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Russia supports Egypt’s plan to rebuild Gaza

MEMO | May 9, 2025

Russia fully supports Egypt’s plan to rebuild Gaza, Moscow’s Ambassador to Egypt, Georgiy Borisenko, has said, expressing regret that Western countries have obstructed Russian proposals in the UN Security Council aimed at ending the war in the Strip.

In remarks to Extra News, Borisenko stated that Russia and Egypt are in close coordination within the United Nations. “We are referred to as like-minded countries due to our shared positions on many issues,” he said, pointing to the Middle East situation as a clear example of their alignment.

He emphasised that Russia “fully supports and values” all of Egypt’s efforts to end the conflict in Gaza and believes that hostilities must come to an end as soon as possible.

Borisenko also noted that Moscow supports Egypt’s reconstruction plan for Gaza, which has received backing from all member states of the Arab League.

He further mentioned that Egypt and Russia are jointly working on developing an international agreement on combating cybercrime within the UN framework. He pointed out that both countries are leading contributors to drafting the convention, which is expected to be signed by most countries this year.

The ambassador affirmed that Russia was among the first countries to recognise the independent Palestinian state in 1988 and reiterated Moscow’s long-standing support for the Palestinian cause. “We have always affirmed that the Palestinians must have a sovereign and independent state that lives in peace alongside Israel,” he added.

Borisenko highlighted that Russia was the first member of the Security Council to present draft resolutions demanding an end to the war in Gaza, though many were blocked by Western powers.

He concluded by stressing that Moscow continues to exert maximum effort, in coordination with Arab countries at the UN, to help address the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza. He described the situation as “millions of women and children trapped, suffering from hunger and daily bombardment,” and insisted that “all of these tragedies must stop immediately.”

May 9, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Israel’s Netanyahu dragging region into major war, ex-Tunisia president warns

MEMO | March 20, 2025

Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki warned that Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is seeking to drag the region into a major war by escalating the confrontation with Iran, which could ignite complex internal conflicts in the Middle East.

In a statement to Al-Resalah Net, Marzouki said the current phase is characterised by great instability where the region is experiencing increasing turmoil.

He pointed out that US President Donald Trump is a fickle politician who cannot be trusted and who is being dragged into new wars by Israel.

“The current situation portends an explosion, but the Arab peoples remain calm, and this is what occupies my mind. We are living through a period similar to what we witnessed in 2010, when everything seemed calm before the spark that completely changed the scene,” he said

Marzouki criticised the Egyptian position toward the Gaza Strip, saying,

The Egyptians act as if they are not a party to what is happening, while in reality they are participating in the strangulation of Gaza by continuing to close the crossings and restricting aid.

He added that the Israeli occupation continues its crimes and massacres in Gaza without deterrence, but the situation will not remain as it is, and the time will come to take action and stand up against this unjust reality.

Marzouki concluded by emphasizing that history indicates that the situation will not remain as it is, warning that an Israeli escalation could lead to a regional explosion, with serious repercussions for the entire region.

March 20, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

The limits of the Israeli escalation against Egypt

By Kotb Elaraby | Arabi21 | March 2, 2025

The Chief of Staff of the Israeli occupation army, Herzi Halevi, was keen to end his leadership of the army with a new escalation against Egypt, by announcing his concern about the capabilities of the Egyptian army, which, although they do not pose a current threat, pose a potential threat at any moment.

Halevi, who was lecturing his officers before leaving his position at the beginning of the month, explained that the Egyptian army possesses advanced combat systems, aircraft, submarines, warships and modern tanks, in addition to a large number of infantry forces for no reason in his opinion, considering this to be a great danger.

General Halevi’s statements were made after Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, Danny Danon, expressed his concerns about the Egyptian army’s armament. He claimed that Egypt does not have any threats in the region, so why does it need all these submarines and tanks?

It is as if the general and the diplomat suddenly woke up to find the Egyptian army developing its combat capabilities and obtaining all of these weapons systems! This is despite the fact that it is openly armed and obtains its weapons from the same sources as Israel, and these sources definitely haven’t hidden its successive deals with the Egyptian army over the past years.

The Egyptian army is the strongest Arab army, and it is one of the major armies in the region, along with the Israeli, Turkish and Iranian armies. According to the Global Firepower Index, the Egyptian army ranked ninth in the world in 2020, ahead of the Turkish and Israeli armies, but it dropped ten places to 19th in the world in 2025.  This decline may be due to other armies that may have jumped to higher ranks because they are developing their weapons systems, the number of their forces and their equipment, including the Israeli army, which ranked 15th globally.

According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), issued in March 2022, Egypt was among the top ten countries in the world that imported the most weapons between 2017 and 2021, ranking third globally after India and Saudi Arabia. However, Egypt’s purchase of international weapons declined in the following years, perhaps due to a sense of sufficiency, or due to the lack of the necessary financial liquidity.

The concerns expressed by Israeli military staff and politicians about Egypt’s armament are a trick to blackmail Egypt, and impose Zionist positions and policies related to the displacement of the people of Gaza to Egypt, or involving Egypt in the management of the Strip, and disarming the resistance, which means entering into an armed confrontation with Hamas and other resistance factions.

Netanyahu and his generals are trying to save themselves from legal and political prosecution, prison and blows because of their historic failure on 7 October 2023, so they alternate between harassing Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. Their aim is to keep the situation heated and tense, and to stop it from calming after the fighting stops, even temporarily, in Gaza, pending the second phase negotiations.

The occupation authorities and their media have recently sought to shed light on Egyptian military reinforcements in Sinai, especially in Area C, where the peace agreement only allows Egypt to have police and border guard forces as a formality. The truth is that Egypt strengthened its presence in that area after the January 2011 revolution with the aim of confronting the armed groups there, and the matter developed greatly after the 2013 coup. This was done in full coordination with the Israeli authorities, which allowed the presence of these heavy forces.

