Deputy head of Hamas politburo assassinated in Israeli strike
Press TV – January 2, 2024
The deputy head of the political bureau of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has been assassinated in an Israeli drone attack in the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital of Beirut.
Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television network reported on Tuesday that Saleh al-Arouri was killed as a result of an explosion in a building in al-Musharrafieh district in southern Beirut.
Arouri was killed in a “treacherous Zionist strike,” the television network said, adding that the blast took place after an Israeli drone bombed the building with three missiles, killing six people and wounding several others.
Hamas confirmed the martyrdom of Arouri as the chief of staff of the resistance movement in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip, praising him as the “architect” of Operation al-Aqsa Storm.
Hamas vowed in a statement that the killing of the resistance movement’s deputy will not “undermine the continued brave resistance” in Gaza.
“It proves once more the utter failure of the enemy to achieve any of its aggressive goals in the Gaza Strip,” Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, said in the statement.
The Israeli regime launched its devastating war on the Gaza Strip on October 7 after the territory’s Hamas-led Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.
The Israeli military has also been carrying out attacks against the Lebanese territory since then, prompting retaliatory strikes from Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
The movement has vowed to keep up its retaliatory operations as long as the regime continues its onslaught on Gaza.
The relentless Israeli military campaign against Gaza has killed more than 22,000 people, most of them women and children. At least 57,000 individuals have also been wounded.
The regime has largely cut off access to water, food and power supplies to Gaza.
Palestinians return to north Gaza after Israel pulls back troops over ‘high cost of war’
Press TV – January 2, 2024
Thousands of Palestinians have reportedly been returning to the north of the Gaza Strip after the withdrawal of some Israeli forces from the area.
After returning to northern Gaza, a woman told Al Jazeera TV that people were sitting and sleeping among the debris “where the smell of blood and death is everywhere.”
“A lot of massacres have been committed here. The resilience of the people here will always be stronger than the occupation army,” she added.
Another woman said she would “never abandon north Gaza” despite a lack of food and clean water.
“I will never leave my land and house and family despite the suffering,” she emphasized.
The Israeli military said earlier that it was withdrawing thousands of forces from the Gaza Strip, in the first significant troop pullback since the devastating war began nearly three months ago.
In a statement on Monday, the regime’s army said, “The move is expected to significantly alleviate economic burdens and enable troops to gather strength for upcoming activities in the next year, as the fighting will persist and their services will be needed.”
The announcement came as fighting has tapered off in the northern areas of Gaza, though clashes continue to rage in the south.
Earlier, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the regime’s army was making adjustments to its deployment in Gaza, in anticipation of a long war ahead.
“The goals of the war require lengthy fighting, and we are prepared accordingly,” he noted.
Meanwhile, an unnamed Israeli official claimed that some of the five brigades withdrawn will prepare for a potential second front against the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement.
‘Gradual shift to lower intensity operations’
A US official said that Israel’s drawdown of troops from Gaza signifies a potential beginning of operations with reduced intensity in the territory’s north, stressing, however, that the conflict in that area persists.
“This appears to be the start of the gradual shift to lower intensity operations in the north that we have been encouraging… I’d caution though there is still fighting in the north and this does not reflect any changes in the south,” the official said.
A few days ago, the Israeli army’s much-hyped Golani Brigade was forced to withdraw from Gaza to “reorganize its ranks” after suffering huge losses at the hands of resistance fighters.
Israel waged the brutal war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out an historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
However, almost three months into the war, Tel Aviv has failed to achieve its declared objective of eliminating Hamas and finding Israeli captives in Gaza, despite killing at least 21,978 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 57,697 others.
Israeli ministers call for Palestinians’ expulsion from Gaza
Speaking on Monday, Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the regime “will permanently control the Gaza Strip to ensure security”.
He stressed that the objective would be achieved through the “permanent presence of Israeli forces” along with “establishing Jewish settlements,” adding that he would present the plan soon to the regime’s war cabinet.
“Those who think that the solutions in the Gaza Strip will be similar to those tried in the past are mistaken,” he said.
