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Okinawa on Fire: Division Brewing in Japan Over US Militarizing & Nuclearizing

By Ekaterina Blinova – Sputnik – 31.07.2024

The US and Japan have made further steps towards closer military integration and an extension of Washington’s nuclear umbrella over its ally. Their increased military buildup in the Asia-Pacific region means a greater risk for war, particularly nuclear war, warns Okinawan rights activist Rob Kajiwara.

In the wake of their Security Consultative Committee (“2+2”) July 28 meeting in Tokyo, the US and Japan announced the strengthening of military ties and upgrading of the US Forces Japan (USFJ) to a warfighting command.

“The US and Japan are increasing the threat of war in the region,” Robert Kajiwara, an Okinawan rights activist and founder of the Peace For Okinawa Coalition, told Sputnik, stressing that the military buildup has nothing to do with Japan’s security and national interests.

Actually, the US is using Japan as a bulwark against Russia, China and North Korea in a bid to maintain its dominance in the Asia Pacific region, according to the pundit. “The world is seeking to become multipolar, but the US is intent on doing whatever it can to maintain hegemony,” he noted.

The American and Japanese delegations also discussed extending the US nuclear umbrella over Japan. While the US and Japan have coordinated on the issue since 2010 within the framework of the Extended Deterrence Dialogue (EDD), most recently the US has doubled down on its nuclear umbrella in the region.

It is expected that this year the US and Japan will specify under what conditions the US will use its nukes to “protect” Japan, according to Newsweek.

For its part, Chinese media believes Washington is planning to deploy nuclear weapons in their military bases in Japan, again. The “extended deterrence” means nothing but the US intent to use Japan as an outpost to strengthen its nuclear deterrence in Northeast Asia, according to Global Times.

Between 1954 and 1972, the US bases on Okinawa hosted a staggering 19 types of nuclear arms. In 2015, the US government officially admitted the fact that it stored hundreds of nuclear warheads in Japan during the Cold War. At the height of the Vietnam War, around 1,200 nuclear weapons were stationed in Okinawa.

“If there’s any country that should be against nuclear arms, it should be Japan, given the use of nuclear weapons against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan should be strongly against the storing of nuclear weapons in its territory. Unfortunately, Japan hasn’t learned anything from World War II and appears destined to repeat its past mistakes,” the pundit argued.

Why Okinawa is Important for the US

Okinawa, which is part of the Ryukyu island chain, is of utmost strategic importance for the US as it serves as a stronghold for the Pentagon’s operations in the Western Pacific and deployment of troops directly to the Taiwan Straits and to the Korean Peninsula.

The US military installations in the region – which American troops have occupied since the late 1940s – were crucial for Washington’s invasions of Vietnam and North Korea in the past.

The US air and naval bases on Okinawa are located in close proximity to China’s mainland and even closer to Taiwan Island. Furthermore, the Ryukyu island chain presents a natural “wall”, allowing the US military to “control” China’s passage into the Pacific Ocean.

While Tokyo and Washington name Russia, China and North Korea as potential “threats” to the region’s stability, a considerable chunk of Japanese citizens think otherwise, Kajiwara said, referring to Okinawa Prefecture, a home to numerous US military bases and facilities – over 70% of their total number in Japan.

“The overwhelming majority (somewhere between 70-90%) of Ryukyuans [another name for Okinawans] do not consider Russia, China, or North Korea to be military threats,” the activist stressed.

Okinawans Oppose US Bases and Japan’s Militarization

Ryukyuans have opposed the US militarization of the island for decades, citing security and environmental issues, as well as repeated criminal acts committed by US troops against local residents.

In September 1995, three US soldiers kidnapped and raped a 12-year-old girl in Okinawa, prompting prefecture-wide rallies which brought together 92,000 protesters. This year, two rape cases committed by US soldiers against an Okinawan minor and a woman came to light in June. The first occurred in December 2023 and remained muted by the US military for almost six months.

“The US and [Japan’s central government] covered this up until after Okinawa Prefecture’s recent election,” said Kajiwara. “They wanted to avoid negative publicity before or during the election in order to prevent the [ruling] Liberal Democratic Party from losing votes. Is this democracy? Can the US and Japan rightly call this democratic?”

In another snub of Okinawans’ democratic freedoms, Japan’s central government overruled the Okinawan authorities’ ban on building a new US military base at Henoko-Oura Bay near Nago in 2023. In September last year, Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki sought international backing at a UN session, arguing that the concentration of the US military forces in the prefecture threatens peace.

“My petition against the construction of the military base at Henoko received over 212,000 signatures,” Kajiwara said. “The 2019 Referendum in Okinawa resulted in over 70% of Okinawans voting against the Henoko base. In spite of all this, the US and Japan continually ignore the voices of Ryukyuans.”

Who are Okinawans and Why Do They Differ From Japanese

Okinawa was previously an independent Ryukyu kingdom, which was conquered and annexed by Japan at the end of the 19th century, the expert pointed out.

Ryukyuans have our own history, culture, languages, values, and identity. According to Kajiwara, Ryukyu has a tradition of being a “bridge of nations” with the focus on mutually-beneficial trade and diplomacy. “Whereas Japan has a long history of warfare and samurai bushido culture, Ryukyu banned the public carrying of weapons during the 15th century in order to promote peace,” the pundit remarked.

