Tonight has been the most violent bombardment of Gaza so far, notably concentrated on precisely the areas into which Israel ordered the population to evacuate. I find it almost impossible to believe that this genocide is under way with the active support of almost all western governments.
I want to look at two questions – what will happen internationally, and what is happening in western societies.
Israel plainly is on the course of further escalation and intends to kill many thousands more Palestinians. More than 2,000 Palestinian children alone have now been killed by Israeli aerial attack in the last fortnight.
Gaza has no defence from bombs and missiles, and there is no military reason why Israel cannot keep this up for months and simply rely upon aerial massacre. We are perhaps within a week of thirst, starvation and disease killing even more people per day than bombardment.
The population of Gaza are simply defenceless. Only international intervention can stop Israel from doing whatever it wishes, and those countries which have influence with Israel are actively abetting and encouraging the genocide.
The question is, what is Israel’s aim? Do they intend to reduce the Gaza Strip still further, annexing half or more of it? Will starvation and horror enable the international community to force Egypt to accept the expulsion of the population of Gaza into the Sinai Desert as a “humanitarian” move?
That appears to be the end game: expulsion of population and territorial expansion into Gaza. That would require a ground invasion, but probably not until after even more intense aerial bombardment to eliminate all resistance. This territorial ambition of course accords with the violent expansion of illegal settlement in the West Bank which is currently under way, with the world paying almost no attention. It is very hard indeed to comprehend the passivity of Fatah and Mahmoud Abbas at the moment.
Netanyahu’s political stock within Israel is so low, that the only way he can recover is by making a major step towards the complete genocide of the Palestinian people and the achievement of Greater Israel. Netanyahu now knows that there is no violence against Palestinians so extreme that the western political elite will not support it under the mantra of “Israel’s right to self-defence”.
I do not see any salvation for Gaza coming from Hezbollah. If Hezbollah were to employ their vaunted missile strike capabilities, the moment to do it would be now when the Israeli armour is drawn up in massive parks outside Gaza, a perfect target even for longer range missiles of limited accuracy. Once dispersed into Gaza the armour would be far harder for Hezbollah to hit at range.
Hezbollah is even better equipped now to fight a defensive war in Lebanon than it was when it defeated the Israeli advance in 2006. But it is not configured or equipped to fight an aggressive ground war into Israel, which would be a disaster. It also has to worry about hostile militias in its rear. If Hezbollah can provoke an Israeli incursion into Southern Lebanon, that would enable it to inflict substantial casualties, but Israel is not going to do that in a way that detracts from its capabilities in Gaza.
Iran has greatly improved its diplomatic position in the last year. The Chinese-brokered lessening of hostility with Saudi Arabia has potential to revolutionise Middle Eastern politics, and the benefits of this will not lightly be laid aside by Tehran. Iran had also made real progress with the Biden administration in overcoming the blind hostility of the Trump years.
Iran has no desire to throw away these gains. That is why it seems to me extremely improbable that Iran had endorsed the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Iran is now restraining Hezbollah. But there are limits to the patience of Iran. The extraordinary truth is that Iran is probably the only state under discussion here with a genuine humanitarian concern for the lives of Palestinians. If the genocide unfolds as horribly as I anticipate, Iran can be pushed too far.
That said, I offer just a cautionary footnote that Saudi Arabia is not, under MBS, quite the reliable US/Israeli puppet it has historically been. I do not have much time for MBS, as you know, but his high opinion of the importance of the Al Saud and their leadership role among arabs, makes him a different proposition to his predecessor.
Saudi Arabia has leverage. The Biden administration has gone all in on regional domination, sending two aircraft carrier groups into a situation which should it escalate, could send oil prices to highest-ever levels, with Russia blocked from the market. Biden is risking a huge gas price hike in an election year.
Biden’s calculation, or that of his security services, is that nobody can or will intervene to save the Palestinians. They judge the genocide as containable. That is an extraordinary gamble.
There has been an extraordinary amount of vitriol aimed at Qatar by pro-Israel commentators, for hosting the Hamas office and leadership. This is extraordinarily ignorant.
Qatar hosts Hamas, just as Qatar hosted the Taliban Information Office, at the direct request of the United States. It provides a means of dialogue between the United States and Hamas (exactly as it did with the Taliban) both at deniable level, and through third parties, including of course the government of Qatar. Thus when Blinken arrived in Qatar one day and the Iranian foreign minister the next, these were in fact “proximity talks” involving Hamas.
How do I know? Well, at Julian’s request, I visited Qatar about five years ago to discuss whether Julian, and Wikileaks, might potentially relocate to Qatar, which Julian had described as “the new Switzerland” in terms of being a neutral diplomatic venue.
It was explained to me by the Qataris, at a very senior level, that Qatar hosted the Taliban Information Office and Hamas because the United States government had asked them to do so. Qatar hosted a major US military base and depended on US support against a Saudi takeover. If I could generate a request from then President Trump for Qatar to host Wikileaks, then they would do so. Otherwise, no.
So I know what I am talking about.
One tiny but good result of this brokering in Qatar was the release of two American national hostages. British diplomats have told me that discussions in Qatar have so far held back the Israeli ground offensive, but I am not convinced that Israel really wished to do this yet. They are having sadistic fun shooting children in a barrel.
