United for Gaza: Time now for Palestinians to protect their collective sumud
By Ramzy Baroud | MEMO | November 28, 2023
Shortly after the start of a four-day ceasefire in the war on Gaza, the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium, Pedro Sanchez and Alexander De Croo, appeared in a joint press conference at the Rafah Crossing.
While Sanchez described “what is happening (as) a disaster,” De Croo called for a “permanent cessation of hostilities” and for an end to the killing of children.
Equally significant, the two European leaders declared that “we may decide to recognise the State of Palestine, if the European Union does not.”
Coupled with the strong position of Ireland, some in Europe seem to be waking up to the fact that the Israeli occupation is the primary cause of the recent Gaza ‘hostilities’.
Israel was not pleased by the evolving European position. It immediately summoned the ambassadors of both countries and sharply ‘rebuked’ them. This exaggerated response comes to show that Israel is not willing to give Europe even the narrowest of margins – as in condemning the killing of children or, expecting some kind of a peaceful settlement centered round Palestinian sovereignty.
Spain and Belgium’s phrase of “we may decide” to recognise Palestine even without EU consensus is indicative of an actual foreign policy schism within Europe itself. It turned out that not all EU governments have the same tolerance towards the genocide in Gaza as, for example, Germany and Britain.
Interestingly, other EU officials, too, are calling for a Palestinian State, though their intention is neither to ensure Palestinian freedom nor to safeguard Palestinian rights.
EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell, for example, argued on 20 November that “the creation of a Palestinian state would be the best way of ensuring Israel’s security”.
Even the former British prime minister, now secretary of state for foreign affairs, used similar logic. Israel will not have security unless it guarantees “long-term safety, security and stability” for the Palestinian people, David Cameron said.
Regardless of the reasoning behind the growing emphasis on a ‘solution’ and rights for the Palestinians, this language was almost entirely absent from the Western political discourse prior to 7 October.
The truth is that Palestinians have succeeded, through their resistance and sumud, to reassert Palestine on the global agenda. But how did Palestinians succeed in doing so, despite the utter marginalisation of their cause before the war?
First, unlike previous wars, especially those that preceded the Unity Intifada of May 2021, this time around Palestinians spoke in unison.
Without rehearsing or even coordinating, it felt as if the Palestinian message flew seamlessly, when all Palestinians, regardless of their ideological backgrounds, placed the focus on the Israeli atrocities, without falling into the trap of the typical factional blame game.
Even children who have lost members of their families in Gaza would stand bravely in front of cameras reiterating that they will never weaken and that nothing would remove them from their homeland. Young and old repeated the same logic, used similar language, even from their hospital beds.
This led Israel to do everything in its power to excommunicate the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza from the rest of the world, shutting down the internet, electricity and any form of communications, even among Palestinians themselves.
Yet, somehow, a clear, united Palestinian message continued, amplified countless times by an army of social media activists who impressively helped balance out mainstream media bias, eventually overpowering corporate media’s control over the war narrative altogether.
The Palestinians have done this, and more, without powerful lobby groups, media consultants or a hasbara machine, like that which attempted, to no avail, to sway the public opinion in favour of Israel.
Secondly, the factional Palestinian suddenly disappeared.
For years, factional narratives, dividing Palestinians into conflicting interest groups, have thwarted the Palestinian people’s attempt to unify behind a single leadership – one that is capable of conveying, representing and defending Palestinian political aspirations.
Yet, all the Fatah-Hamas talks and agreements have failed, leaving the people with no other alternative but to explore different manifestations of unity that go beyond the interests of politicians.
This unity is now on full display, compelling everyone, including those affiliated with the Palestinian Authority itself, to adhere to the line of the people. While Gazans fought to free prisoners in the West Bank, West Bankers rose, and died in large numbers, in defence of Gaza.
This popular unity must continue, so that it would eventually be harnessed in the form of political unity, which will bring all Palestinian groups together under a single leadership. This is the only way to ensure the tremendous Palestinian sacrifices and the precious blood that spilled in Gaza, eventually translate into the freedom that all Palestinians covet.
Thirdly, unity beyond Palestine also proved critical.
Arabs and Muslims served as the core of Palestinian solidarity throughout the Israeli war on Gaza. They protested, boycotted, fought and mobilised. Moreover, tens of millions of people, beyond the confines of the Arab and Muslim worlds, also marched around Palestinian rights and priorities.
Indeed, whole new conversations on Palestine are now occupying many public spheres around the globe. The Global South is once more embracing the struggle for Palestine, while the Global North is challenging governments, big corporations and mainstream media for justifying, supporting and financing the Israeli genocide.
The Palestinian people will now have to lead and direct this momentum of solidarity so that it may serve their righteous objectives, those of equality, justice and freedom – all enshrined in international law.
No public space should be left without engagement, no audience should be overlooked or neglected, and no stone should be left unturned in the search of that critical mass needed to hold Israel accountable for its crimes.
Western leaders and officials are speaking out now because they understand that the Palestinian cause has become a global one, and that the prolonging of Israeli occupation and apartheid will not bode well, neither for Tel Aviv nor for the collective West.
It is time for Palestinians to utilise this significant moment. It is time for them to lead the process of their own liberation. In fact, in Gaza, Jenin and elsewhere, this process has already begun.
Israel’s Greatest Failure: Hamas Stays and More Popular than Ever
By Robert Inlakesh | Covert Geopolitics | November 28, 2023
After repeatedly rejecting a truce with Hamas and labeling the idea “ridiculous”, Israel agreed to a four-day cessation of hostilities in Gaza and a prisoner exchange.
