israel’s endgame in Gaza: Resistance is futile. A modern-day equivalent of the Warsaw ghetto.

Israel’s endgame in Gaza: Resistance is futile

Israel’s deliberate targeting of Gaza’s health sector and denying those in need of humanitarian care from obtaining it constitute a crime against humanity

By CJ Werleman | Middle East Eye | January 2018

Some describe Gaza as either the world’s largest “concentration camp” or “open air prison”, while others liken it to the modern-day equivalent of the Warsaw ghetto.

Whatever appropriate analogy you apply to the enclave, that traps two million Palestinians on a slender piece of coastal land along the Egyptian-Israeli border, it’s impossible to overstate the level of human misery and suffering that is taking place there today.

A catastrophic situation

When I spoke with Dr Basem Naim, the former Palestinian minister for health and resident of Gaza, I referred him to a UN report that forewarned that Israel’s medieval-like blockade promises to make the territory “uninhabitable” by 2020.

“What do they [UN] mean? It’s uninhabitable here now,” Naim told me. “The situation today is catastrophic.”

Dr Naim explained how Israel’s intentional cutting of Gaza’s power supply, meant to exert pressure on Hamas but, instead, punishing ordinary Palestinians, is having dire affects on the health sector in Gaza.

“The typical Palestinian gets only three to five hours of electricity each day,” he said. “You can’t pump water to apartments that are above ground level. You can’t pump sewage, which is why more than 95 percent of Gaza’s drinking water is undrinkable.”

He explained that hospitals, which depend on 24-hour electricity, are unable to perform life-saving surgeries, and that some, including Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, have ceased doing operations altogether.

This is happening while newborn babies and the elderly freeze to death in the winter, and die from heat exhaustion in the summer. This is happening because Israel is allowing only 120 watts of power to be provided to Gaza, knowing that 400 watts are needed to meet the basic minimum survival needs of two million Palestinian people.

“The scarcity of energy and the severe shortage of fuel in Gaza have damaged all aspects of life in the Strip,” said the International Committee of the Red Cross in a statement issued last year.

Closed borders

But the biggest problem facing the imprisoned citizens of Gaza is the “closed borders”, according to Dr Naim. He explained:

“For example, the last time Rafah border crossing was opened, which was one week ago, came after more than 100 days of closure, and out of the 35,000 people waiting to leave Gaza through Rafah, only 2,000 were able to leave, and the others must wait again for another 100 days. When I talk about 35,000 people, I’m talking about urgent humanitarian cases; patients, and people who need to meet their families for urgent situations. It’s nearly impossible for Palestinians in Gaza to get urgent medical care in Israel, Egypt, or Jordan.

“If a Palestinian wants to leave Gaza for urgent medical care or treatment, he or she must wait 70 days to get [an] Israeli reply saying he or she is allowed or not. And after 70 days, and even if the request is approved, he or she must come to Erez crossing for an interrogation, and he or she might be arrested. I know many cases where the families of patients were blackmailed by Israeli security forces, like Shin Bet, under these very circumstances.”

It’s worth noting that it’s not only from Gaza that Palestinians are denied freedom of movement. Earlier this month, Omar Barghouti, who lives in Israel and is one of the founders of the boycott, divest and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israeli occupation, was denied the right to visit his cancer-stricken mother in Jordan.

Israel’s refusal to allow a prominent Palestinian figure, who has a demonstrable lifetime track record of non-violent activism, undercuts Israeli claims that travel bans have little to do with security and everything to do with meting out collective and inhumane punishment to the Palestinian people, writ large.

A new report published by the human rights group Gisha – Legal Centre for Freedom of Movement shows that 2017 was the worst year for the movement of Palestinians in and out of Gaza since Israel’s attack on Gaza in the summer of 2014, reducing the number of exit permits by 51 percent from 2016 to 2017.

The report shows that Israel allowed fewer than 6,000 monthly exits in 2017 compared with the more than 14,000 allowed the previous year.

The authors of the report also identified a list of policies that were carried out by Israeli authorities to prevent or restrict freedom of Palestinian movement through the Erez crossing.

These new restrictive measures were “introduced with little or no justification provided as to their purpose and, it appears, no consideration of the impact they would have on the lives of Gaza’s residents”.

Targeting the health sector

These measures include “significant extension of the processing times of permit applications, leaving thousands of permit applications pending with no response; a new directive prohibiting Palestinians from exiting Gaza with electronic devices, toiletries and food; freezing travel to the American Consulate; mandatory shuttle services to Allenby Bridge Crossing; “security blocks” blocking travel for medical patients, traders, and humanitarian workers; increase in the frequency and severity of “security interviews” at Erez; trader permits cancelled as new approvals declined; travel for Friday prayers in Jerusalem remaining blocked, and; recipients of permits for travel abroad increasingly made to sign a commitment not to return for a year.”

It’s not only inexcusable for Israel to impose any kind of restriction of movement, but to deliberately target Gaza’s health sector by cutting power to the Strip, and then to deny those in need of humanitarian care from obtaining it – constitutes a crime against humanity by any definition.

“The magnitude, the deliberateness, the violations of international humanitarian law, the impact on the health, lives, and survival, and the overall conditions warrant the characterisation of a crime against humanity,” says Richard Falk, a former UN special rapporteur for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.

“This is an increasingly precarious condition. A recent study reports that 46 percent of all Palestinian children in Gaza suffer from acute anaemia. There are reports that the sonic booms associated with Israeli overflights have caused widespread deafness, especially among children. Children need thousands of hearing aids.

“Malnutrition is extremely high in a number of different dimensions and affects 75 percent of Palestinians in Gaza. There are widespread mental disorders, especially among young people … Over 50 percent of Palestinian children in Gaza under the age of 12 have been found to have no will to live,” wrote Falk in 2008.

When I referred to Falk’s findings from a decade ago, Dr Naim said things have become “much worse”, pointing to the fact that much of Gaza’s critical infrastructure was destroyed during Israel’s 2014 assault, noting that 20,000 tons of explosive ordinance was dropped on the Strip by Israeli jets and artillery, and that unemployment and poverty have skyrocketed since.

Breaking the Palestinians’ will

Israel’s restriction on Palestinian movement is also preventing Gaza from building a functioning civil society as human rights workers, social workers, health workers, educators, engineers, etc are denied opportunities to expand their knowledge and skills in other countries.

It also runs afoul of Israel’s “obligations to respect the human rights of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, including their right to freedom of movement, which includes, with some limitations, a right to enter and leave one’s country and to choose one’s place of residence within it,” according to Human Rights Watch.

In fact, Palestinians in Gaza may visit their families in the occupied West Bank only if he or she can prove their relative is “dead, dying, or getting married“, which constitutes another violation of not only international law but also the Oslo Accords that stipulate the Palestinian territories – East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank – constitute one unified territorial entity. Israel has made movement between the territories all but impossible for Palestinians.

Given that nearly a third of Palestinians in Gaza have relatives in either the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, or Israel, one can see how needlessly cruel Israel’s brutal policies of occupation truly are.

Of course, Israel tries to justify its near total freeze of Palestinian movement in and out of Gaza with concerns for its security, but this has always been a rhetorical fig leaf for Israel’s sustained effort to break the will of the Palestinian people.

Israel’s intent has always been to strangle Palestinian political, social, and civil life in the hope that those it occupies will come to the realisation that resistance is futile.

– CJ Werleman is the author of Crucifying America (2013), Koran Curious (2011), and he is the host of Foreign Object. Follow him on twitter: @cjwerleman 

READ MORE:

Yes, Palestinians under siege are ‘dehumanised’ – by Israel

Remembering Cast Lead: How corporate media continue to justify Israel’s criminal excesses

 

Erdogan has made his choice

To Erdogan, if he had to choose between the potential risks of losing Turkey’s NATO membership as against having a Kurdish state south of his border, he would choose the former.

January 26, 2018

by Ghassan Kadi for The Saker Blog

It seems that Erdogan has already made up his mind, but the speculations about what deals have been and haven’t been done seem muddied, to put it mildly.

In the Levant, the Kurds always lose in the end, and regardless of what alliances they make and with whom, they always end up getting stabbed in the back; or at least abandoned. But when they team up with parties like the USA, and even Israel, what else can they expect?

However, the Kurd’s obsession of having their statehood by any means, and the resistance they face and the unpreparedness of certain parties to work together to ensure that there will be no foreign intervention, they all have their adverse consequences. What we see happening in Syria’s north today is the direct outcome of this.

America had been looking for half an excuse to invade Syria for a very long time, and knowing that it wasn’t able to have a full-on presence that would allow it to carpet bomb the whole nation, it used the Kurdish excuse and the false pretext of creating a “security zone” in order to justify its presence on Syrian soil; against Syria’s wish.

But to do this, America needed allies on the ground, and instead of working together with its natural partner and NATO member Turkey (which happens to be a regional superpower) on common denominators, America’s inability to negotiate and give and take, even with its most ardent allies, repelled Turkey and America had to resort to an alliance with the YPG Kurds. What comes next is more sinister.

It is not clear what was Russia’s initial position on establishing any form of Kurdish autonomy in Syria. As a matter of fact, Syria’s FM Walid Mouallem hinted back in September 2017 that the Syrian Government was prepared to look into a limited Kurdish cultural autonomy (https://arabic.rt.com/middle_east/900959-وزير-الخارجية-السوري-لـ-rt-الإدارة-الذاتية-سوريا-وهذا-أمر-قابل-للتفاوض-والحوار/), but this did not go very far. And long before Mouallem’s remark, President Assad himself hinted back in 2012 that the efforts of the people of Ain Al Arab (Kobani in Kurdish) will not be forgotten. But of course, this does not mean he was hinting at some form of autonomy. Was the Syrian Government pressured to not explore every possible avenue for reconciliation with its Kurdish population? And if so, by whom and why? Surely not by Russia because, Russia had always been sympathetic and understanding of Kurdish fears and aspirations. Who else could have stood in the way of reaching some form of pre-emptive reconciliation between the Syrian Government and Syrian Kurds before events reached the dangerous climax they are at today? Definitely not Iran or Turkey.

