The photo joining Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Cleric Sayyed Abdullah al-Ghuraifi will represent nothing but a dual meeting. No signs that the session the Bahraini regime sought to exaggerate will establish any decisive solution that would exit the kingdom from the ten-year-old unending crisis.
Inspecting the aims behind Al Khalifa’s receiving of Sayyed Abdullah al-Ghuraifi isn’t an unsolved puzzle. Many similar meetings and a repeated style questions trust in the ruling regime whose record is full of abusing each and every detail and issue.
Five days earlier, on April 25, Hamad bin Isa received Sayyed al-Ghuraifi with a group of scholars and clerics in a meeting meant to congratulate on the occurrence of the holy month of Ramadan. The king was keen to appear to the people smiling in the photo disseminated by his official media. The guest, however, didn’t appear smiling at all. The meeting is the second of its kind between the two sides in five months.
In December, Sayyed al-Ghuraifi visited the Saferiya Palace after ten years of estrangement. It followed the tightened grip against the political and popular opposition, in which every demander of rights ended either behind bars or martyred.
“It is just a waste of time,” this is how senior Bahraini opposition sources described the meeting. “Those who want an actual solution to the problem and starting a dialogue with the opposition after years of oppression, detention, torture, suppression, negligence, killing, and execution, won’t be satisfied with an imagery photo that don’t reflect any seriousness,” the source added.
“Sayyed Abdullah al-Ghuraifi doesn’t shut a door in front of the regime due to his religious rank,” the senior sources analyzed, “however, the regime is awaiting opportunities to promote what it wants to show the foreign public opinion in the first place, then the local one.”
Nothing to be mentioned about the meeting. It is just that it slightly broke the ice between the opposition and the regime that didn’t offer any real initiative that solutions might be built upon. Those observing the exacerbating political and rights situations in Bahrain know very well that tightening the security fist inside the kingdom doesn’t match the claims of openness to the people’s demands and those representing them.
Would the king release around 2000 political, not criminal, detainees inside his prisons? Will the regime’s apparatuses suddenly treat them humanely and treat those whose health situations intentionally deteriorated due to the negligence of his personnel and prisons’ administrations, especially the notorious Jaw Prison? Would the regime allow the opposition figures to breathe and restore their unjustly usurped freedom? Would the national identity be restored to those whose citizenships were revoked? Will the collective and Friday prayers return to their golden days in Duraz? Will the regime revive those who are now under the soil?
Those are realistic questions to which the sources add the following: “Will the regime stop its unending violence against a big sect of its people? Will it accept that the jurisdiction established justice indeed? Will it accept that the parliament carry out its observatory role to hold the government accountable? Will it stop curtailing his power and respond to the criticism and accusations?”
Despite the gloomy situation in Bahrain, it should be said that something is happening. This is what the Bahraini sources hint to.
According to their information, the king’s latest step goes along with the calmness in the region, especially after the recent stances voiced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman [MBS], and his retreating rhetoric regarding Iran. Unlike what he believed before, MBS said “Iran is a neighboring country, and we want good and special relations with it. We don’t want Iran’s situation to be difficult, we want it prosperous.”
So, the Bahraini opposition’s issue is related to the Iranian-Saudi dialogue. In this context comes releasing female detainee Zakiya al-Barbouri who was detained three years ago during a fierce raid that targeted civilian houses in the town of Nuweiderat.
The Bahraini opposition examines what it happening at home very carefully. It is true that things are turning to calmness, but the lost trust in the authority’s performance and its continued elusiveness won’t let it rest until an inclusive solution to the crisis prevails, in which citizens obtain their rights.
Despite all the dominant fear, the opposition is always open to any step that seems positive. Prominent Cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim identified, in his advisory words, the way to exit this complicated calamity. He emphasized that “solving the crisis that threatens with complete destruction depends on the ruler’s retreating his mistake, and doing this is a grace.”
Ayatollah Qassim called on the regime to initiate an agreement with the opposition to set a new constitutional, institutional, and practical situation that preserves the rights of the citizens and admits their sovereign position in their country’s policy.
Upon this, the good will be returned with another good; and the stance made by al-Wefaq National Islamic Society’s Deputy Secretary General, Sheikh Hussein al-Daihi, is clear in this regard as he confirmed that any step forward made by the crown prince will be met with more step forwards.
It is the kingdom of “retweets”, which waits the regional events to similarly stop oppressing its people, or it is just perhaps to have some rest before resuming its actions in another situation.
The unlikeliest headline I’ve seen lately is Al-Monitor’s report that Hamas might be persuaded to set up a Christian media centre. Its purpose would be to defend the Islamic resistance movement from claims that it mistreats Christians, especially those living under Hamas rule in Gaza.
Then I saw who was doing the persuading: Father Manuel Musallam. Or to give him his correct title, Monsignor Manuel. And it all made perfect sense.
Apparently, several Christians have withdrawn from Hamas’s candidate list for the legislative elections in May after being pressured and intimidated by various media outlets. Fr Manuel says his nephew in Ramallah had intended to run on the Hamas list but his family asked him to reconsider. He blamed a smear campaign against Hamas that caused his family to worry that their business interests would be affected and the Israelis would persecute them.
Hamas’s media set-up fails to respond adequately to unjust smears, says Fr Manuel. Media outlets in Europe portray Hamas inaccurately, particularly its relationship with Christian residents. But contrary to what some Western outlets claim, Christians are not persecuted under Hamas.
Basem Naim, from Hamas’ international relations office, told Al-Monitor that Fr Manuel’s idea for a media centre will be considered and a Christian media adviser possibly appointed. He also explained that Hamas offered a number of Christian figures in the West Bank and Gaza Strip the chance to run on the movement’s list “but they withdrew for several reasons, such as family pressure or health issues, or even fear of Israeli restrictions on their travel and work”.
Failing to get the Holy Land message to the West
Every Palestinian I met during my visits urged me to “tell their story”, and this I’ve tried to do for 15 years. Hamas and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority don’t bother. They not only neglect to tell the world, they fail to brief people like me so that we can tell it.
And when, some years ago, I criticized the Palestinian embassy in London for their lackadaisical attitude, defunct website and dysfunctional media department, and called for the ambassador to pack his bags and go home, I was branded “an enemy of Palestine”. The embassy today is well staffed with political, media, cultural, civil society and economic departments. But what they do to combat the torrent of Israeli misinformation is still a mystery. The Fatah/PA position as collaborators with the Israeli occupation probably means that their paymasters demand silence. Hamas are under no such constraint. After their surprise 2006 election victory they could – and should – have immediately re-invented themselves and seized the media initiative. But they’ve left it too late and now have a mountain to climb. It took them far too long to re-write their much-criticised Charter and consequently failed to win friends or influence enough people here in the West.
Around 2013, according the Guardian newspaper, Hamas “began a public transformation… with a new head of media.” But did anyone notice?
It is largely thanks to dedicated activists, civil society campaign groups and online privateers that people in the West have become better informed about the evil occupation that defiles the Holy Land…. and no thanks whatsoever to the leadership in Palestine. With truth and so much more on their side Palestine’s politicians nevertheless carelessly allow the Israeli regime, with its brazen propaganda and monstrous lies, to run rings round them. Even Western Christendom is in a pathetic state of paralysis.
“Our love for God… is currently in intensive care”
That remarkable priest, Manuel Musallam, used to run the Catholic community in Gaza. I was privileged to meet him in 2007 when he hosted a visit by a small group I was with. The Gaza Strip had been under tight blockade for 18 months following the bizarre hostility to Hamas’s fair and square election victory the previous year. The situation was strained.
In the church’s school assembly hall I was surprised to see so many Muslim students. On one wall hung a huge portrait of the Pope and on the adjacent wall an equally large portrait of Yasser Arafat.
Fr Manuel whisked us off to a meeting at the House of Fatah and then we drove to see Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh and some of his colleagues, who received us with utmost courtesy and friendship and gave straight answers to straight questions. Haniyeh and Fr Manuel declared their unity to the TV cameras, emphasizing that they were Palestinians first and Muslim or Christian second in the struggle against the common enemy. The two men know each other well and Haniyeh has since become Chief of Hamas’s Political Bureau.
The following year – and who can forget? – the Israelis launched their horrendous three-week blitzkrieg called Operation Cast Lead at Christmas-time and New Year 2008/09. At the height of the killing spree, Fr Manuel sent this message from the smoking ruins to anyone who would listen:
“Our people in Gaza … cry, but no one wipes their tears. There is no water, no electricity, no food, only terror and blockade… Our children are living in a state of trauma and fear. They are sick from it and for other reasons such as malnutrition, poverty and the cold… The hospitals did not have basic first aid before the war and now thousands of wounded and sick are pouring in and they are performing operations in the corridors. The situation is frightening and sad.”
He added: “May Christ’s compassion revive our love for God even though it is currently in ‘intensive care’.”
A few days later he wrote:
“Hundreds of people have been killed and many more injured in the Israeli invasion. Our people have endured the bombing of their homes, their crops have been destroyed, they have lost everything and many are now homeless. We have endured phosphorus bombs which have caused horrific burns, mainly to civilians. Like the early Christians our people are living through a time of great persecution, a persecution which we must record for future generations as a statement of their faith, hope and love.
“Act and intervene, or nothing will change.”
When Fr Manuel retired in 2009 in failing health I remarked in an article: “I doubt if God has finished with him just yet. There’s a mountain of work to be done and good men are hard to find.”
And so it was. In the run-up to Christmas 2010 he was one of a trio of churchmen from the Holy Land touring Ireland to raise awareness of the plight of the dwindling Christian community under the illegal Israeli military occupation. Together with Archbishop Theodosius Hanna (Greek Orthodox Church) and Constantine Dabbagh (Executive Director of the Middle East Council of Churches) he showed they were more than a match for Western politicians who fancied they knew all about the Middle East. “We need only one thing, to be protected by the world against the crimes of Israel”, was their central message. And they made this stark plea: “Act and intervene, or nothing will change.”
Fr Manuel told Irish government ministers and their foreign affairs committee:
“I was in Gaza during the war [Operation Cast Lead] and suffered with my people for 22 days. I saw with my own eyes a phosphoric bomb in the school yard. I saw people injured by these phosphoric bombs, although these bombs are forbidden. These crimes against us were ignored by all the people of the world…
“What happened in Gaza was not a war. A war is a clash between soldiers, aircraft and weapons. We were victims, just victims. They destroyed Gaza. I was there and saw with my own eyes what happened. We in Gaza were treated like animals… We are not terrorists. We have not occupied Israel.
“We do not want to die to liberate Palestine. We want to live to build Palestine…. We are asking the world to give the Palestinian people their rights. The question is whether peace is possible. Despite all the difficulties, the crimes and the war, we as Palestinians say peace is possible if justice is possible.
“All we ask of Israel is to respect us and not treat us like animals. We also ask parliamentarians and governments across the world not to give us food aid. We do not need cookies from Israel. We do not even need to trade with Israel. All we need is to be protected. We are suffering a war that we have endured for more than 60 years.”
“Be assured that Hamas will protect Christians in Gaza”
Christianity in the region had been destroyed not by Muslims but by Israel, said Fr Manuel. “Israel destroyed the church of Palestine and the church of Jerusalem beginning in 1948. It, not Muslims, has sent Christians in the region into a diaspora.”
He told his listeners how he had seen the Israeli army target the Christian school in Gaza.
“Five Hamas ministers visited the school after it was attacked and promised they would repair the damage… Hamas paid more than 122,000 US dollars to repair all the damage caused. Afterwards I met the Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh. When he embraced me he said this, and we believed it. He said: “Go to your family, but be assured that Hamas will employ weapons against Muslims to protect Christians in Gaza.” This is the reality. Christians in Palestine are not suffering persecution, because we are not considered to be a religious community but rather the people of Palestine. We have the same rights and the same obligations.”
He ended by describing how things really are:
“We have spoken to Israel for more than 18 years and the result has been zero. We have signed agreements here and there at various times and then when there is a change in the government of Israel we have to start again from the beginning. We ask for our life and to be given back our Jerusalem, to be given our state and for enough water to drink.
“We want to be given more opportunity to reach Jerusalem. I have not seen Jerusalem since 1990…. We want to see an end to this occupation, and please do not ask us to protect those who are occupying our territory.”
“Peace is possible if justice is possible. Make peace possible.”
Fr Manuel should have been a political leader. To improve the human condition, it seems to me, churchmen must also be politically minded and not afraid to “mix it” with the out-and-out scoundrels who infest our political institutions and cloak themselves in a national flag.
Inevitably, the message for politicians in the world outside the Holy Land is the one expressed by this feisty priest: PEACE IS POSSIBLE IF JUSTICE IS POSSIBLE.
The world should be saying to their political leaders loudly and clearly: “It is surely not beyond the wit of civilised man to stop mouthing platitudes and act to deliver justice. Make peace possible. Or find other employment, for you offend all decent people.”
Stuart Littlewood 30 April 2021
Featured photo: Ismail Haniyeh with Fr Manuel Musallam, Gaza 2007
After working on jet fighters in the RAF Stuart became an industrial marketing specialist with manufacturing companies and consultancy firms. He also “indulged himself” as a newspaper columnist. In politics he served as a Cambridgeshire county councillor and member of the Police Authority. Now retired he campaigns on various issues and contributes to several online news & opinion sites. With a lifelong passion for photography he has produced two photo-documentary books, one of which can be read online at http://www.radiofreepalestine.org.uk.
At least 45 ‘Israeli’ settlers were killed and scores of others injured, many critically, in a stampede during a Jewish bonfire festival held in the north of the ‘Israeli’-occupied Palestinian territories.
Tens of thousands were attending the annual Lag B’Omer Jewish festival at, what has been identified as, the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a religious figure, in a town named as ‘Meron’ in the occupied territories.
Initial reports citing Magen David Adom of the Zionist regime’s emergency services’ organization, suggested that 24 of those injured were in critical condition. Six helicopters were sent over to address the situation
Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incident as a “heavy disaster.”
Later reports put the number of the injured at 400.
A Zionist police official said “dozens of participants in a concert had ‘slipped,’ falling on those below them in the stands and causing a crushing domino effect.” The incident took place at around 1 a.m. on Friday at a bonfire lighting ceremony.
Other reports said the crush was caused after “a section of stadium seating had collapsed at the event site,” and many were killed as a result of asphyxiation after it was set off.
Others were killed being trampled upon during the stampede.
The Zionist military said a roof had collapsed at the site of the incident.
Footage recorded before the crush showed the thousands-strong participants dancing, reveling, and jumping on stands at, what the newspaper identified as, a “makeshift arena.”
A makeshift hospital is reportedly being set up in the area to address the situation.
The event was held without any regard for standing health precautions against the spread of the new coronavirus, including respect for social distancing rules and prohibition of mass gatherings.
Pictures provided both during the celebration and in the immediate aftermath of the stampede, meanwhile, showed many attending the site without facemasks.
Pressure is mounting on the United States to lift a patent-related restriction, allowing other nations access to develop Covid-19 vaccines and treatments for the respiratory disease. It comes down to the priorities: saving lives, or making a profit? So far, the US has opted to make profits at the expense of innocent lives, while hoarding the vaccine for its own citizens.
Another Navalny Drama Fizzles Despite Hungry Western Media
Former editor and writer for major news media organizations. He has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages
The indulgence and fawning must have given Navalny a sense of impunity, reinforcing his megalomania and attention-seeking, Finian Cunningham writes.
After three weeks allegedly on a hunger strike, the Western-lionized Russian blogger Alexei Navalny has thrown the towel in. The decisive factor was the Russian authorities refusing to kowtow to a Western orchestrated drama.
Another factor is that Navalny is a conman and stooge of Western intelligence services. To carry out a real hunger strike is perhaps one of the most traumatic, mentally excruciating feats of self-sacrifice. To witness yourself wasting away to death must summon the deepest convictions of righteousness.
I remember living through the Irish Republican hunger strike 40 years ago which resulted in the death of 10 prisoners in a British state prison. The first one of those men to die was Bobby Sands who at the age of 27 passed away in a coma on May 5 after 66 days of refusing food. It was one of the grimmest periods in the 30-year conflict with Britain that ravaged Ireland.
Few political prisoners undertake hunger strike, and fewer still see it through to the horrendous end. Only those dedicated to a righteous cause could ever contemplate overcoming the gravest challenge.
That’s why everything about Navalny’s supposed hunger strike reeks of a sham aided and abetted by the fawning Western corporate media. The apparent collaboration in this drama also indicates the relationship of a stooge orchestrated by Western state intelligence.
When the 44-year-old convicted embezzler declared that he was going on a death-fast on March 31, the Western media kept pace with sensational headlines detailing his supposed declining health. We were told about pains, aches, and numbness, “torture”, “imminent death” and so on. Even though the Russian prison authorities released video footage of Navalny swaggering around his shared dormitory remonstrating with a guard over some petty issue.
The British state-owned BBC reported that prison authorities were using dastardly tricks such as putting savory meals beside Navalny’s bed. The BBC never gave any such concerned coverage to Bobby Sands and his Republican comrades who were abused inhumanely by British prison guards. Indeed, the British media portrayed the then Margaret Thatcher government as justified in its treatment of “Irish terrorists”.
Instead of the grim fate supposedly facing Navalny, the Western media reported his social media statements with an air of jocularity. “My friends would laugh if they saw me now walking around like a skeleton,” said Navalny in one of his Instagram posts. How is it that a purportedly persecuted prisoner has the liberty to use social media and generate Western headlines? The inappropriate humor also betrays a lack of credibility in his supposed journey of death.
All the while, the Russian authorities were monitoring Navalny’s health and maintaining that his condition was “satisfactory”.
U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were reportedly impressing on Russian President Vladimir Putin their concern over Navalny. Again, such high-profile intervention is a reflection of the political orchestration going on. It is so disproportionate to the reality that it is an absurd giveaway of scripted drama.
It soon became clear, however, that the Russian state would not be bullied by psycho-drama. Its laws and sovereign affairs are not open for hypocritical Western lecturing.
Navalny was arrested on January 17 after spending five months in Germany in flagrant violation of his parole terms for a suspended jail sentence over a fraud conviction in 2014. While in Germany, Navalny cooked up the outlandish drama that he had been poisoned with a military nerve weapon on the direct orders of Putin. No evidence has ever been provided to support his claims but the Western media and governments have endorsed the narrative as if gospel truth.
The indulgence and fawning must have given Navalny a sense of impunity, reinforcing his megalomania and attention-seeking. He was therefore shocked when he was arrested on returning to Russia from Germany and again when the Russian federal authorities ordered in February that his suspended sentence be converted to two-and-half-years behind bars.
While in prison, Navalny began demanding the “right” to have his private doctors visit him over alleged leg numbness and back pain. How’s that for arrogance!
One wonders how the BBC would have reported it if Irish Republican prisoners were making such a demand from the British state.
In any case, Russian authorities faced down the intense Western media campaign aiming to make a hero out of the “starving” Navalny. Prison doctors maintained that he was being adequately cared for. One may speculate that the Russian authorities spotted the fake drama from an early stage. You can’t pull off a harrowing hunger strike without an iron will – which Navalny and his handlers do not have because their cause is a fake pretext for destabilizing Russia’s internal politics and undermining the government.
Realizing that the battle of wills – and shills – was not going to be won, the next necessary ploy was to create an off-ramp for Navalny in order to avoid farcical embarrassment.
His personal doctors started “warning” on April 18 through obliging Western media headlines that Navalny “could die any day” due to his deteriorating condition. That was after 19 days of supposed hunger strike. Strangely, Navalny’s doctors were somehow able to give such a dire prognosis without actually examining him personally.
Then on April 23, the BBC and other Western media outlets ran headlines such as: ‘Navalny urged to end hunger strike’.
Within hours, the convicted conman declared that he was coming off his alleged fast to the death.
So, there you have it. The end of another drama in which the Western-lionized hero cheats death twice in only a matter of months. First, from alleged poisoning with a deadly nerve agent, and secondly, from an anguish-filled three-week hunger strike (at least according to Western media).
At this point, Navalny’s intel scriptwriters and Western media are the only ones going hungry.