“In 1879, Japan invaded Ryukyu as the first of its colonial conquests… From 1879 until 1945, Ryukyu had to deal with imperial Japanese militarism,” he said. “During World War II, Japan deliberately placed a heavy amount of military presence in Ryukyu with the intent of sacrificing Ryukyuans in order to ‘save Japan’.”

This resulted in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, which amounted to nothing short of the Ryukyuan genocide, according to the activist.

“At least 123,000 Uchinaanchu (Native Okinawans) were killed during a time frame lasting only around three months, which was around one-third of the population at the time. Japanese soldiers deliberately killed Ryukyuan men, women, children, and elderly, claiming they were ‘Chinese spies,’ using them as human shields, and forcing thousands to commit suicide. It is said that every Okinawan family lost someone during the battle. Many of my own relatives were also killed,” Kajiwara continued.

Those who survived were sent to concentration camps by the US occupation forces. During the period from the end of 1945 to 1947 locals returned to their land to find many of their homes and farms bulldozed flat and turned into US military facilities. According to some estimates, at least 40,000 Okinawan landowners lost their land and were not compensated for the loss. The 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty signed between Japan and the Allies “legitimized” the US occupation of Okinawa.

“From 1945 until 1972 Ryukyu was under direct US military rule. Since 1972 Ryukyu has been under joint US and Japanese rule. This, of course, has caused great hardship for Ryukyuans, such as economic deprivation, environmental destruction, water poisoning, military accidents, and crime,” he said.

Currently, Ryukyuans fear that the US-Japanese military buildup will invite another devastating war to their land, as per the expert.

“As we speak, Japan is continuing the construction of a new airfield at Henoko, paving over the coral reef in order to build it. The Okinawan dugong, an endangered creature, is being driven into extinction by this. This airfield, along with missiles being stationed around Ryukyu, poses a direct threat to Russia, China, and North Korea. So you see, the US and Japan really have no intention of decreasing Ryukyu’s military burden at all.”

Kajiwara emphasized that he and his team are continuing to raise awareness about the risks of the US-Japanese growing militarization, adding that Okinawans remain hostages to Tokyo’s warmongering. “We discuss all these things in our upcoming documentary film, ‘Occupied Okinawa.’ The film will be entered into international film festivals around the world starting in September,” the pundit concluded.

July 31, 2024 Posted by | Film Review, Illegal Occupation, Militarism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

UAE, Israel expand spy bases in Yemen’s Socotra under US-sponsorship: Report

The Cradle | July 29, 2024

The UAE has, since 7 October, stepped up work on joint Emirati-Israeli military and intelligence infrastructure on the Socotra Archipelago off the coast of Yemen, Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported on 29 July.

The UAE has sought to establish control over the strategic archipelago, and has, over the past few years, begun constructing – in coordination with Tel Aviv – military and intelligence sites on the islands of the Socotra Archipelago, including the Island of Socotra itself.

According to the Al-Akhbar report, other Gulf Arab countries are involved in Emirati-Israeli plans for the archipelago, which comes as part of “an alliance being established … under an American umbrella.”

“The archipelago, in addition to other Yemeni islands and ports, is a central point in [this alliance] … the formation of the aforementioned alliance has become more urgent for all its parties,” Al-Akhbar writes, adding that since the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October, “they accelerated the construction of its features, led by an Emirati-Israeli military base being built on Abd al-Kuri Island.”

Abd al-Kuri Island is the second largest island in the Archipelago after Socotra.

The “ultimate goal” of the project is “to link the armies and security services of Israel and the concerned Arab countries under the umbrella of US Central Command.”

The report adds that in late December last year, a UAE-flagged landing ship – designed for the deployment of military personnel and equipment – arrived at Socotra Island, remaining there until early January.

It then headed west towards Abd al-Kuri and anchored until 11 January, heading back to Socotra two days later. It then returned to the UAE on 18 January.

“It concealed its signal while stationed off the island’s shores, and remained this way until it reappeared again on 25 December in the Arabian Sea heading north, which suggested that it was carrying out suspicious activity at the time. Information indicates that the ship’s trips were intended to transport military supplies and specialized personnel supervising the development of an Emirati base.”

Following 7 October, a new pier and a helicopter landing pad were constructed on Abd al-Kuri, as well as an airstrip, which was revealed in satellite imagery released in March this year.

“This expansion allows for the accommodation of larger American military cargo aircraft and strategic bombers, such as the American C-5M Super Galaxy and B-1 bombers that were recently used in retaliatory attacks in Syria and Iraq. New housing and buildings were also built,” according to the report.

This is not the first report indicating Washington’s involvement in the militarization of the Socotra Archipelago. Sky News Arabia reported in March that Washington is looking to establish a presence in Socotra in response to Ansarallah and the Yemeni Armed Forces’ pro-Palestine operations.

An in-depth investigation released by The Cradle in March 2023 details the Emirati–Israeli presence on the Socotra archipelago.

The Al-Akhbar report comes as the forces of Yemen’s Sanaa government – which are aligned with Ansarallah – have been vowing a response to the recent Israeli strikes on the western Yemeni port of Hodeidah, which was carried out in response to a deadly Yemeni drone attack on Tel Aviv.

Sanaa has imposed a blockade on all shipping heading to Israeli ports in support of the people and resistance in Gaza, and has vowed not to stop until the genocidal war against Palestinians in the strip comes to an end.

