Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
We’ll all I can say is what a bloody mess…
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Why did the Houthis attack?
The Houthis have said the attacks are in response to Israel's war in Gaza and to show their support for the Palestinians. The armed group has carried out more than 30 attacks on international shipping since mid-November, according to the UK's Ministry of Defence.
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The US has carried out its eighth round of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Monday at 11.59pm local time. A Pentagon statement said the bombing was “proportionate and necessary”.
US military officials said the strikes were successful and had “good impacts” in all eight locations. US Central Command said the strikes were to “respond to increased Houthi destabilising and illegal activities”.
The UK joined the airstrikes for the second time in 10 days. The UK defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said the attacks were “in self-defence” and carried out in the interests of degrading Houthi capabilities.
The Pentagon said the operation targeted a Houthi underground storage site as well as missile and air surveillance sites. The UK Ministry of Defence added that it was involved in hitting multiple targets at two military sites with guided-precision bombs in the vicinity of Sana’a airfield.
The action followed a call on Monday between Sunak and US president Joe Biden. The leaders discussed further “disrupting and degrading Houthi capabilities,” a US spokesperson said.
A joint statement from both countries said that they had conducted strikes against eight Houthi targets in Yemen, with the support of Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands.
The UK involvement on Monday appears to have been smaller than 11 January’s strikes. Ten days ago, US and UK warships and jets hit more than 60 targets in 28 locations.
Yemen’s official Saba news agency said that American-British forces launched raids on the capital of Sanaa and several other parts of Yemen. Houthi TV outlet al-Masirah said four strikes targeted the Al-Dailami military base north of the capital, which is under rebel control.
A Houthi spokesperson said on X the airstrikes “will only increase the Yemeni people’s determination”. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti accused the UK and US of protecting the “perpetrators” of a “genocide” in Gaza.
Mohammad Ali al-Houthi, head of the Houthi’s supreme revolutionary committee, has also posted on X about the latest round of strikes. As part of his post he says “Trust well that every operation and every aggression against our country will not be without a response”.
The UK prime minister did not brief the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, the house or the Commons speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, ahead of the strikes. Rishi Sunak was criticised 10 days ago for not informing parliament before airstrikes were carried out.
The Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have disrupted the global commercial shipping route in the Red Sea and forced ships to go around the Cape of Good Hope. The Houthis say they are acting to support Palestine amid Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, in which officials say 25,000 people have been killed. However Houthi attacks have also targeted ships with no connection to Israel.
Just
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...20capabilities.
Eric
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
Since they won't stop, I guess it starts:
Quote:
In support of the oppressed Palestinian people and as a response to the American-British aggression on our country, the naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces, with the help of Allah, carried out a military operation targeting an American military cargo ship (Ocean Jazz) in the Gulf of Aden using suitable naval missiles, the statement, read by the Yemeni military spokesman General Yahya Sarea, mentioned.
Get a job where you know what you are doing, like telling lies:
Quote:
Around 22 Israeli soldiers were killed by the Palestinian resistance fighters late Monday. The enemy troops were planting explosive devices to detonate two buildings in Al-Maghazi camp when a Palestinian shell targeted a camp and led to the big explosions.
The Israeli president Isaac Herzog said that it was a sad and harsh morning. Zionist PM Benjamin Netanyahu underlined the expensive costs of the war. DM Yoav Gallant said that it was a hard painful morning. The opposition leader Yair Lapid indicated that it was a hard and unbearable morning.
The Zionist circles underlined that it is hard to explain the causes of the tragic loss for the Israelis, calling for starting an investigation into the incident.
Former head of military operation branch, Yisrael ziv, illustrated that the field complications, including the tunnels, in Gaza have slowed down the movement of the occupation army.
Former security commander in the South, Yoav Yaniv, said that Hamas fighters are chasing Israeli 0ccuaption troops in Southern Gaza as hunters and detecting their weaknesses in order to strike them.
Ready for the death cult to die, yet?
Probably not:
Quote:
In a statement, Iraq’s Islamic Resistance indicated that its fighters fired two missile barrages at the US occupation base of Koniko in Syria.
A second statement indicated that Iraq’s Islamic Resistance fighters launched a drone attack at Ain Al-Asad base.
Needs more punishment.
