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By Ramzy Baroud

The headline in the Times of Israel says it all: “For the First Time, Israel Just Lost a War.”

Regardless of the reasoning behind this statement, which the article divides into fourteen points, it suggests a shattering and unprecedented event in the 76-year history of the State of Israel. The consequences of this realization will have far-reaching effects on Israelis, impacting both this generation and the next. These repercussions will penetrate all sectors of Israeli society, from the political elite to the collective identity of ordinary Israelis.

Interestingly, and tellingly, the article attributes Israel’s defeat solely to the outcome of the Gaza war, confined to the geographical area of the Gaza Strip. Not a single point addresses the ongoing crisis within Israel itself. Nor does it explore the psychological impact of what is being labeled as Israel’s first-ever defeat.

Unlike previous military campaigns in Gaza—on a much smaller scale compared to the current genocidal war—there is no significant strand of Israeli society claiming victory. The familiar rhetoric of “mowing the lawn”, which Israel often uses to describe its wars, is notably absent. Instead, there is a semi-consensus within Israel that the ceasefire deal was unequivocally bad, even disastrous for the country.

The word “bad” carries broad implications. For Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, it represents a “complete surrender”. For the equally extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, it is a “dangerous deal” that compromises Israel’s “national security”.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog refrained from offering political specifics but addressed the deal in equally strong terms: “Let there be no illusions. This deal—when signed, approved and implemented—will bring with it deeply painful, challenging and harrowing moments.”

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, along with other Israeli officials, tried to justify the deal by framing Israel’s ultimate goal as the freeing of captives. “If we postpone the decision, who knows how many will remain alive?” he said.

However, many in Israel, along with an increasing number of analysts, are now questioning the government’s narrative. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously rejected similar ceasefire agreements in May and July, impeding any possibility of negotiation.

In the time between those rejections and the eventual acceptance of the deal, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed or wounded. While these tragedies have been entirely disregarded or dismissed in Israel, many Israeli captives were also killed, mostly in Israeli military strikes.

Had Netanyahu accepted the deal earlier, many of these captives would likely still be alive. This fact will linger over whatever remains of Netanyahu’s political career, further defining his already controversial and corruption-riddled legacy.

Ultimately, Netanyahu has failed on multiple fronts. Initially, he wanted to prevent his right-wing, extremist coalition from collapsing, even at the expense of most Israelis. As early as May 2024, many prioritized the return of captives over the continuation of war. Netanyahu’s eventual concession was not driven by internal pressure, but by the stark realization that he could no longer win.

The political crisis that had been brewing in Israel reached a breaking point as Netanyahu’s administration scrambled to navigate the growing discontent. In an article published soon after the ceasefire announcement, Yedioth Ahronoth declared Netanyahu politically defeated, while his Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, was blamed for military failure.

In reality, Netanyahu has failed on both fronts. Military generals repeatedly urged him to end the war, believing Israel had achieved tactical victories in Gaza. During the war, Israel’s political and social crises deepened.

Netanyahu, at the helm, resorted to his old tactics. Instead of demonstrating true leadership, he engaged in political manipulation, lied when it suited him, threatened those who refused to follow his rules and deflected personal responsibility. Meanwhile, the Israeli public became increasingly disillusioned with the war’s direction and frustrated with Netanyahu and his coalition.

In the end, the entire Kafkaesque structure of Israeli governance collapsed. The failure to manage both the political crisis and the military strategy left Israel’s leadership weakened and increasingly isolated from the public.

Of course, Netanyahu will not give up easily. He will likely attempt to satisfy Ben-Gvir by insisting that Israel retains the right to return to war at any time. He will likely enable Smotrich to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank and may try to redeem the military’s reputation by escalating operations there.

These actions may buy Netanyahu some time, but they will not last. The majority of Israelis now seek new elections. While previous elections have ignored Palestinians, the next election will be almost entirely defined by the Gaza war and its aftermath.

Israel is now facing the reality of a political and military failure on a scale previously unimaginable. Netanyahu’s handling of the situation will be remembered as a key moment in the country’s history, and its consequences will continue to affect Israeli society for years to come.

Netanyahu’s departure from the political stage seems inevitable—whether because of the war’s outcome, the next elections or simply due to illness and old age. However, the material and psychological impacts of the Gaza war on Israeli society will remain, and they are likely to have irreversible consequences. These effects could potentially threaten the survival of Israel itself.

Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle.

23 January 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Thomas Scripps

Israel is using the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza as an opportunity to step up its war on the West Bank.

Given the green light by the Trump administration, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers and security forces have launched a massive operation centred on Jenin which Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared “will mark a shift in the IDF’s security strategy in Judea and Samaria [the Biblical name used by far-right Zionists to refer to the West Bank].”

Making clear the government’s intentions, fascist finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “After Gaza and Lebanon, today, with God’s help, we have begun to change the security concept in Judea and Samaria”.

Several reports suggest Smotrich secured a commitment to include “security” in the West Bank as one of Israel’s official war goals in exchange for his backing the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese warned bluntly, “As the long awaited ceasefire in Gaza took place, Israel’s death machinery escalated its firing in the West Bank…

“If it is not forced to stop, Israel’s genocide of Palestinians will not be confined to Gaza. Mark my words.”

The fear was echoed by UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, who coupled unfounded optimism for the ceasefire with the observation, “The other possibility is for Israel feeling emboldened by the military successes that it has had to think this is the moment to do the annexation of the West Bank and to keep Gaza in a kind of limbo situation.”

At least 10 Palestinians have been killed in Jenin, and 40 wounded. The numbers could be much higher, with ambulances blocked from reaching the wounded. Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent, told reporters, “No one can break the siege on the refugee camp and the surrounding area.” The organisation said it was “deeply concerned” about the wellbeing of Jenin’s residents.

Repeating the tactics used in its criminal war of genocide in Gaza, Israeli forces have surrounded the Khalil Suleiman governmental hospital. In charge of the facility, Wissam Bakr told reporters, “The current situation is awful. Israeli forces destroyed the roads in front of the hospital. They put the rubble from the destroyed streets in front of hospital exits to prevent ambulances from entering or leaving.”

Two nurses and three doctors had been shot on the main road leading up to the building on Tuesday, he explained, adding that 600 staff and patients were now sheltering as best they could inside.

Bakr’s account was confirmed by Adel Besher, who told Al Jazeera, “I slept … in the yard of the hospital. Even though my house is 200 metres away from here, I couldn’t reach it.

“There were many injured people. Four from al-Amal Hospital were wounded, among them doctors, nurses and patients. There were also three or four people injured near my house and no one was able to rescue them.”

He added that “Israeli forces shot at whoever got near them. Two were injured while trying to rescue them.”