Arguably, it can be said that the way the YPG went to bed with America has led to its abandonment by the Syrian Government and all other potential allies outside the American circle of influence, and this cannot be more obvious given the recent history of the YPG. In all honesty however, we must in hindsight ask whether it was possible to avoid this impasse or at least mitigate it. We don’t know. Either way, it is probably already too late to “reconcile” and President Assad himself has recently referred to those Kurds who are under America’s beck-and-call as “traitors”.

Ironically, an ardent opposition of having any form of Kurdish autonomy in Syria was, and continues to be, Turkey’s Erdogan. He is concerned about the snow-ball effect and the possibility of similar Turkish-Kurdish aspirations. And Turkey is a multi-ethnic nation with vulnerabilities that cannot be ignored in this crazy era of human history.

Erdogan had told his American “allies” time and time again that they cannot be strategic allies of Turkey if they want to endorse any form of a formal Kurdish entity; even one that is only nominally cultural. Yet, Obama’s USA did not listen any more than Trump’s. They dug in their heels and continued to intimidate in their presence in Syria not only Syria, but also Russia and most ironically, their ally Turkey.

Syria wants America out of Syria.

Russia wants America out of Syria.

Iran wants America out of Syria.

Turkey doesn’t really care if America is in or out of Syria, but Turkey definitely wants the YPG and any other Kurdish military forces disabled in order to put a stop to any possible Kurdish entity from materializing.

But now that the wolf (aka America) is in, who is going to kick it out before it huffs and puffs and blows the whole region in?

The Syrian Army cannot engage directly against American troops, let alone militia supported by America, without risking a major direct military escalation with America itself. As a matter of fact, America perhaps wishes for this to happen as this will justify a bigger presence.

But hang on, let’s not forget that Russian troops are on the ground in Syria, and the Russians and Americans have thus far succeeded in avoiding direct confrontation for decades. Such indirect interaction is something that both super powers are familiar with, and they know how to do it. But this of course means that Russia cannot directly be engaged in ousting American troops from Syria. On the flip-side, America cannot engage with Russia either in an attempt to, say, oust President Assad.

How about Iran then? Well, Iran is already under American (and Israeli) threats, even without engaging directly against American troops. Iran may choose to engage against America or be drawn into such an engagement, but to do this willingly in order to protect Syrians Kurds is an unlikely scenario.

In reality therefore, only Turkish troops can do the job without creating much international havoc of far-reaching devastation.

Does this mean that there is a tacit approval on behalf of the Syrian Government for the Turkish so-called “Olive Branch” operation? Not at all, and in fact, most unlikely. Is there then perhaps an agreement between Turkey on one hand with Russia and Iran on the other hand on this? Also highly unlikely. However, Erdogan knows well that only he can engage in fighting American cohorts in Syria, and he is doing it with or without any need for support, not even tacit support, from either Russia, Iran or Syria.

Now let’s not forget that Turkey is a NATO member and that it houses the Incirlik airbase. However, unlike back in 1955 when Turkey was desperate to join NATO in fear of the “Communist peril”, America and NATO now need Turkey much more than Turkey needs NATO. To Erdogan, if he had to choose between the potential risks of losing Turkey’s NATO membership as against having a Kurdish state south of his border, he would choose the former.

But to Erdogan, his stand against America is not only religiously and nationalistically based, it is also personal. Apart from his doctrinal fundamentalist and nationalist attributes, he regards America as the nation that hosts and protects his political enemy and rival Gulen; who ironically still enjoys a huge level of support within Turkey, despite all the clampdowns on his supporters after the July 2016 coup attempt.

Erdogan and Trump are now playing chicken with each other, each looking at his opponent to see who is going to back off first. Trump has no idea that Erdogan will not waver and that he will simply not allow a Kurdish state south of his border, even though it is not meant to be on Turkish territory. The truth of the matter is that America has never ever considered its allies as friends who may have common objectives with America, but also happen to have their own interests. America is used to dictating its terms and conditions on its allies without a second thought.

But Trump, like his predecessor before him, does not seem to realize that they have pushed Erdogan to the limit and that he is now taking America to task.

So apart from whether or not there are undisclosed deals between Syria, Turkey, Iran and Russia, the fact that they all agree that none of them wants any form of Kurdish autonomy, lifts Erdogan up to the level of the one and only “hero” who can deal with it as he is the only one who doesn’t give a damn about what happens between him and America. He even seems to be reveling in the attention he is receiving at home by challenging America, as this is bolstering his popularity and further enabling him to target Gulen and America who is held responsible for his political survival by giving him asylum.

But in doing all of this, and to follow up on the previous article (http://thesaker.is/erdogans-karmic-trap/), Erdogan has clearly made his choice as to which side on the Syrian ground he is going to support.

Erdogan seems to be distancing himself from Al-Nusra Front, or is he? Well, on the surface at least, he is pushing the card of the allegedly least radical of all militarized Syrian opposition groups; the so-called “Free Syria Army” (FSA). The original FSA members back in 2011 were mainly defectors of the Syrian Army. Back then, they were the only military force on the ground before all the Jihadis and mercenaries came in. No one can really tell with certainty what percentage of those fighters today are of Syrian Army origin, but what is pertinent here is that Erdogan is not going into Afrin together with Al-Nusra Front fighters, but rather with FSA fighters.

To a Syrian patriot, there is no real difference between the FSA and Al-Nusra Front. However, on the books as it were, the FSA is not a fundamentalist Jihadist organization. And as Astana/Geneva/Sochi talks will resume at some stage, lifting the profile of the FSA at one minute to midnight might give the elusive so-called “moderate Syrian opposition” a last minute mouth-to-mouth resuscitation; courtesy of Erdogan. After all, if push comes to shove, the Al-Nusra fighters that Erdogan wishes to protect can always shave their beards and wear FSA uniforms.

It’s a “clever”, or rather conniving, move by Erdogan, because by supporting and resurrecting the FSA, not only is he distancing himself from Al-Nusra Front, but he is bringing back the “moderate Syrian opposition” to the forefront and potentially giving it a place in the final negotiation process, and this fact, may also be used by him as an un-severed link with his American “allies”, because if he wanted to watch his back just in case he needed America in the near future, he can always argue that he did not send his troops into Syria to support President Assad, but rather to support the opposition.

Whichever way events move on from here, Russian diplomacy will be given the ultimate challenge. The time for muscle power in the skies for Russian bombers is over, at least for a while.

Turkey invades Afrin: the Kurds lose again

By Aram Mirzaei for The Saker Blog

After weeks of belligerent rhetoric and preparations, Turkey finally invaded Afrin last week. It came as no surprise that Turkey would go for this vulnerable Kurdish-held region in north-western Syria first. So how does this affect the war? Previous Turkish incursions have been limited and aimed at stopping what Ankara deemed to be Kurdish expansionism right at Turkey’s border. Turkish President Erdogan has recently said that this incursion won’t be limited to just Afrin but could also target Manbij, another YPG/SDF stronghold in the eastern parts of the Aleppo province. Operation “Olive Branch”, which has seen Turkish backed jihadist groups being involved as well, is aimed at destroying the Kurdish held Afrin canton. Capturing the Afrin canton would be a strong boost for the Jihadist forces in northern Syria as that would link up the Idlib region with the northern Aleppo region once more (the lines were severed during the Syrian Army’s 2016 northern Aleppo offensive).

So what does this move mean for Washington? This situation has pitted two U.S allies against each other in what almost sounds like a funny situation if it weren’t for the tragedy behind it all, which leaves Washington in an awkward position. Washington must now choose between Turkey, a long time NATO ally, or the Kurdish militias who have been Washington’s closest partner in Syria. The answer should be clear to anyone who has a basic understanding of the politics of the region. It is absurd to think that Washington would intervene against its NATO ally, thus undermining the entire alliance and what it stands for, and sure enough Washington made its choice after Pentagon spokesman Adrian Rankine-Galloway, threatened to cut US backing if any SDF units would go to Afrin to defend the Kurdish held towns. On Tuesday an YPG spokesman pleaded with the US for protection against the invading Turkish forces and their proxies but to no avail. What did the Kurdish leadership expect?

Erdogan was also emboldened by the generally indifferent international responses to Turkey’s recent operation. Washington and Europe have expressed “concern” and are calling for “restraint.” More importantly though, they are expressing an understanding of Turkey’s needs to secure its borders.

Noting that Turkey was the only NATO member with an active insurgency inside its borders, US Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters as he was flying to Asia that “Turkey had legitimate security concerns” in Syria. Mattis also said Turkey had acted “candidly” and advised Washington before launching its operation, adding that they are “working now on the way ahead.” Turkey also informed members of the United Nations Security Council and countries with a stake in Syria, such as Iran, of its intentions in Afrin before mounting its operation. Except for some comments about Iran’s wish that the Afrin operation would end quickly, Tehran has remained silent on this matter, indicating indirect approval of this operation.

It is also evident that Ankara got a nod of approval from Moscow, despite Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s description of the operations as “mad”. Moscow stated that it was closely following the situation in Afrin and was concerned by the news about the Turkish military engagement in the city. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that Russia was withdrawing its troops from Syria’s Afrin, the target of the Turkish offensive. It is clear that Russia won’t stand in Turkey’s way as the consequences would be disastrous and all the hard work Moscow has put into the de-escalation zones would be undone. This offensive could be seen as a form of a blessing in disguise for the Russian-Syrian-Iranian alliance despite its short term implications. Washington would not allow the Syrian Army and it’s allies to engage Washington’s SDF proxy forces, but having Turkey doing that work for them means that Washington cannot intervene with force against its own ally. Thus replacing the SDF with Turkish backed jihadists offers Syria and its allies a chance to engage these proxies in the long term without having to worry about Washington’s reactions. Whatever Syria and its allies express overtly, there’s no denying that the Moscow-Tehran-Damascus axis is not so worried over Turkey’s moves.

