tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32260412050395733992024-03-25T00:38:22.729+03:00BLAD AL_ARAB AUTANIخالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.comBlogger3893125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-4034771656855056332024-03-25T00:37:00.003+03:002024-03-25T00:37:32.933+03:00Britain ADMITS Israel Deliberately Starving Gaza<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/03/britain-admits-israel-deliberately.html" style="color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; text-decoration-line: none;">Britain ADMITS Israel Deliberately Starving Gaza</a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2024-03-24T12:00:00-07:00&max-results=3" target="_blank">The Common Ills</a></p><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-7208900883350461939" itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6KW2xqDO7_g?si=sm0gB3M87-XPfll-" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/03/aoc-doubles-down-calling-situation-in.html" style="color: #ff9900; text-decoration-line: none;">AOC doubles down calling the situation in Gaza a genocide</a></h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3762757720699638167" itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/szU9lofyoS4?si=8sEbKT7KI84efAS4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-zionist-project-is-coming-to-end.html" style="color: #ff9900; text-decoration-line: none;">The Zionist project is coming to an end, with Ilan Pappé</a></h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-1519587923951651106" itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z-SQuxleYtI?si=UJEuXiLiaJxY12FG" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-41414042373918979272024-03-25T00:27:00.001+03:002024-03-25T00:27:50.304+03:00CO2 Bursting into the Atmosphere<h1 class="headline" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: minion-pro-condensed, serif; font-size: 1.912em; line-height: calc(18px + 1.15vw); margin: 0px; max-width: 800px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/03/22/co2-bursting-into-the-atmosphere/" rel="bookmark" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #dd0000; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">CO2 Bursting into the Atmosphere</a></h1><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="post_author" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; display: inline-block; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 20px;"><a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/author/robert-hunziker/" rel="nofollow" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 0.938em; margin: 0px 0px 0px 1px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase;">ROBERT HUNZIKER</a> </span><span class="post_author_intro" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">BY</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px;"> </span></p><h2 style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: calc(18px + 1vw); margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/03/22/co2-bursting-into-the-atmosphere/" target="_blank">Counter Punch</a></h2><p><img alt="" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-316812" class="wp-image-316812 size-medium" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" height="453" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/marcin-jozwiak-3ioqs19Wa2A-unsplash-680x453.jpg" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/marcin-jozwiak-3ioqs19Wa2A-unsplash-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/marcin-jozwiak-3ioqs19Wa2A-unsplash-946x630.jpg 946w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/marcin-jozwiak-3ioqs19Wa2A-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/marcin-jozwiak-3ioqs19Wa2A-unsplash-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/marcin-jozwiak-3ioqs19Wa2A-unsplash-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/marcin-jozwiak-3ioqs19Wa2A-unsplash-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/marcin-jozwiak-3ioqs19Wa2A-unsplash-600x400.jpg 600w" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;" width="680" /></p><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-316812" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0.3em 0px 20px; text-align: left;">Image by Marcin Jozwiak.</p><div class="post_content" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px; margin: 0px; max-width: 680px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">CO2 is bursting into the atmosphere like never before, up and away, like it has wings.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">According to climate scientists, we’re fast approaching white-knuckle time. This reinforces the outlook for 2024 as expressed by WMO: “Every major global climate record was broken last year and 2024 could be worse.” (Celeste Saulo, secretary-general, World Meteorological Organization)</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Making matters more nerve-wracking yet, Carbon dioxide, CO2, in the atmosphere is setting new all-time records, soaring above expectations and well above previous readings at Mauna Lua Observatory, Hawaii:</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">March 18, 2024, CO2 measured 426.02 ppm.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">March 15, 2023. CO2 measured 420.24 ppm.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">That’s +5.78 ppm in only one year. An increase of this magnitude has not been seen before. On a seasonal basis, the month of May is ordinarily the peak reading for the year. That’s still weeks away. The climate system as it relates to greenhouse gas emissions appears to have gone bonkers, out in left field.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The historical annual rate of CO2:</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">1960s +0.8 ppm</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">1980s +1.6 ppm</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">2000s +2.0 ppm</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">2010s +2.4 ppm</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Today’s +5.78 ppm is way above the trend.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Current daily readings:</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">March 15 427.93</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">March 16 426.36</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">March 17 423.96</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">March 18 426.02</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">It should be noted that the month of February 2024 @ 424.55 ppm was +4.25 ppm versus February 2023 @ 420.30 ppm. Once again, way above past increases. According to <a href="https://www.co2.earth/daily-co2" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">CO2-Earth</a>: “The measured CO2 levels in the atmosphere serve as the single best, real-time signal of whether the world as a whole is on track to a safe future.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Ergo, a safe future appears to be dangling.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">CO2 levels may be signaling serious trouble of unanticipated global warming bursting loose, depending upon how much more CO2 is generated by fossil fuels from industry, cars, planes, and trains as well as how the planet’s climate system continues to adjust and react to decades of harsh pounding by Homo sapiens. Nature is under attack in sensitive areas, like rainforests, permafrost (25% of the Northern Hemisphere), boreal forests, Antarctica, Greenland, the Arctic, and oceans with emissions causing too much heat to handle. And today’s CO2 says it’s getting worse.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">What will the world’s leaders do in the face of a trembling global climate system?</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Maybe hold another UN climate conference, like COP28 in Dubai last year, headlined by another fossil fuel nation/state with a Middle East oil and gas executive as president of the UN Conference of the Parties (COP) to figure out how to handle massive excessive fossil fuel CO2 emissions choking the planet. That would really rub it into the noses of climate scientists who’d probably refuse to attend one of the second biggest shams in human history, following in the footsteps of COP28. Frankly, that kind of kindergarten approach to handling a serious issue like climate change should motivate people across the planet to rise up in opposition to one more “big fix” designed to continue enriching a teeny-weeny miniscule segment of world population.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Only recently in January 2024 Mauna Lau Observatory Hawaii anticipated a “relatively large” surge in annual average CO2 concentrations for 2024, estimating an increase of approximately 2.84 ppm more than 2023. But current trends put that into question as too low.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Global warming feeds off increasing levels of greenhouse gases, like methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor but mostly carbon dioxide (CO2). Along those lines, there are 10 primary greenhouse gases, and it’s scientifically proven that CO2 accounts for about 76% of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases are labeled as such because of the greenhouse effect trapping solar radiation, which functions like any typical greenhouse but without glass to trap heat. Molecules, such as CO2, simulate glass and thus retain heat.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The more CO2 in the atmosphere, the more heat is trapped. This equation is very straight-forward. But what if CO2 increases rapidly well beyond its historic pattern, which is already well beyond any historical trend in modern history? That’s happening and climate scientists in the know are deeply concerned.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">As a consequence, since it’s a national election year, according to an Arctic News article d/d March 16, 2024: “The accelerating growth in carbon dioxide indicates that politicians have failed and are failing to take adequate action.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">In other words, politicians are failing to fight human-generated global warming. Many of the big promises by nations of the world at Paris ’15 to decrease emissions are nearly kaput. Politicians of the world have failed the planet and should be fired because once greenhouse gas emissions push global warming towards, and eventually to, warp speed, meaning runaway global warming, like what now appears to be in early stages, then it’s too late to remove them from office and do something constructive with replacement politicians that understand science, like Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D – RI), famous for his <a href="https://rollcall.com/2021/01/27/whitehouses-wake-up-gets-put-to-sleep-after-9-year-run/" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Time to Wake Up</em></a> speeches to the Senate.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Already, before this current spike up in CO2, professional sources were anticipating trouble ahead. According to a very respected 2024 forecast, Professor Richard Betts, the Met Office in Britain: “This year’s estimated rise in atmospheric carbon-dioxide concentration is well above all three 1.5°C-compatible scenarios highlighted in the IPCC report… Even when we compensate for the temporary effects of El Niño, we find that human-induced emissions would still cause the CO2 rise in 2024 to be on the absolute limits of compliance with the 1.5°C pathways.” (Source: Eric Ralls, <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Met Office: 2024 CO2 Levels Will Surpass the Point of No Return</em>, Earth.com, January 22, 2024)</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Meanwhile, Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) service confirmed that February 2023 to January 2024 saw warming of 1.52 degrees Celsius above the 19th century benchmark. (Source: World Sees First 12 Months Above 1.5C Warming Level: Climate Monitor, PHYS.ORG, Feb. 8, 2024)</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">As it happens, the world climate system is turning into a Hollywood blockbuster horror film with CO2, the villain of the movie set, now spiking up as drought clobbers what is usually the wettest (northern) part of the Amazon and wildfires rip across Canada from the West Coast to the Atlantic provinces and ravage parts of Siberia. But it’s even worse than that as Zombie Fires, meaning fires that continue burning below surface during winter months, continue smoldering in British Columbia and Alberta into winter months. (Source: Ca<em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">nada Wildfires Never Stopped, They Just Went Underground as Zombie Fires Smolder on Through the Winter</em>, CBS News, February 23, 2024)</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">“A lot of people talk about fire season and the end of the fire season,’ referring to the period generally thought of as being from May to September, ‘but the fires did not stop burning in 2023. The fires dug underground and have been burning pretty much all winter,” Ibid.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Global warming set the stage for those wildfires and set the stage for the most vicious drought in Amazon rainforest history. NASA’s GRACE satellite system shows an Amazon in tenuous condition in an unprecedented state of breakdown. GRACE has detected large areas of the Amazon classified as “Deep Red Zones” with severely constrained water levels. That’s global warming hard at work.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">As for one example of many, back in October 2023: “The level of the Rio Negro is dropping by 1 meter (3 feet) every three days, something that has never been recorded before.” (Source<em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">: Amazon Drought Cuts River Traffic, Leaves Communities Without Water and Supplies</em>, Mongabay, October 2023).</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">It’s almost impossible to grasp the damage happening to world ecosystems because it happens on the fringe of civil society, such as Siberian and Alaskan permafrost leaking methane, Antarctica ice shelves deteriorating, Greenland rain at its summit for the first time ever as the entire ice structure goes off the charts with a summertime melt rate increasing from 30,000,000 tons per day to 720,000,000 tons per day in the time span of only one year. Honestly, this is beyond words!</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">However, people are now starting to see the damage first-hand, like major European rivers (Rhine, Danube, etc.) partially drying up with commercial barges stuck in mud in the summer of ’22 as hundreds of French/Italian communities survived the summer of ‘22 on emergency truck-delivered water, speaking of which Johannesburg (pop. 5.6M) made CBS News headlines March 21, 2024:<em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"> South Africa Water Crisis Sees Taps Run Dry across Johannesburg. </em>And France imported electrical power for the first time in 40 years as low river flow inhibited nuclear power generation, normally 70% of France’s electrical energy. That hits home.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">A few years ago, not that far back in time, people would have freaked out over the threats currently wrought by global warming, but as time passes, people get accustomed to hearing about disaster scenarios like a Hollywood film but on TV in the comfort of their homes, and they shrug and move on with life as long as it’s not in their neighborhood.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Elsewhere, beyond the weird noises of nature heard in the Amazon rainforest, in everyday life people wake up every morning in cities like LA and NYC and Atlanta and Dallas, London, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro (record heat 62.3°C or 144.14°F on March 18<sup style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; line-height: 0.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">th</sup>), and they go about daily routines, the same ole, same ole, hop into a new EV, motor the freeway to an underground parking garage, up an elevator 20 floors to air-conditioned offices for 8 hours and then reverse the process. These people do not live where climate change damages ecosystems.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Urban ecosystems mainly consist of concrete, asphalt, glass, steel, some wood, chemical-laden textiles, and a sprinkling of flora. What’s to harm? Urban residents are missing, and ignorant of, the deterioration of the planet’s most important ecosystems that sustain life, period! This is called “recognition deficit” and down the road the consequences will be deadly.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The recognition deficit of the dangers of global warming glosses over reality. Life seems the same in NYC today as yesterday but ecosystems that are distant, out of sight, are on the ropes and some near collapse. A very harsh impact is lurking in the background. One day it’ll be profound and too late recognized.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">What to do? This is the year of political electioneering. Don’t endorse political candidates that don’t understand and support climate science. This is something that everybody can do with impact, and it could be powerful.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Get off the couch and go door-to-door, or email, or pick up the phone to call friends to support candidates who believe in climate science. You can help prevent Hot House Earth, hopefully.</p></div><p style="text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><strong style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Robert Hunziker </strong>lives in Los Angeles and can be reached at <a href="mailto:rlhunziker@gmail.com" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #dd0000; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">rlhunziker@gmail.com.</a></em> </p>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-5089079699998027712024-03-25T00:21:00.001+03:002024-03-25T00:21:39.945+03:00Predictable Outcomes: Australia, the National Security Committee, and invading Iraq<div><h1 class="headline" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: minion-pro-condensed, serif; font-size: 1.912em; line-height: calc(18px + 1.15vw); margin: 0px; max-width: 800px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/03/20/predictable-outcomes-australia-the-national-security-committee-and-invading-iraq/" rel="bookmark" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Predictable Outcomes: Australia, the National Security Committee, and invading Iraq</a></h1><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px;"> </span><span class="post_author" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; 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--tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;"></span></div><div><h2 style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: calc(18px + 1vw); margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><a href="CounterPunch" target="_blank">Counter Punch</a></h2></div><div><img alt="" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-316689" class="size-medium wp-image-316689" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" height="434" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2880px-Australian_C-130_H_being_unloaded_at_Tallil_Air_Base_in_April_2003-680x434.jpeg" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2880px-Australian_C-130_H_being_unloaded_at_Tallil_Air_Base_in_April_2003-680x434.jpeg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2880px-Australian_C-130_H_being_unloaded_at_Tallil_Air_Base_in_April_2003-986x630.jpeg 986w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2880px-Australian_C-130_H_being_unloaded_at_Tallil_Air_Base_in_April_2003-768x491.jpeg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2880px-Australian_C-130_H_being_unloaded_at_Tallil_Air_Base_in_April_2003-1536x981.jpeg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2880px-Australian_C-130_H_being_unloaded_at_Tallil_Air_Base_in_April_2003-2048x1308.jpeg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2880px-Australian_C-130_H_being_unloaded_at_Tallil_Air_Base_in_April_2003-500x319.jpeg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2880px-Australian_C-130_H_being_unloaded_at_Tallil_Air_Base_in_April_2003-600x383.jpeg 600w" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;" width="680" /><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-316689" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0.3em 0px 20px; text-align: left;">A RAAF C-130 Hercules being unloaded at Tallil Air Base, Iraq, during April 2003 – Public Domain</p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div class="post_content" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px; margin: 0px; max-width: 680px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Archivists can be a dull if industrious lot. Christmas crackers are less important than the new year announcement in Canberra, when the National Archives of Australia releases documents like the newborn into the information world. The event is not without irony, given that such documents are often aged and seasoned numbers, whiskered by storage and grey with cataloguing.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">On January 1, the NAA diligently followed a long standing convention of <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-01/cabinet-papers-2002-release-war-in-iraq/101792688&source=gmail&ust=1710857166858000&usg=AOvVaw24wo4sOtcTMAPpFqsGxscI" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-01/cabinet-papers-2002-release-war-in-iraq/101792688" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">releasing a stash of cabinet documents</a>running into 240 from the Howard government, a period in Australian history when finance ruled with raffish vulgarity, and critical adventurers of conscience were anesthetised and told to get a mortgage. John Howard, Australia’s dull, waxwork prime minister, reminded his voters that Australia’s links to Asian countries were less important than the sigh-heavy attention from Washington.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">What was particularly interesting in this disgorging of material was the focus on Australia’s foolish, negligent and even criminal contribution to the war on Iraq in 2003. Even more interesting was how little the files said about the reasons for Australia’s commitment to the invasion. Much of this was occasioned by the omission of 78 records that would otherwise have been in the original 2020 transfer to the archives.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Canberra is the city of smudged politicians, unnervingly clean air and endless meetings, but the omission of documents troubled Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, given that they concerned the invasion. He even went so far as to order an inquiry. In true capital fashion, it was done with reserve and caution, the broom being of the “one of us” school. Dennis Richardson, former director of the Australian Secret Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and former head of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), not to mention being on the government’s <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://theklaxon.com.au/pmc-missing-cabinet-papers-investigator-given-1m/&source=gmail&ust=1710857166858000&usg=AOvVaw33-t3sI6XywRMXg6y2NmSQ" href="https://theklaxon.com.au/pmc-missing-cabinet-papers-investigator-given-1m/" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">retainer as a consultant</a>, became the broom in question.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">In subsequent <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.pmc.gov.au/resources/review-transfer-2003-cabinet-records-pmc-national-archives-australia&source=gmail&ust=1710857166858000&usg=AOvVaw3vWw1MyiJchW4oiQrAl36i" href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/resources/review-transfer-2003-cabinet-records-pmc-national-archives-australia" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">recommendations</a> as to why the omission of the documents had taken place, Richardson advanced the less than controversial thesis that the NAA include documents from the National Security Committee (NSC), a fixture of the Howard government.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">On March 14, the Archives, as if prodded, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://theconversation.com/release-of-missing-papers-from-2003-shines-a-light-on-how-australian-troops-were-sent-to-fight-the-iraq-war-225650&source=gmail&ust=1710857166858000&usg=AOvVaw1zkOBNalBSxu_mFsLZy6mi" href="https://theconversation.com/release-of-missing-papers-from-2003-shines-a-light-on-how-australian-troops-were-sent-to-fight-the-iraq-war-225650" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">released</a> certain NSC documents relevant to the Iraq invasion. In the incomplete release, Australia as empire’s obedient, perfumed appendage becomes almost ridiculously evident. On January 10, 2003, the Defence Minister Robert Hill, along with the defence force chief, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://theconversation.com/release-of-missing-papers-from-2003-shines-a-light-on-how-australian-troops-were-sent-to-fight-the-iraq-war-225650&source=gmail&ust=1710857166858000&usg=AOvVaw1zkOBNalBSxu_mFsLZy6mi" href="https://theconversation.com/release-of-missing-papers-from-2003-shines-a-light-on-how-australian-troops-were-sent-to-fight-the-iraq-war-225650" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">identified the need</a> for deploying some personnel from the Australian Defence Force within a month “on the likely time-frame for possible military action against Iraq” as indicated by US Central Command. The meeting also reveals that ADF forward units were already designated from a list agreed upon by the NSC on August 26 and December 4, 2002. The thrill for imminent war was palpable.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Howard, at the same meeting, promised that committing ADF forces required the consideration of all cabinet members, also noting that he had “foreshadowed to the governor-general the general direction of steps under consideration by the government in relation to Iraq”. But the governor-general of the time, the eventually doomed Peter Hollingworth, was subsequently told by the prime minister that involving him in the decision to invade Iraq was needless; the ADF could be deployed under the provisions of the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Defence Act</em>.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">A minute dated March 18, 2003 <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://theconversation.com/release-of-missing-papers-from-2003-shines-a-light-on-how-australian-troops-were-sent-to-fight-the-iraq-war-225650&source=gmail&ust=1710857166858000&usg=AOvVaw1zkOBNalBSxu_mFsLZy6mi" href="https://theconversation.com/release-of-missing-papers-from-2003-shines-a-light-on-how-australian-troops-were-sent-to-fight-the-iraq-war-225650" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">makes mention</a> of the full cabinet’s authorisation of the invasion, though hardly anything else. There is, however, a submission from the defence minister “circulated in the cabinet room on 17 and 18 March” intended to convince cabinet on possible military operations in Iraq. In anticipation of a formal request to commit troops, the ADF had already been authorised to pursue “prudent contingency planning” on the matter. The two stated war aims of Washington are outlined (vassal, take note): “regime change” and crippling Iraq’s “delivery of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)”. On this point, the Howard government dawdles, if ever so slightly, notably on the issue of regime change, admitting, ultimately, that “this may be a desirable, even inevitable, outcome of military action”.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The now infamous memorandum of advice authored by the first assistant secretaries of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Attorney-General’s department is also to be found. The memorandum offers the shakiest of justifications for invading Iraq, also drawing from unsubstantiated reasons from their UK counterparts. It was <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/this-war-is-illegal-howards-last-top-law-man-20030321-gdggwb.html&source=gmail&ust=1710857166858000&usg=AOvVaw0dH2OdOcyl1CBViQ4l2pd5" href="https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/this-war-is-illegal-howards-last-top-law-man-20030321-gdggwb.html" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">subsequently and rightly excoriated</a> by an irate Gavan Griffith, the then unconsulted Solicitor-General. Not only were both bits of legal advice “entirely untenable”, they were also “arrant nonsense”, furnishing “no threads for military clothes.” Nothing from President George W. Bush’s remarks had revealed any desire “to clothe American action with the authority of the Security Council.” Thuggish unilateral action seemed the order of the day.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">For Griffith, certain omissions were almost unpardonable. What, for instance, of such authorities as Canberra’s veteran authority, Henry Burmester, the former head of the Office of International Law, subsequently appointed Chief Counsel of the AG’s department. Or for, that matter, of the now late James Crawford of Cambridge University, commonly retained for the giving of advice on international law. Cautious experience had been elbowed out in favour of the gun.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The latest documents from the NSC are more sleet than snow. They do confirm that the parliamentary system, more than ever, should be involved in reining in the wild impulses of war makers. In the meantime, drawing up an indictment for Howard to stand trial in the International Criminal Court is overdue. The same goes for a number of his cabinet. We would not want them to go stale before justice.</p></div><div style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><p class="author_description" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; max-width: 680px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><strong style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Binoy Kampmark</strong> was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: <a href="mailto:bkampmark@gmail.com" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #dd0000; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">bkampmark@gmail.com</a></em></p></div></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-12986630221669259362024-03-25T00:16:00.002+03:002024-03-25T00:23:55.111+03:00Cognitive Dissonance: Perplexed US Foreign Policy is Prolonging Gaza Genocide<h1 class="headline" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: minion-pro-condensed, serif; font-size: 1.912em; line-height: calc(18px + 1.15vw); margin: 0px; max-width: 800px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/03/22/cognitive-dissonance-perplexed-us-foreign-policy-is-prolonging-gaza-genocide/" rel="bookmark" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #dd0000; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Cognitive Dissonance: Perplexed US Foreign Policy is Prolonging Gaza Genocide</a></h1><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px;"> </span><span class="post_author" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; display: inline-block; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px; 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--tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: inherit;">Counter Punch</span></h2><div class="post_content" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px; margin: 0px; max-width: 680px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_316916" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; width: 690px;"><img alt="" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-316916" class="wp-image-316916 size-medium" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" height="453" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mohammed-al-bardawil-uNinlSRrRPo-unsplash-1-680x453.jpg" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mohammed-al-bardawil-uNinlSRrRPo-unsplash-1-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mohammed-al-bardawil-uNinlSRrRPo-unsplash-1-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mohammed-al-bardawil-uNinlSRrRPo-unsplash-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mohammed-al-bardawil-uNinlSRrRPo-unsplash-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mohammed-al-bardawil-uNinlSRrRPo-unsplash-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mohammed-al-bardawil-uNinlSRrRPo-unsplash-1-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mohammed-al-bardawil-uNinlSRrRPo-unsplash-1-600x400.jpg 600w" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;" width="680" /><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-316916" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0.3em 0px 20px; text-align: left;">Image by mohammed al bardawil.</p></div><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">When the foreign policy of a country as large and significant as the United States is governed by a case of cognitive dissonance, terrible things happen.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">These terrible things are, in fact, already taking place in the Gaza Strip, where well over 100,000<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/another-shameful-milestone-gaza-100000-people-killed-or-wounded%23:~:text%3DThe%2520massacre%2520in%2520Gaza%2520has,view%2520of%2520the%2520international%2520community.&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw1XTM_6ihJOFf7jEPFVyNk-" href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/another-shameful-milestone-gaza-100000-people-killed-or-wounded#:~:text=The%20massacre%20in%20Gaza%20has,view%20of%20the%20international%20community." rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> people</a> have been killed, wounded or are missing, and an outright famine is currently ravaging the displaced population.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">From the start of the war on October 7, the US mishandled the situation, although recent reports indicate that Biden, despite his old age, has<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.axios.com/2024/03/14/hur-transcript-biden-israel-hamas-world-changer&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw00rKX-WdsWV7y4K6ZcRvvU" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/03/14/hur-transcript-biden-israel-hamas-world-changer" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> read</a> the overall meaning of the October 7 events correctly.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">According to the Axios news<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.axios.com/2024/03/14/hur-transcript-biden-israel-hamas-world-changer&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw00rKX-WdsWV7y4K6ZcRvvU" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/03/14/hur-transcript-biden-israel-hamas-world-changer" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> website</a>, Biden had argued in a meeting with special counsel, Robert Hur, on October 8 that the ‘Israel thing’ – Hamas attack and the Israeli war on Gaza – “has changed it all”.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">By ‘change it all’, he was referring to the fact that the outcome of these events combined will “determine what the next six, seven decades look like”.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Biden is not wrong. Indeed, everything that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government and war council have done in Gaza point to a similar Israeli reading of the significance of the ‘world-altering’ events.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Netanyahu has proven his<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/jan/11/south-africa-accuses-israel-of-genocide-gaza-the-hague-international-court-of-justice&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw19MsF3hoB0akS9Q1vjH9Be" href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/jan/11/south-africa-accuses-israel-of-genocide-gaza-the-hague-international-court-of-justice" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> willingness</a> to carry out genocide and starve millions of Palestinians because he still feels that the superior firepower of the Israeli army is able to turn back the clock, and restore Israel’s military standing, geopolitical influence and global position.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">He is wrong, and over five months of war and senseless killing continue to demonstrate this claim.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">But the American political gamble in the Middle East and the global repercussions of Washington’s self-defeating foreign policy makes far less sense.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Considering Washington’s historic<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://abcnews.go.com/International/history-us-support-israel-runs-deep-growing-chorus/story?id%3D104957109&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw1q48azEJFyhHUebJwa8gsX" href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/history-us-support-israel-runs-deep-growing-chorus/story?id=104957109" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> support</a> for Israel, the US’ behavior in the early days of the war was hardly a surprise.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The US quickly mobilized behind Netanyahu’s war cabinet, sent aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean, indicating the US is ready for a major regional conflict.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Media reports began speaking of US military involvement, specifically through the Delta Force, although the Pentagon<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/no-plans-to-send-us-forces-to-gaza-to-support-aid-efforts-pentagon/3156442&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw2QvDd0qspuJHN3HFTq3Pzl" href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/no-plans-to-send-us-forces-to-gaza-to-support-aid-efforts-pentagon/3156442" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> claimed</a> that the<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/10/17/pentagon-orders-2000-troops-prepare-deploy-israel-war-prompts-growing-us-military-presence.html&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw0YtWZe0tR-Y733N2SQ4BKJ" href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/10/17/pentagon-orders-2000-troops-prepare-deploy-israel-war-prompts-growing-us-military-presence.html" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> 2,000 US soldiers</a> were not deployed to fight in Gaza itself.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">If it was not obvious that the US was a direct partner in the war, US mainstream media reports ended any doubt. On March 6, The Washington Post<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/06/us-weapons-israel-gaza/&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw1NApcL18hWWFy7RZimWGWJ" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/06/us-weapons-israel-gaza/" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> reported</a> that “the United States has quietly approved and delivered more than 100 separate foreign military sales to Israel since the Gaza war began”.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">With time, however, US foreign policy regarding Gaza became even more perplexing.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Though in the early weeks of the war-turned-genocide, Biden<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.npr.org/2023/10/25/1208577490/biden-says-hes-worried-about-civilian-deaths-in-gaza-but-questions-death-toll-st&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw2upOdaqi-6vgnga7gANqhf" href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/25/1208577490/biden-says-hes-worried-about-civilian-deaths-in-gaza-but-questions-death-toll-st" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> questioned</a> the death toll estimates produced by the Gaza Ministry of Health, the casualties count was no longer in doubt later on.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Asked on February 29 about the number of women and children killed by Israel during the war, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.timesofisrael.com/pentagon-head-says-over-25000-women-kids-killed-in-gaza-inflating-hamas-claim/&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw1q_Crp3UJA1Bu0gXw7DFD5" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/pentagon-head-says-over-25000-women-kids-killed-in-gaza-inflating-hamas-claim/" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> answered</a> without hesitation: “It’s over 25,000”.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Yet, the numbers are in constant growth, as well as US shipments of weapons to Israel. “We continue to support Israel with their self-defense needs. That’s not going to change,” John Kirby, US National Security Advisor,<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://abcnews.go.com/International/senior-israeli-official-us-slow-walking-aid-us-disputes/story?id%3D108107192&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw1GqmduUaP3fgZjJwDLJBJz" href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/senior-israeli-official-us-slow-walking-aid-us-disputes/story?id=108107192" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> told</a> ABC News on March 14.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">This particular statement is worth a pause, since it came after many media leaks regarding Biden’s frustration, in fact, outright anger in the way that Netanyahu is handling the war.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">ABC News<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/biden-disparages-netanyahu-private-hasnt-changed-us-policy-israel-rcna138282&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw3AwaX-N6wL2XYJqJnrjTSI" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/biden-disparages-netanyahu-private-hasnt-changed-us-policy-israel-rcna138282" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> reported</a> early February that Biden has been “venting his frustration” over his administration’s “inability to persuade Israel to change its military tactics in Gaza”. Netanyahu, the outlet quoted Biden as saying, is “giving him hell”.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">This is consistent with other recent reports, including one by Politico,<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/04/biden-third-party-peril-00139380&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw1M-n2khPWuEMBNb8tGJPVP" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/04/biden-third-party-peril-00139380" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> claiming</a> that Biden has privately “called the Israeli prime minister a ‘bad f*cking guy’”, also over his Gaza war stance.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Yet, Netanyahu remains emboldened to the extent that he appeared in a Fox News interview on March 11, openly<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-to-fox-news-perceived-disagreement-between-us-and-israel-doesnt-help-war-effort/&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw1PjQKRWTkxF6jlQJaUzIyb" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-to-fox-news-perceived-disagreement-between-us-and-israel-doesnt-help-war-effort/" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> speaking</a> about ‘disagreements’, not only between Biden and Netanyahu’s governments, but between the US President “and the entire Israeli people.”</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">It is glaringly obvious that, without continued US military and other forms of support, Israel would have not been able to sustain its war on the Palestinians for more than a few weeks, thus sparing the lives of thousands of people.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Moreover, the US has served as Israel’s vanguard against the vast majority of world governments who, daily, demand immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Strip. If it were not for repeated US<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/21/world-condemns-uss-latest-un-security-council-veto-on-gaza-ceasefire&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw0nkCvIWHzz7LMUvh6ZDct0" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/21/world-condemns-uss-latest-un-security-council-veto-on-gaza-ceasefire" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> vetoes</a> at the UN Security Council, a resolution demanding a ceasefire would have been surely passed.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Despite this unconditional support, the US is struggling to stave off a wider regional conflict, which is already threatening its political standing in the Middle East.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Therefore, Biden wants to regain the initiative by renewing discussions – though without commitment to real action – about a two-state solution and the future of Gaza.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Netanyahu is disinterested in these matters since his single greatest political achievement, from the viewpoint of his rightwing constituency, is that he has completely frozen any discussions on a political horizon in Palestine. For Netanyahu, losing the war means the unceremonious return to the old American political framework of the so-called “peace process”.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The embattled Israeli Prime Minister also knows that ending the war would constitute an end to his own government coalition, mostly sustained by far-right extremists like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. To achieve these self-serving goals, the Israeli leader is willing to sustain a clearly losing war.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Though Biden has completely “lost faith in Netanyahu”,<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://apnews.com/article/biden-netanyahu-red-line-frustration-gaza-0f23fa8d02288c1b9d862ddc4035872e&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw1zF-zCk_lKsQ2yBu_2E3Mo" href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-netanyahu-red-line-frustration-gaza-0f23fa8d02288c1b9d862ddc4035872e" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> according</a> to the Associated Press, he continues to support Israel without openly questioning the disastrous outcomes of the war, not just on the Palestinian people, but also on the region and the world, including his own country.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Americans, especially those in Biden’s Democratic Party, must continue to increase their pressure on their administration so that it resolves its cognitive dissonance in Palestine. Biden must not be allowed to play this deadly balancing act, privately demanding for the war to stop, while openly funding the Israeli war machine.</p><p dir="ltr" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Though the<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://thesun.my/world/poll-majority-of-americans-disapprove-of-biden-s-policy-regarding-gaza-conflict-GF12172206&source=gmail&ust=1711047574537000&usg=AOvVaw2NG9kNx1urKsf3T0G_eAsp" href="https://thesun.my/world/poll-majority-of-americans-disapprove-of-biden-s-policy-regarding-gaza-conflict-GF12172206" rel="noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> majority</a> of Americans already feel that way, Biden and his government are yet to receive the message. How many more Palestinians would have to die for Biden to hear the chants of the people, ‘Ceasefire now’?</p></div><p style="text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books. His latest is “</em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/These-Chains-Will-Broken-Palestinian/dp/1949762092" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #dd0000; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">These Chains Will Be Broken</em></a><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">: 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 (CIGA), Istanbul Zaim University (IZU). His website is </em><a href="http://www.ramzybaroud.net/" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #dd0000; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">www.ramzybaroud.net</em></a> </p>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-23841735910905869862024-03-20T01:53:00.004+03:002024-03-20T01:53:35.896+03:00Iraq snapshot Tuesday, March 19, 2024.<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;">Iraq snapshot</span></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Common Ills</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Starvation, destruction and murder don't matter to a few names in the entertainment industry (who mistakenly attempt to pass themselves off as "stars"). We go a little slower than usual today since so many of these 'stars' are uneducated high school drop outs in their 60s who never sought out education after failing to graduate.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So last night, I go to <a href="https://twitter.com/PaulRudnickNY" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Paul Rucnick's Twitter feed</a>, like I do many nights, to get a good laugh. And I do, but I look to the side and see "trending" and one of the names is Jennifer Jason Leigh. "Jennifer didn't die, did she?" No. Although that might have been better. Instead she's just getting her hate on.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://ew.com/zone-of-interest-director-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-denounced-open-letter-jewish-stars-8610862" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY reports</a>:</span></div><div><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> More than 450 Jewish stars and other Hollywood professionals are denouncing <a data-component="link" data-ordinal="1" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" href="https://ew.com/movies/movie-reviews/zone-of-interest-review-jonathan-glazer-holocaust/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"><em>Zone of Interest</em></a> writer-director <a data-component="link" data-ordinal="2" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" href="https://ew.com/person/jonathan-glazer/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jonathan Glazer</a>’s speech from the 2024 <a data-component="link" data-ordinal="3" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" href="https://ew.com/awards/oscars/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Oscars</a>, in an open letter published by <em><a data-component="link" data-ordinal="4" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="externalLink" href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/jonathan-glazer-oscar-speech-zone-of-interest-open-letter-1235944880/" rel="noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Variety</a> </em>on Monday.