Iran’s apparent restraint in the face of Israeli aggression should not be mistaken for weakness. Tehran steadily applies pressure on Tel Aviv through its own methods, setting the stage carefully for Israel’s unravelling.
By Shivan Mahendrarajah | The Cradle | April 3, 2024
A strategy in asymmetrical warfare is expressed by the “boiling frog” theory:
Legend has it that a frog placed in a shallow pot of water heating on a stove will remain happily in the pot of water as the temperature continues to climb, and will not jump out even as the water slowly reaches the boiling point and kills the frog. The change of one degree of temperature at a time is so gradual that the frog doesn’t realize he is being boiled until it is too late.
While the story is an apologue – a pretty fable meant to convey a meaningful lesson – it is one frequently invoked by militaries and geopoliticians to describe the “long game” of reaching strategic objectives.
Today, it is Iran and its regional allies who are using a measured approach to increase temperatures in West Asia until the water boils the US and Israeli ‘frogs’ to death. Strategy, discipline, and rare patience – the antithesis of western short-termism – will bring Iran victory. To quote the Taliban: “Americans have watches, but we have the time.”
Time is now on the side of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its regional allies. Two connected examples show how the IRGC is calibrating temperatures like scientists in a laboratory.
The Yankee Frog
Following the launch of the Hamas-led resistance operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October of last year, US President Joe Biden deployed US Navy assets to the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea to “defend” Israel.
On 26 November, the USS Eisenhower and its escorts navigated through the Straits of Hormuz, anchoring in the Persian Gulf on the Saudi Arabian side. Yemen’s Ansarallah-aligned naval forces initially targeted Israeli ships and Eilat Port with their first shots on 19 October. But by 29 November, their attacks escalated to include vessels bound to or from Eilat, irrespective of flag or ownership.
This pattern culminated in the Pentagon’s announcement of “Operation Prosperity Guardian” on 18 December, aimed at safeguarding Israel’s economic interests at the expense of US military personnel. Subsequently, the Eisenhower and its naval escorts relocated from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, purportedly to “defend” the occupation state.
Instead, the positioning of US Navy assets in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has left them susceptible to potential attacks from Iranian or Iranian-supplied weaponry, including cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones.
Despite efforts from the US Navy (USN) and the US Air Force (USAF), Ansarallah remains undefeated. Previous Anglo–American airstrikes in Yemen have proven ineffective, while the ongoing pace and expanding scope of Yemeni operations are straining naval resources and dampening morale.
Unlike ‘Hollywood guns,’ US Navy vessels do not have unlimited interceptor missiles, nor can they be reloaded at sea. As for the morale of American personnel, it will break in the long run, particularly since many, if not most, sailors and marines are simply not invested in a fight for Israel.
Last month, Captain Chris Hill, the commanding officer of the USS Eisenhower, said: “People need breaks, they need to go home.”
While sailors, marines, and airmen are getting antsy dodging Ansarallah’s drones and missiles on a daily basis, the ‘Yankee Frog’ is merrily paddling about his Washington hot tub, believing the ‘might’ of the USN will defeat the pesky ‘Houthis.’
This was arguably a well-calibrated move supported by Iran that accomplished two objectives: First, it got the carrier battle group out of the Persian Gulf, and second, it sucked the US into an escalatory trap. The Yankee Frog is in the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden hotpot. It cannot win.
It will either jump out and flee in humiliation, further destroying the credibility of the US armed forces following its humiliating 2021 debacle in Afghanistan; or it will remain in the hotpot and be boiled to death—with the loss of ships and lives.
With either outcome, Iran wins. Relatedly, an Iranian defeat of the US will be welcomed by China, Russia, and scores of US adversary states, particularly across the global south. As noted by one astute Twitter/X user, Armchair Warrior (describing Russia’s likely responses to Ukrainian provocations), by its actions, Iran has demonstrated “reflexive control” over Washington’s actions. By this, he means, “If every military action you take gets a symmetrical reaction, then you can control the nature, venue, and tempo of the conflict to your benefit.” This is precisely what the IRGC is cleverly doing.
