tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267701944736715202024-03-19T04:23:42.159+01:00The PessoptimistJew in Arabia, goy in IsraelAbu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.comBlogger1987125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-74545273867652956282024-03-05T17:56:00.001+01:002024-03-05T17:56:40.938+01:00Israeli tanks deliberatedly ran over dozens Palestinian citizens<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqRuHsfLWexHp-qmasYMKv-kHIkJ6DzbTb3edBjc8lO_R6bt-qmxp_52TGk82XIdDFIiEtCzO7Rkcsy3iQal0Pa6sEvLOwNf2Khm7l2WzdU-Xf0A5Idq2D-xMU4VosCj8Z-n28oytepTFp0vlQ8RcYu96Q_zqfQYubfze67E19UVUSFLSLLV54TiYBS7CA/s1170/888754-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1170" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqRuHsfLWexHp-qmasYMKv-kHIkJ6DzbTb3edBjc8lO_R6bt-qmxp_52TGk82XIdDFIiEtCzO7Rkcsy3iQal0Pa6sEvLOwNf2Khm7l2WzdU-Xf0A5Idq2D-xMU4VosCj8Z-n28oytepTFp0vlQ8RcYu96Q_zqfQYubfze67E19UVUSFLSLLV54TiYBS7CA/w400-h294/888754-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quds Network</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 16px;">The Israeli army’s repeated killings of Palestinian civilians by deliberately running them over alive with military vehicles was vehemently denounced by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor on Sunday, as was the widespread destruction of civilian property. These crimes are part of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the rights group said, ongoing since 7 October 2023.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6 !important; margin: 0px auto 26px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Euro-Med Monitor documented the Israeli army’s killing of a Palestinian man who was deliberately run over in Gaza City’s Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood on 29 February after he was arrested. The man was subjected to harsh interrogation by members of the Israeli army, who bound his hands with plastic zip-tie handcuffs before running him over with a military vehicle from the bottom to the top of his body.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6 !important; margin: 0px auto 26px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The incident occurred on the main Salah al-Din Street in the Zaytoun neighbourhood, according to eyewitnesses who spoke to the Euro-Med Monitor team. Israeli soldiers restrained the victim’s hands before they crushed him, and tramped on his body from the legs up, confirming that he was alive during the incident. To guarantee thorough and complete crushing, the victim was placed on asphalt rather than in an adjacent sandy area.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6 !important; margin: 0px auto 26px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The victim’s mutilated body and the surrounding area bear obvious signs that a military bulldozer or tank was present. It appears that the victim was purposefully stripped of his clothes, as he was seen wearing only his underpants at the time of his death.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6 !important; margin: 0px auto 26px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The ramming operation occurred before the Israeli army withdrew to the outskirts of the Zaytoun neighbourhood two days ago, as evidenced by the condition of the entrails and other body parts, which had not yet decomposed when the case was documented.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6 !important; margin: 0px auto 26px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Another documented incident took place on 23 January, when an Israeli tank ran over members of the Ghannam family while they were sleeping in a shelter caravan in the Taiba Towers area of Khan Younis. As a result, a man and his eldest daughter were killed, and his remaining three children and wife were injured. Amina, his 13-year-old daughter, confirmed that her father and older sister were killed when an Israeli tank unexpectedly and repeatedly ran over the caravan, where the family had been sleeping. While her mother and two other siblings survived the attack, Amina experienced extreme pressure in her eyes, nearly losing her sight.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6 !important; margin: 0px auto 26px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Euro-Med Monitor also documented Israeli tanks and bulldozers running over and crushing displaced people inside their tents in Beit Lahia’s Kamal Adwan Hospital courtyard on 16 December 2023. Several people were killed during the incident, including individuals who were initially injured and did not ultimately survive. The corpses of those who had been previously buried in the courtyard were also crushed in the 16 December incident, stated the rights group.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6 !important; margin: 0px auto 26px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">More recently, a Palestinian family survived a 20 February running attack after Israeli tracks ran over their tent on the shore of the Khan Yunis Sea. A female civilian said that she was shocked by the tank suddenly running over her tent.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6 !important; margin: 0px auto 26px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">In addition, Euro-Med Monitor has documented numerous incidents of Israeli army tanks destroying civilian property, particularly cars, during Israel’s ground incursions into different parts of the Gaza Strip. Most of these tank attacks have targeted vehicles parked in the streets without any military affiliation, indicating the Israeli army’s deliberate and systematic destruction of Palestinian property.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6 !important; margin: 0px auto 26px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Euro-Med Monitor affirmed that all of these violations are part of a larger Israeli effort to dehumanise every Palestinian in the Gaza Strip, in order to justifiy and normalise the crimes being committed against them. Crushing civilians with tanks is just one of the many cruel ways the Israeli army murders Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, disregarding their humanity, suffering, and dignity. These practices reflect the desire of Israel’s government and military to collectively punish the Palestinian people, with the aim of eliminating, intimidating, and/or harming them physically and psychologically. These crimes come alongside a public incitement campaign by Israeli officials, media figures, and settlers calling for the annihilation of Palestinians in Gaza, and are also a result of the total impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators—evident by the absence of any meaningful action being taken to hold them accountable by any party or at any level.</p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-11595029031567940052024-02-15T16:25:00.004+01:002024-02-15T16:44:42.226+01:00The year 2023 was extremely fruitful for the expansion of Israel's settlements <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRGuiQBCH0XIfwVhK-99M4yNspNEY5uT8flwuzKKJ35Dy4lrtdOAl4eqw1buXcuhifrFwFyYV5fuIdJCcvV99bqlIwX6EEPkxgMiuMyamlKcjK8QS3OxTc1rn-Eqk_Yyf43ChGEuQ8l_a-L3V0aNMqivE5HzvEuyjlZKyp7xEA7oU2wpH4LVAJoUP0HM1/s1152/2023-07-09-Qalandiya-Underpass.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1152" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRGuiQBCH0XIfwVhK-99M4yNspNEY5uT8flwuzKKJ35Dy4lrtdOAl4eqw1buXcuhifrFwFyYV5fuIdJCcvV99bqlIwX6EEPkxgMiuMyamlKcjK8QS3OxTc1rn-Eqk_Yyf43ChGEuQ8l_a-L3V0aNMqivE5HzvEuyjlZKyp7xEA7oU2wpH4LVAJoUP0HM1/w400-h266/2023-07-09-Qalandiya-Underpass.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The almost ready Qalandia 'underpass'</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><i> </i><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;">The formation of the Netanyahu government in December 2022 has created unprecedented conditions for the expansion of settlements. Among them were the promotion of a record number of construction plans, minimal law enforcement against activities of settlers, substantial budgets, and almost unconditional political support for settlers, even in cases involving violence against Palestinians, according to Peace Now. The NGO publishes the following data: </span></p><h4 dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; margin: 0px auto 1em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">a. </strong><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Establishment of new outposts and displacement of Palestinian communities –</strong> A record number of 26 new outposts were established during 2023, while 21 Palestinian communities were forcibly displaced from their homes.</h4><h4 dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; margin: 0px auto 1em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">b. </strong><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Advancement of construction plans –</strong> A record number of 12,349 housing units were promoted in settlements in the West Bank (East Jerusalem excluded).</h4><h4 dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; margin: 0px auto 1em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">c. </strong><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">The legalization of 15 illegal outposts was advanced.</strong></h4><h4 dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; margin: 0px auto 1em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">d. </strong><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Structural and administrative changes towards annexation of the Occupied Territories.</strong></h4><h4 dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; margin: 0px auto 1em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">e. </strong><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Development and promotion of roads –</strong> Allocation of approximately 3 billion Shekels for roads in settlements, constituting around 20% of the total Israeli road investment.</h4><ol dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; list-style-type: none; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">a. Establishment of New Outposts</strong></li></ol><div><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;">In 2023, settlers established at least 26 new illegal outposts, At least ten of them were established after the 7th of October, when Hamas attacked Israel. At least 18 of them are </span><a href="https://peacenow.org.il/en/return-of-the-outpost-method" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">agricultural farms</a><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;">. It marks a record number since the outposts started to appear under the Netanyahu government in 1996. Also settlers established a </span><a href="https://peacenow.org.il/en/a-new-settlement-was-established-in-hebron-with-the-return-of-settlers-to-a-house-that-the-idf-evicted-a-year-ago" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">new settlement within Hebron</a><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"> in a Palestinian house that they claim to have bought.</span></div><div><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;">The peak years of outpost establishment were during the Second Intifada, suggesting that settlers are adept at exploiting times of conflict. Enforcement by the Civil Administration against illegal construction almost did not occur in the past year under the Netanyahu-Smotrich government. </span></div><div><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;">Moreover, </span><a href="https://peacenow.org.il/en/unmatched-surge-in-settlement-activity-in-the-west-bank-since-the-onset-of-the-gaza-war" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">settlers paved dozens of new roads during the war</a><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"> throughout the entire West Bank. These roads enable them to seize additional land and distance Palestinian shepherds and farmers from the surroundings.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJBUkgLGzrczlfsShhLoiU5-ASlRScM4xYJHhczRS8yZyFuQI2tSahZnjv4G5VSTG9ygedk6rh787llTiYXS7D35LMbcz_GBFc5IrVqetTpGgF5mTH55fQ505z_mFsoLdjRnq4oExcFbIei963120PsEwX1t18gUmMgPzcS5e5ZMLLX-T1qiXgRTmXu5w2/s1918/Outpost-23-ENG.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1918" data-original-width="1144" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJBUkgLGzrczlfsShhLoiU5-ASlRScM4xYJHhczRS8yZyFuQI2tSahZnjv4G5VSTG9ygedk6rh787llTiYXS7D35LMbcz_GBFc5IrVqetTpGgF5mTH55fQ505z_mFsoLdjRnq4oExcFbIei963120PsEwX1t18gUmMgPzcS5e5ZMLLX-T1qiXgRTmXu5w2/w239-h400/Outpost-23-ENG.jpeg" width="239" /></a></div><br /><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;">In direct relation to the establishment of outposts, </span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">approximately 1,345 Palestinians were forced to flee from their homes</strong><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"> due to violent attacks by settlers, </span><a href="https://www.btselem.org/settler_violence/20231019_forcible_transfer_of_isolated_communities_and_families_in_area_c_under_the_cover_of_gaza_fighting" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">according to Btselem data</a><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;">. Twenty-one Palestinian communities were displaced and uprooted, </span><a href="https://www.btselem.org/settler_violence/20231019_forcible_transfer_of_isolated_communities_and_families_in_area_c_under_the_cover_of_gaza_fighting" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #771614; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">16 of them during the war</a><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"> since October 7, and </span><a href="https://www.btselem.org/publications/202309_the_pogroms_are_working_the_transfer_is_already_happening" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">5 communities</a><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"> prior to that. Dozens of more families were displaced from communities that remained in place. In almost all cases farm outposts were recently established near hem, whose residents see themselves as </span><a href="https://peacenow.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/maahazim-english_full.pdf" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">having a goal to expel Palestinians</a><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"> from the surroundings. They often threaten, and attack Palestinian farmers and shepherds. </span></div><div><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 18px;">II</span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">, Advancement of Construction Plans</strong></div><div><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; hyphens: none; margin: 0px auto 1em;">In 2023, the Israeli government promoted plans for <a href="https://peacenow.org.il/en/a-record-number-of-housing-units-were-promoted-in-the-west-bank-in-only-six-months" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">the construction of 12,349 housing units</a> in settlements in the West Bank. These plans were either approved for depositing or validation. According to Peace Now’s estimation, this marks a record since the Oslo Accords. Additionally, the Ministry of Housing published tenders for 1,289 housing units. In June, a plan for a 2,700 dunams new industrial zone south of Qalqilya, named <a href="https://peacenow.org.il/en/a-plan-was-deposited-for-the-shaar-shomron-industrial-zone" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">Sha’ar Shomron</a> was deposited for public review.</p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; hyphens: none; margin: 0px auto 1em;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsNuJFsUhzMFwMaPTjSsCg7NMWusFEiTXFHNomwDtm7-1_b68uLdgRavl8P9c9rNHCcCJvyrt0BMMWdrTCPqdjvYJE3KYy4iPNvwOz5fT_kXcx8fHRPHCcUOTpglzK0F-ljBii-d6-XRLXgbOtUOLOUEajwzGTkfRReCcus5niMV-cpOG49wr4NtWcs-OF/s1366/202311-Hawara-Bypass-road.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="1366" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsNuJFsUhzMFwMaPTjSsCg7NMWusFEiTXFHNomwDtm7-1_b68uLdgRavl8P9c9rNHCcCJvyrt0BMMWdrTCPqdjvYJE3KYy4iPNvwOz5fT_kXcx8fHRPHCcUOTpglzK0F-ljBii-d6-XRLXgbOtUOLOUEajwzGTkfRReCcus5niMV-cpOG49wr4NtWcs-OF/w400-h189/202311-Hawara-Bypass-road.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Huwwara bypass road</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">III, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"> Legalization of Outposts </strong></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; hyphens: none; margin: 0px auto 1em;">15 illegal outposts underwent the process of legalization. On February 12, 2023, the security cabinet decided to establish 9 new settlements, constituting the legalization of 10 illegal outposts (<a href="https://peacenow.org.il/en/the-security-and-political-cabinet-approved-the-establishment-of-9-new-settlements-by-authorizing-10-illegal-outposts-in-the-occupied-territories" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">see details here</a>). Additionally, the government advanced plans to legalize five outposts as “neighborhoods” of existing settlements (<a href="https://peacenow.org.il/en/the-government-will-advance-over-6000-housing-units-in-settlements-including-the-authorization-of-five-additional-outposts" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">more information here</a>). All settlements are considered illegal under international law, however Israel has established criteria by which they are deemed legal according to Israeli standards.</p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; hyphens: none; margin: 0px auto 1em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Appendix A: List of </strong><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Outposts whose Legalization was advanced in 2023:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; hyphens: none; margin: 0px auto 1em;">Avigail, Beit Hoga, Haroeh, Giavt Harel, Givay Arnon (Hill 777). Mitze Yehuda (Keidar East), Malachei Hashalom, Asael, Sde Boaz, Shaharit, Mevo'ot Yericho, Noefi Yehemiya, Pné Kedem, Zayit Ra'anan, Nativ Ha'avot. </p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; hyphens: none; margin: 0px auto 1em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">List of outposts established in the year 2023:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; hyphens: none; margin: 0px auto 1em;">Or Meir; Seorim Farm – Immanuel South; Tko’a F; Nahal Machoch Farm; Mevo’ot Yericho West; Negohot North; Sde Yonatan; Givat Haktoret; Asa’el North; Gitit South; Avihai Farm; Ohana Farm; Beqa’ot South; Bar Farm; Old Maon Farm; Shabo Family Farm; Ma’ale Efraim South East; Yahish Tzion; Susya South; Mitzpe Danny Farm; Battir West; Migdalim North; Neve Erez South; Avigayil East; Har Kanub North, Masua West.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc2rj4ko-73WRJ090m3-Tzs3I33Jl-HQTUfoHcoZ_Nv01ApfC8oLFq4nu47NHfhqFKC5PjLjKStIzkNvHK1bPvhdi4Q7Yz5E3HMHBwa_s3yLWz2YnM_xisFBz4YAEukrvlIDXkYRJK8IMSmsNWSnbOtujN1KoJ6qIx5YaQU4oFp-kNPdDFC2fCu897_QHQ/s1152/2024-01-22-Avigayil-East.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1152" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc2rj4ko-73WRJ090m3-Tzs3I33Jl-HQTUfoHcoZ_Nv01ApfC8oLFq4nu47NHfhqFKC5PjLjKStIzkNvHK1bPvhdi4Q7Yz5E3HMHBwa_s3yLWz2YnM_xisFBz4YAEukrvlIDXkYRJK8IMSmsNWSnbOtujN1KoJ6qIx5YaQU4oFp-kNPdDFC2fCu897_QHQ/w400-h266/2024-01-22-Avigayil-East.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Avigail East (Illustrations Peace Now)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><ol dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; list-style-type: none; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Structural and Administrative Changes Towards Annexation of the Occupied Territories:</strong></li></ol><ul dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; list-style-type: none; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Appointment of “Minister of Settlements” in the Ministry of Defense –</strong> Bezalel Smotrich was appointed as a Minister within the Ministry of Defense. He established a new governmental body, <a href="https://peacenow.org.il/en/annexation-under-the-radar-the-establishment-of-the-settlements-administration-under-minister-bezalel-smotrich-report" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">“the Settlement Administration</a>,” which is designed to manage all aspects of life in the settlements. Thus far, the Civil Administration in the IDF was responsible for civilian life in the West Bank. (According to international law, the management of the occupied territory is supposed to be carried out by the military which is supposed to serve the interests of the occupied population). T<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">he establishment of the Settlements Administration signals the virtual annexation of the territories. </strong></li></ul><ul dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; list-style-type: none; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Elimination of the Political Echelon Involvement in Promoting Settlements –</strong> The government of Israel <a href="https://peacenow.org.il/en/israel-transfers-west-bank-settlements-planning-responsibility-to-minister-smotrich-cancels-defense-ministers-involvement" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">decided on June 18, 2023</a>, on a significant change in the planning procedures in the West Bank. It was decided that planning procedures would no longer require approval from the political echelon and the Minister of Defense (except for the stage of the allocation of the land for planning, which is in the hands of Minister Smotrich). This means that the government leaves the power in the hands of settlers and the civil servants. For more details, <a href="https://peacenow.org.il/en/israel-transfers-west-bank-settlements-planning-responsibility-to-minister-smotrich-cancels-defense-ministers-involvement" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">see here</a>.