Qatar has also been the origin of deals allowing in a tiny amount of aid to Gaza, but this is so small as to be almost irrelevant. It is performative humanitarianism by the West.
I have frequently praised China for the fact that their economic dominance has been unaccompanied by any aggressive desire for world hegemony, but this also has its downside. China sees no benefit in assisting the Palestinians in practice. Hopeful reports of China sending warships refer simply to pre-planned exercises, largely in the Gulf. That China is carrying out such joint exercises with Gulf states is indeed part of a long term increasing of influence, but is not relevant to the immediate reality.
Russia of course has its hands full in Ukraine. It is allowing its Syrian bases to be used as a conduit following increased Israeli bombing of Syrian airports, but there is not a great deal more that it can do. Erdoğan is genuinely furious at what is happening in Gaza, but Turkey is struggling to find any way to apply pressure, barring linkage to Ukraine shipping issues (which Erdoğan is considering).
That is a very rough and ready tour d’horizon, but the net effect is that I see no current hope for averting the atrocity which is unfolding before our horrified eyes.
Most of our eyes are indeed horrified. The gap between the western political and media elites and their people on this issue is simply enormous. Western leaders have not only failed to restrain Israel, they have almost unanimously egged Netanyahu on, with the continued repetition of the phrase “Israel’s right to self-defence” as justification for the mass bombing, removal and starvation of an entire civilian population.
The western leadership glee in vetoing every attempt at a ceasefire resolution at the UN is astonishing.
Massive demonstrations have been taking place across Europe against this unspeakable massacre, and the knee-jerk reaction of politicians at their isolation from public opinion has been to try to make such shows of dissent illegal. In the UK people have been arrested for displaying Palestinian flags. In Germany pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been entirely banned. Something similar has been attempted in France, with predictable failure.
I have myself attended pro-Palestinian demonstrations in three different countries, and the most striking thing on each occasion was the strong support of passers-by, and the number of people spontaneously coming out to join the demo as it passed.
A wave of racism has been unleashed in the UK and elsewhere. I am astonished by the Islamophobia and racial hatred released online, with no apparent comeback. UK Ministers claim to be alarmed at the “terrorist sympathies” of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, yet it is perfectly legal to call for Palestinians to be exterminated, to compare them to different types of animal and vermin, and suggest they should be driven into the sea. That does not horrify ministers at all.
I am personally now subject to a police investigation for “terrorism” merely for suggesting that the Palestinians too have a right to self-defence and may offer armed resistance to genocide – a right they enjoy beyond doubt in international law. Remember, Israel has formally declared war. Is it the position in British law that the only belief it is legal to hold and express, is that in this war the Palestinians must simply line up quietly to be killed?
The step change in western authoritarianism is likely to be met by blowback.
After 20 years, we had finally come through the vicious cycle of the “War on Terror”, where terrorism, repression and institutionalised Islamophobia all boosted each other across the western world. Outrage at the appalling genocide in Gaza is very likely to result in isolated incidences of, also appalling, Islamist-inspired violence in Western countries, including the UK, particularly because of the UK’s military support of Israel.
That consequential terrorism in itself will be cited by the political elite as justifying their stance. And so the vicious cycle will restart. This will of course be welcome to the agents of the security state, whose power, budgets and prestige will be boosted. Once again we have to be on the lookout for radicalisation and real terrorism, but also for agent-provocateur-led terrorism and for false flag terrorism.
If we descend back into that nightmare again, the direct cause will be elite support for the genocide of the Palestinian people and the Islamophobic narrative. The major cause of terrorism here is Israel, the terrorist apartheid state.
————————————————
Forgive me for pointing out that my ability to provide this coverage is entirely dependent on your kind voluntary subscriptions which keep this blog going. This post is free for anybody to reproduce or republish, including in translation. You are still very welcome to read without subscribing.
Unlike our adversaries including the Integrity Initiative, the 77th Brigade, Bellingcat, the Atlantic Council and hundreds of other warmongering propaganda operations, this blog has no source of state, corporate or institutional finance whatsoever. It runs entirely on voluntary subscriptions from its readers – many of whom do not necessarily agree with the every article, but welcome the alternative voice, insider information and debate.
Subscriptions to keep this blog going are gratefully received.
Choose subscription amount from dropdown box:
Paypal address for one-off donations: [email protected]
Alternatively by bank transfer or standing order:
Account name
MURRAY CJ
Account number 3 2 1 5 0 9 6 2
Sort code 6 0 – 4 0 – 0 5
IBAN GB98NWBK60400532150962
BIC NWBKGB2L
Bank address Natwest, PO Box 414, 38 Strand, London, WC2H 5JB
Bitcoin: bc1q3sdm60rshynxtvfnkhhqjn83vk3e3nyw78cjx9
Ethereum/ERC-20: 0x764a6054783e86C321Cb8208442477d24834861a
“Israel calls for UN boss to resign after he criticised Israeli action in Gaza”
https://nitter.net/alextomo/status/1717083215356100910#m
Who the f*ck do those murdering Zionists think they are, what right do they have to tell the rest of the world to butt out whilst they commit atrocities and genocide against an oppressed people that they’ve systematically killed, tortured, imprisoned and denied basic human rights to for around eighty-years.
