🇧🇩 Israel and Hamas war in Gaza-----Can Bangladesh be a peace broker?

[Saif]

Foreign minister calls for greater OIC role to end Gaza atrocities​

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud. File photo

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud called on the OIC member states to take alternate measures to end the conflict in Gaza and to ensure rights for the Palestinian people.

The foreign minister reiterated Bangladesh's firm support for the Palestinian cause and called for an immediate ceasefire and opening of humanitarian corridors in the besieged territory.

While addressing the 19th Extraordinary CFM of the OIC on Israel's' aggression on the Palestinian People in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, he also stressed on the importance of the Islamic Financial Safety Net to ensure basic necessities for the Palestinians.

Foreign minister, mentioning the strong statement delivered by Bangladesh at the ICJ in February for the Palestinians, hoped that peace will be established soon in the region.

Noting the current stalemate at the United Nations Security Council, Foreign Minister highlighted the need for its reform so that decision on globally effecting issues could be reached.

He stressed the importance of Muslim Ummah's unity to stop atrocities against Palestinians, ensuring their safe and peaceful living in their homeland.

Earlier yesterday, Dr Hasan Mahmud paid a courtesy call on Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud at the OIC Secretariat in Jeddah.

Expressing satisfaction at bilateral ties, Dr Mahmud hoped for deeper cooperation between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, anticipating a visit from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Al Saud affirmed Saudi Arabia's commitment to sophisticated economic cooperation.

They discussed increasing sectoral cooperation, trade, and investment opportunities, with Dr. Mahmud seeking cooperation in crude oil purchase, which Al Saud promised to consider, including investments in refinery and petrochemical industries.

Al Saud congratulated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on her re-election and praised her leadership in hosting Rohingya refugees, pledging Saudi Arabia's full support.

Hasan Mahmud also met with OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha.

Taha praised Sheikh Hasina's leadership and reaffirmed OIC's support for Rohingya people.

The foreign minister advocated for greater trade and investment among OIC member states to mitigate economic challenges stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, proposing a dedicated cell at the OIC Secretariat for trade-related information dissemination.​

 

[Bilal9]

This Inu guy is going nuts.

He is requesting MBS to come to Bangladesh, as if MBS has not much else to do.

 

[Saif]

This Inu guy is going nuts.

He is requesting MBS to come to Bangladesh, as if MBS has not much else to do.

I thought it's Hasan Mahmud not Inu who invited MBS to visit Bangladesh

 

[Saif]

Why China won’t fight the Houthis

The current turmoil in the Middle East is not bad news for China.

www.thedailystar.net

Why China won’t fight the Houthis​

Chinese policy in the Middle East is shaped by two factors: China's threat perceptions and its strategic calculus regarding its great power competition with the United States. And when it comes to dealing with the US, China's approach comes down to three "nos": no cooperation, no support, and no confrontation. This credo underlies China's decision not to push back against the Iran-backed Houthis as they carry out drone and missile attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes.

The Red Sea attacks—a response to Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza—have not directly threatened Chinese ships, and the Houthis insist this will not change: neither Chinese or Russian vessels will be targeted, a senior Houthi official declared last month, as long as they are not connected with Israel. But the attacks will still affect China's economic interests, and not only because of the need to avoid links with Israel. (COSCO, China's largest shipping conglomerate, has already been forced to suspend all shipping to Israel, owing to security concerns.)

The identification of ships (or their flag countries) is not always straightforward, and shipping that affects China's interests can still be targeted. But avoiding the area is costly. The Red Sea is one of the most sensitive chokepoints for world trade. If Chinese ships heading to Europe must circle around the Cape of Good Hope, rather than following the traditional route through the Suez Canal, a 26-day journey grows to 36 days and adds significantly to costs.

Longer shipping routes could also raise import prices, potentially fuelling inflation in China; if oil prices are affected, China's economy—already in the doldrums—will come under even more pressure. More broadly, continued shipping disruptions will hamper China's efforts to boost its economy by strengthening external trade.

So, whether they target Chinese vessels directly or not, Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping could undermine China's economic recovery. And things could get much worse: if Iran deepens its involvement in the conflict between the Houthis and the US-led coalition that is launching strikes against them, the Strait of Hormuz could be affected, threatening China's energy supplies.

Yet, for now, China does not seem to be treating the threat posed by the Houthis as either immediate or acute. Yes, Chinese officials have reportedly urged their Iranian counterparts to pressure the Houthis to curb their attacks. But, while China has some influence over Iran, it hardly controls Iranian policy. Nor is Iran fully in control of the Houthis, despite being their main backer. Given this—and contrary to what the US apparently thinks—China's ability to rein in the Houthis diplomatically is limited.

And China is unlikely to go much further. Since Chinese strategists tend to view developments in the Middle East through the lens of Sino-American relations, even regional instability might not appear all bad to China.

Among Chinese experts, there is no shortage of schadenfreude watching the US being forced to back Israel, at the cost of its strategic relationships with Muslim countries in the region. And China can only benefit from its great-power rivalry being sucked into a conflict in the Middle East, at a time when it is already heavily invested in the Ukraine war.

To be sure, China does not appear to be plotting to exploit America's distractedness, say, by making a move on Taiwan. But it does relish the decline of US credibility and leadership. The longer the US stands by Israel, the more opportunity China will have to consolidate its ties with other Middle Eastern countries, and the more credible China's alternative approach to regional security will appear.

Under no circumstances will China join the US-led coalition against the Houthis, not only because of the first "no," but also because this would upend its own delicate balancing act between Israel and the Arab world, and between Sunni and Shia Muslims. The fact remains, however, that the Houthis' activities in the Red Sea are costing China. So, what are China's options?

One possible response is to deploy naval escorts for cargo ships, as China has been doing in the Gulf of Aden since 2008. But the Gulf of Aden escorts—part of a counter-piracy effort—are deployed on the basis of a mandate from the United Nations: Security Council Resolution 1846. Without such a mandate, the Chinese have been reluctant to pursue similar actions in the Red Sea, though they have recently begun to do so.

But, for China, the easiest and most politically convenient response to the current Middle East crisis lies elsewhere. The key is to blame the turmoil since Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel—the event that triggered the current conflict—on the failure of the US and Israel to achieve a two-state solution with the Palestinians and to treat such a deal as the precondition for any practical resolution to the ongoing crisis. China knows well that reaching a two-state solution is highly unlikely to happen anytime soon, not least because it would fundamentally change Israel's national-security outlook and that of the entire Middle East.​

---

Yun Sun is a senior fellow and Co-Director of the East Asia Program and Director of the China Program at the Stimson Center.​

 

[Saif]

The Implications of the Israel-Hamas War for Bangladesh: An American perspective

Where does this new war leave Bangladesh?

www.thedailystar.net

Geopolitical Insights​

The Implications of the Israel-Hamas War for Bangladesh: An American perspective​

We dedicate this issue of our new weekly page, Geopolitical Insights, to offer perspectives on the devastating conflict erupting in the Middle East.

This picture taken on October 11, 2023 shows an aerial view of buildings destroyed by Israeli air strikes in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza City. Photo: AFP

The Israel-Hamas war, now in its third week, broke out at a moment when global geopolitics were already in a state of deep churn.

The world had experienced, over a period of just two years, multiple black swans – a term famously coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb that refers to events that are wholly unforeseen and have massive ripple effects. First came the COVID pandemic, and then Russia's invasion of Ukraine. These two shocks slammed the globe amid intensifying great power competition, toxic nationalism, growing refugee crises, and worsening climate change effects – among other destabilising developments.

And now comes this new war. Because of the legacy of conflict in the Middle East in recent decades, it's not a total shock. But it is still difficult to grapple with Israel's massive intelligence failure, the horrific scale of Hamas's terrorism on October 7, the uncompromisingly brutal Israeli retaliation, and above all the immense human toll.
​

With Washington focused intently on the war, and also facing allegations of moral hypocrisy for failing to object to Israel's brutalities – some experts call them war crimes – against Palestinians, Dhaka might have hoped it would get a respite from the Biden administration's relentless pressure campaign on rights and democracy in Bangladesh. But it wasn't meant to be.

— Michael Kugelman​

Few countries will be unaffected, even if indirectly, by the war. There will be economic implications, especially global oil price spikes and impacts on energy trade. There will be security implications, from new terrorism threats to public unrest sparked by large and angry protests.

The jury is still out on the conflict's geopolitical impacts, but so far this much is true: Washington – and many of its allies and partners – won't be advantaged by a long war. The conflict has upended a new US vision of the Middle East, which revolves around a region that becomes a locus for trade, connectivity and infrastructure development with deeper links to Europe and South Asia. Washington wants to operationalise that vision by stitching together new integrative mechanisms – from the India-Israel-UAE-US quad to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. But these initiatives require stability and cooperation to succeed. The war delivers a tragic reminder that both remain elusive, even with less conflict in the region and new peace deals between Israel and some of its neighbors over the last few years.

Additionally, the war has diverted Washington's attention away from the Indo-Pacific and prompted the Biden administration to strengthen its force posture in the Mideast. This change, while likely temporary, may rekindle longstanding doubts in many Indo-Pacific capitals about Washington's true commitment to a rebalance to the region – and risk undermining very real recent progress toward that goal, including the implementation of a US Indo-Pacific strategy.

Furthermore, America's competitors benefit. With Washington and many of its European and Asian allies focused laser-like on the conflict, Moscow and Beijing will have opportunities to test a distracted Washington in Ukraine, or in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, respectively. South Korea has gone so far as to publicly threaten to suspend a military agreement with North Korea so that it can scale up surveillance of its neighbor, because Seoul fears Pyongyang may be tempted to do to South Korea what Hamas did to Israel. Meanwhile, Iran benefits because the war ends any immediate chances of new normalisation agreements between Israel and its Arab neighbors linked to the Abraham Accords, which Tehran has long rejected and Washington seeks to expand.

Not to mention, US competitors can exploit the rage that has erupted against the United States among publics in the Middle East and beyond about Washington's firm backing of Israel during the war despite the latter's brutal tactics against Palestinian civilians. They can point to this as another – and especially egregious – case of the US failing to uphold its oft-stated intention to champion moral causes abroad.

All this said, the war has generated far more solidarity among Western capitals than has been the case with their reactions to the provocations of Russia or China. (Many of them still depend on energy imports from Moscow and broader trade with Beijing).

That India has embraced the West's position also helps Washington and its Western partners. New Delhi will further strengthen a relationship with Israel that has been expanding for years – and especially during Narendra Modi's time in power.

Elsewhere in the Global South (and, to be sure, among large portions of the public in the West), reactions to the war have focused more on the plight of the Palestinians, the need for a cease-fire, and the imperative of a Palestinian state. These reactions are driven by various factors, depending on the country. They include a lack of formal ties with Israel; deep historical links to the Palestinians, especially through the Non-Aligned Movement; a preference to side with the perceived strongest moral position; hostility to the policies of the US, one of Israel's staunchest allies; and, in the Global South's many nonaligned capitals, a desire to avoid taking a position espoused by many within the Western alliance system.

Consequently, the war could deepen policy divides not only between the West and the Muslim world, but also between the West and the Global South. That latter schism is already considerable, due to triggers ranging from climate change mitigation financing to patent rights for pharmaceuticals.

Where does this all leave Bangladesh? Dhaka has emphasised the need for an "urgent cease-fire" and co-sponsored an ultimately unsuccessful UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to hostilities. Like so many countries, Bangladesh gains little from a long war, and especially because of the deleterious economic implications – and these will become even more serious if it expands into a regional conflict. Bangladesh relies heavily on oil from the Gulf, and the Middle East is a key destination for its textile exports. Bangladesh central bank data from earlier this year showed that two thirds of Bangladesh out-migration was to the Middle East, and that the Gulf region accounted by far for the largest source of remittances to Bangladesh.

Another ominous development for Dhaka is that the war is intensifying great power rivalry. Russia and China have thrown their support behind the Palestinians (even though both still have cordial relations with Israel). This will also bring them closer to Iran – another US rival, and a country already moving closer to both Moscow and Beijing well before the war began. Washington and New Delhi are seemingly lining up on one side of the conflict, and Beijing and Moscow on the other. This new fault line means geopolitical competition will grow even fiercer, exacerbating Bangladesh's challenge of balancing its relations with all four countries.

With Washington focused intently on the war, and also facing allegations of moral hypocrisy for failing to object to Israel's brutalities – some experts call them war crimes – against Palestinians, Dhaka might have hoped it would get a respite from the Biden administration's relentless pressure campaign on rights and democracy in Bangladesh. But it wasn't meant to be. Last week, a senior US official, Afreen Akhter, visited Dhaka and reiterated longstanding U.S. messaging about the importance of free and fair elections.

Clearly, even amid the war and so much global churn, some things have remained the same. That includes Washington's ongoing efforts to make Bangladesh a core focus of its values-based foreign policy.​

---

Michael Kugelman is director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC.​

 

[Bilal9]

I thought it's Hasan Mahmud not Inu who invited MBS to visit Bangladesh

Kheyal kori nai bhai. Too many distractions.

 

[Old School]

Kheyal kori nai bhai. Too many distractions.

When two wild wolves fight, can a small, harmless animal mediate? How does the idea develop?

 

[Bilal9]

When two wild wolves fight, can a small, harmless animal mediate? How does the idea develop?

Rather useless initiative, as I mentioned. Time waster.

Bangladesh foreign policy should be restricted to maximizing export revenue, simple enough.

 

[Old School]

Rather useless initiative, as I mentioned. Time waster.

Bangladesh foreign policy should be restricted to maximizing export revenue, simple enough.

And foreign direct investments too.

 

[Saif]

Kheyal kori nai bhai. Too many distractions.

You have been excused

 

[Bilal9]

And foreign direct investments too.

Yes of course. Any grandiose plan for Bangladesh to play in the geopolitical arena is a fool's errand, nothing more.

As we say in Bengali, small-time Adrak-seller should not worry about port news and shipping movements (Adar byaparir jahaazer khobor nia luv nai).

We are not at that stage yet.

 

[Saif]

Can nothing stop Netanyahu’s genocidal mission?

For the past five months, those with a conscience have been asking: what will it take for Israel to stop its genocide against Palestinians?

www.thedailystar.net

Can nothing stop Netanyahu’s genocidal mission?​

Israel must agree to a ceasefire immediately

For the past five months, those with a conscience have been asking: what will it take for Israel to stop its genocide against Palestinians? The UN's repeated calls for humanitarian action, mass protests across the world, and even the US pointing fingers at the country—all have, so far, failed to deter Israel. And now, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that his state will push on with its offensive "against Hamas," intending to ravage the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Far from changing his stance, Netanyahu seems even more determined. "There is international pressure and it's growing, but particularly when the international pressure rises, we must close ranks," he said. "We need to stand together against the attempts to stop the war." He added that Israel must push back against a "calculated attempt" to blame it for Hamas' crimes. This begs the question: how are killing over 30,000 Palestinians (mostly women and children), instigating a potential famine, and turning a whole region into rubble not Israel's crimes?​

​

With Ramadan just a few days away, the whole world is hoping for an end to this atrocity. Unfortunately, talks of a ceasefire still show no sign of progress, as both Hamas and Israel refuse to capitulate. Hamas has given certain conditions: a ceasefire must be in place before hostages are freed, Israeli forces must leave Gaza, and all Gazans must be able to return to homes they have fled. Israel, however, merely wants a pause in fighting to get hostages out of Gaza and more aid in, and says it will not end its onslaught before Hamas is "eliminated." In short, Israel has proposed a delay of Palestinian deaths—an insult more than an offer. And yet, US President Joe Biden has said the deal is in the hands of Hamas.
History has shown how Israeli oppression ramps up during Ramadan. This year, the tyranny is on a whole new scale, as Netanyahu has announced that there will be no peace during this holy month. It's a depressing irony that right before the month of fasting, a large portion of Gaza's population is on the brink of famine, according to UN agencies. And it's infuriating when one reads that for Israel, this is merely a strategic "starvation campaign." As one UN expert put it, "Israel is not only denying and restricting the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel is destroying the food system in Gaza."

