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By Seyed Hossein Mousavian

The Baathist system in Syria, after nearly 60 years of rule, has been overthrown and Bashar al-Assad has fled to Moscow.

Syria stood alongside Iran during its invasion by Saddam Hussein, and Iran, in turn, stood with the Syrian and Iraqi governments during the assault by the Islamic State (IS) group and al-Qaeda on Syria and Iraq from 2011 to 2017.

The alliance of Russia, Iran and the Axis of Resistance led to the defeat of militant groups and the preservation of the sovereignty of these two Arab countries.

However, at the same time, Assad’s government had no alignment with democracy, and western and Arab leaders were fearful and angry about the extensive presence and influence of Iran and Russia in Syria. In any case, the overthrow of the Syrian political system has created a major shift in the region’s geopolitics.

In the short term, Iran, Russia, Iraq and the Axis of Resistance will be the main losers from Assad’s downfall.

The collapse of the Assad government will be a major blow to the axis, weakening Iran’s geopolitical influence in the region.

Syria has been the only land route for the supply and transfer of weapons to Hezbollah, and cutting off this route not only creates a strategic challenge for Hezbollah but also weakens Iran’s leverage in the Palestinian issue.

Moreover, the potential spread of insecurity to Iraq and Iran – and the weakening of Iran’s diplomatic support – are significant consequences for Iran and the axis.

Turkey main winner

The fall of the Syrian government could also pose threats to Iraq’s security, both in terms of the Kurdish region and from the aspirations of extremist groups for Sunni-majority areas in the country, as well as the potential activation of IS sleeper cells.

In the short term, Israel might find an opportunity to further weaken Hezbollah and the axis in the entire region.

However, the activities of new Islamist armed groups at its borders, the rise of Islamist movements and the potential impact on Syria’s future stance on the Palestinian issue and the occupied Golan Heights could increase long-term national security threats for Israel.

In the short term, the US and the West will be winners because the fall of Assad will significantly reduce Russian and Iranian influence in the region.

However, the Islamist group that seized Damascus and toppled Assad, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was proscribed as a terror organisation by the UK in 2017 and the US in 2018 because of its links to al-Qaeda. HTS is led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani (real name Ahmed al-Sharaa), who was designated a terrorist by the US in 2013.

It is uncertain how the collapse of Syria’s secular government and the rise of Islamists will impact the US’s long-term interests, with the differing perspectives between the US and Turkey on the Kurdish issue, the ambiguity surrounding the future actions of the opposition and the prospect of increasing instability in the region.

Turkey is the main winner. Ankara may hope to resolve the Syrian refugee crisis in Turkey, exert more effective control over the Kurds and strengthen its role in the Palestinian issue, as well as cement alliances with like-minded groups in the region.

While Arab countries are also pleased with the reduction of Iran’s influence in Syria, the military operations of HTS and other militant groups were managed and organised by Turkey, all of which have an affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Several Arab countries, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan, are opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood and its ideology. Therefore, Turkey’s power projection in the region and the Brotherhood’s potential future dominance in Syria could be perceived as a new threat by some Arab countries.

Libya-style outcome

Regarding the political future of Syria, two scenarios can be imagined: a peaceful transition to a new system; or a Libyan and Sudanese-style outcome.

A peaceful transition could be achieved if the opposition continues with its moderate rhetoric and actions. However, it is composed of diverse and fragmented groups that have united solely to eliminate a common enemy.

Once this shared enemy is removed and the process of shaping the future begins, their differences will surface, and it remains uncertain how reconcilable these differences will be.

Even if there are no internal disagreements among the opposition, their conflicts with the Kurds and Turkey’s stance on this issue alone pose a major obstacle to establishing a consensus-based order. This could keep Syria in a prolonged political and security crisis, similar to Libya and Sudan.

Another important factor is the conflicting interests of the many external actors, who will each try to increase their influence over Syria’s situation in various ways.

