BBC HardTalk: Professor Marandi on the Gaza Genocide and its regional implications
January 16, 2024
Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi discusses the Israeli genocide in Gaza, Yemen and the conflict in the Red Sea, Hezbollah’s border war, and Iraq. He explains the regional implications as well as the possibility of escalation and regional war.
UK Backing Israel With Spy Planes Over Gaza – Report
Sputnik – 19.01.2024
Late last year it was revealed the United Kingdom was supplying Israel with weapons from a base in Cyprus. Now new evidence is emerging of the lengths the country has gone to assist Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his Gaza military campaign.
British Defense Minister Grant Shapps had previously admitted the UK was providing “surveillance support to Israel,” although he couched the assistance in terms of “preventing the transfer of weapons to terrorist groups.” Shapps later claimed the surveillance flights were intended to locate two British captives being held in Gaza.
But now it has emerged that the British Armed Forces have flown 50 surveillance flights over the besieged enclave since December alone. The flights departed from RAF Akrotiri, the UK’s air force base in Cyprus.
The revelation is likely to prove controversial as the UK has been rocked by demonstrations protesting Israel’s deadly military operation in Gaza, which has killed nearly 25,000 people in the territory. Thousands of Britons have taken to the streets even as the country’s government has provoked free speech concerns by attempting to ban pro-Palestine protest chants. In France and Germany, authorities have banned some pro-Palestine demonstrations entirely.
The UK’s embattled defense minister was recently widely ridiculed for a speech warning that the UK was at risk of attack from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Shapps was mocked for an address where he declared “the era of the peace dividend is over” – the United Kingdom has been perhaps the strongest supporter of US military interventions throughout the world.
California Senator Says Calling for a Ceasefire in Gaza Is ‘Dehumanizing Language’
By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | January 18, 2024
In an interview with the LA Times, Sen. Laphonza Butler said that it was “dehumanizing” to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The striking comments come as Gaza has been turned into a humanitarian nightmare by an Israeli military campaign that has relayed upon US support.
The Senator was asked, “Why haven’t you called for a ceasefire in Gaza? Do you think it’s meaningful for a senator to call for a ceasefire or not?” “I don’t want my voice to ever be utilized in dehumanizing any Californian or American,” she responded. “We can both acknowledge that the atrocities of Oct. 7 were horrible and that Israel has a right to defend itself while we honor the humanity of the innocent Palestinian lives that are being used as a political pawn by a terrorist organization [Hamas].”
She continued, “And so for me, I want to use my time, energy, and attention to ensure that we are advocating for a permanent solution. And I don’t want to continue the language that further divides our party, our communities, or our country.”
The LA Times followed up, “What language is the dehumanizing language?” Butler answered, “To some, that is the ceasefire language and to some [it] is other words and phrases that have been sort of utilized in this context.” California’s junior Senator added, “To me, I want to focus on what is the solution that we can implement now and in the future, to accomplish both goals.”
Since the Hamas attack on southern Israel, which took place just over three months ago, Israeli operations in Gaza have killed at least 25,000 Palestinians, including over 10,000 children. The Israeli attacks have destroyed Gaza’s medical infrastructure, leading to children undergoing amputations in unsanitary conditions and without anesthetics.
Israel has used massive 2,000-pound bombs provided by the US near hospitals and in dense civilian areas, leading to massive deaths among women and children. Tel Aviv has also destroyed other critical civilian infrastructure, such as the solar array for a water treatment facility or universities.
Tel Aviv has severely restricted aid to Gaza. The lack of food has left hundreds of thousands of Palestinians suffering in famine conditions, according to the UN. Butler did not explain how ending the fighting in Gaza would be “dehumanizing” while continuing the onslaught in Gaza would “honor the humanity of innocent Palestinians.”
It is unclear what “solution” Butler is referring to. The White House claims it wants the conflict in Gaza to end with a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he told his partners in Washington that he would never allow the two-state solution to materialize.
The White House, like Butler, refuses to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The Biden administration has vetoed several UN Security Council resolutions that called for Israel to end its military operations in Gaza. Washington has additionally refused to place any conditions on the military assistance Israel is being provided on a near-daily basis.