51 candidates submitted their applications for the presidential election to the Syrian Parliament through the Constitutional Court by the end of the 10 days period given, among the candidates are 7 women.
The Syrian Constitutional Court audited the applications and sent the parliament the applications that met the conditions stipulated by Syria’s current constitution of 2012, there might have been many more applications that failed the process.
Taking into consideration the affiliations of the MPs in regard to their political parties and the 63 independent candidates, there would be only 7 candidates maximum to move to the second phase, the Syrian Parliament has 252 members.
Also, taking into consideration that the Baath ruling party has 166 members in the parliament, theoretically, they will endorse President Bashar Assad, the leader of the party, this would leave 23 members of the other 19 political parties and the 63 independent to endorse the rest, meaning only 2 other candidates can get enough endorsements for the second phase, and in light of the large number of candidates, the author here thinks there will be a second filtering process among the 50 candidates other than incumbent President Assad. If, however, some Baath Party members might endorse candidates other than President Assad, this would increase the number of candidates moving to the presidential race.
The presidential election date is set for the 26th of next month, May 2021. The Syrian leadership insists on carrying out these constitutional milestones at their set times despite the heinous, ludicrous, terrorist, hysterical, and hypocrite interventions by NATO member states, who do not like other countries intervene in their elections however flawed their political systems are, who also happen to support and protect autocratic regimes who do not have a constitution to start with, let alone never had any sort of elections like in Saudi Arabia for instance, or their so-called ‘only democracy in the Middle East’ Israel, whose ‘prime minister’ is in power for most of the past 2 decades if not more and who keeps repeating the elections until he secures a majority!
NATO member states said they will not recognize the results of this election, which is not needed anyway, because they couldn’t have their Navalny, or whatever that Venezuelan guy whose name slipped from my memory now wanted to kill President Maduro and take his place ‘democratically’, win a fake election they control.
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The President of the Republic and the Prime Minister exercise executive authority on behalf of the people within the limits provided for in the constitution.
Article 84
The candidate for the office of President of the Republic should:
1. Have completed forty years of age;
2. Be of Syrian nationality by birth, of parents who are of Syrian nationality by birth;
3. Enjoy civil and political rights and not convicted of a dishonorable felony, even if he was reinstated;
4. Not be married to a non-Syrian wife;
5. Be a resident of the Syrian Arab Republic for no less than 10 years continuously upon being nominated.
Article 85
The nomination of a candidate for the office of President of the Republic shall be as follows:
1. The Speaker of the People’s Assembly calls for the election of the President of the Republic before the end of the term of office of the existing president by no less than 60 days and no more than 90 days;
2. The candidacy application shall be made to the Supreme Constitutional Court, and is entered in a special register, within 10 days of announcing the call for electing the president;
3. The candidacy application shall not be accepted unless the applicant has acquired the support of at least 35 members of the People’s Assembly; and no member of the assembly might support more than one candidate;
4. Applications shall be examined by the Supreme Constitutional Court; and should be ruled on within 5 days of the deadline for application;
5. If the conditions required for candidacy were met by only one candidate during the period set for applying, the Speaker of the people’s assembly should call for fresh nominations according to the same conditions.
Article 86
1. The President of the Republic shall be elected directly by the people;
2. The candidate who wins the election for the President of the Republic is the one who gets the absolute majority of those who take part in the elections. If no candidate receives that majority, a rerun is carried out between the two candidates who receive the largest number of votes;
3. The results shall be announced by the Speaker of the People’s Assembly.
Article 87
1. If the People’s Assembly was dissolved during the period set for electing a new President of the Republic, the existing President of the Republic continues to exercise his duties until after the new Assembly is elected and convened; and the new President of the Republic shall be elected within the 90 days which follow the date of convening this Assembly;
2. If the term of the President of the Republic finished and no new president was elected, the Existing President of the Republic continues to assume his duties until the new president is elected.
Article 88
The President of the Republic is elected for 7 years as of the end of the term of the existing President. The President can be elected for only one more successive term.
Article 89
1. The Supreme Constitutional Court has the jurisdiction to examine the challenges to the election of the President of the Republic;
2. The challenges shall be made by the candidate within 3 days of announcing the results; and the court rules on them finally within 7 days of the end of the deadline for making the challenges.
Article 90
The President of the Republic shall be sworn in before the People’s Assembly before assuming his duties by repeating the constitutional oath mentioned in Article 7 of the Constitution.
Article 91
1. The President of the Republic might name one or more deputies and delegate to them some of his authorities;
2. The Vice-president is sworn in before the President of the Republic by repeating the constitutional oath mentioned in Article 7 of the Constitution.
Article 92
If an impediment prevented the President of the Republic from continuing to carry out his duties, the Vice-president shall deputize for him.
Article 93
1. If the office of the President of the Republic becomes vacant or if he is permanently incapacitated, the first Vice-president assumes the President’s duties for a period of no more than 90 days of the President of the Republic’s office becoming vacant. During this period new presidential elections shall be conducted;
2. If the office of the President of the Republic becomes vacant, and he does not have a Vice-president, his duties shall be assumed temporarily by the Prime Minister for a period of no more than 90 days of the date of the President of the Republic’s office becoming vacant. During this period new presidential elections shall be conducted.
Article 94
If the President of the Republic resigned from office, he should address the resignation letter to the People’s Assembly.
Article 95
The protocol, privileges and allocations required for the office of President of the Republic shall be set out in a law.
Article 96
The President of the Republic shall insure respect for the Constitution, the regular running of public authorities, protection of national unity and survival of the state.
Article 97
The President of the Republic shall name the Prime Minister, his deputies, ministers and their deputies, accept their resignation and dismiss them from office.
Article 98
In a meeting chaired by him, the President of the Republic lays down the general policy of the state and oversees its implementation.
Article 99
The President of the Republic might call the Council of Ministers to a meeting chaired by him; and might ask for reports from the Prime Minister and the ministers.
Article 100
The President of the Republic shall pass the laws approved by the People’s Assembly. He might also reject them through a justified decision within one month of these laws being received by the Presidency. If they are approved a second time by the People’s Assembly with a two thirds majority, they shall be passed by the President of the Republic.
Article 101
The President of the Republic shall pass decrees, decisions and orders in accordance with the laws.
Article 102
The President of the Republic declares war, calls for general mobilization and concludes peace agreements after obtaining the approval of the People’s Assembly.
Article 103
The President of the Republic declares the state of emergency and repeals it in a decree taken at the Council of Ministers chaired by him with a two thirds majority, provided that the decree is presented to the People’s Assembly in its first session. The law sets out the relevant provisions.
Article 104
The President of the Republic accredits heads of diplomatic missions in foreign countries and accepts the credentials of heads of foreign diplomatic missions in the Syrian Arab Republic.
Article 105
The President of the Republic is the Commander in Chief of the army and armed forces; and he issues all the decisions necessary to exercise this authority. He might delegate some of these authorities.
Article 106
The President of the Republic appoints civilian and military employees and ends their services in accordance with the law.
Article 107
The President of the Republic concludes international treaties and agreements and revokes them in accordance with provisions of the Constitution and rules of international law.
Article 108
The President of the Republic grants special amnesty and might reinstate individuals.
Article 109
The President of the Republic has the right to award medals and honors.
Article 110
The President of the Republic might address letters to the People’s Assembly and make statements before it.
Article 111
1. The President of the Republic might decide to dissolve the People’s Assembly in a justified decision he makes;
2. Elections for a new People’s Assembly shall be conducted within 60 days of the date of dissolution;
3. The People’s Assembly might not be dissolved more than once for the same reason.
Article 112
The President of the Republic might prepare draft laws and refer them to the People’s Assembly to consider them for approval.
Article113
1. The President of the Republic assumes the authority of legislation when the People’s Assembly is not in session, or during sessions if absolute necessity requires this, or in the period during which the Assembly is dissolved.
Article 114
If a grave danger and a situation threatening national unity, the safety and integrity of the territories of the homeland occurs, or prevents state institutions from shouldering their constitutional responsibilities, the President of the Republic might take the quick measures necessitated by these circumstances to face that danger.
Article 115
The President of the Republic might set up special bodies, councils and committees whose tasks and mandates are set out in the decisions taken to create them.
Article 116
The President of the Republic might call for a referendum on important issues which affect the higher interests of the country. The result of the referendum shall be binding and come into force as of the date of its announcement; and it shall be published by the President of the Republic.
Article 117
The President of the Republic is not responsible for the acts he does in carrying out his duties except in the case of high treason; and the accusation should be made through a People’s Assembly decision taken by the Assembly in a public vote and with a two thirds majority in a secret session based on a proposal made by at least one third of the members. He shall be tried before the Supreme Constitutional Court.
لم تكن المنشٱت الإسرائيلية الثابتة بيوم من الأيام ومنذ عشرات السنين، خارج نطاق إحداثيات صواريخ تحالف تيار المقاومة إن كان في إيران او سورية او جنوب لبنان، وتلك الأهداف الثابتة، لا تعد ولا تحصى، وكل هدف قد يكون بمثابة قنبلة نووية.
والسؤال: لماذا لم يتم استهداف كل تلك المنشٱت من قبل سورية أو إيران ، رغم كل ما تعرضت له سورية من تدمير بشع !!! ورغم كل الاعتداءت الإسرائيلية التي باتت شبه أسبوعية على القوات السورية والإيرانيةالمتواجدة في سورية !! ؟؟
هذا السؤال يقود بالمنطق إلى نتيجة مفادها إن تيار المقاومة ( سورية وإيران) لا يضعون الحرب العسكرية ضمن خططهم للتعامل مع العد الإسرائيلي ،لا للدفاع عن النفس ولا للهجوم وتحرير الأراضي المحتلة..على الأقل في المدى المنظور.
تيار المقاومة يسعى إلى خلق توازن الرعب، وخلق حالة ردع للعدو الإسرائيلي… بمعنى ردع إسرائيل من الاعتداء علينا ، ومن يدقق بالبرنامج السياسي للمقاومة يرى أن شعارات المقاومة تكتفي بشعارين ( الصمود ، والتصدي ) ولم ترفع بيوم من الأيام شعار الهجوم على إسرائيل وشن حرب تحريرية. بينما نرى إسرائيل تقف خلف كل ما حدث من حرب على سورية و تحاول جر المنطقة ( كل المنطقة) إلى حرب، وتحرض أمريكا وأوروبا وتشكل تحالفات مع دول عربية وعلى رأسهم دول الخليج لمحاولة ضرب إيران ونشوب حرب عسكرية في المنطقة.
من هنا علينا أن ندرك أن الصاروخ الذي سقط على بعد ثلاث كيلو مترات عن مفاعل ديمونا الإسرائيلي، بالتأكيد لم يخطيء هدفه، ولم يكن هدفه لا مفاعل ديمونا ، ولا فتح حرب عسكرية مع إسرائيل ، بل نستطيع أن نفهم أن الصاروخ، اطلق من الدفاعات الجوية لصد هجوم من قبل الطيران الإسرائيلي، وبغض النظر إن كان أطلق خلف الطائرات الإسرائيلية، أم أطلق بشكل مباشر، فالرسالة واحدة، والهدف منه، تذكير المجتمع الاستيطاني الإسرائيلي أننا نستطيع الوصول إلى أخطر المواقع الإسرائيلية، لخلق حالة رعب وتذمر وضغط من قبل الجمهور على حكومة بنيامين نتنياهو واليمين المتطرف في كيان إسرائيل الغاصب، ليرضخ لشروط السلام، كما أنها أيضا رسالة إلى صناع القرار في أمريكا.
وهذه ليست إلا رسالة سورية تتوافق مع العديد من الرسائل الروسية الإقتصادية والسياسية الموجهة من موسكو إلى إسرائيل وامريكا ، بأن خيوط اللعبة وادارتها مازالت بيد روسيا، وعليكم أن تعودوا للتموضع الذي كان سائد مجيء بايدن للبيت الأبيض. هذه الرسالة الصاروخية في هذه المرحلة لن تكون الوحيدة والأخيرة بل تترافق مع رسائل اقتصادية بأن روسية قادرة على ٱفشال الحظر الاقتصادي على سورية، وقادرة على إبطال مفعول قانون قيصر إن لم تفعله ، أيضا تستطيع فتح النار على الشمال السوري وإحراق ما تبقى من إرهابيين وتحريرها، والرسالة الأهم في هذه المرحلة هي دعم روسيا للاستحقاق الانتخابي للانتخابات الرئاسية في سورية، والرسالة واضحة المعالم حيث تقول (أن الرئيس بشار الأسد قائد للدولةوالجيش والشعب في المرحلة القادمة) . وأتوقع قريبا جدا سنجد التغيير في لهجة بايدن اتجاه كل من روسيا وإيران وسورية، وسنرى أيضا في إسرائيل تقهقر لشعبية اليمين المتطرف وانتقادات حادة لجهة بنيامين نتنياهو، أو تغيير في لهجة الحكومة الإسرائيلية الحالية ، تحت ضغط الشارع الإسرائيلي ، أو التوجه نحو حكومة إسرائيلية تتموضع كما تريد روسيا والقبول بإعادة هضبة الجولان، وما تبقى من مزارع شبعا، والقبول بعملية سلام بين سورية وإسرائيل، وإعادة الاتفاق النووي الأمريكي الإيراني من طرف أمريكا، فكل هذه الملفات في سلة واحدة وكلها مرسلة من جهة واحدة متمثلة بروسيا وإيران وسورية، وبديل السلام ( الذي أعتقد كان متفق عليه بين روسيا من جهة وامريكا من جهة ثانية قبل مجيء بايدن) سيكون حرب لا يستطيع أحد إيقاف نارها التي لن تشعل إسرائيل فقط …. ولن تشعل الدول العربية وحدها، بل ستشتعل منطقة الشرق الأوسط برمتها، وستنشب الحرائق في تركيا وفي إيران و العراق والأردن ودول الخليج وسورية ولبنان، ولو كانت القيادة السورية أشعلت الفتيل وأطلقت رشقة صواريخ على إسرائيل عام ٢٠١١، واستهدفت أي موقع حيوي مثل مفاعل ديمونا.. من باب.. ( على وعلى أعدائي) لتغيرت الكثير من نتائج حرب العشر سنوات على سورية ، واذكر منذ عام ٢٠١١ ونحن نكتب ونطالب بنقل المعركة إلى إسرائيل، لكن القيادة السورية لم تتخذ هذا القرار في حينها، ولا أعتقد سيتخذ هذا القرار اليوم، ولا غدا، فالمعركة مع إسرائيل في حقيقتها لم تعد معركة حربية عسكرية محسوبة النتائج ، بل هي معركة سياسية ان كان مع إيران أو مع سورية،
وهذه المعركة السياسية تديرها روسيا بالتوافق مع القيادة في دمشق، والقيادة في طهران، والوزن الدولي للحليف الروسي، وحنكة ( بوتن ) ومصداقيته مع قيادات المقاومة تعطي روسيا الحق في الموافقه والتنسيق على أي تحرك عسكري اليوم، ومن الضرورة والمصلحة للمقاومة أن يتم التنسيق واخذ موافقة الحليف الروسي بالدرجة الأولى .
ولن يكون الهدف منه انتقام عسكري، وضربة بضربة ولا الهدف منه أذية الكيان الصهيوني الغاشم، بل الهدف منه تطويق إسرائيل بالنار لإجبار الشعب الإسرائيلي وإنذاره من خطورة ما يسعى إليه اليمين المتطرف المتمثل بنتنياهو، ، والتوجه للحل السياسي والتخلي عن الغطرسة والاعتداءات العسكرية التي تمارسها على سورية وعلى إيران. إذا نحن حقيقة أمام اعتداءت إسرائيلية شبه أسبوعية على سورية، وعلى القوات الإيرانية في سورية،ومحاولة إشعال النار في المنطقة من قبل إسرائيل، ورغم كل الاعتداءات الوقحة، والتي باتت غير مقبولة لم نرى رد واحد متمثل بصاروخ يقتل إسرائيلي واحد، إذا نحن أمام محاولات إسرائيلية للحل العسكري، مقابل محور المقاومة ( إيران وسورية) الذي يحاول عدم الانجرار إلى معارك حربية، رغم كل الاستفزازات العسكرية الإسرائيلية. وصاروخ اليوم كان صاروخ أصاب هدفه ، فالهدف لم يكن مفاعل ديمونا، بل الهدف منه ( قرب) مفاعل ديمونا… وهي رسالة واضحة…….. أننا نستطيع قصف مفاعل ديمونة، ولن تحمي سماء إسرائيل لا القبة الحديدية، ولا أمريكا قادرة عن صد صواريخ منتشرة في جنوب لبنان وفي سورية وفي إيران، فالرسالة الروسية باختصار أتت بعد مواقف بايدن من بوتن، وبعد الحركشات العسكرية في أوكرانيا، وبعد الضربات الإسرائيلية على سورية، وهذه الرسالة أرسلت من سورية وبيد الجيش العربي السوري، وستتلاحق الرسائل إلى أن يتم تموضوع إسرائيل، وبايدن كما يرسم لها بوتن.عملية السلام بين سورية وإسرائيل لن يستطيع أحد إعاقتها، لا إيران ولا سورية ولا إسرائيل ولا حتى أمريكا، لأن هذه التسوية ستعيد الجولان وما تبقى من مزارع شبعا لسورية، وسيعاد الاتفاق النووي لإيران، وتعيد التوازن الدولي لأمريكا في منطقة الشرق الأوسط، وهي فقط عائق لليمين الإسرائيلي المتطرف، من هنا، الرسالة موجهة للشعب الإسرائيلي تحديدا، وبيد الجيش العربي السوري، وترافقت مع الاستحقاق الانتخابي للرئيس بشار الأسد، وهي رسالة روسية إيرانية سورية ذات رأس متفجر .
For decades, Israeli fixed-line missiles have never been outside the coordinates of the Resistance Movement Alliance missiles, whether in Iran, Syria or southern Lebanon, and those fixed targets are innumerable, and every target could be a nuclear bomb.
The question is: Why were not all these facilities targeted by Syria or Iran, despite all the horrible destruction that Syria has suffered, despite all the Israeli attacks, which became almost weekly on the Syrian and Iranian forces present in Syria??
This question leads logically to the conclusion that the axis of resistance (Syria and Iran) does not include the military war in their plans to deal with the Israeli count, neither for self-defense nor for the attack and liberation of the occupied lands, at least in the foreseeable future. At least in the foreseeable future.
The axis of resistance seeks to create a balance of deterrent. In other words, deterring Israel from attacking us, the slogans of resistance axis are limited to (steadfastness and confrontation) and have never been attacking Israel and waging a war of liberation. While we see Israel standing behind all that happened in the war against Syria is inciting America and Europe, forming alliances with Arab Gulf states, to drag the region (all region) into war.
This missile is nothing but a Syrian message that Israel attacks have become unacceptable, a message consistent with many of the Russian economic and political messages addressed from Moscow to Israel and America, that the threads of the game and its management are still in the hands of Russia, and you have to return to the positioning that prevailed when Biden came to the White House. The missile message at this stage will not be the only and last, but it is accompanied by economic messages that Russia is able to thwart the economic embargo on Syria, and is able to nullify the Caesar Act if it does not do so. It can also open fire on northern Syria and burn the remaining terrorists and liberate it, and the message reflect clear Russia’s support for the electoral process for the presidential elections in Syria, as it says (that President Bashar al-Assad is the leader of the state, the army and the people in the next stage.
From here we have to realize that the missile that landed few kilometers from the Israeli Dimona reactor, certainly did not miss its target, and its goal was not either the Dimona reactor, nor the opening of a military war with Israel, but we can understand that the missile, regardless of whether it was launched behind Israeli aircraft, or launched directly, launched from air defenses to repel the Israeli attack, the message is the same, and its purpose is to balance of deterrent and remind the Israeli settlement community, as well as to decision makers In America, that we can reach the most dangerous positions, and pressure from the public against the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and the extreme right in Israel’s usurped entity, to submit to the conditions of peace.