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
Quote:
Posted by
ExomatrixTV
Funny how "Democracy Now" uses the term
"Far Right" 0:52 as easily as almost all liberal leaning media platforms
systematically do >>> to misrepresent & frame their critics ... "far right" = code word for: "extreme right"= code word for: "dangerous for our democracy" = code word for: "anything goes" = code word for: "we do not have to represent them in an honest & fair way" etc. etc. etc. Most know the drill by now, obvious predictable tunnel vision rhetoric.
Those who scream: "dangerous for our democracy" are often the ones that goes along
destroying democracy to get certain
made up crisis "fixed".
That's true. Democracy Now is a domestic NED.
Principle that soft criticism of our system will make it "do right", like, I guess, "doing something to stop the Yemenis", which, as we just saw, is delusional.
Democracy = dangerous for everyone = death cult.
I think we see that openly admitted on the world stage this days, minus the fact they are compelled to phrase it a little more "diplomatically"; as an individual, I can be more blunt.
The US & UK are not "The Powers" that establish the best fate of the nations. It's just a death cult wrapped in English euphemisms. Can't manage their own internal affairs particularly well, lost the arms race that they started, now we are running out of kids who think it might be a fun adventure with shiny toys.
The military is highly unpopular outside of the small circle who like to print promotional slogans.
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
Quote:
Posted by
jaybee
thanks.... to be honest I've never heard of Balochistan before.... but now it becomes clear why Imran Khan was removed - no matter what the upset internally - 'they' aka the Globalists have plans for Pakistan's military ... I expect that's why Pakistan was created by the British Globalist contingency in 1947 in the first place - and then Israel in 1948......long term military planning for a global take over -
I'm going to suggest that Balochistan is the lynchpin of civilization as we know it.
If you have heard of the "Bronze Age", it is correct that pure copper objects do not make reliable tools; and so the upgrade comes from the mixture of Tin. The scale of the ancient Tin Road will be found to be at least from:
Hanoi, Vietnam, to Haifa, Palestine
for thousands of years. During this time, Gaza was a vital international crossroads from east to west. The "road" was mostly in the water, and so Eilat was indeed also a significant port, and again this scale reaches back to at least the oldest known Egyptian writings, ca. 3,000 B. C. E.
The Phoenicians were like a little attached bubble that came later.
Balochistan may be considered the beginning of agriculture, as well as a crossroads where goods from inner Asia were exchanged with the port of Makran, which if we look today, has been rebuilt by the Chinese and already is something similar to what it once was.
Yes, of course, Britain and other map makers made up borders that can do little but flare up conflict. That does not mean we are stuck with "countries" or constitutions...none of that stuff is real or permanent, it is dust in the wind.
Agriculture, tools, trade, etc., is of course permanent and inflexible, and it looks to me that Russian and Chinese leadership is more interested in re-establishing this in the appropriate manner.
The weird video posted a few pages back did not include the southeast of the "Soviet Union", as if there were a New Mongolia we are not aware of.
Balochistan not only removes any idea that Egypt or Sumeria were the beginning of anything, it also shows a huge difference. Eastern towns did *not* deploy legions of slaves to make grand monuments (which makes it archaeologically uninteresting). There are no such temples, major administration centers, or other signs of militarized central authority. That does not show up until later.
It houses the inexplicable Brahui speakers of south Indian Dravidian or Tamil dialect:
Quote:
Brahui lore, which speaks of a migration from Syria to Kalat followed by the overthrow of one Sewa dynasty, is a piecemeal borrowing from Baloch traditions; historical ballads, etc., are nonexistent in the language.
However, the Brahuis do not have any significant Dravidian genetic component and are largely indistinguishable from surrounding Indo-European populaces...
Zoroastrianism says there were sixteen Aryan nations covering the region all the way to Syria.
It can at least be found that Mitanni near Aleppo was an Indic kingdom from ca. 1,600 B. C. E.
So I think everyone who has been trying to pin down how Shem is connected to Moses is wasting our time, since there was never a Great Flood and they have shredded the real history of the region by applying a caricature. Such lore was almost entirely developed in the Babylonian Captivity and is not found in archaic Judean evidences.
These things are almost certainly not:
Canaanite Exodus from Egypt never happened, because they were "already there" in Palestine.
Aryan Invasion of India never happened, because they were "already there".
Those ideas are primitive black-and-white nineteenth century scholarship, unable to understand anything except in terms of conflict and domination.
The human level based on trade is a Colossus towering over such wise pronouncements.
