Malian Abdoulaye Diop tells Al Mayadeen during an exclusive interview about NATO’s role in spreading terrorism in Africa and the Russian withdrawal from Mali.
Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop during an interview with Al Mayadeen on Monday, March 7, 2023
NATO’s intervention in Libya and the support of some terrorist groups contributed to the bolstering and proliferation of terrorism in Mali and the entire African Sahel region, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop told Al Mayadeen during an exclusive interview.
Groups from the Malian community in Libya benefited from NATO’s intervention in the North African state in order to obtain support and assistance, Diop told Al Mayadeen, noting that the groups in question went to northern Mali, and they were joined by terrorist organizations, who went on to occupy a third of Mali’s territory.
Diop underlined that the instability resulting from terrorism is no longer confined to northern Mali, but it expanded to include almost all parts of the country and has crossed national borders, spreading to neighboring countries to the Gulf of Guinea.
What was France’s role in Mali?
Furthermore, Diop commented on France’s withdrawal from his country, saying Paris decided to leave Mali and was not expelled. “One can return to the official statements of the French government, in which it was announced that the military operations with the Malian army would stop and that the Barkhane operation would end.
Diop saw that France’s decision was taken to “punish the Malian authorities that decided to change their military strategy and replace their strategic partner.”
Africa capable of self-management
It is time for France and all its partners to realize that Africans are perfectly capable of running their countries and choosing their partners based on their national interests, Diop told Al Mayadeen.
Africa is open to establishing partners with anyone in the whole world, and the United States is an important partner, but it must take into consideration the interests and sovereignty of African states, the top Malian diplomat said.
Malian-Russian partnership
Russia is a strategic partner of Mali’s, as Moscow supplied Bamako with everything it asked for within the framework of its confrontation against extremist groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
The Russian supplies to Mali do not classify as loans or aid; they were paid for by the state treasury.
Diop indicated that Mali tried to acquire military equipment from Europe, the United States, and various other Western countries, but they did not succeed because of the bureaucracy in these countries.
Earlier last month, Malian transitional Prime Minister, Choguel Kokalla Maiga revealed that Mali expects to present to the UN Security Council evidence of France’s support for armed groups.
“The day we reveal the evidence, we will see who is muddying the waters. All those who do not want us to provide evidence understand that the accusations against us have no basis,” Maiga underlined.
According to the Malian Prime Minister, Mali will keep this evidence to itself for as long as it deems it necessary.
It is noteworthy that in mid-October, during a speech delivered at a United Nations Security Council briefing on Mali in New York, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop accused France of violating Malian airspace and delivering weapons to militants that have been crippling the country for the past decade, which France denied.
Furthermore, the Malian government declared on March 1 in a letter to Pedro Comissario Alfonso, president of the Security Council and Ambassador of Mozambique to the UN that France no longer has the power to draft resolutions and declarations regarding the Republic of Mali within the UNSC (UNSC).
“Pending the special meeting of the Security Council requested by Mali, the government of the Republic of Mali […] officially challenges France’s penholder status on all questions examined by the Security Council concerning Mali,” reads the letter.
Since December 2012, France has been responsible for producing all the drafts in the UN Security Council concerning Mali. However, Mali complained to the Security Council in August 2022 about acts of aggression, subversion, destabilization and violation of Malian airspace by aircraft of the French armed forces.
The presence of French troops in Mali was established in 2013 under the pretext of countering terrorist activities in the Sahel region, after the 2011 intervention in Libya by NATO forces. The country achieved full independence after French troops withdrew from its country on August 15, 2022 following pressure from the Malian government.
Rarely does the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations make an official remark expressing happiness over any U.N. proceeding concerning the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Indeed, the Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour is “very happy that there was a very strong united message from the Security Council against the illegal, unilateral measure” undertaken by the Israeli government.
The ‘measure’ is a specific reference to a decision, on February 12, by the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to construct 10,000 new housing units in nine illegal Jewish settlements in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank.
Expectedly, Netanyahu was angered by the supposedly ‘very strong united message’ emanating from an institution that is hardly known for its meaningful action regarding international conflicts, especially in the Palestinian-Israeli case.
Mansour’s happiness may be justified from some people’s perspective, especially as we seldom witness a strongly worded position by the U.N. Security Council that is both critical of Israel and wholly embraced by the United States. The latter has used the veto power 53 times since 1972 – per U.N. count – to block UNSC draft resolutions that are critical of Israel.
However, on examination of the context of the latest U.N. statement on Israel and Palestine, there is little reason for Mansour’s excitement. The U.N. statement in question is just that: a statement, with no tangible value and no legal repercussions.
This statement could have been meaningful if the language had remained unchanged from its original draft. Not a draft of the statement itself, but of a binding U.N. resolution that was introduced on February 15 by the U.A.E. Ambassador.
Reuters revealed that the draft resolution would have demanded that Israel “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” That resolution – and its strong language – was scrapped under pressure from the U.S. and was replaced by a mere statement that “reiterates” the Security Council’s position that “continuing Israeli settlement activities are dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-state solution based on the 1967 lines.”
The statement also expressed “deep concern”, actually, “dismay” with Israel’s February 12 announcement.
Netanyanu’s angry response was mostly intended for public consumption in Israel, and to keep his far-right government allies in check; after all, the conversion of the resolution into a statement, and the watering down of the language were all carried out following a prior agreement among the U.S., Israel and the P.A. In fact, the Aqaba conference held on February 26 is a confirmation that that agreement has indeed taken place. Therefore, the statement should not have come as a surprise to the Israeli prime minister.
Moreover, U.S. media spoke openly about a deal, which was mediated by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The reason behind the deal, initially, was to avert a “potential crisis”, which would have resulted from the US vetoing the resolution. According to the Associated Press, such a veto “would have angered Palestinian supporters at a time that the US and its Western allies are trying to gain international support against Russia.”
But there is another reason behind Washington’s sense of urgency. In December 2016, then U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, refrained from vetoing a similar UNSC resolution that strongly condemned Israel’s illegal settlement activities. This occurred less than a month before the end of Barack Obama’s second term in the White House. For Palestinians, the resolution was too little, too late. For Israel, it was an unforgivable betrayal. To appease Tel Aviv, the Trump Administration gave the U.N. post to Nikki Haley, one of the most ardent supporters of Israel.
Though another US veto would have raised a few eyebrows, it would have presented a major opportunity for the strong pro-Palestine camp at the U.N. to challenge U.S. hegemony over the matter of the Israeli occupation of Palestine; it would have also deferred the issue to the U.N. General Assembly and other U.N.-related organizations.
Even more interesting, according to the Blinken-mediated agreement – reported by AP, Reuters, Axios and others – Palestinians and Israelis would have to refrain from unilateral actions. Israel would freeze all settlement activities until August, and Palestinians would not “pursue action against Israel at the U.N. and other international bodies such as the World Court, the International Criminal Court and the UN Human Rights Council.” This was the gist of the agreement at the U.S.-sponsored Aqaba meeting as well.
While Palestinians are likely to abide by this understanding – since they continue to seek U.S. financial handouts and political validation – Israel will most likely refuse; in fact, practically, they already have.
Though the agreement had reportedly stipulated that Israel would not stage major attacks on Palestinian cities, only two days later, on February 22, Israel raided the West Bank city of Nablus. It killed 11 Palestinians and wounded 102 others, including two elderly men and a child.
A settlement freeze is almost impossible. Netanyahu’s extremist government is mostly unified by their common understanding that settlements must be kept in constant expansion. Any change to this understanding would certainly mean a collapse of one of Israel’s most stable governments in years.
Therefore, why, then, is Mansour “very happy”?
The answer stems from the fact that the P.A.’s credibility among Palestinians is at an all-time low. Mistrust, if not outright disdain, of Mahmoud Abbas and his Authority, is one of the main reasons behind the brewing armed rebellion against the Israeli occupation. Decades of promises that justice will eventually arrive through U.S.-mediated talks have culminated in nothing, thus Palestinians are developing their own alternative resistance strategies.
The UN statement was marketed by P.A.-controlled media in Palestine as a victory for Palestinian diplomacy. Thus, Mansour’s happiness. But this euphoria was short-lived.
The Israeli massacre in Nablus left no doubt that Netanyahu will not even respect a promise he made to his own benefactors in Washington. This takes us back to square one: where Israel refuses to respect international law, the U.S. refuses to allow the international community to hold Israel accountable, and where the P.A. claims another false victory in its supposed quest for the liberation of Palestine.
Practically, this means that Palestinians are left with no other option but to carry on with their resistance, indifferent – and justifiably so – to the U.N. and its ‘watered-down’ statements.
The Israeli occupation claims that the United Nations is biased after the organization issued a statement condemning the illegal Israeli settlement expansion.
A drone photo shows a construction site of a new neighborhood in the illegal “Neve Daniel” settlement in the “Gush Etzion” settlement block at the occupied West Bank, occupied Palestine, February 15, 2023 (EPA Photo)
The United Nations is biased and is ignoring “Palestinian terrorism”, claimed Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen claimed on Tuesday after the UN Security Council issued a statement merely condemning illegal Israeli settlement expansion and expressing concern over the occupation’s plans to further expand its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli occupation government announced last week its decision to legalize nine illegal settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and initiate a project to build some 10,000 houses for illegal Israeli settlers on UN-recognized occupied Palestinian territories.
The Foreign Ministers of France, Italy, and Germany, and the Secretaries of State of the United States and the United Kingdom opposed “Tel Aviv’s” plans to expand its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“The one sided statement of the Security Council, that ignores the Palestinian terrorism, the incitement and the financing of the terrorists and their families by the Palestinian Authority, is a stain on the UN which continues to be biased and one-sided, and indirectly gives a green light to the Palestinian terror organizations,” Cohen said on Twitter.
The United Nations Security Council expressed on Monday its “dismay” with the Israeli occupation government’s plans to legalize settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. The UNSC issued a statement warning that these measures “impede peace“.
“The Security Council reiterates that continuing Israeli settlement activities are dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-State solution,” the Council said in a statement supported by all 15 members but which does not have the binding force of a resolution that was being mulled last week.