According to the Wafa news agency, residents in several Jenin neighbourhoods were ordered to leave their homes, and the city, by loudspeaker. Exact numbers have been difficult to count under siege conditions. Scores of people have been arrested and detained.

Roland Friedrich, the Director of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) Affairs for the West Bank described the camp as “nearly uninhabitable, with some 2,000 families displaced since mid-December. UNRWA has been unable to provide full services to the camp in this time.” He added that the operation “using advanced weaponry and warfare methods including airstrikes… is expected to last days.”

Friedrich noted that the Israeli operation “follows more than a month of armed clashes inside Jenin Camp between PSF [Palestinian State Forces, commanded by the Palestinian Authority] and Palestinian armed actors.”

According to Middle East Eye, “PA security forces stormed al-Razi hospital in Jenin on Wednesday and arrested a wounded man believed to be a member of the Jenin Battalion and wanted by the Israeli army.

“The PA raid appeared to be the first time Palestinian forces publicly participated in an Israeli military assault in the West Bank.”

There are fears that Jenin’s fate awaits other cities in the West Bank, with Israeli forces massively increasing the number of military checkpoints and gates—to nearly 900 throughout the territory—sealing off entry and exit to major population centres. The Aida refugee camp was stormed on Wednesday, and raids carried out in Tulkarem and towns around Ramallah and el-Bireh.

Medical Aid for Palestinians member Aseel Baidoun, based in Ramallah, told the Guardian, “For two days we have been experiencing an extensive military lockdown. The Israeli army has placed hundreds of new checkpoints that are making the movement between towns and cities almost impossible…

“It’s an open-air prison; we feel we cannot move around. If you want to go from Ramallah to Jericho it’s impossible, and it’s almost impossible to even reach nearby villages. There’s not only restrictions on movement but insane attacks from settlers.”

Dozens of masked settlers attacked the villages of Jinsafut and al-Funduq near Jerusalem on Monday night, bringing materials to set buildings and cars on fire, and attacking three houses, a nursery and a carpentry shop. They also threw stones and fired shots. Similar attacks have since taken place in the villages of Sinjil, Ein Siniya, Turmus Aya and Khirbet Aqwiwis. At least 21 Palestinians have been injured and hospitalised, including elderly people and three children.

Meanwhile, the residents of Gaza continue to sift through the 50 million tons of rubble that is all that remains of their levelled cities, with 80 percent of the buildings in northern Gaza destroyed, leaving 300,000 homeless.

Relatives and civil agencies are searching for an estimated 10,000 bodies trapped underneath the wreckage. More than 200 have been found since the ceasefire came into effect four days ago. Frequently all that can be found are bones.

The work is slow going, in part because the IDF has killed roughly 100 staff members of the civil defence agency and destroyed many of its vehicles. It also takes place under fire. On Wednesday, 28-year-old Akram Atef Zanoun was shot and killed, and four others wounded, by an Israeli quadcopter while removing rubble from their mostly destroyed homes in Rafah city’s Shaboura camp.

The smooth passage of 2,400 aid trucks into Gaza since the ceasefire was signed, a vast increase, confirms that Israel deliberately restricted the flow of these vital supplies—using starvation and disease as a weapon of war—for over a year.

British Dr. James Smith, who volunteered at Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Hospital, told Al Jazeera, “One of the most important things to remember is a genocide doesn’t end with a ceasefire, particularly a ceasefire as fragile as this.”

“It’s simply ongoing now by other means,” he said, pointing to the Strip’s ruined healthcare system.

A correspondent for the news agency, Hind Khoudary, reported, “You can’t imagine how destroyed the infrastructure across the Gaza Strip is. Sewage is filling the streets.

“In some places, there’s a lack of water. Desalination plants are not working any more. The infrastructure has completely collapsed.”

The looming deadline for Israel’s ban on UNRWA threatens to plunge the region deeper into catastrophe, with over two million Gazans relying on the agency—plus many hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank.

A report from the Peace Research Institute Oslo, “Consequences of the Israeli UNRWA Ban”, warned of the dire impact the ban on the organisation would have. Co-author Jorgen Jensehaugen explained, “In less than one week’s time, its collapse in Israeli-controlled areas could cripple the humanitarian operation in Gaza”.

23 January 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Abdel Bari Atwan

The Qassam Brigades succeeded not only in winning the war and achieving victory in Gaza, but also in dealing fatal blows to Israeli morale, when they surprised the entire world, not just Israel, by organizing a military parade for hundreds of their fighters who emerged from the rubble, and/or heart of tunnels in their extremely elegant green clothes with their personal weapons, in a startling move,  shedding light on their strength, despite Netanyahu’s 15 months of carnage. Brigade fighters stood steadfast, fighting, and sniping Israeli soldiers like birds and rabbits, despite the deceptions by their political and military leaders.

***

The smiling faces of the three Israeli female prisoners released in the first batch of the exchange according to the first phase of the ceasefire agreement were striking. The three young women emerged as if they had just returned from a concert, in good health, and in high spirits as if they were staying in a five-star hotel. It was a wonderful and very smart gesture for their guards to present symbolic gifts before they left the Strip in a Red Cross car.

These are the terrorists according to US and European specifics, setting an example of humanity, while the diplomatic envoys of Western civilization rape prisoners and treat them in a Nazi-like manner. The most honest example is the mujahida Khalida Jarrar and the painful state she appeared in after her release.

The fire of resistance ignites in the West Bank, suicide operations expand, and the dead among the occupation forces rises on the first days of the ceasefire to confirm that jihad is continuing in parallel and in conjunction with the exchange of prisoners.

The one who forced Netanyahu to drink the cup of defeat is not Trump, but the heroes of the Qassam Brigades, Al-Quds Brigades, and the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, who exhausted the Israeli army with heavy losses among its brigades and battalions, in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu stands defeated, not achieving any of his goals, neither eliminating the resistance movements in Gaza, nor with displacing the people of the Strip and replacing them with Israeli settlers.

As such we do not rule out the fact that he may violate the ceasefire in the coming days, and before the end of its first phase, in the hope of remaining in power. But no matter, the goals he failed to achieve over the course of 15 months of extermination and ethnic cleansing will not be achieved if he returns to war again but legitimize many retaliatory reactions from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Yemen, and perhaps soon from Lebanon and Iraq.

***

Our people in the Gaza Strip celebrate and sing for joys of victory achieved by the resistance. Perhaps the return of the symbolic Abu Obeida after months of absence, congratulating all on victory and ignoring all Arab leaders except Yemen whilst affirming the readiness of the Qassam to return to fighting is a confirmation of the strength and steadfastness of the resistance, and its high capabilities to manage war, manage negotiations, and psychological warfare.