For 1.4 million Palestinians, this might just be the worst Ramadan they will have ever witnessed. For the sake of so many innocent, helpless, and unfortunate lives, we sincerely hope Israel will discover some humanity in itself, and a miracle will take place in the form of a ceasefire.​

 

[Saif]

Two-state solution for lasting peace highlighted in Munich conference

Top international organisations and government officials called for a permanent settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the ongoing 60th Munich Security Conference, saying that only the two-state solution can make the region achieve lasting security....

www.newagebd.net

Two-state solution for lasting peace highlighted in Munich conference
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha/ Xinhua . MUNICH, Germany | Published: 12:08, Feb 18,2024

-- BSS photo.

Top international organisations and government officials called for a permanent settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the ongoing 60th Munich Security Conference, saying that only the two-state solution can make the region achieve lasting security.

Addressing the conference at its opening ceremony on Friday, United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres reiterated his call for peace and better global order, highlighting the two-state solution to the crisis.


He said that the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and a humanitarian ceasefire are the only way to massively scale up aid delivery in Gaza, and thus will lay the foundation for concrete and irreversible steps towards a two-state solution.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, expressed strong concern over the humanitarian situation and the wider consequences for the region. He emphasized the need to lower regional tensions and promote international efforts towards a two-state solution.

During a meeting here with Guterres, Borrell also underlined the need for increased EU cooperation with the UN in striving towards a two-state solution.


In his address at the conference, German chancellor Olaf Scholz also supported the two-state solution, saying that is the key for both Israel and Palestine to get out of the conflict and have a peaceful future.

Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at a penal discussion that eventually, there has to be a permanent fix, a long-term fix to the conflict, otherwise ‘we’re going to see a recurrence.’

‘India has long believed in a two-state solution. We have maintained that position for many decades. And I think today many more countries in the world feel that not just the two-state solution is necessary, but it is more urgent than it was before,’ he said.

Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told the audience at the MSC that he was firmly convinced that the only pathway towards security and stability for everyone in the region is through a Palestinian state.

Addressing a panel discussion on the Middle East situation, Faisal said that the greater the consensus in the international community on the two-state solution, the closer the world will get to it.

‘We agree that the two-state solution is the right solution. And it’s now time to put all of our efforts into making that happen,’ he stressed, adding that ‘we cannot hold the future of our region, the future of our generations hostage to politics or ideology, and we must push to move forward.’

Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said at the panel discussion that part of the reasons behind the failure of talks on the two-state solution in the past was the lack of political will.

‘I think we are totally committed and convinced that this is the only solution, a viable solution that can bring the region out of this cycle of violence and create normal conditions for everyone to prosper and to live in peace,’ he said.

Qatar’s prime minister and minister of foreign affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that what’s happening now represents ‘a wake-up call’ that the situation was not sustainable and ‘we need to step up and to look at a better future for the people in the region.’

The two-state solution guarantees an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.​

 

[Saif]

Prof Yunus for urgent action to create Palestine state

Calling upon all parties to cease hostilities, Nobel Laureate professor Muhammad Yunus in a statement on Sunday said that the solution to the long standing...

www.newagebd.net

Prof Yunus for urgent action to create Palestine state
Staff Correspondent | Published: 21:29, Oct 22,2023

Nobel Laureate professor Muhammad Yunus

Calling upon all parties to cease hostilities, Nobel Laureate professor Muhammad Yunus in a statement on Sunday said that the solution to the long standing conflict between Israel and Palestine lies in the creation of two states in keeping with a United Nations resolution.

‘The solution right now is the creation of two states something which the United Nations has a resolution on but which remains unimplemented. There is no way to escape from this resolution if we want to bring peace to the region,’ he said.

Underlining the need for creating the state of Palestine with extreme urgency, he said that the key actor in bringing this to reality was the United States.

‘If the US moves fast others will follow. The Biden administration must lead the world on this vital and urgent issue without delay,’ he made the appeal in the statement sent by the Yunus Centre in Dhaka.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine was a very old problem which has become much more complicated now because of the treatment that the people of Palestine have been receiving from Israel, Professor Yunus mentioned.

‘It has been brewing over time and suddenly recently it became very explosive and unacceptable against any civilised standard,’ said the statement.

It said the top-most priority right now was to implement the long ignored UN resolution on creating two states.

‘Otherwise we don't know where this conflict will lead us to. It has the potential to set the whole region on fire and suck in a larger part of the world into that fire,’ said the Nobel peace prize winner economist and entrepreneur.

He urgently called upon ‘all parties engaged in the conflict to immediately cease hostilities, ensure the safety and well-being of the innocent children and civilians caught in the midst of this crisis’.

‘It is imperative to facilitate and expedite the delivery of vital humanitarian aid to the suffering population. It is time to focus on saving human lives, protect dignity and get to work on a permanent solution,’ he said.

He called upon all concerned to join hands to put an end to the suffering, ensure uninterrupted humanitarian access, and foster an environment conducive to meaningful peace negotiations and work out the modalities to create Palestine state at the fastest pace.

‘In this day and age, we should collectively recognise that war and bloodshed are inconsistent with the values and progress of our modern civilisation,’ he said.

Professor Yunus said that the world was watching and it was their shared responsibility to work towards a future where both Palestine and Israel can co-exist in harmony and peace together with friendly collaboration.​

 

[Saif]

The real Gaza death toll

SINCE the Hamas raid penetrated the multi-tiered Israeli border security on October 7, 2023, (an unexplained collapse of Israel’s...

www.newagebd.net

The real Gaza death toll
Published: 00:00, Mar 09,2024

A medic carries an injured Palestinian child into Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike on October 11, 2023. — Palestinian News & Information Agency/Atia Darwish

Ralph Nader says it matters greatly whether the aggregate toll so far, and counting, is three, four, five, six times more than the Gaza health ministry’s undercount


SINCE the Hamas raid penetrated the multi-tiered Israeli border security on October 7, 2023, (an unexplained collapse of Israel’s defensive capabilities), 2.3 million utterly defenseless Palestinians in the tiny crowded Gaza enclave have been on the receiving end of over 65,000 bombs and missiles plus non-stop tank shelling and snipers.


The extreme right-wing Netanyahu regime has enforced its declared siege of, in its genocidal words, ‘no food, no water, no electricity, no fuel, no medicine.’

The relentless bombing has destroyed apartment buildings, marketplaces, refugee camps, hospitals, clinics, ambulances, bakeries, schools, mosques, churches, roads, electricity networks, critical water mains — just about everything.

The US-equipped Israeli war machine has even uprooted agricultural fields, including thousands of olive trees on one farm; bulldozed many cemeteries; and bombed civilians fleeing on Israeli orders, while obstructing the few trucks carrying humanitarian aid from Egypt.


With virtually no healthcare left, no medications, and infectious diseases spreading especially among infants, children, the infirm, and the elderly, can anybody believe that the fatalities have just gone over 30,000?

With 5,000 babies born every month into the rubble, their mothers wounded and without food, healthcare, medicine, and clean water for any of their children, severe scepticism about the Hamas’s health ministry’s official count is warranted.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas, which he helped over the years, have a common interest in lowballing the death and injury toll. But for different reasons. Hamas keeps the figures low to reduce being accused by its own people of not protecting them, and not building shelters. Hamas grossly underestimated the savage war crimes by the vengeful, occupying Israeli military superpower fully and unconditionally backed by the U.S. military superpower.

The health ministry is intentionally conservative, citing that its death toll came from reports only of those named as deceased by hospitals and morgues. But as the weeks turned into months, blasted, disabled hospitals and morgues cannot keep up with the bodies, or cannot count those slain laying on roadsides in allies and beneath building debris. Yet the Health Ministry remains conservative and the “official” rising civilian fatality and injury count continues to be uncritically reported by both friend and foe of this devastating Israeli state terrorism.



Predictions of human catastrophe

IT WAS especially astonishing to see the most progressive groups and writers routinely use the same figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza as did the governments and outside groups backing the one-sided war on Gaza. All this despite predictions of a human catastrophe in the Gaza Strip almost every day since October 7, 2023, by arms of the United Nations, other besieged international relief agencies on the ground, eyewitness accounts by medical personnel and many Israeli human rights groups and brave local journalists in that strip, the geographic size of Philadelphia. (Unguided Western and Israeli reporters and journalists are not allowed to enter Gaza by the Israeli government.)

Then came the December 29, 2023, opinion piece in The Guardian by the chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, Devi Sridhar. She predicted half a million deaths in 2024 if conditions continue unabated.


In recent days, the situation has become more dire. In the March 2, 2024, Washington Post, reporter Ishaan Tharoor writes:

‘The bulk of Gaza’s more than 2 million people face the prospect of famine — a state of affairs that constitutes the fastest decline in a population’s nutrition status ever recorded, according to aid workers. Children are starving at the fastest rate the world has ever known. Aid groups have been pointing to Israel restricting the flow of assistance into the territory as a major driver of the crisis. Some prominent Israeli officials openly champion stymying these transfers of aid.’

Tharoor quotes Jan Egeland, chief of the Norwegian Refugee Council: ‘We must be clear: civilians in Gaza are falling sick from hunger and thirst because of Israel’s entry restrictions’, and ‘Life-saving supplies are being intentionally blocked, and women and children are paying the price.’

Martin Griffiths, the United Nations lead humanitarian officer, said, ‘Life is draining out of Gaza at terrifying speed.’

UN secretary general António Guterres, according to the Post, warned of an ‘“unknown number of people” — believed to be in the tens of thousands — lying under the rubble of buildings brought down by Israeli strikes.’

Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said, ‘All people in Gaza are at imminent risk of famine. Almost all are drinking salty and contaminated water. Healthcare across the territory is barely functioning’, and ‘Just imagine what this means for the wounded, and people suffering infectious-disease outbreaks… many are already believed to be starving.’

UNICEF, the International Rescue Committee, the Palestinian Red Crescent, and Doctors Without Borders are all relating that the same catastrophic conditions are getting worse fast.

Yet, and get this, in this article, the Post still stuck with the ‘more than 30,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the ongoing war began.’

Just like the entire mass media, many governments, even the independent media and critics of the war would have us accept that between 98 per cent and 99 per cent of Gaza’s entire population has survived — albeit the sick, injured, and more Palestinians about to die. This is lethally improbable!

From accounts of people on the ground, videos and photographs of deadly episode after episode, plus the resultant mortalities from blocking or smashing the crucial necessities of life, a more likely estimate, in my appraisal, is that at least 200,000 Palestinians must have perished by now and the toll is accelerating by the hour.


Imagine Americans, if this powerful US-made weaponry was fired on the besieged, homeless, trapped people of Philadelphia, do you think that only 30,000 of that city’s 1.5 million people would have been killed?

Daily circumstantial evidence of the deliberate Israeli targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructures requires more reliable epidemiological estimates of casualties.

It matters greatly whether the aggregate toll so far, and counting, is three, four, five, six times more than the health ministry’s undercount. It matters for elevating the urgency for a permanent cease-fire, and direct and massive humanitarian aid by the US and other countries, bypassing the sadistic cruelty against innocent families of the Israeli siege. It matters for the columnists and editorial writers who have been self-censoring, with some, like the Post’s Charles Lane, fictionally claiming that Israel’s military doesn’t ‘intentionally target civilians.’ It matters for accountability under international law.

Above all, it lets weak Secretary of State Antony Blinken and duplicitous president Biden be less servile when Netanyahu dismisses the low death toll by taunting them: What about Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

As a percentage of the total population being killed, Gaza can expose the Israeli ruling racist extremists to a stronger rebuttal for ending US co-belligerent complicity in this never-to-be-forgotten slaughter of mostly children and women. (The terrifying PTSD on civilians, especially children, will continue for years.)

Respecting the more accurate casualty toll of Palestinian children, mothers, and fathers presses harder for permanent cease-fires and the process of recovery and reparations for the survivors of their holocaust.

​

 

[Saif]

Houthis target bulk carrier, US destroyers in Red Sea

American and French forces downed dozens of drones in the Red Sea on Saturday after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis targeted bulk carrier Propel Fortune and US destroyers in the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November in what they say is a campaign of solidar

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Houthis target bulk carrier, US destroyers in Red Sea​

FE ONLINE DESK

Published :​

Mar 09, 2024 22:34

Updated :​

Mar 09, 2024 23:04

Representational image: Reuters

American and French forces downed dozens of drones in the Red Sea on Saturday after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis targeted bulk carrier Propel Fortune and US destroyers in the Gulf of Aden.


The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

The group's military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech on Saturday they targeted the cargo vessel and "a number of US war destroyers at the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with 37 drones".

US Navy ships and aircraft shot down 15 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) by the Houthis in the Red Sea area, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said earlier on Saturday, Reuters reports.

The military was responding to a large-scale attack the group launched into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between 4 am and 6:30 am (1300-1530 GMT), CENTCOM said in a post on social media platform X.

The UAVs were determined to present "an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy, and coalition ships in the region", it said.

A French warship and fighter jets also shot down four combat drones that were advancing towards naval vessels belonging to the European Aspides mission in the region, a French army statement said.

"This defensive action directly contributed to the protection of the cargo ship True Confidence, under the Barbados flag, which was struck on March 6 and is being towed, as well as other commercial vessels transiting in the area," it said.

France has a warship in the area as well as warplanes at its bases in Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates.

Three seafarers were killed on Wednesday in a missile strike by the Houthis on the Greek-operated True Confidence, the first civilian casualties since the group started its attacks on the key shipping route.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) also confirmed that there was an attempted attack on the Singapore-flagged Propel Fortune.

It said the shipping company reported two explosions in close vicinity of the bulk carrier, but all crew on board were safe and the vessel was proceeding to its next port of call.

"Based on sources, Propel Fortune, was likely targeted due to outdated US ownership data," UKMTO said in a statement.

Sarea said the Houthis would continue their attacks "until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted".​

 

[Saif]

Gaza war rages on eve of Ramadan

Deadly fighting raged in Gaza on Sunday between Israeli forces and Hamas militants, with no truce in sight as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan...

www.newagebd.net

Gaza war rages on eve of Ramadan
Agence France-Presse . Palestine | Published: 01:51, Mar 11,2024

Displaced Palestinians transport their belongings in a vehicle along a street in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, amid the on-going conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement. ‑— AFP photo

Deadly fighting raged in Gaza on Sunday between Israeli forces and Hamas militants, with no truce in sight as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan neared and a dire humanitarian crisis gripped the besieged Palestinian territory.


A Spanish charity ship with food aid prepared to sail from the Mediterranean island-nation of Cyprus to help alleviate the suffering in the coastal Gaza Strip, now in its sixth month of war.


The non-governmental group Open Arms said its boat would pull a barge with 200 tonnes of food, which its partner the US charity World Central Kitchen would then unload on the shores of Gaza.

Vessel tracking websites showed the Open Arms still in Larnaca on Sunday evening. It was expected to depart ‘in the coming hours’, Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis told Cyprus News Agency.

With the UN repeatedly warning of famine, United States, Jordanian and other planes again airdropped food aid, but the United Nation’s aid coordinator for the area has said more supply by land is the best way to get assistance to territory’s 2.4 million people.


Weeks of talks involving United States, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have aimed for a six-week truce and the release of many of the roughly 100 hostages Hamas is still holding in return for Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.

There have been no result so far.

The widely shared target had been to halt the fighting by the start of Ramadan, which is expected to begin as early as Monday depending on the first sighting of the crescent moon.

Both sides have blamed each other for failing to reach a deal, after Israel had demanded a full list of surviving hostages, and Hamas had called for Israel to pull out all its troops from Gaza.

Israel’s government accused Hamas of ‘entrenching its positions like someone who is not interested in a deal and is striving to inflame the region during Ramadan’.

Attention during the Muslim fasting month will focus on the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem, a frequent flashpoint in the past as it is both Islam’s third holiest site and sacred to Jews who call it the Temple Mount.

A source with knowledge of the truce talks told AFP that ‘there will be a diplomatic push especially in the next 10 days’ with a view to securing a deal within the first half of Ramadan as negotiations between all parties continued.