Eilat and Gaza should, for the most part, be good neighbors, except now each has basically a genocidal maxim against the other, thanks to __________.
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
Quote:
Posted by
shaberon
Quote:
Posted by
jaybee
thanks.... to be honest I've never heard of Balochistan before.... but now it becomes clear why Imran Khan was removed - no matter what the upset internally - 'they' aka the Globalists have plans for Pakistan's military ... I expect that's why Pakistan was created by the British Globalist contingency in 1947 in the first place - and then Israel in 1948......long term military planning for a global take over -
I'm going to suggest that Balochistan is the lynchpin of civilization as we know it.
Holy guacamole.................. :shocked:
Just had a look and as it overlaps Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan it sure looks like a hot spot - especially now as the Globalists are gunning for Iran .......
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
Ryan and Saagar discuss 24 IDF soldiers being killed in Gaza.. as the US says, they are losing the war...
Very unbiased and sincere debate...talking... Ryan is great...
24 IDF SOLDIERS KILLED As US Says Israel Losing War
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
Text:
Key points from Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov's speech at the UN Security Council:
▪️ The US is impeding all efforts to stop the ongoing conflict in Gaza, as Washington gives carte blanche to collectively punish Palestinians
▪️ The US is trying to create such parameters of the Middle East solution that will benefit US itself before the election
▪️ The risk of epidemics has increased dramatically in the Gaza Strip, the sewage system has been destroyed, some agricultural land will never be restored
▪️ Russia is voicing concerns about the Israeli leadership's stance to call into question the two-state solution formula to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
▪️ Forcible transfer of Palestinians from Gaza is unacceptable under any circumstances and the international community cannot bury the idea of Palestinian sovereignty like it did with the Minsk agreements on Ukraine
▪️ UN Security Council should call for a ceasefire in Gaza
▪️ Russia suggests convening ministerial-level consultations to work out steps to restore Palestinian unity, an international conference on the Middle East settlement process is needed
https://x.com/SputnikInt/status/1749908121743446298
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
Text:
EU to launch new military operation against the Houthis in the Red Sea. What do we know so far?
🔸France, Germany, and Italy have urged fellow member states to contribute to a plan to send EU naval assets to the Red Sea.;
🔸Portugal has confirmed its participation in the EU mission, according to a statement by Foreign Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho on Monday.
🔸Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar announced that Bratislava will back the EU's Red Sea mission, even though the country lacks a fleet;
🔸The European External Action Service has proposed sending at least 3 ships;
🔸The EU aims to establish the mission by February 19, and make it operational soon thereafter;
🔸The operation, named ASPIDES, will be integrated with an existing French-led mission called AGENOR, which “aims to ensure a safe navigation environment” in the Strait of Hormuz.
🔸The new European military mission in the Red Sea includes the use of military force, but only for defensive purposes, and will not strike Yemeni territory, said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
🔸The EU strongly criticizes the Houthis for their illegal targeting of commercial ships. Approximately 40% of EU trade with Asian & Middle Eastern countries passes through Red Sea waters, often leading to ships having to reroute all the way around Africa;
🔸The new EU mission, according to Western media, would be separate from the US’s Operation Prosperity Guardian.
https://x.com/SputnikInt/status/1749842274618356013
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
Text:
Israel proposes Hamas leaders to leave Gaza Strip as part of broader agreement – report
Israel has proposed that senior Hamas leaders leave the Gaza Strip as part of a broader, multi-phase ceasefire agreement, CNN reported, citing two officials familiar with the discussions.
Israeli authorities understand that the proposal is unlikely to be accepted by Hamas, the report said. However, it has been discussed at least twice in the past 30 days - last month in Warsaw by the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, and in January with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Doha, the network reported.
On Monday, Axios reported, citing two Israeli officials, that Israel had offered Hamas a two-month pause in fighting in Gaza in exchange for the release of all remaining hostages.
The deal would include the release of all remaining hostages who are alive and the return of the bodies of the dead in several phases. The first phase would include the release of women, men over 60, and hostages in critical medical condition, officials said. The next phases would be the release of female soldiers, men under the age of 60 who are not soldiers, male Israeli soldiers, and the bodies of hostages.
https://x.com/SputnikInt/status/1749711649680805912
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/...hamdan-to-al-m
World should think about 'post-Israel' phase: Hamdan to Al Mayadeen
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan pointed out on Tuesday that the al-Maghazi operation reveals a lack of prospects for the ongoing aggression to lead to favorable outcomes for the Israeli occupation.