Is Israel above International Law – yes or no? If the answer is ‘No’, then they must face charges of war crimes, and remember they have been aided and abetted by European, UK, US governments and politicians not-in-government – so if the Zionists stand trial, so must they. And that will never ever happen. So yes, Israel IS above International Law.
It’s a sad day for humanity.
“I am deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in #Gaza.
Let me be clear: No party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law.”
https://nitter.net/UNGeneva/status/1716876295152546125#m
Clearly Israel is above International Law.
I just happened to go on Sky News a bit earlier to quickly ascertain what they were saying in relation to Israel/Gaza, and there was a guy I’ve never seen before giving his views about the situation, and here’s a list of most of the things he said:
That the (thousands of) people being killed in Gaza are being caught in the crossfire
That Hamas, being Hamas, are ‘massively inflating’ the number of Palestinians being killed (and said something about them receiving more money – ie the more people killed the more money Hamas receive, but didn’t say from who)
And the constantly repeated one that Hamas use civilians as human shields
That Hamas want the total destruction of Israel
And that the 7th October was part of a much bigger plan….. and mentioned Iran
His name was Philip Ingram, and so I did a search to see if I could find any information about him, and a number of results came up. Here’s what it says in one of them:
Philip Ingram MBE BSc MA GCLI is a widely published journalist, specialising in the security and intelligence arenas, who has built on a long and senior career in British Military Intelligence, with years of experience in all aspects of intelligence and security as well as strategic planning.
Philip is frequently asked to comment for BBC TV News and Radio, CNN, ABC, CBC, Euronews, Turkish TRT World TV, Russian RT.com, and has given content in the past to BBC Mundo, Japanese NTV and many many more. He has presented INTERPOL World TV in Singapore in 2015, 2017 and again in 2019. He has taken part in BBC Inside Out documentaries on online terrorist grooming, the expose of criminal activities on Craigslist and the murder of Jill Dando for ITV as well as several current affairs programmes on subjects such as the influence of drill music on street crime, the Novichok attack in Salisbury and other security and intelligence related subjects.
Philip now runs his own media company, Grey Hare Media, that specialises in delivering informed content.
https://www.internationalsecurityexpo.com/speakers/philip-ingram-mbe
They have now had him on twice (for five/six/seven minutes or so) in the space of less than an hour repeating exactly the same black propaganda B/S.
For those in despair at the degeneracy of the UK’s, and indeed that of the whole of ‘the West’s’, complicity in the monstrous war crimes and crimes against humanity currently taking place in Gaza, it is worth noting that the rest of the world is heavily engaged in working together to bring an end to the killing and to find a diplomatic solution to the wider situation.
The excellent Professor Jeffrey Sachs has just concluded a discussion with The Duran on diplomatic efforts being led by China and Russia working with Arab, Asian and Muslim countries to bring an end to the catastrophe.
See here, to hear more about what western establishments don’t want you to know about, and what the BBC and the MSM don’t tell you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P60-cBsh-V0
Blinken says he has told Qatar to “turn down the volume” of Al Jazaeera’s Gaza coverage.
https://www.axios.com/2023/10/25/tony-blinken-qatar-israel-hamas
Israel just murdered the wife and children of Al Jazeera’s chief correspondent in Gaza Wa’el Al-Dahdouh by bombing their house. Zionist revenge for reporting on their crimes.
Thank you for this terrible, tragic news. Sadly, it is all too representative of the approach of the Israeli regime.
How arrogant is Israel’s UN ambassador in calling for António Guterres immediate resignation? This after the UN Secretary General finally shook off his dour image, and spoke some home truths.
I’d imagine most of the gathered UN diplomats were quietly nodding as he spoke, as most view Israel as America’s entitled, mollycoddled, overly indulged spoilt brat.
It is becoming unbearable to go onto Nitter daily and read the awful heartbreaking stories of ENTIRE Palestinian families (extended cousins aunts uncles etc) being killed by Zionist bombs, hardest of all is reading and seeing that pregnant women and children are among the innocent dead.
Al Jazeera news has excellent if not depressing coverage of the ongoing genocide in Gaza by the Zionist occupiers, I really can’t understand the mentality of people, and our politicians who want this to continue.
I have had great anxiety-spikes up/down past weeks from even glancing at the news feed, one the hand this is too much for me mentally, at the same time, if we, people here and similar groups are not exposing the crimes by Israel, who will? We must “fight” the best we can on our front.
Yes Aljazeera have been great, I bet it soon will be banned in the west like RT.
Yes Jack watching this genocide unfold with entire extended families killed in their homes is gut wrenching to say the least. There’s a million children in Gaza and the Zionist cut off the energy, and blockaded the food and water supplies to them, and to the hospitals. What kind of people could do that to women and children? What kind of people could oppress the Palestinians for nigh on eighty years?
And more shockingly how could the world stand by and watch the Palestinians be oppressed, tortured, imprisoned, abused, murdered and denied their human rights for all those years.
If there is such a thing as Judgement Day, we are all in big trouble.
News reports that the hospitals are now out of service, thousands of people will inevitably die from this,
Gaza hospital system has ‘completely collapsed’ – official
Medicines and fuel are immediately needed in the blockaded enclave, the Palestinian health ministry says
https://swentr.site/news/585788-gaza-health-system-completely-collapsed/
Israel bombardment is non-stop and there are reports that Israel dropped a bomb outside another hospital
Video Israeli air raid near hospital in Gaza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFjPcBjBlV8
A large explosion has occurred in the besieged coastal enclave, near al-Wafa Hospital.
