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Israel targets internationals to facilitate ongoing crimes against Palestinians​​​​​​​

Israeli forces arbitrarily arrested 78 year old US citizen

Photo: Portrait of Michael Jacobsen provided to the ISM
International Solidarity Movement | October 10, 2024

Masafer Yatta – Veteran Michael Jacobsen was accompanying a Palestinian farmer this morning in the village At-Tuwani in Masafer Yatta (South Hebron Hills), in occupied Palestine, as part of the international delegation Meta Peace Team, which joined the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

When Israeli reservist soldiers came to demand IDs from the activists and Palestinian landowners, Jacobsen complied with the soldiers’ requests. The soldiers called the Israeli police, who arrested him and took him to the Israeli Central Unit for Investigation, which is near the Ma’ale Adumim colonial settlement in the occupied West Bank. This interrogation center is home to the special task force created by the notorious Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The task force was created as a response to some states, including the U.S., sanctioning violent settlers. Since international activists were reporting settler violence that they witnessed to their governments, an Israeli governmental committee was created in March 2024 for the purpose of getting rid of the activists.

Jacobsen’s lawyer was told that he was suspected of “endangering the public due to provocation of disturbances” and of “entering the country illegally”; this absurd suspicion was based on the police’s assertion that Jacobsen supported the Palestinian Boycott Divestment and Sanction movement (BDS). The police could not explain to Mr. Jacobsen’s attorney how this was a criminal offense. Mr. Jacobsen was threatened with imprisonment and deportation if he did not leave the country immediately. Michael opted to leave, and the police transferred him directly from the interrogation center to the border with Jordan.

Israeli forces have intensified their crackdown on international activists and journalists: two German activists were arrested in the same garden in At-Tuwani in similar circumstances and de-facto deported last Sunday October 6th, after being imprisoned since October 2nd. This effort aims to isolate Palestinians from international solidarity, and is part of the ongoing barrage of harassment by Israeli settlers and soldiers of Palestinians and of human rights activists in the area. The effort also includes the murder of American and Turkish ISM volunteer Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi in the village of Beita during a peaceful protest against settlement expansion on the village’s land on September 6th.

It is worth mentioning that the Palestinian farmer whom the activists were accompanying faces daily harassment, attacks, and invasions of his private land by Israeli settlers and occupation forces, which all make it difficult for him to access his land, to cultivate it, and even to remain in his home.

This onslaught of harassment against Palestinian residents of the region of Masafer Yatta extends beyond At-Tuwani. Every village in the area is affected. In the village of Zanuta in this same region, residents have been forcibly displaced multiple times despite a court ruling in their favor. Residents of Um Durit have had their livestock and property stolen and destroyed, and their land abused by settlers. Last July, around 200 settlers launched a coordinated attack in which they destroyed vehicles, burned fruit trees and beat up residents in Khalet Al Daba’a and Um Fagarah. In the past year, at least 19 Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank have been forcefully displaced and wiped off the map by Israeli settlers, with the support of the Israeli occupation forces.

The nonsensical allegations aimed at International Human Rights Defenders would be laughable if they were not lethal. For similar vague and unsubstantiated accusations, Palestinians are frequently arrested and tortured in the West Bank, and in Gaza the accused are murdered along with their families.

Photo: Moments before Michael Jacobsen’s arrest, At-Tuwani, Masafer Yatta, October 10.​​​​​​​
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October 11, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism | , , , | Leave a comment

Israel’s war on journalism continues: American Jeremy Loffredo arrested, faces severe punishment for accurate reporting

By Iara Modarelli | 21st Century Wire | October 11, 2024 

Israeli authorities have arrested American journalist Jeremy Loffredo, intensifying their assault on press freedom and extending their war on journalism by targeting independent American reporters working in Israel.

Loffredo, 28, is an investigative journalist known for his work with The Grayzone, and was arrested shortly after publishing his recent report on the Iranian missile retaliation which reportedly struck several Israeli military and intelligence sites, including one missile landing next to the Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv, as well as multiple impacts in and around Israel’s most important air operations sites located at Nevatim Air Base.

According to colleagues, Loffredo was with a group of four other journalists when they were blindfolded, beaten, and detained by the Israel security forces, allegedly for exposing the Israeli regime’s military activities, according to Russian-Jewish reporter Andrey X.