</span></b></p><div class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-1"></div><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In his controversial remarks on stage accepting the award for <a data-component="link" data-ordinal="1" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" href="https://ew.com/oscars-2024-full-winners-list-8603976" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Best International Feature</a>, Glazer connected his Holocaust film with the crisis in Gaza, saying, "Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst. It’s shaped all of our past and present. Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October — whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?”</span></b></p><div class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-3"></div><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The open letter responds in part: "We refute our Jewishness being hijacked for the purpose of drawing a moral equivalence between a Nazi regime that sought to exterminate a race of people, and an Israeli nation that seeks to avert its own extermination."</span></b></p><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh, their Jewishness was "hijacked." That's hilarious and pretends that they, and only they get a say as Jews. But the whole thing's pretense.</span></p><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"Stars"?</span></p><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bald headed Julianna's lucky to get a third-banana role. What was she doing before that crumb was tossed at her? Oh, yeah, 'starring' on NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.</span></p><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As for Jennifer, it would have been great if she could have become a star. She's a very talented actress. But she's had multiple opportunities and she never became a star and it's really too late at sixty-plus for her to become a star. </span></p><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Amy Pascal? I always marvel how that racist got away with her racism being exposed -- those comments about Barack Obama in her e-mails -- and it appears it'll never impact her career. And as bad as her racist comments were, they weren't comments when it came to Thandiwe Newton -- <a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/thandie-newton-in-conversation.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Amy was racist in her comments and actions</a> . And after SONY fired her, she continued to style herself as a great woman helping other women -- despite the fact that she regularly underpaid actresses when compared to actors on the same films and when pressed on this sexist behavior insisted it was the actresses' fault.</span></p><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That's the kind of trash whore that Amy Pascal is.</span></p><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That's really all you need to know about the people that signed that letter. Amy is them, they are Amy. They are racist born into comfort who just became more racist and more sexist. And they don't have the common sense to shut their damn mouths.</span></p><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Children are being killed and they deny it. They are deniers of a genocide.</span></p><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And you're seeing now why jury selection is needed. The whores who signed the letter can't be objective. They've tied being Jewish in with a foreign government -- not their own, please note -- and rush to serve that (right-wing) government. They can't be objective. They can't be honest.</span></p><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">They're sad and pathetic and they now include Jennifer Jason Leigh. Who, to be clear, was never a star but had multiple chances. It would have required dieting and following certain expected fashions and Jennifer never pursued that. She did have a career where a number of us rooted for her. She's lost her cheering section with her latest lies.</span></p><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/palestine-israel/2024/03/19/live-israel-gaza-war-netanyahu-biden-rafah/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">THE NATIONAL notes</a>, "Israel's restrictions on humanitarian aid for Gaza may amount to a starvation tactic that could be a war crime, the UN's human rights chief said on Tuesday." That's Volker Turk and <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/un-israels-continued-restrictions-on-gaza-aid-may-amount-to-starvation-as-a-method-of-war-which-is-a-war-crime/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">THE TIMES OF ISRAEL quotes</a> him stating, "The extent of Israel’s continued restrictions on entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which it continues to conduct hostilities, may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime." <a href="https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/03/19/722159/Leaders-lament-on-Gazas--imminent---famine--report" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">PRESS TV reports</a> on Adele Khodr's warning, "UNICEF regional director for West Asia and North African has warned that more children in Gaza will die due to an 'impending famine' as Israel continues to impeded aid operations." <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/famine-imminent-north-gaza-unprecedented-134249670.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">AFP quotes</a> the head of the United Nations' World Food Program Cindy McCain stating, "People in Gaza are starving to death right now. The speed at which this man-made hunger and malnutrition crisis has ripped through Gaza is terrifying." But, hey, these people are experts -- why not ignore them and embrace the musings of high school drop out Jennifer Jason Leigh? <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/palestine-israel/2024/03/19/live-israel-gaza-war-netanyahu-biden-rafah/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">THE NATIONAL notes</a>, "The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Israel had killed 14 of the organisation's medics since the start of the war in Gaza." But, hey, who you gonna believe, facts or a high school drop out?</span></p><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <a href="https://thesun.my/world/entire-gaza-population-at-severe-levels-of-acute-food-insecurity-blinken-JC12234418#google_vignette" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">AFP reports</a>:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The entire population of Gaza is experiencing “severe levels of acute food insecurity”, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday, underscoring the urgency for increasing the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.</span></b></p><div id="sas_44269"></div><p class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-4"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“According to the most respected measure of these things, 100 percent of the population in Gaza is at severe levels of acute food insecurity. That’s the first time an entire population has been so classified,“ Blinken told a press conference in the Philippines where he is on an official visit.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-2667538636" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Julia Conley (COMMON DREAMS) reports</a>:</span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The European Union's top foreign affairs official on Monday said that after more than five months of Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid and bombardment of <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Gaza</a>, the U.S.-backed government has pushed the enclave into famine.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Josep Borrell, the E.U.'s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/eus-borrell-says-israel-provoking-101413096.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">demanded</a> that Western governments clearly state the reason that at least two of Gaza's five governorates have now been <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/18/world/middleeast/gaza-famine-report-starvation.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">identified</a> by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification global initiative (IPC) as experiencing famine "with reasonable evidence."</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"In Gaza we are no longer on the brink of famine; we are in a state of famine, affecting thousands of people," Borrell said in Brussels at a meeting on humanitarian aid for the besieged enclave. "This is unacceptable. Starvation is used as a weapon of war."</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"By whom? Let's dare to say by whom. By the one that prevents humanitarian support entering into Gaza," he said, adding that "Israel is provoking famine."</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/israel-has-ruined-76-percent-of-gazas-schools-in-systematic-attack-on-education/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Thea Renda Abu El-Haj, Fida J. Adely and Jo Kelcey (TRUTHOUT) report</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Gaza has become a<a href="https://turkiye.un.org/en/251952-guterres-%E2%80%9Cgaza-becoming-graveyard-children%E2%80%9D" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"> “graveyard for children</a>.” Israel’s bombing has killed least<a href="https://www.savethechildren.net/news/gaza-10000-children-killed-nearly-100-days-war#:~:text=GAZA%3A%2010%2C000%20children%20killed%20in,Save%20the%20Children%20International" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"> </a><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">12,300 children</a> — and more than<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"> 31,000</a> people total — since October. Thousands more are unaccounted for and are likely to be found under the rubble of their destroyed homes and shelters. In addition to the relentless bombing, Israel has been waging a starvation campaign: While all Gazans are facing <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-1-march-2024-1500" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">food insecurity</a>, 1.17 million Gazans have reached emergency levels of hunger, and half a million are at catastrophic levels.</span></b></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Against this backdrop of extreme violence, Israel has also been perpetrating a very particular form of violence that has disproportionate and long-term effects on children and youth: “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/10/gaza-schools" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">scholasticide</a>,” or the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/10/gaza-schools" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">systematic destruction of the entire education system</a>.</span></b></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The destruction of Gaza’s education system has garnered less attention than has that of the health care system. But the consequences for children, youth and future generations of Palestinians are severe. In late January 2024, <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-102-enarhe" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs</a> reported that Israel had destroyed or damaged 378 school buildings (76 percent of the total school buildings in Gaza).</span></b></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Many of the schools that are still standing have been transformed into displaced persons camps to accommodate some of the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/20/most-gazas-population-remains-displaced-and-harms-way" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">1.9 million Gazans</a> forced to flee their homes. Children who started the new school year with dreams of becoming teachers, nurses or doctors are now sleeping on the floor of their classrooms, with hundreds of people sharing a toilet. Still there’s<a href="https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-situation-report-69-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-Jerusalem" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"> no safety</a>.<a href="https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/khan-younis-one-largest-unrwa-shelters-hit-during-military-operations" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"> Schools serving as shelters are being bombed and besieged</a>, sniped at and<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2023/12/12/israeli-forces-blow-up-unrwa-school-in-northern-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"> blown up</a>. Schools that haven’t been totally destroyed have been emptied of their furniture and textbooks, which were burned in the absence of needed fuel.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Gaza’s higher education system has also been decimated. All <a href="https://mesana.org/advocacy/committee-on-academic-freedom/2024/01/25/letter-condemning-the-devastating-military-campaign-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">12 universities</a> in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. The almost complete closure of the Gaza Strip has also <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20231107142515556" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">prevented 555 students</a> from taking up scholarship-funded studies abroad. Even more devasting, Israeli forces have killed 100 Palestinian academics in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Among them were professor Sufian Tayeh, killed with his family on December 2. He was a prominent scientist and the president of the Islamic University of Gaza, the Strip’s leading academic institution.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/18/rafah_update_mohammed_abu_lebda" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">yesterday's DEMOCRACY NOW!</a></span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><b><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-qySkJeeupw?si=bZll0X56qQxAIVtL" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></b></div></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="text"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: This is <em>Democracy Now!</em>, democracynow.org, <em>The War and Peace Report</em>. I’m Amy Goodman.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">We begin today’s show in Gaza, where humanitarian agencies say a small amount of flour has been delivered in northern Gaza for the first time in months, as the U.N. food agency warns famine is imminent and 70% of Palestinians in Gaza are facing catastrophic hunger. This comes as <span class="caps">UNRWA</span>, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, is reporting one in three children under the age of 2 in northern Gaza is now acutely malnourished as Israel continues to block most aid from entering Gaza. On Friday, a ship carrying 200 tons of aid arrived in Gaza from Cyprus, but aid groups say far more aid is desperately needed inside Gaza.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Despite growing international criticism, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to move ahead with a full-scale ground invasion of the southern city of Rafah, where over 1.4 million Palestinians are now seeking refuge.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">For more, we go to Rafah, where we’re joined by Mohammed Abu Lebda. He’s a poet and a translator. He used to translate Edgar Allan Poe but now translates for the International Medical Corps.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Welcome to <em>Democracy Now!</em>, Mohammed. Thank you for joining us today on <em>Democracy Now!</em> Can you describe the situation on the ground in Rafah and tell us about your city?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MOHAMMED</span> <span class="caps">ABU</span> <span class="caps">LEBDA</span>: OK. Hi. It’s my pleasure to be here.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Actually, as you may see in the background, I’m talking about the tents that are here, and I want to say that every single street in Rafah city is full of tents, because after people were forced to be displaced from the rest areas of the Gaza Strip, from north until Khan Younis in the south, and they didn’t find any shelter but Rafah city, which — actually, let me say that the border towns — Rafah is a border town, and the border towns usually are neglected. And it’s not known — it’s not even known, only for geographers or even border guards.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">So, Rafah was suffering in the normal days from bad infrastructure, lack of many basic life needs. So, actually, let me say, in the war of 2014, the people of Rafah were demanding to have a hospital, because we here, until now — we are in 2024 — we don’t have a suitable hospital that can provide good medical services to the people of Rafah. To just describe the horrible situation that Rafah is living, Rafah used to have a population of 250,000 people only. Now we have more than, over than 1.4 million people, without any suitable infrastructure or without providing them with the necessary basic life needs.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">OK, the situation in the north of Gaza is really horrible. But let me say, in Rafah, there is no big difference, actually. People here are suffering from several things. Actually, you need to wait in lines, and maybe you can — you may spend the whole day in lines just to have some bread or even to have clean water, because most of the water here is polluted, and it’s not suitable for the human use. And it’s important to mention that, above all of this, the shooting and the bombing is still continuing here in Rafah, actually, even if Rafah was declared as a safe place.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Mohammed Abu Lebda, the Biden administration has said they have a red line, that would be the prime minister having the Israeli troops engaging in a full ground invasion in Rafah, if he doesn’t present a plan for how Palestinians would be dealt with on the ground, civilians. Israel announced it wants to transfer most of the more than million Palestinians in Rafah to what it calls humanitarian islands in other parts of Gaza. Can you explain what that means and what people are saying, how they are preparing?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MOHAMMED</span> <span class="caps">ABU</span> <span class="caps">LEBDA</span>: OK, actually, to be honest, I don’t know what does it mean even, because I never heard about something called safe islands or something like that in Gaza Strip. So it is the first time I heard it, after reading the news. Actually, there is no effective plan that can easily transfer or move over than 1.4 million people here from Gaza Strip — from Rafah city, I mean, even to another areas, where the <span class="caps">IDF</span> is still working there. So, to be clear, it’s not an effective plan. Actually, to be honest, me and the rest of the Rafah people don’t know even what they are talking about, because it is the first time to hear about this.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">But I can ask that the American government is to put real pressure and serious pressure on the Israeli government so they can prevent them seriously and honestly to invade Rafah, because invading Rafah means that there is a true catastrophe that is coming, even if we are still living in a catastrophe, actually, because the situation here cannot be described. So, invading Rafah means that you will end the little, the tiny hope that is still — we still have. So, what does this mean to me, actually? I am actually a little bit worried about the safety of the entire people here, because invading Rafah, which means that hundreds of thousands will be killed if something like that happened. So, I’m expecting and I’m hoping from the U.S. government to put serious pressure on the Israeli government in order to prevent such a catastrophe to happen.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: What would it mean for your family, Mohammed, if the Israeli military does launch a full-scale invasion of Rafah? And can you describe what the process is for people to leave, to make their way into Egypt, the thousands of dollars that must be spent? I think, on average, it’s something like $5,000 per adult and $2,000 or $2,500 per child?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MOHAMMED</span> <span class="caps">ABU</span> <span class="caps">LEBDA</span>: Let me say, first, leaving Gaza Strip toward Egypt, I mean, the entire people here, if there is an invade or march or there is any march into Rafah, actually, most of the world, including the U.S. government itself, actually they refuse that entirely. The Palestinians will not be moved. They refuse that entirely, to be moved to the Sinai or the Egyptian side. But let me say that I’m already displaced, because I lost my house by bombing some near houses near my house at the same square, so I forced to move to another place in the same area, Rafah city, because I’m from Rafah. And the same thing for the people who were displaced from the rest of Gaza Strip cities.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">For me, or for my experience, for me and my family, we suffered a lot first when we were at our house in order to provide the basic life needs, as I mentioned, the basic food even. If there is any food here, you will find very, very high prices that the normal citizen or the normal civilians cannot really afford. So, it’s impossible to the people in such a situation to afford any kind of food. And let me say that anything that is entering from Rafah cross-bording, anything, literally, it’s not even enough for maybe half a million. We are talking about a number that — over than that with a big thing. So, from my experience, I face several things. First of all, we face, actually, very, very real threats — and it’s not once, it’s not even twice; we are even facing that daily. This is according to the physical thing.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And also I want to mention that we are facing severe symptoms related to our mental health. Actually, I’m not sure that I’m going to be the person that I used to be before the war when the war ends. I’m 100% sure that I was changed, and I was changed forever. It’s not me only. I’m talking about my family and the rest of the people here of Gaza Strip. We are facing severe symptoms when we are talking about the mental health. We are talking about children that are raising in such situations. Of course, they are going to have severe symptoms and many, many horrible things for their mental health, and they will carry that to all entire life, their entire life. So, from all sides, people here are really suffering, yeah.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Mohammed, you are a poet. You translate Edgar Allan Poe. Now you are a medical translator. Can you describe your work?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MOHAMMED</span> <span class="caps">ABU</span> <span class="caps">LEBDA</span>: OK, yeah, I used to work to translate novels as a literary translator. But this war, or this catastrophe, let me say — I don’t prefer to use the word “war” because what we are witnessing is a catastrophe that cannot be described. Anyway, yeah, I used to translate literature, which means that I’m a sensitive person with many emotions. So, you need that in order to translate poetry or translate novels or something like that.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">So, then, this catastrophe changed us forever, all of us, even our jobs. So, yeah, I moved to be a medical translator and a medical interpreter at a field hospital here between Rafah city and Khan Younis city in the south of Gaza Strip. Actually, my work as a medical translator, it was the first time to be in the field, actually, in such situations. And I can say that I’m witnessing very, very, very horrible situations. I’m witnessing daily many casualties that are arriving to the field hospital, because we don’t have any — we lost every governmental medical services because of the destruction of many, many hospitals, even the only hospital here in Rafah, which is al-Najjar Hospital. It cannot provide the necessary medical help, services. And the field hospital, which was established by the <span class="caps">IMC</span>, the International Medical Corps, they are actually — in only two months, they performed about 1,000 major surgeries, which is really, really a great thing to have. And even related to the outpatient departments, we are talking about consultations of maybe 30,000.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">So, yeah, we are trying hard to provide our people with the necessary medical services, as well as the mental health and the CP, which is the child protection. We are doing our ultimate efforts in order to try hard in order to provide the people or the civilians and the innocent people here, to provide them with the medical services and other services. And let me use what Michel Foucault once said: Because we are no prophets, our job is to make windows where were once walls. So, we are trying hard is to create windows on the walls that this catastrophe is trying to build.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Finally, Mohammed Abu Lebda, we’re going to be joined by Rachel Corrie’s parents and the activist who held her hand as she lay dying. This is 21 years ago in Rafah. She was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer as she tried to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home. You shared with us a picture from Rafah in 2003 — you were a little boy at the time — with the caption “my grandmother with her neighbor and my sister Rozan after their home was destroyed by an Israeli bulldozer,” right around the time Rachel was trying to protect homes as a U.S. activist. Your thoughts on her significance? And how is she remembered in Rafah?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MOHAMMED</span> <span class="caps">ABU</span> <span class="caps">LEBDA</span>: OK, let me say that Rachel Corrie is being remembered. Every single person here in Rafah, and in Gaza in general, in Gaza Strip in general, and especially of Rafah, every single person knows Rachel Corrie, even the late generations, all of them. Allow me to tell you the main reason. Actually, Rachel Corrie became an icon, not only here in Gaza Strip and not only for the Palestinians, the Palestinian people, but for the rest of the world, because she was — she passed away or she was killed because of her — because she was trying to deliver a very important message. It’s the most important message in the world, which is peace.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And, actually, for me, this is the main thing that we need to focus on, in order to achieve what Rachel Corrie was dreaming to achieve, which is a peace for the Palestinians. So, what matters for me in Rachel Corrie’s story is that she left her home, she left her parents and her family, and she came to a very — to a country that she never visited before. And, actually, she came into a conflict zone, which is considered as a dangerous zone. So, even her ideas to come to here, actually, it’s a bravery.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">She’s really — actually, I want to say that she is being remembered here because of the story and the message she tried to deliver. And this, actually, this and Rachel Corrie’s story, should strengthen us here while we are living these horrible situations. We need to remember Rachel Corrie and her courage to come to a dangerous area, not only that, trying to defend the people, the voiceless people, to be the voice of the voiceless people here and to stand in front the ultimate power. She stand in front tanks and bulldozers, trying to defend the people here in Gaza Strip, which, actually, I don’t know what is a greater — what act will be greater than Rachel Corrie dead. So, I’m really grateful for Rachel Corrie. And I want to say that people like Rachel Corrie will never die, ever.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Well, Mohammed Abu Lebda, poet and translator from Rafah, thank you so much. Your words are being heard around the world and by her parents, who are going to be joining us next. I’m looking at your <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/uf7xn-saving-a-family" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">GoFundMe page</a>, Mohammed, which quotes another poet. You say, “All what we seek for is to live, like any human being in this earth. Helping us means that you are taking action, supporting humanity because the famous poet [Dante] said: 'The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.'” Thank you for talking to us today on <em>Democracy Now!</em>, Mohammed Abu Lebda.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MOHAMMED</span> <span class="caps">ABU</span> <span class="caps">LEBDA</span>: Thank you.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Next up, <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/18/rachel_corrie" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">we continue to remember the U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie, killed 21 years ago, March 16th, 2003, when she was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer as she tried to prevent the demolition of the home of a Palestinian pharmacist. It was three days before the U.S. invaded Iraq</a>. Back in 20 seconds.</span></b></p></div></div><div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gaza remains under assault. Day 165 of the assault in the wave that began in October. <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/12/the-view-from-washington-let-the-killing-in-gaza-continue/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out</a>, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." <a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">CNN has explained</a>, "The Gaza Strip is '<a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/h_6b422f2abd54d7a1e3c9c9321c1dd103" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the most dangerous place</a>' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/gaza-strip-is-the-most-dangerous-place-to-be-a-child-unicef-105520385?id=105348620" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ABC NEWS quotes</a> UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna125877" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">NBC NEWS notes</a>, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-bidens-standing-hits-new-lows-israel-hamas-war-rcna125251" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">according to the latest national NBC News poll</a>. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/conditions-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out</a>, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-genocide-lawsuit" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">condemned</a> the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2024/01/gender-alert-the-gendered-impact-of-the-crisis-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">United Nations Women noted</a>, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20240319-%F0%9F%94%B4live-biden-summons-israeli-team-to-dc-discuss-how-to-avoid-rafah-assault" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">FRANCE 24 notes</a>, "<strong>At least</strong> <strong>31,819 Palestinians have been killed and 73,934</strong><strong> wounded</strong> since <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/israel/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">Israel</a> started its offensive on Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave." Months ago, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-11-21-2023-8db6dafbe39830c907f7c2db258c9875" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">AP noted</a>, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/7/israel_propaganda_gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained</a> on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:</span></p><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1754491459145765059" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1754491459145765059&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F2024%2F02%2Firaq-snapshot_5.html&sessionId=8f0fa1745619dea84d27d8781eb3a286b6bb0ce3&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 416px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And the area itself? <a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-gaza-israel-bombing-destruction-hamas-reconstruction-f299a28410b70ee05dd764df97d8d3a0" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Isabele Debre (AP) reveals</a>, "Israel’s <span class="LinkEnhancement"><a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war" rel="noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">military offensive</a></span> has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells." <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/world/gaza-destruction-ukraine-iraq-vietnam-2776016" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports</a>, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/gaza-strip-map-attacks-damage/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">new study of satellite imagery</a> by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of <a href="https://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-intolerable-humanitarian-situation-gaza-cannot-continue" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">45 per cent of housing</a> destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War." <br /></span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lastly, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/19/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-holds-al-jazeera-reporter-for-12-hours" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ALJAZEERA reports</a>:</span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Omar Nazzal, the deputy head of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, says Israel’s <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/18/al-jazeera-journalist-beaten-arrested-by-israeli-forces-from-gaza-hospital" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">latest crackdown</a> on journalists at al-Shifa Hospital is part of a longstanding campaign of intimidation.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“The main objective is to deter journalists from speaking the voice of Palestinians,” Nazzal told Al Jazeera in Ramallah. Israeli forces are “intimidating journalists by showing that anyone who speaks out will be their next target”, he said.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">As of today, at least 95 journalists and media workers – the overwhelming majority of them Palestinians – have been killed since the start of the war in October, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In addition to the dangers faced in the line of duty, Nazzal said Palestinian journalists are also at risk of abuse or torture in Israeli jails, where he says 62 are currently held.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>“There is no doubt that journalists are under massive danger,” said Nazzal.</b> </span></div></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-55014065154397637372024-03-16T01:35:00.001+03:002024-03-16T01:35:56.334+03:00Smoke and Mirrors: How Israeli Agitprop Lies Become Fact<h1 class="headline" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: minion-pro-condensed, serif; font-size: 1.912em; line-height: calc(18px + 1.15vw); margin: 0px; max-width: 800px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/03/15/smoke-mirrors-how-israeli-agitprop-lies-become-fact/" rel="bookmark" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #dd0000; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Smoke and Mirrors: How Israeli Agitprop Lies Become Fact</a></h1><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px;"> </span><span class="post_author" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; display: inline-block; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 20px;"><a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/author/dbeaumont0991/" rel="nofollow" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 0.938em; margin: 0px 0px 0px 1px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase;">DANIEL BEAUMONT</a> </span><span style="font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 19.2px; text-transform: uppercase;">BY </span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/03/15/smoke-mirrors-how-israeli-agitprop-lies-become-fact/" target="_blank">counter punch</a></span></p><div class="post_content" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px; margin: 0px; max-width: 680px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_316231" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; width: 690px;"><img alt="" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-316231" class="size-medium wp-image-316231" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" height="569" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-14-at-11.51.06-AM-680x569.png" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-14-at-11.51.06-AM-680x569.png 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-14-at-11.51.06-AM-752x630.png 752w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-14-at-11.51.06-AM-768x643.png 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-14-at-11.51.06-AM-1536x1286.png 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-14-at-11.51.06-AM-500x419.png 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-14-at-11.51.06-AM-600x502.png 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-14-at-11.51.06-AM.png 1980w" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;" width="680" /><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-316231" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0.3em 0px 20px; text-align: left;">Projecting an image onto smoke with a mirror, from Nouvelles récréations physiques et mathématiques (1770)</p></div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">That coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the US mass media is distorted by a bias in favor of Israel is hardly news to people more or less in command of their faculties. But events since October 7 have brought to light examples that go well beyond the usual daily distortions to outright lying—lies that rival those of the WMD fabrications used to justify the US invasion of Iraq.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The PBS News Hour ran a piece on February 21 about the recent story that claimed twelve employees of the major UN agency that provides aid to Palestinians, UNRWA, had planned and participated in Hamas’s attack on October 7.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The piece was the usual ‘balanced’ format: two people presenting opposing sides of the story. The Israeli side was represented by Col. Grisha Yakubovich who was the former head of the Israeli agency that coordinated with various NGOs providing various forms of aid in the Occupied Territories, COGA. The other guest Mathis Schmale was the director of UNRWA in Gaza from 2017 to 2021. Nick Schiffrin the journalist began by asking Schmale about UNRWA’s general role in ‘the territories’—he skipped the usual term ‘the occupied territories’ possibly out of deference to Yakubovich since the Israeli occupation—now more than five decades long—is illegal according to the UN. ‘Occupation’ is now a polite term but with two meanings: the IDF presence in the West Bank, illegal per the UN charter and the second sense being the slow and gradual theft of Palestinian land by settlers accompanied by the declaration of more ‘military zones’ for the IDF.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Schmale began by saying he was now part of a UN mission in Somalia and that he had been the head of the UNRWA mission in Gaza from 2017 to 2021. During that time he had seen no evidence among the Palestinian staffers of any affiliations with Hamas or even sympathizers of Hamas—the Palestinians made up all of the 12 thousand staffers of UNRWA except for a handful of Schmale’s immediate UN employees. When Schiffrin mentioned parts of a dossier that Israeli intelligence had shared with the UN and US intelligence Schmale said he had not seen the dossier and could not comment on it.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Schiffrin then addressed Yakubovich, whose service in Gaza overlapped that of Schmale. Yakubovich said that not only were twelve members of UNRWA participants in the planning and attack itself, but at least ten percent of the 12,000 employees of UNRWA in Gaza were members of Hamas or sympathizers. His evidence for this was that ‘everyone knew it.’ Everyone but Schmale, apparently. The difference between the two men’s replies was clear. Schmale’s response was factual while Yakubovich was merely assertions. When Schiffrin returned to Schmale he said that this issue was never raised with him by anyone during his time in Gaza and that he and his UN staff were vigilant about making sure that the Palestinians who made up the vast number of UNRWA’s employees had no affiliation with Hamas or any other political organization that might compromise the strict neutrality of UNRWA. Yakubovich’s retort was simply that no one would ‘make up’ such a thing because it would not be ‘logical.’ Schiffrin never pressed Yakubovich to identify who ‘everyone’ was. Nor did Schiffrin ask that since Israel has an agency called Hasbara devoted wholly to spreading propaganda, why it would not be ‘logical’ to make up that figure? While Yakubovich spoke in the generalities of propaganda Schmale spoke based on what he could verify from his own experience. Schmale spoke to Schiffrin answering his questions while Yakubovich ignored Schiffrin’s questions and spoke to the American audience.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Schiffrin moved on and brought up the matter of the vast network of tunnels in Gaza. Here Schmale made an interesting comment. While the vast number of the tunnels were the creation of Hamas, in fact the tunnels under the largest hospital in Gaza al-Shifa were made by Israel. Again Yakubovich ignored this remark—with its implication for the Israeli penetration and presence in Gaza before the attack of October 7, 2023 took place.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">At this point, it should have been clear that the ‘balance’ of this interview was between Yakubovich–interspersed with remarks about the good works of UNRWA though it was no longer needed—and Schmale’s observations based on his own experiences of what had happened and what had not happened during his tenure in Gaza.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Israel has only provided edited parts of a dossier on this issue, but based on that information—if it deserves that term—the US, Canada, Australia and its European have suspended all aid to UNRWA which has led now to the shortages of medicine, food and water for the Palestinians in Gaza. Only obtuse or ideologically blinded people can deny that the shortages of medicine, food and water are part of Netanyahu’s intent to kill Palestinians who survive the military assault. This story may serve as prologue to another story that is used to justify Israel’s all-out assault on Gaza.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">This is the story of what has been called the ‘systematic weaponization of rape’ by Hamas on October 7. This story began in a <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">New York Times</em> article published in late December 2023 whose headline was “Screams Without Words: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7.” What follows here draws upon two exposés of that article. The first is a December 6 article published on the site Grayzone, “Scandal-stained Israeli ‘Rescue’ Group Fuels October 7 Fabrications,” written by that site’s chief editor Max Blumenthal. The second is a February 28 article published on the site Intercept, “Between the Hammer and the Anvil,” written by Jeremy Scahill, Ryan Grim and Daniel Boguslaw. The Grayzone article concentrates mostly on the sources of disinformation about the October attack, while the Intercept articles focus mostly on the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">New York Times</em> article that went viral and has been quoted by Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and numerous other US politicians, and cited by other mainstream news sources such as CNN, the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Washington Post</em> and numerous other people and publications.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">On October 11 CBS reported that a man named Yossi Landau said he, “saw with his own eyes children and babies who had been beheaded.” CNN reported this same claim adding that it had been confirmed by Benjamin Netanyahu—whose record for truth-telling vies with that of Trump. Then Biden repeated the claim at a press conference also on October 11, despite objections by some of his staff and ignoring the recorded deaths that included only one infant dying in the attack, an eleven-month-old, Mila Cohen. Biden said at a press conference said he had seen “pictures of terrorists beheading children.” My quick Google image search yielded no such photos.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">On October 12 in an interview with the Israeli Foreign Ministry-funded i24 channel, Landau went on to say that when he entered a home in Kibbutz Beeri, “we see a pregnant lady lying on the floor, and then we turn her around and see that the stomach is cut open, wide open. The unborn baby, still connected with an umbilical cord, was stabbed with a knife. And the mother was shot in the head. And you use your imagination, trying to figure out what came first.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"> Then at a Senate hearing on October 31 Antony Blinken described an instance of the savagery done by Hamas on October 7: “A young boy and girl, 6 and 8 years old, and their parents around the breakfast table,” Blinken intoned. “The father’s eye gouged out in front of his kids. The mother’s breast cut off, the girl’s foot amputated, the boy’s fingers cut off before they were executed.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Both CNN and the White House soon had to retract the claims about beheaded babies. A White House spokesman said, “The president based his comments about the alleged atrocities on the claims from Netanyahu’s spokesman and media reports from Israel.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Rosenthal says that Landau appeared to have “crafted” his testimony about the pregnant woman with her belly cut open and her unborn child shot dead with the umbilical cord still connected to her based on a rumor that an anonymous military source spread online two days prior, according to which the supposedly pregnant victim was thirty years old. As Rosenthal says, “This alone discredited Landau’s claim, because the only female victims recorded in or around Beeri were 44-year-old Rinat Segev Even and 22-year-old Tair Bira — and neither were pregnant. In fact, no pregnant women were registered among those killed on October 7.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Yossi Landau, the source for these stories, is the head of a group known as ZAKA that bills itself as devoted to “disaster victim identification”—the acronym ZAKA stands for that in Hebrew. The co-founder of ZAKA was a man named Yehuda Meshi-Zahav according to Brad Pearce who wrote an exposé of the group “attempted suicide while facing a variety of sex crimes accusations in 2021.” Apparently Meshi-Zahav died a year later in a coma resulting from his attempt.” And he was known in the Haredi or orthodox community as “the Haredi Jeffrey Epstein,” due to what Max Blumenthal calls, “his well-known penchant for raping young people of both sexes”—a fact that must have been known to Landau and other members of ZAKA. That ZAKA was the source for the Israeli investigation of the claims of widespread rape and other gruesome sex crimes is ironic, as Blumenthal says. In addition to his sexual exploits, Meshi-Zahav had also embezzled millions of the donations made to ZAKA with the result that the group was nearly bankrupt by October 7. Landau who was head of the southern branch of the group immediately saw the attack as a potential bonanza for the group and rushed to the site before Israeli police and forensic expert arrived. He was not mistaken. An article in <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Haaretz</em> one of the leading Israeli dailies said that ZAKA had raised 13.7 million dollars since October 7.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The volunteers of ZAKA have no forensic training. According to Intercept, another site that debunked the story of Hamas’s heinous crimes, ZAKA volunteers moved corpses to create photos to support their stories, thus destroying much of site for Israeli forensic experts who arrived later.