Thus we assert that the liberation of Palestine, all of Palestine, and the restoration of dignity to the Arabs and Muslims, has become imminent and it is only a matter of time…

This editorial by Al Rai Al Youm’s Chief Editor  Mr Abdel Bari Atwan has been reproduced from Arabic and appeared on www.crossfirearabia.com

22 January 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Vijay Prashad

It is impossible to bottle this sensibility. All of Gaza is a ruin. Millions of Palestinians have braved the winter in makeshift tents or in ruined buildings, their children freezing (a few frozen to death) and their hunger escalating. The smell of Israeli vengeance is everywhere. The sound of the tanks and the terrifying silence of the falling bombs shatter the nerves of even the most hardened fighter. Yet, during that, the armed units of the Palestinian resistance continue to fire their depleted ammunition at the Israeli troops. At the same time, children run amid the toxic wreckage with Palestinian flags aloft.

There is a ceasefire now. But this is the rhythm of Palestinian history since at least 1948: occupation, war, ceasefire, and underneath everything the constant occupation and the threat of war, and yet, the defiance and the smiles. In the lexicon of the Palestinian resistance, the word sumud, used first in the 1960s by the Palestinian Liberation Organization, is everything: it means to defy, to be steadfast, to hold onto one’s land despite the Israeli occupation. It is to take out the key to one’s pre-1948 Palestinian home and hold it aloft.

When Khalida Jarrar emerged into the crowd of supporters after months in Israel’s cruel dungeons, she said, “I’m coming from solitary confinement. I still don’t believe it. I’m a little bit tired.” Jarrar, one of the leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has been in and out of Israel’s prisons for almost her entire adult life. Her first detention was in March 1989 when she participated in a march for International Women’s Day. I have followed her journey in and out of prison, cataloging her distress as her captors prevented her from being at the funerals of her father (2015), mother (2018), and daughter Suha (2021). Jarrar is one of thousands of Palestinians who are held in Israeli prisons under “administrative detention,” a false label that justifies indefinite imprisonment with no charge.

Each time Jarrar went to prison, the behavior of her Israeli captors was harsher and harsher still. This time, arrested during the genocide in December 2023, she was put into a cell with poor ventilation and could not breathe with ease. Her husband, Ghassan Jarrar, read out a statement from her from August 2024:

I die every day. The cell looks like a tiny, airtight box. The cell is equipped with a toilet and a small window above it, which was closed a day after I was moved to it. They did not leave me any space to breathe. Even the so-called porthole in the cell door was closed. I spend most of my time sitting next to a tiny opening that allows me to breathe. I wait for the hours to pass while I suffocate in my cell in hopes of finding oxygen molecules to breathe and survive.

Now, Jarrar leaves prison along with 90 other Palestinian prisoners who were exchanged for three Israeli prisoners in the first part of the ceasefire deal. The stories of the prisoners are astounding and enraging. The Israelis arrested one young Palestinian woman (Shatha Jarabaa) for writing on social media about the “brutality” of the genocide. Another young man (Zakaria Zubeidi) of the Freedom Theater in Jenin was held under suspicion of being a terrorist.

Two other women from the PFLP, Abla Sa’adat and Maysar Faqih, had been arrested by the Israelis without charge and held under administrative detention as part of the general Israeli strategy of preventing the Palestinian groups from political activity. The PFLP’s leader, Ahmad Sa’adat has been in prison for decades and will likely not be released until the occupation ends. It has been on the Israeli agenda for decades to weaken the Palestinian left—particularly the PFLP—and thereby to strengthen the Islamist forces. This allows them to falsely make the case that this is a war against Islamism rather than a brutal campaign to extinguish the Palestinian nation.

It Is the Occupation

In August 2014, Israeli soldiers surrounded the home of Khalida and Ghassan Jarrar. They had come to inform Khalida Jarrar that she was banned from her home in Ramallah and had to restrict herself to the town of Jericho. “It is the occupation that must leave our homeland,” she said to the soldiers. Then, she and her comrades set up a tent outside the Palestinian Legislative Council office and lived there. The Israelis had to back off. There was too much international pressure on them.

People under occupation are people imprisoned. Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank—the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the United Nations calls it—have no freedom of movement. They are encaged. Those who want to break the cage are further imprisoned in the terrible conditions of Israeli jails. Little wonder then that Khalida Jarrar was from 1993 to 2005 the director of Addameer, a non-profit organization that provides support for prisoners. When she is not in an Israeli jail she has been working on a research project for Birzeit University’s Muwatin Institute for Democracy and Human Rights on “The Class and Gender Dimensions of the Palestinian Prisoners Movement and their Implications for the National Liberation Project.”

It is likely that a few days from now, Jarrar will come out of her house, give a speech, and then return to work on her project. Made of such steel and love, Jarrar is unrelenting. So too are the Palestinians who are slowly moving back to their destroyed homes in Gaza, looking for stray photographs and the few belongings that remain; the roots that have not been cut.

Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor, and journalist. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter.

22 January 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Ranjan Solomon

A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was finally been agreed on. But the uncertainties persisted until the very end. Israeli airstrikes has killed at least 130 people in the war-ravaged territory after the ceasefire was announced. Israel wanted maximum mileage of the extra time before the ceasefire was to come into force. Such is their arrogance and the way they cock a snook with international agreements beginning with International law.  Netanyahu had signaled unresolved issues.

The premature celebrations in Gaza before they were expected to take effect on Sunday, January 19 were a sign of their relief that the war was finally over.

The agreement is a three-staged process. In the first stage, Hamas will release 33 hostages (both alive and dead) while Israel will release some prisoners and suspend bombing for 42 days, while arrangements are made for the next two phases. The population of Northern Gaza will be permitted to return to their destroyed homes and humanitarian aid allowed to enter.

It is common knowledge that the ceasefire does not have appeal among key Ministers in the cabinet. Should they carry forward the threat that they would resign, Netanyahu is a goner. This is why there is speculation that Netanyahu’s statements were made to keep his restless coalition together.

Israelis who have lost loved ones in the war treat the cease fire deal contemptuously. Families of Israeli soldiers killed fighting in Gaza held a demonstration against a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. The Gvura Forum opposed the deal, saying it won’t lead to Hamas’ destruction and that it will free Palestinians convicted of deadly crimes against Israelis

Trump had repeatedly threatened that “all hell will be let loose if the fighting does not end on the day he takes office on 19^th January”. Today, rumors are making the rounds that there could be a tacit arrangement between Netanyahu and Trump. They assume that the silencing of guns and fighter jets will lower the guard of Hamas, and the 42 waiting period may just allow for provocations with Israel refreshed and rearmed. If this were to happen, Trump would be reduced to a mere Donald Duck. He would reduce himself to being a distrusted and dishonest US President by the world. Weakened by his own stupidities and dishonesty, the rest of his term would make him a comic persona.