Similarly, Israel’s extremist security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the war presents an “opportunity to concentrate on encouraging the migration of the residents of Gaza,” branding such a policy as “a correct, just, moral and humane solution.”
Veteran Arab lawmaker at the Israeli parliament Ahmad Tibi condemned Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, saying their rhetoric was “inciting genocide.”
“A day will come and these two senior ministers in the Israeli government will stand before an international tribunal for war crimes,” he stated.
Human rights abuses in the Jordan Valley in Features
International Solidarity Movement | January 1, 2024
The following article is a snapshot of how life is under occupation and brutal settler colonialism for the Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley. These incidents are just some that took place on one day (Friday 29th December).
Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) soldiers, along with officials from the Mekorot Water Control Company (Israel’s national water company), stormed the village of Bardala and closed the water holes used by the farmers of the village to irrigate crops, as part of a policy of water deprivation. The policy of racial discrimination and apartheid in the right to water constitutes an existential threat to the Jordan Valley communities.
The IOF and Mekorot arrive at village of Bardala to sever water connection.
Water gushing in to the air from the pipe severed by the IOF and Mekorot.
The IOF and the Jordan Valley Regional Settlements Council closed the only entrance to the pastures to the east of Ain al-Hilweh in the northern Jordan Valley. The iron gate placed across the entrance and guarded by IOF soldiers prevents shepherds and their livestock from entering any of their lands and pastures east of Route 60. With this gate, gangs of illegal settlers now have full control over a vast area of more than 55,000 dunums of land (approximately 14,000 acres) located between Road 60 and Road 90. The loss of grazing land and the confinement of livestock in population centres constitute a disaster for farming communities in these areas and are driving factors in their forced displacement.
Photo of gate installed by the IOF at village of Ain al-Hilweh.
Citizen Abu Mahdi Daraghmeh from Ain al-Hilweh reported that he is using legal channels to launch an appeal in order to protect him from the herding activities of illegal settlers, as settlers stole 80 cows from his children the day prior. Denial from the settlers along with the complete inability of the Occupation Authority’s Civil Administration to address the problem have left him with no other option. Herding is a strategy increasingly used by illegal settlers to steal land across the West Bank.
House demolitions, a powerful tool for forced displacement and ethnic cleansing used by Israel, are continuing apace in the Jordan Valley. On 26th December at around 9am, Civil Administration personnel came with IOF soldiers and two bulldozers to the village of Furush Beit Dajan. The forces demolished five homes of five families numbering twenty five people, eight of them children. Three of the homes demolished were built before 1967. The forces also demolished three seasonal homes of three families, numbering twenty people, including seven children. A concrete wall around one of the houses as well as a pool used to irrigate crops were also demolished.
House demolitions at the village of Furush Beit Dajan.
House demolitions at village of Furush Beit Dajan.
The Jordan Valley Solidarity Campaign is one of the main solidarity organisations active in the Jordan Valley, with which ISM has worked in partnership over the years. It is a network of Palestinian grassroots community groups from throughout the Jordan Valley and stands side by side with Jordan Valley residents in resisting the ethnic cleansing of their communities through direct solidarity.
Photos credit: Jordan Valley Solidarity
As 2024 dawns, Palestinian detainee Abdul-Rahman al-Bahsh assassinated in Zionist jails
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network | January 1, 2024
As the new year dawns on 2024, amid the ongoing Zionist genocide in occupied Palestine — and the heroic resistance confronting the occupation war machine — the Israeli occupation forces are continuing their war on the Palestinian detainees and the prisoners’ movement. On 1 January 2024, 23-year-old Palestinian detainee, Abdul-Rahman Bassem Al-Bahsh was assassinated by occupation forces inside the colonial Zionist Megiddo prison.
