Possible ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu: US hypocrisy, explained

May 18, 2024

Source: Al Mayadeen English

An illustration showing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the American flag as well as the logo of the International Criminal Court (ICC). (Illustrated by Hady Dbouq)

By Qamar Taleb

This is how ICC arrest warrants work, their importance, why Netanyahu might not get away with murder this time, and how the US has continued to be a hypocrite.

Here’s an idea for a potential bedtime story: There once was a very very bad man leading an over 200-day genocide against the people of Palestine in Gaza, they called him Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also known as “Bibi”. In conformity with a belief popular among Israeli settlers who stole Palestinian land over 75 years ago supported by some bad bad imperialist countries, Bibi thought he was above the law.

You cannot entirely blame him as the world helped enable this belief by constantly overlooking the fact that Palestine is occupied, its people are being forced out of their homes, murdered, raped, tortured, detained and the list of horrible crimes goes on. Until one day Bibi sensed that there might be a chance he was not actually above the law as word spread about the International Criminal Court (ICC) potentially slapping him, alongside other bad men, with arrest warrants.

Bibi then rushed to his beloved mother, let’s call her the United States. He cried for help in a video online asking “free leaders of the world to stand against the ICC outrageous assault” and his mother threatened to retaliate against the court. 

So far, this story does not have an end as it will determined by what happens next, and how everything plays out and unfolds.

On a serious note, however, here is a deeper legal and political dive into the importance of such arrest warrants and why it might be hard for Netanyahu to get away with murder this time with a sprinkle of US hypocrisy. 

How legal proceedings at the Court work

The ICC in the Hague has jurisdiction over four types of crimes:

• Genocide
• Crimes against humanity,
• War crimes
• Crime of aggression

The legal process in the court includes six stages:

1. Preliminary examinations
2. Investigations
3. The pre-trial stage
4. The trial stage
5. The appeals stage
6. The enforcement of the sentence. 

On 17 November 2023, the Chief Prosecutor of the Court, Karim Khan, issued a statement announcing that based on a referral five Court States Parties: South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Comoros, and Djibouti, his office confirms that it is investigating the situation in the State of Palestine. 

Khan said that this investigation began on March 3, 2021, and includes actions committed in Gaza, the West Bank, and the eastern part of al-Quds since June 13, 2014, that can amount to crimes listed in the Rome Statute. The Chief Prosecutor said that this investigation is ongoing and “extends to the escalation of hostilities and violence since the attacks that took place on 7 October 2023.”

Why the arrest warrants are vital 

In the investigation stage of the legal process, the Prosecution can request the ICC judges from the pre-trial chamber, after piling up evidence and identifying a suspect, to issue an arrest warrant against the latter to summon for appearance that is if the suspect is willing to cooperate with the court and appear voluntarily. 

Article 63 of the Rome Statute says that the accused, labeled as a suspect at the pre-trial stage, should be present during the trial. This means that the judicial process cannot begin without the presence of the accused and in turn, without the arrest of the suspect, their summon, or voluntary presence. 

So, for the Court to actually be able to move to the hearings stage following the investigation stage, it is legally required to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu and other individuals it has deemed as suspects in the case. Knowing that “Israel” lied at the International Court of Justice before in front of the whole world and that it still to this day denies all crimes it has committed in Gaza, one would expect it not to be cooperative with the Court, especially amid recent statements attempting to discredit the Court and throw in “the right of self-defense” again. 

Netanyahu will most probably not voluntarily appear at the Court, so who would assist in executing his arrest especially since “Israel” is not part of the parties of the Court? 

Primarily, the power to execute the arrest warrants is vested in the States which are part of the Court. According to Article 59 of the Statute any State Party that has gotten a request for provisional arrest or for arrest and surrender “shall immediately take steps to arrest the person in question in accordance
with its laws and the provisions of Part 9.” 

According to Article 86 of the Rome Statute, “States Parties shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Statute, cooperate fully with the Court in its investigation and prosecution of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court.” 

Not only that but according to Article 88 of the Statute, “States Parties shall ensure that there are procedures available under their national law for all of the forms of cooperation which are specified under” Part 9 of the Statute which addresses international cooperation and judicial assistant. Article 89 also addresses how States should comply with requests for arrest and surrender by the Court. 

All of these provisions mean that even if Netanyahu does not cooperate with the Court any State that is a member of the Court should cooperate with the latter and aid in executing the arrest warrant which would limit Netanyahu’s movements and put further pressure on him especially since arrest warrants remain in effect until otherwise ordered by the Court. 

The responsibility does not fall on State Parties only as the Court can also ask non-state Parties for assistance in the arrest of the suspect especially if the trigger behind the Court’s jurisdiction is the United Nations Security Council as all relevant UN Member States are bonded by the duty to cooperate even if they are not a State Party to the Rome Statute. 

Read more: Dear ICC, actions speak louder than words

Ne bis in idem

Article 20 of the Rome Statute addresses the Ne bis in idem also known as the principle of complementarity which means that the ICC can practice its jurisdiction when the national courts have failed or are unwilling to investigate the crimes within the jurisdiction of the court. 

First things first, the fact that the Court is in the investigations phase means that it probably already decided that there are not any genuine national proceedings. Why? Well, according to the Court itself during the preliminary examinations phase, the Office of the Prosecutor must decide whether there is “sufficient evidence of crimes of sufficient gravity falling within the ICC’s jurisdiction, whether there are genuine national proceedings, and whether opening an investigation would serve the interests of justice and of the victims.” 

So this implies that the Court decided on all of the above including that there are not “genuine national proceedings.” 

On the other hand, how reliable are the Courts of the occupation in this sense? And no, this is not coming from the fact that it is quite literally an occupation, but from actual live examples of how Netanyahu has attempted to overhaul the occupation’s “legal system” or how he was even exempted from accountability. 

In three cases filed in 2019, Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, bribery, and breach of trust also known as cases 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000.

In March 2023, the Knesset approved a law that gave Benjamin Netanyahu immunity from prosecution on criminal charges. This law prevents a sitting Prime Minister from being dismissed from office and announced as incapable of fulfilling their duties. 

In July 2023, the Knesset also passed the “reasonableness law” which took away the power of occupation’s the Supreme Court to declare government decisions unreasonable. Who was the Prime Minister back then? It was Benjamin Netanyahu. It was widely announced and reported as Netanyahu trying to overhaul the occupation’s “legal system”. 

These are to name a few of how much power and influence he has in occupied Palestine. They cannot even hold him accountable for such crimes, how would they hold him accountable for a genocide they approve of? 

Irrelevance of official capacity

But would he not benefit from his capacity as an official? Well, according to Article 27 (1) of the Rome Statute, the latter applies equally to “all persons without any distinction based on official capacity.” 

Not only this but it also specifies that the “official capacity as a Head of State or Government, a member of a Government or parliament, an elected representative, or a government official shall in no case exempt a person from criminal responsibility” under the Statute, and should not even affect the sentence. 

The most important part is immunities. Section 2 of the same Article says that immunities or special procedural rules linked to the official capacity of a person under both national and international law “shall not bar the Court from exercising its jurisdiction over such a person.”

Some legal scholars might argue that this only applies to State Parties of the ICC, or might argue based on special mission immunity or certain precedents, however, an article by Hugh King, Judges’ Clerk to the High Court of New Zealand at Auckland, addresses this issue and mentions the case of Prosecutor v Charles Ghankay Taylor, specifically submissions of the Amicus Curiae on Head of State immunity by Philippe Sands and Alison Macdonald. 

King says that international tribunals mentioned by Sand and Macdonald all have one thing in common and that is “consent of States whose nationals were being tried.” So, he says, this consent alongside the constitutive basis of an international tribunal explains why international tribunals can actually try State officials and overlook immunities. 

Referencing the examples that happened in international tribunals again, King said that Statutes can steer away from the rules set by customary international law rules on immunities because they were “were adopted by the Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter, and as such, bind all UN member States.”

According to Article 103 of the UN Charter also mentioned by King, the obligations of all member states under the Charter prevail over any other obligation through a different international agreement. This means, as he said, that UN member States therefore indirectly have consented to waiving their immunities. 

“Mother” is a hypocrite 

In 1943 the United Nations War Crimes Commission(UNWCC) was established in London with a satellite office in China by seventeen allied nations, including China and India, before the end of World War II and it had its main focus on war crimes. 

Guess who was deeply involved in its creation and work? The United States of America which back then supported launching a permanent international criminal tribunal through a multilateral treaty. 

In 1945, the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg was created, also by deep US involvement, to try German wartime leaders for crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and war crimes and it specifically stated that individuals are accountable are accountable for international crimes regardless of their official position. It was followed by another similar tribunal a year later to try crimes by Japanese leaders. 

In 1993, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was established which of course, once again, the US had a deep involvement in and even took part in forming its statute and other essential documents. This also applied to the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 1994. 

In 1995, the US was part of the Ad Hoc Committee on the establishment of the ICC and then later took part in a preparatory session before the Rome conference and the conference itself as it even aided in drafting the Rome Statute but then ended up voting against it. 

In 1999, the US was quick to draft a Foreign Relations Authorization Act including prohibitions against sending any US financial support to the ICC and the extradition of any US citizen to a foreign country that may surrender them to the ICC. 

But in 2000, it aided in drafting the ICC Rules of Procedure and Evidence alongside the Elements of Crimes part of the Rome Statute. It then signed the Rome Statute but did not ratify it and declared in 2002 that it had no intention of ratifying it. 

This back and forth went on for years after as the US took part in creating the basis of a Court it clearly refuses to be a part of and for obvious reasons that were evident in a pattern of US behavior over the years utilizing international organizations, laws, courts for its benefit then standing against them when they scratch those benefits, just like it is currently doing in the case of “Israel.” 

As previously mentioned, it is still not clear how the bedtime story will end, but in one way or another, it might not look very good for the US and “Israel” even away from all the legal and political talk, “You reap what you sow” has always come true and if there is one thing you can learn from How to Get Away with Murder is that, you do not. 

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War on Gaza

Old Genocide Joe Has Got to Go!

MAY 17, 2024

Embracing Netanyahu does not constitute a foreign policy

Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org.

PHILIP GIRALDI

It is extremely difficult to discern what might be the thinking behind the clueless President Joe Biden and his Blinken-Austin-Mayorkas foreign-policy-plus national security team. Or rather, the problem is that there does not appear to be any thinking about it at all if one measures it by what benefits it brings to the American people. It all actually seems to derive from a desire to construct a narrative that will win the presidential election coming up in November, which will fortunately be run against a deeply flawed GOP candidate named Donald J. Trump. But look at what is on the Biden record: the country’s southern border with Mexico is a porous as a Swiss cheese, allowing literally millions of illegal immigrants into the USA since Biden took office; Washington is both de facto and de jure simultaneously fighting and losing two unnecessary wars involving nuclear powers which has cost a nearly bankrupt Treasury well into the hundreds of billions of dollars; and the White House is needlessly sanctioning non-hostile competitors like China while also making illegal popular social media sites like TikTok which have committed the sin of reporting and disseminating accurate narratives about good old “best friend and closest ally” Israel. Predictably, neither of the assertions about the value of the Jewish state is true, nor is it a democracy, but who cares when you’re having fun shooting people and spending someone else’s money?

Oh, and just try to exercise your first amendment free speech rights by demonstrating against Israel’s slaughter of upwards of 40,000 Palestinian civilians using US provided weapons and you will be hit on the head by a cop, possibly arrested, and even expelled from college! If you want to see where this is all going, check out reports of the recent FBI detention and interrogation of distinguished Israeli historian Ilan Pappe seeking to enter the US through the Detroit International Airport. Pappe is a critic of the Netanyahu government and of US policy so he was held, questioned in detailed about his contacts, and had his phone copied before being allowed to proceed. Meanwhile, a group of top federal judges have signed a letter stating that they will strike back against the demonstrating students by refusing to hire any graduates of Columbia University Law School as law clerks. And there even is a bill currently before Congress that would empower the government to label the foreign protesters “antisemites and terrorism supporters” and deport them, with some going to Gaza with the expectation that they would be killed, possibly by the mighty Israel Defense Forces (IDF)! It would be a startling new development to punish those whose crime consists mostly of trespass even given the rather loose ethical boundaries established by the war on terror and the Antisemitism Awareness Act! Or indeed one might follow the Senatorial route led by a chirping Lindsey Graham who recommends dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza to kill everyone who has survived the Israeli onslaught. The area then might be developed after the radiation dies down for those splendid seaside villas for Jews only suggested by the esteemed Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.

To be sure, Joe sometimes mumbles something that might just be viewed positively, like his recent blocking on humanitarian grounds of a consignment of bunker buster bombs on their way to Israel due to Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that, no matter what, he would invade Rafah to completely destroy Hamas and whoever else might happen to get in his way. Joe predictably reversed that decision last Tuesday, approving a $1 billion supply of munitions after he came under pressure from the Israelis and their many friends in the US, to include a host of Israel-loving GOP congressmen who have carried their fight on behalf of the Jewish state to The Hague, where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is being directly threatened with American wrath lest it try to punish Israeli leaders for their genocide in Gaza. As Bill Astore put it “Last week, President Biden appeared to have strapped on a temporary spine in delaying shipments of ‘offensive’ weaponry to Israel for its murderous invasion of Rafah in Gaza. That spine had a short duration as Biden announced [Tuesday] renewed shipments of tank and mortar rounds to Israel.” Congress has also gotten into the game with the GOP controlled House of Representatives having passed a bill that would compel the White House to continue all arms shipments to Israel. Joe might also be thinking of political contributions, as American Jews donate the majority of Democratic Party funding, as well guaranteeing a friendly media in his campaign as they dominate both the news and the entertainment industries. See, Joe can figure some things out all by himself every once in a while!

Here’s the problem with Joe, apart from the roughly $12 million in gift-donations from Jewish/Israeli sources that he has obtained in his political career. His tactical thinking does not extend beyond his personal interests, to include his corrupt children, a trait very much like that which is possessed by his good buddy Netanyahu who is facing corruption charges of his own in Israel. Joe believes he is much cleverer than he actually is and thinks that an occasional mild verbal criticism of the Israeli behavior will convince his target audience of voters that he really is concerned about the continuing death toll in Gaza, where the Israelis have already been taking initial steps in their attack on Rafah by using their tanks to penetrate into the targeted zone to destroy and kill.