It has also targeted the Israeli port city of Eilat with dozens of drones and missiles since the start of the war.

The Yemeni army has also been attacking US and UK warships in response to the violent bombing campaign that Washington and London began against Yemen in January. US-UK airstrikes have since failed to deter Yemen’s operations.

July 29, 2024 Posted by | Illegal Occupation, Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Leave a comment

Erdogan, Assad to hold historic meeting in Moscow

Al Mayadeen | July 22, 2024

The first official meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is set to take place in Moscow, the Daily Sabah reported citing sources familiar with the discussions.

The meeting, which is expected to occur as early as August, will be mediated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani may also be invited, though it is anticipated that Iran will not participate in the talks.

Following the outbreak of the war on Syria in 2011, relations between the two countries deteriorated due to Turkey’s military presence in Syria and the ongoing conflict with the PKK.

Rapprochement efforts last year faltered over Syria’s demand for the withdrawal of Turkish troops, which Ankara resisted due to security concerns.

Recent developments, including Damascus’ return to the international stage and Syia’s readmission to the Arab League, alongside shifting dynamics such as the upcoming US elections and increasing domestic discontent in Turkey regarding Syrian refugees, have paved the way for renewed dialogue.

July 22, 2024 Posted by | Illegal Occupation | , , | Leave a comment

China, Philippines reach provisional deal on grounded shoal at South China Sea

Press TV – July 22, 2024

China and the Philippines have reached a provisional deal on resupply missions to a grounded Filipino ship in the South China Sea, amid efforts to ease maritime tensions.

The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Sunday that Manila “reached an understanding” with Beijing on the resupply missions to the Sierra Madre.

The DFA did not elaborate on the “provisional arrangement” but said it followed “frank and constructive discussions” between the two countries earlier this month.

The Philippines deliberately grounded the ship, the Sierra Madre, on the reef of Ren’ai Jiao (aka Second Thomas Shoal) in 1999 to reinforce its claims over disputed waters surrounding it. Since then, it has maintained a small contingent of sailors aboard the vessel.

China and the Philippines have also agreed to jointly manage maritime differences and de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea.

“Both sides continue to recognize the need to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea and manage differences through dialogue and consultation and agree that the agreement will not prejudice each other’s positions in the South China Sea,” the DFA said.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Monday confirmed the “temporary arrangement”, but stated, “We continue to demand that the Philippines tow away the warship and restore Ren’ai Jiao’s state of hosting no personnel or facilities.”

“If the Philippines needs to provide supplies to the ship’s occupants before the Philippines tows away the beached warship, the Chinese side is willing to allow the Philippine side to carry out the transportation and replenishment on humanitarian grounds,” the spokesperson said, noting that the resupply process will take place after the Philippines informs China in advance and after on-site verification is conducted.

China reaffirmed that it won’t allow the establishment of “fixed facilities or permanent outpost” in the area.

“If the Philippines were to send large amount of construction materials to the warship and attempt to build fixed facilities or permanent outpost, China will absolutely not accept it and will resolutely stop it in accordance with the law and regulations to uphold China’s sovereignty.”

Philippine foreign ministry, however, rejected that the “provisional arrangement” required “prior notification and on-site confirmation.”

China says the Philippines has been violating its sovereignty and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), especially Article 5 which stipulates that the parties should refrain from action of inhabiting on the uninhabited islands and reefs.

Beijing claims the South China Sea in its entirety. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei have overlapping claims to parts of the waters.

July 22, 2024 Posted by | Illegal Occupation | , | Leave a comment

What the top UN court’s ruling means for Israel

By Tarik Cyril Amar | RT | July 21, 2024

The 15 judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest judicial organ of the United Nations, have issued what everyone agrees is a landmark finding. “Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,” is, in essence, a devastating condemnation of Israel’s policies and crimes in the territories which it conquered more than half a century ago, as a consequence of the Six Day War of 1967, which it still holds today.

The ICJ finding also, inevitably, means (whether the judges intend it or not) that not only Israel’s policy in these specific territories, but the Zionist project as such, is based on the irreparable injustice of violently depriving the Palestinians of their inalienable right to national self-determination. Make no mistake, this is not “merely” a blow to the crimes of Israeli occupation and annexation; it calls into question the foundations of Israel as a state, as it is built around the systematic defiance of justice, law, and elementary ethics.

One feature enhancing the impact of the ICJ finding is its comprehensiveness. The 80-page document is the outcome of a long and thorough process that started in late 2022, when the General Assembly of the UN requested what is known as an “advisory opinion.” Detailed and closely argued, the findings are based, among other things, on the combined expertise of some of the best jurists in the world and hearings that involved almost 60 states. (Israel, clearly aware that its position was less than promising and generally contemptuous of international law, shunned the opportunity to state its case, which adds to the absurdity of its current rage over the result.)

However, while similarly meticulous legal assessments tend to generate complicated outcomes, that is not the case here. As has been widely acknowledged, the findings are devastating for Israel and, at least in legal terms, a clear triumph for the Palestinians and Palestine. In the words of Erika Guevara Rosas, senior director for research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns at Amnesty International, the ICJ’s “conclusion is loud and clear.”

The ICJ has recognized without qualifications that Israel’s holding of territories it seized during the Six Day War – including East Jerusalem (which Israel has officially though unlawfully annexed) and the West Bank (which it pretends to “occupy” but is, in reality, annexing) is illegal and needs to end asap.

