Mural of Palestinian Iyad Hallaq on the Aparthied wall in Bethlehem. (Photo: via Twitter)
A Palestinian artist memorialized Palestinian autistic man Iyad Hallaq, 32, who was shot dead by Israeli police in Jerusalem on May 30.
A few days ago, Palestinian artist Taqieddin Sabatin painted a mural commemorating African American man George Floyd, who was killed by US police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25.
Sabatin painted the Floyd and Hallaq murals on the concrete wall built by Israel to separate Bethlehem from Jerusalem in order to commemorate both victims of police brutality.
Hallaq, a 32-year-old man with the mental age of an 8-year-old child, was executed by Israeli forces while crouching behind his teacher near his special needs school in the Old City of Jerusalem.
His murder in cold blood brought to mind the killing in Minneapolis days earlier of George Floyd and made parallels of police brutality in the US against African Americans and in Palestine against Palestinian Arabs.
Heather Gray: US-Mexico Border Wall to Encourage Divisiveness, Racism in US Society
TEHRAN (FNA)– Heather Gray, Journalist and Human Rights Activist, says divisiveness in the society is part and parcel of Trump’s organizing strategy and agenda to better control and build his base.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with FNA, the American journalist said US corporations are the only entities which would benefit from building a wall “because they will be able to better control workers at slave wages”.
Heather Gray is a journalist and activist based in Atlanta, Georgia. She has been involved in regional, national and international organizing work, research and advocacy.
Below is the full text of the interview:
Q: There have been infamous walls, like the Great Wall of China and Berlin Wall, built to control the people. The walls were devastating for the people, and they did not work. Trump wants to build another of these infamous walls. Why is he in total disregard for historical experience?
A: Donald Trump is disregarding the historical experience because, for one, it’s highly unlikely he’s looked at the history of walls in the first place. Contemporary walls? His model has been the Israeli walls against Palestinians, which, he says, works. What a sad model of violence and despair. But secondly, this issue of anti-immigration is a means of inspiring his base of supporters to be “against the other.” Divisiveness can be used as a tool to control certain segments of the society. So, building a wall serves as a rallying strategy for Trump to prove he is effective in accomplishing what he wants and/or what he said he would do during his presidential campaign. But also, encouraging divisiveness in the society (such as racism and other discriminatory concepts) is part and parcel of Trump’s organizing strategy and agenda to better control and build his base.
Q: Who would benefit from the wall?
A: Regarding this “wall” between Mexico and the United States, it is corporate America that will benefit from the $5.6 billion, in building the wall, as well as likely some sectors of the military and border patrols used to protect the border crossings because of the “beefed up” concern by Trump about so-called immigrant criminals. Trump complains about drug runners coming across the border but it’s been noted that most of the drug importers are found at airports rather than in refugee communities. Additionally, corporate entities in the US, as well as US corporations in Central America, will benefit because they will be able to better control workers at slave wages because the option of coming to the US will be curtailed for workers to explore other opportunities.
Q: Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, former Democrat Presidents, have spoken of the immigrants in no less racist terms than Trump. How do Democrats call Trump’s US-Mexico wall “an immorality between the countries”?
A: The presidents of the United States do not necessarily speak totally for their respective political party members or supporters. And yes, the record of Clinton and Obama was not great on the issue of immigrant rights and protection. There are many Democrats, however, who will appropriately acknowledge that building a US-Mexico wall is “an immorality between the countries”. In fact, there are also countless sectors in the Democratic Party that stress the desire for respect of the other, regardless of race or religion, etc. But their voices and rationale need to resonate more broadly.
Q: Not only the 800,000 federal employees, but also millions of Americans are affected by the government partial shutdown. Trump is being regarded as acting imperial with a silver spoon in mouth, with no empathy, after he said he was willing to keep the government closed for a year or more. Does he represent the American nation?
A: I would say that Trump, in this action, does not represent the American nation. I would say that the vast majority of those in America are opposed to this treatment of federal workers. One of the positive impacts of the Trump administration is, in fact, that millions across the nation have been awakened politically and have begun earnestly to explore what is important to them regarding the government overall and calling for ‘just’ policies that should be implemented to benefit the people. This is a good sign.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Democrats in the US Senate have prevented consideration of a bill on new sanctions against the Syrian government in protest against the ongoing government shutdown.
The bill called Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act seeks to target Syria and its allies – Russia and Iran – with new sanctions as well as to boost US security cooperation with Israel and Jordan. The bill was supported only by 56 out of 100 senators, while 60 votes were needed for further consideration of the bill.
The Democratic Party’s decision to block the bill came amid the government shutdown caused by the bipartisan budget disagreements. On Saturday, Chris Van Hollen, Democratic Senator for the state of Maryland, wrote on his Twitter page that the Senate Democrats should block consideration of any bill unrelated to opening the government.
The government shutdown is in its 18th day and came as a result of the refusal by Democratic leaders to provide more than $5 billion US President Donald Trump sought to construct a wall on the US border with Mexico. Democrats offered $1.9 billion for the border wall.
Much has been written about the segregation wall that the rogue state of Israel has erected across Palestine. Not only is the wall in of itself an abomination, it is also illegal under international law. Not that Israel cares about any laws, other than the Apartheid ones that it creates for its own benefit.
As international observers document the harm that this supremacist barrier does to the indigenous people of Palestine, the construction continues. Israel is effectively annexing land which does not belong to it, and is building a wall around it. The Zioniststate has repeatedly thumbed it’s nose at the international community as well as any idea of human rights. The lives of yet more Palestinians are being destroyed by this crime against humanity.
The following article looks at the myths that Israel has created to try to justify its Apartheid, Zionist wall. It’s well worth…
This book is a personal account of a US American professor about his volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) against the Israeli occupation in Palestine in the summer of 2014. His eyewitness report tells the story about oppression, subjugation and the daily sufferings and injustices of the Palestinians People under the Israeli occupation regime.
Right from the outset, Richard Hardigan, a University professor from California, sets the record straight: There can’t be a balanced or neutral point of view concerning the Israeli/Palestine conflict. When helpless children are beaten up, or a civilian population is crushed by military might, “neutrality is not an option.” Quoting Bishop Desmond Tutu said:
“if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
Having taught at different universities in Egypt, the author traveled by bus to Israel visiting the occupied territories. What he saw was a shock and made a deep impression on him. He visited Hebron where a few hundred settlers guarded by more than 3 000 heavily armed soldiers make the life over the original inhabitants a living hell. He traveled to Qalqilia, a city surrounded by an Apartheid Wall that destroyed economic growth. He saw the ghetto wall surrounding Bethlehem. He also had to experience waiting in line in the blistering sun crossing Qualandya checkpoint experiencing himself the arrogance and the sense of superiority of young Israeli soldiers that the Palestinians have to endure daily.
This book gives daily accounts, starting on 17 June till 26 July 2014. His visit coincides with the events before the military onslaught on the Gaza Strip where 2 000 people were killed. The author experienced the daily humiliations ant the brutality of the occupation at first hand. His report corrects the illusions way too many have about “beautiful Israel,” its intentions, policies, and practices. Despite the rampant injustices and hardship the People of Palestine have to suffer on a daily basis, Hardigan can see no sign of surrender; on the contrary, their resistance and determination to fight for their rights are resilient. The mere existence of the Palestinian People disapproves David Ben-Gurion’s saying:
The old will die and the young will forget.
The daily reports reveal a depressing and inhumane reality of which the Western readers, especially the American ones, have not the faintest idea. For Hardigan, to end the occupation is to convince Israel’s benefactor, the US government. The people in the US have to be informed of what is going on with American help and sufficient financial support. But under the Trump administration, this is a hopeless cause. Hardcore Zionist has hijacked US Middle Eastern policy and to try to blackmail the Palestinian leadership into submission to sign a document of unconditional surrender. Despite their collaboration with the Israeli occupier, not even Mahmud Abbas is willing to sign such a document.
To understand the described unbelievable sufferings of the Palestinians, one can’t understand the ignorance of Western societies and their dance attendance on Israeli politicians who come on state visits. Especially Netanyahu and his security establishment have to be shown the red card.
The book is excellently written. It gives a different view then the mainstream media. It should be widely spread. It has to get to the ordinary folks in the US. If Americans knew about the misuse of their Dollars, change might come about in Palestine.
At the end of August, Roger Waters, one of the founders of Pink Floyd, will visit Russia as part of his Us+Them World Tour, and the audience in Moscow and St. Petersburg will be able to see his new show. In the capital, the concert will be held at the Olympic stadium on August 31st. On the eve of the concerts, the legendary rock musician talked to the portal iz.ru about things that are common for Russians and Americans, why he opposes demonization of Russia, and reveals some plans on jogging in Moscow.
Q: First, I want to ask you about the upcoming concert. Your show, including its special effects, got a very positive feedback. Some even suggest that you should get an Oscar for it. How did you prepare for this project and how much time it took for you to get it all together?
A: It all started a couple of years ago when a music company Goldenvoice from California asked me to perform in Palm Springs at the Desert Trip music festival. Paul Tollet, the head of the company, had an idea to organize a festival like Coachella, which is held in spring and where I performed back in 2008. But this time he wanted the event to take place in autumn with a small number of performers.
As a result, he planned the performance of six bands, three of which were headliners. I think his idea was to collect The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, and on the sidelines to put Bob Dylan, Neil Young and the band The Who. It was just a crazy idea! Paul (McCartney) contacted me and asked me to represent Pink Floyd, and I agreed. McCartney said, “you’ll be the Beatles, that’s all right.”
At the end we had a performance. I think it was a great opportunity to do something extraordinary. The Desert Trip was the starting point of what we are doing now. It was then I first proposed an idea of having a scenery in the form of the recreated Battersea Power Station at concerts — it became a kind of symbol of the military-industrial complex, which I do not approve of because of its destructive power.
Then the model of the power plant went with us to concerts in Mexico City, and now we are thinking how to get the power plant decorations to appear on stage of indoor venues. I think that in Russia, in Moscow and in St. Petersburg, this part of the performance will be presented.
Q: Have you prepared something special for concerts in Russia? Will they be any different from the other concerts of your tour?
A: We try to do something special for each country. For example, during the show a flying pig appears, circling over the Battersea power station, with a sign saying: “Stay human or die.” We want to translate this inscription into the Russian language.
Also, throughout the concert and during intermissions we will show what difficulties people face in the current conditions, and the careless attitude to human lives that is so prevailing now. We are trying to remind that the world is teetering on the verge of complete disappearance, which can happen, among other things, because of the current struggle against the Russians.
We have stood on the brink of an Apocalypse so many times since 1945. It is simply insane that ordinary people from all over the world cannot come together and demand the destruction of all nuclear weapons, including weapons possessed by Israel. Israel refuses to admit, but it is obvious that they also have it. This is a very dangerous and strange game played by the leaders of the superpowers. We, ordinary citizens, must say: “No, we don’t want this game.” The same is true of climate change. And this once again shows that we are heading towards disappearance of all living creatures. It’s all people’s fault. Is this the life we really want?
By the way, this (Is this the life we really want. ed.) is one of my songs from my last album, from which we will play a few songs at the concert.
Q: A huge number of people listen carefully to your every word. When you called organization the “White helmets” fake, media around the world wrote about this. How did you come to this conclusion?
A: This is a very important question. It happened at a concert in Barcelona last April. Two important events took place then: first, in the evening of April 7th the “White helmets” released a video shot in the Syrian city of Duma. It was a footage of a hospital with many masked children who were being soaked with water all over, and the authors of the video claimed that it was the consequences of a chemical attack.