The Israeli Frog
The wee ‘Israeli Frog,’ meanwhile, somnolent in the warm water, is dreaming of his ‘new Israel’ – the Israel that he will create once he has ethnically cleansed Gaza. He has plans to develop Gaza, build luxury condos along the beachfront, and build housing units for new settlers.
Architects are now drawing up plans. Former President and current Republican contender Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a Netanyahuist and Likud Party benefactor, is measuring drapes for his Gaza waterfront condominium.
However, the Israeli military has not defeated Hamas, which continues to inflict significant damage to Israeli military hardware and human assets. By one estimate, Hamas has only been degraded by 15–20 percent. The occupation army wholly depends on the US and its European vassal states for armaments since its domestic production capacities are limited.
According to one estimate, some 500,000 settlers have returned to their homelands; most will not return. Since 7 October, conscription is no longer a safe yet inconvenient three-year requirement: parents are afraid for their daughters and sons.
The dormant refusenik movement that emerged from the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon has re-awakened. Draftees are refusing to serve and being jailed as a result. The conscription exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews expired on 1 April; they are threatening to flee Israel, whose very survival is dependent on Jews moving there.
If representatives of ultra-Orthodox Jews quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, it could bring down his extremist government. Internal tensions within Israeli society are escalating, fueled by socio-economic pressures and disillusionment with the government’s handling of the war.
The Israeli economy is in shambles. The shekel is declining. Budget deficits and borrowing have skyrocketed. Moody’s downgraded Israel’s credit from A1 to A2 on 9 February. Israel’s tourism industry has collapsed into crisis. Most major airlines no longer fly to Israel. Israel’s manufacturing and agricultural bases are small. Israel has limited access to natural resources and energy; it depends on overland lifelines to Jordan and Egypt, with Azerbaijani oil and gas coming to Haifa from Turkey.
Iran is doing to Israel just what Israel did to it with economic sanctions. But unlike Israel, Iran has abundant supplies of oil and gas, 85 million literate and educated people who are not planning to flee, and formidable agricultural and manufacturing bases.
Tehran is methodically throttling Israel’s economy. Haifa port is on Hezbollah’s target list. If Haifa is shut down alongside Eilat, Israel will only have overland lifelines for food and energy supplies. Ben Gurion International and other airports may be targeted in the future.
Turning up the heat, one degree at a time
The recent Israeli attack on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus, purportedly in response to an Iraqi drone striking Eilat, mirrors Netanyahu’s apprehensions and frustrations – that “the whole world is ganging up on us.”
Netanyahu’s strategy appears to be to goad Iran into escalating tensions, potentially prompting them to target American military assets in the region, thereby drawing the US into the Gaza War. However, it’s uncertain whether Tehran will take the bait.
While the IRGC is likely to respond, they will look to avoid falling into Netanyahu’s trap. Instead, Iran may opt to tighten its economic stranglehold on Israel, possibly by targeting strategic locations such as Eilat, Haifa, and Ben Gurion Airport.
The IRGC understands that Israel’s economy cannot sustain a prolonged conflict. Therefore, their strategy might involve a gradual escalation – effectively boiling the Israeli frog slowly – through coordinated actions involving Hezbollah, Ansarallah, and various Syrian and Iraqi-based factions.
As the economist Herbert Stein noted, “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” While Israel is far from being on the brink of collapse, the disciplined and calculated actions of the IRGC are steadily increasing regional tensions. If left unchecked, this could lead to significant repercussions for Israeli society and its economy – all without it realizing, like the wee boiling frog.
Al Mayadeen | April 3, 2024
Israeli settlers’ focus on ousting Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu obscures deeper complicity in the prolonged occupation and genocide in the Gaza Strip, according to a Foreign Policy report.
“Netanyahu is a convenient scapegoat,” Mairav Zonszein, the senior “Israel” analyst at the International Crisis Group, said in her report published for Foreign Policy. The report, now titled, “The Problem Isn’t Just Netanyahu, It’s Israeli Society,” was initially titled “Netanyahu Is a Scapegoat. A Callous Israel Is the Problem.”
Zonszien made it clear, in all but name, that in “Israel” the problem is occupation, noting that the “focus on Netanyahu is a convenient distraction from the fact that the war in Gaza is not Netanyahu’s war, it is Israel’s war.”