Trump is a hard-nosed business person and will look at profit and loss as the ultimate template. His interests go much further than war and peace. They are, in his view, irritating obstacles in the way of his ambitions of a kingdom of opulence and unrivaled power to do as he wants. He knew for certain that Israel would have to give in. In doing so, he presented them a face-saver. Imagine Israel having to close down the war for want of capacity to reach its boastful goals. 15 months after the war begun, all they could show for it is a devastated Gaza Strip. And, that is a scandalous certificate of ethnic cleansing and a similar holocaust that Jews themselves were victims to during the 2^nd World War from 1941-1945.

Still, the optimists among the Gazans would prefer to think that these are rumors. Hopes glimmer for the oppressed even in the worst of times. Gazans have astonished the rest of the world with their resilience. Israeli’s lack this quality and, as a consequence, many have fled Israel like rats deserting a sinking ship. A few will probably return to assess if things have better prospects in the post-war scenario. Those who have learned that a genuinely peaceful Israel can be real are grim will never return. Moreover, they have shifted out their investments, insurance arrangements, and transferred their moneys to wherever they have fled.

Israel has learned yet another lesson: that the age of accountability has begun. Many had indulged in dancing around the dead bodies of dead Palestinians in Gaza and disseminated it in social media post. Sick humor, you can call it. In another movement, some 200 soldiers signed a letter saying they’d stop defending Israel if the government didn’t secure a ceasefire. Those numbers may just be the tip of the iceberg given the extreme war-fatigue. They are mobilizing to add to their numbers. These are among the many forms of creative resistance against continued armed fighting

Has Israel recognized the folly of its ways after a war in which the world has declared Hamas the winner and Israel the loser? They will not easily admit it publicly. Israel has fallen into a precipice, and it will now struggle to resurface.  Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, Tel Aviv has already learned humiliating lessons. They now know that its army is no longer “invincible”, its economy is relatively small and highly dependent, and its political system is fragile, as seen in the last few years when it struggled to keep a government in place. In times of crisis, it is barely operable.

There are wise people who have even forecast that Israel is on the verge of dissolution and collapse. Mainstream media concealed the harsh reality that the war was shifting away from Israel’s hands. Antony Blinken made a spectacular acknowledgment of this reality when he said: “Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost.”This is a unflattering admittance that Israel’s war effort has failed to achieve its stated goal of eliminating Hamas. It merely prompted a cycle of violence, deepened humanitarian suffering, and further destabilized the region.

As Ramzy Baroud, writer and founder of “Palestine Chronicle” states, “Israel’s goals have all been thwarted. There will be No ‘Nakba Two’2, no ethnic cleansing, no ending the Palestinian cause, no destroying the Resistance. Israel has learned that its military superiority, backed by the United States, can no longer guarantee victory or political outcomes. Palestinians—hungry, displaced, trapped, betrayed, and bleeding has won against all Western arms concentrated in the hands of a brutal military enemy that respects no laws”

This is the greatest defeat of Zionism since its inception and the greatest defeat of imperialism in the Middle East since the signing of the Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916. Baroud concludes: “What’s extraordinary is that this victory has been achieved by ordinary people, through their faith, persistence, resilience, and sumoud (Arabic for steadfastness). We’ve lost more loved ones than I can count, many of whom have been decomposing in the rubble of Gaza for months. But in the end, their sacrifices have ignited hope that evil can be challenged and defeated. This is Gaza’s message to the world—and a gift to humanity”. He pleads: “Please don’t squander it”.

Donald Trump likes to be touted as the President for Peace and no-war. He kept his promise of ending the Gaza war on Day 1 of his administration. A solution to the question of Ukraine still evades him. He has too many lobbyists on the side of the screen regardless of the fact that Zelensky is illegitimate and touted as, perhaps, the most corrupt politician around. This same Peace President has threatened Canada, Panama, and Greenland with takeovers of Canada to be incorporated as the 51^st State of USA. The 100-year old Panama Canal deemed to be an engineering spectacle which traditionally linked the Atlantic and Pacific oceans was a gold mine. Just 25 years back it was returned to Panama by the US. Trump has set his eyes on it not to ‘Make America Great Again’ his MAGA slogan) but to get riches which are not America’s to claim anymore.

His ambitions to complete his much flaunted ‘normalization’ agreements to prevail based on the Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021 are somewhere on the top of his agenda. That Act “supports and seeks to expand the previously concluded peace and normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco”. His economic advisors swear that these agreements have the potential to transform the region and enhance prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

But there is a huge obstacle in the way. The Act can no longer be bulldozed. To succeed, they must guarantee that these Israeli-Arab partnerships line up with crucial U.S. national interests. Further normalization prospects rest on achieving a long-range solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A two-state must take its place that actualizes a democratic Jewish state of Israel and a viable democratic Palestinian state based on 1967 boundaries -living side by side in peace, security, and mutual recognition. If the remaining countries that Trump has target to incorporate into his “Normalization Plan”, the Israeli persecution of Palestinians and other neighboring countries must end. These countries fear their own streets, especially after the Gaza war. The most powerful of these rulers is Mohammed bin Salman who, as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, is deemed a strongman and is tough on any political opponents and public criticism. He, it was, who firmly reminded Trump of the assassination of Sadat only because he signed a peace deal with Israel. He did not want to meet the same fate. The entire region is ruled by dictators who secretly side with Israel in the hope of economic ties of gain to themselves. Israel and the USA will be the greatest benefactors of ‘Normalization’. In the current mood of the Arab peoples, this is a grey zone, the space in between peace and war in which state and non-state actors engage in competition.

Europe played ‘footsie’ all through. Western regimes and media they were actually sowing the seeds of anti-Semitism, not combating it as they claim. They must now squarely face up to what principles they will swear and abide by. Theirs is a troubling role because the Jewish expulsions were of their making historically. Germany, the chief culprit, of the Jewish holocaust now turns to do the same to Palestinians. Germany Chancellor delivered 30% of weapons to Israel. ’ The Campaign against Arms Trade’ has established that the UK has granted arms export licenses to Israel amounting to £574 million ($727 million) since 2008, including £42 million ($53 million) in 2022. India is considered to be an all-weather ally of Israel, and bilateral relations have reached their highest point yet in history. The USA, of course, account for the largest armament transfers amounting to 66%. Public opposition to US government aid to Israel is growing intense and being publicly monitored. The armaments and huge financial grants are sent to prop a regime that was enabled to dominate the Palestinians and the entire region.