Based on this video, Donald Trump with his characteristic infantile stupidity, as well as Theresa May and Macron decided to launch a joint bombing attack on Syria. The US, UK and France made this decision based on this one video. And it was obvious that it was a fake, that there was no chemical attack, now we know it for sure. All this happened on April 7, the news came on the 8th, and it so happened that my concert was just that evening.
Then I was approached by a guy, a Frenchman, to support the “White Helmets”. He asked whether it is possible for them to go on stage and to speak in support of the “children of Syria.” I said, ” No, you can’t.” There are too many serious questions about this organization.
Many of their materials were found to be obvious lies. As for Duma, the militants, the jihadists were already leaving the city. With the Syrian army attacks it was obvious that they wouldn’t be able to hold the city, for more than two days. A day later, two journalists arrived at the scene: Robert Fisk from the Independent newspaper and Pearson Sharp from a very conservative Christian television company in Texas. There were no other journalists at that time in Duma.
PEARSON SHARP JOURNALIST IN DOUMA ‘No chemical attack’
They both visited this hospital, talked to the doctors and residents, who weren’t associated with Assad and the Syrian government. They all said the same thing. According to them, the medical personnel stated that there was no chemical attack. No one died in Duma the day it was supposed to happen, not a single person. Because the video claimed that there were about 50 or 60 dead, and the doctors said that the hospital had some people with breathing problems, but these problems were caused by the dust, because of the war activities. That’s why I said from the stage that this is all a falsification and we, the citizens of the United States, France and the UK, should demand from our governments to stop bombing a foreign state based on unproven claims.
This is just an episode of a propaganda war trying to demonize Putin, Assad, Iran and so on. Therefore, we need to be extremely careful and attentive. I said something similar at my concert in Oslo. If there was any evidence that the White Helmets were an organization of ordinary Syrians who wanted to help their fellow citizens, I would support them fully, I would apologize deeply to them. And I’d really like to be wrong about them (the WH).
But, it appears that all the messages that came from the occupied Aleppo pointed out that they were just militants. This is what witnesses say. Now it’s easy to find any information, if you do not follow the general propaganda line.
Q: Had they offered you money to support them?
A: They tried to attract me in London, a few years back. But I said “no.” Because there are people who are dealing in oil, and they would like to overthrow Assad, and to take everything over. I don’t care about people like that! The whole world policy is based on the protection of human rights, but at the same time — and that’s really pisses me off — they do not care about the people who live there, who were forced to flee, because it became impossible to live there.
Q: Now, that the conflict in Syria nears its end and the situation is stabilizing. But this war also was the war of fakes and disinformation. When the war in Syria is over, do you think we will be able to find out what was fake and what was true?
A: I don’t know. In general, the winners write history. It’s hard to come back and to revisit the past wars. The Allies rewrote the history of World War II. Some people do research, of course, if they are interested. It requires to study many documents and it’s hard to get to the truth, considering how much is kept secret.
Q: You will come to Russia at a difficult for us time, do you think there will be people who say that you are going to the enemy’s lair?
A: Why would you say that Russia goes through some difficult time, now?
Q: We have the sanctions, “the case of the Skripals”, provocations in Syria and so on…
A: But why does it have to complicate life in Russia? It’s all nonsense. The attack on the Skripals is nonsense. It’s obvious even for those with part of the brain. Many must have no brain at all if they believe this absurdity! I would like to say to the entire world:
“Do you want to start a war with the Russians? What are you, crazy? Do you know who you’re dealing with? The Russians liberated you from the Nazis at the cost of 20 million lives of their countrymen! Do you want to fight them? What have they done to you? What are you talking about?”
The same should be said about Ukraine. Victoria Nuland, (official representative of the US state Department in 2011-2013. Ed. iz.ru) it’s all her fault, she organized it all, and now the country is divided into two parts. I don’t know how Ukraine will get out of this situation, but to blame Russia for this is ridiculous. However, the Americans are good at it, and people believe them, because they control the media and they can twist the situation to benefit themselves.
I myself believe that we won’t have a war with Russia. Russians are brave, persistent and resolute people. You have a really big and very powerful country.
Q: So, it wasn’t difficult for you to decide to come to Russia?
A: Of course not. People write to me saying that since I am always trying to dissuade artists from performing in Israel, how come I am going to Russia? The Russians have asked me by the thousands to pay attention to how things are going inside the country. The Palestinians also asked me to help to draw the world’s attention to their problems. And I answer those requests.
This concerns the rights and freedoms of citizens. You have a problem with that. But this is your country, and it’s up to you to decide what to do. If you love Putin, then please, it’s not my business! If you don’t love him, it’s none of my business, neither! It’s up to you to choose the government you want.
Q: In the Arab-Israeli conflict, you openly support Palestine. You, as far as we know, even had a conflict with musician Tom York about it. We have a similar situation in Russia with Crimea: some rock stars are still arguing about the status of the peninsula. What do you think about it?
A: I’m not very good at geopolitics. I know that Sevastopol is very important for Russia and Russians. There are many treaties and backed securities, according to which Russia has all rights for this city. The change of power in Ukraine, planned by Washington, just provoked Moscow to further action.
But what I want to say is that now the political elite of the United States does not understand the true meaning of the agreements. They constantly break them and declare that they can do whatever they want. This position scares me because someday it will just kill us all.
Q: Last time you visited Russia seven years ago. After the World Cup, many positive things were said about our country. Even the British fans have noted surprising to them Russian hospitality. Do you expect any surprises from this visit?
A: No, because I have already been to Russia, read your literature and understand your culture. The demonization of Russia, the Russian people and Putin is sad. After all, this isn’t done to fight Russia. This is done to control their own citizens and to earn more money.
Q: A rather philosophical question about your song called The Wall. What kind of walls are being erected in the world now, and what walls are crumbling down?
A: I don’t really understand what you mean by crumbling walls. In fact, now there are now two obvious walls. The first is the wall in Israel, where people’s land, Palestinian land, is being stolen from poor people. And the second is a ridiculous wall on the border with Mexico, which Trump is going to build. It’s absurd, you can’t just stop people who want to cross the border.
We must always remember that no matter what we look like and how we live, we are all brothers and sisters, we are all of the same blood. We are not made to fight against each other. We must help each other in difficult times. This is especially true now, when crowds of refugees are leaving Syria, Libya and West Africa. No matter where they run from, the main thing is that we are to blame. We broke the system down.
And I’m not just talking about Pro-Western forces, I’m talking about all the empires that have ruined everything. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find a force that can help us to organize ourselves and to teach us how to respond to humanitarian crises in a human way. After all, any pressure provokes reciprocal aggression.
It’s like being in a bar when you’re standing and someone’s staring at you and coming closer and closer, raising his fist, and then you’re like, “Hey, you, take it easy. Do you really want a fight?” And all this can really end in a big conflict, and it will be a tragedy. A tragedy for no reason. The only reason for all wars is money.
People who benefit from wars are psychos and sociopaths with no sense of empathy. They do not understand that the pleasure in life lies in the ability to love each other, not in the ability to kill each other. This is something I pay attention to during my show.
Q: You always address the problems of humanity. Which is important. These things are easy to understand, but you keep talking about those issues throughout your life, but it just gets worse… How do you feel about it?
A: A few years ago, in Washington I was interviewed by your colleagues from the Russia Today. I told them:
“Imagine, we are sitting here, and suddenly all the light go off and electromagnetic waves come. That would mean a hydrogen weapon was used a few hundred miles from here. And in this moment, we might understand that this is it, the end of everything. Who will be interested in all these political disputes, then?
Q: Last question. How do you manage to stay in such good shape?
A: I go to the gym. I have to stay in shape, otherwise, I won’t be able to do what I’m doing right now. I go with my friend: yesterday we ran in the park and today I worked out.
Q: Are you going to run in Moscow parks too?
A: It is a good idea. Running at my age is hard, but necessary, to recharge my batteries, to get myself a boost. I would advise everyone to do some sport activities. The main goal for majority of people is work. We are ready to die at work. But the rich enjoy sports using our money! It’s absolutely great to run in the park and look at birds, instead of sitting in front of the TV at home on the couch. Go to the gym, exercise, or just take a walk!
——- Comment by the Saker: first, I want to say that it is a big joy for me to see one of my favorite composers, musicians and singers speak up on behalf or Russia and, even more so, on behalf of common sense. Especially at a time when Russian singers like Boris Grebenshchikov and Iuri Sevchuk display a total lack of moral compass or care and spend all their time either bashing Putin (Sevchuk) or partying with the worst russophobic scum like Saakashvili (Grebenshchikov). I wrote about this disgraceful behavior here. As for western singers, let’s not even go there. They are more concerned with transgender toilets or banning firearms then about an openly Nazi regime in the Ukraine (or in Israel, for that matter). Generally, I think that artists should stay out of politics because being a good artist does not necessarily qualify you to comment on issues where you have no expertise in whatsoever. Roger Waters, however, is unique in that 1) he does have the courage to go against the hyper-politically-correct fad of the day and that 2) he has always looked at social, civilizational and political issues, which brings him very close the the Russian tradition of poets and authors being the “conscience of the nation”.
The Ukronazis are, of course, absolutely furious and they have immediately declared that Waters is a “criminal”. See here for more details on the latest Ukronazi hysterics. The original Ukie page is here: https://myrotvorets.center/criminal/uoters-rodzher/ (with some Ukropop music with Nazi slogans to boot!).
Jews around the world are so excited this week! On Tuesday,Israel announced that it will launch its first mission to the moon in December 2018.
Most Jewish organization have accepted that planet Earth has become too dangerous for the sons and the daughters of Israel. The decision to launch a spacecraft to the moon was triggered by an online poll conducted by the Global Campaign Against anti Jewish Bigotry (CAAJB). It revealed that one in six Jews (17%) reported feeling unwelcome on Earth. The online poll also found that 31.8% of world Jews had considered moving to another planet, preferably the moon, a rise from 28.2% recorded in last year’s CAAJB’s poll.
Various Zionists organisations have welcomed the new Jewish cosmic adventure. Zionists promised to make Jews into ‘people like all other people.’ Israel vowed to bring to life a new Hebrew, to eradicate the ghetto wall, to make the Israelite loving and beloved. However, the images of hundreds of Israeli snipers shooting unarmed Palestinian youngsters don’t reflect well on the Jewish State. The walls Israel surrounded itself with also suggest that Zionism didn’t really solve the Jewish problem, it just moved it to a new location.
A new Jewish planet in outer space provides new hope for people who have suffered throughout their history. For the first time, Jews will be astronauts like all other cosmonauts.
Jewish Voice for Peace and the three other Jewish anti Zionists from Brooklyn were also thrilled by the announcement of the Israeli space program. “A planet with no people for people who control the senate ” read the headline of JVP’s press release yesterday.
The Israeli mission’s first task will be to stick an Israeli flag on the moon. Once this mission is accomplished the space craft will plant pine trees all over the moonto remind the Hebrew newcomers of the Mount Carmel forest they left behind. The pine trees were similarly planted in Mount Carmel to remind early Zionists of the East European shtetles they left behind.
The expedition will be launched by rocket from Elon Musk’s SpaceX firm this December, and it’s expected to land on the moon in February, just a few days ahead of Purim.