Jeremy is currently the only journalist still being detained from the group, and his arrest is sparking widespread concerns of a potential diplomatic catastrophe between the U.S. and Israel after representatives from the U.S. Embassy attended court hearings in Jerusalem regarding his continued detention. Loffredo’s lawyer, Leah Tsemel, has argued that Loffredo had acted transparently and publicly and challenged the claim put against the journalist. claims that he was aiding the enemy.

Overall, his on-the-ground reporting shed light on the comprehensive damage caused by Iran’s Operation True Promise II, a retaliatory strike following a series of high-profile assassinations carried out by Israel which targeted key leaders in Hamas, Hezbollah, and the IRGC. The Grayzone journalist was arrested on charges of endangering national security with allegations that he was “aiding the enemy during wartime” by disclosing sensitive information.

Loffredo also explains how airstrikes on Gaza were launched from the Nevatim base, information which had largely been omitted from western mainstream coverage of the event. He also reported how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private jet may also have been located at the base.

A campaign on X has gone viral under the hashtag #FreeJeremyLoffredo, with thousands of people seeking to bring attention to Jeremy’s arrest and intensify pressure on the U.S. State Department, as the Israeli charges against Loffredo intensify, where he faces the potential of life behind bars, or even the death penalty – all for the crime of doing journalism.

Interestingly, Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal revealed on X how US mainstream media outlet PBS had already reported from one of the same ‘sensitive’ locations as Loffredo – with no repercussions whatsoever from Israeli authorities.

UPDATE: Blumenthal broadcast this morning that the Israel authorities have now released Jeremy Loffredo from custody, but he is forbidden from leaving the country for the time being.

Israel’s crackdown on the free press and journalism has escalated dramatically over the past 12 months, with the killer of over 180 journalists, many of them Palestinian, including a number of targeted murders in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon since hostilities increased October 2023. This unprecedented death toll marks the highest number of journalists killed over a 12 month period of any war zone in history.

Currently, dozens of other reporters remain imprisoned without official charges as Israel intensifies its efforts to suppress any media coverage which exposes a mounting list of warcrimes carried out in the occupied territories.

To date, there has been no official statement by the U.S. government regarding the status of Jeremy Loffredo.

VIDEO: View Jeremy Loffredo’s most recent video report from Israel.

October 11, 2024 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , | Leave a comment

Israel hopes to put American on death row for doing journalism

He must be punished for telling the truth about Israel

Laura and Normal Island News | October 11, 2024

This is going to come as upsetting news, but I must inform you a number of terrorists have been attempting to do journalism in Israel. This has prompted fears the truth might reach the public and they might be informed about what is really going on. I know, it doesn’t bear thinking about…

Following the recent rocket attack by Iran that was the most terrifying thing in history, but also embarrassingly pathetic and a massive failure, Israel sensibly decided no one is allowed to report the truth. Unfortunately, several individuals decided it was their right to pollute your mind with facts and evidence.

The officially authorised version of events is that almost all of those Iranian rockets were intercepted by the iron dome, the ones that exploded did no damage, and Iran embarrassed itself by even trying to attack Israel, but it’s also such a massive threat that it must be nuked out of existence. Only an idiot would see a contradiction here.

Sadly, several so-called journalists decided to visit the sites of the rocket impacts and show you what really happened. These people had the audacity to tell you to believe your own eyes and ears, instead of letting smart people like myself program your brain.

Jeremy Loffredo and his terrorist friends found an unexploded rocket near Mossad HQ and showed it just sitting on the road. Disgustingly, Loffredo pointed out Mossad embedded its HQ among civilian infrastructure as though this is somehow relevant. Just imagine if a rocket landed near MI5 HQ and journalists decided you had a right to know. Obviously, we would have to bring back the death penalty for journalists like that.

Somehow, Loffredo managed to make things even worse. He mentioned that Mossad HQ is located near a hospital, implying any potential victims could be considered human shields. What kind of monster would use language like this? Does Loffredo not know Israelis are human beings?

Thankfully, Loffredo and his accomplices were caught by the IDF, and naturally, they were beaten up and blindfolded before being taken to a military base. How else would the Middle East’s only democracy arrest someone? While most of the terrorists have inexplicably been released without charge, Loffredo is thankfully being detained. I understand there is a campaign in Israel to send him to that rapey place in the Negev desert.

The country that has murdered 128 journalists in the past year demonstrated it’s better than all those Arab countries by charging a man with journalism, leaving him facing a life sentence, or even the death penalty, for the crime of reporting the truth.