Pointing fingers at Netanyahu, according to her, “eclipsed the fact” that “that when it comes to Israeli policies on Gaza in particular, and the Palestinians in general, many Israelis are broadly aligned with Netanyahu,” adding, “By a large margin they support the current military campaign in Gaza and the government’s goal of destroying Hamas, whatever the human toll for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
“For years, Israelis have been able—through military and economic domination—to disregard the single most pressing issue facing the country—its control over millions of Palestinians,” she said, emphasizing that Operation Al-Aqsa Flood only “opened the floodgates even further on what is considered acceptable.”
Israeli Consensus on Gaza Policy
The “Israeli crisis,” as it has been described by multiple news outlets, in the Foreign Policy piece was considered an existential war for the Israeli occupation. Even more accurately, the report dubbed it a “war of no choice” wherein “Hamas must be destroyed as a matter of Israeli survival.”
Most significantly, however, was that the article affirmed that “the threat of imminent famine in Gaza has not provoked opposition” to the Israeli occupation’s genocide in the Gaza Strip. In fact, “88% of Jewish Israelis polled in January believe the astounding number of Palestinian deaths, which had surpassed 25,000 at the time, is justified,” and that “a large majority” even “thinks that the Israel Defense Forces [Israeli Occupation Forces] is using adequate or even too little force in Gaza.”
By Robert Inlakesh | Al Mayadeen | April 3, 2024
The US government can end the war in Gaza if it chooses and with a single phone call allow all the humanitarian aid that will prevent famine from gripping the starving Palestinian population living there. Instead, Washington has opted to play a dirty game of teasing the delivery of aid, leaking stories of tensions and an imminent ceasefire to the press, while only seeking to buy more time for the Zionists to carry out their ongoing genocide.
On November 10, last year, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, issued a statement in which he stressed that “Far too many Palestinians have been killed. Far too many who have suffered these past weeks, and we want to do everything possible to prevent harm to them and to maximize the assistance that gets to them,” as he praised the temporary pause reached between the Palestinian resistance and the Zionist Entity. Following the end of the pause and prisoner swap, Blinken again appeared on the scene inside occupied Palestine. This time, giving the impression that the US government would force an end to the war, by the beginning of the New Year.
Then, on January 9, after failing to stop the Israeli onslaught in Gaza, the US Secretary of State issued another speech, this time from inside the Zionist Entity, declaring again that the Palestinian death toll was “far too high”. Both in November and January, these declarations by Antony Blinken, were widely interpreted to have been critical of the Israelis and indicated some level of frustration, or rhetoric change, when it comes to their Zionist allies.
When we also look at US President, Joe Biden, we have heard for months about the “frustration” of the American leader with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu. Reports have frequently been leaked to US media regarding unconfirmed events, which include Joe Biden hanging up a phone call with the Israeli Prime Minister in mid-January and the allegation that the US President called Netanyahu a “bad f***ing guy” in February. Events like the Israeli war cabinet member, Benny Gantz, traveling to Washington, allegedly without Netanyahu knowing, have also been held up as examples of the US-Israeli “strained relationship”.
Joe Biden said in late February that it looks like there’ll be a ceasefire the next Monday, causing false hope in the Gaza Strip at the time. Then, Axios released an article in which they made the claim that the US government was going to cut off arms supplies to the Zionist regime if they did not reach a temporary ceasefire in Gaza by mid-March. Then at the end of March, after having failed to place any pressure on the Israeli regime to even deliver sufficient food aid into Gaza, the Biden administration decided to quietly approve a multi-billion dollar weapons and fighter jet supply deal.
Another important point to note is the way the US government reacted to the Israeli threat to invade the southernmost city of Gaza, Rafah, claiming to set it as a hypothetical redline. Although the Biden administration would ultimately come forth and affirm that it would support an invasion of Rafah and wouldn’t set any red lines, the idea that Washington was holding the Zionist regime back from the invasion it had threatened – over the period of two months – was heavily pushed throughout Western media.
Then there is the US abstention from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution, that called for a two-week ceasefire. Again, the reaction to this was to interpret it as a “change”, or “shift”, in the US position on the war in Gaza, yet, when pressed on the issue the Biden administration claimed that the Security Council resolution – all of which are considered binding – was in fact the first UNSC resolution ever to be non-binding.