The hospital is located in the Shajaiya area in eastern Gaza City.
.
On top of that Israel have bomb very near a UN school where people take shelter
UN school in Rafah sheltering 4,600 people has sustained severe collateral damage from a “close proximity strike”, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) says, without providing further details.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/10/24/israel-hamas-war-live-fuel-shortfall-could-force-un-to-halt-work-in-gaza-2
I cannot imagine the shock, horror, despair the palestinians live under right now.
Instead of asking Netanyahu to tone down the murder of innocent Palestinians in Gaza, this is what Blinken decided instead.
“U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken asked the Qatari prime minister to tone down Al Jazeera’s rhetoric about the war in Gaza.”
These people are utter monsters.
https://nitter.net/BarakRavid/status/1717165924048838950#m
They just keep doubling down, this is absurd, especially since “antisemitism” today cover criticism against Israel
Germany mulls law banning citizenship for antisemites
https://swentr.site/news/585801-germany-antisemitism-law-proposal/
This is all they can do?? Arab states urge restraint of both sides in a UN resolution!
Arab Countries Prepare UNGA Draft Resolution on Israel, Gaza
According to the draft resolution, seen by Sputnik, the Assembly is calling for an immediate ceasefire and urges all sides to fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law, particularly related to the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.
I assume they are more busy putting weapons from US on their soil to defend Israel.
Israel Delays Gaza Ground Invasion to Allow Time for US Regional Air Defense – Reports
Israel has agreed to a United States request to delay its ground invasion of Gaza in order to allow Washington time to set up air defenses to protect against potential backlash toward US troops in the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing US and Israeli officials.
The Defense Department is in the midst of deploying close to a dozen air defense systems to the Middle East in order to protect US troops in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from potential missile and rocket attacks.
And Egypt is also busy with freeing captives on behalf of Israel
Egypt Making Efforts for Release of Hostages From Gaza Strip
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231025/live-updates-mideast-crisis-could-affect-global-energy-cost—ex-egyptian-top-diplomat-1114463434.html
Are Egypt so stupid that they do not realize that the ulimate plan by Israel/west is to force the paletinians to immigrate to the egyptian side?
Putin being no better, offering condoleances only to israelis killed.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231025/putin-calls-ideas-in-west-about-new-world-order-hypocrisy-double-standards-1114482391.html
Jack.
Putin also said this (from your link).
“For us, the obvious outcome [of the October 7 attack] is that innocent people [in the Gaza Strip] should not be held accountable for crimes committed by others. The fight against terrorism cannot be conducted according to the notorious principle of collective responsibility… this is a real humanitarian catastrophe,” Putin emphasized, adding that it is necessary to stop the bloodshed.”
Is the Palestinians struggle against the Zionist occupiers if they take up arms “terrorism” as Putin seems to say? well not according to UN resolution 37/43 adopted in 1982. Which says they have the right to use all means available to them including armed struggle.
https://nitter.net/kennardmatt/status/1710609969085554916#m
Clare Daly MEP lets rip in the EU parliament, and her disgust at her fellow MEPs inaction or ability, to even say that Israel is committing genocide on the oppressed Palestinians shows in her tone of voice.
Watch her tell it like it is.
https://nitter.net/ClareDalyMEP/status/1717163956739989562#m
Disgraceful how it takes violence for Western leaders to even talk about about two-states. There is absolutely no western ‘sanctions’ pressure on Israel, by far the stronger party, to force them to give ground. Opposition is left to small domestic groups in the West, pushing things like BDS. And in all western countries, including the US and UK, BDS is being all but made illegal under the bogus claims that it’s somehow anti-Semitic.
Biden is the most disingenuous of all leaders. As the US is the one country Israel’s leaders dare not disobey. He hasn’t even reversed Trump’s outrageous move that was the United States unilateral recognition of the Golan Heights as part of Israel. He’s also supported the anti-BDS efforts. And now he pretends he’s in favour of two-states.
The sad reality is, that only when Iran, backed by China /Russia, can go toe-to-toe with Israel in a war – Iran’s nuclear deterrent at the ready – will two-states happen.
Republicofscotland
The European Parliament can dismiss the Commission, but it’s an ‘in its entirety’ move, making it like a nuclear option.
Watching Ursula von der Leyen overreach, and on the wrong side of history, makes me glad we’re not in the EU. In Germany, von der Leyen failed in every govt position she was placed in. They probably packed her off to the EU as a way of getting rid of her from the domestic political scene. Believe it or not there are widely shared rumours, reported in Telegraph, Times et al, that Biden wants her as the next head of NATO.
The only powerful force in support of the Palestinians is the Lebanese Hezbollah, yet they are reluctant to act because they are afraid that the Israelis will destroy Lebanese infrastructure meaning: water and electricity supply, airports, bridges, roads, hospitals as they have done before during the ‘July War‘ in 2006.
Israel has already bombed airports in Syria to prevent logistical support getting to forces in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance in Lebanon. But the Israelis are also concerned about bombing Lebanese infrastructure because they know that Hezbollah can destroy Israel’s oil wells In the Mediterranean. This would make sources of energy dor Israel problematic.