The Israeli occupation was quick to criticize the declaration, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed it denied the “historic rights” of the Jewish people.
“The UN Security Council has issued a one-sided statement which denies the rights of Jews to live in our historic homeland,” Netanyahu’s office claimed in an official statement.
Furthermore, the occupation’s premier’s office said the statement “fails to mention the Palestinian terror attacks” that took place over the past few weeks in reference to the resistance operations that were conducted against illegal Israeli settlers in various places all over occupied Palestine.
The draft resolution that was being mulled, reportedly proposed by the United Arab Emirates, had called on the Israeli occupation to “immediately and completely cease” settlement activities in occupied Palestinian areas.
The draft, condemning “all attempts at annexation, including decisions and measures by Israel regarding settlements, including settlement outposts” had been dropped, AFP diplomatic sources said Monday, saying it would be replaced by the new statement issued by the president of the UNSC.
Furthermore, the draft resolution reiterated the demand that the occupation “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
The United States opposed the resolution and shot it down with its UNSC veto, with the White House saying it was “deeply dismayed” by the plans.
UN diplomats said that in order to avoid having to use its veto to block the resolution, Washington has encouraged Palestine and its allies in the UNSC to consider drafting “a more symbolic” joint statement condemning the Israeli cabinet’s announcements.
The Biden administration is trying to avoid a diplomatic crisis with the UNSC over Israeli plans for settlement expansion, in light of a recent draft resolution that would demand “Israel” to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.
According to multiple diplomats familiar with the situation, the US was successful in delaying the resolution proposed by the Palestinians and their supporters.
The Security Council would likely accept a weaker presidential statement similar to the resolution on Monday, according to the diplomats, rather than a resolution. That said, Presidential statements have become part of the council’s record but are not legally binding because they require the support of all 15 council nations.
Hezbollah has censured the latest “Israeli” air strikes on Syria, stating that the raids against civilian-populated neighborhoods in the capital Damascus amount to a crime against humanity.
“The ‘Israeli’ aggression against Syria and its civilians is a crime against humanity; and deserves condemnation of the international injustice and the American and European bias in favor of the Zionist regime by covering up its crimes,” Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem wrote in a post published on his Twitter page.
The “Israeli” attack was launched from the occupied Golan Heights early on Sunday days after a 7.8-magnitude deadly earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, targeting several sites in Damascus, including the southwestern residential neighborhood of Kafar Sousah.
At least five people, including a soldier, were martyred and 15 others wounded in the “Israeli” airstrikes. Many of the wounded are in critical condition, and many residential homes in Damascus and its countryside were damaged.
Syrian air defense units intercepted most missiles before reaching the targets.
Meanwhile, Syria has urged the United Nations to take necessary measures to deter the “Israeli” entity’s attacks and hold it accountable for the latest deadly missile attack on Damascus.
“When Syria was trying to heal its wounds, bury its martyrs, and receive condolences, sympathy, and international humanitarian support in the face of the devastating earthquake, the ‘Israelis’ launched an air aggression targeting civilian-populated neighborhoods,” the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement.
The “Israeli” entity frequently carries out missile attacks on targets in Syria, mostly using the airspace of Lebanon or the occupied territories. The regime frequently violates Syrian sovereignty.
Syria has repeatedly complained to the UN over “Israeli” assaults, urging the Security Council to take action against Tel Aviv’s crimes. The calls have, however, fallen on deaf ears.
Despite the huge number of affected people and infrastructure, the UN launches only a $397 million humanitarian appeal to aid Syria.
Residents and rescue teams searching for survivors under the rubble in northwest Syria (AFP)
The United Nations on Wednesday said $5.6 billion was needed to provide humanitarian aid in Ukraine and to the millions who have fled the country after the start of the war, a day after it announced a $397 million humanitarian appeal to aid quake-hit Syria.
The UN estimated that 21.8 million Ukrainians were now in need of humanitarian assistance.
“The war continues to cause death, destruction and displacement daily, and on a staggering scale,” UN Humanitarian Chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement.
“We must do all we can to reach the hardest-to-reach communities, including those close to the front line,” Griffiths stressed, adding that “the suffering of the Ukrainian people is far from over – they continue to need international support.”
The UN said the requested $5.6 billion would allow it to reach the 15.3 million people in most dire need this year.
A full $1.7 billion of that amount was needed for assistance to the more than four million Ukrainian refugees hosted across eastern Europe, it highlighted.
Most of that would go to Poland, which is hosting more than 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees, and Moldova, the main transit country for Ukrainians making their way further into Europe.
According to the UN, women and children account for around 86% of the overall refugee population.
“Europe has proven capable of bold, collective action to help refugees,” UN Refugee Chief Filippo Grandi said in the statement.
“We must not, however, take this response, or the hospitality of host communities, for granted,” Grandi considered.
He added that “continued international support and solidarity is needed, until refugees are able to return to their homes in safety and dignity, which must also remain a priority.”
Since the war began, humanitarian organizations in Ukraine have been working to reach people across the country, with nearly 16 million receiving aid and protection services in 2022.
Inside Ukraine, “the war has profoundly affected access to livelihoods and disrupted market stability particularly in southern and eastern oblasts, further aggravating humanitarian suffering,” the appeal indicated.
It warned that “a majority of Ukrainians have reportedly reduced food consumption and spent savings,” pointing to soaring unemployment, skyrocketing inflation, and inadequate social assistance.
On the other hand, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the launch of a $397 million humanitarian appeal to aid Syria in the wake of the devastating earthquake, which has so far resulted in around 6,000 deaths.
“The Syria effort brings together the entire UN system and humanitarian partners and will help secure desperately needed, life-saving relief for nearly 5 million Syrians – including shelter, healthcare, food and protection,” Guterres told reporters as the appeal was launched.
According to the UN, the Flash Appeal will ensure assistance to the people with the most urgent humanitarian needs, covering an initial period of three months, until May.
“We all know that lifesaving aid has not been getting in at the speed and scale needed. The scale of this disaster is one of the worst in recent memory,” the UN Secretary-General highlighted.
“I have an urgent message to the international community: The human suffering from this epic natural disaster should not be made even worse by manmade obstacles — access, funding, supplies,” Guterres stressed, urging UN member states “and others to fully fund this effort without delay and help the millions of children, women and men whose lives have been upended by this generational disaster.”
“This is a moment for unity, for common humanity and concerted action,” he concluded.
According to the UN, 8.8 million people have been affected by the earthquake and its aftershocks in Syria. More than 4.2 million people have been affected by the earthquake in Aleppo, while 3 million people have been affected in Idlib, the UN noted, adding that more than 7,400 buildings have been entirely or partially destroyed.
The UN also estimated that up to 5.3 million people in Syria may have been made homeless as a result of the earthquake and its aftershocks.
While Syria clearly needs more than $394 million to rise from the aftermath of the earthquake, it remains dependent on aid sent from friendly countries.
UN admits: ‘We have failed the people in northwest Syria’
This comes as the UN pointed out on Sunday that the international community has so far abandoned Syrians as they struggle to secure basic needs and aid to respond to the devastating earthquake that struck the country.
Griffiths said although a convoy of supplies was delivered by the organization to northwest Syria through Turkey, the effort was not enough as millions more have been impacted by the catastrophe.
“We have so far failed the people in northwest Syria. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn’t arrived,” he tweeted.
“My duty and our obligation is to correct this failure as fast as we can. That’s my focus now,” Griffiths indicated.
Close to 9 million people in Syria have been affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, 65 seconds in duration on February 6, that Turkish President Erdogan has compared with the power released by atomic bombs. The hardest hit areas are Latakia, Aleppo, and Idlib.
The UN estimates that more than 4.2 million people have been affected in Aleppo province with 400,000 homeless, and 5,000 buildings declared unlivable. Aleppo has more than 1,600 dead and 10,000 injured.
The province of Idlib is a total population estimated at 3 million, but because there is no government or authority there, we can only guess how many have been affected.
UAE Aid plane landing in Aleppo International Airport
The UN says 5.5 million Syrians are without a home after the earthquake, with more than 7,400 buildings having been destroyed completely, or partially in Syria.
In Latakia, there are 820 dead, 142,000 homeless, and over 2,000 injured, with 102 buildings completely collapsed, and others condemned.
A total of 58 trucks have crossed from Turkey to north-west Syria through the Bab al Hawa crossing point over the past five days, carrying aid such as food, tents, and medicines. Those trucks are solely supplying Idlib, under the occupation of the armed group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Eleven trucks have gone through the newly opened border crossing of Bab al Salam today, carrying non-food items such as blankets, and mattresses.
Iraqi AAid plan landing in Damascus international Airport
Location matters in this quake
The map will show that Aleppo, Syria is just south of Gaziantep, Turkey which was the epicenter. Aleppo was heavily damaged in the earthquake, adding more misery to a city that was under the occupation of Al Qaeda terrorists in the eastern section until being liberated in December 2016.
Looking at a map, you see that Latakia is a 2 ½ hour drive west of Aleppo on the M4 highway. It seems like a long distance, but the power of the 7.8 magnitude brought the epicenter and Latakia together because they share the same fault line, which Aleppo does not.
Tunisian Aid plane landing in Aleppo International Airport
UN: no roadblocks to aid, no politics
Rula Amin, UN Refugee Agency Senior Communications Advisor, urged cooperation among nations to help Turkey and Syria. She said there should be no roadblocks to assistance for people in need. Referring to the UN and western aid coming almost exclusively to Idlib, and by-passing those in need in Latakia and Aleppo, she urged all to put politics aside, and focus on getting aid to those in need regardless of whether they are in the US-EU supported area in Idlib, or whether they live in Aleppo and Latakia under the Syrian administration from Damascus. Amin is no stranger to Syria. In March 2011, Amin was one of the very first international journalists in Deraa, covering what she had claimed was a ‘popular uprising’, and even interviewed the cleric who was the key player of the Obama-designed US-NATO attack on Syria for ‘regime change
.’ She did not go as far as to demand the lifting of all US-EU sanctions on Syria to send aid, but her meaning was clear. The sanctions prevent aid from arriving in Damascus. On February 9 the US Department of the Treasury issued General License 23, which allows for a humanitarian waiver of supplies to government-controlled areas in Syria, but must be received by an NGO and not the Syrian government. The 180-day waiver is far too short, as the need is enormous, and will people will need years to grapple with the damages. Rebuilding homes and businesses may take a decade or more. Also, most governments abroad would be sending official aid to Syria through a government-to-government mechanism, and using an NGO is a tedious stipulation designed to discourage aid from being sent.