Even when it came to the shift in the rhetoric of American policy makers, to begin calling for a “ceasefire”, they did not “shift” their policy position in any way at all. In fact, they just shifted from using words like “temporary truce” and “pause”, to asking for a “six-week ceasefire”, so, in other words, a temporary truce or pause still. Then, when confronted with growing calls from the United Nations and the World Bank, regarding the issue of looming famine that is set to take hold over roughly half of Gaza’s population, the Biden administration began announcing its intention to build a port to transport aid. The details of such a port’s construction are still unclear and whether it will ever be implemented for the purpose of delivering vital aid or not is an open question.
It is high time that we call the US Biden administration out on its dirty games. Washington is in control of this war and has made the active decision to allow mass starvation in Gaza, clearly an Israeli tactic of war, it is only buying time for this policy of inflicting famine to take place. It is evident that the Zionist entity has no plan to dismantle Hamas in Gaza, in fact, it hasn’t even been able to dismantle any of the smaller groups belonging to the Palestinian resistance front in the besieged territory. So, instead, it inflicted the worst possible humanitarian crisis, a famine, along with the assassination of all security figures, members of popular committees set up locally to guard, collect and distribute aid, while attempting to make it impossible for the former civil administration to continue working in a post-war Gaza. This is also why the US has implemented a ban on funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Why is the US playing this dirty game you may ask? There are two primary reasons: To quell domestic pressure to end the war and to deceive the axis of resistance into thinking that they are on the cusp of reaching a ceasefire. With the language change and by blaming Netanyahu for all the problems at hand, the US government has made the calculation that they can give the impression of an administration that is standing up to the Israeli regime. On the other hand, the US fears a regional war, which could explode in the event that no ceasefire is reached in Gaza, so they give the impression that there is some kind of in-fighting between them and the Zionist leadership. This is all theater and the US must be forced into a position where it is given an ultimatum: either you force an end to this war in Gaza, or there is a major escalation in the region. Nobody wants regional war, but regional war is inevitable if there is no ceasefire reached and the people of Gaza are gripped by one of the worst famines in recorded history.
Press TV – April 3, 2024
The United States has vowed to block a new attempt by the Palestinians for full membership in the United Nations.
Supporters of the Palestinian move asked the UN Security Council on Tuesday to revive an application for admission submitted in 2011.
But Robert Wood, the US deputy ambassador to the UN, was again almost certain to block the request. “Our position has not changed,” Wood told several reporters.
Wood said the issue of a full Palestinian membership is one of the final status issues to be decided in bilateral talks between the Palestinians and Israel.
At least 140 countries have recognized a Palestinian state. They include members of the 22-nation Arab Group at the United Nations, the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the 120-member Nonaligned Movement.
Malta’s UN Ambassador Vanessa Frazier, who is the current president of the Security Council, said the Council’s standing committee for new members, which includes all the 15 members, is expected to meet behind closed doors to consider the application.
The monthly Security Council meeting on April 18 will also consider the issue of Palestine’s full membership.
After the initial bid for full UN membership was rejected in 2011, the Palestinians went to the 193-member UN General Assembly, where there are no vetoes. They succeeded by more than a two-thirds majority in having their status raised from a UN observer to a non-member observer state in November 2012.
That change opened the door for the Palestinian territories to join the UN and other international organizations, including the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Riyad Mansour, the permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations, has repeatedly said in recent months that in the face of Israel’s brutal campaign of death and destruction in the besieged Gaza Strip, UN membership is a priority for the Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long ruled out Palestinian statehood.
Al Mayadeen | April 3, 2024
UK-based Palestine Action activists “occupied” a US-owned Teledyne factory in West Yorkshire in the UK on April 2 because it exports weapons for the Israeli occupation forces.
In its statement, the group said, “Breaching security, the activists have scaled the factory to take the roof, forcing the site closed and rendering it unable to fulfill its shipment of weapons parts to be used in the Gaza genocide.”
It is noteworthy that the group announced today that four of its activists were arrested following the protest at the Teledyne factory.