The new Moonrael anthem is already here (Mel Brooks’ Jews in Space) :
We’re Jews out in space We’re zooming along protecting the Hebrew race
We’re Jews out in space If trouble appears we put it right back in its place
When goyim attack us We give ’em a smack we’ll slap them right back in the face
We’re Jews out in space We’re zooming along protecting the Hebrew race(Stavro Arrgolus)
– السؤال الذي يحمله العنوان لا يفيد في الجواب عليه الانطلاق من الرغبات، وتطويع الوقائع لقراءتها بعين تخدم استنتاجاً مسبقاً، يريده المتابع إن كان خصماً للسياسات الأميركية ومواجهاً لها تأكيداً لضعف أميركا، ويريده مؤيدو أميركا وحلفاؤها تعبيراً عن قوّتها. فهذا النوع من القراءة هدّام بل مدمّر، لأنه يبني أوهاماً سرعان ما تُبنى عليها سياسات مغامرة، فيقع خصوم أميركا في مواجهات مبنية على قراءة الضعف ويصطدمون بجدران القوّة، أو يخاطر حلفاؤها بالبناء على قوّتها خيارات سرعان ما يظهر أنها انتحارية، عندما يرونها تنكفئ وتتراجع وتتركهم لمصيرهم وحدهم.
– في السياسات الأميركية ما يحمل الشيء ونقيضه في الإجابة عن السؤال حول القوة والضعف. فأميركا التي تصعّد على إيران وروسيا والصين وأوروبا بخطوات مالية قاسية بين العقوبات والإجراءات الضريبية، تبدو كلاعب منفرد على الساحة الدولية لا يأبه بالآخرين، وينظر إليهم كمجرد عناصر في اللوحة التي يتحكّم بألوانها وتشكيلاتها. وأميركا التي تتهرّب من المواجهة في أزمة وحرب رصدت للفوز بهما في سورية كلّ رصيدها وتحالفاتها، هي الدولة العظمى التي تشيخ وتدرك أكلاف المواجهات مع قوى فتية صاعدة مستعدّة للتضحية لإثبات مساحتها الخاصة على المسرح الدولي. وأميركا التي تنسحب من التفاهم النووي مع إيران، هي أميركا القوية، لكن أميركا التي لا تملك بديلاً للتفاهم ولا تستطيع جلب أوروبا للشراكة في تدمير هذا التفاهم، هي أميركا الضعيفة. وأميركا التي تذهب للتفاوض مع كوريا الشمالية هي أميركا الضعيفة، بينما أميركا التي تهدّد بحال فشل التفاوض ليست أميركا القوية، لأنها أظهرت بقوة خشيتها من تدمير قنوات التفاوض. وهكذا هي أميركا التي تعترف بالقدس عاصمة لكيان الاحتلال تبدو بمظهر القوي، لكنها في الواقع تنهي فرص التفاوض والتسويات في الملف الفلسطيني الذي يشكل قلب أزمات المنطقة وحروبها، ويشكل انفجاره مخاطرة غير محسوبة العواقب، في ظلّ انسداد خيارات الحرب أمام أميركا و«إسرائيل».
– حال «إسرائيل» يفضح سرّ أميركا بصورة أكثر وضوحاً، فالانسحاب الأميركي من التفاهم النووي الإيراني، كما الاعتراف الأميركي بالقدس عاصمة لكيان الاحتلال، يُفترض أن يكونا فرصة لتشنّ «إسرائيل» حروب الحسم التي كانت تتوعّد بخوضها وتزعم أنّ واشنطن هي مَن يلجمها عن خوضها. وها هي «إسرائيل» تتعامل مع الملف النووي الإيراني بنشاط دبلوماسي لرئيس حكومتها عنوانه التحريض لفرض العقوبات على إيران، بدلاً من التمهيد للحرب عليها. وهي ذاتها تتقبّل عودة انتشار الجيش السوري على حدود الجولان بعد رهان على تدمير هذا الجيش لسبع سنوات، تفادياً لمجرد مشهد يتمركز فيه الإيرانيون وحزب الله على خط الحدود، رغم علمها بأنّ حدود هذا التمركز الفعلية هي حيث يتمركز الجيش السوري عملياً بحكم طبيعة التحالف الذي يجمع مثلث سورية وإيران والمقاومة. وعلى الضفاف الفلسطينية تواصل حكومة الاحتلال مواجهتها العبثية التي تذهب بالوضع في الأراضي المحتلة نحو المجهول، ولا تملك استراتيجية خروج، وفقاً للدرس الذي يفترض أنها تعلّمته من حرب تموز 2006، وقد فشلت في ابتكار شريك فلسطيني في صفقة القرن، رغم كسبها دعماً عربياً استثنائياً لتصفية القضية الفلسطينية.
– تُظهر الحالة الإسرائيلية الضعف الأميركي عن خوض الحروب، بقدر ما تظهر العجز الإسرائيلي الأشدّ حضوراً، لكنها لا تختصر المشهد الأميركي الذي يلجأ على الطريقة الإسرائيلية إلى الجدران والاحتماء بها، لكن الجدران الأميركية فعّالة رغم أنها جدران افتراضية، مبنية من ورق، لكنه ورق الدولارات، وورق الرسوم والعقوبات والقرارات المالية، بينما الجدران الإسرائيلية وهمية وهشّة رغم كونها جدران إسمنتية تظهر فضيحتها الحال على الحدود مع لبنان، حيث يتوقف بناء الجدار الهادف للحدّ من مخاطر المقاومة، بانتظار إذن سماح لبناني يتوقف على ترسيم الحدود والمصالح النفطية للبنان، يعرف الإسرائيليون أنّ للمقاومة كلمة فاصلة فيه.
– يصير المشهد أشدّ وضوحاً عندما يظهر أنّ أميركا قوية حيث تحتمي وراء جدارها المالي، وضعيفة عندما تخرج للنزال والمواجهة في الساحات التقليدية، ويظهر أشدّ وضوحاً أنّ معركة العقوبات ضدّ إيران وكوريا، تشكل الاختبار الأهمّ لقدرة جدران الحماية الأميركية على الصمود عندما تواجه خصماً قادراً على التأقلم مع العقوبات والحصار، وتغيب عنها البدائل إذا انكسر الجدار فتتعمّد إبقاء ثقوب فيه منعاً لانهياره بقوة اندفاع المياه من وراء السدّ. وهو ما يفسّر الدورين الأوروبي في ملف إيران النووي، والصيني في ملف كوريا الشمالية.
من غريب ما يحصل في لبنان هو الاختلاق في التاريخ والتنازل عن المكتسبات، واختلاق أحداث لا صلة لها بالحقيقة دون ان يكون هناك سبب أو مكسب في ذلك لأحد. وآخر ما يتم تداوله اليوم خلافاً للحقيقة هو مسألة الخط الأزرق ومناطق التحفّظ حوله وهنا ومن أجل وضع الأمور في نصابها نرى من الواجب تبيان التالي:
1 ـ لجهة رسم الخط الأزرق. رسم الخط الأزرق في العام 2000 من قبل الأمم المتحدة ومن خلال لجنتين منفصلتين كلياً الأولى لبنانية أممية مؤلفهما فريق لبناني قوامه 5 أعضاء برئاسة العميد الركن أمين حطيط، وفريق دولي من 7 أعضاء برئاسة الجنرال سرينن نائب قائد القوات الدولية في الجنوب اليونفيل، واللجنة الثانية إسرائيلية أممية مؤلفة من فريق دولي من 5 أعضاء برئاسة الجنرال سرينن أيضاً وفريق إسرائيلي مشكل من 6 أعضاء. وبقيت كل لجنة تعمل في نطاقها حيث رفضنا أن نجتمع بالإسرائيليين كلياً، سواء على أرض لبنانية أو على ارض فلسطين المحتلة. وكان الفريق الدولي هو الذي ينقل المواقف والطلبات دون أن يكون هناك أي اتصال بين الطرف الإسرائيلي واللبناني الذي أصر على ان لا تشكل أي لجنة مع العدو إلا في إطار لجنة الهدنة التي الغتها «إسرائيل» من جانب واحد وبشكل غير مشروع في العام 1969.
أما القول إنّ الخط الأزرق رسم من قبل لجنة ثلاثية انبثقت عن تفاهم نيسان، فهو بعيد كلياً عن حقيقة التاريخ. ففي تفاهم نيسان نشأت لجنة خماسية فيها سورية وفرنسا ولن تكون مهمتها لا من قريب ولا من بعيد رسم حدود أو خطوط، بل كانت مهمتها حصراً معالجة انتهاك وقف النار التي تستهدف المدنيين، وليس من مصلحة لبنان مطلقاً أن يشرع وجود لجان مع «إسرائيل» خارج اتفاقية الهدنة الملغاة من قبلها، بما في ذلك اللجنة الثلاثية القائمة اليوم والتي تجتمع في الناقورة خلافاً للقرارات الدولية ولاتفاقية الهدنة ذاتها.
ومن جهة أخرى يجب ان يعرف الجميع ان ليس للخط الأزرق أي قيمة قانونية أو حقوقية، وهو مجرد خط اعتمد ليشكل أداة للتحقق من خروج «إسرائيل» من الأرض اللبنانية وأن مفاعيله وصلاحيته انتفت عندما أعلن اكتمال الانسحاب، وان «إسرائيل» سعت لأن تتخذه حدوداً جديدة يتم التفاوض حولها، من اجل ان تسقط حق لبنان بحدوده الدولية المعترف بها منذ العام 1923 لكن لبنان رفض وبكل شدة هذا المسعى وألزم الفريق الدولي بأن يذكر على خريطة الخط الأزرق بأن هذا الخط ليس حدوداً وليس من شأنه أن يمس بالحقوق المكتسبة.
2 ـ لجهة مناطق النزاع، كانت الصيغة الأولى التي تقدّمت بها الأمم المتحدة للخط الأزرق متباينة مع الحدود الدولية في 13 منطقة يبلغ مجموع مساحتها ما يزيد قليلاً عن 18 مليون م2، وقد رفض لبنان عبر لجنته العسكرية برئاستي القبول بهذا الخط. وبعد نقاش مرير دام أياماً داخل اللجنة اللبنانية الأممية عقدت جلستها الأخيرة منه في اجتماع عقد في القصر الجمهوري برئاسة رئيس الجمهورية اللبنانية العماد لحود أخذت الأمم المتحدة بملاحظاتنا وتراجعت عن خطها في 10 مناطق وتمسكت بـ 3 نقاط هي رميش والعديسة والمطلة، ومع تمسك لبنان بحقه في تلك المناطق اعتمد حلّ وسط يقضي بأن يعدّل الخط الدولي في المناطق الـ10 ويتحفظ لبنان على المناطق الـ 3 الباقية شرط أن يبقى الحال ميدانياً كما هو. وهذا ما حصل بالفعل ومنعت «إسرائيل» من التقدّم لقضم عديسه ورميش، ونشأت مقولة التحفّظات الثلاثة المذكورة.
لكن يفاجئنا البعض اليوم بالقول بالنزاع حول 13 منطقة. وفي هذا تنازل عما استحصلنا عليه في العام 2000 وعودة بالأمور الى نقطة الصفر. وفي هذا أيضاً مسّ بحقوق لبنانية ثابتة ووضعها موضع نزاع وجعل ملف الحدود موضع تفاوض كما تريد إسرائيل. وهذا خطر للغاية.
إنّ الموقف اللبناني الذي يجب أن يعتمد ليكون سليماً ويحفظ الحقوق يجب أن يقوم على ما يلي:
أ ـ وقف التداول بمصطلح الخط الأزرق. وهو خط انتفت فعاليته، والقول بالحدود الدولية فقط وبخط الهدنة المطابق لها والتمسك به وفقاً للإحداثيات المحددة باتفاقية بوليه نيوكمب، والمكرّسة بمعالم حدودية تترجم النقاط تلك.