</li></ul><div><ol dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; list-style-type: none; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Development and Promotion of Roads</strong></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Alef Hebrew", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; hyphens: none; margin: 0px auto 1em;">In April 2023, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transportation signed a <a href="https://peacenow.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Roads_Budget_2023-2024.pdf" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">budget plan for the years 2023-2024 for the Ministry of Transportation</a>. From a buget of approximately 16.5 billion shekels close to 4 billion shekels (3.898 billion) were designated for roads for settlements in the West Bank. This was about 24% of Israel’s road budget. was allocated to the development of settlement roads.<a href="https://peacenow.org.il/en/the-roads-boom-in-2020" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">Roads are key to the development and expansion of settlements</a>, and the extensive construction of highways could lead to a doubling of the number of settlers in the coming years. For example, the opening of the “<a href="https://peacenow.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/leiberman-road-report.pdf" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b01f24; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">Liberman Road</a>” east of Bethlehem resulted in the doubling of the number of settlers along its route in less than a decade. It is worth noting however that in January 2024, the government approved a budget cut for the year 2024, as a consequence of the Gaza war. </p></div></div>Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-42677073908389177402024-01-17T16:12:00.000+01:002024-01-17T16:12:56.743+01:00A Cultural genocide: What is left of Gaza's heritage sites<p>z <span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="article-by" style="background-color: white; border-left-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #626262; flex-direction: column; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.72; margin: 0px; padding-right: 0px;">By </span><span class="article-author-name-item" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.72;"><a class="author-link" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/author/indlieb-farazi-saber" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; text-decoration-line: none;">Indlieb Farazi Saber</a></span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQegN5kVvd8k-3Obp-RubgVXkGj_RE1czqxUhCZkVrEnECII1_UYFrAmQ9YYyNzLNirH4DvzCgG3GqzZgXpqP2PCffs7FdlygX9IXmI4hnzrpW7Sr0zOvzcoZaIX_18moGmNnAdm4Wrf9b5azSda2jfYXIxZL_yMEcvZO-41m5p8tEdD77KWWr53TlZrE/s259/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQegN5kVvd8k-3Obp-RubgVXkGj_RE1czqxUhCZkVrEnECII1_UYFrAmQ9YYyNzLNirH4DvzCgG3GqzZgXpqP2PCffs7FdlygX9IXmI4hnzrpW7Sr0zOvzcoZaIX_18moGmNnAdm4Wrf9b5azSda2jfYXIxZL_yMEcvZO-41m5p8tEdD77KWWr53TlZrE/w400-h300/images.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">An</span><a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5719/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;" target="_blank"> ancient harbour</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">dating back to 800 BC, a mosque that was home to rare manuscripts and one of the world’s oldest Christian monasteries are just a few of at least 195 heritage sites that have been destroyed or damaged since Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7, according to an NGO documenting war damage on cultural sites. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Wiping out the cultural heritage of a people is one of the many war crimes South Africa alleges against Israel</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/9/which-countries-back-south-africas-genocide-case-against-israel-at-icj" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;" target="_blank">in a lawsuit</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">that was heard this past week at the International Court of Justice.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/index.php/node/203394" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;" target="_blank">It states</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">: “Israel has damaged and destroyed numerous centres of Palestinian learning and culture”, including libraries, religious sites and places of ancient historical importance.</span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Gaza, one of the world’s longest inhabited areas, has been home to a pastiche of people since at least the 15th century BC, according to historians. Empires – including the ancient Egyptians, Assyrians and Romans – have come and gone, at times dominating the land of the Canaanites, the ancestors of the Palestinians, leaving relics of their own cultural heritage behind. Greeks, Jews, Persians and Nabateans have also lived along this stretch of coast over the centuries.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Strategically located on the Mediterranean’s eastern shores, Gaza was always in a prime position on the trade routes from Eurasia to Africa. Its ports made it a regional hub for commerce and culture. Since at least 1300 BC, the Via Maris – a route running from Heliopolis in ancient Egypt, cutting across Gaza’s western coastline and then crossing into Syrian lands – was the main route that travellers would take on their journeys to Damascus. <br /></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">“The crime of targeting and destroying archaeological sites should spur the world and UNESCO into action to preserve this great civilisational and cultural heritage,” Gaza’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said after Gaza’s Great Omari Mosque was destroyed in an Israeli air strike on December 8.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">As a result of that particular strike, an ancient collection of manuscripts kept at the mosque may be forever lost. “The manuscript collections remained in the vicinity of the mosque and are currently inaccessible because of the continuing conflict,” Columba Stewart, the CEO of the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library (HMML), told Al Jazeera soon after the strike.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The 1954 <a href="https://en.unesco.org/protecting-heritage/convention-and-protocols/1954-convention" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5;">Hague Convention</a>, agreed to by both Palestinians and Israelis, is supposed to safeguard landmarks from the ravages of war. Isber Sabrine, president of an international NGO that documents cultural heritage, explained that crimes affecting cultural heritage are part of the “collateral damage of genocide”.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>“Libraries serve as cultural repositories, and attacking them is an attack on cultural heritage. What is happening now is a war crime. It goes against the first Hague convention,” Sabrine said. “Israel is trying to erase the connection of the people with their land. It’s very clear and intentional. Gaza’s heritage is part of its people, it’s history and their connection.” While cultural genocide erases tangible heritage like museums, churches and mosques, intangible heritage includes customs, culture and artefacts. These, too, have been damaged, including the Union of Palestinian artists on Jalaa Street in Gaza City and the well-known clay pots once baked in the city’s al-Fawakhir district.<p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">In a statement to Al Jazeera, UNESCO said: “While priority is rightly given to the humanitarian situation, the protection of cultural heritage in all its forms must also be taken into account. In accordance with its mandate, UNESCO calls on all actors involved to strictly respect international law. Cultural property should not be targeted or used for military purposes, as it is considered to be civilian infrastructure.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Here’s a closer look at some of the sites that have been destroyed or damaged:</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: var(--font-family); font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Museums</b></span></span> </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-weight: bolder;">The Rafah Museum</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> had completed a 30-year project to curate a collection of ancient coins, copper plates and jewellery, making it Gaza’s main museum of Palestinian heritage. It was an early victim in the war, destroyed in an air strike on October 11.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zrI8kaUNuzkWQH7BjCGdqQGOcQedL9gqmeqyses2j6ubDIYp_LOENvjFs9XULy8NAuwuZFDrX9oisczsfP1CeocbJT5P2rIoDvFmOaevSS9NEqLXaAN8WThAzSQUGyZa6GTPg3VAGW7nADyzMpEIgrVUf3dhYuSBDRkMGlU8gTgzoUbPCC6SBzVgnsU9/s275/download%20(3).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zrI8kaUNuzkWQH7BjCGdqQGOcQedL9gqmeqyses2j6ubDIYp_LOENvjFs9XULy8NAuwuZFDrX9oisczsfP1CeocbJT5P2rIoDvFmOaevSS9NEqLXaAN8WThAzSQUGyZa6GTPg3VAGW7nADyzMpEIgrVUf3dhYuSBDRkMGlU8gTgzoUbPCC6SBzVgnsU9/w400-h266/download%20(3).jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Qarara Museum </i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Farther east and once sitting on a hilltop, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Al Qarara Museum</span> (also known as the Khan Younis Museum) was opened in 2016 by Mohamed and Najla Abu Lahia, a husband and wife team who said they wished to preserve a history of Gaza’s lands and heritage for generations to come. Its collection consisted of about 3,000 artefacts dating back to the Canaanites, the Bronze Age civilisation that lived in Gaza and across much of the Levant in the second century BC. All that remains of the museum now are shards of pottery and smashed glass that has been blown out of the widows during an October air strike.ICOM-Arab told Al Jazeera this museum was given advanced warning by Israeli forces to empty its contents and evacuate to the south of Gaza.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">The Mathaf al-Funduq</span>, a small museum opened in 2008 and housed in the Mathaf Hotel in northern Gaza, was damaged by shelling on November 3.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq9IvgXkykCAPdwuiSX0ws-zyT-ju0hZB-HoB3ikBUz5gLC_8TM3f0U4yu8WvFZRjvkQSdrqD5ewNcqP54_eK6Th3m7aXa3acw725GZv8OSLWTGrw_yjG9w8kx0Nlr5azMnmCPvK6OhRABrSzBrFgIX-42OkSFaIfngssbFzlgFH6djFAKjVa3deRwOZZj/s640/Qasr%20al-Basha.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq9IvgXkykCAPdwuiSX0ws-zyT-ju0hZB-HoB3ikBUz5gLC_8TM3f0U4yu8WvFZRjvkQSdrqD5ewNcqP54_eK6Th3m7aXa3acw725GZv8OSLWTGrw_yjG9w8kx0Nlr5azMnmCPvK6OhRABrSzBrFgIX-42OkSFaIfngssbFzlgFH6djFAKjVa3deRwOZZj/w400-h300/Qasr%20al-Basha.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Qasr al-Basha</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />In Gaza City, the 13th-century <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Qasr Al-Basha, or Pasha’s Palace,</span> was turned into a museum in 2010 by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism, and a collection of artefacts from different periods of Gaza’s history was on display. The site was hit by Israeli air strikes on December 11, damaging its walls, courtyard and gardens. Like many of the heritage sites in Gaza, this building has changed ownership and functions several times over its history. The two-storey fort, built by Mamluk ruler Sultan Zahir Baybars in the mid-13th century, was once a seat of power, constructed as a defence against the Crusaders and Mongol armies. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">During the 17th century, it was used by Ottoman rulers and once served as lodgings for the French commander Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799 when he entered Gaza to try to stave off an expected Ottoman invasion of Egypt, where the French held court. Before the 1948 Nakba, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians became refugees during the creation of Israel and many fled into Gaza, the palace served as a police station for the British, who controlled the area, and later, it became a Palestinian girls school.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD4VmEAJN-eXc6Abr0OSaT4FXbw__gIjTwK3R_qVkYi2rmT2pHYgmmENU1ZYF8iD9LqZA-QT5EfexBVdgYImXN6LOY5nlaDQaT5pJVqk9UmHbbCLnFvPXHB3WSzg1mlb1MeQe3yQ6OjYSsG3z11s469UEAg4BH_k10LXd3A1Xk-1PxyCS_cF7oSYRrY5qv/s821/gaza_rashad_shawa1.jpg.2808483.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="821" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD4VmEAJN-eXc6Abr0OSaT4FXbw__gIjTwK3R_qVkYi2rmT2pHYgmmENU1ZYF8iD9LqZA-QT5EfexBVdgYImXN6LOY5nlaDQaT5pJVqk9UmHbbCLnFvPXHB3WSzg1mlb1MeQe3yQ6OjYSsG3z11s469UEAg4BH_k10LXd3A1Xk-1PxyCS_cF7oSYRrY5qv/w400-h300/gaza_rashad_shawa1.jpg.2808483.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rashad Shawa Cultural Center</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />During a <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/1/the-israel-hamas-truce-has-ended-what-we-know-so-far" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5;">week-long pause</a> in the Israeli bombardment that began on November 24, Palestinians were able to briefly survey the extent of the damage to their homeland. It rapidly became clear that many public service buildings had been destroyed, including the <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Rashad El Shawa Cultural Center </span>in Gaza City, once the venue for peace talks between PLO leader Yasser Arafat and US President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Samir Mansour’s community bookshop</span>, which was <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2022/2/24/books-across-borders-rebuilding-gazas-destroyed-bookshop" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5;">painstakingly restored</a> after the Israeli bombardment of 2021, was also badly damaged.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">The Library of the Great Omari Mosque </span>in Gaza City was once filled with rare manuscripts, including old copies of the Quran, biographies of Prophet Muhammad and ancient books on philosophy, medicine and Sufi mysticism. The library, established by Sultan Zahir Baybars and opened in 1277, once boasted a collection of 20,000 books and manuscripts. Many of the rare books and manuscripts housed there were lost or destroyed during the Crusades and World War I, leaving only 62 books. These hard copies have now also been destroyed in a <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/8/hamas-says-gaza-mosque-destroyed-urges-unesco-to-save-heritage" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5;">strike</a> on the Omari Mosque on December 8. A digitisation project of these books was completed last year by the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library and at the British Library and are accessible online at <a href="https://www.vhmml.org/readingRoom" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5;">HMML Reading Room</a>.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: var(--font-family);"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Mosques</b></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Gaza’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry estimated that as many as 104 mosques have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the Israeli assault. This includes the <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Othman bin Qashqar Mosque</span> in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, which was built in 1220 at the site where Prophet Muhammad’s great-grandfather is believed to have been buried. It was badly damaged in an air strike on December 7.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1IUTpJlmi_3rI5kF8Zr_MSO15NV_9zPezrhkk16yEVceatAQLPMfnmBF17hKRTCE01SNHW1lQ6tnuBR8wEFD4atsxJ6k-lVq3BDlwqMIiatZzz4fe5WMyOrmA1eSmsjEFPi886B2XlEsyoQmcMc92W1cPIXP68WhMfhp6t_gJvDqmp7bjG9FNa9FkIHJ/s1170/othman%20bin%20qashqar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1170" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1IUTpJlmi_3rI5kF8Zr_MSO15NV_9zPezrhkk16yEVceatAQLPMfnmBF17hKRTCE01SNHW1lQ6tnuBR8wEFD4atsxJ6k-lVq3BDlwqMIiatZzz4fe5WMyOrmA1eSmsjEFPi886B2XlEsyoQmcMc92W1cPIXP68WhMfhp6t_gJvDqmp7bjG9FNa9FkIHJ/w400-h223/othman%20bin%20qashqar.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Othman bin Qashqar mosque as it looks now</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Sayed al-Hashim Mosque, </span>built sometime in the 12th century and rebuilt in 1850, was damaged in an October air strike. This mosque, built of sturdy limestone in the Old City of Gaza, is of great significance for Muslims because it’s said to house the tomb of another of Prophet Muhammed’s great-grandfathers, Hashim bin Abd Manaf. Local lore says he was a merchant travelling back to Mecca from Syria when he became ill, died and was buried in what is now Gaza’s Daraj neighbourhood. A brief interlude of Crusader dominance followed the mosque’s contruction before the Mamluks took over and rebuilt it. It would later be renovated under the watch of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Majid in 1850 and again after damage in 1917 during World War I. Early in the current war, the mosque caught fire during an Israeli air strike, which damaged its walls and ceilings.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKovP_8qMoUx5C6q6Obac8LFQTmMvr2Gd58IBbp-WxGRKPkglfVWKlNwwrLFsia6INplqqFhC_j-hGKIwOWZxQC9J8dQ8jR9hmepXtXeSPb3N4bn23DUS6AMfnPeMS7K7Ub1ga7abmbr4y5EUiobmaYMgnRtUDiPn-wdQPT_kPuYIMj3M41HPRhVesqdm/s1280/1280px-Ibn_Othman_Mosque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKovP_8qMoUx5C6q6Obac8LFQTmMvr2Gd58IBbp-WxGRKPkglfVWKlNwwrLFsia6INplqqFhC_j-hGKIwOWZxQC9J8dQ8jR9hmepXtXeSPb3N4bn23DUS6AMfnPeMS7K7Ub1ga7abmbr4y5EUiobmaYMgnRtUDiPn-wdQPT_kPuYIMj3M41HPRhVesqdm/w400-h300/1280px-Ibn_Othman_Mosque.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The great Omari mosque</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Great Omari Mosque</span> has been a site of religious worship in one form or another for about two millennia. Known in Arabic as Al-Masjid al-Omari al-Kabir, it’s thought to be the first mosque built in the Gaza Strip 1,400 years ago. On December 8, it was <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/8/hamas-says-gaza-mosque-destroyed-urges-unesco-to-save-heritage" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5;">destroyed</a> in an Israeli air strike. Built out of local sandstone to accommodate as many as 5,000 worshippers for congregational prayers, all that remains is its Mamluk-era minaret, bent and broken. “This was more than just a mosque for the community,” Sabrine said. “One man told me he felt more sad about the destruction of the mosque than that of his own home.” </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Named after the second caliph of Islam, Omar bin Khattab, it was built in the seventh century on top of the ruins of an ancient church built in 406, which itself was built over the foundations of a pagan temple to the Canaanite fertility god, Dagon. Like many historical sites that outlive the people who built them, this one has different stories behind it. According to one account, Samson, an Israelite warrior mentioned in the Old Testament who was known to hold his strength in his hair, became buried under the rubble of the structure after he brought the walls of the pagan temple down upon himself. Others say the temple fell after the Byzantines burned down all pagan sites when they took over rule of Gaza from 390. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9bWwprQV3AIKr9eS3gOPWjKv1KmfPl6OBNDE5U07FDCW7fxp3MK1WyekjTyePgWhBJlxTU1InnPGSrc1N-jeFN0PfNqyzfQdHN9L4Gq1hXJfOize6KDN0ZspeURuFiegUdKNxKTGummD32mD4GstdV8IlVndOrf2mf2tOsWbMXs4POGWsXh0_y31Nrp6/s1155/1832044545.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1155" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9bWwprQV3AIKr9eS3gOPWjKv1KmfPl6OBNDE5U07FDCW7fxp3MK1WyekjTyePgWhBJlxTU1InnPGSrc1N-jeFN0PfNqyzfQdHN9L4Gq1hXJfOize6KDN0ZspeURuFiegUdKNxKTGummD32mD4GstdV8IlVndOrf2mf2tOsWbMXs4POGWsXh0_y31Nrp6/w400-h225/1832044545.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The great Omari mosque now</i></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Ayyubid conqueror Salah al-Din turned the building back into a mosque after the Crusaders had converted it to St John the Baptist Cathedral. The mosque had been used as a place of worship by the local Muslim community since 1291 and had served as a focal point for gatherings and cultural activities.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">In partnership with the British Library Endangered Archives Programme, HMML last year <a href="https://www.vhmml.org/readingRoom" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5;">digitised a selection</a> of ancient, single copy books from the mosque’s library that are unavailable “anywhere else in the world”, an HMML adviser told Al Jazeera. Works included the 14th century Book of Sufi Poems of Ibn-Zokaa and books by famed Gazan jurists, including Sheikh Skaike. The December strike was not the first time the mosque had been hit. It was also struck on October 19 and was also damaged during World War I and again during the 2014 assault by Israel on Gaza. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: var(--font-family);"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Churches</span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The floor of the <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Byzantine Church of Jabalia</span>, built in 444, was once decorated with colourful mosaics depicting animals, hunting scenes and palm trees. Its walls were adorned with 16 religious texts written in ancient Greek, which dated back to the era of Emperor Theodosius II, who ruled Bynatium from 408 to 450.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMU5IpCSYo4GTKXrUPAZ_D76HAwF9eK_UQbKxQtvAZ-fEwmE5v165QnZ_UDS7VnJhds-9Z63IIYz2-C7PMqpWnpxbmyqO6CqM8uSzjmTsteQTcE4Ls_J-ZyiAlFd-m4IT3kGRFUasmjWeDHeSM960rM_bcsQ6i7xMjjfKTcrBD3TyqAIqal0hyphenhyphen4wipbnxo/s900/kerk%20Jabalya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMU5IpCSYo4GTKXrUPAZ_D76HAwF9eK_UQbKxQtvAZ-fEwmE5v165QnZ_UDS7VnJhds-9Z63IIYz2-C7PMqpWnpxbmyqO6CqM8uSzjmTsteQTcE4Ls_J-ZyiAlFd-m4IT3kGRFUasmjWeDHeSM960rM_bcsQ6i7xMjjfKTcrBD3TyqAIqal0hyphenhyphen4wipbnxo/w400-h266/kerk%20Jabalya.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Floor of the Byzantine Church of Jabalya</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"> </span>The Palestinian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry reopened the church in early 2022 after a three-year restoration in collaboration with a French organisation, Premiere Urgence Internationale, and the British Council. At the time, the ministry’s Nariman Khella said: “The church was discovered during the paving of Salah al-Din Street, and the first thing that was discovered were two tombs, one for an old person and the other for a young child.” That same year, a farmer discovered <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/9/20/photos-byzantine-mosaics-discovered-under-gaza-farm" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5;">a series of intricate mosaics</a> nearby. The state of the tombs and the nearby mosaics remains unclear. As for the historic church itself, it was destroyed in October by Israeli air strikes.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Monastery of Saint Hilarion</span> is in an area called Tell Umm Amer in Nuseirat village on the coast and dates back to about 340 during Roman rule of the region. A “tell”, is a flat-topped mound, or hill, often marking the position of an ancient city. To withdraw from worldly life and immerse himself in spiritual pursuits, Saint Hilarion, a Christian who is said to be the founder of monasticism, built a small and simple room for himself in what he thought was a secluded spot in today’s Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Despite his desire for solitude, pilgrims sought him out in search of cures for ailments and spiritual guidance. Buildings around his simple room spread over the years, eventually becoming one of the largest monasteries in the Middle East.</p><div id="article-newsletter-slot" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both;"><div aria-label="Newsletter signup Widget" class="sib-newsletter-form general-style" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px 52px; padding: 20px; position: relative;"><div style="background-color: #f0f0f0; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13RO0GK5UtpD0zSjBhSNRkBrjMNQyGVjZB7Mhxbcf5q1cIJJRw3P9Rfrs_rjQhvl5edPVhpYahwUxFnPOqEtU2KyYzCRIoWgDcFT2pX9lRZPz6j-wWn-ikusn_H61iJjSwU4mXmrmeupaBePNbPP7macoH34C-9QeEEUqtPbkh3Shsd9w6w6M7hOO-fMO/s640/download%20(2).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13RO0GK5UtpD0zSjBhSNRkBrjMNQyGVjZB7Mhxbcf5q1cIJJRw3P9Rfrs_rjQhvl5edPVhpYahwUxFnPOqEtU2KyYzCRIoWgDcFT2pX9lRZPz6j-wWn-ikusn_H61iJjSwU4mXmrmeupaBePNbPP7macoH34C-9QeEEUqtPbkh3Shsd9w6w6M7hOO-fMO/w400-h300/download%20(2).jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Floor of the monastery of St. Hilarion</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Within the 25-acre (10-hectare) monastery’s sanctuary, there would eventually be five churches, a burial site, a baptism hall and ancient baths. Mosaics and limestone decorated the floors and walls to welcome pilgrims travelling the Via Maris from Egypt to Damascus. Damaged in an earthquake in 614, the site lay abandoned until Palestinian archaeologists started excavations in the late 1990s. The site, which UNESCO added to its Tentative World Heritage list in 2012, has been damaged in the Israeli bombardments.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The Greek Orthodox <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Church of Saint Porphyrius</span> has been located in Zeitoun for 16 centuries. It was struck and damaged on October 19. Considered to be the third oldest church in the world, Saint Porphyrius was built in 425 on the foundations of an ancient pagan site and was named after the Byzantine saint who had made it his mission to close down the pagan temples. He is thought to have been buried on the grounds of the church.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Like other significant sites, this church was turned into a mosque in the seventh century but reverted back to a church in the 1150s when Crusaders reclaimed it. Renovated in 1856, it has remained a place of worship for Gaza’s <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/1/under-israeli-attack-who-are-the-christians-of-gaza" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5;">Christian community</a> to pray and seek shelter during times of conflict. In the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/10/20/we-were-baptised-here-and-we-will-die-here-gazas-oldest-church-bombed" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5;">October 19 Israeli bombing</a>, 17 people were killed when the roof of the church caved in. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem said targeting the church “constitutes a war crime”. The neighbouring Ottoman-style <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Katib al-Wilaya Mosque</span>, built in the 15th century, sustained damage in the same attack.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcoeBhjqPTBeugw7eq-ObbzcRp5C80YQx69poFTScuA-YwGebY62VFtnENGfgsQtQLjOJtZJDKT8-9eUuIThFKrvJGZIPTEXM_HBwaXsweOANTVp3M-vPGut0HEYYoMmzLoGdoCfboA5eQh2dS5tlK_64SY8AV03BgTg_WwJvW6T-F6eQlvQN0lT4jaDVM/s1024/392741538_730013855834038_4200510531665795435_n-1024x576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcoeBhjqPTBeugw7eq-ObbzcRp5C80YQx69poFTScuA-YwGebY62VFtnENGfgsQtQLjOJtZJDKT8-9eUuIThFKrvJGZIPTEXM_HBwaXsweOANTVp3M-vPGut0HEYYoMmzLoGdoCfboA5eQh2dS5tlK_64SY8AV03BgTg_WwJvW6T-F6eQlvQN0lT4jaDVM/w400-h225/392741538_730013855834038_4200510531665795435_n-1024x576.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Church of St. Porphyrius</i></td></tr></tbody></table></p></div><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;"> Holy Family Church</span>, built in 1974, is Gaza’s only Roman Catholic church and a shelter for the local community. It was hit in an air strike on November 4. A school in the church complex was partially destroyed. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem confirmed that shrapnel from Israeli military strikes on buildings near the Holy Family Church had destroyed water tanks and solar panels on the roof of the church.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: var(--font-family);"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Other heritage sites </span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Ard-al-Moharbeen</span>, or the Roman Necropolis, was unearthed last year by archaeologists from Palestine and France after construction workers building new homes discovered tombs at the site. <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/25/four-tombs-unearthed-at-roman-era-cemetery-in-gaza" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5;">At least 134 tombs</a> dating from 200 BC to 200 AD with skeletons still intact were found in what is believed to be a Roman necropolis. Two intricately decorated lead sarcophagi were discovered, one with grape harvest motifs and the other featuring dolphins. Fadel Alatel, an archaeologist in Gaza and part of the Heritage for Peace network, was working on this excavation before October 7. He told Al Jazeera he was fearful of what may have happened to these rare tombs.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">“This is in the area where white phosphorous was dropped. Its damage to the site is unknown,” he said. “Also the winter weather and heavier rains may mean the rare discovery could be destroyed.”Alatel has worked to preserve Gaza’s heritage and archaeology through countless Israeli air strikes but said this time the situation is much worse and he has been unable to return to the site to survey the extent of the damage.</p>Forensic Architecture (FA), an investigative journalism agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London, has been documenting the destruction of cultural heritage in Gaza in its investigation <a href="https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/living-archaeology-in-gaza">Living Archaeology</a>. On October 8, one day after the Hamas attacks on Israel that started the war, researchers at the agency using satellite technology found evidence of three large craters from Israeli rockets at the archaeological site.<p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">In a report, FA stated: “This disregard for and destruction of Palestinian cultural heritage both diminishes Palestinian claims to statehood and denies Palestinians their fundamental right to access and preserve their own heritage.”<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivq6gP6O2YNc5GSdIOfclDvh8Qgyji4nJjD3kqQlgDt5Pl_2Qmnfu8kRfuTQ5NLGhJEa8iHqvsgZnCAVm5eN9_RVfk3Fo3OoZLOhWs-_t3Fk5olY_kCIrMwUH1zvOVX7MJ3rwqSSFnk1R1inkC3_LE6yyMNRQNX5YMQZzDJNiNoUnP2agZ-1Xv2W5Gawpy/s600/anthedon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivq6gP6O2YNc5GSdIOfclDvh8Qgyji4nJjD3kqQlgDt5Pl_2Qmnfu8kRfuTQ5NLGhJEa8iHqvsgZnCAVm5eN9_RVfk3Fo3OoZLOhWs-_t3Fk5olY_kCIrMwUH1zvOVX7MJ3rwqSSFnk1R1inkC3_LE6yyMNRQNX5YMQZzDJNiNoUnP2agZ-1Xv2W5Gawpy/w400-h225/anthedon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Anthedon</i></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The fate of another ancient site, a harbour, is known. It has been destroyed. Located in the northwest corner of Gaza, the enclave’s first known seaport, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Anthedon</span>, also known as Balakhiyah or Tida, was inhabited from 800 BC to 1100 AD, or from the Mycenaean era to the early Byzantine age. It became an independent city during the Hellenistic period. After Roman temple ruins and mosaic floors were discovered on the 5-acre (2-hectare) archaeological site, it was placed by UNESCO on its Tentative World Heritage list in 2012. Other remains date back to the late Iron Age and the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. </p></div><div style="background-color: #f0f0f0; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Hammam al-Sammara</span>, or Samaritan Bathhouse, was destroyed on December 8. It had pre-dated Islam and was likely established by the Samaritans, a religious sect of ethnic Jews who lived in the Zeitoun area, also known as the Jewish Quarter. The area had a thriving Jewish community until Crusader rule in the 12th century. The last Palestinian Jewish family <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/12/lost-history-gazas-jewish-quarter" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5;">lived in the neighbourhood</a> until the 1960s. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-x9FCldqZqjMjoaumYUIHVbTT2cC_ft-tlxPcRFSyeZJAHJxqKpNihJsAYbilkDa3CNC9YAdJc29D1HSBxBYHSZy1YFZJ9q9xrLJu5cqnc0kO4rPEdszge6fN3uHux4Ph-1ferZi5TNobqMALumVJ-Qn4fH5Qv6OqLbdun2we1PT1YUr7LhdWwydwzTCB/s523/Hamam-Al-Samara-Source-IWAN%20(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="523" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-x9FCldqZqjMjoaumYUIHVbTT2cC_ft-tlxPcRFSyeZJAHJxqKpNihJsAYbilkDa3CNC9YAdJc29D1HSBxBYHSZy1YFZJ9q9xrLJu5cqnc0kO4rPEdszge6fN3uHux4Ph-1ferZi5TNobqMALumVJ-Qn4fH5Qv6OqLbdun2we1PT1YUr7LhdWwydwzTCB/w400-h300/Hamam-Al-Samara-Source-IWAN%20(1).png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hammam al-Samara</i></td></tr></tbody></table>The only other piece of Jewish history in Gaza was the King David Mosaic, which dates to 508. It was discovered at the remains of a sixth century synagogue and depicted King David playing a harp. It was transferred to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem after Israel captured the Gaza Strip during the 1967 Six-Day War.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">At one time, Gaza City had 38 bathhouses. Many were lost during wars and occupation because there were a lack of resources to maintain them. The Hammam al-Sammara was the last one remaining. A sign once hung by its entrance stating it had been restored in 1320 by Mamluk ruler Sangar ibn Abdullah. The site was a popular meeting place for Gazans to socialise and seek cures for ailments under its traditional vaulted ceilings. With intricate, inlaid marble tiled floors the hammam was still heated using traditional wood-fired ovens and aqueducts.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Located northeast of Nuseirat, the fortified city of <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Tell el-Ajjul</span>, or Calves Hill, sits between the Mediterranean Sea and Wadi Gaza. It was established about 2000 to 1800 BC and has been damaged in the Israeli bombardment. British Egyptologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie discovered the site in the 1930s after he moved east into Palestine after excavating Giza’s Great Pyramid. Here he discovered gold jewellery and ancient coins used by the Hyksos, Romans and Byzantines. Most of his discoveries made between 1930 and 1934 when Gaza was under the British Mandate now reside at the <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x32568" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5;">British Museum’s</a> Institute of Archaeology in London. Other finds included imported pottery from Cyprus, bottles and scarabs, with many pieces dating as far back as the Bronze Age about 3,600 years ago. The artefacts also suggest Tell el-Ajjul was once a trading hub. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: var(--font-family);"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Status unknown</span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The status of Gaza’s many other historic sites remains unknown. According to Alatel, it is difficult to keep up with the situation on the ground because it “changes every five minutes”. Local photographers have been unable to return to many sites to assess the damage because of the dangerous situation.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ChqITJ31dWkmCI82Zv2OrPRu-CYJAfVRvR4wETkhBQ6fXoy61cZxzxL1MP4iKZYOKEHSJGUmPTe9Gw_bsYHWqi2QAIdn7fjfmkvN57FYEhX7pcYy7F0GPT5aO2JzTybRMSgVqpeD-Q_vuEg-9dxFQ3dWeGe2scF3JsM6CHfH6X2C6hedyf1JqgPOK_Km/s600/96_big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ChqITJ31dWkmCI82Zv2OrPRu-CYJAfVRvR4wETkhBQ6fXoy61cZxzxL1MP4iKZYOKEHSJGUmPTe9Gw_bsYHWqi2QAIdn7fjfmkvN57FYEhX7pcYy7F0GPT5aO2JzTybRMSgVqpeD-Q_vuEg-9dxFQ3dWeGe2scF3JsM6CHfH6X2C6hedyf1JqgPOK_Km/w400-h300/96_big.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Khan Younis caravanserai (Barquq's Castle) </i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px;"></span><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"> </span>These are a few of the sites whose condition is not yet known:Dating back to the 14th century, the <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Khan Younis caravanserai</span> was built to serve the needs of people travelling along the Via Maris. Named after its Mamluk founder, Younis al-Nuruzi, the khanate, or khan, was a type of inn that was popular in the region from around the 10th century, offering a place for travellers to rest and take a break during their journeys. This caravanserai, built in 1387, has a mosque, a post office and storage rooms. During an archaeological excavation from 1972 to 1982, a collection of unique, human-shaped pottery coffins were discovered at <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Deir el-Balah Cemetery</span>, dating back to the late Bronze Age (1550-1200 BC).</p><div><div aria-atomic="true" aria-live="polite" class="wysiwyg wysiwyg--all-content css-ibbk12" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: var(--font-family-article-body); line-height: 1.5; margin: 7px 0px 30px; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif !important; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Located in the Daraj neighbourhood, the Sufi mosque of <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Ahmadiyyah Zawiya</span> was established in 1336 by followers of Sheikh Ahmad al-Badawi, a well-known 12th century Sufi scholar who lived in Gaza. Sufi worshippers would gather there for collective prayers on Mondays and Thursdays. There has been shelling in the area, Alatel said, but it is as yet unknown what has become of the sacred site. “All our heritage sites are clearly marked, yet the Israeli military strikes, the tanks and the bulldozers continue,” the archaeologist said. “But I have faith all this will end. Even if they attempt to destroy our past, we will build back Gaza’s future.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif !important; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;">SOURCE:</span><span style="color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;"> </span><span style="color: #595959; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;">AL JAZEERA</span></p></div></div><div style="font-size: 20px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 20px;"><br /></div></div><div style="background-color: #f0f0f0; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></div><div class="sib-form-container" style="background-color: #f0f0f0; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: auto; position: relative;"><div class="sib-container--large sib-container--horizontal" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div></div>Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-48126332577619484242024-01-16T13:35:00.001+01:002024-01-16T13:42:09.928+01:00Palestinian Centre for Human Rights: The chilling testimony of a captive in Gaza<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqLuD06KaGBwVJ2P2F_C-FSQW4JlSWRJhVuvmzb_ts0-sFIFwl1LUwdYTgtHxYAl0LRDyTU_qf68N9Gxz1gq2-JMsfNEMDRQyQz2yRU4LNYWbDbH2SF2iGPSip6DbY-4hHmfsy9JxouGdPRPFah-m6FFNoADXHznVJ5qFLRtu7DxiRB-jqnVghpIreJsu/s849/Walid%20al-Khalili.