In particular, the ICJ made it clear that all settlement must cease and that the settlers already on these territories must leave. That decision alone means that between 700,000 and 750,000 Israeli illegals should not be where they are. Not only do all of them have to leave the over 100 settlements they never had a right to establish; the Israeli state has an obligation to evacuate them. Moreover, Israel’s expropriations of land are also illegal, that is, simply put, theft. The ICJ has ordered it to return what it has stolen, that is, tens of thousands of acres.

The Israeli state is, of course, deeply implicated in the illegal acts the ICJ has ordered it to stop and even reverse. Israel’s longstanding policies of incentivizing its Jewish citizens – including de facto colonial settlers from anywhere in the world – to move into the illegally held territories and steal Palestinian land and resources is fundamentally criminal, among other reasons, because it is inconsistent with international law, particularly the humanitarian law enshrined in the Geneva Conventions.

Regarding the Gaza Strip, long a de facto concentration camp for its Palestinian inhabitants and since October 2023 the site of Israel’s ongoing genocidal massacre against them, the ICJ has clearly rejected the all-too-frequently heard Israeli argument that its forces retreated from it in 2005.

In reality, as honest legal experts have long maintained and the ICJ has now confirmed explicitly, Israel has always exerted so much stifling control over this area that it has remained an occupying power, with all the attendant obligations, whether its forces were on the ground inside the Gaza Strip or abusing its inhabitants while stationed around it.

The ICJ also clarified the issue of apartheid. As should be well known, apartheid is a recognized crime under international law (it is not merely a name for one specific criminal regime once practiced in South Africa). Under, for instance, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court – not to be confused with the ICJ – the “crime of apartheid” is defined as a “crime against humanity” akin to, for instance, murder, extermination, enslavement, or torture. Also according to the Rome statute, what makes apartheid special is that it is “an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime.”

Put simply, apartheid is, literally, one of the worst crimes a regime and the people supporting and working for it can possibly commit. In the case of Israel, unbiased experts and various human rights organizations have long argued that it is committing this crime as well. The ICJ has addressed this issue, noting arguments “that Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amount to segregation or apartheid, in breach of Article 3 of CERD,” that is, the “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination” (also known as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, ICERD).

Article 3 of the CERD imposes on states the duty not only to “condemn racial segregation and apartheid,” but also to “undertake to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this nature in territories under their jurisdiction.” The ICJ has concluded that Israel, by its “legislation” and “measures,” that is, really by everything it does as a state, is in breach of this key provision.

Israel is, in sum, a state practicing the crime against humanity of apartheid, de facto annexing and settling territories it has no conceivable legal claim on, and systematically denying a whole nation, the Palestinians, their right to self-determination. The court has also finished off any pretense that Israel can justify its continuing, pervasive criminality by alleged “security” needs. Those are only some of the ICJ’s key findings. Others concern Palestinian rights to restitution, return, and reparations, for instance. For anyone even vaguely familiar with how the Israeli state operates, it is obvious that these ICJ findings have declared its core principles illegal, as they are.

Many states, at least those with enough power, break international law, some quite habitually (the US, for instance), some “only” occasionally. Israel, however, is special: By virtue of its own, freely chosen policies informed by a nationalist ideology of supremacy and colonial settlement, it has made breaking international law its reason of state: without it, it is hard to even imagine how it can continue. Note, in this respect, that its minister of defense and its prime minister are on the verge of having warrants issued against them for crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Court, while the ICJ has already found that genocide is a plausible possibility in Gaza and, since Israel has brutally disregarded all its injunctions, will most likely confirm that finding in a final judgment in the not-too-distant future.

One thing that the ICJ findings confirm is, of course, that the Palestinians have a right to armed resistance under international law. Another thing that follows is that many things that Israel and its Western backers pretend are up for negotiation are not: Palestinians have a right to get their land back; Israel has no right to use it, in any way, not even as a bargaining chip.

A third thing also follows, but from the Israeli response: The whole Israeli political spectrum, not only Prime Minister Netanyahu and the other extremists in his cabinet, has rejected the ICJ findings. Hence, the illusion that the problem with Israel is just a few radicals in power must be buried once and for all: Unfortunately, its delusions of domination and supremacy are widespread throughout its political sphere and its society. Israel is the worst rogue state in the world, and it is also a dead end. For that, it cannot, as its elites usually do, blame external enemies or “anti-Semitism.” In reality, its own arrogance and outrageous violence against the Palestinians and its neighbors are to blame.

Of course, these ICJ findings, as many cynics will remind us, will not compel Israel to change. Indeed, as UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has pointed out, Israel’s usual response to being called out is to commit even more crimes, as if to make a point about its defiance of international law. Yet it is shortsighted to believe that the ICJ’s condemnation is irrelevant.

For one thing, the ICJ has been explicit that all other states have a duty to “co-operate with the United Nations” to bring about “an end to Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the full realization of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.” In addition, the judges also reiterated, in great detail, that not only other states, but also “international organizations, specialized agencies, investment corporations and all other institutions” must not “recognize, or cooperate with or assist in any manner in, any measures undertaken by Israel to exploit the resources of the occupied territories or to effect any changes in the demographic composition or geographic character or institutional structure of those territories.”