I expect very soon we will find a change in Biden’s tone towards Russia, Iran and Syria, and a retreat of the popularity of the in Israel extreme right and sharp criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu’s side, or a change in the tone of the current Israeli government, under the pressure of the Israeli street, or the orientation towards an Israeli government that is positioned as Russia wants and accepts the return of the Golan Heights, and the rest of the Shebaa Farms, acceptance of a peace process between Syria and Israel, and the restoration of the US-Iranian nuclear agreement by America. All these files are in one basket and all are sent from one side represented by Russia, Iran and Syria, and the alternative to peace (which I believe was It was agreed upon between Russia on the one hand and America on the other before the arrival of Biden). The Arab countries will not be set on fire alone, but the entire West Asia.
And if the Syrian leadership had lit the fuse and fired a barrage of missiles at Israel in 2011, targeting any vital site such as the Dimona reactor, many of the results of the ten-year war on Syria would have changed, but the Syrian leadership did not take this decision at the time, and I do not think that this decision will be taken today or tomorrow, because the battle with Israel in its reality is no longer a military warfare with calculated results, but rather a political battle, whether it is with Iran or with Syria.
Today’s missile hit its target, the target was not the Dimona reactor, but (near) the Dimona reactor in a clear message: We can bomb the Dimona reactor, nothing will not protect Israel’s sky, neither the Iron Dome, nor America is able to repel missiles deployed in southern Lebanon, Syria and Iran.
In short, the Russian message came after Biden’s positions on Putin, after the military movements in Ukraine, and after the Israeli strikes on Syria, and this message was sent from Syria and by the Syrian Arab Army, other messages will follow until Israel completes, and Biden as Putin draws it. The peace process between Syria and Israel will not be obstructed by anyone, neither Iran, Syria, Israel, nor even America, because this settlement will return the Golan and what remains of the Shebaa Farms to Syria, and the nuclear deal is restored, and the international balance in west Asia is achieved, the message is specifically addressed to the Israeli people, and by the Syrian Arab Army, and it coincided with the election of President Bashar al-Assad. It is a Russian-Iranian-Syrian message with an explosive head.
Jewish settlers set Palestinian cars on fire. (Photo: Video Grab)
Jewish settlers Wednesday overnight set three Palestinian-owned vehicles on fire near the village of Beit Iksa, northwest of Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Local sources said that a group of Jewish settlers torched the vehicles, which were parked nearby the illegal Israeli settlement of Ramot, spray-painted racist graffiti, and smashed the window shields of other vehicles parked in the area.
— Joe Catron 𓂆 #SaveSheikhJarrah (@jncatron) April 28, 2021
In March, Jewish settlers set two Palestinian vehicles on fire and scrawled hate graffiti in the village.
“Price tag” refers to an underground anti-Palestinian Israeli group that routinely attacks Palestinians in the occupied territories and inside Israel.
The Israeli government still refuses to label it as a terrorist organization and considers it only a group of vandals.
Settlers Violence Alert!
Israeli fanatic settlers set Palestinian vehicles to fire in Beit Iksa village in occupied #Jerusalem last night. These Israeli settlers storm Palestinian villages under the protection of Israeli forces. pic.twitter.com/21SumrpDyy
Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
Settler violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.
There are over 700,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.
We have available video in Russian and transcript in English.
Transcript:
Dmitry Kiselev: Our relations with the United States are really “hell”. Personally, I don’t recall them being at such a low ebb ever before. This is even worse than the Cold War times, in my opinion. Ambassadors have returned back to their home countries. What’s going to happen next? What is the possible scenario?
Sergey Lavrov: If it depended on us alone, we would gladly resume normal relations. The first possible step towards this, which I regard as obvious, is to zero out the measures restricting the work of Russian diplomats in the United States. It was as a response measure that we restricted the operations of American diplomats in Russia.
We proposed this to the Biden administration as soon as it had taken the oath and assumed office. I have mentioned the idea to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. I did not try to press it; I just said that an obvious way to normalise our relations would be to zero out the measures initiated by Barack Obama. Several weeks before leaving office, he was so annoyed he virtually slammed the door by seizing Russian property in violation of all the Vienna conventions and throwing Russian diplomats out. This has caused a chain reaction.
We patiently sat back for a long time, until the summer of 2017, before taking any response measures. The Trump administration asked us to disregard the excessive measures taken by the outgoing Obama administration. However, Donald Trump’s team failed to normalise the situation, and so we had to take reciprocal measures. But the Americans have not stopped there.
We can see that the Biden administration continues to go downhill, although US President Biden said during his conversation with President of Russia Vladimir Putin soon after his inauguration, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told me that they are thoroughly reviewing their relations with Russia, hoping that this would clarify many things. However, instead they adopted new sanctions, which triggered not simply a mirror response on our part. Our response was asymmetrical, just as we had warned them on numerous occasions. It has to do, in part, with a considerable disparity in the number of diplomats and other personnel of the US diplomatic missions in Russia, which is way above the number of Russian diplomats in the United States.
As for the strategic picture of our relations, I hope that Washington is aware, just as Moscow is, of our responsibility for global stability. There are not only the problems of Russia and the United States, which are complicating our citizens’ lives and their contacts, communications, businesses and humanitarian projects, but also differences that are posing a serious risk to international security in the broadest possible meaning of the word.
You remember how we responded to the outrage that took place during Joe Biden’s interview with ABC. You are also aware of how President Putin reacted to President Biden’s proposal of a meeting. We have taken a positive view of this, but we would like to understand all aspects of this initiative, which we are currently analysing.
Nothing good will come out of this, unless the United States stops acting as a sovereign, as President Putin said during his Address to the Federal Assembly, accepts the futility of any attempts to revive the unipolar world or to create an architecture where all Western countries would be subordinate to the United States and the Western camp would work together to “rally” other countries across the world against China and Russia, admits that it was for a purpose that the UN Charter sealed such principles as respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as non-interference in the internal affairs of other states and sovereign equality of states, and simply honours its commitments and starts talking with us, just as with any other country, on the basis of respect for each other and for a balance of interests, which must be established. President Putin said this clearly in his Address, pointing out that Russia is always open to broad international agreements if they suit our interests. But we will harshly respond to any attempts to cross the red line, which we ourselves will determine.
Dmitry Kiselev: Would it be realistic to expect them to become aware of this and stop acting as a sovereign? Hope is fine, but the reality is completely different.
Sergey Lavrov: I have not expressed any hope. I just mentioned the conditions on the basis of which we will be ready to talk.
Dmitry Kiselev: And what if they refuse?
Sergey Lavrov: It will be their choice. This means that we will be living in conditions of a Cold War, or even worse, as you have already mentioned. In my opinion, tension did run high during the Cold War and there were numerous high-risk conflict situations, but there was also mutual respect. I believe that this is lacking now.
There have been some schizophrenic notes in the statements made by some of the Washington officials. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said just a while ago that sanctions against Russia would be continued, that they are producing, by and large, a desired effect, and that their objective is not to “escalate” with Russia. Even I am at a loss about how to comment on this. I hope anyone can see that such statements are doing no credit to those who are upholding and promoting this policy.
Dmitry Kiselev: I had a chance to hear an opinion – perhaps even a commonplace opinion, to some extent, in certain circles – to the effect that diplomats are doing a poor job, that we are constantly digging in our heels, that our position is inflexible and non-elastic, and this is the reason why our relations are poor.
Sergey Lavrov: Are you alluding to circles inside this country?
Dmitry Kiselev: Yes, inside this country.
Sergey Lavrov: Yes, I also read these things. Thankfully, this country protects freedom of speech much better than many Western countries, including the United States. I read the opposition’s online resources and newspapers, and I think that perhaps these people have a right to express their point of view that consists in the following: “If we refrained from disputing with the West, we’d have Parmesan cheese and lots more things that we are sincerely missing; but for some reason, they have cut short food purchases in the West [they do not even explain that this was done in response], they have stopped buying food and gone into import substitution, thus increasing the price of food.”
You know, this is a narrow, lopsided view taken entirely from the standpoint of creature comforts, a choice between a television set and a fridge. If they think it essential to accept US values, I would like to remind them about what US President John Kennedy, the greatest US President to my mind, once said: “Don’t think what your country can do for you. Think what you can do for your country.” This is a radical distinction from today’s liberal views, where personal wellbeing and personal feelings alone are the things that matter.
The promoters of these philosophical approaches, as I see it, are not just unaware of what our genetic code is all about, but are trying in every way to undermine it. For, apart from the desire to live well, to be well-fed, to be confident that one’s children, friends and relatives are well too, a feeling of national pride always played an equally important role in what we did throughout our one thousand years’ history. If someone thinks that these values are of no importance for him or her, as it is [politically] correct to say now, it is their choice, but I am certain that the overwhelming majority of our people have a different opinion.
Dmitry Kiselev: Are you counting on a meeting with Antony Blinken? When can this meeting be held, and will it take place at all in the foreseeable future?
Sergey Lavrov: When we were talking over the phone, I congratulated him in keeping with the diplomatic etiquette. We exchanged a few appraisals of the [current] situation. The talk was, I feel, well-meaning, calm and pragmatic. When our US colleagues have completed staffing their Department of State, we will be prepared to resume contacts – naturally, on the understanding that we will engage in a search for mutually acceptable arrangements on many problems, starting from the functioning of the diplomatic missions and ending with strategic stability and many other things. US and Russian business communities are concerned with expanding their cooperation, something that the American-Russian Chamber of Commerce has recently told us. We have concluded by stating that there will be some joint multilateral events, on whose sidelines we will be able, as chance offers, to talk. But no signals have come from the US so far. Speaking about the schedule of events, Russia will be taking over the Arctic Council chairmanship from Iceland three weeks from now. An Arctic Council ministerial meeting is scheduled to take place in Reykjavík on May 20-21. If Secretary Blinken leads the US delegation, I will, of course, be prepared to talk with him, if he is interested. Given that we will chair the Arctic Council for the next two years, I have informed our Iceland colleagues that I will attend this ministerial meeting.
Dmitry Kiselev: Is there any certainty as to who will definitely join the list of unfriendly states?
Sergey Lavrov: The Government of Russia is attending to this on instructions from President of Russia Vladimir Putin. We are participating in this work, as are other respective agencies. I would not like to jump the gun right now. We are reluctant to be indiscriminate and put on that list just any country that will say somewhere “something wrong” about Russia. Our decision will be based, of course, on a deep-going analysis of the situation and on whether we see opportunities to have a dialogue with that country in a different way. If we come to the conclusion that there is no chance of this, then, I think, the list will, of course, be periodically extended. But this is not a “dead” paper. As is only natural, it will be revised in tune with how our relations develop with this or that state.
Dmitry Kiselev: When will the public be able to read this list?
Sergey Lavrov: Soon, I think. The Russian Government has concrete assignments. We understand the criteria that are guiding us in this work. So, I think, the wait will not be very long now.
Dmitry Kiselev: Will the unfriendly states be banned from hiring local workforce?
Sergey Lavrov: There will be a ban on hiring any physical persons whether Russian or foreign.
Dmitry Kiselev: Is this the only measure with regard to unfriendly states or some others are in the offing?
Sergey Lavrov: At this stage, this is the concrete aim set in the executive order signed by President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
Dmitry Kiselev: Donbass is another subject. Tensions have continued to escalate there since early 2021, and it appears that they have subsided a little since US President Joe Biden called President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. In my show News of the Week, I noted that US military guarantees to Ukraine had turned out to be a bluff. Nevertheless, shootouts continue, and they are using banned large-calibre weapons. It seems like this peace is not very different from war, and that the balance is highly unstable. Over 500,000 Russian citizens now live in Donbass. Will there be a war?
Sergey Lavrov: War can and should be avoided, if this depends on us and on the self-defence fighters, as far as we understand their principled approaches. I cannot speak and make guesses on behalf of the Ukrainian party and President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky because, by all indications, his main goal is to stay in power. He is ready to pay any price, such as pandering to neo-Nazis and ultra-radicals who continue to brand the Donbass self-defence fighters as terrorists. Our Western colleagues should reassess the developments that have taken place since February 2014. None of these districts attacked the rest of Ukraine. They were branded as terrorists, and an anti-terrorist operation was launched against them and then another operation involving “joint forces.”. But we do know for sure that they have no desire to make war on representatives of the Kiev regime.
I have repeatedly told our Western colleagues, who are totally biased in their assessment of current developments, and who unconditionally defend Kiev’s actions, that Russian journalists and war correspondents working on the other side of the demarcation line show an objective picture. They work in trenches there almost without respite, and they provide daily news reports. These reports show the feelings of the people living in these territories that are cut off from the rest of Ukraine by an economic blockade, where children and civilians are being regularly killed, and where the civilian infrastructure, schools and kindergartens are being destroyed. I asked our Western colleagues why they don’t encourage their media outlets to organise the same work on the left side of the demarcation line, so that the scale of damage there can be assessed and to see which facilities have been the hardest hit.
As for the recent developments, when we openly announced the military exercises in the Southern and Western military districts – we made no secret of that, you remember the shouts about the alleged Russian build-up on the border with Ukraine. Just take a look at the terms used: we speak about drills in the Southern and Western military districts, while they say that Russia is amassing troops on the Ukrainian border. And when the drills ended and we made the relevant announcement, the West claimed maliciously that Russia had to back off, to withdraw. This is an example of wishful thinking.
This is reminiscent of the situation with the G7: every time they meet they announce that Russia will not be invited to the group. We have stated on numerous occasions that we will never re-join it, that there will not be any G8, and that this is a thing of the past. However, continued references to this subject, as well as claims that Russia has “rolled back” and has ordered its troops to “return to their barracks” shows, of course, that in this instance the West wants above all to take advantage of this situation to prove that it has the last word and the dominant place in modern international relations. This is regrettable.
The subject of a settlement in Ukraine has been discussed by President Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The other day President Putin spoke about it with President of France Emmanuel Macron. The issue was also raised during a recent conversation with US President Joe Biden. The situation is clear, as I see it. The patrons of President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and his team refuse to make him honour the Minsk Agreements, even though they are aware of the futility of trying to use military force; they have heard the signals sent from Donetsk and Lugansk about their readiness to defend their land, their homes and their people who refuse to live by the laws being enforced by neo-Nazis.
President Putin has said clearly that we will never abandon the people of Donbass, who are standing up to the openly radical neo-Nazi regime. President Zelensky keeps saying in his interviews that there are no problems with the Russian language or the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, and that he is willing to discuss all these subjects with President Putin. It is a shame perhaps that a person I have always regarded as clever says that the Russian language and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have no problems in Ukraine. I have no doubt that he is very well aware of the situation. Maybe nothing at all is being reported to him, but in that case he is living in a dream world. But the West has definitely sent its signals to Zelensky.
As you have mentioned, it would be senseless to pin hopes on US military assistance. This has always been clear to everyone. If anyone entertained such illusions, such advisers are good for nothing in any government, including the government of Mr Zelensky. Regrettably, the West continues to try to convince us that the Minsk Agreements should be mitigated and the sequence of the actions set out in them changed. Zelensky says he likes the agreements, but only if it is all the other way round, that they first take full control of these territories, including the border with Russia, and only then deal with the elections, amnesty and a special status for these territories. It is clear that if they did this, if they were allowed to do this, there would be a massacre. The West is unable or unwilling to force Zelensky to comply with the Minsk Agreements strictly in accordance with the sequence set out in them, which does not permit any double interpretation and has been formulated unambiguously from the first to the last step. Control of the border is the very last step to be taken after these territories receive a special status, which must be sealed in the Constitution of Ukraine, after free elections are held there and their results are recognised as such by the OSCE.
Of course, there must also be total amnesty. Not in the way envisaged by the Poroshenko government or the current regime, which only want to approve an amnesty on an individual basis for those who are proved to have committed no crime. This is yet another misinterpretation. The Minsk Agreements stipulate an amnesty for those who took part in fighting on both sides, without any transitional justice process, which our Western colleagues are now beginning to discuss.
I believe that the brunt of responsibility lies with the West, because only the West can make President Zelensky honour the commitments which his predecessor signed and he himself signed in Paris in December 2019 when he, the presidents of Russia and France and the Chancellor of Germany reaffirmed the absence of any alternative to the strict observance of the Minsk Agreements, and he pledged to amend the legislation and the Ukrainian Constitution to formalise the special status of Donbass on a permanent basis.
Dmitry Kiselev: Many people are wondering why Russia fails to recognise Donbass. It did recognise Abkhazia and South Ossetia. There is an inner “lobby” in Russia, even among my fellow journalists, who are demanding that we recognise Donbass – the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic. Why are we failing in this?
Sergey Lavrov: You are right that there is an analogy with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But there is just one exception: no agreements similar to the Minsk Package of Measures were signed in those countries, when Saakashvili’s aggression against Tskhinval and the positions of peacekeepers, including Russian peacekeepers, occurred. The Medvedev-Sarkozy document was discussed there, and it implied a number of steps. But it was not signed by Georgia. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, after reaching an agreement with us in Moscow, took a plane to Tbilisi to ensure Saakashvili’s support for the document. Saakashvili signed it, but he deleted all the key provisions. Mr Sarkozy attempted to represent this as a compromise, but everyone understood everything. It had a preamble saying that the Russian Federation and the French Republic, desirous of normalising the situation in South Caucasus, propose to Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia the following: a ceasefire. Saakashvili crossed out the heading, leaving just the first and subsequent items. Since then, the West has been demanding that we comply with these agreements. This is just an example.
In the case of Donbass, the situation was different. The 17-hour long negotiations in Minsk involving the Normandy format leaders (President Franсois Hollande of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Petr Poroshenko of Ukraine, and President of Russia Vladimir Putin) produced a result, which was endorsed, two days later, by the UN Security Council without any amendments or doubts that it should be implemented.
Today, the moral and international legal truth is on our side and on the side of the Donbass militias. I think that we must not let Mr Zelensky and his entire team “off the hook,” writhing as they might. Mr Zelensky’s statement is a fine specimen (made when he had all but given up hope of turning the Minsk Agreements upside down) to the effect that they are no good, albeit necessary, because the saving of the Minsk Agreements guarantees that the sanctions against Moscow will be preserved as well. We asked the West, what they think about this. They just look aside shamefacedly and say nothing. I think it is a shame and a disgrace, when an international legal document is held up to mockery in this manner. The West, which has co-authored this document and supported it at the UN Security Council, is demonstrating absolute helplessness.
Dmitry Kiselev: President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky cannot get a call through to President of Russia Vladimir Putin, who is not picking up the receiver. Your Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitry Kuleba, cannot get a call through to you. What does this mean? Why is this?
Sergey Lavrov: This means that they are seeking to revise the Minsk Agreements and represent Russia as a party to the conflict even in this area of their activities.
Requests that came in until recently both from my counterpart Kuleba and President Zelensky dealt with the topic of settlement in Donbass. We replied that this [topic] should be discussed not with us, but with Donetsk and Lugansk, as you agreed under the Minsk Agreements. The agreements say in black and white that the key stages of settlement should be the subject of consultations and coordination with Donetsk and Lugansk. When they say that a “nasty situation is looming large” at the line of contact and want to talk to Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin, they are barking up the wrong tree. Meeting with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in the Kremlin the other day, President Putin made it amply clear that if they wanted to talk about this, the address should be different. If our colleagues, including President Zelensky, want to discuss how to normalise bilateral relations, they are welcome. We are always ready to talk about this.
Dmitry Kiselev: There is no reply or acceptance so far, is there?
Sergey Lavrov: I heard that Mr Zelensky instructed the chief of his office, Andrey Yermak, to come to terms on the timeframes. The location is of no importance, because each day of delay means new deaths.