Six weeks of death and destruction, which Israeli and Western leaders declared should have led to the destruction of Hamas, have now bolstered the Palestinian movement’s image throughout the Arab world and beyond.
The four-day truce that was implemented this Friday provided a sigh of relief for those most affected by the war in the Gaza Strip, but has in many ways spelled disaster for the Israeli government. As women and children, held captive by both Hamas and Israel, are being reunited with their families, the threat of further warfare looms.
Although the loved ones of those released are now celebrating, the next steps will be crucial in determining the final outcomes of the 46-day battle that has now been placed on pause. At this time, it appears that the idea that “Hamas must go” is no more than a pipe dream.
On October 27, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to the sound of overwhelming applause, calling for a truce to stop the fighting in the Gaza Strip. Although the non-binding resolution passed with a majority of 120 votes in favour, Israel and the United States outright rejected it.
Tabled by Arab nations, the call for a truce was labeled as a “defense of Nazi terrorists” by Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN. This came after Hamas released four Israeli civilian hostages without conditions, for what the group said were humanitarian reasons.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others in his emergency war government, have repeatedly stated their goal of crushing Hamas and allied Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, refusing to negotiate with them.
The six-week-long aerial bombardment of densely populated civilian areas in the besieged Palestinian enclave, which also morphed into a ground war, has claimed over 20,000 lives according to some estimates, but failed to eliminate Hamas.
In fact, Israeli forces have not been able to show a single significant military achievement against the Palestinian armed groups. While Hamas claim to have struck 355 Israeli military vehicles during the past two weeks of fighting, publishing video evidence of dozens of attacks, Israeli forces have failed to assassinate senior leaders of Hamas, to free hostages by force, uncover major tunnel networks, or even publish proof that they have killed a significant number of Hamas fighters on the battlefield.
According to the Calcalist financial newspaper, the Gaza war was estimated early on to cost around $50 billion, roughly 10% of Israel’s GDP. In addition to this, the Israeli military has reportedly suffered losses in intelligence and monitoring equipment along their northern border, due to attacks carried out by the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Yemen’s Ansarallah also seized a ship in the Red Sea, owned by an Israeli businessman, which has severely impacted trade through the southern port city of Eilat. This is not factoring in the inevitable long-term effects on things like Israel’s tourism sector or investment in its high-tech industry.
On top of this, we have seen immense pressure being placed upon US forces throughout Syria and Iraq, with daily attacks occurring against their military facilities, for the sole purpose of pressuring Washington to force an end to Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
Across the Arab World, the general public is also boycotting Western products on an unprecedented scale, in particular companies like McDonalds that have shown support for the Israeli army.
The blatant double standards of the collective West’s political and economic elites, as well as the establishment media, are also being severely criticized, as the likes of the BBC are feeling the heat for biased reporting on the issue of Palestine-Israel.
Instead of facing the wrath of the whole world and getting crushed, Hamas has not only survived, but is becoming more popular. While US President Joe Biden’s administration provided excuses for Israel’s invasions and bombings of hospitals in the Gaza Strip, claiming that Hamas has maintained a significant presence in places like the recently-raided al-Shifa Hospital, the world has risen in outrage against the atrocities Israel has committed in the Palestinian territory.
UN relief chief, Martin Griffiths, has called the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza “the worst ever,” and it’s seen as a direct result of the US having drawn “no red lines” for Israel’s behavior in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Hamas scores victory after victory, from a guerilla warfare and political perspective, while its military capabilities appear to have been undiminished so far.
The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, that launched their attack on Israel on October 7, have managed to shift the world’s attention back onto the issue of Palestine, have freed political prisoners held in Israeli detention, while inflicting blow after blow against one of the most powerful military forces in the world.
Since the Kerry Peace Plan, which was a failed initiative set forward under the administration of Barack Obama, the US government has not made any real effort towards creating a viable Palestinian state.
In fact, until October 7, nobody was talking about a Palestinian state, the focus was instead on the issue of Saudi-Israeli normalization. It was clearly the shared belief of the Israeli and US governments that Hamas could be contained with the periodic issuance of Qatari aid grants, while the Palestinian Authority was to be strengthened only to deal with a number of militias that have formed in the West Bank over the past two years.
Today, the whole world is talking about the formation of a Palestinian state. There is also the notion of bringing the Palestinian Authority into power in the Gaza Strip, which would essentially mean the lifting of the 17-year economic blockade that the West has imposed on it. The issue of protecting the status-quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is also on the regional agenda in a serious way, while the government of Benjamin Netanyahu veers towards collapse.
If Israel and its Western backers choose to escalate the conflict further instead of finding a peaceful settlement, the war threatens to extend into a broader regional conflict; a threat to the stability of all nations involved. The pursuit of a ceasefire agreement can usher in a new era in the conflict, one in which Hamas will remain.
Peace is in the interests of the entire region, we have seen what the Israeli army has to offer and it has not resulted in the defeat of Palestinian armed groups, it has only scored a blow against civilians in Gaza.
This will be a hard pill for the Western governments to swallow, but the only solution to safeguarding civilian life and securing the release of all prisoners, will be through a peaceful resolution, not through more violence.
Israel has been unable to achieve any meaningful victories against the Palestinian militants.
Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the Palestinian territories and currently works with Quds News. Director of ‘Steal of the Century: Trump’s Palestine-Israel Catastrophe’. Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47
Israeli ship changes course in light of ‘Yemeni threat’
The Cradle | November 28, 2023
A container vessel operated by Israeli shipping company Zim changed its course to avoid passing through the Bab al-Mandab strait in fear of attacks from Yemen, the company announced in a statement on 27 November.