In essence, the ICJ has put all governments on this planet on notice that they are not free to do as they please about Israel and its crimes, but that they are bound by laws to help stop them and to abstain from being accomplices. That, of course, is an aspect of the findings that should concern the many hypocrites and accomplices in the EU and the US, such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for instance, who cannot see anything but a “comprehensive compliance with international law” when he looks at Israel. But then, that’s the same Olaf Scholz, of course, who can’t figure out who blew up his country’s gas pipelines. Likewise, the leaders of the UK, with “Labour-friend-of-Israel” and, embarrassingly, human rights lawyer Keir Starmer in the lead, and those of the US, in the process of co-perpetrating the genocide in Gaza, should feel at least some discomfort: Standing by Israel will not be cost-free much longer.

Ultimately, the single most important result of these ICJ findings has to do with the enormous role that systematic obfuscation – in plain language: lying – plays for the Israeli regime and its society. All those who have long named Israel’s systemic crimes and called for resistance to them, whether outside or inside Palestine, now have, in effect, the highest court of the world on their side. There is no more room for debate about what Israel is doing, and once that has been settled, there is no argument left for defending it. The ICJ findings won’t suddenly change the world, but when the world does change, they will have played an important role.

Tarik Cyril Amar, a historian from Germany working at Koç University, Istanbul, on Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, the history of World War II, the cultural Cold War, and the politics of memory.

July 21, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation, Timeless or most popular | , , , | Leave a comment

How western Big Tech giants enable Israel’s occupation

By Kit Klarenberg | The Cradle | July 20, 2024

On 10 July, Hebrew newspaper Maariv reported that 46,000 Israeli businesses have been forced to shut down due to the ongoing Gaza war and its devastating effect on the economy. The outlet referred to Israel as a “country in collapse.”

Regular readers of The Cradle will be well aware of the scale of the occupation state’s economic collapse since the Gaza genocide began. Yet, its effect on the precipitous decline of Tel Aviv’s once-thriving tech sector remains underexplored.

Complicity in occupation infrastructure

In mid-June, mainstream news outlets reported that chip giant Intel was halting expansion of a major factory project in Israel, which was slated to pump an extra $15 billion into the occupation entity’s economy.

Intel is just one tech giant whose fortunes have soured since Palestinian freedom fighters breached Gaza’s concentration camp walls on 7 October 2023.

The same fate has been suffered by many tech companies profiteering from illegal Zionist settlement expansion, which also provide infrastructure and resources used to oppress Palestinians and enforce Tel Aviv’s apartheid.

Multiple consumer-facing western companies that not only profit from illegal Jewish settlement expansion but actively provide core infrastructure and resources used to oppress Palestinians and enforce Tel Aviv’s apartheid could now be subject to lawsuits.

This week, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s continued presence in occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible.” Notably, the court opened the door to “reparations” for any illegal actions carried out by Israel and other entities since 1967.

The ICJ’s landmark judgment means the long-term viability of these tech firms’ operations in the occupied territories is moribund – for fear of legal repercussions, if nothing else.

Fittingly, given Germany is currently in the dock at the ICJ for its support and facilitation of the genocide in Gaza, Munich-headquartered tech conglomerate Siemens is among the culprits.

The firm is “focused on automation and digitalization in the manufacturing industries, intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed energy systems, smart mobility solutions for rail transport, and medical technology and digital healthcare services.” Its products are profuse throughout the occupation state and its illegal settlements.

Traffic control systems and traffic lights produced by Siemens can be found in areas of the West Bank where Palestinian residents are forbidden from traveling. In 2014, the company’s Israeli subdivision RS Industries won a tender to provide traffic control systems across the Jerusalem Municipality too – East Jerusalem, designated as the capital of the Palestinian state, was occupied in 1967, and falls within the ICJ’s mandate.

Elsewhere, Siemens provides its DDEMU model cars for the Tel Aviv Jerusalem Fast Train and, in 2018, was awarded a $1 billion contract by the entity-owned Israel Railways to supply 330 electric cars as part of Israel’s electrification project, which includes the Tel Aviv – Jerusalem Fast Train (A1).

A highly controversial project that passes through two areas of the West Bank, including privately owned, occupied Palestinian land, it is intended for exclusive use by Israeli Jews.

Don’t Buy Into Occupation (DBIO) states: “Siemens’ activities are of concern, as they are linked to the provision of services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements.”

However, the company’s activities extend far further. Through its Israeli representative, Orad Group, the company provides equipment and technology to the notorious Israel Prison Service (IPS).

In 2004, the Orad Group provided a Siemens technology-based perimeter security system to Gilboa prison — a detention center specifically designated for Palestinian political prisoners. Siemens also supplies the IPS with a sophisticated fire detection and extinguishing system.

Connecting settlements

US brand Motorola is widely recognized for its innovative smartphone devices. However, DBIO has meticulously documented the involvement of Motorola’s Tel Aviv division in settlement expansion over the past decade.

The tech giant has collaborated closely with Israeli occupation forces, the Ministry of Defense, and Zionist settlement councils across the illegally occupied territories. A prime example of this collaboration is the surveillance system “MotoEagle,” designed to monitor settlers on appropriated land, operate within occupation military bases, and oversee the Gaza concentration camp’s separation wall.

Notably, Motorola-produced radar stations have been installed on illegally appropriated private Palestinian land, restricting Palestinian movement in these areas. Furthermore, Motorola supplies the Ministry of Defense’s Zramim System, a smart card operation utilized at Israeli checkpoints to monitor goods transportation.