Loffredo’s reporting was mirrored by outlets like PBS, however, only Loffredo is getting punished because we don’t like the Grayzone, and finally, we have an excuse to execute its journalists. I yearn for the day we can do this in the west. Until we’ve taken care of Declassified UK, we can’t sensibly call ourselves a democracy, can we?

Personally, I don’t understand why any journalist would feel uncomfortable repeating Israel’s authorised version of events. It’s so much better for your career to gloss over the build up to World War III and the possible extinction of the human race. All you have to say is “Yup, that school was definitely exploded by a stray Hamas rocket” or “Sure, Israel sniped that toddler, but it has a right to defend itself”. You see how easy that was? Anyone who can’t lie for Israel gets no sympathy from me.

If Israel doesn’t want people to know that rockets are reaching Tel Aviv, it’s because that information is not in the public interest. You’re not allowed to know the truth about Israel because the truth would make Israel look bad.

I’m sure you will agree that journalists who don’t comply with Israeli censorship demands should be jailed for the rest of their lives, or even sent to death row. Jeremy Loffredo must be punished in the strongest way possible for telling the truth about Israel. It’s time to make an example of him so no one ever makes this mistake again.

If you’re American, do not under any circumstances call the US embassy in Israel on +011-972-2-630-4000 or email them at JersusalemACS@state.gov to demand Loffredo’s release because this would make you a decent person who cares about journalistic freedom and human rights and we don’t do those things anymore, do we?

October 11, 2024 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , , | Leave a comment

Kamala Harris Isn’t Listening to U.S. Intelligence on Iran

By Ted Snider | The Libertarian Institute | October 10, 2024

Who is “America’s greatest adversary?”

That is the question 60 Minutes asked Vice President Kamala Harris. “I think there’s an obvious one in mind, which is Iran,” was her answer. She gave two reasons for her verdict: “Iran has American blood on their hands” and “what we need to do to ensure that Iran never achieves the ability to be a nuclear power, that is one of my highest priorities.” All three claims are strange.

That Iran is America’s greatest adversary comes as a surprise after the United States has spent the past two and a half years comparing Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler and painting him as bent on the conquest of Europe. The U.S. has spent in the neighborhood of $175 billion helping Ukraine fight Russia.

As early as 2018, the U.S. National Defense Strategy ranked China as the “primary concern in US national strategy.” Throughout the Biden-Harris administration, the focus has been on “growing rivalry with China [and] Russia,” as the Interim National Security Guidance of 2021 put it. It was China, and not Iran, that was considered “the only competitor potentially capable of combining its economic, military, and technological power to mount a sustained challenge” to the American-led system. In 2021, it was Russia and China that the National Intelligence Council flagged as “rising revisionist powers,” while the 2022 National Defense Strategy named China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to U.S. national security” and called Russia an “acute threat.”

Up until the moment Harris answered the question, the United States had seen Russia and China as America’s greatest adversaries.

Harris did not specify the American blood Iran had on its hands. But her quick description erases the historical record of the second partner in the bloody dance. The history of Iranian blood on American hands traces from the 1953 coup in Iran, which the CIA has formally acknowledged it helped plan and execute, to cyber attacks on Iran’s civilian Natanz nuclear enrichment site, and the 2020 assassination of  Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.

Harris’ third, and strangest, claim is that one of her highest priorities is to “ensure that Iran never achieves the ability to be a nuclear power.” But Harris knows that Iran is not pursuing the ability to be a nuclear power. At the same time the vice president was prioritizing blocking Iran from building a nuclear bomb, CIA Director William Burns was telling a security conference, “No, we do not see evidence today that the supreme leader has reversed the decision that he took at the end of 2003 to suspend the weaponization program.”

Burns added, “We don’t see evidence today that such a decision [to build a bomb] has been made. We watch it very carefully.” He said that, if Iran were to make such a decision, “I think we are reasonably confident that–working with our friends and allies–we will be able to see it relatively early on.”

This is not the first time Burns has made this intelligence assessment clear. In February 2023, Burns said, “To the best of our knowledge, we don’t believe that the supreme leader in Iran has yet made a decision to resume the weaponization program that we judge they suspended or stopped at the end of 2003.”

And, as Harris knows, it is not Burns or the CIA alone that assesses that Iran is not in pursuit of a nuclear bomb. The 2022 U.S. Department of Defense’s Nuclear Posture Review concludes that “Iran does not today possess a nuclear weapon and we currently believe it is not pursuing one.”