United States President Joe Biden reiterated on Saturday that Israel has ‘a right to continue to pursue Hamas’, but also stressed his growing impatience with Israel’s right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

With the death toll ever-increasing, Biden told broadcaster MSNBC that Netanyahu ‘must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken’.

At this stage, said Biden, Netanyahu’s approach to the war was ‘hurting Israel more than helping Israel’.

The comments came after Israeli protesters again took to the streets of Tel Aviv for anti-government rallies, joined by some of the desperate families and friends of hostages still held by Hamas.

Biden also signalled he would be willing to speak directly to the Israeli people through an address to the Knesset legislature.

Hamas’s attack which started the war resulted in about 1,160 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli official figures.

The militants also took around 250 hostages, dozens of whom were released during a week-long truce in November. Israel believes 99 hostages remain alive and that 31 have died.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the United Nations agency had delivered some medical supplies and fuel to two hospitals in northern Gaza on Saturday.

But he added that ‘we need sustained, safe access to health facilities in order to supply them with urgently needed lifesaving healthcare on a regular basis,’ and called for a ceasefire.

The UN has reported particular difficulty in accessing northern Gaza.

The territory’s health ministry said at least 23 children have died from malnutrition and dehydration.

In the southern Gaza city of Rafah, resident Mumen Ahmed told AFP a strike hit a packed car on Sunday morning, causing ‘a martyr and casualties’.

‘We expected with the arrival of Ramadan that the war would end,’ said Ahmed, displaced from Gaza City.

With Ramadan approaching there was no letup in fighting and bombardment in Gaza, with 85 killed in 24 hours, according to the health ministry.

The Israeli military said its troops had killed 13 militants in air strikes and with tank and sniper fire in central Gaza over the past day.

Troops were also engaged in ‘close-quarter combat’ in the southern city of Khan Yunis, where strikes had killed 17 militants.

The army reported the death of one more soldier in Gaza, bringing to 249 the number who have died there since ground operations began in late October. It says it has killed more than 10,000 militants.


Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel was preparing for ‘all possible operational scenarios’ during Ramadan.

He said, ‘Hamas is preventing a deal and is acting against what was raised by the mediators.’

Qatar-based Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh called for the speedy distribution of aid and the full opening of border crossings ‘to end the siege of our people’.

Biden last Thursday announced that the US military would build a temporary pier on Gaza’s coast to facilitate larger aid shipments by sea, but this would take about 60 days, according to the Pentagon.
​

 

[Lulldapull]

Iran's not goin back down on dis drama. Iran's created dis drama to draw de colored muslims away from da West......Any man n his dog should be able to put 2 n 2 together no? We got Pakistani converts talking it all up 'online' supporting Al-Balastinian/ muzlim cause.......but behind da scene's its Iran dats instigated all dis and has a dozen proxies numbering several million armed combatants. I'd like ta see which other muzlim country got da oompphh to do what Iran's doin?.......lol. Iran knows its cornered only 7 million hollywood people in Israel with millions of its proxies Armageddon/ Apocalyptic style.......lol. Sunni muzlim can't cut da mustard no?......lol.....The US/ UK/ Israel run Sunni/ wahabbi islam no?......lol.....Come on no? What do we do now?

 

[Deleted due to Error (Muji Iqbal)]

As if Israel would care about Bangladesh.

China would be a better peace broker between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

 

[Lulldapull]

As if Israel would care about Bangladesh.

China would be a better peace broker between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Oh paee khuda da khauf kar tu.....lol....China chickunn/ Roosi communista doing what Irani turani tell dem to do in da middhal heest no?.....Saanu itthay bewquff bun ker betthay ne?......lol......Come on bro. $30 billion da irani tail China buying today annually no? Who you think China values more? us or da Irani? Suchh boleen......lol....What do we got on offer for China other than zabardasti dee anti-India rhetoric only? Twannu samajh nahi aata? Whats goin on? Come on bro.

 

[4MikeEcho]

This is what one would call either inflated ego on place in the world or complete lack of understanding of the situation. Here are the few countries that can potentially influence the situation:
1. Those threatening to provide troops right up to Israel's border
2. Those with natural resources thinking to reduce the export of those resources to Israel or its supporters
3. Or just outright sabre rattling by Arab countries that together can present a problem for Israel.

Yemen is proving that it can at least influence the trajectory of events. Everybody else, OIC and others are all just placating to their local population to seem legitimate.

 

[Saif]

Galloway, Gaza and global conscience

ON FEBRUARY 29, 2024, voters of England’s Rochdale constituency handed a landslide by-election victory to the veteran British...

www.newagebd.net

Galloway, Gaza and global conscience
Md Mahmudul Hasan | Published: 00:00, Mar 12,2024

George Galloway

ON FEBRUARY 29, 2024, voters of England’s Rochdale constituency handed a landslide by-election victory to the veteran British politician George Galloway. In his campaign for the parliamentary seat, Galloway focussed on Israel’s mass murderous atrocities in Gaza and took a swipe at the British political establishment for its continuous complicity with the apartheid state. His opponents used this as a political weapon against him and complained that he gave precedence to a foreign issue.

In this essay, I might be susceptible to a comparable charge as I intend to talk about a UK election event in a Bangladeshi newspaper. However, there are good reasons that will justify the selection of my topic and will remove any whiff of exoticness from my essay.

I have been familiar with political debates surrounding George Galloway for quite some time. When I went to the UK for higher education in the early 2000s, I heard his name buzzing around British politics. Various global events — such as the 2001 Western invasion of Afghanistan, the 2003 US-led war on Iraq and decades-long Israeli settler colonialism in Palestine — accelerated his rise as a political star and a political survivor.

Galloway was one of the organisers of and speakers at Britain’s February 15, 2003 anti-war rally at Hyde Park in London, which was attended by arguably two million people. I attended this and many other public gatherings in London where he was among the main speakers. I also attended a talk by Galloway at the University of Portsmouth where I was a doctoral student. Some of my friends, especially the late John Molyneux, organised the event for him to speak.

A landmark feat in the career of this political maverick happened in May 2005 when he was invited to give testimony before a US Senate committee hearing. It was about the allegation that he had benefited from the sale of Iraqi oil in the 1990s when Iraq was under controversial (and cruel) international economic sanctions. The way Galloway rebutted the accusations against him and defended himself at the US Senate was an instant hit that earned him praise. I clearly remember that the British media of all kinds beamed with pride in the stunning performance of a British politician at the US Senate.

Recently there has been an increased media spotlight on Galloway since he won the Rochdale by-election. This enabled his re-entry in the House of Commons. He bagged 12,335 votes while his nearest contender David Tully — an independent candidate who was previously little known beyond Rochdale — received 6,638 votes. The vote shares of the ruling Tory party and the opposition Labour party were significantly lower — 3,731 and 2,402, respectively. By the way, this is the seventh time that Galloway has been elected as a British MP.

Unfortunately, the humiliating defeat of Britain’s big political parties in Rochdale does not seem to have kindled any sense of humility in their leaders; their reactions to election defeat have exhibited signs of denial and arrogance. Instead of respecting people’s verdict, the British political establishment as well as the hostile media have made unflattering remarks about Galloway and his victory. The UK prime minister Rishi Sunak regarded the democratic choice of the people of Rochdale as ‘beyond alarming’. Such remarks are an insult to democracy and to the intelligence of those who voted for Galloway. By making such statements, power-wielding people both in the government and the opposition in Britain seem to have disregarded and disrespected people’s freedom to vote for who they chose to represent their constituency.

Many commentators have exaggerated the role of the Muslim vote in Rochdale in the victory of Galloway. However, statistics, common sense and the reality of facts on the ground may not support the assumption that the Muslim vote was the only reason for Galloway’s victory, or that Muslims are the only religious group who are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. Muslims constitute 28 per cent of the population of the Rochdale constituency, whereas Galloway obtained 39.7 per cent of the casted votes. Moreover, it would be inconceivable to think that all Muslim votes went to Galloway. Other candidates, including the Muslim Azhar Ali, must have bagged their own shares of Muslim votes too. So, it will be a total betrayal of reality to claim that all Muslim voters (or only Muslim voters) in Rochdale cast their votes for Galloway.

It is equally untenable to deny the comprehensiveness of support for justice for Palestine. It is also preposterous to believe that only Muslims champion the continuous Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation and aggression. It is not only Muslims who sympathise with the Palestinian cause. Israel’s oppression of Palestinians is a human issue, not a religious one. The prolonged Israeli genocide in Gaza is a concern not only for Muslims, it is for all who believe in human dignity and human rights. The Palestinian issue has perhaps divided people of the globe into two camps: those who have unstinted and unreserved compassion for other human beings and those who put their vested interests ahead of concern for others.

Importantly, the dormant global conscience seems to be evolving; it is gradually waking up to the realisation that Palestinians are victims of Israeli occupation and that there is a need for concerted efforts to end Israeli apartheid. The people of Rochdale are no different from billions in the rest of the world who have been horrified by the extent of Israeli cruelty and depravity.

Galloway’s election victory in Rochdale corresponds to the renewed awakening of the global conscience in regards to the question of Palestine. Perhaps, people of Rochdale have realised that politicians who facilitate injustice in other shores are likely to be unjust to those in their own country. They are smart enough to understand that political leaders who support oppression in Gaza have lost their moral compass and should not be entrusted with public office.

There are other political leaders who pay only lip service to the Palestinian cause and ostensibly condemn Israel, but oppress their own people and maintain clandestine links with the apartheid regime. These are hypocrites and can be found in many countries.

Rochdale by-election results have proved that, in a democratic system, voters have the power to punish unjust politicians and that people cannot be deceived at the time. I hope such a democratic system will be restored in our country and we will be re-empowered to choose leaders who will run our country.




Dr Md Mahmudul Hasan is professor in the department of English Language and Literature, International Islamic University Malaysia.​

 

[Saif]

You don’t have to be a Muslim to feel for the Palestinians

It is heartening to note that many large demonstrations held in Western capitals and major cities were participated in by people of all religions.

www.thedailystar.net

You don’t have to be a Muslim to feel for the Palestinians​

Demonstrators protest in solidarity with Palestinians in London, Britain, October 14, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS

In the continuing act of Israeli barbarity, the newest phase of which commenced on October 7, 2023, the Israeli Defense Forces gunned down a bunch of hungry unarmed Palestinians seeking food and water from relief trucks—killing 112 and injuring more than 700 people. So far, nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza massacre, nearly 70 percent of Gaza's buildings have been destroyed, and more than 80 percent of its population has been displaced. Even Palestinian hospitals were not spared. The latest United Nations Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution for a ceasefire has been blocked by the US, the only council member to do so, and the UK, some refer to it as the 51st US State, since the Second Gulf War, abstained.

In an unpardonably cynical act, the US started airdropping relief on Gaza. What a mockery—a classic illustration of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds. Biden is air-dropping food pallets to the victims of the war machine he is arming with billions of US taxpayers' dollars!
​

What is going on in Gaza now is a pure and simple act of genocide, meeting all the criteria of the UN definition of the word. Not only has a people been decimated, but civilians have also been particularly singled out. To stem the flow of information, journalists have been targeted, and so far, reportedly more than hundreds of them have been killed, some of them deliberately.​

The world conscience seems to be unmoved by the genocide that Israel has been conducting since October 7. At the official level, the remonstration from the Arab and Muslim countries has at best been muted. But does one have to be a Muslim to feel for the Muslims?

No.

It is heartening to note that many large demonstrations held in Western capitals and major cities were participated in by people of all religions and, in some instances, the protest marches have been led by Jewish organisations. It was not a Muslim country that brought the case of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

A few weeks ago, Aaron Bushnell, a serving US Air Force member, was driven by the pangs of his conscience so much so that the only way open to him—to express his aversion to the ongoing genocide of a helpless nation, conducted by his country's proxy in the Middle East and actively aided and abetted by his country and supported by its Western minions—was to sacrifice the most precious thing he owned: his life. For Bushnell, living would have meant complicity in the act of planned elimination of a nation. He chose to end it, in the most painful way, perhaps sharing vicariously the pain and distress the Palestinians have been enduring—not for the last five months but for the last 76 years.

I have not bothered to delve into Bushnell's ethnicity or his religion. Why should I? He rose above the petty thoughts that confine us to a narrowly defined meaning and space of religion, race, or colour, and chose to be human. Through his extreme act of self-immolation, Bushnell has demonstrated that the Palestinian issue is no longer rooted in the narrow religious narrative but encompasses the larger issue of humanity. That is more than we can say of many of the leaders—religious or political, who continue to think still in binary terms. Just glance through the statement of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is only seized with the thoughts and concern for the Christian Palestinians.

What is going on in Gaza now is a pure and simple act of genocide, meeting all the criteria of the UN definition of the word. Not only has a people been decimated, but civilians have also been particularly singled out. To stem the flow of information, journalists have been targeted, and so far, reportedly more than hundreds of them have been killed, some of them deliberately. Humanitarian and aid workers are being barred from entering the occupied territories.

With every ongoing day of Israel's persecution of the Gaza war, the masks of the hypocrites, the peddlers of so-called human rights and children's rights and women's rights, and the rule of law and a world order based on equity and justice is peeling off. The Western media, some of the European countries, and some Arab nations too by their loud silence, have exposed their duplicity in a barefaced manner, unwilling to acknowledge the reality, even hesitant as we saw one prominent US newspaper lacking the moral courage to give out the actual figure of the victims of the Israeli massacre of a group of Palestinians gathered around a relief truck on February 29, choosing instead to say "many" killed. These countries and their leaders have lost all credentials and moral standing to talk about issues of human rights. It should not be lost upon those who are aiding and abetting the Israeli regime to perpetuate its barbarity, arming it to indulge in the wanton killing of civilians, something that is prohibited by the Geneva Convention, to lend themselves as good candidates for trial in the International Criminal Tribunal. Remember Milosevich!

However, the question is, what is the outcome of the problem? Will the saner section of world opinion allow the eviction and decimation of a nation to go unchallenged? Is there none to stop a pariah nation that has ridden rough-shod over international public opinion, UN sanctions, and ruling over the last 76 years, from continuing with its illegal persecution of war against civilians?

Unfortunately, it is not governments with the power to act who we can expect to side with the rule of law. They have their strategic interest motivated by the military-industrial complex to safeguard. The only force, I feel that can sway the respective government's position, is public opinion. And this has been demonstrated in some measure through the recent US primaries, which has made the administration modulate its position from the past. Critical comments, unheard of heretofore, of Israeli persecution of Gaza offensive, have come from the White House lately, both from the US President and Vice-President.

Only the people can change the situation. Not only individual acts of self-sacrifice like that of Bushnell's but also collective expression of reprehension and disgust at the current situation. And that must cut across religious and ethnic lines.

The other prospect, if change does not come soon, is hard to ponder. But it will no doubt be calamitous.​

---

Brig Gen Shahedul Anam Khan, ndc, psc (retd) is a former associate editor of The Daily Star.

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[Saif]

Israeli strike in south Lebanon kills Hamas member

An Israeli drone strike on a car outside the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Wednesday killed a member of Hamas from the nearby Palestinian camp of Rashidieh, a source from the faction told Reuters. The source identified the member as Hadi Mustafa but said he was not a senior figure. Two securit

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Bangladesh demands immediate ceasefire in Gaza​

FE ONLINE DESK

Published :​

Mar 13, 2024 22:03

Updated :​

Mar 13, 2024 22:03

Bangladesh has condemned Israeli efforts to deport people out of Gaza and demanded immediate ceasefire and full and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance.

"Full implementation of the three Rs -Relief, Review and Recovery can only be possible with an end of genocidal attack on innocent civilians and infrastructures," said Mohammad Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Principal Secretary, Prime Minister's Office in ILO Governing Body meeting on Wednesday, reports UNB.

In his statement, Tofazzel Hossain said Bangladesh would like to urge the international community to intensify pressure on the occupying power, Israel and its apartheid government, to stop this violent attack on civilians, to allow Palestinians to rebuild their economy with international support, and to allow the Palestinian workforce to resume employment in Israel.