Jordanian Aid plane landing in Damascus international Airport
Italy sent two planeloads of aid to Beirut, Lebanon to be transported to Syria by land. This demonstrates the extreme fear that western allies of the US have of the sanctions. By sending the aid to Lebanon, which is not sanctioned, Italy feels more comfortable that the US Treasury will not issue massive penalties against them.
Who refused aid to Damascus?
The US, the EU, and all US allies such as Canada have sent nothing to Syria for the earthquake-ravaged zones of Latakia and Aleppo. According to America, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the allies of the US, there is no place called Syria. There is only a small, rural agricultural province called Idlib. Syria is 10,000 years old, and Damascus and Aleppo both tie as the undisputed oldest inhabited cities on earth. But the great minds in Washington, DC. only acknowledge the tiny area called Idlib. The terrorist-controlled Idlib is suffering, and has innocent unarmed civilians in need of help; however, Latakia, and Aleppo are far bigger and have sustained more deaths, injuries, and structural damages than Idlib. The US and the west have used politics to judge who gets helped, and who is forgotten. The Syrian people will never forget this. The US and EU sanctions have made life unbearable in Syria before the earthquake of the century, and now when politics should be set aside for humanitarian needs, the US doggedly holds on to their dogmatic ideology to make sure the Syrian people know the full disdain of the American government. The Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates visited Damascus and met with President Assad after the quake, in an act of defiance of US-dictated policy.
Algerian aid plane in Aleppo International Airport
Where is Government controlled Syria?
The US-NATO attack on Syria beginning in March 2011 has resulted in three separate administrations in Syria. The biggest territory, about 75%, is the central government in Damascus. Aleppo and Latakia are the two hardest hit by the earthquake which is under the Damascus administration.
The second administration is the province of Idlib, which is an olive-growing region between Latakia and Aleppo. There is no government there. The 3 million persons there live under the occupation of an armed terrorist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly called Jibhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda. The terrorists embedded themselves there in 2012, and until now are safe from attack because the US, EU, and UN all lobby for their protection, and aid. The US supports the Al Qaeda terrorists because they represent the US interests in Syria to be decided upon in a final political settlement in Syria under the auspices of the UN.
The third administration is the Kurdish self-proclaimed region of the northeast, where the US military is occupying the Syrian oil wells, and allowing the Kurds to sell the stolen oil in Iraq to cover their expenses. This area was not affected by the earthquake. This administration exists separate from Damascus only because of the US military illegal occupation
Where is Idlib?
Many of the residents of Idlib most affected by the earthquake have had to sleep outside among the olive groves, in freezing temperatures. The UN acknowledged the international response to Idlib has been a failure.
Raed al-Saleh, head of the White Helmets, an award-winning video troupe headquartered in Washington, DC. has denounced the UN as incompetent in their response to the needs in Idlib. The White Helmets work solely in Idlib and have international donors. Al-Saleh was angry after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Syrian President Assad had agreed to allow UN aid deliveries to the area through two border crossings from Turkey for three months. The White Helmets and the terrorists do not recognize the Syrian government. Damascus had tried to send aid to Idlib, but the terrorists turned it back saying, “We don’t want help from the enemy.” Previously the UN trucks of aid to Idlib were also stalled after the terrorists demanded a $1,000 fee for each of the 10 trucks.
Why are the borders controlled?
The Syrian government has controlled the border crossings of Syria for security reasons. Serena Shim, an American journalist from Detroit, witnessed and reported seeing a UN food truck carrying Al Qaeda terrorists, and their weapons, from Turkey into Syria near Idlib. She was murdered in Turkey just days after publishing her report.
The terrorists in Idlib are contained in a small area and have weapons including missiles which have frequently been directed at Latakia, and Kessab, a small Christian Armenia village just north of Latakia. The Syrian government wants to keep the weapons from flowing into Idlib while allowing UN, and other humanitarian aid to flow into the 3 million civilians who are held there as human shields.
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (Photo: via Facebook)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated on Monday that “all of Israel’s settlements are illegal under international law and a substantial obstacle to peace.”
Guterres made his comment as he expressed his deep concern about the Israeli government’s announcement that it is “legalizing” nine settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank.
Such outposts are illegal under international and even Israeli law.
“If these measures are implemented, they would further undermine prospects for a viable two-state solution,” Guterres’s spokesman told journalists.
The UN head called for an end to unilateral measures that undermine prospects for a political solution on the basis of UN resolutions, international law, and bilateral agreements.
Pink Floyd rock legend Roger Waters made an impressive and impassioned plea for peace at the UN Security Council this week. The English-born singer-songwriter was invited by Russia to address the specially convened forum on the prospects of finding a peaceful resolution in Ukraine.
Waters spoke eloquently and from the heart for over 14 minutes via a video link to the gathering at the United Nations’ headquarters in New York. Much respect is due to him for his strident call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine as well as for his general anti-war message on behalf of the world’s “voiceless majority”.
The 79-year-old artist has been a life-long advocate for peace and human rights, and many people around the world admire not only his musical creations but also his integrity and indefatigable defense of human rights. As he noted during his speech, his own father was killed in action during the Second World War when he was just an infant in 1944, and so he has been “touched by war”.
To his eternal credit, Waters has not taken megastar retirement in luxurious, mindless oblivion. He has remained as politically active and outspoken as when he was a younger artist, critical of exploitative corporate capitalist power and imperialist warmongering. With fierce integrity and poignant compassion, he has championed the cause of the Palestinian people and the freedom of publisher Julian Assange locked up in a British prison, among other causes. His music and artistry are a holistic expression of his pathos and politics.
He may have been invited by Russia to address the UNSC this week, but Waters showed himself to be no “apologist” for Moscow. During his speech, he claimed that Russia had “illegally invaded” Ukraine in February 2022, and he forthrightly condemned that. He is entitled to his opinion.
Nevertheless, he also condemned the provocations by the United States and NATO in building up Ukraine with armaments in the years before the conflict erupted last February. He denounced the war profiteering by Western powers from their relentless and reckless supplying of weapons to Ukraine which, he said, was risking a nuclear apocalypse if it spiralled into a bigger all-out confrontation.
The reactions to this noble intervention by Roger Waters were telling. While he spoke to the UNSC, the envoys from Ukraine fiddled on their phones, showing contemptible disrespect. Following his speech, the Ukrainian and the American representatives mocked Waters for peddling “Russian propaganda”.
There was little reporting in the Western media of his words. Some reportage tried to undermine his sincere calls for peace and his blistering critique of the warmongering capitalist system by focusing on what they claimed was his justification for Russian military action in Ukraine after he had said the war was “not unprovoked”.
Hardly surprising. Western mainstream news media have become so debased as propaganda channels that anyone who dares to discuss the historical context of the conflict is immediately smeared as a “Kremlin stooge”. Their media function is to prevent any intelligent, truthful understanding of how this conflict manifested or what is really at stake. The same goes for other conflicts and in particular, the next one Washington is fomenting with China.
Waters deserves immense praise for his courageous, unstinting calls for peace and for a broader understanding of the nature and causes of the conflict in Ukraine. But the dismissive response to his supplications illustrates clearly that the Western warmongers and their NeoNazi regime in Kiev have no intention or will to find a just peace. They are, to quote that classic song by Pink Floyd, “comfortably numb” to any feeling of justice and peace.
Thus, lamentably, his demands for an immediate ceasefire are naive. While many people around the world will admire the call for peace, it is misleading to not fully realize how the conflict in Ukraine came about and why it is being pursued by Western powers. Such appeals will not prevail against the war fundamentalists. Indeed, any ceasefire without resolving the root causes of the war would only prolong the conflict by allowing a rearming of the NATO-sponsored Kiev regime against Russia. Besides, Washington and its Western lackeys are “agreement incapable” and have no integrity.
The most effective immediate way to end the conflict is for Western powers to stop fueling it with the madcap armaments they are piling up in Ukraine. Washington and its European allies are embarking on endless rounds of supplying more offensive weapons. They have already committed to deploying battlefield tanks and this week there was more talk of supplying advanced NATO fighter jets as well as long-range missiles that can hit deep inside Russian territory. The lavish indulgence this week by Britain, France, Germany and the rest of the European Union towards Kiev’s incessant demands for more weapons shows that there is no interest in a genuine diplomatic dialogue for a peaceful settlement.
The European elite political class like their masters in Washington have dangerously distorted the conflict in Ukraine into one of absolute necessity for defeating alleged Russian aggression and “defending democracy”.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky – whose regime in Kiev is up to its eyes in corruption from the arms bazaar in that country as well as infested with Nazi-adulating paramilitaries – was feted in Europe this week with the preposterous claim that Ukraine was defending European values from Russian barbarity. The echo of Third Reich ideology and Russophobic propaganda here is truly astounding.
This war is an existential one. On the one hand, the defeat of Russia is being painted (falsely) as the ultimate challenge to supposed Western civilization. The West has made it a zero-sum contest based on false premises. On the other hand, a real existential issue is that the war is all about preserving American hegemony and propping up the floundering Western imperial global order. “Unipolar world domination,” as Roger Waters put it.
The blockbuster report this week by veteran journalist Seymour Hersh revealing well-founded allegations that the U.S. military blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Germany last September demonstrates that this war in Ukraine is only a part of a bigger geopolitical conflict. The Western media’s relative silence over what is ostensibly a staggering act of international terrorism by the Americans and their European minions is as damning as it is instructive.