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Besides the beheaded babies, among the stories propagated by Landau and other ZAKA members and sympathizers were these:</p><blockquote style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border-color: rgb(231, 231, 231); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0.1em; color: inherit; font-size: 1em; margin: 1rem 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 2em;"><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">+ The <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">New York Times</em> article “Screams Without Words” led off with a story about a woman named Gal Abdush who it said had been raped. The people the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> chose to initially put the story together had no experience in investigative journalism as one of them, Anat Schwartz, admitted. Schwartz was an Israeli filmmaker with no experience as a journalist. The other person was Adam Sella, whose own journalism experience before October 7 consisted mostly of writing about food and culture. When the problems with the story emerged Schwartz spoke up about her fruitless quest for other sources to confirm ZAKA’s account. “Israeli police officials said they believed that Ms. Abdush was raped,” the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> article labeled Abdush “a symbol of the horrors visited upon Israeli women and girls during the October 7 attacks.” Her sister has denied she was raped. Abdush messaged her family on WhatsApp fifty-one minutes after the Hamas attack began saying she was in trouble at the border—with Gaza that is. Presumably, she and her husband were being taken as hostages. Nine minutes later her husband Nagi Abdush texted that she had been shot and he was next to her body. Whether deliberately or in a crossfire is unclear, but the latter seems likely since obviously they could not serve as hostages. The latter also seems more likely since her husband was right next to her and he was not shot until forty-five minutes later. One of the residents of the kibbutz also said that the attackers’ chief goal seemed to be taking hostages to be used to negotiate with them in exchange for Palestinian prisoners as Hamas had done in the past. During those forty-five minutes, he never mentioned that his wife had been raped. Members of Abdush’s family later said they felt misled and exploited by the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">New York Times</em> article that claimed Abdush had been raped. Abdush’s sister flat-out denied that she had been raped. Her brother-in-law said simply, “The media invented it.” Despite the evidence accumulating in various sources both of web journals devoted to media critiques and other mainstream news sources like Reuters, the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">New York Times</em> has chosen to brazen it out relying on its ability to drown out the criticism of its story. As far as I know, the only major media source that has questioned the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> article is CNN. The <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">New York Times</em> has only as another Intercept journalist puts it “quietly amended” its headline to “UN Team Finds Grounds to Support Reports of Sexual Violence in Hamas Attack.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">+ Simcha Greiniman, Landau’s deputy was another copious source for the fabricated atrocities. Greiniman said he found naked women tied to trees at the Supernova music festival. He claimed he found a toddler with a knife stuck through his head. Another ZAKA spokesperson said he found a sexually mutilated woman’s corpse under rubble with her organs removed. No evidence was found of this.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">+ Hamas fighters were said to have cut fetuses out of Israeli women’s wombs, severed a girl’s arm and baked a baby in an oven. No evidence was found of this either.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">+ Besides the lurid tale of the pregnant woman who was cut open and the unborn fetus taken out of her with the umbilical cord still attached, there were other assertions made by Landau and his assistants of other pregnant women being slaughtered and abused. However, the only female victims in Beeri whose deaths were recorded that day were 44-year-old Rinat Segev Even and 22-year-old Tair Bira. Neither was pregnant and no pregnant women in Beer were in the death records. About the disemboweled pregnant woman, the kibbutz denied the story. To try to bolster the story of the woman and her unborn someone posted a video on social media as ‘evidence.’ The wife of the President of Israel Isaac Herzog wrote in a November 22 op-ed for <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Newsweek</em>, “a Hamas video from a kibbutz shows terrorists torturing a pregnant woman and removing her fetus.” In fact, the video consisted of the claim of a ZAKA volunteer with video footage made by a Mexican drug cartel torturing and killing a captive.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">+ Landau said he saw twenty children tied up, shot and then burned, their charred corpses then being heaped into two piles. As Rosenthal says, only thirteen children were recorded as dying that morning and the three were the most found in a single location.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">+ In Kibbutz Beeri, a six-year-old boy and his eight-years-old, seated around a table for breakfast watched as Hamas fighters gouged out one of their father’s eyes, cut off one of their mother’s breasts, then cut off the girl’s foot and some of the boy’s fingers before they killed them. But the only children in Beeri near that age whose deaths were recorded that day were twelve-year-old twins Liel and Yanai Hetzrzoni who were killed by a shell from an Israeli tank.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">+ The twelve-year-old girl Liel Hetzroni was the subject of many false reports. The Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote on its Twitter/X account of Hetzroni, “This little girl’s body was burned so badly that it took forensic archeologists more than six weeks to identify her. All that remains of 12-year-old Liel Hetzroni is ash and bone fragments. May her memory be a blessing.” But an Israeli eyewitness said the girl was killed by an Israeli tank shell.</p></blockquote><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Blumenthal has done a more extensive analysis of the origins of this story in an interview with the frequent contributor to <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">CounterPunch,</em> Chris Hedges. What follows is a summary of it.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">A resident of the Kibbutz Beeri Yasmin Porat was among the hostages taken by Hamas fighters on the morning of October 7. She was in the house with Liel Hetzroni. She said the Hamas fighters thought mistakenly that the house was surrounded by Israeli troops. So they sent some of the hostages out and called the Israeli police to attempt to negotiate their exit. When Israeli troops finally arrived a ceasefire ensued. Her own captor decided to surrender. He stripped himself naked and used Hetzroni as a shield. The Israelis held their fire seeing he was not a suicide bomber, and the man freed Hetzroni and surrendered. According to Porat, there were still fourteen Israeli hostages in the house along with thirty-nine Hamas fighters.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">She told this to the Israeli commander and she basically drew a diagram of the various locations of the hostages and Hamas fighters. Regarding Liel Hetzroni she was quite specific about where Liel and her twin Yanai and her great-aunt Ayala were located near the kitchen.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The stand-off lasted until about four in the afternoon when both sides started firing. At seven-thirty in the evening the Israelis called for a tank. The tanks fired two shells at the house and only one person came out of the house, an Israeli Hadas Dagan. Dagan told her that the Hamas militants had not killed any of the hostages. Porat concluded her account that the militants “did not abuse us. They treated us very humanely.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The Israeli commander was acting under what has been a standing order in the IDF for some time. The order is termed the “Hannibal Directive” of 1986 due to the fact that the Carthaginian general who killed himself so as not to be taken prisoner and put on display in Rome after his long years of fighting Rome. But the use of ‘Hannibal’ is a misnomer for the standing order which over time had given Israeli commanders the option of firing on their own soldiers—and in this case on Israeli civilians—if they deem it necessary to sacrifice them to kill enemy troops and weaponry. The directive was rescinded in 2016 but the Israeli response in Kibbutz Beeri would seem to indicate it is still unofficially operative.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Still more details about the chaotic and inept response of the IDF that day are found in a more recent article published on the site Intercept.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">As one Israeli source involved in examining the bodies explained, “the volunteers are not pathology experts and have no professional tools to identify the murdered person and his age, or to declare the manner in which he was slaughtered.” For their part, Israeli police assert they have no record of the incident.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">According to <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Haaretz</em>, ZAKA did not document the remains and put parts from different bodies into the same bag. However, ZAKA volunteers did find time to rewrap already bagged remains in materials that “prominently displayed the ZAKA logo.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Haaretz</em> also said in its reportage after October 7, senior military leaders that, instead of using IDF soldiers specialized in recovering bodies and preserving evidence, they sent in untrained ZAKA volunteers. The ZAKA volunteers turned massacre sites into a “war room for donations,” used corpses as fundraising props to “spread accounts of atrocities that never happened.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">With regard to ZAKA, Landau talked openly on four occasions of inventing stories: “When we go into a house, and we’re using our imagination. The bodies is (sic) telling us the stories that happened to them.” Another ZAKA official in an official Israeli Foreign Ministry video, “The walls, the stone shouted: “I was raped.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The lurid accounts that the Israeli government exploited to justify their no-holds-barred assault on Palestinian civilians in Gaza and simultaneously to raise funds for ultra-rightwing groups were all recounted by Eli Beer, the leader of one of ZAKA’s rivals United Hatzalah, at the annual summit of the Republican Jewish Coalition. The summit took place appropriately in Las Vegas.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The event was held at the RJC’s usual venue, the Venetian Resort. The hotel and casino were established by its biggest donor, the late Sheldon Adelson. Adelson had given hundreds of millions of dollars to right-wing media outlets that backed Netanyahu and Likud and, of course, Trump who gave Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That was due to the fact that Adelson and his wife Miriam were the two biggest donors to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Adelson’s donations to establish a new Israeli media outlet friendly to Netanyahu also are part of the graft charges hanging over Netanyahu now.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The grisly fabrications at the Las Vegas conference were taken up by various rightwing nuts and then passed on with new embellishments into the Never-Never land of rightwing websites. “They murdered his father. They gang-raped his mother, over and over and laughed all along. While they baked her baby alive in the oven” – Caroline Glick, the Jewish News Service editor. “THEY BAKED A BABY IN AN OVEN. Say ceasefire one more time you fucking baby-murdering-loving ghouls” – John Podhoretz, the editor of the neoconservative Commentary Magazine, on Twitter/X. And so on.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Given the influence of Hasbara, the Israeli propaganda machine, some of these fabrications and the subsequent hysteria and hate they aroused would sooner or later have played in the delusional world of the right-wing websites and media outlets. But it was the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">New York Times </em>article that ensured it would be covered by mainstream news outlets where these lies are still masquerading as facts.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Now UNRWA has responded to the Israeli claims that staffers of the UN organization were also Hamas members who participated in the October 7 attack.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">According to a Reuters article of March 4, in addition to the alleged abuse endured by UNRWA staff members, Palestinian detainees more broadly described allegations of abuse, including beatings, humiliation, threats, dog attacks, sexual violence, and deaths of detainees denied medical treatment, the UNRWA report said. Reportedly the UNRWA said the Israeli interrogations, “included severe physical beatings, waterboarding, and threats of harm to family members.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Since then a March 11 BBC article said that Ahmed Abu Sabha, a doctor at Nasser hospital, said he was arrested on February 15. Abu Sabha was held for a week during which muzzled dogs were set upon him and his hand was broken by an Israeli soldier. His account matched those of two other medics who wished to remain anonymous because they feared reprisals. The medics told the BBC that they were beaten, doused with cold water all the while being made to kneel for hours. They were detained for several days before they were released.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">In a similar incident on February 15, the IDF raided the hospital in Khan Younis in South Gaza. The hospital was one of the few in the Strip still functioning. The IDF said intelligence indicated that there were Hamas operatives in the hospital. Footage secretly filmed in the hospital the next day showed a row of men stripped to their underwear in front of the hospital’s emergency building, kneeling with their hands behind their heads. Medical robes are lying in front of some of them. Dr Atef Al-Hout, who was the general manager of the hospital said, “Anybody who tried to move his head or make any movement got hit. They left them for around two hours in this shameful position.” Unlike the fabricated accounts of Hamas’s torture and rape mentioned above, all of these accounts have been corroborated by the BBC and Reuters.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">While Israel has a propaganda machine, the Hasbara, mostly aimed at foreign countries, the US has no official propaganda machine. It doesn’t need one because it has the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">New York Times</em>. A great deal of what is printed in it concerning what happens outside the borders of the US is simply ‘rip-and-read’ restatements of State Department press releases. But when it comes to Israel the paper has divided loyalties. In the case of Israel, the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> doesn’t always parrot State Department statements, it also seeks to influence State Department policies to favor a right-wing racist government waging a merciless war in Gaza. The <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> article “Screams Without Words” was itself a scream without basis.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">On March 4, the United Nations released a report responding to Israeli claims about rapes and other forms of sexual perpetrated by Hamas October 7. The report was made by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. The report found “reasonable grounds” that there was sexual violence at the concert, Highway 232 and Kibbutz Reim, but it did not attribute that to Hamas saying a more thorough investigation was necessary. The caution of the UN is warranted because there are reports of Palestinians not associated with Hamas or any organization taking advantage of the attack to loot and possibly commit acts of violence including rape.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The head of that UN office was Pramila Patten went to Israel and visited sites where these actions were to have taken place. But the sites were always chosen by Israeli officials and Patten was always accompanied by Israeli ‘minders.’ She stressed the nature of her visit—which Israel had pressed the UN for—saying the mission, “was neither intended nor mandated to be investigative in nature.” She also stated that despite repeated calls for those affected to come forward, her team had been unable to locate a single victim of sexual assault by Palestinians. Patten’s report concluded, “In the medicolegal assessment of available photos and videos, no tangible indications of rape could be identified.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Draw your own conclusions.</p></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Daniel Beaumont</b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em;"> </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em;">teaches Arabic language & literature and other courses at the University of Rochester. He is the author of</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em;"> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1611472032/counterpunchmaga" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #dd0000; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Slave of Desire: Sex, Love & Death in the 1001 Nights</a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em;"> </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em;">and</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em;"> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195395573/counterpunchmaga" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #dd0000; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Preachin’ the Blues: The Life & Times of Son House</a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em;">. He can be contacted at:</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em;"> </span><a href="mailto:daniel.beaumont@rochester.edu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #dd0000; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">daniel.beaumont@rochester.edu</a> </p>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-14786351611448234832024-03-16T01:26:00.001+03:002024-03-16T01:26:32.535+03:00Claims of Mass Rape by Hamas Unravel Upon Investigation<h1 class="headline" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: minion-pro-condensed, serif; font-size: 1.912em; line-height: calc(18px + 1.15vw); margin: 0px; max-width: 800px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/03/15/claims-of-mass-rape-by-hamas-unravel-upon-investigation/" rel="bookmark" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #dd0000; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Claims of Mass Rape by Hamas Unravel Upon Investigation</a></h1><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px;"> </span><span class="post_author" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; display: inline-block; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 20px;"><a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/author/arun-gupta/" rel="nofollow" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 0.938em; margin: 0px 0px 0px 1px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase;">ARUN GUPTA</a> </span><span style="font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 19.2px; text-transform: uppercase;">BY</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Source Sans Pro, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 19.2px; text-transform: uppercase;"><a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/03/15/claims-of-mass-rape-by-hamas-unravel-upon-investigation/" target="_blank">counter punch</a></span></span></p><p><img alt="" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-316206" class="wp-image-316206 size-medium" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" height="453" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/jakayla-toney-APm4g7xKEcI-unsplash-680x453.jpg" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/jakayla-toney-APm4g7xKEcI-unsplash-680x453.jpg 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/jakayla-toney-APm4g7xKEcI-unsplash-945x630.jpg 945w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/jakayla-toney-APm4g7xKEcI-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/jakayla-toney-APm4g7xKEcI-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/jakayla-toney-APm4g7xKEcI-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/jakayla-toney-APm4g7xKEcI-unsplash-500x333.jpg 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/jakayla-toney-APm4g7xKEcI-unsplash-600x400.jpg 600w" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;" width="680" /></p><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-316206" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0.3em 0px 20px; text-align: left;">Image by Jakayla Toney</p><div class="post_content" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px; margin: 0px; max-width: 680px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks that <a href="https://www.barrons.com/news/new-tally-puts-october-7-attack-dead-in-israel-at-1-163-78182279" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">resulted in at least 1,163 deaths</a>, rumors began circulating that Israeli women were experiencing horrific mass rape and sexual violence. Months later, a <a href="https://www.phr.org.il/en/gender-based-violence-eng/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">position paper</a> by Physicians for Human Rights Israel and a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-hamas-oct-7-attack-rape-bb06b950bb6794affb8d468cd283bc51" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">New York Times</em> investigation</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-hamas-israel-sexual-violence.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">convinced</a> <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-hamas-oct-7-attack-rape-bb06b950bb6794affb8d468cd283bc51" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">many</a> <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-official-in-israel-asks-victims-of-hamas-sexual-assault-to-break-silence/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">observers</a> that Hamas used rape as a weapon of war. But an investigation by YES! examining both reports, other media investigations, hundreds of news articles, interviews with Israeli sources, and photo and video evidence reveals a shocking conclusion: There is no evidence mass rape occurred.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-hamas-used-sexual-violence-on-october-7th" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The New Yorker</em></a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/13/opinion/hamas-violence-women-israel.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">New York Times</em></a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-hamas-oct-7-attack-rape-bb06b950bb6794affb8d468cd283bc51" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Associated Press</a>, and <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/world/feminists-hamas-rapes/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Nation</em></a> treat PHRI’s paper as the gold standard for proof of Hamas’ rape and sexual violence. But the paper is shockingly thin. It lacks original reporting and is based on media reports that are dubious at best with no corroboration—no forensic evidence, no survivor testimony, no video evidence.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">During a two-hour-long interview that was heated at times, Hadas Ziv, director of ethics and policy at <a href="https://www.phr.org.il/en/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Physicians for Human Rights Israel</a> (PHRI), acknowledged numerous problems with the position paper she co-authored, “<a href="https://www.phr.org.il/en/gender-based-violence-eng/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Sexual and Gender-Based Violence As a Weapon of War During the October 7, 2023 Hamas Attacks.</a>”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Ziv admitted credibility problems with sources and that she did not review all available evidence. She was “unaware” numerous sources had fabricated atrocity stories about Oct. 7. Ziv said, “Yeah, that’s a problem,” about a soldier she quotes whose claim of rape was changed by the government. She quoted volunteers from <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/02/27/zaka-october-7-israel-hamas-new-york-times/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Zaka, a scandal-plagued organization</a> that collected human remains after Oct. 7, but Ziv did not realize Zaka openly talks of inventing stories. When discussing claims that women’s sexual organs were deliberately mutilated, Ziv conceded, “OK, if there’s alternative explanations you can’t say that.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">While admitting “I did not know all the stories that you speak about that discredit those witnesses,” Ziv also lashed out: “I feel like I’m a rape victim that’s being interrogated.” YES! responded, “Not every interview is a friendly interview.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Further, the PHRI paper is riddled with errors small and large. Names are misspelled, quotes don’t match links, and an individual is misidentified. Ziv was unaware that <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-start-building-oct-7-rape-cases-focusing-on-footage-and-testimonies/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">the Israeli government alleges</a> it has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/31/israel-attack-victims-forensic-identification/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">forensic evidence</a> of rape, which it has not produced publicly. Most egregious, Ziv didn’t realize her paper counted one alleged gang rape as two separate incidents.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The</em> <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">New York Times</em>’ Dec. 28, 2023, story, “<a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1ep5yhwp" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Screams Without Words</a>,” has also been <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/news/gut-wrenching-new-york-times-report-details-widespread-sexual-atrocities-on-october-7-i-still-remember-her-voice-screams-without-words/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">treated</a> as <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/investigation-reveals-tragic-details-of-hamass-sexual-violence/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">proof</a> that <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1ep5yhwp" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Hamas committed</a> <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1ep5yhwp" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">widespread</a> sexual violence.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The cornerstone of that report is Gal and Nagi Abdush, a couple killed on Oct. 7. The <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> says Israeli police believe Gal Abdush was raped. But the only evidence given is a “<a href="https://www.oct7factcheck.com/research-hamas-weaponized-sexual-violence-oct-7-nytimes" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">grainy video</a>” of Gal’s burned corpse, “lying on her back, dress torn, legs spread, vagina exposed.” Gal became known as “the woman in the black dress.” The story <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/01/28/new-york-times-daily-podcast-camera/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">blew up</a> in the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times’</em> face. Surviving family members denied she was raped.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">PHRI references the video of Gal Abdush as evidence of possible “sexual abuse.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> mentioned messages that Gal and Nagi, parents of two children, sent to their family during the attack. After Gal was killed, Nagi sent “a final audio message” to his brother Nissim Abdush at 7:44 a.m., “Take care of the kids. I love you,” right before he was killed.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">But the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> fails to mention other text and phone messages that make it almost impossible Gal was raped. She messaged at 6:51 a.m. about intense explosions on the border, based on an <a href="https://mondoweiss.net/2024/01/family-of-key-case-in-new-york-times-october-7-sexual-violence-report-renounces-story-says-reporters-manipulated-them/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Instagram</a> comment by Miral Altar, Gal’s sister.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Nine minutes later, at 7:00 a.m., Nagi Abdush called his brother Nissim to say Gal was shot and dying.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://mondoweiss.net/2024/01/family-of-key-case-in-new-york-times-october-7-sexual-violence-report-renounces-story-says-reporters-manipulated-them/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Mondoweiss</em> said</a> Nissim told his story to <a href="https://13tv.co.il/item/documentary/worth-a-story/usmj7-903873429/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">an Israeli TV station</a>. He said Nagi never mentioned Gal was raped, nor did Israeli police indicate to the surviving family that Gal was sexually assaulted. The <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> never explains how Gal could be captured, raped, fatally shot, and burned to death in nine minutes while Nagi messaged his family and never mentioned any physical contact with Hamas forces.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">YES! spoke with Nissim and Neama Abdush, siblings of Nagi. They said Nagi called twice, first to say Gal had been shot in the heart and had died, and then his farewell call asking them to take care of their children. Neama said, “No, no, no,” when asked whether Nagi said anything about Gal being attacked or raped.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">In a follow-up call, Nissim reiterated the police did not give any indication Gal was sexually assaulted, but he refused to offer any more details unless he was paid 60,000 “dollars, shekels.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Tali Barakha, another sister of Gal, <a href="https://mondoweiss.net/2024/01/family-of-key-case-in-new-york-times-october-7-sexual-violence-report-renounces-story-says-reporters-manipulated-them/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">wrote on Instagram</a>, “No one can know if there was rape.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><strong style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Dubious Dozen</strong></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">PHRI’s paper stated there is “sufficient evidence to require an investigation of crimes against humanity.” <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The New York Times</em> claimed “attacks against women were not isolated events but part of a broader pattern of gender-based violence on Oct. 7.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Yet there are extraordinarily few sources. Twelve individuals account for the vast majority of rape and sexual violence claims in hundreds of articles.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Eight of these sources are in PHRI’s paper and six are in <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The New York Times</em> report. Investigations by <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/11/16/the-lead-israel-investigates-sexual-violence-claims-on-october-7-jake-tapper.cnn" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Washington Post</em></a><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">, </em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/18/evidence-points-to-systematic-use-of-rape-by-hamas-in-7-october-attacks" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Guardian</em></a><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">, </em><a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/israel-pieces-together-puzzle-of-october-7-sexual-violence" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Straits Times</em></a><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">, </em><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67629181" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">BBC</a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-hamas-oct-7-attack-rape-bb06b950bb6794affb8d468cd283bc51" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">AP</a>, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/accounts-sexual-violence-hamas-attack-mount-justice-is-remote-israels-victims-2023-12-05/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Reuters</a>,<em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"> </em><a href="http://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-hamas-oct-7-murder-sexual-violence-torture-45aab439" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Wall Street Journal</em></a>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hamas-rape-israeli-women-oct-7-rcna128221" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">NBC News</a>, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/11/16/the-lead-israel-investigates-sexual-violence-claims-on-october-7-jake-tapper.cnn" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The New Yorker</em></a>, and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/11/16/the-lead-israel-investigates-sexual-violence-claims-on-october-7-jake-tapper.cnn" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">various</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/12/05/exp-hamas-rape-golodryga-pkg-120512aseg2-world.cnn" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">CNN</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/12/05/exp-hamas-rape-golodryga-pkg-120512aseg2-world.cnn" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">segments</a> all rely on a combination of these 12 sources.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">All but one of the 12 sources are connected to the Israeli military and police, such as the <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-31/ty-article-magazine/.premium/death-and-donations-did-the-volunteer-group-handling-the-october-7-dead-exploit-its-role/0000018d-5a73-d997-adff-df7bdb670000" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Home Front Command</a>. Five of the sources are Zaka volunteers who told stories that smack of fabrications. Five other sources claimed they saw corpses that bore signs of rape or sexual violence. Not one of these sources was professionally trained to make such assessments, and nearly all fabricated stories, as described below.</p><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-316204" decoding="async" height="490" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" src="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Debunking-Israel-Graph-V2-1024x738-jpg-680x490.webp" srcset="https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Debunking-Israel-Graph-V2-1024x738-jpg-680x490.webp 680w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Debunking-Israel-Graph-V2-1024x738-jpg-874x630.webp 874w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Debunking-Israel-Graph-V2-1024x738-jpg-768x554.webp 768w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Debunking-Israel-Graph-V2-1024x738-jpg-500x360.webp 500w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Debunking-Israel-Graph-V2-1024x738-jpg-600x432.webp 600w, https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Debunking-Israel-Graph-V2-1024x738-jpg.webp 1024w" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;" width="680" /><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">That leaves only two people who claimed they witnessed rape. The government of Israel’s entire case for mass rape is built on two allegations: a source known as “Witness S.,” or Sapir, put forward by the police, and an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) special forces soldier, Raz Cohen. The soldier has changed his story numerous times, making it suspect, while Sapir’s account is so fantastical as to defy belief, as explained below.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Even if all 12 sources are considered entirely credible, their accounts lack photo and forensic evidence and survivor testimony. At best they are unsubstantiated claims.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">As for evidence, two reports have thrown cold water all over it. First, <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-12-24/ty-article/.premium/without-victims-consent-police-orders-hospitals-to-reveal-info-about-hamas-sexual-crimes/0000018c-9c3f-d17b-addd-bf7f3f300000" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Ha’aretz</em> reported</a> on Dec. 24 that Israeli police sent a court order to “general and psychiatric hospitals” to “provide information on the victims of sexual offenses committed by Hamas terrorists on October 7.” It was a tacit admission that police lack survivor testimony. The court order also undercut <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/18/evidence-points-to-systematic-use-of-rape-by-hamas-in-7-october-attacks" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">claims</a> that <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67629181" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">alleged survivors</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-hamas-israel-sexual-violence.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">were not being identified</a> to protect them as unique details would make it simple to identify them.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Second, an even more revealing<a href="https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/law/2024-01-04/ty-article/.premium/0000018c-d3e4-ddba-abad-d3e502980000?gift=0d660f6ae8134267b732f295253d7d35" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"> <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Ha’aretz</em> report</a> published on Jan. 4, 2024, pointed out that “[t]he police are having difficulty locating victims of sexual assault or witnesses to acts from the Hamas attack, and are unable to connect the existing evidence with the victims described in it.” Police are so desperate they appealed through the media, without success so far, “to encourage those who have information on the matter to come and testify.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">United Nations experts have provided some evidence. On Jan. 29, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-official-in-israel-asks-victims-of-hamas-sexual-assault-to-break-silence/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">a U.N. envoy in Israel</a> investigating sexual violence on Oct. 7 issued a plea through the Israeli president’s office for “victims of alleged sexual assault [to] break your silence.” It was met with silence. Then on Feb. 19, <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/israelopt-un-experts-appalled-reported-human-rights-violations-against" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">four U.N. experts</a> said they “expressed alarm over credible allegations” that Israel had subjected hundreds of Palestinian women and girls in Gaza to “arbitrary detention,” “degrading treatment,” “multiple forms of sexual assault,” including rape, and “deliberate targeting and extrajudicial killing.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><strong style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Extrapolating “Evidence” From Hearsay</strong></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Much of the coverage of Oct. 7 is reminiscent of 9/11 conspiracy theories. Reporters have tried to glean “truth” from ambiguous photos and jumped to conclusions without considering other possibilities. An undressed corpse does not equal sexual assault. Clothes might be torn off while fleeing, in panic, hiding in brush, or dressing wounds.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The</em> <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">New York Times</em> recounted <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/22/world/europe/beeri-massacre.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">the death of the Evens family</a> in Kibbutz Be’eri, using texts and photos. Caught in a fire, “they stripped to their underwear.” Soldiers later found “several half-naked bodies lying under a line of trees.” The parents and two teenage boys “had all been shot dead.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Similarly, metal fragments in a body does not equal sexual violence. A <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/israel-palestinians-kibbutz-attack/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Reuters</a> report on Be’eri, one of the worst-hit communities on Oct. 7, described how grenade blasts in a safe room turned screws from a sofa into shrapnel that punctured the leg of a 13-year-old girl. If she had not lived would that now be a case of Hamas sexual violence?</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Asked about the Reuters report, PHRI’s Ziv admitted, “OK, if there’s alternative explanations you can’t say that” it was sexual violence.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Alternative explanations applies to nearly every sexual violence claim in the media.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><strong style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Head in Hands</strong></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Two witnesses, the anonymous source Sapir and Raz Cohen, provide the most dramatic claims of sexual violence in PHRI’s paper, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-hamas-israel-sexual-violence.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em></a>, and other media. Sapir and Cohen attended the Supernova music festival and claimed to see gang rapes taking place 50 to 150 feet away from their hiding spots. The <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> places them a few miles apart, meaning Sapir and Cohen were describing different assaults.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">In early November Israeli <a href="https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politics/2023-11-08/ty-article/0000018b-afa1-d3c1-a39b-bfe10ae50000" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">police showed</a> a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/29/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-sexual-violence-un.html?" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">three-minute video clip</a> with Sapir’s face blurred to reporters, but they refused to take questions and have since <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/29/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-sexual-violence-un.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">“declined” to release</a> the entire interview. Reports on the three-minute clip and shorter excerpts <a href="https://www.hamas-massacre.net/content/a-testimony-of-an-israeli-woman-who-witnessed-a-woman-being-raped-and-then-killed" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">on the web</a> were all that was known of Sapir’s story until <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The</em> <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">New York Times</em> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/29/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-sexual-violence-un.html?" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">interviewed</a> her “several times.” The <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> says Sapir is “a 26-year-old accountant” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-hamas-israel-sexual-violence.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">who</a> “has become one of the Israeli police’s key witnesses.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> said Sapir was wounded in her back and feeling faint. She hid near a road covered “in dry grass and lay as still as she could.” She claimed to see a group of “about 100 men” involved in the horrific rape and murder of “at least five women.” The <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> said:</p><p class="has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 1.25em 2.375em; text-align: left;">The first victim she said she saw was a young woman with copper-color hair, blood running down her back, pants pushed down to her knees. One man pulled her by the hair and made her bend over. Another penetrated her, Sapir said, and every time she flinched, he plunged a knife into her back.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">She said she then watched another woman “shredded into pieces.” While one terrorist raped her, she said, another pulled out a box cutter and sliced off her breast.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">“One continues to rape her, and the other throws her breast to someone else, and they play with it, throw it, and it falls on the road.” …</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Around the same time, she said, she saw three other women raped and terrorists carrying the severed heads of three more women.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Compare this to what is known of the police video. In a <a href="https://www.hamas-massacre.net/content/a-testimony-of-an-israeli-woman-who-witnessed-a-woman-being-raped-and-then-killed" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">52-second clip</a> of the police video, Sapir claimed a woman standing on her feet was raped by militants and passed around. Sapir said a militant “cuts her breasts. He throws it on the road. They are playing with it.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Referring to the police video, the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67629181" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">BBC added</a> that Sapir claimed a militant killed the woman and continued to rape her. “He … shot her in the head before he finished. He didn’t even pick up his pants; he shoots and ejaculates.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/mrconfino" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">One journalist</a> who viewed part of the video said <a href="https://twitter.com/mrconfino/status/1724385046583234841?t=r9L3a5S0cBrcfCiZDHuaaA&s=08" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Sapir claimed</a> “some terrorists were carrying heads in their hands [beheaded] as trophies, saying there wasn’t a thing [they] didn’t do to the heads,” implying that Hamas fighters were having sex with severed heads.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Sapir’s story and how it changes between the police video and <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> report raises many questions. How could she see 100 militants and numerous assaults while lying still, covered? How does one victim of rape become five? Why did one woman who was raped and had her breast cut off in the police video become two women in the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> story?</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Given such a slaughter—severed heads, hacked-off parts, blood sprays, and five mutilated corpses—where is the forensic and photo evidence? Why are there no witnesses who can verify any of her accounts, such as sex with severed heads and corpses that sound like they are out of Dante’s <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Inferno</em>?</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> published a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/29/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-sexual-violence-un.html?" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">follow-up</a> defending the Dec. 28 report after it was <a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/we-cant-find-witnesses-israeli-police-contradicts-nyt-report-on-oct-7-sexual-assaults/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">hammered</a> for <a href="https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/zaka-is-not-a-trustworthy-source-for-allegations-of-sexual-violence-on-october-7/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">poor sourcing</a> and <a href="https://www.oct7factcheck.com/research-hamas-weaponized-sexual-violence-oct-7-nytimes" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">lack of evidence</a>, but it only raised more questions about flimsy reporting.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">PHRI’s position paper bungles Sapir’s story as well, citing it as two separate incidents. It is first mentioned in the “Victims” section as “a woman who detailed the group rape and murder of a young woman by assailants dressed in military uniforms.” Then, PHRI cited Sapir’s story again under “Visual Testimonies” as it is a video. Hadas Ziv admitted the mistake to YES!, but no other media outlets have picked up PHRI’s error.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><strong style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Changing Stories</strong></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Raz Cohen, the second eyewitness to claim he saw rape, is a former Israeli officer from “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d84FMJItajM&t=75s" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">the elite Maglan unit</a>.” Neither the original <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em> report nor PHRI mentions Cohen is an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-11/israeli-relatives-of-hostages-on-anxious-wait-for-news/102955354" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">ex-special forces soldier</a> or that his story has changed numerous times.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Cohen <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CyGoNMpsVGB/?igsh=czd2eHkwOWYwYWVt" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">hid</a> in a streambed with friends after fleeing the Supernova festival. According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-hamas-israel-sexual-violence.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em></a>, he claimed to see a white van pull up about 40 yards away and five men drag a woman across the ground, “young, naked, and screaming.” Cohen said, “They start raping her. I saw the men standing in a half circle around her. One penetrates her. She screams. I still remember her voice, screams without words. Then one of them raises a knife, and they just slaughtered her.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Initially, Cohen’s story was different. On Oct. 7, he <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CyGoNMpsVGB/?igsh=czd2eHkwOWYwYWVt" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">described</a> hundreds of terrified people fleeing Hamas gunmen across a field as some were shot and fell. Cohen and others hid for six hours in the bush as gunshots whistled above them and a battle between “our army and the terrorists” raged around them.