In any scenario, future developments in Syria will have a significant impact on the region’s geopolitics. Therefore, finding a solution that is acceptable to both regional and global powers is crucial.

In April 2017, at the Carnegie Conference in Washington, I proposed 10 principles for resolving the Syrian crisis: 1) Resolving the Syrian crisis through diplomacy, not war; 2) A face-saving solution for all the main parties involved;  3) Serious and collective cooperation to eradicate terrorism from Syria; 4) Preserving Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty; 5) Preventing the collapse of the Syrian army and security institutions; 6) Forming an inclusive government in Syria; 7) Building a new Syria based on the will and vote of the majority of the Syrian nation; 8) Ensuring the protection of minorities in Syria; 9) Holding free elections under the supervision of the United Nations regarding the new government and constitution of Syria; 10) A comprehensive package of economic aid for Syria’s reconstruction, the return of refugees, and other humanitarian issues.

Although there was no receptive ear for these ideas at that time, today, these 10 principles could still be a comprehensive and sustainable package to resolve the Syrian crisis.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.

Seyed Hossein Mousavian is Middle East Security and Nuclear Policy Specialist at Princeton University, and a former Chief of Iran’s National Security Foreign Relations Committee.

9 December 2024

Source: middleeasteye.net

By Dr Marwan Asmar

Syria is about to enter a new political era without Baath Party rule which has been in power since 1963 and controlled by the Al Assad family since 1971. After 61 years, this pan-nationalist party  collapsed, Sunday when the capital Damascus fell out of the hands of the regime and into a mostly opposition parties and Islamist groups, including the reformed Al-Nusra outfit, formerly affiliated to Al Qaeda and led by Abu Mohammad Al Jolani who has renamed it yet again, as Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS)

Many observers say this is the completion of the Arab Spring Syrian revolution started in 2011 but took 13 years of bloodshed to arrive at this stage of political development.

Over this period the Baath regime sought to control the country with an iron fist with the help of Russia, Iran and Hezbollah to beat the armed groups that slipped into Syria to attempt to “regime-change” the Baathist order.

Today, they stand successful with the regime finally collapsing, and its leader Bashar Al Assad hastily scurrying outside the country in a plane in the middle of the night, Sunday, heading to what is thought to be Moscow.

This is indeed the end of the era for Syria and the beginning of a new dawn with a twist in Arab nationalist politics for change has both been unexpected and happened so quickly.

It all started on 30 November when the anti-regime groups took control of Aleppo in the north from the Syrian army and then proceeded to Idlib, Homs and clenched Hama city centre moving very fast to the strategically important province of Homs which is a gateway to the Syrian capital of Damascus.

The opposition forces were not to be stopped from capturing other towns and cities in the south of the country, including Suwayda and Qunitera and Deraa on the border with Jordan. Despite clashes with regime forces they established control and moved northward towards Damascus.

By Sunday 8 December, it was all over, the opposition groups entered Damascus and established control of the capital.

Today the situation remains fluid. Al Jolani, who quickly established firm control has called on the Baathist Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Al Jalali, who is still in his home in Damascus, to continue in his official position during this transitional period.

Since their takeover, the opposition groups stated they want things to continue as they are and for government departments to function as smoothly as possible.

Meanwhile, Arab countries, US, Russia, Iran and Israel are watching carefully the unfolding developments in Syria.

Dr Marwan Asmar is an Amman-based writer on Arab affairs and writes for https://crossfirearabia.com/

8 December 2024

Source: countercurrents.org

By Gilbert Achcar

In just a few days, after having remained relatively static for a few years, Syria has turned anew into a theatre of war of movement, in what looks like a resumption of the last major displacement of the battlefronts that took place in 2016, when the Assad regime regained control of Aleppo with Iranian and Russian support and Turkish complicity. Here we are now, facing a surprise attack accompanied by a sudden expansion of the forces of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (Organization for the Liberation of al-Sham, i.e. Syria, commonly referred to by its Arabic acronym HTS), the Salafi jihadist group that has controlled the Idlib region in northwestern Syria since 2017.