Hersh credibly claims that the plot to sabotage the pipelines – signed off by the Biden administration – predated the Russian intervention in Ukraine. When added to ignominious admissions by European leaders that there was no intention of honoring the 2014-15 Minsk peace agreements because the tacit objective was always to weaponize Ukraine for an eventual showdown against Russia, then we begin to understand that the intrinsic agenda for war makes a mockery of the Western narrative about “defending Ukraine from Russian aggression”.
Appeals like that of Roger Waters – albeit principled and well-intentioned – are in the final analysis naive and, regrettably, futile. Such appeals presuppose that Western elites and their warmongering system are capable of peaceful and moral reasoning. They are not.
Russia had a legal and moral duty to defend the ethnic Russian people of former Ukraine from eight years of NATO-backed aggression after the CIA-backed coup d’état in Kiev in 2014. That NATO aggression will not be stopped now by moralistic appeals. For we are talking about a system that is tantamount to a rabid dog that needs to be put down. And we are not talking about a system that is limited to the vile Kiev regime. We are talking about the entire U.S.-led capitalist system and its imperialist war machine. A system that has ravaged the world for eight decades since the end of World War Two.
Or to put it another way by way of taking issue with a contradiction in Roger Water’s speech: you can’t appeal to a “bully” to do the right thing. You have to punch the bully in the face.
On the bigger historical picture, it can be increasingly seen now in this present time that the Second World War did not bring about an end to Nazism, fascism and imperialism, especially as Western history books would narrate. The end of that horrendous war was only a respite from the disease. There will be no peace in Ukraine or anywhere else until that disease is terminated – once and for all.
The first United Nations aid deliveries arrived on Thursday in areas controlled by militants in Syria.
Rescuers in Turkey searching for earthquake survivors (AP)
Rescuers were scouring debris on Friday nearly 100 hours after the 7.8-magnitude massive earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, killing more than 21,000 people in one of the region’s worst disasters for a century.
The first United Nations aid deliveries arrived on Thursday in areas controlled by militants in Syria, but chances of finding survivors have dimmed since the passing of the three-day mark that experts consider a critical period to save lives.
Top aid officials were planning to visit affected areas with World Health Organization Head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and UN humanitarian Chief Martin Griffiths both announcing trips.
The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, said she had arrived in Aleppo.
“Communities struggling after years of fierce fighting are now crippled by the earthquake,” Spoljaric tweeted on Wednesday.
“As this tragic event unfolds, people’s desperate plight must be addressed,” she stressed.
On his part, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the Security Council to authorize the opening of new cross-border humanitarian aid points between Turkey and Syria.
“This is the moment of unity, it’s not a moment to politicise or to divide but it is obvious that we need massive support,” Guterres said.
Similarly, Geir Pedersen, the UN Special Envoy for Syria stressed on Thursday the need to avoid “politicization” of aid to earthquake victims in Syria and urged Washington and Brussels to ensure there were “no impediments”.
Exclusive: Syrian government sending aid to armed-groups-held areas
In the same context, Syrian informed sources told Al Mayadeen on Thursday that a convoy carrying Syrian aid is preparing to enter Idlib through the Saraqib border crossing and is currently waiting for UN representatives to hand over the relief aid to Idlib.
The sources said that if international organizations are late, Syria will not hesitate to deliver this aid by itself to help the disaster-stricken people.
“The negotiations were fruitful, and aid is on the way,” they added.
According to Al Mayadeen sources, the UAE had been negotiating for the past three days with militants in Idlib to open the crossings to allow the entry of aid.
“The militats were finally convinced with an aid convoy making it into Idlib through the Syrian Red Crescent and international organizations in Syria,” the sources added.
“The militants want to garner international support for themselves alone under the pretext that the Syrian government would not allow aid to make it into their areas,” the sources indicated.
Al Mayadeen correspondent also reported that “there is an aid convoy preparing to enter Idlib.”
“The aid convoy will make it through the UN path through the Saraqib crossing,” and “the efforts of the militants to get aid into Idlib through the Turkish borders have all been met with failure.”
Freezing temperatures
In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, located near the epicenter of the quake, temperatures plunged to minus three degrees Celsius (26 degrees Fahrenheit) early on Friday.
Despite the cold, thousands of families had to spend the night in cars and makeshift tents — too scared or banned from returning to their homes.
Gyms, mosques, schools, and some stores have opened at night. But beds are scarce and thousands spend the nights in cars with engines running to provide heat.
Monday’s quake was the largest Turkey has seen since 1939 when 33,000 people died in the eastern Erzincan province.
In addition to 3,377 deaths in Syria, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said the death toll from the earthquake in Turkey has reached 18,342, while 74,242 have been injured, bringing the confirmed total to more than 21,000 deaths.
Experts fear the number will continue to rise sharply. Despite the difficulties, thousands of local and foreign searchers have not given up the hunt for more survivors.
On a visit to the area, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan admitted there had been “shortcomings” in the government’s handling of the disaster.
Relief pledges
The World Bank said it would give $1.78 billion in aid to Turkey to help with relief and recovery efforts. Immediate assistance of $780 million will be offered from two existing projects in Turkey, said the bank, while an added $1 billion in operations is being prepared to support affected people.
In Syria, the General Director of the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), Basem Mansour, revealed that the countries that have started sending aid planes so far are: UAE, Russia, Iran, India, Pakistan, Armenia, Algeria, Iraq, Oman, Egypt, Venezuela, Jordan, Libya, and Tunisia.
Amid complete silence from the #West, some countries actually stepped up and answered Syria's humanitarian cry for help.
Earlier, the US Treasury Department announced a temporary lifting of some Syria-related sanctions following calls from the Syrian state and the international community in the aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude that struck Syria and Turkey.
The U N Resident Coordinator in Syria, Mostafa Benlamlih , affirmed that the sanctions imposed on Syria hinder the humanitarian work in it, indicating that the situation now is very difficult and the humanitarian issue in it must not be politicized.
In an interview with SANA, Benlamlih stressed that the goal of the UN organizations is to deliver a message about the suffering of the Syrians as a result of the sanctions imposed on their country, and the harm these sanctions have had on humanitarian work, as they prevented the arrival of millions of dollars to those affected by the earthquake.
He pointed out that Syria today is suffering from a double crisis as a result of the war since 2011 and the earthquake, which made the situation more difficult, pointing out that before the earthquake there were 15 million Syrians in need of assistance, and 4 million of them needed almost daily assistance, in addition to the repercussions of the catastrophic earthquake, as the number of those in need increased.
The western sanctions weapon is not new to Syria, but since 2019 it has become a lethal one, destroying entire Syrian sectors and killing its people.
Some 83 years after being employed against Germany in 1940, economic sanctions have become the most widely-used tool in Washington’s arsenal to coerce adversarial states. Sanctions have become a parallel or alternative policy to military invasions, especially after the dollar solidified as the world’s dominant currency by being pegged to oil in 1975 – and further strengthened by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
This US financial and economic weapon has caused Syria suffering for decades, but its impact has become lethal in recent years, particularly after 2019.
Sanctions negatively affect all vital sectors of the economy, from medicine to education, energy, communications, agriculture, and industry – all the way to dealing with emergency disasters, such as the earthquake that struck Syria and Turkiye in the early morning of 6 February, which has so far led to the death of 1,300 civilians, mass injuries, and the destruction of thousands of homes.
The impact of western sanctions and the US military occupation of Syria has crippled the nation’s economy and undermined its ability to respond to major natural disasters of this kind. The situation issue pressing that the Middle East Council of Churches issued a demand on 6 February for the immediate lifting of sanctions on Syria so that Damascus can deal with the humanitarian fallout from the tragic earthquake.
In 1979, Syria was subjected to Washington’s sanctions for the first time when it was designated a state sponsor of terrorism, and banned from exporting goods and technology to the US. This came as punishment for Syria’s support of Iran during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), leading also to a suspension of financial aid from Persian Gulf monarchies (approximately $1.5 billion annually) and a suffocating economic crisis, known as the “crisis of the eighties.”
Less than a decade after a short period of economic prosperity in Syria (the net domestic product increased by about 49 percent between 2000 and 2010), the 2011 foreign-backed war was launched, wreaking havoc on the Syrian economy. Widespread damage was inflicted both by the direct destruction of economic facilities and sectors during combat operations, and by a series of US-driven sanctions, which reached their peak with the 2019 Caesar Act and last year’s Captagon Act that targeted Syria’s indigenous pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.
A double stranglehold
In contrast to most cases in which the US and its EU and NATO allies employ economic sanctions to impose an external economic blockade on nations, the sanctions against Damascus are accompanied by a further internal blockade.
This is achieved by foreign military control over oil resources and critical agricultural fields in northeastern Syria – the “bread basket of the Levant” – which are under the control of the US-backed and Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the “Autonomous Administration” areas.
Damascus is thus subjected to a double stranglehold by depriving it of its oil (the main source of foreign exchange). Energy sales constitute about a quarter of Syria’s export earnings, and covers 90 percent of its domestic market needs. Before the war, in 2010, Syria produced 4 million tons of wheat, a strategic agricultural staple which provides food self-sufficiency and domestic sustenance, about a quarter of which is then exported.
Today, the country has not only lost access to its vital agricultural lands, but western sanctions prevent Damascus from importing these essential staples to feed its population.
This has exacerbated the effects of the blockade on the Syrian people, who are currently going through one of the most severe living, economic, and health crises in their modern history, and are left unable to secure basic daily needs of bread and medicine.
Informed sources tell The Cradle that Damascus is incurring double burdens to secure basic commodities – because these cannot be imported directly – which forces the Syrian government to resort to brokerage firms to circumvent US and European sanctions.
The sources point out Russia’s critical role in securing wheat for Damascus, but this too comes with a financial burden of high shipping fees. Similarly, while Iran provides oil to Syria through a credit line, its transportation is carried out by private companies that face harassment from US authorities – whether by detaining shipments (e.g. in Gibraltar and Greece) or by including participating oil tankers to US sanctions lists.