Ankara’s move gives Washington a bit of a disadvantage as Washington is now forced to show its true colours to the Kurds. The only way Washington would be able to save some face would be if they’d make a deal with Ankara that would divide northern Syria into zones of influence where Turkey would have influence over Idlib and Aleppo regions while the US would hold influence over the land East of the Euphrates. Despite Ankara threatening to attack Manbij as well, it seems Erdogan has to settle in the end for the territory it gained from the YPG and ISIL with Operation Euphrates Shield and its current operation — unless, that is, it decides to strike Manbij and the lands east of the Euphrates held by the YPG with US troops to support them. That scenario seems highly unlikely as it would mean a direct confrontation with US troops stationed in Manbij.

In the end, the Kurds will be the big losers of these turn of events, because they have failed to draw lessons from their own past where imperialist forces have used them as proxies and then abandoned them. The Kurds are being punished today for putting their faith in the wrong people all these years.

شبكة أمان روسية إيرانية سورية للدولة التركية وتصفية النصرة وإنزال أردوغان من الشجرة

يناير 27, 2018

محمد صادق الحسيني

لقد ثبت أنه لا أمان لأحد على الجغرافيا السورية الا في قصر الشعب السوري.

الكرد ينتهي حلمهم مع هجرة الأميركيين قريباً إلى الأردن

والأتراك لا حيلة لهم إلا الخروج الآمن بكوريدور روسي إيراني سوري…

وما تبقى قطع متناثرة على رقعة ميدان النصر الاستراتيجي لحلف المقاومة…

كل المعلومات والمؤشرات والقرائن تشير الى ان ما يجري في الشمال السوري في هذه اللحظة التاريخية الحاسمة ليس سوى استكمال للهجوم الاستراتيجي الشامل لحلف المقاومة الذي بدأ في حلب والموصل والذي أفرز تفاهمات روسية إيرانية سورية اضطر أن يشارك فيها التركي على مضض وهي تقضي بما يلي:

إذعان تركيا بضرورة تنفيذ، ما التزمت به في اجتماعات أستانة، من إجراءات تهدف الى تصفية جبهة النصرة، بحيث يتمّ تنفيذ هذا البند بالمشاركة المباشرة مع الجيش الروسي الذي سيتولى تسلم أسلحة جبهة النصرة في أماكن وجودها حيث سيقدّم الجانب الروسي ضمانات لعناصر النصرة من السوريين، وهو ما سيدخل تحت بند العفو الرئاسي السوري العام الذي كان الرئيس بشار الأسد قد أعلن عنه سابقاً، بينما يتولى الجيش الروسي ترحيل الأجانب من تابعي النصرة الى بلادهم، فيما يتم نقل أبو محمد الجولاني ومجموعته «القيادية» إلى قطر وترتيب إقامتهم هناك نهائياً.

على أن يتبع استكمال هذه الخطوات بدء انتشار قوات الجيش العربي السوري في المناطق التي يتم إخلاؤها مع احتفاظه الجيش بحق اتخاذ الإجراءات العسكرية اللازمة في حال مخالفة العناصر المسلحة لترتيبات إعادة انتشار قوات الجيش العربي السوري في المناطق المشار إليها سابقاً.

وفِي هذا الإطار يقتضي التنويه بأن قطر ليست أكثر من مستقبل لهؤلاء، وليست من أرباب الترتيبات المذكورة أعلاه، إذ إن تلك الترتيبات قد تمّ الاتفاق عليها بين روسيا وإيران وتركيا والدولة السورية.

هذا فيما ستبدأ المرحلة التالية فوراً، والتي ستكون مرحلة تصفية الوجود العسكري الاحتلالي الأميركي في الشرق السوري من خلال الانتقال الى الأردن سريعاً…!

هل تذكرون مقولة الى الأردن دُر؟

وهذا يعني تصفية عملاء أميركا كلهم بمختلف أسمائهم ومسمّياتهم في الشرق السوري واستكمال سيطرة القوات العراقية والسورية على حدود البلدين…!

ونظرًا لرؤية الأميركي نفسه محاصراً بهذا الشكل المدوّي، بحيث بات في خطر خسران البوابة التركية للعدوان وأمام اختلال واضح لموازين القوى في الميدانين السوري والعراقي وهما في الواقع ميدان واحد لغير صالحه، ونظرًا لطبيعته العدوانية والتدميرية، فقد لجأ فوراً الى اتخاذ سلسلة من الإجراءات الهادفة إلى تخريب التفاهمات المشار إليها أعلاه والتي يعرف تماماً أنه ستتم متابعة تطويرها وتنفيذها في لقاءات سوتشي المقبلة. لذا عمد إلى ما يلي:

دعوة وفد من «المعارضة» السورية العميلة إلى واشنطن وإصدار الأوامر لها بالقيام بمجموعة خطوات لتخريب لقاءات سوتشي المقبلة.

دعوة ما يُطلق عليها مجموعة الخمسة، وبتآمر من قبل بعض الدول العربية الرجعية التابعة، لعقد اجتماع في باريس بهدف إثارة موضوع استخدام السلاح الكيماوي من جديد بعد فشل الولايات المتحدة بذلك في مجلس الأمن.

مواصلة المسؤولين الأميركيين إطلاق سيل من التصريحات الهدامة سواء تجاه الصين وروسيا أو ضد الرئيس الأسد والدولة السورية.

استمرار جهات رسمية أميركية عدة، إلى جانب أذنابهم الأوروبيين من فرنسيين وغيرهم، في النعيق بشأن البرنامج الصاروخي الإيراني ونشر الأكاذيب حول الأطماع الإيرانية في السيطرة على العالم العربي.

لم يكن هذا ممكناً لولا النجاحات الميدانية الكبرى لقوات حلف المقاومة، الى جانب الدعم العسكري الروسي والنشاط الدبلوماسي السري والعلني للدبلوماسية الروسية وما أظهرته هذه الآلة الدبلوماسية العملاقة من براعة وديناميكية لا تعرف الحدود، والتي دفعت بالطرف التركي للبدء بإعادة نظر جذرية في سياساته تجاه الأزمة السورية، والتي كان النظام التركي العامل الأساس في تأجيجها، من خلال تقديمه أنواع الدعم والإسناد كافة لمختلف أطياف العصابات المسلحة وعلى امتداد سنوات العدوان على الدولة الوطنية السورية.

فقد أدّت إعادة النظر هذه من قبل النظام التركي، الى جانب ما ارتكبته واشنطن من حماقات في تعاملها مع الأكراد سواء في العراق أو سورية، وتقديمها الدعم العسكري والسياسي اللامحدودين لهم أملاً منها بأن يشكل ذلك رافعة لهدفها باستعادة زمام المبادرة الميدانية في سورية، أدت الى تيقن النظام التركي بان الإدارة الأميركية لا تقيم أي وزن لأي حليف كان، حتى لو كان عضواً مؤسساً في حلف الناتو العدواني، كما أنه تيقّن بأن أمن تركيا وسيادتها ووحدة أراضيها لا تعني للأميركي أي شيء وأن ليس لديه أي مانع من التضحية بها في سبيل تحقيق أهدافه في المنطقة.

نتيجة لكل العوامل المشار اليها أعلاه مجتمعة وجد أردوغان أن لا بديل عن النزول عن شجرة إسقاط الحكومة السورية والرئيس السوري بشار الأسد. وقد سارع الرئيس الروسي وآلته الدبلوماسية الحاذقة، وبالتعاون مع حليفه الإيراني الذي لا يقل حنكة ودهاء عن الروسي، الى إيجاد السلم الضروري لتنفيذ عملية الهبوط الاضطراري لأردوغان عن شجرة إزاحة الرئيس السوري، أي أنهما وفرا له إمكانية الهبوط الآمن تلافياً بسقوطه من أعلى الشجرة وانكسار عنقه بالعامل الكردي، والذي كان يتحرك بالتعاون مع الأميركي باتجاه نقل التهديد الى الداخل التركي والبدء بعمليات إسقاط الدولة التركية وإنهاء وجودها استمراراً لما بدأته الدول الاستعمارية بعد نهاية الحرب العالمية الاولى قبل حوالي مئة عام.

علماً أن هذه العملية الدبلو – عسكرية الضخمة قد بدأت في أستانة مروراً بسوتشي وغيرها من المحطات وصولاً الى اجتماعات سوتشي المقبلة أواخر هذا الشهر.

لذلك فإن القائلين بمعادلة أدلب مقابل عفرين لا علاقة لهم لا بالسياسة ولا بالعسكرية ولا بالدبلوماسية ولا بالاستراتيجية، وذلك لأسباب عديدة، أهمها:

التغير الهام الذي طرأ على طبيعة التناقض في المصالح الأميركية والتركية.

طبيعة موازين القوى الميدانية في سورية والعراق والإقليم. طبيعة التناقضات الروسية الأميركية الآخذة بالتحول الى تناقضات عدائية يصعب حلها من دون إحلال مصالح هذا الطرف مكان الآخر. أي دون القضاء على وجود طرف من الطرفين في المنطقة.

