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

SvennoJ on 14 March 2024

Tomorrow could be another escalation :(

Israel enforces new entry restrictions to Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israel is imposing new restrictions on the entrance to Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of Ramadan, including a requirement to obtain a permit and a magnetic card valid for the day.

Israeli police issued a statement saying news circulating about barriers and gates being set up to prevent access to the compound was unfounded and aimed to “inflame the atmosphere”. It said maintenance work was being carried out to replace the security gate.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported that the police would intensify its presence in Jerusalem and its surroundings, deploying 3,000 officers in preparation for the first Ramadan Friday prayers.

Hamas calls on Palestinians to ‘defend’ Al-Aqsa Mosque

Hamas has called on Palestinians to break “the siege” on Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of Ramadan, amid the Israeli army’s ongoing restrictions on entry to the site during the Muslim holy month.

The group called on Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem, the West Bank and Israel to “participate urgently in defending the Al-Aqsa Mosque against the Zionist aggression that is taking place at this time”.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound that sits atop a hill in the Old City is the third holiest site in the world for Muslims. The site is also revered by Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount.

Jordan says Israel lacks authority to impose restrictions on Al-Aqsa Mosque

Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has issued a statement condemning the restrictions on entrance to Al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, describing it as a “dangerous and unacceptable act”.

Ministry spokesperson Sufian Qudah said it was imperative to ensure unhindered entry to worshipers and said Israel holds no sovereignty over occupied East Jerusalem and lacks the authority to impose restrictions on entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Jordanian monarchy acquired the custodianship over Christian and Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem in 1924 after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled over Palestine for centuries. Amman has repeatedly denounced what it says are violations of rules at the site, Islam’s third holiest.

 


Stabbing attacks getting more frequent, it's the new suicide by fascist 'cop'....

Police responding to stabbing incident in southern Israel

Israeli media are reporting that medics and security forces are responding to a suspected stabbing attack at Beit Kama junction, in southern Israel. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said one person was in serious condition.

Police said the attacker was “neutralised”.



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SvennoJ on 14 March 2024

Pro-Palestine protesters block New York Times distribution centre

Demonstrators disrupted a New York Times distribution centre on Wednesday night to protest against the US news outlet’s coverage of the war on Gaza.

During the protest in New York City, which was organised by the group Writers Against the War on Gaza and others, protesters held signs and unfurled banners that read “Stop the presses, free Palestine” and “Consent for genocide is manufactured here”.

The Times has come under fire recently for its reporting on the war after a leak within the company exposed the level of internal disagreements about the outlet’s coverage of the October 7 Hamas attack.

Second ship loaded with aid for Gaza to leave Cyprus

A second ship docked in Cyprus is being loaded with aid for Gaza in preparation for a new mission to deliver humanitarian aid via sea to the besieged Strip, the charity behind the operation told Al Jazeera. World Central Kitchen (WCK) said in a statement that it was preparing about 300 tonnes of food aid.

“Our pallets should be screened and loaded by the end of the day,” WCK said, adding that it was unable to confirm when the ship would be able to leave Larnaca. The rescue vessel Open Arms, owned by the charity by the same name, departed for Gaza on Tuesday as a first pilot shipment of humanitarian aid.

About 10 trucks worth of aid, better than air drops at least or rather equal with days in between shipments. Still no idea how they will offload and distribute it in Gaza.



SvennoJ on 14 March 2024

Israel must make ‘significant course corrections’: US senator

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says it would be a “grave mistake” for Israel to reject a two-state solution. In a speech on the Senate floor, Schumer urged negotiators to do everything possible to secure a ceasefire, release hostages and get aid into Gaza.

Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials have repeatedly said they oppose an independent Palestinian state, saying the country needs full security control over the occupied Palestinian territory, rebuffing Biden’s stance on the issue.



‘Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah’

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government “no longer fits the needs of Israel” after October 7. “At this critical juncture, I believe a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel, at a time when so many Israelis have lost their confidence in the vision and direction of their government,” said Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish politician in the US.

He added that Netanyahu surrounded himself with far-right ministers and “has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows”.

“Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah,” Schumer said.

Israel already is a pariah, been so a long time. The US hasn't needed to use its veto 46 times to protect Israel for nothing... However now the West is starting to see what Israel really is all about.

‘Unhelpful’ to comment on Israel’s political scene: Ambassador

The Israeli ambassador to the US, Michael Herzog, has responded to Senate leader Schumer’s remarks in which he said Netanyahu “no longer fits the needs of Israel”.

“Israel is a sovereign democracy. It is unhelpful – all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal terror organisation Hamas – to comment on the domestic political scene of a democratic ally. It is counterproductive to our common goals,” Herzog wrote on X.