Under sanctions, Syria is facing great difficulties in rebuilding its key agriculture, industry, energy, education, and healthcare sectors which were destroyed in a war in which Washington played a leading role. Damascus has been reduced to seeking out regional alternatives and intermediary companies to circumvent its stranglehold, or receiving help from friendly countries such as Russia or Iran.
This, of course, comes with its own downsides for the US, as it helps forge closer Syrian political and economic ties with Washington’s adversaries. Today, it is Iranian companies, for example, that carry out maintenance operations and construct new power plants in Syria.
Sanctions upon sanctions
Most of the unilateral sanctions against Syria date back to 2011 when then-US President Barack Obama expanded existing punitive measures under the Syria Accountability Act (2004). The new sanctions included a ban on flights, restrictions on oil exports, financial restrictions on entities and individuals, freezing Syrian assets abroad, travel bans on Syrian officials and business leaders, and severing diplomatic relations with Damascus.
In 2019, the US enacted the Syria-specific Caesar Act, granting Washington the authority to impose sanctions on anyone – regardless of nationality – who conducts business with Syria, participates in infrastructure and energy projects, provides support to the Syrian government, or supplies goods or services to the Syrian military.
The Captagon Act, passed by the US Congress in 2022 to combat the illicit trade of a drug made famous by foreign-backed jihadists in Syria, has the temerity to blame Damascus for the origins of Captagon, and seeks to destroy what is left of the country’s renowned pharmaceutical industry.
In 2011, the EU banned exports of weapons, goods, and energy technology to Syria. It also imposed a ban on the import of Syrian oil and minerals, and any commercial and financial transactions with the Syrian energy sector. These sanctions were expanded in 2018 to include asset freezes and travel bans on individuals and entities allegedly involved in the use of chemical weapons.
Britain imposed parallel sanctions on Syria after its exit from the EU, with several allied states jumping the bandwagon, including Canada, Australia, and Switzerland. Arab countries, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia who financially and materially assisted in the war against Syria, have imposed their own variation of sanctions on Damascus too.
A Humanitarian crisis
The horrifying deterioration of Syria’s humanitarian and living conditions – as a direct result of oppressive unilateral sanctions that violate international laws and conventions – prompted the United Nations to dispatch UN Special Rapporteur on Unilateral Coercive Measures and Human Rights, Alena Douhan, to Damascus between 30 October and 10 November, 2022, to assess the impact of sanctions.
In a statement after her 12-day visit to Syria, the Special Rapporteur presented detailed information about the catastrophic effects of unilateral sanctions across all walks of life in the country.
Douhan reported that a startling 90 percent of Syria’s population was currently living below the poverty line, with limited access to food, water, electricity, shelter, cooking and heating fuel, transportation, and healthcare, and warned that the country was facing a massive brain-drain due to growing economic hardship
“With more than half of the vital infrastructure either completely destroyed or severely damaged, the imposition of unilateral sanctions on key economic sectors, including oil, gas, electricity, trade, construction and engineering have quashed national income, and undermine efforts towards economic recovery and reconstruction.”
The UN rapporteur said that the blocking of payments and refusal of deliveries by foreign producers and banks – coupled with sanctions-induced limited foreign currency reserves – have caused serious shortages in medicines and specialized medical equipment, particularly for chronic and rare diseases.
She warned that rehabilitation and development of water distribution networks for drinking and irrigation had stalled due to the unavailability of equipment and spare parts, creating serious public health and food security implications.
“In the current dramatic and still-deteriorating humanitarian situation as 12 million Syrians grapple with food insecurity, I urge the immediate lifting of all unilateral sanctions that severely harm human rights and prevent any efforts for early recovery, rebuilding and reconstruction.”
“No reference to good objectives of unilateral sanctions justifies the violation of fundamental human rights, she added, insisting that “the international community has an obligation of solidarity and assistance to the Syrian people.”
Calls to lift Syria’s sanctions
The UN report sheds further light on sanctions-targeted Syrian sectors, revealing that the Syrian economy has contracted by more than 90 percent, and that prices have risen more than 800 percent since 2019.
Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost, and sanctions block the importation of “food, medicine, spare parts, raw materials, and items necessary for the country’s needs and economic recovery,” Douhan reports. In addition, Syria “pays more than 50 percent higher prices compared to neighboring countries to obtain its food needs.”
The UN rapporteur has called for the unilateral sanctions that the US and EU have imposed on Syria to be lifted immediately, stressing that they are illegal under international law. “I urge the international community, and the sanctioning states, in particular, to pay heed to the devastating effects of sanctions and to take prompt and concrete steps to address over-compliance by businesses and banks,” she stated.
Her report illustrates clearly that the tightening of unilateral sanctions and trade restrictions have generated a long-term economic crisis in Syria, with an increasing rise in the level of inflation and a continuous decline in the value of the local currency from 47 Syrian lira against the dollar in 2010 to more than 5,000 lira in 2022.
Electricity and water
The sanctions have also prevented Damascus from rebuilding damaged infrastructure especially in remote and rural areas, and have caused a “shortage of electricity,” leading to daily blackouts.
The UN’s report made particular mention of the deterioration of the public water supply and irrigation systems, whose rehabilitation has stalled due to the unavailability of equipment and spare parts, with serious implications for public health and food security. It stated that the lack of drinking water in vast swathes of Syria is the cause behind the current cholera outbreak in the country.
Healthcare Sector
Douhan’s report also shows that power outages led to the failure of sensitive and expensive medical equipment, for which spare parts could not be purchased due to commercial and financial restrictions. It reveals that 14.6 percent of Syrians suffer from chronic and rare diseases, and that there are foreign-made obstacles to purchasing medicines – especially for patients with cancer, dialysis needs, high blood pressure, and diabetes, in addition to anesthetics – due to the withdrawal of foreign drug producers from Syria, and the inability to import raw materials and laboratory reagents to produce medicines locally.
Although medicines and medical devices are not directly subject to sanctions, the ambiguity and complexity of licensing processes, and the producers and suppliers’ fear of penalties, ensures that access to life-saving solutions becomes very difficult – especially after the adoption of Washington’s Captagon Act.
Agriculture and food security
Due to water and energy shortages, and financial and trade constraints, the amount of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, fodder, and spare parts for agricultural machinery have decreased. Syria’s agricultural crop production declined from 17 million tons annually in 2000-2011 to 11.9 million tons in 2021.
Wheat harvests have decreased from 3.1 million tons in 2019 to less than 1.7 million tons in 2022. While Syria was historically an exporter of wheat, it is now importing it through a network of intermediaries, which increases Damascus’ financial burden significantly.
A strategy to serve Israel’s interests
The US and its allies justify their Syria sanctions as a means of exerting pressure on “rogue” countries to force an alteration in their policies. The extensive experience of this US policy in numerous countries, however, clearly shows that sanctions are mainly a political tool used to subdue governments by devastating their populations.
The sanctions against Syria have resulted in a serious food crisis, with 12 million Syrians – over half of the population – facing food insecurity and 2.4 million suffering from severe food insecurity, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
These sanctions are depleting the life resources of the Syrian people, which Damascus believes is largely related to its conflict with Israel, with Tel Aviv being seen as the biggest beneficiary of Syria’s slow destruction. The UN Special Rapporteur on Unilateral Coercive Measures and Human Rights will present her final report on the impact of the sanctions to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2023.
Featured Image: A 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey reverberated through northern Syria and left buildings in ruin.
The ministry of human rights in Sanaa called on the UN and international organizations to step in and stop the criminal acts committed by the Saudi regime against Yemenis residing in the Kingdom.
The Ministry of Human Rights in Sanaa denounced the arbitrary arrest of the Yemeni citizen, Marwa Abd Rabbuh Hussein Al-Sabri (29), by the Saudi authorities in Holy Mecca while she was performing the Umrah act of worship, and the “fabrication of false malicious charges against her.”
In a statement, the Ministry confirmed that the sentence issued against this Yemeni woman by the Saudi regime, which entails imprisoning her for a year, represents a flagrant violation of human rights and all humanitarian laws, in addition to being contrary to religious and social values.
After receiving insults targeting Yemenis from a Saudi policewoman inside the holy place, Al-Sabri responded to the degrading statements by calling out the Kingdom’s criminal acts against her country.
“Saudi Arabia destroyed our country,” she told the officer.
The statement indicated that this act, “in addition to it being a new provocation to the feelings of millions of Yemenis and their traditions, values, and noble customs that oppose insulting the dignity of women and demand upholding their status, the Saudi regime carried out two crimes, first arresting her while she was performing the sacred rituals against a crime she did not commit and the other being that the [Saudi] regime did not respect the sanctity and holiness of the place.”
The Ministry stressed that “those provocative actions against the feelings of all Muslims require proposing a new approach toward separating the sacred rituals from the power and tyranny of the Saudi regime.”
“It is indignant that the Saudi regime commits such an act against a Yemeni woman who came to perform rituals while subjecting her to security harassment and verbal assault, which prompted her to utter a word summarizing what was committed over eight years of killing and siege against her people, while the regime continues its cold-blooded crimes and siege against the Yemeni people.”
مروة الصبري امرأة عظيمة من بلد عظيم وشعب أعظم مروة الصبري واجهت سطوة الجبروت والبوليس والمخابرات السعودية بحزم وقوة لم يعهدها النظام السعودي ولا يريد أن يسمع كلاما من هذا سيسمعه من الف مليون رجل وامرأة سيبذل الشعب اليمني كل ممكن لإخراجها وإعادتها لأولادها وأهلها pic.twitter.com/BGZxIgnXWM
This violation is added to a series of previous crimes committed by the Saudi regime against Yemeni women, including killing, siege, and humiliation, the Ministry further stressed.
In its statement, the Ministry of Human Rights demanded the immediate release of the Yemeni citizen and called on all the Yemeni people and human rights activists in the Arab and Islamic world to condemn this act and show solidarity with what Yemeni women have been subjected to.