He said Bangladesh aligns with the statement delivered on behalf of the majority of ASPAG countries and the statement of OIC.

Bangladesh expressed its profound concerns over 66 per cent loss of jobs with 85 per cent reduction of employment in Gaza strip as well as 40 per cet loss of employment in West Bank.

"The illegal war against the civilian and non-combatant population of Palestine has caused shrinking of the Palestinian economy by one third in the fourth quarter of 2023. Labour market governance institutions, labour administration, social protection, social dialogue got irreparably affected," said Tofazzel Hossain.

Bangladesh thanked the donors and partner countries who have contributed to the ILO's Development Cooperation Programme.

"My delegation also expresses its sincere appreciation to the Office for conducting a three-phase programme with priorities in Relief, Review and Recovery with an internal budget of 1.4 million initially," said Tofazzel Hossain.

"We would like to join our voices to enhance donor support for successful implementation of the programme," he added.

He highlighted the overwhelming necessity of employment-intensive infrastructure building and arranging suitable jobs for the family members of the murdered Palestinians, disabled persons.

"Bangladesh, like most other States, continues to recognise Palestine as a State in the fullest meaning of the term and identifies Isarel as the illegal occupying power of Palestine," said Tofazzel Hossain.

Bangladesh expressed its grave concerns in the genocidal attacks on unarmed civilians, including women and children, of Palestine by the occupant Israeli Armed forces as well as the targeting of civilian infrastructures and indiscriminate use of force.

"We condemn Israel for its blatant violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws," Tofazzel Hossain said.​

 

[Saif]

Israel says it will ‘flood’ Gaza with aid as pressure mounts to do more

Breaking News, International News & Multimedia

thedailynewnation.com

Israel says it will ‘flood’ Gaza with aid as pressure mounts to do more​

15 Mar 2024, 12:00 am

Reuters :

Israel will try to “flood” the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid from a variety of entry points, the main military spokesman said on Wednesday as international pressure mounted to address the growing problem of hunger in the besieged enclave.

After more than five months of war in Gaza, aid agencies have warned that the area’s 2.3 million population face a growing risk of famine unless food supplies are stepped up sharply and they have accused Israel of not doing enough to ensure sufficient aid gets through.

Israel says it has placed no limits on the amount of aid that it will allow in to Gaza, and blames failures by the aid agencies for delays but it has faced mounting demands even from its closest allies to do more.

“We are trying to flood the area, to flood it with humanitarian aid,” military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a group of foreign reporters.

Earlier on Wednesday, the military announced that six aid trucks with supplies from the World Food Organization had entered the northern part of the Gaza Strip, where the hunger crisis has been especially acute, through a crossing in the security fence known as the 96th gate.

More such convoys would follow as well as deliveries from other entry points, complemented by air drops and seaborne aid cargoes, Hagari said.

“We are learning and improving and doing different changes so as not to create a routine but to create a diversity of ways that we can enter,” he said.

Hagari acknowledged, however, that getting supplies into the enclave was only one part of the problem and more needed to be done to solve the problem of how to distribute it fairly and efficiently to desperately needy people.
​

 

[Bilal9]

Schumer calls Netanyahu "obstacle to peace".

MSN

 

[Deleted due to Error (Muji Iqbal)]

Sure Bangladesh can be a mediator.

But what makes you think Israel and Israel's friend USA would take Bangladesh seriously?

 

[Saif]

Sure Bangladesh can be a mediator.

But what makes you think Israel and Israel's friend USA would take Bangladesh seriously?

1. Bangladesh is one of the largest Muslim majority countries in the world with whom Israel wants to establish diplomatic relation. Israel's eagerness to establish diplomatic ties with Bangladesh has been displayed by top Israeli leaders in the recent time.

2. Israel would prefer a non-Arab Muslim country to mediate in the conflict between Israel and Hamas as they don't trust the Arabs.

3. Bangladesh is the largest troops contributor to the UN peacekeeping mission.

4. Bangladesh is one of the partners of the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy. So, there is no trust deficit between the USA and Bangladesh.

 

[Saif]

Schumer calls Netanyahu "obstacle to peace".

He is not far from the truth.

 

[Saif]

Palestine is the world

THE Israeli invasion of Palestine is an act of aggression of such gravity that it is almost impossible for me to speak of anything else...

www.newagebd.net

Palestine is the world
Silvia Federici | Published: 00:00, Mar 14,2024

Palestinian children receive cooked food rations as part of a volunteer youth initiative in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 5, amidst widespread hunger in the besieged Palestinian territory. — Agence France-Presse/Mohammed Abed

THE Israeli invasion of Palestine is an act of aggression of such gravity that it is almost impossible for me to speak of anything else. When the population of six cities and many villages is tortured daily in front of the whole world, and when those perpetrating these crimes are granted total immunity, then we have to stop and speak up because new standards are being established as to what is permissible internationally, which put us all in danger.

My first point, then, is that we have to oppose this aggression, these Israeli war crimes, in any way we can and there is a lot we can do since it is our money that pays for them. Without the United States Israel could not even function as an economy, much less have tanks to occupy every street in Palestine.

At the same time, we should not make the mistake of thinking that the situation in Palestine is unique. Palestine today is the image of what, in different ways, is occurring across the world.

The Israeli invasion of Palestine is a classic example of colonial conquest. In fact, the very creation of the state of Israel was part of the British colonisation of the Middle East. This was acknowledged by Sharon when he told the president of France, Chirac, three weeks ago that: Palestine is our Algeria, with the difference (he added) that we are going to stay.

Over the last two decades the same colonial relations have been re-imposed by Europe and the US on every part of the former colonial world, this time in the name of the debt crisis, globalization or the war on drugs and, more recently, the war on terrorism. The slogans change but the objectives and the consequences are the same: uprooting the local populations, turning them into refugees, into cheap labour for the global market, appropriating their resources, their lands, their assets, their oil, their waters, their labour, either by the use of tanks and bombings or through trade agreements, structural adjustment programmes, currency devaluations, all means of waging war on the people and the lands.

Not surprisingly, the same destructive policies that Israel is implementing in Palestine, with the use of deadly force through land expropriation, the expansion of settlements, the theft of water, and now the systematic destruction of every infrastructure (like water pipes, roads, power plants, sewers, schools, houses) are also being implemented, with the same results, in Africa, Asia, Latin America.

What in Israel is destroyed by the IDF, in many African countries is destroyed by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization. In Palestine it is the Israeli tanks that bulldoze schools and houses. In Africa, it is structural adjustment, the defunding of the public sector, currency devaluation, but the effects are the same. In Palestine the sick, the wounded, the women giving birth cannot go to the hospitals because the Israelis shoot them. In Africa people cannot go to the hospitals, even without the Israeli bullets — although Israel has played havoc in Africa too, propping every dictator, from Mobuto to the white South African apartheid regime. In both cases, the results are populations of refugees, the transfer of lands from the local people to the new colonial powers, forwarding and protecting the interests of international capital.

Comparing the role of the Israeli government and the Israeli army with that of the World Bank, the IMF and WTO is not to underestimate what is taking place in Palestine or minimise its gravity, but it is to show the continuity between war and economic policy and between the aggression of Israel against Palestine and the many wars that are now bloodying the world.

President Bush has announced that 50 countries are on the US government list as candidates for bombings. But as a matter of fact an equal number has already experienced America’s warfare over the last two decades, to such an extent that it will take them decades to regain some degree of normalcy. Think of Chile, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Angola, Panama, Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan. Many of these countries have been so devastated that they are now economically dis-functional or have been placed under the UN trusteeship.

Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that we are witnessing a new, extensive process of recolonisation, with Palestine being the experimental field.

In the US as well, warfare is the rule with mass incarceration of black and Latino youth, the use of capital punishment mostly against black people, and the attack on healthcare, housing, welfare provisions, immigrant men, and women.

Capitalism is waging a war on the people of the world, a war that deprives us of all means necessary to reproduce our lives, a war that keeps seeking new names and justifications but at the core has one purpose: stripping us from our entitlement to the wealth of the world; turning us into refugees of one sort of another, homeless people who have no claim to this earth, allows us only to work and work when it suits our employers.

This is our destiny and the destiny of our children if we do not resist and if we refuse to become settlers, guards, policemen. Today the people of Palestine are being martyred, but we delude ourselves if we think that the destruction of their communities and their expulsion from their lands will have no consequences for our lives. Palestine is the world, and the blood it sheds — caused by the weapons and financial aid provided by the United States — will fall on us as well.

CounterPunch.org, March 12. Silvia Federici is a scholar, teacher and feminist activist based in New York. She is a professor emerita and teaching fellow at Hofstra University in New York State, where she was a social science professor. Her most recent book is Patriarchy of The Wage: Notes on Marx, Gender, and Feminism.​

 

[Bilal9]

1. Bangladesh is one of the largest Muslim majority countries in the world with whom Israel wants to establish diplomatic relation. Israel's eagerness to establish diplomatic ties with Bangladesh has been displayed by top Israeli leaders in the recent time.

2. Israel would prefer a non-Arab Muslim country to mediate in the conflict between Israel and Hamas as they don't trust the Arabs.

3. Bangladesh is the largest troops contributor to the UN peacekeeping mission.

4. Bangladesh is one of the partners of the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy. So, there is no trust deficit between the USA and Bangladesh.

In this respect - Bangladesh is equivalent to Indonesia and Malaysia, the other two moderate Muslim countries in East Asia.

 

[Bilal9]

He is not far from the truth.

When the highest elected Jewish person in the USA calls Netanyahu an obstacle to peace in the Middle East, this is a sign of things to come - the writing is on the wall. Netanyahu's days are numbered. I am positing that elections in Israel will be called soon and the extremists there will lose.

 

[Saif]

Sea aid unloaded in Gaza as truce efforts revived

Efforts towards a truce in the Israel-Hamas war appeared to rekindle on Saturday after a new proposal from the Palestinian militant group which also called...

www.newagebd.net

Sea aid unloaded in Gaza as truce efforts revived
Agence France-Presse . Palestine | Published: 00:36, Mar 17,2024

Efforts towards a truce in the Israel-Hamas war appeared to rekindle on Saturday after a new proposal from the Palestinian militant group which also called for more aid into Gaza, where the first food shipment by sea reached shore.

Israel said it would send a delegation to Qatar for another round of talks on a possible deal. It also advanced plans for a military operation in Rafah, where most of Gaza’s population has sought refuge from more than five months of war and deprivation.

The US charity World Central Kitchen on Saturday said its team had finished unloading almost 200 tonnes of food, the first shipment to arrive on a new maritime aid corridor from Cyprus.

‘All cargo was offloaded and is being readied for distribution in Gaza,’ WCK said in a statement. WCK’s partner, the Open Arms vessel which towed the aid on a barge, had sailed from Larnaca port on Tuesday.

The United Nations has reported particular difficulty in accessing the besieged Gaza Strip’s north for deliveries of food and other aid.

Residents say they have resorted to eating wild plants and animal fodder, and some have stormed the few aid trucks that have made it through.

‘Doctors are reporting that they no longer see normal-sized babies,’ Dominic Allen, of the United Nations Population Fund, said after visiting Gaza’s north.

With the situation increasingly dire, donors have turned to the air and sea.

Multiple nations have begun daily aid airdrops over Gaza. Germany’s air force said on Saturday it successfully made its first delivery over north Gaza. The new maritime corridor is to be complemented by a temporary pier which United States troops are on their way to build.

But air and sea missions are no alternative to land deliveries, UN officials and aid groups say. Humanitarians have cited Israeli restrictions as among the obstacles they face.

The health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said at least 63 people had been killed over the previous 24 hours.

Earlier Saturday, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra reported 36 deaths from a strike on a house sheltering displaced people in Nuseirat, central Gaza.

AFPTV images showed a building blown apart. Yussef Tabatibi, lifting concrete blocks among the rubble, said residents were trying to recover the dead with only their bare hands.

‘What should we do? God help us,’ he said.

Witnesses reported air strikes and fighting in the southern Gaza Strip’s main city Khan Yunis as well as areas of the north.

In negotiations aimed at securing a truce and hostage deal, Hamas has put forward a new proposal for a six-week ceasefire and the exchange of about 42 Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, an official from the Islamist group told AFP.

Israel has carried out relentless bombardment and a ground invasion that has killed at least 31,553 people in Gaza, most of them women and children.

Until Friday Hamas had insisted no further hostages would be exchanged without a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Now the militants are saying that, during a six-week truce, Israeli forces would need to pull out of ‘all cities and populated areas’ in Gaza, according to the Hamas official.

The Hamas proposal also calls for ramped up humanitarian aid, the official added.

Israel has so far rejected withdrawing troops from Gaza, saying such a move would amount to victory for Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel would send a delegation to Qatar for another round of talks on securing the hostages’ release.

Israel did not attend earlier negotiations in Cairo which failed to secure a truce for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan which began last Monday.

Washington’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday acknowledged ‘a counter-proposal’ from Hamas and said, ‘we’re working intensively with Israel, with Qatar, with Egypt, to bridge the remaining gaps and to try to reach an agreement.’

The United States, which provides Israel with billions of dollars in military assistance, has grown increasingly critical of Netanyahu over his handling of the war but has not supported an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar, who favours such a measure, said after meeting US President Joe Biden in Washington that ‘none of us like to see American weapons being used in the way they are’ which, he said, ‘is not self-defence.’

Biden praised unusually critical comments by US Senate leader Chuck Schumer, who had described Netanyahu as one of several ‘major obstacles’ to peace.

‘I think he expressed serious concern shared not only by him, but by many Americans,’ Biden said.

Netanyahu’s office said on Friday he had approved the military’s plan for an operation against Hamas in Rafah, where around 1.5 million people are sheltered, many in rough tents near the Egyptian border.

There were no details or a timeline for the long-threatened operation which Washington says it could not support without a ‘credible, achievable, executable plan’ to shelter the civilians there.


World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres said the first seaborne aid to reach Gaza is the equivalent of 12 trucks but ‘we could bring thousands of tons a week.’

Prior to the war a daily average of around 500 trucks entered Gaza, the UN has said, but the current number is far below that.​

 

[Saif]

When the highest elected Jewish person in the USA calls Netanyahu an obstacle to peace in the Middle East, this is a sign of things to come - the writing is on the wall. Netanyahu's days are numbered. I am positing that elections in Israel will be called soon and the extremists there will lose.

In the long term, Hamas, Iran and Hezbollah need to find a way to evict the Israelis from the Middle East. This is the only way to stop Israel from devouring the entire Middle East. Do you agree?

 

[Saif]

In this respect - Bangladesh is equivalent to Indonesia and Malaysia, the other two moderate Muslim countries in East Asia.

You are correct

 

[Saif]

Israel must be stopped from invading Rafah

World must end Palestine genocide without further delay

www.thedailystar.net

Israel must be stopped from invading Rafah​

World must end Palestine genocide without further delay

VISUAL: STAR

We are most disturbed by the Israeli prime minister's recent vow to send ground forces into Gaza's southern Rafah city. This comes after more than five months of merciless attacks on Palestinians that have forced most of Gaza's population to seek refuge in Rafah. With more than 31,500 Palestinians already killed, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu now seems dead set on inflicting more horrors on the more than one million displaced people who have sought shelter there.

For once, Israel's allies have urged it to not attack Rafah, especially without a plan to protect civilians. Given the huge number of civilians Israel has a record of killing even when it supposedly looks to "protect" them during its security operations, one can only imagine the extent of destruction that might be headed towards the defenceless people of Rafah. Despite sustained international pressure, and the urging of its allies, Netanyahu has vowed to ignore it all, insisting on Israel's "right to defend itself". But as we have seen repeatedly, when Israel talks about its right to defend itself, what it basically means is gaining a free reign to attack and destroy the Palestinians.

The World Health Organization chief has urged Israel not to launch a Rafah invasion, warning that "this humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen." As many human rights organisations have alleged, Israel is deliberately starving Gazans, having unleashed what can easily be called a genocidal campaign. And because of the unconditional backing extended by the West, it has been able to get away with it so far.