In his address to the US Senate, Schumer also called for elections in Israel and said the country must make “significant course corrections” to reach lasting peace with the Palestinians.

Common goals...


Protect the Settler terrorists!

US sanctions on settlements aim to establish ‘Palestinian terror state’: Smotrich

Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has strongly criticised the new US sanctions on settlement outposts and violent settlers, saying the decision is “totally unacceptable”.

“These decisions are a capitulation by the Biden administration to the BDS [Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions] campaign, which is designed to tarnish the entire state of Israel and bring about the elimination of the settlement movement and the establishment of a Palestinian terror state,” the minister was quoted by The Times of Israel as saying.

“The government of Israel stands by the side of the settlements, and these steps are totally unacceptable, and we will fight to have them abolished.”

Just proving Schumers call for desperately needed new elections. Although that might still not get rid of this kind of fascist right wing trash.


Israeli opposition leader warns Israel is ‘losing’ the US

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid says US Senate leader Schumer’s comments are proof that Prime Minister Netanyahu is “losing Israel’s biggest supporters in the US”. “What’s worse – he’s doing it on purpose. Netanyahu is causing heavy damage to the national effort to win the war and maintain Israel’s security,” Lapid wrote on X.


Netanyahu’s party fires back: Israel ‘not a banana republic’

Netanyahu’s Likud party has condemned the US Senate leader’s call for new elections in Israel, saying the US ally is “not a banana republic”.

“Contrary to Schumer’s words, the Israeli public supports a total victory over Hamas, rejects any international dictates to establish a Palestinian terrorist state, and opposes the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza,” a Likud statement said.

“Senator Schumer is expected to respect Israel’s elected government and not undermine it. This is always true and even more so in wartime.” Israel’s finance minister also denounced the criticism. “We expect the largest democracy in the world to respect Israeli democracy,” Smotrich said.

They still think they're running a democracy?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/30/israel-hasnt-been-a-democracy-for-a-long-time-now-israelis-need-to-face-this-fact



SvennoJ on 14 March 2024

Add it onto the pile of all the other urgent probes we never hear back from...

US calls for urgent probe into deadly Israeli attack on UN aid facility

The White House called for a swift investigation into an Israeli air raid on a UN food distribution facility in Gaza. On Wednesday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said one staff member was killed in the attack and 22 others were wounded. Gaza health officials said the attack killed four other people.

Israel said the attack killed a Hamas commander that it targeted.



Egypt says ‘long line of trucks waiting’ to enter Gaza

Egypt’s foreign minister calls on Israel to open its land crossings to let more aid into the Gaza Strip. “Israel controls six other crossings that it should open,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said at a news conference during a visit to Cairo by his Spanish counterpart.

“There is a long line of trucks waiting to enter but are subject to the procedures of vetting that must be complied to so that the trucks can enter safely, that the drivers are not targeted, that they are received on the other side,” Shoukry said.

“We have the capacity to increase the number of trucks, but the authorisation has to come,” he added. Egypt, which fears the displacement of Palestinians crowded near its border with Gaza if Israel carries through with its threatened ground offensive on Rafah, has previously said Israel was blocking aid.


Trucks carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza wait on the main Ismailia desert road, about 300km (185 miles) east of the Egyptian border with Gaza, on their way to the Rafah crossing

 

Satellite imagery shows pier construction on Gaza coast

Images taken by the space technology firm Maxar show the beginnings of the construction of what looks to be a jetty off the coast of the Gaza Strip.These photos were taken on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Maxar said, and show the progression of the construction out into the water.

Last week during his annual State of the Union address to the US Congress, Biden announced that the US would set up a temporary pier off Gaza to deliver humanitarian supplies to the besieged enclave as Palestinians begin to starve during Israel’s blockade of the strip.Four days ago, the US said a ship equipped to construct the pier had departed the US.









Video shows starving Palestinians rushing to collect airdropped aid

Video posted to Instagram – and verified by Al Jazeera – shows people in north Gaza running towards falling aid packages.

The US and its allies have been carrying out aid missions via air for several weeks now, but they have been criticised by many for their ineffectiveness compared to land aid delivery routes. They have also been considered humiliating for the Palestinian people who desperately need this aid, as they are forced to chase the boxes that contain the food that could save their lives.

Moreover, there is danger involved in these missions, as seen last week when malfunctioning parachutes during one airdrop mission killed five Palestinians in north Gaza.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4fgJ0etAf3/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=6d3d5baa-3415-4590-8cdd-ef05db3ded31

UNRWA says only 12 hospitals partially operational in Gaza

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says of those dozen hospitals, only two are able to provide maternity services despite about 180 women giving birth on a daily basis.



