Iran Warns it Has Nine Types of Missiles Able to Strike Israeli Territory
Sputnik – 08.04.2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long urged military action against the self-avowed Islamic Republic, but the nation of 88 million people possesses significant defensive capabilities.
Iran has nine types of missiles with sufficient range to hit Israeli territory, Iranian news agency ISNA reported against the backdrop of concerns over possible armed conflict between the two countries.
An infographic presented by the news agency Sunday revealed multiple Iranian ballistic missiles – the Sejjil, Kheibar, Emad, Shahab-3, Ghadr, Paveh, Fattah-2, Kheibar Shekan, and Haj Qasem – the speed of which ranges from Mach 5 to Mach 14 (from 3,836 miles per hour to 10,741 miles per hour).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long urged military action against the self-avowed Islamic Republic and regional critic of Israel, but the nation of 88 million people possesses significant defensive capabilities. A war on Iran also raises the prospect of potential involvement by Tehran’s ally Russia, while Netanyahu would presumably count on an assist from the United States.
On April 1, Israel carried out an airstrike on the consular annex of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, destroying the building. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said seven of its members had been killed in the attack, including two commanders. On Tuesday the Syrian Health Ministry said the attack had also killed four Syrians and injured 13 more.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said it “reserves the right” to respond to the Israeli attack and “punish the aggressor.” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi also vowed Israel would pay a “heavy price” for the strike.
“None of the embassies of the (Israeli) regime are safe anymore,” said top Iranian military advisor Gen. Rahim Safavi Sunday, suggesting the country could mirror Israel’s consular strike.
Iran is a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause in the region – Palestinian solidarity was a founding principle of the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution which toppled the US backed Pahlavi royal family. The country’s foreign policy is rooted in strong opposition to US imperialism, which has left a lasting legacy in the Persian country.
Israel announces partial withdrawal of its troops from southern Gaza
Palestinians inspect destroyed residences in Khan Younis after Israeli military withdraws most of its ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip (Reuters)
Press TV – April 7, 2024
Israel says it has pulled most of its troops out of southern Gaza in what it said is a move to recuperate and prepare for future offensives.
Three Israeli brigades on Sunday left the southern city of Khan Yunis but another remained to prevent displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes in the north.
The Israeli military said a “significant force” will remain in the rest of the besieged Gaza Strip.
Israel’s military earlier announced it’s pulling thousands of soldiers out of the south, including Khan Younis city, after months of fierce combat.
The military wing of the Hamas resistance movement said Israel was forced to end its operations before achieving its goals.
The al-Qassam Brigades dismissed Israel’s claims that it had destroyed resistance forces in those areas from where it had withdrawn.
The Brigades added that resistance forces have always surprised Israel.
Khan Younis residents, who rushed back to their city after Israeli forces relocated from southern Gaza, found a wasteland of destruction and rubble.
Media reports quoting residents said much of Khan Younis had been destroyed, many buildings had been bombed, and there were overturned cars stuck in the mud near craters left by missiles.
Witnesses said that damaged hospital beds were seen on one street.
They have been saying the situation is completely indescribable and chaotic as a great deal of destruction has been done to the entire area
“It is a shock, a shock. What happened was not small … while coming on the way in the car, I saw things. The destruction is unbearable,” said Mohammed Abou Diab, who was among those who returned to his old neighborhood.
The Secretary-General and CEO of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Jagan Chapagain, says the situation in Gaza is “desperate and worsening” as the war hits its six-month anniversary.
The city has come under intense Israeli bombardment in recent months.
Khan Younis has been destroyed, with the destruction of civil infrastructure, mosques, and residential houses, and people are saying that they have nothing left in the city.
After six months of relentless attacks on Gaza, Israel remains no closer to a victory than it has been at any point since October of last year.
US says Israeli military’s troop reduction in Gaza is to ‘rest and refit’
White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said the Israeli army’s troop reduction in Gaza appears to be a “rest and refit” and not necessarily indicative of any new operations.
“As we understand it, and through their public announcements, it is really just about rest and refit for these troops.”
“[This is] not necessarily that we can tell indicative of some coming new operation for these troops,” Kirby said when asked about the step.
Palestinians face more deaths and destruction in Gaza as the US-Israeli onslaught in the besieged strip continues for a seventh month.
Since the beginning of the US-Israeli genocide in Gaza, nearly 33,200 people have been killed.
At least 7,000 people are also unaccounted for or presumed dead under the rubble.
Day 184: ‘Israel’ Withdraws Most Troops from Southern Gaza
Al-Manar | April 7, 2024
The 184th day of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza witnessed a dramatic development represented by the Zionist military withdrawal from southern Gaza.