And as for the reported completion and initial functioning of the floating pier connected to Gaza constructed by US military engineers, it will not dramatically change reality on the ground even though Biden is claiming that it will enable the entry of much needed food and medical aid. Israel will still “security” control what is allowed to enter into Gaza proper while Netanyahu is seeing the pier as a bridge to nowhere, usable primarily to export excess Palestinians to foreign lands that are either willing or unwilling to accept them. And its existence creates some interesting possibilities. As it presumably will be logistically supported on the pier itself by US-based personnel, Netanyahu might well be tempted to stage a false flag attack blamed on Hamas to kill a few Americans and lock Biden into Israel’s right-wing Gaza policies from now on. Bear in mind that, in reality, Biden could care less if all the Palestinians might be “disappeared” just as he would like to see any and all critics of Israel be subjected to the harshest punishments, including prison and denial of basic rights as well as being stripped of government benefits. He has called the protesters “lawbreakers” and spreaders of “chaos” and congress is currently investigating the alleged “subversive organizers” of the “anti-Israel terrorists.”

Biden and company, as well as Trump, who is advising the Israeli government to “finish the job” with the Palestinians, clearly have no actual red lines that must not be crossed when it comes to Israel. The war of extermination of the Gazans has been accompanied by a more hidden war being conducted by the Jewish settlers on the West Bank, which has been largely under Israeli occupation since 1967. The frequently armed settlers have been attacking unarmed Palestinians, destroying their homes and businesses, ruining their crops and vineyards, and even killing them on occasion. Israeli police and army standing by do nothing to stop the fun and even frequently participate themselves by arresting and beating Palestinians who are guilty only of being Palestinian. Hundreds of Palestinians have been arrested without charges apart from “preventive detention” since the troubles began in October and the jails are overflowing. The clear intention, verbalized without any shame by senior Israeli government officials like Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is to produce a Greater Israel cleansed of Arabs. And Biden, who pretends to favor a two-state solution to the unrest, helps the process along by vetoing UN resolutions that would help create separate sovereignty for Palestine.

Some of the most outrageous recent developments have been the settlers’ interfering with shipments of food and medicines entering into Gaza, a point that a faux-sympathetic Biden stresses repeatedly when pontificating regarding bringing aid to the starving people who are trapped with nowhere to go inside the enclave. The Israel clampdown even includes the Mediterranean Sea being blocked off by the Israeli navy which shoots any desperate Gazans who try to go close to the water so they can fish for food. In the most recent incidents, observed by the standing-by but inert Israeli army and police, truckloads of food were blocked, the drivers and aid workers removed and beaten, and the food was destroyed and burned before the trucks were treated likewise. In another incident settlers dumped huge boulders on one of the access roads to a checkpoint leading into Gaza, rendering it impassible and blocking any aid. Journalists and aid workers are meanwhile being killed by the army to prevent any reporting of what is going on while the US State Department refuses to condemn the activity. Biden called the interference with assistance convoys “outrageous” but has done nothing whatsoever about it, nor has he followed up on pledges to sanction Israelis who attack Palestinians or their property on the West Bank.

The whole problem is that Israel is a monster, an apartheid state that somehow feels it is empowered by God and the United States to kill all its neighbors and rob the American taxpayer to pay for and equip the slaughter. Israel is backed by an all-powerful US domestic lobby that includes unlimited Jewish money and activist Zionist groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) led by the hideous Jonathan Greenblatt and the venerable American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC), both of which are now busy raising money to defeat all congress critters who have ever criticized the Jewish state. ADL and AIPAC are also linked to “that old time religion” knucklehead Christian Zionists concentrated in the Republican Party who have their Scofield Bibles firmly embedded between their ears where their brains are supposed be. A partial solution would be to make the Jewish-Zionist groups register as foreign government agents directed by Israel under the the terms of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which is exactly what they are, but that will never happen. President John F. Kennedy tried to register the predecessor group to AIPAC and many believe he paid the ultimate price for that affront as well as for his bid to stop Israel’s nuclear weapons program.

So, my fellow Americans, what should we do? Well, we should do whatever we can, which includes speaking out about how we have been sold out by our leaders and opinion makers, and we should continue to do that even knowing that they will try to silence us by destroying free speech in this country. It is all we have left and we should continue to oppose what is happening. The first step however, is to get rid of politicians like Joe and Donald, who have been completely corrupted by more than fifty years in the “system” and are totally sold out and irresponsible in their behavior. There are honest politicians and journalists out there and we just have to find them, support them and get them elected and in positions where they will be able to bring about change in how things are done in Washington! One might call it the New American Revolution to restore our rights and free us from foreign oppression!

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Rights group details widespread Jewish use of children as human shields

May 17, 2024

Israeli soldiers use Palestinian child as human shield

A report by a local independent human rights group details the recent experiences of three boys in the West Bank.

VT Condemns the ETHNIC CLEANSING OF PALESTINIANS by USA/Israel

$ 280 BILLION US TAXPAYER DOLLARS INVESTED since 1948 in US/Israeli Ethnic Cleansing and Occupation Operation; $ 150B direct “aid” and $ 130B in “Offense” contracts
Source: Embassy of Israel, Washington, D.C. and US Department of State.

By Jonas E. Alexis, Senior Editor

JULIA CONLEY

May 14, 2024

Israeli and U.S. claims that civilian casualties in Gaza are the result of Hamas’ use of “human shields” have figured prominently in Israel’s defense of the skyrocketing death toll in the enclave, but a report by a local independent human rights group details the recent experiences of three boys in the West Bank, who say they were used to shield Israeli forces from potential harm during their raid on a refugee camp.

Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) on Monday released its interviews with three boys in Tulkarem refugee camp, which was attacked by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on May 6.

The three boys—Karam, 13; Mohammad, 12; and Ibrahim, 14—gave nearly identical accounts of being forced to walk ahead of the IDF soldiers as they raided residential buildings, ensuring they would be attacked by any armed people instead of the Israeli forces.

The soldiers also positioned their guns on the shoulders of two of the boys before firing the weapons, and subjected all of them to beatings.

Karam told DCIP that about 30 IDF soldiers entered his family’s apartment with a “huge military dog” during the Tulkarem attack and isolated his family in one room, selecting Karam to come with them as they raided the rest of the building.

The “forced Karam to walk in front of them, open the doors to each room, and enter it before them,” DCIP reported. “While they were walking, one soldier placed his rifle on Karam’s right shoulder and fired two shots toward an apartment in the building.”

Mohammad told the group the IDF soldiers ignored his mother’s pleas as they ordered his family to leave his apartment, keeping Mohammad with them.

“I was left alone with the soldiers after they ordered my mother and siblings to go up to the fourth floor of the building. I started crying and shaking in fear because I did not know what they would do to me. They were armed, masked, and had frightening appearances. They had a huge military dog that made terrifying sounds,” Mohammad told DCIP.

“After that, the soldiers told me to knock on the doors of the apartments in the building, while they were standing behind me at a fairly short distance, and to ask the residents to come out, and this is what I did,” he said. “When we reached the door of one of the apartments, there was no one inside, so the soldiers blew up the door and forced me to go inside alone and check and search it. After I told them that it was empty, they entered it, while I remained held by one of the soldiers at the door.”

Ibrahim was forced to walk in front of the soldiers after they interrogated him about “the whereabouts of wanted men,” slapped and kicked him, and cuffed his hands behind his back with a plastic tie.

“At first, I thought they wanted to arrest me, but they told me to walk in front of them in the alleys of the Sawalma neighborhood in the camp,” said Ibrahim. “They would hide in the alleys and tell me to see if there was anyone around. After that, they untied my hands, and whenever we passed a house or building, they would instruct me to enter and ask the residents to come out. Then they would raid those houses and tell me to open the doors into different rooms.”

DCIP’s report, saidAl Jazeera journalist Sana Saeed, indicates how “every Palestinian child is seen as a threat, as disposable,” by the IDF and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

“Israeli treatment of Palestinian children, the way they see them as well as how they abuse their bodies, is genocidal,” said Saeed.

As Ben Burgis wrote at Jacobin in November, “accusations that [Hamas fighters] ‘use civilians as human shields’ rarely seem to be meant quite so literally” as reports of the IDF’s practices. “More often, what the accusation amounts to is simply that Hamas fighters and military equipment—or sometimes even just people linked to Hamas’ political wing—tend to be located in areas with lots of civilians.”

But as in the cases of the three boys at Tulkarem, “there is extensive evidence of the IDF quite literally engaging in human shielding—forcing Palestinian civilians to approach houses for them because they’ll be less likely to be shot at than Israeli soldiers, for example,” wrote Burgis.

“Israel’s High Court banned the practice in 2005, but Israeli human rights group B’Tselem reports that ‘soldiers continue to occasionally use Palestinians as human shields even after the court ruling, especially during military operations,’” he added.

Ayed Abu Eqtaish, the accountability program director at DCIP, condemned the IDF practices described by Karam, Mohammad, and Ibrahim.

“International law is explicit and absolutely prohibits the use of children as human shields by armed forces or armed groups,” said Abu Eqtaish. “Israeli forces intentionally putting a child in grave danger in order to shield themselves constitutes a war crime.”

Jonas E. Alexis, Senior Editor

Jonas E. Alexis has degrees in mathematics and philosophy. He studied education at the graduate level. His main interests include U.S. foreign policy, the history of the Israel/Palestine conflict, and the history of ideas. He is the author of the book, Kevin MacDonald’s Metaphysical Failure: A Philosophical, Historical, and Moral Critique of Evolutionary Psychology, Sociobiology, and Identity Politics. He teaches mathematics in South Korea.

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Pure theater: The Biden–Netanyahu ’fallout’ over Rafah

MAY 15, 2024

Source

(Photo credit: The Cradle)

Despite public disagreements between Washington and Tel Aviv over Gaza, ongoing US–Israel weapon supplies suggest that the discord is more media spectacle than policy shift.

Abdel Qader Othman

With Israel appearing determined to launch a large-scale military operation in Rafah to reverse its current image of defeat in Gaza, another public confrontation – between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – intensified last week. 

Biden claims to have halted the shipment of precision weapons to Israel to prevent a large operation in southern Gaza, where around 1.3 million displaced Palestinian civilians have sought shelter, while Netanyahu threatens to continue the war without Washington’s help.

In a CNN interview last week, the US president said, “I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem.”

To which Netanyahu responded that same evening, in a podcast discussion with American Jewish journalist Dan Senor, “If we have to stand alone, we will do so, because I’m the prime minister of Israel, the one and only Jewish state, and we will not go down.” 

At first glance, the growing tensions between the two allies playing out in the political and media arenas seemed promising for those parties keen on ending the Palestinian bloodshed seven months after Tel Aviv launched its brutal assault on Gaza. 

But the Israeli premier, who has often been caught on camera boasting about Israel’s control over the US political scene, may have won this round. Within just a few days, Biden’s warnings and threats all but dissipated.

It began with a flurry of American politicians hitting the TV circuit to lambast their sitting president for veering from Israel’s war agenda, with some US media outlets describing Biden’s decision as “encouraging antisemitism.”

US ambassador to Tel Aviv, Jack Lew, following the script of his Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, confirmed on Sunday that “fundamentally, nothing has changed in the basic relationship” – that only one batch of US munitions was frozen, but everything else continues to flow “ordinarily.” 

And Biden’s meek initiative ended decisively on Tuesday when his administration informed Congress that it is planning a $1 billion weapons transfer to Israel. 

Netanyahu certainly knew how to turn the screws. 

Confirmation of the status quo 

As this was the first rhetorical confrontation between the US and Israel since the Gaza war’s onset, many Arab and western media outlets interpreted the intensity of the exchanges as a result of growing divergence between a Biden administration concerned “for the lives of civilians” and a Netanyahu government seeking to restore the deterrent power it lost on 7 October with Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and Iran’s 13 April retaliatory strikes. 

Speaking to The Cradle, Australia-based political analyst Hussein al-Dirani says:

“The American administration is primarily responsible for the war of extermination practiced by the Zionist forces against the Palestinians now, in the past, and in the future, and the entity is nothing but one of the arms of American evil in the Arab and Islamic region. Biden can, within one day or less, stop this massacre through an order to the leaders of the aggression to the effect: ‘Stop the war now,’ and it will stop immediately.“

The west’s commitment to Zionism

The roots of today’s conflict remain an age-old one: the implantation of the Israeli entity into West Asia, a project of global Zionism originating from the “Herzl Conference” at the end of the 19th century. 

For decades, no American or European political leader has had the option of ending support for Israel. The global Israel lobby, now deeply entrenched in western political, academic, media, and finance institutions, aims to protect the existence of Israel at all costs, stabilize it in the region, and push Arab countries to normalize relations with Tel Aviv, explains Yemeni political journalist Osama Sari.

Sari, who is editor-in-chief of the Yemeni Press Agency, tells The Cradle that Biden cannot abandon Israel at this stage, with the contentious US presidential election looming in November and facing great domestic pressure from anti-war US youths and key minority voters. 

Some observers believe that Biden’s threat to cut off offensive weapons to Israel was a feint to score points with his restless, disenchanted electorate and to prod Israel into re-opening negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire, which Tel Aviv recently rejected.

Others, like analyst Dirani, contend that Biden’s political ploys cannot effectively influence the presidential contest because Biden and his chief competition, former US President Donald Trump, are both known, longtime, to-the-wall supporters of Israel. 

Theatrics of US-Israel’ tensions’

Biden’s short-lived media strategy intended to market the idea that Washington is dissatisfied with Netanyahu’s intransigence and his insistence on invading Rafah to commit even more massacres – turning global and US public opinion further against Israel – despite Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire under the Egyptian–Qatari proposal. 

Rhetoric and posturing aside, the US position toward Gaza does not fundamentally differ from Israel’s and may even be more impulsive and irrational. Had it not been for unprecedented amounts of US military support from day one of this round of conflict, the Gaza war would have stalled a good six months earlier. Israel would also not have been able to withstand Iran’s retaliatory response in April without the US military leading all defensive operations, nor even hope to thwart the combined military operations of the region’s Axis of Resistance. 

In the UN Security Council, the US has a long history of using its veto power to shield Israel. Out of the 262 vetoed resolutions since the UN’s inception in 1945, Washington has wielded its veto 116 times on issues related to Palestine. 

It used this power 80 times to prevent condemnation of Israel and 36 times against laws supporting Palestinian rights, with the latest veto coming down just a month ago. 

The White House and the State Department also consistently provide cover for Israel, claiming absurdly that the occupation state is defending itself by international law and that the US has not observed any violations in Gaza despite the Palestinian death toll exceeding 35,000 and the number of wounded surpassing 78,000.

Whose red lines? 