“In light of the threat to the safe transit of global trade in the Arabian and Red Seas, Zim is taking temporary proactive measures to ensure the safety of its crews, vessels, and customers’ cargo by rerouting some of its vessels,” the statement reads.
“As a result of these measures, longer transit times in the relevant Zim services are anticipated, though every effort is being made to minimize disruptions.”
According to information from data provider MarineTraffic, the Zim Europe, which was on its way from Boston to Malaysia’s Port Klang, passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea on Friday.
It continued east before turning in the opposite direction on Saturday and heading back towards the Atlantic Ocean.
The Zim Europe vessel’s decision to change course comes in the wake of recent Yemeni military operations carried out by Yemen’s Sanaa government in support of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
These operations include numerous drone and missile attacks on Israeli targets, as well as more recent maritime operations carried out by Ansarallah and Yemen’s Armed Forces, targeting Israeli-linked vessels.
Yemeni naval forces intercepted and captured the Israeli-owned Galaxy Leader vessel on 19 November, detaining dozens of crew members who were on board.
The operation followed official warnings that the Yemeni armed forces would target all Israeli shipping in the Red Sea.
An Israeli-owned ship sailing the Indian Ocean was targeted in a drone attack less than one week later, on 25 November. The spokesman for the Yemeni military, Yahya al-Saree, posted the word Zim on social media that day, suggesting involvement in the attack.
The post also suggested that one of Zim’s vessels was the target of the operation. Reuters said the targeted ship was identified as a Malta-flagged CMA CGM SYMI, renamed Mayet.
The ship was said to have been rented by an Israeli-owned shipping firm, Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS).
Yemeni journalist Ali al-Nassi revealed via social media on 25 November that the Zim company has been involved in arms transfers to Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen.
Zim is “contracted with the forces of Saudi Arabia and the [Saudi-led] coalition … to transport weapons and ammunition to Yemen.”
“The last of these shipments arrived at Hadhramaut in February 2022,” he added.
Explainer: Why are Celtic fans staunch supporters of Palestinian cause?
By Ivan Kesic | Press TV | November 26, 2023
Amid the Israeli regime’s devastating blitzkrieg on the blockaded Gaza Strip, a football club based in Glasgow has grabbed headlines in recent weeks for its support of Palestine.
Despite the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) slapping fine on the Celtic Football Club, the club fans have vowed to continue their support for Palestine against the Israeli occupation.
On Wednesday, Europe’s top football body announced a new fine of $19,000 against the club over a “number of incidents” during its Champions League match against Atletico Madrid in late October, which ended in a 2-2 draw.
Celtic was ordered to shell out €17,500 for its supporters’ displaying “a provocative message of an offensive nature,” €8,000 for “blocking of public passageways” and €3,500 for “lighting of fireworks.”
The club fans, led by the Green Brigade group, were heard singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ while unfurling two large banners that read ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Victory to the Resistance’.
The Green Brigade was banned by the Scottish club in October from attending its away matches but has remained insistent on showing support for Palestine by displaying its flags at Celtic matches.
Two pro-Palestinian displays
The incident took place at the match between Celtic and Atletico on October 25 at the club’s home ground Celtic Park in Glasgow, attended by 60,000 Celtic fans, including the Green Brigade group.
As the start of the Champions League group stage match approached, the stadium turned into a sea of Palestinian flags, every stand awash with the colors of Palestine in a show of solidarity with those bombed and killed by the Israeli occupying regime in the Gaza Strip.
A few days earlier, after a home match against Kilmarnock, Celtic fans strongly criticized the broadcasters for not wanting to show the North Curve corner section with Palestinian flags displayed.
This time the media was not able to cover up anything because the Palestinian symbolism was not limited to one corner of the stand, but the whole stadium was painted with colors of the Palestinian flag.
Spectacular photos and videos of pro-Palestinian Celtic fans, singing collectively “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” quickly spread around the world and were shared by millions of netizens on social media.
During the earlier Scottish premiership match against Kilmarnock in Glasgow on October 7, the Green Brigade displayed two large banners saying “Free Palestine” and “Victory to the Resistance.”
Defiance of club appeals
Two days after the 3-1 victory against Kilmarnock, the club’s board distanced itself from the fan group’s show of solidarity, issuing a statement saying “Celtic is a football club and not a political organization.”
“We ask that banners, flags and symbols relating to the conflict and those countries involved in it are not displayed at Celtic Park at this time,” the club said in a statement before the game against Atletico.
However, the Green Brigade ignored the club’s directives and, on the contrary, called on all Celtic fans to raise the Palestine flag during the club’s UEFA Champions League match.
“We must apply learning from apartheid South Africa to dismantle apartheid Israel; if we are neutral in situations of injustice, we have chosen the side of the oppressor,” the Green Brigade said in a counter-statement.
“We send our sincere solidarity and prayers to our friends across all of Palestine at this traumatic time when yet again much of the international community turns its back in cowardice while war crimes are inflicted on a largely defenseless, imprisoned population.”
Keeping the fan tradition
In another statement, issued as a response to the club’s appeals, the Green Brigade also highlighted their tradition of supporting the oppressed and criticized hypocrisy by the political and media class.
“Football remains one of the few areas of public life where working-class people have genuine political agency, and we will not be dictated to by an elitist board that has repeatedly demonstrated contempt for the history and traditions of Celtic FC,” the fan club said.
“Celtic was born out of famine and oppression, a product of colonial rule, death and the mass displacement of people. It is because of this history that Celtic fans are renowned for their empathy and solidarity; consistently siding with the oppressed and destitute,” they added.
It slammed the “hypocrisy” of the club staff, which it said is in line with “much of the political and media class, epitomized through the example of Ukraine.”