Iran never was pursuing one. The founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, consistently ruled that nuclear weapons go against Islamic morality. The current supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has consistently reiterated that ruling. Khamenei has insisted that “from an ideological and fiqhi [Islamic jurisprudence] perspective, we consider developing nuclear weapons as unlawful. We consider using such weapons as a big sin.” In 2003, Ayatollah Khamenei issued a fatwa that declared nuclear weapons to be forbidden by Islam.

And Khamenei was neither going rogue nor the exception. “There is complete consensus on this issue,” Grand Ayatollah Yusef Saanei, one of the highest-ranking clerics in Iran, has said. “It is self- evident in Islam that it is prohibited to have nuclear bombs. It is eternal law, because the basic function of these weapons is to kill innocent people. This cannot be reversed.”

In 2015, Iran agreed to the JCPOA nuclear agreement. Eleven consecutive International Atomic Energy Agency reports verified that Iran was completely and consistently in compliance with their commitments under the agreement prior to the United States illegally and unilaterally pulling out of the agreement in 2018. Despite promises by the Biden-Harris administration to return to diplomacy with Iran, they never have. Instead, despite Iran’s expressions of willingness to return to diplomatic negotiations, the State Department has said that negotiations with Iran are “not our focus right now” and that “It is not on our agenda… we are not going to waste our time on it.”

In July 2024, Masoud Pezeshkian was elected president of Iran. Pezeshkian is a reformist who has called for direct negotiations with the United States on improving relations and returning to the JCPOA nuclear agreement. But, in a July 8 press briefing, when National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby was asked if “the U.S. is now ready to resume nuclear talks, other talks, or make any diplomatic moves with Iran in light of this new president,” he answered, “No, we’re—we’re not in a position where we’re willing to get back to the negotiating table with Iran just based on the fact that they’ve elected a new president.”

Unphased, in his September 24 speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Pezeshkian said that “we have the opportunity…to enter a new era” and declared that Iran is “ready to engage with JCPOA participants” and that “[i]f JCPOA commitments are implemented fully and in good faith, dialogue on other issues can follow.”

Contrary to the vice president’s assertion that “ensur[ing] that Iran never achieves the ability to be a nuclear power… is one of [her] highest priorities,” the Biden-Harris administration has stubbornly refused to take the easiest and surest road to that end by honoring its promise to “offer Tehran a credible path back to diplomacy.”

It is strange and concerning that after encouraging and supporting two and a half years of war with Russia in Ukraine, that Harris considers, not Russia, but Iran to be America’s “greatest adversary.” It is also disturbing that Harris deletes America’s role in coups, sabotage, and assassinations in Iran from history. And it is alarming that Harris wants to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb, seemingly unaware that her military-intelligence community is telling her that they are not attempting to acquire a bomb, while showing no inclination for returning to the nuclear diplomacy with Iran that was already working.

October 11, 2024 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

A Resurrection of the Austro-Hungarian Empire? – Part 21 of the Anglo-American War on Russia

Tales of the American Empire | October 10, 2024

After Russian intervention in Ukraine in 2022, the United States pressured its European vassals to end all trade with Russia, and later China to slow its economic growth that outperforms the United States. This has led to three years of economic decline in European Union economic bloc, known as the EU, as energy prices to tripled.

Europeans are angry, so if victorious Russian troops arrive on Ukraine’s western border, several EU nations may leave the dying EU to relink to prospering Asia and access to cheap Russian energy.

Leaders of some EU nations are openly critical of mandates banning trade and allowing mass immigration. Leaders of Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Croatia are quietly discussing the advantages of leaving the EU. These nations were once united into the powerful Austro-Hungarian empire until it was dissolved by victorious France and Britain in 1919. Political, business, and cultural ties remain, so they may form their own economic block. Serbia never joined NATO nor the EU and remains friendly with Russia, so would join this union.

A new Balkan economic block would prosper by allowing trade with Russia, China, Russian controlled Ukraine, and could join forces to guard borders from mass illegal immigration.