This unquestioning support of Israel, despite mumblings in some Beltway corridors that Tel Aviv is becoming a “US liability,” begs the question of whether there is any US red line for malign Israeli behaviors. Yemeni editor Sari doesn’t see the Americans drawing any lines for Israel, no matter the crime: 

“Until now, no international party has been able to classify Biden’s red lines. His attempt to suggest that it was an invasion of Rafah is not convincing at all. The entity has not left any red lines since the beginning of its aggression against Gaza, and its crimes affected hundreds of patients in the hospitals it stormed.“

In fact, Sari adds, “This point does not reflect real seriousness, as Biden and Blinken stated in November that there were no red lines that would prevent military support for Israel against Hamas.”

Journalist Dirani agrees, reflecting growing Arab opinion that the US is only stage-managing matters and shows little intent to pressure Tel Aviv into a resolution of this brutal war:

“Biden wants to tell Netanyahu that instead of committing 100 massacres a day in Rafah, he should commit 90 massacres. This is why he did not reach 100, meaning that the massacres should be commensurate with America’s brutality and not with Netanyahu’s well-known brutality.“

Dirani further assesses, based on their statements, that all Resistance Axis factions understand the US is complicit in the Gaza genocide and is ultimately the root cause of all tragedies, scourges, and wars in the region. 

Finger-pointing aside, this perception of US complicity in Gaza is growing fast in global discourse. Efforts to divest from and boycott Israel are on the rise; many of these targets are weapons factories and transport and logistics firms. 

If Israel proceeds with an invasion of Rafah, the repercussions could be severe, leading to the wholesale collapse of US interests in West Asia. As Yemen’s waterway blockades, Iranian strikes, and strategic military operations and salvos from Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Palestinian resistance, and the Iraqi resistance have demonstrated, today it is the leaders of the Axis who are setting those red lines, not western powers.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.

These Are Israel’s Two Options – Hezbollah Leader Sends Strong Messages to Tel Aviv, Washington

May 14, 2024

Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. (Photo: via Al-Mayadeen)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Nasrallah said that the “image of deterrence” within the Israeli occupation entity is declining, especially after Iran’s Operation True Promise.

Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah affirmed on Monday that the Lebanese front continues, in various forms and methods, its operations in support of the Resistance in the Gaza Strip and imposes its own rules of engagement.

In a speech delivered on the eighth anniversary of the martyrdom of Commander Mustafa Badreddine, Sayyed Nasrallah underlined that the continuation of the Lebanese Resistance’s operations in support of the Gaza front is “a settled matter not open for discussion.”

He stressed that the entire world “has accepted this fact,” adding that this is why the Americans conveyed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there is no solution for the Northern front without a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Resistance leader addressed the settlers in northern occupied Palestine who are eager to return to their settlements, calling on them to pressure their government to end the aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Hitting a Brick

Nasrallah explained that evaluating the results of the war requires assessing the battlefield and not relying on Israeli claims about victory, indicating that “there is a consensus on the failure of Israel.”

He also pointed out that even allies of Netanyahu mock him when he says he is “one step away from victory,” emphasizing that the issue “is not limited only to Israeli failure to achieve objectives but extends to include more strategic losses.”

The Hezbollah leader touched on Israeli opinion polls regarding confidence in Israel as a state and in its army, highlighting that at least 30% of settlers believe that Israel is uninhabitable.

In this just-released video, Al-Quds Brigades fighters are seen sniping an Israeli soldier from the engineering unit east of Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/ug3wblXi1t

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 14, 2024

The Hezbollah chief considered that the “real achievement” is the failure of Israel, backed by the West, to retrieve its captives or achieve any form of victory, not to mention its inability to protect its ships from missiles launched from thousands of kilometers away.

Nasrallah added that the “image of deterrence” within the Israeli occupation entity is declining, especially after Iran’s Operation True Promise.

In the same context, he mentioned that senior Israeli generals say that Netanyahu, through his insistence on war, “is leading us to the abyss,” noting that Israelis also speak of “daily attrition in Gaza, in the support fronts, and in the economy.”

He added that Israel fears withdrawing from Gaza because that would mean its defeat, which comprises a “disaster” for the entity, indicating that the Israeli leadership “has no vision for the day after the war.”

In light of this, Nasrallah asserted that the Israeli occupation “has hit a brick and is searching for any image of victory,” pointing out that “Netanyahu wants to invade Rafah to efface the image of defeat.”

As for the mediators’ proposal that Hamas agreed to, Nasrallah said that it surprised Netanyahu because it meant his defeat and victory for Hamas (because it fulfilled Hamas’ demands).

Therefore, “the Israeli occupation has two options, either return to the mediators’ document, which means defeat for Israel, or pursue the (war of) attrition,” he maintained.

The Resistance has succeeded in reorganizing its forces in northern Gaza, and it’s now repelling Israeli attacks at several fronts, including the Jabaliya and Zaytoun axes.

Meanwhile the battle in Rafah is intensifying, as Palestinian Resistance is targeting invading troops in… pic.twitter.com/zFkTexAcru

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 13, 2024

‘US Deception’

In a similar vein, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah spoke about the continued US support for the Israeli occupation in its war on Gaza, stressing that “even if the United States stops an arms deal bound for Israel, it will re-allow it as this constitutes an American deception because what is happening is nothing more than a tactical dispute between the United States and Israel.”

“These theatrics that we are witnessing nowadays should not deceive anyone, as Washington stands with Israel (no matter what),” he stressed.

Below are more highlights from Nasrallah’s speech. The translation below was provided by Hezbollah’s Telegram channel, and is used here without editorial intervention from the Palestine Chronicle. 

‘A Settled Matter Not Open for Discussion’

“I send greetings to the steadfast and brave fighters on all fronts, who are writing the finest scenes of heroism, courage, strength, determination, enthusiasm, and conviction.

“Greetings to the wounded fighters in all arenas, and I pray to Allah for their healing.

“The resistance is the cumulative result of the sacrifices of those who have passed, from martyrs and leaders, to the resistance fighters who are still on the covenant.

“Despite the blockade and difficult conditions, Syria still maintains its firm and steadfast position on the Palestinian cause.

“The resistance fighting today on the front is the cumulative result of the past, present, and future.

“Among the goals of the resistance in Gaza is to revive the Palestinian cause and remind of the rights of the Palestinian people.

“The scene of demonstrations in American and European universities bearing the name of Palestine was created by October 7th and what followed.

🔥 Hezbollah is burning Israeli fields to ashes in response to Israel dropping white phosphorus on Lebanon and burning olive trees. Lebanon has every right to defend itself. pic.twitter.com/8uImADOhsz

— Hadi Nasrallah (@HadiNasrallah) May 10, 2024

“The most significant scene that embodies the image of victory for the resistance is when the Israeli representative at the United Nations raised a photo of the leader Yahya Sinwar.

“The Arab rulers were about to sign the death papers of the Palestinian cause with the normalization step with the zionist enemy that was coming within months.

“Some Arab regimes and satellite channels are now promoting the enemy entity as the only democratic state in our region.

“The steadfastness of the Palestinians has forced the world to talk about a Palestinian state and has forced the hypocritical United States to speak about a Palestinian state.

“Israel’s image in the world is that of a killer of children and women, arrogant towards international laws and human and moral values.

“In the eighth month of the war on Gaza, there is a consensus in Israel on the failure to achieve the war’s objectives.

“One of the most significant results is that this entity admits it has not achieved victory, and 70% of Israel are demanding the resignation of the Chief of Staff.

“Opinion polls on confidence in the Israeli state as a state, and in the Israeli military, show that at least 30 percent say that this “state” cannot be lived in. 80 percent of those who left Israel say they will not return to it.

🚨 “We want to go back home” – Northern “israeli” residents demonstrate after being evacuated for months now.

This comes after Hezbollah has been crushing the “israeli” army. pic.twitter.com/GKJKBoodO4

— Shiaphobia Sticker (@ShiaphobiaLB) May 14, 2024

“Israel is incapable of protecting its entity and requires mobilization by the United States, Britain, and Arabs, yet it still fails to protect itself.

“After eight months, where has the deteriorating image of Israeli deterrence ended up?

“The real achievement is that Israel is incapable of protecting its ships from missiles coming from thousands of kilometers away.

“The real achievement today is that Israel is incapable of restoring the image of deterrence against the Palestinians, Yemenis, Lebanese, and Syrians.

“The war on Gaza today is the biggest battle the Palestinian people are fighting against the enemy state, which will emerge from the war in crisis.

“Blinken clearly expressed yesterday that Israel is in trouble. Senior Israeli generals also say that Netanyahu, by insisting on the war, is ‘dragging us into the abyss.’

“Israelis today are talking about daily attrition in Gaza, on the support fronts, and in the economy. 

“The Israeli fears withdrawing from Gaza because it would mean its defeat, which would be a disaster for it.

“Imagine that the leadership of a ‘state’ that has no vision for the next day.

“The Palestinian presence on the ground and internationally has enabled it to impose its terms, while Netanyahu is at a dead end and continues to fight because he is looking for a picture of victory, hence his insistence on invading Rafah.

“In order to get out of the image of defeat, Netanyahu wants to enter Rafah. Even if the zionist enemy enters Rafah, it does not mean that the resistance has ended and that the Palestinian people have abandoned the resistance.

“Instead of turning the tragedy in Gaza into a means to expose the enemy and hold Israel accountable for everything happening, some Arab zionists use it as a means to frustrate and blame the resistance.”

Gallant claimed that they got rid of half of Hezbollah’s fighters while the other half is hiding.

Sayyed Hassan’s response🤣: pic.twitter.com/e42CzbSlxd

— ✨Mina✨ (@lionne998) May 13, 2024

“American theatrics and some tactical disagreements between America and Israel should deceive no one, all these are methods of deception and hypocrisy practiced by the United States, as America stands with Israel.

“What happened at the United Nations and the International Court of Justice confirms American support for Israel and that its position has not changed.

“The mediator’s proposal surprised Netanyahu after Hamas agreed to it, because it means his defeat and victory for Hamas.

“Hamas’ acceptance of the Egyptian proposal and Netanyahu’s rejection of it, in contrast, is an admission of his fall and defeat.

“Al-Aqsa Flood exposed the lies and deception of the west.

“We estimate that the enemy has two options: returning to the mediators’ proposal, which means its defeat, or to remain in a state of continual attrition, imposing a war that will also prolong for them. In both cases, the resistance will be victorious.

“No matter the sacrifices today, this battle is historic and creates a true and historic achievement.

“The Lebanese support front continues quantitatively and qualitatively, imposing equations, and the linkage of this front with the Gaza front is a decisive matter that the Americans and French must realize. 

“Ask the residents of the north to understand what is happening on this front.

“The goal of the Lebanese front is to pressure (us) to stop the war in Gaza.

“We say to the settlers in the north, if you want a solution, go to your government and tell them to stop the war on Gaza.

“When we are masters of ourselves and not slaves, and when we possess elements of strength, we can impose our terms on the enemy.” 

(Al-Mayadeen, PC, RNN)

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Sayyed Nasrallah to Israelis: To return North, end war on Gaza

May 13, 2024

Source

Sayyed Nasrallah underlines that the continuation of the Lebanese Resistance’s operations and the Gaza front is “a settled matter not open for discussion.”

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, giving a speech on the eighth anniversary of the martyrdom of Commander Mustafa Badreddine. on Monday, May 13, 2024 (Al Mayadeen)

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah affirmed that the Lebanese front continues, in various forms and methods, its operations in support of the Resistance in the Gaza Strip and imposes its own rules of engagement.

In a speech delivered on the eighth anniversary of the martyrdom of Commander Mustafa Badreddine, Sayyed Nasrallah underlined that the continuation of the Lebanese Resistance’s operations and the Gaza front is “a settled matter not open for discussion.”

He stressed that the entire world “has accepted this fact,” adding that this is why the Americans conveyed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there is no solution for the Northern front without a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Resistance leader addressed the settlers in northern occupied Palestine, who are eager to return to their settlements, calling on them to pressure their government to end the aggression on the Gaza Strip.

‘Israel’ hits a brick

Sayyed Nasrallah explained that evaluating the results of the war requires assessing the battlefield and not relying on Israeli claims about victory, indicating that “there is a consensus on the failure in Israel.”

He also pointed out that even allies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mock him when he says he is “one step away from victory,” emphasizing that the issue “is not limited only to Israeli failure to achieve objectives but to more strategic losses.”

The Resistance leader touched on Israeli opinion polls regarding confidence in “Israel” as a “state” and in its army, highlighting that at least 30% of settlers believe that “Israel” is uninhabitable.

The Hezbollah chief considered that the “real achievement” is the failure of “Israel”, backed by the West, to retrieve its captives or achieve victory, not to mention its inability to protect its ships from missiles launched from thousands of kilometers away.

Sayyed Nasrallah added that the “image of deterrence” within the Israeli occupation entity is declining, especially after Iran’s Operation True Promise.

In the same context, he mentioned that senior Israeli generals say that Netanyahu, through his insistence on war, “is leading us to the abyss,” noting that Israelis also speak of “daily attrition in Gaza, in the support fronts, and in the economy.”

He added that “Israel” fears withdrawing from Gaza because that would mean its defeat, which comprises a disaster for the entity, indicating that the Israeli leadership “has no vision for the day after the war.”

In light of this, Sayyed Nasrallah asserted that the Israeli occupation is “facing a dead end and is searching for any image of victory,” pointing out that “Netanyahu wants to invade Rafah to escape the image of defeat.”

As for the mediators’ proposal that Hamas agreed to, Sayyed Nasrallah said that it surprised Netanyahu because it meant his defeat and victory for Hamas (because it fulfilled Hamas’ demands).

Therefore, “the Israeli occupation has two options, either return to the mediators’ document, which means defeat for Israel, or pursue the [war of] attrition,” he maintained.

‘US deception should not trick anyone’

In a different yet related context, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah spoke about the continued US support for the Israeli occupation in its war on Gaza, stressing that “even if the United States stops an arms deal bound for Israel, it will re-allow it as this constitutes an American deception because what is happening is nothing more than a tactical dispute between the United States and Israel.”

“These theatrics that we are witnessing nowadays should not deceive anyone, as Washington stands with Israel [no matter what],” he stressed.

Furthermore, Sayyed Nasrallah maintained that what happened at the United Nations and the International Court platforms confirms the US’ continuous, unabating support for “Israel” and that the US position has not changed at all. 

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Sayyed Nasrallah also pointed out that one of the most significant results of the war is “Israel’s” acknowledgment that it did not achieve victory, highlighting that 70% of Israeli settlers are demanding the resignation of the Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.

He also emphasized that Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the resilience of the people, and the images of the blood of children and women in Gaza and southern Lebanon have shown the true colors of “Israel”.

Sayyed Nasrallah reiterated that among the goals of the Palestinian Resistance and the Axis of Resistance declared since the beginning of Al-Aqsa Flood battles was to revive the Palestinian cause, remind the world of forgotten Palestine, and uphold the rights of its people inside the occupied territories and in the diaspora.