SvennoJ on 14 March 2024

How Western media erases Palestinian suffering | Randa Abdel Fattah | The Big Picture S3E1



What does coverage of Gaza tell us about the West?

A recent report into mainstream news coverage found Islamophobic and anti-Arab language was widely used in covering the events after October 7, and Israeli victims were described with emotive language 11 times more than Palestinian victims.

It also documented how pro-Palestinian voices were frequently vilified and treated with hostility during interviews.

So why is this happening? In our first episode of Season 3 of The Big Picture Podcast, we sit down with sociologist and writer Dr Randa Abdel Fattah, who speaks about her first-hand experience as an outspoken Palestinian academic. She argues in her work that media narratives paint Palestinians and Arabs as ‘unreasonable, unrestrained and uncivilised’ as a way of maintaining a Western colonial order.



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LurkerJ on 14 March 2024

Does Scholz ever say anything reasonable? is it a surprise his ass is getting whipped with every new poll? 

I may go on a pro-Palestine march next weekend, I don't believe marches do much really, I prefer when MPs are harassed publicly and exposed for the idiots they are like this, but with these new definitions of extremism in the UK, and the fact that our bipartisan support for Israel isn't going anywhere, I might as well go out and join others who want the world to know these democracies don't represent us. 

Tiktoc ban timing is interesting is all I have to say. 



LurkerJ on 14 March 2024

thank you for keeping us to uptodate, SvennoJ

I have been avoiding twitter and checking this thread instead. Obviously, more ridiculous by the hour, and there is no bottom for this barrel, the centre "left" has truly failed us all. 



SvennoJ on 14 March 2024

Yeah it's just unbelievable.

First time a new atrocity occurs, condemn, demand a probe that never leads to anything. And then it becomes routine.
Hospitals, schools, mosques, aid convoys, aid seekers and now aid distribution centers.

The Western media also doesn't pick up on the fact that Hezbollah is targeting military outposts in Israel, while Israel targets cars and houses. While the US & UK keep bombing Yemen in self defense.

West bank no different. The 13 year old (or 12 actually) that got killed made a few headlines, however it's nearly a daily occurrence. 124 Palestinian children killed in the West Bank in 2023, another 30 so far this year. 3 in the past 24 hours.
https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_shoot_kill_three_palestinian_boys_in_the_occupied_west_bank

Good luck on your march, the UK is becoming a weird place as well.

The West has gone insane, jumping on the air drop bandwagon like it's a solution. The UK won't join, says it's because it's too dangerous, people might get hurt. While true, kinda odd to suddenly care about Palestinian lives while ignoring the avg 100 a day that get blown up or shot in the head by Israeli snipers.



SvennoJ on 14 March 2024

Ugh it never ends

Israel uses helicopter to attack Kuwait Roundabout aid seekers

Al Jazeera’s correspondent reports that an Israeli helicopter opened fire on Palestinians awaiting aid at the Kuwait Roundabout in an attack that the Gaza Health Ministry says has killed at least 11 and injured at least 100.

This report is backed up by “preliminary testimony” gathered by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, a nonprofit group.

At least 11 dead, 100 injured in Israeli attack on aid seekers: Health Ministry

The Gaza Health Ministry has given an update on the Israeli army’s shooting of Palestinians awaiting aid at the Kuwait Roundabout in Gaza City. It said there were “dozens” of casualties, with at least 11 dead bodies and 100 injuries arriving at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City so far.

“The process of retrieving the martyrs and evacuating the wounded is still continuing despite the difficult field situation at the Kuwait Roundabout,” the ministry says, adding that it expects the death toll to rise due to the seriousness of the injuries that have managed to reach al-Shifa Hospital.

20 dead bodies from Israeli attack on Kuwait Roundabout at al-Shifa Hospital: Ministry

The Gaza Ministry of Health has provided another update on Israel’s shooting of aid seekers in Gaza City. It said 20 dead Palestinians and 155 injuries have reached al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

“The wounded lie on the floor in al-Shifa Medical Complex,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that medical teams are unable to deal with the volume and nature of the injuries due to weakened medical capabilities.



Scenes from inside al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza the moment the wounded and martyrs arrived as a result of [Israel’s attack on] civilians while they were waiting for aid near the Kuwait Roundabout.


Israelis ‘purposely bomb by night for psychological effect’: Doctor

American doctor, Mohammad Ali Makhdoom, who recently returned home to Dearborn, Michigan, says he felt it was his duty to go to Gaza and work at the European Hospital as an emergency room physician.