The unrestrained support for Israel has started to break Biden from his voters and Democratic politicians. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen chastised Biden for allowing Tel Aviv to ignore Washington’s requests. “At every juncture, Netanyahu has given Biden the finger. They are pleading with the Netanyahu coalition, but getting slapped in the face over and over again,” he said. A recent USA Today poll found former President Donald Trump leading Biden among young voters, a demographic that also strongly opposes US support for Israel.
Israel Rounds Up Thousands of Palestinians Without Charge or Access to a Lawyer
By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | January 18, 2024
The Israeli Knesset has approved legislation that allows holding Palestinians deemed security prisoners for up to 180 days without access to a lawyer. Since October 7, Israel has placed thousands of Palestinians in administrative detention.
On Monday, the Israeli Knesset approved a law that extends “the emergency regulations that have allowed Israeli authorities to deny security prisoners, detained since October 7, the option to meet with their lawyers,” Haaretz reports. “The regulation will be valid for an additional three months, and will allow the state to prevent prisoners from meeting with a lawyer for up to 180 days.”
Since October 7, Israel has rounded up thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The number of Palestinians held in administration detention has increased from around 1,200 to over 3,300 in just three months. A total of 8,600 Palestinians are now in Israeli prisons.
Israel has severely restricted all communications with those in detention. Family members often report even struggling to locate their loved ones after getting arrested by Israeli occupation forces.
Since October 7, Palestinians have been beaten, tortured, and killed in Israeli prisons. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a member of the extremist Jewish Power, has significant influence over the conditions of Palestinian prisoners.
Ben Gvir, who has called for disloyal Palestinians to be expelled from Israel, has already degraded the conditions detainees are subject to using over-crowding as an excuse. The Knesset is considering legislation that will give the minister further authority to erode the rights of Palestinian prisoners.
Conditions are horrible for those men indiscriminately rounded up by the Israeli soldiers in Gaza. The Tel Aviv-based +972 Magazine conducted an investigation into the treatment of detained Palestinians and concluded, “systematic abuse and torture by Israeli soldiers against all of the detainees, civilians and combatants alike.”
“According to these testimonies, Israeli soldiers subjected Palestinian detainees to electric shocks, burned their skin with lighters, spat in their mouths, and deprived them of sleep, food, and access to bathrooms until they defecated on themselves.” The outlet added, “Many were tied to a fence for hours, handcuffed, and blindfolded for most of the day. Some testified to having been beaten all over their bodies and having cigarettes extinguished on their necks or backs. Several people are known to have died as a result of being held in these conditions.”
More than 390 educational institutes destroyed in Gaza
Press TV – January 18, 2024
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas announced the destruction of more than 390 schools, universities, and educational institutions in over 100 days of brutal bombardment of the besieged strip by the Israeli regime.
In a press note issued on Thursday, the resistance movement said, “More than 390 schools, universities, and educational institutions have been destroyed in 100 days, the most recent of which was the bombing of Al-Isra University and the re-bombing of the Islamic University today.”
Hamas said that the destruction of school and university buildings in the Gaza Strip “is a war crime and criminal behavior aimed at destroying all components of human life…” The resistance group stated that Israel is deliberately targeting the education system to erode the national identity of Palestinians.
Calling on the United Nations and other human rights organizations to document and prosecute the regime for its crimes, Hamas said, “We affirm that our people, through their steadfastness, sacrifices, and resistance, will thwart these despicable plans to undermine the educational system and obliterate the deep-rooted national identity of our Palestinian people.”
Gaza’s Ministry of Education announced on Tuesday that 4,368 students have been killed while almost 8000 have been injured since the start of Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7.
The number of teachers killed is 231 teachers with 756 injured.
Israel’s relentless bombardment has also targeted 65 schools affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA).
As per the figures given by the Palestinian Health Ministry on Wednesday, the death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has surged to 24,448.