Now the Israeli authorities claim that Egypt has violated the peace agreement, to cover up its own clear violation of the same agreement. This is in addition to its repeated harassment of Egyptian border checkpoints, and the killing or wounding of a number of Egyptian soldiers, some which have been announced and others concealed. Moreover, the Israeli occupation army is currently occupying the Philadelphi Corridor and refusing to withdraw from it, even though this withdrawal was scheduled to take place before the end of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and the handover of the captives. This phase, which lasted 42 days, ended on Saturday. It is known that the Philadelphi Corridor is a demilitarised buffer zone according to the 2005 crossings agreement, which is an integral part of the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement.

These are not real Israeli concerns, as Israel realises that the current Egyptian regime does not want war and does not want to violate the peace agreement. Instead, the Israeli allegations aim to fabricate pretexts and justifications to put more pressure on the Egyptian position that rejects the displacement of Palestinians.

Perhaps the real fear, as expressed by the (outgoing) Israeli Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, is that “the Egyptian army may find itself under a different leadership overnight.”

Also, part of the valid fears is the growing popular Egyptian hostility towards the Zionist entity, and the increasing popular demands to cancel, or at least freeze, the peace agreement that turned 46 years old this month.

It is natural for the wave of hostility towards the Zionists to rise among the Egyptian people, who have deep ties with the people of Gaza, and who have made great sacrifices for the Palestinian cause through five previous wars; namely the 1948 Nakba War, the Suez War in 1956, the 1967 War, the War of Attrition, and ending with the October War of 1973. Most Egyptian families keep pictures of relatives they have lost in those wars. When the Egyptians feel that the enemy has not only destroyed Gaza but also wants to forcibly displace its people to Egypt or elsewhere, it is only natural for their anger to grow and for them to demand that their armed forces confront this Israeli arrogance before it extends its war to Sinai or to the Egyptian interior.

Translated by MEMO.

March 5, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, Timeless or most popular | , , | 1 Comment

Egypt unveils Gaza reconstruction plan ahead of emergency Arab summit

Al Mayadeen | March 4, 2025

On Tuesday, Egypt’s Al-Qahera Al-Ikhbariya channel published Egypt’s plan for rebuilding Gaza, which will be presented to Arab leaders at the emergency summit hosted in Cairo on Tuesday.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty previously stated that the plan was designed to ensure the Palestinian people’s dignity and rights, and would be presented on March 4.

According to Abdelatty, Egypt’s alternative reconstruction plan will not be solely Egyptian or Arab but will include international support and funding to ensure its effective implementation.

“We will hold intensive talks with major donor countries once the plan is adopted at the upcoming Arab Summit,” he stated during a press conference with European Union Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica.

Into Egypt’s plan

The plan, which is based on preserving the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people, includes the formation of a Gaza Administration Committee to oversee the governance of the territory during a six-month transitional period. This committee will be independent, composed of non-partisan technocrats, and will operate under the Palestinian government.

According to the plan, the committee will be established throughout the current phase and pave the way for the full return of the administration, which would manage the next phase under Palestinian decision-making.

The plan also states that Egypt and Jordan will train Palestinian police forces in preparation for their deployment in Gaza. It calls for mobilizing political and financial support to back Egyptian-Jordanian efforts in training Palestinian security personnel.

Additionally, the plan suggests that the UN Security Council consider an international presence in the Palestinian territories, including the West Bank and Gaza, and issue a resolution to deploy international peacekeeping forces as part of a comprehensive framework for establishing a Palestinian state.

On stabilizing the ceasefire

The reconstruction statement also condemned the killing and targeting of civilians, as well as the high levels of violence and humanitarian suffering caused by “Israel’s” war on Gaza, claiming that the two-state solution is the most viable resolution under international law and consensus, emphasizing that Gaza is an inseparable part of Palestinian territory.

Egypt stressed the importance of safeguarding Palestinian rights and ensuring their continued presence on their land without displacement, calling on the international community to unite on a humanitarian basis above all else to address the catastrophic consequences of the war.

Any attempt to strip the Palestinian people of their hope for statehood or seize their land would only further fuel the struggle and instability, it also warned.

Additionally, the plan also underscored the need to maintain the ceasefire in Gaza, ensure the sustainability of the current truce, and secure the release of prisoners and detainees. It noted that successful reconstruction requires transitional governance arrangements and security measures that uphold the prospects of a two-state solution.

Furthermore, it urged the international community to support Egypt, Qatar, and the United States in stabilizing the ceasefire agreement, warning that a collapse of the truce would severely hinder humanitarian efforts and the reconstruction process.

The plan emphasized the importance of a gradual approach that ensures the Palestinian people’s right to remain on their land while also safeguarding their legitimate aspirations for an independent state with territorial continuity between Gaza and the West Bank. It called for handling Gaza’s situation through a political and legal framework that aligns with international legitimacy and UN Security Council resolutions.

The plan also stressed the need to begin planning for the early recovery phase in a way that guarantees Palestinian ownership of the process. It underscored the importance of continued efforts by the Palestinian Authority to take further steps in strengthening and developing Palestinian institutions and governance structures.

March 5, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kissinger, Ford outraged by Israel humiliating the US in the eyes of Arabs, British documents reveal

By Amer Sultan | MEMO | February 18, 2025

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was deeply frustrated by Israel’s behaviour, which he saw as “blowing up” the American foreign policy and “humiliation” of the US, declassified British documents reveal.

The documents, unearthed by MEMO in the British National Archives, also indicate that US President Gerald Ford shared Kissinger’s “outrage” over Israel’s approach to negotiations with Arab states.

Kissinger criticised Israel’s strategy of “giving with one hand and taking away with the other” and condemned Israelis’ total “unrealism” and “lack of understanding the Arabs”.