In this context, the Israeli military radio said that the army withdrew Division 98 with its 3 brigades from Khan Younis, adding that only Nahal Brigade remained in the Strip, specifically at Natsarim crossing, which separates the Gaza’s north and south.
Reuters news agency quoted the Zionist military spokesperson as saying that the Israeli army has withdrawn all ground troops from South Gaza, except one brigade.
The Israeli occupation army announced the death of 4 soldiers during battles in southern Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Zionist occupation forces continued bombarding the innocent civilians in the various areas of Gaza, claiming more martyrs.
The Israeli warplanes and artillery struck civilian targets in Khan Younis, Rafah, and Gaza city.
The Palestinian health ministry reported that the Israeli occupation forces committed four massacres during the past 24 hours in Gaza, killing 38 civilians and injuring 71 others.
Thus, the latest toll of the Zionist genocidal war in Gaza has become 33,175 martyrs and 75,886 injuries.
London pharmacist battles Zionists and wins
Press TV – April 7, 2024
London pharmacist Nazim Ali has finally won his long running legal battle against Zionist regime proxies, a battle which started in 2017 when Nazim Ali spoke at the Quds Day Rally following which the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, (CAA), lodged a complaint with the Police accusing Nazim Ali of Anti-Semitism.
The Crown Prosecution Service, however, refused to press charges.
The Zionists took a private prosecution that was eventually stopped by the CPS. They took out a judicial review against the CPS and lost.
In January 2019 Ali’s professional regulator, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), which is responsible for the independent regulation of the pharmacy profession within England, Scotland and Wales, as well as the regulation of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises, said there was no case to answer, but gave him a warning for being offensive.
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) then bullied the regulator into reversing its position in July of that year.
The council concluded his words were not anti-semitic in November 2020. But the UK lawyers for Israel joined the campaign against Anti-Semitism to continue to harass Ali.
In December 2020, a complaint was lodged with the body which regulates the regulator, the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care or PSA.
The intimidation worked and the PSA took the GPhC to court, at which point the GPhC folded and offered no defense.
The high court then sent the case back to the GPhC which made the absurd determination that two of Ali’s remarks were objectively, if unintentionally, anti-semitic. However, it gave him a warning, as it had before.
The Zionists were still not happy and appealed to the courts to get Ali sacked. In March this year, the Court declared that there was no case to answer.
This is a historic and hard fought victory.
But who are Zionist groups who have bullied and intimidated the professional regulators into such submission?
The Campaign Against anti-Semitism took up the cudgels first; the CAA is a creature of the Zionist regime which was set up to attack the pro-Palestine movement with fake anti-Semitism allegations.
Much of its early funding came from the Jewish National Fund, the racist land-theft group, which is one of the four so called national institutions in Israel.
The UK Lawyers for Israel is a group which appears to have been set up under the auspices of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its whole purpose is to use ‘lawfare’ tactics to manipulate the law and bully British institutions into doing its bidding.
The case of Nazim Ali reveals how foreign agents of the Zionist regime can harass, bully, and intimidate the UK so effectively that they can, in effect, occupy the professional bodies regulating the profession of pharmacy, which is a clear cut case of state capture.
It also tells us that people can fight back and win.
In fact, this is one of a number of recent victories against the Zionist movement.
It would appear, for all intents and purposes, that the tide is turning.
Israel takes dangerous step in the conflict by attacking Iranian diplomats
By Lucas Leiroz | Strategic Culture Foundation | April 5, 2024
Attacking embassies, consulates and diplomatic personnel is an intolerable crime under international law. The inviolability of diplomatic buildings is a global principle that enables the elementary conditions necessary for international relations. Even in situations of total war and high-intensity conflicts, respect for diplomacy must be observed by the belligerent sides to prevent even worse escalations of violence from occurring.
Israel, however, appears unwilling to respect any international norm. Recently, the Zionist State bombed an Iranian diplomatic building, close to the Iranian Embassy in Damascus. At least seven Iranian citizens were murdered in the operation, including diplomats and a senior Revolutionary Guard commander. As expected, Tehran has promised retaliation and is already mobilizing its military forces for a possible conflict situation.
In fact, the act of bombing diplomatic installations can be considered terrorism, as it deliberately aims to kill civilians, without any military objective. As we know, attacks against civilians have become increasingly frequent in the Zionist war strategy. The Israeli regime simply appears to see all Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as legitimate targets, which leads the IDF to destroy all of the city’s civilian infrastructure and generate an ever-increasing number of non-military casualties among local residents.