As is well known, the origin of the group goes back to Jabhat al-Nusra, which was founded in 2012 as a branch of Al-Qaeda in Syria, then announced its defection from the organization under the name Jabhat Fath al-Sham in 2016, before absorbing other groups and becoming Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham the following year. The HTS invasion of Aleppo in recent days was carried out at the expense of the Syrian regime’s army, backed by Iranian and Russian forces. As for the Turkish role, it was again one of complicity, but in the opposite direction this time, as HTS has become dependent on Turkey, which is its only outlet.

Let us take a closer look at this mayhem, starting with the Turkish role. At the beginning of the popular uprising in Syria in 2011, Ankara aspired to impose its tutelage over the Syrian opposition and through it over the country in the event of its victory. It then soon cooperated with some Arab Gulf states in supporting armed groups raising Islamic banners, when the situation got militarized and transformed from a popular uprising against a sectarian, despotic family rule into a clash between two reactionary camps, exploited by a third camp formed by the Kurdish movement. These developments paved the way for the Syrian territories to become subjected to four occupations, in addition to the Zionist occupation of the Golan Heights that began in 1967: Iranian occupation (accompanied by regional forces affiliated with Tehran, most notably Lebanon’s Hezbollah) and Russian occupation backing the Assad regime; Turkish occupation in two areas on Syria’s northern border; and US deployment in the northeast, in support for the Kurdish forces confronting ISIS or its remnants.

So, what happened in recent days? The first thing to stand out was the rapidity with which the Assad regime forces collapsed in the face of the attack, recalling the collapse of the Iraqi regular forces in the face of ISIS when it crossed the border from Syria in the summer of 2014. The reason for these two collapses lies mainly in the sectarian factor, their common feature being that the Alawite majority in the Syrian forces and the Shiite majority in the Iraqi forces had no incentive to risk their lives defending the Sunni majority areas under their control targeted by the attack. Add to this the resentment created by the existing regime’s failure to create incentivizing living conditions, especially in Syria, which has been undergoing an economic collapse and a major increase in poverty for several years. Last Saturday, the Financial Times quoted an Alawite saying: “We are prepared to protect our villages and towns, but I don’t know that Alawites will fight for Aleppo city … The regime has stopped giving us reasons to keep supporting it.”

What is clear is that HTS, along with other factions under Turkish tutelage, have decided to seize the opportunity created by the weakening of Iranian support for the Assad regime that resulted from the great losses suffered by the Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran’s main armed wing in Syria, due to Israel’s onslaught on Lebanon. This weakening, combined with the weakening of Russian support due to the involvement of the Russian armed forces in the invasion of Ukraine, created an exceptional opportunity that HTS did seize. It is also clear that Turkey blessed this attack. Since 2015, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s shift towards playing on the Turkish nationalist chord, along with his alliance with the Turkish nationalist far right, meant that his primary concern has become the fight against the Kurdish movement. In 2016, Ankara stabbed the Syrian opposition forces in the back by allowing the Syrian regime to retake Aleppo with Iranian and Russian support, in exchange for Russia allowing it to launch Operation Euphrates Shield and seize the Jarabulus area and its surroundings, north of the Aleppo Governorate, from the Kurdish forces that were dominant there.

This time too, Ankara took advantage of the attack by HTS on Aleppo to unleash its Syrian suppletive forces against the Kurdish forces. Erdogan had previously tried to reconcile with Bashar al-Assad, offering him support in extending his regime’s control over the vast area where the Kurdish movement is dominant in the northeast. However, the latter’s insistence that Turkey hand over to him the areas it controls on the northern border thwarted the effort. Erdogan then turned against the Assads again and gave his green light to HTS’s attack, angering the backers of the Syrian regime. The “difference of viewpoints” that Iran’s foreign minister alluded to during his visit to Ankara after the start of the attack, consists in the fact that Tehran sees the greater threat in HTS, while Ankara sees it in the Kurdish forces. Despite a common hostility towards the Kurdish movement, Tehran, Moscow and Damascus had concluded a long-term truce with it, waiting for the circumstances to change to allow them to resume the offensive for the control of the whole Syrian territory, while Ankara’s relationship with that movement has remained extremely hostile, in contrast with its cooperation with HTS which controls the Idlib region.