In January 1974, Kissinger brokered the first Egyptian-Israeli disengagement agreement in just eight days. By May, he had successfully mediated a similar deal between Syria and Israel. In early 1975, he resumed efforts, alongside his deputy, Joseph Sisco, to negotiate a second Egyptian-Israeli disengagement agreement as a prelude to broader peace talks. However, negotiations collapsed in late March.

On his way back to the US, Kissinger met with his British counterpart James Callaghan at London airport, where he blamed Israel for the breakdown of the talks. According to meeting records, Kissinger stated that Israelis “had locked themselves into a more inflexible position than they need have done”. He understood that Israel “seemed intended” to be inflexible from the outset of his mission.

Kissinger described Israeli negotiators as “hopelessly confused” about the military and political aspects of their demand for a formal non-belligerency statement from Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. He noted that Israel insisted on both military assurances and political concessions, although the main purpose of the negotiations was to reach a deal on non-engagement of forces. He described this confusion as “a Talmudic wrangle”, adding that the Israelis “had shown a total lack of realism”. When the Israelis asked him whether their demands were not unreasonable, he replied they were “disastrous”.

Kissinger’s step-by-step diplomatic strategy aimed at gradually resolving the Israeli-Arab conflict, but he warned that if this process stalled, “things would start going rapidly against Israel”. He expressed frustration over Israel’s “extraordinary lack of understanding” of both Arabs and the wider international scene”.

Before negotiations broke down, Ford attempted to push Israel to change its position. Kissinger informed Callaghan that the US president had sent a message to Israel containing “some very stern language” warning that the Israelis “couldn’t expect the Americans to go on financing a stalemate”.

Following the failure of Kissinger’s mediation, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yigal Allon blamed Egypt for “hardening of attitude” which he alleged “manifested itself only in the concluding phase”.

In a message to British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Foreign Secretary Callaghan, Allon asserted that Egyptians were prepared to concede to Israel “far less than might have been assumed before the talks began” while the Israelis “went substantially beyond that maximum” to which they “had initially considered it possible” for them to go.

He insisted that at every stage of the negotiation the Israelis showed themselves “ready to move closer towards the Egyptian position but without response on their side.”

Kissinger, however, dismissed Allon’s version of events as “weird” and “almost wholly fictitious,” calling Israel’s supposed concessions “an outright lie.”

In late March 1975, Kissinger told British Ambassador in Washington Peter Ramsbotham that there had “never at any times had there been any real movement” on Israel’s side. “What they gave with one hand, they took away with the other,” he said.

During negotiations, Israel presented six key demands, which Kissinger called “conditions”, including an Egyptian pledge of non-belligerency, end to propaganda against Israel in the Egyptian media, allowing Israeli cargos through the Suez Canal using ships of a third country, allowing overflights in Sinai, an end to the economic boycott and an end to actions against Israel in the international forum.

Kissinger revealed that Sadat had not only shown willingness to meet these demands but also offered additional concessions. These included allowing some Israeli crew members on third-party ships passing through the Suez Canal, preventing paramilitary activities, giving Israel private assurances on maritime passage through the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, and establishing a joint Israeli-Egyptian commission under UN supervision to resolve future disputes. Sisco, who accompanied Kissinger in the meeting with the British ambassador, said these concessions “had come as a surprise”.

While Sadat could not agree to a formal non-belligerency statement, he offered a compromise pledging not to use force during the disengagement period. This pledge, Kissinger explained, was not only “to be signed by the Egyptian military and diplomatic personnel” but there would be a provision that the pledge “would remain in force until suspended by some other agreement”. He described these as “substantial concessions” to Israel, and advised the British that it was “totally wrong” for the Israelis to say the Egyptians hadn’t made any real concessions.

However, Israel rejected Sadat’s offer and continued to insist on a formal non-belligerency agreement, prompting Kissinger to “blow up” and tell them “they couldn’t get this”.

Kissinger informed the British of a heated exchange between Sadat and Egyptian Defence Minister, General Abdel Ghani El-Gamasy, on more concessions Sadat was prepared to concede with regard to the control of strategic passes and oilfields in Sinai. The US minister confirmed that the concessions “brought an explosion” from El-Gamassy, who expressed “vehement objections”. But these objections “were brushed aside by Sadat as had his other objections earlier in the negotiations”.

Despite Sadat’s willingness to compromise, negotiations collapsed due to Israeli obstinacy. Upon learning of the breakdown, Ford “immediately” sent a letter “in a very strong language” to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Kissinger, who showed the British ambassador a copy of the letter, noted that he had “never seen President Ford so outraged.” The president felt “personally betrayed” by Israel’s conduct. To emphasise the gravity of the situation, Kissinger arranged for a prominent American Jewish leader to meet Ford. After the meeting, Kissinger remarked that the man had emerged “a shaken man.”

Kissinger also made it clear to the British government that “all along, there was an Arab willingness to negotiate,” but Israel responded only with “intransigence.” He cited King Hussein of Jordan’s stance on the Allon”s plan as an example of Arab flexibility. Contrary to public statements, Hussein had privately told the U.S. that he “was prepared to accept half of the plan” and “half of the West Bank”.

The plan, which was presented by Allon, the then Israeli minister of labour, in July 1967 and was amended over years, aimed at Judaisation of the Palestinian territory especially the West Bank. It would enable Israel to annex most of the Jordan Valley, from the river to the eastern slopes of the West Bank hill ridge, East Jerusalem, and the Etzion bloc of settlements. At the same time, the heavily populated areas of the West Bank, together with a corridor that included Jericho, would be offered to Jordan.

Meanwhile, in a meeting with Kissinger, Saudi King Faisal expressed his belief that Israel “shouldn’t remain in the occupied areas” he expressed his “support” to the US efforts to “reach a solution in the Middle East”.