The 23-year-old Palestinian struggler had been detained since 31 May 2022, and sentenced by a Zionist military court to 35 months in occupation prisons, making him the first martyr of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement in 2024. He is the seventh Palestinian martyr inside the occupation prisons since 7 October 2023 and the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Flood. We note that this is not the complete number of Palestinian detainees who have been killed by Israeli occupation forces since 7 October; in addition to the numerous reports of horrific torture, mutilation and inhuman treatment against Palestinian detainees from Gaza, a number of Palestinian civilians kidnapped from Gaza by occupation soldiers were reported to be killed where they were held in a camp near Bir al-Saba. Their names and identities have not yet been disclosed.
This also comes amid the ongoing reports of torture and abuse within the Zionist prison system, with multiple testimonies by Palestinian prisoners, their lawyers, and especially the Palestinian women and children detainees liberated by the Palestinian resistance during the prisoner exchanges of November 2023. One of the child detainees released in November was an eyewitness to the murder of Thaer Abu Assab and spoke about the assassination immediately upon his release; reports now indicate that at least 19 occupation prison guards participated in the assassination.
The Palestinian prisoners assassinated inside Zionist jails since 7 October are:
- Omar Daraghmeh of Tubas
- Arafat Hamdan of Ramallah
- Majid Zaqoul of Gaza
- Palestinian detainee from Gaza (identity still not known)
- Abdel-Rahman Mar’i of Salfit
- Thaer Abu Assab of Qalqilya
- Abdul-Rahman al-Bahsh of Nablus
Mar’i, Daraghmeh and al-Bahsh were all assassinated inside the colonial Megiddo prison; with the assassination of al-Bahsh, the number of martyrs of the prisoners’ movement rises to 244 since the 1967 occupation. (There are greater, yet not entirely known, numbers of Palestinians detained since the beginning of the Zionist occupation in 1948, not to mention the British colonial regime that sponsored the Zionist colonization of Palestine.)
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society emphasized the responsibility of the Zionist regime and of the Western imperialist powers who continue to support it, arm it and provide it with impunity for its ongoing genocide: “In light of the intensity of the crimes that the occupation continues to commit against imprisoned detainees, we hold that all international powers that continue to support the occupation in its ongoing genocide against our people in Gaza and the continuing aggression against our people everywhere, including our prisoners in occupation jails, hold full responsibility for these crimes alongside the criminal occupation.”
The number of Palestinian prisoners in occupation jails has risen to over 7,000 since 7 October, including over 2,000 jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention. The prisoners are subjected to collective punishment, including the confiscation of all electrical devices, including heating plates, televisions and radios (denying them access to news of the assault and the resistance); cutting electicity to the sections throughout the day; denial of access to the courtyard; destruction of sports equipment; cutting off of all hot water; closure of the kitchen; constant room searches and raids; overcrowding of the prison rooms; and the continued escalation of administrative detention orders. Mass food poisoning has broken out in Ofer prison, and multiple released detainees reported being served uncooked or spoiled food, while their own access to the kitchen was barred. Palestinian prisoners whose sentences have ended are being ordered jailed without charge or trial rather than released.
It is important to note that the war on Palestinian prisoners did not begin on 7 October but rather has continued; prior to 7 October, the notorious fascist Itamar Ben Gvir was placed in charge of the Zionist prisons, banning family visits, ordering ongoing raids and assaults against the prisoners, and cutting food and water alongside the massive escalation in the use of administrative detention (a policy initially introduced to Palestine by the British colonial regime and then taken up by its Zionist successor).
This ongoing policy of extreme torture, abuse and isolation aims to target the Palestinian prisoners’ movement as a whole, to undermine the prisoners’ unity and steadfastness in confronting the occupation. It particularly comes as the Palestinian resistance has captured prisoners of war in order to seek a prisoner exchange to liberate the Palestinian prisoners jailed by the occupation and its imperialist allies and backers. These assassinations also shine a spotlight on the immense disparity in the treatment of Palestinian prisoners by the Zionist regime in comparison to the way in which Zionist detainees captured by the Palestinian resistance in order to secure a prisoner exchange have been treated, as witnessed before the world in the November exchanges of women and children detainees.