ب ـ وقف العمل بأي لجنة لبنانية إسرائيلية لا تكون في إطار اتفاقية الهدنة، خاصة أن هذه الاتفاقية تؤكد أن خط الهدنة مطابق للحدود الدولية.
ج ـ رفض مقولة النقاط الـ 13 المتنازع عليها، لأن في ذلك تضييعاً وتنازلاً عن حقوق مكتسبة والقول بالمناطق الثلاث المتحفظ عليها.
The goal was not to break the siege to get their needs from the other side
What was the goal?
Upon the advise of Hezbollah’s Great Leader Martyr Imad Mughniyeh, under the cover of Tens of thousands Gazans mobilized by Hamas to crossed the borders, Hamas moved thousands of Syrian and Iranian missiles hidden behind the wall.
“It is your golden opportunity” Mughniyeh told Hamas.
Listen to Anis 23:30 in the following Video
السيد حسن نصرالله (يسأل خالد مشعل) من ارسل الصواريخ الى غزة؟
نصر الله يوجه رسالة لحماس حول سوريا
2:40
2:00
A new Surprise, Another slap on Pharoah’s Face: Gazan’s Cut through the Wall of Shame
Some 80% of imports into Gaza come through the tunnels, the UN says
By Jon Donnison
BBC News, Gaza
“Every problem has a solution. The Egyptian steel barrier was a problem but we found a solution,” says Mohammed, a grimy-faced Gazan tunnel digger who didn’t want to give his real name.
Mohammed, covered in dust and dirt, is in the process of digging a 750m (2,460ft) smuggling tunnel from Gaza into Egypt. He says he’s been digging it for 18 months.
As he hauls up a plastic container of sand with an electric winch from the metre-wide tunnel shaft, he says the new underground Egyptian barrier aimed at stopping smuggling is a “joke.”
“We just cut through it using high-powered oxygen fuelled blow torches,” he says.
The Egyptian government says it began constructing the barrier along the Gaza-Egypt border last year. When finished it is meant to be 11km-long (seven miles), stretching down 18m (59ft) underground.
According to Egypt it is made of bomb-proof, super-strength steel and is costing millions of dollars to build.
‘Embarrassing’
Mohammed smiles when he hears this.
“We pay around a $1,000 (£665) for a man with an oxygen-fuelled cutter to come and break through it. It takes up to three weeks to cut through but we get there in the end,” he says.
If they [Egypt] opened the border, we wouldn’t need to dig tunnels. But until they do, we’ll keep digging, whatever they do to try and stop us
Mohammed, tunnel digger
Mohammed says the steel barrier is 5-10cm (2-4in) thick.
The BBC spoke to one man in Gaza employed to cut through the barrier. He said he could cut a metre-square hole through it in less than a day.
This news will be embarrassing for Egypt’s government.
Encouraged by the United States which gives millions of dollars in military aid to Egypt every year, it says it is trying to crack down on smuggling into Gaza.
The BBC asked the Egyptian government to comment on the fact that Gazans were already cutting through the barrier. The government has not yet responded.
Sheep and shampoo
The Palestinian territory has been under a tightened Israeli and Egyptian economic blockade since 2007 when the Hamas Islamist movement took over the territory.
The blockade was enforced to put pressure on Hamas and to stop weapons being smuggled in.
Little attempt is made to keep the tunnels secret
Egypt’s secular government is opposed to Hamas, which has historical ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition movement in Egypt which is illegal but largely tolerated.
Many Gazans are angry with the Egyptian government, which – they say – is increasing their suffering.
The blockade has meant that Gaza is to a great extent dependent on the smuggling tunnels from Egypt. Millions of dollars worth of goods are smuggled in every month.
Everything from fridges to fans, sheep to shampoo comes through the tunnels. The BBC even obtained video footage this year of whole brand-new cars being dragged through tunnels from Egypt.
The UN estimates that as much as 80% of imports into Gaza come through the tunnels. Big business
The tunnels are not at all hard to find. In the southern Gazan town of Rafah, right on the border, there are lines of them covered by white tents.
<>Little attempt is made to keep them secret. They are surrounded by huge mounds of sandy earth which have been dug out of the ground.
The air is thick with diesel fuel from the trucks that transport the goods across the Gaza strip.
The openness of the smuggling operation suggests that if Israel and Egypt really wanted to stop the tunnels they could easily do so.
Israel has at times bombed some of the tunnels, but has stopped short of totally shutting them down.
Aid agencies in Gaza say that if Israel or Egypt really forced the smuggling to stop, it would lead to an even more desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza which would be damaging to Israel’s and Egypt’s international reputations.
Diplomats in the region also believe that so much money is being made in Egypt from the trade through the tunnels that much of the smuggling is likely to continue.
But the head of operations in Gaza for the UN relief agency Unrwa, John Ging, says that ordinary people in Gaza are losing out.
“Everything is expensive because people are hostage to the dynamics of a black market.”
Mr Ging stressed that it was the Israeli-Egyptian blockade that was allowing that black market to thrive.
The UN does not use illegal goods and building materials smuggled in through from Egypt.
If the blockade remains in place it seems the tunnel industry will continue to thrive, underground steel barrier or not.
“If they opened the border, we wouldn’t need to dig tunnels,” says Mohammed peering into the shaft of his tunnel in Rafah. “But until they do, we’ll keep digging, whatever they do to try and stop us.”
“Every problem has a solution,” he smiles.
عواصم: فجر حفارو الانفاق الغزاويين مفاجاة من العيار الثقيل، بكشفهم أنهم قد تمكنوا
من اختراق ما يعتقد انه الجدار الفولاذي المقاوم للقنابل الذي قيل ان السلطات المصرية مبنته للحد من عمليات التهريب على الحدود المصرية مع قطاع غزة.
وكانت السلطات المصرية قد بدأت العام الماضي في بناء جدار حاجز تحت الارض لمنع التهريب والتجارة غير الشرعية ببضائع تقدر بملايين الدولارات تدخل الى الاراضي الفلسطينية عبر الحدود المصرية مع قطاع غزة.
ونقلت هيئة الاذاعة البريطانية “بي بي سيعن أحد حفارى الأنفاق فى قطاع غزة قوله: “أن لكل مشكلة حلا”، واضاف إن الغزاويين يستخدمون آلات (مشاعل) حرارية فائقة القوة لإحداث ثقوب فى الجدار الفولاذى، بينما قال آخر: “إن اختراق الجدار يمكن أن يستغرق ثلاثة أسابيع من العمل غير أنهم نجحوا فى ذلك فى نهاية المطاف”.
وزعمت الهيئة ان هذه أنباء محرجة للحكومة المصرية التى انفقت ملايين الدولارات لبناء هذا الحاجز وكانت قد قالت أخيرا إن العمل بالجدار الممتد لأحد عشر كيلومتر وبعمق نحو عشرين مترا تحت الأرض قد شارف على الانتهاء، وقالت الحكومة المصرية إنه مصنوع على ما يبدو من فولاذ فائق القوة لا يمكن اختراقه.
وتمثل عمليات تهريب البضائع عبر الأنفاق من مصر إلى قطاع غزة تجارة كبيرة تقدر بملايين الدولارات.. ومن بين تلك البضائع السيارات الجديدة التى يجرى تهريبها كل شهر.
وازدهرت تلك التجارة بعد فرض سلطات الاحتلال الاسرائيلي حصارها الاقتصادي على قطاع غزة، في محاولة للضغط على حركة حماس التي تتولى ادارة القطاع .
كانت تقارير صحفية كشفت في وقت سابق أن السلطات المصرية رفعت من وتيرة العمل في بناء “الجدار الفولاذي” على الحدود مع قطاع غزة لمنع عمليات التهريب عبر الأنفاق الأرضية ، حيث اقتربت أعمال البناء من منطقة صلاح الدين ذات الكثافة السكانية العالية والتي خضعت لعمليات مسح سكاني وحصر للمباني ، تمهيدا لإجلاء الأهالي من المساكن المتاخمة للشريط الحدودي وتعويضهم بأراضي بديلة .
ونقلت صحيفة “الشروق” المصرية المستقلة عن مصادر مطلعة القول إن الشركة المنفذة لأعمال الجدار أوشكت علي الانتهاء من عمليات حفر الخنادق وتثبيت الألواح الحديدية علي أعماق كبيرة ، كما تواصل 6 معدات عملاقة عمليات الحفر ويتواصل تدفق الستائر الحديدية علي مواقع العمل.
وأضافت المصادر ذاتها ” منازل منطقة صلاح الدين معرضة للخطر بسبب كثرة الأنفاق والتي تنذر بالانهيار في أي لحظة وهو ما يتطلب إعادة تخطيط المنطقة بالكامل”.
يذكر أن إسرائيل تمارس ضغوطا كبيرة على مصر منذ فترة طويلة لكي تتصدي للتهريب عبر هذه الانفاق تحت الأرض بين غزة وسيناء المصرية.وتقول ان الفلسطينيين يستخدمونها لتهريب الاسلحة والذخيرة الى جانب السلع التجارية التي يتم تهريبها الى غزة.
وكان ناشطون مصريون قد رفعوا دعوى على الدولة المصرية بسبب قرارها بناء الجدار على حدودها مع قطاع قائلين بأنه ينتهك التزامات مصر إزاء جيرانها العرب. وحدد القضاء الإداري المصري موعد جلسة النطق بالحكم في دعوى وقف بناء الجدار الفولاذي بين مصر وقطاع غزة يوم 29 يونيو/يونيو المقبل.
“جدار الموت”
كان الكشف عن بناء السلطات المصرية لحدار حديدي على حدودها مع قطاع غزة قد أثار جدلا واسعا حيث اعتبره فلسطينيو غزة تديدا جديا لحصارهم المستمر منذ منتصف يونيو/حزيران عام 2007، بينما اعتبر مسئولون مصريون أن من حق بلادهم الحفاظ على أمنها ولديها مطلق الحرية في أن تفعل داخل أراضيها ما يؤمن سلامتها، ولا يمكن أن يزعم ولا يحق لعربي مهما كان، وباسم أي قضية مهما كانت أن يقول لمصر افعلي هذا أو لا تفعلي ذاك على أراضيك.
كانت تقارير صحفية ذكرت في وقت سابق أن مصر بدأت مؤخرا بناء جدار فولاذي بعمق من 20 إلى 30 مترا تحت الأرض، بطول عشرة كيلومترات تمثل الحدود مع غزة، في محاولة للقضاء على ظاهرة الأنفاق التي تُستخدم في تهريب البضائع من سيناء إلى القطاع المحاصَر.
وأدى الكشف عن بناء الجدار الفولاذي والذي وصفه الفلسطينيون بـ “جدار الموت”، إلى تصاعد ردود الأفعال العربية والدولية المنددة بالخطوة التي اتخذتها القيادة المصرية، وتمحورت ردود الأفعال حول استنكار هذه الخطوة التي اعتبر عددٌ كبيرٌ من المتابعين والمحللين أنها تأتي كخطوةٍ إضافيةٍ تهدف إلى تشديد الحصار على أكثر من مليون ونصف المليون فلسطيني مُحاصَرين في قطاع غزة منذ أكثر من ثلاثة أعوام متواصلة.
وفيما يخص مواصفات الجدار، ذكر موقع “الشبكة الفلسطينية الإخبارية” على الإنترنت، نقلا عن مصادر وصفها بالموثوقة، أن آلية للحفر يتراوح طولها بين 7 إلى 8 أمتار تقوم بعمل ثقوب فى الأرض بشكل لولبى، ومن ثم تقوم رافعة بإنزال ماسورة مثقبة باتجاه الجانب الفلسطينى بعمق ما بين 20 و30 متر.