As for Israel and the United States, they are cautiously monitoring what is happening on the ground, as the two parties – the Assad regime and HTS – are almost equally bad in their eyes (despite the UAE’s efforts to whitewash the regime and Ankara’s efforts to whitewash HTS). The Zionist state’s main concern is to prevent Iran from seizing the opportunity of this new battle to strengthen its military presence on Syrian territory and find new ways to supply Hezbollah with weapons through it.

Finally, by stirring up sectarian animosities, these developments are pushing away the only hopeful perspective that arose in recent years in Syria, constituted by the massive popular protests against the deterioration of living conditions that have been taking place in the country since 2020. These protests began in the Suwayda region (inhabited by a Druze majority) in the territories controlled by the regime, and quickly turned into demanding Bashar al-Assad’s departure and the fall of the regime, thus reviving the spirit of the popular, democratic, non-sectarian uprising that Syria witnessed amid the Arab Spring, thirteen years ago. Let us hope that the unity of the people’s interests in livelihood and emancipation will, in a not-too-distant future, lead to the renewal of the original Syrian revolution and allow the country to be reunited on the democratic basis that the pioneers of the 2011 uprising dreamed of.

Translated from the Arabic original published by Al-Quds al-Arabi on 3 December 2024. Feel free to republish or publish in other languages, with mention of the source.

Gilbert Achcar grew up in Lebanon. He is a Professor of Development Studies and International Relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.

7 December 2024

Source: countercurrents.org

Bethlehem/PNN /

In the scenic area of Al-Makhrour in Beit Jala, the story of Alice Qaisia unfolds as a testament to Palestinian resilience in the face of Israeli occupation.

For Alice, Al-Makhrour is more than just a piece of land; it is a living memory of her childhood, where she grew up among olive and fig trees. It is where she played, harvested fruit with her family, and lived deeply rooted moments intertwined with the land.

Alic’s family, who owned land and a restaurant in the area, has faced relentless efforts by the Israeli occupation to displace them. Her father started a small restaurant in Al-Makhrour, which eventually became a beloved destination for visitors.

However, the Israeli authorities, determined to thwart Palestinian success on their land, demolished the family’s restaurant and home four times under dubious pretexts. Yet, with unwavering resolve, the family rebuilt each time.

In 2017, a settlement company called Himonta, affiliated with the Jewish National Fund, claimed ownership of the land, alleging it had been theirs since 1969. Despite the occupation’s court finding no evidence to support these claims, Israeli authorities exploited a recent conflict to issue a military order forcibly seizing the land and barring Alis and her family from accessing it.

The challenges did not end there. Alisa and her mother were physically attacked by a settler disguised as a soldier, who attempted to strangle her in her car as she was recovering from surgery. “He accused me of assaulting him,” Alisa recounted, but she refused to remain a silent victim and pursued legal action against him.

أليسا قيسية والمخرور: حكاية صمود عائلة فلسطينية في وجه الاستيطان

“Al-Makhrour is not just land; it is our home, our memories, and our dignity. We hold onto it as firmly as the olive tree roots grip the earth,” Alisa says. For her and her family, the fight for Al-Makhrour is not just a legal battle but a fight for existence.

Today, Al-Makhrour represents more than the Qaisia family’s story; it is a symbol of Palestinian defiance against unchecked settler ambitions. With every demolition or assault, the family’s determination to protect their land grows stronger, ensuring that Al-Makhrour remains a testament to the enduring Palestinian connection to their homeland.