At least 86 licenses to ‘Israel’ between 2009-2014 alone
They added that at least 86 licenses for weapons exports to “Israel” were given to this site from 2009 to 2014 which, according to the protesters, makes Teledyne the largest exporter of weaponry from the UK to “Israel”.
“A significant proportion of the company’s almost 200 export licenses for weapons and weapons parts to the US, 2009-2020, will also form into finished products ultimately exported to Israel,” it stressed.
The statement added that Teledyne produces parts, including filters and multi-function assemblies, for UAVs, aircraft, and radar systems, including the AN/APG-81 (AESA) type fitted in Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets.
“Teledyne, the parent company, also produces image sensors for military applications and radar technologies around the borders of the occupied West Bank and Gaza while also providing armed UAVs to Israel as far back as 1973,” it emphasized.
MEMO | April 3, 2024
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FCC) will sail several ships carrying 5,500 tonnes of humanitarian aid and hundreds of international observers to the besieged Gaza Strip in mid-April, its Spanish chapter Rumbo a Gaza said in a statement today.
Rejecting Israel’s control over the entrance of humanitarian aid, Rumbo a Gaza said it will not allow Israel to inspect the shipments.
“For everyone’s safety and to ensure that aid reaches those who need it, the FFC will be bringing hundreds of international humanitarian observers from many countries and different backgrounds,” the statement said.
The voyage aims to “challenge the current illegal Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.”
Rumbo a Gaza said it is also sending an emergency mission to help alleviate the “famine in northern Gaza and catastrophic hunger across the Strip as a result of the Israeli government’s deliberate policy to starve the Palestinian people to death.”
The NGO blamed the international community for allowing Israel to control the aid that reaches Gaza, saying it’s like “letting a fox manage a henhouse.” It called for sanctions against Israel and more challenges to its “genocidal policies.”
Rumbo a Gaza said Israel is not complying with the rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to stop blocking the entry of humanitarian aid. Israel has long failed to comply “with its responsibilities as an occupying power to ensure the health and well-being of Palestinians,” it added.
“The court’s judgment demands that everyone do their part to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza … Until our governments take the lead in the urgently needed humanitarian responses, people of conscience and our grassroots organizations must act to stop the genocide in Gaza. When our governments fail, we sail!” said Ismail Moola from a South African organisation that forms part of the FFC.
The organisation’s announcement comes in the wake of Israeli forces killing seven aid workers after striking a World Central Kitchen convoy.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition was formed after the 2010 Freedom Flotilla mission, in which Israeli forces killed ten Turkish civilians and injured 30 others while raiding the flotilla ships in international waters.
The coalition brings together organisations working to end the Israeli blockade of Gaza from countries around the world, including Turkiye, Canada, the US and South Africa.
Israel has killed nearly 33,000 people since it launched its brutal bombing campaign on Gaza in October 2023. The military campaign has led to mass destruction, displacement and man-made famine in Gaza.
Press TV – April 2, 2024
Ships loaded with humanitarian aid for the Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Strip will turn back in the wake of a deadly strike by the Israeli regime forces on relief workers.
Cyprus’ foreign minister said on Tuesday that undelivered food and supplies were being returned after aid groups suspended operations due to the brutal killing of members of an international charity.
Seven World Central Kitchen workers were killed in the Israeli strike on vehicles used by the US-based charity organization.
Minister Constantinos Kombos said the charity is suspending its operations in Gaza out of respect for the victims as well as to review its security protocols. Cargo ships loaded with 240 tonnes of canned food destined for Gaza were preparing to return.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis had said earlier that around 100 tonnes of aid had been unloaded before the World Central Kitchen suspended operations after its workers were killed.
Cyprus’ port city of Larnaca has played a key role in trying to establish a maritime aid corridor to Gaza. Those efforts suffered a major setback when the World Central Kitchen halted operations.
The World Central Kitchen said its aid workers were traveling in a “deconflicted zone” in two armored cars branded with the charity’s logo as well as “a soft skin vehicle.”
Despite coordinating movements with the Israeli military, “the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route,” the group said in a statement.
The Israeli regime has acknowledged the strike, claiming it will carry out an independent investigation into the attack.
Sputnik – 02.04.2024
Tel Aviv launched a strike against the Iranian diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital of Damascus this week, killing several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers in the process.