Houthi group says 10 fighters killed by US in spillover of Gaza crisis; ‘major escalation so far unlikely’
By Deng Xiaoci | Global Times | January 1, 2024
The Red Sea – one of the world’s most important shipping lanes that links markets in Europe with Asia – saw another bloody incident on Sunday with Yemen’s Houthi group stating that 10 of its fighters were killed by US naval forces while they were preventing Israel-related ships from passing through the Red Sea, in solidarity and support for the Palestinian people.
Analysts said the new clash in the waters of the Red Sea is a spillover of the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and although it is unlikely to lead to a major escalation of tensions or the outbreak of a new war in the region, the US should understand that the key to fundamentally addressing the Red Sea issue lies in easing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Xinhua News Agency on Sunday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said that US forces attacked three boats belonging to the Houthi group. The spokesman said the US “bears the consequences of this crime,” and that the “military movements in the Red Sea to protect Israeli ships will not prevent Yemen (Houthi militia) from performing its humanitarian duty in support of Palestine and Gaza.”
According to Al Jazeera on Sunday, helicopters from two US warships – the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely – shot at the “Iranian-backed Houthi small boats” in self-defense on Sunday morning while responding to an SOS call from the Singapore-flagged vessel Maersk Hangzhou, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The US helicopters sank three of the boats, killing several of their crew, it said.
Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies in Lanzhou University, told the Global Times on Monday that after the Sunday turmoil, Houthi forces may continue to carry out small-scale actions, but it is unlikely that they will directly retaliate against or launch aggressive counterattacks on US forces.
The use of small boats for harassment may decrease, and more drones and missiles will be used for this purpose, while direct confrontations are very unlikely, the analyst said. “Such an event will not directly lead to an escalation, as the US military is still in a defensive mode and has not actively struck the Houthi forces. The Sunday event is a major one but not severe enough to become a turning point.”
The US on December 19 announced a global naval task force to safeguard shipping in the contentious waters, through which some 12 percent of global trade passes, according to reports from Al Jazeera.
Chinese observers pointed out that the clash in the Red Sea is actually a spillover of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “To fundamentally solve it, it is necessary for the Israeli-Palestinian issue to be significantly eased, including the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Even if aggressive military strategies are adopted, the US may achieve good results in the short term, but they are not a permanent solution, as the root cause lies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” they said.
The Sunday incident came shortly after UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement via his spokesperson that he was gravely concerned about the further spillover of the conflict, which could have devastating consequences for the entire region, citing continuing attacks by armed groups in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Houthi attacks against vessels in the Red Sea, which have escalated in recent days, according to a transcript of the statement.
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said Sunday that more Palestinians were killed in conflicts in 2023 than in any other year since 1948. According to the bureau, 22,404 Palestinians died in 2023, and 22,141 of them were killed since the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and the Hamas on October 7, 2023.
More discomfort awaits the West in 2024 if it doesn’t adapt to new reality
Illustration: Liu Rui/GT
Global Times | January 1, 2024
What kind of experience did 2023 bring to Western countries? According to mainstream Western media, the most apt term to encapsulate the Western sentiment is “uncomfortable.”
An article from the BBC suggests that the past 12 months have seen a number of setbacks for the US, Europe and other major democracies on the international politics stage. Although none has been disastrous for now, they point to a shifting balance of power away from the US-dominated, Western values that have held sway for years, the article claimed. The mentioned setbacks include regional conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Palestine conflict. Challenges posed by countries perceived as adversarial by the US and the West, such as China, Iran, and North Korea, were also highlighted.
The Ukraine crisis has continued on, and the Israel-Palestine conflict has reignited, while the responses from the international community don’t align with the preferences of the US and its Western allies. All of this has made them feel “uncomfortable.”
When it comes to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, despite receiving support from the West, Ukraine has faced difficulties and failed to progress as expected in its conflict with Russia. This has led to Western fatigue and frustration. Due to partisan divisions in the US, providing aid to Ukraine has become problematic. In contrast, Russia has managed to stabilize its frontlines and handle the prolonged war effectively, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. He noted that sanctions against Russia, with only around 30 countries participating in condemning Russia’s actions, have failed to significantly impact the Russian economy, instead, Russia has demonstrated remarkable resilience, contrary to Western expectations.