وهذا يعني أن أردوغان قد توصل الى قناعة راسخة بأن المصير الأسود لا ينتظر شخصه وحزبه فقط، بل وجود تركيا كدولة وكيان سياسي وأن نظرة الدول الاستعمارية التقليدية المعادية لتركيا لم تتغير منذ نهاية الحرب العالمية الأولى، وأن خططهم لا زالت نفسها الهادفة الى القضاء على الدولة التركية، رغم الزيف البائن في ما يطلق عليه علاقات التحالف بين تركيا والغرب، بما في ذلك قاعدة الغرب الاستعمارية في فلسطين والمسماة «اسرائيل».

أي أن قاعدة التفاهمات الاستراتيجية الكبرى، بين دول محور المقاومة وروسيا من جهة، والرئيس التركي اردوغان وحكومته وجيشه من جهة أخرى، لم تكن عفرين مقابل أدلب وإنما عفرين وإدلب مقابل حماية الدولة التركية من السقوط والزوال والشطب من الخريطة، من خلال تقديم شبكة أمان لتركيا تتمثل في:

ضبط الحدود التركية السورية من قبل جيشي البلدين على قاعدة احترام المصالح المشتركة ومنع استخدام أراضي أي من الدولتين كمنصة للعمل المعادي للدولة الأخرى.

وهذا الوضع ينطبق على الحدود العراقية التركية أيضاً وبالمعايير والضوابط نفسها.

مما يعني خلق الظروف الضرورية لانتشار الجيش العربي السوري على كامل أراضي محافظتي إدلب وعفرين بعد تنفيذ إجراءات تكتيكية متفق عليها في بعض المناطق بهدف مواءمة الميدان مع التوجّهات السياسية.

وفِي هذا الإطار فقط وليس في غيره يمكن فهم ما تم التوافق عليه في إطار ترتيبات شاملة لإنهاء العدوان الأجنبي على سورية والدولة الوطنية السورية.

أخيراً وليس آخر، نقول إن جميع السياسات الأميركية المتخبّطة والتي تفتقد الى الحكمة والواقعية لن يُكتب لها النجاح إطلاقاً على الرغم من كل الضجيج الذي يثيره الأميركي و«الإسرائيلي» هنا وهناك، وعلى الرغم من قنابل الدخان الكثيفة التي يطلقونها في مختلف الاتجاهات، سواء في ما يتعلق بنقل سفارة «ابو ايفانكا» الى القدس أو عملية محاولة اغتيال أحد كوادر حماس في لبنان أو عمليات التسليح والتدريب الواسعة النطاق التي يقوم بها الجيش «الاسرائيلي» لعناصر داعش في الجولان، وبتآمر من قبل بعض الدول العربية الرجعية والعميلة، نقول إنه على الرغم من ذلك، فإن الانتصارات الكبرى لقوات حلف المقاومة سوف تتواصل حتى إنجاز الانتصار الاستراتيجي النهائي والمتمثل في تحرير القدس ودخول قوات الحلف إليها، ربما حتى قبل أن يُنجز «أبو إيفانكا» مهمة نقل سفارته إليها!

بعدنا طيّبين، قولوا الله…

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Syria accuses US of supporting ISIS

By  News Desk

 –

27/01/2018

Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and head of the Syrian government delegation to the intra-Syrian talks Bashar al-Jaafari has accused the United States of supporting Islamic State (a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia).

“How can a country like the United States, which has given birth to Islamic State, which has been supporting and defending Islamic State, which continues to fight for Islamic State, a country, which has been violating Syria’s sovereignty by its military presence in our country and negating international laws and conventions, how can a country, which has the blood of the Syrian people on its hands, speak about a political solution and Syria’s future?,” he said on Friday after a two-day meeting on Syria at the United Nations office in Vienna.

He voiced criticism of each of the five nations (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Saudi Arabia and Jordan), which had come out with an unofficial document on Syrian settlement at a meeting in Washington on January 12.

According to al-Jafaari, the UK and France are following the United States “like a blind man following another blind man.” Jordan, in his words, has opened its borders to terrorists to become “a place for seven training camps for terrorists.” As for Saudi Arabia, he called it ironically “a pinnacle of democracy and a beacon of freedom in the East.”

Neither of these five has the right to dictate its will to the Syrian people, he stressed.

More:
http://tass.com/world/987124

SYRIAN WAR REPORT – JANUARY 25, 2018: SYRIAN ARMY PREPARES TO CLEAR ABU AL-DUHUR POCKET

South Front

The Syrian military is deploying reinforcements to northern Hama and eastern Idlib reportedly preparing to launch a military operation to clear the militant-held pocket there. According to pro-government sources, additional units of Liwa al-Quds and the Qalamoun Shield Forces have already been deployed there.

The liberation of the pocket will allow the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies to eliminate the ISIS threat in the area and to free additional resources for possible future operations in Idlib.

Kurdish YPG/YPJ forces have repelled another attack of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army on Birsaya Mount but lost the village of Abudan.

The YPG denounced a report by the Turkish General Staff that at least 260 Kurdish fighters have been killed as a result of Ankara’s Operation Olive Branch and in turn claimed that 260 members of pro-Turkish forces, including tens of TAF soldiers, have been killed. The numbers provided by the both sides are clearly overestimated.

The YPG also rejected reports that it had reached an agreement with the SAA that will allow government forces to enter Afrin helping the YPG to repel the Turkish advance.

On January 24, a TAF military convoy reportedly entered Syria via the Atma station and reached the village of Tellet el-Is and the nearby hill in the province of Aleppo. The formal purpose of the move is to establish an observation point in the area under the de-escalation zone agreement reached during the Astana talks. Some sources speculate that this force may participate in the advance on Afrin.

On the same day, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured the town of Gharanij from ISIS in the province of Deir Ezzor. ISIS reportedly lost 7 fighters, a vehicle and a bulldozer in the clashes there.

Clashes between the SDF and ISIS were also reported near al-Shaafah and Hajin where four SDF armoured vehicles were destroyed, according to the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq.

The US-led coalition also claimed that its airstrikes killed 140-150 ISIS members near al-Shaafah on January 20.

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وثيقة أميركا ورباعيتها: منع الحل السياسي وتثبيت مناطق النفوذ

يناير 27, 2018

ناصر قنديل

– خرجت واشنطن من مرحلة الصمت وتكلّمت بتقديم رؤيتها للحل السياسي في سورية، بعدما جمعت السعودية والأردن وفرنسا وبريطانيا تحت عنوان مبادرة الخمسة بما أسمته بـ«اللاورقة» للتفاوض حول الحل السياسي لسورية، وقد تضمّنت اللاورقة الأميركية مجموعة من القواعد للحل السياسي. أهمها إضعاف دور السوريين في صناعة الحلّ بما في ذلك الدستور الجديد وإدارة العملية الانتخابية، لصالح إشراف أممي كامل يقوم على الانتداب وإلغاء سورية كدولة وتحويلها بيئة عمل أممية، أما ثانية هذه القواعد فهي توسيع نطاق مناطق النفوذ على حساب المؤسسات المركزية، حتى التي ستخضع للمسؤولية الأممية، بحيث تكون البرلمانات المحلية والحكومات المحلية ترجمة لتقاسم ما وصفته «اللاورقة» بالمناطق الإقليمية بين القوى الخارجية ومَن معها من قوى محلية.

– عملياً الورقة تدعو لتأجيل الحل السياسي بهدنة مديدة تكرّس تقاسم سورية بين مناطق شمال وجنوب ووسط، تحت إدارة وقف نار تتبع للأمم المتحدة، وتتشكل في ظلها سلطات محلية تدير الشؤون اليومية كإدارة محلية وليس كدولة، وتحل الدولة السورية لصالح الإدارة الأممية الهادفة لإلغاء دور إقليمي لا يمكن قيام دولة سورية من دونه في المنطقة كالتي تنغرس فيها الجغرافيا السورية، ليحل مكانها نشوء مناطق تابعة داخل الحدود للجيران الأقوياء، فتكرّس تبعية إقليم جنوبي لـ«إسرائيل» وشمالي لتركيا وشمالي شرقي لأميركا، ويُقال لروسيا وإيران لكم ما تبقّى ومعكم هياكل الدولة السورية المركزية.

– ليست مشكلة المبادرة بالتخريب الذي تصيب به سورية كوطن ودولة، ولا بالنيات السوداء التي تنكشف تجاه وحدة سورية وسيادتها بوضوح عبر نصوص الورقة. فهذه من فضائل الوثيقة في كشف نيات أصحابها بنص رسمي موثق، إلا أن مشكلة الوثيقة في كشفها عدم واقعية أصحابها، وانعزالهم عما يجري في سورية. فمناطق النفوذ الجنوبية والشمالية تتآكل، ومنطقة النفوذ الشمالية الشرقية تحتضر، والحضور «الإسرائيلي» والتركي ومن بعدهما الأميركي لن يفيده شراء الوقت، والرهان على إغراء روسيا وإيران بالشراكة في تقاسم النفوذ جهل وغباء بعد كل ما شهدته سورية وثبت معه أن مشروع حلفاء سورية واضح ووحيد، وهو استعادة الدولة السورية سيادتها ووحدتها.

– سورية والحلفاء ماضون عسكرياً في منطقة إدلب حتى التحرير وبعدها إلى الرقة، وصولاً للحسكة، وفي الطريق إلى الحسم العسكري باب مفتوح لتلقي كل متغير سياسي بإيجابية وانفتاح، سواء من تركيا أو من الأكراد أو من قيادات المعارضة الموهومين بالحلول المستوردة، للقول إن الرهان على الأميركي قد سقط وإن اللعب بالجغرافيا السورية عبث لم يعُد ينفع، وإن الدولة السورية هي العباءة التي تؤمن الغطاء للجميع وتقيهم البرد والحرّ، وتحفظ أمن الحدود وأمن عبر الحدود، وإن كل وهم بأمن عبر سورية على حساب الدولة السورية يستولد رداً معاكساً مماثلاً وأشدّ قوة.

