peace initiatives

Planet Watch

CounterVortex meta-podcast: ranting against the apocalypse

In the first CounterVortex meta-podcast of February 2018, we noted the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' decision to advance the minute hand of its Doomsday Clock to two minutes of midnight. The clock was most recently moved to 90 seconds to midnight in January 2023, in light of the Ukraine war—the closest it has ever been. The clock did not move forward in 2024, despite Israel crossing the genocidal threshold in Gaza—a conflict now spreading to Lebanon, with potential to ignite the entire Middle East and even the world. The threat of Iran being drawn into the conflict could bring its patron Russia nose-to-nose with Israel's patron, the United States. This comes just as Vladimir Putin has announced a revision to Russia's nuclear weapons doctrine, allowing a first strike if its territory is attacked even by a non-nuclear state that is backed by a state with nuclear weapons. This appears to add frightening credibility to the mounting nuclear threats from Moscow. Amid all this, small efforts at Jewish-Arab co-existence by the besieged peace camp within Israel point to the potential for the ongoing protests against Netanyahu to take on an explicit anti-war character. In Episode 245 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg makes the case that such measures, however seemingly modest, constitute a countervortex to humanity's general downward spiral toward devastating war, ecological collapse and fascism.

The Andes

Ecuador moves toward return of foreign military bases

Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa Azin announced a decision to introduce a bill amending Article 5 of the constitution, to permit the establishment of foreign military bases in the country. A video Noboa posted announcing the decision was recorded at the military base in Manta, Manabí province. Established in 1999, the base had previously been leased to and operated by the United States military to combat drug trafficking. Ecuadorian activists long protested the presence of the US military. Upon taking power in 2007, left-populist president Rafael Correa—under whom the current constitution was enacted—stated that the lease would not be renewed, resulting in the US military formally leaving the Manta base in 2009. But the statement from Noboa's office asserts: "Ecuador is facing a battle against transnational crime. This requires a strong national and international response."

Africa

Calls mount for Sudan intervention force

A UN fact-finding mission for Sudan called for an independent and impartial force to be deployed "without delay" to protect civilians. Its case is bolstered by reports of a new set of grave human rights violations in the country. In southeastern Sennar state, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were accused of killing 40 people in artillery strikes on local markets and residential areas, while in Darfur's famine-stricken Zam Zam displacement site, the RSF reportedly tightened a siege and arrested traders trying to supply the camp. The war that began in April 2023 has produced the world's largest displacement and hunger crises. Recent mediation efforts have failed, with the army refusing to turn up and the RSF using its attendance to try to launder its terrible image. (Map: PCL)

Palestine

Israeli strikes hit aid convoy in Gaza

An Israeli air-strike hit a convoy carrying fuel and medical supplies to a hospital in Gaza, killing several employees of a transportation company associated with the US-based NGO American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera). Israel says it was attacking "armed assailants" who were trying to hijack the truck, but Anera said the only people killed worked for the transport company and they had confirmed their route as part of a "humanitarian deconfliction" program intended to stop hits on aid. The hit on the convoy, which eventually arrived at the Emirates Red Crescent Hospital in Rafah, came days after Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint shot at a vehicle marked as belonging to the World Food Program, which said it was pausing staff operations in Gaza until further notice. (Photo: Maan News Agency)

Africa

Sudan peace talks no-show

US-sponsored talks to halt the 16-month conflict in Sudan kicked off in Geneva, but there was a no-show from the army despite all the fanfare. There had been hope that the new venue and buy-in from regional powers supporting the warring factions—including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates—would give the process a better chance of succeeding than prior, disjointed mediation attempts. But the army's command remains internally divided on the issue of dialogue—especially while it is on the back foot militarily—and is wary of the US. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the army's rival, is meanwhile being accused of attending talks only to launder its image and bolster its international legitimacy. Grassroots civilian groups also remain deeply wary of another potential power-sharing accord that strengthens the military generals at their expense. (Map: PCL)

Planet Watch

Podcast: world war or world revolution?