“The most important scene that reflects the victory of the Resistance is when the Israeli #UN delegate raised a picture of the leader Yahya al-Sinwar,” he maintained.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah: "The most important scene that reflects the victory of the Resistance is when the Israeli #UN delegate raised a picture of the leader Yahya al-Sinwar." https://t.co/5TABO82SXl

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 13, 2024

Sayyed Nasrallah pointed out that, since the start of Al-Aqsa Flood, the Palestinian cause is now the talk of the town worldwide, including at the United Nations, where most countries demand a ceasefire.

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah also touched on the protests taking place at universities in the United States and across Europe, confirming that these protests, bearing the name of Palestine, “are the fruit of October 7 and following events.”

#Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: "The protests in #American and #European universities in the name of #Palestine are the fruit of #October7 and following events." https://t.co/HcVg1NYG7L

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 13, 2024

He mentioned that some Arab rulers were about to sign the death certificate of the Palestinian cause through normalizing ties with the Israeli occupation, which was looming in the coming months.

He also noted that some Arab regimes and media outlets are now promoting the Israeli occupation entity as “the only democratic state” in the region.

US, EU hindering Syrian refugees return

On the internal Lebanese front, and specifically regarding the file of Syrian refugees, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General confirmed that there is a “consensus to address the issue,” explaining that the meeting of the Lebanese Parliament, next Wednesday, is “an opportunity to present practical proposals” to this end.

Sayyed Nasrallah pointed out that everyone is in favor of the return of Syrian refugees to their country, with the exception of some non-governmental organizations, which means that “the main obstacle standing in the way of the return of Syrian refugees to their country is the US along with the EU.”

In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah recalled his visit to Syria where he met, years ago, with the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, who encouraged the return of the refugees to al-Qusayr, stressing that “those who were preventing them from doing so were the EU-funded organizations.”

The Lebanese Resistance leader considered that “it is inevitable to communicate with the Syrian government to ensure the return of refugees,” stressing that a delegation must be formed to visit countries, such as the United States, in order to convince them of the need for their return.

He also called for “taking a Lebanese national stance to open the sea for the voluntary departure of Syrian refugees to Europe,” explaining that this is when the West and the EU “will rush to Lebanon and pay 20 billion dollars instead of one” to prevent so when such a decision is made.

“When we are our own masters and not slaves and we possess the elements of power, that is when we can impose our conditions on the enemy,” Sayyed Nasrallah affirmed.

He also emphasized that Syria is capable of getting back on its feet within a few years once the sanctions imposed on it are lifted.

Syria’s stance regarding Palestine firm, consistent

Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that they wanted to force Syria, through the global war waged on it, into the American grip or into a civil war, stressing that it had “come out of the war and still maintains its [original] position, despite the siege and the difficult conditions” imposed on it.

#Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: "#Syria, through the global war waged on it, was intended to fall into the #American grip or into a civil war, but it has surpassed the war and still maintains its [original] position." https://t.co/o7X3T2rMtd

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 13, 2024

The Lebanese Resistance leader also indicated that Damascus’ stance regarding the Palestinian cause is firm and consistent, affirming that the goal behind Hezbollah’s engagement in the war in Syria was to keep the country within the Axis of Resistance.

Regarding the occasion, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah confirmed that Martyr Sayyed Mustafa Badreddine deserved a medal for every walk of his life as a freedom fighter and a combatant, as a wounded individual, as a captive, as a commander, as an achiever, and as a martyr.

Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that Martyr Badreddine “is present across all battlefields, as is the case with all martyrs, especially the leaders,” explaining that the Resistance that is fighting today is “a cumulative result of the past and present leaders and fighters and those who will join in, any time in the future.”

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Israelis in the North seek to partition, become ‘State of Galilee’

May 9, 2024

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with heads of authorities in the North of occupied Palestine in November 2023. (Social media)

By Al Mayadeen English

During a meeting of “Israel’s” Conflict Zone Forum, the leaders of the Israeli northern settlements decided to announce the establishment of the State of Galilee and fully separate from “Israel”.

According to Israeli news website Walla!, the step is set to be announced on “Independence Day”. The media website explained that their decision was reached after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dismissive response to Benny Gantz’s inquiry about settlers returning home for the school year, saying, “What would happen if they return a few months after September 1?”

This latest action follows the forum members’ publication of protest advertisements in early April, where they publicly solicited bids to “locate the Israeli government.”

As cited by Israeli media, the ads read, “A public tender to locate a government in Israel!” and “The Conflict Zone Forum hereby invites proposals to be submitted to an alternative government in Israel as detailed in the tender documents.”

Most significant was the ad which depicted the extent of the despair of Israeli settlers on the border with Lebanon that reads:

“The full details of the tender can be found in the evacuated hotels and the accommodation apartments of the displaced throughout the country, with the business owners who collapsed in the north, in the dead tourism areas in the north, and in the offices of the authorities in the north.”

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In parallel with these claims, settlers from abandoned settlements in northern occupied Palestine are planning demonstrations on May 16 in al-Quds and Haifa, advocating against a political agreement with Hezbollah and calling for security to be brought back to their region through military means.

This comes in the context of the intensified and unprecedented operations carried out by the Lebanese Resistance in support of the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip.

Nasrallah’s terror balance that ‘Israel’ can’t confront: Israeli media

A new balance of terror has emerged in the North, one that “Israel” cannot live with even for a “single hour,” an op-ed published by Israeli newspaper Maariv on Tuesday said.

Avi Ashkenazi, the military correspondent of the newspaper, recalled in his piece the course of confrontation, the balance of combat, and the rules of engagement between Hezbollah and the occupation since before the withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

“Any solution in the North requires decision-makers in Israel to work on dismantling this balance of terror,” the author began by warning.

According to the Ashkenazi, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was able, before the Israeli withdrawal, and over the years, to create engagement rules in his favor in the “security belt in Lebanon,” where “he decided that every Israeli attack on a civilian target would lead to rocket fire on Kiryat Shmona and settlements in the Galilee,” and that the targets of the rocket launches varied between “open areas and inhibited ones.”

Later, this led to the debate within the occupation entity about the withdrawal to intensify, he said.

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GAZA LIVE BLOG: Rafah: 600,000 Children without Shelter | Hamas: Israel Will Leave Gaza | Israel Evacuates Military Site | UNRWA: Open Crossing – Day 215

May 8, 2024

Palestinian families are forced to evacuate the eastern and southern areas of Rafah. (Photo: via QNN)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff 

At least 35 Palestinians were killed and 129 wounded as Israeli forces carried out new massacres in the eastern and southern areas of Rafah. 

The United States reportedly suspended sending arms shipments to Israel, due to its failure to address our concerns regarding its plans to invade Rafah.

Al-Qassam Brigades and Al-Quds Brigades announced in a statement that they are engaged in fierce clashes with invading Israeli forces east of Rafah. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,844 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,404 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Click here for the previous blogs.

LATEST UPDATES

Wednesday, May 8, 01:30 am (GMT +2)

Hamas (Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the political bureau of Hamas):

Israel is not serious about reaching an agreement and is using negotiations as a cover to invade Rafah.

Netanyahu is trying to invent pretexts to evade negotiations and blames Hamas and the mediators.

Hamas’s approval of the mediators’ proposal confused Netanyahu and put him in trouble.

Hamas stands by its position regarding the proposal.

BIDEN:

If Israel enters Rafah, I will not provide it with the weapons historically used to deal with this problem.

We will not provide weapons and artillery shells to Israel.

Israel will not get our support if it enters the populated areas of Rafah.

The bombs that America gave to Israel have now been used to kill civilians.

AL-JAZEERA: Heavy Israeli shelling targeted the Al-Sabra neighborhood south of Gaza City.

‘I Held on to My Husband’ – Cancer Patients in Gaza Die from War and Siege

By Abdallah Aljamal – Gaza “I held on to my husband, and told him he was everything for me, that I didn’t want to lose him.” Cancer patients from Gaza, including children, have been systematically … Continue reading‘I Held on to My Husband’ – Cancer Patients in Gaza Die from War and Siege Palestine Chronicle

Wednesday, May 8, 12:50 am (GMT +2)

HAARETZ: Clashes took place between families of captives in Gaza and Israeli police officers at a Tel Aviv demonstration demanding an exchange deal.

UNICEF: 600,000 Palestinian children are seeking shelter in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, some of whom have been displaced several times, exhausted, traumatized, sick and hungry.

With Full Knowledge – Israel Found to Use US Weapons to Kill Health Workers in Lebanon

By Robert Inlakesh On March 27, Israel carried out a missile strike in the Southern Lebanese town of Hebbariyeh, hitting an ambulance center. An analysis of shrapnel from the scene of an Israeli attack that … Continue readingWith Full Knowledge – Israel Found to Use US Weapons to Kill Health Workers in Lebanon Palestine Chronicle

Tuesday, May 7, 11:00 pm (GMT +2)

FORMER ISRAELI CHIEF OF STAFF: Former Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said that stopping the war on the Gaza Strip is the only way to return Israeli prisoners held by the Resistance.

ISRAELI ARMY: An Israeli soldier was injured as a result of a shell fired by the resistance in the Kerem Shalom area in the southern Gaza Strip.

FREE UNIVERSITY OF BRUSSELS: The Free University of Brussels decided to stop a technological research project with Israeli partners, and to review all other projects with Israeli participation.

HEZBOLLAH: We targeted “with artillery shells a force of Israeli enemy soldiers in the vicinity of the Ramia site, and we achieved a direct hit.”

ISRAELI ARMY: An Israeli soldier was injured as a result of a shell fired by the resistance in the Kerem Shalom area in the southern Gaza Strip.

FORMER ISRAELI CHIEF OF STAFF: Former Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said that stopping the war on the Gaza Strip is the only way… pic.twitter.com/MuJT6dqIui

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024

Tuesday, May 7, 10:00 pm (GMT +2)

KAN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office is working on a draft law proposal with the ultra-Orthodox parties, bypassing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Defense Council Minister Benny Gantz.

ISRAELI MEDIA: Netanyahu backed down from showing flexibility in exchange negotiations.

UNRWA: The crossings must be opened, and humanitarian aid must flow.

HAMAS: The probability of the occupation remaining in the Gaza Strip is zero.

CHANNEL 14: Israeli occupation army evacuated a temporary military site on the Gaza envelope, fearing that resistance elements would infiltrate it.

‘Manipulative Trap’ – Smotrich Slams Decision to Send Negotiation Team to Cairo

By Palestine Chronicle Staff   “You must not give in to international pressure and you must not stop until victory and the submission of the enemy,” Smotrich said. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said … Continue reading‘Manipulative Trap’ – Smotrich Slams Decision to Send Negotiation Team to Cairo Palestine Chronicle

Tuesday, May 7, 9:00 pm (GMT +2)

ISRAELI ARMY: Gaza is one of the most difficult battlefields in the world.

CHANNEL 13 (quoting Israeli official): Netanyahu does not enable us to advance negotiations on the swap deal.

BRITISH PM: We will not change our position on arms export licenses to Israel.

‘Sort of a Precaution’ – US Lawmakers Prepare Sanctions against ICC over Israel

By Palestine Chronicle Staff   US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has confirmed that the bill is being drafted. US House Republicans are developing a bill to impose sanctions on officials from … Continue reading‘Sort of a Precaution’ – US Lawmakers Prepare Sanctions against ICC over Israel Palestine Chronicle

Tuesday, May 7, 8:00 pm (GMT +2)

CNN: Tel Aviv asked Washington to put pressure on Hamas and not on Israel.

HAMAS: We demand that the occupation’s crimes be documented and submitted to the criminal court.

Rafah Under Attack – Scores of Civilians Killed, Resistance Fights Back

By Palestine Chronicle Staff   Scores of Palestinians were killed and others were injured, in the intense Israeli occupation bombardment on various areas of the Gaza Strip. According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, … Continue readingRafah Under Attack – Scores of Civilians Killed, Resistance Fights Back Palestine Chronicle

Tuesday, May 7, 6:30 pm (GMT +2)

WALLA (quoting Israeli sources): The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hid medical markings on an ambulance that had been accompanying Netanyahu’s convoy since he suffered a heart attack last month, in order to make it look like a regular civilian car.

WALLA (quoting Israeli sources): The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hid medical markings on an ambulance that had been accompanying Netanyahu’s convoy since he suffered a heart attack last month, in order to make it look like a regular civilian car.

FOLLOW… pic.twitter.com/UYg8TC6EYB

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024

UNRWA: Protest by Israeli extremists in front of our headquarters in Jerusalem is “intimidation and sabotage”.

NETANYAHU’S SPOKESMAN: The seizure of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip by the Israeli army does not violate the peace treaty between Tel Aviv and Cairo.

UNRWA: The agency’s buildings in Gaza were subjected to 368 Israeli attacks.

ISRAELI ARMY RADIO: Iron Dome was unable to intercept rockets launched by the Resistance from Gaza towards Shlomi.

ISRAELI ARMY RADIO: Iron Dome was unable to intercept rockets launched by the Resistance from Gaza towards Shlomi.

FOLLOW OUR LIVE BLOG https://t.co/ZDwPJ9VCba pic.twitter.com/UQzxl0wYlh

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024

AUSTIN: We are absolutely committed to Israel’s right to defend itself.

FORMER MOSSAD CHIEF: There is no meaning to fighting in Rafah after all these days since the start of the war.

CHANNEL 13: Eight rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip towards Shlomi in the Eshkol Regional Council in the Gaza Strip.

HEZBOLLAH: We carried out an attack with assault marches on the headquarters of the newly created Western Brigade in Ya’ra, and a direct hit was achieved.

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN: Carrying out an Israeli ground military operation in Rafah destabilizes the entire region. There are no prospects yet for resolving the situation in the Gaza Strip, and the conflict in the region is escalating daily.

‘Sleeping without Fear’ – Gazans React to Hamas’ Acceptance of Ceasefire Proposal

By Abdallah Aljamal – Gaza The Palestine Chronicle spoke with residents of Gaza to know their view about the proposal and Hamas’ decision. The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas announced on Monday its acceptance of a … Continue reading‘Sleeping without Fear’ – Gazans React to Hamas’ Acceptance of Ceasefire Proposal Palestine Chronicle

Tuesday, May 7, 5:00 pm (GMT +2)

ISRAELI ARMY RADIO: Summer will be hot on the Lebanese border.

WASHINGTON DC POLICE CHIEF: 33 people were arrested during the dispersal of the George Washington group sit-in.