Incidentally, let us take the fact that people are dying and what is happening at the line of contact. Over the last couple of weeks, Kiev has been insisting quite aggressively on the need to reaffirm the ceasefire. All of its Western patrons have also been urging us to influence Donbass so that the ceasefire takes hold in earnest. Speaking on the phone with President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel last week, President Putin reminded them of the facts. And the facts are as follows: In July 2020, the Contact Group reached what was perhaps the most serious and effective ceasefire agreement, because it contained a verification mechanism. It implied a sequence of actions, primarily each side’s commitment not to return fire immediately on the spot but report the violation to the top command and wait for its order on how to act, to wit, whether to respond in kind or to negotiate an arrangement under the mechanisms created for commander-to-commander liaison on the ground. This agreement, as it was implied, was translated into military orders issued by the DPR and the LPR. These orders were published. Kiev pledged to do the same, but did nothing. Instead it started fiddling with words again. Instead of performing the obligation to report each shelling attack to the top command and get orders from them, they began replacing this clear-cut arrangement with confused formulas, although they were blamed for this by Donetsk and Lugansk at all subsequent meetings, and Russian representatives in the Contact Group, too, repeatedly said as much. The same happened in the Normandy Format. This is what Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Dmitry Kozak has been doing all these months in contacts with his French and German colleagues. The head of President Zelensky’s Office, Andrey Yermak, was representing Ukraine. I read transcripts of their talks. It was like talking to a brick wall. They were at cross purposes: the Ukrainian leaders had obviously decided that it was necessary to revive the ceasefire story. It was shameful and unseemly.
It was a great pleasure to watch the Servant of the People series, when no one suspected that its main character would follow this path in real life. But he took the wrong path. If Mr Zelensky watched the series again today and tried to fathom the convictions of the person he had impersonated so well on screen, and later compared those convictions with what he is doing now, he would, perhaps, have achieved one of the most effective transformations. I do not know when he was himself and when he underwent a transformation. But the contrast is striking.
Dmitry Kiselev: Another subject is the Czech Republic. What was it? How are we to understand it?
Sergey Lavrov: I cannot speculate on this because I do not understand intellectually what they wanted. One can watch it like a not too elegant television series.
This story is full of schizophrenic components. Czech president Milos Zeman says it should be sorted out, not denying the possibility of a subversive act by foreign agents, but suggesting taking into account the story told by the Czech leadership, including the incumbent Prime Minister Andrej Babis (the then Minister of Finance, in 2014), that it was the result of negligence by the depot owners. President Zeman only suggested that consideration should be given to the case that has never been disproven over the seven years. He is accused of high treason now. President of the Senate Milos Vystrcil said that by stating the need to investigate all the leads President Zeman had disclosed a state secret. Is this not schizophrenia? A pure case, I think.
There needs to be an investigation into what was stored in the depot. The German media said that they kept antipersonnel mines prohibited by the convention signed, inter alia, by the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. A lot of questions remain.
Dmitry Kiselev: Indeed, how could it happen that a certain Bulgarian citizen supplying antipersonnel mines (by all appearances they were found there), controlled a depot in the Czech Republic which was not then under the control of the government?
Sergey Lavrov: It so happens.
Dmitry Kiselev: Maybe the Czechs would be better to start with themselves?
Sergey Lavrov: Probably. Or follow the example of Ukraine where too a vast number of armed people, weapons and ammunition are controlled not by the Ukrainian armed forces, but by “volunteer battalions.” It is a trend where the state proves its inability to ensure, if you like, its monopoly over the use of force.
Dmitry Kiselev: Ukraine is one thing but the Czech Republic is a member of the EU. It is bound by other international commitments than those of Ukraine and presents itself differently.
Sergey Lavrov: Above all, in addition to the aforementioned conventions (Ottawa Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention and the so-called Arms Trade Treaty, they are all parties to it), the EU has its own quite strict rules that do not encourage but rather prohibit any actions like supplies and sending forces to regions where there are conflicts.
Dmitry Kiselev: What do you think about the so-called British files? This looks like an orchestrated information campaign against Russia.
Sergey Lavrov: As before, the British continue to play a very active, serious and subversive role in relations between Russia and Europe. Britain has withdrawn from the EU but it has not slackened its activities there. On the contrary, it has been trying to exert maximum influence on the EU countries’ positions towards Moscow. This is not surprising at all.
You don’t even need to go very far back in history. In 2006, Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned with polonium. The inquest began in one way, and then the process was classified because it was necessary to analyse the materials of intelligence services. And then they announced the verdict, but the materials involved in the case have never been made public. As Arnold Schwarzenegger used to say, “Trust me.” I would rather side with Ronald Reagan’s “trust but verify.” But they don’t allow us to verify; they only demand that we trust them.
In 2014, the Malaysian Boeing was downed. They formed a team comprising a narrow group of four countries – the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia and Ukraine. They did not even invite Malaysia, the country that lost the plane. These four countries have agreed, as it has since transpired, that any information would only be revealed on the basis of consensus. Ukraine, where the disaster took place, was given the right of veto, while Malaysia was invited to join the group only six months later. The black boxes, which the self-defence forces provided to Malaysia, were analysed in London. I don’t recall them making the information public.
In 2018, there were the Skripals and the “highly likely.” Nobody knows to this day how the Skripals survived the alleged poisoning, why the police officer who worked with them did not display any symptoms of poisoning, and why the woman involved died while her partner did not get sick. There are very many questions.
In 2020, we had the case of Alexey Navalny. He was flying from Tomsk to Moscow, but the plane landed in Omsk. Nobody on board the plane or in the Omsk hospital got sick. A bottle of water [from his hotel room] was taken by Maria Pevchikh to Germany on the plane that transported Navalny – nobody knows anything. Doctors at the Charité hospital did not find any traces of poison, but they were found at the Bundeswehr. German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer demanded transparency in connection with our recent military drills in the southern and western regions of Russia. But we announced the drills beforehand, whereas the Bundeswehr, whose experts allegedly found traces of Navalny’s poisoning, is keeping information from us. Our request for the results of tests and biomaterials has been denied.
After that there was a long story involving the OPCW. It allegedly took part in collecting samples from Navalny. According to the remarkable information from Berlin, German experts were present during the collection of the samples, but OPCW experts are not mentioned at all. We are trying to sort this information out. Nobody wants to explain anything. Germany is directing us to the OPCW, which says that the request came from Germany and so we should ask them. It is a conspiracy of silence. We have seen this happen in crime movies about bandit groups operating all over the country after the war. This is regrettable.
Getting back to Britain, we can see that London is continuing its anti-Russia policy. Chief of the UK Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) Richard Moore said a few days ago that Russia is “a declining power” whose allegedly “reckless behaviour” needs to be dealt with. This is inherent arrogance and a belief that they continue to rule the world. They are sending “signals” to us and propose establishing ties. In other words, they are not against communicating with us, but they are trying to discourage others from doing the same. This could be an aspiration for a monopoly of contacts and a desire to prove that they are superior to others.
Dmitry Kiselev: Speaking about decline, Britain is a perfect example of a declining empire “on which the sun never sets,” a small island in the North Sea with clouded prospects. To return to the Czech Republic, opinions within the country on the latest developments are totally inconsistent. There is no consensus, and nothing has yet been proven, but diplomats have been expelled. There has already been a result.
Sergey Lavrov: They claim that this is not the reason why our diplomats were expelled. Two statements were made on the same day. They appeared to be interconnected. Prague is now trying to prove that there is no connection between them. They have announced that the explosions were organised by Petrov and Boshirov, the ubiquitous Russian suspects. It’s like blaming them for the sinking of the Titanic. The same day it was announced that 18 diplomats would have to leave the country. The majority of people accepted this as “punishment” for the 2014 explosions. After that, the Czech authorities said they would track down Petrov and Boshirov and issue an arrest warrant for them. As for the 18 diplomats, they identified them as spies. They expelled them because they turned out to be intelligence agents. No proof that any of these 18 diplomats are guilty of illegal activities has been provided. It is not surprising that former Czech President Vaclav Klaus said that the country’s authorities were like a tiny pooch barking at a huge dog, hoping that the big boys (the United States and Britain) would throw their weight behind them. Do you remember a time from your childhood when local bullies waited until dusk to demand 15 kopeks from a smaller kid, and if he refused they summoned the “big boys.” The logic is very similar. This is regrettable.
We never schemed against our Czech colleagues. Why would we need to blow up that warehouse? Some people say that the Russians were angry that the Bulgarian planned to send munitions to Ukraine. This is a completely schizophrenic view of the situation. This is impossible to imagine. But the machinery has been set in motion. I hope our Czech colleagues will come to their senses after all and will take a look at what they have done. If reason prevails, we will be ready to gradually rebuild the conditions for our diplomatic missions to function normally. If not, we will make do. We know how we will be working. We don’t have to ingratiate ourselves with anyone.
Dmitry Kiselev: Working on what?
Sergey Lavrov: We know how we will be working in the Czech Republic and other countries. Pinpoint attacks are being made against Russia in the Baltics, Poland and, recently, Romania. Bucharest has added, though, that its decision was in no way connected to the EU’s position. This came as a surprise. They just decided to send that Russian diplomat back home. Why? They have not explained.
Dmitry Kiselev: It is notable that Germany has not supported the Czech Republic.
Sergey Lavrov: I have read the relevant statement by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. He spoke like a responsible politician. It is not always that the German Foreign Ministry takes such a balanced and astute position. Many of its other statements have indiscriminately supported injustice, for example when Ukraine adopted sanctions against the Opposition Platform – For Life political party, its leader Viktor Medvedchuk and several of his associates, all of them Ukrainian citizens. The German Foreign Ministry expressed its approval, saying that this was fully in keeping with OSCE principles. This is absurd.
Therefore, what Heiko Maas said the other day is a responsible political statement. It has not smoothed over differences but pointed out the importance of maintaining dialogue and looking for agreements, since we live side by side.
Dmitry Kiselev: Recently in China, you said we needed to look for alternatives to the SWIFT international payment system, and Russia was preparing for this. Is there a specific timeframe, and what stage of the preparations are we at?
Sergey Lavrov: Many have already spoken about this. This is happening because in recent years, the West has been looking for more ways of infringing on Russia’s legitimate interests. Now they are openly mentioning the possibility of disconnecting our country from SWIFT. Responsible politicians just have to think of ways to play it safe.
In addition to these statements, the United States is increasingly abusing the role of the dollar in the international monetary system, using certain countries’ dependence on dollar settlements to limit their competitive opportunities – China and other states they dislike. China, Russia, and Turkey are now looking for opportunities to reduce their dependence on the dollar by switching to alternative currencies, or even better – by making settlements in their national currencies. The responsible agencies, including in our country, are thinking about how to prevent damage to the economy and the financial system if some hotheads actually disconnect us from SWIFT. Russia launched a national payment card system a few years ago; MIR cards have been in use in Russia since then. The system is already developing ties with its foreign counterparts, as similar cards are being issued in China and Japan. It is also building ties with the internationally accepted payment card Maestro.
As regards the SWIFT system, specifically, the Central Bank of Russia recently introduced and continued to develop a system for the transfer of financial messages. It is quite popular. I think we need to support and strengthen this in every possible way to ensure we do not depend on anyone. Let me emphasise that we are not trying to self-isolate. We want to be part of the international community. Part of a community where justice and democracy work. We have discussed the problems of democracy with the West. But once they are asked to come to an agreement, to declare that democracy should triumph in international relations, too, they lose their enthusiasm. They are full of lectures on internal democratic processes, but when it comes to the international arena, we get raised eyebrows. Here, allegedly, there are established ‘practices’ that ‘Russia and China are trying to implement’ (it’s about this). But in reality, Moscow and Beijing only want to preserve the principles of the UN Charter, according to which everyone is equal and must seek agreement.
One needs to have a safety net in terms of payment systems and transfer of financial messages. We have one. I hope it will grow stronger and be able to provide a guarantee if suddenly, contrary to our desire to cooperate with everyone, the West discriminates against Russia, abusing its current position in the international economic and monetary systems, in this situation, we really cannot afford to depend on anyone.
Dmitry Kiselev: So the Central Bank’s system for transfer of financial messages is the budding alternative to SWIFT?
Sergey Lavrov: I am not an expert. I don’t know how reliably and effectively it provides a full warranty. But the groundwork is already there. I am confident that the Government and the Central Bank must do everything to make it reliable and guarantee us complete independence and protection from more damage that might be inflicted on us.
Dmitry Kiselev: In a conversation with your Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, you proposed an initiative to create a coalition of countries affected by illegal sanctions. To what extent has this project progressed? What countries could join it?
Sergey Lavrov: I would not put it like that. We have been working at the UN for a long time to end the practice of unilateral illegitimate sanctions such as embargoes, blockades and other restrictions. We have been working for a number of decades to lift the embargo the United States declared on Cuba. The respective resolution is supported by more than 190 votes annually, with only the United States and one small island nation voting against it.
However, since this practice of unilateral restrictions began to be widely used (started by Barack Obama, expanded by Donald Trump, and applied to this day), a large group of countries voted in the UN to establish the position of Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights and their impact on the civilian population and the socioeconomic situation in a particular country. Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan is a citizen of Belarus. This institution, created by the UN General Assembly, is working and circulating reports. I think it is a very useful step.
Another specific course of action is now being developed in New York to the same end, as you mentioned, to counter illegal unilateral measures. It is a group in support of the UN Charter. Nothing revolutionary – just in response to our Western colleagues forming flagrantly non-universal groups.
US President Joe Biden has put forth the idea of holding a Summit for Democracy. Naturally, the Americans will recruit the participants and will judge who is worthy to be called a democracy and who is not.
Also, in recent years, our French and German colleagues have being making calls to ensure freedom of the media through the Alliance for Multilateralism, a group they announced outside the framework of universal institutions. They rallied more than thirty states under its banners even though there is UNESCO, where the same topic is discussed by everyone.
Or, there was an appeal in support of international humanitarian law. Law is universal. It is the responsibility of the UN bodies. But again, they recruited about 50 states.
Such appeals have nothing to do with universal bodies, but they cover the agenda that is discussed at a universal level. They place that agenda into a framework where they are more comfortable negotiating with those who obey, and then they present it as the ultimate truth.
This movement against illegitimate unilateral actions is much broader than just sanctions.
Dmitry Kiselev: Can this movement be formalised by membership?
Sergey Lavrov: The membership is in the UN. This is the difference: we are not creating anything against anyone. In the Asia-Pacific region, we would like to leave everything as it is. ASEAN has its partners, while anyone else can join security discussions. The logic of the West acts against this. They are implementing the Indo-Pacific Strategy with its declared goal of containing China and isolating Russia.
The same is happening at the UN. They create various partnerships on topics that need to be discussed as part of the UN agenda. We insist that everyone must fulfil their obligations under the UN Charter, not scatter the global agenda across their compartments, only to present it later as the international community’s opinion.
Dmitry Kiselev: A recent update: the Americans confirmed they had made efforts to prevent Brazil from buying the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. Brazil indeed refused, even though the coronavirus situation in that country is simply awful. What is your assessment?
Sergey Lavrov: This does not surprise me. The Americans are not even embarrassed to do things like that; they are not hiding it.
When former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travelled to Africa, he openly and publicly called on his colleagues at a press conference to cut off trade with Russia and China because these countries pursue selfish goals. Right, the United States trades with African states for the sole benefit of their peoples, of course.
As for the vaccine issue, a protest movement kicked off in Brazil against that decision. If the Americans have admitted they were behind it, that means they are true to their logic and believe everything is possible and permitted, and they can now openly dictate their will.
Not so long ago, French President Emmanuel Macron warned of a new type of world war, and that Russia and China were using vaccines as a weapon and means of propaganda. That rhetoric is now receding. Germany, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, is already seriously talking about the possibility of using the Russian vaccine.
We are not going to force anyone. I think life itself will set things straight. Vladimir Vysotsky said: “I always try to find the good in people. They will show the bad themselves.”
Dmitry Kiselev: A year ago, in an interview with our agency in the midst of the pandemic, you said you missed football. Are you back to sport yet?
Sergey Lavrov: In fact, I am. I did miss playing for a couple of weeks. We took a break and kept it low-key. But later, when we realised what precautions we could take, the games resumed. We play every Sunday.
IOF excessive use of force in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem: 181 Palestinians wounded, including 4 journalists and 3 children
177 injuries were reported in occupied East Jerusalem, including the 4 journalists
Five IOF shootings reported at agricultural areas (east) and six others on fishing boats in Gaza sea
Israeli occupation closes Gaza sea and bans fishing
1 fisherman wounded and fishing boat damaged in 5 shootings reported at fishing boats off the Gaza coast
In 139 IOF incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem: 150 civilians arrested, including 12 children, two journalists, a writer, and a paramedic
Limited IOF incursion into eastern Rafah and Khan Younis; 3 Palestinians arrested, including a child, after crossing the border fence
The occupation ratifies decision to confiscate 147 dunums west of Bethlehem for settlement expansion purposes
Wide-scale Settler-attacks: shootings and assaults on Palestinian civilians and trees uprooted across the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem
IOF established 39 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank and arrested 20 Palestinian civilians on said checkpoints
Summary
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued to commit crimes and multi-layered violations against Palestinian civilians and their properties, including raids into Palestinian cities that are characterized with excessive use of force, assault, abuse and attacks on civilians that are mostly conducted after midnight and in the early morning hours. This week, IOF repression against Palestinian worshipers in Bab al-‘Amoud (Damascus Gate), which leads to al-Aqsa Mosque, was the most prominent event as dozens were wounded and arrested. Settler-attacks witnessed a rise this week too on Palestinian civilians and their properties across the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Also, this week, IOF closed the Gaza sea and banned fishing in violation of Palestinian fishermen’s social and economic rights and their right to work as per Article 6 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. PCHR documented 214 violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law (IHL) by IOF and settlers in the oPt.
IOF shooting and violation of right to bodily integrity:
181 Palestinians sustained wounds, including 4 journalists and 3 children, as a result of IOF excessive use of force against civilians in the West Bank: 177, including 4 journalists, in the largest IOF repression campaigns against Palestinians in recent month, centered in Bab al-‘Amoud are in occupied East Jerusalem. Dozens of others suffocated due to tear gas inhalation, and others were wounded in various IOF assaults on protests in solidarity with Jerusalemites across the West Bank.
In the Gaza Strip, a fisherman was wounded, and a fishing boat damaged in 5 IOF shootings on fishing boats in the Gaza sea. Also, Israeli warplanes launched several airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, 3 of them targeted agricultural lands in eastern Rafah and Khan Younis. Additionally, 5 IOF shootings were reported on agricultural lands and protests eastern Gaza.
IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians: IOF carried out 139 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Those incursions included raids of civilian houses and shootings, enticing fear among civilians, and attacking many of them. During this week’s incursions, 150 Palestinians were arrested, including 12 children, two journalists, a writer, and a paramedic. Most of the arrests and raids occurred during the clashes in occupied East Jerusalem, as 114 were arrested in the city.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted a limited incursion into eastern Rafah and arrested 3 Palestinians, including 1 child, after they crossed the border fence. Two of them were later released.
Demolitions:
The occupation authorities ratified a decision to confiscate 147 dunums west of Bethlehem for settlement expansion purposes.
Settler-attacks: PCHR fieldworkers reported and documented 8 attacks:
Salfit: shooting at Salfit entrance; 12 trees uprooted in Haris.
Bethlehem: Palestinian-owned lands planted in Teqoa
Hebron: farmers and vehicles assaulted in eastern Yatta, and others assaulted in Haret Jaber
Ramallah: assaults and roads blocked in eastern Umm Safa
East Jerusalem: 3 vehicles set ablaze in Beit Iksa
Nablus: vehicles assaulted
Israeli closure policy and restrictions on freedom of movement:
On Monday, 26 April 2021, the Israeli occupation authorities closed the Gaza sea and banned all fishing or sailing activities in a manifestation of its collective punishment policy against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip that directly denies fishermen their sources of livelihood.
The Gaza Strip still suffers the worst closure in the history of the Israeli occupation of the oPt as it has entered the 14th consecutive year, without any improvement to the movement of persons and goods, humanitarian conditions and bearing catastrophic consequences on all aspects of life. The United Nations confirmed that the Gaza conditions are worsening, with deteriorating health, power, and water services. The UN emphasized that the Gaza Strip requires immense efforts in the housing and education sectors and to create job opportunities.
Meanwhile, IOF continued to divide the West Bank into separate cantons with key roads blocked by the Israeli occupation since the Second Intifada and with temporary and permanent checkpoints, where civilian movement is restricted, and they are subject to arrest.