Israel’s attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria suggests that it is trying to “widen” the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip by drawing Iran into it, said Foad Izadi, an associate professor at the University of Tehran’s Department of American Studies.
“They have been trying to start a military confrontation between the United States and Iran for many years. And they think that they have an opportunity to have this done fighting Iran using American soldiers,” he told Sputnik, apparently suggesting that the US would be quick to leap to Israel’s defense if the latter were threatened by Tehran.
Izadi also remarked that Israel displayed a blatant disregard for international law by attacking a diplomatic compound, which is a violation of the Vienna Convention.
“That is what Israelis are trying to do. Netanyahu realizes that he has lost the war in Gaza. He has managed to kill more than 30,000, mostly women and children, without achieving any goals except killing these people and ruining their homes,” Izadi said.
“They say that they want to destroy Hamas, but that’s not a goal they can achieve. Obviously, they would have done that if they could. That’s why criminal acts and genocide in Gaza continue. And Netanyahu realizes that sooner or later this war needs to end. And that would be the end of his prime ministership. And so he’s trying to prolong the war, he’s trying to widen the war,” Izadi added.
Noting that Iran’s attempt to seek justice via the UN Security Council may be unsuccessful due to the likelihood of the US vetoing a resolution critical of Israel, Izadi suggested that Tehran may opt to “cause pain for the Israelis so that these types of actions are not repeated.”
“Because Iranian officials realize that if there is no pain in engaging in this type of activity, then they will continue,” he elaborated. “So I think Iran’s response would be two-fold in a manner that is not satisfying the Israeli aim of widening the war. I think that’s what Iranian leaders will do.”
RT | April 2, 2024
The head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergey Naryshkin, has described Monday’s airstrike on the Iranian Consulate in the Syrian capital as a terrorist attack committed by the Israeli government.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with his Belarusian counterparts on Tuesday, the spy chief condemned the strike, which reportedly killed several Iranian diplomats as well as seven officers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including two generals – Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi.
Naryshkin described the attack as “an ugly and criminal step in relation to the sovereign state of Iran, and in relation to the sovereign state of Syria, on whose territory this terrorist act was committed.”
He added that the SVR has received additional information about the incident, and reactions from various countries, but did not provide further details.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has also condemned the bombing of the Iranian compound in Damascus, stressing that any attacks on diplomatic missions, which are protected under the Vienna conventions on diplomatic relations, are unacceptable.
The ministry noted that the strike posed a high risk to Syrian civilians, as the building is located in a residential area, and warned that such brazen acts by Israel could trigger a major escalation in the region.
Israel has yet to comment on the attack, but officials have previously admitted to targeting Iran-linked forces on the territory of Syria.
By Christina Maas | Reclaim The Net | April 1, 2024
On April 1, 2024, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a sweeping statement indicating the immediate ceasing of Al Jazeera’s operations within Israeli territory. The Prime Minister’s staunch decision followed the legislative green light enhancing the authority of senior ministers to terminate the operations of non-domestic news agencies that are perceived as a potential threat to national security.
Emphasizing his intention to immediately commence action according to newly approved legislation, Netanyahu proclaimed, “Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel.” The declaration, which received widespread publicity through a post on X, was made right after the final iterations of the law received parliamentary approval.
Netanyahu’s decision can be traced back to an ongoing conflict with the Qatar-based media house, which he accuses of biased reporting against Israel. With a 70-10 majority vote in the Knesset, the legislation empowers the Prime Minister, alongside the Communications Minister, to order the closure of foreign networks in Israel and seize their equipment if identified as a security hazard.
An immediate international reaction to the news came from the White House, where spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre opined that restricting Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel would be “deeply concerning.”
Al Jazeera has denied allegations that its coverage jeopardizes Israel’s security, labeling these claims as “dangerous and ridiculous lies.” The network, known for its critical stance on Israel’s military actions in Gaza, has accused Israeli authorities of deliberately targeting its offices and staff.
By Oleg Burunov – Sputnik – 01.04.2024
The Jewish state has yet to verify its allegations that UNRWA – the largest aid organization in Gaza which has been supporting Palestinians since 1950 – was purportedly involved in the October 7, 2023 Hamas incursion.
