Israel

Greater Middle East

Gaza: flashpoint for regional war? (redux redux)

At least 42 people were reported killed in Israeli air-strikes near the Syrian city of Aleppo, allegedly targeting an arms depot belonging to militant group Hezbollah. Those killed included Hezbollah members and Syrian soldiers—as well as civilians, by some reports. Israeli air-strikes in southern Lebanon meanwhile killed 16 people, and one in Israel was killed by a barrage of rockets fired by Hezbollah from south Lebanon. Earlier, a series of air-strikes on Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zor killed 15 people, including a World Health Organization staff member as well as an Iranian military adviser. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for those strikes. But Israel’s intermittent air-strikes on Iran-backed militia forces in Syria have been escalating since the Gaza bombardment began. (Image: Pixabay)

Watching the Shadows

Podcast: Blood Libel in a time of genocide

Calling out the “Blood Libel” rhetoric and imagery in anti-Israel invective would certainly be a lot easier if Israel were not actually killing children, in large numbers, with leading voices openly calling for genocide of the Palestinians. And if pro-Israel (and MAGA) propaganda did not cynically conflate anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Yet from Manhattan to Cincinnati to Dallas to Berkeley and Santa Barbara, slogans and graffiti have tarred Jews as Zionists and “baby-killers”—playing into the hands of Israel’s propagandists. Bill Weinberg discusses the dilemma in Episode 218 of the CounterVortex podcast. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.(Image: frgdr.com)

Palestine

What fate for Rafah civilians as Israeli invasion looms?

As Israel presses toward an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are trying to find shelter, the Israeli military says it plans to direct a “significant” number of them toward zones in the center of the Gaza Strip. Referring to the areas as “humanitarian islands,” Israel’s chief military spokesman did not provide details on how or when civilians would be moved when he made the announcement. Any Israeli invasion of Rafah could trigger an even larger humanitarian catastrophe in the densely crowded area, aid groups have warned for weeks. An invasion will complicate efforts to deliver humanitarian supplies, as Gazans continue to suffer from disease and face starvation. (Photo: Yousef Hammash/NRC)

Palestine

Podcast: for Tibet-Palestine solidarity

The 65th anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day immediately follows Tibetan protests against plans to flood ancestral lands for mega-hydro development to power the cities and industrial zones of China’s east—a clear parallel to the struggle of the Cree and Inuit indigenous peoples of the Canadian north to defend their territories from mega-hydro schemes to power the megalopoli of the US Northeast. The illegal Chinese occupation of Tibet since 1959 also has a clear parallel in the illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories since 1967. Yet the Tibetan and Palestinian leadership have long been pitted against each other in the Great Power game. In a significant sign of hope, Students for a Free Tibet responded to the criminal bombardment of Gaza by issuing a statement in solidarity with the Palestinians, and some leading figures in the Tibetan exile community have drawn the connection between the two peoples’ struggles. Bill Weinberg explores in Episode 217 of the CounterVortex podcast. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Photo: Central Tibetan Administration)

Palestine

UN condemns increase in West Bank settlement

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk released a statement condemning Israel’s latest expansion of settlements in the West Bank as well as the marked increase in “illegal” Israeli settlements over the last year, along with increasing extremist settler violence against Palestinians residing in the territory. Türk stated: “The West Bank is already in crisis. Yet, settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels, and risk eliminating any practical possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian State.” (Photo: delayed gratification via New Jewish Resistance)

Palestine

Urgent additional ICJ measures requested for Gaza

South Africa filed an urgent request with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for additional provisional measures or adjustments to the court’s January and February rulings in the country’s case against Israel, charging that Israel is carrying out genocide in the Gaza Strip. South Africa said the request is necessitated by changes to the situation in Gaza that have arisen since it originally filed the case with the ICJ, such as imminent risk of famine, particularly in northern Gaza. South Africa said the request is meant “to ensure the safety and security of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza” and prevent Israel from “continuing egregious breaches” of the provisional measures the ICJ handed down in January. (Photo: ICJ)