Kissinger lamented that Israel’s actions had “destroyed this support.”

Although Kissinger stressed that it was not in the US interest to be “publicly critical” of Israel, he believed that the Israelis “had to learn to be flexible and not believe that because of their friendly links with various governments, they could always count on support regardless of their behavior.” When British Ambassador Ramsbotham asked whether the Israeli behaviour could have any backlash inside the US, Kissinger said that “it wouldn’t be difficult for the Administration to generate a wave of indignation in the US against Israel”. But, the Americans “would not do so”, he added

Kissinger also stressed that the Israelis “had to realise that they could not blow up the US foreign policy, humiliate the United States in the Arab eyes”. The Ford Administration “felt more and more outraged” by what happened, in a reference to the Israeli behaviour that led to failure of the negotiations.

After the collapse of negotiations, Callaghan considered visiting the Middle East. Kissinger advised him to caution Israel that it “had tried the US patience too far”. He also advised that “it was very important not to give the impression to the Israelis that the British government were sympathetic with the position they had got themselves”.

Kissinger believed that if Callaghan had any new proposals, it would probably be “a mistake at this time for him to put them forward himself”.  He asked for any suggestions to be “offered to him in private”.

Despite the impasse, negotiations resumed a few months later, leading to the signing of the Sinai II Agreement on 4 September 1975, in Geneva. The accord allowed Egypt to recover parts of Sinai occupied since 1967. While Sadat saw the deal as strengthening ties with the West, it strained Egypt’s relations with the Arab States, particularly with Syria and the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

February 20, 2025 Posted by | Illegal Occupation, Timeless or most popular | , , , , , | 1 Comment

With US Or Against US? America’s ultimatum to Arab leaders

By Robert Inlakesh – Al Mayadeen – February 18, 2025

For 15 months, the majority of the Arab and Muslim World’s leaders sat back as the first live-streamed genocide took place inside the land of Palestine. Praying for a return to the status quo that once supported their rules, they have now been faced with an ultimatum. Now, it’s time to pick a side.

While US President Donald Trump presented his idea of clearing out Gaza’s civilian population, taking control of the territory, and reconstructing it, he did so using the tone of someone believing such actions would be humanitarian in nature. In reality, what was being proposed was an invasion, mass murder, and ethnic cleansing.

To be clear, the likelihood of such an invasion occurring is slim, not least because it involves an enormous amount of planning to implement correctly and there is simply no evidence that any moves are being made in this direction. However, the threat of such a monstrosity alone has proven enough to instantly mobilise the Arab and Muslim nation’s leaderships in a way we have not witnessed in decades.

Suddenly, they woke up, after behaving as if the people of the Gaza Strip were not being mass murdered on an industrial scale, on the land of the Prophets, on the land of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Holy Sepulchre. Not even the invasion of Lebanon, the murder of some 3,000 people, nor the occupation of more Syrian lands, nor the threats of annexation in the West Bank, had mobilised these leaders. The screams of Gaza’s youths, the tears of Gaza’s mothers, the honor stripped from the tortured and raped, nothing registered.

But now, for the first time, we feel a pulse. Why? Because everyone’s head is on the chopping block. A glimpse was caught of what Donald Trump’s proposed future could cause and the likes of Jordanian King Abdullah II realised they are just another Arab in the eyes of the Israeli-US alliance, nothing more and nothing less. The only reason they remain is because they capitulate. This was Trump’s true message; it was not so much as a threat but a reminder.

Without delving too deep into the issue of an American invasion of Gaza, it would prove disastrous in so many ways that it seems unrealistic on the face of things. This is not least due to the enormous costs involved in a US occupation that could travel north of hundreds of billions in US taxpayer dollars, while the US soldier casualties would be high and place enormous domestic pressure on Trump. This would likely be America’s new Vietnam, as the star-spangled coffins would trigger outrage across the States.

A US invasion would also fail to achieve the objectives set out by Trump, because Palestinians will not leave willingly and this could easily turn into a situation where the US army picks up from where the Israelis left off; inflicting Genocide. If the ethnic cleansing would work partially, the destabilizing effects would be horrific.

As mentioned above, the majority of the leaders of Arab and Muslim nations may have stood aside and allowed the Gaza Genocide to unfold, yet their populations are now more motivated to defeat the Zionist occupiers than ever before.

Opening the ‘gates of hell’

When Hamas announced that it would postpone the weekly prisoner exchange arrangement until the Israelis allowed sufficient humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, Donald Trump’s reaction was to threaten opening the “gates of hell”. Despite the threats that came from Trump and Netanyahu, the Israelis caved under pressure and were quickly set to allow the prisoner exchange to go ahead as planned.

Whether the US President is truly the mastermind behind his own rhetoric or not, which is quite frankly unlikely, reading between the lines has actually helped achieve four objectives:

  1.  The outrageous and illegal proposals that Trump has put forth have helped save the image of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in front of his extremist coalition.
  2. The rhetoric has therefore given the Zionist regime more wiggle room to reach the second phase of the agreement, as the more extreme elements in the regime now feel as if they will get to complete their ethnic cleansing, settlement, and occupation endeavors.
  3. Upon the initial conclusion of the ceasefire agreement, the momentum in terms of popular understanding of power dynamics – manufactured as a result of the ongoing media war – had Hamas painted as the victor and the Zionist regime a loser. Trump managed to suddenly shift the conversation and manipulate popular understandings of who is in control and “winning” the war.
  4. It has brought together the Arab and Muslim leaders who were previously inactive or distant from the post-war Gaza plan.

Donald Trump is actively speaking as if he is a more extreme Zionist fanatic than Netanyahu, but is yet to follow through on any of his threats. If he continues to speak in such a way, it is possible that the US will have to start following through on some of the President’s rhetoric, however, in order for Washington to maintain credibility.