Palestinian drivers, merchants, and transport companies are compelled to register their personal information in this system, enabling Tel Aviv to monitor all entry and exit points meticulously.

The company is also a preferred contractor for internal security systems in numerous occupation settlements. The Jordan Valley regional council, encompassing more than 20 settlements in the occupied West Bank, employs multiple Motorola products, including command and control systems and surveillance cameras. Additionally, the Population and Immigration Authority in the settlement of Beitar Illit uses Motorola for its security needs.

In 2022, Motorola Solutions secured a contract to provide security cameras and entrance control resources for the Jerusalem Light Rail’s (JLR) entire Green Line. This route links the Gilo settlement in occupied East Jerusalem with the city center and the Ramat Eshkol, Ma’alot Dafna, and French Hill settlements, facilitating connectivity between settler enclaves and supporting settler movement. Consequently, Motorola has been listed in the UN’s database of firms profiting from illegal settlement expansion.

Powering apartheid

Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE), which split from personal computer and printer provider Hewlett Packard in 2015, is one of the most profitable US corporations. However, it is less well-known that HPE supplies and manages much of the technological infrastructure underpinning the occupation state’s apartheid and settler colonialism.

For example, HPE provides “Itanium” servers and maintenance services to Tel Aviv’s Population and Immigration Authority. This computerized Israel’s checkpoint system while storing vast amounts of information on all Palestinians with Israeli citizenship and non-citizen Palestinian residents of occupied East Jerusalem.

HPE directly contracts with the illegal settler municipalities of Modi’in Ilit and Ariel, two of the largest Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank, providing them with a range of services. Additionally, HPE maintains the central server system for the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), placing the company at the core of Tel Aviv’s use of mass incarceration to suppress Palestinian resistance. A 1994 Human Rights Watch report highlighted this by noting:

“The extraction of confessions under duress, and the acceptance into evidence of such confessions by the military courts, form the backbone of Israel’s military justice system.”

Moreover, HPE is the primary provider of the Basel system, an automated biometric access control system employed at Israeli checkpoints and the Gaza apartheid wall. ID cards distributed under Basel are integral to the systematic discrimination against Palestinians.

The checkpoints, by design, segregate and fragment the Occupied Palestinian Territories and its inhabitants, separating workers from their places of employment, students from their schools, and families from each other through electrified fences, watchtowers, and concrete barriers.

Electronic counter intifada

This system is part of a broader state of siege under which Palestinians have lived for decades, significantly intensified by the sealing off of Gaza and the West Bank. The Israeli navy, another HPE customer, relies on the company’s IT infrastructure and support services. The siege severely restricts the movement of goods and people in and out of Palestinian territories, aiming explicitly to crush Palestinian resistance.

In 2006, Dov Weisglass, an adviser to then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, explained: “The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.” It was hoped hunger pangs through limited caloric intake might encourage Palestinians to reject Hamas or at least force its fighters to temper their resistance efforts. The starvation of Palestinians has only galvanized their support for Hamas and their yearning for freedom from Israeli occupation.

The occupation state failed to crush the Palestinian resistance via Operation Swords of Iron, an effort so catastrophic that even Israeli media has branded it a “total defeat.”

Following Iran’s successful 14 April retaliatory strikes against Israel, Tel Aviv’s reign of impunity appears to be nearing its long-overdue end. It is only a matter of time before major western tech firms like HPE, which facilitated the oppression of Palestinians, will face consequences for their complicity.

This investigation is the second in a series at The Cradle that examines illegal investments by western corporations in the occupied Palestinian territories and/or that assist Israel in implementing its apartheid system. The first investigation can be found here.

July 20, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , , , , | Leave a comment

UN’s top court says Israel’s presence in Palestinian territories ‘illegal’

Press TV – July 19, 2024

The United Nations’ top court has ruled that Israel’s presence in the 1967-occupied Palestinian territories is “unlawful” and must end.

On Friday, the International Court of Justice said “Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful”, adding that the regime “is under an obligation” to end it “as rapidly as possible.”

Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East al-Quds, areas Palestinians want for a future independent state, in a 1967 war.

The 83-page advisory opinion read out by court President Nawaf Salam outlined a wide list of policies that it said violated international law, including the building and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east al-Quds.

“Israel is under obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities and to evacuate all settlers from occupied Palestinian territory,” the court said, adding that the regime must “make reparation for damage caused to all natural and legal persons concerned.”

The ruling urged all states and international organizations, including the United Nations, “not to recognize as legal” the situation arising from the unlawful presence of Israel in occupied Palestinian territory.

According to the opinion, the UN and the Security Council “should consider the precise modalities and further action required to bring to an end as rapidly as possible” to the unlawful presence of Israel in the occupied territory.

In February, a record 52 countries presented arguments at the ICJ, known as the World Court, about the legal ramifications of Israel’s actions in the territories.

This case was initiated by a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution in December 2022, before Israel’s October genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Erwin van Veen, a senior research fellow at the Clingendael think tank in The Hague, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that if the court rules that Israel’s policies in the West Bank and east al-Quds breach international law, it would “isolate Israel further internationally, at least from a legal point of view.”

He noted that such a ruling would “worsen the case for occupation. It removes any kind of legal, political, philosophical underpinning of the Israeli expansion project.”