In the case of the Israel-Palestine conflict, most developing countries held positions inconsistent with those of the US. Many countries expressed disappointment and regret over the US veto of the Gaza-related drafts demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, distancing themselves from the US pro-Israel stance.
The BBC states that Arab ministers believe there are double standards in Western approaches to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Israel-Palestine conflict, accusing the Western governments of hypocrisy. This reflects a growing opposition from Global South and developing countries against the values advocated by the US and the West in various events, and the Western influence is diminishing, said Yang Xiyu, a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies.
Issues such as the Ukraine crisis and the Israel-Palestine conflict increasingly demonstrate that the West, particularly Europe and the US, can no longer bring positive values to the world. More and more countries and their people in the Global South have become aware of this and refuse to accept Western double standards.
Today, an increasing number of developing countries are expressing clear opposition to irresponsible actions by the US and Europe. The major demand of these countries is to have a peaceful and stable international environment for national development. However, Western countries, the US in particular, are acting as the world’s largest disruptor of peace and creator of conflicts. In the cases of the Ukraine crisis and the Israel-Palestine conflict, the US not only fuels the flames but also opposes proposals for peace talks raised by other countries. In pursuit of its selfish interests, the US has caused suffering to the people of Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, hindering the resolution of other urgent global issues. In such circumstances, more and more developing countries are becoming courageous enough to say no to the US and the West.
In 2024, the influence and dominance of the West, whether in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or the Israel-Palestine conflict, will continue to decline. If 2023 did not unfold according to their expectations, 2024 is likely to deviate even further. This will bring more discomfort for them. Washington now has to adapt to a new reality: Global South countries are becoming more mature and gaining more decision-making autonomy. US politicians, who are used to dictating terms to countries worldwide and expecting developments to revolve around US interests, must reflect on and adapt to this new change. Otherwise, when the media summarizes 2024, it may not be as simple as just feeling uncomfortable; the experience might be more agonizing.
Europe under the unbearable yoke and heavy burden of the United States
By Viktor Mikhin – New Eastern Outlook – 01.01.2024
The latest round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the current carnage inflicted by Israel on all Palestinians in Gaza, will continue for some time and end in another tragedy for the Palestinians. But in the long run, all these events will lead to huge negative consequences that all peoples of the Middle East, including the Israelis, will be experiencing for a long time. But while none of the parties in the world will benefit from the disaster, “European countries will particularly pay a higher price for the ongoing conflict,” notes the Iranian publication Tehran Times. Although the leaders of the European states are well aware of the erroneous nature of current US policy, they, like true American puppets, are forced to blindly and unconditionally follow Washington’s course.
History shows that there have been many cases where European countries have paid the price for US policy mistakes over the past two decades. One such striking example may be Europe’s erroneous policy towards the peaceful nuclear development issue of Iran. Until 2012, European countries were among Iran’s most important economic partners, if not the largest, and Iran was a very important market for European products. Iranians preferred German electronics and cars to similar products from elsewhere. But because of the illegal US sanctions against Iran, European companies withdrew from the Iranian market and eventually paid a heavy price for the loss of a very profitable and promising Iranian market. Today, the economic presence of European countries and their companies in Iran are almost non-existent.
The second such example could be the heavy-handed and brazen interference of the United States in the internal affairs of the Middle East over the past two decades. The Middle East, although not really peaceful, remained generally stable in the 1990s and early 2000s. Therefore, European countries were very ambitious in promoting economic integration with their Middle Eastern neighbors, since the security situation was acceptable. The Barcelona process of the 1990s was such a program for the integration of Europe and its neighbors on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea. But the first two decades of the 21st century witnessed the United States often intervening militarily in the internal affairs of a number of countries in the Middle East, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. As a result of constant military actions, the states and peoples of the Middle East have been experiencing enormous regional upheavals for more than two decades, and, by all accounts, this region is the most turbulent in the world.