Shooting and other Violations of the Right to Life and Bodily Integrity
Israeli suppression campaign in occupied East Jerusalem
On Thursday and over few days, occupied East Jerusalem witnessed mass assaults by IOF and settlers against the Palestinian civilians in hit and run clashes, mainly at Bab al-‘Amoud (Damascus Gate, one of East Jerusalem’s Old City gates), and reached many streets and neighborhoods. As a result, 177 civilians, including 4 journalists and a paramedic, were injured and 94 others were arrested, including 9 children and a paramedic. This escalation came after Palestinian civilians gathered following a protest for settlers organized by the Jewish supremacist group “Lehava” to raid Bab al-‘Amoud Area and assault the Palestinian civilians there. This Israeli suppression campaign is the largest in the last months and escalated since the beginning of Ramadan following IOF’s decision to close off Bab al-‘Amoud area and ban any gatherings in its yard or on its stairs, peaking last night.
According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human rights (PCHR), on Thursday, 22 April 2021, hundreds of Israeli police and Border Guard officers, deployed around occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, preemptively upon calls by the Lehava Jewish supremacist group to organize a mass protest for settlers titled as “Defending the National Honor” from Yaffa Street to West Jerusalem, heading to Bab al-‘Amoud, one of East Jerusalem’s Old City Gates, at approximately 22:00, to assault the Palestinians there. Following al-Maghreb Adhan, worshippers flocked to al-Aqsa Mosque via Jerusalem’s wall gates while the Israeli police increased the number of its officers, tightened the restrictions and cordoned off Bab al-‘Amoud area with checkpoints by isolating it from its surrounding. At approximately 21:00, dozens of young Palestinian men gathered near Bab al-‘Amoud area in an attempt to prevent the settlers’ raid. Immediately, IOF assaulted them, sprayed skunk water and heavily fired sound bombs to disperse them. As a result, clashes broke out and spread to the nearby streets and neighborhoods. The clashes intensified when the settlers’ protest arrived at Bab al-‘Amoud area, where they maliciously attempted to cross the checkpoints and clash with the Palestinian young men. The clashes continued between IOF and the Palestinian protesters until 05:30 on Friday 23 April 2021 and resulted in tens of injuries; mostly with rubber bullets and sound bombs or due to suffocation due to teargas inhalation. 21 of the injuries were hospitalized.
During the escalation, IOF carried out a wide-scale arrest campaign against more than 50 Palestinians, including 4 children, according to the Israeli police; most of them were beaten and assaulted. Among the detainees were: As’ad Murad Dari (21), Mohammed Khader Abu al-Hawa (20), Tareq Baker Abu al-Hawa (23), Omar Abu Ghannam (14), Yousef Abu Ghannam (14), Khalil Abu al-Howin (150, and ‘Abed al-Rahman Mahmoud ‘Abed al-Rahman (21).
In the evening, several clashes erupted between Palestinians and IOF and settlers in various areas of occupied East Jerusalem due to settlers’ ongoing attacks on Palestinian civilians.
In the Old City, Israeli settlers topped the roofs of their settlement outposts, attacked Palestinians’ houses during Iftar time, and threw stones and construction materials at their houses’ yards and entrances.
In Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, a group of Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles crossing on Street No.1 and assaulted the drivers. As a result, the windows of many vehicles were broken, an elderly woman was wounded as a result of the shattered glass, and Omar Taha (18) was wounded in his face after Israeli settlers beat him up and broke his vehicle’s windows while he was inside.
Moreover, an Israeli settler opened fire at Palestinian civilians present on Salah al-Deen Street, in the center of occupied East Jerusalem, and fled in his vehicle.
Also, several Palestinian workers were wounded on Jaffa Street after dozens of Israeli settlers beat them up with sticks and sharp tools.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), the toll of injuries caused by IOF’s attacks and escalation in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, has reached 105; 21 of them were taken to the hospital for treatment while the rest were treated on the spot. The injuries caused by firing rubber bullets, sound bombs and teargas canisters and beating; one of those injured was shot in his head and his condition was deemed moderate.
Furthermore, Israeli police announced that they arrested 50 young Palestinian men, who will be brought before Magistrate Court. Also, 20 policemen sustained wounds during clashes in Bab al-‘Amoud area.
Lawyer Feras al-Jebreni told PCHR’s researcher that most of the detainees were assaulted, especially on their heads and faces, and there were signs of beating and bruises on their bodies. He added that among the detainees were a blind man and a boy with heart disease.
Also, on Friday, 23 April 2021, 50 Palestinian protestors, including 3 journalists, were wounded during clashes renewed with IOF in Bab al-‘Amoud area and in occupied East Jerusalem’s villages and neighborhoods against the continued closure of Bab al-‘Amoud area by IOF and banning any gatherings in its yard or on its stairs for the 12th consecutive day, in addition to the ongoing setters’ attacks against Palestinians.
In Bab al-‘Amoud area, when Palestinian worshipers flocked to perform Tarawih prayer in al-Aqsa Mosque, dozens of Palestinian young men gathered in the area and chanted slogans against settlers’ attacks and in support of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque. Few minutes later, IOF surrounded the protestor, forcibly dispersed them, chased them on the city’s streets, and heavily fired rubber bullets and sound bombs at them. As a result, 11 Palestinians, including a journalist, sustained rubber bullets, and sound bomb shrapnel wounds. The wounded journalist Rajay Mahfouz ‘Abed al-Hafiz al-Khatib (42), a reporter and cameraman at Jordan T.V, sustained fracture in his foot after being shot with a rubber bullet. Moreover, 14 protestors sustained bruises after being beaten by IOF. Also, IOF arrested many Palestinians; 4 of them were identified as: Ahmed al-Natsha (23), Mohammed ‘Ali Naser (21)m Rami Baraka (45), and Suhib Hamada (24).
During the escalation, IOF deliberately hindered medical crews’ work in Bab al-‘Amoud and Bab al-Sahera areas and prevented them from providing aid to those injured and arrested during the clashes. Also, many paramedics were beaten.
In Silwan village, south of occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, dozens of Palestinian young men gathered in al-Westa neighborhood and threw stones, Molotov Cocktails and fireworks at settlement outposts. IOF immediately suppressed the protestors, fired rubber bullets and sound bombs at them, chased them in the city’s neighborhoods, and arrested them. Among the arrestees was Mahdi Jaber.
In Isawiya village, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem, violent clashes erupted between IOF and Palestinian young men. During which, 5 protestors were shot with rubber bullets and 2 others fell to the ground and sustained fractures after IOF chased them on the village’s streets.
In Wadi Al-Joz and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhoods, medical crews treated 11 protestors; 2 of them were shot with rubber bullets and 9 sustained sound bombs shrapnel wounds during clashes erupted between dozens of Palestinian young men and IOF after Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians’ houses in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, attempted to raid it and threw stones and Molotov Cocktails at Palestinians’ vehicles parked there. Also, IOF pushed and beat Zina al-Helwani (27), a journalist and reporter at al-Kofiyia channel, and Wahbi Mekkeya (37), a cameraman. As a result, Mekkeya suffered a dislocated shoulder and received treatment at the hospital.
In al-Tur and al-Sewana neighborhoods, east of occupied East Jerusalem, violent clashes erupted between IOF and Palestinian young men and continued for next day dawn. During which, Palestinian young men set pillars of IOF surveillance cameras ablaze and damaged a military vehicle. After that, IOF flooded al-Tur neighborhood with wastewater and fired teargas canisters in the neighborhood.
At Kalandia military checkpoint, north of occupied East Jerusalem, violent clashes erupted between dozens of Palestinian young man and IOF after organizing a protest took off in Kalandia camp, north of occupied East Jerusalem, in support of Jerusalem. As a result, a protestor was shot with a rubber bullet in his leg and a volunteer paramedic was shot with a rubber bullet in his head while providing aid to other protestors. Also, dozens of protestors suffocated due to teargas inhalation.
At military checkpoint (300), which separates Bethlehem from south occupied East Jerusalem, clashes erupted between dozens of Palestinian young men and IOF. During which, IOF fired rubber bullets, sound bombs and teargas canisters at the protestors. As a result, a 30-year-old male, from Dheisheh refugee camp in southern Bethlehem, was shot with a rubber bullet in his left leg and taken to al-Hussain Hospital for treatment.
On Saturday, 24 April 2021, 22 Palestinian protestors, including a reporter, were wounded and 17 others were arrested during violent clashes erupted between dozens of Palestinian young men and IOF in Bab al-‘Amoud area and occupied East Jerusalem’s villages and neighborhoods for the 13th consecutive day against the continued closure of Bab al-‘Amoud area and banning gathering in its yard and on its stairs since the beginning of Ramadan.
In Bab al-‘Amoud area, dozens of Palestinians performed al- Tarawih prayer on its stairs and chanted slogans following the prayer, but IOF immediately dispersed them and fired sound bombs and rubber bullets at them. As a result, violent clashes erupted in the area and continued for several hours. During which, 14 protestors, including a photojournalist working at Anadolu News Agency, were wounded. The photojournalist namely Fayiz Hamza Abu Irmilah was shot with a rubber bullet in his right foot. Also, IOF arrested 3 protestors after severely beat them up. The arrestees were identified as Mansour Ibrahim Mahmoud (24), Nedal Josefe ‘Aboud (25) and Mohammed Abu Farah (21).
In al-Tur neighborhood, east of occupied East Jerusalem, dozens of Palestinian young men gathered near “Beit Ort” settlement, which is established on the neighborhood lands, and threw stones and Molotov Cocktails at it. IOF immediately suppressed the protestors, fired rubber bullets and sound bombs at them and arrested Mohammed Rajay Abu al-Hawa (19).
At Kalandia military checkpoint, north of occupied East Jerusalem, dozens of Palestinian young men gathered and threw stones at the checkpoint. As a result, clashes erupted, during which, IOF fired rubber bullets and sound bombs at the protestors, wounding 8 of them.
At military checkpoint (300), which separates Bethlehem from south occupied East Jerusalem, clashes erupted between dozens of Palestinian young men and IOF. During which, IOF fired rubber bullets and teargas canisters at the protestors, wounding 4 of them with rubber bullets.
Furthermore, Al-Eizariya, Silwan and Hizma villages witnessed clashes erupted broke out between Palestinian young men and IOF. During which, IOF fired rubber bullets, sound bombs and teargas canisters at the protestors. Also, Israeli police published several statements declaring in them that several police officers were wounded during the clashes erupted on Saturday in various areas of Jerusalem. Also, the police declared that they arrested 17 Palestinians during the clashes.
At approximately 21:00 on Sunday, 25 April 2021, dozens of Palestinian young men gathered in Bab al-‘Amoud yard and on its stairs, central of occupied East Jerusalem, for the 13 consecutive day of its closure. They removed iron barriers that separate the area from its surrounding and IOF withdrew from the area. Few minutes later, hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the area to celebrate IOF’s withdrawal from Bab al-‘Amoud area after 13 days of its closure and banning gathering in it. Hundreds of worshipers performed Isha and Tarawih prayers, chanted slogans following the prayer and raised Palestinian flags. Meanwhile, Special Israeli forces moved into Bab al-‘Amoud area, confiscated the flags, forcibly dispersed the protestors, and pushed and beat them up. They also arrested Mohammed Omar al-‘Anati (27) and Murad Muneer Abu Qalbeen (16).
On the same day, clashes erupted between Palestinian young men and IOF in several areas of occupied East Jerusalem, in solidarity with protestors gathered in Bab al-‘Amoud area. Isawiya, Al-Eizariya and Beit Hanina villages, al-Tur neighborhood and Kalandia checkpoint witnessed clashes. During which, IOF fired rubber bullets and sound bombs at the protestors and arrested 4 Palestinians, from Beit Hanina village; 2 of them were identified as Mostafa al-Haimouny and Omar ‘Atallah.
At approximately 21:30 on Monday, 26 April 2021, dozens of Palestinian young men gathered in Bab al-‘Amoud yard celebrating the 2nd day of iron barriers removal. They chanted slogans and raised Palestinian flags. IOF immediately surrounded the protestors, beat them, arrested 4 of them, and confiscated Palestinian flags. The arrestees were identified as ‘Amer Rezeq, Mohammed Abu Ramilah, Mohammed Nassar, and Mohammed ‘Ali Surara.
At approximately 01:00 on Tuesday, 27 April 2021, IOF moved into al-Tur neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched two houses belonging to Base, Maher Sbetani (22) and Hamada ‘Abdo Abu al-Hawa (20) and arrested them. In the meantime, dozens of Palestinian young men gathered and threw stones and Molotov Cocktails at IOF and their vehicles. IOF immediately suppressed the protestors, fired rubber bullets at them and arrested ‘Alaa Ibrahim al-Sayyad (19).
Following Tarawih prayer on Tuesday, 27 April 2021, hundreds of Palestinian young men gathered in Bab al-‘Amoud area, in the center of occupied East Jerusalem, to celebrate removing iron barriers, that were placed by IOF in Bab al-‘Amoud area since the beginning of Ramadan. The Palestinian young men chanted slogans, sang national songs and raised Palestinian flags. IOF immediately suppressed the protestors, forcibly dispersed them and confiscated the flags. They also arrested 8 Palestinians, including 4 children, assaulted the team of Al-Amal Association for Health Services, beat a paramedic, and arrested another one.
Director of Al-Amal Association, ‘Abed al-Majeed Taha, said that he and his team present in Bab al-‘Amoud area since the beginning of escalation to aid wounded civilians. He pointed out that IOF assaulted him, in addition to 3 other paramedics without any cause while they were present on Bab al-‘Amoud stairs. He added that IOF arrested the paramedic Loai Ja’afrah after severely beating him up and pushing him to the ground. Ja’afrah was then taken to Salah al-Bareed Police Station in occupied East Jerusalem. Taha also said that an Israeli soldier slapped the paramedic Mohammed Mahmoud, causing bleeding in his eye. The paramedic was then taken to a hospital for treatment. He added that IOF assaulted Al-Amal Association team despite wearing their uniform.
Lawyer Feras al-Jebrani said that IOF arrested 8 Palestinians, including 4 children, when IOF forcibly dispersed protestors from Bab al-‘Amoud area. Among the arrestees were: Ibrahim Ramzi al-Rajbi (17), Adam Kastero (16), Mo’tasem ‘Abdullah Abu Nab (18), the paramedic Loai Ja’afrah, and ‘Areen Hitham al-Za’aneen (26). Al-Jebrani stated that most of the arrestees were taken to al-Bareed Police Station, and two children, who were arrested, were severely beaten by IOF.
Shooting incidents in other cities:
At approximately 08:45 on Thursday, 22 April 2021, Israeli gunboats stationed off al-Waha Shore, west of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, chased Palestinian fishing boats sailing within 3 nautical miles and heavily opened fire around them until 90:30, causing fear among the fishermen and forcing them to flee. No casualties were reported.
At approximately 22:30 on Friday, 23 April 2021, IOF stationed at the annexation wall gate No. (104), which is established near Showika suburb in Tulkarm, fired ruuber bullets, sound bombs and teargas canisters at Palestinian young men, who organized protest in the area in support of Jerusalem. As a result, a 20-year-old male, from al-Showika suburb, was shot with a rubber bullets in his leg.
Around the same time, IOF stationed at Eyal crossing established in northern Qalqilya, fired rubber bullets, sound bombs and teargas canisters at Palestinians who protested in the area in support of Jerusalem. IOF chased the protestors and arrested Islam Mohammed Ameen Nazzal (20).
At approximately 01:25 on Saturday, 24 April 2021, IOF backed by several military vehicles moved into Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, southwest of Jericho. Meanwhile, Palestinian young men gathered and threw stones at IOF’s vehicles. IOF immediately fired live bullets and teargas canisters at them to disperse them. After that, violent clashes erupted between IOF and the Palestinians and continued for an hour and half. As a result, two protestors were wounded; the first (14), was shot with a live bullet in his right thigh, while the second (22), was shot with a live bullet in hos left leg. Both of them were taken to Jericho Governmental Hospital for treatment. Also, many protestors suffocated due to teargas inhalation. IOF also raided and searched Montaser Yehia Abu ‘Azzoum (72)’s house and withdrew later.
At approximately 04:50, Israeli warplanes fired 2 missiles in about 10 minutes at an empty land located near Gaza International Airport, east of al-Shawka village, southeast of Rafah; no casualties were reported.
At approximately 05:20, Israeli warplanes fired a missile at am empty land near Sofa military site, east of al-Shawka village, northeast of Rafah; no casualties were reported.
Around the same time, Israeli warplanes fired two missiles at an agricultural land in Al-Fukhari village, southeast of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza Strip, causing a large hole in the area. No casualties were reported.
At approximately 20:00, a number of Palestinian young men gathered in Bab al-Zawiyia area in the center of Hebron, and set fire to tires near a military checkpoint established at the entrance to the closed Shuhada Street. Palestinian young men threw stones and empty bottles at the checkpoint while IOF fired sound bombs and teargas canisters at them and chased them between shops. As a result, many Palestinians suffocated due to teargas inhalation. The clashes continued until 23:00, and no arrests were reported.
At approximately 21:00, a protest took off from Nablus in solidarity with al-Aqsa Mosque, in addition to another protest from the central of Huwara village, southeast of Nablus. The protestors raised Palestinian flags, chanted slogans against Israeli occupation and settlers and headed towards a point of friction at Huwara checkpoint, southeast of Nablus, to express their refusal of IOF and settlers’ practices in Jerusalem. Clashes erupted at the checkpoint, during which, IOF fired live and rubber bullets, sound bombs and teargas canisters at the protestors. As a result, many protestors suffocated due to teargas inhalation and received treatment on the spot.
Around the same time, dozens of Palestinian young men performed Tarawih prayer at Deir Sharaf village’s square, west of Nablus, in solidarity with al-Aqsa Mosque. While Palestinians were performing the prayer, military vehicles arrived at the area and stationed in front of the worshipers. Following the prayer, IOF suppressed the worshipers. After that, clashes erupted in the area, during which, IOF fired teargas canisters and sound bombs at the worshipers. As a result, many of them suffocated due to teargas inhalation and received treatment on the spot. IOF also arrested Mo’awiyia Jehad Sa’ied ‘Antari (15) from his father’s nursery and released him later.
Furthermore, Palestinian worshipers performed Tarawih prayer at the entrance to al-Lubban ash Sharqiya village, southeast of Nablus, in solidarity with al-Aqsa Mosque. While Palestinians were performing the prayer, military vehicles arrived at the area and stationed in front of the worshipers. Following the prayer, IOF suppressed the worshipers. After that, clashes erupted in the area, during which, IOF fired teargas canisters and sound bombs at the worshipers. As a result, many of them suffocated due to teargas inhalation and received treatment on the spot.
At approximately 21:30, dozens of Palestinian young men, from Husan village, west of Bethlehem, organized a protest in solidarity with Jerusalem and against the ongoing police’s attacks against Palestinians. The protestors raised Palestinian flags and chanted slogans. During which, Israeli border guard officers arrived at the area and fired sound bombs and teargas canisters at the protestors. As a result, many of them suffocated due to teargas inhalation.
At approximately 21:30, a group of Palestinian young men gathered near the Return camp, near the Gaza’s border fence with Israel, east of Khuzaʽa village, east of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip. They set fire to tires and chanted slogans condemning the ongoing IOF’s attacks in Jerusalem. IOF fired teargas canisters in the area and fired flare bombs in the sky; no casualties were reported.
At approximately 23:30, dozens of Palestinians, from Bethlehem, organized a peaceful protest in front of a metal- detector gate fixed on the annexation wall, calling for stopping IOF’s attacks in Jerusalem. The protestors raised Palestinian flags and chanted slogans. During which, Israeli border guard officers arrived at the area and ordered the protestors to leave. After that, IOF fired sound bombs and teargas canisters at the protestors, who responded with stones. As a result, many protestors suffocated due to teargas inhalation.