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">In the next three days, a shaken <a href="https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/news/2016575/i-have-never-seen-such-brutality-says-er-doctor-in-israeli-city-close-to-gaza-border" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Cohen</a> described similar experiences in <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lior.shapira92/video/7287997383185632530" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">videos</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1711377634381509018" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">interviews</a>. He said people were “slaughtered with knives.” The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported in an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-11/israeli-relatives-of-hostages-on-anxious-wait-for-news/102955354" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Oct. 10 story</a> based on an interview with Cohen that, “Hamas militants stabbed a group of women nearby.” But he made no mention of rape or sexual violence.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Then Cohen’s story changed. Later in the day in an Oct. 10 appearance, Cohen said on <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/survivors-of-hamas-assault-on-music-fest-describe-horrors-and-how-they-made-it-out-alive" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">PBS Newshour</em></a>, “The terrorists, people from Gaza, raped girls. And after they raped them, they killed them, murdered them with knives, or the opposite, killed—and after they raped, they—they did that.” In an <a href="http://freebeacon.com/national-security/just-as-cruel-as-the-terrorists-many-ordinary-palestinians-joined-in-hamass-atrocities-against-israel/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Oct. 24 interview</a> with the <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Washington Free Beacon</em> he also claimed a woman was raped and murdered.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">It is notable that Cohen’s story is strikingly similar to Sapir’s: multiple gang rapes, killing with knives, sexual assault of corpses. No major media has picked up on the similarities, nor that the number of victims appears to go from several to one.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Since both Sapir and Cohen’s accounts surfaced, a different companion who hid with each one has since come forward. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-hamas-israel-sexual-violence.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times</em></a> interviewed both, and their accounts don’t back up those of Sapir or Cohen. There are <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67629181" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">other</a> <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ten-hamas-fighters-were-raping-the-woman-she-begged-for-death-6ldlmh8sp" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">accounts</a> of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-hamas-oct-7-attack-rape-bb06b950bb6794affb8d468cd283bc51" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">rape</a> and sexual violence, but the sources <a href="https://www.oct7factcheck.com/Yoni-Saadon-Attendee-8790243eafd6404c8da064ec078a96ce" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">can’t be identified</a> or say they “<a href="https://www.oct7factcheck.com/Ron-Freger-Attendee-db6fa849aea546508126874d30133084" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">heard</a>” but <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67629181" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">did not visually witness</a> rape.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Further undermining Sapir and Cohen are reports on the <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s12kff8n6" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">massacre</a> of <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/tv-police-probe-of-reim-massacre-shows-terrorists-didnt-know-about-party-in-advance/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">364 people</a> at the festival. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2023/10/middleeast/hamas-music-festival-attack-investigation-cmd-intl/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">CNN,</a> <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67047034" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">BBC</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/09/how-the-hamas-attack-on-the-supernova-festival-in-israel-unfolded" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Guardian</em></a>, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/video/series/in-depth-features/how-hamas-turned-an-israeli-music-festival-into-a-massacre/F24366C2-CB00-49C9-BF6A-08A2B275C5CD" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Wall Street Journal</em></a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/15/world/middleeast/israel-music-festival-massacre.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The New York Times</em></a>, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/when-massacre-came-to-a-music-festival-in-israel" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The New Yorker</em></a>, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/timeline-israel-supernova-music-festival-civilian-massacre/story?id=103892969" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">ABC News</a>, and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/supernova-israel-music-festival-attack-hamas-video-survivors/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">NBC</a> <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/supernova-israel-music-festival-attack-hamas-video-survivors/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">News</a> reconstructed the killing field using photos, videos, social media, and interviews with dozens of festival goers. It was a horrific slaughter, but no one mentioned torture, sexual violence, or rape.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Nor have police substantiated Sapir or Cohen’s stories despite <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/accounts-sexual-violence-hamas-attack-mount-justice-is-remote-israels-victims-2023-12-05/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">possessing</a> “over 60,000 ‘visual documents’ including videos from GoPro cameras worn by attackers, CCTV footage and images from drones.” YES! reviewed every graphic video and photo it could locate, including in a <a href="https://www.memri.org/reports/special-announcement-%E2%80%93-hamas-atrocities-documentation-center-hadc" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Telegram channel</a>, Israeli <a href="https://govextra.gov.il/mda/october-7/october-7/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">government</a> <a href="https://www.hamas-massacre.net/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">websites</a>, and a <a href="https://thejudean.com/index.php/news/42-shabbat-shachor" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">five-part series</a> of, frankly, snuff films. They show militants, brutal killings, and hundreds of corpses, but nothing like the scenes Sapir or Cohen described.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><strong style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Body Bags and Money Grabs</strong></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">The dearth of evidence of mass rapes has been <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-hamas-oct-7-attack-rape-bb06b950bb6794affb8d468cd283bc51" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">attributed</a> to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-hamas-israel-sexual-violence.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Israeli government claims</a> that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/13/opinion/hamas-violence-women-israel.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">religious concerns</a> and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/accounts-sexual-violence-hamas-attack-mount-justice-is-remote-israels-victims-2023-12-05/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">chaos</a> <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67629181" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">prevented</a> the gathering of forensic evidence. But other reports indicate Israel manipulated evidence, forensics, and Zaka testimony that all create the appearance of a campaign of mass rape.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-31/ty-article-magazine/.premium/death-and-donations-did-the-volunteer-group-handling-the-october-7-dead-exploit-its-role/0000018d-5a73-d997-adff-df7bdb670000" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Ha’aretz</em></a> reported Zaka volunteers sidelined soldiers in collecting evidence after Oct. 7.</p><p class="has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 1.25em 2.375em; text-align: left;">[The] IDF decided to forego the deployment of hundreds of soldiers specifically trained in the identification and collection of human remains in mass casualty incidents. Instead, the Home Front Command chose to use Zaka, a private organization.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">A Nov. 12 <a href="https://www.ynet.co.il/judaism/discourse/article/sytbeuk7t" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Ynet report</a> suggests why Zaka took the lead. An information specialist in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office boasted to Ynet that Zaka testimonies “had a tremendous impact on the reporters” by portraying Hamas as “human-monsters.” That bolstered Israel’s narrative that “Hamas is equal to Isis … deepening the legitimacy of the state to act with great force,” the official said.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">On top of serving as war propaganda, stories by Zaka volunteers appear invented. This author described in a recent <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/02/27/zaka-october-7-israel-hamas-new-york-times/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Intercept</em></a> investigation how <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/israel-gaza-war-recovered-bodies-show-bloodthirsty-gunmen-took-time-over-torture-and-that-hamas-has-changed-12985212" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Zaka</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d84FMJItajM&t=32s" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">officials</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptL6KvnDmjs&t=770s" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">say</a> “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QTPlr4fn7I&t=497s" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">we’re</a> using our imagination” when they recount atrocities and “the bodies is telling us the stories that happened to them.” Western media is full of Zaka atrocity claims, nearly all of which are fabrications, dubious, or unsubstantiated.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Even more shocking, Zaka was founded decades ago by <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2021-03-11/ty-article/.highlight/israel-prize-winner-sexually-assaulted-children-women-haaretz-probe-reveals/0000017f-e87d-d62c-a1ff-fc7f8fe00000" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Yehuda Meshi-Zahav</a>, who allegedly <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/meshi-zahav-dies-a-year-after-attempting-suicide-amid-rape-allegations/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">sexually assaulted at least 20 minors</a> over decades before being exposed in 2021. Meshi-Zahav and relatives reportedly used “<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/zaka-officials-suspected-of-financial-fraud-misdirecting-funds-report" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">shadow organizations</a>” to divert <a href="https://www.makorrishon.co.il/nrg/online/1/ART2/348/880.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">millions of dollars</a> from a <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/zaka-officials-suspected-of-financial-fraud-misdirecting-funds-report" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">nearly insolvent</a> Zaka into a “<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/court-papers-shine-light-on-suspicions-that-embattled-zaka-founder-duped-donors/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">slush fund</a>” to finance “a lavish lifestyle in 5-star hotels and a multi-million dollar villa.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-31/ty-article-magazine/.premium/death-and-donations-did-the-volunteer-group-handling-the-october-7-dead-exploit-its-role/0000018d-5a73-d997-adff-df7bdb670000" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Ha’aretz</em></a> reported that during Oct. 7 recovery efforts, a financially troubled Zaka used “the dead as props” for fundraising. In the process, <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Ha’aretz</em> says, Zaka wrecked forensic evidence that could prove or disprove rape claims.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">PHRI’s paper includes testimony from two Zaka volunteers. After being told a few Zaka stories, Hadas Ziv told YES!, “I didn’t know that they are unreliable. … But maybe I’m just trusting people who tell the story as it is and I don’t look into [it].”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Reuters, CNN, <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The New York Times</em>, BBC, <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Guardian</em>, NBC, <a href="http://www.politico.eu/article/israelsfirst-responders-struggling-to-heal-100-days-on-from-october-7-hamas-attack/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Politico</em></a>, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-mourns-and-prepares-for-war-hamas-terrorism-gaza-9dbb21bf" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Wall Street Journal</em></a>, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/31/israel-attack-victims-forensic-identification/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Washington Post</em></a> also quote Zaka volunteers with no mention of past scandals or present controversies.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><strong style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">A Flood of Disinformation</strong></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Remaining sources also have credibility problems. One is an <a href="https://twitter.com/EylonALevy/status/1717109976420741504" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">anonymous</a> paramedic with Unit 669, an elite Israeli search-and-rescue outfit. The soldier claims he found a dead girl, “14, 15-years-old teenager,” on the floor of a home in a kibbutz. She was “on her stomach, her pants are pulled down, and she is half-naked. Her legs are spread out, wide open, and there are remains of sperm on her back. Someone executed her right after he brutally, brutally raped her.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SiBXuEYkaM" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">He first spoke</a> on Oct. 25 with Republic World, a right-wing Indian <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@RepublicWorld" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">news channel</a>, his back to the camera. Ziv <a href="https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/bjnxpwufp" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">linked to a clip</a> in the PHRI paper from the same interview that Eylon Levy tweeted the same day. A spokesperson for Netanyahu, Levy is a <a href="https://twitter.com/EylonALevy/status/1717517532465074486" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">conduit</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/28/israel-gaza-rafah-humanitarian-strikes/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">of</a> <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/world/war-in-israel/israel-worry-fate-hostages/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">disinformation</a>.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">In the full interview, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SiBXuEYkaM&t=560s" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">the paramedic said a teammate</a> “pulled out of the garbage” a 1-year-old baby “multiple times stabbed all over his body.” He also claimed there were “Arabic sentences that were written on entrances to houses [with] the blood of the people that were living in those houses.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">One infant was killed on Oct. 7, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/yona-ohad-mila-cohen-73-43-10-months-three-generations-slain/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">10-month-old Mila Cohen</a>, “who was shot while in the arms of her mother,” who survived.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Needless to say, these stories appear to be fabrications as well. More significantly, the paramedic is typical of other major sources. Their claims are wild, there’s no other witnesses, no independent reporting, no photo or forensic evidence, no information about the deceased.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Further weakening his credibility, the paramedic initially <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SiBXuEYkaM" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">identified Kibbutz Nahal Oz</a> three times as the site of the attack and translated its name as “River of Strength.” <a href="https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/2023-10-12/ty-article-magazine/0000018b-1367-dcc2-a99b-17779a0a0000" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">In Nahal Oz</a>, at least 60 soldiers were killed and 12 civilians. Five family members were killed in one home, including two sisters, but they were adults, aged 18 and 20.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Perhaps realizing none of the victims in Nahal Oz matched the paramedic’s description, Eylon Levy changed the location to Be’eri in a <a href="https://twitter.com/EylonALevy/status/1717109976420741504" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">tweet</a> and trimmed the clip to cut out all references to Nahal Oz.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">When talking to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-hamas-israel-sexual-violence.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The New York Times</em></a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-hamas-oct-7-attack-rape-bb06b950bb6794affb8d468cd283bc51" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">AP</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/25/israel-hamas-rape-sexual-violence/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Washington Post</em></a><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">,</em> and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/11/16/the-lead-israel-investigates-sexual-violence-claims-on-october-7-jake-tapper.cnn" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">CNN</a>, the paramedic only referenced Be’eri as the location. The number of victims changed as well, hardly a minor point, from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SiBXuEYkaM" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">one</a> to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/11/16/the-lead-israel-investigates-sexual-violence-claims-on-october-7-jake-tapper.cnn" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">two</a>, to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-hamas-oct-7-attack-rape-bb06b950bb6794affb8d468cd283bc51" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">half a dozen</a>, and back to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-hamas-israel-sexual-violence.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">one or two</a>.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">When asked about how she did her research for the PHRI paper, Ziv said, “I checked every report that was available to me.” The Republic World interview of the paramedic was available to her as she linked to the short clip Levy tweeted out in the PHRI paper.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">After listening to a description of the paramedic’s false stories, Ziv said, “No, I didn’t see this one.” YES! asked, “So you didn’t look at all the evidence then?” Ziv responded, “No I didn’t, probably.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Ziv also said, “Yeah, that’s a problem” about the fact Netanyahu’s office altered the paramedic’s story and that he is an anonymous military source.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><strong style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Dead Babies</strong></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Six of the 12 sources fabricated dead-baby stories, including Shari Mendes. A volunteer military reservist who worked in the Rabbinate Corps at the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/31/israel-attack-victims-forensic-identification/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Shura military morgue</a> in Central Israel for two weeks, Mendes helped “medics with fingerprinting and cleaning female soldiers’ bodies,” according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/accounts-sexual-violence-hamas-attack-mount-justice-is-remote-israels-victims-2023-12-05/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">On Oct. 20, Mendes told <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12653435/Israeli-morgue-worker-says-horrors-inflicted-Hamass-victims-worse-Holocaust-including-decapitated-pregnant-woman-beheaded-unborn-child.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Daily Mail</em></a>, “A baby was cut out of a pregnant woman and beheaded and then the mother was beheaded.” Senior personnel at Shura, <a href="https://jewishinsider.com/2023/10/israel-hamas-terror-attack-shura-army-base-identifying-the-dead/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Col. Rabbi Haim Weisberg</a> and retired <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/i-only-knew-that-from-the-nazis-what-israeli-forensics-have-been-seeing-for-days/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Brig. Gen. Rabbi Israel Weiss</a>, also claimed they discovered a pregnant mother killed with her fetus.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-31/ty-article-magazine/.premium/death-and-donations-did-the-volunteer-group-handling-the-october-7-dead-exploit-its-role/0000018d-5a73-d997-adff-df7bdb670000" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Ha’aretz</em> says</a>, “This horrific incident … simply didn’t happen.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1716737563749237030" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">PHRI quotes Mendes</a> from a <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/amid-war-and-urgent-need-to-id-bodies-evidence-of-hamass-october-7-rapes-slips-away/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Nov. 9 <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Times of Israel</em> report</a>. Mendes says, “Yes, we have seen that women have been raped. Children through elderly women have been raped. Forcible entry, to the point that bones were broken.” <a href="https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1716737563749237030" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Mendes</a> has also alleged, “We saw genitals cut off, heads cut off, babies, hands, feet, no reason.” <a href="https://jewishinsider.com/2023/10/israel-hamas-terror-attack-shura-army-base-identifying-the-dead/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">She says</a>, “This is not just something we saw on the internet, we saw these bodies with our own eyes.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">PHRI cites Capt. Maayan, an IDF reservist and dentist at Shura, from the same article. <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Times of Israel</em> wrote:</p><p class="has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 1.25em 2.375em; text-align: left;">Maayan said on October 31 that she has seen several bodies that had signs consistent with sexual abuse.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">“I can tell that I saw a lot of signs of abuse in the [genital region],” Maayan said, using her hand to euphemistically demonstrate. “We saw broken legs, broken pelvises, bloody underwear,” and women who were not dressed below the waist, she said.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Times of Israel</em> said Mendes is not “legally qualified to determine rape.” Likewise PHRI cautioned that “emergency and medical personnel who provided testimonies” were not “professionally trained to determine whether rape had occurred.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">But PHRI tries to have it both ways. It cites claims of rape and sexual abuse from Shari Mendes, Capt. Maayan, the paramedic, Itzik Itah and Simcha Greiniman of Zaka, and its final source, Rami Shmuel, a music festival organizer.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">If these sources can’t determine rape, why include them? PHRI also says “the accounts they provided indicate the perpetration of sexual violence.” What qualifies them to conclude wounds are deliberate signs of sexual violence and not from weapons?</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">When asked how <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12653435/Israeli-morgue-worker-says-horrors-inflicted-Hamass-victims-worse-Holocaust-including-decapitated-pregnant-woman-beheaded-unborn-child.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Mendes could have known broken pelvises</a> were caused by mass rape, Ziv said, “She doesn’t, she doesn’t. She can only say that this is what she saw. She can’t say this is a result of rape.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">So why is Israel seemingly making untrained civilians the face of mass rape claims? At a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-sexual-violence-un.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">high-profile U.N. session</a> on Dec. 4, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/world/middleeast/hamas-sexual-violence-un-israel.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">organized</a> with the help of tech mogul Sheryl Sandberg, Mendes, and Greiniman testified and parts of Sapir’s video were shown.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl8yqZ71QR8&t=87s" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Greiniman</a>, a <a href="https://hamodia.com/prime/i-felt-like-we-were-in-gehinnom-an-interview-with-zaka/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">deputy commander</a> in Zaka, claimed naked women were tied to trees at the Supernova festival, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEmiTnJjlGQ&t=180s" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">he found a toddler</a> with a knife stuck through its head, and he discovered foreign fighters—they left their IDs in their pockets. Why did Israel choose to present sources with some of the most bizarre and hard-to-believe stories to the world?</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Why have doctors, pathologists, or soldiers who recovered remains not offered testimony or documentation of rape, sexual assault, or other atrocities? Israel has produced <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnPJBKD4_fQ&rco=1" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">videos</a> of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtdmBxXJdFA" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">forensic investigations</a> of Oct. 7 victims. Media were given access to <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/foreign-media-given-unprecedented-access-to-forensic-institute-to-witness-atrocities/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">document atrocities </a>at the National Center of Forensic Medicine on Oct. 16.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">On Oct. 14, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-forensic-teams-describe-signs-torture-abuse-2023-10-15/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Reuters</a>, <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-15/ty-article-magazine/confirming-the-worst-hamas-atrocities-where-israel-identifies-the-dead/0000018b-3313-dff1-a5eb-ffffee6f0000" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Ha’aretz</em></a>, and <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/i-only-knew-that-from-the-nazis-what-israeli-forensics-have-been-seeing-for-days/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Politico</em></a> joined a media tour of <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-15/ty-article-magazine/confirming-the-worst-hamas-atrocities-where-israel-identifies-the-dead/0000018b-3313-dff1-a5eb-ffffee6f0000" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #333333; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Shura</a> organized by Israeli officials. Reuters reported, “Military forensic teams … found multiple signs of torture, rape and other atrocities.” Rabbi Israel Weiss, who helped oversee the identification of the dead, said “Many bodies showed signs of torture as well as rape.” Capt. Maayan said, “Forensic examination found several cases of rape,” according to <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Politico</em>.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">But, according to Reuters, “The military personnel overseeing the identification process didn’t present any forensic evidence in the form of pictures or medical records.”</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;">Not long after, Zaka volunteers, Shari Mendes, and the Unit 669 paramedic began making a splash in the media. Little has been heard from the forensic experts since.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Tali Shapiro provided research help for this story.</em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: SSit; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">This piece first appeared in <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2024/03/05/israel-hamas-oct7-report-gaza" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #dd0000; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Yes!</a></em></p></div><div style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 15.584px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><p class="author_description" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: #111111; font-family: SSit; font-size: 1.125em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; max-width: 680px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1em; text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><strong style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Arun Gupta</strong> is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York and has written for publications including the Washington Post, the Nation, Salon, and the Guardian. He is the author of the upcoming “Bacon as a Weapon of Mass Destruction: A Junk-Food-Loving Chef’s Inquiry into Taste” (The New Press).</em></p></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-67521977436603013492024-03-16T01:13:00.002+03:002024-03-16T01:13:33.602+03:00Iraq snapshot Friday, March 15, 2024.<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Iraq snapshot</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/03/iraq-snapshot_0836310635.html" target="_blank">The Common Ills</a></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Friday, March 15, 2024. Arun Gupta has a major piece debunking the October 7th rape myths, another massacre of Palestinians attempting to get food, Senator Chuck Schumer makes a needed call, and much more.</span></p><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let's start with Arun Gupta who has <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/03/15/claims-of-mass-rape-by-hamas-unravel-upon-investigation/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">an article COUNTERPUNCH published this morning</a>:</span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks that <a href="https://www.barrons.com/news/new-tally-puts-october-7-attack-dead-in-israel-at-1-163-78182279" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">resulted in at least 1,163 deaths</a>, rumors began circulating that Israeli women were experiencing horrific mass rape and sexual violence. Months later, a <a href="https://www.phr.org.il/en/gender-based-violence-eng/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">position paper</a> by Physicians for Human Rights Israel and a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-hamas-oct-7-attack-rape-bb06b950bb6794affb8d468cd283bc51" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><em>New York Times</em> investigation</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-hamas-israel-sexual-violence.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">convinced</a> <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-hamas-oct-7-attack-rape-bb06b950bb6794affb8d468cd283bc51" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">many</a> <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-official-in-israel-asks-victims-of-hamas-sexual-assault-to-break-silence/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">observers</a> that Hamas used rape as a weapon of war. But an investigation by YES! examining both reports, other media investigations, hundreds of news articles, interviews with Israeli sources, and photo and video evidence reveals a shocking conclusion: There is no evidence mass rape occurred.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-hamas-used-sexual-violence-on-october-7th" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><em>The New Yorker</em></a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/13/opinion/hamas-violence-women-israel.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><em>New York Times</em></a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-hamas-oct-7-attack-rape-bb06b950bb6794affb8d468cd283bc51" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Associated Press</a>, and <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/world/feminists-hamas-rapes/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><em>The Nation</em></a> treat PHRI’s paper as the gold standard for proof of Hamas’ rape and sexual violence. But the paper is shockingly thin. It lacks original reporting and is based on media reports that are dubious at best with no corroboration—no forensic evidence, no survivor testimony, no video evidence.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">During a two-hour-long interview that was heated at times, Hadas Ziv, director of ethics and policy at <a href="https://www.phr.org.il/en/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Physicians for Human Rights Israel</a> (PHRI), acknowledged numerous problems with the position paper she co-authored, “<a href="https://www.phr.org.il/en/gender-based-violence-eng/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Sexual and Gender-Based Violence As a Weapon of War During the October 7, 2023 Hamas Attacks.</a>”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Ziv admitted credibility problems with sources and that she did not review all available evidence. She was “unaware” numerous sources had fabricated atrocity stories about Oct. 7. Ziv said, “Yeah, that’s a problem,” about a soldier she quotes whose claim of rape was changed by the government. She quoted volunteers from <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/02/27/zaka-october-7-israel-hamas-new-york-times/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Zaka, a scandal-plagued organization</a> that collected human remains after Oct. 7, but Ziv did not realize Zaka openly talks of inventing stories. When discussing claims that women’s sexual organs were deliberately mutilated, Ziv conceded, “OK, if there’s alternative explanations you can’t say that.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">While admitting “I did not know all the stories that you speak about that discredit those witnesses,” Ziv also lashed out: “I feel like I’m a rape victim that’s being interrogated.” YES! responded, “Not every interview is a friendly interview.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Further, the PHRI paper is riddled with errors small and large. Names are misspelled, quotes don’t match links, and an individual is misidentified. Ziv was unaware that <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-start-building-oct-7-rape-cases-focusing-on-footage-and-testimonies/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the Israeli government alleges</a> it has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/31/israel-attack-victims-forensic-identification/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">forensic evidence</a> of rape, which it has not produced publicly. Most egregious, Ziv didn’t realize her paper counted one alleged gang rape as two separate incidents.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My apologies. I didn't know about the article until COUNTERPUNCH published it. <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2024/03/05/israel-hamas-oct7-report-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">YES! published it on March 5th</a>. We don't highlight YES! That's for good reason that goes back decades and had to do with an employee (looking at the site, this employee -- that a British MP warned me about -- hasn't been involved with the outlet in at least four years). We've noted Arun many times over the years and I have no problem noting him. I also have no problem <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/video/israel-hamas-oct7-report" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">linking to this YES! interview Sonali Kohlhatkar did with Arun</a>. I would embed it here if I could find it on YOUTUBE. I have no problem with Sonali. And I might not have a problem now with YES! I would recommend that you listen to the interview. And if I had heard it last week, Ava and I would have referenced it in our piece for THIRD ("<a href="http://thirdestatesundayreview.blogspot.com/2024/03/media-when-it-doesnt-add-up.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Media: When It Doesn't Add Up</a>").</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Starvation remains the playbook for the Israeli government as the assault on Gaza continues. And in the news this morning is another attack, from Thursday, on civilians trying to receive aid.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m9JZH-x5AUY?si=spp1uTH_O8UPrn9p" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/15/palestinians-killed-wounded-idf-israel-forces-aid-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jason Burke (GUARDIAN) notes</a>:</span></div><div><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Gaza officials said the attack occurred as a crowd gathered to receive aid from a truck at the Kuwait roundabout, a key interchange used by humanitarian convoys carrying food into northern <a data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Gaza</a>. More than 150 people were wounded, they added.</span></b></p><div id="sign-in-gate"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><gu-island config="{"renderingTarget":"Web","darkModeAvailable":false}" data-island-status="hydrated" deferuntil="visible" name="SignInGateSelector" priority="feature" props="{"contentType":"Article","sectionId":"world","tags":[{"id":"world/israel-hamas-war","type":"Keyword","title":"Israel-Gaza war"},{"id":"world/israel","type":"Keyword","title":"Israel"},{"id":"world/gaza","type":"Keyword","title":"Gaza"},{"id":"world/middleeast","type":"Keyword","title":"Middle East and north Africa"},{"id":"world/palestinian-territories","type":"Keyword","title":"Palestinian territories"},{"id":"world/world","type":"Keyword","title":"World news"},{"id":"world/hamas","type":"Keyword","title":"Hamas"},{"id":"type/article","type":"Type","title":"Article"},{"id":"tone/news","type":"Tone","title":"News"},{"id":"profile/jasonburke","type":"Contributor","title":"Jason Burke","bylineImageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/08/02/Jason_Burke.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=cb0094e64d3a2dae0af9eeb41d0986d6","bylineLargeImageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/08/02/Jason_Burke.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=779d20f78704780e6979710404205573"},{"id":"tracking/commissioningdesk/australia-foreign","type":"Tracking","title":"Australia Foreign"}],"isPaidContent":false,"isPreview":false,"host":"https://www.theguardian.com","pageId":"world/2024/mar/15/palestinians-killed-wounded-idf-israel-forces-aid-gaza","idUrl":"https://profile.theguardian.com","switches":{"lightbox":true,"prebidAppnexusUkRow":true,"abSignInGateMainVariant":true,"commercialMetrics":true,"prebidTrustx":true,"scAdFreeBanner":false,"adaptiveSite":true,"prebidPermutiveAudience":true,"compareVariantDecision":false,"enableSentryReporting":true,"lazyLoadContainers":true,"ampArticleSwitch":true,"remarketing":true,"oscarsNewsletterEmbed2":false,"articleEndSlot":true,"keyEventsCarousel":true,"abOscarsNewsletterEmbed":false,"registerWithPhone":false,"targeting":true,"remoteHeader":true,"slotBodyEnd":true,"prebidImproveDigitalSkins":true,"ampPrebidOzone":true,"extendedMostPopularFronts":true,"emailInlineInFooter":true,"showNewPrivacyWordingOnEmailSignupEmbeds":true,"prebidAnalytics":true,"extendedMostPopular":true,"ampContentAbTesting":false,"prebidCriteo":true,"okta":true,"imrWorldwide":true,"acast":true,"automaticFilters":true,"twitterUwt":true,"prebidAppnexusInvcode":true,"ampPrebidPubmatic":true,"a9HeaderBidding":true,"prebidAppnexus":true,"enableDiscussionSwitch":true,"prebidXaxis":true,"stickyVideos":true,"interactiveFullHeaderSwitch":true,"discussionAllPageSize":true,"prebidUserSync":true,"audioOnwardJourneySwitch":true,"brazeTaylorReport":false,"externalVideoEmbeds":true,"abSignInGateAlternativeWording":true,"callouts":true,"sentinelLogger":true,"geoMostPopular":true,"weAreHiring":false,"relatedContent":true,"thirdPartyEmbedTracking":true,"prebidOzone":true,"ampLiveblogSwitch":true,"ampAmazon":true,"prebidAdYouLike":true,"mostViewedFronts":true,"discussionInApps":false,"optOutAdvertising":true,"abSignInGateMainControl":true,"headerTopNav":true,"googleSearch":true,"brazeSwitch":true,"darkModeInApps":true,"prebidKargo":true,"consentManagement":true,"crosswordMobileBanner":true,"personaliseSignInGateAfterCheckout":true,"redplanetForAus":true,"prebidSonobi":true,"idProfileNavigation":true,"confiantAdVerification":true,"discussionAllowAnonymousRecommendsSwitch":false,"dcrTagPages":true,"permutive":true,"comscore":true,"ampPrebidCriteo":true,"abMpuWhenNoEpic":false,"newsletterOnwards":false,"youtubeIma":true,"oscarsNewsletterEmbed1":false,"webFonts":true,"prebidImproveDigital":true,"ophan":true,"crosswordSvgThumbnails":true,"prebidTriplelift":true,"weather":true,"disableAmpTest":true,"prebidPubmatic":true,"serverShareCounts":false,"autoRefresh":true,"enhanceTweets":true,"prebidIndexExchange":true,"prebidOpenx":true,"prebidHeaderBidding":true,"mobileDiscussionAds":true,"idCookieRefresh":true,"discussionPageSize":true,"smartAppBanner":false,"boostGaUserTimingFidelity":false,"historyTags":true,"brazeContentCards":true,"surveys":true,"emailSignupRecaptcha":true,"prebidSmart":true,"shouldLoadGoogletag":true,"inizio":true,"abSectionAdDensity":true,"remoteBanner":true}}"></gu-island></span></b></div><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The latest incident came hours after eight people were killed in an airstrike on an aid distribution centre at al-Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, health officials said.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/15/massacre-israel-forces-attack-crowds-waiting-for-aid-in-gaza-killing-21" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ALJAZEERA adds</a>:</span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">At least 21 Palestinians have been killed after Israeli forces opened fire on thousands of people waiting for aid in Gaza City in the same area that was targeted hours earlier, government officials said.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Ministry of Health in Gaza described the late Thursday attack as a “new, premeditated massacre” and said more than 150 people were wounded.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">t was the latest in a <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2024/3/5/the-blood-was-everywhere-inside-israels-flour-massacre-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">string of assaults</a> on people desperately in need of food and other essential supplies as Israel continues to <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/7/israels-blocking-of-aid-creating-apocalyptic-conditions-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">obstruct</a> and severely control the entry of aid into the enclave.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Earlier on Thursday, at the same food distribution point at the Kuwait Roundabout, Israeli forces had <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/14/death-trap-israeli-forces-kill-six-aid-seekers-in-gaza-city" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">shot dead</a> at least six Palestinians, as the death toll has risen to more than 400 people in such attacks.</span></b></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Witnesses told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces had used helicopters, tanks and drones to target thousands of people waiting on food trucks.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/flour-massacre-northern-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jake Johnson (COMMON DREAMS) provides</a> context:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Thursday's bloodshed drew comparisons to the <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/idf-starving-gazans" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">February 29 attack</a> in which Israeli forces opened fire on crowds of starving Gazans trying to get their hands on bags of flour. The attack was later dubbed the "flour massacre."</span></b></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Israeli military <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-review-gaza-aid-convoy-deaths-finds-most-killed-stampede-2024-03-03/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">claimed</a> that most of the deaths were caused by a stampede, but testimony from witnesses and <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-03-01-2024-86ab114fc0036d0b4fa5a69ed21964c6" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">hospital officials</a> as well as <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/flour-massacre-bullets" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">bullets found at the scene</a> refuted that narrative.<br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"Our governments did nothing to hold Israel accountable last time it attacked desperate hungry people seeking aid in Gaza," <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://twitter.com/rohantalbot/status/1768394429918797900" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a> Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy and campaigns at Medical Aid for Palestinians. "So why wouldn't it do the exact same thing again?"</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Prior to Thursday's attack—described as "another flour massacre"—Gaza authorities estimated that Israeli forces had killed at least 400 people waiting for humanitarian aid deliveries. Between mid-January and the end of February, the United Nations <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/un-human-rights-office-opt-un-human-rights-office-strongly-deplores-killing-least-112-palestinians-during-food-aid-distribution-gaza-city-enar" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">documented</a> at least 14 instances of Israeli forces opening fire on crowds gathered to receive humanitarian aid.</b> </span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On the topic of aid, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/mar/15/middle-east-crisis-live-rows-over-hamas-gaza-ceasefire-proposal-israel" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">THE GUARDIAN notes</a> this morning, "The first aid vessel heading to the besieged <strong>Gaza Strip</strong> via a new maritime corridor was visible on Friday off the coast of the war-ravaged territory, an AFP journalist said." <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/15/open-arms-first-ship-carrying-aid-approaches-gaza-strip-as-israel-accused.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Dalya al-Masri (NBC NEWS) adds</a>, "The ship == called Open Arms and run by a Spanish charity of the same name -- carries around 200 metric tons of supplies including flour, rice and water, from Larnaca port in Cyprus. Video footage from the AFP news agency showed the ship visible off the shore of the Gaza Strip on Friday morning London time." <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/15/israels-war-on-gaza-list-of-key-events-day-161" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ALJAZEERA explains</a>, "The aid ship <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/12/first-aid-ship-to-gaza-leaves-cyprus-port" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">departed from Cyprus</a> on Tuesday, towing a barge containing about 200 tonnes of flour, rice and protein." Also on aid, Australia has announced that it will be restoring its funding to UNRWA -- the UN aid organization targeted with smears by the Israeli government as part of the plan to starve Gaza. <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/palestine-israel/2024/03/15/australia-unrwa-funding-gaza-palestine/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Mona Farag (THE NATIONAL) notes</a>, "Ireland pledged €20 million in additional support for the relief agency last week." Staying on Ireland for a moment more, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/mar/15/middle-east-crisis-live-rows-over-hamas-gaza-ceasefire-proposal-israel" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">THE GUARDIAN reports</a>:</span></div><div><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Protests have been held in Dublin and Belfast urging US president Joe Biden to demand a permanent ceasefire in the Middle East, reports the Press Association (PA).</span></b></p><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Amnesty International demonstrations took place to coincide with Irish premier Leo Varadkar’s meeting with Biden at the White House as part of the traditional St Patrick’s Day visit on Friday.</span></b></p><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Activists from Amnesty gathered at US diplomatic offices in Dublin and Belfast on Friday morning holding banners that read: “President Biden, listen to your Irish roots and demand a permanent ceasefire.”