Speaking to Al Mayadeen, Hamdan stated that the theory about Israeli security has collapsed, indicating that the Israeli occupation military is unable to protect itself and is fleeing the confrontation.
The Palestinian official indicated that the United States should seriously consider that the circle of Resistance will expand, and other forces may join it.
He ruled out that Egypt would accept part of its territory to be occupied if "Israel" took control of the Philadelphia Axis.
Hamdan revealed that several proposals have been submitted for a ceasefire, explaining that the essence of the Israeli proposals is a temporary ceasefire, followed by a return to fighting.
He mentioned that Hamas submitted a proposal that includes ending the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, receiving guarantees against the recurrence of aggression, and then implementing the prisoner exchange deal.
"We feel the pain of what is happening to our people, and we will not hand our people over to the Israelis for them to take over Gaza," he added.
The Hamas official underlined that the Palestinian Resistance cannot leave its homeland, recalling that the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from Gaza [in 2005] came due to the Resistance's operations.
Hamdan called on the world to think about the "post-Israel" phase that would come as a result of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
He added that the United States wants to restructure the region according to its interests and is aware that the continuation of the battle will unravel any front in the region that includes "Israel".
He also noted that the United States is trying in vain to tell "Israel" that there is a strategic idea collapsing due to the Israeli crimes in Gaza, revealing that before the martyrdom of Hamas Deputy Chief Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri, a strategic agreement was reached to arrange the Palestinian internal front.
Elsewhere, the Palestinian official hailed the Resistance for its serious effort in confronting the Israeli occupation and the US project in the region.
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/...hat-shook--isr
Al-Qassam publishes footage of the operation that shook 'Israel'
Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades released a video documenting the moment their Resistance fighters carried out the operation which killed 24 Israeli officers and soldiers on Monday, leaving the occupation entity in shock.
The Israeli occupation army's spokesperson appeared in a televised broadcast on Tuesday and revealed that the incident took place near Kibbutz Kissufim, opposite several refugee camps and towns in the central Gaza Strip.
He said that the forces were operating in an area just 600 meters away from the separation fence, and were killed while preparing to to demolish a number of Palestinian homes to establish a "buffer zone".
After claiming responsibility for the operation on Tuesday, Al-Qassam revealed that its fighters targeted a building in the Al Maghazi refugee camp where an Israeli engineering unit had fortified, which resulted in the explosion of ammunition and explosives leading to its complete collapse over the force stationed inside.
Simultaneously, the fighters targeted and destroyed, using an Al Yassin 105 shell, an Israeli Merkava tank that was tasked with covering and protecting the Israeli unit positioned in the building, the Resistance's statement read.
Unbearably difficult
Top Israeli officials decried the "major disaster" in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Security Minister Yoav Gallant, Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett were among those to quickly comment on yet another event that highlighted the capabilities of the Palestinian Resistance.
"An unbearably difficult morning, in which more and more names of the best of our sons are added to the gravestones of heroes, in a war that has no justice," President Isaac Herzog posted on X.
On his part, Netanyahu emphasized that the Israeli occupation "experienced one of the most difficult days since the outbreak of the war."
Meanwhile, Gallant described Tuesday morning as "difficult and painful," Stressing that the ongoing Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood "will determine the future of Israel for decades to come," the official claimed that the recent incident will compel the authorities to "achieve the goals" of their genocidal war on Gaza.
Opposition leader Lapid shared his counterparts' takes, saying that Tuesday morning was "unbearably difficult," while opposition figure and War Cabinet member Gantz reminded Israeli settlers of the "heavy price" that they "are forced to pay" for what he claimed is a "just war", which sought to achieve a "lofty goal".
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/...adliest-day-in
Israeli gov. under pressure, fallout after 'deadliest day in Gaza'
The genocide in Gaza has officially extended to its fourth month, with extensive revelations on the Israeli occupation forces' conduct and the destruction and chaos they have caused in the Strip.
Comparing the toll the harrowing Israeli war has imposed on both Gaza and among the ranks of the occupation, a certifiable discrepancy is recorded. In Gaza, over 25,000 martyrs were killed by the IOF, and the complete mass destruction of its infrastructure has been documented. "Israel" has seen attacks on the northern occupied territories, and 221 Israeli soldiers have been killed so far, following the elimination of 21 invading troops in one day, on Monday night.