A war on the southern front by Hezbollah would be disastrous for the Lebanese people, already suffering from economic chaos.
As Israel tries to drive the population of Gaza into the Sinai, the Egyptian government does not wish to have 2 million people in its territory. The sinai is a bleak and rocky desert, not really the place for human habitation. Egypt wants Israel to accept the civilian population of Gaza. It will not do this because it is trying to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their homeland.
https://youtu.be/1Q8NCetu7eg?si=mGrFwJUfTTHws4SY
Mary Lou McDonald’s speech on Gaza (Sinn Fein)
Israel have now invaded, Al jazeera reports that tanks are going in Gaza. Tanks? Tanks against a completely defenseless population, This is so grotesque to watch.
Unfortunately the more days go by and the less criticism there is, there is a great risk that Israel will get away with every thing they have done, there seems to be a tacit understanding among west, arab league but also russia, china that Israel will do what they feel needs to be done and that is it.
I assume palestinian refugees will not solely go to Egypt but be admitted to western nations.
Another sad day for the palestinians people, their life did not mean anything to the outside world.
That was a raid, according to the current story, and they have now withdrawn. According to Douglas Macgregor, there was another previous raid, which was withdrawn after heavy casualties. We haven’t heard about the success or otherwise of this one.
How long before Israeli leaders point their nuclear arsenal toward European countries as a form of diplomacy similar to their position regarding west Asia?
Years? Decades? They already are? Never, we’re all friends and allies?
Are US carriers sitting off the coast of Israel there to aid Israel or protect Europe? Is it time European defense policy addresses the incredibly unstable fanaticism that the state of israel and its nuclear capabilities bring to the table?
The Israeli nukes are already aimed at Europe, in case there’s any backsliding among Europeans in a grave crisis, according to the Israeli military historian Martin van Creveld. He wrote that about fifteen years ago, so it’s a longstanding policy.
[MOD: Caught in spam-filter, timestamp updated ]
___
History predicts that the war will escalate into a regional conflict, and so merge with wider disputes leading to WW III. The problem is no one that truly the lesson of history. And it comes down to a simple syllogism: every empire eventually faces the war it is trying to avoid: everyone, of course, wants to avoid nuclear Armageddon; therefore, that is the fate that awaits. Paradoxically, the only way to avoid that fate is to accept it.
https://patternofhistory.wordpress.com/
No interest in hurting innocent people yeah right, tell that too the thousands of dead civilians that the Zionist have already killed.
« Tzipi Hotovely, Israeli ambassador to the UK “We have no interest in hurting innocent people”
Kay Burley “You are bombing them though”
“Excuse me?”
“You are bombing them”
“Oh really? So let me tell you something…”
Hotovely then tells us about an RAF bombing mission in WW2 »
https://nitter.net/SaulStaniforth/status/1717441265799688392#m
They are arrogant bastards, and completely deluded.
An Israeli spokesperson said, without any pushback from the interviewer, that if we (the UK) lost 1,400 citizens then Gaza would have already been “Razed to the ground.” Which is complete BS and offensive; the idea we’d carry out mass indiscriminate bombing and slaughter of 2.2 million.
There is a sickness in Israeli society.
Goose.
Evil b*stards is more like it, and our own politicians and media are complicit in the genocide of the oppressed Palestinian people.
“British diplomats have told me that discussions in Qatar have so far held back the Israeli ground offensive, but I am not convinced that Israel really wished to do this yet. They are having sadistic fun shooting children in a barrel.”
When you write like this, I have great difficulty in taking you seriously.
And that’s a shame, as it’s a very serious matter.
Other serious writers state that the Israeli ground offensive is being delayed in the hope that more hostage releases may be effected. I believe them over you.
John Main
When senior members of the Israeli military are talking about people being animals not humans, do you seriously believe those same people will show restraint?
Reported that they’ve loosened their own already loose, rules of engagement (ROE). Basically it’s now shoot anything that moves.
And Hamas’ elimination, the mission itself. Will Hamas members hold up signs saying, “we are Hamas please shoot us!” How on earth will the IDF evaluate & decide who are Hamas, and who are simply innocent military-aged men in civilian clothing, among the ~700,000 men of that age in Gaza?
“Since even the minimal interdiction against murdering a Gentile outright applies only to ‘Gentiles with whom we [the Jews] are not at war’, various rabbinical commentators in the past drew the logical conclusion that in wartime all Gentiles belonging to a hostile population may, or even should be killed. Since 1973 this doctrine is being publicly propagated for the guidance of religious Israeli soldiers. The first such official exhortation was included in a booklet published by the Central Region Command of the Israeli Army, whose area includes the West Bank. In this booklet the Command’s Chief Chaplain writes:
‘When our forces come across civilians during a war or in hot pursuit or in a raid, so long as there is no certainty that those civilians are incapable of harming our forces, then according to the Halakhah they may and even should be killed… Under no circumstances should an Arab be trusted, even if he makes an impression of being civilized… In war, when our forces storm the enemy, they are allowed and even enjoined by the Halakhah to kill even good civilians, that is, civilians who are ostensibly good’”.
Professor Israel Shahak, “Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years” https://ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/shahak.html
John Main
What is that you do not take seriously? There are tons of testimonies from earlier wars from israeli soldiers which clearly prove that the israelis enjoy doing what they are doing. Does this come as a surprise for you?