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="849" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqLuD06KaGBwVJ2P2F_C-FSQW4JlSWRJhVuvmzb_ts0-sFIFwl1LUwdYTgtHxYAl0LRDyTU_qf68N9Gxz1gq2-JMsfNEMDRQyQz2yRU4LNYWbDbH2SF2iGPSip6DbY-4hHmfsy9JxouGdPRPFah-m6FFNoADXHznVJ5qFLRtu7DxiRB-jqnVghpIreJsu/w400-h394/Walid%20al-Khalili.jpeg" width="400" /></a></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Walid Anwar Yousif al-Khalili (35), a Palestine Medical Relief Society (PMRS) Paramedic from Gaza City, married and father of 3 children, has given the following testimony to PCHR on 02 January 2024. <i><a href="https://the-pessoptimist.blogspot.com/2024/01/palestinian-centre-for-human-rights.html">(Taken from PCHR)</a></i></span></span></strong></span></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><p class="has-text-align-left" style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">📑<span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I work as a paramedic at PMRS next to al-Quds Hospital in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City. At 10:00 on Monday, 13 November 2023, I met by coincidence Dr. Marwan al-Refati, the owner of Family Pharmacy in Gaza. I was wearing the PMRS paramedic uniform (a white coat with yellow lines bearing the Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems) and carrying a first aid kit. I was on my way to check on 3 persons injured in Abu Jalal Dughmosh’s house, so Dr. Marwan accompanied me. After checking on them, we left the house together and walked on al-Mughrabi Street towards Barcelona Stadium in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, southern Gaza City. At around 11:00 when we arrived at al-Sena’ah Street, east of the stadium,<strong style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> I heard a gunshot that hit Dr. Marwan in his abdomen. I looked to the west from which the bullet was fired, and saw Israeli soldiers in a residential building right to the west of the Barcelona Stadium. Only few seconds later, the Israeli soldiers, particularly snipers, fired another bullet at Dr. Marwan’s forehead, so he fell on the ground and left to bleed to death. </strong> The Israeli snipers continued shooting at me, so I hid behind a truck parked in the area and luckily did not get injured. At the time, I was hearing the Israeli tanks opening fire and firing artillery shells. All of this happened at the beginning of the Israeli forces’ ground invasion into southern Gaza City. I stayed behind the truck until 01:00 on Tuesday, 14 November 2023, when I managed to crawl towards al-Sena’ah Street and entered an apartment on the second floor in an empty residential building. I stayed there until midnight on 15 November, when I heard 3 consecutive explosions and saw a red glow lighting the area. Suddenly, I heard Israeli soldiers screaming, so I knew the attack was by the Palestinian resistance groups. Shortly, the soldiers raided the building I was staying in and blew up the apartments’ doors, including my apartment, with explosives and grenades. I went to hide in a closet while the Israeli soldiers were searching the apartments, which were all empty. They then left the building and fired shells and incendiary bombs, setting the building on fire. I rushed out of the apartment toward the elevator, which was out-of-service, and used its ropes and cables to climb down until I reached the basement and got out through the window to a nearby villa, which was empty as well. I stayed in the villa for some time and slept until noon out of exhaustion. I then went to the villa’s roof to see tents set up by the soldiers with Israeli tanks and vehicles surrounding the area. I went downstairs and sent 2 messages to my wife and Dr. ‘Aaed Yaghi, PMRS’s Director, telling them about what happened with me.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">📅 <span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">At around 15:30 on Wednesday, 15 November 2023, the Israeli soldiers raided the villa amid shooting and I saw laser lights, so I shouted at them to stop and help me in Hebrew. The soldiers stopped shooting and one of them ordered me to take off my clothes, except for my boxer, and sit with his head down on knees. I was then handcuffed behind my bank and blindfolded, and they then walked me out to another house. <strong style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">They removed the blindfold and I saw 20 soldiers in green uniforms bearing the American flag. Suddenly, they started punching me and continued for a long time, fracturing some of my breastbones</strong>. They then set me to a polygraph asking me why I was here and I answered them in details. They then asked me if I did any phone calls and I said yes but the polygraph made a sound. Suddenly, I was beaten and electrically shocked, so I changed my answer to no I just sent 2 text messages to my wife and my boss. However, they kept beating me and showed me pictures of a tunnel accusing me of coming out of it, kidnapping Israelis and Americans, and being a from the Hamas elite forces spying on the Israeli soldiers and existing in a combat zone. I denied all of that, but they electrically shocked me 5 times and severely beat me all over my body, causing unbearable pains due to breaking my ribs and injuring my head. After not being able to bear the pain anymore, I admitted to all the accusations and they took me handcuffed behind my back, blindfolded and wearing only my underwear in a troop carrier, where there was a soldier speaking Arabic fluently and treated me well. He offered me water and biscuits and loosen the blindfold and the plastic ties. The carrier travelled for some time and then stopped to throw me on the ground. The soldiers again beat me while I was on the ground, spit on me and peed as well. They then brought me back to the carrier, which kept going and then stopped again to deploy the Israeli soldiers in other places. All the way I was subjected to the same abuses. I was then taken to a destroyed house, where I stayed all night and was forced by the soldiers to sleep on the floor that was covered with broken glass and scattered rubble; during which, the soldiers were stepping on me causing bruises all over my body.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">◼️<span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the morning, I was taken in the troop carrier to Israel and I knew that after hearing setters’ children swearing at me and seeing them from behind the blindfold. We arrived at a military site that I did not know where it was nor its name. I appeared before a military investigator from the Golani brigade, who forced me to take a pill presumably of hallucinatory effects with a very small amount of water and when I asked for more water, the investigator refused. The soldiers then put me a diaper and a kaki jumpsuit and I lied on the bed after they placed an iron ring around my head and steel handcuffs in my feet that were both used to sporadically shock me in the head and feet. The investigator started to utter specific words waiting for my answer like (weapon-Hamas-hostages-tunnels- October 7th) and when I do not answer or the investigator did not like my answer, he shocks me. Honestly, I was feeling very weird like flying in the sky and not fully aware to be able to respond to the questions. I remained like this for days during which I was forced to take the hallucinatory pills and electrically shocked, imagining myself in our house and calling my family. They offered me no food nor water and I was still wearing a diaper not feeling like going to the bathroom.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">◼️<span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Few days later, I was taken in a bus to a detention facility, which I did not where it was nor its name, while I was blindfolded and handcuffed. After being examined by several doctors inside the prison, the doctors noticed how exhausted I was and decided to cease the investigations with me for 2 days. I stayed in a room without windows and with one bed. Two days later, I was then subjected to investigations by 2 investigators identifying themselves from the Shin Bet along with 5 other masked persons, who stood behind the chair I was tied to with my hands to the back and my feet to the chair feet. Before starting their investigation, I was forced to take the hallucinatory pill and the masked persons strongly pulled my hands to the back, causing me a severe pain and I fainted for some time. They then started investigating me and again addressing me with the same accusations that I belong to Hamas and took part in the October 7th events as a member of al-Qassam’s elite forces. I denied all of that, so they forced him into Shabeh (shackling his hands and legs to the chair) until I wished to die wanting relief from pain and agony. This continued for several hours sporadically, and they then forced me out to a yard for sometime with my hands tied. Whenever I move my hands, the cuffs press on my writs, causing injuries and leaving signs on them. They then returned me to the investigation room and forced me again in the Shabeh position but this time tying me to the door for hours.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">◼️<span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Afterwards, I was taken to a prison that may have been called Itamar, according to what some of the detainees later learned. The prison contained several iron cages with 100 detainees in each and surrounded by barbed wires. All detainees were blindfolded and tied with plastic wires as well as steel handcuffs in front of them. They gave the detainees clothes (gray pajamas), a mattress, blanket, and food, which were only 3 small meals that is barely enough for one person, and they hardly allowed the detainees to go to the bathroom. The prison routine on a daily basis from 05:00 in the morning until 12:00 midnight was the soldiers forcing the detainees to sit on the ground on their knees and prevented them from speaking to each other all the time while most of the detainees were subjected for interrogation every two days.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">◼️<span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In one of the interrogation sessions, an investigator interrogated me introducing himself from the Mossad and that he came to interrogate me about me involving in kidnapping foreigners, especially Americans. He threatened to kill me if I did not confess, and persons accompanying him started punching me for some time and then again forced me to take a hallucinogenic pill. They took me to another room, where I heard gunshots and soldiers pretending to escape and that members of Hamas took over the place and entered the room asking me about the brigade I belong to, where I live, and the mosque near me. I told them I am a paramedic and do not belong to Hamas or Al-Qassam (it turned out that they were so-called “birds”, who are deployed among detainees to deceive them and obtain confessions from them). They then left, and soldiers came in and took me to another place, which was a container. There was an investigator who said he was from Golani brigade. The soldiers tied my feet with a chain and pulled me to the ceiling. My head was dangling down putting his head into a bucket of water. I was extremely thirsty so I drank a large amount of water. They pressed my head down in the water for some time, and shackled my hands and feet that I barely touched the ground in front of the investigation room for several hours. After taking me down, they returned me to the room, and the investigator drew an ambulance on the wall asking me to drive it and bring Sinwar, Hamas Leader. I told him there was no fuel in the ambulance, so he gave me an electric shock. I pretended to be driving the ambulance and heading to Tal al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City. After I returned, I told him that Sinwar had gone to Egypt. The investigator laughed and said that he would go to Al-Nasr neighborhood in Gaza City and bring Sinwar. A female soldier then came in, gave me a piece of chocolate, and took me back to the cage.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In one of the investigation rounds, they took me naked except for my boxer to a yard, poured cold water on me, and turned on the fans, causing me to freeze.</span></span></strong></span></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">♦️While I was in the cage inside the prison, one of the detainees died in the same cage. The detainees got outraged, carried him, and chanted that he was a martyr of torture, so the soldiers stormed the cage I was in and the other cages, threw sound bombs, and assaulted all the detainees with batons. Two days later, a second detainee (foot amputee/a person with disability) died in a nearby cage after being severely beaten on the head when the soldiers raided the cages. Although I was blindfolded, I noticed subjecting other detainees into shabeh positions in the cold rainy weather, whether while interrogating them or in order to punish them because they spoke to each other. I was also hearing the Israeli soldiers calling the detainees by their names for interrogation, punishment, or Shabeh. One of the names I heard was Dr. Muhammad Abu Silmiyah, Director of Al-Shifa Complex in Gaza City, Dr. Saif El-Jamal and Dr. ‘Abd Rabbo.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">♦️I want to add that I was subjected to Shabeh on a wire twice only for speaking with a detainee next to me. during my last night in the prison, the soldiers called about 30 detainees, including me, and took us in a bus for several hours with our hands and feet tied, blindfolded and looking down. They beat us all the way to Kerem Shalom crossing in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. After arriving, the border guards forced us to collect the trash and clean the yard inside the crossing for a while. They then told us to run to the west towards an UNRWA place. When we arrived, a female UNRWA employee of a foreign nationality received us and gave us food and drinks (rice, meat, biscuits, chocolate, tea, and coffee). We ate the food after being deprived of food for a long time, as we were only offered small meals and not sometimes no food at all (baguette, labneh, tuna, and jam, but in small amount). Afterwards, we walked until we reached the Rafah crossing, where we met individuals introducing themselves from the Internal Security. They wrote down our personal data, and allowed us to leave. We took a minibus that drove us to Rafah, where I learned that the date was 23 December 2023, and thus my detention was for 41 days. I was able to reach my colleagues in the PMRS who evacuated from Gaza City to Rafah, and others who were already residents of Rafah and I am staying </span><em style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">with them now.</em></span></span></p>Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-85547293411136305782024-01-13T11:51:00.003+01:002024-01-13T11:51:44.404+01:00US and Britain attack Houthis in reprisal for attacks on shipping<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbgm2P03Ma0zq0wuKS86zCz2TH8R8kueCUchBHbYCbs0BxBTK_LaUQo9bLdNF5LFp4ewyUTrYAKR9pIomMaoJKHrPfhT7dxndzhifmLhW9zNbXRwCuFjvrCkTNZh3_1WG4bzJIVBjHz8E5SrgReh01Nh7xGDXFAvRaW0FTfeh_YKEJSilGW2wESt1K8WIb/s640/Jemen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="640" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbgm2P03Ma0zq0wuKS86zCz2TH8R8kueCUchBHbYCbs0BxBTK_LaUQo9bLdNF5LFp4ewyUTrYAKR9pIomMaoJKHrPfhT7dxndzhifmLhW9zNbXRwCuFjvrCkTNZh3_1WG4bzJIVBjHz8E5SrgReh01Nh7xGDXFAvRaW0FTfeh_YKEJSilGW2wESt1K8WIb/w400-h235/Jemen.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <span style="color: #404040; font-family: var(--tr-font-regular);">U.S. and British warplanes, ships and submarines launched dozens of air strikes across Yemen against</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: var(--tr-font-regular);"> </span><a class="text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__inherit-font__1Y8w3 text__inherit-size__1DZJi link__link__3Ji6W link__underline_default__2prE_" data-testid="Link" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/who-are-yemens-houthis-iran-allied-group-threatens-red-sea-shipping-2023-12-14/" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: inherit;">Houthi</a><span style="color: #404040; font-family: var(--tr-font-regular);"> </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: var(--tr-font-regular);">forces in retaliation for months of attacks on Red Sea shipping that the Iran-backed fighters cast as a response to the war in</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: var(--tr-font-regular);"> </span><a class="text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__inherit-font__1Y8w3 text__inherit-size__1DZJi link__link__3Ji6W link__underline_default__2prE_" data-testid="Link" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/israel-hamas/" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: inherit;">Gaza</a><span style="color: #404040; font-family: var(--tr-font-regular);">. Th strikes were in cooperation with the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and Bahrein.</span><p></p><p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__full_width__ekUdw body__small_body__2vQyf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #404040; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Witnesses confirmed explosions at military bases near airports in the capital Sanaa and Yemen's third city Taiz, a naval base at Yemen's main Red Sea port Hodeidah and military sites in the coastal Hajjah governorate.</span></p><p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__full_width__ekUdw body__small_body__2vQyf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #404040; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">"These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation," U.S. President Joe Biden said. </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">The Pentagon said the U.S.-British assault reduced the Houthis' capacity to launch attacks, especially complex </span><a class="text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__inherit-font__1Y8w3 text__inherit-size__1DZJi link__link__3Ji6W link__underline_default__2prE_" data-testid="Link" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-uk-forces-shoot-down-houthi-missile-drone-attack-red-sea-us-military-2024-01-10/" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">operations</a><span style="font-size: 16px;"> such as those they carried out earlier in the week.</span></span></p><p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__full_width__ekUdw body__small_body__2vQyf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-5" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #404040; font-family: var(--tr-font-regular); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;">The U.S. military said 60 targets in 28 locations had been hit, using more than 150 munitions.</p><p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__full_width__ekUdw body__small_body__2vQyf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-6" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #404040; font-family: var(--tr-font-regular); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;">"I know we have degraded (their) capability," U.S. Lieutenant General Douglas Sims told a media briefing. "I don't believe that they would be able to execute the same way they did the other day. But we will see."</p><p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__full_width__ekUdw body__small_body__2vQyf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-10" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #404040; font-family: var(--tr-font-regular); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;">In Yemen, enormous crowds gathered in cities. Drone footage on the Houthis' al-Masirah TV showed hundreds of thousands of people in Sanaa chanting slogans denouncing Israel and the United States.</p><div class="article-body__element__2p5pI" style="margin: 24px 0px; width: 708.664px;"></div><p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__full_width__ekUdw body__small_body__2vQyf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-11" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #404040; font-family: var(--tr-font-regular); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;">"Your strikes on Yemen are terrorism," said <a class="text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__inherit-font__1Y8w3 text__inherit-size__1DZJi link__link__3Ji6W link__underline_default__2prE_" data-testid="Link" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/large-protests-break-out-yemen-after-us-british-attacks-2024-01-12/" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: inherit;">Mohammed Ali al-Houthi</a>, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council. "The United States is the Devil."</p><p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__full_width__ekUdw body__small_body__2vQyf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-12" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #404040; font-family: var(--tr-font-regular); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;">Biden, whose administration removed the Houthis from a State Department list of "foreign terrorist organisations" in 2021, was asked by reporters if he felt <a class="text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__inherit-font__1Y8w3 text__inherit-size__1DZJi link__link__3Ji6W link__underline_default__2prE_" data-testid="Link" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-says-yemens-houthis-are-terrorist-group-2024-01-12/" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: inherit;">the term "terrorist" described the movement</a> now. "I think they are," he said.