“Political messaging was welcome at Celtic Park then, yet it is being condemned now,” the statement noted. “The question on any reasonable mind should be – why? Why are Ukrainian lives more sacred than Palestinian lives.”
The fans referred to the fact that some months ago, pro-Ukrainian support on the pitches and sports stadiums was not prohibited but encouraged, ibyUEFA’s official policy.
While the Green Brigade is renowned for its Irish Republicanism and steadfast support for Palestine, fans of Celtic’s local rival Rangers have in turn supported the Israeli regime when facing Celtic.
In recent weeks, Rangers fans have waved Israeli regime flags and held a minute’s silence for the Israeli victims, but the club has not been punished for such actions.
Humanity of the club
The support of Celtic fans is much more than waving flags and is not a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza, they have been organizing pro-Palestinian support since the 2000s.
In 2012, they organized a display of solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike, featuring a banner reading “Dignity is More Precious than Food” alongside Palestinian flags.
Their most noble pro-Palestinian action came in 2016 after UEFA fined them £8,600 for flying Palestinian flags in a match against Israeli club Hapoel Beer-Sheva.
Defiant as always, the Green Brigade launched a crowdfunding campaign and ultimately a remarkable £176,076 was raised and split between two beneficiaries that provide medical aid to Palestinians.
One of the results of those donations was the establishment of the refugee football club Aida Celtic, based in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.
The Green Brigade has continued with humanitarian actions in recent weeks, collecting donations for health organizations that help the Palestinian people.
Interestingly, the club was formed in 1888 by Brother Walfrid, an Irish Catholic cleric, to raise money for poor Irish immigrants in the West of Scotland, according to reports.
So, as it appears, the foundation of the Scottish club itself was based on a human cause.
Thousands-Strong Rally Takes Place in Berlin for Negotiations on Gaza, Ukraine
Sputnik – 25.11.2023
BERLIN – A rally organized by left-wing German politician Sahra Wagenknecht took place in Thousands-Strong Rally Takes Place in Berlin for Negotiations on Gaza, Ukraineon Saturday with thousands of participants rallying against the supply of weapons to Ukraine and for a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
In an opening speech, Wagenknecht accused the German government of applying double standards in its assessment of the Ukrainian conflict and the “merciless bombing” in the Gaza Strip, the correspondent reported.
The politician criticized the government’s spending on the German military production at a time when the nation faces several internal problems, such as a shortage of teachers, hospital closures and aging infrastructure. She also criticized the government’s decision to stop holding down energy and electricity prices.
“And immediately it was about cutting spending on those least able to fend for themselves,” Wagenknecht said.
In leaflets distributed to demonstrators, protest organizers called for peace talks in all the world’s conflict zones, the report read. After the speech, rally participants marched past the Bundestag and back to the original meeting point, carrying placards calling for peace and an end to Russophobia, the Sputnik correspondent reported.
On October 23, Wagenknecht, who had criticized Germany’s military aid to Kiev and sanctions against Russia, said she had left the Left Party and intended to found a new political party with several close associates that would stand for “reason and justice.” About 14% of Germans were ready to support the new party, polls showed.
Palestine’s days of glory
By lecridespeuples | Resistance News Unfiltered | November 25, 2023
Just two months ago, no one could have predicted the earthquake of October 7, which was by no means a massacre perpetrated by Hamas, but a spectacular military operation that decimated the Gaza Brigade in less than 3 hours.
And after the deluge of iron and fire that fell on the besieged Palestinian people, in a real war of extermination waged by the fanatical, distraught and desperate Netanyahu government, eager to wash away Israel’s defeat in blood, the hideous face of the temporary usurping entity was revealed to the world: its insatiable morbid thirst, its open contempt for the most elementary morality and the rule of law displayed with the medieval blockade on drinking water, foodstuffs, electricity and fuel, its deliberate targeting of hospitals, women and children killed by the thousands, down to premature babies asphyxiated by the dozens as a result of their incubators being shut down, all part of an assumed plan to render the territory of Gaza uninhabitable and deport over two million Palestinians to the Sinai desert. Faced with such an apocalyptic scenario, who could have imagined that Hamas would be able to bring the enemy to heel in less than two months?
The prisoner exchange agreement that has just been signed is no more and no less than what Hamas proposed from the outset: a partial exchange (men for men, women for women and children for children), or a total exchange (all Palestinian prisoners for all Israeli prisoners). The people of Gaza, subjected to a savage assault unprecedented in modern history, pushed to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe of biblical proportions, abandoned by all (with the notable exception of the Axis of Resistance, in particular Hezbollah, Yemen and the Iraqi resistance), held firm and stayed the course despite unimaginable suffering. Once again, it was Israel, “more fragile than a spider’s web” in Nasrallah’s famous words at the Liberation of southern Lebanon in 2000, that had to bend, bogged down in the sands of Gaza in the face of heroic urban guerrilla warfare, as it failed from achieving the slightest military feat: rockets have continued to reach Tel Aviv and beyond, no area of Gaza is safe for the occupying forces bled dry by constant attacks that have killed and wounded hundreds of soldiers (official Israeli casualty figures are only a fraction of the reality), no leading (or even second-tier) Resistance cadres have been killed, and the populations of Gaza evacuated to the south are returning en masse to the north, braving every danger.
This is a truly historic achievement. The tiny Gaza Strip forced the occupier to yield in less than 50 days, whereas it took two years for a prisoner exchange to be concluded between Israel and Hezbollah in 2008, and more than 5 years for Hamas to release Gilad Shalit in 2011, in exchange for more than 1,000 prisoners (including Yahya Sinwar, the current Hamas leader in Gaza).