You clearly do not yet understand what a racist regime Israel is: In the eyes of israelis, palestinians are scum.
Israelis Watch Bombs Drop on Gaza From Front-Row Seats
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/world/middleeast/israelis-watch-bombs-drop-on-gaza-from-front-row-seats.html
As the Zionist IDF enters Gaza in heavy armoured military vehicles, later retreating, the US which backs the Zionists to the hilt has sent someone who might be able to help them make inroads into Gaza.
“The U.S. has sent top military commanders to advise Israel on its assault, including Marine Corps Lieutenant General James Glynn, who led U.S. forces in its failed operations in Iraq, in Fallujah.”
Meanwhile Al Jazeera news reporting that 940 Palestinian children are missing due to the bombing by the Zionists, another 1,200 are confirmed as dead due to the same thing, the known death toll of Palestinians according to Al Jazeera stands at over 7,000 people.
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/10/25/headlines/pentagon_sends_military_advisers_to_israel_ahead_of_expected_ground_invasion_in_gaza
This is direct involvement by the US, incredibly dangerous escalation. Will the arab street really watch when not only israelis but the americans slaughter palestinians on arab soil?
7000 dead now including 3000 kids, for comparsion, 500 kids have been killed in the Ukraine war.
And in the West Bank Israel just shot a kid in the head:
Israeli army kills Palestinian minor in occupied West Bank
Usayed Hamdi Hmeidat was shot in the head and chest during an Israeli army raid in the Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah.
And Israel have once again bombed Lebanon
Fires burn after Israel strikes southern Lebanon
Erdoğan says attacks on Gaza ‘barbaric’
The Israeli attacks on Gaza have long crossed the threshold of self-defence and turned into open “oppression, brutality, a massacre and barbarism”, Turkey’s President Erdoğan says.
He added Western countries are not adhering to international law because the blood spilled in Gaza is the “blood of Muslims”.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/10/26/israel-hamas-war-live-un-ceasefire-bid-fails-as-gaza-death-toll-soars
Why on earth are arab, muslim states putting up with this?? There are almost 500 million arabs in the middle east, create a friggin coalition of the willing and end this killing!
Not even 1 of those arab/muslim nations that have diplomatic ties with israel have broken it!
Netanyahu using the same digraced, deceitful Bush-era propaganda claim of axis of evil:
Israel is ‘light that will defeat darkness’ – Netanyahu
Israel is recruiting world leaders in support of continuing the campaign, because “our war against Hamas is also their war,” Netanyahu added.
“Our war against Hamas is a test for all of humanity. It is a fight between the Iran-Hezbollah-Hamas axis of evil and the forces of freedom and progress,” Netanyahu said in a televised address. “We are the people of the light, they are the people of darkness. Light will triumph over the darkness.”
https://swentr.site/news/585807-netanyahu-light-darkness-hamas/
This is what he wants, drag the west into war against israeli’s enemies.
I had missed this news, such treacherous behavior by the saudis.
Saudi Arabia intercepted Houthi missile headed toward Israel — report
Saudi Arabia intercepted one of the cruise missiles fired toward Israel last week by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, The Wall Street Journal reveals.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/saudi-arabia-intercepted-houthi-missile-headed-toward-israel-report/?ref=upstract.com
I would take neither the Times of Israel nor the Wall Street Journal as necessarily believable sources. However it is possible that the Saudis shot down a Houthi-sourced missile believing it was aimed at them, not Israel. The Houthis have frequently done that type of attack, so it would not surprise me if the Saudis thought that way. Or the Americans in the Saudi control room.
Jesus, they are out of their minds:
Biden doubts Palestinians’ account of Gaza death toll
What they say to me is I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed,” the American leader said at a press conference in the White House. “I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging war.”
https://swentr.site/news/585880-us-biden-gaza-death-toll/
Have you ever heard such racist, cynical and arrogant comment?
Yes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP1OAD9jSaI
BBC and Israelis extremist they interview its so sickening that they are inadvertently promoting Palestinian cause. Those Jewish Fascist are totally unhinged. If I were pro Israel I would claim BBC bias inviting nutters to undermine Israel.
Their aggressive, entitled, hectoring of journalists, the BBC, the UN etc make me sick, demanding that we all bend our knee to them. What outrageous arrogance they have, and a massive negative for them to act like that. They are repellent in their demand we all acquiesce to murder of defenceless people and destruction of their homes and land. Despite the atrocity committed against them, they are in no real danger, protected by the US and a massive military capability, which they are now deploying against a people with no army, navy or air force, no iron dome or anti aircraft weapons. Just sitting targets they pick off indiscriminately, with no mercy, reason or humanity. And their army of bots on social media just deepen the insulting arrogance they display, not to mention their utter distortion and lies about the causes of this confilct.
This is what I received back from the UK FCDO after sending them an email requesting a Ceasefire. Ignoring the contents of my email of course:
Thank you for your email of 23rd October about Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The Ministerial and Treat Official Correspondence Team in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been asked to reply. The UK condemns the terrorist acts perpetrated by Hamas against Israeli and international citizens. But we are clear: Hamas is a terrorist organisation, which neither speaks for nor acts in the interests of the Palestinian people.