</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another story developing since yesterday's snapshot, US Senator Chuck Schumer is calling for elections in Israel. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ecOOx5EX38Q?si=TAEFN4Po0gAkbz4M" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">ALJAZEERA terms Chuck's call "a political earthquake." <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/14/israel-elections-netanyahu-charles-schumer/?itid=lk_fullstory" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Liz Goodwin and THE WASHINGTON POST describe</a> the speech as "scathing." Yesterday afternoon, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/14/politics/chuck-schumer-israel-election-comments/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="byline__name">Clare Foran (</span>CNN) reported</a>:</span></div><div><p class="paragraph inline-placeholder" data-analytics-observe="on" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cltrc27sk000j4wp423a173db@published" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday criticized Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, calling for new elections in a speech on the Senate floor on the Israel-Hamas war.</span></b></p><p class="paragraph inline-placeholder" data-analytics-observe="off" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cltrcy74a00003b6h1pi3gj0x@published" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. The world has changed, radically, since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past,” said Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in America.</span></b></p><p class="paragraph inline-placeholder" data-analytics-observe="off" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cltrcykc200033b6h03dv5l9m@published" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“Five months into this conflict, it is clear that Israelis need to take stock of the situation and ask: must we change course?” he continued. “At this critical juncture, I believe a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel, at a time when so many Israelis have lost their confidence in the vision and direction of their government.”</span></b></p><div class="teads-adCall"></div><p class="paragraph inline-placeholder" data-analytics-observe="off" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cltrezlx400003b6h3wpmkrho@published" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The humanitarian crisis impacting Palestinian civilians in Gaza has grown increasingly dire as Israel’s war against Hamas continues, a situation that has increased pressure on Democratic party officials, including President Joe Biden, to take a harder line against Israel. Congressional aid to Israel has stalled after the Senate <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/12/politics/senate-foreign-aid-bill-ukraine/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">passed a package</a> with aid for Israel and Ukraine that has not been taken up in the House.</b> </span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This morning, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-03-15-24/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">CNN offers</a>, "The Senate floor speech was also an unmistakable sign of increasing frustration among top Democrats about Netanyahu’s conduct of the war in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas terror attacks that killed 1,200 people and his unwillingness to listen to US advice. It also reflects political realities in the United States." </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Americans were already outraged and the outrage continues to grow. <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/03/15/israel-hamas-war-voters-want-biden-to-act-poll/72944295007/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Michael Collins and Sudiksha Kochi (USA TODAY) report</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><p class="gnt_ar_b_p" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Americans are growing more sympathetic to Palestinians and want President <a class="gnt_ar_b_a" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/03/07/2024-state-of-the-union-live-updates/72841823007/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Joe Biden</a> to do more to improve <a class="gnt_ar_b_a" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/israel-hamas/2024/03/07/israel-hamas-gaza-war-5-months-old/72845378007/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip</a> as death, hunger and disease spread through the region after five months of the Israel-Hamas war.</span></b></p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Nearly half of American voters (45%) believe Biden should pressure Israel to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, an exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll shows.</span></b></p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“What is going on there is deplorable,” said Jana Pender, 67, a retired casino housekeeping worker from Detroit. “Children are dying.”</span></b></p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">While young voters have long agreed that Biden should do whatever it takes to ensure a <a class="gnt_ar_b_a" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2024/03/05/israel-hamas-war-gaza-live-updates/72852542007/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">cease-fire</a>, the poll shows a growing consensus even among older Americans that Biden needs to do more.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Dropping back to <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/14/mehdi_hasan_gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">yesterday's DEMOCRACY NOW!</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nJGumuVW2iA?si=CyvcBlMEnzKmBLEN" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><div class="text"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">NERMEEN</span> <span class="caps">SHAIKH</span>: The death toll in Gaza has topped 31,300. At least five people were killed on Wednesday when Israel bombed an <span class="caps">UNRWA</span> aid distribution center in Rafah — one of the U.N. agency’s last remaining aid sites in Gaza. The head of <span class="caps">UNRWA</span> called the attack a, quote, “blatant disregard to international humanitarian law.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">This comes as much of Gaza is on the brink of famine as Israel continues to limit the amount of aid allowed into the besieged territory. At least 27 Palestinians have died of starvation, including 23 children.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, Al Jazeera is reporting six Palestinians were killed in Gaza City when Israeli forces opened fire again on crowds waiting for food aid. Over 80 people were injured.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In other news from Gaza, <em>Politico</em> <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/13/us-would-back-a-limited-military-campaign-in-rafah-00146827" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">reports</a> the Biden administration has privately told Israel that the U.S. would support Israel attacking Rafah as long as it did not carry out a large-scale invasion.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Well, we begin today’s show looking at how the U.S. media is covering Israel’s assault on Gaza with the acclaimed TV broadcaster Mehdi Hasan. In January, he announced he was leaving <span class="caps">MSNBC</span> after his shows were canceled. Mehdi was one of the most prominent Muslim voices on American television. In October, the news outlet <em>Semafor</em> <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/10/13/2023/inside-msnbcs-middle-east-conflict" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">reported</a> <span class="caps">MSNBC</span> had reduced the roles of Hasan and two other Muslim broadcasters on the network, Ayman Mohyeldin and Ali Velshi, following the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel. Then, in November, <span class="caps">MSNBC</span> announced it was canceling Hasan’s show shortly after he conducted this interview with Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is an excerpt.</span></b></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: You say Hamas’s numbers — I should point out, just pull up on the screen, in the last two major Gaza conflicts, 2009 and 2014, the Israeli military’s death tolls matched Hamas’s Health Ministry death tolls, so — and the U.N., human rights groups all agree that those numbers are credible. But look, your wider point is true.</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MARK</span> <span class="caps">REGEV</span>: Can I challenge that?</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: We shouldn’t —</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MARK</span> <span class="caps">REGEV</span>: Will you allow me —</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: We shouldn’t —</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MARK</span> <span class="caps">REGEV</span>: — to challenge that, please? Can I just challenge that?</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: Briefly, if you can.</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MARK</span> <span class="caps">REGEV</span>: I’d like to challenge that.</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: Briefly.</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MARK</span> <span class="caps">REGEV</span>: I’ll try to be as brief as you are, sir. Those numbers are provided by Hamas. There’s no independent verification. And secondly, more importantly, you have no idea how many of them are Hamas terrorists, combatants, and how many are civilians. Hamas would have you believe that they’re all civilians, that they’re all children.</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And here we have to say something that isn’t said enough. Hamas, until now, we’re destroying their military machine, and with that, we’re eroding their control. But up until now, they’ve been in control of the Gaza Strip. And as a result, they control all the images coming out of Gaza. Have you seen one picture of a single dead Hamas terrorist in the fighting in Gaza? Not one.</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: Yeah, but I have —</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MARK</span> <span class="caps">REGEV</span>: Is that by accident, or is that — </span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: But I have, Mark —</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MARK</span> <span class="caps">REGEV</span>: — because Hamas can control — Hamas can control the information coming out of Gaza?</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: Mark, but you asked me a question, and you said you would be brief. I haven’t. You’re right. But I have seen lots of children with my own lying eyes being pulled from the rubble. So —</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MARK</span> <span class="caps">REGEV</span>: Now, because they’re the pictures Hamas wants you to see. Exactly my point, Mehdi.</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: And also because they’re dead, Mark. Also —</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MARK</span> <span class="caps">REGEV</span>: They’re the pictures Hamas wants — no.</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: But they’re also people your government has killed. You accept that, right? You’ve killed children? Or do you deny that?</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MARK</span> <span class="caps">REGEV</span>: No, I do not. I do not. I do not. First of all, you don’t know how those people died, those children.</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: Oh wow.</span></b></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: “Oh wow,” Mehdi Hasan responded, interviewing Netanyahu adviser Mark Regev on <span class="caps">MSNBC</span>. Soon after, <span class="caps">MSNBC</span> announced that he was losing his shows. Since leaving the network, Mehdi Hasan has launched a new digital media company named Zeteo.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Mehdi, welcome back to <em>Democracy Now!</em> It’s great to have you with us. I want to start with that interview you did with Regev. After, you lost your two shows, soon after. Do you think that’s the reason those shows were canceled? Interviews like that?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: You would have to ask <span class="caps">MSNBC</span>, Amy. And, Amy and Nermeen, thank you for having me on. It’s great to be back here after a few years away. Look, the advantage of not being at <span class="caps">MSNBC</span> anymore is I get to come on shows like this and talk to you all. You should get someone from <span class="caps">MSNBC</span> on and ask them why they canceled the shows, because I can’t answer that question. I wish I knew. But there we go.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The shows were canceled at the end of November. I quit at the beginning of January, because I wanted to have a platform of my own. I couldn’t really spend 2024, one of the most important news years of our lives — genocide in Gaza, fascism at the door here in America with elections — couldn’t really spend that being a guest anchor and a political analyst, which is what I was offered at <span class="caps">MSNBC</span> while I was staying there. I wanted to leave. I wanted to get my voice back. And that’s why I launched my own media company, as you mentioned, called Zeteo, which we’ve done a soft launch on and we’re going to launch properly next month. But I’m excited about all the opportunities ahead, the opportunity to do more interviews like the one I did with Mark Regev.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">NERMEEN</span> <span class="caps">SHAIKH</span>: So, Mehdi, could you explain Zeteo? First of all, what does it mean? And what is the gap in the U.S. media landscape that you hope to fill? You’ve been extremely critical of the U.S. media’s coverage of Gaza, saying, quite correctly, that the coverage has not been as consistent or clear as the last time we saw an invasion of this kind, though far less brutal, which was the Russian invasion of Ukraine.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: Yeah, it’s a great question. So, on Zeteo, it’s an ancient Greek word, going back to Socrates and Plato, which means to seek out, to search, to inquire for the truth. And at a time when we live in a, some would say, post-truth society — or people on the right are attempting to turn it into a post-truth society — I thought that was an important endeavor to embark upon as a journalist, to go back to our roots.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In terms of why I launch it and the media space, look, there is a gap in the market, first of all, on the left for a company like this one. Not many progressives have pulled off a for-profit, subscription-based business, media business. We’ve seen it on the right, Nermeen, with, you know, Ben Shapiro’s <em>Daily Wire</em> and Bari Weiss’s The Free Press, and even Tucker Carlson has launched his own subscription-based platform since leaving Fox. And on the progressive space, we haven’t really done it. Now, of course, there are wonderful shows like <em>Democracy Now!</em> which are doing important, invaluable journalism on subjects like Gaza, on subjects like the climate. But across the media industry as a whole, sadly, in the U.S., the massive gap is there are not enough — I don’t know how to put it — bluntly, truth tellers, people who are willing to say — and when I say “truth tellers,” I don’t just mean, you know, truth in a conventional sense of saying what is true and what is false; I’m saying the language in which we talk about what is happening in the world today.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Too many of my colleagues in the media, unfortunately, hide behind lazy euphemisms, a both-sides journalism, the idea that you can’t say Donald Trump is racist because you don’t know what’s in his heart; you can’t say the Republican Party is going full fascist, even as they proclaim that they don’t believe in democracy as we conventionally understand it; we can’t say there’s a genocide in Gaza, even though the International Court of Justice says such a thing is plausible. You know, we run away from very blunt terms which help us understand world. And I want to treat American consumers of news, global consumers of news — it’s a global news organization which I’m founding — with some respect. Stop patronizing them. Tell them what is happening in the world, in a blunt way.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">NERMEEN</span> <span class="caps">SHAIKH</span>: So, Mehdi, talk about this. I mean, in your criticism of the U.S. media’s coverage, in particular, of Israel’s assault on Gaza — I mean, of course, you have condemned what happened, the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7th. You’ve also situated the attack in a broader historical frame, and you’ve received criticism for doing that. And in response, you’ve said, “Context is not causation,” and “Context is not justification.” So, could you explain why you think context, history, is so important, and the way in which this question is kind of elided in U.S. media coverage, not just of the Gaza crisis, but especially so now?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: So, I did an interview with Piers Morgan this week. And if you watch Piers Morgan’s shows, he always asks his pro-Palestinian guests or anyone criticizing Israel, you know, “Condemn what happened on October 7th.” It’s all about October the 7th. And what happened on October 7th was barbarism. It was a tragedy. It was a terror attack. Civilians were killed. War crimes were carried out. Hostages were taken. And we should condemn it. Of course we should, as human beings, if nothing else.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">But the world did not begin on October the 7th. The idea that the entire Middle East conflict, Israel-Palestine, the occupation, apartheid, can be reduced to October 7th is madness. And it’s not just me saying that. You talk to, you know, leading Israeli peace campaigners, even some leading Israeli generals, people like Shlomo Brom, who talk about having to understand the root causes of a people under occupation fighting for freedom. And it’s absurd to me that in our media industry people should try and run away from context. My former colleagues Ali Velshi and Ayman Mohyeldin, who Amy mentioned in the introduction, they were on air on October the 7th as news was coming in of the attacks, and they provided context, because they’re two anchors who really understand that part of the world. Ayman Mohyeldin is perhaps the only U.S. anchor who’s ever lived in Gaza. And they came under attack online from certain pro-Israel people for providing context. This idea that we should be embarrassed or ashamed or apologetic as journalists for providing context on one of the biggest stories in the world is madness. You cannot understand what is happening in the world unless we, unless you and I, unless journalists, broadcasters, are explaining to our viewers and our listeners and our readers why things are happening, where forces are coming from, why people are behaving the way they do. And I know America is a country of amnesiacs, but we cannot keep acting as if the world just began yesterday.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: I want to ask you about a <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/03/01/cnn-christiane-amanpour-israel-gaza-coverage/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">piece</a> in <em>The Intercept</em> — you also used to report for <em>The Intercept</em> — the headline, “In Internal Meeting, Christiane Amanpour Confronts <span class="caps">CNN</span> Brass About 'Double Standards' on Israel Coverage.” It’s a really interesting piece. They were confronting the executives, and “One issue that came up,” says <em>The Intercept</em>, “repeatedly is CNN’s longtime process for routing almost all coverage relating to Israel and Palestine through the network’s Jerusalem bureau. As <em>The Intercept</em> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/01/04/cnn-israel-gaza-idf-reporting/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">reported</a> in January, the protocol — which has existed for years but was expanded and rebranded as SecondEyes last summer — slows down reporting on Gaza and filters news about the war through journalists in Jerusalem who operate under the shadow of Israel’s military censor.” And then it quotes Christiane Amanpour, identified in a recording of that meeting. She said, “You’ve heard from me, you’ve heard my, you know, real distress with SecondEyes — changing copy, double standards, and all the rest,” Amanpour said. The significance of this and what we see, Mehdi? You know, I’m not talking Fox right now. On <span class="caps">MSNBC</span> — </span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: Yes.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: — and on <span class="caps">CNN</span>, you rarely see Palestinians interviewed in extended discussions.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: So, I think there’s a few issues there, Amy. Number one, first of all, we should recognize that Christiane Amanpour has done some very excellent coverage of Gaza for <span class="caps">CNN</span> in this conflict. She’s had some very powerful interviews and very important guests on. So, credit to Christiane during this conflict. Number two —</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: International —</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: — I think U.S. media organizations — </span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: — I just wanted to say, particularly on <span class="caps">CNN</span> International, which is often not seen —</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: Very good point.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JUAN</span> GONZÁLEZ: — on <span class="caps">CNN</span> domestic.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: Very good — very good point, Amy. Touché.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The second point, I would say, is U.S. media organizations, as a whole, are engaging in journalistic malpractice by not informing viewers, listeners, readers that a lot of their coverage out of Israel and the Occupied Territories is coming under the shadow of an Israeli military censor. How many Americans understand or even know about the Israeli military censor, about how much information is controlled? We barely understand that Western journalists are kept out of Gaza, or if when they go in, they’re embedded with Israeli military forces and limited to what they can say and do. So I think we should talk about that in a country which kind of prides itself on the First Amendment and free speech and a free press. We should understand the way in which information comes out of the Occupied Territories, in particular from Gaza.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And the third point, I would say, is, yeah, Palestinian voices not being on American television or in American print is one of the biggest problems when it comes to our coverage of this conflict. When we talk about why the media is structurally biased towards one party in this conflict, the more powerful party, the occupier, we have to remember that this is one of the reasons. Why are Palestinians dehumanized in our media? This is one of the reasons. We don’t let people speak. That’s what leads to dehumanization. That’s what leads to bias.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">We understand it at home when it comes to, for example, Black voices. In recent years, media organizations have tried to take steps to improve diversity on air, when it comes to on-air talent, when it comes to on-air guests, when it comes to balancing panels. We get that we need underrepresented communities to be able to speak. But when it comes to foreign conflicts, we still don’t seem to have made that calculation.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">There was a study done a few years ago of op-eds in <em>The New York Times</em> and <em>The Washington Post</em> on the subject of Israel-Palestine from 1970 to, I think it was, 2000-and-something, and it was like 2% of all op-eds in the <em>Times</em> and 1% in the <em>Post</em> were written by Palestinians, which is a shocking statistic. We deny these people a voice, and then we wonder why people don’t sympathize with their plight or don’t — aren’t, you know, marching in the street — well, they are marching in the streets — but in bigger numbers. Why America is OK and kind of, you know, blind to the fact that we are complicit in a genocide of these people? Because we don’t hear from these people.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">NERMEEN</span> <span class="caps">SHAIKH</span>: Well, Mehdi, I mean, explain why that’s especially relevant in this instance, because journalists have not been permitted access to Gaza, so there is no reporting going on on the ground that’s being shown here. I mean, dozens and dozens of journalists have signed a letter asking Israel and Egypt to allow journalists access into Gaza. So, if you could talk about that, why it’s especially important to hear from Palestinian voices here?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: Well, for a start, Nermeen, much of the imagery we see on our screens here or in our newspapers are sanitized images. We don’t see the full level of the destruction. And when we try and understand, well, why are young people — why is there such a generational gap when it comes to the polling on Gaza, on ceasefire, why are young people so much more antiwar than their elder peers, part of the reason is that young people are on TikTok or Instagram and seeing a much less sanitized version of this war, of Israel’s bombardment. They are seeing babies being pulled from the rubble, limbs missing. They are seeing hospitals being — you know, hospitals carrying out procedures without anesthetic. They are seeing just absolute brutality, the kind of stuff that U.N. humanitarian chiefs are saying we haven’t seen in this world for 50 years.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And that’s the problem, right? If we’re sanitizing the coverage, Americans aren’t being told, really, aren’t being informed, are, again, missing context on what is happening on the ground. And, of course, Israel, by keeping Western journalists out, makes it even easier for those images to be blocked, and therefore you have Palestinian — brave Palestinian journalists on the ground trying to film, trying to document their own genocide, streaming it to our phones. And we’ve seen over a hundred of them killed over the last five months. That is not an accident. That is not a coincidence. Israel wants to stamp out independent voices, stamp out any kind of coverage of its own genocidal behavior.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And therefore, again, you’re able to have a debate in this country where the political debate is completely disconnected to the public debate, and the public debate is completely misinformed. I’m amazed, Nermeen, when you look at the polling, that there’s a majority in favor of a ceasefire, that half of all Democrats say this is a genocide. Americans are saying that to pollsters despite not even getting the full picture. Can you imagine what those numbers would look like if they actually saw what was happening on the ground?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">NERMEEN</span> <span class="caps">SHAIKH</span>: Well, I want to go to what is unfolding right now in Gaza. You said in a recent interview that in the past Israel was, quote, “mowing the lawn,” but now the Netanyahu government’s intention is to erase the population of Gaza. So let’s go to what Prime Minister Netanyahu said about the invasion of Rafah, saying it would go ahead and would last weeks, not months. He was speaking to <em>Politico</em> on Sunday.</span></b></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">PRIME</span> <span class="caps">MINISTER</span> <span class="caps">BENJAMIN</span> <span class="caps">NETANYAHU</span>: We’re not going to leave them. You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is? That October 7th doesn’t happen again, never happens again. And to do that, we have to complete the destruction of the Hamas terrorist army. … We’re very close to victory. It’s close at hand. We’ve destroyed three-quarters of Hamas fighting terrorist battalions, and we’re close to finishing the last part in Rafah, and we’re not going to give it up. … Once we begin the intense action of eradicating the Hamas terrorist battalions in Rafah, it’s a matter of weeks and not months.</span></b></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">NERMEEN</span> <span class="caps">SHAIKH</span>: So, Mehdi, your response to what Netanyahu said and what the Israelis have proposed as a safe place for Gazans to go — namely, humanitarian islands?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: So, number one, when you hear Netanyahu speak, Nermeen, doesn’t it remind you of George Bush in kind of 2002, 2003? It’s very — you know, invoking 9/11 to justify every atrocity, claiming that you’re trying to protect the country, when you, yourself, your idiocy and your incompetency, is what led to the attacks. You know, George Bush was unable to prevent 9/11, and then used 9/11 to justify every atrocity, even though his incompetence helped allow 9/11 to happen. And I feel the same way: Netanyahu allowed the worst terror attack, the worst massacre in Israel to happen on his watch. Many of his own, you know, generals, many of his own people blame him for this. And so, it’s rich to hear him saying, “My aim is to stop this from happening again.” Well, you couldn’t stop it from happening the first time, and now you’re killing innocent Palestinians under the pretense that this is national security.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Number two, again George Bush-like, claiming that the war is nearly done, mission is nearly accomplished, that’s nonsense. No serious observer believes that Hamas is finished or that Israel has won some total victory. A member of Netanyahu’s own war cabinet said recently, “Anyone who says you can absolutely defeat Hamas is telling tall tales, is lying.” That was a colleague of Netanyahu’s, in government, who said that.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And number three, the red line on Rafah that Biden suppposedly set down and that Netanyahu is now mocking, saying, “My own red line is to do the opposite,” what on Earth is Joe Biden doing in allowing Benjamin Netanyahu to humiliate him in this way with this invasion of Rafah, even after he said he opposes it? I mean, it’s one thing to leak stuff —</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Mehdi —</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: — over a few months —</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: — let’s go to Biden speaking on <span class="caps">MSNBC</span>. He’s being interviewed by your former colleague Jonathan Capehart, as he was being questioned about Benjamin Netanyahu and saying he’s hurting Israel more than helping Israel.</span></b></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">PRESIDENT</span> <span class="caps">JOE</span> <span class="caps">BIDEN</span>: He has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas. But he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken. He’s hurting — in my view, he’s hurting Israel more than helping Israel by making the rest of the world — it’s contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it’s a big mistake. So I want to see a ceasefire.</span></b></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: And he talked about a, well, kind of a red line. If you can address what Biden is saying and what he proposed in the State of the Union, this pier, to get more aid in, and also the dropping — the airdropping of food, which recently killed five Palestinians because it crushed them to death, and the humanitarian groups, United Nations saying these airdrops, the pier come nowhere near being able to provide the aid that’s needed, at the same time, and the reason they’re doing all of this, is because Israel is using U.S. bombs and artillery to attack the Palestinians and these aid trucks?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: Yeah, it’s just so bizarre, the idea that you could drop bombs, on the one hand, and then drop aid, on the other, and you’re paying for both, and then your aid ends up killing people, too. It’s like some kind of dark <em>Onion</em> headline. It’s just beyond parody. It’s beyond belief.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And as for the pier, as you say, it does not come anywhere near to adequately addressing the needs of the Palestinian people, in terms of the sheer scale of the suffering, half a million people on the brink of famine, over a million people displaced. Four out of five of the hungriest people in the world, according to the World Food Programme, are in Gaza right now. The idea that this pier would, A, address the scale of the suffering, and, B, in time — I mean, it’s going to take time to do this. What happens to the Palestinians who literally starve to death, including children, while this pier is being built? Finally, I would say, there’s reporting in the Israeli press, Amy, that I’ve seen that suggests that the pier idea comes from Netanyahu, that the Israeli government are totally fine with this pier, because it allows them still to control land and air access into Gaza, which is what they’ve always controlled and which in this war they’ve monopolized.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The idea that the United States of America, the world’s only superpower, cannot tell its ally, “You know what? We’re going to put aid into Gaza because we want to, and you’re not going to stop us, especially since we’re the ones arming you,” is bizarre. It’s something I think Biden will never be able to get past or live down. It’s a stain on his record, on America’s conscience. The idea that we’re arming a country that’s engaged in a “plausible genocide,” to quote the <span class="caps">ICJ</span>, is bad enough. That we can’t even get our own aid in, while they’re bombing with our bombs, is just madness. And by the way, it’s also illegal. Under U.S. law, you cannot provide weaponry to a country which is blocking U.S. aid. And by the way, it’s not me saying they’re blocking U.S. aid. U.S. government officials have said, “Yes, the Israeli government blocked us from sending flour in,” for example.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">NERMEEN</span> <span class="caps">SHAIKH</span>: So, Mehdi, let’s go to the regional response to this assault on Gaza that’s been unfolding with the kind of violence and tens of thousands of deaths of Palestinians, as we’ve reported. Now, what has — how has the Arab and Muslim world responded to what’s going on? Egypt, of course, has repeatedly said that it does not want displaced Palestinians crossing its border. The most powerful Muslim countries, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Emirates, if you can talk about how they’ve responded? And then the Axis — the so-called Axis of Resistance — Houthis, Hezbollah, etc. — how they have been trying to disrupt this war, or at least make the backers of Israel pay a price for it?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: So, I hear people saying, “Oh, we’re disappointed in the response from the Arab countries.” The problem with the word “disappointment” is it implies you had any expectations to begin with. I certainly didn’t. Arab countries have never had the Palestinians’ backs. The Arab — quote-unquote, “Arab street” has always been very pro-Palestinian. But the autocratic, the despotic, the dictatorial rulers of much of the Arab world have never really had the interests of the Palestinian people at their heart, going back right to 1948, when, you know, Arab countries attacked Israel to push it into the sea, but, actually, as we know from historians like Avi Shlaim, were not doing that at all, and that some of them, like Jordan, had done deals with Israel behind the scenes. So, look, Arab countries have never really prioritized the Palestinian people or their needs or their freedom. And so, when you see some of these statements that come out of the Arab world at times like this, you know, you have to take them with a shovel of salt, not just a grain.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Also, I would point out the hypocrisy here on all sides in the region. You have countries like Saudi Arabia and the <span class="caps">UAE</span>, which were involved in a brutal assault on Yemen for many years, carried out very similar acts to Israel in Gaza in terms of blockades, starvation, malnourishment of the Yemeni children, in terms of bombing of refugee camps and hospitals and kids and school buses. That all happened in Yemen. Arab countries did that, let’s just be clear about that, things that they criticize Israel for doing now. And, of course, Iran, which sets itself up as a champion of the Palestinan people, when Bashar al-Assad was killing many of his own people, including Palestinian refugees, in places like the al-Yarmouk refugee camp, Iran and Russia, by the way, were both perfectly happy to help arm and support Assad as he did that. So, you know, spare me some of the grandiose statements from Middle East countries, from Arab nations to Iran, on all of it. There’s a lot of hypocrisy to go around.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Very few countries in the world, especially in that region, actually have Palestinian interests at heart. If they did, we would have a very different geopolitical scene. There is reporting, Nermeen, that a lot of these governments, like Saudi Arabia, privately are telling Israel, “Finish the job. Get rid of them. We don’t like Hamas, either. Get rid of them,” and that Saudis actually want to do a deal with Israel once this war is over, just as they were on course to do, apparently, according to the Biden administration. We know that other Arab countries already signed the, quote-unquote, “Abraham Accords” with Israel on Trump’s watch.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: I wanted to ask you about the number of dead Palestinian journalists and also the new U.N. investigation that just accused Israel of breaking international law over the killing of the Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah in southern Lebanon. On October 13th, an Israeli tank opened fire on him and a group of other journalists. He had just set up a live stream on the border in southern Lebanon, so that all his colleagues at Reuters and others saw him blown up. The report stating, quote, “The firing at civilians, in this instance clearly identifiable journalists, constitutes a violation of … international law.” And it’s not just Issam in southern Lebanon. Well over a hundred Palestinian journalists in Gaza have died. We’ve never seen anything like the concentration of numbers of journalists killed in any other conflict or conflicts combined recently. Can you talk about the lack of outrage of other major news organizations and what Israel is doing here? Do you think they’re being directly targeted, one after another, wearing those well-known “press” flak jackets? It looks like we just lost audio to Mehdi Hasan.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: Amy, I can — I can hear you, Amy, very faintly.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Oh, OK. So —</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: I’m going to answer your question, if you can still hear me.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Great. We can hear you perfectly.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MEHDI</span> <span class="caps">HASAN</span>: So, you’re very faint to me. So, while I speak, if someone want to fix the volume in my ear. Let me answer your question about journalists.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">It is an absolute tragedy and a scandal, what has happened to journalists in Gaza, that we have seen so many deaths in Gaza. And the real scandal, Amy, is that Western media, a lot of my colleagues here in the U.S. media, have not sounded the alarm, have not called out Israel for what it’s done. It’s outrageous that so many of our fellow colleagues can be killed in Gaza while reporting, while at home, losing family members, and yet there’s not a huge global outcry. When Wael al-Dahdouh, who we just saw on the screen, from Al Jazeera, loses his immediate family members and carries on reporting for Al Jazeera Arabic, why is he not on every front page in the world? Why is he not a hero? Why is he not sitting down with Oprah Winfrey? I feel like, you know, when Evan Gershkovich from <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> is wrongly imprisoned in Russia, we all campaign for Evan to be released. When Ukrainian journalists are killed, we all speak out and are angry about it. But when Palestinian journalists are killed on a level we’ve never seen before, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, where is the outcry here in the West over the killing of them? We claim to care about a free press. We claim to oppose countries that crack down on a free press, on journalism. We say journalism is not a crime. But then I don’t hear the outrage from my colleagues here at this barbarism in Gaza, where journalists are being killed in record numbers.</span></b></p></div></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gaza remains under assault. Day 161 of the assault in the wave that began in October. <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/12/the-view-from-washington-let-the-killing-in-gaza-continue/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out</a>, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." <a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">CNN has explained</a>, "The Gaza Strip is '<a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/h_6b422f2abd54d7a1e3c9c9321c1dd103" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the most dangerous place</a>' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/gaza-strip-is-the-most-dangerous-place-to-be-a-child-unicef-105520385?id=105348620" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ABC NEWS quotes</a> UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna125877" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">NBC NEWS notes</a>, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-bidens-standing-hits-new-lows-israel-hamas-war-rcna125251" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">according to the latest national NBC News poll</a>. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/conditions-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out</a>, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-genocide-lawsuit" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">condemned</a> the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2024/01/gender-alert-the-gendered-impact-of-the-crisis-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">United Nations Women noted</a>, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna143534" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">NBC NEWS notes</a>, "The death toll in Gaza since Oct. 7 has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-hamas-gaza-war-death-toll-reaches-30000-palestinians-rcna140843" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">surpassed 31,000</a> , according to the enclave's Health Ministry, which says more than 73,000 have been injured. The Israeli military said at least 247 soldiers have been killed since the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-hamas-war-rafah-gaza-ground-assault-palestinians-desperation-rcna138795" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">ground invasion of Gaza</a> began." Months ago, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-11-21-2023-8db6dafbe39830c907f7c2db258c9875" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">AP noted</a>, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/7/israel_propaganda_gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained</a> on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:</span></p><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1754491459145765059" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1754491459145765059&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F2024%2F02%2Firaq-snapshot_5.html&sessionId=8f0fa1745619dea84d27d8781eb3a286b6bb0ce3&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 416px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And the area itself? <a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-gaza-israel-bombing-destruction-hamas-reconstruction-f299a28410b70ee05dd764df97d8d3a0" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Isabele Debre (AP) reveals</a>, "Israel’s <span class="LinkEnhancement"><a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war" rel="noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">military offensive</a></span> has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells." <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/world/gaza-destruction-ukraine-iraq-vietnam-2776016" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports</a>, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/gaza-strip-map-attacks-damage/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">new study of satellite imagery</a> by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of <a href="https://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-intolerable-humanitarian-situation-gaza-cannot-continue" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">45 per cent of housing</a> destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War." </span></div></div></div></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-41708227615760271792024-03-15T01:29:00.002+03:002024-03-15T01:29:59.225+03:00 Trump and the Black Conservative Federation of Wayward Negroes -- BURN IT DOWN WITH KIM BROWN<p style="text-align: left;"> <a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/03/trump-and-black-conservative-federation.html" style="color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; text-decoration-line: none;">Trump and the Black Conservative Federation of Wayward Negroes -- BURN IT DOWN WITH KIM BROWN</a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/03/trump-and-black-conservative-federation.html" target="_blank">The Common Ills</a></p><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-4277144248550831581" itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SbEipb_Y5Ac?si=_dyOjfxbx1QNv3Q-" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/03/republican-do-nothing-congress-gets.html" style="color: #ff9900; text-decoration-line: none;">Republican DO NOTHING Congress GETS WORSE</a></h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-2184592741294852111" itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zmg4QkTejI4?si=JIgmpWYpnrEKEX1R" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/03/mehdi-hasan-on-genocide-in-gaza.html" style="color: #ff9900; text-decoration-line: none;">Mehdi Hasan on Genocide in Gaza, the Silencing of Palestinian Voices in U.S. Media & Trump's</a></h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-9167783065586687414" itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 570px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nJGumuVW2iA?si=58Fq-O_PMlghHd-l" style="font-size: 13.2px;" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-4640789297654539602024-03-15T01:26:00.000+03:002024-03-15T01:26:06.325+03:00Iraq snapshot Thursday, March 14, 2024.<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Iraq snapshot</span></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the Common Ills</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thursday, March 14, 2024. Starvation and famine continue in Gaza, a child takes their own life in the US because of a climate of hate, and much more.</span></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is nothing good about the assault on Gaza. It's still surprising, however, just how rotten everything about the assault is. <a href="https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/03/12/721749/explainer-how-israel-war-gaza-spawned-environment-climate-disaster" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Maryam Qarehgozlou (PRESS TV) observes</a>, "Beyond the colossal human toll of the deadly war, an environmental catastrophe is also unfolding across the blockaded territory, triggered by indiscriminate bombings and a crippling siege for more than five months." The Israeli government is consuming a huge amount of fossil fuels to assault Gaza. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/14/global-oil-industry-impact-israel-gaza-war" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Nina Lakhani (GUARDIAN) reports</a>: </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Israeli jets and tanks bombarding Palestinians are being fueled by some of the world’s most profitable fossil fuel companies – and US tax-payers, according to research.</span></b></p><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Israel relies on crude oil and refined products from overseas to run its large fleet of fighter jets, tanks and other military vehicles.</span></b></p><div id="sign-in-gate"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><gu-island 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class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The research, which was commissioned by the non-profit <a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://priceofoil.org/?p=43555" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Oil Change International</a> and shared exclusively with the Guardian, examines this fuel supply chain, which since the current conflict in Gaza began appears to have relied heavily on fossil fuels from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Brazil, Gabon and the US. The analysis by <a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://datadesk.eco/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Data Desk</a>, a UK-based tech consultancy firm investigating the fossil fuel industry, suggests the major oil companies facilitating the fuel supplies include BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies.</span></b></p><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The analysis suggests that Israel has received three US tankers of JP8 jet guel in the form of military aid since October 2023. One left the US before the current assault on Gaza began, departing from the Bill Greehey refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, on 22 September.