The reality in the region is that the leaderships of West Asia are still trying to revert back to the status quo that existed pre-October 7, 2023. Now they are having to come to terms with the fact that this is no longer an option.

Although this may seem hyperbolic, the “Israel” that everyone knew from before is no more, it no longer exists. To those who have studied the issue closely, this was somewhat inevitable. Right now, we are living through a scenario that occurred prior to 1948, where the Zionist regime had to try and define itself. For some time, they managed through their military superiority to pacify those around them or overcome armed confrontations with brute force, all while developing their economy and pretending as if they were operating a European State in the Eastern Mediterranean.

This was never going to last, not least because the Palestinian to Jewish population inside the borders of historic Palestine had become roughly 50/50. On top of this, the fastest growing Jewish group has been the Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox), who do not serve in the army and don’t even believe in the worth of modern Nation States. Yet, all Israelis wanted the West Bank and to rule over occupied Jerusalem. With land concessions to the Palestinian Authority off the table, there were only ever going to be two options that the Zionists were going to have to choose from: Commit a genocide or mass ethnic cleansing; or both.

With the rise of right-wing nationalist religious fundamentalism, the secular-leaning right-wing system that modelled itself off of “Western Liberal Democracies” suddenly found itself under threat. Prior to October 7, 2023, this was a dominant theme in Israeli politics, where the religious ultra-nationalists were challenging the somewhat contradictory vision that was held onto by around half of the Israeli Jewish population.

What happened here is that the secular-leaning Israelis were trying to cling onto their delusion that they could simply live in a liberal Jewish supremacist Apartheid colony forever and expect a level of stability that they had long enjoyed due to the overwhelming power of their military. On the other hand, the extremist right-wing coalition of Benjamin Netanyahu that won power in late 2022 began to present an alternative vision in a way that hadn’t been done before.

Then came the wakeup call, Hamas launched Operation al-Aqsa Flood, and the Zionists were forced to wrestle with the fact that you cannot continue oppressing the Palestinian people and expect them to simply go away or give up on their struggle for national liberation. Because of the racist collective narcissism trained into the minds of the Zionist settlers, they reacted in the most emotional way possible. This is why Zionists in the West have also been working overtime to suppress any criticism; their racism is being challenged.

The knee-jerk reaction of the Zionists was to think “how dare these people challenge our supremacy”. For the first time in its history, the Zionist Entity had been militarily torn to pieces and proven incapable of overcoming an indigenous resistance force armed primarily with light weapons and self-produced armaments. US-Israeli supremacy in West Asia appeared to be crumbling, so the occupying entity and its imperialist backer responded in the only way they know how, mass murder.

What happened in Gaza was a frenzy of racist violence that was supposed to “teach a lesson” to the Arab and Muslim peoples that they will remain forever inferior. The genocide was calculated to send a message: resist our supremacy and you will die.

Two things are now happening:

  1. The “Israel” of the past died, now it is scrambling to redefine and recreate itself.
  2. The US is attempting to revive its efforts to transform the region through normalisation and the construction of new trade routes, but is going to do so using maximum force in order to put down any semblance of dissent.

So where does this all fit into Donald Trump’s crazy threats? It’s simple. The United States is projecting its intention to remodel the entire region. This message is clear, yet it won’t likely come through a US invasion of Gaza, rather from putting tremendous pressure on the nations of the region to capitulate and work as slaves of the US-Israeli alliance.

If Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia do not capitulate, their leaderships will be replaced by ones that do. In the event that either a US invasion of Gaza or mass ethnic cleansing occurred, Egypt would be destabilised and likely face a limited Israeli incursion into the Sinai, while the Jordanian government could be toppled, or at the very least the nation will be totally destabilised, then, in the backdrop, Saudi Arabia could also be in the cross-hairs.

Hundreds of thousands of Gazans being ethnically cleansed into the Kingdom of Jordan would inevitably birth a new Palestinian Resistance front also, which could happen regardless at this point.

The ethnic cleansing of Palestine between 1947-49 left a major scar on the Arab World as a whole, one that has never healed. What just occurred in Gaza is a much deeper wound that will inspire Resistance until the end of the Zionist regime. Although it is often not factored into the equation, the Israelis also murdered 3,000 people in Lebanon too, including the late Secretary General of Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah.

A mistake often made by the imperialists and settler colonialists is assuming that because a population appears pacified today, it will also be tomorrow. In reality, revolutions and resistance movements take time, with mass mobilisation sometimes occurring due to what could be perceived as mere chance when it emerges.

Meanwhile, the US is now offering the same option to the Arab and Muslim World that was presented by George W. Bush Jr. upon his announcement of the so-called “War on Terror”: “You are either with us or with the terrorists!”

It may be presented in a different way, but the truth is that there is no way to play the role of holding a middle-ground position. Now is the time, submit to being a slave, even losing your territory, pride and stability; or you decide to resist. The problem for a nation like Jordan is that if you resist, you may also be overthrown.

Donald Trump’s comments for now were designed to force the Arab and Muslim leaders to come to a joint consensus and present an alternative plan to his insane proposal, which appears to be working. Interestingly enough, it appears as if this is actually helping to allow for the Gaza ceasefire to reach phase 2.

Unfortunately for these leaders, the Palestinian issue they now face is not over with Gaza. In the event of the Israelis annexing the West Bank, this could eventually trigger the downfall of the Palestinian Authority and/or initiate a major uprising. In such a scenario, the Israeli military could then seek to ethnically cleanse large swathes of the West Bank too. The destination of these displaced refugees could also end up being Jordan.

Even former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned, in his second last address about foreign policy, of the collapse of the normalization agreements between the Zionist regime and its neighbours in Amman and Cairo. Speaking at a conference organised by the Atlantic Council, Blinken used the first part of his speech to espouse pure Israeli propaganda, before speaking candidly on a few issues towards the latter half of his address. He stressed that without a so-called “Two-State solution”, the normalisation deals with Egypt and Jordan could collapse.