وأضافت الشبكة فى تقرير مرفق برسم كروكى لقطاع من الجدار، أن العمل على الآليات الموجودة هناك يتولاه عمال مصريون فى أغلبهم يتبعون شركة “عثمان أحمد عثمان”، بالإضافة إلى وجود أجانب بسيارات جى أم سى فى المكان.
ووفقا للمصادر فإن ماسورة رئيسية ضخمة تمتد من البحر غربا بطول 10 كيلومترات باتجاه الشرق يتفرع منها مواسير فى باطن الأرض مثقبة باتجاه الجانب الفلسطينى من الحدود يفصل بين الماسورة والأخرى 30 أو 40 متر.
وأوضحت أنه سيتم ضخ المياه فى الماسورة الرئيسية من البحر مباشرة، ومن ثم إلى المواسير الفرعية فى باطن الأرض، مضيفة أنه بما أن المواسير مثقبة باتجاه الجانب الفلسطينى فإن المطلوب من هذه المواسير الفرعية هو إحداث تصدعات وانهيارات تؤثر على عمل الأنفاق على طول الحدود من خلال تسريب المياه.
ولفتت إلى أنه خلف شبكة المواسير هذه يتمدد فى باطن الأرض جدران فولاذية بعمق يتراوح بين 30ــ35 متر فى باطن الأرض، وعلاوة على وظيفة هذا الجدار المصمم لكبح جماح الأنفاق إلى جانب أنابيب المياه، فإنه يحافظ على تماسك التربة على الجانب المصرى، فى حين تكون الأضرار البيئية والانهيارات فى الجانب الفلسطينى، على حد قول هذه المصادر.
وكان وزير الخارجية المصري أحمد أبو الغيط، قد أكد في تصريحات سابقة له “أن مصر ليست علي استعداد لأن تتوقف عن حماية شعبها وحدودها، وأن أحداً لا يمكنه أن يدفع بلاده لأن تخشي أمراً يحمي أمنها القومي،
مشيرا إلى أن الأهداف التي دعت مصر إلي إنشاء الجدار المصري هي تحطيم جدار مماثل كانت مصر قد أقامته منذ سنوات علي حدودها مع إسرائيل عندما كانت تحتل قطاع غزة،
وأن فلسطينيين قاموا بتحطيمه في يناير 2008 وهو ما دفع مصر إلي إعادة إنشائه حماية للأراضي المصرية من الاعتداء عليها ومنع من وصفهم بـ «هؤلاء الذين يقتحمون ويتسربون إلي الأراضي المصرية”.
إلا أن مصادر أمنية مصرية أكدت أن قيام القاهرة بعمليات إحكام الحدود مع قطاع غزة فى الوقت الحالى عبر بناء سياج حدودى تقنى محكم جاء لدواعى السيادة والأمن القومى المصرى، ولا يعنى أبدا تشديد الحصار على قطاع غزة مشيرا إلى أن معبر رفح يظل مفتوحا معظم الوقت.
وقالت المصادر إن تهريب السلاح عبر الأنفاق “هو اعتداء مباشر على سيادة الدولة المصرية وشرعيتها كدولة، ولا يمكن السماح باستمراره عبر شبكة الأنفاق المنتشرة على تلك الحدود”، مضيفا أن من يستخدم الأنفاق لتهريب السلاح من سيناء فى اتجاه الجانب الآخر يمكنه استخدامها للتهريب فى الاتجاه المعاكس ليس فقط لتهريب السلاح ولكن المخدرات والأفراد أيضا.
وشددت المصادر على أنه “من حق مصر أن تهتم بسيادتها على حدودها وأن تطور الجدار الفاصل بينها وبين قطاع غزة ومن حقها أن يكون الجدار قويا لا تسقطه بلدوزات تحركها قلة غير مسئولة على الجانب الآخر من الحدود كما حدث فى يناير 2008 ويكون نقطة ضعف يستخدمها أعداء السلام”.
Following the downing of the “Israeli” F-16 jet by the Syrian army’s air defenses, “Israel’s” image is becoming more fragile. “Israel’s” defensive actions along some of its northern border with Lebanon are unprecedented. It seeks to prevent Hezbollah from carrying out the decision to transfer the confrontation to Galilee in any future war. On the other hand, the party seems comfortable that all these measures will not hinder it from achieving its goals.
Before the “Israeli” wars on Lebanon in 1978, 1982, 1993, 1996 and 2006, the “Israeli” mini-cabinet used to meet in the “well” (the “Israeli” description of the secret places where the meeting was held) and decide to declare war. At the last meeting of the mini-cabinet, also in the “well”, the decision was contrary to all previous decisions as it called for calm and requested the intervention of some countries to bring the situation under control.
It is certain that “Israel” wants war, but it is also certain that it will not seek war unless it believes that it can achieve a desirable outcome and that it possesses the capabilities that exceed that of its enemy. When it trusts that it has reached that capacity, it will not be waiting for any excuse. It wanted the war in 2006 and took the abduction of the two “Israeli” soldiers as a pretext. But because it was not ready for war, it did not respond to the destruction of an “Israeli” vehicle and the killing of soldiers in the Shebaa farms by the resistance in response to the Quneitra operation that killed Jihad Imad Moghniyeh. It did not decide to enter the war when the resistance sent a drone to the skies over Palestine. What happened was quite different. In addition to the offensive plans, the priority was for the unprecedented defensive measures decided by the Northern Command following extensive work by the Galilee Border Division, which identified the vulnerabilities Hezbollah could exploit to break into the Galilee.
Indeed, “Israel” intended to strengthen its defensive line along the border with Lebanon, particularly in areas where groups of resistance can infiltrate into “Israeli” settlements close to the border, as well as impede direct and sniper fire. These measures are part of the “Israeli” army’s readiness for the next war. These include bulldozing lands, transforming them into “cliffs” with sharp angles and at a height of at least six meters, digging trenches, and constructing concrete walls. These were all added to the traditional procedures of electric and barbed wires, surveillance systems, sand barriers, and thermal sensors, etc.
All this was happening before the eyes of the Lebanese army and the resistance. At the beginning of 2017, the enemy decided to build a separation wall of eight to ten meters high on the borders of two areas; the first in the western sector of Naqoura to the Shalumi checkpoint with a length of 5.8 km; the second stretched from Misgav Am to the old Metula wall with a length of 7.5 km. In June, work on the infrastructure of the wall began and continues until today. However, its closeness to the Blue Line has made Lebanon move quickly, since this line is a temporary imaginary line and does not represent the final borders. In addition, Lebanon reserves 13 points on it (the “Israelis” only agree with Lebanon over 3 points).
On July 28, 2017, UNIFIL’s Government Coordinator wrote to the commander of the forces, General Michael Perry, expressing his concern regarding the enemy’s plan to build the wall, considering that this does not serve the main objective of the tripartite meetings that includes moving from a state of cessation of hostilities to a situation of permanent cease-fire. At the same time, the Lebanese army sent a message to the enemy which included a high-level warning stating that it would fire at “Israeli” forces carrying out the construction of the wall, especially after it monitored repeated violations of the technical fence and the attempt to build the wall in the disputed territories.
On August 18, 2017, Lebanon was officially informed by the head of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) that the enemy will build the wall, 90% of which will be on the technical fence or deeper inside the occupied territories.
On October 15, the Ministry of Defense sent a letter to the Supreme Council of Defense proposing appropriate and gradual measures to be taken to respond to the “Israeli” move, as follows: complain to UNIFIL, complain to the Security Council and international forums, organize sit-ins at the border, use of smoke bombs, launching warning fire, and clashes (militarily).
Although the Supreme Council did not discuss this report, its substance, however, was introduced at the last meeting of the Council. The military was given a clear political decision to respond to these measures, even if entailed clashing with the enemy. The official positions also united in rejecting the construction of the wall on the Blue Line, since it does not correspond to the borders with occupied Palestine, considering that this constitutes a violation of Resolution 1701. As for Hezbollah, the party’s position was expressed by the Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who reaffirmed that the party stands alongside the government and the army, adding that the “Israelis” must take the warnings of the Lebanese state seriously. He said that the resistance will stand firmly with the Lebanese state – army and government – in rejecting any change in the points on the border.
Thus far, Hezbollah seems comfortable with the official diplomatic and military measures, especially the prime minister’s address to the army commander at a meeting of the Supreme Council of Defense that any “Israeli” violation of Lebanese sovereignty must be dealt with. This is accompanied by ongoing measures and maneuvers by the party, which has become confident of its ability to penetrate all the enemy’s barriers, including the concrete wall. It knows that these obstacles will be limited in any future war in delaying the crossing not preventing it. In case the decision was taken to enter the colonies, “the resistance is ready and has the potential, not only for the infiltration of individuals, but for the flow of its groups into Palestine.”
“Israeli” Measures since 2014
“Israel” intensified its defense measures on the border with Lebanon at the end of 2014. The most prominent projects were at the following locations:
– Wadi al-Dalam: Engineering work was launched on December 13, 2014 to build a block with a 90-degree angle and a height of 6 meters. It was accompanied by a 25 meter-long and six meter-high earthen berm due to the absence of a slope parallel to the border road at the mentioned area.
– Wadi al-Qatayeh: On February 23, 2015, bulldozing work started from Hanita towards Wadi al-Qatayeh where a road was opened and the precipice was transformed into a cliff at a 90-degree angle, although the work is still ongoing.
– The Sea Site: On June 25, 2015, the enemy worked on lifting a six meter-high earthen berm in front of the site. It also worked on placing wired cubes filled with dirt to prevent crossings, block gaps and block visibility towards the Lehman Barracks and the coastal road.
– Wadi Qatmoun: As of September 2015, the “Israeli” army has initiated a large-scale engineering project within Wadi Qatmoun aimed at constructing a road within a wide area outside the technical fence and within the Blue Line, which extends about two kilometers.
– Abu Dajaj area: On September 20, 2015, the enemy worked to bulldoze trees stretching from outside the technical fence to the Blue Line. A brem, which was in the form of rocks, was raised directly on the Blue Line to prevent the crossing of vehicles.
– Hounine Valley: In October 2015, the enemy embarked on an engineering project in the Hounine Valley, which extends through a 500-meter area. It was aimed at creating an artificial two to eight meter cliff as well as fencing and laying of concrete blocks attaching them to form a wall, in addition to digging a trench against the fencing.
– Al-Mahafer in the direction of Misgav Am: In October 2015, digging began in al-Mahafer area on the border road towards Misgav Am which is adjacent to the cliff that was originally located in the area. The aim is to restore and expand the cliff. The enemy completed its plan in the area on March 21, 2016 through a project that included putting obstacles in the form of a concrete wall on the border road in the vicinity of Misgav Am (the number of blocks reached 30).
– The Shtoula Triangle: On February 16, 2016, the cement blocks installation next to the internal road at the Shtoula Triangle was completed, and a large emplacement was installed in the area.
– The Surrounding of Zibdine site: In the first month of 2016, bulldozing began in front of Zibdine base and olive trees were uprooted in the Zibdine woods.