‘Unusual’ – US Postpones Arms Shipment to Israel but Pledges ‘Ironclad Commitment’

By Palestine Chronicle Staff   If intentional, this pause on the JDAMs would mark a significant policy shift since the onset of the current war. The US administration of Joe Biden administration has postponed the … Continue reading‘Unusual’ – US Postpones Arms Shipment to Israel but Pledges ‘Ironclad Commitment’ Palestine Chronicle

US OFFICIAL (to Al-Jazeera): Washington’s position on Rafah has not changed, and a broad operation must not be launched.

UNRWA: We did not receive aid or fuel through the Rafah crossing.

NBC (citing Israeli official). There is deep frustration in the Israeli government with the American decision to halt the arms shipment.

Tuesday, May 7, 4:15 pm (GMT +2)

GAZA STRIP CROSSINGS AUTHORITY: The Gaza Strip Crossings Authority denied Israel’s claims that it had reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing, south of the Strip, for the entry of aid.

AL-JAZEERA: About 200 European Union employees demonstrated in the Belgian capital, Brussels, against the Union’s policies towards the Gaza Strip.

‘A Form of Occupation’ – Palestinian Groups Reject Any Foreign Control of Rafah Crossing

By Palestine Chronicle Staff   Palestinian groups have strongly rejected any foreign party controlling the Rafah border of the Gaza Strip, following reports that an American security company will be in charge of the crossing. … Continue reading‘A Form of Occupation’ – Palestinian Groups Reject Any Foreign Control of Rafah Crossing Palestine Chronicle

AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades announced the bombing of Israeli occupation forces’ concentrations at the “Kerem Shalom Military Site” with a 114 mm short-range “Rajoum” missile system.

Tuesday, May 7, 2:45 pm (GMT +2)

GAZA GOVERNMENT MEDIA OFFICE: A third mass grave was found inside the Shifa Medical Complex and 49 bodies were recovered.

AL-JAZEERA: Six workers were injured by occupation fire at the Kerem Shalom crossing.

AL-QUDS BRIGADES: We bombed with heavy-caliber mortar shells Israeli occupation soldiers and vehicles penetrating the vicinity of the airport, east of the city of Rafah.

GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY: 34,844 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,404 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

FOLLOW OUR LIVE BLOG https://t.co/ZDwPJ9VCba pic.twitter.com/irvgHkWzyz

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024

ISRAELI ARMY: 3,361 Israeli soldiers have been injured since the start of the war on Gaza.

GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY: 34,844 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,404 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

US MEDIA: Metropolitan Police began evacuating a pro-Palestinian camp at George Washington University at dawn today.

Tuesday, May 7, 1:30 pm (GMT +2)

AL-JAZEERA: Rockets were launched from southern Lebanon towards the Israeli monk site in the Upper Galilee.

ISRAELI MEDIA: The Israeli army is investigating the downing of its drone in Kfar Saba, between Jaffa and Tulkarm.

HEZBOLLAH: We targeted two buildings used by Israeli army soldiers in the Hanita settlement.

In this video, Al-Quds Brigades fighters are seen bombarding Israeli soldiers and vehicles with mortar shells in the axes of advance east of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

FOLLOW OUR LIVE BLOG https://t.co/ZDwPJ9VCba pic.twitter.com/XWztFIvRdB

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: The death toll from the Israeli bombing on the Al-Qara family’s home in the Khuza’a area, east of Khan Yunis, has risen to three.

Tuesday, May 7, 12:30 pm (GMT +2)

HEZBOLLAH: We targeted a building used by Israeli soldiers in the Metulla settlement, and two other buildings in the Shlomi settlement in the Upper Galilee.

YEDIOTH AHRONOTH: The Israeli army downplayed the US administration’s suspension of an arms shipment following an Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip this week, saying that the two allied parties resolve any disputes “behind closed doors.”

Tuesday, May 7, 11:30 am (GMT +2)

PALESTINIAN FACTIONS: We will not accept the imposition of any guardianship over the Rafah crossing or any other party, and we consider this an occupation.

CHANNEL 13: An anti-tank missile hit a house in the town of Metulla.

PALESTINIAN MEDICAL SOURCES: The bodies of 35 Palestinians and 129 wounded arrived at Kuwait Hospital in Rafah within 24 hours.

FOLLOW OUR LIVE BLOG https://t.co/ZDwPJ9Wa0I pic.twitter.com/IPbKtwmDir

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024

PALESTINIAN MEDICAL SOURCES: The bodies of 35 Palestinians and 129 wounded arrived at Kuwait Hospital in Rafah within 24 hours.

IRANIAN FM: Conditions are ripe for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Tuesday, May 7, 10:00 am (GMT +2)

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: The attack on Rafah will have catastrophic effects on more than a million people.

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: The attack on Rafah will have catastrophic effects on more than a million people.

FOLLOW OUR LIVE BLOG https://t.co/ZDwPJ9VCba pic.twitter.com/1WzYBjUf45

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024

KEREM SHALOM: Kerem Shalom crossing reopened for the entry of humanitarian aid after it was closed.

QATARI FM: Qatar strongly condemns the bombing of Rafah and calls for preventing its invasion.

AL-QUDS BRIGADES: We are engaged in fierce clashes east of Rafah.

MAARIV: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich submitted a petition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop delaying legislation on the use of Palestinian Authority funds held by Israel .

ISRAELI MEDIA: Instructions were issued to farmers in the Gaza Strip not to go out to work in the areas adjacent to the border fence.

Tuesday, May 7, 09:00 am (GMT +2)

BEN-GVIR: The demolition of dozens of homes in the Negev is an important step towards restoring governance.

AL-JAZEERA: Occupation forces begin demolishing dozens of Palestinian homes in the Naqab (Negev).

AL-JAZEERA: Occupation forces begin demolishing dozens of Palestinian homes in the Naqab (Negev).

AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: Our fighters are engaged in fierce clashes with the Israeli enemy forces penetrating east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

FOLLOW OUR LIVE BLOG… pic.twitter.com/C93ZyDYkz2

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024

AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: Our fighters are engaged in fierce clashes with the Israeli enemy forces penetrating east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

UNRWA: UNRWA called for the reopening of Gaza crossings without any delay, noting that vital supplies and fuel are entered through them.

ISRAELI MEDIA: Dozens of prisoners’ families are closing the main Ayalon axis in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to return their children.

Tuesday, May 7, 08:00 am (GMT +2)

AL-JAZEERA: An Israeli air strike targeted the vicinity of the destroyed Gaza Airport, east of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: A woman was killed and a number of injured in an Israeli artillery shelling that targeted the town of Khuza’a, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

AL-JAZEERA: An Israeli air strike targeted the vicinity of the destroyed Gaza Airport, east of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: A woman was killed and a number of injured in an Israeli artillery shelling that targeted the town of Khuza'a, east of… pic.twitter.com/9dfg0CjEgN

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024

AFP (citing US official): We suspended sending an arms shipment to Israel of 1,800 1,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs. Suspending the shipment of weapons to Israel due to its failure to address our concerns regarding its plans to invade Rafah.

Tuesday, May 7, 05:00 am (GMT +2)

NBC (citing US officials): American, Qatari and Egyptian negotiators are trying in Cairo to resolve various disagreements regarding the ceasefire deal.

AXIOS (citing American source): Republican representatives are preparing legislation targeting international criminal officials.

Tuesday, May 7, 03:00 am (GMT +2)

WASHINGTON POST (quoting US official): The move by the administration of US President Joe Biden to postpone two arms shipments to Israel confirms Washington’s fears about the Rafah attack.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: An Israeli raid and artillery shelling in the center and north of the Gaza Strip.

Tuesday, May 7, 02:00 am (GMT +2)

REUTERS (citing informed source): CIA Director William Burns will travel to Israel on Wednesday to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials.

REUTERS (citing informed source): CIA Director William Burns will travel to Israel on Wednesday to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials.

FOLLOW OUR LIVE BLOG https://t.co/ZDwPJ9VCba pic.twitter.com/E7Se8Ow24J

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024

BRITISH DEPUTY FOREIGN SECRETARY: Israel’s attack on Rafah would violate international law and would not lead to the elimination of Hamas.

Tuesday, May 7, 01:00 am (GMT +2)

MARTIN GRIFFITHS: Martin Griffiths said that Israeli evacuation orders in Rafah and the ground operation will lead to more death and displacement.

REUTERS (quoting informed sources): The administration of US President Joe Biden will not submit its report to Congress on whether Israel is violating international law in Gaza on time.

BLINKEN: Blinken condemns “extremist attacks” on aid heading from Jordan to Gaza.

Tuesday, May 7, 12:00 am (GMT +2)

YEDIOTH AHRONOTH: CIA Director William Burns will arrive in Israel tomorrow, Wednesday, to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad Chief David Barnea to discuss a possible deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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To Israel’s horror, Hamas brings ‘two-state solution’ back into focus

MAY 2, 2024

Source

A Cradle Contributor

Not only has Israel failed to defeat Hamas, but it is being dragged into discussions on Palestinian statehood, which its Gaza genocide has put back onto the international agenda.

After seven months of a brutal military assault on Gaza, it is abundantly clear that Israel has not succeeded in eradicating Hamas. Instead of delivering a decisive military victory, the occupation state finds itself being drawn kicking and screaming into negotiations over a two-state solution. 

Withstanding the impracticality of establishing a genuinely independent, sovereign Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip, this scenario is becoming increasingly likely despite long-standing opposition from the Israeli government. It is an extraordinary development, particularly as Tel Aviv’s strategy, as articulated by foreign policy advisor Ophir Falk, was mainly to “destroy Hamas” and its military and governance capabilities entirely.

Today, the two-state option is frantically being resuscitated in Washington, of all places, and by stalwart allies of Tel Aviv.

Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel and staunch supporter of the occupation state, argues in Foreign Affairs magazine that far from being “dead,” the two-state solution now looks to be the only reasonable game in town:

“The reason for this revival is not complicated. There are, after all, only a few possible alternatives to the two-state solution. There is Hamas’ solution, which is the destruction of Israel. There is the Israeli ultra-right’s solution, which is the Israeli annexation of the West Bank, the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and the deportation of Palestinians to other countries. There is the ‘conflict management’ approach pursued for the last decade or so by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which aimed to maintain the status quo indefinitely – and the world has seen how that worked out. And there is the idea of a binational state in which Jews would become a minority, thus ending Israel’s status as a Jewish state. None of those alternatives would resolve the conflict – at least not without causing even greater calamities. And so if the conflict is to be resolved peacefully, the two-state solution is the only idea left standing.“

Disarmament for statehood? 

In widely publicized comments last week, Khalil al-Hayya, deputy head of Hamas in Gaza, has appeared to endorse the 1967 borders for a future Palestinian state explicitly. 

In a recent interview with AP, Hayya spoke of “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the return of Palestinian Authority (PA) in accordance with the international resolutions” along Israel’s pre-1967 borders.

Most significantly, though, he hinted that the resistance movement’s military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, could potentially dissolve itself and/or fold its cadres into a Palestinian national army:

“All the experiences of people who fought against occupiers, when they became independent and obtained their rights and their state, what have these forces done? They have turned into political parties and their defending fighting forces have turned into the national army.“

Instead of embracing these possibilities, Falk dismissed Hayya as a “high-ranking terrorist” and sought to redirect the conversation back to intransigent Israeli demands: 

“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government set a mission to destroy Hamas’ military and governing capabilities in Gaza, free the hostages, and ensure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel and the rest of the civilized world in the future,” he said, adding, “Those goals will be achieved.”

Diplomacy in Doha and Istanbul 

Although Hayya emphasized that his views are aligned with Hamas’ historical positions, as articulated by the resistance movement’s spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, in 1998 and reiterated in its 2017 charter of general principles and policies, his public statements highlight the immense political pressures faced by Hamas, notably from political allies Qatar and Turkiye. 

These pressures aim to foster high-level international and regional talks that could potentially end the conflict and establish ‘permanent stability.’ As with any negotiation, there are essential questions to address: Who will have the authority to enforce these terms? What limitations will be imposed? These are critical issues for Palestinians besieged in Gaza and for their broader cause – as well as for Al-Qassam and the entire resistance.

Behind the scenes, both Qatar and Turkiye have been instrumental in shaping Hamas’ new diplomatic approach. The movement’s external leaders, including Khaled Meshal and Ismail Haniyeh, have participated in discussions facilitated by both countries in Doha and Istanbul. 

Earlier this month, in a joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was explicitly supportive, also highlighting the west’s positive stance toward intensifying peace efforts based on the two-state solution.

“In our political talks with Hamas for years, they have accepted a Palestinian state to be established within the 1967 borders,” Fidan told reporters. 

“They have told me that following the establishment of the Palestinian state, Hamas would no longer need an armed wing and they would continue as a political party,” he added.

The ball is in Israel’s court 

Although Israel’s western allies have long sought to exclude Hamas from any and all Palestinian processes, it has become abundantly clear that Gaza’s military leadership, particularly Al-Qassam Brigades, is set to play a crucial role in any negotiation process. 

This is an extraordinary victory of sorts for Hamas, which has successfully managed to insert itself into future deliberations, not only on Gaza but Palestine as a whole. The movement’s tactical decision to endorse the 1967 borders not only aims to position Hamas as a credible negotiator but also strategically corners the far-right coalition government of Benjamin Netanyahu. 

By signaling willingness to demilitarize in exchange for statehood, Hamas aims to place the onus on Tel Aviv, toying with the inherent vulnerability of its coalition government and potentially precipitating its collapse. This move not only improves Hamas’ leverage in any forthcoming negotiations but, ironically, also aligns with the US interests in seeing regime change in Israel. 

It is clear that Hamas has – whether out of conviction, under pressure, or as a wily tactic – become a necessary partner in broader and long-term political negotiations concerning the future of Palestine and the region. 

Over the years, the movement has itself been compelled to engage in several rounds of indirect negotiations with Israel, most notably at the end of the first decade of the millennium when Hamas was still based in Damascus. That was part of a larger regional effort spurred by Ankara to rejuvenate the peace process. 

Twenty-six years ago, Khaled Meshaal met with former US President Jimmy Carter in Damascus during the latter’s nine-day West Asia tour aimed at breaking the deadlock between Israel and Hamas early in their governance of Gaza. 

The Palestinian resistance movement enjoyed considerable leeway for political maneuvering due to the geopolitical climate at the time. Carter reported that Hamas expressed willingness to accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders if agreed upon by the Palestinians and acknowledged Israel’s right to exist peacefully as a neighboring state. 

Compelling Israel to do Hamas’ will 

But today, Hamas’ renewed strength comes from two main factors:  the relentless, unified military pushback by the region’s Axis of Resistance in support of their Palestinian allies and unprecedented global condemnation of Israel’s Gaza genocide – both sharply impacting and confounding Tel Aviv’s initial, over-confident war objectives. 