In Episode 239 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg provides an overview of the protest waves and uprisings going on across the planet—in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Bangladesh, India, China, Serbia, Venezuela, and in Israel. This as worldwide protests in solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza continue. Amid ongoing protests against Netanyahu in Israel, there have also been protests against Hamas in Gaza. Despite internal dangers and contradictions in all these upsurges, there is a sense that we could be approaching a revolutionary moment such as that seen in 2011—the year of the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street. And with the planet on an accelerating trajectory toward world war, the linking of these upsurges through conscious solidarity and the infusion of anti-war content to their demands is urgently mandated. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Photo via Twitter)

Palestine

Ceasefire talks, as Gaza death toll crosses 40,000

A fresh round of ceasefire negotiations got underway in Doha, Qatar, aiming to bring an end to Israel’s more than 10-month-long war in the Gaza Strip and secure the release of the estimated 115 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups. Forty-one of the hostages are believed to be dead, and the recorded death toll from Israel's military campaign has now reached over 40,000, according to health authorities in the Strip. That's roughly 2% of Gaza's pre-war population—or one out of every 50 residents—that has been killed. (Photo: WAFA via Jurist)

Palestine

Gaza at issue in Nagasaki commemoration

The US ambassador to Japan did not attend this year's official commemoration of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in protest of the city's failure to invite Israel. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel said the event had been "politicized" by Nagasaki’s decision to exclude the Jewish state. Five other G7 countries and the EU likewise boycotted the ceremony. The municipal government in Hiroshima refused to pay heed to public calls to exclude Israel over the Gaza bombardment, and invited Israeli officials to its event as usual. Russia and Belarus were exuded from both commemorations for a third consecutive year. (Photo: Pop Japan)

Palestine

Regional war looms closer after Golan rocket strike

Israeli warplanes hit several targets in southern Lebanon, as diplomats worked frantically to prevent a regional war after a rocket strike that killed 12 youths in the Golan Heights. Israel is blaming Hezbollah for the rocket, which struck a football field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams. Hezbollah has denied responsibility, asserting that a projectile from Israel's own Iron Dome missile defense system hit the village amid strikes on military targets elsewhere in the area by the Iran-backed Lebanese armed organization. Israel and Hezbollah have been trading strikes over the Lebanese border since Oct. 8, a day after the start of the war in Gaza. Israel has killed 527 people in Lebanon since then, according to an AFP tally, including at least 104 civilians. Israel says 23 of its civilians and 17 soldiers have been killed by Hezbollah rocket-fire over this period. (Image: Pixabay)

Palestine

Fatah and Hamas sign unity declaration in Beijing

Meeting in the Chinese capital, senior leaders from Fatah and Hamas as well as 12 other Palestinian factions signed a joint statement called the "Beijing Declaration to End the Division & Strengthen Palestinian National Unity," calling for establishment of an "interim government of national reconciliation" with a focus on post-conflict reconstruction of Gaza. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the event as an "historic moment for the cause of Palestine's liberation.” Asserting that "'Palestinians governing Palestine' is the basic principle for the post-conflict governance of Gaza," Wang called for an international peace conference to advance a two-state solution. Israel quickly rejected the agreement, with Foreign Minister Israel Katz saying that Hamas' rule in Gaza "will be crushed." (Photo: PRC MFA)

Palestine

Protesters march in Israel to demand hostage deal

Anti-government protesters marched across Israel's major cities, aiming to pressure the authorities to instate a ceasefire in Gaza and reach a hostage deal with Hamas. Demonstrators blocked roads and gathered in front of the homes of government officials. The protesters marched to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, calling for immediate elections to replace his government. Simultaneously, thousands assembled in Tel Aviv, where Einav Zangauker, whose son is being held in Gaza, staged a symbolic protest by isolating herself in a cage suspended from a bridge over Begin Road. Addressing the crowd below, Zangauker described the entire region as being held hostage by Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' leader in Gaza. (Photo via We Are All Hostages)

South Asia

Pakistan: cross-country march against counterterrorism operation

Protestors marched between two towns of Pakistan's restive Swat district in response to proposed plans by the military for a major new "counter-terrorist" operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the border with Afghanistan. The protest, organized by local groups Ulasi Passon (Public Revolution) and Orakzai Peace Movement, saw thousands marching with white flags and signs reading "We want peace" and "We hate government terrorism." However, the government reiterated that the operation against militant organizations in the region, dubbed Azm-e-Istehkam (Resolve for Stability), will go ahead. The armed forces insisted that unlike the last major push against the insurgents, Operation Zarb-e-Azb of 2014, the new operation will not result in mass displacement of residents. (Photo via Twitter)