Several regional and non-regional players have, quite naturally, various disagreements with the United States in the field of strategy, ideology, politics and economy. However, it is the European countries that have been most seriously affected by the instability, since they are the immediate neighbors of the Middle East. The stream of refugees has increased the economic and social burden and caused divisions both at domestic and EU interstate levels. And in the distant future, they will face even more negative consequences, as European politicians will have to solve even more difficult tasks just to survive.
The third example could be the latest conflict between Israel and Palestine. The war, the carnage unleashed by Israel in the Gaza Strip, has already led to a very serious humanitarian catastrophe, since about 20,000 Palestinians have died so far, about two thirds of whom are women and children, and more than two million have been displaced and become homeless. If the war continues, there will be a more serious humanitarian catastrophe for both the Palestinians and other peoples of the region. More refugees are likely to arrive in European countries, which will add new difficulties to their economies. As some European politicians travel to Israel to demonstrate their support for Tel Aviv’s hardline policies, Muslims in these countries will become increasingly dissatisfied with the course of politicians. There will be new divisions within the EU, as some countries do not share the views of those who support Israel’s unwise policy of destroying the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip.
In general, if one knows his history, the United States has been making mistakes in the region, while the European countries have kept paying a high price for them. Then there is the question of whether the elites in Europe understand the scenario and the rationale behind it. The answer is a resounding yes. In fact, the various political concepts initiated by Europe have sufficiently indicated that Europeans are well aware of their aforementioned problem. But at the same time, they continue to make the same mistakes over and over again, or, as a Russian saying goes, they keep stepping on the same rake. Indeed, if God wants to punish someone, he takes away his mind.
In the early 2000s, European leaders proposed the concept of “negotiation diplomacy,” which, in their opinion, could allow them to shape the Middle East through an approach different from the United States’ policy of force. Thus, in 2003, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder fiercely and decisively opposed the attempts of the United States to brazenly invade Iraq by falsifying documents and deceiving the world community. Over time, they were proved to be right, although they failed to stop the war, or rather the massacre of the civilian population of Iraq.
In the same year, three foreign ministers — of France, Germany and the United Kingdom — made a joint visit to Iran to find a solution to the Iranian peaceful nuclear development issue through their diplomacy, as opposed to the US approaches to economic sanctions and military pressure. The efforts of the European trio also proved to be correct, although they failed to change the US sanctions approach to solving the Iranian problem.
In 2010, the EU proposed a different concept of strategic autonomy, and the term itself indicated its intention to distance itself from the United States and reduce its dependence on the Americans in security matters. But, unfortunately, during this period, Europe did not make sufficient efforts to demonstrate the autonomous aspect of its policy. Instead, some European countries even sided with the United States in a policy that ultimately led to the infringement of their economic and security interests, as mentioned above.
It is true that Atlantic relations with Europe were based on cultural and historical ties, and they have not changed for a long time. But, on the other hand, European countries have really different interests. The Middle East is an immediate neighbor of Europe, yet is far removed from the United States, and anything bad that happens in the Middle East can negatively affect Europe. Logically speaking, it is unreasonable that the EU will always support the United States in all its risky plans.
Moreover, the current US policy towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, with millions of Palestinians already forced to leave their homes, obviously undermines justice, which should be one of the fundamental principles of the international order. The continuation of such a crisis will undermine the image not only of the United States, but also to an even greater extent of Europe, which neighbors the Middle East. In any case, it is high time for European leaders to develop a reasonable approach, balancing justice and its Atlantic obligations. Otherwise, if history is anything to go by, mistakes made under pressure from the United States can force Europe to pay an even higher and unaffordable price.
What We Have Learned
By Craig Murray | December 24, 2023
We have learnt this year that there is no crime so startling, so obvious and so visible to the whole world that the United States and Israel are not willing to commit it brazenly and openly. The massacre of 20,000 people includes the killing of babies and infants, the deliberate shooting of pregnant women and toddlers, the murder of old ladies in church and the execution of prisoners stripped naked.
This is all justified as “Israel’s right of self-defence”.