However, it appears that Israel is also expanding its attacks on civilian targets to the international level. The destruction of one of the buildings of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus was certainly one of the most serious moves ever made in the current conflict. To make matters worse, Israeli officials have promised to carry out more attacks against Iranian and Shiite public figures, regardless of where they are located. Apparently, from now on Tel Aviv will openly adopt a rhetoric of “hunting” against Iranians.
Obviously, this situation will only generate more escalations. Israel is accustomed to attacking targets with little power to react, such as the stateless Palestinians or Syria, which is recovering from a brutal civil war. Iran, however, is a country in a different position. Tehran is the largest military power in the Middle East, having impressive weapons production and combat mobilization capabilities. The country controls the production of the main current military equipment, with modern long-range missiles and drones among its main tools of war.
Furthermore, Iran has more than only its military and Revolutionary Guard, controlling a complex network of anti-Zionist movements across the Middle East – the so-called “Axis of Resistance”. Armed organizations such as Hezbollah, the Iraqi Resistance, Syrian Shiite militias, the Houthis and the Palestinian guerrillas themselves are members of the Axis and are willing to fight a war in favor of Iran at any time. Even if Israel strives to destroy targets linked to regular Iranian forces, it will be difficult to neutralize the top leaders of all these organizations at the same time.
An open war between Iran and Israel would be catastrophic for the region from all points of view. Analyzing the military power of both countries, it is possible to say that Israel is militarily weaker. However, Tel Aviv has nuclear weapons. The possibility that Iran also has such weapons cannot be ruled out, but at least publicly there is no information to prove this. What is known, however, is that the Iranians already have full uranium enrichment capacity and control the industrial process that could lead to the production of an atomic bomb.
In a war scenario, Iran would also be favored by its complex geography. As a large country and with mountains that protect some of its important cities and industrial centers, Iran is less vulnerable to collapse in the face of foreign incursions than Israel. Furthermore, Tehran would mobilize the Axis of Resistance militias to attack Israel on several flanks, quickly making the Zionist state unable to fight given the existence of multiple fronts. In this scenario, Israel would be forced to choose between two fates: surrender or the use of its extreme arsenal.
However, history shows us that Iran has a great capacity to achieve military objectives without generating collateral damage. The country is used to asymmetric warfare, responding with patience and high precision to the provocations suffered, without escalating the regional situation into total war. Tehran will certainly do its best to retaliate against Israel without a formal declaration of war. It is possible that there will be more Axis of Resistance attacks against occupation forces in the coming days, just as it is possible that Israeli and American targets will be destroyed in high-precision raids.
It is not yet certain that there will be an open war, but it is absolutely clear that there will be a serious escalation. Israel is making a serious mistake by thinking that it will go unpunished after attacking the greatest military power in the Middle East.
More Deaths in Gaza
Lies and deception by Joe Biden to cover-up Israel’s war crimes must end
BY PHILIP GIRALDI • UNZ REVIEW • APRIL 4, 2024
You know that the Administration of President Joe Biden has reached a new low when it takes the initiative to lie for Israel even when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is accepting some blame for the targeted killing of six foreign national aid workers and a Palestinian translator belonging to Chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen humanitarian “feed the hungry” charitable organization. Bear in mind that that the Israeli army has killed without any regrets expressed at least 196 aid and relief workers in its onslaught on all living creatures located in Gaza, as well as nearly every journalist that crosses its path and doctors and medical staff in hospitals attempting to save lives and treat the injured and dying. On this rare occasion, however, Netanyahu realized that the calculated way in which the predominantly foreign victims had been killed with three separate drone strikes directed against three well-marked and easily identifiable World Central Kitchen vehicles following a route pre-approved and declared to be safe by the Israeli army itself would heighten the already legitimate extreme loathing of the Jewish state and all its works worldwide. Make no mistake these seven workers were deliberately targeted, hunted down and murdered. And it was no accident or a case of poor communications as this was all carried out by an Israeli military unit under the direct control of senior officers in a bid to hasten the starvation of the Palestinian population by driving away relief organizations.
Not surprisingly, this disdain for Israeli behavior is even surging in the United States, where polls measuring dislike for Israel’s actions continue to rise and, as Netanyahu knows, total unblinking support from a Biden or a Trump is essential for furtherance of his Palestinian-genocide agenda, a program that also requires a steady stream of dollars and weapons to carry out. Joe Biden, who reportedly is angry with Netanyahyu, only last Sunday, the day before the incident, approved a $15 billion package of new weapons for Israel, including 25 F-35 fighter jets, and additionally the highly controversial 2,000-pound bombs which have been known to kill indiscriminately in Gaza when deployed by the Israeli air force. As has been true over the past six months, the White House acted unilaterally and did not clear the transfer through congressional review, as required by law, claiming that it was an emergency as good friend and close[est] ally Israel urgently needs the weapons.