– سورية وطن ودولة في منطقة رسم معادلات إقليمية ودولية لا تنفع فيها وصفات التحييد والتقاسم ولا رهانات التلاعب والتجاهل. وقد أثبت السوريون عبر التاريخ أنه لا يُقسَّمون ولا يُستتبعون، وأن الانتداب إلى زوال، وأن خيارهم الاستقلال، كانوا أضعف من اليوم ومن دون حلفاء موثوقين ولم يدعوا الخطط الأجنبية تقرّر بالنيابة عنهم مصير بلدهم، فكيف وهم ينتصرون بقوتهم وقوة تحالفاتهم؟ هل سيدعون الأجنبي الضعيف يستقوي عليهم؟

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The Debate – Erdogan threatens to expand Syria incursion

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Elite Syrian Hezbollah (Al-Rida) force deployed in Deir Ezzor for battles against ISIS

 

By Andrew Illingworth

 –

26/01/2018

BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:55 P.M.) – Among the many high-end formations deployed by the Syrian Arab Army and allied paramilitary groups in the province of Deir Ezzor to defend recently retaken cities, towns and villages along the western bank of the Euphrates River from ISIS is a powerful Syrian Hezbollah force with countless years of experience on the battlefield.

Yesterday it was confirmed that the Syrian Hezbollah paramilitary group known as the Al-Rida Force is currently deployed along the western Euphrates shore south of Deir Ezzor city.

In its most recent assignment, the battle group has been tasked with carrying out defensive operations – namely, detecting and neutralizing ISIS infiltration attempts in the southwestern countryside of Deir Ezzor province.

The paramilitary formation is made up of native Syrian Hezbollah fighters who are mostly from the province of Homs. Throughout the Syrian conflict they have been trained and advised by the (original) Lebanese arm of Hezbollah.

Just yesterday, the Al-Rida Force – in conjunction with army units – rolled back a multi-pronged ISIS offensive against a number of towns along the western Euphrates shore.

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Hijacked Egyptian Revolution’s 7th Anniversary

 

Egyptian Revolution’s 7th Anniversary

Designed by: Nour Fakih

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سوتشي والطبّاخ الروسي Video added

 

يناير 26, 2018

ناصر قنديل

– لم يكن في الحساب الغربي والتركي والسعودي عندما أطلقت موسكو الدعوات الأولى لملتقى سوتشي للحوار الوطني السوري أن المشروع سيتحوّل العنوان الأهم للمسار السياسي الخاص بسورية، كما لم يكن من قبل ثمّة مَن توقّع أن يكون في أستانة إطار يوازي جنيف في الأهمية وتشارك فيه الفصائل السورية المسلّحة التي تشغلها تركيا والسعودية والدول الغربية، تحت رعاية روسيا بالتشارك مع إيران. وعلى ضفّة أصدقاء ومؤيدي سورية كان النظر غالباً يتسم بالريبة تجاه كل مفردات الحل السياسي التي تطلقها موسكو تحت تأثير الدعاية الغربية والعربية التي قدّمت روسيا دائماً تحت صورة الجهة الجاهزة للبيع والشراء متى تلقت عروض التفاوض تبيع حلفاءها.

– قدّمت التجربة الروسية خلال سنوات الحرب على سورية ما يكفي للقول: أولاً بأن قيادة الرئيس فلاديمير بوتين ممسكة بمؤسساتها العسكرية والسياسية، ولا صحة لكل ما أشيع عن تيارات متهاونة وتيارات متشدّدة، ولعب على الحبال، بقدر ما ثبت أن الكل منضبط بأدوار منوطة به من مصدر قرار واحد هو الرئيس بوتين. كما ثبت أن هذا القرار مخلص وصادق لفهم التحالف مع الدولة السورية والجيش السوري، ولا يبيع ولا يشتري، وقد تعرّض للإغراءات ورفضها وتعرّض للتهديدات وواجهها، وهو يدرك مصلحته العليا بنصر سورية، سواء لمكانته كدولة عظمى أو لمصالحه الأمنية والاستراتيجية، ولكن أيضاً لقيمة ترسيخ مفهوم الوفاء والصدق والإخلاص في التحالفات والأخلاق في السياسة.

– قدّمت التجربة الروسية السياسية في إدارة ملف الحرب والتفاوض حول سورية ما يقول إننا أمام قيادة ماهرة ومحترفة وتعرف كيف تنجز الانتصارات العسكرية وتوظف اللعبة السياسية لتحقيق هذه الانتصارات وتحييد قوى وعزل قوى، وكسب قوى، لكنها تعرف أيضاً كيف توظف الانتصارات العسكرية سياسياً بمبادرات وفك وتركيب تحالفات، وترسم استراتيجية واضحة تعرف كيف تصبّ مصادر القوة في صناعة جناحيها السياسي والعسكري بتكامل نادر مبهر في آن.

– ما يجري على جبهة العلاقة الروسية التركية في ظل الحرب التركية في عفرين من جهة، والعلاقة الروسية بحرب الأكراد خلال معارك دير الزور والبوكمال والدعم الأميركي لهم من جهة مقابلة، وبحرب سورية وحلفائها في إدلب من جهة ثالثة، ومن ثم ما يجري في السياسة على جبهتي فيينا وسوتشي وكيفية توزيع النار ومقادير المواد اللازمة لإنضاج الطبخة التي يشتغل عليها الطبّاخ الروسي، يستدعي رفع القبعة للطباخ الروسي مع التشظي الذي بدأ يصيب هياكل المعارضة والارتباك الذي يعصف بخياراتها وصفوفها، وتحوّل سوتشي لمسار حاكم للحل السياسي في سورية، لتصير الإدارة الروسية للحرب والتفاوض في سورية مدرسة بحدّ ذاتها لفنون الجمع العسكري والسياسي في لعبة الدول العظمى، كما هي علامة على معنى الصدق في التحالفات والحسم الواضح في الخيارات إلى جانب الحلفاء، مع هوامش لا حدود لها للقدرة على المناورة، تحميها ثقة لا حدود لها بين الرئيسين فلاديمير بوتين وبشار الأسد، ثقة مبنية على تفاهمات يعترف أقرب المقرّبين منهما أنهم لم يكونوا في صورة تفاصيل التفاهمات التي يقيمانها في أغلب الأحيان، منذ الاتفاق على الحل السياسي للسلاح الكيميائي السوري، وصولاً لسوتشي، وما بينهما من محطات ومفاجآت وألغاز سياسية وعسكرية، تحققت خلالها إنجازات وانتصارات مبهرة ومذهلة تأسست على هذا التفاهم وهذه الثقة.

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Antisemitsm- Reality or Merely Statistics?

January 23, 2018  /  Gilad Atzmon

By Gilad Atzmon

Last weekend, the Israeli press gave the impression that a new global pogrom is going  to burst any minute.  “Hike in worldwide anti-Jewish incidents” was Israel’s Ynetnews headline.

Early on Sunday, the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs released the ‘2017 Anti-Semitism Report,’ which showed a “substantial increase in racist incidents against Jews in Europe, especially in the western parts of the continent.”

According to the report, “2017 saw a 78% increase in incidents of physical violence against Jews in the UK and a 30% increase in all anti-Semitic incidents in the country.” We learned about an increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Germany. A study of Central and Eastern European countries revealed that “20% of the respondents did not want Jews in their country and 30% did not want Jews as neighbours. In addition, 22% of Romania’s citizens and 18% of Polish citizens were interested in denying the right of Jews to citizenship in their country.”

Reportedly, Diaspora Jews are shaken by the alleged rise in antisemitsm. Ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the World Zionist Organisation revealed that 83% of those surveyed reported that they were exposed to anti-Semitism on the Internet and on social media, 59% believe that the politicians in their country are anti-Semitic at least to some extent and 51% of respondents said they were afraid to wear Jewish symbols in public.

Now, let me assure you, I do not buy any of the above. I am not impressed by Zionist statistics and I am not alone. In Britain for instance, the Crown Prosecution Service is sceptical about the validity of the above statistics.  But let’s assume for a moment that all these figures are factually valid and statistically accurate. The article still fails to ask the 6 million dollar question — Why? Why are Jews once again hated?

Naturally, the Palestinians are available to be blamed. “It further claimed that there is ongoing anti-Semitic incitement by the Palestinian Authority: Systematic use of religious and other anti-Semitic narratives to foster hatred of Israelis and Jews among its citizens.” If you are bewildered by the above statement wait till you read the ‘rationale.’  Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, is quoted as  saying the following during a meeting of the PLO’s Central Committee: “Israel is a colonial project that has nothing to do with the Jews.”

Abbas’s statement may be right or wrong. It is, however, the opposite of anti-Semitic incitement. It absolves the Jews of the crimes committed by the state that calls itself “The Jewish State.”

I will try to help Naftali Bennett and his Ministry of Diaspora Affairs.

If you are genuinely concerned about antisemitsm and  the high percentage of Eastern Europeans who do not want to live in proximity to Jews, you may want to also try to find out what percentage of Israeli Jews are happy to live next to Arab neighbours. Try to ascertain the percentage of ‘Diaspora Jews’ in New York’s Kiryas Joel or London’s Golders Green who are willing to  live alongside Goyim.  Before Minister  Bennett complains about the Poles who don’t want Jewish citizens in their country, he should share with us his personal views regarding the prospect of Israel becoming a ‘state of its citizens’ as opposed to ‘The Jewish State.’

Perhaps when Bennett, The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, and other Jewish institutions are brave enough to  reflect upon these questions, antisemitsm might  evaporate and more importantly, Jews may stop being fearful of their neighbours. They won’t have reason; at last they will love their neighbours and be loved in return.