We have also seen the increasing rise of fascism as western governments crack down on their publics in order to curtail political resistance to the genocide. Tony Greenstein, Mick Napier and I have all been harassed under the Terrorism Act. I have left the country because I fear I am officially “under investigation” under the Terrorism Act and I fear I shall be arrested and placed in jail for two years awaiting trial. Numerous people have been arrested for expressing their horror at the massacre through placards, words or even songs that the police judge “offensive”. Police action is often prompted by instruction from self-appointed Zionist vigilante organisations.
We are also seeing, exactly as I predicted, a replay of the “War on Terror” state Islamophobic propaganda. Do you remember the famous “ricin plot” where the ricin found was the trace level to be found in every kitchen? The British government kept it Top Secret for two years that there was in fact no ricin. Or the non-existent Easter Bomb Plot where the “ingredient of improvised explosives” found turned out to be a bag of sugar?
In Germany they have a great deal of work to do to justify the world’s most extreme anti-Palestinian governmental racism, so they have invented a “Hamas terror plot” and arrested four young Muslims. No evidence at all has been produced to justify this.
Hamas has never, ever conducted any violent attack outside of Palestine and it has always been their policy not to do so – and it still is. The notion is ludicrous that at this time Hamas have decided to suddenly lose the propaganda war which they are winning worldwide, by attacking Germany.
Germany’s governments have form of course, not only for genocide, but also for enthusiastic creation of fake terrorism. The German government was heavily implicated both in false flag terrorist attacks in Tashkent, which I was able to investigate and report to the UK government in real time, and in the creation of a whole fake terrorist organisation, “The Islamic Jihad Union of Uzbekistan”, which was entirely the work of the CIA and the German security services. The aim at that time was to justify the German military airbase at Termez in Uzbekistan, operating into Afghanistan. People forget German participation on the losing side in the last Afghan war.
I have no doubt we are in for a period of more propaganda, fake terrorist plots, false flag actual terrorism and agent provocateur led terrorism. It is the only way the Establishment can hope to regain the propaganda narrative.
I have not quite got used yet to my new position as an itinerant terrorist, so I apologise that posting has been a bit scarce due to a lot of organisational bother and a general sense of discombobulation. This is being dashed off at Milan airport. I am very happy on a personal note to say that my family are joining me at an exotic venue for Christmas and New Year, so you may not hear much from me till mid-January as I owe my children a great deal of my attention.
I do wish you a safe and very happy festive season wherever you are, and hope you can be together with those you love. For all those living in fear and danger, particularly but not only those in Gaza, my thoughts along with those of millions around the world are with you now and always.
Shortly before the first Iraq War, between the invasion of Kuwait and the outbreak of real hostilities, I spent a minute in reply to one from John Major. I was working in a the Embargo Surveillance Centre, a Top Secret establishment operating from an underground NATO HQ in central London. We were among the recipients of a Christmas message from the Prime Minister which combined Christian wishes with a bellicose message. I replied in a formal minute with this verse from the carol It Came Upon the Midnight Clear:
But with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring; –
Oh hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing!
Whomever the angels are to you, I hope you hear them sing.
PFLP announces death of captive Israeli soldier in Gaza after failed rescue
The Cradle | December 31, 2023
An Israeli soldier held captive by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in Gaza was killed in an Israeli air strike, the spokesman for the armed wing of the Palestinian resistance group announced on 30 December.
In his first speech since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades spokesman Abu Jamal announced the death of the Israeli captive, adding that the air strike took place following a failed attempt by Israeli special forces to free him and which was confronted by the PLFP fighters.
Abu Jamal said the airstrike was called in to cover the retreat of the Israeli forces, and lightly wounded the PLFP fighters who were responsible for the captive.
The spokesperson gave no details of when the soldier had been taken captive, or where he was being held in Gaza. He said the group is still holding the soldier’s body.
Abu Jamal also announced the PLFP had destroyed or disabled 95 Israeli army vehicles during the ongoing ground invasion of Gaza. He also announced the group obtained a laptop and flash drives with sensitive information and private data during the attack on 7 October on Israeli military bases and settlements surrounding Gaza. He said Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades continue to benefit from this information in their operations.