But the world cannot continue to remain silent and watch the complete annihilation of the Palestinian people. Israel has been able to create the narrative that criticising Israel should be considered ipso facto antisemitic and, therefore, frowned upon. Given that the West has always been its main supporter, it's time for the Western countries in particular, and the international community in general, to take meaningful action to end Israel's aggression against Palestine and arrange for a peace agreement.​

 

[Saif]

A supplication for Gaza, and humanity

‘ALL we can do for Gaza is just offer our Du’a.’ This is an oft-repeated statement by enraged Arabs and Muslims who feel helpless...

www.newagebd.net

A supplication for Gaza, and humanity
Ramzy Baroud | Published: 00:00, Mar 18,2024

Palestinian children look at the rubble of a building after it was destroyed in an Israeli strike the night before, in the Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City on March 16, amidst the ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas. — Agence France-Presse

‘ALL we can do for Gaza is just offer our Du’a.’ This is an oft-repeated statement by enraged Arabs and Muslims who feel helpless before the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

But is it true that only invocations and supplications are possible, as tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are being killed and wounded by the Israeli war machine?

No. There is much that can be done and, in fact, many people around the world are already doing it.

In the traditions of Hadith, sayings attributed to Prophet Mohammed, the most cited reference to the need for action, collectively or individually, is this one: ‘Whoever among you sees evil, let him change it with his hand. If he cannot do so, then with his tongue. If he cannot do so, then with his heart, which is the weakest level of faith.’

Du’a is an invocation, communicated by the heart; it is a Muslim’s conversation with God. It can be verbalsed, or not. In group prayers, especially during Friday sermons or throughout the holy month of Ramadan, among other occasions, Du’as can be performed collectively.

The nature of the collective Du’a highlights the priorities of any given Muslim group, community or even nation. Gaza, Palestine, Al-Aqsa Mosque are among the some of the main themes, or causes, for which Muslims beseech God’s help.

‘Oh Allah, please free the Al-Aqsa Mosque’, ‘Oh, Merciful One, stand by the children of Gaza’ or ‘Oh All Powerful, deliver Palestinians from injustice’ are only a few of an almost endless stream of Du’a that are uttered from Mecca to Medina to Jerusalem to Kuala Lumpur, to every mosque and every Muslim home throughout the world.

Du’a is the affirmation in a relationship between man and God, delineating that nothing would occur without God’s permission, and that a person, no matter how poor, beleaguered and weakened, can transcend all earthly relations to speak directly to the highest of all authorities.

‘Your Lord has proclaimed, ‘Call upon Me, I will respond to you’,’ Allah says in Surah Ghafir, verse 60.

That does not necessarily mean that Du’a is a last resort. Rather, it goes hand in hand with action. It does not supplant action, but reinforces it. Collective Du’a is a communal declaration that all Muslims are driven by similar priorities, those of peace, justice, equality, mercy, kindness and all the rest.

The dichotomy, however, arises from the fact that many Muslims feel unable to affect change regarding the horrific fate of Gaza, whether on a small or a large scale, thus the widespread notion that ‘all we can do is offer Du’a’.

I have visited South Africa several times in the past. Each time, I learned more than I could have possibly imparted. I learned that people’s power is far more effective, in the long run, than the opposing powers of state violence. I also learned that no worldly law, especially those that aim at imposing racist apartheid, can possibly stand against our innate rejection of social inequality and other evils. Finally, I also learned that when people rise, nothing can stand in their way.

The latter maxim is as true in the case of South Africa during the anti-apartheid struggle, as it is now in Palestine, particularly in Gaza. Of that, famed Tunisian poet, Abu Al-Qasim al-Shabi wrote a hundred years ago.

‘Should the people one day truly aspire to life / then fate must needs respond / the night must needs shine forth / and the shackles must needs break,’ he wrote, just before he died at the very young age of 25.

His powerful words also included a caveat, an ominous warning of terrible things to come: ‘Those who are not embraced by life’s yearning / shall evaporate in her air and vanish.’

South Africa did not make the latter choice, nor did Gaza. And every attempt at crushing these great peoples continued to fail. They remained, persisted, healed their wounds and fought back.

I always believed that South Africa will play a central role in international solidarity with Palestine. But, frankly, I had not expected that the African nation would become so intrinsic, even unparalleled, to holding Israel accountable for its crimes in Palestine to this extent.

Pretoria’s push to hold Israel and its war criminals to account at the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court continues unabated.

It was not the sheer military, economic or political power or prowess that made South Africa a factor in the Palestinian fight for justice. It was the sheer will of a nation and, subsequently, a government to translate its desire to achieve a more equitable, just and law-governed international system into meaningful action.

South Africa could have simply resorted to self-pity, highlighting its supposed insignificance in the face of more powerful US-western governments that continue to support Israel, feeding it with all the necessary weapons to sustain its genocide.

It, too, could have resorted to prayers, invocations and supplications as the ‘only thing that can be done’. It did not. To the contrary, it used its diplomatic leverage and moral authority to articulate one of the most powerful cases in favour of Palestinian freedom and against Israeli brutality ever argued before an international legal institution.

It is understandable that many may feel helpless, especially when one attempts to fathom the enormity of the crime underway in Gaza. Israel might have not used weapons of mass destruction in the Strip, but it has certainly applied all of its western-supplied weapons to inflict mass destruction, nonetheless.

But if Gaza has not given up, why should we? Even giving up is a privilege. Gaza does not have that privilege nor should we grant it to ourselves. Gaza is fighting for its very survival and we, too, must fight for the same end.

Make a Du’a for Gaza. Let it be your first act as you undertake your quest for a just world. And make another Du’a for Gaza, to beseech God to reward your selfless and well-intentioned deeds. And, if you are besieged by desperation, still make a Du’a, so that you may discover the power to make a difference, which has always been within your grasp.

CounterPunch.org, March 15. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books. His latest is ‘These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons’ (Clarity Press, Atlanta). Dr Baroud is a non-resident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs, Istanbul Zaim University.
​

 

[Saif]

Ten biggest Zionist lies

THE core ethos of humanity is kindness and truth but this is grossly violated by genocidally racist and pathologically mendacious...

www.newagebd.net

Ten biggest Zionist lies​

Gideon Polya | Published: 00:00, Mar 19,2024

A boy sits among the rubble and scattered belongings after their home was destroyed in an Israeli strike in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on March 13. — Agence France-Presse

THE core ethos of humanity is kindness and truth but this is grossly violated by genocidally racist and pathologically mendacious apartheid Israel. Huge Zionist perversion and subversion of the west has enabled massive and false Jewish Israeli propaganda to become the dominant narrative in the west. Google Searches reveal the shocking extent of the adoption of 10 major Zionist lies about the Gaza genocide in the Zionist-perverted US and US alliance countries.

(1) ‘Israeli’ is falsely used when ‘Jewish Israeli’ would be correct. About 99 per cent of the Israeli perpetrators of the killing in this latest Gaza massacre are actually ‘Jewish Israelis’ because 99 per cent of the Israel Defence Force is Jewish and 21 per cent of Israelis are Palestinians.

(2) In the current Gaza massacre, ‘terrorist’ is vastly more applicable to Jewish Israeli and US killers than to Hamas. Terrorism is as terrorism does and the killers of about 40,000 Palestinians including about 15,000 children to date in the Gaza genocide are vastly more deserving of the descriptive ‘terrorist’ than Hamas that allegedly killed 1,200 Israelis on October 7 (with possibly most actually killed by overwhelming IDF shelling and missile fire-power).

(3) Google Searches reveal massive English-speaking world lying by omission in ignoring Palestinian exclusion from human rights. The fundamental problem in Apartheid Israel-ruled Palestine has been egregious exclusion of indigenous Palestinian from human rights. Seven million exiled Palestinians are excluded from the basic right to live in their own country. About 5.6 million occupied Palestinians are excluded from all the human rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. About 2.1 million Palestinian Israelis can vote for the government ruling them, albeit as third class citizens under 65 Nazi-style, race-based discriminatory laws. About 7.1 million indigenous Palestinians are 50 per cent of the subjects of apartheid Israel.

(4) The Gaza massacre has increased anti-Jewish sentiment globally but has also led to massive false Zionist claims of ‘anti-Semitism’ in response to condemnation of the Gaza genocide and other apartheid Israeli crimes. The all-European and fervently pro-apartheid Israel International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance has a definition of anti-Semitism that has been used to falsely defame critics of Jewish Israeli crimes. The alliance is anti-Jewish anti-Semitic and anti-Arab anti-Semitic (by falsely defaming anti-racist Jewish, Palestinian, Arab and Muslim critics of apartheid Israel as anti-Semites) and holocaust-denying (by ignoring all WW2 holocausts other than the WW2 Jewish holocaust).

(5) Massive western concern over 250 Israeli hostages while ignoring 5.6 million occupied Palestinian hostages under highly abusive military rule with 10,000 in military prisons (egregious Zionist lying by omission). A glaring example of current western anti-Arab anti-Semitism is massive western coverage of the 250 Israeli hostages that routinely ‘balances’ or indeed displaces reportage of the destruction and mass murder in Gaza (about 40,000 killed so far).

(6) The west falsely accuses Hamas of ‘hostage taking’ war crimes and also ‘human shield’ war crimes because it operates in one of the world’s most densely populated urban areas. Hamas’ 250 Israeli hostages are numerically negligible in relation to 5.6 million Occupied Palestinian hostages under violent and deadly military rule (now for 56 years), 10,000 of whom are highly abusively imprisoned in Israeli military prisons. As for ‘human shields’, if Hamas would gather above or below ground in uninhabited areas they would be immediately totally destroyed by Israeli bombing.

(7) The west overwhelmingly ignores the Occupied/Occupier Reprisals Death Ratio — yet in the Gaza genocide it is 65 versus the 10 ordered by Hitler. Conservatively assuming that the IDF caused 50 per cent of the 1,200 Israeli deaths on October 7, the Occupied/Occupier Reprisals Death Ratio is presently 39,178/ 600 = 65.3, 6.5 times greater than the 10 ordered by Nazi mass murderer Hitler and subsequently effected in the 1944 Ardeatine Massacre. Nazi is as Nazi does.

(8) Mainstream western journalists are too cowardly to report that Jewish Israelis in the Gaza Massacre lead the world in annual per capita killing of journalists. In May 2022 the ‘average number of journalists killed per 10 million of population per year’ was Occupied Palestine, 2.77; Mexico, 0.75; Colombia, 0.37; the World, 0.084. Since October 7 Israelis have killed 132 journalists over 5 months in Gaza, a territory with a population of 2.3 million. The ‘average number of journalists killed per 10 million of population per year’ in Gaza over the last 5 months has been 1,377, or 3,722 times more than for cartel-dominated Colombia and 16,393 times more than for the world.

(9) The Zionists and pro-Zionists falsely assert that ‘Israel has the right to defend itself in Gaza’ and that brutally subjugated Occupied Palestinians do not. Eminent international law expert and UN Rapporteur for Palestinians, Francesca Albanese, says: ‘Israel cannot claim the right of self-defence against a threat that emanates from the territory it occupies, from a territory that is kept under belligerent occupation.’ Conversely, the occupied Palestinians have the right, like any other occupied and subjugated people, to take up arms against tyranny as set out in the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and by Article 51 of the UN Charter.

(10) Jewish Israelis in Gaza lead the world by far for annual per capita killing of children — 17 times greater than for Jewish children in Nazi-occupied Europe. At least 14,622 Gaza children were killed by Jewish Israelis in the 151-day period of October 7, 2023 — March 5, 2024, meaning 15,378 children killed per year per million of total territory population, this being 203 times bigger than the previous world’s worst, Honduras (75.7). The figure is 17 times higher than children killed per year per million of total territory population in Nazi-occupied Europe.

This ongoing Jewish Israeli atrocity in Gaza and the attendant tsunami of western-propagated Zionist falsehood is a horrible violation not just of kindness, truth and humanity but also of the wonderful humanitarian Jewish tradition from the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ ‘love thy neighbour’, through Baruch Spinoza and the Enlightenment to the great Jewish humanitarian scholars of the present era from Hannah Arendt to Howard Zinn.

Decent people around the world must (a) inform everyone they can, and (b) urge and apply Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions against genocidally racist apartheid Israel and all people, politicians, parties, collectives, corporations and countries supporting this genocidal neo-Nazi state and its horrendous and unforgivable atrocities. The world must forcibly demand immediate cessation of the killing, and an immediate end to the occupation so that the now starving and horribly deprived Gazans can be immediately given water, food, shelter, sanitation, medicine, medical care, commencement of gigantic reconstruction — and then forensically-informed international war crimes trials of genocidal Jewish Israelis for one of the world’s worst atrocities.

DissidentVoice.org, March 16. Gideon Polya taught science students at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia over 4 decades. He has published the following books Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History, US-Imposed Post-9/11 Muslim Holocaust and Muslim Genocide, and Climate Crisis, Climate Genocide and Solutions.​

 

[Saif]

Column by Mahfuz Anam: From largest open-air prison to 'greatest open-air graveyard'

Israel is using starvation as a weapon against the people of Gaza.

www.thedailystar.net

Column by Mahfuz Anam: From largest open-air prison to 'greatest open-air graveyard'​

Israel is using starvation as a weapon

Palestinians gather to receive free food as Gaza residents face crisis levels of hunger, during the holy month of Ramadan, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 19, 2024. PHOTO: REUTERS

The heading is a reference to the comments of EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell at the opening of an EU conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza in Brussels on March 17. "In Gaza we are no longer on the brink of famine but in a state of famine affecting thousands of people." The EU has accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon. The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, which formally declares famine, said two of its three criteria have already been met. It believes that the third, the number of deaths by starvation, may already be in effect. After the killing of 32,000 Palestinians, of which 13,500 were children, the rest are being starved to death. Their health stands already damaged enough that they may never return to a normal, healthy life.

However unjust the world has been with its discrimination, exploitation, repression, and killings, we have never before seen anything close to the barbarity that Israel is now inflicting upon unarmed Palestinians. The only imagery that comes to mind is what the Nazis did to the Jews during the Holocaust. Where is the difference in what Israelis are doing to Gazans now?

Make a mental picture of what's going on. The Gaza Strip is 41 km long and 6-12 km wide, with a total area of 365 sq-km which is comparable to Dhaka's area of 306.4 sq-km. (But of course, hosting a vastly lower population). Now, imagine that all the population of north Dhaka was forced, under threat of being killed, to gather in the southern half and then is indiscriminately bombed day and night. Imagine that almost all the buildings of north Dhaka stand destroyed and nearly half of those in the south are razed to the ground. Those that remain are unsafe. All the roads are unusable. There is no electricity and no water. And the whole place is filled with the stench of the dead buried under the rubbles. Those who survived the initial bombing and remained trapped died, one day at a time; shouting, then crying, then whispering to loved ones above who could not remove the rubble and save them due to lack of equipment. Can anyone live a normal life after seeing their loved ones die within reach of themselves, pleading for water and help while they could do nothing? This is the reality—now far worse and getting worse still—that every Palestinian in Gaza is having to live with.

Imagine also that all the hospitals in Dhaka were bombed. Doctors were killed, assaulted, and picked up as pro-Hamas suspects. Consider that in the whole of Dhaka, there is no hospital to go to, there is no supply of medicine or medical aid. There is nothing to treat the injured who inevitably have to die literally in their loved one's arms. Imagine also that there is a total ban on the supply of everything, including food, water, and other essentials.

​

Will the world just watch and utter some appropriate platitudes from time to time? Are we to remain silent as we see all the values, morals, and ideals that our civilisation represents being torn to bits by the blood-thirsty regime of Netanyahu? South Africa has set a laudable example by taking Israel to the International Court of Justice. We see massive outpouring of protest in faraway countries in South America, we see heartwarming gatherings of hundreds and thousands in many capitals of Europe. But we do not see similar protests in Africa and Asia, including South Asia. What is most disappointing is the role of the Arab countries.​

After weeks of total ban, a trickle of food and essentials were allowed. When starving Palestinians gathered in line to collect some food, they were gunned down. This was an event that we did not cover much in Bangladeshi media—the slaughter of 115 starving Palestinians who had lined up for flour and water on February 29 in the southeast of Gaza city and were machine-gunned by Israeli soldiers. Popular US commentator Judge Andrew Napolitano said to Nobel Prize-winning economist Jeffrey Sachs in a recent interview: "This has got to be one of the most reprehensible and public slaughtering that they've [Israeli soldiers] engaged in."