</span></b></p><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Vessels delivering oil and fuel recently appear to have been turning off their automatic identification system (AIS) signal before reaching Israel, possibly for security reasons.</span></b></p><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The other two departed after the conflict was underway: one appears to have departed on 6 December 2023, when more than 16,000 Palestinians had already been killed. The third left Texas on 9 February 2024 – two weeks after the International Court of Justice’s <a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/26/un-court-orders-israel-to-ensure-acts-of-genocide-are-not-committed-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">interim ruling</a> that Israel <a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/26/world-courts-interim-ruling-on-genocide-in-gaza-key-takeaways-icj-israel" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">could plausibly be committing genocide</a> against 2.3m Palestinians in occupied Gaza. A satellite image appears to show the tanker at Israel’s Ashkelon terminal on 6 March, when the Palestinian death toll had risen to 30,000.</span></b></p><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has continued since the ICJ ordered the Israeli government to prevent any genocidal act. The ICJ ruling has legal implications for countries and corporations, which must ensure they are not complicit in genocidal acts.</span></b></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Last week, <a href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/03/06/the-un-is-investigating-the-environmental-impact-of-the-war-in-gaza-heres-what-it-says-so-" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">EURO NEWS noted</a>:</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The United Nations is investigating the environmental impact of the war in Gaza, which has caused a catastrophic spike in land, soil and water pollution.</span></b></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">It is hard to know where to begin, since the conflict has no end in sight. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed by relentless Israeli strikes since 7 October, when Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 Israelis and took 250 people hostage.</span></b></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">[. . .]</span></b></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In recent days, devastating reports have emerged of malnourished and dehydrated babies <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2024/03/05/children-in-northern-gaza-dying-of-starvation-says-who" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">dying</a> in the Northern Gaza Strip. “These tragic and horrific deaths are man-made, predictable and entirely preventable,” Adele Khodr, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa said in a statement on 3 March.</span></b></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Environmental concerns pale beside such suffering. But they are also inseparable from the unfolding humanitarian disaster. Water pollution from the bombardments, for example, means a dearth in safe <a href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/01/18/half-of-bangladeshi-drinking-water-is-polluted-with-arsenic-and-climate-change-is-making-i" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">drinking water</a> and a rise in water-borne diseases.</span></b></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On Monday, a number of US senators objected to US President Joe Biden supplying the government of Israel with military equipment when the Israeli government has continued to block aid to Gaza. This is a press release on the letter from Senator Mazie Hirono's office:</span></p><div class="js-press-release RawHTML mb-5"><p></p><div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Peter Welch (D-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), in sending a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to enforce federal law by requiring Netanyahu’s government to stop restricting humanitarian aid access to Gaza or forfeit U.S. military aid to Israel.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">In the letter, the senators make clear that Netanyahu’s interference in U.S. humanitarian operations in Gaza violates Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, also known as the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act. The law states: “No assistance shall be furnished under this chapter or the Arms Export Control Act to any country when it is made known to the President that the government of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance.”</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">“According to public reporting and your own statements, the Netanyahu government is in violation of this law,” wrote the senators. “Given this reality, we urge you to make it clear to the Netanyahu government that failure to immediately and dramatically expand humanitarian access and facilitate safe aid deliveries throughout Gaza will lead to serious consequences, as specified under existing U.S. law.”</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“The United States should not provide military assistance to any country that interferes with U.S. humanitarian assistance,” the senators continued. “Federal law is clear, and, given the urgency of the crisis in Gaza, and the repeated refusal of Prime Minister Netanyahu to address U.S. concerns on this issue, immediate action is necessary to secure a change in policy by his government.”</span></span></div><p></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">The full text of the letter is available <a href="https://www.hirono.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_president_biden_on_humanitarian_aid_access_to_gaza.pdf" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">here</a> and below.</span></strong></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><em><b><span style="font-size: medium;">President Biden,</span></b></em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><em><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The severe humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is nearly unprecedented in modern history.</span></b></em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><em><b><span style="font-size: medium;">As Vice President Harris said on March 3rd, “We have seen reports of families eating leaves or animal feed, women giving birth to malnourished babies with little or no medical care, and children dying from malnutrition and dehydration.”</span></b></em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><em><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Your Administration has repeatedly stated, and the United Nations and numerous aid organizations have confirmed, that Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian access, both at the border and within Gaza, are one of the primary causes of this humanitarian catastrophe.</span></b></em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><em><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Netanyahu government’s interference with humanitarian operations has prevented U.S.- financed aid from reaching its intended recipients in a safe and timely manner.</span></b></em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><em><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In recent weeks, humanitarian access has seriously deteriorated. That reality was underscored by your decision last week, which we support, to begin air dropping supplies to desperate civilians in north Gaza.</span></b></em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><em><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Netanyahu government’s interference in U.S. humanitarian operations violates the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act — Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 USC 2378-1). The law is clear: “No assistance shall be furnished under this chapter or the Arms Export Control Act to any country when it is made known to the President that the government of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance.”</span></b></em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><em><b><span style="font-size: medium;">According to public reporting and your own statements, the Netanyahu government is in violation of this law. Given this reality, we urge you to make it clear to the Netanyahu government that failure to immediately and dramatically expand humanitarian access and facilitate safe aid deliveries throughout Gaza will lead to serious consequences, as specified under existing U.S. law.</span></b></em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><em><b><span style="font-size: medium;">People are starving. As you have said, “We’re going to insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need. No excuses. Because the truth is, aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough.”</span></b></em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><em><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The United States should not provide military assistance to any country that interferes with U.S. humanitarian assistance. We note that the language of the statute does not preclude U.S. assistance for missile defense, such as the Iron Dome, or other defensive systems provided to Israel pursuant to the provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act.</span></b></em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><em><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Federal law is clear, and, given the urgency of the crisis in Gaza, and the repeated refusal of Prime Minister Netanyahu to address U.S. concerns on this issue, immediate action is necessary to secure a change in policy by his government.</span></b></em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><em><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Sincerely,</span></b></em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></b></p></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And it's not just that group of US senators calling for accountability. <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/u-s-arms-sales-to-israel-2667506147" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Brett Wilkins (COMMON DREAMS) reports</a>:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> More than two dozen human rights groups on Tuesday implored U.S. President Joe Biden "urgently comply" with domestic law by suspending arms sales to Israel and pressuring its far-right government to end its genocidal policy of blocking aid to starving Palestinians in <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Gaza.</a></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In a<a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/13/joint-letter-president-biden-continued-us-security-assistance-israel" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> joint letter</a> to Biden, the 25 organizations asserted that his administration's "unconditional arms transfers and other security assistance" to Israel apparently "violate Section 620I of the <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/22/2378-1" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Foreign Assistance Act</a> (22 U.S.C. § 2378-1), which prohibits the United States from providing security assistance or arms sales to any country when the president is made aware that the government 'prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance.'"</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"U.S. weapons, security assistance, and blanket political support have contributed to an unparalleled humanitarian crisis and possible war crimes in Gaza," the groups wrote. "We demand that you urgently comply with U.S. law, end U.S. support for catastrophic human suffering in Gaza, and use your leverage to protect civilians and ensure the impartial provision of humanitarian assistance."</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://help.rescue.org/donate/evergreen-crisis-ME?ms=gs_ppc_fy24_gaza_mmus_mar&initialms=gs_ppc_fy24_gaza_mmus_mar&utm_campaign=fy24_gaza&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwMqvBhCtARIsAIXsZpbevjTiJ3imCwxnRAibclymMnZRq3f4dQm_fpOwZvQRoZ5YJ6pJiS0aAmyhEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">The International Rescue Committee notes</a>, "Over half a million Palestinians are suffering from severe malnutrition, and children are dying of starvation. Right now the IRC and its partners are working to deliver urgently needed emergency food, medical supplies and other crucial humanitarian aid to displaced families." <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/mar/14/middle-east-crisis-live-updates-israel-gaza-khan-younis-tel-aviv" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">THE GUARDIAN notes</a>:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">A senior official at the European Commission has said there are already pockets of famine happening in <a data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Gaza</a>.</span></strong></p><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Reuters reports Janez Lenarčič, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, told the media that famine could spread to the whole of the region.</span></b></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This morning, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/14/death-trap-israeli-forces-kill-six-aid-seekers-in-gaza-city" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ALJAZEERA reports</a>:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Israeli forces have shot dead at least six Palestinians and wounded 83 in Gaza City as they were waiting for food and humanitarian supplies at the Kuwait Roundabout, an area where large groups of people gather for arriving aid trucks.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The attack on Thursday took place hours after at least five people were killed by an Israeli air strike on a food distribution centre in Rafah, southern Gaza, run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/1/what-is-unrwa-and-why-it-is-important-for-palestinians" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">UNRWA</a>), which is the main humanitarian agency in Gaza.</span></b></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">There has been an uptick in fatal assaults by Israeli troops on crowds of starving <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2024/3/5/the-blood-was-everywhere-inside-israels-flour-massacre-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">civilians lining up</a> for aid in recent weeks. On Monday night, Israeli forces killed 11 people waiting for food aid at the same roundabout.</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Netanyahu's attack on UNRWA has been non-stop. Yesterday, the agency released a statement noting the attacks that have taken place:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">At least one UNRWA staff member was killed and another 22 were injured when Israeli Forces hit a food distribution centre in the eastern part of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“Today’s attack on one of the very few remaining UNRWA distribution centres in the Gaza Strip comes as food supplies are running out, hunger is widespread and, in some areas, turning into famine. Every day, we share the coordinates of all our facilities across the Gaza Strip with parties to the conflict. The Israeli Army received the coordinates including of this facility yesterday,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. </span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Since the war began five months ago, UNRWA has recorded an unprecedented number of violations against its staff and facilities that surpass any other conflict around the world. </span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">· At least 165 UNRWA team members killed including while in the line of duty;</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">· More than 150 UNRWA facilities were hit, some totally destroyed, among them many schools;</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">· More than 400 people killed while seeking shelter under the UN flag;</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">· Tunnels have reportedly been found under UNRWA facilities and installations used for military activities;</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">· UNRWA staff have reportedly been mistreated and humiliated while in Israeli detention centres.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“The United Nations, its personnel, premises and assets must be protected at all times. Since this war began, attacks against UN facilities, convoys and personnel have become commonplace in blatant disregard to international humanitarian law. I am calling once again for an independent inquiry into these violations and the need for accountability,” added Lazzarini. </span></b></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let's note <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/13/michelle_alexander_revolutionary_love" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">this from yesterday's DEMOCRACY NOW!</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QljJ8ac60xo?si=H3EmbiO_bFqPFULK" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: This is <em>Democracy Now!</em>, democracynow.org, <em>The War and Peace Report</em>. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander has a new <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/mlk-vietnam-war-speech-gaza-democracy/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">piece</a> in <em>The Nation</em>. It’s headlined “Only Revolutionary Love Can Save Us Now.” Michelle Alexander begins, “This moment feels different. Something new is in the air. Of course, everything is always changing. Impermanence is the way of life. Philosophers, theologians, and poets have reminded us for centuries that the only constant is change.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Michelle Alexander joins us now for more, the best-selling author of the book <em>The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness</em>.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s great to have you back with us, Michelle. If you can —</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MICHELLE</span> <span class="caps">ALEXANDER</span>: Thank you. Thanks for having me. I’m always happy to be here.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: It’s great to see you. If you can talk about what gives you hope right now, even as you write about what’s happening in Gaza, as you talk about what’s happening with issues of police brutality and mass incarceration through the United States? Talk about movements and your references to Dr. King.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MICHELLE</span> <span class="caps">ALEXANDER</span>: Well, what gives me hope right now is that, despite everything, revolutionary love is bursting and blossoming in all kinds of places and spaces. Years of relentless and patient organizing and deep learning about each other’s histories and struggles have led to a moment when Black activists are showing up at protests organized by Jewish students who are raising their voices in solidarity with Palestinians who are suffering occupation and annihilation in Gaza. And, you know, this is due to connections that have been made over the course of years between liberation struggles on the streets of Ferguson and those occurring in Palestine. And these small acts of revolutionary love are leading to movements, are building movements that just might help us change everything.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And, you know, we see this in communities everywhere, where people are connecting dots between climate change and racial and gender injustice. We see it in the movement to stop Cop City in Atlanta. We see it in movements for clean water and food. And we see that people are making connections between liberation struggles here at home and those occurring around the world, as well as connections between the violence of policing and incarceration and the violence of militarism and the relentless assault on Gaza.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">So, you know, people are turning towards really promising forms of movement building, incredible acts of courage in this moment, speaking unpopular truths. And that gives me hope, even in a time when there is so much reason for fear and anxiety, that can be paralyzing.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JUAN</span> GONZÁLEZ: Michelle, but you also raised in your <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/mlk-vietnam-war-speech-gaza-democracy/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">article</a> that all of this is happening right now in the midst of a presidential election here in the United States. And what do you see as the impact of the policy of the Biden administration in terms of — especially in terms of Gaza and the genocide there, and what the impact may be on the result of our election?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MICHELLE</span> <span class="caps">ALEXANDER</span>: Well, you know, tens of thousands of people have been killed in Gaza in just a few months with our bombs — you know, mass murder funded by our government, aided and abetted by our military, paid for, in large part, by our tax dollars. And while we have been told by our government that we are not witnessing genocide, you know, I and millions of people around the world have watched. You know, as videos have traveled around the globe, we’ve watched, you know, as mothers have pulled body parts of their dead children out of rubble, as people have had their limbs amputated, sawed off, without anesthesia because the hospitals have been destroyed and there’s no medicine, including pain medication, to be found. We’ve watched as people facing starvation have been shot at by Israeli soldiers as they approach vehicles carrying aid.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And so, you know, the Biden administration seems to be surprised that people who are not Palestinian care as deeply as we do. And I think if the Democratic Party and the Biden administration is serious about winning this next election, they must not only insist upon a ceasefire, but end the aid for the military support and the bombs, and must invest and ensure that the people who are starving and who are suffering there get the aid that they need to survive. We must end the occupation of Palestine and commit to the thriving of all of the people who have been subjected to relentless war and occupation for decades now. And so, yeah, I do think it’s an important issue in this election year.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And, you know, as I point out in the <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/mlk-vietnam-war-speech-gaza-democracy/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">piece</a>, that there are many, many things that are weighing on the minds and the hearts of the American people right now. It is the mass killing in Gaza, you know, more than 10,000 children, and the destruction of hospitals, schools, churches, mosques, universities, museums and nearly all the basic infrastructure. It is the memories of the killings that occurred on October 7th, memories that many continue to carry along with deep grief and fear. But there’s also, you know, fears of the threats to our democracy, to the very ideas of diversity and inclusion. And there’s the threat of climate change. You know, 2023 was the hottest year on record, and it seems we may have already passed a critical tipping point, and yet the five biggest oil companies last year raked in record profits, nearly $200 billion in profits, more than the economic output of most countries. And, you know, if all that wasn’t enough, we keep learning more and more that AI just might destroy humanity.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And, you know, I find that people often ask me, as I speak about issues related to climate change and the war in Gaza and the threats related to the rise in technology: What does any of this have to do with mass incarceration or police violence, the issues and causes that have been most pressing and most important to me for much of my life? And what I always say is that these issues have everything to do with mass incarceration. These are existential crises that we face because we have persisted in treating people and all of creation as exploitable and disposable, unworthy of our care and concern. We are lost in the delusion that we can solve problems or do justice or achieve peace and security simply by locking people up, throwing away the key, destroying their lives and families, getting rid of them, declaring wars on them, wars on drugs, wars on crime, wars on Gaza. And that’s why I keep returning again and again to the speech that Martin Luther King gave near the end of his life, the speech where he condemned the Vietnam War and was immediately canceled. That’s what my <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/mlk-vietnam-war-speech-gaza-democracy/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">piece</a> in <em>The Nation</em> is ultimately about.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Michelle, we want to end with and get your final comment on Dr. King’s speech that he gave at New York’s Riverside Church opposing the War in Vietnam a year to the day before he was assassinated. This is Dr. King speaking about why he opposed the War in Vietnam.</span></b></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">REV</span>. <span class="caps">MARTIN</span> <span class="caps">LUTHER</span> <span class="caps">KING</span> JR.: As I have walked among the desperate, rejected and angry young men, I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems. I have tried to offer them my deepest compassion while maintaining my conviction that social change comes most meaningfully through nonviolent action. But they ask, and rightly so, “What about Vietnam?” And they ask if our own nation wasn’t using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home. And I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government.</span></b></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Dr. King, after which, you point out in the <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/mlk-vietnam-war-speech-gaza-democracy/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">piece</a>, Michelle, that he was canceled, from the major papers, <em>The New York Times</em> to <em>The Washington Post</em>, attacked for his opposition to war.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MICHELLE</span> <span class="caps">ALEXANDER</span>: Yes, that’s absolutely right. I mean, it’s difficult to overstate the political risk that he was taking in that moment. Our nation had been at war with Vietnam for two years. Ten thousand American troops had already been killed. And the war had enthusiastic bipartisan support within the political establishment. Anyone who dared to criticize the war were often labeled communist and subjected to vicious forms of retaliation and backlash. Many of his friends and his allies told him not to speak out against the war, saying he’d jeopardize the very fragile and brand-new gains of the civil rights movement.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And he said, you know, those people, those voices didn’t understand the depth of his moral commitment, but they also had no real understanding of the nature of the world in which they lived. And he said basic morality demands that we speak for the weak, the voiceless, the victims of our own nation, especially the children, including those our nation calls enemy, for they are no less our brothers and sisters. He condemned the moral bankruptcy of a nation that doesn’t hesitate to invest in bombs and warfare around the world but can’t ever seem to find the dollars to eradicate poverty at home.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">But, for me, you know, what makes King’s speech essential in this moment is that he was arguing in that speech that if we, as a nation, do not awaken from our collective delusions, we are doomed. You know, he said we must rapidly shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. You know, he said when machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, you know, the giant triplet of racism, extreme materialism and militarism will never be conquered. You know, if we fail to make this turn, if we fail to awaken, we are doomed. And he was right. Whether we’re talking about climate change, AI, mass deportation, mass incarceration, the wars in Gaza or the wars on drugs, he’s right, that if we don’t turn away from the corrupting forces of capitalism, militarism and racism, and embrace a truly revolutionary love for all people and all creation, we are doomed. Towards the end of that speech at Riverside, he said there is such a thing as being too late. You know, he said over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words “too late.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And yet his message wasn’t a hopeless one. He was calling us to embrace a revolutionary movement, one that was grounded in an ethic of love. Just as bell hooks once said, you know, as long as we refuse to embrace love in our struggles for liberation, we will not be able to create a culture of conversion where there’s a mass turning away from an ethic of domination. And that, ultimately, is what revolutionary love is all about and why I believe it is the only thing that can save us now.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Michelle Alexander, thank you so much for joining us, civil rights advocate — </span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">MICHELLE</span> <span class="caps">ALEXANDER</span>: Thank you.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: — author of the best-selling book <em>The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness</em>. We’ll link to your <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/mlk-vietnam-war-speech-gaza-democracy/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">piece</a> in <em>The Nation</em>, headlined “Only Revolutionary Love Can Save Us Now.”</span></b></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gaza remains under assault. Day 160 of the assault in the wave that began in October. <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/12/the-view-from-washington-let-the-killing-in-gaza-continue/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out</a>, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." <a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">CNN has explained</a>, "The Gaza Strip is '<a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/h_6b422f2abd54d7a1e3c9c9321c1dd103" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the most dangerous place</a>' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/gaza-strip-is-the-most-dangerous-place-to-be-a-child-unicef-105520385?id=105348620" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ABC NEWS quotes</a> UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna125877" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">NBC NEWS notes</a>, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-bidens-standing-hits-new-lows-israel-hamas-war-rcna125251" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">according to the latest national NBC News poll</a>. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/conditions-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out</a>, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-genocide-lawsuit" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">condemned</a> the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2024/01/gender-alert-the-gendered-impact-of-the-crisis-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">United Nations Women noted</a>, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/mar/14/middle-east-crisis-live-updates-israel-gaza-khan-younis-tel-aviv" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">THE GUARDIAN notes</a> "the total death toll since <a data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/israel" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Israel</a> launched its military offensive in the Gaza Strip [is] 31,341. Additionally, 73,134 people have been wounded." Months ago, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-11-21-2023-8db6dafbe39830c907f7c2db258c9875" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">AP noted</a>, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/7/israel_propaganda_gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained</a> on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:</span></p><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1754491459145765059" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1754491459145765059&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F2024%2F02%2Firaq-snapshot_5.html&sessionId=8f0fa1745619dea84d27d8781eb3a286b6bb0ce3&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 416px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And the area itself? <a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-gaza-israel-bombing-destruction-hamas-reconstruction-f299a28410b70ee05dd764df97d8d3a0" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Isabele Debre (AP) reveals</a>, "Israel’s <span class="LinkEnhancement"><a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war" rel="noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">military offensive</a></span> has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells." <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/world/gaza-destruction-ukraine-iraq-vietnam-2776016" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports</a>, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/gaza-strip-map-attacks-damage/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">new study of satellite imagery</a> by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of <a href="https://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-intolerable-humanitarian-situation-gaza-cannot-continue" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">45 per cent of housing</a> destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War." </span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In other news . . . </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/13/headlines" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Yesterday on DEMOCRACY NOW!, Amy Goodman noted</a>:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><div class="social"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a class="facebook popup" data-ga-action="Share Tools: Facebook - Individual Headline" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/13/headlines/florida_settles_dont_say_gay_lawsuit" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Share on Facebook"></a><a class="twitter popup" data-ga-action="Share Tools: Twitter - Individual Headline" href="https://twitter.com/share?url=https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/13/headlines/florida_settles_dont_say_gay_lawsuit&text=Florida+Settles+%E2%80%9CDon%E2%80%99t+Say+Gay%E2%80%9D+Lawsuit&via=democracynow&lang=en" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Share on Twitter"></a><a class="reddit popup hidden-xs" data-ga-action="Share Tools: Reddit - Individual Headline" href="https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/13/headlines/florida_settles_dont_say_gay_lawsuit" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Share on Reddit"></a><a class="email hidden-xs" data-ga-action="Share Tools: Email - Individual Headline" href="mailto:?body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.democracynow.org%2F2024%2F3%2F13%2Fheadlines%2Fflorida_settles_dont_say_gay_lawsuit&subject=Florida%20Settles%20%26%238220%3BDon%26%238217%3Bt%20Say%20Gay%26%238221%3B%20Lawsuit" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Send via Email"></a></span></b></div><div class="headline_body"><div class="headline_summary"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Florida’s school teachers will be allowed to discuss sexual orientation and gender identity — under the condition the topics are not a part of formal classroom instruction. The clarification came as part of a lawsuit settlement reached by Florida’s education officials and a group of LGBTQ+ rights advocates and families. Opponents of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law had argued the measure’s vague language sparked fear and confusion among educators and students, who were unsure if even sharing personal details about their lives, such as drawing a picture of their same-sex parents for a school project, would be a violation of the law.</span></b></p></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This was never, ever about helping children. It was about hate merchants spreading their hate. And we see across the country the effects of that. Nex Benedict was one of the children targeted with this hate. Marcia has been covering Nex's case at her site and, in last night's "<a href="http://sickofitradlz.blogspot.com/2024/03/ryan-walters-is-responsible-for-death.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Ryan Walters is responsible for the death of Nex Benedict</a>," rightly calls out hate merchant Ryan Walters who seems to think the initial autopsy finding that a child took their own life because of the abuse that they were experiencing is somehow vindicating him. It's no vindication, it is an indictment. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://glaad.org/oklahoma-superintendent-of-public-instruction-ryan-walters-book-ban-record/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Earlier this month at GLAAD, Jae Moore noted</a>:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The tragic death of high school sophomore <a href="https://glaad.org/live-updates-the-death-of-nex-benedict-and-community-response-in-oklahoma/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Nex Benedict</a> last month cast a spotlight on the <a href="https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2023/" rel="noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">relentless bullying</a> LGBTQ students face <a href="https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/510345_GLSEN_Nex_Benedict_Convo_Educator_Guide_m1.pdf" rel="noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">in schools</a> <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/vp-harris-white-house-speak-nex-benedicts-death/story?id=107480756" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">nationwide</a>, and on the <a href="https://glaad.org/releases/glaad-releases-anti-lgbtq-records-of-oklahoma-governor-kevin-stitt-and-state-education-superintendent-ryan-walters/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">records</a> of Oklahoma’s elected leaders in targeting transgender students, including the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ryan Walters.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/oklahoma-education-superintendent-ryan-walters-fire-anti-lgbtq/story?id=107626475" rel="noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Walters told</a> ABC News, “we’re not going to lie to students. And we’re not going to push a gender ideology.” Walters’ repeated false claims about “gender ideology” and “only two genders” conflict with the history of Two Spirit people in his own state, which have long recognized and honored multiple genders. Walters’ comments also crucially fail to acknowledge Nex Benedict’s Choctaw heritage and the impact of Walters’ rhetoric and policies on Two Spirit, transgender, and gender nonconforming (2STGNC+) students like Nex.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Walters’ comments and policies attempting to ignore the existence and history of 2STGNC+ people in his state are consistent with his record of attempts to eliminate inclusive books. More than 350 organizations including GLAAD have called on state legislative leaders to <a href="https://glaad.org/justice-for-nex-benedict-letter-from-350-organizations/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">remove Walters</a> and investigate the unsafe climate in Oklahoma schools for 2STGNC+ students.</span></b></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said Walters “dangerously and recklessly prioritized escalating attacks against LGBTQ, indigenous, and vulnerable youth, promoting lies, spreading disinformation, and pushing broad scale discriminatory policies that do nothing to improve education, [with] rhetoric and policies to erase the culture and history of entire communities of Oklahomans … in alignment with national anti-LGBTQ groups like Moms for Liberty and extremists on social media.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">At last month’s Board of Education meeting, the first since the news of Nex’s death, business owner and Vice Mayor of The Village, a suburb of Oklahoma City, <a href="https://www.advocate.com/news/oklahoma-nex-benedict-viral-video" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Sean Cummings</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@_dofd/video/7338532198858886442?lang=en" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">addressed Walters</a>’ anti-LGBTQ record. Walters’ actions include <a href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/politics/2024/01/23/chaya-raichik-libs-of-tiktok-oklahoma-public-education/72324642007/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">appointing</a> Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik to the state Library Media Review Committee in January, despite a history of anti-LGBTQ posts that have reportedly preceded more than <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/libs-tiktok-x-chaya-raichik-bomb-threat-twitter-of-libsoftiktok-rcna102784" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">30 threats of violence</a> against schools in Oklahoma and nationwide, as well as libraries and childrens’ hospitals. Raichik does not live in Oklahoma, does not have children in Oklahoma schools, and has no proven background in education.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“You and your rhetoric and your inability to do anything as a board here are partially responsible for emboldening bullies to jump a [student] in the bathroom,” Cummings told Walters. “You have actual blood on your hands.”</span></b></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://progressive.org/public-schools-advocate/whos-to-blame-for-nex-benedicts-death-thompson-20240212/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Tuesday at THE PROGRESSIVE, John Thompson noted</a>:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p class="lead" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">e are learning more about the death of <a aria-label="Link opens in new window (Nex Benedict)" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nex-benedict-dead-oklahoma-b2501844.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Nex Benedict</a>, a non-binary high school student who died on February 8, the day after they were beaten in the school bathroom in Owasso, Oklahoma. We are also learning about ourselves, as Oklahomans, as we deal with the tragedy. But we are not alone. This bitter attack is a case study in the cruelty being spread across the nation by right-wing extremists. </span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Vigils <a aria-label="Link opens in new window (were held)" href="https://apnews.com/article/nonbinary-student-death-nex-owasso-oklahoma-vigils-fd7695afb780d09c00b823fa0618e79f" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">were held</a> across the nation in honor of Nex, who has a Choctaw heritage. The diverse crowd I witnessed at the <a aria-label="Link opens in new window (Oklahoma City vigil)" href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2024/02/25/hundreds-at-okc-praye-vigil-show-love-honor-for-nex-benedict/72688425007/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Oklahoma City vigil</a> was so large that I could barely hear the speakers. We still don’t fully know everything about Nex’s death, but it is clear that it must be viewed within the context of vicious attacks on LGBTQ+ youth by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and Governor Kevin Stitt as well as the fifty-plus <a aria-label="Link opens in new window (Republican legislative bills)" href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/20/oklahoma-legislature-considering-54-bills-targeting-lgbtq-issues-list/72597155007/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Republican legislative bills</a> attacking LBGTQ+ rights across the country.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Since he was elected in 2019, Governor Stitt has <a aria-label="Link opens in new window (signed)" href="https://glaad.org/releases/glaad-responds-to-release-of-9-1-1-calls-school-surveillance-video-owasso-police-body-cam-footage-and-new-reporting-cascade-of-failures-at-school-local-government-and-law-enforcement/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">signed</a> laws that restrict access to public school bathrooms; ban health care for transgender people under eighteen; ban transgender girls and women from school sports; and prohibit Oklahomans from obtaining nonbinary gender markers on official documents. He also signed, as the LGTBQ+ rights group GLAAD <a aria-label="Link opens in new window (reported)" href="https://glaad.org/releases/glaad-releases-anti-lgbtq-records-of-oklahoma-governor-kevin-stitt-and-state-education-superintendent-ryan-walters/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">reported</a>, “an <a aria-label="Link opens in new window (executive order)" href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2022/05/19/oklahoma-passes-bill-limiting-school-bathroom-use-gender-birth/9843619002/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">executive order</a> that defunds diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and programs in state agencies, including public colleges.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Walters has a similar record: He has <a aria-label="Link opens in new window (depicted)" href="https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/oklahoma-department-of-education-video-paints-transgender-students-as-threat-to-school-safety/article_14c16b4a-1763-11ee-8703-b7942e856e32.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">depicted</a> transgender students as a threat in schools, and approved a permanent <a aria-label="Link opens in new window (rule change)" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/oklahoma-ryan-walters-transgender-teen-school-records-rule-rcna130816" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">rule change</a> that requires schools to get state approval before altering gender markers in a student’s records. Walters has <a aria-label="Link opens in new window (advocated)" href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/education/2023/04/04/oklahoma-lgbt-books-school-library-rules-ryan-walters-gentner-drummond/70080835007/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">advocated</a> for book bans and described LGBTQ+-themed books as “pornographic material.” He also <a aria-label="Link opens in new window (appointed)" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/chaya-raichik-libs-tiktok-oklahoma-schools-committee-1234952518/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">appointed</a> Chaya Raichik, the founder of anti-LGBTQ+ social media account Libs of TikTok, to the education department’s Library Media Advisory Committee.</span></b></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/03/anti-lgbtq-hate-crimes-in-schools-have-quadrupled-in-states-with-laws-targeting-the-community/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">John Russell (LGBTQ NATION) notes</a>:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Incidents of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in schools have risen sharply in the U.S. in recent years, more than quadrupling in K–12 schools in states where Republican lawmakers have enacted legislation targeting the community.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The alarming finding comes from report published in the <em><a data-wpel-link="external" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/03/12/school-lgbtq-hate-crimes-incidents" rel="external noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Washington Post</a></em> this week based on an analysis of FBI data. The <em>Post</em> found that the nationwide average number of reported anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in schools, including those on college campuses, rose from 108 between 2015–2019 to 232 between 2021–2022, more than doubling. In states that have enacted anti-LGBTQ+ laws, the average tripled.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Even more troubling, in the 28 states where Republicans have passed laws restricting access to gender-affirming care for minors, bans on trans people accessing bathrooms and participating in sports, and “Don’t Say Gay” laws, reported incidents of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes on K–12 campuses more than quadrupled.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The hate merchants were never, ever concerned about children. If the events unfolding across the country have not made that clear, let's note blood-on-his-hands Ryan Walters statement he issued in response to the finding that Nex committed suicide:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The loss of our student in Owasso is tragic for the family, the community, and our state. The LGBTQ groups pushing a false narrative are one of the biggest threats to our democracy and I remain, more than ever, committed to never backing down from a woke mob.</span></b></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A child is dead, a child from a school he oversees and the child is dead because of his actions. Instead of taking accountability, promising to learn from this, he stays confined and imprisoned by his delusions. He's a hate merchant.</span></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-61061052148352474722024-03-12T03:18:00.000+03:002024-03-12T03:18:04.347+03:00 Israel's War on Gaza... Day 156... The LATEST UPDATES (03/10/24)<p style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px;">Israel's War on Gaza... Day 156... The LATEST UPDATES (03/10/24)</span></p><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-2854218555168059169" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 570px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> The Common Ills</p><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tTXEU3glKkw?si=2gzS0p4D05LdORGH" style="font-size: 13.2px;" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;">Gay Jeopardy with Out Loud | Episode 7</h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3601792598164709707" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LRW-Ir4qM60?si=BOBfzwp1It5RlNyD" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-12723019217209504942024-03-12T03:12:00.003+03:002024-03-12T03:12:33.563+03:00Iraq snapshot Monday, March 11, 2024<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">I</span><span style="font-size: large;">raq snapshot</span></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> The Common Ills</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Monday, March 11, 2024. While Marianne Williamson addresses real issues a host of vanity campaigns distract from real issues, Ramadan starts and there's no cease-fire, and much more.