President Biden apparently did realize that the deaths in Gaza, which made him feel “outraged and heartbroken,” following so soon on the recently concluded siege and devastation of the last remaining major hospital in the enclave Al-Shifa, might be a political problem for him. Preliminary reports from the hospital, which was completely destroyed, suggest that over 1,500 Palestinians may have been killed, injured, or are reported missing as a result of the massacre. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller nevertheless asserted that the slaughter at the medical center was legitimate as “There were Hamas fighters hiding in Al-Shifa Hospital. Do not believe that this attack was on the hospital. The attack was on the Hamas fighters that are hiding inside a hospital.” Other Administration figures have claimed that the deaths in both the hospital and among the aid workers were not “deliberate,” which is, of course a lie as it was orders through the Israeli chain of command that initiated the killing in both instances. White House spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre also added her profound but utterly predictable insights into who was to blame, “So look, Hamas should not be operating out of hospitals, we have said that over and over again, and putting civilians at risk.”
And to be sure, while destroying the hospital was an exciting change of pace for the world’s “most moral army” as its snipers summarily executed doctors and patients, as it picked off children looking for food when they crossed into unposted “kill zones,” and as its engineers used bulldozers to bury alive prisoners who were shackled and could not move, it did represent a problem vis-à-vis the international perception of Israel. So Netanyahu, understanding that a little fence mending was in order for PR reasons, quickly admitted that there had been something of a “mistake” made leading to the killing of the seven aid workers which was “tragic” while the army itself is engaged in a desperate cover-up, describing the incident, as a “grave mistake… that followed a misidentification, at night, during the war, in a very complex condition. It shouldn’t have happened.” Per Netanyahu’s official statement on the incident “This happens in war. We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence.”
National Security Adviser John Kirby, who has taken on the role of chief liar for the Biden regime, was “outraged” by the deaths while adding that “this incident is emblematic of a larger problem,” though he failed to describe just what that problem might be apart from the fact that Israel likes to kill people, including or perhaps particularly foreign charity workers as the clear intention is to let the Palestinians starve to death. Kirby also repeated the lie that the murders by Israel were “not deliberate” and insisted there would be no cutting back on aid to Israel in spite of the mishap, observing that the US would continue to support the Israel military as it has since Hamas “started the war” through its attacks last October. “They’re still under a viable threat of Hamas. We’re still going to make sure they can defend themselves and the 7th of October doesn’t happen again.” Admiral John stopped just short of “let’s kill them all so they will never do anything naughty again”, but fortunately there are some Republicans standing around willing to take up John’s call to arms more literally.
I have noted previously that it is the Republicans who are seeking to become Israel’s new best friends largely in hopes of diverting their way the many millions of dollars that Jewish donors will likely be spending on the upcoming national elections. Leading Jewish groups headed by no less than the formidable and untouchable American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) are already well advanced on raising hundreds of millions of dollars as a war chest to defeat any and all congressional candidates who are soft or critical on the issue of Israel. In the 2020 congressional election AIPAC boasted how it had endorsed and supported through its Super PAC 198 House and Senate candidates, including 131 incumbents, all of whom won reelection.
Republican Congressman Tim Walberg of Michigan takes the prize for echoing the calls being made by some Israeli politicians to use nuclear weapons on the Palestinians, though he is now claiming that that was not his intent. He said “I don’t think any of our aid that goes to Israel to support our greatest ally, arguably maybe in the world, to defeat Hamas and Iran and Russia, and probably North Korea’s in there, and China, too, with them helping Hamas — we shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid. It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick. The same should be in Ukraine. Defeat Putin quick.” First of all, anyone who calls Israel “our greatest ally” is an idiot since it is actually our greatest liability, unless Walberg is referring to the apparent mutually supportive relationship to carry out the genocide of entire nations that we dislike. One has to wonder who the Democrats put up to run against someone like Walberg who apparently does not have two brain cells to rub together.
Another Republican Congressman Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee has put it more bluntly by calling on Israel to “… kill them all… Everybody in Hamas,” while others including Donald Trump have urged the Israeli government to “finish the job.” And then there is GOP Senator Rick Scott of Florida who said on Sunday that it is imperative that Israel goes into Rafah to “destroy” the Palestinian militant group Hamas. “Number one, [Israel] needs American support; they have to go into Rafah to destroy Hamas,” Scott said during a completely predictable interview on “Fox News Sunday.” Scott, who is being spoken of as a possible GOP vice presidential candidate, has just returned from a trip to Israel, where he met with Israeli Netanyahu and assured him of unlimited US support in his war to get rid of the 1.5 million or so pesky Palestinians starving and awaiting their fate in Gaza.