Rather than defeating Hamas, Israel now finds itself on the back foot, engaging in negotiations that center around the one outcome it had least expected – that of a two-state solution. 

Tel Aviv’s disturbing dilemma also showcases the political acumen of Hamas and the Palestinian resistance, who recognized the utility of hard power in achieving political ends rather than as an end in itself – in sharp contrast to Israel’s approach throughout this conflict. 

The fact that, seven months after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Hamas retains its array of capabilities signifies not only the abject failure of Israel’s military and political objectives but also an unexpected humbling of Tel Aviv. Israel, today, is being forced into negotiations on Palestinian statehood that it has assiduously avoided for 30 long years. 

This shift is undoubtedly energized by the unprecedented US student protest movement and other anti-colonial voices around the world, adding a global dimension to the local struggle. These developments are yet another ace in the hand for Hamas and another nail in the coffin for Israeli leverage.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.

Hamas to mull latest ceasefire proposal with other factions

April 30, 2024

Source: Agencies

Palestinian demonstrators wave their national flag during a protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday, January 3, 2024 (AP)

By Al Mayadeen English

The Hamas Resistance movement announces that its delegation is returning to Gaza from Cairo to discuss the latest ceasefire proposal presented during the negotiations.

Hamas announced that its negotiating delegation in Cairo is heading back home for consultations regarding the ceasefire proposal presented to the Resistance movement by the mediators.

Hamas sent a letter to the remainder of the Palestinian Resistance factions regarding the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Cairo adding that the Qatari and Egyptian mediators explained the details of the latest proposal.

The Hamas leadership on Monday informed the Palestinian resistance factions in a letter regarding the Cairo negotiations that its delegation traveled to Cairo and conducted consultations and inquiries about several issues related to the latest offer presented to it.

Egyptian media had reported that the Hamas delegation left Cairo and is to return again with a written response to the ceasefire proposal in Gaza.

The delegation listened to clarifications and observations from the Egyptian and Qatari mediators about the details of the latest proposals, the letter said, adding that it would leave Cairo to continue consultations after clarifying and inquiring about the proposal.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed Monday at the World Economic Forum in the Saudi capital of Riyadh that the Israeli occupation has given the Palestinian Resistance a “very generous” offer to release the Israeli captives, which could potentially lead to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) politburo member Ihsan Ataya told Al Mayadeen on Monday that the proposal presented to the Resistance in the negotiations is not as generous as the Americans, who are trying to deceive the world, are making it out to be.

“The proposed offer has major loopholes and malicious plots,” Ataya stressed. “The proposal presented is three and a half pages long and talks about details in three stages,” he revealed.

US officials claim that they are committed to securing a ceasefire deal and ending the Israeli war on Gaza due to it obstructing President Joe Biden’s vision for a post-war Middle East – not due to the countless massacred civilians and Israeli violations of international law.

The US is eyeing normalization between the Israeli occupation and Saudi Arabia, which Riyadh has ironically been massively hinging on a solution to the Palestinian issue, which in turn cannot start without a ceasefire in Gaza. 

About two weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration was trying to conclude a diplomatic deal aimed at pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize a Palestinian state in exchange for normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia.

A source in the Saudi royal family told Makan that the ball was now in Netanyahu’s court, and he must choose between peace with Saudi Arabia and solving the Palestinian issue or continuing the conflict with the Palestinians without peace with Saudi Arabia.

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War on Gaza

Gaza destroyed by ‘Israel’ more than German cities in WWII: Borrell

24 Apr 2024 

Source: News websites

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a debate on Iran’s retaliatory strike against “Israel”, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP)

By Al Mayadeen English

The top EU chief highlights that 35% of Gaza is now fully destroyed as he calls on “Israel” to “respect international law.”

The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, compared yesterday between Gaza now and Germany during World War II, saying that “Israel” has exposed areas in the Gaza Strip to greater destruction than that dealt to cities in Germany back in the 1940s. 

During his speech at a plenary session of the European Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg, Borrell cited the climbing casualties of the war on Gaza, saying, “I can say that more than 60% of the physical infrastructure has been damaged, and 35% fully destroyed.”

“The cities in Gaza have been more destroyed than the German cities during the Second World War – just imagine the comparison,” he noted, highlighting the “killing of 249 humanitarian workers and around 100 journalists in Israeli attacks on Gaza.”

It has been confirmed by the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) that at least 140 journalists in Gaza have been killed since October 7.

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Borrell sees that “Israel must respect international law, implement the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures, ensure the protection of all civilians, and allow humanitarian workers to do their lifesaving job without being targeted.”

Read more: In controversial statement, Borrell claims ‘Israel’ ‘created’ Hamas

Last month, Borrell condemned Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and called on “Israel” to allow land deliveries of food as soon as possible.

“Before the war, Gaza was the greatest open-air prison. Today it is the greatest open-air graveyard,” he chillingly said.

Even though Borrell has been more outspoken and critical of “Israel” and its plans alongside the US, it’s noteworthy that the European Union and the United States have been the main allies of “Israel” in its ongoing genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza. Both entities possess the potential to exert pressure on “Israel”, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid.

Palestinians have expressed doubt regarding the EU and US plans, fearing that such moves could be a prelude to international military presence on Palestinian soil and to the expulsion of Palestinians under different pretexts. 

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War on Gaza

SHOCKWAVES TO SHATTERED DEFENSES: THE MYTH OF ISRAELI SUPREMACY CRUMBLES

APRIL 24TH, 2024

Source

Syed Hasan Hasan

It’s difficult to overestimate the importance of the operation launched by Hamas and factions of the Palestinian Resistance on October 7, which forever annihilated the prestige of the Israeli army. Yet the strikes launched by Iran on April 13 and 14 are also truly historic.

For the first time, the backbone of the Axis of Resistance targeted Israel directly from its territory, launching the largest missile attack ever recorded against Israel and the largest drone attack in history. We have entered a whole new phase in the Arab-Israeli and Persian-Israeli conflict, and this is the final one as all the taboos have now been broken, and new equations have been established.

Israel’s deterrence capacity no longer exists. Since October 7, Hamas, Hezbollah, Ansar Allah and the Iraqi Resistance have shattered it. Still, these were Resistance movements, not a State with much more to lose. This direct action by Iran is all the more significant as Israel has been threatening to bomb Iran for decades without ever daring to do so, while Iran very quickly carried out its threats.

Iran launched its strike despite U.S. and Western threats, demonstrating unparalleled courage and a readiness to enter into a regional war and directly threatening the United States and its Arab vassals in the region with direct strikes in the event of interference. This audacity foiled the bluff of the Biden administration, which officially declared that it would not support an Israeli response from which it disassociated itself in advance.

Iran’s military prowess was clearly demonstrated. Despite the fact that this attack was known in advance and that the capabilities – both aviation and anti-missile defenses of no less than five military powers directly assisting Israel (the United States, Great Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and Jordan) were unable to stop Iran from striking Israeli territory. Israel’s defense systems were saturated, sirens sounded from north to south for hours, and yet at least twenty direct hits were recorded.

Iran demonstrated its moral superiority. It strictly applied Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which authorizes the use of force in self-defense, targeted only military targets (two air bases that were destroyed according to Iran and damaged according to Israel), and gave advance warning of its strike, which enabled the countries affected to close their airspace, thus protecting the civilian airliners that Israel had been endangering for days by massively jamming GPS signals throughout the region.

Finally, as Marwa Osman put it, the failure of Israel’s five layers of defense was compensated for by a sixth layer of media defense, with journalists repeating that Israel and its allies were able to intercept 99% of the projectiles. Given the impacts recorded, this would mean that Iran fired 1,000 to 2,000 drones and missiles, whereas all the Western data puts the figure below 500; the aim of this deceit was obviously to allow Israel to save face and enable it to claim victory as it supposedly was able to intercept 99% of the projectiles.

Sayed Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said in 2007,

“Those who make threats should have realized that military threats or attacks against Iran – in the sense of hit-and-run attacks – are no longer possible. Those who invade us will have to suffer from the devastating consequences of their actions.“

While his statement has been mocked many times, particularly given the numerous Israeli attacks on Iranian bases in Syria that have cost the lives of many members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with relative impunity, no one today doubts the seriousness of this assertion. When its territory is hit, as was the case with the blatant Israeli strike against its consulate in Damascus, the aggressor is hit directly. And from now on, as Hossein Salami, the Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, stated following Iran’s attack, any open attack against Iranian interests will be met with the same retribution,

“We have established a new equation with the Zionist entity, responding directly from Iranian territory to any aggression on its part against Iranian interests, property, personalities and citizens in any part of the world. We have opened a new chapter in the confrontation with the enemy.“

This is a truly tectonic shift in the equations of power and deterrence. Those who play down the importance of the attack ignore its long-term political and strategic significance, which is in line with Iran’s vision, shared by the entire Axis of Resistance, of the form, scale and timing of the struggle against Israel. As Fadi Quran, the Campaign Director of Avaaz, pointed out following the attack,

The scale of Iran’s attack, the diversity of locations it targeted, and weapons it used forced Israel to uncover the majority of anti-missile technologies the U.S. and it have across the region. The Iranians did not use any weapons Israel didn’t know it had; it just used a lot of them. But the Iranians likely now have almost a full map of what Israel’s missile defense system looks like, as well as where in Jordan and the Gulf the U.S. has installations. It also knows how long it takes to prepare them, how Israeli society responds…etc.

“This is a huge strategic cost to Israel, while Arab regimes are now being blasted by their peoples, particularly the Jordanian monarchy, for not doing anything to protect Gazans but then going all out to protect Israel. Crucially, Iran can now reverse engineer all the intel gathered from this attack to make a much more deadly one credible. While the U.S. and Israel will have to re-design away from their current model which has been compromised. Its success in stopping this choreographed attack is thus still very costly.”

While Israel proved barely capable of defending itself, at an exorbitant cost of over a billion dollars no less, against an attack that was limited in scope, lacked the element of surprise and cost Iran a measly 35 million dollars, there is little doubt in anyone’s mind that in the event of a regional war, Israel’s defense capabilities would quickly be saturated, leaving its territory devastated and its population decimated. The Israeli population is now clearly aware of this, and the depopulation process that has already cost it hundreds of thousands of nationals since October 7 is only set to increase.

For their part, the Palestinian people, abandoned by the world and Arab regimes in particular, were able to enjoy a brief respite. Gaza experienced its first hours of calm since October 7 during this unforgettable night. Palestinians were able to let their joy burst forth when they saw the epic images of the Iranian missiles flying over the Knesset and the Al-Aqsa mosque before striking the hearts of those responsible for their mass slaughter.

Not unlike the psychological shock of October 7, that of the night of April 13 will forever be engraved in people’s consciences. It will galvanize the Resistance while speeding up the process of “reverse migration” of Israeli settlers who have lived through a night of terror and nightmare and are now convinced that their army is incapable of protecting them.

With the senseless act of attacking the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Netanyahu sought to escape the inevitable reality of the bitter military failure of the army of occupation, despite six months of genocide and destruction, and to restore Israel’s illusion of power. The result is the opposite of what he likely expected, with Israel weaker and more isolated than ever.

Israel now has only one choice: to end the war in Gaza or go forward with a suicidal escalation that will set the region ablaze. The United States has clearly announced its desire to calm tensions and reach a ceasefire. The question now is whether Netanyahu’s instinct for self-preservation (his political survival) will take over the general interest. This scenario would put the very existence of Israel at risk.

Editor’s Note: The author of this article has chosen to publish under a pseudonym. This decision stems from residing in a European country where expressing criticism of Israel has become increasingly challenging. Sadly, governmental crackdowns on activism have compelled the author and others to take this precaution to safeguard their ability to contribute to public discourse. We believe it is crucial to respect their decision while valuing the insights and perspectives they offer in their writing.

Families of Israeli Captives Mark 200 Days of War

 April 23, 2024

Families of Israelis held in the Gaza Strip hold up their hands, painted red, in Tel Aviv (Tuesday, April 23, 2024 / photo by Times of Israel).

Middle East – News – Top – Zionist entity

Families of Israeli captives held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip hold a protest in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to mark 200 days of their sons being held captive.

The families and their supporters paint their hands red and hold them up to the sky, calling on the Israeli government to act to secure the release of at least 133 captives still held in the besieged enclave.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli protesters gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence to mark the first night of Jewish Passover.

Later in the night, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the gates of Netanyahu’s house in Caesarea and call out Netanyahu’s leadership out.

Protesters outside PM Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea call for a hostage release deal (April 22, 2024).

Israeli protesters set fire to a symbolic Passover table and chanted slogans calling for Israeli captives to be released.

The Jewish holiday of Passover began across the Zionist entity on Monday evening.

As protesters gathered near Netanyahu’s residence on Monday, some 500 members of the Kibbutz Be’eri held a Passover Seder(dinner) in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.

Passover event for families of Israeli captives at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv (April 22, 2024).

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot attended the event in Tel Aviv.

Source: Israeli media

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The Second Round of Retaliation Between Israel and Iran Has Just Begun

Joe Biden is caught in a trap caused by his own weakness

APRIL 19, 2024

PHILIP GIRALDI

Given the lying and fact twisting that have routinely been part and parcel of accounts of what is occurring in the Middle East, the past several weeks have nevertheless been shocking in terms of how an abysmally low standard of truth can be reduced even farther. Looking at developments objectively, one comes up with a series of facts. First of all, Israel was not at war with either Syria or Iran during the first weeks in April. Iran had never attacked Israel prior to that point and Syria last fought Israel in 1973, over fifty years ago. Israel, however, has regularly been assassinating Iranian officials and scientists and it has been frequently been bombing Syria since 2017, increasing the pace to weekly and sometimes even daily attacks over the past six months paralleling the Gaza fighting. A particularly devastating attack took place on March 29^th when the Israeli military launched massive strikes against a weapons storage depot in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo which killed at least 40 people, most of them Syrian soldiers. The air strikes produced a series of explosions that also killed six Lebanese Hezbollah fighters.

But three days later on April 1^st a very damaging and unprovoked attack was directed against the Iranian Embassy’s Consulate General, which was located in an upscale neighborhood in Damascus, Syria’s capital. The building was completely destroyed by missiles fired from F-35 fighter planes that had crossed over the Syrian border from Israel, killing Iranian diplomats as well as Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Zahedi’s deputy, General Haji Rahimi, and also Brigadier General Hossein Amirollah, the chief of general staff for the al-Quds force in Syria and Lebanon. Syria subsequently confirmed that a total of 13 people were killed in the attack, including six Syrians and a Lebanese Hezbollah militiaman. Both Iran and Hezbollah vowed revenge.