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“Resurgent far-right conjures Austria-Hungary headache for EU on Ukraine”; Francois Murphy; Reuters; August 4, 2024; https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/…

Related Tale: “The Destruction of Yugoslavia”;    • The Destruction of Yugoslavia  

“A Rumored Resurrection of Austria-Hungary”; Matthew Karnitschnig; Politico; December 13, 2023; https://www.politico.eu/article/vikto…

“Austrian Right-Wing Freedom Party Scores Historic Victory In National Elections”; Tyler Durden; Zero Hedge; September 30, 2024; https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/aus…

“Ukraine to end gas transit agreement with Russia, PM Shmyhal”; Energy pipelines to central Europe may shutdown soon; Remix; Oct. 7, 2024; https://rmx.news/article/ukraine-to-e…

Related Tales: “The Anglo-American War on Russia”;    • The Anglo-American War on Russia  

October 11, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Video | , , , , | Leave a comment

If Green Energy Is the Future, Bring a Fire Extinguisher

Lithium batteries keep bursting into flames

By Steve Goreham | Climate Depot | October 7, 2024

Alternative energy is exploding—literally. Lithium battery fires are breaking out on highways and in factories, home garages and storage rooms. The rise in these fires is caused by government efforts to force the adoption of “green” energy.

Lithium batteries have high energy density, making them valuable for phones and portable appliances. But when they catch fire, they burn with high heat and can even blow up. That’s why airlines prohibit lithium batteries in checked baggage.

On June 24 a battery factory in Hwaseong, South Korea, caught fire, triggering explosions and killing 22 workers. Experts estimate that most were killed by toxic gases emitted by the burning batteries.

Scotland has suffered two major fires in battery-recycling centers this year. On April 8 a large fire broke out at Fenix Battery Recycling in Kilwinning. More than 40 firefighters and personnel from six different stations responded to the blaze, which burned for several days. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service urged nearby residents to remain indoors with windows closed as long as two days after the fire started.

On June 23 a large fire broke out at the battery-recycling facility of WEEE Solutions in Glasgow. Eyewitnesses reported explosions, noises like gunshots, “steel flying everywhere” and a huge plume of black smoke. Ten fire trucks were needed, and the blaze lasted four days.

E-bike battery fires are a leading cause of fires in New York City, causing 270 blazes last year and killing 18 people. These have become a serious problem in Australia, Canada and other nations as well. E-bicyclists often store their bikes in first-floor storerooms, where they can self-ignite and destroy the buildings. Even high-quality batteries are prone to self-ignition after damage or when connected to a faulty charging system.

Lithium batteries have been used for the past 30 years in phones and small appliances. But the introduction of electric cars led to a massive increase in battery size—and potential destructiveness. On Aug. 19 a Tesla semi truck crashed into trees along Interstate 80 in California. The crash ignited the truck’s large lithium battery. Firefighters required 50,000 gallons of water to extinguish the flames, and the highway was closed for 15 hours. The California Advanced Clean Fleets regulation passed last year requires all new semi trucks to be zero-emissions vehicles by 2036, which in practice means electric trucks with batteries prone to fire.

Automakers have contended with lithium-battery fires for more than a decade. Alfa Romeo, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Porsche, Tesla and other manufacturers have recalled millions of EVs because of battery-fire problems. Batteries can self-ignite while the vehicle is in motion, when connected to a charger, or even when sitting in a parking lot. EVs prone to self-ignition have been banned from parking lots in China, South Korea and across the U.S.

On Aug. 24 a fire broke out in the parking lot of EV manufacturer Rivian in Normal, Ill. More than 50 vehicles were destroyed. The same plant also reportedly suffered three other battery fires in the last year and three more in 2021-22.

On July 26 a truck containing several large lithium batteries ignited after a crash on Interstate 15 near Baker, Calif. The road was shut down for 44 hours as firefighters worked to put out the blaze. Hundreds of motorists were stranded in the desert in 100-degree heat. Ambulances and medical teams with fuel and water were dispatched to the site to help stranded motorists.

How are governments responding to the rash of battery fires? They are doubling down, promoting the use of even larger high-density lithium batteries as part of their efforts to phase out coal, oil and natural gas in favor of wind and solar energy.

Grid-scale batteries are viewed as the solution to wind and solar intermittency. They store excess electricity when wind and solar output is high and release it when wind and solar output is low. The number of grid battery fires is growing, and grid batteries are hundreds of times the size of EV batteries.

October 10, 2024 Posted by | Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity | , , | Leave a comment

Energy prices cross a critical threshold in Poland, leaving some companies fighting for their lives

By Liz Heflin | Remix News | October 10, 2024

Energy prices have crossed a critical point in Poland, leaving some companies fighting for their lives, according to wnp.pl. The site further says that the EU’s goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions means higher obligations on those companies that depend on energy usage.