But my prize for Congress’s ugliest critter in the metaphorical sense has to go to Brian Mast of Florida who recently appeared in the Congressional Office Buildings wearing his Israeli army uniform. He represents a heavily Jewish district in Florida – whose governor Ron DeSantis has boasted to be the most pro-Israel state in the US. He explained his gesture on Twitter, writing that “As the only member to serve with both the United States Army and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), I will always stand with Israel.” Interestingly, one might interpret “always stand with Israel” as including when it is contrary to US interests. Mast reportedly served in the US Army in Afghanistan and then did a tour as a volunteer with the IDF. He is believed to be a Christian Zionist and some have wondered how he got a security clearance, but hey when something like 70% of the top-level folks in the Biden Cabinet are Jewish and many are suspected of having dual loyalty or perhaps singular loyalty to Israel, who’s asking?
Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org.
Deploying spies on campus in the US: The ‘Israel on Campus Coalition’
By David Miller | Al Mayadeen | April 4, 2024
Listen to Nancy Pelosi at the end of January this year: “What we have to do is to try and stop the suffering in Gaza. This is about women and children, people who don’t have a place to go. So let’s address that. But for them to call for a ceasefire is Mr Putin’s message… Make no mistake. This is directly connected to what he would like to see.”
“I think some of these protestors are spontaneous and organic and sincere. Some, I think, are connected to Russia and I say that having looked at this for a long time.”
What is going on here? These are Zionist talking points. As the Palestinians say – every Zionist accusation is a confession. In reality, the only entity with really significant spy networks in the US is the Zionist entity.
The FBI and the CIA know this, but they are either unwilling or unable to investigate Israeli espionage networks operating freely in universities, businesses, and government facilities across the United States.
One well-known spy network is the Anti-Defamation League. Created in 1913, it has been spying on Arab Americans since before the creation of the Zionist entity. Throughout this period, the ADL has also closely collaborated with the FBI. Today, the ADL is doing more than attempting to repress free speech on Palestine; it is attempting to have ordinary pro-Palestine activism declared to be “terrorism”.
What they are trying to do is to use a vaguely worded law, which they lobbied for, to entrap Palestine solidarity activism as falling under a legal definition of material support for “terrorism”.
In late October, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and another Zionist group published an open letter urging universities to investigate Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) under the material support statute introduced in 1996.
In addition to accusing SJP of supporting Hamas, they were also, the ADL claimed, “voicing an increasingly radical call for confronting and ‘dismantling’ Zionism on U.S. college campuses.”
Material support for “terrorism” can include giving advice or other speech so long as it is at the behest or in coordination with the “terrorist” group.
But there is also an attempt by the ADL and its allies to claim that routine pro-Palestine activism should be legally understood as support for “terrorism”. They are working to blur the line between independent advocacy, which is allowed, and coordination, which could be terrorism.
It is of little comfort that there is no public evidence any SJP student members coordinated with Hamas or any other armed group. The case law construing the material support statute’s punishment of advocacy is so underdeveloped that there is considerable room for investigative overreach by the FBI.
The line between independent advocacy and material support as speech in coordination with a listed “terrorist” group “remains unelaborated”.
Of course, the ADL is one of the few non-government groups that trains federal law enforcement on counterterrorism. It can use the gap to advance its overreaching conception of the material support statute.
To fight back, all campus groups and university management need to declare that no independent campus speech, no matter how incendiary, serves as a legitimate basis for a material support investigation.
Another group, the Israel on Campus Coalition has been spying on pro-Palestine students for years.
It is linked to Israeli intelligence and strategically targets individual students or faculty on campus in order the “crush” the movement.
ICC was created by Hillel International and the Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation in 2002 to promote “Israel” advocacy on campus.
The money came from the business Charles who at that stage had a “major interest in Bank Hapoalim, Israel’s largest bank, and has extensive interests in oil, real estate, banking and shipping in the US.”
Today, Hillel and the ICC maintain close organizational ties. The ICC continues to provide Hillel professionals with “Israel” advocacy training and support.
Hillel has taken on a more extreme form of Zionism in recent years, sparking a rebellion by some student members who are critical of some aspects of Zionism.