</span></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let's start in the US with electoral politics. Vying for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination are President Joe Biden and self-made Marianne Williamson. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1767159075224138147" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1767159075224138147&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F2024%2F03%2Firaq-snapshot_11.html&sessionId=4f50d8977b30f2b4a4e224594d01991e134ea767&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 0px; position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-twitter-extracted-i1710148689317824456="true"><p dir="ltr" lang="en" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s time to cut the cord with an aberrational chapter of American history, and start anew with greater democracy, greater justice and greater love. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Marianne2024?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">#Marianne2024</a> <a href="https://t.co/WqDN9WUN5n" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">pic.twitter.com/WqDN9WUN5n</a></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">— Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) <a href="https://twitter.com/marwilliamson/status/1767159075224138147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">March 11, 2024</a></span></div></blockquote></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Marianne Williamson: I want to see a new beginning in this country. I want to see us cut the chord with this aberrational chapter of history by which corporate power has transgressed, has tyrannized the American people. I want to cut the chord with that aberrational chapter and I want to begin again. I want to begin a season of repair. This has ruined peoples lives. People have died in wars that should not have been fought. Children have asthma that they should not have. There are cancer rates -- such as in your own state. There is a homeless rate. There is a highest level of poverty rate of any advanced nation that is here in the United States. There are so many examples of stress on people's bodies, stress on people's minds and hearts, stress on communities and stress on the Earth itself. This is unsustainable. And this is the urgency of this message. This cannot continue. There are too many stress points. And my contention and what I submit to you is it's going to break one way or the other. It's like some people need to read about The French Revolution here. It's going to break one way or the other. It is either going to break in the direction of a radical rededication to democracy and to justice or it's going to break in the direction of dystopia, chaos, neo authoritarianism and possibly worse. I feel as Franklin Roosevelt said during The Great Depression. He said, "It has become clear to me that we must become radical for at least a generation." But radical is not a word that we should fear. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE is radical. The radicalism that we should fear is the radicalism of the last fifty years. It is radical that we have allowed corporate forces to dominate and tyrannize the American people the way we have.</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you're not getting the importance of Marianne's campaign, you might be an idiot.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or a member of the Israeli government. For decades the Israeli government got away with persecuting Palestinians. It's probably a huge shock to Netanyahu and others in his right wing and corrupt government that people are pushing back. But that's what information does, it educates. It confronts pre-existing lies. It brings us to the point today where the world collectively watches in horror at the crimes taking place. That took years and years of work.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Need a more recent example?</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From the White House transcript of President Joe Biden's State of the Union Address last Thursday:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">With a law that I proposed and signed — and not one of your Republican buddies work- — voted for it — we finally beat Big Pharma. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">Instead of paying $400 a month or thereabouts for insulin with diabetes — and it only costs 10 bucks to make — they only get paid $35 a month now and still make a healthy profit. (Applause.)</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And I want to — and what to do next, I want to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it — everyone. (Applause.) </span></span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Senator Bernie Sanders has raised that issue for years and years. And he made it a big point of his 2020 campaign for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. He was raising the issue before that -- and continued raising it after -- he introduced the Senate bill in 2023 and US House Rep Cori Bush introduced it on the House side in 2023 -- and by hitting on this issue and raising it, he ensured Americans knew about it -- about the outrageous overpricing of insulin. Now it's been confronted. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Real candidates use their campaigns to help others.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That's why Cornel West has never seemed a real candidate. What is his big issue? It varies as often as his candidacy -- the People's Party nominee, the self-proclaimed Green Party nominee (he was never the Green Party's nominee -- though he did get 0.8% of the vote in this month's Green Party primary in Pennsylvania) and now his independent candidacy. 'Brother' Cornel is useless and made himself that way. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then there's no nuts Junior. Robert Kennedy Junior. He was going to run as a Democrat, then that was too much. So he was going to run as an independent but that proved too much work for little lazy Junior. Now he's doing everything he can to get the Libertarian Party's attention. Poor no nuts. It's not his fault that he has such tiny nads, he's a 70 year old man taking steroids so you know his elderly nuts have shrunken even further. Shrunken testicles -- is that his campaign slogan? Or just his campaign promise?</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He'll have dottered along accomplishing nothing.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I bring it up for a reason. Another party has announced their candidates. No, not No Labels. I'm referring to the laughable Socialist Equality Party. They've been running candidates since 1984. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Equality_Party_(United_States)" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">From WIKIPEDIA</a>:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The SEP has fielded <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_the_United_States" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Elections in the United States">electoral candidates</a> in the United States for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_government_in_the_United_States" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Local government in the United States">local</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_governments_of_the_United_States" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" title="State governments of the United States">state</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_government_of_the_United_States" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Federal government of the United States">federal</a> offices. SEP candidates usually run as official SEP candidates on their own <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballot_line" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Ballot line">ballot line</a>.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">No SEP candidate has yet won an election. </span></b></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What a great and proud accomplishment. All the candidates -- for local and state and federal offices and the political party has never produced -- in any election -- a winning candidate.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Well now they've announced their 2024 presidential team: Jerry White for vice president, Joseph Kishore for president.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Are you laughing yet?</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Kishore was their 2020 presidential candidate. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you're not getting how pathetic they are, Jerry White's been on this ticket how many times before? Four. Four times. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And they get 0.00% of the vote every time. In fact, you have to drop back to 1988 for them getting better than 0.00% -- then they got 0.02%.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">They've got an entire publication behind them -- WSWS -- but they can't get it together ever to do videos regularly or anything at all regularly. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So they do their vanity run and they do nothing to raise attention or awareness. They are like Junior or, for that matter, Jill Stein. The 2012 failure returned in 2016 to fail again and now wants to sink the party in 2024. If Jill Stein is the face of the modern Green Party, they might as well pack it in.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The nominee will be determined at their convention this summer. Hopefully, it will be someone like 38-year-old Jasmine Sherman and not the then-74 year old Jill Stein. A fraud, a failure and someone who left the political party deeply in debt should have stepped aside for younger blood long, long ago.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It's amazing how we rail about the age of Joe Biden or Nancy Pelosi or now dead Dianne Feinstein but we stay silent when a Jill Stein or a Susan "Medea" Benjamin should have stepped aside long ago. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nothing changes if nothing changes. And if you want to see The Geritol Set lose their complete grasp on the levers of power, you have to be willing to do your part by demanding that across the board. You can't be okay with Susan Benjamin (mis)leading Code Pink -- by standing with Proud Boys, by her recent call (lie) that Donald Trump would be better on Gaza than Joe Biden -- and not join the call for younger candidates. Susan should have moved over to Raging Grannies about a decade ago. Code Pink should be an organization for young women. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jerry and Joseph proclaim at their campaign website:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Socialist Equality Party is organizing the working class in the fight for socialism: the reorganization of all of economic life to serve social needs, not private profit. The fight for socialism is at the same time a fight against war, authoritarianism, environmental degradation and all the consequences of capitalist society.</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh, well that's something people can . . . not relate to. Nothing concrete. Nothing that says we will do _____ and this will make your life better. Just a list of large concepts to be against and no real plan for any of it.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is how they are after they make their big announcement: Unprepared.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Once again, they'll spend an election year doing nothing.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jerry's been doing nothing since he first became the presidential nominee back in 1996 -- restoring 'manhood' to the SEP after 1992 saw a woman as their presidential nominee -- their first and their last. Jerry sees to it. 'Manly' Jerry makes sure the ladies know their place in the SEP.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And not just the ladies, everyone. Remember, despite the attacks on LGBTQ+ members in this country for the last few years, SEP -- like their publication WSWS -- can't defend LGBTQ+ people -- that would be 'identity politics,' they insist. Which is why they write:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">All the great problems confronting mankind are global problems that require global solutions. The fight for socialism, therefore, requires the unity and collaboration of workers in every country on the basis of a common program and perspective.</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Can't use "humankind." No, that'd be too much for Jerry and Joseph -- they're probably still trembling from the ending of Tim Burton's BATMAN RETURNS (1992) when Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne speaks of "Good will toward men . . . and women."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"Identity politics!" screeched Joseph and Jerry as they threw their popcorn at the screen and stormed out telling everyone waiting for the next showing, "Catwoman dies!"</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">At last night's Academy Award ceremony, several individuals wore pins decrying the continued assault on Gaza including actors: Ramsy Youssef Milo Machado-Graner, Swann Arlaud, Eugene Lee Yang, nominee Mark Ruffalo; directors Ava DuVernay, nominee Misan Harriman and nominee Kaouther Ben Hania; and songwriters Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell who were nominated for -- and won for -- writing BARBIE's "What Was I Made For?"</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">THE ZONE OF INTEREST received five Academy Award nominations. Jonathan Glazer was nominated for adapted screenplay and for director. When the film won for Best International Feature Film, Jonathan gave the acceptance speech. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fQGw-N_em60?si=64mILaCb8sDlgmcK" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Gaza remains under assault. Day 157 of the assault in the wave that began in October. <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/12/the-view-from-washington-let-the-killing-in-gaza-continue/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out</a>, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." <a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">CNN has explained</a>, "The Gaza Strip is '<a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/h_6b422f2abd54d7a1e3c9c9321c1dd103" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the most dangerous place</a>' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/gaza-strip-is-the-most-dangerous-place-to-be-a-child-unicef-105520385?id=105348620" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ABC NEWS quotes</a> UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna125877" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">NBC NEWS notes</a>, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-bidens-standing-hits-new-lows-israel-hamas-war-rcna125251" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">according to the latest national NBC News poll</a>. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/conditions-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out</a>, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-genocide-lawsuit" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">condemned</a> the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2024/01/gender-alert-the-gendered-impact-of-the-crisis-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">United Nations Women noted</a>, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna142717" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">NBC NEWS notes</a>, "The death toll in Gaza has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-hamas-gaza-war-death-toll-reaches-30000-palestinians-rcna140843" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">surpassed 31,000</a> , according to the enclave's Health Ministry, including at least 25 people who have <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-hamas-war-children-starving-famine-warning-death-destruction-rcna141813" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">died of starvation</a> ." Months ago, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-11-21-2023-8db6dafbe39830c907f7c2db258c9875" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">AP noted</a>, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/7/israel_propaganda_gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained</a> on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:</span></p><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1754491459145765059" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1754491459145765059&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F2024%2F02%2Firaq-snapshot_5.html&sessionId=8f0fa1745619dea84d27d8781eb3a286b6bb0ce3&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 416px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And the area itself? <a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-gaza-israel-bombing-destruction-hamas-reconstruction-f299a28410b70ee05dd764df97d8d3a0" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Isabele Debre (AP) reveals</a>, "Israel’s <span class="LinkEnhancement"><a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war" rel="noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">military offensive</a></span> has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells." <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/world/gaza-destruction-ukraine-iraq-vietnam-2776016" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports</a>, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/gaza-strip-map-attacks-damage/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">new study of satellite imagery</a> by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of <a href="https://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-intolerable-humanitarian-situation-gaza-cannot-continue" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">45 per cent of housing</a> destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War." </span></div></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, instead of demanding Israel stop blocking food from getting it, Joe Biden wants to build a floating aid landing. Saturday saw a flurry of reporting. <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/israel-hamas/2024/03/09/israel-hamas-war-live-news-updates/72909715007/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Eduardo Cuevas (USA TODAY) reported</a>, "U.S. military personnel are scrambling to build a temporary floating dock off Gaza to help distribute food and other aid to Palestinians by way of the sea, a new route for supplies after months of Israel's intense restrictions on aid delivered by land. President Joe Biden announced the assistance to Gaza during his <a class="gnt_ar_b_a" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/03/07/state-of-the-union-2024-transcript/72890173007/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">State of the Union</a> Thursday night, as Army personnel were already pulling plans and equipment together." <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2024/03/08/1000-us-troops-deploying-to-build-offshore-port-for-gaza-aid/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Meghann Myers (MILITARY TIMES) added</a>, "Over the next 60 days, roughly 1,000 troops will deploy to the Mediterranean Sea to build a floating platform where cargo ships can offload aid onto smaller military vessels, which will transfer them to a causeway attached to the beach, where trucks can pick it up and distribute it within Gaza, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters." And <span class="sc-1c2a0c78-5 FUGBS" data-testid="byline-name"><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68526503" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Tiffany Wertheimer (</a></span><span class="sc-1c2a0c78-6 bgeruN" data-testid="byline-role"><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68526503" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">BBC News) noted</a>, "</span>The support ship, General Frank S Besson, set sail from a military base in the state of Virginia on Saturday." NBC NEWS has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/new-efforts-underway-to-deliver-food-aid-to-gaza-206042693768" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">video of the operation here</a>. Yet here it is Monday and? <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna142717" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">NBC NEWS reports</a>, "A U.S. army vessel carrying equipment to build a pier off the Palestinian enclave's coast has left for the Mediterranean, but the first ship carrying 200 tons of food aid remains docked in Cyprus. Aid agencies have criticized the plan for a maritime humanitarian corridor, saying it falls far short of meeting the needs of Gaza's population of 2.2 million." <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/9/israels-war-on-gaza-live-ceasefire-by-ramadan-looking-tough-biden-says" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ALJAZEERA reports</a>, "The executive director of the US arm of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders, Avril Benoit, in a statement criticised the US plan as a 'glaring distraction from the real problem: Israel’s indiscriminate and disproportionate military campaign and punishing siege'."</span></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Last night, the White House released the following statement from Joe Biden:</span></p><section class="body-content"><div class="container"><div class="row"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Tonight -- as the new crescent moon marks the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan -- Jill and I extend our best wishes and prayers to Muslims across our country and around the world.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The sacred month is a time for reflection and renewal. This year, it comes at a moment of immense pain. The war in Gaza has inflicted terrible suffering on the Palestinian people. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them civilians, including thousands of children. Some are family members of American Muslims, who are deeply grieving their lost loved ones today. Nearly two million Palestinians have been displaced by the war; many are in urgent need of food, water, medicine, and shelter. As Muslims gather around the world over the coming days and weeks to break their fast, the suffering of the Palestinian people will be front of mind for many. It is front of mind for me.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The United States will continue to lead international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza by land, air, and sea. Earlier this week, I directed our military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier on the coast of Gaza that can receive large shipments of aid. We are carrying out airdrops of aid, in coordination with our international partners, including Jordan. And we’ll continue to work with Israel to expand deliveries by land, insisting that it facilitate more routes and open more crossings to get more aid to more people.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">While we get more life-saving aid to Gaza, the United States will continue working non-stop to establish an immediate and sustained ceasefire for at least six weeks as part of a deal that releases hostages. And we will continue building toward a long-term future of stability, security, and peace. That includes a two-state solution to ensure Palestinians and Israelis share equal measures of freedom, dignity, security, and prosperity. That is the only path toward an enduring peace.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Here at home, we have seen an appalling resurgence of hate and violence toward Muslim Americans. Islamophobia has absolutely no place in the United States, a country founded on freedom of worship and built on the contributions of immigrants, including Muslim immigrants. My Administration is developing the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Related Forms of Bias and Discrimination, to take on hate against Muslim, Sikh, South Asian, and Arab American communities, wherever it occurs. No one should ever fear being targeted at school, at work, on the street, or in their community because of their background or beliefs.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">To Muslims across our country, please know that you are deeply valued members of our American family. To those who are grieving during this time of war, I hear you, I see you, and I pray you find solace in your faith, family, and community. And to all who are marking the beginning of Ramadan tonight, I wish you a safe, healthy, and blessed month. <em>Ramadan kareem. </em></span></b></p><p class="has-text-align-center" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></b></p></div></div></section></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/11/israels-war-on-gaza-live-ramadan-begins-with-no-end-to-israels-siege" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ALJAZEERA's Maram Humaid reports</a>:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims, with people decorating their homes, buying things for special Ramadan dishes, and planning gatherings with family and friends to break their fast together.</span></b></div><div class="card-live__content" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><div class="wysiwyg-content"><div class="wysiwyg wysiwyg--all-content css-1kw180w" id="wysiwyg"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">But in Deir el-Balah, as Israeli bombing continues and the list of civilians being killed gets longer by the day, there is little to indicate that the festivities are on the doorstep.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“This year’s Ramadan is starkly different,” said Atia Harb, 38, who had some old Ramadan decorations laid out in his market stall and was playing festive tunes, trying his best to attract customers despite the grim conditions.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“There is non-stop noise of bombs and racing ambulances.”</span></b></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div></div></div></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-16996618077459556122024-03-08T19:08:00.000+03:002024-03-08T19:08:11.206+03:00 Unprecedented War Crimes: Eyewitness Truth in Gaza Hospitals w/ Dr. Thaer Ahmad<p style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px;">Unprecedented War Crimes: Eyewitness Truth in Gaza Hospitals w/ Dr. Thaer Ahmad</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/03/unprecedented-war-crimes-eyewitness.html" target="_blank">The Common Ills</a></span></span></p><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6664822287814514265" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/REnN_dLtrLA?si=e7oBt7HV5Xtfuceu" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;">Biden Orders US Military To Build Port In Gaza For Humanitarian Aid Shipments</h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-4094071433562206743" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oBr0r2k3ntw?si=hyE0bOVH8ME87sCm" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;">Shockingly Evil Florida Republican Plan EXPOSED | The Kyle Kulinski Show</h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3436621558775593966" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DZCdLQwHt0c?si=4gCFBu5mgLZw8RQE" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-57121641794778224102024-03-08T18:52:00.003+03:002024-03-08T18:52:49.687+03:00Iraq snapshot Friday, March 8, 2024. <p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/03/iraq-snapshot_8.html" style="color: #cc6611; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;">Iraq snapshot</a></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Common Ills</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Friday, March 8, 2024. Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union Address, Gaza remains his biggest problem, while he scored some successes last night and delivered the remarks perfectly he has still not seriously addressed Gaza, though the media hasn't noted it, Super Tuesday wasn't a bad day for Marianne Williamson, and much more.</span></p><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the US last night, President Joe Biden delivered the Constitutionally mandated State of the Union Address. How was it?</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For Joe, pretty damn good.</div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It could have been the night he was destroyed. Some might feel it should have been. <a href="https://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/03/iraq-snapshot_01094844515.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Yesterday's snapshot</a> was up about a half hour before the first call came in -- from a DNC friend -- asking, "What the hell are you talking about?" I explained the FOX NEWS headline. We walked it through and it would have been the end of Joe's chances at re-election. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Fortunately for Joe Biden, the GOP is a bunch of idiotic malcontents. They had the way to take him down last night. They were too interested in performative and not in action.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Joe has a month or two where he can end the assault on Gaza (and should end it today) but if not don't be surprised if even idiots like the current make up of the Republican Party stumble upon to a victory strategy.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How can Joe demand a cease-fire, how can he make it happen?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That's what I heard over and over in the calls that followed.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize we were all pretending we still had our virginity.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Take Netanyahu out. That doesn't mean murder. That means we have information, we have a spy network, he's a shady character already facing corruption chares in his own country. He grows increasinly unpopular. Political murders are no longer done with bullets, they're done with gossip.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tut-tuting from the newly chaste was the response -- to which I replied, "So you don't want to be part of my dinners this month?" That's right. That's where I go to DC and drop gossip.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For example?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You: A Republican star in Congress. So thrilled and focused on your future. Me? The celebrity you bothered at a wedding back when you were a young man. The celebrity your boyfriend bothered. Although I felt sorry for him because he was a little younger than you and I got the distinct impression that you affair began while he was underage. Donna the disgusting women who kept trying to get you in pictures with me. I meet millions of people. The joke is I know everyone. I don't. And I don't remember everyone. But too bad for you, you made it into a recent snapshot and there I was just spit balling, doing a little parody of you in the snapshot, giving you a home town in the snapshot and the person I'm dictating the snapshot to asks for a pause and he looks it up and that is your small town. How did I know it? That's when it all comes rushing back to me. And I have the photos. I don't throw out photos. I put them in my journals. I was there for a friend's wedding And you were there with your fifty-something hag and your boyfriend. And I have the pictures. I'll be dining out with various politicians over the next few weeks explaining who you really are when you're not verbally attacking LGBTQ+ people. Every time you speak to attack them, you're going to know that your colleagues know your full of crap and, most importantly, they're going to conclude -- like I have -- that your young life affair continues to this day since your lover is still around though you pass him off as something other than your lover of several decades. I like doing this. It tends to make the target a little jumpy, tends to hem them in and make them watch their vile little mouths a little more closely. Now at some point, this always happens, someone whispers to the press. That's not my problem. I didn't whisper to the press. I just made sure everyone knew that the man screeching about gay people was in fact a gay man himself -- despite the wife. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That's what I like to do.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I use the truth. (I used a lie once, for the Iraq War, I've told this story here before, we needed to remove a newspaper's support for Bully Boy Bush and I said we could do it in one dinner. On a dare, I proved it. But, yes, I did lie then. Again, we've talked about that before. The only time I've used a lie but we needed to strip him of support on the Iraq War and when I said how it could be done and several Dem heavyweights scoffed it became, "Oh, you think you know better than me? Let me show you how it's done." It took one dinner only. The paper immediately dropped its support for Bully Boy Bush and his illegal war.) </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So the point is, I don't want to hear anymore excuses from or for the White House. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The assault needs to end. Netanyahu is in a weak position. Confront him with possible exposure over whatever US spy agencies have on him (I have no idea what they have him on but I know they've got stuff).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The US government regularly pressures leaders in Haiti to step down, they can manage to twist Netanyahu's crooked wrist.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And if they don't? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republicans these days are very stupid but even they are eventually going to catch on with how to end Joe's political career. He dodged a bullet last night. I don't think he'll be that lucky again.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Could be wrong, though. Wouldn't have thought Marjorie Taylor Greene would show up to the State of the Union looking like the butchest lesbian at a tailgate party but there she was last night working some intense LOVE LIES BLEEDING mood.. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Making a spectacle out of herself. The way the woman in Texas did. That's the loser that <a href="http://likemariasaidpaz.blogspot.com/2024/03/dean-phillips-and-tim-tebow.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Elaine was writing about this week</a>. I was able to call that race a few weeks ago because it was so obvious. You're a conservative woman and you're hating a man and forgetting the place you try to consign women to in your conservative world.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm a feminist. I believe women can do anything.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Marjorie's not a feminist and she is not for women's rights and does not believe in equality. Her core audience supports her on that. So when 'the little woman' forgets her place in public and starts booing and hissing a man, it doesn't always play the way they think. She was the fat girl getting laughs but now the pep rally's over and she has to deal with the fact that none of the guys like her or find her attractive in any manner. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Watching her act that way in public -- even forgetting that embarrassing outfit -- you really have to marvel over the self-denial of Marjorie Taylor Greene that allows her to think she can court the crowd she does while acting the way she does.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jill Dutton thought just like Marjorie. She thought she was coming on 'ballsy' or something. Nope. She just looked like a woman attacking -- and, yes, nagging -- a man (Brent Money). These anti-women women don't seem to grasp that their natural constituency expects them to be 'respectful' of men and to 'know their place.' They get out there in the real world and want to act like fully empowered people. But their political statements and stances make that impossible for them to do. Jill came off like the nightmare image of every conservative man and she thought that was going to deliver her votes?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here's Paul Rudnick's take on the the State of the Union Address.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1765973060081836415" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1765973060081836415&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F&sessionId=dfc9ea376eb655335eee57d0a20b635172c7b0b1&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 697px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Joe promised ROE V WADE would be restored -- most likely by codifying it -- if he were elected. That's a promise he better be held to. Barack Obama promised codifying ROE would be the first thing he did if elected president but he left the White House after eight years of being president without ever having even attempted to codify it. Joe gave a promise that the cost of a month's insulin would be brought down to thirty-something dollars a month. His speech had strong moments (and his delivery of it was perfection). <a href="https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/03/bidens-state-of-the-union-tells-trans-americans-i-have-your-back/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Daniel Villareal (LGBTQ NATION) reports</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address told transgender Americans, “I have your back.” He also spoke against book-banning and “erasing history,” and told Congress to pass the Equality Act, legislation that would enshrine LGBTQ+ civil rights into federal law.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“Stop denying another core value of America our diversity across American life,” Biden said, about midway through his speech. “Banning books — it’s wrong! Instead of erasing history, let’s make history! I want to protect other fundamental rights! Pass the Equality Act, and my message to transgender Americans: I have your back!”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">His speech starkly contrasted the American “core values” of “honesty, decency, dignity, [and] equality” with that of “resentment, revenge, and retribution” held by “some other people my age,” a veiled reference to former President Donald Trump (whom he never mentioned by name).</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“I know the American story,” Biden said. “Again and again, I’ve seen the contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of our nation: between those who want to pull America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today,” he noted. Then, after mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s continued invasion of Ukraine — something Putin has justified with anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry — Biden then mentioned the January 6, 2001 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol carried out by Trump’s followers.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“Insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger at the throat of American democracy,” Biden said. “We all saw with our own eyes these insurrectionists were not patriots. They had come to stop the peaceful transfer of power and to overturn the will of the people. “</span></b></p><div class="adb-ln-inarticle" data-adbridg-ad-class-ctr="1" data-adbridg-ad-class-loaded="adb-ln-inarticle" data-adbridg-phase="detected@793ms;vp_no_size@793ms" id="adbridg_ad_adblninarticle_1"></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“January 6th and the lies about the 2020 election, and the plots to steal the election, posed the gravest threat to our democracy since the Civil War,” Biden continued. “But they failed. America stood strong and democracy prevailed.”</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/tlaib-bush-raise-stop-sending-bombs-signs-as-biden-pledges-more-aid-for-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jake Johnson (COMMON DREAMS) offers</a> this take on SOTU address:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Progressive Reps. <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/rashida-tlaib" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Rashida Tlaib</a> and <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/cori-bush" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Cori Bush</a> raised signs calling on President Joe Biden to "stop sending bombs" to the Israeli military as he pledged during his State of the Union address Thursday night to provide more humanitarian aid to Gazans and decried the war's grisly death toll.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Gaza</a> combined. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of whom are not Hamas," Biden said. "Thousands and thousands of innocents, women and children. Girls and boys also orphaned. Nearly two million more Palestinians under bombardment or displacement."</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">As expected, Biden announced that the U.S. military will construct a temporary port on Gaza's coast to facilitate the delivery of food, water, medicine, and other humanitarian assistance as Israel obstructs aid shipments on the ground, fueling the spread of malnutrition and disease. Critics blasted the plan as a <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/state-of-the-union-gaza-port" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">PR stunt</a> that wouldn't do nearly enough to relieve one of the worst humanitarian emergencies in modern history.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"A U.S. port delivering meager amounts of humanitarian aid and empty rhetoric mean nothing when they are delivered alongside U.S. bombs," <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://twitter.com/JvpAction/status/1765945651714458111" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a> Jewish Voice for Peace Action late Thursday.<br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The president also called for a six-week cease-fire—far from the "lasting cease-fire" that Tlaib and Bush demanded during Biden's speech.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"The only cease-fire that is morally acceptable is a lasting cease-fire," Bush <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://twitter.com/RepCori/status/1765942233214206144" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">wrote</a> on social media. "It is inhumane to pause the violence for six weeks and then continue sending bombs right after."</span></b></p></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">While decrying the <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.dci-palestine.org/17_palestinian_children_starve_to_death_in_gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">immense suffering</a> in Gaza as "heartbreaking," Biden did not acknowledge the critical role that U.S. weapons have played in Israel's monthslong assault. Since the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, the Biden administration has <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-weapons-sales-israel" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">quietly approved</a> more than 100 separate arms sales to the Israeli government, which has used American weaponry to <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/amnesty-us-munitions-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">massacre civilians</a>.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Ahead of Biden's speech, hundreds of activists demanding an arms embargo on Israel blocked the route of the president's motorcade as he traveled to the U.S. Capitol.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gaza is not going away and needs to be addressed. Joe's speech succeeded because the GOP is so damn stupid and because he had certain things he needed to convey and did so. But Gaza is not going away. And <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna142399" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">this summary sentence from NBC NEWS highlights</a> why Joe can't sell his actions on Gaza to the American people, "Biden also called for an immediate, temporary cease-fire in Israel's war with Hamas and pointed to hostages' families in attendance at the speech, but hopes for a new truce deal by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan have faded after no breakthrough in the talks in Egypt." He's calling for an immediate, temporary cease-fire. It's a pause, not a cease-fire, stop lying to us.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/03/07/hawaii-democratic-caucus-results-biden-uncommitted/72876598007/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jeremy Yurow (USA TODAY) reports</a>:</span></div><div class="gnt_ar_by"><p class="gnt_ar_b_p" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a class="gnt_ar_b_a" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/03/07/joe-biden-hawaii-democratic-presidential-caucuses/72868934007/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">President Joe Biden cruised to victory in Hawaii’s presidential caucus</a> on Wednesday, receiving 66% of the vote with 99% reporting. However, just over 1,500 residents cast ballots, and “uncommitted” received 29.1% of the vote, the highest percentage in any statewide contest thus far.</span></b></p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">While Hawaii Democrats acknowledged that Biden would almost certainly win the party’s nomination, the select handful of voters who took to the polls described the contest as a “referendum.”</span></b></p></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/uncommitted-democratic-voting-state-list" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">IN THESE TIMES notes</a> that March 12th will see the state of Washington vote in their primary and that "uncommitted" is on the ballot as it will be for the Democrats Abroad.</span></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Hawaii on Wednesday, Marianne got 3.2% of the votes. She could be relaxing by the pool. She knows she's not going to win. She didn't get back in to win, she got back in to make sure that certain issues are being raised. </span></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_Fe69XdReCc?si=jocbGnso9mFASoZt" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div></span><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Marianne Williamson: The possibilities are enormous. We have everything we need in this country. The possibilities are endless. We have the people and the best practices and the projects. People who know how to do organic and regenerative farming, who know how to reclaim the Earth, who know how to reclaim our food, who know how to reclaim our land, who know how to repair us after the ravages of 50 years of corporate dominance in which the very thought that short term corporate profits should take precedence over our safety, our health and our well being, that those economic ideas -- soulless as they are -- should take precedence over the will of the people. To the point that in the last 50 years there has been a transfer of wealth to the tune of fifty-trillion dollars. And it has ravaged American middle class. As soon as they started with this 'trickle down' economic paradigm and as soon as CITIZENS UNITED Supreme Court decision, gave those corporate interests the power to basically buy and sell and turn Washington into a system of legalized bribery. All that money was transferred into the hands of 1% of Americans. At this point, that level of economic injustice has ravaged us. It has ravaged our middle class. It has ravaged our environment. It has put carcinogens in our food, toxins in our air. We don't have universal healthcare like every other advanced democracy does because of the insurance companies. Over a million people in the United States, ration their insulin. You don't have that in any other advanced democracy because they have universal healthcare. But all of that because of the greed of the pharmaceutical companies. Look what has happened to Iowa because of the greed of Big Agriculture and big food companies and big banks. I don't need to tell you that there is no state in this country that is not experiencing the ravages of an old way of doing things and the possibilities of something new.</b> </span></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It's amazing that she's not news to the media. In Virginia this week? She got 7.8% of the vote. Do you realize how many Republicans who never got anywhere near that much have been shoved down our throats by the media? In Utah this week, she got 5.2% of the vote. 4.3% in Vermont, 4.5% in Texas, 9.12% in Oklahoma, 1.4% in Minnesota, 3.2% in Massachusetts, 2.9% in Colorado, 3.4% in California, 4.8% in Arkansas -- how is this not news?</span></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It's not just better than she did in 2020 on Super Tuesday, it's better than Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, the repellant Tulsi Gabbard and others did in 2020 on Super Tuesday. </span></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hopefully, poli sci students are paying attention -- especially graduate students because this is a good topic for political science journals. This weekend, Marianne will be in Atlanta:</span></div><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><div class="padbottom"><h3 style="margin: 0px; position: relative;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Atlanta, GA</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://events.marianne2024.com/eventid_20240309" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">[FREE] Come hear Marianne in Atlanta!</a></div></span></h3><b><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Poppins;">When: Saturday, March 9 at 5:00 pm EST</span></span></b></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Poppins;">Where: <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=1201+West+Peachtree+St.