Consider the brutality, the utter inhumanity in shooting down people waiting in line for food. The Israeli narrative, that much of the West swallowed, is that Palestinians started rioting and Israeli troops started firing when they felt threatened. Is it possible that emaciated food seekers suddenly become so strong and organised as to become a threat to those who are heavily armed, well-protected, and stationed in heavily guarded bunkers? The well-established Western media, instead of tearing this untenable and fact-defying narrative to bits, gave it currency.

Last Sunday, Unicef reported that 13,000 children have been killed till date, which its Executive Director Catherine Russell told CBS News was "astronomical" and "horrifying," adding that many children affected by malnutrition "don't even have the energy to cry." She said how "thousands [of children] have been injured. They may be stuck under rubble. Thousands have lost one or both parents… they are just by themselves managing their younger siblings."

Dr Jeffrey Sachs said, "Israel has deliberately starved the people of Gaza. Starved. I'm not using an exaggeration. I am talking literally starving a population. Israel is a criminal, is in non stop war crime status now. I believe, in genocidal status…"

Take the latest situation in Rafah, a small Gazan border town with Egypt where more than a million and half of the two million Gazans have gathered as a result of Israeli bombing. The Israeli military, on March 15, approved plans to invade Rafah and the Israeli prime minister announced on March 17 that no amount of international pressure will stop him from doing so.

What does ground invasion of Rafah mean? Again, using the example of Dhaka, imagine that in some corner of the city about 15 lakh people—helpless, homeless, starving—have gathered under the open sky. They are waiting to be invaded within days by what can be termed as one of the most brutal armies in the world. Not to mention lethal bombs will rain on them from planes and drones.

Scenes from the bombing of Tokyo, London, and Dresden during World War II, and even the bombing of Vietnamese and Cambodian villages during the Viet Nam war, surface in our minds. But they were wars, and the fighting was between sovereign countries or well-established guerilla outfits. Not a country, armed to the teeth, against a civilian population.

First, the indiscriminate bombing and invasion of Gaza, and now planned ground assault on Rafah against 1.5 million defenceless refugees. It will be nothing short of mass slaughter turning Gaza into the biggest graveyard in the world. This attack will be carried out by soldiers who have been totally desensitised against Palestinians, who have been taught to think of them as non- humans and belonging to some lower species who do not deserve the minimum dignity that a human being does.

Will the world just watch and utter some appropriate platitudes from time to time? Are we to remain silent as we see all the values, morals, and ideals that our civilisation represents being torn to bits by the blood-thirsty regime of Netanyahu? South Africa has set a laudable example by taking Israel to the International Court of Justice. We see massive outpouring of protest in faraway countries in South America, we see heartwarming gatherings of hundreds and thousands in many capitals of Europe. But we do not see similar protests in Africa and Asia, including South Asia. What is most disappointing is the role of the Arab countries.

It is the same people. It is happening in their own backyard and has been happening for so long. The history is clear. Over the years, Arab countries have lost more clout and the reverse is true for Israel, whose power and influence has become unchallengeable. The only solution is through negotiations and not war. But the Arab countries are losing their negotiating power with each passing day. If Israel is able to inflict such barbaric actions on Palestinians, what respect will be left for the Arab countries?

A similar question comes upon us. Why have we not had massive public demonstrations condemning what Israel is doing? Why have we been so restrained in expressing our solidarity with the people of Gaza? As a political leader and head of government, our PM has made some very bold statements. But why haven't we, as a people, done as much? Why haven't our intellectuals, the academia, writers, and artists spoken out more? Only in the social media space have we seen vocal protests, for which I praise our young. We, the media, have covered the events but haven't done enough either. We should have done much more.

With each Palestinian who is killed, Israel loses its legitimacy, the West its moral standing, and the rest of us, remaining silent, our humanity.​

---

Mahfuz Anam is the editor and publisher of The Daily Star.​

 

[Saif]

Russia, China veto US Security Council bid on Gaza 'ceasefire'

Russia and China on Friday vetoed a US-led draft resolution at the Security Council on a ceasefire in Gaza, with Moscow accusing Washington of a "hypocritical spectacle" that does not pressure Israel

www.thedailystar.net

Russia, China veto US Security Council bid on Gaza 'ceasefire'​

Photo: AFP/File

Russia and China on Friday vetoed a US-led draft resolution at the Security Council on a ceasefire in Gaza, with Moscow accusing Washington of a "hypocritical spectacle" that does not pressure Israel.

The United States, Israel's main ally which has vetoed previous ceasefire calls, put forward the resolution which for the first time would have supported "the imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire" and condemned the October 7 attack by Hamas.

Russia and China exercised their vetoes, Algeria also voted against and Guyana abstained. The other 11 Security Council members voted in favor, including permanent members France and Britain.

Russia's ambassador, Vasily Nebenzia, said that the United States was doing nothing to rein in Israel, mocking Washington for speaking of a ceasefire after "Gaza has been virtually wiped off the face of the Earth."

"We have observed a typical hypocritical spectacle," he said.

"The American product is exceedingly politicized, with the sole purpose being to play to voters and throw them a bone in the form of some kind of a mention of a ceasefire in Gaza," he said.

The resolution will "ensure the impunity of Israel, whose crimes are not even assessed in the draft."

The draft links a ceasefire to ongoing talks, led by Qatar with support from the United States and Egypt, to halt the war in return for Hamas releasing hostages.

The US ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, called the Russian and Chinese vetoes "not just cynical" but also "petty."

"Russia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States," she said.

"Let's be honest -- for all the fiery rhetoric, we all know that Russia and China are not doing anything diplomatically to advance a lasting peace or to meaningfully contribute to the humanitarian response effort," she said.​

 

[Saif]

Israel’s Trojan Horse

PIERS allow things to come in. They allow things to go out. And Israel, which has no intention of halting its murderous siege of Gaza...

www.newagebd.net

Israel’s Trojan Horse
Chris Hedges | Published: 00:00, Mar 21,2024

Israel’s Trojan Horse. — by Mr Fish

PIERS allow things to come in. They allow things to go out. And Israel, which has no intention of halting its murderous siege of Gaza, including its policy of enforced starvation, appears to have found a solution to its problem of where to expel the 2.3 million Palestinians.

If the Arab world will not take them, as secretary of state Antony Blinken proposed during his first round of visits after October 7, the Palestinians will be cast adrift on ships. It worked in Beirut in 1982 when some eight and a half thousand Palestine Liberation Organisation members were sent by sea to Tunisia and another two and a half thousand ended up in other Arab states. Israel expects that the same forced deportation by sea will work in Gaza.

Israel, for this reason, supports the ‘temporary pier’ the Biden administration is building, to ostensibly deliver food and aid to Gaza — food and aid whose ‘distribution’ will be overseen by the Israeli military.

‘You need drivers that don’t exist, trucks that don’t exist feeding into a distribution system that doesn’t exist,’ Jeremy Konyndyk, a former senior aid official in the Biden administration, and now president of the Refugees International aid advocacy group told The Guardian.

This ‘maritime corridor’ is Israel’s Trojan Horse, a subterfuge to expel Palestinians. The small shipments of seaborne aid, like the food packets that have been air dropped, will not alleviate the looming famine. They are not meant to.

Five Palestinians were killed and several others injured when a parachute carrying aid failed and crashed onto a crowd of people near Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp.

‘Dropping aid in this way is flashy propaganda rather than a humanitarian service,’ the media office of the local government in Gaza said. ‘We previously warned it poses a threat to the lives of citizens in the Gaza Strip, and this is what happened today when the parcels fell on the citizens’ heads.’

If the US or Israel were serious about alleviating the humanitarian crisis, the thousands of trucks with food and aid currently at the southern border of Gaza would be allowed to enter any of its multiple crossings. They are not. The ‘temporary pier,’ like the air drops, is ghoulish theater, a way to mask Washington’s complicity in the genocide.

Israeli media reported the building of the pier was due to pressure by the United Arab Emirates, which threatened Israel with ending a land corridor trade route it administers in collusion with Saudi Arabia and Jordan, to bypass Yemen’s naval blockade.

The Jerusalem Post reported it was prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who proposed the construction of the ‘temporary pier’ to the Biden administration.

Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, who has called Palestinians ‘human animals’ and advocated a total siege of Gaza, including cutting off electricity, food, water and fuel, lauded the plan, saying ‘it is designed to bring aid directly to the residents and thus continue the collapse of Hamas’s rule in Gaza.’

‘Why would Israel, the engineer of the Gaza famine, endorse the idea of establishing a maritime corridor for aid to address a crisis it initiated and is now worsening?’ writes Tamara Nassar in an article titled ‘What’s the Real Purpose of Biden’s Gaza Port?’ in The Electronic Intifada. ‘This might appear paradoxical if one were to assume that the primary aim of the maritime corridor is to deliver aid.’

When Israel offers a gift to the Palestinians you can be sure it is a poison apple. That Israel got the Biden administration to construct the pier is one more example of the inverted relationship between Washington and Jerusalem, where the Israel lobby has bought off elected officials in the two ruling parties.

Oxfam in a March 15 report accuses Israel of actively hindering aid operations in Gaza in defiance of the orders by the International Court of Justice. It notes that 1.7 million Palestinians, some 75 per cent of the Gaza population, are facing famine and two-thirds of the hospitals and over 80 per cent of all health clinics in Gaza are no longer operable. The majority of people, the report reads, ‘have no access to clean drinking water’ and ‘sanitation services are not functioning.’

The report reads: ‘The conditions we have observed in Gaza are beyond catastrophic, and we have not only seen failure by Israeli authorities to meet their responsibility to facilitate and support international aid efforts, but in fact seen active steps being taken to hinder and undermine such aid efforts. Israel’s control of Gaza continues to be characterised by deliberate restrictive actions that have led to a severe and systemic dysfunctionality in the delivery of aid. Humanitarian organisations operational in Gaza are reporting a worsening situation since the International Court of Justice imposed provisional measures in light of the plausible risk of genocide, with intensified Israeli barriers, restrictions and attacks against humanitarian personnel. Israel has maintained a ‘convenient illusion of a response’ in Gaza to serve its claim that it is allowing aid in and conducting the war in line with international laws.’

Oxfam says Israel employs ‘a dysfunctional and undersized inspection system that keeps aid snarled up, subjected to onerous, repetitive and unpredictable bureaucratic procedures that are contributing to trucks being stranded in giant queues for 20 days on average.’ Israel, Oxfam explains, rejects ‘items of aid as having ‘dual (military) use,’ banning vital fuel and generators entirely along with other items essential for a meaningful humanitarian response such as protective gear and communications kit.’ Rejected aid, ‘must go through a complex ‘pre-approval’ system or end up being held in limbo at the Al Arish warehouse in Egypt.’ Israel has also ‘cracked down on humanitarian missions, largely sealing off northern Gaza, and restricting international humanitarian workers’ access not only into Gaza, but Israel and the West Bank including East Jerusalem too.’

Israel has allowed 15,413 trucks into Gaza during the past 157 days of war. Oxfam estimates that the population of Gaza needs five times that number. Israel allowed 2,874 trucks in February, a 44 per cent reduction from the previous month. Before October 7, 500 aid trucks entered Gaza daily.

Israeli soldiers have also killed scores of Palestinians attempting to receive aid from trucks in more than two dozen incidents. These attacks include the killing of at least 21 Palestinians, and the wounding of 150, on March 14, when Israeli forces fired on thousands of people in Gaza City. The same area had been targeted by Israeli soldiers hours earlier.

‘Israel’s assault has caught Gaza’s own aid workers and international agencies’ partners inside a ‘practically uninhabitable’ environment of mass displacement and deprivation, where 75 per cent of solid waste is now being dumped in random sites, 97 per cent of groundwater made unfit for human use, and the Israeli state using starvation as a weapon of war,’ Oxfam says.

There is no place in Gaza, Oxfam notes, that is safe ‘amid the forcible and often multiple displacements of almost the entire population, which makes the principled distribution of aid unviable, including agencies’ ability to help repair vital public services at scale.’

Oxfam blasts Israel for its ‘disproportionate’ and ‘indiscriminate’ attacks on ‘civilian and humanitarian assets’ as well as ‘solar, water, power and sanitation plants, UN premises, hospitals, roads, and aid convoys and warehouses, even when these assets are supposedly ‘deconflicted’ after their coordinates have been shared for protection.’

The health ministry in Gaza said Monday that at least 31,726 people have been killed since the Israeli assault began five months ago. The death toll includes at least 81 deaths in the previous 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 73,792 people have been wounded in Gaza since October 7. Thousands more are missing, many buried under the rubble.

None of these Israeli tactics will be altered with the building of a ‘temporary pier.’ In fact, given the pending ground assault on Rafah, where 1.2 million displaced Palestinians are crowded in tent cities or camped out in the open air, Israel’s tactics will only get worse.

Israel, by design, is creating a humanitarian crisis of such catastrophic proportions, with thousands of Palestinians killed by bombs, shells, missiles, bullets, starvation and infectious diseases, that the only option will be death or deportation. The pier is where the last act in this gruesome genocidal campaign will be played out as Palestinians are herded by Israeli soldiers onto ships.

How appropriate that the Biden administration, without whom this genocide could not be carried out, will facilitate it.

ScheerPost.com, March 17. Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist who was a foreign correspondent for 15 years for the New York Times.
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[Saif]

Conflicts of interest and Palestinian crisis

DOES the United States have a conflict of interest in the Palestinian crisis? Or is the concept irrelevant to this global conflict? Although...

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Conflicts of interest and Palestinian crisis
Obaidul Hamid | Published: 00:00, Mar 23,2024

A Palestinian boy rides a donkey on the rubble of destroyed houses in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on March 21 amidst ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas. — Agence France-Presse/Mohammed Abed

DOES the United States have a conflict of interest in the Palestinian crisis? Or is the concept irrelevant to this global conflict? Although my knowledge of world politics and diplomacy is modest, I believe that the US declaration of its conflict of interests may show a way out of the long political and humanitarian crisis in Palestine.

Conflicts of interest are barriers to the fair and rule-based delivery of public services and operations. Organisations address such impediments as a high priority to ensure that their missions and objectives are not affected by these hidden phenomena.

I have some familiarity with conflicts of interest in academia. For example, a couple of my family members are also affiliated with the institution where I work. Every semester, I have to complete a conflict-of-interest form. This is part of the management process, which seeks to ensure that my decisions or actions do not have a direct bearing on my family members at the institution.

Organisations invest in employee awareness and literacy around conflicts of interest. At my workplace, I undertake mandatory training so I have a clear understanding of different kinds of conflicts of interest and what I should do as an employee in a given situation. Such interests would go against my integrity in performing my role. Effective management of conflicts of interest also helps the institution maintain its integrity and public trust.

One specific site of potential conflicts of interest in academic life is research and publication. Every time I submit an article to a journal for publication or am invited to review an article, I have to answer questions related to potential conflicts of interest. Such interests can be related to the funding of research, authorship attribution, and peer review processes. Publishers aim to maintain the integrity of knowledge production by managing conflicts of interest that may be presented by knowledge workers.

If conflicts of interest are taken so seriously in the academic world, they should be taken many times more seriously by entities that directly impact people and their lives. This simple logic has prompted the questioning at the beginning of the present article.

The current spate of violence against Palestinians has unfolded in real time and geography in Gaza for the past six months. It has thus far killed thousands of Palestinians, including children and women, and injured many more. This brutal killing mission is largely remote-controlled from outside the region. The actions of the Western nations in general and the US in particular are direct inputs into the genocidal output. Therefore, asking the question of conflicts of interest between the West in general and the US in particular may be imperative.