</p><p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__full_width__ekUdw body__small_body__2vQyf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-7" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #404040; font-family: var(--tr-font-regular); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;">The Houthis, who have controlled most of Yemen for nearly a decade, said five fighters were killed in 73 air strikes. They vowed to retaliate and continue their attacks on shipping, which they say are intended to <a class="text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__inherit-font__1Y8w3 text__inherit-size__1DZJi link__link__3Ji6W link__underline_default__2prE_" data-testid="Link" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-say-un-resolution-navigation-red-sea-is-political-game-2024-01-11/" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: inherit;">support Palestinians</a> against Israel. </p>Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-88825211172064180352023-10-28T15:57:00.003+02:002023-10-28T15:59:27.298+02:00Car accident on desertway Alexandria-Cairo: 32 dead<p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEith4ymTNhyafTw0-rVWpkkn7HC12nMJzVU_xdTDik-Jhfa1zIsTQiUHySiCjq3x2v32Xvu90JQnmHfwAnQQ1kpAqEJPS_BhWvnnmisontpPP5ppsY9EKB8v5Z0U1aeio7y-8qiRFwjDTCMwi8sDu8D5NnV79R1wK2cf0ioIgrlD9fkzi9iLh_2j1G9fc-a/s800/cars%20burning.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEith4ymTNhyafTw0-rVWpkkn7HC12nMJzVU_xdTDik-Jhfa1zIsTQiUHySiCjq3x2v32Xvu90JQnmHfwAnQQ1kpAqEJPS_BhWvnnmisontpPP5ppsY9EKB8v5Z0U1aeio7y-8qiRFwjDTCMwi8sDu8D5NnV79R1wK2cf0ioIgrlD9fkzi9iLh_2j1G9fc-a/w400-h266/cars%20burning.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <i>Ahram online</i></td></tr></tbody></table>At least 32 people have been killed in a multi-car pileup on a highway in Egypt’s Beheira governorate, according to authorities. More than 60 people were also reported injured in the road accident on Saturday, Egypt’s health ministry said. The collision took place in morning fog when a passenger bus on its way to Cairo slammed into a parked vehicle on the highway linking the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, according to local media and authorities. Other cars slammed into the bus, with some catching fire.<p></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The state-run al-Ahram newspaper said there was “a horrific collision on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road near Wadi al-Natroun”, about 160km (100 miles) north of Cairo. Images posted on social media showed an overturned truck lying across the fast lane on charred tarmac. Further on is at least one bus and a minibus, both largely gutted by fire, as well as many cars, some still in flames.</p>Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-48725845095627926092023-10-26T15:43:00.000+02:002023-10-26T15:43:13.727+02:00After 9.000 killed parties in Sudan resume negotiations<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtThD3mL2dtFDJ86wUzM0oSBO8af6EF4GDFeZcFYmchSqNWm6V69laP8ZpJwYPVTxp-W89VE0u5LUWZirR1jRsHHniDZlU_U2LXcQ8JXYXbx2oit_rE7TE0Gabr8CdlkgUcsZnl7Josz-UPYY6lAhtijsjj2S9DtHDJhAMSkRI44ysTGAQsJK1v8MtGiA/s1024/Screengrab_of_refugee_camp_from_Number_of_Refugees_Who_Fled_Sudan_for_Chad_Double_in_Week.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="1024" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtThD3mL2dtFDJ86wUzM0oSBO8af6EF4GDFeZcFYmchSqNWm6V69laP8ZpJwYPVTxp-W89VE0u5LUWZirR1jRsHHniDZlU_U2LXcQ8JXYXbx2oit_rE7TE0Gabr8CdlkgUcsZnl7Josz-UPYY6lAhtijsjj2S9DtHDJhAMSkRI44ysTGAQsJK1v8MtGiA/w400-h268/Screengrab_of_refugee_camp_from_Number_of_Refugees_Who_Fled_Sudan_for_Chad_Double_in_Week.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sudanese refugees in Chad</i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">S</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">udan’s warring parties have resumed negotiations in Saudi Arabia aimed at ending the war that has killed more than 9,000 people and displaced some<b><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/26/sudan-warring-sides-resume-peace-talks-in-saudi-arabia"> 5.6 million since April.</a></b> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/22/sudan-army-chief-warns-un-that-war-could-spill-over-engulf-region" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">deadly war</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who commands the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has devastated the country.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The United States and Saudi Arabia brokered the mediation efforts, which have had limited effect, yielding brief truces that were </span><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/21/analysis-port-sudan-fighting-reflects-tribal-army-tensions" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0059a5; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">systematically violated</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">.The warring sides announced on October 25 that they had accepted an invitation to resume negotiations. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The talks are taking place “in partnership” with representatives of the African Union and the East African bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), led by close US partner Kenya, according to Riyadh. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes the resumption of talks” between the warring sides, the host country said in a statement.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The statement called on negotiators to abide by an earlier agreement announced on May 11 to protect civilians, as well as a short-term ceasefire agreement signed on May 20.</span></span></p>Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-6428476142290790592023-09-07T15:07:00.004+02:002023-09-07T15:07:54.422+02:00UN-experts seek justice for unfairly imprisoned Palestinian aidworker<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2jHzNZMtyWtfLPtNucaXybSscgjk2KVpjx5PZq8imHef8MSN0-4WDxrAwxgMo_14f7TqqtyaOGS_TzOqk9_XfdrbbhNtNdjTenmD5upYIWRNEl3PACvziCTNLLJjiqDZ_W1gxtDs0bWuZg9chApjFgFYwC_R3MN8sZggz_oBTmBa1ibX3SPEzF-aORkz/s1000/Halabi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1000" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2jHzNZMtyWtfLPtNucaXybSscgjk2KVpjx5PZq8imHef8MSN0-4WDxrAwxgMo_14f7TqqtyaOGS_TzOqk9_XfdrbbhNtNdjTenmD5upYIWRNEl3PACvziCTNLLJjiqDZ_W1gxtDs0bWuZg9chApjFgFYwC_R3MN8sZggz_oBTmBa1ibX3SPEzF-aORkz/w400-h268/Halabi.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mohamed Halabi</i></td></tr></tbody></table>GENEVA, Thursday, September 7, 2023 (WAFA) – UN experts today urged Israeli authorities to reverse the conviction of an imprisoned Palestinian aid worker Mohammed El-Halabi for alleged terrorism-related charges and ensure his immediate release.“Mr. El-Halabi’s conviction and 12-year prison sentence are based on deeply flawed proceedings and egregious violations of the right to a fair trial, including the lack of evidence against him presented in open court, the extensive use of secret evidence, closed-door hearings, restricted communication with his lawyer, severe restrictions on the lawyer for the preparation of his defense, and the failure to try him without undue delay,” the experts said.<br /><br />''By convicting and imprisoning Mr. El-Halabi, Israel has not achieved its purported aim of deterring any act of terrorism,” said the experts. “Instead, by this act, Israel is violating international law and aggravating the coercive environment for Palestinians under occupation, by using ‘counter-terrorism’ legislation to silence, penalize and punish Palestinians who engage in legitimate human rights and humanitarian work.”<br /><br />El-Halabi, the former program director of World Vision’s Gaza office, was arrested in June 2016 by Israel’s Shin Bet security service after being accused of diverting millions of dollars in humanitarian funds to armed groups in Gaza. During his pretrial detention that spanned six years, he was reportedly subject to solitary confinement, alleged ill-treatment that may amount to torture and coercion to provide a confession. He was severely beaten, causing loss of hearing in one ear. <div><br /></div><div>El Halabi had reportedly repeatedly refused plea bargains offered by the prosecution. On 15 June 2022, El-Halabi, was convicted of 13 counts of terrorism-related charges, including membership in a terrorist organization and diverting humanitarian funds to finance terrorist activities. The prosecution did not present any evidence to substantiate charges against El Halabi. Earlier an investigation by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and a forensic audit ordered by World Vision found no evidence that he had diverted any charity funds. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison on 30 August 2022. <div><br /></div><div>His appeal hearings have been repeatedly postponed after Israeli authorities refused to provide access to the files to enable preparation for the appeal process.“Mr. El-Halabi’s prolonged pretrial detention and repeated postponements of his appeal hearings demonstrate blatant disregard for the right to a fair trial, which explicitly guarantees that the accused be tried and heard without undue delays, at all stages of criminal proceedings,” the experts said. “Such manifestly unfair proceedings may render his detention arbitrary under international human rights law. He should be released immediately,” they said.“We urge Israeli authorities to uphold Mr. El-Halabi’s right to a fair trial, including the right to have one’s conviction and sentence reviewed by a higher court expeditiously,” the experts said. “Should Mr. El-Halabi be acquitted of the charges, he should be compensated for wrongful punishment and the physical and psychological abuses he has suffered in detention.”The experts previously raised concerns with the Government of Israel regarding Mohammed El-Halabi’s case, in 2020 and 2022. There has been no response to these communications from Israeli authorities to date.<br /><br />The UN experts included: Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967; Ashwini. K.P. Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; and Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.</div></div>Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-73865472487341287322021-09-09T22:05:00.000+02:002021-09-09T22:05:01.881+02:00HRW: Egypt's national security killed unlawfully alleged ''terrorists'' <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0XjRn7LH_oU_f3wAQj_VpYpYDjZc_46oD34y2usSbU3ba7MxIAjSd4vniFNh5TUhVTYBfvayAZ9ha9eLSZYK-LZjCboYFzd6vf8_kFVNzBRy5-6Xu20Vg27Vzna-Ly1QHcOidveRqJ4C/s800/Egypt+state+security.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="800" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0XjRn7LH_oU_f3wAQj_VpYpYDjZc_46oD34y2usSbU3ba7MxIAjSd4vniFNh5TUhVTYBfvayAZ9ha9eLSZYK-LZjCboYFzd6vf8_kFVNzBRy5-6Xu20Vg27Vzna-Ly1QHcOidveRqJ4C/w400-h268/Egypt+state+security.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Freight Text W01", Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px;">(Beirut) –</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Freight Text W01", Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px;"> </span><a href="https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/egypt" style="--text-opacity: 1; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Freight Text W01", Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; text-decoration: inherit; transition-duration: 0.4s; transition-property: color, background-color;">Egypt’s</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Freight Text W01", Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Freight Text W01", Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px;">Interior Ministry police and National Security Agency officers have in recent years apparently killed dozens of alleged “terrorists” across the country in unlawful extrajudicial executions they contend are “shootouts,” Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.</span><p></p><p style="border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: "Freight Text W01", Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 1.5rem 0px;">The 101-page report, “<a href="https://www.hrw.org/node/379703" style="--text-opacity: 1; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: inherit; transition-duration: 0.4s; transition-property: color, background-color;">‘Security Forces Dealt with Them’: Suspicious Killings and Extrajudicial Executions by Egyptian Security Forces</a>,” found that the alleged armed militants killed in the so-called shootouts did not pose an imminent danger to security forces or others when they were killed and in many cases had already been in custody. Egypt’s international partners should halt weapons transfers to Egypt and impose sanctions against the security agencies and officials most responsible for ongoing abuses.</p><p style="border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: "Freight Text W01", Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 1.5rem 0px;">Human Rights Watch found that the Interior Ministry announced the deaths of at least 755 people in 143 alleged shootouts between January 2015 and December 2020, with only one suspect arrested. The ministry statements identified only 141 of those killed and used copy-paste language, providing very little detail.</p><p style="border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: "Freight Text W01", Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 1.5rem 0px;">Almost all the statements claimed that the alleged militants opened fire first, compelling security forces to return fire. The authorities alleged that all those killed were sought for “terrorism” and that most belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood. The group has faced the harshest repression in the nationwide crackdown on dissent since the July 2013 military coup led by now-President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.</p><p style="border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: "Freight Text W01", Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 1.5rem 0px;">Human Rights Watch closely examined the cases of 14 individuals who were among 75 men killed in nine of those incidents in mainland Egypt (Human Rights Watch <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/05/28/if-you-are-afraid-your-lives-leave-sinai/egyptian-security-forces-and-isis#4139" style="--text-opacity: 1; border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: inherit; transition-duration: 0.4s; transition-property: color, background-color;">previously documented</a> several extrajudicial executions in North Sinai). No suspects were arrested in the nine incidents and there were no casualties among security forces. Human Rights Watch interviewed 13 relatives and acquaintances of the men as well as several Egyptian human rights lawyers and activists and a journalist who documented extrajudicial killings.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: "Freight Text W01", Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 1.5rem 0px;">Families and acquaintances of the 14 men said the victims had been arrested, most likely by the National Security Agency, and were in custody before they were reported killed. Eight of the families said they or friends or acquaintances witnessed their arrest. Thirteen said their relatives had been forcibly disappeared and that they had officially inquired about their whereabouts before their killing. Members of eight families said they saw what they believed were signs of abuse on the bodies of their killed relatives, including burns, cuts, broken bones, or dislocated teeth.</p><p style="border: 0px solid; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: "Freight Text W01", Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 1.5rem 0px;">All the families said national security officers intimidated and harassed them when they tried to locate the body and seven said security forces forced them to bury their relatives without any funeral or service. All but one said they had to actively seek information about the death and the location of the body. One man’s family was only able to collect his body after two months, and families of two others killed in December 2018 have still not been able to collect their bodies.</p>Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-20344703178900650252020-09-25T11:14:00.002+02:002020-09-25T11:18:21.882+02:00Chelsea owner Abramovich donated $100 million to ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-HsJJDyWfr7ryv1pGrNvz3j_8ZEiQWio9ucI_OW1QyREL5q7XNYlzxUSc2ezccsMxy3L7-hsSVF0pqoXI2cnA9pkrg1h2N-7YaFgHV9SDRE9Ybj5qG2ikTfK8a860PgZQTqmgnpW2rCp/s676/Abramovich+wiki.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="676" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-HsJJDyWfr7ryv1pGrNvz3j_8ZEiQWio9ucI_OW1QyREL5q7XNYlzxUSc2ezccsMxy3L7-hsSVF0pqoXI2cnA9pkrg1h2N-7YaFgHV9SDRE9Ybj5qG2ikTfK8a860PgZQTqmgnpW2rCp/s320/Abramovich+wiki.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">Bank documents indicate that companies associated with or controlled by the Israeli-Russian billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich have contributed nearly 350 million shekels ($102 million) to the Elad organization, which works to strengthen the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem and ethnically cleanse the city. <b><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-companies-linked-to-roman-abramovich-donated-100-million-to-right-wing-group-1.9173187">The disclosure</a></b> links the Russian-born oligarch to four companies that are registered in the British Virgin Islands and over which up to now, it was not known who was behind them.</span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">The documents, which were submitted to Congress as part of an investigation of alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential elections in the United States, were leaked to the </span><a class="sx sy jn gb sz ta tb tc td te tf w ck go gp" href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(32, 100, 255); box-sizing: inherit; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; transition-duration: 0.25s; transition-property: all; transition-timing-function: cubic-bezier(0.55, 0, 0.1, 1);" target="_blank">BuzzFeed website</a><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">, which shared them with the </span><a class="sx sy jn gb sz ta tb tc td te tf w ck go gp" href="http://www.icij.org/" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(32, 100, 255); box-sizing: inherit; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; transition-duration: 0.25s; transition-property: all; transition-timing-function: cubic-bezier(0.55, 0, 0.1, 1);" target="_blank">International Consortium of Investigative Journalists</a><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">. Through that organization, they were shared with 400 journalists from 108 media outlets worldwide. This writer (Uri Blau) and the Shomrim Center for Media and Democracy are the Israeli members of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.</span></div><p><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">Although Elad itself and the donations that were transferred to it were not mentioned at all in the documents, efforts to track those involved led to the Israeli nonprofit. In recent years, Elad, which is also known as the Ir David Foundation, has branded itself as dealing primarily with education and tourism and less with increasing the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;"> </span><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">As a whole, </span><a class="sx sy jn gb sz ta tb tc td te tf w ck go gp" href="https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-right-wing-israeli-group-elad-received-millions-from-shadowy-private-donors-1.5413604" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(32, 100, 255); box-sizing: inherit; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; transition-duration: 0.25s; transition-property: all; transition-timing-function: cubic-bezier(0.55, 0, 0.1, 1);">Elad</a><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;"> </span><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">is one of Israel’s largest and wealthiest nonprofit organizations and has assets of huge proportions. For the year 2018, the most recent year for which reports have been submitted to Israel's registrar of nonprofit organizations, Elad had an estimated turnover of roughly 116 million shekels. In its reporting for that year to the registrar of nonprofits, Elad listed real estate holdings valued at nearly a quarter of a billion shekels, of which approximately 140 million shekels related to its residential real estate for Jewish residents.