Israel’s humiliation could not be greater. And it’s not just Netanyahu, but the whole entity: government, army and society, which are closer than ever to collapse. Zionist leaders promised never to agree to a ceasefire before they annihilate Hamas, but now they’re giving in to al-Qassam’s every whim. And, the icing on the cake, the Israeli prisoners were not being held in southern Gaza, but in the north, shelled, occupied and raked by the occupier, who was chasing the mirage of liberating its citizens by force, coercion and mass terrorism.
Since 1948, the massacres perpetrated by Israel have aimed to drive the Palestinian people to despair, division and renunciation, but they have only served to push them ever more resolutely onto the path of armed resistance. Hamas once again demonstrated the validity of this choice on October 7, and the unity of the Palestinian people and their cause despite geographical and political separation, by overexposing Gaza to come to the aid of Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel’s disproportionate reaction, motivated by rage, the quest for revenge and the will to impose collective punishment on the Palestinians in order to break them and set them against the Resistance, failed miserably and even led to the opposite result: far beyond Palestine, the monstrosity of the occupying army convinced more people than ever of the impossibility of peaceful coexistence. This prisoner exchange, snatched up in record time, will only strengthen the conviction of the Palestinian and Arab-Muslim peoples that the armed struggle is the only possible path to Liberation, and increase its appeal, strength and power tenfold.
The scenes of jubilation in Palestine, whether in Gaza or the West Bank, celebrating the release of Palestinian women and children imprisoned by Israel, will be remembered as one of the greatest days of triumph for Palestinian resistance. Only a people of indomitable character, truly a legendary people, could wrest such a victory from the occupier. In its impotent rage, Israel increased the number of raids on the homes of the families of the prisoners who were about to be released, banning the festivities and confiscating pastries and sweets, even threatening the freed children with recapture if they took part in any public gathering, but it was an effort as pitiful as it was futile. The Palestinian people are indomitable, and no threat could prevent them from celebrating this resounding victory of David over Goliath.
As for the freed Israelis, in view of the public relations disaster caused by 83-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz’s statements following her release by Hamas on humanitarian grounds, in which she praised the humanity of her captors whom she had gratefully shaken hands with, the only “festivities” planned are interrogation by the Shin Bet and a ban on speaking to the media, except to make statements pre-written by the Israeli propaganda machine. While this will be a great relief for the families of the freed captives, it is a day of mourning for Israel.
One question remains: did the release of a few hundred, or even all, of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners (for already, this outcome seems inescapable) justify all these sacrifices? More than 20,000 dead, half of them women and children, Dantean destruction, untold suffering, and a veritable programmed annihilation of the Gaza Strip? The answer lies first and foremost with the Palestinian people. And there is no doubt about it. Yes, a thousand times yes.
When a Palestinian asked Hanane Barghouti, who had just been released, what message she had for the children of Gaza, and in particular for the thousands of them killed by Israeli bombardment, she replied: “O children of Gaza, we will meet again in paradise. We will meet again in paradise. And this victory is yours.“
This has been the message of the people of Gaza since October 7. There are countless videos of men, women and children emerging from the rubble, the sole survivors of their families, finding themselves alone in the world and deprived of everything, and pledging again their loyalty to the Resistance. Even as they embrace the lifeless bodies of their children, Palestinians cry out that “As long as the Resistance is well, all is well.”
The scale of the massacres and suffering inflicted on the people of Gaza is beyond comprehension; but their patience, resilience and unwavering attachment to their cause are even greater. As Khader Adnan, the martyred prisoner who repeatedly defeated the occupation from within the gaols through his hunger strikes, put it,
“Some fight for their daily bread, but others fight for something nobler, namely our freedom, dignity and honor. Dignity can’t be bought, it can’t be sold, but it can be snatched by force, by empty stomachs. They want to break our dignity and yours, but we defend our honor and yours. Why are we abandoning Hisham [Abu Hawash, a Palestinian prisoner who spent 141 days on hunger strike before winning his case]? Who are we abandoning him to? To which dogs among the settlers? To [Naftali] Bennett? To [Benny] Gantz? When their bestiality is well known? Have we lost all dignity to let the occupation trample us like this? Have we lost all honor? Have we lost all our trump cards, to the point of letting the occupier kill our dignity by killing Hisham?”
Indeed, it’s not just a question of freeing prisoners: beyond this imperative ethical, humanitarian and national duty, it’s a question of reaffirming the dignity of an entire people, and reminding the world that its struggle is sacred and will only cease with martyrdom or victory. For rather than wait for illusory help from the international community or the Arab League, rather than let themselves be killed slowly and disappear in silence, the Palestinian people listened to Khader Adnan’s exhortations and preferred to take matters into their own hands to acquire their freedom, whatever the price.
At the end, it’s the struggle for the liberation of ALL Palestine that’s at stake. This prisoner-exchange agreement is a major milestone in this process, and has shattered all of Netanyahu’s illusions: while he dreamed of definitively liquidating the Palestinian cause, he will probably go down in history as the main gravedigger of the usurping entity.
The colonial anachronism that is Israel, created at a time when the old empires were collapsing, will not disappear without violence, because any struggle for decolonization and liberation requires immense sacrifices. In the eyes of the Palestinians, none will ever be too great for Al-Quds (Jerusalem), the Al-Aqsa mosque and the land of Palestine. Not to mention their priceless dignity.
Through their unrivalled courage, unyielding determination and heroic resistance, the Palestinian people have not only wrested their rights and dignity from Israel: they have commanded the respect and even admiration of the entire world, and put their struggle back at the forefront of international issues.
This dazzling victory is only a prelude to others, far more spectacular.