The UK is also clear that Hamas bears responsibility for these acts of terror and we support Israel’s legitimate right to defend its citizens proportionately and act against terrorism. There is never justification for the brutal targeting of civilians. Terrorism will not prevail.
The Prime Minister spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 12 October and visited Israel on 19 October. He expressed condolences on behalf of the British people for all those killed, injured, or kidnapped in this unconscionable tragedy, the true scale and horror of which becomes clearer every passing day. He has engaged extensively, including with President Biden, King Abdullah of Jordan, President Sisi of Egypt, President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the Amir of Qatar. The Foreign Secretary and Lord Ahmad, the FCDO Minister responsible for the Middle East and Human Rights have also been proactively engaging their counterparts. The Foreign Secretary visited Israel on 11 October and Egypt on 19 October and attended a summit convened by President Sisi in Egypt on 21 October. The Foreign Secretary and FCDO Ministers have reached out to their partners in the region, including with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE,
Morocco, Bahrain and Lebanon.
We want to see both Israelis and Palestinians living safe and secure in peaceful proximity, not under the threat of terrorism. Any civilian death resulting from the conflict is a tragedy. But Hamas deliberately murdered and kidnapped in Israel and now callously puts civilians in Gaza at risk. We have been clear that Hamas must immediately release all hostages.
Like any nation, Israel has a legitimate right to act against terrorism and defend its security. This must be done in line with international humanitarian law but we also recognise that Israel faces an enemy that embeds itself behind civilians. We have called on Israel to take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians. Humanity, rule of law, decency and the respect for human life is what sets us apart from the mindless violence of the terrorist.
The UK’s position on international law is unwavering and we continue to make clear to all parties that all possible measures must be taken to ensure civilian casualties are minimised and to facilitate humanitarian aid to the civilians in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary emphasised these points during his recent visit to Israel. Israeli President Herzog has also said Israel will abide by international law.
An acute humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Gaza, which requires a global response. The UK is calling for immediate, unimpeded and safe humanitarian access for lifesaving aid to reach civilians. This includes adequate volumes of food, water, fuel and medical supplies. We welcome the news that trucks of humanitarian aid are now slowly being allowed to enter Gaza via the Rafah crossing. However, these are not enough. The safety of civilians and humanitarian personnel is critical to enable aid to reach those who need it most.
On 23 October, the Prime Minister announced to the House of Commons a further £20 million of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza. This is in addition to the £10 million in support for the Palestinian people he announced on 16 October. He has reiterated the UK’s condemnation of Hamas and called for humanitarian organisations to be allowed to deliver life-saving aid. We are working with key international partners to ensure the aid reaches those in need.
We are also clear that peace, security and stability for Israelis and Palestinians alike can only be achieved through a collaborative and concerted effort towards a two-state solution; a secure Israel, living side by side with an independent and viable Palestinian state.
Yours sincerely,
Ministerial and Treat Official Correspondence Team
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Jesus F*ckin Christ, and to think I once thought this guy was a half-decent actor.
“Executive producer of the film “Oppenheimer” James Woods calls for the complete and complete annihilation of Gaza.”
https://nitter.net/QudsNen/status/1717491241183576191#m
The hypocrisy of Biden is staggering, as he and Sunak for that matter, block a ceasefire, by ceasefire I mean stopping the systematic extermination of the oppressed Palestinians.
“Israel has the right to defend itself. We must make sure they have what they need to protect their people today and always.
At the same time, Prime Minister Netanyahu and I have discussed how Israel must operate by the laws of war. That means protecting civilians in combat as best as they can.
https://nitter.net/POTUS/status/1716084761184100418#m
We can’t ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians who only want to live in peace. That’s why I secured an agreement for the first shipment of humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”
Comrades – a fascinating and enlightening interview with Ilan Pappe, professor of history at the University of Exeter and Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies, discussing the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza.
The interview starts at 20’30” in, if you don’t want to hear any of the rest of the show:
https://majorityreportradio.com/2023/10/23/10-23-the-myths-about-israel-w-ilan-pappe
The professor is Jewish, by the way.
This is on the always excellent Majority Report. I have been listening to their podcasts for many years, and have rarely been disappointed at their editorial line. They are certainly right on with the Palestinian question, which is notable given the show founder and main host – Sam Sedar – is an observant Jew.
Professor Pappe then joins, diving right into Israel’s response to the Hamas attacks on October 7th, including the media’s persistent revenge narrative arming the population for a compassionless siege on Gaza, the pervasive understanding by Israeli civilians that the Israeli army and government can’t and won’t protect them, and why – despite seeing the necessity – the Israeli public is not open to a discussion of alternatives to Israeli occupation. Stepping back, Professor Pappe then walks Sam and Emma through the genesis of the Zionist movement as an attempt to redefine Jewish identity as a nationality amid increasing persecution (and national-identity building) in 19th-century Europe, tackling backing of the project by European states and the US during the onset of the 20th Century, as they sought a clean expulsion of Jews from Europe, with an extra emphasis for the British on expanding their sphere of influence. After expanding on the Western-led colonial structure of the establishment of Israel – particularly in the ethnic cleansing of local populations – Ilan Pappe walks through the thriving cosmopolitan world of pre-Israel Palestine, one in which communities and religions coexisted, as a proper pretext for a discussion of the following eviction and cleansing of these local populations in the leadup to the Nakba in 1948, also touching on the use of Europe’s own crimes against Jewish people as a justification for the violence being imposed upon the Palestinians from 1948 on.