Al-Makhrour is a lush and fertile valley located to the west of Beit Jala, a town near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. Known for its olive groves, fig trees, and terraced agricultural fields, the area is celebrated for its natural beauty and rich historical significance. It has been a source of livelihood for generations of Palestinian families who cultivate the land and maintain its cultural heritage.

The area is also of significant ecological and environmental value, as it forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site within the cultural landscape of southern Jerusalem, Battir, and the Bethlehem region. This designation underscores its importance as an integral part of Palestinian heritage and identity.

Despite its historical and cultural importance, Al-Makhrour has been a constant target of Israeli settler expansion and land confiscation. Israeli authorities and settler organizations have repeatedly attempted to seize land in the area under the guise of legal claims, military orders, or zoning restrictions. These efforts are often accompanied by the demolition of Palestinian homes and agricultural structures, including water cisterns and retaining walls essential for traditional farming.

One of the primary settler groups involved in Al-Makhrour is Himonta, a subsidiary of the Jewish National Fund. Himonta has claimed ownership of significant portions of land in the area, despite the lack of substantial evidence to support these claims. In recent years, Israeli authorities have issued military orders to enforce these claims, effectively barring Palestinian landowners from accessing their properties.

In addition to land confiscation, Al-Makhrour faces frequent harassment from settlers, including physical attacks, vandalism, and intimidation of Palestinian residents and landowners. These actions are often aimed at pressuring Palestinians to abandon their lands, clearing the way for further settlement expansion.

Despite these challenges, Palestinian families like the Qaisi family remain steadfast in their efforts to protect Al-Makhrour. Their determination to rebuild what has been demolished and pursue legal avenues to reclaim their land embodies the broader Palestinian struggle against Israeli settlement expansion.

Al-Makhrour stands as a vivid example of the ongoing conflict over land and identity in Palestine. It highlights the resilience of Palestinian communities in the face of systematic attempts to erase their connection to their ancestral lands.

This story was produced as part of the Qarib program implemented by the French Media Development Agency (CFI) and funded by the French Development Agency (AFD).

30 November 2024

Source: english.pnn.ps

RAMALLAH, December 4, 2024 (WAFA) – A Palestinian detainee has died in Israeli custody, according to the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission (PAC) and the Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS).

They said in a joint press release that 45-year-old Mohammad Walid Hussein Ali, a resident of the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank, died in Israeli detention.

Ali was a former prisoner who spent some 20 years in Israeli prisons and detention centers, and he was rearrested on 28 November 2024.

According to the latest figures from Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, there are currently 10,200 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centres, including 270 children and 94 female prisoners.

This number includes 3,443 Palestinians placed under “administrative detention”, which allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals ranging between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.

The mass arrest of Palestinians is nothing new. According to a 2017 report by Addameer, over the past 50 years, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned or detained by Israel, this figure is now believed to be closer to 1 million. This means that about 40% of Palestinian men and boys living under military occupation have been deprived of their freedom. Almost every Palestinian family has suffered the imprisonment of a loved one.

K.F.

4 December 2024

Source: english.wafa.ps

By Palestine Chronicle Staff

Among the signatories are Nobel laureates, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser, from Norway and Susumu Tonegawa from Japan.

More than 1,000 psychologists and neuroscientists from across the world have signed an open letter demanding that the Israeli government respect international humanitarian law and end the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

The letter, which began circulating on December 3, also calls for “an immediate ceasefire in Israel, Palestine and Lebanon”.

Among the signatories are Nobel laureates, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser, from Norway and Susumu Tonegawa from Japan.

[https://twitter.com/A_Marie_sci/status/1863960173556961624]

Although the letter condemned the operation carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023, it stated there is an asymmetry of power.

“There is symmetry of humanity – and its propensities for despair, hatred and extremism – on each side of borders between Lebanon, Israel and Palestine,” the letter states. “But there is an asymmetry of power.”

“In the present case, the state of Israel is the stronger party, dominating the area and its people through illegal occupation, including control of movement, and access to electricity, water, agricultural land, and even to humanitarian aid”.

The letter called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to stop the war.