But the question of integrity surrounds the numbers being released by Israeli authorities. It is a known fact that the occupation attempts to veil its losses which are then revealed by Israeli media.
But why?
The war on Gaza was vigorously launched for one explicit reason: to defeat the Palestinian Resistance.
Since then, "Israel" attacked civilian infrastructure, violated international war laws by bombing hospitals and heritage sites, and killed civilians, women and children, almost exclusively. "Israel" has not materialized its goal, and the political ambiance incites unrest among cabinet members versus Benjamin Netanyahu's evident failure.
"Israel's" recklessness exposed the occupied north to defensive attacks and abandoned settlers with no guarantees of return. The IOF's frenzies in Gaza also triggered an uprise against the war after Israeli captives were killed by "friendly fire" on several occasions. Israeli settlers are now and have been demanding a negotiation deal to release captives, even if a ceasefire was the Resistance's demand.
In this case, the Resistance revealed that the only party hurdling negotiations were "Israel".
Amid pressures from all sides and across all facets, the Netanyahu government was bound to conceal the reality to avoid more backlash.
Wounded soldiers flood rehab centers
Media censorship in "Israel" has been intense, but reports of the number of wounded soldiers revealed that "Israel" is not an almighty power that has rigorously risen throughout the war, but rather it suffered great losses at the hands of the Resistance.
On Monday, the Israeli Security Ministry stated that over 4,500 soldiers are being treated in its rehabilitation center. The number, 4,544, is only restricted to present-time treatments, which could mean that previously wounded soldiers have completed treatment and have been discharged, mounting the losses the occupation has seen over the past four months.
The Israeli Security Ministry added that an average of 60 soldiers are being admitted to rehab every day, most of whom are reservists under the age of 30.
An example of misleading Israeli official reports is the announcement that since October 7, 2023, and the start of the Israeli occupation's incursion into the Gaza Strip, about 405 occupation soldiers suffering serious injuries have been transported to hospitals across occupied Palestine.
According to Ynet, around 13,572 Israeli occupation soldiers and settlers have actually been transported to hospitals since the launch of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. This number included those injured in the war in Gaza and at the northern front with Lebanon, according to Israeli media.
The "National Insurance Institute of Israel" revealed last week that 100 days into the war on Gaza, the number of Israelis injured has exceeded 50,000.
The Institute confirmed that 52,571 Israelis were injured and noted that it has disbursed over 5.5 billion shekels (about 1.5 million dollars) to them so far, highlighting the extent of the losses incurred.
It is noteworthy that the Israeli Institute did not address Israeli military casualties, mentioning only civilians. Among the 52,571 casualties, 102 sustained serious injuries and 171 sustained moderate ones.
Read more: Injured Israeli soldiers deliberately kept under the radar: Haaretz
Deals under the Resistance's conditions only
With that being confirmed, "Israel" has contemplated a temporary ceasefire. Israeli media has been reporting on draft resolutions to Qatari and Egyptian mediators for the genocide that include the prospect of a captives release deal and a two-month pause in fighting.
Brett McGurk, President Biden's assistant, visited Egypt on Sunday and will then go to Qatar for discussions aimed at making progress in the negotiations to free Israeli captives while disregarding the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Israeli officials told Axios they are awaiting a response from Hamas regarding the potential deal, which includes the release of all remaining captives and a return of the bodies of those who have died.
However, the Palestinian Resistance stated that only when a permanent ceasefire is on the table will negotiations over captives be held.
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https://x.com/MayadeenEnglish/status...15442355847487
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
Text:
Palestinians have been living as hostages on their own land and in what has become the largest open-air morgue, #Gaza.
It's been one massacre after another.
In the past 24 hours only, "Israel" has committed 22 massacres against Palestinians, killing 195 civilians and injuring 354 others.
#Palestine
https://x.com/MayadeenEnglish/status...13030333596078
¤=[Post Update]=¤
https://x.com/dana916/status/1749975366427394261
¤=[Post Update]=¤
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🇮🇱🇵🇸🇮🇷Sayyed Khamenei Calls on Muslim Countries to Cut Off Vital Arteries of Israeli Regime
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has called on Muslim countries to sever their political and economic relations with the Israeli regime, and cut off Tel Aviv's vital arteries.
Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks on Tuesday
The Leader criticized Muslim officials for making “wrong” statements about Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
“The issue that is in the hands of the officials of the Muslim countries is to cut off the vital lifelines of the Zionist regime,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.
“The Muslim countries should severe their political and economic contact with the Zionist regime and not help this regime.”
Sayyed Khamenei asserted that the Palestinian nation will emerge victorious despite hardships and inappropriate conduct of the authorities of Muslim countries.
“The victory of the people of Gaza is definite and that it will happen in the not too distant future.”
https://english.almasirah.net.ye/post/37510/
AlmasirahEnglish
https://x.com/dana916/status/1749977132799775111
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20...s-a-ceasefire/
Israel minister: We will not agree to a deal that includes a ceasefire
Israeli TV Channel 7 reported far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying that his party will not agree to any deal with Hamas that includes a ceasefire.
The head of the Religious Zionism Party said: “We will not agree to a deal that includes a ceasefire.”
In response, Minister of Heritage Amihai Ben-Eliyahu stated that if the war stops, his far-right party, Otzma Yehudit, will withdraw from the government.
He added that he feels frustrated because Hamas has not been defeated yet.
Smotrich has previously called for encouraging the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from Gaza. Such an exodus of Palestinians from the besieged enclave would presumably be followed by the re-occupation of the Strip by Israeli authorities and its resettlement by illegal Jewish settlers.
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/...-gaza-genocide
Why has Belgium vowed to back the ICJ’s verdict on Gaza ‘genocide’?
Unlike other European nations, Belgium has said it would support the international court’s decisions on South Africa’s case against Israel.
As the world anticipates a preliminary verdict from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, leaders in the European Union remain divided on how to interpret the decision.
Shortly after the two-day hearing at the world’s top court in the Hague earlier this month, where South Africa told the ICJ that Israel’s actions in the Gaza strip violated the UN’s 1948 Genocide Convention, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic – staunch allies of Israel – rejected these claims. Hungary condemned the case, while Berlin declared that it would intervene on Israel’s behalf at the ICJ.
Last week, France, which is home to Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish minorities and has been in the headlines for banning pro-Palestine protests since October 7, chimed in, saying Paris also does not support the ICJ case against Israel.
“To accuse the Jewish state of genocide is to cross a moral threshold,” said French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne.
Other EU nations have remained silent on the court case.
Slovenia is an exception, having announced its support for another ICJ case against Israel regarding Palestinian rights.
And, among the bloc’s more outspoken critics of Israel’s military conduct in Palestine, Ireland has adopted a cautious stance. In Spain, the minority left-wing Sumar party in the coalition government backed South Africa’s case.
Last week, in Belgium, socialist politician Caroline Gennez, minister of development cooperation and urban policy, said the country would support to the ICJ’s decision.
“If the International Court of Justice calls on Israel to cease its military campaign in Gaza, our country will fully support it,” she said in a social media post.
At a news conference in Brussels on Friday, Ludivine Dedonder, defence minister, reiterated: “Today, the Belgian government is speaking out in favour of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid, and support for the ICJ.”
What’s behind Belgium’s position?
The prevailing European view since October 7 has been that Israel has a right to self-defence against the Palestinian group Hamas, as long as it stays within the boundaries of international law.
But as the latest escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict rages on, some Belgian leaders have been more openly critical of Israel’s actions as the Palestinian death toll mounts.
After Hamas attacked southern Israel in early October, killing 1,139 people, Israeli forces have bombarded Gaza, the densely populated Strip Hamas governs with a pre-war population of 2.2 million people. During air attacks and as part of its ground invasion, the Israeli army has killed more than 25,000 people, among them many women and children, and stands accused of widespread atrocities.
In November, the Belgian government, a coalition of seven political parties, said 5 million euros ($5.4m) from the federal government will be used to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to investigate possible war crimes in Israel and Gaza.
Brigitte Herremans, a postdoctoral researcher at the Human Rights Centre at the University of Gent in Belgium, told Al Jazeera the tiny European country traditionally adopts strong positions on international law with regard to the Middle East conflict.
“Observers would say that it also has to do with Belgium’s own history of being occupied historically by foreign powers,” she added.
During both world wars, Belgium was under German occupation.
Herremans said that Belgium’s stance today is similar to its previous positions on other foreign policy issues, such as the Iraq war.