If a resistance front opens inside Jordan, it could be the beginning of the end for the Zionist regime. Jordan shares the largest, mostly undefended, land border with occupied Palestine. Once a major resistance movement is rooted there, the war would expand in such a way that no one is capable of predicting. It is also clear that the Zionists seek to continue their aggression against Iran, Yemen, and to degrade Hezbollah at all costs in Lebanon.

All of what is mentioned above will not likely just unfold overnight, everything takes time. Yet there is no question that the war is far from over.

February 18, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Egypt’s options for the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza

By Mahmoud Hassan | MEMO | February 4, 2025

US President Donald Trump’s insistence that Egypt and Jordan will accept displaced Palestinians from the Gaza Strip raises significant concerns about a potential deal being negotiated behind closed doors to facilitate their forced displacement. In other words: ethnic cleansing. The final details of such a deal may not yet be fully formed, especially given the official rejection by the six-party Arab meeting in Cairo last Saturday. Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE concluded their meeting with a call for the US administration to pursue the moribund two-state solution.

Let’s be clear, though. The displacement plan is not a direct consequence of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in October, 2023, or the subsequent genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza. Ethnic cleansing has been on the table since the 1940s, although attempts have failed repeatedly.

It is a concern, however, that Trump’s rhetoric this time was stated with immense confidence and an implicit threat. “We do a lot for them [Egypt and Jordan],” he said last Thursday, “and they will do this.” Rebuilding Gaza, added the US president, will take 15 years.

Trump reiterated his statement on Friday, reported Reuters: “Jordan and Egypt will accept people from Gaza. I heard someone say they wouldn’t, but I think they will. I’m confident they will.”

The carrot-and-stick approach has long been used by Trump to advance his agenda.

He has already offered Egypt incentives by exempting it, along with Israel, from the US freeze on aid to countries worldwide.

The US president may resort to courting his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, with an official invitation to the White House, a package of financial assistance from Gulf nations, economic and military deals, and the potential write-off of part of Egypt’s external debt (which stands at a staggering $153 billion). These incentives could serve to soften Cairo’s stance.

Egyptian opposition figures warn that there may be undisclosed negotiations taking place, with concerns that Al-Sisi could leverage the situation for his own benefit, using it to solidify his grip on power and push for more constitutional amendments allowing a fourth presidential term and an extension of his rule until 2036.

Fuelling these suspicions is the reality that the Egyptian president faces a significant internal crisis due to failed economic policies and dwindling public support. Moreover, regional and Western actors fear that his regime might collapse as that of Bashar Al-Assad did in Syria. This gives Washington leverage, allowing it to hint at backing a suitable alternative to prevent instability in Egypt; such pressure could influence Al-Sisi’s stance.

Egypt’s response appears inconsistent and disjointed across multiple levels. On one hand, Al-Sisi personally declared Egypt’s rejection of Palestinian displacement during a press conference with Kenyan President William Ruto in Cairo. He described such displacement as an injustice in which Egypt could not participate, reiterating that the solution lies in establishing a Palestinian state with historical rights, based on the pre-June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Egypt escalated its stance by orchestrating what appeared to be staged protests at the Rafah border crossing last Friday.

These demonstrations were coordinated with security agencies, involved pro-government parties and lawmakers from both parliamentary chambers, and featured slogans condemning the displacement plan. At the same time, the Egyptian authorities denied permission to the Civil Democratic Movement (a coalition of liberal and leftist parties) to organise a protest outside the US Embassy in Cairo against the same issue.

And last month, the Cairo regime renewed the detention of 173 young Egyptians for an additional 45 days pending investigation, following their participation in pro-Palestine demonstrations on 20 October, 2023.

Despite this public stance, Al-Sisi appeared to be courting Trump again, stating that the American president’s leadership could usher in a “golden age of peace” in the Middle East. According to a statement from the Egyptian presidency, Al-Sisi emphasised that the international community was counting on Trump’s ability to reach a historic and lasting peace agreement that would resolve the long-standing conflict in the region.

Jamal Al-Masri, an expert in Palestinian affairs, noted that the Egyptian government is attempting to manufacture a facade of popular support for its position. This, he argued, is meant to send a message to Washington that accepting the displacement plan could destabilise the Egyptian regime, threaten national security and provoke public unrest that might even lead the military to remove Al-Sisi from power.

Although Egypt’s options are limited, they are not non-existent. One possibility is reviving the idea of relocating displaced Palestinians to the Negev Desert (12,500 square kilometres), which is occupied by Israel and borders Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Al-Sisi actually suggested this plan at the onset of the Gaza war in October 2023.

A political analyst who requested anonymity warned that an undeclared displacement operation could take place. Egypt might quietly accept a certain number of displaced Gazans as “refugees”, integrating them in a manner similar to that of Syrian and Sudanese refugees already in the country. Another scenario could involve receiving injured Palestinians and their companions under humanitarian pretexts, without ensuring their return to Gaza. Additionally, Gazan families might be resettled informally in Rafah and El-Arish within Egypt.

Adam Boehler, the US special envoy for hostage affairs, has urged Egypt and Jordan to present alternative solutions if they reject the displacement plan. He noted that Trump has proposed what he considers a suitable option for both countries but remains open to other alternatives.

Egypt is unlikely to escalate tensions or confront the US administration directly, especially given the strong support that Trump provided to Al-Sisi during his first term (2017-2020), when he famously referred to him as “my favourite dictator.”

Egypt could, however, manoeuvre out of US pressure by leveraging its role as a mediator in negotiating a ceasefire agreement and securing a hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas. Cairo’s strategic importance to Israel, which is acknowledged openly by Israeli officials, also provides it with some diplomatic leverage.