Market participants are finding it increasingly difficult to compete, with those relying on coal burdened by emission fees. “The energy-intensive industry is responsible for over 20 percent of Poland’s GDP,” WNP says, which has led to more and more demand for renewables to lower carbon footprint and remain competitive.

Henryk Kaliś, president of the board of the Chamber of Industrial Energy and Energy Recipients, says the key factor for companies is not the price of energy itself, but whether it allows for profitable production and competition with foreign (non-European) companies. Electricity prices need to be below 60 euros per megawatt-hour to compete, and prices have already surpassed this threshold.

The EU’s climate policy affects companies across the continent and has led to European industry moving to Asia. However, Poland is in a particularly vulnerable position, as gas fuel accounts for 45 percent of the country’s energy system, explains Robert Tomaszewski, head of the energy department of Polityka Insight. Compare this to Scandinavian countries where electricity is mainly supplied by hydroelectric power plants, Spain where nuclear and renewables make up 70 percent of the energy mix, or France which has turned back on their nuclear plants, driving one megawatt-hour of electricity down to €47.

In early August, Polityka Insight’s data had Poland’s average wholesale price of electricity at an average of €90 per megawatt-hour, with higher prices only seen in Ireland (€98.68) and Italy (€95-98)

Mikołaj Budzanowski, who sits on the management board of Poland’s Boryszew Group, says there is no doubt that high energy prices are a major problem for Polish industry.

October 10, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity | , , | Leave a comment

Macron slapped down for cheap talk on Israel arms ban

By Finian Cunningham | Strategic Culture Foundation | October 9, 2024

French President Emmanuel Macron got his marching orders with a smack on the head for daring to propose an arms embargo on Israel.

Israel’s obnoxious leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, reportedly mauled Macron in a phone call for having the nerve to make such a suggestion.

With his typical bluster and deceit, Netanyahu claimed that Israel was fighting for Western civilization against an “axis of evil” led by Iran and that Macron should be ashamed of himself for not backing Israel.

It seems that Monsieur President got the message and has now shut up.

Earlier, according to reports, the French leader said in an interview with French media that he would be pushing for a diplomatic solution in the region which would involve an international halt on arms exports to Israel: He said: “I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop supplying weapons [to Israel] to lead the fighting in Gaza.”

Macron added: “Our priority now is to avoid escalation. The Lebanese people must not in turn be sacrificed, Lebanon cannot become another Gaza.”

In response, Netanyahu blew a gasket, claiming: “As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilized countries should be standing firmly by Israel’s side. Yet, President Macron and other Western leaders are now calling for arms embargoes against Israel. Shame on them.”

As a matter of legal fact, Macron’s call for halting arms exports is correct. The International Criminal Court has ruled that the Israeli regime’s offensive on Gaza could amount to genocide. Under the Genocide Convention, all states are obliged not to facilitate in any way another state that is engaged in genocide. That means that all weapons exports to Israel should be banned.

The thing is, though, Macron’s talk is cheap and lacking in genuine concern for ending the year-long horror in Gaza, which has now been extended to Lebanon. For a start, as Macron admitted, France has negligible arms exports to Israel. That is not due to any ethical stance by France. It is simply because it has not been a supplier of arms to Israel in recent years, although France crucially helped Israel develop nuclear weapons illegally in the early 1960s – a reprehensible legacy that continues to destabilize and menace relations in the region.

So an embargo on Israel, as called for by Macron, will not impact French business in the slightest. Given that, it is, therefore, an easy call by Macron for a halt to weapons sales.

The United States and Germany are the two main arms suppliers to Israel, accounting for nearly 70 and 30 percent of all imports.

What is of more interest to Macron is “exporting” French prestige to the rest of the world.

Since Israel launched its genocidal assault on Gaza one year ago, the French leader has said nothing about stopping the international supply of weapons to the Israeli regime even as the death toll has increased to more than 41,000 people, mainly women and children.

The United States has the predominant leverage over Israel. Over the past year, the U.S. has supplied an estimated $18 billion worth of weapons to Israel, including warplanes and heavy bombs. The slaughter could have been stopped almost immediately if the Biden administration had used its leverage. European leaders like Macron could have put pressure on the U.S. to do so, but they didn’t. That is the real shame.