بعد سقوط طائرة «أف 16» بمضادات الجيش السوري، ازدادت الصورة الإسرائيلية هشاشة. الإجراءات الدفاعية التي تقوم بها إسرائيل على طول بعض حدودها الشمالية مع لبنان غير مسبوقة. هي تسعى عبرها إلى منع حزب الله من تنفيذ قرار نقل المواجهة إلى الجليل في أيّ حرب مقبلة. لكن في المقابل، يبدو الحزب مرتاحاً إلى أن كل هذه الإجراءات لن تعيقه عن تحقيق أهدافه
قبل الحروب الإسرائيلية على لبنان في الأعوام 1978 و1982 و1993 و1996 و2006، كان المجلس الوزاري الإسرائيلي المصغّر يجتمع في «البئر» (الوصف الإسرائيلي للأماكن السرية التي يعقد فيها الاجتماع) ويقرر إعلان الحرب. في الاجتماع الأخير للمجلس المصغر، في «البئر» أيضاً، كان القرار مخالفاً لكل القرارات السابقة، بدعوتها إلى التهدئة وطلبها تدخل بعض الدول لضبط الموقف.
الأكيد أن إسرائيل تريد الحرب، لكن الأكيد أيضاً أنها لن تسعى إلى الحرب ما لم تعتقد أنها قادرة على حسمها وأنها تملك الإمكانات التي تفوق قدرات عدوها. وعندما تثق بأنها وصلت إلى تلك القدرة، لن تكون بانتظار أي ذريعة. ولأنها كانت تريد الحرب في عام 2006، تذرعت باختطاف الجنديين الإسرائيليين. لكن لأنها لم تكن جاهزة للحرب، لم تردّ على تدمير المقاومة لآلية إسرائيلية وقتل عسكريين في مزارع شبعا، رداً على عملية القنيطرة التي استشهد فيها جهاد عماد مغنية، ولم تقرر الدخول في الحرب عندما أرسلت المقاومة طائرة مسيّرة إلى سماء فلسطين. ما حصل كان مختلفاً تماماً. وإلى جانب الخطط الهجومية، صارت الأولوية لإجراءات دفاعية غير مسبوقة قررتها قيادة المنطقة الشمالية، بعد عمل واسع لفرقة الجليل على الحدود، حددت بموجبه نقاط الضعف التي يمكن لحزب الله أن يستغلها لاقتحام الجليل.
وبالفعل، عمدت إسرائيل إلى تعزيز خطها الدفاعي على امتداد الحدود مع لبنان، وتحديداً في المناطق التي يمكن أن تتسلل منها مجموعات من المقاومة إلى المستوطنات الإسرائيلية القريبة من الحدود، إضافة إلى إعاقة عمل النيران المباشرة والقناصة. وهذه الإجراءات هي جزء من استعداد الجيش الإسرائيلي للحرب المقبلة، وتشمل جرف أراضٍ وجعلها «شيارات» بزوايا حادة وبارتفاع ستة أمتار بالحد الأدنى، وحفر خنادق، وصولاً إلى إنشاء جدران إسمنتية، تضاف كلها إلى الإجراءات التقليدية من أسلاك كهربائية وشائكة وأنظمة مراقبة وسواتر ترابية ومجسات حرارية…
كل ذلك كان يجري أمام أعين الجيش اللبناني والمقاومة. ففي بداية عام 2017، قرر العدو إقامة جدار اسمنتي فاصل يتراوح ارتفاعه ما بين ثمانية وعشرة أمتار، على حدود منطقتين؛ الأولى في القطاع الغربي من الناقورة إلى حاجز شلومي بطول 5.8 كلم، والثانية من مسكفعام حتى جدار المطلة القديم بطول 7.5 كلم. وفي حزيران، بدأ العمل بالبنى التحتية للجدار، ولا تزال قائمة حتى اليوم. إلا أن اقترابه من الخط الأزرق جعل لبنان يتحرك سريعاً، انطلاقاً من أن هذا الخط هو خط وهمي مؤقت ولا يمثل الحدود النهائية، أضف إلى أن لبنان متحفّظ على 13 نقطة فيه (الإسرائيليون يقرّون بخلافهم مع لبنان حول 3 نقاط فقط).
في 28 تموز 2017، وجّه منسّق الحكومة لدى اليونيفيل كتاباً إلى قائد هذه القوات، الجنرال مايكل بيري، يعرب فيه عن القلق إزاء خطة العدو بناء الجدار، معتبراً أن ذلك لا يخدم الهدف الرئيسي من الاجتماعات الثلاثية المتمثل في الانتقال من حالة وقف الاعمال القتالية إلى حالة الوقف الدائم لإطلاق النار. وفي الوقت نفسه، وجّه الجيش اللبناني رسالة إلى العدو ضمّنها إنذاراً عالي النبرة، مفاده أنه سيطلق النار على القوات الإسرائيلية التي تقوم بأعمال بناء الجدار، لا سيما بعد رصده انتهاكات متكررة للسياج التقني ومحاولة بناء الجدار في الأراضي المتنازع عليها.
وفي 18 آب 2017، تبلّغ لبنان رسمياً، عبر رئيس جهاز الارتباط في قوات الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة، أن العدو سيقوم ببناء الجدار، وسيكون بنسبة 90 في المئة على السياج التقني أو قبله من جهة الأراضي المحتلة.
في 15 تشرين الأول الماضي، وجّهت وزارة الدفاع كتاباً إلى المجلس الأعلى للدفاع، تقترح فيه اتخاذ الاجراءات المناسبة تصاعدياً وتدريجياً للرد على الخطوة الإسرائيلية، كما يأتي: الشكوى لدى اليونيفل، الشكوى لدى مجلس الأمن والمحافل الدولية، الاعتصام على الحدود، استعمال القنابل دخانية، إطلاق النار التحذيري… وصولاً إلى الاشتباك (عسكرياً).
وبالرغم من أن المجلس الأعلى لم يناقش هذا التقرير، إلا أنه تم الأخذ بجوهره، في الاجتماع الأخير للمجلس، حيث أُعطي الجيش قراراً سياسياً واضحاً بالرد على هذه الإجراءات، حتى لو اقتضى الأمر الاشتباك مع العدو. كذلك اتّحدت المواقف الرسمية في رفضها بناء الجدار على الخط الأزرق، كونه لا يتطابق مع الحدود مع فلسطين المحتلة، معتبرة أن ذلك يشكّل خرقاً للقرار 1701. أما من جهة حزب الله، فكان الموقف على لسان الأمين العام للحزب السيد حسن نصر الله، الذي أكد أن الحزب يقف إلى جانب الحكومة والجيش، وأن على الإسرائيليين أخذ تحذيرات الدولة اللبنانية بشكل جدي. وقال إن المقاومة ستقف بحزم إلى جانب الدولة اللبنانية جيشاً وحكومة في رفض أي تغيير في النقاط على الحدود.
يبدو «حزب الله» حتى الآن مرتاحاً للإجراءات الرسمية ديبلوماسياً وعسكرياً، وخصوصاً مخاطبة رئيس الحكومة قائد الجيش في اجتماع المجلس الأعلى للدفاع بوجوب التصدي لأيّ خرق إسرائيلي للسيادة اللبنانية. يترافق ذلك مع إجراءات ومناورات مستمرة يقوم بها الحزب الذي صار واثقاً من قدرته على اختراق كل حواجز العدو، بما فيها الجدار الاسمنتي، مدركاً أن هذه الموانع سيقتصر دورها في أيّ حرب مقبلة على تأخير العبور لا منعه، لأنه في حال اتخاذ القرار بالدخول إلى المستعمرات، «فإن المقاومة باتت جاهزة وتملك كل الإمكانات، ليس لتسلل أفراد فحسب، بل لتدفق مجموعاتها إلى فلسطين».
الإجراءات الإسرائيلية منذ 2014
كثّفت إسرائيل إجراءاتها الدفاعية على الحدود مع لبنان في نهاية عام 2014، وكان أبرزها الورشة في المواقع الآتية:
– وادي الدلم: أطلقت ورشة هندسية، في 13 كانون الأول 2014، لبناء مانع بزاوية 90 درجة وارتفاع 6 أمتار، وأرفقت ذلك بإقامة ساتر ترابي بطول 25 متراً وارتفاع ستة أمتار، وذلك لعدم وجود انحدار محاذٍ للطريق الحدودي، عند المنطقة المذكورة.
– وادي قطعية: في تاريخ 23 شباط 2015 بدأت أعمال جرف من حانيتا باتجاه وادي قطعية، حيث فُتح طريق وحُوِّل المنحدر إلى شيار بزاوية 90 درجة، مع العلم بأن الأعمال لا تزال مستمرة.
الموقع البحري: في 25 حزيران 2015 عمل العدو على رفع ساتر ترابي بارتفاع نحو ستة أمتار أمام الموقع. كذلك عمل على وضع مكعبات مشبّكة معبأة بأتربة، بهدف منع العبور وسد الثُّغَر وحجب الرؤية عن ثكنة ليمان والطريق الساحلي.
وادي قطمون: بدءاً من شهر أيلول 2015 باشر الجيش الإسرائيلي بتنفيذ مشروع هندسي واسع ضمن وادي قطمون يهدف إلى إنشاء طريق ضمن منطقة واسعة خارج السياج التقني وضمن الخط الأزرق تمتد على مسافة تقدر بنحو كيلومترين.
منطقة أبو دجاج: في 20 أيلول 2015 عمل العدو على جرف الأشجار خارج السياج التقني وصولاً إلى الخط الأزرق، ورُفع ساتر عبارة عن صخور على الخط الأزرق مباشرة بحيث شكل مانعاً لعبور الآليات.
وادي هونين: في شهر تشرين الأول 2015، باشر العدو تنفيذ مشروع هندسي في وادي هونين يمتد في منطقة تقدّر بنحو 500 متر، ويهدف إلى إنشاء عارض اصطناعي عبارة عن شيار يراوح ارتفاعه بين مترين وثمانية أمتار بالإضافة إلى أعمال تسييج ووضع بلوكات إسمنتية ووصلها لتصبح على شكل جدار، بالإضافة إلى حفر خندق مقابل أعمال التسييج.
المحافر باتجاه مسكفعام: في تشرين الأول 2015 بدأت أعمال الجرف في منطقة المحافر على الطريق الحدودي باتجاه مسكفعام، وذلك بمحاذاة الشيار الذي كان موجوداً بالأصل في المنطقة. وتهدف هذه الأعمال إلى ترميم الشيار وتوسيعه. وقد استكمل العدو مخططه في المنطقة في 21 آذار 2016 من خلال مشروع يقضي بوضع عوائق على شكل جدار إسمنتي على الطريق الحدودي في محيط مسكفعام (وصل عدد البلوكات إلى 30).
مثلث شتولا: في 16 شباط 2016 انتهت ورشة تركيب البلوكات الإسمنتية بجانب الطريق الداخلي عند مثلث شتولا، كذلك استُحدِثَت دشمة كبيرة في المكان.
محيط موقع زبدين: في الشهر الأول من عام 2016، انطلقت مقابل قاعدة زبدين ورشة أعمال جرف واقتلاع أشجار زيتون في حرش زبدين.
The Jewish timeline is a peculiar one-sided anti-historical narrative that inevitably begins at the point when Jewish suffering is detected and ignores the prior circumstances that may have led to that suffering. In Jewish history, the members of the chosen tribe are never the aggressors nor do they bear any responsibility for their own plight. Quite the opposite, they are always the victims of Goyim’s ‘irrational’ and ‘merciless hatred of Jews.’
Yesterday, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu provided a remarkable window into the deceptive nature of the Jewish timeline.
In his address following the incident in which an Israeli F-16 was shot down over Syria, Netanyahu focused on Iranian aggression, alleging that Iran had flown a drone into Israeli territory. Naturally, yours truly is not convinced that such a drone really existed and if it did, that it was operated by Iranians. However, the Israeli PM clearly inveigled to omit from his narrative that it was he, his hawkish government, and their satellite Jewish lobbies around the world (AIPAC, CRIFF, CFI, LFI etc.) that have been crusading for military action and sanctions against the Islamic republic for at least a decade.