If they want to burn it, you want to read it …

Being in Time – A Post Political Manifesto, 

Amazon.co.uk  ,  Amazon.com  and   here  (gilad.co.uk). 

Daily Sabah: Exclusive interview with Gilad Atzmon

Comment:

Brother Gilad said: To survive is to win.

I say: To Win is to Survive and to Survive is to Resist. To Win Palestinians should realize that Palestine is a Part of Greater Syria “Bilad Asham”. They should bury Afratat’s slogan about “Palestinian Independent  Decision”. Thanks to Syria and allies for keeping the Palestinian Cause alive. Thanks to Daesh for breaking Sykes-Picot borders. Thanks to stupid TRUMP for uniting real Arabs and Real Muslims and Real Humans.

UP

—

January 22, 2018  /  Gilad Atzmon

I left Israel because I didn’t want to live on someone else’s land.

https://www.dailysabah.com/

Gilad Atzmon In an interview with Daily Sabah’s editor Burak Altun digging into  the current crisis in the Middle East

Burak Altun: Mr Atzmon, you are one of the most gifted jazz musicians around. In addition, you  are actively engaged in peace in the Middle East and criticize the state of Israel  within that context. I can see two separate identities here – you are a musician and a political activist. At the social and political level, you complain about identity politics in the West. What is it all about?

Gilad Atzmon: To start with, you are very kind in your description of me, but let me correct you. I am not a political activist, I have never been involved in politics and I prefer to stay away from the so called activist community. The reason is simple. Activists always know the answers. I am a philosopher. My task is refining the questions. I can easily live in peace with more than one answer and even with competing and contradicting  answers.

However, let me address your question regarding identity politics. In the world in which I grew up the role of the political and especially Left politics was to point at that which unites us. Our left icons insisted that it didn’t matter whether one is a Muslim, Black, Jew or Woman, we were all united against the mammonites, those capitalist plunderers in the City. But this has  changed. At a certain stage the Left decided to embrace new tactics. We were taught how to speak ‘as a’: as a woman, as a Jew, as a Black, as a gay and so on. Instead of being united we were set up to fight each other. In this New Left/progressive universe, we the people are divided by our biology yet the global market is united in its war against us the people, against humanity and humanism.

How do you explain the allegations of anti-Semitism, which are repeatedly directed against you? You yourself differentiate between Judaism (the religion) and Jewish politics.  According to the logic of those who accuse you, critics of “Islamism” must be Islamophobes.

The accusation of anti-Semitsm is obviously an empty one. It is designed to stifle criticism of Israel and Jewish power. In my entire life I have never criticized Jews or anyone else as a people, race, biology or ethnicity. I deal solely with ID politics, ideology and culture!   For me racism becomes a problem when blind hatred is performed, when you hate X for being X, when you hate Black people for being Black or when you hate White people for being White. I can’t think of anyone who hates Jews for being Jews. I would admit that more than a few may oppose Jews for what they interpret as Jewish politics, Jewish Lobbying, Jewish ideology and so on. This tendency deserves our attention. It clearly deserves Jewish attention but Jewish power is the power to suppress criticism of Jewish power.

Now, your point regarding Islamists and Islamophobia deserve attention. I don’t believe that there are such things as ‘Islamists’ or ‘Islamism.’ In Islam, like in Judaism, there is no distinction between the political and religio.  Islamism is a Zionist/Neocon invention. It was created in an attempt to draw an imaginary dichotomy between the religious reality and the political. It is basically a projection of the Jewish post-assimilation reality on the Muslim world. It was invented in order to provide a ‘rationale’ for America and Britain so they could flatten Arab cities on behalf of Zion.

You said once in an interview for Russia Today that your charm is your defense against the antisemitic allegations. Can you elaborate? Can a likeable person basically not be an anti-Semite? And do you sometimes wonder if your critics are secretly playing your music before they go to bed? 

My comment on George Galloway was obviously comical. It is pretty obvious that a person who plays music every night with many Jews and shares platforms with rabbis cannot be ‘anti-semitic.’ It is hardly a secret that many of my supporters are Jews and even Israelis.

I would have loved to think that my detractors can enjoy my music. But I do not have any reason to believe that they are aesthetically inclined.

You grew up in a Zionist family and witnessed the Lebanon War in 1982. Would you be so committed to peace in the Middle East today if you had not had that experience? How do you feel about it when you reflect on your past?

It is hard to say. I am not a political person. I am doing what I am doing because I am curious.

I left Israel because I didn’t want to live on someone else’s land. But when I witnessed the Jewish Diaspora Zionists’ hawkish attitude and even worse, the duplicity at the core of the Jewish anti-Zionist discourse, I realised how intense Jewish identity is. I started to dig into it. We are dealing with complex and fascinating people who are shaped by a very old tribal philosophy that morphs quickly. By the time you think that you understand Jewish ID politics, it only suggests that Jewish ID politics has already morphed into something else. 

My philosophy hero Otto Weininger taught me that in art, self exploration is exploration of the world. For me, self reflection is understanding the troubling affairs around us. I guess that this is why Jews are so troubled by self hatred. It is an attempt of unveiling the concealed, the deepest secrets Jews tend to hide from themselves.

I do not need to ask you how about your stand on the U.S. decision regarding Jerusalem – but it would be interesting to know if you see a long-term departure from the “Trump’s Middle East policy. At the moment, the outcry is particularly great – which is partly due to the relevance of  Jerusalem. However, there had been no constructive development in the Middle East under Obama’s leadership. How do you rate the role of the USA – and especially the Israel lobby? You once said that AIPAC offered you money to become a member. Was the amount not big enough? 

Trump doesn’t have a middle East policy. And this is not a bad thing. America is not a key player anymore and this is a very positive development. We should thank Trump and Kushner for it. But it is true that this deterioration didn’t start just a year ago. I believe Obama made a conscious decision to pull out from the region. 

There is no doubt that AIPAC has been dominating American Middle East policy for a long time and it is totally obvious that AIPAC was serving the interests of a foreign state rather than American national interests. Americans can only blame themselves for letting this happen.

Since I left Israel, I have never been approached by a single Israeli or a Zionist body who tried to buy my support or collaboration.  The Jewish institutions and people who attempted to bribe me a few times in the past were of the Jewish anti-Zionist persuasion. I was offered to be ‘looked after’ and protected as long as I accepted their duplicitous terminology or just dumped my own. They wanted me to limit the discussion to Zionism and to make sure I drift away from the study of Jewish ID politics. Several times I was asked to denounce and disavow several people. I always rejected any dialogue with these kinds of tribal agent. In some cases I exposed these attempts. 

How do you rate the recent move by the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) led by President Erdoğan against the Trump decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel? Will the UN resolution do something?

I’ll be honest with you. I do not think that anyone, including President Erdoğan, can liberate the Palestinians except the Palestinians themselves. How they do that is indeed a complicated question. I believe that Abbas is right. Time is their weapon. To survive is to win. The only people who can destroy the Jewish state are the Jews themselves. This is how they have always done it along their history.

In recent years, President Erdoğan has repeatedly, loudly complained of the Israeli government’s behavior towards the Palestinians and used harsh words such as “terrorist state” or “child murderer” regarding Israel. Many leaders of Arab states would never dare to do so that concretely. So Erdoğan’s popularity in Palestine seems very high. Do you believe that President Erdoğan can build a powerful counter-pole to Israel and the United States? It seems as if the EU member states have also moved a bit toward the Palestinians politically since the last Jerusalem crisis – even if they are looking for political pressure against Israel in vain.

President Erdoğan was indeed outspoken when it comes to Israel but I do understand how volatile the situation he is in. He has to deal with a very complex situation. Syria, the Kurds, Gülen, NATO, Russia and the USA. Unfortunately, Israel is a key player in all of that. We have seen the Turks swinging on issues to do with Israel. At the end of the day, Erdogan was elected to serve the Turkish people and this mission is probably difficult enough considering the complexity involved.

Do you still believe in the possibility of a two-state solution?

I’ve never believed in a two State Solution. And I am not so sure that the discussion about solutions is leading anywhere. It is designed to keep some activists busy so they have something to shout in their gatherings and pickets. 

What we really see is facts on the ground. Israel and Palestine are one state. One electrical grid, one international pre dial number (+972), one sewage system yet this state is oppressive, abusive and often genocidal towards the indigenous people of the land. Why? Because Israel defines itself as ‘the Jewish State.’ It is a state of the Jews rather than ‘a State of its citizens.’ For the situation to be resolved Israel must be ‘de-Jewishified’ (stripped of its Judeo-centric  exceptionalism and become  a state of its citizens, regardless of their ethnicity or religion). However, when this happens Israel will become Palestine from the river to the sea.

Thank you very much for the interview Mr Atzmon, and good luck with your music and your political commitment to peace in the Middle East.

All the best…

 

ISRAEL SEEKS TO USE FREE SYRIAN ARMY TO ESTABLISH 40KM DEEP ‘SAFE ZONE’ IN SOUTHERN SYRIA – REPORT

South Front

By The Intercept, click to see the full-size map

Israel is using several Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups in a three phases-plan to impose a 40km-deep ‘safe zone’ in southern Syria, the Intercept reported on January 23.

According to the report, Israel already accomplished the first phase of its plan and it is currently working with different Israeli and American NGOs to accomplish the second phase. The goal of this effort is to push Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iranian-backed forces 40km away from the Israeli border. An unnamed officer of the FSA told the Intercept that Israel is even willing to push these forces “as far back as Hama.”

A unnamed Syrian Arab Army (SAA) source revealed to the intercept that a small group of Israeli Army and intelligence personnel entered the western Dara countryside in July 2017 and met with commanders of the two FSA groups – Liwa Jaydour and Jaysh al-Ababil.