At approximately 23:30, a number of Palestinian young men gathered at the northern entrance to al-Bireh city and threw stones at IOF stationed at al-Mahkama military checkpoint, which is established near “Beit El “settlement, north of the city. After that, IOF clashed the protestors and fired teargas canisters, sound bombs and rubber bullets at them. As a result, a 16-year-old child sustained teargas canister shrapnel wounds in his head and received treatment at Palestine Medical Complex. Also, dozens of protestors suffocated due to teargas inhalation.
At approximately 21:00 on Sunday, 25 April 2021, a group of Palestinian young men gathered at the entrance to Fawwar refugee camo, south of Hebron, where IOF established a military watchtower. The Palestinian young men set fire to tires and threw stones at the military watchtower. After that, IOF headed to the camp’s main entrance and prevented Palestinians’ vehicles from exiting the camp. They also fired sound bombs and teargas canisters at the stone-throwers. As a result, many of them suffocated due to teargas inhalation. The clashes continued until the midnight. IOF also forced the camp’s residents to pass through a dirt and bumpy road to exit the camp.
At approximately 21:30 on Sunday, 25 April 2021, a group of Palestinian young men gathered near the Return camp, near the Gaza’s border fence with Israel, east of Khuzaʽa village, east of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip. They set fire to tires and chanted slogans condemning the ongoing IOF’s attacks in Jerusalem. IOF fired teargas canisters in the area and fired flare bombs in the sky; no casualties were reported.
At approximately 15:00 on Monday, 26 April 2021, IOF stationed along the Gaza’s border fence with Israeli, east of Bureij refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip, opened fire at agricultural lands; no casualties were reported.
At approximately 21:00 on Monday, 26 April 2021, a group of Palestinian young men gathered near the Return camp, near the Gaza’s border fence with Israel, east of Khuzaʽa village, east of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip. They set fire to tires and chanted slogans condemning the ongoing IOF’s attacks in Jerusalem. IOF fired teargas canisters in the area and fired flare bombs in the sky; no casualties were reported. During the protest, two Palestinian young men crossed the border fence and IOF arrested them. The arrestees were identified as:
Bassam Mohammed Abu Tiba (17), from Bani Suheila village in eastern Khan Yunis, who was released at 02:40 on Tuesday, through Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing in northern Gaza Strip.
Mohammed Ahmed Shehda Abu Tair (25), from Abasan al-Kabira village, who was released at 21:40 on Tuesday.
At approximately 16:30 on Tuesday, 27 April 2021, Israeli gunboats stationed off Deir al-Balah shore, in the center of the Gaza Strip, chased Palestinian fishing boats sailing within 3 nautical miles, opened fire at them and forced them to leave. No casualties were reported.
At approximately 18:20, Israeli gunboats stationed off Beit Lahia Shore, north of the Gaza Strip, chased Palestinian fishing boats sailing within 400-700 meters, and heavily opened fire at a fishing boat belonging to ‘Awad ‘Abed al-Fattah Mohammed al-Sultan (33), from al-Salateen neighborhood in Beit Lahia. The boat was manned by al-Sultan and another fisherman namely Ghaith ‘Eliyan Mohammed Abu ‘Un (33). As a result, Abu ‘Un was shot with a rubber bullet in his right leg, and his condition was classified minor. It should be noted that on Monday, Israeli authorities declared the complete closure of Gaza Sea, but some fishermen sailed near the shore. Despite this, they were targeted by Israeli naval forces.
At approximately 21:00, dozens of Palestinians, from Bethlehem, organized a peaceful protest in front of a metal- detector gate fixed on the annexation wall, calling for stopping IOF’s attacks in Jerusalem. The protestors raised Palestinian flags and chanted slogans. During which, IOF arrived at the area and fired teargas canisters at the protestors, who responded with stones. As a result, many protestors suffocated due to teargas inhalation. Also, IOF chased the protestors until 23:30 and arrested Mohammed Ashraf Mohammed Abu Lebda (17) and Mohammed Dawoud Mohammed Shosha (17).
At approximately 08:00 on Wednesday, 28 April 2021, Israeli gunboats stationed off Deir al-Balah shore, in the center of Gaza Strip, chased Palestinian fishing boats sailing within 3 nautical miles, opened fire at them and forced them to leave. No casualties were reported.
At approximately 08:30, Israeli gunboats stationed off Khan Yunis Shore, south of the Gaza Strip, chased a Palestinian fishing boat sailing within 1.4 nautical miles and approached it. The boat was manned by Khaled ‘Ali Mohammed Inshasi (25) and ‘Emad Shaheen (27). IOF fired several live bullets at the boat’s engine. As a result, the boat’s engine was broken, and no casualties were reported. Khaled Inshasi’s father said to PCHR’s researcher that his son along with ‘Emad shaheen sailed in the sea to get their fishing nets out, during which, their fishing boat was shot with several live bullets from an Israeli gunboat. He added that the Palestinian Marine police returned them along with the fishing boat to the Gaza Shore, while their fishing nets are still in the sea.
Incursions and arrests
Thursday, 22 April 2021:
At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Ein Yabrud village, east of Ramallah. They raided and searched two houses belonging to Oday Akram Fareed (22) and Ahmed Shaker Musleh (24), and arrested them.
At approximately 02:30, IOF reinforced with several military vehicles moved into Hebron, and stationed at al-Hawooz area. They raided and searched Mohammed Zeyad al-Titi’s (30) house, and arrested him.
At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Saffa village, west of Ramallah. They raided and searched several houses and arrested Tareq Amjad Karaja (19), and Ahmed Ja’far Karaja (18).
At approximately 09:40, IOF reinforced with several military vehicles and bulldozers moved 100-meters from the border fence to al-Shawka village, east of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip. They leveled and combed lands before they redeployed at approximately 13:30.
At approximately 15:00, IOF arrested Mahmoud Hamdan al-Wahsh (39), after stopping his vehicle on a temporary military checkpoint established at the entrance of Beit Jala, northwest of Bethlehem.
IOF carried out (3) incursions in Sa’ir, Tarqumiyah and Beit al-Rush al-Tahta, in Hebron. No arrested were reported.
Friday, 23 April 2021:
At approximately 10:30, IOF arrested the journalist Qutaiba Saleh Qasem and Yousef Moammed ‘Adawi (36), while passing through Checkpoint 300, north of Bethlehem, heading to Jerusalem. IOF took them to unknown destinations.
Qasem’s family stated that their son, Qutaiba, was with Yousef ‘Adawi heading to Jerusalem by a tourist-bus, before they were arrested.
It should be noted that Qasem is a former prisoner who spent 25 months in the Israeli prisons.
At approximately 11:00, IOF arrested the journalist Mohammed Ali ‘Atiq (27) and the writer Mofeed Taher Jalghoum (53), from Jenin, heading to the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, after stopping and searching the bus that they were in.
Ali ‘Atiq, Mohammed’s father, said that IOF arrested his son after detaining their bus in a Atarot military settlement, north of the occupied East Jerusalem. He added that IOF stopped the buss, searched the ID cards of the passengers, arrested his son along with Mofeer Jalghoum, from Faqqoa village in Jenin, and then they were taken to an unknown destination.
It should be noted that ‘Atiq was arrested 2 times, and spent several months in the Israeli prisons, and so do Jalghoum.
At approximately 21:00, IOF stationed at Hizma military checkpoint, northeast the occupied East Jerusalem, arrested Ahmed Fawaz Abu Dawwas (19), and Laith Mo’amar Daraghmah (22), from Tubas, southeast of Jenin governorate, while passing through the checkpoint returning from the Aqsa Mosque. IOF took them to an unknown destination.
Saturday, 24 April 2021:
At approximately 15:00, IOF arrested Majd Mo’taz al-Karaki (17), from Hebron’s Old City, after stopping him at Abu al-Rish military checkpoint, on the northern entrance of Hebron’s Old City. IOF took him to “Kiryat Arba’” police center.
At approximately 17:00, IOF arrested Mohammed Riyad al-Joulani (23), while present at Bab Huta neighborhood, one of Jerusalem’s Old City’s neighborhoods.
At approximately 17:30, IOF arrested Belal Omae al-Saifi (30), from al-Dheisha refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, while passing through a temporary military checkpoint near “Etzion” rotary, south of Bethlehem. IOF took him to an unknown destination.
It should be noted that al-Saifi was arrested up to 6 times, and he went on a hunger strike to protest against his administrative arrest.
At approximately 18:30, IOF arrested Oday Samer Abu Tayeh (22), while present near Herod’s Gate, one of the occupied East Jerusalem’s gates. IOF took him to al-Bareed police center in Salah al-Dein street in the occupied city.
At approximately 21:00, IOF stationed inside the border fence with Israel, east of al-Shawka village, south of the Gaza Strip, arrested Issam Redwan al-Hissy (21), while attempting to sneak through the border fence.
At approximately 22:00, IOF arrested Yousef Qais Amarnah (26), from Ya’bad in Jenin, while passing through Qalandiya military checkpoint, north of the occupied East Jerusalem, returning home. IOF took him to an unknown destination.
Around the same time, IOF arrested ‘Aamer Owaisat (34), from Jabal al-Mukaber neighborhood, southeast of the occupied East Jerusalem, while present near Bab Huta area, one of the Aqsa Mosque’s gates, in the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City.
IOF carried out an incursion in Tulkarm. No arrests were reported.
Sunday, 25 April 2021:
At approximately 01:00, IOF arrested Mansour Ibrahim Mansour (21), from al-Thuri neighborhood, south of the occupied East Jerusalem, while present at his work place in a petrol station in al-Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, north of the occupied city.
Around the same time, IOF suppressed a peaceful demonstration demanding to stop violations against Palestinians in Jerusalem. Several hours later, IOF moved into Bethlehem through the northern entrance of the city, stopped 3 young men, searched their ID cards and arrested them while present at al-Qubbah street. The arrestees are: Kefah Ashraf Mustafa al-Najjar, Ahmed Mustafa al-Najjar and Tareq Ayman Kan’an.
At approximately 04:00, IOF moved into Wadi al-Joz neighborhood, northeast the occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched Mohammed Eyad Sa’eeda’s (22) house, and arrested him.
At approximately 15:00, IOF arrested Nidal Asfour (38), while present near al-Qatanin Gate, one of the Aqsa Mosque’s gates, in the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City.
At approximately 17:00, IOF severely beaten and arrested Ali Jaber (23), from al-Sa’diya neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, while present in front of his house. It should be noted that IOF severely beaten him, resulted in losing his consciousness, then he was pulled several meters on the floor and carried to al-Bareed police center in Salah al-Dein street, in a humiliating way.
IOF carried out (5) incursions in Tulkarm, Nur Shames refugee camp and Tulkarm refugee camp, al-Khader, and Beit Fajjar in Bethlehem. No arrests were reported.
Monday, 26 April 2021:
At approximately 02:15, IOF moved into Beita, southeast of Nablus. They raided and searched Hussam ‘Allan Dwaikat’s (20) house, and arrested him.
At approximately 04:30, IOF moved into Siris village, southeast of Jenin. They raided and searched Osama Izz al-Dein Nijim’s (37) house and arrested him.
At approximately 05:30, IOF moved into Zahrat al-Finjan landfill, near Fahma village, southwest of Jenin, and arrested Mohammed Tareq al-Sa’di (27), from Jenin refugee camp, while working at the landfill. IOF took him to an unknown destination.
At approximately 16:00, IOF arrested Mohammed Iqbal Simrin (26), after stopping his vehicles in Beit Hanina neighborhood, while heading to the Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City. IOF took him to Moscovia Detention Centre.
At approximately 18:30, IOF severely beaten and arrested (4) civilians after a quarrel occurred between them and the Israeli soldiers stationed at Bab Huta, one of the Aqsa Mosque’s gates. The quarrel was about closing Bab Huta and preventing the prayers from entering the Aqsa Mosque through it. The arrestees are Ahmed al-Hazina (23), was wounded and taken to hospital, Ahmed al-Rajabi (24), Alaa’ al-Razim (26), and Wissam Mohammed Sidr (29).
During the day, IOF established a temporary military checkpoint on the entrance of Jit village, northeast of Qalqilya, arrested (3) civilians and took them to unknown destinations. The arrestees are: Yousef Omar Ayoub (23) and Mohammed Omar Ayoub (25), from Tulkarm refugee camp; and Naser Mohammed Dasouqi (21), from Dhinnaba in Tulkarm.
At approximately 23:00, IOF moved into Shams al-Deen al-Asyooti street in Wadi al-Joz neighborhood, east of the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City. They raided and searched Majd Ahmed Ghorab’s (20) house and arrested him.
IOF carried out (7) incursions in Burqa and Odala villages in Nablus governorate; Ya’bad and Jalamah in Jenin; Dura, Beit Ummar, and Bani Na’im villages in Hebron. No arrests were reported.
Tuesday, 27 April 2021:
At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into al-Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah. They raided and searched two houses belonging to Anan Mohammed Safi (19) and Jihad Mohammed ‘Alqam (20), and arrested them.
Around the same time, IOF moved into Husan village, south of Hebron. They raided and searched Mohammed Abdul Hadi Shousha’s (33) house, and arrested him.
At approximately 04:00, IOF moved into Tubas. They raided and searched several houses and arrested Ahmed Mohsen Daraghmah (23), an employee at the Security Services, and Mustafa Mershed Abu Syaj (26). IOF took them to unknown destinations.
At approximately 04:30, IOF moved into Immatain village, east of Qalqilya. They raided, searched Ja’far Yousef Ghanim’s (28) house, destroyed its contents and arrested him.
At approximately 19:00, IOF moved into al-Isawiya village, northeast of the occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched the house of the head of Fatah Youth movement in al-Issawiya, Mansour Mahmoud (26), and arrested him.
It should be noted that Mansour Mahmoud who appeared in the most trending picture in the social media when the Palestinians celebrated the removal of the Israeli barriers at Damascus Gate area since the beginning of Ramadan. Mahmoud was assaulted and hit with the Israeli soldiers’ riffles’ butts last Saturday, resulted in suffering bruises all over his body.
At approximately 21:20, IOF stationed at al-Container military checkpoint established at the northern entrance of Bethlehem, arrested Moqbel Habib al-Barghouthi, from Ramallah. IOF took him to an unknown destination.
IOF carried out (2) incursions in Battir and al-Ubeidiya villages in Bethlehem. No arrests were reported.
Wednesday, 28 April 2021:
At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem. They raided and searched two houses belonging to Ahmed Mohammed Abu al-Hawa (22) and Khalil Khaled Salah (23), and arrested them.
At approximately 02:15, IOF moved into al-Masaken al-Sha’biya neighborhood, northeast of Nablus. They raided and searched Abdullah Abdul Rahman Bushkar’s (17) house, and arrested him.
At approximately 03:00, IOF moved into the southern area of Hebron. They raided and searched Mohammed Helmi Abu Safiya’s (40) house and arrested him.
At approximately 15:00, IOF moved into al-Wad neighborhood, one of the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City’s neighborhoods. They raided and searched Ra’fat Sameeh Najeeb’s (38) house and arrested him.
IOF carried out (4) incursions in Burin and Qaryut, southeast of Nablus; Beit Kahil and Kurza, in Hebron. No arrests were reported.
III. Settlement Expansion and settler violence in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem
Demolition and Confiscation of Civilian Property
On Thursday morning, 22 April 2021, the Israeli Civil Administration approved a decision to expropriate 147 dunums from Nahalin and Husan villages, west of Bethlehem, for settlement purposes.
Hassan Breijiyeh, Director of the Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission in Bethlehem, said the targeted lands are planted with many fruitful trees and located in “Thaher al-Matrasaba” area in Nahalin village and “Khelet al-Sarawil” and “Sha’b al-Beesh” area in Husan village, to expand “Beitar Illit” settlemen established on lands of Wadi Foqin, Husan and Nahalin village, west of Bethlehem.
Settler attacks on Palestinian civilians and their property
At approximately 02:00 on Thursday, 22 April 2021, a group of settlers randomly opened fire near the northern entrance to Salfit under the pretext that unknown persons removed Magen David Adom and the Israeli flag at the entrance. No casualties were reported.
In the early morning, a group of settlers from “Nicodem” settlement established on the Palestinian lands of Teqoa village, south of Bethlhem, planted olive seedlings in confiscated lands belonging to Tanouh family. It should be noted that on 09 May 2012 settlers from “Teqoa” settlement fenced vacant areas of agricultural lands, around 1000 dunums, planted with olive trees and winter grain in addition to denying the owners access to their lands and preventing them from planting or plowing.
At approximately 16:40 on Friday, 23 April 2021, a group of settlers from “Revava” settlement moved into Khelet al-Nasakh area in Haris village, north of Salfit. The settlers uprooted 13 olive trees from a plot of land belonging to ‘Aisha Mahmoud Qassem from the same village. The head of the village council, ‘Omer Samara, said that the uprooted olive trees were 4-5 years old.
At approximately 13:00 on Saturday, 24 April 2021, settlers from “Havat Ma’on” settlement outpost established on the Palestinian lands of eastern Yatta assaulted farmers in their lands in al-Hamrah area and chased them into the nearby al-Mafqarah area.
The settlers threw stones at the Palestinian vehicles traveling on the road between al-Mafqarah and Tuwani villages, breaking windows of cars belonging to Soliman Salem al-‘Adrah, Hafez Hussein al-Hreini; Mos’ab Mor Reb’ie, Khaled Rabah Reb’ie and Qasem Mohammed al-Tahhan, who was wounded in his left leg after being hit with a stone. Meanwhile, a number of young men gathered in the area and started throwing stones at the settlers to keep them away. IOF arrived at the scene and opened fire in the air in addition to firing teargas canisters at the Palestinian civilians while the settlers started withdrawing at approximately 15:00.
At approximately 22:00 on Sunday, 25 April 2021, a group of settlers from “Halmish” settlement, northwest of Ramallah moved into the eastern outskirts of Umm Safa village, northwest of Ramallah. The settlers rioted in the area and closed the eastern entrance to the village with sand berms. Next day, Palestinians removed the stones and sand berms at the entrance and managed to reopen it.
At approximately 20:00 on Monday, 26 April 2021, settlers, who were passing by the worshippers road between al-Ibrahimi Mosque and “Karyat Arba” settlement and crossing Jaber neighborhood, assaulted Rasmi Tariq Jaber 19 and Basil Mohammed Jaber 18 who were both in front of one of the shops and attempted to assault them. When they tried to stop the settlers, IOF arrived at the area, which is only few meters away from an Israeli control point and arrested both civilians, taking them to the interrogation department in “Karyat Arba” settlement, east of Hebron.
At approximately 22:00 on Tuesday, 27 April 2021, Israeli settlers from Ramot settlement established on Palestinian lands of Beit Eksa village, northwest of occupied East Jerusalem burnt 3 Palestinian vehicles that were parked in ‘Aqbet Zayed area in the village.
‘Issa Hamoudah Ghaith al-Kiswani, one of the affected cars’ owners, said that settlers moved into the village today evening and wrote racist slogans on some walls and on the parking lot floor. They poured diesel on his vehicle and 3 others and set them on fire, burning the 3 vehicles completely, including his, and breaking the windows of a forth vehicle. Al-Kiswani said that the other vehicles belonged to Anas al-Khatib and Ahmed Abu Khalaf. All the cars were licensed and had Israeli legal registration plates. Al-Kaswani said that eyewitnesses told him that IOF were in the area at the moment the settlers burnt the vehicles to provide them protection.
At approximately 23:30 on Tuesday, 27 April 2021, a group of settlers from “Yitzhar” settlement established on Urif, Burin, ‘Asira al-Qibliya, Huwara and ‘Einabus, southeast of Nablus, assaulted civilians’ cars that were traveling on the road between Urif and ‘Asira al-Qibliya villages and damaged the windshield and the glass ceiling of one of them in addition to the right mirror belonging to Merwan ‘Abdel Hamid ‘Abdel Karim Ahmed before they left to his village “‘Asira al-Qibliya.