“We therefore call for decisive international pressure on Israel to stop the war, including stopping the provision of offensive arms to Israel and reassessment of economic partnerships and collaborations with institutions in occupied territories (which are illegal according to international law),” it said.

‘Respect Academic Freedoms’

The signatories called on “all human beings on this planet to non-violently and peacefully stand up with determination and condemn violence against all civilians, no matter their nationality, religion, ethnicity, political or cultural affiliation.”

They also called for international governments to pressure towards peace in Israel, Palestine and Lebanon, respect of international humanitarian law, and the end of occupation.

“And we demand that our institutions scrupulously respect academic freedoms and resolutely uphold freedom of expression in accordance with the law,” the letter stated.

Staggering Death Toll

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

[https://twitter.com/PalestineChron/status/1864635685786784230]

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 44,580 Palestinians have, to date, been killed, and 105,739 wounded.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Millions Displaced

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

5 December 2024

Source: palestinechronicle.com

By Dr Marwan Asmar

At first France said it would adhere to the decision of the International Criminal Court and arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he landed in Paris because he is wanted as a war criminal.

This angered Netanyahu. In a private telephone call with President Emmanuel Macron, the two leaders had a terse conversation on the international legality of the ICC decision. Netanyahu questioned its validity in the strongest manner.

While this was going on, France was interested in reaching a ceasefire deal on Lebanon and Hezbollah. Israel started another battle on its northern borders come mid-September and was busily attacking south Lebanon up to Beirut’s south district, seen as a Hezbollah stronghold.

The French government soon started its diplomacy and started to push for a ceasefire. Thus the context became that if France waived the Netanyahu arrest and that of his ex-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, should they travel to France, a deal can be reached on Lebanon.

And thus a 60-day ceasefire was finally reached; this was a ceasefire that could be extended.

Meanwhile France needed to provide its pretext for “arresting/not arresting Netanyahu” if he landed in France. Excuses had to be made: Israel wasn’t privy to ICC decisions because it was not a signatory to the world body as well it was felt that that Netanyahu couldn’t be arrested because he was a sitting prime minister.

This meant that the whole issue was becoming very confusing. But the ICC decision was binding on all 124 of its members in the world that includes France which is bound to follow the decisions of the international court with no excuses!

This political diplomacy maybe water on a duck’s back because Netanyahu is still promising that he will go after Hezbollah soon and that means an Israeli war on Lebanon is likely to start again in the near future.

But is this likely as well, since the north of Israel is clearly devastated and neither the Israelis nor their army would prefer to see war re-starts again. For the time being however, its touch and go.

Dr Asmar blogs at crossfirearabia.com

30 November 2024

Source: countercurrents.org

By Dr Marwan Asmar

Over 190 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, 2023 for daring to report and utter the truth.

The Government Media Office in Gaza states the number of journalists killed in Gaza, as reported on 30 November, 2024, now stands at 191 after the death of Mamdouh Quneita in the Baptist-al-Ahli Arab Hospital.

Quneita was an editor of the Al-Aqsa satellite channel, the media office said which means that he also managed the television station as well as reporting.

“The Government Media Office condemns in the strongest terms the targeting, killing and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation. We hold it fully responsible for committing this heinous crime.”

[https://twitter.com/DayPal_official/status/1862910790895915294]

His name is trending on the social media for he was killed by an Israeli drone in the middle of Gaza City on Saturday afternoon in the courtyard of the Baptist Al Ahli hospital.

According to the Anadolu Agency, as of Nov 27, 190 journalists have been killed in Gaza from Israeli attacks since 7 October, 2023. This is the latest targetting by the Israeli army.

One blogger writes: Shame on mainstream medias and all western journalists who remain silent in the face of Palestinian journalists being killed in unprecedented numbers by the Israeli colonial and apartheid regime. @MariamBarghouti, @ReporterSol

Another said Israeli forces shot and killed Mamdouh Quneita with a direct bullet to the head while he was performing his journalistic duties near Al Mamadani (Baptist) hospital. He added that 191 journalists are bow killed by Israel in just 13 months. This should be met with outrage and consequences in the West.