In September 2017, another meeting between Israeli representatives and commanders of Liwa Jaydour, the Golan Knights and the Syrian Revolutionaries Front took place in the border town of Rafid in the southern Quneitra countryside, according to the Intercept.

Abu Ahmad, a Syrian opposition activist, confirmed to the Intercept that several FSA groups in southern Syria are currently getting money and weapons from the Israeli side, especially after the US Military Operation Center (MOC) in Jordan had suspended its military support for FSA groups.

“Jordan stopped sending them weapons, so they turned to Israel instead,” Abu Ahmad told the Intercept.

The Intercept report also revealed that the Israeli Army started training and equipping a border police force of around 500 FSA fighters from the Golan Knights group as a part of the second phase of the Israeli safe zone plane. This border force is expected to patrol the separation of forces line from south of the government-held Druze town of Hadar through FSA-held towns of Jabata Khashab, Bir Ajam, Hamadiyah, and Quneitra, all the way to Rafid in the southern Quneitra countryside, according to the report.

This was not the first time when the coordination between Israel and FSA groups in southern Syria became public. On December 2, 2017 the Syrian pro-opposition news outlet Enab Baladi revealed that the FSA and the Israeli Army are preparing a joint attack on the ISIS-affiliated Khalid ibn al-Walid Army in the western Daraa countryside.

The FSA-Israeli joint attack may be launched in the end of January, according to several oppositions sources, and it’s possible that this effort is a part of Israeli’s safe zone plane.

Israel could indirectly control the FSA groups in southern Syria and eliminate the ISIS threat in the western Daraa countryside. Hwever, it will be much more complicated to establish a 40km-wide safe zone in southern Syria because the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) controls large parts of Daraa governorate, including more than half of the city of Daraa.

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UN Security Council to Hold a Session on Palestine

Source

 The United Nations Security Council is made up of 5 permanent members (China, France, Russian Federation, UK, USA) and 10 non-permanent members (currently Bolivia, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, and Sweden)

The UN Security Council is meeting Thursday, 25 January, to discuss implementation of UN resolutions on the Palestinian questions. On 22 February, they will also discuss the occupation and the UNRWA situation, which has become dire since the US decided to slash its contribution.

from IMEMC News

Palestine’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, said on Wednesday that the Security Council is scheduled to meet on Thursday, in order for the Council members to shoulder their responsibility regarding implementation of the UN resolutions related to the Palestinian question.

According to WAFA, another meeting of the Security Council will be held on the 22nd of next month to discuss the situation of Palestinians after 50 years of Israeli occupation, in addition to the state of affairs of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refuges (UNRWA), Mansour told Voice of Palestine radio.

He said that he is going to request a meeting with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in the near future, to discuss with him several ideas related to resolving the UNRWA crisis, noting that a high-level emergency meeting could be held at the United Nations in this regard.

UNRWA came under pressure this month, when the United States, its largest contributor of over $350 million, annually, said it was going to gradually slash its contribution to the UN agency, starting with $65 million from the first installment of $125 million. It also cancelled an earlier pledge of $45 million in food aid that was going to be distributed through UNRWA.

Palestinians criticized the US measures against UNRWA describing them as extortion to pressure the Palestinian Authority to accept US and Israeli dictates for a settlement that does not suit Palestinian aspirations.

Hundreds of Palestinian refugees gathered on Wednesday, in Jabalya refugee camp, to the northeast of Gaza, to protest the decision.

*********

On the issue of Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations, Mansour told Voice of Palestine that he was in contact with the 14 member states of the Security Council, with the exclusion of the US, to know their position on this issue.

Mansour also said that President Mahmoud Abbas is going to meet African heads of state on the side of the African summit scheduled for Addis Ababa, at the end of this month.

Undercover israeli “Soldiers” Attack Three Schoolchildren Near Ramallah

Source

Childhood in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is anything but carefree.

An everyday occurrence: Palestinian children often throw stones at Israeli army vehicles invading Palestinian land – but even if they don’t, they may be accused, arrested, or even abducted for “allegedly” doing so.

from IMEMC News

A group of undercover Israeli soldiers attacked, Monday, three schoolchildren in Kafr Malek village, east of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and briefly detained them.

Media sources said the undercover soldiers attacked the three children, identified as Ali Khalil Ka’abna, 10, Anas Younis Abu Ein, 7, and Salem Khaled Abu Ghorra, and tried to abduct them.

They added that the soldiers claimed that the children hurled stones at army vehicles driving on a nearby bypass road.

The three children are from a nearby Bedouin area, and attend school in Kafr Malek; the undercover soldiers attacked them while waiting for the bus to go back home.

Many women from the village managed to convince the soldiers to release the children.

israeli torture of Palestinian children ‘institutional’

Source

Israel tortures Palestinian children, Amnesty report says – Israel News …

https://www.haaretz.com

Israeli torture of Palestinian children ‘institutional’

Confessions by Palestinians who have been tortured are regularly accepted by Israeli judges, rights groups say.

by Ben White

Methods of torture reportedly include slapping the head and forcing a handcuffed individual to squat against a wall for long periods of time [Abid Katib/Getty Images]

A recent article published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has confirmed the extent to which Shin Bet interrogators subject their prisoners to torture.

Methods include slapping the head “to hurt sensitive organs like the nose, ears, brow and lips”, forcing a handcuffed individual to squat against a wall for long periods of time, and placing the suspect bent backwards over a chair with his arms and legs cuffed.

The interrogators’ accounts echo what Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups have long documented. Prisoners’ rights NGO Addameer said that such practices “are known to be routinely and systematically used against Palestinian detainees”. Other torture methods used against Palestinians include sleep deprivation and threats against family members, an Addameer spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

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READ MORE: Palestinians forever changed by Israeli torture

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Rachel Stroumsa, the executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), said that her NGO was aware of hundreds of complaints and allegations along these lines.

In addition to interrogation being used to gain information about future acts, “our experience is that torture is also used to obtain confessions regarding past acts”, Stroumsa told Al Jazeera.

In its annual report last year, Amnesty International found that Israeli forces and Shin Bet personnel had “tortured and otherwise ill-treated Palestinian detainees, including children, particularly during arrest and interrogation”, with methods including “beating with batons, slapping, throttling, prolonged shackling, stress positions, sleep deprivation and threats”.

A representative of Defence for Children International – Palestine told Al Jazeera that the group’s research had shown that almost two-thirds of Palestinian children detained in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces had endured physical violence after their arrest.

Interrogators use position abuse, threats and isolation to coerce confessions from some children, and Israeli military court judges seldom exclude these confessions. Ayed Abu Qtaish, accountability programme director at Defence for Children International – Palestine

“Palestinian children are regularly subjected to coercive and violent interrogation techniques intended to extract confessions,” said Ayed Abu Qtaish, the group’s accountability programme director. “Interrogators use position abuse, threats and isolation to coerce confessions from some children, and Israeli military court judges seldom exclude these confessions.”

Torture and ill-treatment are so rife, human rights campaigners say, that convictions of Palestinians for “security offences” are fundamentally unreliable, not least because the abuse is part of a wider lack of due process.

According to one study, as many as 91 percent of Palestinian detainees interrogated by the Shin Bet in the occupied West Bank are held incommunicado for either part or all of their interrogation. Stroumsa says this practice is “an enabling element for torture”.

In the military court system, which has a 99 percent conviction rate, Palestinians can be held for 60 days without access to a lawyer – compared with the United States, where the average length of interrogations producing false confessions is 16 hours.

“As Palestinian children continue to experience systematic ill-treatment and denial of due process rights, it becomes evident that military courts have no interest in justice,” Abu Qtaish said.

WATCH: Sick Palestinians neglected in Israeli jails (2:19)

In addition to the torture and lack of access to counsel, Palestinians are asked to sign confession sheets in Hebrew, which they often do not understand. All of this “creates a coercive environment which results in confessions made under duress”, Addameer noted.

A recent example is the case of Mohammad el-Halabi, a Gaza-based employee of World Vision who was charged by Israel with funnelling money to Hamas. Halabi, who is being tried in a Beer Sheva civilian court, has protested his innocence, saying that he was tortured by his interrogators. These claims were also made by his lawyers, who Halabi was prevented from seeing for three weeks after his arrest.

The new Haaretz report draws attention to a topic that is not often in the limelight. In November 2015, a video of the interrogation of 13-year-old Ahmad Manasra sparked outrage, while Israel’s appearance at the United Nations Committee Against Torture last May – which referred to “coerced evidence” being used in courts – also gained coverage.

But many other events fly under the radar. An academic study published in November 2015 in a peer-reviewed medical journal revealed dozens of cases of sexual torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel.

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READ MORE: Report details ‘inhuman’ treatment in Israeli jail

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Activists on the ground say that an international spotlight on Israel’s torture practices is urgently needed, not least because of the institutionalised nature of the problem.

Although an Israeli Supreme Court ruling in 1999 prohibited “physical means” of interrogation, Shin Bet agents were effectively given impunity for torture and ill-treatment by the so-called “necessity defence” or ” ticking bomb” exemption.

According to anti-torture campaigners, this exemption has served as a green light for torture ever since. Since 2001, hundreds of formal complaints have been made against Shin Bet interrogators, but not a single criminal investigation has been opened.

“I think international pressure is essential, and has on some issues proven its efficacy,” Stroumsa said.

“It is also the duty of the international community to speak out on abuses, given the massive economic and political support for the State of Israel from abroad.”

SOURCE: Al Jazeera

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ben White

Ben White is a freelance journalist, writer and activist, specialising in Palestine/Israel.

israel’s Effective Colonization of the US

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“A sitting US senator proclaimed allegiance to a foreign country, and nobody asked him to resign!”

This article originally appeared at Counterpunch, a leading left-leaning alternative site, in late 2016, but we just came across it and are running it as part of the ongoing debate about excessive Jewish influence of American media and politics. It is evidence of a growing willingness, at least in the alternative media, on both the left and right, to broach this critical subject.