</span><p></p><p></p><p><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">One of the four is a company called Farleigh, from which Elad received almost 176 million shekels. Another firm named Leiston gave Elad just under 94 million shekels. A company named Ovington gave about 65 million shekels and Cantley, the fourth firm, contributed roughly 13 million shekels. </span><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">The four companies, registered in the pastoral Virgin Islands on the same day in 2003 and at the same address, collectively contributed a total of 348,422,122 shekels, amounting to about half of Elad’s total contributions for those years. In 2007, they transferred about 90 percent of the donations that Elad received that year, and for the year, most of the contributions were reported as going to “various development and residential projects in the City of David.”</span></p><p><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">The four companies that contributed to Elad are mentioned in the report submitted to the U.S. Treasury Department by the American branch of Deutsche Bank. The documents state that Roman Abramovich is the ultimate beneficial owner of three of the companies (Farleigh, Cantley and Ovington). </span><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">The document doesn’t state who the ultimate beneficial owner of Leiston is, but it says that according to a number of sources (the bank is apparently referring to media outlets), Leiston is an investment company that holds a number of contracts with soccer players and is under the control of an associate of Abramovich.</span><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">The Russian-born Abramovich, who is known mainly for his ownership of the British soccer team Chelsea, became an Israeli citizen in 2018. He has a fortune estimated at between $12 billion and $13 billion and in recent years has purchased several luxury properties in Israel.</span></p><p><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">The huge contributions to Elad that have been made by companies linked to Abramovich have assisted in changing the reality on the ground in one of the most explosive locations in the world. </span><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;">For example, when the contributions began to flow in from the Virgin Islands, Elad had already brought about 190 Jewish residents to Silwan and the City of David National Park, which it runs, received about 150,000 </span><a class="sx sy jn gb sz ta tb tc td te tf w ck go gp" href="https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-israels-city-of-david-a-tourist-attraction-concealing-a-violent-enterprise-1.5453052" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(32, 100, 255); box-sizing: inherit; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; transition-duration: 0.25s; transition-property: all; transition-timing-function: cubic-bezier(0.55, 0, 0.1, 1);">visitors</a><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18px;"> a year. Fifteen years and about $100 million dollars later, the number of Jewish residents had nearly doubled and the number of visitors to Elad’s various sites surpassed the 500,000 mark.</span></p><div style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: inherit; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><div class="FI_PH" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: inherit;"></div></div><div class="u v w x y z" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: inherit; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; opacity: 1; transition-duration: 0.25s; transition-property: opacity; transition-timing-function: linear;"><div class="ab" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="du" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: inherit; text-align: center;"><div class="ab atf atg tn to ol om" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 1.71429rem; line-height: 1.75em; padding-bottom: 0rem; padding-top: 0rem;"><div style="background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: inherit;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div>Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-74755693673070786222020-09-25T10:37:00.002+02:002020-09-25T10:38:47.792+02:00Fatah and Hamas agree on holding elections<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify;">Secretary-General of the Central Committee of Fatah Movement, Jibril Rajoub, said today that Fatah and Hamas, the two main factions in Palestine, have reached a consensus on holding the elections based on the system of <b><a href="https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/120327">proportional representation.</a></b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify;">"We have conducted an intensive national strategic dialogue at the Palestinian Consulate in Istanbul, and we reached a clear vision of the mechanisms for building national partnership through proportional representation elections, starting with the Legislative Council elections, then the presidential elections, and finally the National Council," Rajoub told official Palestine TV. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify;">The Fatah Secretary General said voting will be held wherever possible, while in areas where holding an election is not possible, the factions will have to reach a consensus on the mechanism of representation.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify;">He added, "We are waiting for the invitation of President Mahmoud Abbas to the secretary-generals of the Palestinian factions to endorse the principle and confirm the mechanisms, starting with the issuance of the presidential decree and until the final stage."</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify;">Rajoub said the secretary-generals of the Palestinian factions will be required to meet in a week to agree on the mechanisms to continue the process of building the national partnership, based on the statehood project and the popular resistance to confront the "deal of the century", the Israeli annexation plan and the normalization wave.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify;">"Building national unity is a strategic goal of the agreement, and is our path to elections. The democratic process is the only way to build our political system," he stressed.</span></p>Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-19913101966249109822020-09-23T12:53:00.003+02:002020-09-23T12:56:55.498+02:00After normalisation UAE and Bahrain with Israel Palestine turns down to preside over Arab League<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvHF9eROULoi4JnBH5F1uhgk0fC8yLaPB834TO7Jr3hln-hKopPa3XBBoqne6SfkDmkoB8dc7rd5oOuPGnLiwxCJvjme7MP5U2J15vw0OG85ntXWHzQdwZB1gMW0sYwyW_lHEJoHKenI5/s800/Riyadh+Malik+Wafa.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="510" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvHF9eROULoi4JnBH5F1uhgk0fC8yLaPB834TO7Jr3hln-hKopPa3XBBoqne6SfkDmkoB8dc7rd5oOuPGnLiwxCJvjme7MP5U2J15vw0OG85ntXWHzQdwZB1gMW0sYwyW_lHEJoHKenI5/s320/Riyadh+Malik+Wafa.jpg" /></a></div><br /> <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Palestine has decided to relinquish its right to preside over the Council of the Arab League at its current session in reaction to the decision of some Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel, said <b><a href="https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/120292">Foreign Minister Riyad Malki</a></b>.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">“The State of Palestine has decided to relinquish and forsake its right to preside over the Arab League Council because it is not an honor for it to watch the rush of the Arabs toward normalization (of relations with Israel) while it serves as the chair (of the Arab League),” said Malki, slamming the Arab countries that have signed normalization agreements with Israel in Washington on September 15, in reference mainly to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">“Since the decision to rush after (normalization) was taken in Washington, it does not serve any purpose to exert any more effort to sway (the Arabs) against normalization particularly since they are not the decision-makers, regretfully,” he said at a press conference.</span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Malki stressed that Palestine will not withdraw from the Arab League, explaining that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has been a member of the League since 1976, because withdrawal “will create a vacuum and can generate different scenarios that we do not need at this sensitive stage.”</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">He stressed however that there are Arab states that are firm in their position against normalization with the occupation, expressing hope that they will hold on to this position and remain committed to the decisions of the Arab League and the Arab Peace Initiative.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Malki said he does not want the name of Palestine to be linked through its presidency over the Council to this grim period, pointing out that the UAE and the Bahraini decision to normalize relations with Israel represents a turning point in joint Arab action, and the Arab League, whose long legacy in supporting the Palestinian cause, is facing a dilemma in this regard.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">He said that there are some influential Arab countries that have refused to condemn the departure from the Arab Peace Initiative and have dropped a resolution condemning normalization. (One of the countries was Egypt, AbuP.)</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">"Unfortunately, the General Secretariat of the Arab League took a decision to overlook the UAE normalization and has failed to issue a resolution condemning the normalization of relations with Israel during the last meeting of the League, which was a regular meeting held at the level of foreign ministers, headed by Palestine, on September 9," said Malki.</span></p><p></p>Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-74604106179275915492020-05-02T14:09:00.000+02:002020-05-02T14:09:05.297+02:00Sudan makes female genital mutilation unlawful<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFAc2EJnqUIBWYT9v51g2H_a6zKF1bpCdg-YydOsvohzYa9OmPxSJqSkqJsdtG0sdXeUyXc5p20_xt2mP9-dkgyI38owuVswofFPV5QYwL4U_8FpE6kX_mjP3jxBNqO0NFmBTUJEbE2d9q/s1600/khartoum+wiki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="700" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFAc2EJnqUIBWYT9v51g2H_a6zKF1bpCdg-YydOsvohzYa9OmPxSJqSkqJsdtG0sdXeUyXc5p20_xt2mP9-dkgyI38owuVswofFPV5QYwL4U_8FpE6kX_mjP3jxBNqO0NFmBTUJEbE2d9q/s400/khartoum+wiki.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<i>Khartoum (Wikipedia)</i><br />
<br />
The transitional government of Sudan has ecided to make female genital mutilation a criminal offense. The amendment to the Criminal Law Article 141 was endorsed by both the Sovereign and Ministerial Councils <b><a href="https://www.unicef.org/sudan/press-releases/sudan-enters-new-era-girl-rights-criminalization-fgm">on 22 April.</a></b> All amendments proposed by National Council for Child Welfare (NCCW) in line with UNICEF vision to promote child rights were also endorsed.<br />
This measure came after years of persistent advocacy by all stake holders; the NCCW, women and child advocates, donors including UK aid and the Swedish government, UN agencies, and international and national organizations.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Sudan is considered one of the countries where the female genital mutilation or cutting prevalence is very high. According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) 2014, the FGM/C rate is 86.6 per cent. There is also evidence of decline among the younger age group 14-0 years from 37 per cent in 2010 to 31.5 in 2014.<br />
“This practice is not only a violation of every girl child’s rights, it is harmful and has serious consequences for a girl’s physical and mental health,” says Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Sudan. “This is why governments and communities alike must take immediate action to put an end to this practice. Every girl deserves to be ‘saleema’, he added.The intention is not to criminalize parents, and we need to exert more effort to raise awareness among the different groups, including midwives, health providers, parents, youth about the amendment and promote acceptance of it, said Abdullah Fadil.Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-29787022259364834762019-10-14T15:20:00.001+02:002019-10-14T15:20:13.168+02:00Syrian Kurds shift alliance to Damascus, Assads troops on their way to the north<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7G2D-a1vh87-DqM5HR8warErTKYx3sufuM82l9ovrxejxD2MkK9-DjdzkGiqHmpb5oDWGm2dp5q0vKgZDAhusZgwGSFLDyXxj7FvYlyS7wxB-B04_hgGF1_iVSLwx0uXqVl5WYkx7rRXE/s1600/Qamishly_view+wiki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="650" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7G2D-a1vh87-DqM5HR8warErTKYx3sufuM82l9ovrxejxD2MkK9-DjdzkGiqHmpb5oDWGm2dp5q0vKgZDAhusZgwGSFLDyXxj7FvYlyS7wxB-B04_hgGF1_iVSLwx0uXqVl5WYkx7rRXE/s400/Qamishly_view+wiki.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="t-body-text">
<i> Qamishli (Photo Wikipedia)</i></div>
<div class="t-body-text">
<br /></div>
<div class="t-body-text">
Syria's Kurds said Syrian government forces
agreed Sunday to help them fend off Turkey's invasion — a major shift in
alliances that came after President Donald Trump ordered all U.S.
troops withdrawn from the northern border area amid the <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/syrian-kurds-shift-alliance-and-make-deal-with-assad-government-to-rebuff-turkey-1.7971230"><b>rapidly deepening chaos. </b></a></div>
<div class="h-mb emb-wrapper">
<div class="t-body-text">
<strong></strong></div>
</div>
<div class="t-body-text">
<span>The Syrian government troops will deploy along the border with Turkey to
help Kurdish fighters fend off Ankara's military offensive in northern
Syria, the Kurdish-led administration in the region said. </span>
</div>
<div class="speakable">
<span>The move, announced on Sunday, represents a major shift in alliance for Syria's Kurds and came </span>hours after the United States said it was withdrawing its troops from the area to avoid getting caught in the middle of the fast-escalating conflict.</div>
<div class="speakable">
The Kurdish-led administration in a statement on Facebook said it had <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/syrian-army-deploy-turkey-border-orders-pullback-191013191238367.html"><b>brokered the agreement </b></a>with Syrian President <span>Bashar al-Assad's government to counter Turkey's ongoing push, which has drawn widespread condemnation. </span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span>"In order to prevent and confront this aggression, an agreement
has been reached with the Syrian government ... so that the Syrian army
can deploy along the Syrian-Turkish border to assist the Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF)," the statement said. </span><br />
<div class="t-body-text">
Syria’s state news agency said Monday
morning government forces have entered the northern town of Tal Tamr<b> </b>that is <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/syrian-kurds-shift-alliance-and-make-deal-with-assad-government-to-rebuff-turkey-1.7971230"><b>close to Turkey’s border. </b></a>SANA said the Syrian army moved into
the area to “confront the Turkish aggression,” without giving further
details.
</div>
<div class="t-body-text">
The report says residents of Tal Tamr that is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Turkish border welcomed the troops.
</div>
<div class="t-body-text">
Adding to the turmoil Sunday, hundreds of Islamic State families and supporters escaped from a holding camp in Syria - the camp <span>in Ain Issa, some 35km south of the border, that is home to some 12,000 people</span> - amid the fighting between Turkish forces and the Kurds.
<span><span>Some 859 people successfully escaped from the section of the facility <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/syrian-army-deploy-turkey-border-orders-pullback-191013191238367.html"><b>housing foreign nationals.</b></a></span></span></div>
<div class="t-body-text">
The fast-deteriorating situation was set in motion last week, when Trump ordered U.S. troops in northern Syria to step aside, clearing the way for an attack by Turkey, which regards the Kurds as terrorists. </div>
<div class="t-body-text">
Over the past five days, Turkish troops and their allies have pushed
their way into northern towns and villages, clashing with the Kurdish
fighters over a stretch of 200 kilometers (125 miles). The offensive has
displaced at least 130,000 people.
The number of desadly victims remaisn largely unknown.</div>
Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-19999808854264780292019-10-08T11:59:00.000+02:002019-10-08T11:03:18.119+02:00At least 105 killed in nationwide protests in Iraq<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsm4GmDIkQ9C5In8dDczJsW3PMykJzFCsgS_34gDsUYGV0qXIAO1hvgmheMNfy9_2Kj-zx7EL5KFw1k8PaKjdzJobsZ35ULPaUHph5PgItTGiX39SZ1tJG5radVxfUfDKmdEMxaRAaH4GT/s1600/baghdad+3.10.2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsm4GmDIkQ9C5In8dDczJsW3PMykJzFCsgS_34gDsUYGV0qXIAO1hvgmheMNfy9_2Kj-zx7EL5KFw1k8PaKjdzJobsZ35ULPaUHph5PgItTGiX39SZ1tJG5radVxfUfDKmdEMxaRAaH4GT/s400/baghdad+3.10.2019.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b>Updated October 8: </b>More than hundred people have been killed so far in the protests in several Iraqi cities. The number of 105 was cited by the Iraqi Humna Rights Observatory. The army has admitted that it used<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/iraq-protests-latest-updates-191004085506824.html"><b> ''excessive force;''</b></a>. The Iraqi president, Barham Salih, condemned the attacks on portesteres (and the media) and urged the security forces to respect the rights of the protesters.<br />
In Iraq the internet is still cut off. Prime minister Abdul Mahdi has ordered the military forces to be replaced by federal police units. Also he ordered the intelligence service to open an inquiry. (End of Update)<br />
An indefinite curfew has been imposed October 2 in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and southern cities after two days of anti-government protests descended into violence and left at least 13 people dead and hundreds <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/iraq-imposes-curfew-baghdad-deadly-protests-191003060238724.html"><b>more injured.</b></a>
On Thursday morning, riot police fired in the air to disperse hundreds of protesters angry at high unemployment gathered at Tahrir Square in central Baghdad in defiance of the curfew.<br />
"We slept here so the police don't take the place," one demonstrator told AFP news agency before being pushed back by the police.<br />
Since erupting in Baghdad on Tuesday, the protests have spread to other cities in the country's south, posing a challenge to Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's one-year-old government. Curfews were also imposed in the holy city of Najaf and in Nassiriyah on Wednesday after security forces fired on protesters who demand end to rampant power cuts, water shortages and state corruption. <br />
<a name='more'></a>Anger over staggering rates of youth unemployment, which is around 25 percent or double the adult rate according to the World Bank, appears to have set off the latest round of demonstrations."We want jobs and better public services. We've been demanding them for years and the government has never responded," said Abdallah Walid, a 27-year-old protester.<br />
The southern city of Nasriya, which has seen so far the deadliest protests with a total of eight protesters and one police officer killed. More than 400 others have been wounded in the nationwide protests.<br />
All vehicles and individuals are totally forbidden to move in Baghdad as of 5am today, Thursday, and until further notice," Abdul Mahdi said on Thursday in a statement. Travellers to and from Baghdad airport, ambulances, government employees in hospitals, electricity and water departments, and religious pilgrims are exempt from the curfew, the statement said.<br />
Demonstrations over similar issues engulfed the southern city of Basra last summer and effectively ended previous premier Haider al-Abadi's chances of a second term. Abdel Mahdi now faces a similar challenge just weeks before his government marks a full year in power.
Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-6215201528399155892019-10-08T11:14:00.002+02:002019-10-08T11:14:39.181+02:00Trump gives Turkey green light to attack Kurds in Northern Syria<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcrmAS0DZejZ_vYShr7On1E2vvQgMXA2sTP5DhqCoS4dnk_4ujRc4zxMIoDPUQhjWI4KPcGlFtnOgYp9oq2j6SWxzB4eF-hMcGcp09lcJwqt4QgIIEXbGU7JywB-a6_Yf0FrZMM2nxdhC/s1600/Kurds+Northern+Syria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="220" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcrmAS0DZejZ_vYShr7On1E2vvQgMXA2sTP5DhqCoS4dnk_4ujRc4zxMIoDPUQhjWI4KPcGlFtnOgYp9oq2j6SWxzB4eF-hMcGcp09lcJwqt4QgIIEXbGU7JywB-a6_Yf0FrZMM2nxdhC/s400/Kurds+Northern+Syria.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<i> (Photo Wikipedia)</i><br />
The White House has given the green light to a Turkish offensive into
northern Syria, moving US forces out of the area in an abrupt foreign
policy change that will in effect abandon the Kurds, Washington’s longtime <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/syria-kurds-vow-form-human-shields-fend-looming-push-191007205116067.html"><b>military partner.</b></a><br />
Kurdish forces have spearheaded the campaign against Islamic State in
the region, but the policy swerve, after a phone conversation between
Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday, means Turkey would take custody of captured Isis fighters, the White House said.<br />
It has also raised fears of fresh fighting between Turkey and Kurdish forces in Syria’s complex war now the US no longer acts as a buffer between the two sides.<br />
Trump defended his decision, saying the Kurds
were “paid massive amounts of money and equipment” to fight and that he
was leaving the fight against Isis to others for the time being.<br />
“We are 7,000 miles away,” he tweeted, while vowing to crush the extremist movement “if they come anywhere near us”.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Monday its US
partners had already begun withdrawing troops from areas along Turkey’s
border. Footage aired on Kurdish news agency Hawar purportedly showed US
armoured vehicles evacuating key positions near the towns of Ras al-Ayn
and Tal Abyad in the border region. Erdoğan also confirmed the
development in remarks to reporters in Ankara.<br />
<div class="speakable">
Kurdish civilians in northeastern Syria are planning to stage open-ended sit-ins in areas near the border with Turkey in response to a looming Turkish military operation, according to local <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/07/us-to-let-turkish-forces-move-into-syria-abandoning-kurdish-allies"><b>activists and journalists.</b></a></div>
<div class="speakable">
Sitting in "huge tents", people of all ages have begun gathering in the towns of Ras al-Ain, Tal Abyad and Kobane.</div>
Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-82057369346779762142019-09-27T12:20:00.000+02:002019-10-03T12:23:31.056+02:00Attacks on two Saudi oil refineries: what followed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tkIzGDCPV65_HrYoadqIDOGQJvGycKQ_NSCTxqMLIDX9PvdOorUL9EkuXDS9fo9E3W8hTZOGVhm_EYMgTbJkE9AqhJpyZyLE2B4JlRPFTMXGG5mVAewP3Lzf-n-EHIYHojKugRClwGC4/s1600/aramco+saudi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="679" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tkIzGDCPV65_HrYoadqIDOGQJvGycKQ_NSCTxqMLIDX9PvdOorUL9EkuXDS9fo9E3W8hTZOGVhm_EYMgTbJkE9AqhJpyZyLE2B4JlRPFTMXGG5mVAewP3Lzf-n-EHIYHojKugRClwGC4/s400/aramco+saudi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="speakable">
Tensions in the Middle East have surged following <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/drones-hit-saudi-aramco-facilities-fires-190914051900472.html">attacks</a> on two major oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. The pre-dawn attacks on September 14 knocked out
more than half of the top global exporter's output - five percent of the
global oil supply - or about 5.7 million barrels per day.
</div>
<div class="speakable">
Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility but US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo s<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/saudi-oil-attacks-latest-updates-190916102800973.html"><b>wiftly accused Iran, which rejected the allegations.</b></a> Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, promised to "confront and deal with this terrorist agggression", while US President Donald Trump hinted at possible military action.</div>
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Ankara would continue to
purchase oil and natural gas from Iran despite US sanctions.<br />
Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf, called on the UN and the
world to apply "utmost pressure with every tool available" to end what
he said was Iran's aggressive conduct.
At UNGA on Thursday, the foreign minister again blamed Iran for the
September 14 missile and drone attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities
and said the best way to control Tehran was by cutting off its financial
resources.<br />
Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan noted that when a country was looking for international support
after such an attack it would normally call for an emergency meeting of
the Security Council. "There's been no such request from the Saudi government,'' he said.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
The Pentagon said it plans to send four radar systems, a battery of
Patriot missiles, and about 200 support personnel to bolster Saudi
Arabia's defences after the largest-ever attack on the kingdom's oil
facilities this month.<br />
The deployment details clarify the Pentagon's announcement last week
about US plans to deploy more forces to Saudi Arabia after the September
14 attack on the world's biggest crude oil processing facility, which
Washington has blamed on Iran.<br />
In a statement, the US military said it was also putting additional
capabilities on "prepare to deploy orders" - meaning they could be
mobilised more quickly in a crisis. These include two additional Patriot
missile batteries and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or
THAAD. <br />
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani challenged countries who accused
Iran of carrying out this month's attack on a Saudi Arabian oil facility
to provide evidence.<br />
"Those who make the allegations must provide the needed proof. What
is your evidence?" he told reporters in New York, a day after addressing
the UN General Assembly.<br />
The United States, France, Germany and Britain have all blamed Iran
for the attacks on the kingdom's Abqaiq plant and the Khurais oil field,
which knocked out half of Saudi Arabia's oil production.<br />
Rouhani also urged the US to "cease this policy of maximum pressure" in favour of "dialogue, and logic and reason".<br />
<br />
<br />Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-11204561277926326202019-09-07T14:42:00.000+02:002019-09-07T14:52:29.293+02:00Iran activates advanced centrifuges in third upgrade of atomic program<div class="speakable">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQT_eiI0uxGLdwsrzyj6n5u7BVUVD8lY7zOL1r_2MXEf0-uTS1R2x1gGgyUVGG3_s9ic4uB9KpFD0l6lMl9VRXZeT_n5ydN05Q4dnhkWbt23oqcLNX9TYPeyKusAABIcjcvdPdtHYi6IL/s1600/Natanz+anti-aircraft+gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="300" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQT_eiI0uxGLdwsrzyj6n5u7BVUVD8lY7zOL1r_2MXEf0-uTS1R2x1gGgyUVGG3_s9ic4uB9KpFD0l6lMl9VRXZeT_n5ydN05Q4dnhkWbt23oqcLNX9TYPeyKusAABIcjcvdPdtHYi6IL/s400/Natanz+anti-aircraft+gun.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<i>Anti-aircfat gun guarding Natanz (Photo Wikipedia) </i><br />
<br />
Iran has
begun injecting gas into advanced centrifuges to increase its stockpile
of enriched uranium, an official has announced, warning that time is
running out for other signatories to save a <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/iran-activates-advanced-centrifuges-latest-nuclear-move-190907054456905.html"><b>multilateral 2015 nuclear deal.</b></a></div>
<div class="speakable">
In the meantime negotiations are still underway between France and Iran about a loan of some $ 15 billion, in order to truy to svae the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/02/world/middleeast/iran-france-nuclear-deal.html"><b>nuclear deal (see below) </b></a><br />
<b></b></div>
<div class="speakable">
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, said on Saturday the agency had started up advanced centrifuges at Iran's enrichment facility in Natanz as the third step by Tehran in scaling back its commitments under the crumbling pact following the United States' unilateral withdrawal last year.</div>
<div class="speakable">
"We have started lifting limitations on our
research and development imposed by the deal ... it will include
development of more rapid and advanced centrifuges," Kamalvandi said.</div>
"The capacity of these machines is many times more than the previous
machines. This started as of yesterday (Friday)," he continued, adding
that "all these steps are reversible if the other side fulfils its promises".<br />
In two separate moves already, Iran reduced its commitments outlined
in the crumbling deal and vowed further measures unless the European
signatories of the pact did more to shield Tehran's economy.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
The deal - agreed on by Iran, China, France, Germany,
Russia, the United Kingdom, the US as well as the European Union -
offered Tehran relief from many international sanctions in exchange for
accepting curbs on its nuclear programme.<br />
Since US President Donald Trump pulled
out of the deal last year and reimposed crippling sanctions, Iran has
maintained that it wants to save the pact but has demanded the remaining
signatories - especially the Europeans - provide additional economic
support.<br />
"As far as the other side does not implement their commitments, they
should not expect Iran to fulfil its commitments," Kamalvandi said,
adding that Iran had the ability to go beyond 20 percent enrichment of
uranium.<br />
According to analysts, 20 percent is just a short technical step away from 90 percent enrichment, which is weapons-grade level.<br />
<div class="css-exrw3m evys1bk0">
<br /></div>
<div class="css-exrw3m evys1bk0">
<b>France </b></div>
<div class="css-exrw3m evys1bk0">
A senior Iranian delegation arrived in
Paris on Monday to work out the details of a financial bailout package
that France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, intends to use to compensate
Iran for oil sales lost to American sanctions. In return for the money,
Iran would agree to return to compliance with a 2015 <b><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/02/world/middleeast/iran-france-nuclear-deal.html">nuclear accord.</a></b></div>
<div class="css-exrw3m evys1bk0">
Iranian
press reports and a senior American official say that the core of the
package is a $15 billion letter of credit that would allow Iran to
receive hard currency, at a time when most of the cash it makes from
selling oil is frozen in banks around the world. That would account for
about half the revenue Iran normally would expect to earn from oil
exports in a year.</div>
<div class="css-exrw3m evys1bk0">
Mr. Macron’s
government has declined to provide any details of its negotiations with
the Iranians, though it was the subject of discussion between the French
president and President Trump at the <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/us/politics/g7-trump-macron.html?module=inline" title="">Group of 7 summit</a> last weekend.</div>
Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-78131399099690353972019-08-17T22:03:00.003+02:002019-08-17T22:04:40.239+02:00Sudanese sign deal between military and opposition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-gl2OCIhuCcgey0esoC2aHLKra07SrCLKSlMt8ZHgKetR4SEzX9xXojXlmLKyRxa1rdl31OwX4wtkaPeRCkE7wS0Kz1OCqNZaHfeIMSdd3P3IfKHHtTEFICB4RXjQpc-hXlK1GKp7mQt/s1600/sudan+agreement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-gl2OCIhuCcgey0esoC2aHLKra07SrCLKSlMt8ZHgKetR4SEzX9xXojXlmLKyRxa1rdl31OwX4wtkaPeRCkE7wS0Kz1OCqNZaHfeIMSdd3P3IfKHHtTEFICB4RXjQpc-hXlK1GKp7mQt/s400/sudan+agreement.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="speakable">
<i>The agreement is signed (via Twitter)</i></div>
<div class="speakable">
<br /></div>
<div class="speakable">
Sudan's
main opposition coalition and the ruling military council have formally
signed a final power-sharing deal, paving the way for a transition to a
civilian-led government.</div>
<div class="speakable">
The landmark agreement signed on Saturday in the
capital Khartoum came after a long period of negotiations following the
overthrow of longtime leader President Omar al-Bashir in <b><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/sudan-protest-leaders-military-sign-transitional-government-deal-190817122225172.html">the wake of mass protests.</a></b></div>
The deal was inked between Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy chief of the Transitional Military Council (TMC), and Ahmed al-Rabie, who represented the Alliance for Freedom and Change umbrella group.
The ceremony was attended by heads of states, prime ministers and dignitaries from several countries, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir.<br />
The power-sharing deal creates a joint military and civilian sovereign
council to rule for a little over three years until elections can be
held.<br />
Under the agreement, a military leader would head the 11-member
council for the first 21 months, followed by a civilian leader for the
next 18. It would also establish a cabinet appointed by the activists
and a legislative body.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Sudan's sovereign council would include TMC head Abdel Fattah
al-Burhan, the deputy Dagalo and Lieutenant General Yasser Al-Atta, the
TMC's spokesperson told Sky News Arabia.<br />
<br />
Under a power-sharing agreement, the sovereign council would include
five members selected by the TMC, five picked by the main opposition
coalition, and one agreed upon by both sides. Two members of the military side will be named later.<br />
The constitutional declaration deal reached on August 4 brought an
end to nearly eight months of upheaval that saw masses mobilise against
al-Bashir, who was removed in April after 30 years in power.<br />
The agreement, brokered by the African Union and Ethiopia, was welcomed with relief by both sides.Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-58269509212213819272019-08-14T21:10:00.003+02:002019-08-14T21:10:40.409+02:00Takeover of Aden by separatists weakens the front against the Houthis <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwgyz8lqPXDqL6pSz40K3Nf91FsXj3s-AR_wYQdH6dTibbE5srlUCkbFuwFBh_L2eMovqw6pBHtqbcDLPDezd3WCYAp1BTLsN3oAoLn4FXZJvSramFHlFwSitF1qRJ6y2WeKZqiKNBw00/s1600/Yemen+STC+separa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="173" data-original-width="320" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwgyz8lqPXDqL6pSz40K3Nf91FsXj3s-AR_wYQdH6dTibbE5srlUCkbFuwFBh_L2eMovqw6pBHtqbcDLPDezd3WCYAp1BTLsN3oAoLn4FXZJvSramFHlFwSitF1qRJ6y2WeKZqiKNBw00/s400/Yemen+STC+separa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<i>Separatists celebrate the takeover of Aden </i><br />
<br />
A Southern Yemeni organisation that seeks the secession (or autonomy) of South Yemen, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) on after four days of fighting <b><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/yemeni-official-uae-won-aden-saudi-silent-slaughter-190811144214211.html"> on Saturday took effective control of various parts of Aden.</a></b> With vehicles donated by the United Arab Emirates and without meeting too much resistance as it seems, they took over military camps, the home of the interior minister and the almost-empty presidential palace where guards agreed to leave without a fight. Forty people were killed in the fighting and 260 were wounded.<br />
STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi on Sunday said in a televised appearance the council was committed to a <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/saudi-led-coalition-calls-aden-ceasefire-reports-190810202651708.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #005079; cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;">ceasefire</a> called by Saudi Arabia, and said the separatists were willing to attend a meeting called by Riyadh a day earlier. He added they were also willing to work with the Saudi-UAE-led military coalition battling Yemen's Houthi rebels. On the surface the front against the Houthis seems to remains intact in this way, but the real significance of the take over lies in the fact that a serious split between the two main components of the anti-Houthi-front came into the open in this way: the Saudis who back the officially recognized Yemeni governement of Abed Rabbou Mansour Hadi at the one hand and the United Arab Emirates who support the STC at the other.<br />
The two countries have been fighting the Houthis the last five years with the backing by the US and Great Britain among others in a war that has cost ttrens of thousands of lives and had brought hunger and destruction. It hasn t brought them nearer a victory however. The Sauedis mainly bombed fro the air, the UAE had his troups in the South, but recentl;u announced that it is going to withdraw them. That gae the STC the opportunity to take over Aden.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Mansour Hadi, who became the official presdident in 2012 after the old president Ali Abdallah Saleh abdicated, changed his residency to Aden after the Houthis took over Sanaa in 2014. He was originally Saleg Adjudant and was elected as an interim president in a contest where there were no other candidates. In 2019 he is still around, although he was most of the time in Saudi Arabia. Now he has lost his second capital as well.<br />
The loss of Aden has a special significance as far as the fight with the Houthis is concerned. The two parts of Yemen have long been separated. In 1839 the British made Aden its Crown colony and it remained British till 1967. After that year the South became communist, wary as it was of colonialist adventures. In 1990 the two parts of Yemen were at last re-united again, but after rigged elections in 1994 and a civil war a year later, the South was again brought under Northern patronage. Separatist tendencies remained however, enforced by justified claims that the North did littl;e to dvelop the South. Also it was the scene of islamist upheavals and activities of a branch of al-Qaida.<br />
The fact that Aden is in the ahbdsa of the separatists again, as in 1995, is a very serious blow to the credibility of the already extremely weak government of Mansour Hadi and means that the front against the Houthis although maybe in name still unified may not be so united anymore. It may not yet be a forgone conclusion that this is the end of one unified Yemen, but the demnads that rthe STC made public in a letter to the United Nations is clear enough: <br />
1. “Credible southern representation” in the political process towards ending<b><a href="https://medium.com/@Brian_Whit/yemens-southern-separatists-seize-aden-a-micro-coup-with-huge-implications-ceae566b6e7d"> the overall conflict.</a></b><br />
2. A sustainable political solution for southern Yemen, including a process for self- determination. <br />
3. More international aid for the south. Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-9595664719246978842019-06-24T21:30:00.000+02:002019-06-24T21:30:22.378+02:00Trump increases the tension with new sanctions on Iran <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnhAJKYsSj2jOaskTL7FsTnJy9bEmNANNVHLQPF4G8jM_1IflsGHQvrEirLm7yMvEuXbhKdiFg3tnvYfH1CMNsIciXQh1NjsuZb1JyfbEx3GThEViDYtRpvud-TW77J3sqt0lgFkZq6E3/s1600/trump-pompeo-bolton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="378" data-original-width="554" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnhAJKYsSj2jOaskTL7FsTnJy9bEmNANNVHLQPF4G8jM_1IflsGHQvrEirLm7yMvEuXbhKdiFg3tnvYfH1CMNsIciXQh1NjsuZb1JyfbEx3GThEViDYtRpvud-TW77J3sqt0lgFkZq6E3/s400/trump-pompeo-bolton.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<i>Pompeo, Trump and Bolton (Photo State Department/Public Domain)</i><br />