The case is separate from another ICJ case filed against Israel by South Africa.

South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel in December 2023 over its war on the Gaza Strip. According to South Africa’s application, Israel’s actions in Gaza were “genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group.”

The ICJ’s final ruling on the broader South African case may take months if not years to rule, but the court can order urgent measures while weighing its decision.

In January, the ICJ, whose orders are legally binding but lack direct enforcement mechanisms, issued an interim ruling, ordering the occupying regime to take all measures to prevent genocide in Gaza, but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.

In May, the court ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah after South Africa asked the ICJ to order a halt to the war in Gaza, and in the refugee-packed city in particular.

While Israel ignored the ruling, the Friday opinion could add political pressure over Israel’s nine-month-old war against Gaza.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 38,848 Palestinians and injured 89,459 more. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.

July 19, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , , | Leave a comment

Palestinian Factions: The day after the war is a Palestinian internal affair

Palestinian Information Center – July 19, 2024

GAZ – The Palestinian national and Islamic factions said on Thursday evening that the day after the war on Gaza is a purely Palestinian national affair, and no external party will be allowed to interfere in the Palestinian internal affairs.

The factions stressed in a statement that the Rafah crossing is a Palestinian-Egyptian border crossing, and that the form of its management on the Palestinian side is determined by the Palestinian forces and definitely not the USA or Israel, or those who cooperate with them.

“The recent Knesset resolution which rejects the establishment of a Palestinian state takes us to the heart of the conflict with the occupier,” the statement added.

The factions called for establishing a widespread national movement aimed at “reclaiming the Palestine Liberation Organization that has been silenced for decades and for developing a national strategy and program for liberation.”

The factions’ statement comes in light of the news about a secret meeting held last week between the USA, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority, represented by its intelligence chief Majid Faraj, to discuss reopening the Rafah crossing under the control of Israel and the USA.

For 73 days, Israeli occupation forces have been occupying and closing the Gaza crossings, preventing the wounded and sick from traveling abroad for treatment or bringing in any humanitarian aid into the besieged Strip, turning a blind eye to warnings from humanitarian and relief organizations and international demands to reopen the crossings to avoid famine and to save the lives of thousands of citizens.

July 19, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , , , | Leave a comment

Israel approves resolution rejecting creation of Palestinian state

MEMO | July 18, 2024

Israeli lawmakers voted yesterday to approve a draft resolution rejecting the creation of a Palestinian state even as part of a peace agreement.

Some 68 deputies voted in favour of the bill in the General Assembly session, nine voted against it or abstained from voting, while the centrist Yesh Atid Party left the session before the vote was held, according to a statement issued by Knesset.

The resolution declares that “the Israeli Knesset opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state on any piece of land west of the Jordan River” claiming that “the existence of a Palestinian state in the heart of Israel will pose an existential threat to the State of Israel and its citizens, will further extend the Israel-Palestinian Arab conflict and be a source of destabilisation for the entire region.”

The motion concludes: “Supporting Palestinian statehood at this time would reward terrorism and serve to encourage Hamas and its supporters. Israel’s enemies will interpret it as the victorious outcome of the massacre perpetrated on October 7 and a precursor to the conquest by jihadist Islamism of the entire Middle East.”

The proposal was introduced by the opposition New Hope-United Right Party and supported by several parties within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, as well as the National Unity Party led by former War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz.

Gideon Sa’ar, a prominent Israeli lawmaker and chair of the New Hope-The United Right Party, said the resolution “aims to express the opposition that exists among the Israeli people to the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel’s security and future.”

He added that the decision sends a message to the international community, indicating that “pressures aimed at imposing a Palestinian state on Israel will not work.”

In response to the vote, Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh stated that peace and security cannot be achieved without the creation of a Palestinian state in accordance with international legitimacy.

According to the Wafa news agency, he accused Israel of terrorism resulting in the deaths of children, women and the elderly.

Abu Rudeineh emphasised that the Palestinian state is recognised globally, with 149 United Nations member states acknowledging its existence. He added that international recognitions continue to affirm that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state does not require permission or legitimacy from anyone.

He further noted that these decisions highlight Israel and its ruling coalition’s determination to destabilise the entire region, holding the US accountable for its bias and unwavering support.

The vote comes after an earlier decision this year by the Knesset to reject any “unilateral” international recognition of a Palestinian state.

July 18, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , | Leave a comment

Hezbollah-affiliated group launches 1st operation against Israel since Al-Aqsa Flood

MEMO | July 14, 2024

The Lebanese Resistance Brigades, a paramilitary group linked to Hezbollah, claimed responsibility yesterday for a military operation against Israel in southern Lebanon. This announcement marks the group’s first since the launch of Al-Aqsa Flood last year.

Founded by Hezbollah in 1997, the Brigades include volunteer fighters from various Lebanese sects. On Friday, they reported launching rockets at the Israeli ‘Rweisat al-Qarn’ site in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms, achieving a “direct hit.” Hezbollah and Israel have engaged in near-daily exchanges of fire since the war on Gaza began.

Hezbollah which supports Hamas has vowed to cease attacks only with a Gaza ceasefire. The Lebanese government and Hezbollah rejected the occupation state’s demand to evacuate the border area of Hezbollah fighters. Nabih Berri’s parliamentary bloc welcomed international efforts to end Israel’s aggression against Gaza and opposed establishing buffer zones in Lebanon.