Greater Middle East

Lebanon: displacement as Israel intensifies air-strikes

As Israel expands its air-strikes deeper into Lebanon, hitting parts of the country previously considered safe, those already forced to flee the conflict are struggling to get by without jobs or much aid, unsure where to go next if things get even worse. Cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese political and militant group, have been growing since the outbreak of war in Gaza, with almost daily exchanges of fire. According to UN figures, the violence has forced more than 90,000 people to flee their homes inside Lebanon since early October. (Photo: Aftermath of Feb. 19 Israeli air-strikes in south Lebanon town of Ghaziyeh, where Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot. Credit: Egab/TNH)

Palestine

Podcast: the electoral dilemma in apartheid Jerusalem

Amid the mounting horror in Gaza, Israel held municipal elections—which saw gains for the ultra-Zionist right, including in Jerusalem. But the city for the first time saw a Palestinian council candidate—Sondos Alhot, a pro-coexistence activist who ran with a new list called Kol Toshaveha (All Its Residents). Her candidacy, which came in defiance of a boycott called by the Palestinian leadership, nonetheless posed a challenge to the system of apartheid Israel has imposed in the Holy City. In Episode 215 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg explores what this electoral question may tell us about the prospects for an eventual just peace in historic Palestine. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Photo: RJA1988 via Jurist)

Palestine

UN rights experts warn against arms exports to Israel

A statement released by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on behalf of United Nations rights experts warns countries against the transfer of war material to Israel, as such transfers could constitute violations of international humanitarian law if weapons are used contrary to the Geneva Conventions. Invoking the recent Word Court orders concerning Israel’s siege and bombardment of Gaza, the statement asserts that “states must accordingly refrain from transferring any weapon or ammunition—or parts for them—if it is expected, given the facts and past patterns of behaviour, that they would be used to violate international law.” (Photo: IDF via Flickr)

Greater Middle East

Ecological disaster looms after Houthi ship attack

The internationally recognized Yemeni government issued an urgent plea to the international community following a Houthi attack on the Rubymar, a British-owned cargo ship carrying hazardous materials through the Red Sea. The attack has raised fears of an imminent environmental disaster due to the potential leakage of fertilizer and oil from the abandoned and damaged vessel. Yemen has formed an emergency committee tasked with crafting a plan to mitigate the threat. But the Houthis, who control much of Yemen’s territory, say they will only allow salvage or mitigation efforts in exchange for entry of relief aid into the Gaza Strip. US Central Command reports that a a 30-kilometer oil slick is already spreading from the stricken vessel, foreboding a significant ecological crisis in the area. (Map via PCL)

Palestine

Gaza humanitarian response: ‘convenient illusion’

In a message delivered to the UN Security Council, the head of Médecins Sans Frontières, Christopher Lockyear, said that the “illusion” of a humanitarian response in Gaza “perpetuates a narrative that this war is being waged in line with international laws.” The already low volume of aid being delivered to Gaza has collapsed in recent weeks, despite Israel having been ordered by the World Court to enable the provision of humanitarian aid. The World Food Program announced that it has suspended aid deliveries to northern Gaza—where the suffering is most extreme—because of the dissolution of public order. A new report from the Gaza Health Impact Projections Working Group estimates that, even in the best-case scenario of an immediate permanent ceasefire, there will be more than 6,500 excess deaths in Gaza over the next six months due to the catastrophic food, shelter, sanitation, and healthcare situation in the enclave. If the status quo of ongoing bombardment continues, the projections rise to more than 74,000 deaths. Reports are beginning to emergeof children dying of hunger. (Photo: Maan News Agency)

Palestine

Podcast: for Palestinian-Uyghur solidarity

In Episode 213 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg notes how divergent responses to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians and mass internment of the Uyghurs reveal the West’s shifting definition of genocide. Tragically, elements of the Palestinian leadership merely reverse the double standard, causing elements of the exiled Uyghur leadership to balk at supporting the Palestinians. Yet another example of how a global divide-and-rule racket is the essence of the state system. Illustrating the irony, the same corporate nexus is involved in putting in place the surveillance state that monitors the Uyghurs for China and the Palestinians for Israel. Fortunately, principled voices of dissent among both the Palestinians and the Uyghurs are calling for Palestinian-Uyghur solidarity. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Image: Hasbi Sahin & Tatohra/Shutterstock via Islam21c)