Western brands hit hard by boycott campaign against Israeli goods
Workers at an empty Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant, November 20, 2023. (Photo by Reuters)
Press TV – November 23, 2023
A boycott campaign against Israeli products over the occupying regime’s war on the Gaza Strip has severely affected Western fast-food giants in several Arab countries, with the move having the potential to spread to other countries across the globe.
Weeks after Israel waged a brutal war on the besieged Gaza Strip, a boycott campaign against Israeli goods started to gain momentum in Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, significantly hitting Western fast-food giants like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and KFC.
The impacted companies are either perceived to have taken pro-Israeli stances in the war or are alleged to have financial ties to Israel or investments there.
According to the Gaza-based health ministry, at least 14,532 Palestinians, including 6,000 children and 3,920 women, have been killed and more than 35,000 others injured by Israeli strikes since October 7, when the Israeli regime launched a full-scale war on the densely-populated enclave.
“I feel that even if I know this will not have a massive impact on the war, then this is the least we can do as citizens of different nations so we don’t feel like our hands are covered in blood,” said 31-year-old Cairo resident Reham Hamed, who is boycotting US fast food chains and some cleaning products.
As the global pressure is mounting on Tel Aviv over its atrocities in the Palestinian sliver, there are signs that the boycott campaign is also spreading in some other Arab countries, including Kuwait and Morocco.
The boycott calls of the protest campaign have already circulated on social media and expanded to include dozens of companies and products, urging shoppers to shift to local alternatives.
In Jordan, citizens who support the protest campaign sometimes enter McDonald’s and Starbucks branches in the country to encourage a few customers to take their business elsewhere.
“No one is buying these products,” said Ahmad Al-Zaro, a cashier at a large supermarket in the capital Amman where customers were choosing local brands instead.
The current boycott campaign could be considered the latest part of the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against the Israeli regime.
The BDS movement, which is modeled after the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, was initiated in 2005 by over 170 Palestinian organizations that were pushing for “various forms of boycott against Israel until it meets its obligations under international law.”
Thousands of volunteers worldwide have since joined the BDS movement, which calls for people and groups across the world to cut economic, cultural, and academic ties to Tel Aviv to help promote the Palestinian cause.
The movement has been so successful in causing economic damage to the Tel Aviv regime that pro-Israel groups have labeled it “an existential threat.”
Arab states called on to cut ties with Israel, stop hosting US military bases
MEMO | November 22, 2023
1,000 boats to leave Turkiye for Gaza waters in new ‘Freedom Flotilla’
MEMO | November 21, 2023
Approximately 1,000 international boats will gather in Turkiye on Wednesday before heading toward Gaza to break the Israeli blockade, Turkish media reports.
According to the report, in an interview with Turkish news website, Haber7, Volkan Okcu, one of the organisers of the protest, indicated the boats will carry 4,500 people from 40 countries, “including anti-Zionist Jews”.
Among the 1,000 vessels would be 313 boats filled with Russian activists, and 104 filled with Spanish activists, he said. Only 12 Turkish vessels will join the flotilla, he told Haber7.
The maritime convoy is set to make a first stop in Cyprus before continuing toward the Israeli port of Ashdod. Some participants in the flotilla will also reportedly take their spouses and children on board.
Putin names Russia’s ‘sacred duty’ in Gaza
RT | November 22, 2023
Moscow has a moral obligation to deliver humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza, Russian President Vladimir Putin argued on Wednesday. The day before, he told other BRICS leaders that he had been moved by videos depicting Palestinian children being operated on without anesthesia.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) accused Israel of routinely targeting medical facilities. The international watchdog also said that child deaths were an everyday occurrence in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Addressing the Russian cabinet via video link, President Putin said: “This is a very important, humanitarian, noble mission. We need to help people suffering as a result of the ongoing events.”
The Russian leader went on to describe the provision of aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza as “our sacred duty.”
Attending an extraordinary BRICS online summit a day prior, the president noted that the “death of thousands of people, the mass displacement of the civilian population and the humanitarian catastrophe that has erupted” are cause for the “deepest concern.”
“When you watch how children are being operated on with no anesthesia – this of course arouses very special feelings,” Putin added.
While securing humanitarian truces is a key task in the short term, Moscow would like to see a lasting peace in the region, he noted. This can only be achieved on the basis of previous UN resolutions that call for the creation of two states – Israel and Palestine, the president said.
According to Putin, other BRICS member states share Russia’s stance in many respects, as demonstrated by the way they have voted at the UN General Assembly.
The group, he argued, could “play a key role” in resolving the decades-old conflict.
Earlier this month, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the UN Security Council that “on average, a child is killed every ten minutes in Gaza.” The official also said that Israel had attacked medical facilities, ambulances and patients in Gaza and the West Bank on at least 250 occasions since October 7, bringing the medical system in Gaza to “its knees.”
Israel unleashed its military operation following a deadly raid by Hamas militants that claimed the lives of 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, last month. Since then, the death toll in Gaza has reached 13,000, according to Palestinian health authorities.
On Wednesday, the Israeli government approved a deal with Hamas under which the militant group is to release 50 hostages in exchange for 150 Palestinian female and child inmates held in Israeli custody, accompanied by a four-day truce.
Maldives looks to impose travel ban on Israeli citizens
The Cradle | November 21, 2023
A member of the Maldives parliament, Mohamed Nasheed Abdulla, put forth a proposal on 20 November to amend the national Immigration Act in order to prohibit Israeli passport holders from entering the country following Israel’s indiscriminate aggression against the Gaza Strip.