In October, the Lebanese Resistance Brigades lost two of its fighters, Ali Kamal Abdel Aal “Jihad” and Hussein Hassan Abdel Aal “Bilal”, from the town of Helta in southern Lebanon, who were martyred while performing their national duty, reports Al Mayadeen.

Cross-border fire continues, with a Lebanese army vehicle recently hit by Israeli gunfire. The personnel escaped unharmed. The Brigades affirmed their mission to resist Israeli occupation and liberate Lebanese territories.

July 14, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , , , | Leave a comment

Palestinians and international human rights observers arrested in Masafer Yatta, occupied West Bank

International Solidarity Movement | July 7, 2024

Israeli Occupation forces arrested three Palestinians, including a 14 year old child, together with three internationals (including a US citizen) and one Israeli human rights observer in at-Tuwani, Masafer Yatta, in the South Hebron Hills area.

This morning, armed Israeli settler shepherds invaded Palestinian land with their flocks, provoked the family that was working on their land and attempted to steal one of their donkeys. The Palestinians tried to prevent them from going on their land and were attacked by the settlers. They called the police to remove the settlers, but the army and police chose to arrest three Palestinians, one of whom is a 14 year old child, three international and one Israeli human rights observers. No settlers were detained. They have all been taken to an Israeli police station. As of 5.45 pm (Jerusalem time), the family has been released but the human rights observers remain under custody.

The family, including the child, was already detained for around 3 hours on their land a couple of weeks ago and they have suffered numerous attacks over the years from violent settlers and the army. A couple of weeks ago, settlers cut newly planted trees and destroyed the water connections.

Land theft and ethnic cleansing have spiralled since October 7 in Masafer Yatta, and in other areas of the occupied West Bank. Israeli settlers who live in illegal settlements have been heavily armed and have escalated harassment and threats towards Palestinian communities, with the backing of the Israeli occupation forces. Umm al-Khair, one of the villages in Masafer Yatta, has lately come under almost daily attack from settlers and the army. On June 26, occupation forces demolished a dozen structures in Umm al-Khair displacing dozens of residents, including children. Since then, settlers have raided the village, shot live ammunition, erected a tent in the village and destroyed the water system, leaving the whole community of Umm al Khair without access to water.

On July 4, settlers carried out a pogrom in the village of Khalet a Dabaa. About 200 settlers reached the village at midnight, set agricultural land and trees on fire and attacked villagers, shot live ammunition and kidnapped a villager. An Italian activist from the NGO Mediterranea was also badly beaten. There are daily incidents in Masafer Yatta, with settlers coming on what remains of Palestinian land to herd in order to harass and push Palestinians further away from their land.

These are not isolated incidents. They are a part of a bigger plan of annexation of the West Bank/Area C. Between October 7 and July 1, over 1,050 attacks from settlers on Palestinians have been recorded by OCHA. At the beginning of March, Israeli authorities approved the construction of almost 3,500 illegal housing units in settlements around the West Bank. More recently, almost 5,295 new illegal housing units have been approved. This all comes amidst the biggest land seizure in the West Bank in over 30 years. Far-right Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has vowed to bring a million more settlers under his expansion plan.

In a quiet move, about a month ago, more control was moved from the Israeli army’s civil administration to the recently established governmental body “Settlement Administration”, led by Smotrich. Last Thursday, Orit Strock, Minister of Settlements and National Missions, was reported praising a master plan to build over 100 housing units in the South Hebron Hills area, saying this was “a miracle time” and “a sacred mission,” highlighting her efforts to invest in the area.

All of this is happening while the Israeli authorities are repressing human rights solidarity in the area, with at least six more international and three Israeli human rights observers banned from the area in the previous few weeks, with the aim of isolating Palestinian communities and promoting their propaganda unchecked.

July 7, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , , , | Leave a comment

Israel approves largest seizure of West Bank lands in 3 decades

MEMO | July 3, 2024

The Israeli army seized a large area of ​​Palestinian land south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, according to a Palestinian government agency on Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

“The Occupation authorities decided to seize a total of 12,715 dunams (3,141 acres) of land belonging to citizens in the village of Aqraba, south-east of Nablus,” the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission said in a statement.

The Commission said Israel designated the seized territory as “state land” to “convert citizens’ lands into an expanding settlement project”.

The decision was “part of a larger plan to control the eastern slopes of the West Bank, particularly those adjacent to the Jordan Valley and its outskirts by seizing vast areas in this region,” the statement said.

Since the beginning of 2024, Israeli authorities have issued four announcements converting private Palestinian lands into state lands, thereby prohibiting Palestinian citizens from accessing, cultivating or reclaiming them, the Commission noted.

The statement indicated that the area declared as “state land” in these announcements totals 24,000 dunams (5,930 acres).

According to the Commission, the total area of ​​land seized under various designations since the start of 2024 has reached 39,000 dunams (9,637 acres).

On Tuesday, the Commission’s semi-annual report highlighted the establishment of 17 new Jewish-only settlement outposts, while the Israeli government granted legal status to 11 other outposts.

Settlement outposts are small communities established by illegal Israeli settlers on privately owned Palestinian land without approval from the Israeli government.

Estimates indicate that around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in roughly 300 illegal settlements in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

All Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories are considered illegal under international law.

July 3, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , , , | Leave a comment

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