Israel with its assumptions that mere military power could put down the valiant never-say-die Gazans has learned the hard way. The US is politically dull and arrogant. Every war they have fought in the last decades has seen them lose at the hands of much smaller countries armies: Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Syria. It has a bitter record of support to dictatorships in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. According to Freedom House’s rating system of political rights around the world, there were 49 nations in the world, as of 2015, that could be fairly categorized as “dictatorships.” As of fiscal year 2015, the last year for which there is publicly available data, the federal government of the United States had been providing military assistance to 36 of them, courtesy of US tax dollars. The United States currently supports over 73 percent of the world’s dictatorships! That’s huge. That’s undemocratic because dictatorships are, inherently, autocratic.

Israel leaves this war weakened, even humiliated. The Middle East will never be the same again. There will follow political permutations and combinations that will make the region more dialogical, multilateral, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt will develop new roles, and no one will allow Israel to do what it did to Gaza anymore.

Gaza will need trillions of dollars and a 20-year time frame to rebuild. A steadfast and clear Arab world could be the precursor for a two-state solution, and Palestine an independent, sovereign UN member. Hamas, by contrast is stronger. Israel is too weak to sustain another war. A resilient Gazan says: “Gaza is now devastation, it has become uninhabitable … but I will stay … I will not leave, and I will not accept resettlement anywhere else. I hope peace will prevail here and that this grief will end soon.”

Ranjan Solomon began his active association with the ‘Question of Palestine’ with the First Intifada in1987.

21 January 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Rima Najjar

Gazans have cracked the code of enduring and living life with hope for a better future. They continue to teach us how to die (standing up) and how to live (praising God). The strength and solidarity they exhibit as they resist oppression and as we watch them with awe and terror are truly inspiring.

But how in the world do they do it?

“Happiness science” is a real field of study, often referred to as “positive psychology.” Researchers in this field explore various aspects of happiness, wellbeing, and what contributes to a fulfilling life. I turned to this research in an effort to understand how Gazans continue to cope even after the tons of bombs rained on them by the Israeli Zionist entity and its allies (the tons of bombs dropped on the strip are estimated to amount to a multiple of the size of the largest pyramid in Egypt) and even as this same brutal and depraved entity continues to bomb and hound them, the hudna (ceasefire) notwithstanding.

Resilience is a significant area of research within the field of positive psychology and national security. The latter is about developing the means for individuals, communities, and nations to withstand, adapt to, and recover from adversity. This happens through building resilience in the following areas: Critical Infrastructure Protection, Cybersecurity, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Climate Change Adaptation, Community and Social Resilience, Economic Stability, Psychological Resilience, and International Cooperation.

Looking into these factors only deepened my wonder about Gaza. Now that there is finally a ceasefire in place, how are the Palestinian people to build their national security when hardly any of the above factors are present in their current situation? The answer to that has two facets, the communal and the political.

The communal in Palestine is defined by religion and culture. The phrase “Alhamdulillah — Praise be to God” (الحمد لله) is widely used in Arab culture and has a variety of colloquial applications. It is an utterance that expresses a deeply rooted cultural and religious sense of gratitude.

Gazan farmers say “Alhamdulillah” when they harvest their crops, no matter how small the yield; schoolchildren in Gaza express their gratitude by saying “Alhamdulillah” whenever they are able to attend school and learn; Gazan neighbors working side by side to rebuild a home say “Alhamdulillah” for their safety and for the solidarity that allows them to support each other; young mothers living in Gaza use “Alhamdulillah” to remind themselves and their children to be grateful for their safety and the little they have. We watch on the news as Gazan children literally crawl from under the rubble while raising the victory sign and saying “Alhamdulillah” for sparing their lives. In this way, Gazans maintain hope and faith and strengthen their resistance.

According to positive psychology, embracing gratitude is the act of appreciating what we have, rather than focusing on what we’ve lost or what we don’t have, a simple shift in mindset. In the case of Gazans and Muslim culture in general, uttering the phrase “Alhamdulillah” means embracing this mindset.

The cultural trait of being grateful for life’s simple pleasures and everyday blessings is a major factor that contributes to the remarkable steadfastness of Gazans. It is a counterpoint to “Inshallah” — “God willing.”

The concept of submission to the will of God in the culture of Muslim-majority regions like Palestine (“Islam” means submission) has sometimes been misunderstood by Western researchers as a defeatist attitude or a form of passive fatalism. That’s because Western culture emphasizes individualism and personal autonomy, whereas many Muslim cultures place a strong emphasis on community, collective responsibility, and submission to divine will.

According to positive psychology, what Muslim cultures emphasize is exactly that which contributes to wellbeing and resilience. People who embrace gratitude and maintain community support and solidarity; people who turn to a higher power with their pain, their losses, and their imperfections; people who cherish memories as Palestinians cherish the memories of their martyrs, the reminders of their past that is a part of who they are today (“The past is never dead. It’s not even past”), these are all people who endure in adversity.

In Gaza, community support is a cornerstone of resilience. Families and neighbors come together to share resources, provide emotional support, and help rebuild homes and infrastructure after destruction. This collective effort fosters a sense of unity and strength.

In addition, Palestinians have shown remarkable creativity in adapting to their circumstances. For instance, in Gaza, fighters have repurposed unexploded Israeli ordnance to create weapons, and there are many, many other amazing examples of such resourcefulness that have emerged. Despite the destruction, Palestinians continue to preserve their cultural and historical heritage. This includes maintaining traditional practices, storytelling, and passing down cultural knowledge to younger generations, which helps sustain their identity and hope for the future. Global awareness and support for the Palestinian cause have also played a significant role in their resilience. International solidarity movements, protests, and humanitarian aid will contribute to their ability to withstand and recover from adversities.

For such a people and despite the challenging political environment, building national security should not be an impossibility. These challenges require a multifaceted approach that includes continued armed resistance, international popular support that addresses and helps resolve Israel’s and the United States’ death grip on Palestinian governance and political autonomy (Check out: Why Trump forced Israel to accept Gaza ceasefire, with Ali Abunimah).

I keep in mind one of Faulkner’s more famous quotes related to endurance found in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech: “I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.” In their struggle for liberation, the Palestinian people embody this idea.

We have survived, and we will endure. Read “Palestinian resistance inflicts strategic defeat on genocidal Israel.” I believe the storm will pass, Inshallah and Alhamdulillah.

Rima Najjar is a Palestinian whose father’s side of the family comes from the forcibly depopulated village of Lifta on the western outskirts of Jerusalem and whose mother’s side of the family is from Ijzim, south of Haifa.

21 January 2025

Source: globalresearch.ca

By PROJECT SAVE THE WORLD

Bikini Atoll was the site of U.S. nuclear tests in the 1940s and 1950s. Thomas Goreau’s grandfather was the photographer in charge of documenting the events – {before” and “after.”

Imagine a paradise lost—lush islands ringed by vibrant coral reefs, teeming with life. Now imagine that paradise reduced to a radioactive wasteland, a testing ground for weapons of unimaginable destruction. Welcome to Bikini Atoll, a place scarred by nuclear explosions and the devastating legacy of exploitation. This story is told by Thomas Goreau, a passionate discussant of the atoll’s tragic past and uncertain future.

Goreau’s family history is relevant to the tale, for his grandfather, Fritz Goro, had been a famous pioneering photographer who developed methods of making visible things that people could never have seen otherwise, including scientific research evidence. He was the official photographer for the Manhattan project and the Bikini tests and worked closely with Oppenheimer. For example, as soon as the sand was cool enough after the first bomb test at Alamagordo, Oppenheimer, General Leslie Groves, and Goro walked together through ground zero, where sand had been melted into glass.

Thomas Goreau now possesses the archive of his grandfather’s photos and plans to produce a book displaying many of them. He also disclosed that his father had been exposed to radiation while working in the area and had died of it at age 45. Now Thomas Goreau continues the work of his father and grandfather by serving as president of the Global Coral Reef Alliance. He had just returned from an expedition to the Maldive Islands, where the coral reefs are dying of heat.

“Bikini” – a Name That Shocks

You probably think of “Bikini” as the name of a revealing swimsuit. But before it became fashion shorthand, Bikini Atoll was the site of U.S. nuclear tests in the 1940s and 1950s. The name capitalizes on the shock and awe associated with nuclear explosions.

Bikini Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific, became a target for nuclear tests because of its remoteness. But “remote” didn’t mean uninhabited. The islanders had lived there for 3,600 years, a community deeply connected to their land and sea. That didn’t matter to the U.S. military. They showed up unannounced in 1946 and told the residents they had to leave immediately. The islanders were promised they could return, but that promise was a lie.

A Forced Exodus and Broken Promises

The people of Bikini were displaced, their idyllic home turned into a radioactive laboratory. They were sent to barren islands with no lagoons for fishing, no fresh water, and limited food. Goreau describes how many starved to death or suffered malnutrition. When U.S. planes finally noticed their plight, supplies were air-dropped—bags of white rice and processed foods that wreaked havoc on the islanders’ health.

The U.S. government spun this as a temporary relocation, but the truth was far darker. Bikini Atoll became the site of 23 nuclear tests, including the infamous “Castle Bravo” detonation in 1954, which was 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The fallout from Bravo irradiated not just the test site but also nearby islands and American personnel stationed there.

Spencer mentioned a documentary about the Marshall Islands, Nuclear Savage, which reveals that the U.S. knowingly subjected the Marshallese people to radioactive fallout, treating them as human guinea pigs. The filmmaker showed documents proving that experiments initially intended for mice were instead conducted on people.

The Fallout: Cancer, Jellyfish Babies, and a Poisoned Paradise

The human toll of these experiments is staggering. Goreau describes “jellyfish babies” – infants born with no bones, translucent and doomed to die. Cancer rates skyrocketed among the Marshallese, and entire generations have been scarred by the legacy of radiation.

And what of the atoll itself? Goreau’s grandfather documented the natural beauty of Bikini before the tests. Coral reefs thrived, their vibrant ecosystems supporting a delicate balance of life. But all of that was obliterated. The first thing the military did was dynamite the coral, clearing the lagoon for their warships. Later, the bombs themselves—one underwater, one in the air—turned the coral to rubble. Today, even the attempts to “clean up” Bikini are a testament to failure. The military bulldozed radioactive waste into craters and covered them with a concrete dome – the Runit sarcophagus – that is now cracking and leaking due to rising seas.

A Global Responsibility: Climate Change and Nuclear Legacy

Goreau’s work as head of the Global Coral Reef Alliance ties Bikini’s story to a broader crisis: climate change. Rising seas threaten not just Bikini but all low-lying atolls in the Pacific. Coral bleaching events, driven by warming oceans, have decimated reefs that once provided natural protection against storms. Goreau warns that we are nearing the point of no return, where even drastic action may not be enough to save what’s left.

This dual legacy of nuclear testing and climate change underscores a painful irony. The same militaristic and extractive systems that devastated Bikini Atoll are also driving global warming. Goreau and Spencer lament the continued prioritization of military spending over environmental and humanitarian needs. The resources that could be used to combat climate change are instead funneled into weapons programs, perpetuating cycles of violence and destruction.

The Resilience and Tragedy of the Marshallese People

Despite everything, the Marshallese people endure. But their resilience is not without cost. Goreau describes how they’ve been relegated to islands with no freshwater, forced to rely on food shipments that often fail to arrive. The Marshallese diaspora has spread across the Pacific, with many seeking better opportunities abroad. But for those who remain, life is precarious. Rising seas now inundate their homes, and the specter of radiation lingers.

Spencer and Goreau discuss how the Marshallese have been rendered invisible by the very forces that displaced them. Their plight is rarely covered in the media, and their voices are often excluded from international climate and nuclear policy discussions. The Marshallese are not just victims; they are a warning. What happened to them could happen to all of us if we fail to reckon with the twin threats of nuclear war and climate collapse.

Can the World Be Saved?

As the conversation winds down, Spencer challenges Goreau to solve the world’s problems in two minutes. His response is sobering. He argues that we need to not only stop burning fossil fuels but also actively remove carbon from the atmosphere. Even that might not be enough; we may need to reflect sunlight back into space to cool the planet. Yet these measures are controversial and fraught with their own risks.

Goreau’s ultimate point is that we cannot rely on technological fixes alone. The root causes of our crises are systemic: militarism, greed, and a disregard for life. There are still steps we can take—and must take—to mitigate the damage and build a more just and sustainable world.

22 January 2025

source: projectsavetheworld.substack.com

By Greg Grandin

Donald Trump won the White House twice on a promise to close the border. Now he waxes poetic about reopening the frontier — whose “spirit,” he said yesterday in his second Inaugural Address, “is written into our hearts.” This month, he talked about buying Greenland from Denmark, annexing Canada, retaking the Panama Canal and renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. “What a beautiful name,” Mr. Trump said, pronouncing the phrase with a decided stress on its last syllable: A-mer-i-CA, not A-MER-i-ca.

This expansionist turn is surprising for a politician best known for wanting the nation to hunker down behind a border wall. But Mr. Trump is smart. He knows, it seems, that the angry, inward-looking nationalism that first won him office can be self-destructive, as it was during his besieged first term. These calls, then — to make America not just great but also greater in size — tap into a more invigorating strain of patriotism: a vision of a United States that is forever growing, forever moving outward.

Mr. Trump’s recent remarks have electrified his base, with MAGA enthusiasts using social media to circulate battle plans to seize Canada and maps of a United States that stretches from the Arctic to Panama. But Mr. Trump is also harking back to the founders, many of whom similarly thought the United States had to expand to thrive. “Extend the sphere,” wrote James Madison in 1787; increase the “extent of territory,” and you’ll diffuse political extremism and stave off class warfare. “The larger our association,” said Thomas Jefferson in 1805, speaking of his Louisiana Purchase, “the less will it be shaken by local passions.”

In the years that followed, the United States moved across the continent with dizzying speed, citing the doctrine of conquest as it took Indian and Mexican land, reaching the Pacific and then seizing Hawaii, Puerto Rico and other islands.

And later, in the 20th century, even after the United States, along with much of the world, renounced the doctrine of conquest, our leaders still conjured up a sense of potentially limitlessness expansion, in the opening of markets for U.S. exports, in wars to rid the world of evils, in upward mobility and a growing middle class and in science and technology, which offered what the historian Frederick Jackson Turner once said the American West promised: “perennial rebirth.”

Mr. Trump is tapping into this social and intellectual history, promising to “pursue our Manifest Destiny into the stars” — even “to Mars.” But he does so in that witchy style he has perfected, which makes conventional ideas sound outlandish.

His detractors may scoff at the idea of annexing Greenland. But as it turns out, such annexation has long been a goal of U.S. politicians, at least since 1867, when Secretary of State William Seward, shortly after purchasing Alaska, considered buying the island — and Iceland — from Denmark. Franklin D. Roosevelt had his eye on the island, and after his death, the Truman administration, in 1946, offered Copenhagen $100 million for Greenland. The Danes declined. Later, Gerald Ford’s vice president, Nelson Rockefeller, proposed obtaining Greenland for its mineral wealth. In these pages, C.L. Sulzberger in 1975, citing national interest, wrote that “Greenland must be regarded as covered by” the Monroe Doctrine, that is, fully within the United States’ security perimeter.

As for Mr. Trump’s idea of adding more stars to the flag, William Kristol, a vocal Never Trump conservative, agrees with the idea, having suggested that Cuba could also become a state. He tweeted shortly after Mr. Trump gave up the White House in 2021, “60 years at 50 states is enough.” If the United States was to leave Trumpism behind, it had to grow — a sentiment Madison would agree with.

And now here’s Mr. Trump himself, triumphant in his return and grandstanding for growth.

But he is operating in a vastly different world from past expansionists’. In the decades since Bill Clinton said in 1993 that the “global economy is our new frontier,” this country has witnessed a constriction in its sense of what is possible. Traumatizing wars, a culled middle class, crippling personal debt, dystopian tech, serial climate catastrophes, Gilded Age levels of concentrated wealth, stalled life expectancy, with young people dying at alarmingly high rates — all this has combined to create political paralysis.

Mr. Trump’s imperial gambit seems a bid to break out of the deadlock, to say there are no limits, that the country does have a future. Do we want Greenland? We’ll take Greenland. Do we want Canada?

According to Politico, a number of wealthy Trump supporters, especially in tech, see Greenland as valuable not for its minerals or strategic position but as a spiritual solution to our current malaise, a way of restoring a sense of purpose to a country adrift.

But the challenges this country confronts will not be solved by fleeing to an imagined frontier and hoping its harsh climate, as one Trump supporter put it, will forge a “new people.”

And this is where Mr. Trump’s fumbling around for a rallying cry becomes dangerous, for in treating international politics as if it were a game of Risk, he’s signaling that the world is governed by new rules, which are really old rules: The powerful do what they will; the weak suffer what they must. For all its shortcomings and hypocrisies, the global order that emerged at the end of World War II promoted the idea that cooperation, not aggression, should be the presumed starting point of diplomacy.

Mr. Trump’s aggressive annexation fantasies — his threats to expand “our territory,” as he said Monday, to use punitive tariffs or military force to rearrange the world’s borders — say otherwise. Despite the soaring tone of his Inaugural Address, there was still plenty of aggrieved menace: “We will not be conquered,” he said, “We will not be intimidated.” He is sending a clear signal that dominance, not mutualism, is the world’s new organizing principle and that the doctrine of conquest, thought to have expired, is still valid.

Indeed, the world is plagued by savage wars. Today’s grand strategists, including those who guided the Biden administration, see wars not as things to be ended but as opportunities to create realms of influence.

On China, Joe Biden largely followed Mr. Trump’s lead on trade, and their various efforts to contain Beijing have increased the likelihood of conflict, particularly over Taiwan or the South China Sea. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Israel’s assault not just on Gaza but also on Lebanon and Syria and with our own “military interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and elsewhere,” the legal theorist Eric Posner wrote, the “ruins of international law are all around us.”

Mr. Trump’s imperialist musings, then, aren’t so much setting the pace but legitimating something that already exists: a new world order where aggression is expected.

Still, his uninhibited language (his willingness to provoke allies and force them to engage in childish games of dominance, as he is doing with Canada, Denmark and Panama) adds to the volatility of an already volatile world. One lesson the past teaches, especially the imperialist past Mr. Trump is invoking, is that opening the kind of belliger­ent, multifront balance of power that is in operation today — with the United States pushing against China, pushing against Russia, with all countries, everywhere, angling for advantage — will lead to more confrontation, more brinkmanship, more war.

Mr. Grandin is a professor at Yale and the author of the forthcoming “America, América: A New History of the New World” and other books.

21 January 2025

source: nytimes.com

“But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” Amos 5:24

Jerusalem/ Bethlehem, Monday January 20^th, 2025

In light of the recent ceasefire agreement between the Israeli occupation and Hamas, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to our Palestinian people for their steadfastness and resilient spirit during these challenging and bloody times. We deeply mourn for more than 47,000 Palestinians who have lost their lives and offer our sincerest condolences to their families and to the families who have suffered the devastating loss of their homes and properties. To the over 115,000 injured, we wish a swift and full recovery. The release of prisoners brings a moment of relief and joy; however, we emphasize that this is but a one step toward true peace and justice.

While we welcome the ceasefire and the prisoners exchange, we hope that the Israeli Prime Minister and his ultra-right-wing government will not sabotage the deal, as they did for the past months. A genuine cessation of the genocidal war must follow the release of prisoners. We also urge the international community to commit to rebuilding Gaza without conditions and not to abandon its people and leave them to their pain and suffering, as has tragically happened after the previous Israeli wars on Gaza.
The devastation in Gaza is immense. Approximately 70% of structures have been damaged or destroyed, including over 250,000 homes. More than 30 hospitals have been destroyed, severely impacting access to healthcare, especially for the injured ones. The United Nations estimates that over 50 million tons of rubble now cover Gaza, clearing this debris alone is expected to take over 14 years, with rebuilding potentially extending to 2040.

Accountability remains paramount. We call upon the international community to ensure international human rights standards and that the rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) are respected and implemented without delay. The Israeli prolonged occupation and apartheid must come to an end, and the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights and their right to self-determination must be recognized and upheld.
We further emphasize that what is happening in Gaza must not come at the expense of the Palestinians in the West Bank including Jerusalem. The Gaza ceasefire agreement must not pave the way for further Israeli annexation of Palestinian land in the West Bank or another wave of killing, maiming, destruction and displacement of Palestinians there, with the blessing of some western superpowers that uphold colonial policies and practices towards our people. Gaza’s suffering cannot be used as a cover for ignoring or worsening the situation of Palestinians in other parts of Palestine including the 1948 areas.
We also call for immediate access to Gaza for journalists and international fact-finding missions. The truth of what has happened during this time of genocide must be exposed to the world. Only through transparency and accountability can we ensure that such massacres and war crimes are not repeated in Palestine and in any other area worldwide.
The international powers should make of this cease fire a definitive cessation of war, impeding the threats of present Israeli government to restart war after the one month cease fire.
We express our profound gratitude to all nations, churches, organizations, universities and all people that have stood in solidarity with Palestine, advocating for the rights of our people and supporting our just cause and demands for dignity and justice. It is imperative that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) continues its vital work until the right of return for Palestinian refugees is honored and fully implemented. The Israeli aggressive plans against UNRWA should be condemned and stopped by all countries’ members of the UN.

The complete lifting of the illegal embargo on Gaza is a just step and essential to allow for the flow of the humanitarian aid into Gaza and for an immediate commencement of reconstruction efforts. Rebuilding schools, universities, hospitals, and critical infrastructure must be prioritized to restore dignity and normalcy to the lives of our people.
Finally, we call upon our political leaders to rise up to this historic moment. Now is the time for national unity and collective united leadership to guide us toward independence and sovereignty. Only through a united front can we secure the future that all Palestinians deserve.
While the ceasefire and prisoner exchange mark significant progress, lasting peace can only be achieved through justice, accountability, and the explicit recognition of our rights.
We wrote in our Kairos Palestine document in section 4.3 “Our future and their future are one. Either the cycle of violence that destroys both of us or peace that will benefit both”. Till then, we remain steadfast in our pursuit of a future where our people live freely, with peace, dignity and independence in our homeland.

Kairos Palestine

Source: kairospalestine.ps

By Seyed Hossein Mousavian

The incoming Trump administration has expressed support for a negotiated solution with Iran on all outstanding issues. When asked about a message to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President-elect Trump simply said, “I wish him luck.”

During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump indicated that his Iran policy in the second term would be “very different” than that in his first. He rejected the “regime change” policy and reiterated that he wants Iran to be successful, but also that he opposes the country’s acquisition of nuclear weapons.

In September 2024, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Tehran is ready for “constructive” dialogue and is “ready to engage” with the West about nuclear power, and willingness to improve relations with the U.S.

Nevertheless, the gaps between Washington and Tehran will be difficult to bridge. If Trump wishes to break the deadlock by negotiating with Iran, he will face fierce opposition within the U.S., in Iran, and in the region. Last month, Israel’s former war Cabinet member, Benny Gantz, called for Iran to be targeted “directly.”

Assuming Trump wants an alternative to another endless conflict, the first step must be a new nuclear agreement with Iran. It is likely that Israel will want the dismantlement of Iran’s enrichment capabilities. When I was the spokesperson for Iran’s nuclear team (2003-05), however, in a private meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei told Rouhani — then Iran’s top nuclear negotiator — that “if Iran is to abandon its right to enrich, it will either have to happen after my death, or I will have to resign from leadership.” Forcing this option would therefore likely mean the failure of negotiations, just as they failed from 2003-13.

If Trump’s main objective is to ensure that Iran does not acquire a nuclear bomb, however, he needs a plan that would permanently block the acquisition of nuclear bombs not only by Iran but also by other ambitious countries in the region. As President Biden warned, “if Iran gets the bomb, then Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt will follow.”

Here are the elements of such a plan:

First, as in the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal, Iran would agree to complete transparency of its nuclear programs and the most stringent level of International Atomic Energy Agency verification measures.

Second, the key principles of the agreement would be that it applies to all the countries in the region, making it possible to make permanent the main nonproliferation limitations of the deal, including limiting uranium enrichment to below 5 percent and no separation of plutonium from spent fuel.

Third, following the implementation of a new nuclear deal, Washington and Tehran would need to engage in discussions about regional security. Both countries should temporarily suspend all threats and hostilities as a first step and goodwill gesture.

Some years ago, Robert Einhorn, then a U.S. nuclear negotiator told me that “when we raise the necessity of regional talks, some Iranians mistakenly believe that we mean the dismantling of Iran’s missile and defense capabilities. All countries including Iran have the right to the defense capabilities they need. We understand that Iran, like us, has its own security concerns. Both sides must therefore engage in a serious and fair dialogue to address each other’s legitimate and lawful concerns and find a balanced solution.”

Ayatollah Khamenei is the ultimate decision-maker regarding Iran’s relations with the United States. On Jan. 8, 2024, he said that the U.S. is fundamentally hostile to the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic, wishing for the destruction of Iran. Based on the several decades of understanding I have of his views, I believe that the essence of his concerns regarding the relations with the U.S. can be summarized in three key points: the threat to Iran’s independence through interference in internal affairs, the “regime change” policy and the lack of respect for and recognition of Iran’s national interests.

On the other side, during 15 years of research at Princeton University on U.S.-Iran relations, I believe that “challenging and threatening the U.S. interests in the region” is the most important concern the U.S. has regarding Iran’s policies after the 1979 revolution.

If there is going to be a fair and balanced deal, both capitals should acknowledge each other’s legitimate regional interests and commit to not threatening those interests. This would require some realignment of their regional security and diplomacy strategies, especially with their key allies.

Moreover, it would require a credible and sustainable model for regional stability and peace. Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries in the Persian Gulf, could achieve such an arrangement through a new collective security and economic framework modeled on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The arrangement would facilitate establishing balanced and normal relations with the Western and Eastern blocs; regional arms control arrangements including a nuclear weapons-free zone and the reduction of U.S. military forces and expenditures in the region.

The agreement could also link a cessation of military conflict between Iran and Israel with a just and durable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on a two-state solution as required by multiple UN resolutions.

Finally, the deal could also include significant economic cooperation between the U.S. and Iran, potentially involving projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars in sectors such as petrochemicals, aviation and clean energy. This would create major economic stakes in the agreement within both countries, making the new arrangements more robust.

On his first day in office at the White House, President Trump could agree in a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, President Pezeshkian, to have special envoys from both countries quickly initiate direct talks for such a fair, sustainable and historic agreement.

Seyed Hossein Mousavian is Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at Princeton University.

17 January 2025

Source: thehill.com