The MP affirmed that the objective of the amendment of the Immigration Act is to impose sanctions on Tel Aviv via a travel ban on its citizens in the wake of Israel’s deadly besiege of the Gaza enclave. Currently, the Israeli military has killed over 12,300 Palestinian civilians, including over 5,000 children, since the start of Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October.
The Maldives is a member of the Organization for Islamic Corporation (OIC) member, which has already invoked a travel ban on Israeli civilians. Abdulla is pushing to pass his proposal in alignment with the rest of the IOC and expressing Maldives’ solidarity with Palestine.
Last week, demonstrators gathered in front of the Maldivian parliament, voicing their anger over Israel’s actions and violence in Gaza, and calling for an immediate travel ban.
In January 2022, Israeli government sources claimed that the Maldives had initiated steps to rekindle diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv, a bond that was broken in 1974. Following the war on Gaza in 2014, the Maldives cut ties with Israel entirely and banned all imports from the country.
Since the start of the conflict, several countries have withdrawn their Israeli ambassadors, including Colombia, Honduras, Jordan, Bahrain, and Turkiye, while nations such as Bolivia and Belize have suspended relations with Israel.
Criticism of the Israeli government among EU officials has also heightened in recent weeks in response to Tel Aviv’s brutal campaign. Last week, the President of the Belgian Senate, Stephanie D’Hose rejected a request by the Israeli ambassador to Brussels to showcase a 47-minute film claiming to show atrocities committed by Hamas during its 7 October attack on Israel.
This came a week after the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, Petra De Sutter, urged the EU community to impose sanctions against Israel.
“We cannot look away while children are killed every day in Gaza,” De Sutter said.
“It is time for sanctions against Israel. The rain of bombs is inhumane. It is clear that Israel does not care about the international demands for a ceasefire.”
On 15 November, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, also called on Israel to stop their aggression against Palestinians. His condemnation has been described as one of the harshest by a western leader since the start of the war. Madird’s Social Rights Minister, Ione Belarra, also condemned Israel’s approach.
Pro-Palestine activists shutting down arms factories that aid Gaza genocide
Press TV – November 21, 2023
A group of pro-Palestine activists on Monday blocked the driveway entrances to Lockheed Martin subsidiary ForwardEdgeASIC in the western US state of Minnesota for aiding the genocide in Gaza.
The demonstrators held banners that read “No money for weapons” and “Divest from Lockheed.”
Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), an advocacy group that organizes street protests against US aid to the Israeli regime, in a post on X on Monday described the action as a “victory.”
“VICTORY!! Production was stopped ALL DAY at ForwardEdge ASIC, Lockheed’s subsidiary in St. Paul that makes microelectronics for weapons systems,” the tweet stated.
“Activists with the Free Palestine Coalition blocked entrances & faced down police for almost 8 hours! Building got decorated too!”
Andrew Josefchak, a member of the Minnesota AWC, was quoted as saying that they want Lockheed out of their city as it aids the genocide of civilians in Gaza.
“The reason why I’m here today specifically is because Lockheed’s bombs and jets are being used to massacre civilians,” he stated, noting that Lockheed provides weapons used by Israel to bomb Gaza.
As a mark of protest against the Israeli regime’s genocidal campaign against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has assumed alarming proportions, activists in Western countries have also upped the ante.
In recent weeks, pro-Palestine advocacy groups have intensified their campaign against corporations and industries that aid the occupying regime’s war crimes against Palestinians in the besieged territory.
On Sunday, the Minnesota AWC organized a rally on the bridge over the Mississippi River that saw the participation of thousands of protesters, who marched to Minnesota Governor Walz’s Eastcliff house.
“There is blood on the hands of not only these companies, but also Governor Tim Walz and his SBI for continuing to invest in these companies, and yet when we cry out for Israeli bombs to stop for good, when we demand an end to the brutal, unjustified occupation, we’re called anti-Semites,” Skyler Dorr, a worker at the University of Minnesota, was quoted as saying by Fightback News.
“We don’t want to teach our kids that genocide is okay, and we don’t want teachers fired for speaking out against Israel,” Drake Myers, a member of the Minnesota AWC, stated.
According to reports, the aerospace and weapons industry has seen a significant jump in profits after Israel launched its murderous attacks on Gaza on October 7.
As President Joe Biden’s $14 billion military aid for the Tel Aviv regime awaits congressional green light, companies such as Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing are likely to have a big boost in profits.
It has enraged pro-Palestine activists in the US and other Western countries who have been organizing peaceful demonstrations and forcing the closure of factories belonging to these corporations.
Hundreds of pro-Palestine activists staged a protest at one of the entrances to US Air Force Plant 44 in Arizona on November 2, which Raytheon, a major US military contractor, operates.
“The bombs and the rockets and all those weapons of mass destruction are made in the US, so everybody needs to be held accountable who participates in this genocide, either directly or indirectly,” Abdulaziz, who attended the demonstration, was quoted as saying by Prism Reports.
Five days later, on November 8, half a dozen activists were arrested after they held a die-in protest outside the arms company’s offices in Arlington, Virginia. The protestors, however, remained unfazed.
On November 13, protesters stormed a Raytheon factory in California’s El Segundo, blocking its gates.
Similar demonstrations have been held against other military contractors as well, such as Boeing, which is one of the biggest arms importers to the Israeli regime.
A report in Bloomberg last month, citing unnamed US officials, said the company has accelerated the delivery of around 1,800 kits “that convert unguided bombs into precision munitions.”
On November 6, pro-Palestine demonstrators blocked the entrances to a Boeing factory in Missouri.
It was followed by another protest on November 9 outside the headquarters of Northrop Grumman in San Diego.
Northrop Grumman, according to the Mapping Project, sells “extensive amounts of weapons and military technologies to Israel, as well as the US military and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).”