Because the Israeli airstrike killed the Israeli soldier, it is possible the Israeli military may have invoked a controversial policy known as the “Hannibal Directive.”
The policy was established in 1986 following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Times of Israel described how the “directive allows soldiers to use potentially massive amounts of force to prevent a soldier from falling into the hands of the enemy. This includes the possibility of endangering the life of the soldier in question in order to prevent his capture.”
“Some officers, however, understand the order to mean that soldiers ought to deliberately kill their comrade in order to stop him from being taken prisoner, not that they may accidentally injure or kill him in their attempt,” the paper added.
The directive is meant to prevent Israel’s enemies from gaining leverage and forcing concessions from it in the form of prisoner exchanges.
Following the launch of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on 7 October, the PFLP announced that, “This is the day when the nature of the struggle and the dignity of the Arab nation are reclaimed,” while declaring the resistance is “determined to achieve a strategic victory over this enemy in a battle that will open the door to return and redefine the history of Palestine and the region.”
US sinks Yemeni boats enforcing Red Sea blockade against Israel
The Cradle | December 31, 2023
US Navy helicopters sank three Yemeni naval boats in the Red Sea, killing ten, a statement from the Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces said on 31 December.
According to the statement, the Yemeni navy fighters were killed “performing their humanitarian and moral duty” to prevent Israeli-linked ships or those heading to Israeli ports from passing through the Red Sea, “in solidarity and support for the Palestinian people.”
Since the beginning of the war on Gaza on 7 October, Yemeni armed forces have attacked over 15 commercial ships either headed to Israeli ports or whose owners have links to Israel, in an effort to stop Israel’s ongoing bombing campaign on Gaza, which many view as genocide.
The statement continued, saying “The Yemeni armed forces, while bleeding in the midst of the battle to support the Al-Aqsa Flood, accept these martyrs for the sake of Palestine and confirm that the American enemy bears the consequences of this crime and its repercussions.”
The statement added that Yemeni naval forces “succeeded in carrying out a military operation targeting the Maersk Hangzhou container ship, which was heading to the ports of occupied Palestine, with appropriate naval missiles.”
The operation came after the ship’s crew refused to respond to warning calls from the Yemeni naval forces.
Regarding the incident, US Central Command said the crew of the USS Gravely destroyer first shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired at the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou on Saturday. US forces shot down the missiles after the vessel reported getting hit by a missile earlier that evening as it sailed through the southern Red Sea.
Four small boats then attacked the same cargo ship with small arms fire early Sunday while commandos tried to board the vessel, the US Navy said.
Next, the USS Gravely and helicopters from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier responded to the Maersk Hangzhou’s distress call and issued verbal warnings to the attackers, who responded by firing on the helicopters.
US Navy helicopters then opened fire, sinking three of the four boats and killing the people on board while the fourth boat fled the area, the US Central Command said.
The US escalation comes as the UK military prepares to launch a wave of air strikes against Yemen.
The Times of London reported on 31 December that “Under the plans the UK would join with the US and possibly another European country to unleash a salvo of missiles against pre-planned targets, either in the sea or in Yemen itself,” where the Ansarallah-led Yemeni armed forces are based.”
The Times reported that according to government sources, the “co-ordinated strikes could involve RAF warplanes for the first time or HMS Diamond, a Type 45 destroyer which successfully destroyed an attack drone with a Sea Viper missile in the Red Sea earlier this month.”
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“Democratic Institutions?” – 10 Lessons from history that will destroy your trust in the CIA
By Kit | OffGuardian | July 20, 2018
… At every corner, we are urged to simply believe what we are told. Whether it is about believing Porton Down and MI6 about “novichok”, or believing the White Helmets about Sarin, or believing the FBI about “collusion”, we are presented with no facts, just assertions from authority. Those who question those assertions are deemed “bots” at best or “traitors” at worst.
Well here, fellow traitors, are the Top Ten reasons to question anything and everything the CIA – or any intelligence agency – has ever told you. … Read full article
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