Merwan ‘Abdel Hamid ‘Abdel Karim Ahmed said to PCHR’s fieldworker that:
“at approximately 11:30 on that day, I came out of my house in ‘Asira al- Qibliya heading to nearby Urif village, southeast of Nablus, which is two kilometers away from our village. On the road, I was surprised with blocks on the street, so I knew that the settlers from Yitzahar settlement, which is established on our village lands, placed them on the street as an ambush for the vehicles traveling on the street between the 2 villages. When I wanted to go back, a group of settlers came out from behind olive trees on the street and threw stones at my vehicle and damaged the windshield, the ceiling and the mirror before I could leave to my village.”
Closure policy and restrictions on freedom of movement of persons and goods:
On Monday, 26 April 2021, Israeli authorities closed Gaza Sea completely and prevented fishermen from sailing and fishing. These Israeli measures are part of the Israeli collective punishment policy practiced against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip that aims to harass fishermen and prevent them from sailing and fishing freely in areas where fish breed.
According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)’s follow-up, the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) declared the complete closure of Gaza Sea, starting from 06:00 on Monday until further notice. The Israeli Coordinator stated that, “This decision came in response to the launch of rockets towards Israeli settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip.”
This decision is part of Israel’s policy of inhuman and illegal closure and collective punishment against the Gaza Strip. As a result, the livelihoods of 4,160 fishermen and 700 workers in professions associated with the fishing sector; the main providers for their families (a total of 27,700 persons) are threatened with further deterioration. Even before this decision, Gazan fishermen already suffered and were unable to fish and sail freely in the allowed fishing area due to the recurrent Israeli attacks at sea, the entry ban of equipment and necessary supplies for fishermen. Consequently, hundreds of fishermen are effectively unable to provide their families’ basic needs, such as food, medicine, clothing, and education.
Furthermore, the impact of the new Israeli decisions would deepen the humanitarian and living crises in the Gaza Strip, especially raising unemployment, poverty, and food insecurity. Statistics pre-recent restrictions indicate a dangerous unemployment rate at 45%, i.e. 217,100 unemployed workers; this rate is highest among youth at 63%. Also, more than half of the Gaza Strip population suffers poverty, as data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) indicate that the prevalence of poverty among the Gaza Strip population exceeds 53%, and more than 62.2% of the Gaza population is classified as food insecure according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The Gaza Strip still suffers the worst closure in the history of the Israeli occupation of the oPt as it has entered the 14th consecutive year, without any improvement to the movement of persons and goods, humanitarian conditions and bearing catastrophic consequences on all aspects of life.
The West Bank:
In addition to 108 permanent checkpoints and closed roads, this week witnessed the establishment of more temporary checkpoints that restrict the goods and individuals 39 temporary checkpoints, where they searched Palestinians’ vehicles, checked their IDs and arrested 20 of them. IOF closed many roads with cement cubes, metal detector gates and sand berms and tightened their measures against individuals’ movement at military permanent checkpoints.
Jerusalem:
On Thursday, 22 April 2021, IOF closed Kalandia military checkpoint, north of the city, and reopened it later.
Bethlehem:
On Thursday, 22 April 2021, IOF established 3 checkpoints at the western entrance to Beit Fajjar village, at the northern entrance to Tuqu village, and at the entrance to ‘Atyat Hasanat area.
On Friday, 23 April 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the northern entrance to Tuqu village.
On Tuesday, 27 April 2021, IOF established 4 checkpoints at the entrance to Tuqu village, in al-Nashash intersection, in ‘Aqabet Hasna area and at the entrance to Beit Fajjar village.
Ramallah:
On Friday, 23 April 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance to Sinjil village.
On Sunday, 25 April 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance to Ras Karkar village.
On Monday, 26 April 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance to Deir Abu Mash’al
Jericho:
On Thursday, 22 April 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the northern entrance to Jericho.
On Friday, 23 April 2021, IOF established 2 checkpoints at the northern and southern entrances to the city.
On Saturday, 24 April 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the southern entrance to the city.
Hebron:
On Thursday, 22 April 2021, IOF established 2 checkpoints at the entrance to as-Samu village and at the northern entrance to Hebron.
On Friday, 23 April 2021, IOF established 4 checkpoints at the southern entrance to Hebron, at the northern entrance to Yatta village, on Beit Einun road, and on Wadi Al-Joz road.
On Saturday, 24 April 2021, IOF established 2 checkpoints at the entrance to as-Samu village and at the southern entrance to Hebron.
On Sunday, 25 April 2021, IOF established 5 checkpoints at the entrances to Ash-Shuyukh, Karma, Beit Ummar and Surif villages, and at the northern entrance to Yatta city.
On Monday, 26 April 2021, IOF established 4 checkpoints at the entrances to Beit Awwa, Idhna and as-Samu villages, and at the northern entrance to Hebron.
On Wednesday, 28 April 2021, IOF established 3 checkpoints at the entrances to Tarqumiyah, Sa’ir and Beit Ummar villages.
Qalqilya:
On Thursday, 22 April 2021, IOF established 2 checkpoints at the entrance to Qalqilya and at the entrance to Azzun village, east of the city.
Salfit:
On Monday, 26 April 2021, IOF established 3 checkpoints at the entrances to Deir Istiya, Kafr ad-Dik and Deir Ballut villages, west of the city.
منذ إعلان وزير خارجية فرنسا برونو لومير أمام وزراء مالية دول قمة العشرين تحذيره من الخلط بين مساعي مساعدة لبنان على التعافي الاقتصادي مع المواجهة التي تخوضها واشنطن مع طهران في مطلع العام 2020، وواشنطن ماضية في سياسات الضغوط القصوى وصولاً لإسقاط لبنان أملاً بأن تسقط بعض الشظايا على رأس حزب الله. وكانت تصريحات وزير الخارجية الأميركية مايك بومبيو ومعاونيه، تتركز في كل شاردة وواردة عن لبنان، تحت عنوان أن حزب الله سبب مشكلتكم أيها اللبنانيون، ومن دون مواجهة حزب الله لن يخرج لبنان من أي أزمة وسيصل إلى الانهيار، وليس خافياً كلام الرئيس الفرنسي ايمانويل ماكرون عن الدور التعطيلي لمبادرته الذي لعبته العقوبات الأميركيّة.
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مع تولي الرئيس جو بايدن وإعطائه الأولويّة للعودة للاتفاق النوويّ مع إيران، لم يتغير الخطاب الأميركي نحو لبنان، رغم التبدّل في الخطاب التحليليّ لأوضاع المنطقة الذي بدأ يتحدّث عن تغيير في السياسات سيلي التوصل لتفاهم يعيد الحياة إلى الاتفاق النووي، انطلاقاً من أن الضغوط الأميركية على حلفاء إيران كان جزءاً من كل، ومع انتفاء مبررات هذه الضغوط، لا قيمة لأن تسعى واشنطن لإسقاط لبنان أملاً بالضغط على حزب الله، وهي تمنح إيران ودائع محجوزة بمليارات الدولارات، تعلم أن بعضاً منها سيذهب لدعم إيران لحركات المقاومة وفي طليعتها حزب الله.
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في قلب التصعيد بالخطاب الأميركي القائم على السعي للمضي قدماً بسياسة إسقاط لبنان، حذّر الأمين العام لحزب الله السيد حسن نصرالله، من غباء هذا الطرح، لأن بلوغ لبنان حافة الانهيار، سيصيب فئات وشرائح ومؤسسات، تهتم أميركا لبقائها معافاة، بينما ستكون المقاومة وبيئتها المستهدفين بالخطة الأميركية آخر مَن يتأثر بهذه الضغوط، وتحدثت تحليلات كثيرة عن مخاطر العبث الأميركي، كان بينها التحذيرات الأوروبية والفرنسية خصوصاً من مخاطر توجّه موجات من النازحين السوريين نحو أوروبا تحت ضغط الجوع والفقر، والتحذيرات المشابهة من تفكك المؤسسات العسكرية والأمنية تحت تأثير انهيار القيمة الشرائية للرواتب من جهة، ونمو التشكيلات المتطرفة في بيئات الفقر، في ظل كلفة محدودة للاستثمار الأمنيّ في بلد تنهار عملته الوطنية، ومخاطر نشوء إمارة لتنظيم داعش في شمال لبنان، لكن واشنطن بقيت تصمّ آذانها عن كل هذه التحذيرات.
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المقال الذي نشرته صحيفة ذي هيل بقلم مسؤول قوة المهام الأميركية الخاصة للبنان إدوارد غابرييل، يوم أمس، يشكل أول اعتراف أميركي بمخاطر المضي في السياسات السابقة، فيتحدث عن مخاطر نشوء دولة فاشلة في المشرق بصفته مساساً بالأمن القومي الأميركي، ويشير إلى خطر انهيار المؤسسة العسكرية اللبنانية، التي تشكل استثماراً أميركياً ناجحاً، لا يجوز التخلي عنه، ويتحدث بصراحة عن كون حزب الله أول المستفيدين من الأزمة بعدما تهيأ لتحصين بيئته الحاضنة بوجه مخاطرها، وليس آخر الخاسرين فقط، ليخلص إلى دعوة المعنيين في إدارة الرئيس جو بايدن لاتخاذ مبادرات تسرع الدفع باتجاه ولادة حكومة جديدة، والتأكيد أن هذه الحكومة ستلقى الدعم المناسب لدى صندوق النقد الدولي لمساعدة لبنان على الخروج من الأزمة، وتأمين حزمة مساعدات لمنع سقوط لبنان الى حين ولادة الحكومة التي يمكن أن تتأخر الى ما بعد الانتخابات في العام المقبل، التي يحدّدها غابرييل موعداً لانطلاق خطة المساعدة الشاملة.
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الكلام الأميركي الجديد، يفتح الباب لاتصالات أميركية فرنسية وأميركية روسية لبلورة مبادرات سياسية، لن تكون السعودية وإيران بعيدتين عنها، لتفحص إمكانية حل المشكلة الحكومية، بعد تبلور صورة المشهد الإقليمي وحدود التسويات الممكنة في الملفات الساخنة خلال الصيف، وربما يكون خيار تأمين شبكة أمان الحد الأدنى حتى الانتخابات المقبلة أحد الفرضيات المطروحة على الطاولة، كما خيار الانتخابات المبكرة، علماً أن تذليل العقبات امام تشكيل الحكومة سيبقى احتمالاً كبيراً إذا كانت مناخات التسوية هي السائدة في المنطقة.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman praised the “Arabian” and “Yemeni” qualities of the Houthis (Ansar Allah) in a recent interview.
The interview was aired on the Saudi state TV on April 28 to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Crown Prince’s strategic development plan “Saudi Vision 2030”.
In the interview, Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, criticizes the Houthis’ alliance with Iran and their rebellion against the legitimate authorities in Yemen in 2015. However, he voiced a rare praise of the Yemeni group.
“There is no doubt that the Houthis have strong relations with the Iranian regime, but in the end the Houthis are also Yemenis and have Arabian and Yemeni tendencies, which I wish would grow in them more and more so that they would follow their interests and the interests of their homeland before anything else,” the Crown Prince said.
Bin Salman went on to stress that Saudi Arabia would not accept the presence of “militias” along its border with Yemen. He went on to call on the Houthis to join peace talks in exchange for financial support from the Kingdom.
“The offer from Saudi Arabia is a ceasefire, economic support, and everything they want in exchange for a ceasefire signed by the Houthis and them sitting at the negotiating table,” Bin Salman explained.
The Crown Prince’s remarks show a dramatic shift in Saudi Arabia’s policy towards Yemen. For the first time in five years of war, the Kingdom appears to be willing to step back.
Earlier this year, the US ceased its support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen and suspended some arms sells to the Kingdom. The Houthis stepped up their strikes on Saudi Arabia and boosted their offensive against Saudi-backed forces in the central Yemeni province of Ma’rib.
The recent developments have apparently softened the tone of Saudi Arabia. The Houthis’ are yet to respond to Bin Salman’s offer.
We will begin with a short and painless history lesson. Just before the US entered World War II, General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff for the US Army, was tasked with getting America ready for war.
To do so, he removed 30,000 incompetent officers, most of them West Point Graduates, from their positions with the Army and Reserve/National Guard Commands. Eventually, he ended up putting an obscure Lt. Colonel named Dwight Eisenhower in charge of all European operations.
From the 1972 hit song by the Scottish music group Steelers Wheels:
“Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right…Stuck in the Middle Again”
Roosevelt found the Army not just unfit but a threat to democracy with an officer corps largely aligned with Adolf Hitler.
Vietnam
Vietnam was worse but the problem was sloth and cowardice. Here the Pentagon set up luxury resorts as military bases for brass and visiting “dignitaries” while those fighting the war starved and died in numbers unseen since the darkest days of World War II.
In the North/I Corps we had 3MAF Headquarters, the “Puzzle Palace,” with top rated chefs and high-end brothels while in the South we had MACV Forward, the infamous Westmoreland Compound, originally set up by MSUG’s Wesley Fischel, architects of the corrupt Diem regime.
This author enjoyed a firsthand view of Vietnam as a Marine infantryman serving in units commanded by privates and lance corporals while commanders were never seen.
A true story, from 1970. This author was being released from active duty as a corporal in the Marine Corps, stationed at that time at LZ Rockcrusher at Dai La Pass outside Da Nang. I was called into Da Nang to meet with General Nickerson, then III MAF Commander and an officer selection board.
I was offered an immediate commission if I chose to remain in the Corps and a slot, at a later date, at Annapolis. I was told the Marine Corps was getting rid of the “dead wood,” and I was asked to stay on.
My response, you mean “combat vets?” General Nickerson’s response: “That’s exactly what we mean.” My attempt at irony either zoomed past him or he did not care.
I was a combat vet, but I must have been the “right kind” of combat vet, tall, blond, white and educated and, seemingly “compliant.” They might have been wrong about that. Today’s “Dancing boy village” at Kabul with its million-dollar condominiums puts both to shame and we do not want to discuss the Green Zone in Baghdad.
Today
Our point is this, the military gravitates toward proving the Peter Principle and is, in fact, the best possible example of the worst principles of management. From Wikipedia:
“The Peter Principle is a concept in management developed by Laurence J. Peter, which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their “level of incompetence”: employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent.”
The military now takes it to a whole new level with promotion based on servile gullibility and adherence to a blend of approved conspiracy theories, where Dispensationalism and Dominionism, both stressing the Pentagon’s role in bringing about nuclear Armageddon or the newest versions under Trump, Qanon, COVID denialism and a blend of Fascism and Hucksterism.
The Viper Academies and the January 6 Coup Attempt
This week, the director of the Air Force Academy, Lt. General Richard Clarke, director of the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs decided to comply with presidential orders to investigate right wing extremism and white supremacism, which has virtually drowned the American military, by blaming “both sides.”
Several of the leaders of the January 6, 2021 coup attempt were Air Force Academy graduates with high security clearances. Secretary of Defense Austin ordered all military commands, and especially the Air Force Academy, to investigate extremism in the ranks.
It is supposed to be a highest priority that as few paranoid schizophrenics as possible enter the highest levels of America’s nuclear command structure. If you feel this statement reflects sarcasm, it is obvious that you have been asleep for the last couple of decades or more.
Asleep or Complicit?
This is the same military that has overseen the export of hundreds of tons of processed heroin from its bases in Afghanistan, that watched ISIS steal millions of tons of oil from Iraq and Syria and is now directly involved in that process itself, at presidential order.
At one point in 2015, ISIS (banned in Russia) had 12,000 oil trucks lined up 4 abreast headed into Turkey, a convoy visible from the surface of the moon with the naked eye. Yet, America’s drones, satellites and surveillance aircraft saw nothing, not until Russian Aerospace Forces decided to intervene.
These are facts that prove that every American military commander was and is fully complicit in protecting the operational activities of named terror groups.
We can make the exact same statement about the world heroin trade as well. At one point, the US Air Force asserted that the Taliban (banned in Russia) was flying heroin out of Afghanistan secretly from American bases.
As American humorist Jim W. Dean so often says, “You just can’t make this stuff up.”
Bin Laden Again
There are issues that should never be forgotten or allowed to be pushed aside. One is Osama bin Laden, longtime CIA asset chosen as “patsy” for the fake War on Terror and the other 9/11, one of the world’s greatest false flag events.
Note that Trump appointee, Clarke, was the architect of the Bin Laden raid. This “made” Clarke as an American hero and moved him into a position where he could, potentially, be very useful to extremist elements.
In 2009, this author traveled to Pakistan and met with Imran Khan, currently Pakistan’s Prime Minister, then ISI Chief General Pasha and discussed bin Laden’s death. The group also included former Head of the Army General Aslem Beg, former ISI Head and VT Editor General Hamid Gul and Chairman of Pakistan’s JCOS, Admiral Sirohey, also a member of VT’s Advisory Board.
This author also reviewed classified files on bin Laden and interviewed one of the men who buried bin Laden in Afghanistan. According to records, including reports from Fox News and other sources, bin Laden died in December 2001. From Fox News:
“Usama bin Laden has died a peaceful death due to an untreated lung complication, the Pakistan Observer reported, citing a Taliban leader who allegedly attended the funeral of the Al Qaeda leader.
‘The Coalition troops are engaged in a mad search operation, but they would never be able to fulfill their cherished goal of getting Usama alive or dead,’ the source said.
Bin Laden, according to the source, was suffering from a serious lung complication and succumbed to the disease in mid-December, in the vicinity of the Tora Bora mountains. The source claimed that bin Laden was laid to rest honorably in his last abode and his grave was made as per his Wahabi belief.”
It gets much worse. In a further interview with White House intelligence coordinator Lee Wanta, I was told that bin Laden had been in the US on 9/11 receiving medical care at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center under the name Colonel Timothy Osman.
Wanta described his meetings in the US with bin Laden/Osman, which included Oliver North and other Bush officials, and of an earlier meeting with bin Laden in Peshawar, Pakistan, which included top CIA officials.
Wanta reported that Oxford educated bin Laden spoke better English than he did.
Yet, for years, SITE Intelligence, an Israeli run organization, provided videos of strange looking versions of bin Laden, followed by years of audio tapes as the world had apparently lost the ability to record or upload video in the interim, or we would supposedly be brought to believe.
Americans are still in Afghanistan hunting for the “dozens of vast underground fortresses” Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld spoke of when he ordered the hunt for long dead bin Laden, part of an American war that cost the lives of millions of innocents.
Every minute of it was fake and the Pentagon at it up like a dog at vomit.
Minot Barksdale and an Earlier Coup Attempt
The issue at the Air Force Academy began many years ago. This author was contacted by cadets (158) there back in 2008 who complained of religious persecution and a curriculum that promoted treason and extremism.
The root of the command meltdown within the US military is generally traced to the US Army Psychological Warfare Command at the Presidio, a base in San Francisco that is today a city park. At the time a strange Satanic child abuse scandal within the military had attempted to implicate commanders there including Colonel Michael Aquino, founder of the Temple of Set, a Satanic cult powerful within the Pentagon and the service academies.
Aquino was cleared but an investigation led to broad allegations of abuse through 15 major military commands including and especially the US Air Force Academy and the US Air Force nuclear command at Minot Air Force Base. From New Eastern Outlook (2014):
“During the Bush (43) administration, something far more serious happened. America’s nuclear command structure was compromised at every level, culminating in the theft of nuclear weapons from Minot Air Force Base in 2007, an undisclosed number of thermonuclear weapons loaded onto a B 52 which later landed — or more appropriately, was forced to land at Barksdale Air Force Base some hours later.
Immediately thereafter, Secretary of Defence Robert Gates ordered the Department of Defense to remove all oversight of nuclear weapons from the United States Air Force, placing an Army general in overall command of what had previously been Air Force weapons inventories.
Soon thereafter, 84 personnel in America’s largest nuclear command were removed, 12 permanently due to accidents and suicide. Since that time, over 200 members of that command have been forced out, and America’s entire nuclear command has been put under direct oversight.
Greater Israel
The real problem is twofold and involves a breakdown of command authority and discipline, as well as treason. Not long after Bush (43) took office, his backers in the extremist Christian evangelical community approached Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
They wanted to assure that all military command personnel would follow the tenets of the obscure religious sect Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush and Ashcroft belonged to.