Israeli army blows up university in Gaza after 70 days of converting it into a military barracks
Palestine Information Center – January 18, 2024
GAZA – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) blew up the building of Al-Isra University in Gaza after 70 days of occupying it and converting it into a military barracks and a detention center.
The university administration said in a statement on Thursday, “The IOF occupied the university building for seventy days, turning it into a military base and a center for sniping isolated civilians in the areas of Rashid Street, Al-Mughraqa, and Al-Zahra, as well as a temporary detention center for interrogating Palestinians, before detonating it.”
Israeli media outlets published a video documenting the moment the occupation forces detonated the main headquarters of Al-Isra University in the city of Al-Zahra, south of Gaza City, yesterday.
Israeli reserve soldiers refuse to fight in Gaza
The Cradle | January 18, 2024
About half the soldiers of an Israeli reserve battalion refused to fight in the Gaza Strip and were released from duty by their commander, Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed reported on 17 January.
The Qatari outlet cited Israel’s Kan Reshet Bet radio as reporting that reserve soldiers were called up to form a new brigade in the Israeli army to carry out protection tasks in the areas surrounding Gaza and the occupied West Bank. However, the soldiers received permission to leave the battalion after the army tried to send them to fight and carry out combat missions within Gaza for which they were not qualified or adequately equipped.
The soldiers were called up in late December, but the new brigade was poorly organized, did not have a deputy brigade commander, and was short on weapons and officers.
During the training period, soldiers complained of serious gaps in equipment, professionalism, and a lack of human resources.
The soldiers were then further angered to learn their mission had changed, and they would be sent to Gaza for combat missions.
The radio quoted one soldier as saying: “We received the conscription order, and we responded to that. They told us that our specialty would be to protect the towns, and after about a week of training that took place in a horrific manner, without ammunition, and without officers, we were suddenly told that there was an order that the Israeli army needed us to enter the Gaza Strip to clear homes.”
The soldier added, “We were shocked. We are all combat soldiers. I personally was in the Nahal Brigade, and the rest of the soldiers are from former infantry brigades, but we had not carried out reserve missions for years. We were given an M16 weapon, which fell apart in our hands, and there was no ammunition for training. We collected bullets off the ground so that we have something we can fire.”
The radio station quoted another soldier as saying, “There are people who trained without military uniforms. There are soldiers who were not given shirts or slippers at first. The means that were available were not suitable for training. The brigade, which was supposed to include four battalions, barely reached one and a half battalions. It is not understandable how they wanted to introduce such a completely unqualified force into the Gaza Strip.”
The report comes amid the announcement that the 36th division, which comprises armored, engineering, and infantry companies, withdrew from the Gaza Strip after 80 days of fighting.
The Israeli government says this is part of a planned transition away from the “intensive manoeuvring stage” of its Gaza military campaign to a more targeted phase to last until the end of this year.
At the same time, some speculate that Israel has been forced to withdraw some of its forces due to heavy losses inflicted by fighters from Hamas’ military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.
Israel is also facing economic difficulties, with the government having to pay salaries for hundreds of thousands of reserve soldiers called away from their civilian jobs.
Israel also has large numbers of soldiers on the northern border to support operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel’s army chief said Wednesday the likelihood of a full-scale war with the Lebanese resistance group has become “much higher.”
“I don’t know when the war in the north is, I can tell you that the likelihood of it happening in the coming months is much higher than it was in the past,” Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said in a statement during a visit to northern Israel.
Gaza Testimony
Al-Haq | January 17, 2024
Journalist Dia Al Kahlout was arbitrarily arrested by the #Israeli Occupying Forces from his home in Beit Lahia & detained for 33 days.
Upon his release, family members of others arbitrarily detained desperately try to get information about their loved ones
Republicans threaten to fire US federal workers if they oppose Israel genocide
MEMO | January 17, 2024
Qatari LNG tankers resume Red Sea passage
The Cradle | January 17, 2024
Four vessels carrying Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) have resumed passage through the Red Sea following a pause caused by Yemeni attacks on Israeli-linked ships and the US and UK bombing of Yemen last week, Reuters reported on 16 January.