This provided me with more insight than any single item for some time.
Ilan Pappe has always been a somewhat extreme “maverick”, tending to bitterness against Israel, his country. I find Avi Shlaim a much more rational historian, though he takes much the same line these days.
https://youtu.be/14si4mDQcVM?si=WtkyDESZzP4QTdTa
Gerald Kaufman speaking in the House of Lords not long before his death, and shortly after the election of Hamas in Gaza. Astonishingly relevant still, and prescient – particularly his closing lines.
Jonathan Cook:
“Who could have imagined that the test European democracies would fail so abysmally is protecting the right of their citizens to protest against genocide?”
https://x.com/Jonathan_K_Cook/status/1717678399370485782?s=20
“The world has come together to eliminate us,” says Gaza doctor
What Israel doesn’t want you to see or know, and kills journalists’ families to try and prevent such reporting. From Al Jazeera:
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/world-has-come-together-eliminate-us-says-gaza-doctor
“The situation is more than catastrophic. We are running out of services, we are running out of electricity. We are running out of medicines. We are running out of everything, we cannot deal with our patients.”
Those are the words of Dr. Nour al-Haydi, a physician at al-Shifa hospital, speaking to Al Jazeera in a short documentary the network published on Wednesday, “Gaza’s Al Shifa: A hospital on the brink.”
Al-Shifa is Gaza’s largest hospital and emergency medical center.
The 23-minute film documents the situation at al-Shifa as fuel, electricity, medication and basic supplies are running out while Israel continues to carpet bomb the Gaza Strip with the full backing and support of the West.
Heroic physicians, nurses and hospital staff are overwhelmed trying to treat the thousands of patients and their families – many who are chronically ill already – with scarce resources due to Israel’s relentless bombing and refusal to allow food, water and basic necessities into the coastal enclave.
At the same time, every hallway, room, stairway and corner of the hospital’s grounds is packed with families displaced from their homes by the incessant bombing, seeking shelter in a place they hope will be safe. They all need water, food, sanitation and access to medical care as well.
In al-Shifa’s neonatal department, dozens of premature infants are dependent on incubators and artificial respirators – powered by electricity – to survive.
Along with medicine, fuel for the hospital’s generators are running low. If there is a power outage, the head of the neonatal department says “a disaster will occur within five minutes.”
“[We have] 40 incubators, but today we have 65 babies,” says Dr. Nasser Bulbul, who explains that his staff are treating the tiny, fragile babies with extremely limited resources.
“We have exceeded our capacity. We’re suffering a shortage of basic medicines. We’ll run out of all medicines in this department in a day or two.”
Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, a plastic surgeon at al-Shifa, tells Al Jazeera that unless the international community intervenes, Palestinians in Gaza are heading toward “an absolute disaster.”
The Israelis “are trying to force a collapse of the health system,” he says.
“If the electricity runs out, then al-Shifa will become a mass grave.”
Just lhat sink in: Israel, with the approval of the UK and US, is prepared to let a hospital become a mass grave. And it won’t be the only one. No wonder they are trying to eliminate any reports and videos from Gaza. The fallback option is to say this is Hamas propaganda, and the press dutifully print it.
Edward Abbey (Confessions of a Barbarian): “My loyalties will not be bound by national borders, or confined in time by one nation’s history, or limited in the spiritual dimension by one language and culture. I pledge my allegiance to the damned human race, and my everlasting love to the green hills of Earth, and my intimations of glory to the singing stars, to the very end of space and time.”
Muhammad Ali: “I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years.”
May your investigation disappear like snow in the desert. May UK’s born-again Yankee collaborators die of shame.
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, 1933: “We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”
Jesse Ventura, “When the government lies, the truth becomes a traitor.”
Hamas didn’t invade Israel. Hamas reoccupied Palestinian land for the benefit of the nation. Anyone wanting negotiations can start them by unconditionally returning Palestinian land.
Albert Einstein: The most important aspect of our policy must be our ever-present, manifest desire to institute complete equality for the Arab citizens living in our midst … The attitude we adopt toward the Arab minority will provide the real test of our moral standards as a people. … What saddens me is less the fact that the Jews are not smart enough to understand this, but rather, that they are just not smart enough to want it.
Ursula Le Guin: “We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.”
Eduardo Galeano: “My great fear is that we are all suffering from amnesia. It’s not a person. It’s a system of power that is always deciding in the name of humanity who deserves to be remembered and who deserves to be forgotten.”
C’mon London
1 million on protest march this Saturday. 28th Oct.
crossing fingers!
“UNRWA still cannot say that Israel is killing its employees.”
53 dead now yet they can’t say who killed them.
https://nitter.net/Lowkey0nline/status/1717914596629967024#m
Well Israel is even killing it’s own.
The grayzone article should have massive headlines around the world if credible and no reason to assume it isn’t.
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/10/27/israels-military-shelled-burning-tanks-helicopters/
…………”Israel’s military received orders to shell Israeli homes and even their own bases as they were overwhelmed by Hamas militants on October 7. How many Israeli citizens said to have been “burned alive” were actually killed by friendly fire?……………….