But how is a conflict of interest credibly defined?

Essentially, it refers to clashes of interests or stakes that can’t be reconciled. At the individual level, this is a situation where an employee’s vested interest in something may render them unqualified to make fair and unbiased decisions about certain critical matters. The characterisation of conflicts of interest in Investopedia is pertinent here:

‘A conflict of interest occurs when a person’s or entity’s vested interests raise the question of whether their actions, judgement, and/or decision-making can be unbiased’.

In relation to the Palestinian crisis, we can consider the US as the ‘entity’ and take into account its actions, judgements, and decisions, such as exercising its veto power in the UN Security Council, providing billions of dollars of (military) aid to Israel, equipping this apartheid nation with sophisticated arms and weapons, standing beside Israel under all circumstances, being the chief guarantor of Israel’s security, condemning Palestinians for every stone thrown into the other side of the fence, and never seriously asking Israel to stop its apartheid policy, colonial expansion and territorial control, and mass killings. These US actions point to deep and enduring relationships between Israel and the US at all levels — economic, political, religious, social, strategic, and others. Often, we hear Israeli authorities asserting that Palestinians (read Muslims) are common enemies of Judeo-Christian values.

This may suggest that Israel represents the West in a non-Western part of the world. This transplanted state is an extended arm of the West in the heart of the Arab world. It’s a satellite state that was illegally and wrongfully installed by the West to maintain its surveillance of the region and sustain its geopolitical interests.

Such abiding and unfailing relationships between the US and Israel explain why the former uses its veto power in the UN Security Council to unjustly favour the latter. In any other organisation, a member with such conflicts of interest would not be allowed to take part in voting. For example, I would have to withdraw from a recruitment committee in my workplace if a friend or relative of mine were to be interviewed by that committee for a job.

Predictably, the withdrawal of the US from UNSC voting would have made a significant difference in managing the crisis in the Middle East.

Surprisingly, despite its glaring interests at all conceivable levels, the US also presents itself as a peacebroker between Israel and Palestine. This peace-negotiating role is ridiculous because the US is not a neutral player in the crisis. It is unqualified to make fair and acceptable brokering between the two parties. Its repeated vetoing in support of Israel is the clearest evidence of its disqualification.

The fact of the matter is that the US is unlikely to advance any solution to the Palestinian crisis. The end of this crisis may mean the end of many other crises in the world. A crisis-reduced world will not serve US interests because it won’t be able to sell weapons. Moreover, a stable and peaceful world will compromise US power and hegemony.

The Palestinian crisis will probably drag on so long as the US is its main arbiter. There are sufficient grounds to indicate that all its ways and strategies of trying to solve the problem are actually ways of keeping it unresolved. Therefore, as far as the suffering of Palestinians is concerned, the US is part of the problem, not the solution.

This brings us to the crux of the argument in this essay: that giving peace a chance in Palestine demands that the US declare its conflicts of interest in the region. Such a declaration may be one critical step in the right direction to end the Palestinian crisis.

Obaidul Hamid is an associate professor at the University of Queensland in Australia. He researches language, education, and society in the developing world.
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[Saif]

UNSC for the first time demands Gaza ceasefire

US abstained from voting; resolution calls for an immediate truce marking Ramadan to lead to a 'lasting, sustainable ceasefire'

www.thedailystar.net

UNSC for the first time demands Gaza ceasefire​

US abstained from voting; resolution calls for an immediate truce marking Ramadan to lead to a 'lasting, sustainable ceasefire'

Photo: Reuters

After more than five months of war, the UN Security Council for the first time today demanded an immediate ceasefire after the United States, Israel's ally which vetoed previous drafts, abstained.

Drawing unusual applause in the often staid Security Council, all 14 other members voted in favour of the resolution which "demands an immediate ceasefire" for the ongoing Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The resolution calls for the truce to lead to a "lasting, sustainable ceasefire" and demands that Hamas and other militants free hostages seized on October 7.

Russia at the last minute objected to the removal of the word "permanent" ceasefire and called a vote, which failed to gain passage.

The successful resolution was drafted in part by Algeria, the Arab bloc's current member of the Security Council, with a diverse array of countries including Slovenia and Switzerland.

The United States has vetoed previous bids for a ceasefire but has shown growing frustration with Israel, including its stated plans to expand its military operation to the packed southern city of Rafah.

A change in tone toward its Middle Eastern ally was seen Friday, when the United States put forward a resolution to recognize "the imperative" of an "immediate and sustained ceasefire."

But that text was blocked by Russia and China, which along with Arab states criticized it for stopping short of explicitly demanding Israel halt its campaign in Gaza.

The United States has repeatedly blocked ceasefire resolutions as it attempts to walk a line between supporting Israel with military aid and voicing frustration with leader Benjamin Netanyahu as the civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip mounts.

Unlike Friday's text, the call for a ceasefire in the new resolution is not directly linked to ongoing talks, led by Qatar with support from the United States and Egypt, to halt fighting in return for Hamas releasing hostages.

Israel has criticized the Security Council for previous resolutions that have not specifically condemned Hamas.

Since October 7, Israel's military campaign has killed more than 32,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The Security Council has been divided over the Israel-Hamas war since October 7, only approving two of eight resolutions, which both mainly dealt with humanitarian aid.

And those resolutions seem to have had little effect on the ground, where UN personnel say Israel continues to block aid convoys as experts warn of looming famine.​

 

[Saif]

A long-overdue call for Gaza truce, but will Israel listen?

UNSC must find a way to urgently enforce it

www.thedailystar.net

A long-overdue call for Gaza truce, but will Israel listen?​

UNSC must find a way to urgently enforce it

VISUAL: STAR

It is a real travesty that it took the UN Security Council more than five months to find a unified voice on the need for ending Israel's unjust war in Gaza, after the United States, its closest ally, abstained from vetoing a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, in a shift from its previous position of blindly supporting Israel's unrelenting assault on Palestinians. But now that a resolution has finally been passed, it is extremely important that it is implemented without any delay. The number of Palestinians killed by Israel has already exceeded 32,000, with the majority of them being women and children. Gaza is already the "most intense starvation catastrophe of recent decades", with human rights organisations warning of an impending famine unless Israel's aggression stops and aid is immediately allowed to enter the strip.

Israel, of course, has maintained a below-starvation-level food policy for Gaza for years now, allowing below-bare-minimum necessities to enter the Palestinian territory. Moreover, in recent times, it has approved some of the biggest settlement projects—forcibly removing Palestinians from the small sliver of lands they have left, demolishing their homes, and building new ones for Jewish settlers—in violation of UN resolutions. On the same day that the UNSC passed the ceasefire resolution, a report by a UN special rapporteur was leaked to the public revealing that Israeli actions in Gaza "qualify" as genocide on at least three grounds. A case against Israel's genocide is already underway at the International Court of Justice.

But despite calls from all over the world for a ceasefire and an end to such horrific atrocities, Israel has remained adamant in its position, emboldened by the unconditional support—diplomatic, financial and military—it has been receiving from Western countries. Given these realities, the UNSC ceasefire resolution is quite significant for the Palestinians. The fact that it has happened highlights a slight change of position from the one country that has most protected Israel from any consequence so far. However, given Israel's attitude, it might be too early to be hopeful about a true ceasefire. As if to validate such suspicions, Israeli air strikes killed at least 70 people in north and south Gaza early Tuesday, soon after the UNSC's truce call.

Another issue of concern is that the ceasefire that has been called for is a temporary one. It is high time the UNSC and all its members recognised the gravity of the atrocities being inflicted against the Palestinians. They must take steps to enforce a permanent ceasefire as well as withdrawal of all Israeli forces from all Palestinian lands.​

 

[Saif]

UNSC must act upon its call for Gaza truce

Israel’s continued attacks on Gaza a failure of world leaders

www.thedailystar.net

UNSC must act upon its call for Gaza truce​

Israel’s continued attacks on Gaza a failure of world leaders

VISUAL: STAR

Israel's audacity in carrying on with its genocide in Gaza, even after the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, is mostly a result of the unstinted support it has received from its Western allies, especially the US, until that point. According to media reports, 66 people were killed in Israeli attacks in the 24 hours till Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, not long after the UNSC's resolution was passed, Israeli air strikes killed at least 70 people in north and south Gaza.

So, despite the recent developments on the international forum, neither the UN, nor the Security Council, nor the states that enabled Israel can disassociate themselves from the deaths of more than 32,000 Palestinians in the nearly six months of this war or the burden of decades of systematic oppression in Palestine. The burden of enforcing their call for truce, therefore, also falls upon them.​

​

The extent of Israel's crimes can be understood from the report of a top UN expert who recently stated that there are "reasonable grounds" to believe the country is committing genocide in Gaza. Mere disclosure or acknowledgement is not enough anymore, however. We need meaningful interventions. There is a lot that the UNSC can do about it, should it wish to. The International Court of Justice (ICJ)—where a case on Gaza genocide is underway—also has responsibilities in this regard. Although Israel is yet to fully heed its order to admit emergency aid, forcing it to again issue a similar ruling, the court should take note of the latest report and act upon it in the genocide trial.

World leaders can no longer sit idly by while civilian deaths, fabricated starvation, and systematic persecution of a helpless community continue to take place. With the UN's voice finally fully aligned with the cries of humanity, we expect the UNSC to act upon its resolution to enforce the ceasefire, and ensure that humanitarian aid properly reaches all in the besieged strip.​

 

[Saif]

Netanyahu agrees to Gaza ceasefire talks

The Israeli PM agrees to send delegations to Egypt and Qatar, where negotiators have been trying to secure the release of Israeli hostages as part of a possible Gaza ceasefire deal

www.thedailystar.net

Netanyahu agrees to Gaza ceasefire talks​

Humanitarian aid falls through the sky towards the Gaza Strip after being dropped from an aircraft, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from Israel, March 29, 2024. Photo:Reuters/Amir Cohen

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved Friday new talks on a Gaza ceasefire, a day after the world's top court ordered Israel to ensure urgent humanitarian aid reaches people in the Palestinian territory.

But despite a binding United Nations Security Council resolution this week demanding an "immediate ceasefire", fighting continued Friday, including around hospitals.

Regional fallout from the conflict also flared, with Israel saying it killed a Hezbollah rocket commander in Lebanon, and several Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria strikes that a war monitor blamed on Israel.

Netanyahu's office said new talks on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release will take place in Doha and Cairo "in the coming days... with guidelines for moving forward in the negotiations", days after they appeared stalled.

In its order, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague said: "Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine, but... famine is setting in."

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, posted on X that the ruling was "a stark reminder that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is man made + worsening".

The court had ruled in January that Israel must facilitate "urgently needed" humanitarian aid to Gaza and prevent genocidal acts, but Israel rejected the case brought by South Africa.

The latest binding ICJ ruling, which has little means of enforcement, came as Israel's military said Friday it was continuing operations in Al-Shifa Hospital, the territory's largest, for a 12th day.

Throughout the coastal territory, dozens of people were killed overnight, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said.

Among the dead were 12 people killed in a home in the southern city of Rafah, which has been regularly bombed ahead of a mooted Israeli ground operation there.

Men worked under the light of mobile phones to free people trapped under debris after an air strike, AFPTV images showed.

The ICJ ordered Israel to "take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay" the supply "of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance".
​

'IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE'​

The war began with Hamas's October 7 attack that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign to destroy Hamas has killed at least 32,623 people, mostly women and children, Gaza's health ministry says.

Large parts of the territory have been reduced to rubble, and most of Gaza's population are now sheltering in Rafah.

On Monday the UN Security Council demanded an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, the release of hostages held by militants, and "ensuring humanitarian access".

A mourner carries the body of a Palestinian child killed in an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 29, 2024. Photo: Reuters/Ahmed Zakot

Member states are obliged to abide by such resolutions, but the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity said nothing has changed on the ground.

Aid groups say only a fraction of the supplies required have been allowed in since October, when Israel placed Gaza under near-total siege.

Israel has blamed shortages on the Palestinian side, namely a lack of capacity to distribute aid, with humanitarians saying not enough trucks are allowed in to make deliveries.

With limited ground access, several nations have staged airdrops, and a sea corridor from Cyprus has delivered its first food aid.
​

HEAVY DAMAGE​

The UN says Gaza's health system is collapsing "due to ongoing hostilities and access constraints".

Israel's military accuses Hamas and the Islamic Jihad of hiding inside medical facilities, using patients, staff and displaced people for cover -- charges the militants have denied.

On Friday the army said it was "continuing precise operation activities in Shifa Hospital" where it began a raid early last week.

Troops first raided Al-Shifa in November, before Israel in January announced it had "completed the dismantling" of Hamas's command structure in northern Gaza. Palestinian militants and commanders had since returned to Al-Shifa, the army said.

Netanyahu has said troops "are holding the northern Gaza Strip" and also the southern city of Khan Yunis, amid heavy fighting.

"We have bisected the Strip and we are preparing to enter Rafah," he said Thursday.

Netanyahu is under domestic pressure over his failure to bring home all of the hostages seized by militants on October 7. Israel says about 130 captives remain in Gaza, including 34 presumed dead.

About 200 militants have been killed during the latest Al-Shifa operation, the military said.

Near Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis, troops carried out "targeted raids on terrorist infrastructure", killing dozens in combat backed by air support, the army said Thursday.

Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles have massed around another Khan Yunis health facility, the Nasser Hospital, the Gaza health ministry said.

An analysis of satellite images shows heavily damaged areas around the Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals.
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DEADLIEST TOLL​

Since the Gaza war began, Israel has increased its strikes in Syria, targeting army positions and Iran-backed forces including Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, a key Hamas ally.

A Britain-based war monitor said Israeli air strikes Friday in north Syria killed at least 42 people, six from Hezbollah and 36 Syrian soldiers.

And Israel's military said it killed Ali Abdel Hassan Naim, deputy commander of Hezbollah's rocket unit, in an air strike in south Lebanon Friday.

US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators have tried to secure a truce in Gaza, but those talks had appeared deadlocked more than halfway through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Tensions have risen between Netanyahu and Washington, which provides billions of dollars in military aid but has grown increasingly vocal about the war's impact on civilians.

Washington has also raised the issue of Gaza's post-war rule. It has suggested a future role for the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

On Thursday, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas approved the new government of prime minister Mohammed Mustafa, who said his cabinet will work on "visions to reunify the institutions, including assuming responsibility for Gaza".

Hamas forcibly took Gaza from Abbas's government in 2007.

Netanyahu says Israel must have "security responsibility" in Gaza, and has rejected calls for a Palestinian state.​

 

[Saif]

Palestine’s struggle for self-rule

THE world is consumed, pained, and angered by Israel’s uninterrupted bombing and killing of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with an open genocidal...

www.newagebd.net

Palestine's struggle for self-rule
by Humayun Kabir | Published: 00:00, Mar 31,2024

THE world is consumed, pained, and angered by Israel's uninterrupted bombing and killing of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with an open genocidal intent that has entered its sixth month as a reaction to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. There is no sign that it is likely to end soon. On the face of it, it seems the result was a tactical success by Hamas that produced considerable Israeli civilian and military casualties and 200 plus hostages but clearly left Hamas without any clear political or strategic gains. There was an explanation about the timing of the Hamas attack, but only a conjecture, so to speak. Just about the time, under the U.S. auspices, Israel and Saudi Arabia were about to announce a peace treaty between them that Hamas thought it had to interrupt for a bigger politically strategic interest. The fact that that objective was achieved is on record. How plausible this explanation is, however, is anyone's guess. With this background in mind, I am providing, as a background to the crisis in Gaza, a chronological history of Palestine's struggle for self-rule and the advent of Israel as a homeland for the Jews, which eventually led to the creation of the State of Israel.