How many times have we heard Israeli politicians vowing to attack Iran? In 2012, The Time of Israel reported that “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered their security chiefs in 2010 to have the military ready to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities within hours if necessary, but were rebuffed by the security chiefs.” Nonetheless the timeline Bibi presented yesterday expunged the decade of Israeli belligerence toward Iran. Bibi’s timeline of the conflict with Iran began 48 hours before when, he claimed, an alleged Iranian drone allegedly crossed the Israeli border.
This unique form of delusional and/or duplicitous detachment from reality was not invented by Zionists or Israelis. It is deeply embedded in Jewish culture, Jewish ideology and even the Old Testament. The holocaust, for instance, is taught as “the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators” (USA Holocaust Museum). This is a narrative drained of any historical context. The timeline of the holocaust is a Judeo-Centric construct that begins with the detection of Jewish suffering (1933). For the holocaust to become a proper historical chapter, it will be necessary to ask ‘what were the circumstances that led to the sharp rise in anti Jewish feelings in Europe and beyond?’*
Again, if we examine Jewish history of the 19th century East European pogroms, or the Spanish inquisition we find a timeline that is driven by a similar dismissal of historicity. As in the Jewish history of the Holocaust or in Bibi’s address yesterday, these timelines begin at the point Jewish suffering is detected and omit the circumstances that may have led to such developments. We are dealing with narratives devoid of their most vital element, their rationale. We witness an eternal struggle to suppress self-reflection.
All of this may explain the Jewish fear of Anti Semitism. The Jewish anxiety is not necessarily the fear of the ‘merciless and hateful goyim’ but more probably a fear of self-reflection – looking in the mirror – taking responsibility for one’s own actions once and for all.
The Jewish timeline as a form of self induced detachment is as old as the Jews. Let’s examine the manner in which Pharaoh is introduce in Biblical Exodus:
“Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.” (Exodus 1:8-10)
While King Pharaoh is clearly performing anti-Jewish feelings, there is a notable lack of any context that would make this narrative truly meaningful. In what sense were the Jews ‘mightier’? Why were they suspected of treason, did they keep dual citizenship? Were they dominating the city or its culture? Or maybe, was it the very early Egyptian film industry which they dominated? The Bible keeps this information to itself.
I suggest that perhaps the Jewish timeline is a sophisticated blindfolding mechanism that is set to deny Jews the ability to self-reflect, to see reality for what it is, to see the other as an equal human being with equal needs.
Judaic thought has occasionally been aware of itself as a castrating mechanism. The Biblical prophets, for instance, had flashes of such self-reflection. They introduced a timeline, a reason, a logos or shall we say a rationale, but in that they were defeated time after time. The same can be said of Jesus, Spinoza and Marx.
This makes it astonishing that Early Zionism was actually a desperate Jewish attempt to address the Jewish denial of historicity. Bernard Lazare’s Anti-Semitism its History and Causes presented a profound Zionist study of the role of Jews and their culture in their own suffering. Lazare wasn’t alone in his inquiry. Ber Borochov, Max Nordau and even Herzl attempted to understand the Jewish question within a proper historical context. Their diagnosis of Jewish Diaspora culture was astute, however, their remedy has been pretty much a disaster as Israel’s horrendous politics have demonstrated for the past seven decades.
While early Zionism was largely anti Jewish, Zionism was soon hijacked by Jewishness – that sense of delusional judeo-centrism that dismisses otherness and denies historicity. PM Netanyahu’s address illustrates this unique inability to self reflect. Netanyahu’s timeline begins with an alleged act of Iranian aggression and yet ‘forgets’ that Israel has been throwing bombs at Syria for years and threatening to attack Iran for a decade. Is Netanyahu delusional? Is he duplicitous? That is not for me to judge, and in fact, I don’t care. My task is to decipher the message, not to analyse the messenger.
If Zionism was born to teach the Jews how to self reflect so they could become ‘people like all other people,’ Netanyahu, Israel and contemporary Zionists are the proof that the Zionist project was futile. As the Jewish State surrounds itself with ever more walls of separation, as the Zionist lobbies and Zio-cons push for more global conflicts for Israel, it becomes clear that Zionists are actually people like no other- people who can’t self reflect or bear responsibility for their own actions.
If Elias Davidsson wants to burn it, you want to read it …
* The Jewish historian David Cesarani made such an effort in his last book, ‘Final Solution’ admitting that Holocaust history has been problematic and lacking.
Roni Daniel, the military commentator for “Israel’s” Channel 12, said that in recent years the “Israeli” army has been carrying out large-scale engineering work to reshape the terrain on the border with Lebanon in a bid to prevent a [Hezbollah] infiltration into the northern settlements.
“In exchange for every settlement adjacent to the fence and in places where there are more than four settlements adjacent to the fence, the army creates a 15 to 20 meter-high escarpment, which makes it difficult for the infantry to try to infiltrate,” Daniel wrote in his article published on “Israel’s” Channel 12 website.
He further added: “It is clear that such actions do not guarantee complete success, but they may impede or at least hinder Hezbollah forces that will try to reach a settlement.”
“The engineering operation led by Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Aviv Kochavi, when he was head of the Northern Command, has been ongoing for several years, and today this process is about to be completed,” Daniel added. “At the moment, the army wants to add concrete walls to the obstacles, similar to those built in the vicinity of occupied Al-Quds, only in sensitive places and along several kilometers. Thus far, things are clear and indisputable.”
Daniel touched on the meetings being held in the United Nations center in Ras al-Naqoura between representatives of the Lebanese army and the enemy’s army under the auspices of the international organization. He points out that “representatives of the Lebanese army spoke at one of the last meetings about 13 points of disagreement over the border line. The dispute has been resolved on seven points while six remain. There is still disagreement over them.”
In this regard, Daniel said that during “the last meeting, Lebanon presented opposition to the construction of the wall along those six places, but it can be emphasized that this position is directed by Hezbollah. The disagreements have not been resolved, and the Lebanese demand entails that construction work on the wall should not commence before these disagreements are resolved.”
The “Israeli” Channel 12 commentator on military affairs believes that “Hezbollah is behind all these allegations because it has intentions to infiltrate the settlements in case a war broke out as part of its combat actions.”
“Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has already announced his desire to occupy Galilee. The Zionist response at that meeting in Naqoura was that there is no intention to stop the construction work of the wall because it is inside the settlements. This incident itself does not create a special reality on the northern border. The recent dramatic events, such as the entry of Iranian forces or allied factions and their stay in Syria and also reinforcing Hezbollah with long-range and accurate missiles are not simple security concerns,” he added.
According to the Zionist commentator, “the issue of the wall can hardly be an excuse, but Hezbollah does not want to clash with the army. But obviously if we include all the activities of Iran, Hezbollah and Russia, which agreed to the permanent Iranian presence on Syrian soil, and Tehran’s desire to find systems to convert ordinary rockets into precision rockets on Syrian or Lebanese territory, only adds more to existing tensions.”
The commentator concluded by saying that “none of the parties at this stage is involved in large-scale fighting, but the situation is fluid and sensitive to the extent that the deterioration into large-scale clashes is certainly possible. Will it deteriorate into war? This is a reality the army is preparing for by undertaking a series of activities and maneuvers. Senior officials said the army was more prepared than ever to take a violent step in Lebanon. The wise conduct of both parties may delay the collision, but this is not at all guaranteed.”
BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:30 P.M.) – Saudi regime forces have constructed a makeshift wall around the predominately Shi’ite city of Al-Awamiya, blocking thousands of civilians from fleeing the area.
Initially, the Saudi regime forces besieged the city by deploying tanks and other armored military vehicles to block any civilians from exiting.
However, with the three weeks into this siege, the Saudi regime forces have decided to concentrate the bulk of their forces to one area around the city, while blocking all exits with makeshift walls.
According to Saudi state media, their forces are combating armed “terrorists” in Al-Awamiya, but this operation has been criticized by the international community, most notably the United Nations, for the inhuman treatment of the city’s residents.
After a Lebanese civilian managed to cross unnoticed into the ‘Israeli’-occupied territories last week, the Zionist War Ministry is set to begin installing a new fence along two stretches and a number of kilometers of the Lebanese border.
The fence will be similar to what the occupation entity has on Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian frontiers.
One area is near settlement of Rosh Hanikra on the Mediterranean coast, and the other is near Metula. The two areas in the $28 million project have been deemed a top priority by the Zionist Northern Command.
The barrier is to be built in two segments of the Palestine-Lebanon border, the Zionist army and ministerial sources told Haaretz.
The plans call for a six-meter-high fence to be built in some sections, similar to what has been installed on the ‘Israeli’-Egyptian border, the Golan border and over 30 kilometers of the Jordanian border.
The fence is to be made of steel and barbed wire, and to be topped with razor wire, along with other technological solutions. In some areas, concrete walls will also be installed.
One officer who served near the Lebanese border called the existing border fencing “junk,” adding that the plans for the new fence were a key response to developments such as the establishment of the Hezbollah Radwan commandos, which will be able to fight in the occupied territories, not only in Lebanon.
Following last week’s infiltration, the army said a deputy company commander had been dismissed and disciplinary action had been taken against the sector’s company commander.
This came after an investigation revealed deficiencies in the performance of the forces in the area.
Four other soldiers will face disciplinary proceedings, though the enemy’s army did not give further details.
Last month I put up a post on the film “Open Bethlehem,” and specifically I linked to a podcast discussion about the documentary that was posted by the folks at We Hold These Truths. Directed by Leila Sansour, the film deals with the apartheid wall now encircling the birthplace of Jesus and its impact upon the people who live there.
Sansour, who is a native of Bethlehem and whose father was a founder of Bethlehem University, was recently interviewed over BBC radio. In the interview she discusses why she left Bethlehem in her teen years and why she returned there to make the film she did.
If you would like to watch the full documentary, it is available here for a $4.50 charge. Below is a two-minute trailer.
As I watched the corporate news on demonstrations against Trump’s travel ban, I was struck by the fact that on-going wars in the Middle East were not mentioned. It was as if these refugees were fleeing Nazi Germany. No, they are fleeing the wars that we the American people have been waging against them for many years
It is a good thing to show compassion, declare our solidarity with Muslims, or to talk about our own immigrant histories, but we will fail to oppose Trump and make a real difference if we do not act against war and empire.
The corporate media avoids connecting our wars to Trump’s ban because war and empire is a matter of agreement among the political elites, an elite that the corporate media is very much a part of. In a remarkable reversal of the Russian hacking story — which was broadcast constantly for weeks without evidence — the connection between war and refugees is patently obvious and glaringly absent. What are they trying to hide?
If a new anti-war movement emerged from the resistance to Trump it would have the potential to shake the entire system. So the Democrats try to focus as narrowly as they can on Trump’s social and psychological pathologies while waiting to make up for their loses in the 2018 mid-term elections as the default party. The corporate media follows suit.
The anti-war movement of the Vietnam era was so powerful not just because of its compassion for others and moral condemnation of evil, but because it was a real political resistance movement that led people beyond the “liberal consensus.” The liberal consensus was a set of interlocking cultural norms and beliefs. It basic assumption was that America was the supreme and exceptional leader of the free world. The passage beyond conventional ways of thinking and acting occurred because being anti-war demanded a deep criticism of the established order both liberal and conservative.