The Ministry also called on the United Nations and other humanitarian and international organizations to condemn and denounce the incident and to put pressure on the Saudi regime to release her, in addition to pushing the Saudi authorities to stop their crimes, violations, and arbitrary arrests against Yemeni citizens residing in the Kingdom, demanding the UN to provide them with legal protection.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that progress was being made towards ending the Yemen war, in which Riyadh leads a military coalition, but more work was needed, including reinstating a truce and transitioning to a permanent ceasefire.
Speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said the eight-year conflict would only be resolved through a political settlement.
Al Saud said the kingdom was also trying to find a path to dialogue with Iran as the best way to resolve differences over several conflicts, including the one in Yemen.
Later in the day, Beirut-based al-Mayadeen Network cited informed Yemeni sources as saying that many proposals were put on the table, but they require further discussions.
The sources revealed that there is no final agreement in terms of extending and expanding the armistice, stressing, however, that negotiations are still ongoing.
The informed sources said, “There is progress in the talks and messages exchanged through the Omani mediator, and if an agreement is reached, its results will be officially announced.”
The sources also pointed out that “many proposals were put on the table, but they are yet to be discussed and attended to. We should wait to ensure their completion and agreement over them.”
The further added that “the proposals put forward for discussion are all related to humanitarian considerations and the renewal of the armistice,” noting that “channels of communication and negotiations with Saudi Arabia still stand and have been ongoing for some time now.”
The Yemeni sources indicated that “the understandings with Saudi Arabia are limited to renewing the armistice and expanding the humanitarian issues to be considered.”
In the same context, the UN envoy’s office expressed via Twitter an appreciation for “Saudi Arabia’s role in supporting the current efforts aimed at de-escalation and working toward a comprehensive Yemeni-Yemeni political settlement under the auspices of the United Nations.”
It is noteworthy that Sanaa announced last October that negotiations to extend the UN armistice in Yemen had reached a dead end after Saudi Arabia refused to pay the salaries of public servants from the revenues of oil and gas produced from the Yemeni governorates, in addition to ending the war acts and lifting the blockade on the country.
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About 12 million Syrians are facing a deadly winter without heating fuel, gasoline for transportation, and dark houses each evening.
Damascus is now bitterly cold and is soon to be blanketed with snow. About 12 million Syrians are facing a deadly winter without heating fuel, gasoline for transportation, and dark houses each evening without electricity. Aleppo, Homs, and Hama are also extremely cold all winter.
Imagine being ill and having to walk to the doctor or hospital. The ambulances in Syria will now respond only to the most life-threatening calls because they must conserve gasoline, or face running out entirely. Gasoline on the black market costs Syrians an equivalent of 50 U.S. dollars for a tank of 20-liter fuel.
Sanctions against Syria were imposed by the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, the Arab League, as well as other countries beginning in 2011. The sanctions were aimed at overthrowing the Syrian government, by depriving it of its resources. U.S.-sponsored ‘regime change’ has failed but the sanctions were never lifted.
For 12 years the U.S. and EU have been imposing economic sanctions on Syria which have deprived the Syrians of their dignity and human rights.
“I am struck by the pervasiveness of the human rights and humanitarian impact of the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Syria and the total economic and financial isolation of a country whose people are struggling to rebuild a life with dignity, following the decade-long war,” Douhan said.
After a 12-day visit to Syria, Douhan said the majority of Syria’s population was currently living below the poverty line, with shortages of food, water, electricity, shelter, cooking and heating fuel, transportation, and healthcare. She spoke of the continuing exodus of educated and skilled Syrians in response to the economic hardship of living at home.
Douhan reported that the majority of infrastructure was destroyed or damaged, and the sanctions imposed on oil, gas, electricity, trade, construction, and engineering have diminished the national income, which has prevented economic recovery and reconstruction.
The sanctions prevent payments from being received from banks, and deliveries from foreign manufacturers. Serious shortages in medicine and medical equipment have plagued hospitals and clinics. The lack of a water treatment system in Aleppo caused a severe Cholera outbreak in late summer, and the system cannot be bought, installed, or maintained under the current U.S. sanctions against Syria.
In 1998, Richard Haass wrote, ‘Economic Sanctions: Too Much of a Bad Thing’. He cautioned U.S. foreign policymakers that sanctions alone are ineffective when the aims are large, or the time is short. The overthrow of the Syrian government is a massive aim, and the sanctions did not accomplish that goal.
Haass predicted that sanctions could cause economic distress and migration. In the summer of 2015 about half a million Syrians walked through Europe as economic migrants and were taken in primarily by Germany.
There is a moral imperative to stop using sanctions as a foreign policy tool because innocent people are affected, while the sanctions have failed.
The U.S. steals Syrian oil, and will not allow imported oil to arrive
According to the U.S. government, the sanctions on Syria “prohibits new investments in Syria by U.S. persons, prohibits the exportation or sale of services to Syria by U.S. persons, prohibits the importation of petroleum or petroleum products of Syrian origin, and prohibits U.S. persons from involvement in transactions involving Syrian petroleum or petroleum products.”
There is a waiver that can be requested from the Department of Commerce, to circumvent the sanctions; however, it only applies to sending items to the terrorist-occupied area of Idlib. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was the Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria and is the only terrorist group now holding territory in Syria.
On October 22, the media Energy World reported the U.S. occupation forces had smuggled 92 tankers and trucks of Syrian oil and wheat stolen from northeastern Syria to U.S. bases in Iraq. The theft is ongoing and continuous.
The U.S. has partnered with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which is a Kurdish militia that has a political wing following the communist ideology begun by the PKK’s Abdullah Ocalan. President Trump ordered the U.S. military to remain to occupy northeastern Syria and he ordered the U.S. soldiers there to steal the Syrian oil so to prevent the Syrian people in the rest of the country from benefiting from the gasoline and electricity produced from the wells.
The Syrian Oil Ministry said in August that the U.S. forces were stealing 80 percent of Syria’s oil production, causing direct and indirect losses of about 107.1 billion to Syria’s oil and gas industry.
Because the Damascus government is deprived of the oil its wells produce, it is forced to depend on costly imported oil, usually from Iran. The U.S. routinely commandeers Iranian tankers, such as the incident recently when the U.S. Navy took a tanker hostage off the coast of Greece on its way to Syria but was eventually released by Greece.
Gasoline shortage
The government has instituted a three-day weekend for schools and civil offices, as well as suspended sports events to save fuel.
Maurice Haddad, Director of the General Company for Internal Transport in Damascus, told the al-Watan newspaper that the government has set stricter diesel quotas, leading to fewer daily bus services.
Athar-Press news website reported that several bakeries in Damascus have had to shut down because of the lack of fuel.
Fuel is needed to generate electricity in Syria, and the lack of domestic or imported fuel means most homes in Syria have about one hour of electricity at several intervals each day, and the amount is diminishing daily.
Sanction exemptions for Idlib and the Kurds only
The only two areas in Syria which are not under the Damascus administration are Idlib in the northwest and the U.S.-sponsored Kurdish region in the northeast. The U.S. sanctions are exempt from sending items to those two places only. But, those two places represent a small number of Syrians in comparison to the civilians across the country, and the main cities of Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, and Latakia. The U.S. makes sure the people who are against the Syrian government continue to be rewarded with supplies and reconstruction, while the millions of peaceful civilians are kept in a constant state of suffering and deprivation.
Gaza’s Great March of Return. (Photo: Abdullah Aljamal, Palestine Chronicle)
The next Nakba Day will be officially commemorated by the United Nations General Assembly on May 15, 2023. The decision by the world’s largest democratic institution is significant, if not a game changer.
For nearly 75 years, the Palestinian Nakba, the ‘Catastrophe’ wrought by the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Zionist militias in 1947-48, has served as the epicenter of the Palestinian tragedy as well as the collective Palestinian struggle for freedom.
Three decades ago, namely after the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian leadership in 1993, the Nakba practically ceased to exist as a relevant political variable. Palestinians were urged to move past that date, and to invest their energies and political capital in an alternative and more ‘practical’ goal, a return to the 1967 borders.
In June 1967, Israel occupied the rest of historic Palestine – East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza – igniting yet another wave of ethnic cleansing.
Based on these two dates, Western cheerleaders of Oslo divided Palestinians into two camps: the ‘extremists’ who insisted on the centrality of the 1948 Nakba, and the ‘moderates’ who agreed to shift the center of gravity of Palestinian history and politics to 1967.
Such historical revisionism impacted every aspect of the Palestinian struggle: it splintered Palestinians ideologically and politically; relegated the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees, which is enshrined in UN Resolution 194; spared Israel the legal and moral accountability of its violent establishment on the ruins of Palestine, and more.
Leading Palestinian Nakba historian, Salman Abu Sitta, explained in an interview a few years ago the difference between the so-called pragmatic politics of Oslo and the collective struggle of Palestinians as the difference between ‘aims’ and ‘rights’. Palestinians “don’t have ‘aims’ … (but) rights,” he said. “… These rights are inalienable, they represent the bottom red line beyond which no concession is possible. Because doing so will destroy their life.”
Indeed, shifting the historical centrality of the narrative away from the Nakba was equivalent to the very destruction of the lives of Palestinian refugees as it has been tragically apparent in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria in recent years.
While politicians from all relevant sides continued to bemoan the ‘stagnant’ or even ‘dead’ peace process – often blaming one another for that supposed calamity – a different kind of conflict was taking place. On the one hand, ordinary Palestinians along with their historians and intellectuals fought to reassert the importance of the Nakba, while Israelis continued to almost completely ignore the earth-shattering event, as if it is of no consequence to the equally tragic present.
Gaza’s ‘Great March of Return‘ (2018-2019) was possibly the most significant collective and sustainable Palestinian action that attempted to reorient the new generation around the starting date of the Palestinian tragedy.
Over 300 people, mostly from third or fourth post-Nakba generations, were killed by Israeli snipers at the Gaza fence for demanding their Right of Return. The bloody events of those years were enough to tell us that Palestinians have not forgotten the roots of their struggle, as it also illustrated Israel’s fear of Palestinian memory.