They called their challenge Open Hillel, which says it “promotes pluralism and open discourse on Israel-Palestine in Jewish communities on campus and beyond. We aim to eliminate Hillel International’s Standards of Partnership for Israel Activities, which exclude individuals and groups from the Jewish community on campus on the basis of their views on Israel.” But even calling for a debate on Zionism was too much for the ICC, which engaged in spying on the Jewish student group.
The spy operation is closely co-ordinated with the Zionist regime as was revealed by The Lobby USA.
Here is Lila Greenberg, formerly of AIPAC:
“The ICC pools resources from all of the campus organizations. So that they’re tapped in on all angles.”
According to Jacob Baime, currently the ICC’s chief executive officer, “We built up this massive national political campaign to crush [pro-Palestine activism].”
“It’s modeled on General Stanley McCrystal’s counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq. We’ve copied a lot from that strategy … And one of the pieces was this Operations and Intelligence Brief.”
This is then passed on to the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs.
Baime confirmed that ICC “coordinates with” and “communicates with” the Ministry.
Once collected, data from the ICC’s web of campus spies and high-tech Israeli surveillance equipment then flow to the Anti-Defamation League.
The ADL, is in itself closely in touch with Zionist intelligence agencies but also uses the data to weaponize anti-Semitism in its reports on BDS and Palestine activism.
Among its other activities, the ICC offered to pay any pro-“Israel” student $250 to attend the sparsely attended damp squib of the March for Israel in November 2023 in Washington DC.
Make no mistake, the Zionist regime has agents on campus all over the United States. Everyone must be removed.
UNSC Ceasefire Resolution 2728 is in Place – Where is its Implementation?
By Hamzah Rifaat | Al Mayadeen | April 4, 2024
Despite the passage of UNSC Resolution 2728 calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, “Israel’s” fascist war machinery continues to wreak havoc on Palestinians through the weaponization of starvation, bombardment of hospitals, killing of aid workers, and arresting worshippers in the holy month of Ramadan at the Al Aqsa Mosque. The far-right, irredentist Netanyahu regime is adamant that ethnic cleansing of Palestinians should continue unabated which explains “Israel” brazenly ignoring the resolution and its central tenets. The question then, arises – how impactful would Resolution 2728 be in terms of yielding tangible results? Can such measures hold a genocidal regime to account?
There is reason for pessimism. Whether it is the International Court of Justice ruling or international pressure on Netanyahu to rescind his regime’s senseless killing spree, “Israel” has conveniently rebuffed any prospect of an end to hostilities that is solely perpetrated by its occupation forces against a battered population. It is hence, worthwhile to examine whether the implications of resolution 2728 would be any different and whether its violation could result in action. The resolution makes three demands – One, an immediate ceasefire in the month of Ramadan respected by all parties leading to a lasting, sustainable ceasefire. Two- the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages; Three- urgently expanding the flow of humanitarian assistance to reinforce the protection of the civilians in the Gaza strip. Tabled by ten non-permanent members of the UNSC and passed unanimously by 14-0 with the United States abstaining, its impact so far has been limited.
None of the three conditions have been met by “Israel”. Bombardments and massacres continue in the holy month of Ramadan, while aid workers are targeted and a hostage deal remains elusive due to hubris from the Netanyahu regime. While it is true that the resolution was passed due to the United States abstaining, and it is considered binding despite American claims to the contrary, it has not resulted in “Israel” mitigating violence or creating the necessary conditions for a ceasefire to take place. For example, Netanyahu has been categorical in stating that the calls for a ceasefire are not contingent on the release of hostages, despite the resolution stating the contrary. Further rebuttals came from US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, who referred to it as ‘non-binding’ and clarified that it does not impose obligatory sanctions and actual requirements on people.
The American and Israeli claims lack credibility but also point at how the resolution may not alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians. According to the President of the Center for International Policy in the United States, Nancy Okail, the resolution is more symbolic rather than substantial in its ability to end the war. Okail’s claims come despite the fact that the UNSC resolutions are considered binding as previously emphasized by Chinese Ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, and Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq. Such academic and scholarly skepticism of the resolution’s potential impact however exists despite the fact that Israeli violations can result in a follow-up resolution from the council which addresses the breach and calls for punitive action in the form of sanctions and the authorization of international intervention.
Here lies the catch, however. A punitive resolution imposing sanctions on “Israel” will not be supported by the Biden administration, rendering the prospect of accountability for genocide elusive. Realpolitik sets in, despite institutions seeking to abide by norms, customs and values enshrined in international law. Such realpolitik allows “Israel” to continue with the status quo given American support which has remained unwavering and ironclad despite recently abstaining from the UNSC vote. “Israel” has also previously gotten away with flouting UN resolutions in the past which includes the UNSC calling Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands illegal, (which was passed with 14 votes and the United States abstaining) and in 2023, when the UNGA passed a non-binding resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire which “Israel” also ignored.