Attacking a diplomatic mission is considered a major war crime according to the Vienna Convention, but there was no condemnation of the incident coming from the US and the usual suspects in Western Europe. Instead of doing what was right by pressuring Israel to stop attacking its neighbors and thereby possibly preventing a major war in the Middle East, President Joe Biden repeated his pledge that the United States would regard as “ironclad” its commitment to guarantee Israel’s security if Iran were to strike back. This guaranteed to Israel that any action taken by it would be supported by Washington. The Biden Administration also predictably voted against a Russian and Chinese drafted UN Security Council resolution to condemn the Israeli attack on the Iranian Consulate, which was a clear violation of international law and an act of war committed by Israel. The US reportedly cast its veto vote “no” after “Diplomats said the US told council colleagues that many of the facts of what happened on Monday in Damascus remained unclear.” What was actually unclear was the fog that generally surrounds the Biden foreign policy and national security team since it was pretty transparent who was the aggressor in terms of means, motive and outcome.

When Iran did retaliate on April 13^th, it carried out a carefully calibrated moderate strike against military targets intended to do damage but not cause a large number of casualties. It reportedly hit several airbases from which the Israeli fighter bombers had begun their attack on Damascus as well as an Israeli Air Force intelligence center in the formerly Syrian Golan Heights. No one was killed in spite of the 300 estimated drones and missiles that were launched, most being intercepted by Israel and its allies. But the attack nevertheless sent a message from Tehran that next time it could be much worse, both immediate in timing and “considerably more severe” than its response on Saturday night had been. Iran also claims that it attempted to prevent an escalation by warning the US about their plans, which would be passed on to Israel, that a “controlled” retaliation was coming. The Pentagon denied that it had been told anything, which may mean that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was asleep at his desk once again.

Not content with the outcome, Israel inevitably struck back on Friday, hitting a major airbase near Isfahan, and, to make sure no one was missed, targets in both Iraq and Syria. Iranian military sources advise however that the loud explosions heard by local residents were Iranian air defenses shooting at some flying objects, presumably drones. Per the New York Times and other accommodating media, the strike was a warning that Israel could penetrate Iranian airspace and not intended to do serious damage. The Pentagon was apparently informed shortly before the Israeli action. Iran’s counter-counter retaliation is now pending, but it is clear that Netanyahu will not be deterred by electoral considerations in the United States to stay his hand in his own counter-counter response.

And how does the United States fit into the story? The White House response to the Iranian attack on Israeli territory was inevitably completely unlike the previous uncritical response to Israel’s Consulate General attack, namely condemnation of Iran and the repetition of the usual tripe about “Israel has a right to defend itself” and the sanctity of the “ironclad” defense arrangement. Biden also attempted to cover himself against political blowback due to his licking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s shoes in the upcoming November election by making it known that he had spoken with and advised Netanyahu, recommending not carrying out a reprisal of the reprisal, which Washington would be unable to support as it could/would lead to major escalation. Netanyahu, not fearing Biden’s displeasure, blew the advice off and he and his war cabinet made clear that they were working on a response as well as setting a timetable for invading Rafah in south Gaza, which Biden had also recommended against.

The White House completed its groveling to Netanyahu by vetoing a UN Security Council resolution on April 18^th that would have advocated full UN membership status for the state of Palestine, demonstrating that kicking the Palestinians is always a good way to maintain Israeli favor! The vote was 12 (including France, Japan and South Korea) in favor, two abstentions (the shameless United Kingdom and, surprisingly, Switzerland) and an American veto. The US insisted that elevation of Palestine’s diplomatic status can only be obtained after negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield absurdly raised another objection: “Right now, the Palestinians don’t have control over a significant portion of what is supposed to be their state. It’s being controlled by a terrorist organization.” She was referring to Hamas but the comment actually more correctly is applicable to Israel. In any event, a leaked White House memo had previously revealed that Biden opposes full UN membership and statehood for the Palestinians without Israel’s approval, which, of course, will not be forthcoming.

So we have Israel as the aggressor against two countries that were not declared enemies and had not attacked the Jewish state in any way in many, many years. But when Israel attacked them, committing a major war crime Joe Biden and company preferred to sit on their hands and mumble, saving their vituperation for when Iran staged a deliberately mild counter-attack as a warning. That is called hypocrisy, to turn things on their head to provide the answer that one wants to see and it applies equally to Biden accusing the Russians of “illegal occupation” in Ukraine while Israel’s theft of Syria’s Golan Heights and ongoing seizure of the West Bank goes unchallenged by Washington. And the pushback against Iran is unlikely to diminish very soon as the Jewish controlled US Congress also has the bit between its teeth to demonstrate how much it loves Israel. Congressman Steve Scalise, GOP House Majority Leader, has announced that “In light of Iran’s unjustified attack on Israel, the House will move from its previously announced legislative schedule next week to instead consider legislation that supports our ally Israel and holds Iran and its terrorist proxies accountable. The House of Representatives stands strongly with Israel, and there must be consequences for this unprovoked attack.” Over at the Senate Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas is advocating punishing Iran by beating on its possible friends in the US, physically attacking folks who are demonstrating in support of the Palestinians. Cotton said that the “pro-Hamas criminals” should be confronted by angry citizens who “take matters into [their] own hands” and confront the offenders, endorsing the use of force against peaceful demonstrators.

But there is also the back story behind why Israel likely attacked the Iranians in Syria in the first place. I and a number of other observers immediately after the Israeli attack assumed that the Jewish state had staged a deliberate over-the-top provocation to draw Washington into its wars. Just as in the case of the October 7^th Gaza attack by Hamas, which Israel had full knowledge of and let happen, Netanyahu sought to create a situation in which it would goad Iran into being forced to retaliate to force an “ironclad” Biden to protect its “ally” by taking on Iran directly.

Why did Israel do it beyond the obvious desire to destroy Iran just like it is destroying the Palestinians? It was done because Israel has likely become aware that it is viewed as the world’s greatest pariah state due to its genocide in Gaza, to include the recent horrific killing of hundreds of Palestinians in the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza as well as the targeted assassination of seven employees of a charity that was bringing in food to those starving due to Israel’s blocking the entry of relief supplies. And also because Israel is actually not winning its war against Hamas, it needed to shift the narrative to something different. That would be using its time-honored technique of making itself once again the “victim” in confronting a powerful new enemy, Iran, which would make the problem of bad public relations with the world over Gaza be in part mitigated.

A shift in the story would also presumably bring with it the expected help from the United States and its European allies to do the hard work in killing Iranians. And the trick seems to have worked, predictably. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain has been recently facing demands to cut off arms shipments to Israel because of the devastating death toll in Gaza, but on the following Monday, he was able to salute the British warplanes that had shot down some Iranian drones sent by Iran to attack Israel. It was a telling example of how Israel has been able to scramble the equation in the Middle East. Faced with a intensively publicized barrage of Iranian missiles, Britain, the United States, France and others rushed to help the Israelis who had in fact started the conflict. The United States is also currently planning on increasing the pressure on Iran through a series of tough new sanctions being prepared by Treasury Secretary Janice Yellen, saying “Treasury will not hesitate to work with our allies to use our sanctions authority to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity.” Yellen notably did nothing when Israel committed a major war crime in its attack on the Iranian Consulate General in Damascus, nor has she supported sanctions over the Israeli Gaza genocide. She is, of course, Jewish. More aid for the Jewish state is also still waiting for a congressional vote to approve the $14 billion currently in the pipeline, with Washington Report claiming that this year’s total US aid to Netanyahu will likely exceed $25 billion “in direct costs related to its fervent support for Israel.”

Right now, the dilemma for the US government will be that it must pull out all the stops in supporting Israel or face inter alia retaliation by the Israel Lobby working through its donors and media resources to defeat Biden in November. And there hovers in the peripheries of one’s mind the worse grim possibility that Israel, if rebuffed by its “allies,” will use its secret nuclear arsenal to blow up the Middle East and presumably a large chunk of adjacent areas in Europe and Asia as well. There are stories already circulating suggesting that the Israeli nuclear reactor at Dimona might have been an Iranian target and that Israel is right now preparing to take out Iranian nuclear research sites. Netanyahu is calling the shots while a befuddled White House looks on. Israel has baited a trap and Joe Biden has stepped right into it.

Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org.

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Israeli media: ‘Israel’ suffered strategic failure in Iran response

 April 16, 2024

Source: Israeli medi

Commander in Chief of the Iranian Army Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi (R) and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri (L) visiting an underground drone base, in an unknown location in Iran, May 19, 2022. (Iranian Armed Forces)

By Al Mayadeen English

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth points out that Israeli officials made a grave mistake when assuming that Iran was “hesitant” and would conduct a limited response.

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said on Monday that the night of Iran’s response to the targeting of the consulate in Damascus was a “strategic farce” for the occupation entity.

The daily spoke of a “strategic failure” suffered by “Israel,” noting that “Israel was enslaved for two weeks, in the midst of tension that paralyzed it, after it carried out the assassination” of the senior IRGC advisors in the Iranian consulate in Syria two weeks ago.

Read more: US pressures Israeli war cabinet to postpone any attack on Iran

“Why was an assassination carried out that could lead to a confrontation much more complex than it currently is in the North and South, while the story there is also far from over?” it questioned.

Taking aim at Prime Minister Netanyahu, his government, in addition to military and security top officials, the outlet mockingly asked, “How are leaders, who have previously approved several times plans for invading Rafah, which has not happened yet, supposed to threaten Tehran?”

In the face of this, the outlet found that the response for this failure would be “another classic Israeli answer,” which is, “wrong, we were wrong, we made a mistake.”

Likewise, it pointed out that intelligence estimates indicated that Iran “will not change its way of operating” if the Israeli army were to assassinate one of its figures in Damascus, on sovereign Iranian soil.

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‘Israel’ on verge of seeing ring of fire up close

Israeli officials “forgot that Israel is no longer in a position to make threats, that it has a government that lacks confidence, that its army has erred more than once, and does not know how to recover from that.”

Additionally, the outlet questioned whether the assassination operation was “urgent,” knowing that “Israel was on the verge of closely examining the ring of fire that surrounded it.”

“Once again, it has been proven that Israel does not like to think differently when it comes to dramatic steps made by the enemy.”

Read more: Iran’s ballistic missiles, drones impact Israeli targets (Footage)

In this context, the newspaper recalled the Seif of Al-Quds battle in 2021, in which “Israel believed that Hamas would not shell al-Quds and risk a comprehensive battle,” and kept this line of thinking “until October 7, when it believed that Hamas was deterred.'”

Moreover, the assassination of the leaders of the IRGC in the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus was a misjudgment assuming that Iran is “hesitant,” which turned into a “historic attack” launched by Tehran, Yedioth Ahronoth concluded.

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War on Gaza

Israeli deterrence against Iran collapsed, PIJ deputy chief says

16 Apr 2024 

Source: Al Mayadeen

Palestinian Islamic Jihad deputy Secretary-General Mohammad al-Hindi during an interview with Al Mayadeen, April 16, 2024 (Screengrab)

By Al Mayadeen English

The deputy chief of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement underlines that the Israeli occupation is fighting a losing battle as “Israel’s” strategic influence is diminishing.

The Israeli occupation’s strategic influence is diminishing at all levels, and it cannot support itself on its own without aid from the United States, Palestinian Islamic Jihad Deputy Secretary-General Mohammad al-Hindi told Al Mayadeen on Tuesday.

“The balance of power is changing; America has its own problems and challenges, and Israel does not have the support or capabilities to assert dominance in the region,” the Palestinian top Resistance official underlined.

"Israel's strategic influence is diminishing at all levels, the balance of power is changing; America has its own problems and challenges, and Israel does not have the support or capabilities to assert dominance in the region."

– Deputy Secretary-General of the Palestinian… https://t.co/F4FIj2lY7v

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 16, 2024

“There are new rules of engagement today,” al-Hindi said, stressing that Iran’s retaliation was a mere preliminary warning to the Israeli occupation.

“The West is complicit in Israel’s crimes in Gaza and Palestine and covers them. Yet, we’re ahead of a new landscape that necessitates reassessments,” he added.

"The West is complicit in Israel's crimes in #Gaza and Palestine and covers them. Yet, we're ahead of a new landscape that necessitates reassessments."

– Deputy Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Mohammad al-Hindi tells #AlMayadeen.#Palestine #GazaUnderAttack https://t.co/o1OagZ7pPU

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 16, 2024

The United States, the PIJ deputy chief said, does not want a regional war, especially as it is during an election year, which implies that it would rather not back an Israeli attack that would bring escalation.

“Gaza today is the battleground that damaged Israel most as it tarnished the occupation’s image due to the fact that it is facing Resistance factions perfectly capable of manufacturing their own weapons despite the imposed blockade,” he underlined.

"Gaza represents the most challenging battleground for Israel that tarnished its reputation since it's facing [Resistance] factions that manufacture their own weapons despite the imposed siege [on Gaza]."

– Deputy Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Mohammad… https://t.co/iPbuxdpaQr

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 16, 2024

Moreover, al-Hindi wondered how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to avoid a regional war as he sought a “tough response” to Iran’s retaliation.

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‘Israel’ must pay the price

“The Americans and Israelis want to retrieve the captives at the lowest possible price, but that issue the trump card in our hands,” he said. “The proposal that was presented as one drawn up by the mediators is an Israeli paper par excellence, and some of the terms in it are deceptive.”

Al-Hindi went on to tell Al Mayadeen that the resistance submitted its response to the proposal and that it made it clear that withdrawal was a pivotal part of any agreement, though it said that a withdrawal could be gradual. Another core demand is a ceasefire, which the Resistance stressed could also be gradual.

“Israel is forced to pay a price through the deal because of its strategic military failures on the battleground,” the PIJ deputy chief stressed.

“There is more to come […] We have more time for Israel to realize that it must pay the price,” he added. “Israel’s deterrence in the face of Iran has ended.”

“Israel is facing a real impasse and its options are limited,” al-Hindi concluded. “It has grown to appear weaker, and its strategic importance has diminished. Many countries will reassess [their ties to Israel] after the war is over.”

‘Israel’, US lost deterrence

The Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom considered that Iran’s retaliatory attack against Israeli targets is a stark reminder of the loss of Israeli and US strategic deterrence, highlighting that it created an opportunity to change the geopolitical situation in the Middle East.

The newspaper indicated that Iran has put itself in direct confrontation with “Israel”, even at a time that does not seem optimal for it, and has acted against US President Joe Biden’s warning not to.

It suggested that Iran “has established a sophisticated strategy and is patiently, endlessly trying to create a reality where there becomes a question mark about Israel’s existence, not just a theory.”