The work of Rosemary Sayigh on the exclusion of the Nakba from the trauma genre, and also that of Samah Sabawi, demonstrate, not only the complexity of the Nakba’s impact on the Palestinian collective awareness, but also the ongoing denial – if not erasure – of the Nakba from academic and historical discourses.
“The most significant traumatic event in Palestinian history is absent from the ‘trauma genre’,” Sabawi wrote in the recently-published volume, Our Vision for Liberation.
Sayigh argued that “the loss of recognition of (the Palestinian refugees’) rights to people- and state- hood created by the Nakba has led to an exceptional vulnerability to violence,” with Syria being the latest example.
Israel was always aware of this. When Israeli leaders agreed to the Oslo political paradigm, they understood that removing the Nakba from the political discourse of the Palestinian leadership constituted a major victory for the Israeli narrative.
Thanks to ordinary Palestinians, those who have held on to the keys and deeds to their original homes and land in historic Palestine, history is finally being rewritten, back to its original and accurate form.
By passing Resolution A/77/L.24, which declared May 15, 2023, as ‘Nakba Day’, the UNGA has corrected a historical wrong.
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, rightly understood the UN’s decision as a major step towards the delegitimization of Israel as a military occupier of Palestine. “Try to imagine the international community commemorating your country’s Independence Day by calling it a disaster. What a disgrace,” he said.
Absent from Erdan’s remarks and other responses by the Israeli officials is the mere hint of political or even moral accountability for the ethnic cleansing of over 530 Palestinian towns and villages, and the expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinians, whose descendants are now numbered in millions of refugees.
Not only did Israel invest decades in canceling and erasing the Nakba, it also criminalized it by passing what is now known as the Nakba Law of 2011.
But the more Israel engages in this form of historical negationism, the harder Palestinians fight to reclaim their historical rights.
May 15, 2023, UN Nakba Day represents the triumph of the Palestinian narrative over that of Israeli negationists. This means that the blood spilled during Gaza’s March of Return was not in vain, as the Nakba and the Right of Return are now back at the center of the Palestinian story.
NATO also must feel that time (and even ammo stocks!) is running out: right now Russia cannot help Serbia in any other way than to express Russia’s political support. Furthermore, geography can be a curse and Serbia is deep inside NATO territory, surrounded on all sides by enemies which have the means to prevent Russia from offering any other forms of support besides words.
Serbia herself could easily deal with the KLA terrorists, but that would almost certainly trigger a NATO retaliatory attack and, objectively, Serbia does not have the capabilities to take on NATO. The folks at Mons know that, and so they provoke as much as they can while they still can.
[Sidebar: once the NATO defeat in the Ukraine becomes impossible to obfuscate or deny, then NATO will basically have to run, just like it did in Kabul. Once that happens, Kosovo (and the RS in Bosnia) will be liberated.]
There are many parallels between the situation in the Ukraine and the situation in Kosovo, the main one being that in both cases the West was trying to buy time to prepare for war (which they successfully executed against the UN “protected areas” in Croatia). The recent admission by Merkel that the sole point of the Minsk Agreement was to give time to prepare the Ukraine for war (they somehow managed to overlook that Russia would use the same time to ALSO prepare for war) has now confirmed the following conceptual plan:
Begin by pretending to want to broker some semi-reasonable deal which, while not perfect, would preserve peace and give time to negotiate (they did that with the Palestinians, the Serbs, the Russians and many others!).
Then break the terms of this deal over and over again and dare the other side to “do something about it”.
If the other sides does nothing, keep on provoking until the entire deal is clearly dead, then let your proxy attack in “retaliation” against some putative “violation” by the other side. And if your proxy is weak and mostly apt at murdering civilians, give them the full NATO support (which in Kosovo became the “KLA airforce”).
If the other side does preempt your attack, accuse it of breaking the terms of the deal and attack it in “retaliation”.
Mantrically repeat that “Country X” (Kosovo or Israel, same difference) has the “right” to “defend” itself from “attacks” but never recognize that same right for the other side.
In the case of Serbia this is all made much worse by the “multi-vector” policies of the Vucic government which, on one hand, seeks EU membership and support and, on the other, has to deal with an outraged public opinion. Truth be told, Serbia’s economy is entirely dependent on her neighbors so any perceived “excess patriotism” (no matter how minimal and even lame) could result in even more devastating sanctions from a united West hell-bent on breaking every and any sovereign country out there.
Even worse is the fact that the EU/NATO are both party to the conflict AND the judge and jury which has the right to impose anything or ignore any complaints.
We now see the strange spectacle of Vucic asking KFOR (the NATO force in Kosovo) for the “permission to exercise a right” (?) granted to it by UNSC Resolution 1244 which allows Serbia to sent 1000 police/security forces into Kosovo. By asking rather than informing KFOR, Vucic is trying as hard to inspire KFOR authorities to act with a modicum of decency. I very much doubt that this will work.
And even the fact that Vucic made that request after the Albanians sent in 1000 of their own forces into the Serbian enclave in Kosovo won’t help Vucic in any way: the West has shown its truly amazing ability to be selectively blind not only during the US/NATO/EU war against the Serbian nation in 1990s, but even as late as the “selectively blind” “human rights” “monitors” and other “observers” in the LDNR or the “selectively blind” IAEA inspectors at the ZNPP.
[The parallels between Banderastan and “Kosovë” are numerous and striking, including the fact that in both cases these regimes are run by terrorists and thugs who make millions out of various financial schemes and even the traffic of body organs. Both entities are run by “our sons of bitches” and, therefore, get a pass on everything, ranging from basic human rights to major military provocations all, of course, in the name of democracy, pluralism and everything good under the sun. I suggest that the following might be an interesting rule of thumb: “show me your proxies and I will tell you who you are“. A Hegemony which federated, financed, trained and engaged al-Qaeda/ISIS will have no problem dealing with the thugs in power in Kiev or Pristina no matter what the latter do]
One would be forgiven for thinking that UNSC Resolutions cannot be ignored but, in reality, they very much can (ask the Israelis!). If a UNSC member complains about a violation, you can always count on a UNSC veto by US/EU/NATO representatives.
Sadly, at the current moment Serbia simply cannot help the Serbian minority in Kosovo. Even if Vucic decided to reject the demands and decrees of the Empire, Serbia cannot do much more than verbally protest.
Considering the truly amazing ability of the people of Europe to be selectively blind we can rest assured that any Serbian protests will fall on deaf ears. The same Europeans who shed oceans of crocodile tears about the “bombing of Sarajevo” or, better, the “Srebrenica genocide” noticed absolutely *nothing* during the eight years in which the Ukronazis used their own armed forces (in direct violation of the Ukrainian Constitution) to murder, maim, kidnap, torture and even strike with ballistic missiles the civilians of the Donbass.
[Sidebar: I can’t prove it, but it is my strong belief that the main reason why the Europeans hate Russians and Serbs so much is because, unlike the Europeans, the Russians and Serbs never accepted to become slaves to any empire. On some, possibly subconscious level, the Europeans must feel that compared to the Russians and Serbs they look like pathetic, broken, slaves with no sense of pride or even identity. Simply put: Russians and Serbs make the rest of Europeans look like the “great supine protoplasmic invertebrate jellies” (to use BoJo’s very accurate description) which they all so much are.]
To expect the Europeans to show even a modicum of decency would be absolutely naive. They are too busy hating and freezing…
But time is running out for the Hegemony.
Once the NATO defeat in the Ukraine becomes undeniable, the organization will quickly become irrelevant and unable to agree on yet another military operation. As for the USA, having lost the “fig leaf” provided by NATO, they are unlikely to have what it takes to attack Serbia, not after having being comprehensively defeated in the Ukraine (the collapse of NATO will also trigger a major crisis inside the USA).
The problem for Serbia is that it will take time (many months, probably a few years) to fully defang NATO while not triggering a fullscale continental war in Europe. And, let’s be honest here, if the Russians can now take their sweet time “demilitarizing” Banderastan, the Serbian minority in Kosovo cannot.
So what can the Serbs do in this situation?
Do nothing would only empower the KLA terrorist and their western bosses and leave the long-suffering Serbian minority in Kosovo defenseless.
Move in forces, even if fully allowed by the UNSC Resolution, would risk triggering a major economic and military US/NATO/EU attack on Serbia.
Evacuate Serbian civilians from Kosovo? In theory that would be an option, but we have to understand that for the Serbian people Kosovo is truly sacred ground and that many would refuse to leave. Also, emptying Kosovo from its Serbian minority would only embolden the KLA and their patrons. Finally, when the Russians evacuated their civilians from Kherson it was at least credible that this was a temporary move and that the Russian military would be back, sooner rather than later. But in the case of Kosovo, Serbia is the weaker party and will remain so until:
Serbia regains her sovereignty (right now Serbia is basically administered by the West, hence the threats from EU politicians like Baerbock)
Reunites with historically Serbian lands in Montenegro, Bosnia and Kosovo
The US/NATO/EU are demilitarized and denazified, at least in Europe.
This will all happen, the problem is *when*. I sure don’t know.
What I do know is that the Serbian nation has survived absolutely horrific and even overtly demonic persecutions by both the Ottomans, the Anglos and the Latins (Pavelic, like Bandera, Franco or Petain, was a pure product of the Papacy, unlike Hitler and Mussolini who were, respectively, a pagan and an atheist).
In their current situation, the Serbians might have to accept the very real possibility of setbacks which they will have to tolerate, even if only temporarily. The West has also very successfully divided the Serbian nation to better rule over it (what else is new?). The Serbians know that only unity can save Serbia, and they will seek that unity, even if that is extremely difficult in the current circumstances. But eventually, and inevitably, the Serbian nation will survive this deep crisis: we remember the promise of Christ that “but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved“.
The United Nations General Assembly [UNGA] has adopted a resolution asking the International Court of Justice [ICJ] for its legal opinion on the “Israeli” regime’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
The 193-member assembly voted on the resolution on Friday. Eighty-seven countries voted in favor of the resolution against 26 negative votes cast by the “Israeli” regime, the United States, its oldest and strongest ally, and 24 others, and 53 abstentions.