Scholars believe the name 'Palestine' is derived from the name of the people — the Philistines — who occupied part of the region in the 12th century. Throughout history, the land of Palestine has been a melting pot of civilisations, religions, and cultures. From ancient biblical times to the more recent British mandate era, this region has been under numerous conquerors, migrations, and religious movements, all leaving their indelible mark on the land and its people. In this regard, I would like to refer my readers, who are interested in learning about the ancient history of the land, to Nur Masalha's magnum opus, 'Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History' (Zed Books LTD,2018) for comprehensive knowledge on Palestine.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict goes back nearly a century, when Britain, during World War I, pledged to establish a 'national home' for the displaced and scattered Jewish people in the State of Palestine under the Balfour Declaration. Before that, British troops took control of the territory from the Ottoman empire at the end of October 1917. This declaration was a letter from British foreign secretary Arthus Balfour to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a Jewish leader, in which he expressed the British government's support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This declaration resulted in a significant upheaval in the lives of Palestinians. The Nazi holocaust, which engulfed millions of Jews in Europe, proved anew to the Europeans the urgency of the establishment of a Jewish state, which would aim to solve the problem of Jewish homelessness by opening the gates to all Jews, thus accommodating the Jewish people to equality of nations. The Zionist aim of establishing a 'Jewish state' in Palestine became a reality. History concluded that this pledge was one of the main reasons for the ethnic cleansing, known as 'Naqba', of Palestine in 1948. It was seen as a thinly veiled form of colonialism and occupation. And to everyone's surprise, the power was given to the Jews, who, at the time, constituted only 9 per cent of the population. Thereafter, using immigration process, the British enhanced the Jewish population from 9 per cent to 27 per cent between 1922 and 1935. Though the Balfour Declaration included the caveat that 'nothing shall be done that may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine', the British mandate was set up in a way to equip Jews with the tools to establish self-rule, at the expense of the Palestinian Arabs.

In the debate over the unique imposition of a foreign government-led declaration, consensus was built around the following aspects that explained the reasons behind the controversial policy:

1) Control over Palestine was a strategic imperial interest to keep Egypt and the Suez Canal within Britain's sphere of influence.

2) Britain ensured that the Zionist policy would rally support among Jews in the USA and Russia.


3) Intense Zionist lobbying between the Zionist community in Britain and the British government, and


4) Jews were being persecuted in Europe, and the British government was sympathetic to their suffering.

In November 1919, when the press and media reopened in the Arab region, Herbert Samuel, a Jewish Cabinet Minister, said in a speech in London: Our country is Arab, Palestine is Arab, and Palestine must remain Arab.' However, what followed thereafter was a story full of repressions and revolts. The Arabs revolted in 1936 that lasted until 1939, during which they boycotted Jewish products and withheld tax payments to protest British colonialism and ever-growing Jewish immigration. The British resorted to punitive home demolitions, which the Israelis have perpetuated until now. Britain brought in 30,000 troops in Palestine, bombed villages by air, demolishing homes, and resorted to the summary killing of people. The second phase of the revolt began in 1937, led by the Palestinian peasants. The British and the Jews collaborated and formed armed groups named Special Night Squads. By secretly importing arms and setting up weapons factories, a huge paramilitary force was created and deployed. This eventually became the Israeli Army. By 1939, 5,000 Palestinians were killed, nearly 20,000 injured, and 5600 imprisoned.

In 1947, the United Nations proposed (Resolution 181) the partition of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab States, with Jerusalem as an internationally administered city. The Jewish community accepted the plan, but the Arabs rejected it, leading to the outbreak of civil war. The rejection was due to an allocation of 46 per cent of the land to Palestinians and 54 per cent to the Jews, who were a minority. The event triggered the first Arab-Israeli War, involving neighbouring Arab countries, that resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs. The war and the Palestinian Nakba of 1948 led to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homeland and the creation of the State of Israel in May 1948. Overnight, one million Palestinian refugees became exiles in neighbouring Arab countries; over 500 towns and villages were depopulated and destroyed; remaining Palestinians came under Israeli military rule; and worst of all, the Absentee Property Act in 1950, under which land belonging to Palestinian refugees became Israel State property. Next, Israel passed the Law of Return, giving every Jew the right to settle in Israel or Palestine. The West Bank and Gaza Strip went under Jordanian and Egyptian rule.

The six-day war between Israel and its Arab neighbours that followed (June 5–10, 1967) was not about one particular concern or dispute. Small military strikes by Palestinian guerrillas to repel a possible military strike by Israel flared up a full-scale war involving Egypt and Syria, in which Jordan joined as well. Israel's decisive victory included the capture of the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Old City of Jerusalem, and Golan Heights; the status of these territories subsequently became a major point of contention in the Arab-Israeli conflict. On June 7, the United Nations Security Council called for a cease-fire, which was immediately accepted by Israel, followed by Jordan and Egypt. After Syria lost Golan Heights to Israel on June 9, Syria too accepted the cease-fire call. The six-day war marked the start of a new phase in the conflict since it created hundreds of thousands of refugees and brought one million Palestinians into the occupied territories under Israeli rule. Months after that war, in November, the United Nations passed Resolution 242, which called for Israel's withdrawal from the territories it had captured in the war in exchange for lasting peace. That resolution became the basis for diplomatic efforts, led by the U.S., between Israel and its neighbours, including the Camp David Accords with Egypt and the push for a two-state solution with Palestine.

Throughout this period, the Palestinians had been dispersed among several countries and were lacking an organised central leadership to confront the Israelis as a unified resistance entity. In 1964, at an Arab Summit meeting in Cairo, the PLO was created as a political force to combat Israeli power. In 1968, under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, the PLO formed its military wing, the Palestine Liberation Army, but it had limited influence on PLO policy and activities. The six-day war seriously discredited the Arab neighbours in terms of advancing the Palestinian cause for self-determination. The PLO drew international attention to its cause with high-profile military attacks and hijackings. The PLO was a generally secular organisation modelled on other left-wing guerrilla movements of the time, although most of its followers and supporters were Muslim. There were, however, Islamist groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, who avoided armed conflicts and were dedicated to working for a more religious society. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Israel began to publicly suppress the rise of the Islamist movement in Gaza. But it also saw the groups undermining the PLO support base, allowing it to operate freely and build its support base. For example, Israel approved the creation of the Islamic University of Gaza, which became the source of support for Hamas, which by then became a political entity in Gaza.

Israel, meanwhile, was treating the Palestinians under its control as largely quiescent, even as it went on expanding illegal Jewish settlements in Gaza and the West Bank and expropriating Arab lands. Palestinians were used as a source of cheap manual labour inside Israel. That situation was, however, shattered in 1987 as young Palestinians rose up, causing the famous Intifada. The intifada was considered a success, helping to solidify their identity independently of neighbouring Arab states and forcing Israel into negotiations. And above all, it forced Yasser Arafat to compromise and accept a two-state solution.

As the intifada wound down in 1993, the Oslo peace process started with secret talks between Israel and the PLO. The Oslo Accord established the Palestinian National Authority, granting limited self-governance over patches of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Some prominent Palestinians regarded the accord as a form of surrender, while Israelis opposed giving up illegal and forced settlements or territory. Two Israeli leaders who opposed Oslo as a form of surrender were Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu. Both blamed prime minister Robin for accepting the Oslo terms, and soon thereafter, Rabin was assassinated in an open public event. Rabin's widow blamed these two men for her husband's killing by an ultranationalist Israeli in 1995.

Soon thereafter, the second Intifada took place after the failed attempt by US president Bill Clinton at Camp David when he tried to broker a final deal there in 2000. The uprising witnessed widespread suicide bombings by Hamas guerrillas and Israeli retaliations. When the uprising ended in 2005, more than 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis were killed.

A notable aspect of the post-2005 situation was prime minister Sharon's decision to 'disengage' from the Palestinians beginning that year with the closing of Israeli settlements in Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank. It is still unknown how much further Sharon would have gone with this policy, as he had suffered a stroke and went into a coma thereafter.

What became the status of Gaza after that? Israel claimed it was no longer occupied. The United Nations disagreed with the Israeli position because of Israel's continued control of airspace, territorial waters, and access to the territory militarily. Israel also blocked the enclave since Hamas came to power in 2006, in an election defeating the Fatah Party. Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Assembly elections in part because of a backlash against the corruption and political stagnation of the ruling Fatah party. Israel began arresting Hamas members of the parliament and imposed sanctions against Gaza. Also, the US and the EU, among others, did not acknowledge Hamas' electoral victory, as the party was considered a terrorist organisation by the western governments. Between 2006 and 2011, a series of failed talks and deadly confrontations between Hamas and Fatah eventually culminated in an agreement to reconcile. In 2014, Fatah and Hamas entered a unity government.

After a wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians in 2015, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas announced that Palestinians would no longer be bound by the territorial divisions created by the Oslo Accords. From 2018 onwards, more fighting erupted between Israeli forces and Hamas military forces. Fatah, meanwhile, became more dependent on US support, both financially and militarily, to confront Hamas. Through 2021, Hamas and Israel had several rounds of confrontations, with Israel resorting to aerial bombardment of civilian areas. Eventually, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, with both claiming victory.

The most far-right and religious government in Israel's history, led by Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party and comprising two ultra-Orthodox parties and three far-right parties, was inaugurated in late December 2022. This government prioritised the expansion and development of more Israeli settlements, by force, in Palestinian areas in the occupied West Bank. On October 7, 2023, the Hamas surprise attack took the Israeli people and government by total surprise. Israel declared a full-scale attack on Gaza, first by aerial bombardment followed by a ground invasion, aiming to eliminate Hamas, as an entity. So far, as the fighting continues, Hamas has claimed a death toll of 32,000+ civilians, including 14,00 children. The US, UK, European Union, and others actively provided lethal ammunition to Israel, amounting to billions of US dollars.

The displacement of millions of Palestinians presents a dilemma for Egypt and Jordan, which have absorbed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the past decades and are now resisting accepting more during the current war. They fear, based on past experiences, that Gazans, many of whom were already displaced from elsewhere in Israel, will not be allowed to return once they leave. Egypt also fears that Hamas fighters could enter Egypt and trigger a new war in the Sinai area by launching attacks on Israel and destabilising the authoritarian regime of autocrat president El-Sisi by supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. Over 1.7 million Gazans, displaced from their homes, have nowhere to go and face starvation and deceases, leading to death.

As of now, hectic efforts are underway at the United Nations Security Council to get a ceasefire resolution adopted to help stop the unilateral killings of Palestinian civilians.

With a full-blown war going on between Israel and Hamas, it is hard to imagine a new dawn of peace. The body count in Gaza is rising daily. It is a cycle of violence that threatens to paralyse the moral and political imaginations of both parties alike, deepening the impression that accommodation will remain forever out of reach. Ehud Barak, the former prime minister of Israel, said in an interview with Time: The right way is to look to the two-state solution, not because of justice to the Palestinians, which is not the highest priority on my priorities, but because we have a compelling imperative to disengage from the Palestinians to protect our own security, our own future, our own destiny.'

One last point on the ongoing war: there is no doubt the Americans will stand with Israel longer, but certainly not for infinity. What options will Israel look for when that becomes a reality? And what about Netanyahu's future? He knows and understands history very well, and he knows that nobody survives a major war. He remembers what happened to Golda Meyer, Menachem Begin and later Ehud Olmert, all of whom were removed from the government after a war.

Humayun Kabir (kabirruhi@gmail.com) is a former United Nations official in New York.​

 

[Vikings]

As if Israel would care about Bangladesh.

China would be a better peace broker between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

All are just BAL chest beating, hence no need to pay attention!

Israel is America itself in the middle East , hence I don't see any easy solution here!

 

[Saif]

Gaza children fly kites to escape horrors of offensive

Metres away from the concrete and steel fence separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt, 11-year-old Malak Ayad flies a paper kite high in the sky -- a welcome distraction from the horrors of Israeli offensive.

www.thedailystar.net

Gaza children fly kites to escape horrors of offensive

Members of a Palestinian family leave Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip with personal belongings yesterday. The United States has warned Israel against expanding its military operation into Rafah, where over a million Palestinians are sheltering, without a plan to protect civilians. Photo: AFP

Metres away from the concrete and steel fence separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt, 11-year-old Malak Ayad flies a paper kite high in the sky -- a welcome distraction from the horrors of Israeli offensive.

"Every day I play with my brothers and cousins with kites next to the Egyptian border," said the Palestinian girl, displaced from Gaza City with her family to the southern city of Rafah.

"When I do, I feel free and safe," she added, gently manoeuvring her kite, which she calls "Butterfly", back and forth across the border with a white string.

Her cousins and friends run along the fence trying, in vain, to get their kites to take flight, but a loud explosion in the distance makes them stop in their tracks.

"Quickly, the (Israeli) bombardment is getting closer," said Malak's uncle Mohammed Ayad, 24, urging the children to leave the area.

Malak quickly obeys, reeling in her kite and folding it, then rushes back to a tent where her family is taking shelter in the nearby Khir area.

"Playtime is over. When air strikes begin we run back home," Malak said, trembling with fear.

Israel's campaign to destroy Hamas has killed at least 32,782 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Malak Ayad and her family are among 1.5 million people, most of them displaced by the offensive, now living in Rafah, where Israel has vowed to carry a ground offensive as it pursues its campaign against Hamas.

Despite the offensive and the fear that grips her, Malak seems to be happy to fly her kite and dreams of life as it was before the offensive broke out on October 7.

"My kite flies to Egypt everyday while we are here trapped in Gaza," said Malak, who wears a bracelet featuring the Palestinian flag.

"I don't know when we will be able to return home," she said, adding that her mother told her that her school has been hit by the Israeli army and "destroyed".​

 

[Saif]

‘Entire families dead’

A journalist working for CNN said the scene at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital yesterday “feels like a horror movie” after Israeli forces withdrew, ending their two-week siege of the facility.

www.thedailystar.net

'Entire families dead'
Journalist describes scene at Al-Shifa Hospital after Israeli troops withdraw, ending their two-week siege

A woman reacts as she stands next to a wounded Palestinian lying on a bed at Al Shifa Hospital after Israeli forces withdrew from the hospital and the area around it following a two-week operation in Gaza City yesterday. Photo: REUTERS

A journalist working for CNN said the scene at Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital yesterday "feels like a horror movie" after Israeli forces withdrew, ending their two-week siege of the facility.

"Bulldozers crushed bodies of people everywhere around and in the yard of the hospital," said Khader Al Za'anoun, a staffer with Wafa, the Palestinian news agency.

Al Za'anoun said people had arrived at the complex to search for missing family members.

"Many families are looking for their loved ones and cannot find them. Some of them even know they were killed but their bodies are missing," he said. "We found entire families dead and their bodies are decomposed in houses around the hospital."

Al Za'anoun said survivors at the complex were malnourished.
​

People who are alive inside the hospital are suffering from starvation…​

"People who are alive inside the hospital are suffering from starvation as they were given one bottle of water a day to share for six people," he said. "I'm looking around me and I can't believe what I see."

In a statement confirming their withdrawal from the hospital, Israel's military said its troops had killed terrorists while preventing harm to civilians.

"Injured and dead bodies fill the hospital grounds," Captain Mahmoud Bassal said yesterday. "There are bodies buried in the hospital yards."

More than 30 wounded people were transported from Al-Shifa to the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital east of Gaza City, Bassal said.

Images from the area showed widespread destruction with charred and pockmarked buildings inside the complex.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Jerusalem on Sunday evening against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and against exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from military service, in scenes reminiscent of mass street protests last year.

Protest groups organised the rally outside parliament, the Knesset, calling for a new election to replace the government, reports Reuters.

Israel's N12 News said it appeared to be the largest demonstration since the offensive began. Haaretz and Ynet news sites said it drew tens of thousands of people.

Netanyahu's cabinet has faced widespread criticism over the security failure of the Hamas attack on southern Israel.

"This government is a complete and utter failure," said 74-year-old Nurit Robinson, at the rally. "They will lead us into the abyss."

Israel's offensive in the Palestinian enclave has aggravated a longstanding source of friction in society that is also unsettling Netanyahu's coalition government - exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students from service in the country's conscript military.

With a March 31 deadline looming for the government to come up with legislation to resolve a decades-long standoff over the issue, Netanyahu filed a last-minute application to the Supreme Court last week or a 30-day deferment.​