According to The Guardian, Tel Aviv has demanded that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) be dismantled and its responsibilities and staff transferred to a new entity in exchange for allowing more aid into the Gaza Strip.
The newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying that the proposal was discussed by Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi and UN officials in Israel, and then handed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Under the plan, 300 to 400 UNRWA staff will be transferred either to an existing UN agency, such as the World Food Program (WFP), or to a newly established organization focused on food distribution in Gaza. More UNRWA staff and assets may eventually be transferred, although it remains unclear who would administer the new entity or provide security for its operations.
UNRWA was not involved in the proposal-related talks because of Israel’s reluctance to interact with the agency amid Tel Aviv’s unverified claims that 12 of the agency’s 13,000 Gaza staff participated in the October 7 Hamas incursion.
Tamara Alrifai, the agency’s director of external relations, warned that Israel’s plan would undermine the effective distribution of aid in Gaza, while a number of UN insiders, as well as other aid agencies and human rights organizations, insisted that the proposal actually aims to eliminate UNRWA.
“If we allow this, it is the slippery slope to us being completely managed directly by the Israelis, and the UN directly being complicit in undermining UNRWA, which is not only the biggest aid provider but also the biggest bastion of anti-extremism in Gaza. We would be playing into so many political agendas if we allowed this to happen,” The Guardian quoted an unnamed UN official as saying.
Alrifai, for her part, stressed that if the World Food Program were to start distributing food in Gaza tomorrow, they would use UNRWA trucks and bring food to UNRWA warehouses and then distribute food in or around UNRWA shelters.
“So they’re going to need at a minimum the same infrastructure that we have, including the human resources,” she added.
The same tone was struck by Chris Gunness, a former UNRWA spokesman, who said, “It is outrageous that UN agencies like WFP and senior UN officials are engaging in discussions about dismantling UNRWA.” He recalled that it is the UN General Assembly “which gives UNRWA its mandate and only the general assembly can change it, not the secretary general and certainly not a single member state.”
Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, tweeted that “attempts to sideline UNRWA must stop”.
“UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian operation in Gaza. Any effort to distribute aid without them is simply doomed to fail. No other agency has the same reach, experience or community trust needed to do the job,” Griffiths pointed out.
Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzya, for his part, called for a review of the decision to dismiss UNRWA staff and also stressed the need to restore funding to the agency. He was referring to the fact that several countries, including the US, the UK, Germany and Japan, have suspended funding in response to Israeli accusations of UNRWA’s involvement in the Hamas attack.
MEMO | April 1, 2024
The Israeli army withdrew from inside the Al-Shifa Hospital and the surrounding areas west of Gaza City early Monday, leaving scores of casualties and extensive destruction in the hospital and its vicinity, Anadolu news agency reported.
The army fully withdrew from inside the hospital and the surrounding neighbourhoods towards areas south of Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood, southwest of Gaza City, witnesses told Anadolu.
The Israeli forces burned all buildings in the hospital resulting in complete cessation of services, the witnesses added.
They also noted that the army destroyed the specialised surgery building and burned the main reception and emergency building.
Israeli forces also burned the buildings of the kidney and maternity wards, mortuary refrigerators, and cancer and burn facilities, and destroyed the outpatient clinic building, according to the witnesses.
According to Palestinian medical sources, the hospital is now completely out of service and the army destroyed all medical equipment in the complex, operation rooms, and intensive care units.
The witnesses reported that scores of scattered bodies were found in the hospital and in the streets surrounding it.
They explained that the army destroyed the makeshift cemetery established by Palestinians in the facility and removed the corpses from it, scattering them in various areas of the hospital.
They further noted that Israeli forces burned and destroyed many homes and residential buildings in the vicinity of the hospital.
The Israeli army raided the hospital, the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip that houses thousands of patients and displaced people, on 18 March.
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By Lisa Pease | Consortium News | September 16, 2013
More than a half century ago, just after midnight on Sept. 18, 1961, the plane carrying UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld and 15 others went down in a plane crash over Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). All 16 died, but the facts of the crash were provocatively mysterious. … continue
Aletho News If Americans Knew No Tricks Zone
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