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We normally think of colonizers as large countries, and the colonized as smaller and weaker nations. But this is not always the case. Colonization does not require occupation.

It merely requires the subjugation of the colonized. With ambition, superior information and calculation, and the right mindset, smaller nations can (and have in the past) colonized and dominated larger and nominally more powerful countries.

India was successfully colonized by tiny Britain in the 18th century. The vehicle for colonization was the East India Company. It was only after the Indian mutiny that Britain acted directly and sent in troops to establish the British Raj.

For the next 200 years India was drained of its wealth, its economy was restructured to support England’s needs and global ambitions, and its people militarized to fight and die on behalf of the British crown. The Indian leaders who remained were willing participants in this venture; those who felt otherwise were destroyed or marginalized.

In a similar vein, Israel today is in the process of colonizing the United States, which is vital to its global projection and exercise of power. The steps Israel is taking are visible to all (as was the case with British designs on India) and yet it is remarkably difficult to connect the dots while such a takeover is in process. Or, to do anything about it.

Colonization does not mean total control of everything

It means total control of what matters. The British were interested in Indian wealth, and a standing army of Indians willing to die for their wars. They couldn’t care less about India’s internal petty politics that did not directly or indirectly impact their mission. An effective “divide and conquer” strategy pit Indians against each other and discouraged any kind of coordinated response, or sedition.

The British leveraged their “outsider advantage” to objectively collect data with which to calculate and coordinate which Indian princes to support in battles, and which to connive with. Like pieces on a chessboard, Indian leaders exhausted themselves through internal battles, and were prevailed to seek cover provided by the British.

Small amounts of leverage can change outcomes (as the Israeli lobby AIPAC has shown, in its path to dominating Congress and regional/local US politics), and over the years the British were able control and align India to the British crown. Less than 10,000 English controlled colonial India, which at that time had a population of 300 million.

It is instructive to note that while there were relatively few white Englishmen, a class of local “brown sahibs” was developed, to actually run things. This elite class was educated in English ways, and rewarded monetarily and through social stature. Britain was too small a country to ultimately matter by itself, but by leveraging India the English could pursue their global ambitions. India was the “Jewel in the (British) Crown”.

Today, Israel has effective control of US policy in the Mideast, and similar goals. Much has already been written about Israel’s control of Congress. Israel is now edging towards control over the US Executive Branch, with both presidential candidates supported by billionaires whose #1 agenda is Israel (Saban and Adelson).

The Supreme Court will be one-third Jewish, and justices have community ties and families. As Israel demonstrated through its successful intimidation of Judge Goldstone, jurists are human and everyone has their price.

Israel’s “occupation force” in the US has long included AIPAC as well as the dense network of community organizations at the State and local levels. Through relationships that have been developed over years and with unlimited funds at their disposal, the “Israel Lobby” ensures that votes go the right way, and that opponents are squashed when Israel demands unity. In 2003 at the onset of George Bush’s Iraq war this occupation force was multiplied through the inclusion of Christian Zionists.

Critics of the Israel Lobby are marginalized by whatever means available, including being called anti-Semitic. The Lobby has been effective in securing massive aid packages for Israel even though Israel’s per-capita GDP exceeds that of several European nations. Israeli insiders permeate the US government, and it is US policy that there be “no light” between the countries so that where Israel is concerned there is no debate. Israel’s top priorities are the top priorities of the US. There are of course instances where this does not happen (such as, Iran) but the direction points to a tighter colonial noose in the years ahead.

The media matters: establishing beliefs and narratives

The colonizer must be a “Sacred Object” above criticism or objective review, and dangerous critics must be either destroyed or marginalized. No Englishman in India spoke of the mother country and its ways with anything other than reverence, even though during periods of the British Raj England was in turmoil. Within England there was a free press and active debate; but this was not permitted in India, about Britain. The only acceptable posture was that of reverence.

Today Israel has a free press, and it is easy to read translations of the Hebrew language press. Israeli commentators compare Netanyahu to Hitler, Israel is called a racist apartheid state based on evidence, and the extreme violence against and ongoing abuse of Palestinians is well documented. But, these same conversations are forbidden in the US. No newspaper would report them, nor are they permitted in polite company. Transgressors are labeled anti-Semitic, whether Jewish or not.

In the US today, boycotts are seen as a permitted non-violent form of free speech. Citizens have the right to boycott whatever they want from wherever they want without risk of penalty. The sole exception is Israel.

Exceptionalism

The British conquests were “for God and country”, and therefore justified. The British were superior, the natives inferior. This setup the moral justification for the mayhem wrought by the British as they colonized Asia and the Mideast. At that time, all men were not born equal, and it took the US Constitution to establish that self-evident fact.

Israel is seeking to revert to those days, by acting as though Arab lives are inferior, and (more recently) promoting Islamophobia to serve their Christian Zionism wing. In 2003, uber Zionist Bernard Lewis posed as “Arab expert” and advised president Bush that the only language Arabs understood was force.

This helped to justify the attack on Iraq, as part of a neocon plan to “creatively destroy” the sovereign Arab states in Israel’s neighborhood, to facilitate Israel’s dominance. The Nazis at Nuremberg were shown greater respect than Saddam and his Ba’at leadership, and the contempt for Arabs was in full display.

Today, Israeli Jews are in the process of destroying Palestinian society and erasing Palestinian culture, with impunity. Churches and mosques are both being destroyed, though Israel would prefer to keep the spotlight on mosques, to fan a religious war between Islam on one side, and Christians and Jews on the other.While the Israeli press records and debates Israel’s bad behavior, Americans are forbidden to publicly debate Israeli behavior critically.

Three Recent Examples:

1/ During the Congressional debate around the Iran deal president Obama had negotiated, Senator Chuck Schumer said he would vote “against”…not because of any independent analysis, but because this is what Netanyahu wanted. In other words, he publically said that he would follow the Israeli prime ministers’ direction, over that of his own president. Because, as he said, he was “guardian of Israel”.

A sitting US senator proclaimed allegiance to a foreign country, and nobody asked him to resign!

2/ The Israeli Prime Minister addresses the full US Congress to lobby against the Iran nuclear deal. When the deal does go through, Israel demands more US aid! And, is likely to get it. One can try various definitions of “blackmail” to see which one fits.The US president is impotent in dealing with Israel. The so-called “pro Israel lobby” effectively functions like an agent of Israel. The Israel lobby is playing the role of the East India Company, in Britain’s colonization of India.

3/ The Israel Lobby interferes massively in US foreign policy in the region. The “mainstream” media such as NYT spins events to reflect Israel’s views (bureau chiefs are typically Jewish and resident in Israel). The Iraq war cost $1 trillion+ and cost thousands of US lives, created ISIS, and was pushed by the Lobby. Israel benefits from the distraction.

The colonization of the US by Israel is becoming increasingly explicit. It is now increasingly seen as “normal” to have a double standard: one for Israel, another for the rest of the world. The boycott-Israel movement is an example of that: you can boycott anything or anyone, but not Israel. This is true power, and the face of colonization.

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Source: Counterpunch

 

‘Apartheid State’: UNHRC Condemns Israel for Human Rights Abuses

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A Palestinian journalist faces angry Israeli occupation soldiers in the West Bank. (Photo: File)

Israel’s human rights record was put under the spotlight Tuesday during a major international review at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva as part of the body’s regular examination of Israel’s actions in Palestine.

“Israel is the only state in the world that can be called an apartheid state,” the South African delegate at the U.N. council said.

“We remain deeply concerned at the denial of the right of self-determination to the Palestinian people, in the absence of which no other human right can be exercised or enjoyed.”

The Human Rights Council’s regular examination of Israel’s record, the first since 2013, comes after U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem last month as the capital of Israel, angering Palestinians, Middle East leaders and world powers.

Israel did not send any delegations to the last review claiming that the body is biased against it. The Universal Periodic Review, as it is known, is held every five years and is seen as a barometer of the state of human rights in a given country.

Meanwhile Iran, which does not recognize Israel as an official state, demanded that the country end its “continuous atrocities through the enormous destruction of civilian property in Gaza Strip” and the “forced displacement of civilians, arrest and detention of Palestinians”.

The Israeli delegation was angered by the fact that the Iran delegate referred to the country as “Israeli regime”.

The Palestinian delegation did not hold back either. Palestinian representative at the body Dima Asfour called on Israel to “end the illegal blockade of Gaza, investigate all allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during its military aggressions in Gaza and provide full reparation”.

Asfour added that Israel should also free political prisoners, end its policy of administrative detention and halt “the use of torture against Palestinians, including children in Israeli military detention”.

Israel’s administrative detention law allows authorities to imprison suspects for renewable six-month periods without trial or charge while investigators “gather evidence.” More than 700 Palestinians are under administrative detention.

Israel has also been accused of causing a major humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian Gaza strip which has been under blockade for over a decade.

The enclave is home to 2 million people and have seen three different wars by Israel against the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement Hamas that rules the territory. The last one was in summer 2014 and claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people, most of them civilians.

Israel also continues to build illegal Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank, which is internationally recognized as an occupied Palestinian land and a main part of a future Palestinian state. International law prohibits an occupying power from moving its own population into lands it occupies. Israel disputes such claims against settlements and has been rapidly expanding the structures.

Israeli media reported Sunday that new Israeli statistics show that the number of Jewish settlers living in the occupied West Bank reached 435,708 living in 150 illegal settlements as of the start of 2018.

But despite all evidence of abuse against it, Israel responded to the review, which includes more than 100 nations, by attacking the council and the U.N. over “bias” saying that other countries are focusing on Israel in an attempt to shift the attention away from their own “abuses”.