It could also further consolidate Arab and Islamic opposition to the displacement plan and seek backing from global powers such as Russia and China. Additionally, the popular rejection of displacement, both within Egypt and among Palestinians, could be used to pressure Washington into reconsidering its approach.

A particularly significant card Egypt could play is the potential collapse of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty if forced displacement to Sinai proceeds. Such a scenario might provoke Palestinian attacks from Egyptian territory on Israeli targets, significantly escalating tensions. This is an outcome that Washington would certainly wish to avoid.

Observers also suggest strengthening the Palestinian Authority’s control over Gaza, accelerating reconstruction efforts, and possibly deploying an international or Arab peacekeeping force to separate Gaza from Israeli settlements.

If displacement fails as an option, Trump might pivot towards allowing Israel to annex settlements in the West Bank or resume military operations against Hamas.

Ultimately, realpolitik will likely shape upcoming negotiations between Egypt and the US. Both Trump and Al-Sisi share an interest in removing Hamas from power, ensuring Israeli security and preventing a repeat of the 7 October incursion. However, for Egypt to agree to a displacement plan, it would require massive concessions that Al-Sisi might be unwilling, or unable, to provide due to the significant political, security and strategic risks involved.

With upcoming diplomatic engagements, including Jordan’s King Abdullah’s visit to Washington next week, and ongoing behind-the-scenes negotiations between Egyptian and US officials, the coming days are bound to bring new developments. The outcome will depend on how far Trump is willing to push his carrot-and-stick approach.

February 4, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump’s call for Palestinians’ relocation will threaten regional peace, Arab nations warn

Press TV – February 1, 2025

Major Arab nations have expressed their opposition to US President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza and the occupied West Bank to neighboring Egypt and Jordan under any circumstances.

In a joint statement following a meeting in Cairo, the foreign ministers and officials from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League presented a unified stance against the US president.

They warned that such a move would threaten regional stability, risk spreading the conflict, and undermine prospects for peace and coexistence among its peoples.

“We affirm our rejection of [any attempts] to compromise Palestinians’ unalienable rights, whether through settlement activities, or evictions or annex of land or through vacating the land from its owners… in any form or under any circumstances or justifications,” the statement read.

The top diplomats emphasized that they were looking forward to working with Trump’s administration to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region, it noted.

Trump said last week that he had spoken with the king of Jordan about potentially building housing and moving more than 1 million Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries.

The US president added that he would like both Jordan and Egypt — which borders the battered enclave — to house the Palestinians displaced by 15 months of the Israeli regime’s genocidal war.

However, critics said that Trump’s suggestion would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday opposed the idea that his country would facilitate the displacement of Gazans and said Egyptians would take to the streets to express their disapproval.

Trump on Thursday insisted that Egypt and Jordan would accept displaced Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, despite the two nations having dismissed his plan to relocate Gazans there.

Jordan is already home to several million Palestinians, while tens of thousands live in Egypt. The foreign ministries of Egypt and Jordan have both rejected Trump’s suggestion in recent days.

February 1, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Russian media reach soars as NATO eyes countermeasures – report

RT | January 30, 2025

A fresh NATO report highlights a sharp increase in the reach of Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, where the news outlets have gained millions of new followers.

The report, published on Tuesday by the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence (StratCom COE), examines how Russian media operations have expanded their influence after the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict in early 2022. With Russian state-backed media subjected to blanket bans in the West, the outlets diverted their resources elsewhere.

According to the report, RT Arabic saw its audience grow by ten million users since the breakout of fighting between Ukraine and Russia. Sputnik Arabic also significantly increased its content output, posting 30–35% more frequently, while the news agency’s engagement on social media surged by 80%. Russian embassies in Africa also saw a 41% rise in social media followers, reflecting a broader trend of growing Russian media influence in non-Western regions, the report notes.

It also claims the outlets have been capitalizing on “anti-colonial narratives” and overall frustration with Western policies, particularly in Africa, and blames this on historical ties to the Soviet Union that still shape public perceptions there. In some cases, the narratives have resonated strongly with audiences already skeptical of Western institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the International Criminal Court, the report notes.

While StratCom COE projected its findings to the entirety of the Global South, the report actually examined the work of Russian media – as well as social media activities it had linked to Russia without any solid evidence – in Egypt, Mali, Kenya, South Africa and the UAE.

The authors of the report appeared to struggle with terminology, rejecting the ‘Global South’ over an “increasing pushback” against the name, and shot down the term ‘majority countries,’ claiming it has been promoted by assorted “malign actors” to push their agenda. Instead, the report uses the term ‘Multi-aligned Community,’ vaguely defining it as “states existing outside of the Western environment who have exhibited a preference for aligning or partnering with chosen states depending on specific spheres or issues.”

In response to the expanding reach of Russian media, the NATO report proposes new countermeasures aimed at reducing Moscow’s ever-growing influence. One recommendation is to establish a NATO-led initiative to engage with audiences in Africa and the Middle East, improving direct communication and addressing concerns about Western policies.

The report also suggests that NATO should work with local media outlets to “counter disinformation” and to bankroll local “independent journalism.” It also calls for stronger partnerships with civil society organizations to promote diverse viewpoints and counter what it describes as “one-sided narratives” from Russian state media.

January 31, 2025 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump administration pressuring Egypt to push Hamas out of Gaza

Press TV – January 29, 2025

The administration of US President Donald Trump is pressuring Egypt to push the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas out of the besieged Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told his Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty that the two sides must maintain “close cooperation” in an attempt “to ensure Hamas can never govern Gaza.”

Israel began its campaign of genocide in Gaza in October 2023, after Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in retaliation for Israel’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

However, after 15 months of ruthless aggression, the occupying regime failed to achieve its prime objective of eliminating Hamas, despite killing at least 47,306 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

The campaign has currently paused amid a fragile ceasefire.