“Northrop Grumman is deeply complicit in Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homeland and theft of Palestinian resources,” it states.
Pro-Palestine activists have also been targeting Elbit Systems, in both the US and the UK, in recent weeks. The largest weapons supplier to Israel has seen a staggering rise in its stocks since October 7.
On October 31, more than two weeks after Israel launched its genocidal attacks on Gaza, Palestine Action US “completely halted” a factory of Elbit Systems in Boston.
Hundreds of demonstrators chanted “Elbit Systems has got to go” and “You’re defending genocide of children”, calling for the closure of the arms factory.
According to its website, the American subsidiary of the arms company has operational facilities in the US states of Texas, New Hampshire, Alabama, Virginia and Florida.
Before the crackdown on the Boston plant, pro-Palestine activists also forced the closure of Elbit Systems’ Cambridge facility, “to prevent Elbit employees from going to work.”
“The weapons Israel is deploying to surveil, maim, and mass murder Palestinians are supplied by a company that operates right here in our city,” said the statement issued by the community members.
“Elbit weapons are being used to murder Palestinians right now. We will not let Elbit continue business as usual! Weapons companies don’t belong in our neighbourhoods!”
Palestine Action UK has also intensified its actions against Elbit Systems factories in England since October 7, with their activists even climbing the roof of the factory in the city of Lichfield.
“Palestine Action activists occupy the roof of the Israeli weapons factory Elbit Systems in the town of Shenstone, England, in protest of its production of equipment used in Israel’s murder of innocent Palestinians,” Palestine Action UK said in a statement on October 31.
Since July 2022, when pro-Palestine activists stormed the headquarters of Elbit Systems in London, the group has frequently targeted the company factories in different cities across the UK.
The group has permanently shut down at least two Elbit plants in less than two years, including its London headquarters and a Ferranti factory in Oldham, according to Counterfire.
In recent weeks, they have blockaded the entrance of the company’s Bristol plant, shutting down its operations. They have also closed the company’s factory in Kent.
Declassified UK recently revealed that the British government has approved at least £472m in arms sales to the Israeli regime in the past eight years, ignoring the genocide in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, eight Palestine Action activists, including the group’s co-founders, face trial at London’s Snaresbrook Crown Court for their protests against Elbit Systems
In Canada, pro-Palestine activists on Monday blocked a Canadian National Railway line in downtown Winnipeg, calling for an immediate halt to Tel Aviv’s unchecked aggression on Gaza.
The protesters, who carried Palestinian flags and signs that read “ceasefire now” and “Palestine will never die”, forced at least two trains to halt.
CN partners with Israel’s largest shipping company Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM). A protester was quoted as saying by CBC that CN is “very vital” for Israel to access the North American market.
Featured Video
Trita Parsi: Trump’s Swiss Cheese Iran Plan & U.S. Break with Israel?
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archives
MI5 plotted assassination of Irish PM in 1985 – Ulster Volunteer Force
RT | December 29, 2017
Former Irish Prime Minister Charles Haughey was warned by loyalist paramilitaries that they were once tasked with murdering him in an assassination plot purportedly dreamt up by the British secret service.
The sensational disclosure was sent in a letter to the Irish government, newly released under the Public Records Act, which requires documents of historical value to be published by the National Archives within 30 years.
Written on Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) signature paper, the warning claims the terrorist organization was asked by an MI5 operative about the prospect of carrying out an attack on Republic of Ireland leader Haughey in 1985.
At the time, Haughey would have been in opposition as head of political party Fianna Fáil, but details of the solicitation did not become known to Irish authorities until 1987.
“In 1985 we were approached by a M15 officer attached to the Northern Ireland Office and based in Lisburn, Alex Jones was his supposed name,” the letter reads, according to the Irish Times. “He asked us to execute you.”… continue
Blog Roll
Aletho News- Moscow warns NATO over troop buildup
- EU leaders prolonging Ukraine conflict to stay in power – Swiss journalist
- Moscow car bombing injures former aide to Ukraine’s ex-PM Azarov
- Yemeni forces make major advances, complete Aden encirclement
- Trita Parsi: Trump’s Swiss Cheese Iran Plan & U.S. Break with Israel?
- Iran’s NPT exit debate: How repeated attacks exposed the failures of global nuclear safeguards
- Mainstream Israeli Media Celebrates Deadly Floods In Gaza
- Australian Censor Chief Rejects Claims Digital Duty of Care Will Drive Censorship
- Why a New European Security Architecture Will Be Born Through War
- EU incapable of speaking with one voice on Ukraine – analyst to RT
- If Americans Knew
- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
- No Tricks Zone
- New Study: Barents Sea Temperatures Were Warmer And Sea Ice Less Extensive In The 1700s Than Today
- German Authorities Start Initiative To Evaluate Public Register For Climate “Disinformation” Spreaders!
- Zonal Asymmetry of Temperature Change in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current
- New Study: The Net Fossil Fuel Contribution To Rising Atmospheric CO2 Has Been Zero For 500 Years
- Germany’s Green Energy Transition Becoming Increasingly Expensive…Another 6 Trillion Euros!
- Sudden Stratospheric Warming, Powerful El Niño Combination May Lead To Extreme Europe Cold, Energy Crisis!
- Two New Studies Find Thwaites Glacier Melt Cannot Be Driven By Human Activity Or A Warming Ocean
- E-Cars Reduce CO2 Emissions By Only 41% Compared To Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles
- Predictions Made By Renowned Climate Professor Over Past Decades Have Been Proven To Be Poor
- New Study Suggests Large Regions Of The Pacific Ocean Have Been Cooling For The Last 80 Years