LSEG ship tracking data revealed that the Qatari Al-Rekayyat tanker had resumed its return to Qatar via the Red Sea after initially halting its journey on 13 January. Furthermore, the Al-Ghariya, Al-Huwaila, and Al-Nuaman LNG tankers have also resumed their journeys through the Red Sea toward Europe.
The three tankers had been stopped near Oman’s shoreline since 14 January.
Some commercial shipping vessels and oil and LNG tankers have been either pausing their voyages or changing course away from the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
Many vessels have instead taken the lengthier route around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope, adding two weeks to the journey.
Ansarallah has previously affirmed that vessels that lack any association with Israel will be allowed to navigate through the Red Sea. The resistance group, which is now Yemen’s de facto government, is seeking to punish Israel for its ongoing war on Gaza, which many view as constituting genocide.
But even many non-Israeli linked ships have diverted course since US and UK forces began bombing Yemen on 12 January in response and warned against travel through the Red Sea. However, according to a Bloomberg report, several ships have ignored Washington’s warnings and continue to navigate the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Germany considers delivery of tank ammunition to Israel amid genocidal Gaza war
Press TV – January 17, 2024
Germany’s government is considering the delivery of tank ammunition to Israel amid genocidal war against Gaza, the German magazine Der Spiegel has reported, as Western governments keep on backing the Tel Aviv regime for its ongoing massacre.
Israel requested Germany in November to approve the delivery of around 10,000 rounds of 120-millimeter precision ammunition manufactured by Rheinmetall, the report said.
The departments involved have already fundamentally agreed behind the scenes to fulfill a request from the Israeli government.
The Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor thanked the German government for its unrelenting support it has shown.
“Since October 7, Germany has unmistakably stood by Israel and expressed its unreserved support,” Prosor told Der Spiegel. “Israel thanks Germany for this,” he added.
The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized that arms deliveries were also possible.
According to the report, in order to promptly address the request, there is consideration being given to releasing ammunition from the stocks of the German army as the industry is unable to provide the desired precision ammunition immediately.
In November apart from Germany, Israel had also asked other partners for military aid because of its heavy use of ammunition against the Gazans.
US President Joe Biden approved the delivery of 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition for almost $106 million at the beginning of December, after he bypassed Congress.
The Western-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza has been escalating because of the continuous support of Western governments, as they have been persistently arming Israel and supporting the regime with large amounts of funds.
Israeli war on Gaza was a high-risk gamble that proved a failure: Analyst
By Alireza Hashemi | Press TV | January 16, 2024
The Israeli genocidal war on Gaza was a high-risk gamble that eventually proved a failure, and the rising direct and indirect costs of the war make it difficult for the regime to sustain it, says an analyst.
Mohammad Sadeq Koushki, a Tehran-based political and foreign affairs commentator, in a conversation with the Press TV website, said the Israeli regime has encountered staggering losses with its onslaught on Gaza, which makes it hard for Israeli officials to keep fanning its flames.
“This war is unequal in many aspects. The biggest difference is that the Palestinian side has nothing to lose, and nowhere to go. They have no option but to defend themselves and to continue the war for as long as it takes,” he said, referring to the Palestinian resistance’s upper hand over the occupation.
“But on the other hand, the Zionists have a lot to lose. Those still living in the Israeli-occupied territories went there in the hope that they would have a better life there. Now that doesn’t exist and people are losing their motivation to remain in the occupied lands and have decided to leave.”
Koushki said the indirect costs of the war are also taking a heavy toll on the regime’s economy.
“It’s not just ordinary people leaving. Investors are also leaving. The skilled workforce who went there from Europe and the US are also leaving. Tourists are also afraid of visiting the region,” he noted.
“Reservists, who were summoned by the regime, have also left their jobs. For the first time, a huge population has been displaced, and the regime has to pay for their living expenses.”
Staggering cost of war
He said the Benjamin Netanyahu-led regime has been spending 200 to 250 million dollars per day on the war while continuing to lose their troops and tanks and military vehicles.