The “Israeli” regime claimed existence in 1948 after occupying huge swathes of Palestinian territories during a Western-backed war. It occupied more land, namely the West Bank, which includes East al-Quds [Jerusalem], and the Gaza Strip in another such war in 1967.
Ever since, the regime has built hundreds of illegal settlements upon the occupied territories and deployed the most aggressive restraints on Palestinian freedoms there. Tel Aviv withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but has been keeping the coastal territory under an all-out land, aerial, and naval siege since a year after it left the enclave.
Addressing the Assembly’s session before the vote, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour said the world body was about to weigh in on the resolution one day after the swearing-in of an “Israeli” cabinet led by Benjamin Netanyahu. Mansour reminded that the cabinet – which has been billed as the most extremist one yet in the regime’s history – had promised to expand the illegal settlements.
“We trust that, regardless of your vote today, if you believe in international law and peace, you will uphold the opinion of the International Court of Justice when delivered and you will stand up to” the “Israeli” officials, the envoy said.
The occupying regime’s ambassador to the world body, Gilad Erdan, however, called the United Nations a “morally bankrupt and politicized” body for deciding to go ahead with the vote. Erdan also said any decision by any judicial body that would receive its mandate from such an organization “is completely illegitimate.”
Via the resolution, the General Assembly asked the ICJ to give an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of “Israel’s” “occupation, settlement, and annexation…, including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status” of the holy city of al-Quds.
Palestinians want East al-Quds [Jerusalem] as the capital of their future state, while the occupying regime lays claim to the entirety of the city as its so-called “capital.”
Ever since occupying the West Bank, the “Israeli” regime has been trying to manipulate al-Quds’ status quo through various measures, including by enforcing restrictions on the Palestinians’ right to worship at the al-Aqsa Mosque’s compound – Islam’s third-holiest site – which is located in al-Quds’ Old City.
The regime’s military, however, regularly provides protection for its illegal settlers’ tours of the holy site as means of hurting the religious sentiments of the Palestinians and their fellow Muslims around the world.
On Thursday, the Palestinian Wafa news agency cited the official heading the Islamic organization that runs the compound’s affairs as saying that a record number of “Israeli” settlers, namely 48,238, had stormed the Muslim holy site in 2022.
According to Azzam Khatib, director of the Islamic Waqf Department, the “Israeli” extremists have been resorting to provocative conduct while storming the compound, including performing Jewish rituals at the site and raising the occupying regime’s flag there.
The initiative comes at the request of Egypt, Jordan, Senegal, Tunisia, Yemen, and Palestine despite opposition from the US, the UK, and of course, the Nakba perpetrator, “Israel”.
UN approves pro-Palestinian resolution to mark Nakba day
The UN General Assembly passed a resolution for the commemoration of the Nakba, or the “day of catastrophe” that marks the day Palestinians were expelled from their homeland in 1948 following the Israeli regime’s claim to “existence”.
The voting turnout showed 90 were in favor and 30 were opposed, whereas 47 abstained.
The initiative came at the request of Egypt, Jordan, Senegal, Tunisia, Yemen, and Palestine despite opposition from the US, the UK, and of course the Nakba perpetrator, “Israel”.
Among the countries that opposed the resolution were Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, and the Netherlands.
As per the resolution, the UN calls for a “commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Nakba, including by organizing a high-level event at the General Assembly Hall” in May 2023.
The resolution also urges the “dissemination of relevant archives and testimonies.”
In a similar context, the UN General Assembly adopted yesterday a pro-Syrian resolution regarding Syria’s Golan Heights, which “Israel” has been occupying for more than half a century now.
The resolution demanded the withdrawal of “Israel” from the area.
92 states voted in favor of the resolution, whereas 8 voted against and 65 abstained.
The resolution called on “Israel” to abide by the resolution and withdraw from the Golan Heights to the line of June 4, 1967. It also declared that “Israel” has failed to comply with Security Council Resolution 497 of 1981, which demands the occupation to annul its decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction, and administration in the occupied area.
It is worth noting that UNSC Resolution no. 497, adopted unanimously on December 17, 1981, declares that the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights is “null and void and without international legal effect.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani advised neighboring countries to revisit their ties with the Zionist entity, not ruling out attacks against the ‘Israeli’ regime given its history in the region.
Referring to the recent anti-Iranian resolution issued at the UN Human Rights Council, Kanaani said the Islamic Republic will never cooperate with a such fact-finding mission on alleged human rights issues.
“Within the framework of its national responsibilities, the Islamic Republic [of Iran] has formed a national committee with the presence of experts, lawyers, and official and unofficial representatives, in the sense that it believes in its inherent and national responsibility,” the spokesperson stated, adding that the country is carrying out duties and comprehensive investigation in this regard.
“Therefore, the hasty use of human rights mechanisms and political approaches are rejected and will not contribute to the concept of human rights.”
The spokesman appeared on Monday with a chemical mask in his weekly press conference in reference to Germany’s support in the war imposed on Iran by Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s regime [1980-1988] and the provision of chemical weapons by the German government to the Saddam regime.
Saddam Hussein’s regime had no obstacles in using weapons and chemical bombs against the Iranians during the war, Kanaani said, adding that the western governments, including the German government, gave the chemical substances to the Iraqi Baath regime, and many crimes were committed against the people of Iran and Iraq with these weapons and equipment.
“The United Nations has clarified Germany’s role in arming Iraq with chemical substances, Germany has received 139 warnings from the United Nations regarding the sale of biological and chemical weapons,” Kanaani noted.
“The results of UN reports show that Germany has played an important role in this field, and DER Spiegel magazine has also written about this, and we have always witnessed violations of human rights and women’s rights in Germany,” he went on to say.
Meanwhile, in response to a question about the attack on an ‘Israeli’-owned oil tanker, which the Zionists accused Iran of, the spokesman rejected these accusations and said that false accusations against Iran are the goal of the Zionist regime and its other allies and if Iran does something, it is brave enough to take responsibility for it.
On the level of the Kurdistan region, Kanaani said it is part of the territory of Iraq and the Iraqi government is responsible for the security of the border lines shared by the two countries of Iran and Iraq: “We heard the news that the Iraqi government has decided to deploy its official forces on the borders of Iraqi Kurdistan. We hope that this deployment will take place. If the Iraqi government needs technical assistance in this regard, we are ready to help the Iraqi government.”
Regarding the nuclear deal, Kanaani said “The European governments that are part of the deal proved that they want to behave upon the US policies,” adding that “The Americans’ proposal implies that they don’t want to continue the negotiations, but at the same time they keep sending Iran messages.”
General Time opens the countdown for the Americans and the Israelis
The region is on the verge of major transformations in a rapidly changing world, and Palestine is the compas
Solidarity with Iran / the events of the hour in an interview with Brigadier General Dr. Amin Hoteit and the leader, Ihsan Ataya, via the Twitter platform
A baby born somewhere on Tuesday was the world’s 8 billionth person, a United Nations’ projection was eager to announce!
“The milestone is an occasion to celebrate diversity and advancements while considering humanity’s shared responsibility for the planet,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.
However, the UN chief’s mischief goes beyond this responsibility…
While busy counting the number of living humans on Earth, the WORLD body, whether on purpose or not, forgot about other humans who happen to be in Yemen, Palestine, and several other uncovered places on this planet.
The UN didn’t do its homework very well. The organization would have gained more respect had it done the math the way it ought to be.
Just two days later, an official with Yemen’s Health Ministry sounded the alarm that more than 80 newborn babies lose their lives on a daily basis because the war-torn country does not have the required medical equipment due to the Saudi-led war and blockade.
Najeeb al-Qubati, the undersecretary of Yemen’s Ministry of Public Health and Population for the Population Sector, announced that some 39% of babies are born premature, which shows a significant increase compared to the pre-war period.
The official said the use of prohibited weapons was one of the reasons behind the growing trend. He said several human rights organizations have already acknowledged and condemned Saudis for using such arms.
Yemeni medical centers are in need of some 2,000 incubators, he said, noting that 632 incubators have been provided so far.
Since launching the war with the support of Washington in March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition has used internationally-banned weapons, including US-made cluster bombs, to target residential areas, according to the Cluster Munition Monitor.
Apart from the war, Saudi Arabia has imposed a blockade on Yemen which, combined, have claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. The military aggression has destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, including the health sector.
On Wednesday, the Yemeni Health Ministry said mosquito-borne diseases such as Malaria and dengue have been on the rise since the start of the war.
Speaking at a press conference in al-Huadaydah, Muhammad al-Mansour, the undersecretary of Yemen’s Ministry of Public Health and Population for the Primary Care Sector, said war and blockade were two main reasons behind the increase of epidemics and diseases in the country.
Failure to implement to malaria control program led to a rise in cases from 513,000 in 2015 to 1,100,000 in 2019, he said, noting the rate was higher in areas where citizens were displaced such as in al-Hudaydah.
Malaria and dengue fever claimed the lives of more than 260,000 Yemenis between 2015 and 2019, he said, naming the closure of ports which has led to delays in the arrival of equipment and medicine as one of the leading factors.
In September, Yemen’s al-Masirah television network reported that the Ministry of Public Health and Population had confirmed the Saudi-led blockade had raised acute malnutrition cases to more than 632,000 children under the age of five and 1.5 million pregnant and lactating women.
“The siege and intense bombardment with prohibited weapons caused a high rate of congenital abnormalities and miscarriages, with an average of 350,000 miscarriages and 12,000 malformations,” it said. According to the ministry, the siege led to an eight-percent increase in premature births compared to the situation before the war.
The blockade has also increased the number of cancer patients by 50 percent. The figure showed 46,204 cases registered during the year 2021.
The ministry said the Saudi-led war had destroyed 162 health facilities completely or 375 partially and put them out of work.
The objective of the war was to reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and crush the Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen.
Not only has the Saudi-led coalition failed to meet its objectives, it has also killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and created what the UN calls the world’s “worst humanitarian crisis.”
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