However, lately, what concerns Macron more is the expansion of Israel’s genocide to Lebanon is an embarrassing blow to France’s international image and illusions of grandeur. After all, Lebanon is a former French colony in the Middle East carved from the Ottoman Empire by Britain and France under the Sykes-Picot agreement (1916).

Lebanon has been an independent nation since 1943. Nevertheless, Paris maintains a strong influence on the country’s politics and business under a presumed “special relationship.” It must be galling for Macron, who waxes lyrical about his ambition of renewing “France’s Greatness” and geopolitical importance, to see the former French colony being blasted apart by Israel.

Over 2,000 Lebanese civilians have been killed in Israeli air strikes over the past two weeks. The capital, Beirut, is pounded with impunity by heavy Israeli bombardment. Millions of people are being forcibly displaced – and the French state is doing nothing to alleviate the suffering and violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty. Not that France did much when Israel previously invaded Lebanon in 1982 and 2006. But this time, given that Macron has made such a song and dance about restoring La France, the impotence in Paris is all the more humiliating.

Macron’s call for an arms embargo was initially welcomed by Middle Eastern nations, including Lebanon, Egypt, Qatar, and, of course, the Palestinians.

It seems the French president is aiming to create pressure on the United States and Germany to exert leverage on Israel and for France to get the kudos. He won’t get much change out of that move, as Netanyahu’s slap-down showed.

But another reason for the feebleness is that the ultimate aim is not a principled call to stop the conflict in Gaza or Lebanon but rather to salvage France’s reputation as a diplomatic player. Vanity is not a sound basis for anything substantial or meaningful.

Macron and Biden had announced a joint statement on September 25 calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon. The Israeli regime rudely ignored that call and proceeded to escalate the violence with the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut and intensified bombing of Lebanon.

Lebanon is being torn apart by Israeli aggression and France is seen as not being able to do anything about it. Neither having any political courage to do anything nor having any political clout.

Netanyahu is a despicable brute. But his slapping down of Macron is a priceless demonstration of how much of a non-entity the French leader is.

And by extension that applies to all the European so-called leaders who sit on their hands while the U.S.-backed Israeli regime murders with impunity.

October 10, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

US arms dealers see ‘record profits’ from Israel’s year-long genocide in Gaza, war on Lebanon

The Cradle | October 10, 2024

US arms manufacturers have outperformed major stock indexes this year in a rally fueled by Israel’s year-long genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the expansion of its war against Lebanon.

Stock funds with holdings in the US aerospace and defense industry – including companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, RTX, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and L3Harris – saw their profits soar past expectations this year, outperforming the S&P 500 index.

“That handout of taxpayer funds to Israel coupled with Israel’s, and global, demand increasing for weapons in a period of instability, has been jet fuel for stock prices,” reports Responsible Statecraft.

Lockheed Martin, makers of the F-35 aircraft that Israel has used to relentlessly bomb Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, produced a 54.86 percent total return from 7 October 2023 to the same date in 2024, outperforming S&P 500 by about 18 percent.

RTX, the makers of 2,000-pound ‘bunker buster‘ bombs that turned most of Gaza to rubble and are currently being dropped inside the Lebanese capital, saw its total return for investors in the past year reach 82.69 percent, outperforming S&P 500 by about 46 percent.

General Dynamics, which also manufactures bunker busters and is behind the BLU-109 bombs that Israel used to level several apartment buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut during the assassination of Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, delivered a 37 percent total return for investors, outperforming the S&P 500 by just over 3 percent.

On 1 October, as Israel pushed forward with its ground invasion of Lebanon and Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles in retaliation for the bombing of its capital, Forbes reported that the stocks of most US arms makers gained over 2.6 percent in value.

“Both Lockheed Martin and RTX shares booked all-time highs Tuesday, while L3Harris and Northrop Grumman tallied their top share price since 2022,” the US financial publication reported.

Furthermore, the BlackRock-managed iShares US Aerospace and Defense fund indexing the aerospace and defense sector hit a new all-time high last week, extending its 12-month gain to 43 percent and outperforming the S&P 500 by 33 percent.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), between 2019 and 2023, Israel accounted for 2.1 percent of all global arms imports. During the same period, the US accounted for 69 percent of Israel’s arms imports, while Germany accounted for 30 percent.

As Washington retains its long-standing hold as the world’s largest arms dealer – controlling 42 percent of the global arms market – the country has also significantly boosted its military spending to assist Israel, blowing through at least $23 billion in one year.

