmakers late Friday night for the sale of thousands of tank munitions to Israel, bypassing the standard 20-day period that congressional committees are typically afforded to review such a sale. (And again weeks later)

The State Department did not provide any assurances to lawmakers that the administration would monitor how the munitions are used, a congressional source told CNN, and some Democratic lawmakers were unhappy with the move.

Contrast to conditions on Ukraine

The US places conditions on the military equipment it provides to Ukraine and has made clear to Kyiv that it cannot use US-provided weapons to attack inside Russia. But there are no such red lines on the aid being provided to Israel. The US has advised Israel against opening another front in the war by launching a large-scale attack on Hezbollah, officials said, but has not threatened to cut off aid if they do.

In its supplemental funding request to Congress, the Biden administration included provisions that would lift several existing limits on US weapons transfers to Israel. The provisions would waive the current monetary cap on replenishing Israel’s internal stockpile of US-provided weapons, known as the War Reserve Stockpile Allies-Israel, allow the Pentagon to transfer weapons to Israel even if they are not obsolete or surplus to the US’ own stocks, and shorten the amount of time afforded to Congress to review weapons sales to Israel.



Not covered on CNN

Israel will be fighting in Gaza all year, military chief says

Herzi Halevi hints at a long-term conflict in Gaza, saying that 2024 will be a “challenging year”. “We will be fighting in Gaza all year – that’s for sure,” Halevi said during a visit to the occupied West Bank. He added that the Israeli military is inflicting a “heavy price” on Hezbollah amid the Lebanese group’s attacks on northern Israel.

Israel considers 2024 ‘year of fighting’: Expert

Esmat Mansour, a researcher on Israeli affairs, says that according to Israeli estimates, the war will take at least nine months to a year to conclude, and that will only happen after the army “combs through the Gaza Strip and rids it of rockets and tunnels”. “They will also aim to find the captives and reach the Hamas leadership.

All of this makes 2024 a year of fighting and puts Israel in a continuous state of emergency,” Mansour told Al Jazeera.“This means that the existing situation – the state of emergency, the emergency government, and all that those entail – will continue, and it is also possible that the captives may not return during this year,” he added.“ And this is why Israel is pushing for a deal with Hamas without a halt to the fighting. Israel wants the fighting to continue because it is looking for a clear victory in the form of changing the entire situation in the Gaza Strip, and this requires a lot of time.”



NyanNyanNekoChan on 07 January 2024

I remember seeing some pretty grim footage mid October, with regard to the attacks carried out by Hamas.
- Person getting beheaded with a shovel
- Hamas person shooting a dog
- A dead naked woman without a head, tied to the back of a van, getting spat on by a mob



SvennoJ on 07 January 2024

More lies

Blinken aims to sustain US pressure on Israel in high-stakes visit as Middle East tensions soar

From CNN's Alex Marquardt and Jennifer Hansler

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be the latest in a long parade of Biden national security officials to meet face to face with the Israeli government when he arrives in Tel Aviv this week for his fifth visit since the October 7 attack by Hamas.

Blinken’s meetings in Israel, one of nine stops on a frenetic, weeklong crisscrossing of the region, are part of what US officials say is a constant effort to stay in touch with – and in front of – Israeli officials in an attempt to keep Israel’s war machine in check as the conflict drags on.

“What happens is you get in a room and say, ‘This is what we need to see,’” a US official told CNN, noting that breakthroughs with Israel have typically occurred after a visit by Blinken or a call from President Joe Biden. Sometimes the Israelis agree with what the US says, the official said, and sometimes they don’t and negotiations ensue.

There are “at least a dozen live issues we are pushing for,” the official told CNN, including protecting Palestinian civilians amid a skyrocketing death toll as well as creating conditions to allow desperately needed aid to get where it is required most.

Shifts by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have been slow and incremental, and US officials have acknowledged that “gaps” remain between what they claim is Israel’s intentions and what has played out.

“We don’t tell Israel what to do, but at the same time, as close allies, these are tough conversations that you can only have as friends where you ask the hard questions,” a second US official told CNN. “You ask, ‘Well, what is your objective? What is your angle? How do you intend to achieve it? What do you think is realistic? Have you considered this, have you considered that?’”

The stakes of Blinken’s fifth trip are high as America’s allies that stood behind Israel at the start of the war but have grown critical as the civilian toll in Gaza rises. Those partners will be looking for evidence Israel is listening to the US, and, as tensions skyrocket in the region, allies are hoping Blinken can ensure Israel has a viable plan to end the war amid concerns over a wider conflict.

“We don’t expect every conversation on this trip to be easy,” Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesperson, said Thursday before the delegation left.

 

No US pressure on Israel beyond ‘doublespeak’ statements: Analyst

Blinken has been emphasising the protection of civilians in Gaza but as the US remains Israel’s top military and diplomatic backer, Hafsa Halawa says Washington’s statements are not effective.

“Nothing in the US’s policy actions – beyond certain doublespeak that we see or tweets that are written by the teams of everybody from the secretary of state to the president of the United States and other members of the government – seems to signal that there is any material pressure on Israel,” Halawa told Al Jazeera’s Inside Story.

“At the end of the day, nothing that we’ve seen since October 7 from anyone in this administration signals that the US is anything but supportive of this war.”




Actually Israel has been using these 'talks' and reassurances from the USA only to step up the attacks every time. It's just diplomatic cover, distraction, downplaying, pretending things will get better. The situation has been and is still only getting worse.





Israeli statement on killing journalists ‘doesn’t add up’

The Israeli army issued a statement responding to journalists who asked for comment all day from the Israeli army on why these journalists were targeted and killed inside of Gaza.

It says: “An Israeli military aircraft identified and struck a terrorist operative who was operating an aircraft that posed a threat to troops. We are aware of the reports that during the strike, two other suspects who were in the same vehicle as the terrorists were also hit.”

Just pay attention to this wording. They’re calling the journalists in the car “suspects”. We do know that third person in the car who was seriously injured was Hazem Rajab, a content creator and a journalist. If you go to his page, you can see that he operates a drone for photography purposes. And if the Israeli military is releasing this statement, they are also calling these journalists, all three of them, suspects.

It’s interesting that the Israeli military took several hours to respond to questions from journalists, just releasing this statement before midnight local time. But the Israeli military is going to have a lot of other questions to answer… because what they’re saying and what happened on the ground is not adding up.

‘Total dissonance’ in Blinken’s ‘sorry’ for Hamza Dahdouh: Analyst

Blinken had said he was “deeply sorry” about the “unimaginable loss” of Wael Dahdouh, whose son was killed in an Israeli attack.

“The total dissonance of being sorry about an outcome that you have actively enabled at every stage,” Middle East expert Khaled Elgindy wrote in a social media post addressing Blinken’s comments.