What UN resolutions need to address is the genesis of the issue which is the nature of the Israeli state and its expansionist agenda. There is no letup in settlements on occupied land for example with new plans afoot in the West Bank. There are also calls and actions aimed at eliminationism by far-right demagogues ranging from Bezalel Smotrich to Itamar Ben Gvir. There is also no let up in arms supplies from the United States to “Israel” which is providing ammunition to the genocidal regime amid resisting calls of international accountability. All this comes with a failure to address forced displacement, sexual assault, apartheid and evictions that Palestinians face on a daily basis.
While the UNSC resolution 2728 is a promising development, its implementation will be stymied by Israeli adamancy in maintaining the status quo, unwavering American support, and the genocidal nature of the Netanyahu regime.
US says Palestinian statehood should be done through direct negotiations not UN venue
Press TV – April 4, 2024
After vowing to block a push by Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations, the United States says the world body is not an appropriate venue to negotiate Palestinian statehood.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Wednesday that although Washington does “support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state”, the venue through which the Palestinian statehood should be discussed would not be the UN.
“That is something that should be done through direct negotiations through the parties, something we are pursuing at this time, and not at the United Nations,” he stressed.
Miller, however, did not explicitly say that Washington would veto such a bid if it reaches the UN Security Council.
He also said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had so far tried his best to help establish what he called “security guarantees” for the Israeli regime as part of the groundwork for a Palestinian state.
Miller’s comments came just a day after Robert Wood, the US deputy ambassador to the UN, vowed to block a new attempt by the Palestinians for full membership in the UN.
Supporters of the Palestinians’ request for full membership in the United Nations asked the UN Security Council on Tuesday to revive their application for admission submitted in 2011.
The fresh bid, addressed to the UNSC president, included the names of 140 countries that have recognized a Palestinian state, including members of the 22-nation Arab League, the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the 120-member Nonaligned Movement.
“Our position has not changed,” Wood stressed, reiterating Washington’s stance which claims that a full UN membership for Palestine should follow a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
Back in September 2011, President Mahmoud Abbas failed in his attempt to make Palestine the 194th member of the UN as he could not get the required support of nine of the UNSC’s 15 members.
Even if he had managed to get the required support at the time, the US had promised to veto any UNSC resolution endorsing Palestinian membership.
However, Palestinians succeeded by more than a two-thirds majority in having their status raised from a UN observer to a non-member observer state in November 2012.
Under longstanding legislation by Congress, the US is required to sever financial support for UN agencies that give full membership to a Palestinian state.
Wood stressed that once the UN agrees to make Palestine its new member, “funding would be cut off to the UN system, so we’re bound by US law.”
“Our hope is that they don’t pursue that, but that’s up to them,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for decades opposed the Palestinian statehood.
Strike on Iranian Consulate Sign of Status Quo as US, Allies Let Israel ‘Cross All Red Lines’
By Ian DeMartino – Sputnik – 03.04.2024
On Monday, Iran said that Israeli warplanes struck the Iranian embassy in Syria, killing seven military advisers, including two generals. On Tuesday, Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed revenge.
As the US and its allies have continuously allowed Israel to “cross all red lines” in the past, it should be no surprise that it attacked an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Dr. Seyed Mohammad Marandi told Sputnik’s The Critical Hour on Tuesday.
“The Israeli regime is only able to carry out these attacks because the United States, the Europeans, the Canadians, the British, the Australians allow them to cross all red lines. When they’re allowed to commit a genocide, when they’re allowed to carry out a Holocaust, in the words of the president of Brazil, then, obviously, attacking an embassy shouldn’t be unexpected.”
However, the United States and Europeans continue to parrot Israel’s lies, Marandi said, noting Israeli forces have attacked Al-Shifa hospital twice now, and the first time they falsely claimed it contained a tunnel network and Hamas command center.
“Now, they still try to repeat their lies even though it’s much more difficult,” Marandi explained. “They’ve wrecked all the hospitals. They’ve wrecked all the infrastructure. They shoot people carrying white flags.”
“There’s so much documentation that there’s no way for the Americans and Europeans to escape the reality that this is a genocidal and criminal regime from top to bottom. Yet still, they behave as if this is a normal country, as if this is a country that’s exercising its right and that it may be making mistakes.”
Marandi and co-hosts Wilmer Leon and Garland Nixon acknowledged the unlikelihood of the US not having advance notice about the attack; however, Marandi postulated it would showcase Israel’s lack of respect for the US if they didn’t.