[https://twitter.com/MariamBarghouti/status/1862885810837561560]

Quneita was killed at the same hospital that Israel bombed on 17 October, 2023 killing 400 people in one go and setting the precedent for what later became a targeted attack on the Palestinian health infrastructure— including the rape and execution of doctors, nurses, and their own children.

One writes that the killing of Palestinian journalists is more than that of the whole of WWI, WWII and Vietnam war combined yet the killing goes on the silence by the international community is maintained.

[https://twitter.com/ShaykhSulaiman/status/1862888231701811385]

Yet the shocks continue by shallow statements from such western politicians.

[https://twitter.com/ColinM48126070/status/1862846294685065511]

Over the past 14 months the Israeli army has killed photographers, editors, journalists, reporters across the media board in television, radio, newspapers and websites.

Dr Asmar is a journalist based in Amman anad is the editor of the www.crossfirearabia.com

1 Disember 2024

Source: countercurrents.org

By Quds News Network

New York (Quds News Network)- Tanya Haj Hassan, a paediatric intensive care doctor who addressed UN member states on the 2024 International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Tuesday, shared the harrowing realities faced by Palestinians in Gaza under Israel’s genocidal war.

“Palestinians don’t need our pity. They don’t need our praise. They need our meaningful and truthful solidarity,” she said.

Hassan conveyed witness accounts and stories from Palestinian healthcare workers, urging the world to listen to their experiences, move beyond pity and offer meaningful solidarity.

Hassan have worked in Gaza many times over the past decade, and most recently as part of an emergency medical team working in a hospital in Gaza’s middle area during the ongoing genocide.

As one of the few international observers allowed into Gaza, Hassan said, “Spend just 5 minutes in a hospital there and it will become painfully clear that Palestinians are being intentionally massacred, starved, and stripped of everything needed to sustain life.”

“Collectively, for the past 14 months, we have treated people subjected to civilian massacre after civilian massacre at the few remaining, partially-functioning, hospitals in Gaza.”

“Entire families have been eliminated, wiped off the civil registry. Our healthcare and humanitarian colleagues are being killed in record numbers.”

“We have treated countless children who lost their entire families, a phenomenon so frequent in Gaza that they have been given a specific name: Wounded Child No Surviving Family. We held the hands of children as they took their last breaths with no one but a stranger to comfort them. Those who recovered enough to leave hospital continued to face the obvious risk of death, be it through another bombing, starvation, dehydration, or disease.”

“History has clearly shown us that doctors cannot stop genocide. This is why it’s called the “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide”. And why I am here today,” Hassan added.

Messages from Healthcare Workers in Gaza

Hassan asked some of her colleagues in Gaza if they had messages they wanted her to convey during her address to the UN.

“Tell them that we are tired.. We are without homes…on the street…Our loved ones are gone and we are all stories.” This was a message sent to her by an ER nurse.

An intensive care doctor, besieged in Gaza and separated from his family, told her, “Tell them everything you came and saw with your eyes.” “Tell them that I want to see my wife and son, because I really miss them.”

Saed, a nurse who was detained and tortured by Israeli forces, told Hassan, “We are being buried, every minute we are being buried, every minute we disappear, every minute we are abducted, we are experiencing things that the mind cannot even comprehend. We die and don’t find anyone to bury us. I am asking you to share my story, my whole story, with my name. I want the whole world to know that I am a human being. At the end I am not pen on a paper, I am not anonymous, I am a human being created by God.”

“Why aren’t Palestinians the ones speaking for our cause. Why are we not there and able to speak? The Palestinian people, the people in Gaza? Why not me, why not my neighbour, why not my colleague?”

Hassan added, “Our Palestinian colleagues are not here because the systems we currently exist in don’t recognize the value of Palestinian life.”

30 November 2024

Source: countercurrents.org