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
US President Trump on Monday signed an order for new sanctions aggainst Iran that target the supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei and commanders of <b><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/trump-imposes-sanctions-iran-targets-supreme-leader-190624161044665.html">several military units.</a></b> The order came af the downing by Iran of an American drone, that according to the US was in international airspace, but according to Iran flew above Iranian territory. The American measures are not only a way of retaliation, they also want to force Iran to hold talks about its nuclear policy and missile program, after America nullified the JCPOA, the nuclear agreement that five world powers in 2015 concluded with Iran.<br />
Secretary Mnuchin of the Treasur Department said that apart from Khamenei senior commanders of eight Navy, Aerospace, and Ground Forces of the Revolutionaru Guards Corps were hit by the sanctions. He also said that Foreign Minister Javad Sharif would be targeted next week. The accounts of Khameni and the commaners have been blocked and they cannot make use of American financial nsystesm anymore. According to Mnuchin's Treasury ''these commanders sit atop bureaucracy that supervices malicious reguional activities, including its provocative ballistic missile program, harassment and sabotage of commercial vessels in in ternational waters and its destabilizing presence in Syria''.<br />
<a name='more'></a>Trump said that the sanctions are a ''strong and proportionate response to Iran's incresasing provocative actions''. <br />
The US measure almost coincided with a statement by the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Britian which expressed concern over Middle East tensions and the dangers posed by Iranian ''destabilizing activity'' to peace and security in Yemen and the region.<br />
US media reported that after the downing of the drone the US launched cyber attacks on Iranian rocket launch systems. But Iran's minister for information and communications Mohammed Javad Azari Jahromi sauid that ''they try hard but have not carried out a succesful attack''.<br />
In the meantime it is becoming more and more clear that Trump's manoeuvring is bringing the situation to the brink of war. The nullifying of the nuclear deal, the sanctions that were (again) imposed by Trump, wjcih also targeted countries that continued to deal with Iran or buy its oil, and the various events of the last few weeks - the attacks on the oil tankers of which Iran was accused, the downing of the drone, and now the new sanctions, all point to one thing: Trump wants to have Iran on its knees. Some of his staff, like Foreign Secretary Pompeo and Security Avisor Bolton even go furthe. They are in favor of regime change.<br />
The West is not helpful in this situation. The EU tried a firm answer against Trump's abrogation of the nuclear pact, but failed to elaborate a device that stopped big companies from breaking off their ties with Iran out of fear to lose the American markets. Right now, when Iran is warning that it is loosening the constraints that the 2015 agreement imposed, France, Britain and Germany sent a diplomatic warning to Tehran telling that this is the wrong thing to do.<br />
The British Foreign minister Hunt said ''We are very concerned. We don't think that either side wants a war, but we are very concerned that we could get into an accidental war''.<br />
The problem is, however, that Europe fails to identify who in this case is the real bad guy, the one that really heightens the tensions and drives Iran in a corner. What counter measures is Iran supposed to take? It is not in a position to take counter measures, and in case it reacts aggressively, Trump already threatened with a lot of destruction. Nobody knows for sure that he isn't, after Iraq, Libya and Syria, aiming at destroying the Islamic Republic Iran.Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-41007726439041177892019-06-23T20:26:00.003+02:002019-06-23T20:26:37.614+02:00For second time Erdogan's AKP looses the election for mayor of Istanbul <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbmR5_l8ZT3w7xQFrGfrA_2Ll8gAOTv9opbaPcJEm1Le4i1SJ3y9nZERIj2faNU1GnUYeqeZKiMIFaTEu0FekoXPsLZphOxkNCKSZ3j5E0Ifb2lIzWS3O-mPUYsk6ufQSxWogzID_jGN80/s1600/DSCN0152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbmR5_l8ZT3w7xQFrGfrA_2Ll8gAOTv9opbaPcJEm1Le4i1SJ3y9nZERIj2faNU1GnUYeqeZKiMIFaTEu0FekoXPsLZphOxkNCKSZ3j5E0Ifb2lIzWS3O-mPUYsk6ufQSxWogzID_jGN80/s400/DSCN0152.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<i>(Photo The Pessoptimist)</i><br />
<br />
The candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP) on Sunday won the second ballot during the election of the mayor of Istanbul. After 95% of the votes had been counted, the candidate of the governing AK Party of Recep Tayip Erdogan conceded he lost. ''According to the result as of now, my competitor Ekrem Imamoglu is leading the race. I congratulate him and wish him good luck," Binali Yildirim said. The CHP had more than 53% of the vote at that moment, while <b><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/erdogan-candidate-concedes-defeat-istanbul-vote-190623162700306.html">the AKP candidate reached 534,4 percent.</a></b><br />
De win of the CHP in Istanbul election ends the 17 year rule by the AK Party in Turkey's largest city and commercial hub. The Istanbul mayoral election was first held on March 31. At that vtime Imamoglu won with 48.8 percent of the vote, while the AK Party's Yildirim got 48.55 percent, so that Imamoglu became mayor with a very small margin. But at the instigation of president Erdogan the AKP contested the results, which had the consequence that the Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) annulled the results on dispututede grounds and scheduled a rerun.<br />
<a name='more'></a>The CHP win of this Sunday consequntly has an impact that widely surpasses the significance of a local election. It breaks the uncontested rule of the AKP for the first time. Apart from that Erdogan himself stressed the meaning of ruling Istanbul: 'Whoever loses Istanbul loses Turkey,'' he said.<br />
Underlying the importance of these elections was the fact that they have been monitored more than usual in a Turkeuy where sometimes the counting of votyes is marked by sloppinees. After a call by the CHP lawyers from over the whole country were added to the polling stations and also groups of citizens took p[art in the counting process.<br />
<br />Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-53472706050038818632019-06-21T15:59:00.002+02:002019-06-21T16:03:26.223+02:00U.S. almost attacked Iranian targets after downing of American drone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD08bzyNZvNl_Ar_PYlZ5wSGg7PiLbZT5k8cWQJ-X58xxFbJISGQpkTVW2uTr5Ulz1pIYxEjO1P25IWAK_1dZh05CDAxN2CIWtWugd9lVjV5KWafugvgoSoYMwikGY5_S9OmU3ONdnufXV/s1600/Iran+drone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD08bzyNZvNl_Ar_PYlZ5wSGg7PiLbZT5k8cWQJ-X58xxFbJISGQpkTVW2uTr5Ulz1pIYxEjO1P25IWAK_1dZh05CDAxN2CIWtWugd9lVjV5KWafugvgoSoYMwikGY5_S9OmU3ONdnufXV/s400/Iran+drone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Iranian media showed the trajectory of the drone according to Tehran, after it took off from the United Arab Emirates.<br />
<br />
<br />
U.S. President Donald Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for the downing of an unmanned surveillance drone, but pulled back from launching attacks, US media reports <b><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/trump-approved-strikes-iran-abruptly-canceled-report-190621042657387.html">said on Friday.</a></b> Citing senior White House officials.<br />
The New York Times reported an operation sanctioned by Trump to launch attacks on a "handful of Iranian targets" - including radar and missile batteries - was "in its early stages" on Thursday evening when the US leader changed tack and called it off.<br />
Planes and ships were already underway when the order to stand down came, the Times cited one unidentified administration official as saying. The Washington Post and ABC News also reported the developments, citing unnamed White House officials and other sources said to be familiar with the matter. The White House declined to comment on the reports.<br />
On Friday, Iran's foreign ministry said Tehran had "indisputable" evidence that the aircraft violated its airspace. Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Swiss Ambassador Markus Leitner, whose country represents US interests in Iran, of the evidence on Thursday night, the ministry said in a statement. "Even some parts of the drone's wreckage has been retrieved from Iran's territorial waters," Araghchi said. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif gave the exact coordinates where he said the drone was shot down.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Iranian state television broadcast images of what it said was debris from the downed US drone recovered inside its territorial waters.
The broadcast showed a short clip of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general answering journalists' questions in front of some of the debris that he said had been recouped from Iranian waters. Iran gave two warnings before downing the US drone over the Gulf of Oman, said Brigadier-General Amirali Hajizadeh, the commander of the IRGC's aerospace arm.
"Unfortunately, when they failed to reply ... and the aircraft made no change to its trajectory ... we were obliged to shoot it down," Hajizadeh said.<br />
Analysts, meanwhile, warned the downing of the drone and its subsequent fallout could result in a major conflict erupting in the region.
Trump's administration reimposed punitive sanctions on Iran last year after the US leader pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal brokered between the Islamic Republic and several other world powers, sending its economy into freefall. The downing of the $130m drone was also the latest in an escalating series of incidents in the Gulf since mid-May, including unexplained explosions on six tankers that the US blamed on Iran.
Tehran vehemently denied involvement and suggested the US may be responsible as a casus belli to launch a war on the Islamic Republic.
Saudi Arabia said it backed the U.S,. in its attitude towards Iran. Prince Khalid bin Salman, Saudi's deputy defence minister, said in a tweet that he had discussed the latest "Iranian attacks"with US envoy for Iran Brian Hook during a meeting between the pair.<br />
Airlines have temporarily halted their traffic over the Straits of Hormuz.Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-10310559593699692652019-06-19T21:22:00.000+02:002019-06-19T21:22:05.494+02:00Hundreds of Jewish scholars protest resignation director Jewish Museum Berlin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Neuton, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">
A group of 45 academic Talmud scholars has signed a letter in support of Peter Schäfer, the former director of the Berlin Jewish Museum who resigned last week amid criticism of a tweet linking to a pro-Israel boycott story.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRzHgI7f4CVt3jDzcbp781aiDrcMI2V0pZuOLU1ex1PPmIOlyTtmemJHk-msUwKNU_96vhMLSa6y_lyio_IPwjrYVSPdpiPFoj7wWQ3fPTjWSjwUOfUwkKlB34nsn-rzJdo8WBOunm-iAx/s1600/peter+schafer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="432" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRzHgI7f4CVt3jDzcbp781aiDrcMI2V0pZuOLU1ex1PPmIOlyTtmemJHk-msUwKNU_96vhMLSa6y_lyio_IPwjrYVSPdpiPFoj7wWQ3fPTjWSjwUOfUwkKlB34nsn-rzJdo8WBOunm-iAx/s200/peter+schafer.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prof. Peter Schäfer</td></tr>
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Such a letter is unprecedented among the Talmudist community, which tends to shy away from commenting on current affairs, said Ishay Rosen Zvi, a Talmud professor at Tel Aviv University who co-organized the letter with a Princeton University Talmud professor, Moulie Vidas.</div>
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A <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_LVVlZnYfFtNkj2AM1J-yD2VWXiXvl4kMxq2lhpzyAI/viewform?ts=5d077b9d&edit_requested=true&fbclid=IwAR2Rl4XJn_p4tmuakM51WjbyrSaXJPgI3wQCfMf2diHM-7DSYgUZl-B9v50" style="background-color: transparent; box-shadow: rgb(253, 240, 98) 0px -2px 0px inset; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">separate letter</a> signed by a broader group of Jewish studies scholars protested “that the reputation of a scholar devoted to Judaism would be smeared in public.” That letter has 300 signatures.</div>
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The Talmudists’ letter states that all its signatories, who hold a range of views on Israel and the movement to boycott it, are “united in our profound admiration for Prof. Schäfer.” It calls him “one of the main pillars in the field” of Talmudic studies.</div>
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Before becoming director of Berlin’s Jewish Museum, Schäfer was known as perhaps the preeminent Jewish studies scholar in Germany. One of his books is “Jesus in the Talmud.”</div>
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“For those of us who know Prof. Schäfer and his work, it is shocking to hear the claim that he is not committed to Jewish causes and the fight against antisemitism,” the letter says. “Prof. Schafer’s teaching and scholarship stand as a testimony to the scholarly values of open discussion, bound by evidence and sensitivity rather than political interests, and the promotion of understanding across traditions and social groups.”</div>
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Schafer’s <a href="https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/director-of-berlin-jewish-museum-resigns-over-tweet-linking-pro-bds-story" style="background-color: transparent; box-shadow: rgb(253, 240, 98) 0px -2px 0px inset; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">resignation</a> on Friday came after <a href="https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/berlin-jewish-museum-denies-it-opposed-anti-israel-boycott-resolution" style="background-color: transparent; box-shadow: rgb(253, 240, 98) 0px -2px 0px inset; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">backlash</a> to a June 6 tweet from the museum. That tweet linked an article about 240 Jewish and Israeli scholars who objected to a German parliamentary resolution condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. The museum wrote that the article in the left-wing publication Taz was a “#mustread.”</div>
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Critics said the museum had essentially opposed an effort to fight the boycott movement.</div>
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On June 8, Jeremy Issacharoff, Israel’s ambassador to Germany, <a href="https://twitter.com/JIssacharoff/status/1137427617135681536" style="background-color: transparent; box-shadow: rgb(253, 240, 98) 0px -2px 0px inset; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">tweeted</a> that the museum’s tweet was “shameful” and wrote that “The Jewish Museum is supposed to be a cultural body but is highly political when supporting the boycotting of Israel and in effect criticizing the Bundestag for condemning antisemitism!”</div>
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The museum later clarified that it “has in no way positioned itself against the resolution of the Bundestag,” the German parliament. But Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, criticized the museum as “completely out of control.”</div>
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The museum had previously hosted Judith Butler, an anti-Zionist professor, as well as Iranian representatives.</div>
Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226770194473671520.post-18046397563696377262019-06-19T16:34:00.001+02:002019-06-19T16:34:13.969+02:00Former Egyptian president Morsi most probably died because of neglect<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq0soJyJ7UtQCEoNp4FJ9UpO-YbyQM1hMNnQF4VRKqVKMxTB-DyAvDD-ubQ0HxijeohMULAJfxu1_jnXKWekcmxlYpQmv4OUfQjF_CSEV3tCK0Wvk03zyE7rvc8GdTp6alYB3JayUfvMon/s1600/Morsi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="600" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq0soJyJ7UtQCEoNp4FJ9UpO-YbyQM1hMNnQF4VRKqVKMxTB-DyAvDD-ubQ0HxijeohMULAJfxu1_jnXKWekcmxlYpQmv4OUfQjF_CSEV3tCK0Wvk03zyE7rvc8GdTp6alYB3JayUfvMon/s400/Morsi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
This is a picture of Mohamed Morsi, the tragic, democratically elected former president of Egypt, who died two days ago in a Cairo courtroom. The way he died give room to the suspicion that his death was de cause of medical nneglect. During his uninterrupted stay in prison since his demise, he has been in solitary confinement and has seen his family only a few times. The former president suffered from diabetes, hypertension, and liver disease and human rights organizations (and British parliamentarians among others), complained several times that he did not get medical attention and that because of that his life was in danger.<br />
On top of that he British newspapaer <b><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mohamed-morsi-death-egypt-court-cairo-burial-family-muslim-brotherhood-a8963706.html">The Independent,</a></b> reveals that it took at least 20 minutes after other detainees alarmed the guards that Morsi had collapsed, before he was taken out of the cage in the court house, and another half hour before an ambulance took him to a hospital.<br />
Morsi has been buried yesterday in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City, against the wishes of his family, who wanted him to be buried in the family grave in the governorate of Sharqiyya. Only ten people were allowed to attend. The newsmedia in Egypt did not even mention that he has been the president.<br />
<a name='more'></a>It was the coldest possible farewell by a government that is still very weary of the Moslim Brotherhood to which Morsi belonged, and that in the past six years has acquired the reputation of one of the worst regimes in the field of human rights. Morsi is far from the only one who died during detention by neglect, or, for that matter, by rough police performances.<br />
Morsi has been Egypt's president during only one year. He narrowely beat Mubaraks last prme minister, Ahmad Shafiq,. in the elections of the summer of 2012 and was ousted almost exactly a year later by his minister of Defense, Adel Fattah al-Sisi. He was never a popular president and many Egyptians turned away from him because of a number of decisions which he took, supposedly in consultation with other leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. Among them were the acceptance of a flawed constitution, governing with a partly inconstitutional parliament, dismissals of leaders of cultural insitutions, and last but not least the appointment of new provincial governmors of which 7 out of 17 were members of <b><a href="http://the-pessoptimist.blogspot.com/2013/06/appointment-of-17-new-governors-by.html">the Muslim Brotherhood.</a></b> His dismissal was a barely disguised military coup, which was followed by a bloodbath in which over a 1.000 were killed when the army broke up a sit-in of Muslim Brotherhood members at the Raba' al Adawiyya square in Cairo.<br />
At present Egypt detains roughly 60.000 people in prisons and camps, fights a longstanding guerrilla war in the Sinai and suffers from a very bad economy with inflation rates that defy the imagination.Abu Pessoptimisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03717200416051685243noreply@blogger.com0