This sect seeks to bring about a nuclear apocalypse tied to the expansion of “Greater Israel” in order to bring about what they call the “rapture” and “end times.” Their religious beliefs are a mix of “Ufology,” belief in alien influence, satanic worship and that a select group will be called to rule the world at the side of an alien master race, while those “left behind” will die in misery.
Their religion is a mix of misinterpreted biblical prophecy, science fiction and the occult. In fact, many of those at the highest levels of US government retain no actual Christian beliefs at all, not by any conventional standard.”
Given Enough Rope…
Blindly cheerleading for the military is called “patriotism” but, often as not it is treason in its purest form. There is now and there has been in the past, time and time again, no bigger threat against freedom than the military and America’s military is among the worst.
There are no simple truths, but we will distill it down as much as possible. The Pentagon is a feeding ground for extremists, bottom-feeders and “mama’s boys” in uniform. It is all haircuts and fancy uniforms, of saluting, strutting and conspiracy.
The Pentagon lives on conspiracy and treason that is held in check only by a few decent and honorable leaders.
The problem, initially, was the revolving door that placed potentially traitorous military leaders, after retirement, at Fox News as commentators or moved them into White House advisory positions.
Some gravitated to think tanks like the infamous Atlantic Council or Heritage Foundation and almost all have, predictably, embraced Fascism in his many forms.
Conclusion
The current political climate in the US is extremely dangerous. The Supreme Court, stacked with extremists, is openly tossing the constitution aside as recently cited by Justice Sotomayor.
Extremists in Arizona have seized the ballots from the recent presidential election and are doctoring them, in an attempt to justify a military takeover of the government. Their stated goal is to set up a “whites only” ruling party that will oversee elections where only the “righteous” will be allowed to vote.
A recent investigation of the military’s role in the January 6 coup attempt by General Honore’ found widespread complicity between military commands in and around Washington DC and coup plotters.
Simply put, were the US to be evaluating another nation, a nuclear power, judging whether its nuclear arsenal was at risk or its command structure capable of overruling elected officials and unleashing a nuclear war, based on the “situation on the ground” in the US today, America would be considered a “highest threat.”
Gordon Duff is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War that has worked on veterans and POW issues for decades and consulted with governments challenged by security issues. He’s a senior editor and chairman of the board of Veterans Today, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.
Senior Editor , VTGordon Duff is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. He is a disabled veteran and has worked on veterans and POW issues for decades. Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.
Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.
VT: Our sources tell us that this investigation has found not just this incident but dozens of others and widespread corruption at every level of the Patterson New Jersey Police, tying them directly to drug cartels and human traffickers along with Blue Lives Matter extremists. Watch the video that will take down an entire corrupt police department, one of thousands in the US:
No One Believed This Yemeni Teen (Osamah Alsaidi) When He Said Cops Beat Him. Alsaidi was headed to his car to go to work when he was beaten. Cops lied, a video later proved they lied➡️ https://t.co/URB0wXI3Uupic.twitter.com/kor69tOjho
Daily Beast: Two police officers in Paterson, New Jersey have been charged with civil rights and obstruction of justice offenses for allegedly beating a 19-year-old Yemeni man last year, then falsifying a police report about it.
@andresayegh what’s going on with the Paterson Police Officers who attacked Osamah Alsaidi? How are they not locked up? These men are criminals! We are not safe with these men who would beat you up and lie about it actually charging you with a crime. LOCK THEM UP!! @ACLUNJpic.twitter.com/DjtCVFyLAE
19-year-old Osamah Alsaidi was walking to his 1 AM shift when two New Jersey police officers drove up and started punching him. https://t.co/HI0qqgWb9w
Kevin Patino, 29, and Kendry Tineo-Restituyo, 28, approached Osamah Alsaidi shortly after midnight last December as he was walking to his car to drive to work.
Osamah Alsaidi, who was 19 at the time, said that he suffered a concussion and head trauma. Alsaidi said he reported the alleged police brutality to Paterson’s Internal Affairs Division two months ago, but they “haven’t done anything.” @CAIRNJ https://t.co/DLSfu92lZ0
According to the DOJ, the officers grabbed him and started punching him, including when he was lying on the ground. The pair then filed a police report falsely claiming Alsaidi had approached them “acting belligerent” and punched Patino, justifying the arrest. As The Daily Beast reported in February, Alsaidi was charged until CCTV emerged showing a completely different story. The cops face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Two police officers in Paterson, New Jersey have been charged with civil rights and obstruction of justice offenses for allegedly beating a 19-year-old Yemeni man last year, then falsifying a police report about it https://t.co/3lCoMLdEDm
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Tuesday the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office would take over the Paterson P.D.’s internal affairs function. At least 10 Paterson cops have been charged with misconduct in recent years.
Gordon Duff is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. He is a disabled veteran and has worked on veterans and POW issues for decades. Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.
Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.
Few people, apart from specialists, may have heard of the JCPOA Joint Commission. That’s the group in charge of a Sisyphean task: the attempt to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal through a series of negotiations in Vienna.
The Iranian negotiating team was back in Vienna yesterday, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi. Shadowplay starts with the fact the Iranians negotiate with the other members of the P+1 – Russia, China, France, UK and Germany – but not directly with the US.
That’s quite something: after all, it was the Trump administration that blew up the JCPOA. There is an American delegation in Vienna, but they only talk with the Europeans.
Shadowplay goes turbo when every Viennese coffee table knows about Tehran’s red lines: either it’s back to the original JCPOA as it was agreed in Vienna in 2015 and then ratified by the UN Security Council, or nothing.
Araghchi, mild-mannered and polite, has had to go on the record once again to stress that Tehran will leave if the talks veer towards “bullying”, time wasting or even a step-by-step ballroom dance, which is time wasting under different terminology.
Neither flat out optimistic nor pessimistic, he remains, let’s say, cautiously upbeat, at least in public: “We are not disappointed and we will do our job. Our positions are very clear and firm. The sanctions must be lifted, verified and then Iran must return to its commitments.”
So, at least in the thesis, the debate is still on. Araghchi: “There are two types of U.S. sanctions against Iran. First, categorized or so-called divisional sanctions, such as oil, banking and insurance, shipping, petrochemical, building and automobile sanctions, and second, sanctions against real and legal individuals.”
“Second” is the key issue. There’s absolutely no guarantee the US Congress will lift most or at least a significant part of these sanctions.
Everyone in Washington knows it – and the American delegation knows it.
When the Foreign Ministry in Tehran, for instance, says that 60% or 70% has been agreed upon, that’s code for lifting of divisional sanctions. When it comes to “second”, Araghchi has to be evasive: “There are complex issues in this area that we are examining”.
Now compare it with the assessment of informed Iranian insiders in Washington such as nuclear policy expert Seyed Hossein Mousavian: they’re more like pessimistic realists.
That takes into consideration the non-negotiable red lines established by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei himself. Plus non-stop pressure by Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who are all JCPOA-adverse.
But then there’s extra shadowplay. Israeli intel has already notified the security cabinet that a deal most certainly will be reached in Vienna. After all, the narrative of a successful deal is already being constructed as a foreign policy victory by the Biden-Harris administration – or, as cynics prefer, Obama-Biden 3.0.
Meanwhile, Iranian diplomacy remains on overdrive. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is visiting Qatar and Iraq, and has already met with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim al Thani.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, virtually at the end of his term before the June presidential elections, always goes back to the same point: no more US sanctions; Iran’s verification; then Iran will return to its “nuclear obligations”.
The Foreign Ministry has even released a quite detailed fact sheet once again stressing the need to remove “all sanctions imposed, re-imposed and re-labeled since January 20, 2017”.
The window of opportunity for a deal won’t last long. Hardliners in Tehran couldn’t care less. At least 80% of Tehran members of Parliament are now hardliners. The next President most certainly will be a hardliner. Team Rouhani’s efforts have been branded a failure since the onset of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign. Hardliners are already in post-JCPOA mode.
That fateful Fateh
What none of the actors in the shadowplay can admit is that the revival of the JCPOA pales compared to the real issue: the power of Iranian missiles.
In the original 2015 negotiations in Vienna – follow them in my Persian Miniatures e-book – Obama-Biden 2.0 did everything in their power to include missiles in the deal.
Every grain of sand in the Negev desert knows that Israel will go no holds barred to retain its nuclear weapon primacy in the Middle East. Via a spectacular kabuki, the fact that Israel is a nuclear power happens to remain “invisible” to most of world public opinion.
While Khamenei has issued a fatwa clearly stating that producing, stockpiling and using weapons of mass destruction – nuclear included – is haram (banned by Islam), Israel’s leadership feels free to order stunts such as the sabotage via Mossad of the (civilian) Iranian nuclear complex at Natanz.
The head of Iran’s Parliament Energy Committee, Fereydoun Abbasi Davani, even accused Washington and London of being accomplices to the sabotage of Natanz, as they arguably supplied intel to Tel Aviv.
Yet now a lone missile is literally exploding a great deal of the shadowplay.
On April 22, in the dead of night before dawn, a Syrian missile exploded only 30 km away from the ultra-sensitive Israeli nuclear reactor of Dimona. The official – and insistent – Israeli spin: this was an “errant”.
Well, not really.
Here – third video from the top – is footage of the quite significant explosion. Also significantly, Tel Aviv remained absolutely mum when it comes to offering a missile proof of ID. Was it an old Soviet 1967 SA-5? Or, rather more likely, a 2012 Iranian Fateh-110 short range surface-to-surface, manufactured in Syria as the M-600, and also possessed by Hezbollah?
A Fateh family tree can be seen in the attached chart. The inestimable Elijah Magnier has posed some very good questions about the Dimona near-hit. I complemented it with a quite enlightening discussion with physicists, with input by a military intel expert.
The Fateh-110 operates as a classic ballistic missile, until the moment the warhead starts maneuvering to evade ABM defenses. Precision is up to 10 meters, nominally 6 meters. So it hit exactly where it was supposed to hit. Israel officially confirmed that the missile was not intercepted – after a trajectory of roughly 266 km.
This opens a brand new can of worms. It implies that the performance of the much hyped and recently upgraded Iron Dome is far from stellar – and talk about an euphemism. The Fateh flew so low that Iron Dome could not identify it.
The inevitable conclusion is this was a message/warning combo. From Damascus. With a personal stamp from Bashar al-Assad, who had to clear such a sensitive missile launch. A message/warning delivered via Iranian missile technology fully available to the Axis of Resistance – proving that regional actors have serious stealth capability.
It’s crucial to remember that when Tehran dispatched a volley of deliberately older Fateh-313 versions at the US base Ayn al-Assad in Iraq, as a response to the assassination of Gen Soleimani in January 2020, the American radars went blank.
Iranian missile technology as top strategic deterrence. Now that’s the shadowplay that turns Vienna into a sideshow.
Note: as many of you know, I very much disagree with much of what is said in this interview. However, I do think that this point of view deserves a careful listening to, and this is why I wanted to share it with you.
Yemeni army and Popular Committees forces advanced to as far as only two kilometers from the strategic west-central city of Marib, the gateway to potential liberation of much more of their homeland amid an ongoing Saudi Arabia-led aggression.
The U-News website, which covers regional developments, especially those of Yemen, reported the victory on Tuesday, saying the forces were now only two kilometers away from the city’s entrance.
Yemeni military sources said the lightning advances had taken the ranks of Saudi-led mercenaries apart, forcing them to move their military equipment outside the city and try to set up some bases there.
Leading a coalition of its allies, Saudi Arabia started a war against Yemen in 2015 in an attempt to return the impoverished country’s rule to its own favorite officials there.
The Saudi-led coalition has so far stopped short of achieving the goal. Tens of thousands of Yemenis have died during the war and a simultaneous siege that the coalition has been enforcing on Yemen.
Now, the Yemeni defense forces have focused a good part of their defensive efforts on retaking Marib that is of huge strategic importance, given its potential to contribute to liberation of many more areas.
Speaking about the developments that concern Marib, Yemeni political expert Brigadier General Abed al-Thawr told Press TV, “This part of Yemen’s soil serves as the key to liberation of all the eastern and southern provinces.”
He said Marib practically gave the Yemeni defense forces entrée into the country’s Shabwah, Hadarmaut, and al-Mahrah as well as the entire northern border stretch with Saudi Arabia.
Apart from the Saudi-led forces, the province was also playing an unwilling host to United Arab Emirates-led mercenaries as well as terrorists fighting for the al-Qaeda and Daesh Takfiri groups, the expert said. The Takfiris, he noted, were working under the United States’ supervision there.
He, however, insisted that Marib’s liberation has been “finalized” given the advances made there by the Yemeni forces.
According to the Yemen News website, as many as 115 Saudi-led militants had been either killed or injured during clashes with Yemeni defense forces.
Al-Thawr said the aggressive forces were now caught in a very bad situation in Marib, noting that they had failed in their efforts to use the province’s residents as human shields to prevent its liberation.
Also addressing Marib’s developments, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Supreme Political Council of Yemen, tweeted that Sanaa did not seek to resolve the situation in the province and other locations through military means. “However, the Saudis and the Emiratis as well as the United States and the UK as their supporters were imposing this choice on the Yemeni nation,” he added.
Al-Houthi said the most immediate solution to the province’s situation lied in withdrawal of the foreign forces and Takfiri terrorists.
The Israeli People Committee (IPC), a civilian body made of leading Israeli health experts, has published its April report into the Pfizer vaccine’s side effects.* The findings are catastrophic on every possible level.
Their verdict is that “there has never been a vaccine that has harmed as many people.” The report is long and detailed. I will outline just some of the most devastating findings presented in the report.
“We received 288 death reports in proximity to vaccination (90% up to 10 days after the vaccination), 64% of those were men.” Yet the report states, “according to data provided by the Ministry of Health, only 45 deaths in Israel were vaccine related.” If the numbers above are sincere then Israel, which claimed to conduct a world experiment, failed to genuinely report on its experiment’s results. We often hear about blood clots caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine. For instance, we learned this morning about 300 cases of blood clots in of Europe. However, if the IPC’s findings are genuine, then in Israel alone the Pfizer vaccine may be associated with more deaths than AstraZeneca’s in the whole of Europe.
“According to Central Bureau of Statistics data during January-February 2021, at the peak of the Israeli mass vaccination campaign, there was a 22% increase in overall mortality in Israel compared with the previous year. In fact, January-February 2021 have been the deadliest months in the last decade, with the highest overall mortality rates compared to corresponding months in the last 10 years.”
The IPC finds that “amongst the 20-29 age group the increase in overall mortality has been most dramatic. In this age group, we detect an increase of 32% in overall mortality in comparison with previous year.”
“Statistical analysis of information from the Central Bureau of Statistics, combined with information from the Ministry of Health, leads to the conclusion that the mortality rate amongst the vaccinated is estimated at about 1: 5000 (1: 13000 at ages 20-49, 1: 6000 at ages 50-69, 1: 1600 at ages 70+). According to this estimate, it is possible to estimate the number of deaths in Israel in proximity of the vaccine, as of today, at about 1000-1100 people.”
Again, if this statistical analysis is correct then the numbers reported by the Israeli health authorities are misleading by more than 22-fold.
Those who follow my writing are aware of my work on the undeniable correlation between vaccination, Covid-19 cases, deaths and the spread of mutant strains. The IPC confirms my observation, providing more crucial information regarding age groups. “There is a high correlation between the number of people vaccinated per day and the number of deaths per day, in the range of up to 10 days, in all age groups. Ages 20-49 – a range of 9 days from the date of vaccination to mortality, ages 50-69 – 5 days from the date of vaccination to mortality, ages 70 and up – 3 days from the date of vaccination to mortality.”
The IPC also reveals that the “the risk of mortality after the second vaccine is higher than the risk of mortality after the first vaccine.”
But death isn’t the only risk to do with vaccination. The IPC reveals that “as of the date of publication of the report, 2066 reports of side effects have accumulated in the Civil Investigation Committee and the data continue to come in. These reports indicate damage to almost every system in the human body.…Our analysis found a relatively high rate of heart-related injuries, 26% of all cardiac events occurred in young people up to the age of 40, with the most common diagnosis in these cases being Myositis or Pericarditis. Also, a high rate of massive vaginal bleeding, neurological damage, and damage to the skeletal and skin systems has been observed. It should be noted that a significant number of reports of side effects are related, directly or indirectly, to Hypercoagulability (infarction), Myocardial infarction, stroke, miscarriages, impaired blood flow to the limbs, pulmonary embolism.”
In Israel, the government is desperate to vaccinate children. The IPC stresses that such a move can be disastrous. “In light of the extent and severity of side effects, we would like to express the committee’s position that vaccinating children may also lead to side effects in them, as observed in adults, including the death of completely healthy children. Since the coronavirus does not endanger children at all, the committee believes that the Israeli government’s intention to vaccinate the children endangers their lives, health and their future development.”
The IPC stresses that “there has never been a vaccine that has affected so many people! The American VARES system presents 2204 mortality reports of vaccinated people in the United States in the first quarter of 2021, a figure that reflects an increase of thousands of percent from the annual average, which stood at 108 reports per year.”
I should mention that there has been very little coverage of the IPC’s work in the Israeli press. Those health experts are engaged in brave work, knowing that their license to work in the medical profession and livelihoods are at severe risk.
Further selections and editorial commentary by Amarynth. This will be a short one, as some links that are necessary cannot be used. This first video will give you an idea of why.
In a video by Daniel Dumbrill, the true hegemonic ‘other war with China‘, the one of propaganda, becomes crystal clear. He talks about the true intentions behind the anti-China propaganda campaign push, explains why it will soon increase, and further warning signs. He plays clips from an Australian think tank who clearly expresses that even in the very unlikely event that China accepts the full US Constitution today, they will gladly put China back to the stone age, as they ‘should not have a peer competitor’. A good video for everyone (not just those interested in China), on propaganda and power today.
Only one of the questions in the clip and I paraphrase: Can we get the American people ‘exercised’ enough that they are willing to fight in specific situations? The United States is so good at thread inflation and fearmongering that we have no problems with that issue.
Biden’s nuclear threat. President Biden and Japan’s PM Suga said China actions “are inconsistent with the international rules-based order peace and prosperity in the region. “The alliance between Washington and Tokyo has become a cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world. Japan resolved to bolster its own national defense capabilities…The United States restated its unwavering support for Japan’s defense… using its full range of capabilities, including nuclear”. Read full article →
And to contrast the warmongering message in the previous two reports, Belt and Road Studies:
This is the overview of Belt and Road. The thinking that BRI is simply a trading mechanism, is not accurate. It is an alternative development path for the world that works in a multi-lateral and non-hegemonic framework and it is a Zone B initiative. Xi Jinping states that “the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a public road open to all, not a private path owned by one single party.”
This first link is a thorough overview, almost up to the minute as to the progress of this massive initiative.
As some of us expect a sea change in the economics of the world, this is a not-to-be-missed reading from Asia Times, with the headline of China’s digital yuan displaces the dollar.
The economic penny is dropping. You will find comments by all the western self-styled ‘economic greats’. Although you should read the article, it can be summarized with this quote:
China’s dominance in digital currency will follow naturally from its position as the world’s top exporter. And because the digital yuan will be the largest currency in international trade, and China will have a market leader advantage in introducing CBDC’s, other exporters will use the digital yuan as a matter of convenience.
This would be of minor consequence to America’s world position, except for the fact that the United States now must borrow 15% to 20% of its GDP each year to finance its internal budget deficit, and also must attract about $1 trillion of capital inflows to finance its growing current account deficit with the rest of the world.
Cover Image: The “O” Tower – Danish architecture studio BIG has designed the O-Tower for Chinese smartphone manufacturer OPPO in Hangzhou.The circular skyscraper will surround an open courtyard. It will be built within Hangzhou’s Future Sci-Tech City and act as an “iconic landmark and gateway” to the business district. The tower will be built alongside a natural lake and a 10,000 square-meter park. Read full article →
This is but a fraction of what I gleaned from the Here Comes China newsletter. If you want to learn about the Chinese world, get Godfree’s newsletter here: https://www.herecomeschina.com/#subscribe
UPROOTED PALESTINIANS: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM 