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By Jeffrey D Sachs

It’s official now. America’s closest ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the one accorded more than 50 standing ovations in Congress just months ago, is under indictment by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and war crimes. America must take note: the U.S. Government is complicit in Netanyahu’s war crimes and has fully partnered in Netanyahu’s violent rampage across the Middle East.

For 30 years the Israel Lobby has induced the U.S. to fight wars on Israel’s behalf designed to prevent the emergence of a Palestinian State. Netanyahu, who first came to power in 1996, and has been prime minister for 17 years since then, has been the main cheerleader for U.S.-backed wars in the Middle East. The result has been a disaster for the U.S. and a bloody catastrophe not only for the Palestinian people but for the entire Middle East.

These have not been wars to defend Israel, but rather wars to topple governments that oppose Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people. Israel viciously opposes the two-state solution called for by international law, the Arab Peace Initiative, the G20, the BRICS, the OIC, and the UN General Assembly. Israel’s intransigence, and its brutal suppression of the Palestinian people, has given rise to several militant resistance movements since the beginning of the occupation. These movements are backed by several countries in the region.

The obvious solution to the Israel-Palestine crisis is to implement the two-state solution and to demilitarize the militant groups as part of the implementation process.

Israel’s approach, especially under Netanyahu, is to overthrow foreign governments that oppose Israel’s domination, and recreate the map of a “New Middle East” without a Palestinian State. Rather than making peace, Netanyahu makes endless war.

What is shocking is that Washington has turned the U.S. military and federal budget over to Netanyahu for his disastrous wars. The history of the Israel lobby’s complete takeover of Washington can be found in the remarkable new book by Ilan Pappé, Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic (2024).

Netanyahu repeatedly told the American people that they would be the beneficiaries of his policies. In fact, Netanyahu has been an unmitigated disaster for the American people, bleeding the U.S. Treasury of trillions of dollars, squandering America’s standing in the world, making the U.S. complicit in his genocidal policies, and bringing the world closer to World War III.

If Trump wants to make America great again, the first thing he should do is to make America sovereign again, by ending Washington’s subservience to the Israel Lobby.

The Israel Lobby not only controls the votes in Congress but places hardline backers of Israel into key national security posts. These have included Madeleine Albright (Secretary of State for Clinton), Lewis Libby (Chief of Staff of Vice President Cheney), Victoria Nuland (Deputy National Security Advisor of Cheney, NATO Ambassador of Bush Jr., Assistant Secretary of State for Obama, Under-Secretary of State for Biden), Paul Wolfowitz (Under-Secretary of Defense for Bush Sr., Deputy Secretary of Defense for Bush Jr.), Douglas Feith (Under-Secretary of Defense for Bush Jr.), Abram Shulsky (Director of the Office of Special Plans, Department of Defense for Bush Jr.), Elliott Abrams (Deputy National Security Advisor for Bush Jr.), Richard Perle (Chairman of the Defense National Policy Board for Bush Jr.), Amos Hochstein (Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State for Biden), and Antony Blinken (Secretary of State for Biden).

In 1995, Netanyahu described his plan of action in his book Fighting Terrorism. To control terrorists (Netanyahu’s characterization of militant groups fighting Israel’s illegal rule over the Palestinians), it’s not enough to fight the terrorists. Instead, it’s necessary to fight the “terrorist regimes” that support such groups. And the U.S. must be the one to lead:

The cessation of terrorism must therefore be a clear-cut demand, backed up by sanctions and with no prizes attached. As with all international efforts, the vigorous application of sanctions to terrorist states must be led by the United States, whose leaders must choose the correct sequence, timing, and circumstances for these actions.

As Netanyahu told the American people in 2001 (reprinted as the 2001 foreword to Fighting Terrorism):

The first and most crucial thing to understand is this: There is no international terrorism without the support of sovereign states. International terrorism simply cannot be sustained for long without the regimes that aid and abet it… Take away all this state support, and the entire scaffolding of international terrorism will collapse into dust. The international terrorist network is thus based on regimes—Iran, Iraq, Syria, Taliban Afghanistan, Yasir Arafat’s Palestinian Authority, and several other Arab regimes, such as the Sudan.

All of this was music to the ears of the neocons in Washington, who similarly subscribed to U.S.-led regime change operations (through wars, covert subversion, U.S.-led color revolutions, violent coups, etc.) as the main way to deal with perceived U.S. adversaries.

After 9/11, the Bush Jr. neocons (led by Cheney and Rumsfeld) and the Bush Jr. insiders of the Israel Lobby (led by Wolfowitz and Feith), teamed up to remake the Middle East through a series of U.S.-led wars on Netanyahu’s targets in the Middle East (Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Syria) and Islamic East Africa (Libya, Somalia, and Sudan). The role of the Israel Lobby in stoking these wars of choice is described in detail in Pappe’s new book.

The neocon-Israel Lobby war plan was shown to General Wesley Clark on a visit to the Pentagon soon after 9/11. An officer pulled a paper from his desk and told Clark: “I just got this memo from the Secretary of Defense’s office. It says we’re going to attack and destroy the governments in 7 countries in five years—we’re going to start with Iraq, and then we’re going to move to Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran.”

In 2002, Netanyahu pitched the war with Iraq to the American people and Congress by promising them that “If you take out Saddam, Saddam’s regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region[…] People sitting right next door in Iran, young people, and many others, will say the time of such regimes, of such despots is gone.”

A remarkable new insider account of Netanyahu’s role in spearheading the Iraq War also comes from retired Marine Command Chief Master Sargent Dennis Fritz, in his book Deadly Betrayal (2024). When Fritz was called to deploy to Iraq in early 2002, he asked senior military officials why the U.S. was deploying to Iraq, but he got no clear answer. Rather than lead soldiers into a battle he could not explain or justify, he left the service.

In 2005, Fritz was invited back to the Pentagon, now as a civilian, to assist Under-Secretary Douglas Feith in the declassification of documents about the war, so that Feith could use them to write a book about the war. Fritz discovered in the process that the Iraq War had been spurred by Netanyahu in close coordination with Wolfowitz and Feith. He learned that the purported U.S. war aim, to counter Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction, was a cynical public relations gimmick led by an Israel Lobby insider, Abram Shulsky, to garner U.S. public support for the war.

Iraq was to be the first of the seven wars in five years, but as Fritz explains, that follow-up wars were delayed by the anti-U.S. Iraqi insurgency. Nonetheless, the U.S. eventually went to war or backed wars against Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Lebanon. In other words, the U.S. carried out Netanyahu’s plans—except for Iran. To this day, indeed to this hour, Netanyahu works to stoke a U.S. war on Iran, one that could open World War III, either by Iran making the breakthrough to nuclear weapons, or by Iran’s ally, Russia, joining such a war on Iran’s side.

The neocon-Israel Lobby teamwork has marked one of the greatest global calamities of the 21st century. All of the countries attacked by the U.S. or its proxies—Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Syria—now lie in ruins. Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s genocide in Gaza continues apace, and yet again the U.S. has opposed the unanimous will of the world (other than Israel) this week by vetoing a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution that was backed by the other 14 members of the U.N. Security Council.

The real issue facing the Trump Administration is not defending Israel from its neighbors, who call repeatedly, almost daily, for peace based on the two-state solution. The real issue is defending the U.S. from the Israel Lobby.

Jeffrey D Sachs is a University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he directed The Earth Institute from 2002 until 2016.

22 November 2024

Source: countercurrents.org

By Quds News Network

Netherlands (Quds News Network)- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant face an unprecedented challenge following the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) issuance of arrest warrants against them for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The warrants, issued on Thursday, mark a pivotal moment in international justice and restrict their travel to 124 countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute, obligating them to cooperate with ICC rulings.

Here are some of the key reactions to the ICC decision:

Israel
Netanyahu’s office rejected the decision and described the move as “anti-Semitic” in a statement.

“Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions leveled against it by ICC,” his office said, adding Israel won’t “give in to pressure” in defense of its citizens.

In separate comments, Netanyahu’s office claimed the decision was comparable to “the modern-day Dreyfus trial – and it will end in the same way,” referring to Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army captain who was wrongly convicted of treason in France.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon called the ICC warrants “a shameful and political decision”.

“We need to speak with our allies and move forward with a decision to boycott the ICC and anyone who cooperates with it,” said Danon.

Palestine
Hamas welcomed the decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, calling it an “important step towards justice”.

“[It’s] an important step towards justice and can lead to redress for the victims in general, but it remains limited and symbolic if it is not supported by all means by all countries around the world,” Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim said in a statement.

Hamas also called on the ICC to expand its scope to other Israeli officials.

The Palestinian Authority, which governs the occupied West Bank, said “the ICC’s decision represents hope and confidence in international law and its institutions”.

It urged ICC members to enforce “a policy of severing contact and meetings’ with Netanyahu and Gallant.

Jordan
Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the ICC’s decision must be respected and implemented. “Palestinians deserve justice,” he said.

United States
“The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.

“Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

The White House also expressed concern over “the Prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision”.

“The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter,” a National Security Council spokesperson said.

Canada
“It’s really important that everyone abide by international law,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, adding Canada would abide by rulings of international courts.

South Africa
In a statement, the government welcomed the ICC decision and said it marked a “significant step towards justice for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Palestine”.

“South Africa reaffirms its commitment to international law and urges all state parties to act in accordance with their obligations in the Rome Statute,” it said.

“We call on the global community to uphold the rule of law and ensure accountability for human rights violations.”

European Union
Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the ICC warrants were not political and should be respected and implemented.

“This decision is a binding decision and all states, all state parties of the court, which include all members of the European Union, are binding to implement this court decision,” he said.

The Netherlands

Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said that his country “respects the independence of the ICC”.

“We won’t engage in non-essential contacts and we will act on the arrest warrants. We fully comply with the Rome Statute of the ICC,” he added.

France
France would act “in line with the ICC’s statutes”, said Christophe Lemoine, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, he declined to say whether France would arrest Netanyahu if he came to the country, saying it was “legally complex”.

Norway
Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said, “It is important that the ICC carries out its mandate in a judicious manner. I have confidence that the court will proceed with the case based on the highest fair trial standards.”

Ireland
Prime Minister Simon Harris said the warrants “an extremely significant step”.

He added that Ireland respects the ICC’s role and that anyone in a position to assist it in carrying out its vital work must do so “with urgency.”

Italy
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Rome would consider with allies how to interpret the decision and act together. “We support the ICC … the court must play a legal role and not a political role,” he added.

Sweden
Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said Sweden and the EU “support the court’s important work and protect its independence and integrity”.

Swedish law enforcement authorities decide on the arrest of subjects of ICC warrants on Swedish territory, she added.

Hungary
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto condemned the ICC decision, calling it “shameful and absurd”, presidential spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs reported on X.

“This decision disgraces the international judiciary by equating leaders of a country attacked by a heinous terror attack with the leaders of the terrorist organization responsible,” Szijjarto said, adding, “Such a decision is unacceptable.”

United Kingdom
Britain respects the independence of the ICC, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said without confirming whether Britain would uphold the warrants.

Belgium
“The fight against impunity wherever crimes are committed is a priority for Belgium, which fully supports the work of the [ICC]”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X.

“Those responsible for crimes committed in Israel and Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of who committed them.”

Austria
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg called the warrant incomprehensible and ludicrous, but his office also said as a party to the Rome statutes Austria was obliged to implement ICC arrest warrants.

Switzerland
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice said it is obliged to cooperate with the ICC under the Rome Statute and would therefore have to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they entered Switzerland and initiate extradition to the court.

Argentina
President Javier Milei said on X that his country “declares its deep disagreement” with the decision.

He wrote that the warrant “ignores Israel’s legitimate right to self- defense against the constant attacks by terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah”.

Turkey
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the ICC arrest warrant was a “hopeful” and crucial step in bringing to justice Israeli authorities who committed “genocide” against Palestinians.

“We will continue to work to ensure that international law is implemented to punish genocide,” Fidan added.

Amnesty International
The human rights organization said on X that the “wheels of international justice have finally caught up with those alleged to be responsible for war crimes & crimes against humanity in Palestine and Israel”.

“There can be no ‘safe haven’ for those alleged to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity,” it added.

Human Rights Watch
“The ICC arrest warrants against senior Israeli leaders and a Hamas official break through the perception that certain individuals are beyond the reach of the law.”

22 November 2024

Source: countercurrents.org

By Andre Damon

On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) formally charged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant with war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

The court charged Netanyahu and Gallant with “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”

In May, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan accused the Israeli leaders of presiding over the “murder” and “extermination” of Palestinians, as part of a “common plan to use starvation as a method of war and other acts of violence against the Gazan civilian population as a means to … collectively punish the civilian population of Gaza.”

In its document charging Netanyahu and Gallant, the ICC accepted the allegations by Khan that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war and declared that the “alleged crimes against humanity were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza.”

The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant are fully justified. But Israel is acting at the behest of US imperialism, together with the other imperial powers, in its genocidal war against the people of Gaza, which is part of the drive by the imperialist powers to reorganize the Middle East under their own domination. The response of US officials expresses the acknowledgement that they are guilty of aiding and supporting all the crimes with which Netanyahu is charged.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton responded to the ruling by making a veiled threat to attack the Netherlands or any country that cooperates with the warrants. “Woe to him and anyone who tries to enforce these outlaw warrants. Let me give them all a friendly reminder: The American law on the ICC is known as The Hague Invasion Act for a reason. Think about it.”

Senator Lindsay Graham wrote in a statement on X:

The Court’s actions against Israel sets the foundation for the ICC to come after the United States one day. We must respond forcefully to the Court for our own good.

In another tweet, he added, “If you aid and abet the ICC after their action against the State of Israel, you can expect consequences from the United States.”

A joint statement by senators from both parties, including Graham and Democrat John Fetterman, stated, “Acquiescing to the Court’s jurisdiction over Israel is to agree, in theory, they have jurisdiction over the United States.”

US President Joe Biden responded to the ICC’s arrest warrants by declaring, “The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. Let me be clear once again: Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence—none—between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

Asked to comment on Graham’s calls to sanction the ICC, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US expressed openness to the proposal. “We are discussing … with partners, including Israel” the possibility of sanctioning the ICC, she said.

The United States, the world’s leading perpetrator of war crimes, is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court and does not recognize its authority to prosecute US war crimes or those of Israel, its proxy in the Middle East.

On September 2, 2020, the United States government imposed sanctions on ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, in response to an investigation by the court into US war crimes in Afghanistan. Despite this, the Biden administration publicly welcomed a war crimes investigation by the ICC against Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.

Early last month, Israel initiated the so-called “Generals’ Plan” in northern Gaza, and Israeli officials directly stated their intention to stop all food and water from entering into northern Gaza in an effort to force the population out through starvation. As part of the plan, anyone who remains would be treated as an enemy combatant and subject to being killed.

Later in October, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Israel to meet with Netanyahu. During their meeting, the two sides explicitly discussed the so-called “Generals’ Plan.” After the discussion, Blinken issued a blanket endorsement of Israel’s war aims, in an effective approval of the plan.

Since then, the amount of food entering northern Gaza has fallen to the lowest level since the start of the invasion, with a UN panel warning that famine is imminent in northern Gaza. Earlier this month, the State Department explicitly declared that Israel was not committing human rights abuses in Gaza by withholding food, despite the fact that just a tenth of the food the State Department said was adequate is getting into Gaza.

The ruling by the International Criminal Court has demonstrated, once again, the complete criminality of US imperialism. Having funded, armed and politically supported a genocide, the US government is threatening to sanction, and even attack, the institutions of international law.

It likewise vindicates the mass demonstrations all over the world against the Gaza genocide, which governments around the world have claimed are “antisemitic,” as a pretext for carrying out arrests and banning demonstrations.

No one should be under any illusion, however, that this ruling will stop the genocide or even hold Netanyahu and Gallant to account. The imperialist powers backing the genocide will abide no legal control over their acts of mass murder.

Stopping the genocide, alongside the broader eruption of world war, requires the building of a mass movement of the working class armed with a socialist perspective.

22 November 2024

Source: countercurrents.org

By Amit Sengupta

They are blocking food. Essential needs. Medicine. They are using food as pressure tactics. A freezing winter is coming. It is going to be tough. Thousands have vanished. Refugee camps are bombed. Universities have been fully destroyed. There were 34 hospitals in Gaza. All destroyed 

Dr Abed Elrazeg Abu Jazer, Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Delhi, is a seasoned India hand. He has done his PhD from Jamia Millia Islamia central university in Delhi in political science. His subject was: ‘India and the question of Palestine — 1980-93’. He has worked as a professional journalist since 1995 and  has been a media advisor to the Palestinian Authority. He was posted to India as a senior diplomat in 2014. “I miss journalism,” he says, wistfully. In conversation with Amit Sengupta, Editor, timesheadline.in, and a seasoned journalist, who has been writing on Gaza since last October.

Yesterday, the Security Council passed a resolution seeking ceasefire in Gaza. This is maybe the fourth or fifth time they have done it. As many as 14 countries have supported it, including France and Britain; but, yet again, America has vetoed the resolution: 14-1. They said the resolution does not have a reference to the hostages. However, the final resolution does have a reference to the hostages. What is your opinion on this?

This is not our first experience with the Americans. It has happened so many times in the history of the occupation, and our freedom struggle. You know, they always use the veto against our rights and aspirations. Almost the entire world, including India, has called for a ceasefire, but, no, the US will not allow a ceasefire and always back Israel to the hilt. Through these decisions, they are going against the collective global voice against the genocide currently happening in Gaza, the world’s biggest open air prison. Basically that means that nothing has improved on the ground. America has given a green signal to the Israeli aggression — politically and militarily. They simply don’t seem to care for all the other voices in the world.

Both Joe Biden and and Kamala Harris have said that the people of Gaza are suffering. Harris has used this rhetoric many times. But they have done nothing on the ground. Instead, they have pumped in bombs, weapons and billions into Israel which has been used to kill the people of Gaza. 

This is not a political speech. There are figures and media reports. American reports. Statements from the Pentagon and the State Department in Washington. The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and others, they have all published the facts and figures. They published these stories with all of the details about the continuous supply of military equipment to Israel, the big bombs, including bombs which were being used and tested for the first time. On our people. On civilians. There is continuous military support. These are reports coming from America. This is type of the leadership in the rich countries.

Your wife and children were trapped in Rafah at the border with Egypt for a very long time, even while the killings continued relentlessly. All communication systems were dismantled. Thankfully, they are now in India. In recent times, Israel has started evacuating the refugee camps, like the Jabalia camp at the Israeli border, which is the largest refugee camp with more than 100,000 displaced people. They have been bombing shelters, hospitals and schools. Almost 250,000 people were reportedly forced to move from Northern Gaza at gun-point. There is no food. Aid has been stopped by the Israeli military. Many young boys and men have been taken in vehicles to unknown destinations.

This is a one-sided war. A strategic war. It is not war. It is a genocide. It is not between two soldiers, or two armies. Here, there is one strong country with a strong army, backed by the biggest military power in the world, and some Western countries. Gaza has 2.5 million unarmed people. Yes, most of them are refugees; they live in refugee camps. Majority of the people are extremely poor. They get basic food with UN support — wheat or sugar. Now, bombs are targeting them in tents. People are living on the beach, in tattered tents, in the open. In big houses, more than 100 people are taking shelter. One bomb destroys all of them. Civilians. Israel knows about them, uses its technology for serveillance, and then they bomb them. So this is the target and this is their war. You can see videos which are evidence.

Almost 90 per cent of Gaza is fully destroyed. I am from Rafah in the south. It’s in the border with Egypt. Almost 90 per cent of Rafah has been totally destroyed. Included my house. My brothers and father’s house as well — we are neighbours. Their homes too have been destroyed. We have lost everything. My father is 90 — now he is a displaced refugee. Many others are like him now.

Some people have lost everyone in their families. Thousands of children have turned orphans, including seriously wounded children. Consider their trauma.

They are blocking food. Essential needs. They are using food as pressure tactics. Jordon, Emirates, other countries are sending food. But they are blocking it — using food against the people.

It’s extremely difficult for the survivors.

Now, a freezing winter is coming. It is going to be really tough. Thousands of people have vanished. There are other types of suffering. No schools. Universities have been fully destroyed. There were 34 hospitals in Gaza. All destroyed. There was the Abu Yusuf hospital in Rafah, one of the main hospitals. This is the latest hospital they have bombed. Fully destroyed.

Apparently, there are only three hospitals, damaged or otherwise, which are still there. Scores of doctors and nurses (and patients) have been killed. Even doctors have been arrested and taken to unknown destinations. There are epidemics and diseases. How are the people coping with it? 

Health care has been severely hit. Minimal primary health care is available. They are not allowing medicine or medical aid from outside. They are not allowing doctors, specialists or volunteers to enter Gaza. Surgeries are urgently required for many patients. But where are the doctors?

Nobody can enter Gaza. It’s totally controlled by them. Even the international media is not coming.  Only Israel media is coming with their  soldiers. They are the spokespersons of the Israeli government. They publish the Israeli agenda. For example, we have lost 188 journalist since October 7, 2023. Many of them were killed as targeted assassinations. Local civilians are now working as journalists. They too are being targeted. There is no internet or connectivity. Nobody’s coming from outside to report. No big channels like CNN or NBC or the New York Times, Washington Post,  etc.  They are targeting journalists because they don’t want ground reports to reach to the world. They want to wipe out the truth from the world’s consciousness. Hence, you will not see, for instance, stories about the human beings trapped or buried under the rubble. Or similar stories.

If there is a ceasefire, and journalists can enter, you will see that thousands of buried or forgotten stories will emerge from the ravaged landscape of Gaza. That is also why they don’t want a ceasefire.

Several men and young boys have been picked up recently and taken to unknown places by the Israeli army. And how many Palestinian children and women and others are in prison in Israel? 

They have arrested several people from the north and the south of Gaza, and also from the West Bank. They have built new prisons. The prisoners are treated with cruelty. This is their policy. They catch the people for no rhyme or reason, and they take them to the prisons. They punish them. It’s very bad. They torture them. And this has been going on much before this one-sided war started last October.

They treat the 2.5 million people like prisoners in a gated society. They control everything. Nobody can travel without their permission. Nobody can go out of Gaza. There is no education, no employment, no food security. The economic condition is abysmal. They are not only killing the people physically, it’s a daily and endless mental torture. Everyday existence is hell.

What is happening in the West Bank?

In the West Bank, large areas have been forcibly taken over by Israeli settlers. Most of them are armed, patronised by their ,government and have full impunity to do whatever they want with the locals. They have taken over our homes and houses. Lot of people have been killed in West Bank too in recent times.

Plus, there are other types of war. There are assassinations. Raids. Arrests. Special operations. There are military invasions. They enter Ramallah, other towns. There are 80 check points. They have divided the land according to their security and other needs. You can’t go from one point to another without their permission. If you travel, a 30 minutes journey will take more than three hours. They can arrest anyone any time. Stop anyone anytime. You can’t cross the King Hussein border with Jordan without their permission. They refuse to refund our tax, agreed as per the Paris agreement. They make it economically unfeasable to run the administration and cater to civil society needs. With a meagre budget, it becomes extremely difficult for the Palestinian authority in West Bank to operate. People get 60 or 70 per cent of their salaries only. They control the banks. It is like they have actually annexed the West Bank, and now Gaza. This is the original Israeli dream.

Western media reports have stuck to a figure of 43,000 people dead, and around 17,000 children dead. This figure remains unchanged despite the daily killings in Gaza since weeks now. Plus, those who are buried under the rubble. Unofficial sources say the toll could be many times more. 

I think the number is  much higher than these media reports. I presume the ministry of health also thinks the same. No one knows the number of people buried under the rubble across Gaza.

Among the dead, the number of children and women are many times high.

Indeed, they particularly target women and children, especially mothers. They want to eliminate the children en masse because they are the future of Palestine. They kill mothers and young women because they will bring children to this world. That is why the number of women who have been murdered by Israeli army is very, very high.

They know everything. They use technology to spy on women. They scan everything. Drones can come in at home, anytime. If I am a peaceful and quiet citizen, and sitting quietly at home, they can come and kill me. They know that there is a civilian family, perhaps one hundred of them are living in the four floors of a building. They know. Like a game in a play station, they play this game of death.

They especially choose to kill the mothers because they will give birth to children. Entire families have been wiped out. That is why they kill children in the hospital. Nurses and doctors have been murdered. Even new-born children die because of lack of medical facilities. They need special care. Hence, all medical aid is cut of the little ones. This is the government policy of the Isreali government in Tel Aviv.

A young Abed Elrazeg Abu Jazer (in blue shirt) interviewing Yasser Arafat in 1996

23 November 2024

Source: countercurrents.org

By Quds News Network

Occupied West Bank (Quds News Network)- A disturbing surge in violence against Palestinian children has emerged in the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023. According to United Nations data, 171 children have been killed by Israel in this period, averaging the death of a child every two days. Over 1,000 more have been injured, many with live ammunition.

The youngest victim was a 4-year-old girl killed near a checkpoint in January while sitting in a taxi with her mother, reported The Guardian. Despite the absence of an official war in the West Bank, children there are being killed at a rate not seen since the second intifada in 2002.

UNICEF Sounds the Alarm

Jonathan Crickx, a UNICEF spokesperson, expressed grave concern, telling the Guardian that “In the course of last year there was an extremely concerning increase in children killed in conflict-related violence in the West Bank, and we already see the trend is continuing.”

The United Nations only counts verified cases with confirmed names, ages, and causes of death. However, no Israeli soldier has been charged in connection with these killings. The Israeli military often attributes such incidents to alleged participation in “combat activities.”

Victims Denied Justice

Advocates say accountability for these killings is almost nonexistent. Ayed Abu Eqtaish, from Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP), told the Guardian that over the past decade, only one Israeli soldier was convicted for killing a Palestinian child. Even in that case, the soldier received a minimal sentence.

DCIP has shifted its focus from pursuing justice through Israel’s military courts to documenting these tragedies due to the systemic lack of accountability.

The report mentions eyewitness’ accounts confirming that Israeli soldiers prevented locals from assisting wounded children after they were shot while playing.

21 November 2024

Source: countercurrents.org

By Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor

Beirut – Since early November, the Israeli army has ramped up its military assaults in Lebanon and carried out multiple massacres there, killing dozens of civilians, the majority of whom were women, children, and the elderly.

The Israeli occupation army conducted over 35 raids on the Baalbek-Hermel district on Friday 1 November, killing 53 people and injuring at least 83 others.

At least 15 more people were killed and injured in an Israeli army raid on an abandoned building in the Semaan Gallery neighbourhood, which is located at the eastern entrance to a southern suburb of Beirut, on Saturday 2 November.

Three additional people were killed and nine others—including a child who was rescued from beneath the debris by ambulance crews—were injured when the Israeli army attacked an apartment in a residential building in the Saida neighbourhood on Sunday 3 November. On the same day, the Lebanese Red Cross recovered the bodies of 20 Lebanese and one Syrian from rubble in the Wata al-Khiam area; the victims had been buried under the debris for days.

The Israeli army then booby-trapped and blew up several homes in the town of Mays al-Jabal on Monday 4 November, and destroyed entire neighbourhoods in the town of Maaroub, nearly 20 kilometres inside the Lebanese border in the Tyre district.

Families have lost contact with five elderly people in their 80s who require medical attention and medication due to Israeli incursions into southern Lebanese villages, booby-trapping, and bombing of neighbourhoods and homes. These individuals are Ghadina Al-Suwaid, from the town of Al-Dahra, and Mohammad Shartouni, Nimr Hamadi, Sabah Rizk, and Hassan Qablan, all from the town of Mays Al-Jabal.

A woman was killed and 15 others were injured when Israeli forces bombarded the area of Al-Jiyeh on Tuesday 5 November. Students were evacuated from the Mar Charbel School as a result of the material damage caused by the bombardment, which occurred during school hours. In Wata al-Khiam and Bayut al-Sayad, 19 bodies were recovered from the debris of two earlier massacres that occurred on the same day. In southern Lebanon, also on 5 November, 40,000 housing units in 37 towns were completely destroyed. Twenty people were killed and at least 18 others were injured when the Israeli army committed a massacre at a residential building in the town of Barja that same day.

The Israeli army continued to attack southern villages in Lebanon on Wednesday 6 November, focusing on homes and stores in the Tyre district. They also carried out more massacres in the Bekaa Valley region, conducting more than 20 raids on the Baalbek-Hermel area, which killed at least 50 people and wounded 63 more. The Israeli army also killed 24 people by attacking the cities of Baalbek and Hermel, as well as the towns of Ain and Al-Mishrifeh. One of these raids on Baalbek caused damage to the archaeologically significant neighbourhood of Al-Manshiyeh.

Israeli raids also targeted Tyre’s archaeologically significant neighbourhood on Thursday 7 November, prompting the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to convene a meeting to discuss bolstering temporary protection for cultural heritage sites in Lebanon. On the same day, an Israeli drone targeted a car at the Awali checkpoint in Sidon, just as a UNIFIL convoy was passing by. As a result, three civilians were killed and three Lebanese army soldiers and four UNIFIL personnel were injured.

Two Israeli army bulldozers and an excavator demolished a UNIFIL building that same day (7 November) in Ras al-Naqoura and took out two of the blue barrels used as physical markers to indicate the “Blue Line”, which delineates the UN-established withdrawal line between Israel and Lebanon—established to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon in the year 2000.

Nine more people were killed, and at least 46 were injured, when the Israeli army targeted three buildings in Tyre on Friday 8 November. Israel also directly targeted an ambulance centre in Naqoura on Friday and Saturday (8-9 November), as well as paramedic gathering places in Deir Qanoun Ras al-Ain and Ain Baal in Tyre. Between the start of October 2023 and 9 November, Israel killed 187 paramedics in Lebanon.

Israeli raids on Sunday 10 November killed over 20 people and injured at least 14 more in the towns of al-Kanisa, Hadath Baalbek, al-Jamaliya, al-Nabi Sheet, and Majdaloun. Israeli raids also reached the Jbeil district, where the occupation army killed a large number of people, mostly women and children, by attacking a two-storey house in the town of Almat that was being used by 30 displaced people as a shelter. An additional Israeli attack occurred against a first aid facility in the Sidon district during a raid on the town of Adloun; the occupation army targeted a facility run by the Islamic Health Authority, killing three paramedics and increasing the death toll to 190.

Throughout this week, the Israeli army has launched several raids on the southern suburbs of Beirut, issuing evacuation warnings just 30 minutes to two hours before striking. As a result, many buildings in these suburbs have been destroyed.

Several civilians, mostly women and children, were killed on Monday 11 November in fresh massacres carried out by the Israeli army in Al-Saksakiyeh, Akkar, and Baalbek. Although 81 dead and 60 wounded individuals have been found, the exact number of victims is still unknown because some of the dead have been reduced to pieces. According to the initial toll, 25 people were killed and seven wounded in the Alamat massacre; eight people were killed and five wounded in the Baal Shamiya massacre on Tuesday 11 November, while 20 people were killed and 12 wounded in the John massacre that same day; eight people were killed and 17 wounded in the Dohat Aramoun massacre on Wednesday 13 November; and 20 people killed and 19 wounded in the Deir Qanoun Ain al-Ras massacre.

In addition, the Israeli army killed 19 paramedics in the Doris and Arabsalim massacres, between Thursday and Friday (14-15 November). The occupation army targeted a paramedic gathering place in Nabatieh and a civil defense centre in Baalbek while 20 paramedics were inside. Two more paramedics were then killed in two separate Israeli attacks on Saturday 16 November, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. The first of these attacks occurred in Tyre’s town of Burj Rahhal, while paramedics were rescuing an injured person, and the second occurred in the town of Kfar Tibnit, when an Israeli vehicle targeted a Health Authority vehicle, injuring four additional paramedics as well.

On the same day (16 November), Israeli forces killed a family of six, including four children, in a raid on the town of Al-Khariba. Another Israeli raid on a home in the town of Arabsalim killed seven members of the same family.

The Israeli army then attacked three Health Authority centres on Sunday 17  November in Houmin al-Tahta, Hanaweya, and Al-Bazouriyeh, killing two paramedics and injuring two more. On the very same day, two members were killed and two others were injured when the Israeli army attacked a Lebanese army centre in the town of Al-Mari in Hasbaya. An additional Israeli attack on the Tyre district villages that same day claimed 11 lives and injured 48 people, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

The Israeli army then launched three raids on Ras al-Nabaa, Mar Elias, and Zakat al-Blat, in the centre of the capital city of Beirut, without prior warning on Sunday and Monday (17-18 November), killing at least 10 people and injuring over 35 more.

Over the past two days, the densely populated Beirut neighbourhoods of Shiyah and Ghobeiry have been violently targeted by the occupation army, resulting in a large number of forcibly displaced people.

Respect and commitment should be shown with regard to international humanitarian law, which stipulates that killing civilians is a war crime—even when it is done under the guise of targeting military leaders—and which requires warring parties to always distinguish between civilians and combatants during armed conflicts.

Even if Israel’s claims of targeting military leaders are accurate, it is unacceptable to target them while they are among civilians and in civilian areas without considering any of the principles of international humanitarian law. Therefore, Israeli is committing serious violations of international humanitarian law.

While international humanitarian law permits the targeting of combatants who are directly involved in hostilities, as well as within certain limits under the principles of military necessity and proportionality, i.e. taking the necessary precautions during the implementation of each military operation, the law (which Israel has adopted, and is bound to) forbids political assassinations.

An attack that “is expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life or injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, and is excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated” is prohibited by the principle of proportionality, even when it comes to military targets. Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor emphasises that such attacks are considered full-fledged war crimes.

A UN investigation committee must be established to look into the transgressions and international crimes that have been committed in Lebanon since 8 October 2024.

In order to bring about justice for the victims and stop additional civilian casualties, the international community must fulfill its obligations to monitor and enforce international humanitarian law, stop violations that constitute war crimes, punish those responsible, and stop impunity.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor is a Geneva-based independent organization with regional offices across the MENA region and Europe

21 November 2024

Source: countercurrents.org

By Jacob Crosse

On Wednesday, the US Senate affirmed its support for the Israeli genocide in Gaza, which has killed and injured over 300,000 people since October 7, 2023, and roundly rejected a series of resolutions aimed at blocking a fraction of a $20 billion war package the Biden administration approved for Israel in August.

The resolutions, spearheaded by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, are known as the Joint Resolution of Disapprovals, or JRDs. Wednesday’s vote, while a foregone conclusion, was the first time the US Senate has ever considered blocking arms transfers to Israel in over 76 years of political, military and economic support.

Not a single one of the resolutions garnered more than 19 votes, with a majority of Democratic senators and every single Republican voting overwhelmingly against all of the resolutions presented.

Underscoring the Democratic Party’s resolute support for ethnic cleansing, the day before the votes were held the Biden administration sent out a memorandum urging senators not to block the weapons sales, with the implication that voting in favor of the resolutions was tantamount to supporting terrorists. “Disapproving arms purchases for Israel at this moment would … put wind in the sails of Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas at the worst possible moment,” the document read, according to a report from the Huffington Post.

Refuting months of lies from Biden, Harris and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that the Democratic administration was working “tirelessly” towards a ceasefire, the document continued, “Now is the time to focus pressure on Hamas to release the hostages and stop the war. … Cutting off arms from Israel would put this goal even further out of reach and prolong the war, not shorten it.”

Under the Arms Export Control Act, any US senator can submit a JRD to block the transfer of already approved weapons sales if the weapons are being sent to a country that is engaged in war crimes or blocking the transfer of US humanitarian aid to civilians. Earlier this year, in between campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris and defending President Joe Biden’s record of war and austerity, Sanders began the process of issuing the JRDs. He was supported in these efforts by Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley (Oregon), Chris Van Hollen (Maryland) and Peter Welch (Vermont).

Prior to the vote, all of the senators backing the JRDs, including Sanders, were very clear that the resolutions would not prevent the transfer of so-called “defensive” weapons systems to Israel, such as air-to-air missiles for the Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile systems. Similarly all of the senators, including Sanders, that spoke in favor of the resolutions made clear their support for the Israeli government and its alleged “right to defend” itself from Hamas.

“As I have said many many times,” Sanders stated, “Israel had the absolute right to respond to that horrific Hamas attack as any other country would. I don’t think anyone here in the United States Senate disagrees with that.”

According to the United Nations, since 1947, Israel has illegally annexed and occupied Palestinian lands, forfeiting any right to “self-defense.”

In his remarks Wednesday, Sanders never once referred to the Israeli’s military campaign as a genocide or ethnic cleansing. Like the other senators who supported the measure, he exclusively blamed the “Netanyahu government,” while ignoring the Biden administration and his own role in perpetuating the slaughter. In an attempt to present the current Zionist regime as an aberration from previous Zionist leaders, Sanders declared, “The Israel of today is not the Israel of Golda Meir…”

Speaking as agent of imperialism, the Vermont senator observed that US complicity in Israel’s military campaign undercut “humanitarian” arguments advanced by US politicians to justify military interventions around the globe.

“I’ve heard well-founded concerns about China’s brutal reception of the Uyghur ethnic minority,” Sanders said. “I’ve heard rightful outrage about Putin’s brutal attacks against Ukraine and bombing of civilian installations. I’ve heard genuine concerns about Iran’s outrageous crackdown on peaceful protesters.

But what I want to say to all those folks, nobody is going to take anything you say with a grain of seriousness. You cannot condemn human rights around the world and then turn a blind eye to what the United States government is now funding in Israel. People will laugh in your face. They will say, ‘You are concerned about China, you are concerned about Russia, you are concerned about Iran, well, why are you funding the starvation of children in Gaza right now?’

“So,” Sanders concluded, “we must pass the resolutions from a legal perspective … for our own best foreign policy interests. We will lose our credibility on the world stage.”

Senator Peter Welch, also spoke in favor of the resolutions as a means of advancing US geopolitical interests in the region. He said that blocking them would “harm our goals for the Jewish democratic state … a secured democratic independent Israel” and a “disarmed Palestinian state.”

The three Senate resolutions 111, 113 and 115 under consideration Wednesday would only block under $1.1 billion of the $20 billion package. Each of the resolutions focused on so-called “offensive weapons.” These include tens of thousands of tank rounds, mortar shells and joint direct attack munitions (JDAMS), which convert unguided “dumb” bombs into so-called “precision” munitions.

Resolutions focused at blocking transfer of tactical vehicles ($583.1 million), F-15 fighter aircraft and upgrades ($18.82 billion) and anti-jamming technology for GPS receivers were not considered.

During the debate session, several Democrats spoke in opposition to all of the resolutions. Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen (Democrat) claimed that if the US did not provide the GPS-guided bombs, more civilians would be killed. “By providing Israel with these weapons which are more precise and more accurate,” she claimed, “you can reduce civilian casualties.”

Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Ben Cardin (Democrat-Maryland) lamented, “Why isn’t there more focus on the terrorists?”

Republican warhawk and Trump ally, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, joined the majority in voting against the resolution and blamed Hamas for using “their own people as human shields.”

The same day the Senate rejected any slow-down in weapons shipments to Israel, the US also vetoed a resolution at the UN calling for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire.”

Both votes demonstrate that American imperialism’s support for the ongoing genocide is absolute and unconditional. The Biden administration, with the support of both the Democrats and the Republicans, has armed and financed the genocide as part of an escalating global war, in the Middle East and beyond.

Sanders’ shabby maneuver in the Senate was aimed at providing cover for this bipartisan ruling class policy.

21 November 2024

Source: countercurrents.org

By Quds News Network

Gaza (Quds News Network)- A few hours following an American veto against stopping the genocide, an Israeli airstrike on a residential neighborhood near Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza has killed 66 people, most of them children and women, and left over 100 injured.

The massacre is part of an intensifying Israeli assault on northern Gaza, marked by heavy shelling and starvation in areas like Beit Lahia and Jabalia Refugee Camp.

The Gaza Ministry of Health stated that Israel has committed a new massacre in northern Gaza, pointing to the systematic targeting of civilian areas.

Rescue efforts have been severely hindered as Israeli forces continue to block access for medical teams and prevent the retrieval of victims’ bodies or the evacuation of the wounded.

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, told Al Jazeera:

“As I speak to you, I see the body of a baby whose hand is severed, still clutching a milk bottle… We received mutilated body parts, all belonging to children who were sleeping when the strike hit. We are attempting to transport and treat injuries ourselves because there are no rescue teams. The scenes are harrowing. Children, women, and the elderly—many of whom were asleep—are among the victims. Our resources are extremely limited; there are no medical teams or equipment. We, the doctors, are manually pulling out and treating the injured. We have repeatedly appealed to the world, but no one is responding. It is evident there is deliberate obstruction to deny us the tools we need, leaving the wounded to die. Most of our medical staff have been arrested or killed, but we will continue our humanitarian mission no matter the cost.”

The neighborhood destruction follows days of intensified Israeli shelling and gunfire targeting areas such as Beit Lahia and Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. The region remains under relentless bombardment as Israel’s military operation continues unabated, despite international outcry over the mounting civilian death toll.

American Veto Enables Continued Genocide

The bloodbath comes in the wake of the US veto, which blocked a Security Council resolution supported by 14 member states. The resolution called for a halt to hostilities, the release of Israeli prisoners, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid.

It also emphasized compliance with international law and condemned any measures leading to the starvation of civilians, particularly the vulnerable, including women and children.

This veto has been widely criticized as a green light for Israel’s ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza, with the United States enabling further war crimes as global leaders fail to intervene effectively.

21 November 2024

Source: countercurrents.org

By Rayhan Uddin

Soon after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the EU’s foreign policy chief issued a reminder.

“These decisions are binding on all states party to the Rome Statute, which includes all EU member states,” Josep Borrell posted on X.

The Israeli prime minister and former defence minister are accused of “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.

All 124 members of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, are now compelled to arrest the two Israelis and hand them over to the court.

It is likely that both leaders will restrict their travel so as not to be detained – something Russia‘s Vladmir Putin has done since being indicted by the ICC in March last year.

Some member states have previously flouted their obligation: both South Africa and Jordan failed to arrest Omar Hassan al-Bashir when the Sudanese autocrat visited them, drawing the ire of human rights groups and the ICC.

Many of the states that will be compelled to hand over Netanyahu and Gallant are allies of Israel, including the UK, France, Germany and Hungary.

Ramallah /PNN/

The Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s Department of Refugee Affairs has condemned Israel’s bombing of the Abu Asi School, operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), in Al-Shati Refugee Camp in Gaza City.

The attack, along with an airstrike on a home in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, resulted in the deaths of over 60 people and injuries to dozens, most of whom were women and children. Israel also carried out two additional massacres today, targeting homes in the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza, leaving dozens more dead or wounded.

Dr. Ahmed Abu Houli, member of the PLO Executive Committee and head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, described the attack on Abu Asi School, the airstrikes on densely populated homes in Beit Lahia, and the raids in Bureij and Nuseirat as further evidence of systematic war crimes and genocide perpetrated against the Palestinian people since October 7 of last year. He noted that the deliberate targeting of civilians and displacement shelters has caused over 146,000 casualties, including a majority of women and children, alongside more than 10,000 missing persons, amid widespread destruction and famine that has already claimed the lives of many children.

Abu Houli criticised the international community for its silence and leniency, as well as U.S. support for Israel’s actions, which he argued provides a green light for the continuation of violations of international humanitarian law, the United Nations Charter, and its resolutions. He warned that such inaction emboldens Israel in its efforts to forcibly displace Gaza’s residents.

“There is no safe place in Gaza from Israeli crimes,” Dr. Abu Houli stated.

He highlighted the dire situation in northern Gaza, where civilians are enduring famine, mass killings, and forced displacement as Israel’s military continues to block international aid organisations from operating and prohibits the delivery of food, medical supplies, and humanitarian aid for the 45th consecutive day. He warned that the impending famine in northern Gaza could spread to the south due to severe shortages, as Israel restricts the entry of aid to limited quantities.

Dr. Abu Houli stressed that the ongoing massacres clearly demonstrate Israel’s intent to annihilate and forcibly displace the population of Gaza.

He called on the United Nations Security Council to take immediate responsibility by enforcing an end to the starvation, genocide, and displacement of Palestinians, and to compel Israel to adhere to Resolution 2735, which mandates a ceasefire in Gaza. Furthermore, he urged international action to provide protection for Palestinians and to rescue more than 100,000 individuals trapped and under siege in northern Gaza.

Abu Houli emphasised the need for the international community to adopt a deterrent strategy against Israel, starting with the imposition of sanctions, to force an end to the ceasefire violations, massacres, and acts of genocide against civilians in Gaza.

17 November 2024

Source: english.pnn.ps