The US State Department added on Tuesday that Rubio also “reinforced the importance of holding Hamas accountable.”

A day earlier, Trump once again called for forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan, despite strong opposition from Cairo and Amman to the plan which has been slammed by the United Nations as “ethnic cleansing.”

The Palestinian leadership has been divided between Fatah and Hamas since 2006, when the latter scored a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas has ever since been running the Palestinian enclave, while the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is run by the ruling Fatah party and led by President Mahmoud Abbas, has been based in the autonomous parts of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had declared that the goal of the war for the regime was the total defeat and elimination of Hamas.

However, former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken implied in one of his final appearances, on January 14, that the regime had failed in achieving this goal.

Blinken said assessments by the US had revealed that “Hamas has recruited almost as many new” fighters “as it has lost.”

“That is a recipe for an enduring insurgency and perpetual war,” he added.

Israel managed to assassinate two top leaders of the movement – namely Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar – and according to the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), its weapons stockpile is also depleted, but as the dust settles in Gaza, it is clear that the resistance movement has not been eliminated and is still there.

Hamas fighters have prominently featured in the handover of Israeli captives as part of the ceasefire deal with Israel. And members of the Hamas-run civil administration have resumed work. If there is any authority in Gaza, it still appears to be Hamas, Al-Jazeera said in a report.

After “over a year of fighting, the [Hamas] fighters remain very much in control of Gaza,” Hugh Lovatt of the ECFR said.

“Hamas is trying to show Israel that it failed to destroy it but also that the movement will have a veto over Gaza’s future going forward because neither Israel and the PA nor the international community will be able to impose a post-conflict governance or security arrangement,” Lovatt said.

Israel aimed to destroy Hamas’s infrastructure, particularly its extensive tunnel network. However, Israeli media reports suggest that much of the network remains functional, though estimates of its intactness vary widely.

Hamas members told the ECFR that many tunnels have been preserved, restored, or even expanded in some areas.

According to the ECFR, Hamas even recycles “unexploded Israeli rockets, bombs, and artillery shells to use as improvised explosive devices and produce new projectiles.”

The Gaza Strip, home to some 2.4 million Palestinians, has been under Israeli siege since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standards of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.

January 29, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Egypt’s Parliament rejects plans for Palestinian resettlement after Trump’s call

MEMO | January 27, 2025

The Egyptian Parliament reiterated rejection, on Monday, of any plans aimed at relocating the Palestinian people from their land, warning that such actions pose “a grave threat” to regional security and stability, Anadolu Agency reports.

“We cannot overlook the significant danger posed by the proposals being circulated regarding the relocation of Palestinians from their land,” Parliament Speaker, Hanafi Gebali, told a parliamentary session.

“These ideas completely disregard the well-established fact that the Palestinian cause is not merely a population issue or a geographical dispute, but a cause of a people striving for their legitimate and historical rights.

“Everyone must realise that the Palestinian people are not merely a group seeking shelter. They are a people with a rich history, sacred land and inalienable rights that cannot be erased with time. They will never relinquish these rights, nor will the Arab nation before them,” Gebali affirmed.

The Egyptian Speaker warned that any proposals bypassing Palestinian rights “pose a grave threat to regional security and stability”.

“The only solution for achieving lasting peace is implementing the two-state solution, which ensures the Palestinian people can establish their independent state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, while also ensuring the security and stability of the entire region.”

“Egypt, which has sown the seeds of peace in the region for many years, reaffirms today that it will continue to defend the rights of the Palestinian people and firmly reject any attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause or infringe upon the rights of this great people,” he said.

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump called to “just clean out” Gaza and resettle Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan, describing the enclave as a “demolition site” after Israel’s genocidal war.

Egypt, Jordan, the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation issued statements and immediately rejecting any call for the displacement or relocation of Palestinians from their land.

Trump’s proposal came a week after a ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on 19 January,  suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed more than 47,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 111,000 since 7 October, 2023.

The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

January 27, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

US suspends aid to Ukraine – Politico

RT | January 24, 2025

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has frozen nearly all new aid grants to Ukraine for 90 days, Politico reported on Friday. The move comes after President Donald Trump ordered a full review of all foreign assistance.

Rubio instructed diplomatic and consular posts to issue “stop-work orders” on nearly all “existing foreign assistance awards,” Politico said, citing an internal document.

According to Politico, the order “shocked” State Department officials and appears to apply to funding for military assistance to Ukraine.

The magazine cited three current and two former officials familiar with the matter as saying Rubio’s guidance means that “no further actions will be taken to disperse aid funding to programs already approved by the US government.”

The BBC, which also reviewed the State Department memo, reported that it appears to “affect everything from development assistance to military aid.”

Although the Pentagon previously told Voice of America that the aid freeze would not affect “security assistance to Ukraine,” Rubio’s memo reportedly only granted exceptions for military aid to Israel and Egypt, without mentioning any other country.

Journalist Ken Klippenstein posted what he said was a copy of Rubio’s guidance, which “pauses all new obligations of funding, pending a review, for foreign assistance programs” funded through the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Trump, who took office on Monday, has ordered a 90-day suspension of all “foreign development assistance for assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy.”

A USAID official told Reuters that among the programs that were frozen are assistance to schools and healthcare, including emergency maternal care and the vaccination of children.

Since February 2022, USAID has provided $2.6 billion in humanitarian aid, $5 billion in development assistance, and more than $30 billion in “direct budget support,” according to its website.

The US has provided nearly $66 billion in military aid to Ukraine since February 2022, according to the Pentagon.

Trump has repeatedly criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, for approving unconditional aid to Ukraine and has vowed to implement cost-cutting measures. He also promised to quickly negotiate a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev.

January 25, 2025 Posted by | Corruption, Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

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