“If the Americans didn’t know, then it just shows that the Israelis have no respect for the United States, that the Israelis don’t care what the implications are for the United States in this region and globally, because there is no doubt that the Iranians are going to respond. This is no ordinary attack.”
Unlike the US and Europeans that allow Israel to “get away with anything,” this attack is a red line “that the Iranians cannot ignore.”
“The Iranians are going to hit back hard. And if the Americans didn’t know, then that means the Israelis are putting the Americans at risk of a very complicated situation, but they don’t care.”
With the protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ongoing, and some US politicians calling for elections in Israel, Marandi stressed the importance of remembering that he is not alone in carrying out the genocide in Gaza. “Let’s not allow the Americans to pin the blame on Netanyahu. Overwhelmingly people in Israel support the genocide, and, apparently, more than half believe it should be even more intense.”
“The problem goes way beyond Netanyahu.”
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First Photographs Ever Taken of Iran [1848-1858] + Persepolis, Old World
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Book Review
A Palantir Manifesto
By Alan Mosley | The Libertarian Institute | April 22, 2026
Palantir CEO Alex Karp’s book, The Technological Republic, is a clarion call for Silicon Valley to abandon its consumer trinkets and rush headlong into the arms of the military-industrial complex. According to Karp, America’s future depends on wielding hard power through technology—arming soldiers, AI-weaponry, and mass surveillance systems—rather than on the “soft” influence demonstrated by free markets and liberty-first principles. The book claims that “the survival of the American experiment depends on the technological revitalization of the military-industrial complex” and urges the country’s engineering talent to focus on national defense. Karp and his co-author, Nicholas Zamiska, argue that tech bros should “grow up” and start killing America’s enemies before they kill us. … continue
Blog Roll
Aletho News- The Surveillance Accountability Act Demands Warrants for Data
- #FreeYousofAzizi: Petition launched to seek release of Iranian academic, anti-war activist detained in US
- The First Photographs Ever Taken of Iran [1848-1858] by Colonel Luigi Pesce + Persepolis, Old World
- Confusion, delusion, and how Israel drives the Iran War
- After the ceasefire illusion: Why Gaza’s “Day After” still has no buyer?
- Shifting to Guerilla Warfare, Hezbollah Delivers Massive Blows to Israel
- Wired for War: Israel’s Black Cube and the infiltration of Europe
- Monitoring group finds UK media guilty of ‘systematic’ dehumanization of Palestinians
- Al-Akhbar’s Amal Khalil assassinated by Israel, left to die under rubble
- US naval blockade has disrupted but ‘not broken’ Iran’s oil exports: Kpler
- If Americans Knew
- Meet the Top “Content” Producers Linked to Canary Mission
- Lebanese Journalist Amal Khalil Bombed and Left to Die by Israel
- Israel Moves to Re-establish Ganim Colony In Jenin
- Two Iranian Women in ICE Detention Are Not, In Fact, Related to Qasem Soleimani, Documents Show
- “The shooting was not in the air”: Testimonies from the Flour Massacre
- Israel chases down, kills Lebanese journalist, massacres 5 in Gaza, all during “ceasefires” – Daily Update
- Gaza’s unseen casualties: A surge in stillbirths and birth defects
- ‘Day of Ordinary Terror’: Israeli Attack on West Bank School Kills Man, Child
- Final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment
- Zionist Doxxing Campaigns Upended Their Lives. Now They’re Suing for Damages.
- No Tricks Zone
- New Study: The Climate May Be 5 Times More Sensitive To Solar Forcing Than Commonly Assumed
- EV Industry Reached $70 Billion In Losses In 2024 Due To Delusional Green Ideologies
- Reality Check: Maldives Have Actually Grown In Size Or Remained Stable Over Recent Decades
- Abrupt Climate Change Also Occurred NATURALLY In The Past …25 Times During Last Ice Age
- Cave Discovery Reveals Today’s Desert Climates Were Recently Far Warmer, Wetter, Teeming With Life
- German Expert: Heat Dome Led To Record Temps In Western USA…Warmer In 1934, 1936
- New Study: No Linear Warming Or Glacier Retreat Along Northern Antarctic Peninsula Since 1980s
- An Inconvenient Tree: Uncovered In Alps… Europe Much Warmer Than Today 6000 Years Ago
- New Study Reports A 60% Slowdown In Greenland’s Ice Loss Rate In The Last Decade
- Low Intensity Tornado Wrecks Major Solar Farm, Creating A Potential Toxic Dump
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