October 10, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Israel Commits Crime Against Humanity in Gaza – UN Investigation Commission

Sputnik – 10.10.2024

Israel has committed a crime against humanity during its actions in the Gaza Strip, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel said on Thursday.

“The report found that Israeli security forces have deliberately killed, detained and tortured medical personnel and targeted medical vehicles while tightening their siege on Gaza and restricting permits to leave the territory for medical treatment. These actions constitute the war crimes of willful killing and mistreatment and of the destruction of protected civilian property and the crime against humanity of extermination,” the document said.

Both Israel and Palestinian armed groups torture prisoners, the commission found.

“The Commission also investigated the treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israel and of Israeli and foreign hostages in Gaza since 7 October 2023, and concluded that Israel and Palestinian armed groups are responsible for torture and sexual and gender-based violence,” the document said.

Israeli Minister of National Security Ben-Gvir personally ordered to torture Palestinian prisoners, the commission said.

“The report found that the institutionalized mistreatment of Palestinian detainees, a longstanding characteristic of the occupation, took place under direct orders from the Israeli Minister in charge of the prison system, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and was fuelled by Israeli government statements inciting violence and retribution,” the document concluded.

October 10, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Israel seizes UNRWA headquarters’ land in Occupied Jerusalem

Palestinian Information Center – October 10, 2024

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – Israel has confiscated UNRWA’s headquarters land in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Occupied Jerusalem with the aim to build 1,440 illegal settlement units on the site.

The announcement comes a day after members of the United Nations Security Council warned Israel against proceeding with a law aimed at curbing UNRWA’s ability to operate.

Earlier Sunday, the Israeli Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approved two bills that effectively aim at ending UNRWA’s activity and privileges in Israel.

The move came as part of the Israeli systematic targeting of UNRWA in the occupied territories.

Last January, a number of countries suspended financing for the agency after Israel accused 12 of the 30,000 UNRWA employees of participating in the 7 October attack.

Most resumed funding, however, after a UN report found that Israeli authorities had not provided “any supporting evidence” to back up allegations of UNRWA staff links to the attack.

Germany, Australia, Canada, Sweden, and Japan were among the countries to restore funding to UNRWA following the report.

October 10, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , , , , | Leave a comment

US: former White House advisor urges Israel to ‘carpet bomb’ Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon

MEMO | October 10, 2024

Former White House advisor Matthew Brodsky has urged Israel to drop napalm on Irish peacekeepers in South Lebanon, sparking outrage and concern over the ideological stance of individuals advising the US administration on Israel and Palestine.

Brodsky, a Senior Fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy and former Director of Policy at the Jewish Policy Centre, posted a shocking tweet on X stating: “Israel should carpet bomb the Irish area and then drop napalm over it.” The tweet, which has since been deleted, included a map showing the deployment of Ireland’s peacekeeping force in Southern Lebanon.

The outrageous comment has been condemned widely, with many questioning the appropriateness of having individuals with such extreme views in advisory roles within the US government. Brodsky’s comments come at a time of heightened tensions in the region and have raised concerns about the influence of hard-line Zionist ideologues on US foreign policy.

Critics have accused Brodsky, who has lived and studied in Israel, of promoting Jewish supremacism. This incident has reignited debates about the prevalence of extremist ideologies within US political circles and their potential impact on diplomatic efforts in the Middle East.

Last year Stuart Seldowitz, a former US State Department official, was filmed threatening a food vendor in New York. Seldowitz was recorded saying that the death of 4,000 Palestinian children “wasn’t enough”, highlighting legitimate concerns about anti-Palestinian sentiment among some former US officials.

Seldowitz worked for former State Secretary Madeline Albright, who in a shocking interview justified the killing of 500,000 Iraqi children, confirming her view that the killings were “worth it”.

Brodsky’s role as an advisor to the White House, particularly on matters related to the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, has come under scrutiny in light of these comments. His background includes briefing members of Congress, the Department of State, Department of Defence and the National Security Council on Iran, Syria and Palestinian-Israeli issues.

Under Israel’s Law of Return, Brodsky, Albright and Seldowitz have the automatic right as Jews to migrate to Israel and live in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories.

The UN has confirmed that Israeli troops have recently vacated their positions near the bases where Irish peacekeepers are stationed in southern Lebanon. Irish troops are part of UNIFIL (UN Interim Force in Lebanon), and have been operating along the Blue Line at the Lebanon-Israel border.

October 10, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

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