“I knew what I was getting into, but I had to see what was going on,” he told Al Jazeera. “There were 25,000 people living in the hospital itself – in the hallways, some in tents, some in sheets. They purposely bomb by night for the psychological effect on people over there.”

Makhdoom said many children and women wounded during bombardment were among his patients. “A lot of children hit by shrapnel and those trapped under the rubble for God knows how many days. It’s a very sad situation for the Palestinians.”


Relatives mourn over bodies at the European Hospital morgue in southern Khan Younis



SvennoJ on 14 March 2024

Oh no, Schumer told the truth

Schumer’s comments are his, not Biden administration’s: State Department

Congress is an independent branch of the US government and the Senate majority leader’s call for new elections in Israel is his comment and not that of the Biden administration, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says.

When asked if there is no frustration in the administration with Netanyahu, Miller said: “There are a number of things we wanted to see Israel do differently.”

Earlier, Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish politician in the US, said Netanyahu has “lost his way” and he and his “extremist” allies must hold a vote after Israel’s conduct during the war on Gaza.

Senior Republican Senator McConnell defends Netanyahu; war on Gaza

Mitch McConnell, the US Senate’s Republican leader, quickly came to Benjamin Netanyahu’s defence after Senator Schumer’s scathing 45-minute speech.

“It is grotesque … and hypocritical … for Americans who hyperventilate about foreign interference in our own democracy to call for the removal of the democratically elected leader of Israel. This is unprecedented,” McConnell said.

“The Jewish state of Israel deserves an ally that acts like one. People of Israel, at home and in captivity, deserve America’s support, and Israel’s unity government and security cabinet deserve the deference befitting a sovereign, democratic country.”

 

‘No choice’: Schumer highlights American aid to Israel

Schumer’s fiery speech reflects growing frustration in Washington with Netanyahu, his management of the war, the failure to do more to protect Palestinian civilians and obstruction of aid deliveries in Gaza.

While Schumer didn’t mention the possibility of introducing legislation to tie the provision of US weapons to Israel easing the humanitarian crisis, the senator raised the possibility of Washington using its influence if Israel doesn’t change its policies.

“If Prime Minister Netanyahu’s current coalition remains in power after the war begins to wind down and continues to pursue dangerous and inflammatory policies that test existing US standards for assistance, then the United States will have no choice but to play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course,” he said.

The US provides Israel with about $3.8bn in military aid annually.

This month’s welcome to Washington by Schumer and administration officials of Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz was widely seen as a snub to Netanyahu, who has yet to be invited to the Biden White House.




Even pro-Israel lobby groups see that Netanyahu is destroying Israel alongside Gaza.

Pro-Israel lobby group applauds Schumer’s comments

J Street, a self-described pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, has posted on X in support of US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, who earlier called for elections in Israel to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The group called Schumer’s speech “historic”, noting that it was “significant not just because of what was said, but because of who said it – the highest ranking Jewish elected official in US history and a stalwart supporter of Israel. It signals a historic shift from those in the Democratic party who care deeply about Israel’s future”.

“Schumer rightly stated that US leaders must use the tools at its disposal to be a good ally to Israel and a partner to Palestinians. The US cannot sacrifice long-term peace for the short-term gains of bad-faith players in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank” the group continued in a lengthy X thread.

“Netanyahu has made it his mission to reject the creation of a Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel. As SenSchumer made clear, this is the only plausible lasting solution to end the cycles of violence, including Hamas’ horrendous Oct. 7 attack”.



Chicago-based Muslim groups refuse to meet White House officials

A coalition of American Muslim and Palestinian groups based in Chicago sent a letter to the White House rejecting an offer to meet officials because of inaction over Israel’s war on Gaza.

“First, there is no point in more meetings … With a genocide that has flattened Gaza, forcibly displacing 85 percent of its residents, and claiming the lives of 31,000 people, 13,000 of whom are children, the White House has not only refused to call for a ceasefire, but also enabled this blatant campaign of ethnic cleansing to take place by providing financial and military means, as well as diplomatic support at the United Nations,” the letter said.

“There is no confusion as to our consistent demand for an immediate ceasefire to end the mass murder of civilians and stave off the worst humanitarian crisis in modern times. We believe another meeting would only act to whitewash months of White House inaction.”



EU’s Borrell says Gaza crisis a ‘man-made’ disaster

European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in Washington that world leaders need to put more pressure on Israel to open its crossings for humanitarian access to Gaza.

The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza isn’t a natural disaster but a “man-made” one, he said.

Earlier this week, Borrell accused the Israeli government of using starvation as a “weapon of war”. Israel described his comments as “false” and “outrageous”.

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 14 March 2024