“In general, we always saw Belgium somehow stick to a position that the acquisition of territory by force wasn’t accepted,” she said.
But Marc Botenga, of Belgium’s leftist Workers’ Party and an EU lawmaker, said the government’s support to the ICJ is still limited.
“If you look closely at their statement there is no active attitude to actually support the South African case against Israel. The government just says they will support whatever decision the ICJ takes, which is logical since all member states of the United Nations are supposed to support the institution’s court,” Bottenga told Al Jazeera. “However we have to commend the Belgian public for this stance which other EU nations have not really taken.”
Large protests in different Belgian cities have played a role in pressuring the government to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, he said.
Meanwhile, Belgium has declared its participation in the EU Red Sea Mission against Yemen’s Houthis, the Iran-linked group which says its recent attacks on ships linked to Israel or its allies are aimed at pressuring officials to stop the onslaught of Gaza.
“That’s not the kind of stance we want,” Bottega said of Belgium’s participation.
Herremans said that since Belgium currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union – a decision-making body in which ministers coordinate policies and adopt laws – his country is responsible for developing consensus.
“Belgium has to take into account the position of staunch pro-Israeli countries, so [it] might have to be more cautious and less vocal on international law. But it will not take a fundamentally different position from what it always has,” she said.
Belgium’s position on Israel-Palestine
Historically, Belgium has shown solidarity towards Palestine while also supporting Israel.
At the UN in 2012, it voted in favour of giving Palestine “non-member” observer status. Last year, it supported a UN resolution ordering the ICJ to investigate the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
But discussing the Israeli-Palestinian issue in the Parliament can be difficult, because of diverse views between political parties in the Flanders in the north, Wallonia in the south, and the Brussels region.
Some Belgian sources told Al Jazeera that of the seven coalition partners, the progressives – Greens and Social Democrats – believe concrete measures have to be taken to ensure international law is applied in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank with regard to the ICJ case.
In recent months, the Flemish Liberal Party of Prime Minister De Croo and Flemish Christian-Democrats have also toughened their stance on the situation in Palestine.
In November, the premier described Israel’s campaign in Gaza as “disproportionate” as he condemned the army’s bombing of Gaza refugee camps.
But the French-speaking Liberal Party, to which the foreign affairs minister belongs, has traditionally been pro-Israel.
Elections
Looking ahead, Belgium heads to the polls in June, which could end up shifting the country’s stance if a new government comes into power.
Fourat Ben Chikha, vice president of the senate, the federal parliament’s upper house, told Al Jazeera that even if the current coalition changes, as an international community, de-escalation and respect for human rights and international law should be every Belgian government’s priority.
Willem Staes, senior Middle East adviser at 11.11.11, a Belgian international solidarity organisation which lobbies Belgian and European governments to uphold human rights, said that regardless of the Belgian government’s composition, foreign policy has traditionally focused on fighting against impunity and promoting accountability.
“The current government is consequently applying this logic and leading the way at EU level. So providing support to the ICJ and the ICC, or calling for a permanent ceasefire, is not about being ‘pro-Palestinian’ or ‘anti-Israel’,” Staes told Al Jazeera.
“It’s about common sense and choosing the only logical side, which is the side of international law. The fact that this is considered ‘radical’ by some tells you everything you need to know about the state of European politics.”
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
---14 min--24 Jan 2024 #TheGrayzone
Journalist Jeremy Loffredo reports from inside Israel, where the country's tiny minority of antiwar Jewish citizens face harsh repression, ugly social consequences, and even jail time for speaking out against the military campaign in Gaza. Loffredo interviews several Israeli dissidents about the violence they have experienced since October 7, and the climate of state-enforced fear that has engulfed their society.
Re: Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War
Giving up any Israeli lands to those who are sworn enemies would be unwise.
Especially, since the Islamic world is dedicated to jihad, no matter what.
Why else would protestors only object to Israelis.
Have you ever seen anti-Muslim protests in any Islamic countries?
[crickets chirping]
Sure, it's Islamophobic to be aghast at 700+ million body count, and countless kidnappings, rapes, mutiliations and enslavement. (Remember, all Harem girls are non-Muslim slaves)
There is no such thing as "extreme" Islam. It's all Islam. And Islam cannot be reformed, since reformers are executed. Even sects war among themselves, each claiming to be the "true" followers.