Elsewhere, the newspaper stressed that “Israel” must prioritize and focus efforts on attempting to harness the United States, alongside a large Western alliance, to deal with the Iranian attack to restore deterrence.

In a related context, the Israeli news website Walla! cited a security official as saying that “Israel’s” response to Iran’s retaliatory strikes may include targeting military infrastructure and weapon depots, extending to assassination operations against officials.

The security official added that estimates indicate the Iranians have not yet said their final word, pointing out that the main battleground would be in the Gaza Strip, and therefore, “we should not expect broad-scale attacks on Iranian interests.”

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War on Gaza

Iran Strikes Back: Two Israeli Sites Destroyed in Retaliation Attack, Iranian Officials Warn of Harsh Response

April 14, 2024

 Iran – Live News – Middle East – News – Top

Iran announced the destruction of two key Israeli military sites as part of their retaliation operation against the occupied Palestinian territories. Major General Mohammad Bagheri revealed that the Israeli intelligence headquarters in Mount Hermon and the Novatim military base were targeted and successfully destroyed using ballistic and cruise missiles.

This operation was carried out in response to an attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus, with Bagheri stating that the Iranian military plans were able to bypass defense systems and hit specified targets.

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami: If the Zionist regime attacks our interests, or individuals from any point, we will counterattack them. pic.twitter.com/udFVYGQLRs

— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) April 14, 2024

Major General Hossein Salami declared the beginning of a new clash with the Zionist enemy, warning of even harsher responses if ‘Israel’ chooses to retaliate.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri: Neither the Iron Dome nor other defensive shields were able to take significant action against #Iran's operational tactics in "Operation True Promise". pic.twitter.com/LuBuXJQud8

— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) April 14, 2024

As tensions escalate, American officials fear Israel’s reckless actions could lead to a broader conflict. President Joe Biden reportedly expressed concerns to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about dragging the United States into a regional war.

Iran's missiles launching on full speed against isr@el! pic.twitter.com/EPZxf2zA1z

— Palestine Culture (@PalestineCultu1) April 14, 2024

The US has vowed to oppose any Israeli counterattack against Iran, emphasizing the potential disastrous consequences of escalating the conflict further.

Source: Iranian media and Al-Manar English Website

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An ultra-Orthodox ultimatum, and the future of the ‘Jewish’ state

APR 12, 2024

Source

The widening schism between Israel’s secular and ultra-Orthodox communities impacts not only the state’s military and economic wellbeing, but poses an existential threat to the stability of the entire Zionist project.

(Photo Credit: The Cradle)

Robert Inlakesh

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, known as the Haredim, is the fastest-growing segment of the country’s population. This demographic shift is occurring amid escalating tensions between secular right-wing and religious-nationalist factions in Israel, raising concerns about the stability of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s extremist coalition – particularly over contentious issues like Haredi military conscription.

Projected to constitute approximately 16 percent of the occupation state’s population by 2030, the Haredim’s burgeoning numbers have triggered a broader societal debate about Israel’s future direction. This includes the challenge of reconciling today’s Jewish ethno-religious identity politics with the original Israeli aspirations for a modern “liberal-democratic” state framework.

In 2018, the Israeli Knesset passed the controversial ’Nation-State’ law, which officially declared that only its Jewish citizens have the right to self-determination. This law was later cited by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in their reports designating Israel as an apartheid regime. 

In order to maintain the idea of a state built on Jewish supremacy, it has to be taken into consideration that Haredi Jews have a birth rate of 6.4, compared to the Jewish Israeli average of 2.5. This makes the ultra-Orthodox community an invaluable asset for Israelis seeking to maintain a demographic balance in which Jewish Israelis remain a clear majority – outside of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Economic and military challenges

In other respects, however, Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community presents a number of liabilities for the state, including a significant drain on Israeli resources. 

For example, the Haredim population growth has created housing crises for their communities. According to research published by Israel’s Kohelet Policy Forum, an unemployed Haredi father receives an average of four times the amount of government subsidies than a non-Haredi father.

The community’s unemployment rate is double the national average, with only 14 percent of Haredi students receiving a high-school certificate, compared to 83 percent in state and state-religious schools.

But today, arguably the most contentious aspect of the relationship between ultra-Orthodox Jews and the Israeli state is the former’s longstanding exemption from mandatory military service. 

In the early years of the occupation state’s history, only a few hundred Yeshiva (Jewish religious school) students were granted this exemption. 

However, in 1977, Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin extended the exemption to include the entire Haredi community, a move that has persistently divided public opinion, particularly as all other Jewish Israeli citizens are required to serve in the military.

The Haredim’s lack of contribution to the national economy and military, coupled with their extraordinary financial entitlements from the state’s coffers, has made them the “most hated people in Israel.” 

Political influence and legal reforms 

Despite the public’s animosity, the ultra-Orthodox are extremely important to Israel’s illegal settlement program and now occupy powerful, ‘kingmaker’ positions in both national and local government. According to the Israel Policy Forum, roughly one-third of all West Bank settlers are Haredi, with a similar number distributed throughout occupied east Jerusalem.

The illustrate the growing political clout of this community, the Haredi political faction, Shas, secured 11 seats in Israel’s Knesset in the 2022 national elections, becoming the third largest component of the government’s ruling coalition. Public unease was further exacerbated by the ultra-Orthodox parties’ success in Jerusalem’s City Council elections.

It was no surprise, then, that upon Netanyahu’s election victory, he launched a campaign of controversial legal reforms that critics charged would transform Israel’s secular model of governance into a theocratic one.

The Haredim’s mark on Israeli society can no longer be overlooked. The country’s fastest-growing population is now seeded throughout local and national governments, and thanks to Netanyahu’s uber-fragile coalition structure, it is today able to impact Israel’s every social, political, and military decision.

Conscription or exodus 

But these matters are now coming to a head. In late March, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered that ultra-Orthodox Jews be provided government subsidies for religious studies and conscripted into the army. 

The ruling came down after Netanyahu delayed a Knesset vote on a bill to renew the extension exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from military conscription. Earlier, in March, Israel’s Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef had threatened that the Haredim would leave Israel altogether if forced into military service.

The Supreme Court order caused an uproar in the community, with Haredi members vowing to disregard the law and will “never serve in the army.” 

Israeli military service has long been discouraged within the Haredim, to the point where its members have and can be de facto excommunicated and shunned by even their own families. In fact, Haredi Jews who have decided to break social norms and join the army have a specific combat battalion set up for them in the West Bank called Netzah Yehuda.  

The Supreme Court decision, delivered less than 24 hours before the 1 April conscription exemption renewal deadline, effectively ended funding for 50,000 full-time Talmud students, prompting 18 senior Shas Rabbis to sign a letter condemning the move. The letter reads, “We will not be deterred from going to prison,” and claims that forced conscription is a conspiracy to reduce observance of ultra-Orthodox Judaism.

Israel’s massive economic toll from its ongoing war on Gaza, the Yemeni-imposed blockade on all Israel-linked shipping in several key regional waterways, and Lebanese Hezbollah’s daily military operations in the north have significantly strained Tel Aviv’s financial resources. In recent years, the cost of maintaining subsidies to ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva students alone has skyrocketed to 136 million dollars per annum, providing a strong argument for the Israeli opposition to end the funding.

The fate of Netanyahu’s government 

The ongoing debate over Haredi conscription has reached a critical stage, posing potential risks to Netanyahu’s leadership and the stability of his rocky coalition. The wartime emergency government set in place since 7 October, includes opposition leaders like Benny Gantz of the National Unity Party, who challenge the prime minister every step of the way. 

Gantz has delivered his own ultimatum: to exit the government if exemptions for the Haredim are passed. His threats come on the back of Netanyahu’s vacillating stances on whether he will enact or oppose the exemptions – illustrating just how carefully the prime minister is forced to tread domestic political lines in the midst of a regional war, and exemptions, and just how fragile his unity government remains.  

Netanyahu faces a stark choice: secure the support of his Haredi coalition partners by maintaining their military exemption, or yield to everyone else in the country and compel Haredi conscription. 

The dilemma is further complicated by the potential implications for Israel’s settlement expansion and demographic strategy, ultimately impacting the survival of the “Jewish state.”

The schism threatening the state

This issue has also spilled into the growing schism between secular and religious Israeli factions. If the Haredim do not join the army – especially critical during wartime when those numbers are needed – it means that at least 40 percent of Israeli passport holders, including both ultra-Orthodox and 1948 Palestinians (who traditionally do not serve in the military), will be exempt from military service.

The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics’ 2021 survey reveals that 45 percent of Israel’s Jewish population identifies as secular or non-religious. This is a country very neatly divided in terms of religious Judaic observance. 

This division is further evidenced by the public’s response to Netanyahu’s proposed legal reforms, with opposition fluctuating between 43 and 66 percent throughout 2023, depending on the polling data. 

The Haredim’s political ascent today challenges the traditional Zionist vision of a secular Jewish ethno-state by introducing the complexity of accommodating a significant portion of the population that adheres to religious fundamentalism. 

The Haredim’s aversion to integration in a modern capitalist economy – and their role within the framework of a state that aspires to be both Jewish and democratic – is profound. This raises essential questions about the practicality of Zionism as it confronts the realities of a diverse and evolving Israeli society.

Moreover, the juxtaposition of an increasingly religious Israeli government – against the backdrop of a population that includes nearly an equal number of Palestinians – highlights the inherent contradictions within the concept of a “Jewish democracy.”

As secular ultra-nationalists begin to challenge the religious right fronted by Netanyahu, this internal conflict will continue to shake Israel’s foundations. While the occupation state staggers under the pressures of a multi-front, regional war, the likes of which it has never encountered in its short history, it is the Haredim issue today that – internally – poses the biggest existential threat to the entirety of the Zionist project. 

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.

Iran to US: Involvement with ‘Israel’ will put your forces under fire

April 12, 2024

Source: Axios

Iranian leader, Sayyed Ali Khamenei, center, visits an exhibition of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps’ aerospace achievements as he is accompanied by the armed forces commanders, in Iran, on November 19, 2023. (Office of Sayyed Ali Khamenei)

By Al Mayadeen English

Iran has communicated via mediators that the safety of US forces in the region is directly linked to the US’ involvement in Israeli activity against Iran.

Iran sent a message to the White House through mediators, explaining that if the United States gets involved on “Israel’s” side in a possible confrontation, US forces in the region will be attacked, three US officials told Axios. 

The possibility of Iranian retaliation against Israeli targets within occupied territories has spurred Israeli authorities to mobilize forces and agencies for the past 11 days, anticipating a large-scale attack or precision attack on strategic assets. “Israel’s” anti-air coverage is nowhere near capable of foiling a large-scale multi-faceted Iranian attack. This means that the US air defense systems in the area will most likely be put on high alert in an attempt to intercept incoming ballistic missiles. 

The nature of the response remains largely unknown, with speculation that the attack will match the level of the Israeli crime, rather than escalate confrontations in the region. 

According to Axios, the Israeli occupation and the US believe that the attack would include the launch of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and attack drones from Iran to Israeli-occupied territories.

Read more: Washington believes Iran ‘calibrating’ retaliation against ‘Israel’

US wants to tame ‘Israel’ after malicious embassy strike

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US officials have also said the Biden administration asked “Israel” to notify American officials and to allow the US to have a say before decisions are made about possible Israeli aggression against Iran following the response. Put in the context of the possibility of wider-scale responses to American bases and assets in the region, this message holds significant worth, showing that the US seeks to impose its own pace of engagement in an explosive region. 

“The Iranian message was we will attack the forces that attack us, so don’t f**k with us and we won’t f**k with you,” a US official told Axios.

The US maintains that it had nothing to do with the original attack on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Syria, which led to the martyrdom of seven Iranian military advisors. However, on a diplomatic level, the US has done everything possible to save “Israel’s” face, failing to condemn the attack on the internationally protected compound. 

Read more: Iraqi Resistance warns US of response to ‘foolishness’ in Iraq, Axis

‘Israel’s’ security remains the US top priority

Amid the public statements by President Biden and other US officials affirming US support for “Israel’s” interception of Iranian attacks, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin assured Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant of full US support in countering “Israel’s” enemies.

During their conversation, Gallant emphasized to Austin that any direct Iranian attack would necessitate a proportional Israeli response directed at Iran. However, interpreting the Iranian message has posed challenges, with a US official indicating uncertainty about whether Iran’s threats encompass US forces assisting “Israel” in intercepting Iranian missiles or only in the context of supporting Israeli retaliation.

Moreover, the US military has dispatched US CENTCOM commander General Michael “Erik” Kurilla to assist Israelis in defensive strategies. These actions mark, yet again, the US’ unwavering support to the criminal Israeli regime, be it headed by Benjamin Netanyahu or not, and Washington’s disregard for the stability of the “rules-based” international order that it claims to push for.

Read more: Iran’s awaited response is ‘exhausting Israel’: Israeli media

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War on Gaza

Hamas delegation to Cairo on April 7 for Gaza ceasefire talks

6 Apr 2024 

Source: Agencies

Pro-Palestinian protesters take part at a demonstration on Al Quds Day, in London, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP)

By Al Mayadeen English

A Hamas delegation led by Khalil Al-Hayya, Gaza’s deputy chief, will attend ceasefire talks in Cairo on April 7 following an invitation from Egyptian mediators.

A Hamas delegation headed by the group’s deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, will go to Cairo on April 7 for ceasefire talks in response to an invitation extended by Egyptian mediators, the group said in a statement on Saturday. 
 
The Movement repeated its requests outlined in a proposal from March 14 before the UN Security Council passed a resolution on March 25 calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. These demands comprise a permanent cessation of hostilities, the removal of Israeli troops from Gaza, the repatriation of displaced individuals, and a substantial exchange agreement involving Palestinian detainees for Israeli captives held in Gaza, as per the statement.

This comes after Hamas announced last week that its delegation would not travel to Cairo for some times, saying the delegation “is awaiting the results and outputs of the meetings between mediators and the Israeli delegation,” a source from the Palestinian Resistance told Al Mayadeen. 

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A clear ceasefire order 

Following the United States’ abstention from the vote, the United Nations Security Council requested an immediate ceasefire between the Israeli occupation forces and the Palestinian Resistance, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all captives on March 25. 

With the US abstaining, the 14 other members voted in favor of the resolution, which was sponsored by the Security Council’s 10 elected members.

Algeria’s UN Ambassador Amar Bendjama expressed after the vote that the Palestinians have “suffered greatly”, citing that the “bloodbath has continued for far too long.”

Shortly before the meeting began, Israeli army radio claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would cancel a scheduled mission to Washington if the US did not reject the measure.

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War on Gaza