Remember that the Vietnam war was fought by liberals like John F. Kennedy Kennedy’s war advisors became known as the “Best and the Brightest,” a high powered team of academic and industrial superstars that could, it turned out, calculate everything but understand nothing. Lyndon Baines Johnson escalated the conflict but was also the president that passed civil rights legislation on a scale that no other modern president has even dared. Liberal leaders like Hubert Humphrey and Edward Kennedy pursued the war as well.
It was the anti-war movement, against this basket of political icons, that crossed the threshold to a meaningful, principled opposition. Two example will suffice to show just how deep it all went.
In April 1967 Martin Luther King rocked the civil rights movement and the nation with his first major speech opposing the war in Vietnam and linking war to racism and poverty. King crossed into revolutionary territory, stepped outside the liberal consensus, and became the leader of a movement for peace, racial equality and economic democracy. Let’s not forget that King was not a Democrat or a Republican. Leading up to the 1968 election, King supported dissenting candidates and even considered an independent run for president.
The leadership of the GI and Veteran anti-war movement were not reluctant draftees but rather gung-ho volunteers who were willing to risk life and limb to do the right thing. When the reality of combat in Vietnam dashed their high hopes they turned against war and empire. The military peace movement made history in ways no other peace movement could: soldier resistance slowed the war effort through direct action while the political resistance of the veterans challenged the symbolic and cultural foundations of the war.
Endless wars have been fought by Republicans and Democrats to secure oil and produce huge profits for major corporations. No wonder the media is silent on just where all these refugees are coming from.
For us protestors, maybe its that war has been normalized. We started this cycle of conflict in the Greater Middle East in 1978 when we organized the Mujahideen in Afghanistan — the same rebels that would later become Al Qaeda and fight alongside of the “moderate rebels” we currently fund in Syria. We started bombing Iraq as far back as the First Gulf War in 1990. For many Americans these wars have been fought for their entire lives.
Trump’s reckless provocations can only be answered by the renewal of a peace movement large enough to disrupt business as usual; by a peace movement that looks to soldiers and veterans for leadership; by a peace movement that understands, as Dr. King did, the deep connections between racism, war, economic exploitation, and now we must add, climate change.
Israel-based Magal Security Systems Ltd. seeks this week to persuade officials in Washington to grant it a contract to take part in the construction of the wall the new US administration is planning to build on the American-Mexican borders.
According to Bloomberg News, Magal’s US-based Senstar branch will present its FiberPatrol product at a conference on border security which will be held on Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia.
Trump has been a very successful businessman, not so much as a builder but as a salesman. He sold the brand he created: himself, or rather, his name. It doesn’t matter how many or how few of his buildings he actually owns: the world knows them as Trump towers. The use of his name fetches large fees and a percentage of the profit.
Some of his campaign speeches, in which he talked about the wall he wanted to build on the South border sounded like the rehearsed spiel he must have always used: “It will be BEAUTIFUL! You’ll see.” He sounded confident because, justifiably, he trusts his own spiel based on the track record. It has worked well for him.
The brand he fashioned is recognizably American in spirit: “Bigger is better and biggest is best, and we are the biggest and the best” as well as Jewish: “All that glitters is as good as gold. Ostentation is good because too much of a good thing is wonderful.” Common to both is the belief that who you are is what you have and what you have is the measure of what you can do (and get away with):
His America is New York City,a milieu where he made deals with, became friends with, and was helped along the way by many Jews, and where his children married Jews, so it makes sense that he expects this symbiotic cooperation to not only continue but to be taken to a new level.
His ego leads him to expect being able to “best” them in the biggest deal of his life: his project of “making America great again.” In exchange he will give them, say, a completely free hand in Palestine and, as a lagniappe, deeper deregulations here and then, in banking and industry, to make America “competitive.” Israel is already offering help with his beautiful wall project:
“Trump’s Mexican wall a boon for Israeli security company.” The Israeli company that has built high-tech fences along the country’s volatile borders is now trying to build a bridge to the Trump administration — hoping to use its experience to cash in on the president-elect’s plan to seal the border with Mexico. Magal Security Systems has been a major player in building high-tech fences and walls along Israel’s volatile northern and southern borders, as well as the massive separation barrier that snakes along the frontier with the West Bank. “We believe that the U.S. government is going to increase its security budgets in the upcoming years and definitely we look forward to take part in it,” the company’s chief executive, Saar Koursh, told The Associated Press.”
Based on the Gestalt of his life experience he may well sincerely believe that what the nation needs (and only he can provide) is a refurbished “America” brand. One so tall, so big and so intimidatingly shiny that the world will respect it again.
Some have said that the reason his team was so completely unprepared on November 8 — no transition plan, no clearly defined responsibilities of his team, and a vaguely sketched cabinet — was that Trump himself did not expect to win. I don’t believe this. He is not the type who forges ahead prepared to lose. I think he rather regards such preparations as he does the teleprompter: useful but not vital. If not available, he can always improvise. He will appoint “experts” (e.g., Mnuchin has vast expertise in finances, does he not?) to run the various departments, and he will busy himself cutting “deals” with foreign leaders that will all benefit “America” and will pacify areas of conflict in the world. One such obvious unresolved conflict is Palestine-Israel and he is already sketching a solution, working closely with his friend, Netanyahu. It will be beautiful.
Unlike the Clintons, greedy psychopathic liars sold to the highest bidder, which happens to be Jewish Power, I believe Trump is not only sincere, but also a patriot by his reckoning. He is sincere in his belief that the brand not only sells the product, but is the product. He is also a patriot who wants America to be “America” again — the shining brand the whole world used to admire and fear (“nobody will dare to mess with us”) — but his patriotism is local: he is a New York City patriot.
Despite his professions of understanding and identifying with those whom Hillary Clinton stupidly called “deplorables”– in rural America and in the devastated, formerly thriving industrial states (Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania) — Trump’s campaign visits there were the safaris of a New Yorker for whom civilization as he knows it ends west of the Hudson River. Beyond is another country and “they do things differently there.”
Trump did not “feel their pain,” as Bill Clinton used to lie; I believe he felt sincere compassion for the suffering of those he encountered, and a self-affirming, confirmatory delight at the warm reception his “tell it like it is” spiel received from them. He truly wants to alleviate their plight. He thinks he knows how, and is sure that his friends and long-term associates can help because they are deeply American too: NYC Americans, like him and, in final analysis, all “good people.”
All this is not to say that Trump’s presidency will bring no changes. Whether unwittingly or by sly intent to grab himself a heretofore ignored constituency, he has unleashed a deep national current of distrust, disgust and even hatred for the elites and the “lying media” that will not abate soon, and through his speeches has cut a large hole in the gag of political correctness.
Nationalism, specifically white nationalism, has gone from being viewed as the loony obsession of a few skinheads and survivalists packing ammo in Idaho and Montana to something now called a dangerous trend to be discussed openly (and excoriated, of course) on television and in the MSM. But there is another nascent change in the works: nationalism is being kosherized and defanged to make it safe for the sensitive, oppressed minorities (among which white Americans are not included yet). With kosher nationalism handed down to them — a sort of papalist populism– white Christian Americans will be able to have their cake without eating it. Jewish luminaries are calling it “pan-ethnic nationalism” and are telling hand-shy white liberals (“progressives”) that it’s ok, it has the rabbinical stamp. Ironically it resembles the democrat slogan, “We’re stronger together.” “America” means diversity, they explain, otherwise it is bigotry and worse: anti-semitism.
The unexpected number of women who voted for the “horrid misogynist” indicates that feminism has passed its sell-by date. No dramatic changes are to be expected on this score, however, but perhaps a more laissez-faire attitude regarding jokes and language so far considered male chauvinist will prevail.
The over-reaching of pro-immigration/open borders activists has fed the flames of anti-immigration sentiment to which Trump’s wall project appealed. This will not diminish and will still demand a solution, which the wall itself, absent changes in immigration and labor laws and social benefits distribution, does not represent.
So political correctness will be eroded in some areas to the chagrin of feminists and pro-immigration advocates, and Hallmark will print more “Merry Christmas” than “Happy Holidays” cards this Christmas.
When all is said and done, was the election joust only a skirmish between two factions of Jewish power? One that was won by the more astute manipulators who saw the surf and decided to ride it rather rail against it?
For now Trump’s deep motivation and intentions are still a puzzle.
What is certain is that the immediate danger of war with Russia has been averted and that is no small thing. It remains to be seen how Trump conducts himself in his interactions with Putin and other world leaders (like the Chinese), and if they see him as Chauncey, the gardner in Being There, or if he impresses them and their productive exchanges lead to mutually favorable agreements.
I agree with those who believe we should give him a chance and wait at least six months after the inauguration. Nevertheless, as physics teaches us, initial conditions determine much of the course of any event/phenomenon, and in the cone of shadow they cast, small indicators at the narrow end of the funnel are much amplified at the other end.
“But what if he fails?” asks Paul Craig Roberts. He answers his own question thus: “If Trump fails, the only solution is for the American people to become more radical.”
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Note: I chose a few drawings by a pre-eminent New Yorker, Saul Steinberg, to illustrate this essay because they seemed highly apposite.
You may have missed this. I did until a friend sent me a link to it a couple of days ago. Earlier this year, Pope Francis leveled criticism at Donald Trump over his proposal to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. The pontiff even went so far as to suggest that Trump, because of his desire to secure the border, couldn’t possibly be a Christian.
The bishop of Rome set off the tiff aboard the papal plane as he was flying home from Mexico, the country whose government Trump has made a scapegoat for all that ails the United States. And as Pope Francis found himself answering questions from reporters about Trump, he did not mince words.
“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Francis told reporters in response to a specific question about the presidential candidate, according to Reuters’ account. “This is not in the gospel.”
Asked by a reporter whether an American Catholic could vote for him, the pope demurred.
“As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he says things like that,” he said, before referring to Trump directly: “We must see if he said things in that way, and in this I give the benefit of the doubt.”
The above comes from an article that appeared on Politico back in February. The pope, of course, is well aware of the wall which Israel has built, but apparently he has nothing to say about that.
Francis is not exactly a man of courage. Bashing Donald Trump is totally risk-free. Criticizing Israel, even its apartheid wall, which has been deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice, runs considerably greater hazards, and I guess the pope just isn’t up for it.
In responding to the comments, Trump called the Pope’s questioning of his faith “disgraceful.” In a way it’s hard to disagree.
“For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful,” he asserted. “I am proud to be a Christian and as President I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened, unlike what is happening now, with our current President.”
He also said “they”–without specifying who he was referring to–are using the pope as a “pawn,” and suggested that Francis might have a change of heart were the Vatican ever to be attacked by ISIS.
If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened. ISIS would have been eradicated unlike what is happening now with our all talk, no action politicians…
No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith. They are using the Pope as a pawn and they should be ashamed of themselves for doing so, especially when so many lives are involved and when illegal immigration is so rampant.
Who does Trump mean by “they”? I guess you’ll have to ask him that question. All I can really say is this: that while Trump has his faults certainly, it is pretty clear that the neocons, who are just itching to get a war started with Russia, would have far greater influence in a Clinton presidency than under a Trump administration. Maybe that should be of greater concern to us at this point than Trump’s demeanor toward women.
If they [Egypt] opened the border, we wouldn’t need to dig tunnels. But until they do, we’ll keep digging, whatever they do to try and stop us 
a milieu where he made deals with, became friends with, and was helped along the way by many Jews, and where his children married Jews, so it makes sense that he expects this symbiotic cooperation to not only continue but to be taken to a new level.
UPROOTED PALESTINIANS: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM 