“It was a high-risk gamble from the beginning and it has failed. It’s the Zionist settlers who have to pay for this failure. Netanyahu is doing this at their expense. And the costs are rising fast,” Koushki said.
This week, the genocidal war launched by the Israeli regime on Gaza on October 7 completed 100 days, leaving almost 24,000 Palestinians dead, the majority of them children and women.
Despite the high casualty toll in Gaza, the Palestinian resistance groups backed by the people of Palestine have refused to retreat or surrender, or even leave the besieged territory.
According to political pundits, the regime failed to achieve any of its stated objectives of the war.
Of late, the Israeli military claimed that it has shifted to “a new phase” of the war, which it says is focused on the southern part of the blockaded territory.
There have also been reports of Israeli military regiments abandoning northern Gaza without managing to eliminate the Hamas resistance group or destroy its infrastructure.
Israel can’t crush resistance
Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected international calls for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, vowing that “no one will stop us” from eliminating the Hamas movement.
Israeli officials say the regime will keep going for months or even years until it achieves its stated goals.
Koushki said Hamas is a manifestation of Palestinian resistance and Israel has never been able to eliminate this resistance throughout the past 75 years of its occupation.
“Hamas is nothing to be destroyed. From the 1990s onwards, hundreds of Hamas commanders were assassinated. The most important leaders. What happened to Hamas,” he asked.
“Even if Israel gets all of Hamas members in Palestine and executes every single one of them, the next generation of Palestinians will be the new Hamas. They can’t eliminate the resistance.”
On calls by various Israeli regime officials for Gazans to be “encouraged” to leave the region, Koushki asserted that Israel’s forced displacement plan is not feasible.
‘Zionists feel cornered’
On recent Israeli attacks inside Syria and Lebanon, which led to the martyrdom of several commanders of the resistance front, including Iran’s Sayyed Razi Mousavi, Koushki said it won’t help the regime.
“Even if Israelis attack Syria or Lebanon 10 times a day, or assassinate five resistance commanders each day, it doesn’t change anything on the ground in Gaza and doesn’t make up for Israel’s huge losses.”
When asked about the effectiveness of attacks by Lebanese, Iraqi, and Yemeni resistance groups against Israeli interests, Koushki highlighted the significant psychological impact of these strikes.
“Those living in the occupied territories feel they’re cornered and this places a huge pressure on them. They feel they’re being attacked from all directions. This is the first time that all occupied territories are insecure. From Eilat in the south to Galilee in the north to even central regions. People feel they don’t belong to this region,” the Iranian analyst told the Press TV website.
Asked whether the US and its allies can deter further anti-Israel operations by the Yemeni military, the analyst said the recent attacks on Yemen have not degraded their capability to attack Israel.
“The point is that Yemenis have imposed a semi-blockade on Israel. Did these attacks stop Yemen from targeting Israel-linked ships? Yemenis have conducted attacks against those ships even after the recent US-UK attacks. So they couldn’t stop Yemen and it’s very hard to believe they can do that shortly.”
South Africa’s genocide case
On South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, he said the regime is unlikely to abide by any ICJ verdict but it would significantly boost the pro-Palestine movement worldwide.
“Israel defied numerous UN resolutions and disregarded the 2004 ICJ ruling on the separation wall. This genocide case would be no exception. But Israel’s flouting of laws will only solidify its status as a pariah in the eyes of its backers in the West and further mobilize global public opinion against the regime.”
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Book Review
Former Insiders Criticize Iran Policy as U.S. Hegemony
By GARETH PORTER | CounterPunch | February 27, 2013
“Going to Tehran” arguably represents the most important work on the subject of U.S.-Iran relations to be published thus far.
Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett tackle not only U.S. policy toward Iran but the broader context of Middle East policy with a systematic analytical perspective informed by personal experience, as well as very extensive documentation.
More importantly, however, their exposé required a degree of courage that may be unparalleled in the writing of former U.S. national security officials about issues on which they worked. They have chosen not just to criticise U.S. policy toward Iran but to analyse that policy as a problem of U.S. hegemony. … continue
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