+NW%2C+Atlanta%2C+GA+30309%2C+United+States" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Joie De Vivre Counseling & Therapy, Calcutta Conference Room (get directions)</a></span></span></b></div></span></b><div class="padtop" style="text-align: left;"><a class="submit-link" href="https://events.marianne2024.com/eventid_20240309" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Learn More</span></b></a></div></div></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></span><div class="padbottom"><h3 style="margin: 0px; position: relative;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Atlanta, GA</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://events.marianne2024.com/eventid_20240310" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">[FREE] Join Marianne in Atlanta at Hillside International Truth Center!</a></div></span></h3><b><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Poppins;">When: Sunday, March 10 at 10:00 am EDT</span></span></b></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Poppins;">Where: <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=2450+Cascade+Road%2C+Atlanta%2C+GA+30311%2C+United+States" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Hillside International Truth Center (get directions)</a></span></span></b></div></span></b><div class="padtop" style="text-align: left;"><a class="submit-link" href="https://events.marianne2024.com/eventid_20240310" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Learn More</span></b></a></div></div></li><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Dropping back to <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/7/josh_paul_israel_gaza_war" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">yesterday's DEMOCRACY NOW!</a></span></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="gnt_ar_by"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: This is <em>Democracy Now!</em>, democracynow.org, <em>The War and Peace Report</em>. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">NERMEEN</span> <span class="caps">SHAIKH</span>: Over the past few weeks, the Biden administration has been publicly voicing reservations over the mounting death toll in Gaza, calling on Israel to protect civilians and allow in humanitarian aid. But behind the scenes, the Biden administration has quietly approved and delivered more than 100 separate weapons sales to Israel over the last five months, amounting to thousands of precision-guided munitions, small-diameter bombs, bunker busters and other lethal aid, this according to a new <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/06/us-weapons-israel-gaza/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">investigation</a> by <em>The Washington Post</em>.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Only two approved foreign military sales to Israel have been made public since the launch of Israel’s assault on October 7th, amounting to over $250 million worth of tank shells and ammunition, which the administration authorized using emergency authority to bypass Congress. But in the case of the hundred other weapons sales, known as Foreign Military Sales, the arms transfers were made without any public debate, because each fell under a specific dollar amount that requires the executive branch to individually notify Congress.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">For more, we’re joined by Josh Paul, a veteran State Department official who worked on arms deals and resigned in protest of a push to increase arms sales to Israel amidst its assault on Gaza. Josh Paul is the former director of congressional and public affairs for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs in the State Department, where he worked for 11 years. He’s now a nonresident at <span class="caps">DAWN</span> — that’s Democracy for the Arab World Now. He’s joining us from New Haven, Connecticut.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Josh, welcome back to <em>Democracy Now!</em> Can you talk about the significance of this <em>Washington Post</em> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/06/us-weapons-israel-gaza/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">exposé</a>, what we’ve learned about the U.S. flooding Israel with weapons as President Biden talks about saying he’s putting pressure on Israel to let food aid in?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JOSH</span> <span class="caps">PAUL</span>: Thank you, and thank you for having me.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I think what we’ve learned from this story shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. It is that the president continues to facilitate the flow of arms to Israel despite a change in tone. You know, we have certainly heard the administration call for more humanitarian assistance, for, you know, at least a temporary ceasefire. But at the same time, it continues to provide the arms that enable Israel to continue its operations. So, I think that’s pretty consistent, frankly, with what the White House has said, including John Kirby from the podium this week, that this remains U.S. policy.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I think many of your viewers may be shocked to hear that there have been a hundred sales in the last few months since October 7th. But here, I don’t think anyone in the State Department will be particularly moved by this story. Much of the process does, unfortunately, move like a production line when it comes to cases that do not require, under law, congressional notification. So what we really have here is both a policy problem but also a lack of transparency that is built into the system, and which can only be remedied by a change in law.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">NERMEEN</span> <span class="caps">SHAIKH</span>: Well, let’s go to what national security communications adviser John Kirby said. He was questioned at the White House by the journalist Andrew Feinberg, a correspondent for <em>The Independent</em> in Britain.</span></b></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">ANDREW</span> <span class="caps">FEINBERG</span>: What is preventing the president from communicating to the Israeli government that if they don’t allow aid, we will not continue supplying weapons? Why is that not a fair trade: no aid, no bombs?</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JOHN</span> <span class="caps">KIRBY</span>: Because the president still believes that it’s important for Israel to have what it needs to defend itself against a still viable Hamas threat. Maybe some people have forgotten what happened on the 7th of October, but President Biden has not.</span></b></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">NERMEEN</span> <span class="caps">SHAIKH</span>: So, Josh Paul, your response, both to the question and to Kirby’s response?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JOSH</span> <span class="caps">PAUL</span>: I mean, there you have it. And I think the question could also have noted that under U.S. law, under Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act, it is actually illegal to provide military assistance to a country that is restricting U.S.-funded humanitarian assistance. And we know that this is the case with Israel, because Jake Sullivan himself, the national security adviser, has said that this is a problem, and, of course, we would not be airdropping aid into Gaza, were we leaning on Israel to open the humanitarian aid routes. So, you know, I think there is a clear case to be made here that we are not in accordance with U.S. law, certainly out of step, I think, with international law. And at the same time, the Biden administration position remains: We will continue to provide arms to Israel, whatever it requests and requires.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">NERMEEN</span> <span class="caps">SHAIKH</span>: Well, if you could explain, Josh: How much does this differ from the procedure that’s been in place regarding U.S. arms transfers to Ukraine? I mean, in this case, as we’ve said, only two approved foreign military sales to Israel have been made public. What about to Ukraine?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JOSH</span> <span class="caps">PAUL</span>: Yeah. So, for the most part, the procedures and processes through which we provide arms to Israel versus Ukraine are different. Ukraine requires an authorization under presidential drawdown authority, as well as new and novel funding to, for example, Department of Defense’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Those have expired. We are out of, essentially, both of those. And so, without additional funding, we will not be able to provide arms to Ukraine.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Israel, on the other hand, is perfectly capable of using its own money to procure weapons through the Foreign Military Sales system, through the direct promotional sales system, which, by the way, <em>The Washington Post</em> didn’t touch on. And it’s quite possible that there’s a hundred more sales through that other channel to Israel that we don’t know about. And, of course, you know, we are providing Israel with military ground assistance, which it can also tap into and knows that it will be able to tap into, because it has a 10-year commitment from us to continue providing billions of dollars a year, unlike Ukraine. So it’s a slightly different situation and much easier, I think, for Israel to continue to receive weapons even in the absence of a supplemental, unlike Ukraine.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Democratic Colorado Congressmember Jason Crow told <em>The Washington Post</em> the Biden administration should apply, quote, “existing standards” stipulating that the United States, quote, “shouldn’t transfer arms or equipment to places where it’s reasonably likely that those will be used to inflict civilian casualties, or to harm civilian infrastructure.” Crow, a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the <em>Post</em>, “I am concerned that the widespread use of artillery and air power in Gaza — and the resulting level of civilian casualties — is both a strategic and moral error.” Now, Crow is not usually a dove on all of these issues, but it’s very interesting to see him talk about his response, his critical response to the U.S. when it comes to Israel.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And this is particularly interesting on the day of President Biden’s State of the Union address tonight. We don’t know exactly what he’s going to say. We know there are a number of Americans who have family members who are being held hostage in Gaza. We don’t know if the Biden family or the administration will be inviting any Palestinians, and that Biden wanted to be able to announce a ceasefire tonight, which is clear, it looks like, will not be happening. But your response to all of this and how these weapons sales, do you feel, perpetuate the war?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JOSH</span> <span class="caps">PAUL</span>: Yeah, I mean, I think that people who have served in the military or worked in the Middle East, people like Representative Crow, also, frankly, like Secretary of Defense Austin, understand that what Israel is doing is not going to lead to success on Israel’s own terms, as Secretary of Defense Austin has said. It will lead to strategic failure. And that is why I think the same is true on the Israeli side, where you have former heads of Mossad, for example, saying that this is a dead-end road, that what they are doing is damaging to their own interests.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">But I think that is separate from the political question here. And the political question is one in which we have a president and, you know, a set of policies and, frankly, a Congress, as well, for the most part, that remains set on this course, regardless of the harm it is doing to Israeli security and to American global interests and, of course, to so many Palestinians.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Josh Paul, you were in the State Department for 11 years, and you were involved with these kind of arms deals. You resigned in protest of a push to increase arms to Israel. But I wanted to ask you: How much does protest on the ground affect what’s going on in the State Department, in the White House? How much do you hear it? I mean, there is a massive amount of protest in the United States. And no matter who wants to insulate Biden from it, almost everywhere he goes he is hearing the chants of “ceasefire.” I mean, tonight, one of his guests will be the <span class="caps">UAW</span> President Shawn Fain. The <span class="caps">UAW</span> was one of the early unions to call for a ceasefire. How much does it matter?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JOSH</span> <span class="caps">PAUL</span>: I think protest is very important, I think particularly protest when it manifests at the ballot box, in terms of, for example, the “uncommitted” vote or the “other” vote that we have seen in states and will continue, I hope, to see in the coming days, because that signals to the Biden administration that they really have a political problem here. And that is really one of the only means we have of getting this administration to change course in the time that it has left. So I think that is very important. I think it’s most important when it manifests directly in the political process, and when it comes with organization. I think there is a momentum around this issue now, and we have to maintain that momentum for the, frankly, months and years ahead, because this is not going to be a long-term pole to shift where American policy is and has been for many years.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Finally, you were inside for years the State Department. Now that you’ve resigned — and we sort of ask you this every time since then — how many people inside the administration have reached out to you? Do you feel that that’s increasing? And how many times do they tell you that they’ve been discussing this with Biden or the inner circle of Biden, and what their views on this are? I mean, Biden was no fan of Netanyahu from the beginning. And so, yet he is embracing him now. What they are saying?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JOSH</span> <span class="caps">PAUL</span>: Yeah, I mean, I’m still hearing from people I had not heard from previously, to be clear, who are saying that, you know, “This is not working. I feel sick to my stomach of being involved in this. And, you know, I’m trying to make changes, and it’s just not working.” I had several of those conversations just in the last week with people I’ve not spoken to before on this issue. So I think the internal pressure, the internal disgust, frankly, is still there.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">But I think, you know, the White House and the president have surrounded the president with, you know, a council of advisers who are, for the most part, like-minded with him. And I don’t know how much of that dissent is actually breaking through, and, even if it did, how much it would change the president’s decision-making. I think he is where he is. And, you know, absent significant political pressure, that is not going to change, unfortunately.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Josh Paul, we want to thank you for being with us, veteran State Department official, worked on arms deals, resigned in protest of a push to increase arms sales to Israel and its siege on Gaza. He’s the former director of congressional and public affairs for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs in the State Department, where he worked for 11 years, now a nonresident fellow with <span class="caps">DAWN</span> — that’s Democracy for the Arab World Now.</span></b></p></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eC1QJRNnWmE?si=1pW6v1SGzrLNr2j7" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /></span></div><div class="gnt_ar_by" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="gnt_ar_by"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gaza remains under assault. Day 154 of the assault in the wave that began in October. <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/12/the-view-from-washington-let-the-killing-in-gaza-continue/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out</a>, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." <a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">CNN has explained</a>, "The Gaza Strip is '<a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/h_6b422f2abd54d7a1e3c9c9321c1dd103" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the most dangerous place</a>' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/gaza-strip-is-the-most-dangerous-place-to-be-a-child-unicef-105520385?id=105348620" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ABC NEWS quotes</a> UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna125877" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">NBC NEWS notes</a>, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-bidens-standing-hits-new-lows-israel-hamas-war-rcna125251" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">according to the latest national NBC News poll</a>. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/conditions-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out</a>, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-genocide-lawsuit" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">condemned</a> the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2024/01/gender-alert-the-gendered-impact-of-the-crisis-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">United Nations Women noted</a>, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/day-154--30-800-martyrs--over-72-000-wounded--72--children-a" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ALMAYADEEN notes</a>, "The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reported on Friday that 30,878 Palestinians have been killed and 72,402 wounded by the Israeli occupation as the genocide enters its 154th day." Months ago, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-11-21-2023-8db6dafbe39830c907f7c2db258c9875" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">AP noted</a>, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/7/israel_propaganda_gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained</a> on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:</span></div><div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1754491459145765059" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1754491459145765059&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F2024%2F02%2Firaq-snapshot_5.html&sessionId=8f0fa1745619dea84d27d8781eb3a286b6bb0ce3&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 416px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And the area itself? <a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-gaza-israel-bombing-destruction-hamas-reconstruction-f299a28410b70ee05dd764df97d8d3a0" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Isabele Debre (AP) reveals</a>, "Israel’s <span class="LinkEnhancement"><a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war" rel="noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">military offensive</a></span> has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells." <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/world/gaza-destruction-ukraine-iraq-vietnam-2776016" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports</a>, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/gaza-strip-map-attacks-damage/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">new study of satellite imagery</a> by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of <a href="https://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-intolerable-humanitarian-situation-gaza-cannot-continue" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">45 per cent of housing</a> destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War." <br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Today is International Women's Day. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-03-08-24/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">CNN's Celine Alkhaldi and Ibrahim Dahman report</a>:</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="sc-bdVaJa post-content-rendered render-stellar-contentstyles__Content-sc-9v7nwy-0 erzhuK"><p class="sc-gZMcBi render-stellar-contentstyles__Paragraph-sc-9v7nwy-2 dCwndB" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">At least 9,000 women have been killed in Gaza since October 7, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said in a statement Friday.</span></b></p><p class="sc-gZMcBi render-stellar-contentstyles__Paragraph-sc-9v7nwy-2 dCwndB" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Here's what else the statement said about the conditions of women in Gaza:</span></b></p><div class="sc-dnqmqq render-stellar-contentstyles__List-sc-9v7nwy-1 eUPcFX"><ul class="cnn_rich_text" style="line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">About 60,000 pregnant women in the Gaza Strip suffer from "malnutrition, dehydration, and lack of appropriate health care"</span></b></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">About 5,000 pregnant women in the Gaza Strip give birth every month in "harsh, unsafe, and unhealthy conditions"</span></b></li></ul></div><p class="sc-gZMcBi render-stellar-contentstyles__Paragraph-sc-9v7nwy-2 dCwndB" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The UN's Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is the main aid agency in Gaza, also posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter), saying an average of 63 women are killed in the enclave per day. "On #InternationalWomensDay, the women in #Gaza continue to endure the consequences of this brutal war," it said.</span></b></p><p class="sc-gZMcBi render-stellar-contentstyles__Paragraph-sc-9v7nwy-2 dCwndB" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">UNRWA's Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said more work is required to support and protect women. "An immediate ceasefire is the minimum," he wrote.</span></b></p></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-15033551920404418282024-03-05T10:50:00.002+03:002024-03-05T10:50:44.448+03:00Israel’s Skin Bank Raises Ethical Concerns on Organ Consent<h2 itemprop="headline" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serifl; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 35px; margin: 10px 15px 13px 22px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Israel’s Skin Bank Raises Ethical Concerns on Organ Consent</span></h2><div class="author" style="background-color: #ebebeb; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">By <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/author/jordan-news" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by Jordan News">Jordan News</a></span></div><div class="grDate" style="background-color: #ebebeb; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Global Research, February 22, 2024</span></div><div class="sourceDate" style="background-color: #ebebeb; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.jordannews.jo/Section-20/Middle-East/Israel-s-skin-bank-raises-ethical-concerns-on-organ-consent-32381" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Jordan News</a> 17 November 2023</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/organ-theft-israel-400x225.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="400" height="225" src="https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/organ-theft-israel-400x225.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Israel possesses the world’s largest skin bank, a medical facility that stores human skin for later use in treating burns and skin cancers. This bank was established in 1986 under the supervision of the military medical sector of the occupying army, which provides its services internationally, especially to requests from Western countries.</span></em></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Israeli occupation authorities been stealing organs from the bodies of dead Palestinian, a heinous criminal practice that has been revealed in several reports and through testimonies of Israeli doctors who participated in this gruesome practice, violating professional ethics and constituting a crime against humanity, Al-Ghad reported.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In contrast, this Israeli bank differs from other banks worldwide in that its supply of these vital organs does not come solely from voluntary donors. Instead, documented cases of stealing skin from the bodies of Palestinians have been recorded, individuals whose organs are also stolen.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is compelling evidence of Israelis engaging in trafficking these stolen organs, making the entity the largest market for organs in the Middle East.</span></span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serifl; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="sideTitle0" style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Where Did Israel Get This Inventory From?</span></span></h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Expert in Israeli affairs Anas Abu Arqoub says,</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“The Israeli skin bank is the largest in the world, surpassing the American skin bank that was established 40 years before it, noting that Israel’s population is much smaller than the United States.”</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Arqoub emphasizes that the theft of organs from Palestinian bodies is not just suspicions, stating,</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Even the Israeli media acknowledges that it is an extraction process without the knowledge of the dead’s families.”</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The reserve of human skin held by the Israeli occupation state, equivalent to 170 square meters, stored within the Israeli skin bank, confirms Arqoub’s account. The number is considered unreasonable since Israel ranks third in its population’s refusal to donate organs, attributed to Jewish religious beliefs.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="sideTitle0" style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Handing over Palestinian bodies to their families without organs!</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The details of the story date back to 2001 when Swedish investigative journalist Donald Boström published an investigation exposing the theft of organs from the bodies of Palestinian martyrs and their trafficking by Israeli entities. This was the first time this crime was revealed to the international public.</span></span></p><div class="_magnetRelConrel_89-4" data-widget-id="rel_89-4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="magnet-row-rel_89-4" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="magnet-box-rel_89-4" style="border: 0px; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; width: 966px;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="magnet-text-wrapper-rel_89-4" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="_magnetRelLkrel_89-4" href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/british-doctors-accuse-israel-of-medical-torture/5502989" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(23, 88, 120) !important; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="British Doctors Accuse Israel of “Medical Torture”"><span style="font-size: medium;">British Doctors Accuse Israel of “Medical Torture”</span></a></div></div></div></div></div></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Boström did not stop at this point but published another investigation on the same subject in 2009 in the pages of the Swedish magazine “Aftonbladet.” The investigation mentions that the Israeli Ministry of Health launched a national campaign to encourage organ donation in 1992. However, despite that, a significant gap persisted between the demand and the supply of donations.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Coinciding with that campaign, cases of the disappearance of several Palestinian youth began, only to return afterward in closed coffins. The Israeli authorities imposed on their families to bury them at night without funerals.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Boström says,</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I was in the region at that time, and on several occasions, UN employees contacted me concerned about the developments. The individuals who contacted me said that organ theft certainly happened, but they were prevented from doing anything about it.”</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These contacts prompted the journalist to delve further into the issue, so he went to interview the families of the dead who confirmed the theft of their sons’ organs before their killing. Among them was the son of the martyr Bilal Ahmed Ghannan, who was 19 years old when the Israeli army arrested him in the village of Um al-Tut in the West Bank in 1992. He returned with a body without internal organs, from the neck to below the abdomen.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Israeli medical authorities did not deny the torture and theft of Bilal’s organs. At that time, the director of the Israeli Institute of Forensic Medicine, <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chen Kugel</span>, said that Bilal’s family could be right because they “took everything that could be taken from all the bodies that came to the Institute of Forensic Medicine,” without the family’s consent. His family did not receive any explanation, apology, or compensation for what happened.</span></span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serifl; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="sideTitle0" style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Israeli Confessions of Organ Theft from Palestinians</span></span></h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In a 2009 documentary on the issue, there are admissions from the former director of the Israeli Institute of Forensic Medicine, <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Yehuda Hiss</span>, confirming the theft of organs from the bodies of Palestinian in the institute. Hiss stated,</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“We took corneas, skin, heart valves, and bones … Almost everything was done unofficially to a large extent… and permission was not sought from the families.”</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In her study on dealing with the bodies of Palestinians at the Abu Kabir Forensic Medicine Center in Tel Aviv, published in a book titled “On Their Bodies,” anthropologist Meirav Feis stated that she witnessed “how they take organs from the bodies of Palestinians. In return, they leave the bodies of soldiers intact.”</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The researcher added,</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“They take corneas, skin, and heart valves in a way that makes the absence of those organs unnoticed by non-specialists. They replace corneas with plastic bodies and remove the skin from the back so that the family does not see it. In addition, the bodies of the dead are used in medical schools in Israeli universities for research purposes.”</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Feis said,</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“In the first intifada, the army effectively allowed the institute to extract organs from Palestinians under a military procedure that required dissecting the bodies of Palestinian prisoners. The autopsy procedure was accompanied by the removal of organs used by the Israeli skin bank, established in 1985 to treat burns suffered by Israeli soldiers.”</span></span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serifl; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="sideTitle0" style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Trafficking in the Organs of Palestinian Casualties</span></span></h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Israel is one of the largest markets for trafficking in human organs in the world, and the largest in the Middle East. Media reports revealed that the Israeli entity is involved in killing Palestinians to steal their internal organs illegally and trade them within an illegal international network.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In 2009, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested an Israeli settler named Levy Izhak Rosenbaum. After investigating him, it was revealed that he played the role of a broker in organ-selling operations in the United States for the benefit of a criminal cell led by rabbis, politicians, and government officials in Israel.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Journalist Donald Boström, in his mentioned investigation, suggests a connection between this network and the theft of organs from Palestinian martyrs taking place in “Israel.” Boström said,</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Half of the kidneys transplanted to Israelis since the beginning of the first decade of the 21st century were illegally purchased. The Israeli health authorities have full knowledge of this activity but do nothing to stop it.”</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In a report published by the Israeli newspaper “Haaretz” in 2016, Israel admitted to losing dozens of bodies of Palestinians. The newspaper quoted statements from sources in the Israeli judicial and security apparatuses about the loss of 121 bodies of Palestinians held by the occupation authorities since the 1990s.</span></span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serifl; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Continued Organ tTheft</span></span></h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Following the explosion of the organ theft scandal in 2009, the Israeli government tried to evade the proven charges against it. The spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Health at that time,<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Einav Shimron Greenboim</span>, issued a statement saying,</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“The practice mentioned in the investigation is an old story that ended years ago.”</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Doubts persist about the continuation of these unethical practices that violate human rights, as indicated by the Israeli authorities’ continued detention of dozens of bodies of Palestinian dead, justifying it as a punitive measure.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">According to <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Abdel Nasser Farwana</span>, the head of the Studies and Documentation Unit at the Palestinian Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission, Israel still holds more than 370 bodies of Palestinian and Arab bodies who died in different circumstances and years apart. He added,</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“The list of these detained martyrs includes individuals who died from the 1970s until around 2023.”</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">*</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Featured image <a href="https://www.livemint.com/special-report/israels-quest-to-identify-every-victim-of-hamas-leaves-scientists-exhausted-traumatized-11698986198974.html" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">source</a></span></span></em></span></p><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="copyright" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The original source of this article is <a href="https://www.jordannews.jo/Section-20/Middle-East/Israel-s-skin-bank-raises-ethical-concerns-on-organ-consent-32381" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Jordan News</a></span></div><div class="copyright" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright © <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/author/jordan-news" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by Jordan News">Jordan News</a>, <a href="https://www.jordannews.jo/Section-20/Middle-East/Israel-s-skin-bank-raises-ethical-concerns-on-organ-consent-32381" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Jordan News</a>, 2024</span></div></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-23086243629992518502024-03-05T10:46:00.003+03:002024-03-05T10:46:36.744+03:00 Barbaric Jewish Zionist’s Gaza Bombardment; Warning to World’s Future<p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serifl;">Barbaric Jewish Zionist’s Gaza Bombardment; Warning to World’s Future</span></span></b></p><div class="author" style="background-color: #ebebeb; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">By <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/author/irwin-jerome" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by Jerome Irwin">Jerome Irwin</a></span></div><div class="grDate" style="background-color: #ebebeb; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Global Research, </span></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From inside the Gaza Strip, <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ibtisam Madhi, </span>a Gazan freelance journalist, who</span></span></em></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/omari-mosque-gaza-400x225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="400" height="225" src="https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/omari-mosque-gaza-400x225.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></em></div><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> specializes in reporting on social issues for The Intercept and +972 Magazine, recently reported how Zionist Israel’s war has intentionally, methodically, perpetrated ruin against thousands of years of rich heritage in Gaza that Palestinian experts decry as cultural genocide.</span></em><p></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/barbaric-jewish-zionist-gaza-bombardment-warning-world-future/5850230/screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9-58-33-pm" rel="attachment wp-att-5850236" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" class=" wp-image-5850236 aligncenter" height="336" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" src="https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9.58.33-PM-1024x538.png" srcset="https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9.58.33-PM-1024x538.png 1024w, https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9.58.33-PM-300x158.png 300w, https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9.58.33-PM-768x403.png 768w, https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9.58.33-PM-400x210.png 400w, https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9.58.33-PM.png 1154w" style="border: 0px none; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto 10px; max-width: 635px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;" width="640" /></span></a></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Left: </span>13<span style="border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span> Century Qasr al-Basha (Pasha Palace) in Gaza City; Right:<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>Omari Mosque, Oldest in Northern Gaza</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/barbaric-jewish-zionist-gaza-bombardment-warning-world-future/5850230/screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9-59-14-pm" rel="attachment wp-att-5850237" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" class=" wp-image-5850237 aligncenter" height="355" sizes="(max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px" src="https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9.59.14-PM-1024x566.png" srcset="https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9.59.14-PM-1024x566.png 1024w, https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9.59.14-PM-300x166.png 300w, https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9.59.14-PM-768x425.png 768w, https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9.59.14-PM-400x221.png 400w, https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-at-9.59.14-PM.png 1374w" style="border: 0px none; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto 10px; max-width: 635px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;" width="642" /></span></a></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Left: Ruins of Qasr al-Basha; Right: Ruins of Omari Mosque</span></span></p><div class="_magnetRelConrel_89-4" data-widget-id="rel_89-4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="magnet-row-rel_89-4" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="magnet-box-rel_89-4" style="border: 0px; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; width: 966px;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="magnet-text-wrapper-rel_89-4" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Read More</b><span style="font-weight: inherit;"> <a class="_magnetRelLkrel_89-4" href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/america-is-israel-israel-is-america-as-u-s-ships-2000-lb-bombs-to-israel-to-use-on-gaza/5850810" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(23, 88, 120) !important; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="America Is Israel and Israel Is America as U.S. Ships 2,000 lb Bombs to Israel to Use on Gaza"><span style="font-size: medium;">America Is Israel and Israel Is America as U.S. Ships 2,000 lb Bombs to Israel to Use on Gaza</span></a></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Great Omani Mosque (al-Masjid Ghazza al-Kabir), </i>the largest and oldest mosque in Northern Gaza’s ‘Old City’,<i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </i>originally was an ancient temple, believed to stand on the site of a Philistine temple going back some 2,500 years, that, originally, was dedicated to Marnas – god of rain and grain. Local legend has it that it once was used by Samson who is said to be buried under the once existing mosque.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Carved on the upper tier of the temple’s columns, that were originally brought from a 3<span style="border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">rd</span> century Jewish synagogue in <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Caesarea Meritina</i>, the columns depicted Jewish cultic objects – a menorah, a shofar, a lulav and etrog – surrounded by a decorative wreath with the inscription <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Hananyah Son of Jacob”,</i> in both Hebrew and Greek.<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Eventually, the temple was later transformed into a Byzantine church in the 5<span style="border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span> century and in the 7<span style="border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span> century was converted into an Arabic mosque during the historical period of the Islamic conquests. In the 10<span style="border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span> century, the Arab geographer <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ibn Battuta </i>described it as “exquisitely beautiful”.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Though later destroyed by the Mongols in 1260, it was then restored again, following a major earthquake, by the Ottomans in the 15<span style="border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span> century that, in turn, was severely damaged by the British during WWI yet, again, restored in 1925, by the <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Supreme Muslim Council</i>,<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Before it was utterly destroyed by the Zionists in 2023, this Jewish symbol had passed through the centuries as a testament to demonstrate <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">peaceful co-existence between Arabs and Jewish peoples.</i> since turned it into virtual rubble.</span></span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serifl; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Terms of Degrees of Savagery, Zionism Puts ISIS to Shame</span></span></h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">By now, after nearly five months of incessant, indiscriminate, methodical, genocidal pounding of the Palestinians total way of life in their former homelands of Palestine by the conquering Zionists, if not the previous seventy-five years of the same ill-treatment by these new Jewish barbarians of literally every last remnant trace of anything that remotely smacks of the memory or former existence of the Palestinians, in what the Zionists now call <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ersatz Israel, </i>the stark reality of it all should be blatantly obvious to anyone who has given what all is happening so much as even half-a-moment of conscious thought to it all.<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For this is one of the worst examples in living memory of mass extermination ever committed against the human race by the human race upon itself.</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Courtesy, for sure, of not just the tyrant Bibi Netanyahu and entire invading population of Zionist Jewry’s <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Settler Colonial Project; </i>but especially of President Biden, one of its main architects, if not its chief architect and conqueror, as well as every: American politician; American citizen, politicians and citizenry, as well as , those of Canada, England, France, Germany, and every other so-called one-time Western politician and nation of the world. Especially if they all still pride themselves on being, or aspiring to becoming, truly democratic, freedom-loving peoples and political states; rather than just the pawns, dupes and cannon fodder of yet the 21<span style="border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">st</span> century’s new insidious brand of fascism the world has yet to witness; especially with the impending return of Trumpism and his/its in-coming hordes of MAGA-ITES. Or should one more correctly label them as a new species of human <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">MAGGOTS </i>that feed on dead or dying carrion<i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">?</i></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But does anyone, or enough of everyone’s, really care, or is the world simply sleep-walking towards some eventual monumental world, AI-induced conflict that will end up becoming a 1,000 X’s 1,000 ‘Gaza’s’ or ‘Ukraine’s?</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yes, Ukraine another one of those hideous way station stops along the way by the MAGGOTS that feed on America’s and the world’s dead or dying body, intent upon leading us all to hell and damnation.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Keeping up with all the constant carnage is almost too much for the sanity of the human mind to bear; or as Aussie’s, who have such a knack for always slipping in a bit of humorous wisdom in the most dreadful of circumstances, would say in such instances, “How much can a Koala Bear? Or, as still many other so wise humorists among them might also say to all the megalomaniacal war monger politicians and militarists who persist in spewing out so much crap that is leading the world to the edge of the precipice, “Hey mate! Why don’t you finally give your other end a chance for a change?”</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Persisting scary images of a future filled with the barbarian ISIS hordes of the recent past returning <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">en masse</i> immediately come to mind.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">*</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jerome Irwin</span> is a Canadian-American writer who, in previous lives, has been involved in a wide range of diverse and varied worlds, including the Criminology profession with an American police department, and later for a brief-time in the capacity of clandestine communications with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. For decades, in various professional capacities as an educator, researcher, geo-political analyst, and writer. Irwin has sought to call attention to a broad spectrum of world problems pertaining to the degradation and unsustainability caused by a host of environmental-ecological-spiritual-ideological issues that exist between the conflicting world philosophies of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.</span></em></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Irwin is the author of the book, “The Wild Gentle Ones; A Turtle Island Odyssey” (www.turtle-island-odyssey.com), a spiritual odyssey among the native peoples of North America that over the decades has produced numerous articles pertaining to: Ireland’s Fenian Movement; native peoples Dakota Access Pipeline Resistance Movement; AIPAC, Israel & the U.S. Congress anti-BDS Movement; the historic Battle for Palestine & Siege of Gaza, as well as; the many violations constantly being waged by industrial-corporate-military-propaganda interests against the World’s Collective Soul. To examine a portion of the eclectic body of his work goggle: “Jerome Irwin, writer” The author and his wife are long-time residents on the North Shore of British Columbia.</span></em></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He is a regular contributor to Global Research.</span></em></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Featured image: The oldest mosque in Gaza, the Omari Mosque, was severely damaged in Israeli bombardment, 2 January 2024 (Mohammed al-Hajjar/MEE)</span></em></span></p><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="copyright" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The original source of this article is Global Research</span></div><div class="copyright" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright © <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/author/irwin-jerome" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by Jerome Irwin">Jerome Irwin</a>, Global Research, 2024</span></div></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-11607241171123454422024-03-05T10:27:00.001+03:002024-03-05T10:27:23.412+03:00Reporters Without Shame: Top ‘Media Rights’ Organization Ignores Rampant Killings of Gaza Journalists<h2 itemprop="headline" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serifl; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 35px; margin: 10px 15px 13px 22px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Reporters Without Shame: Top ‘Media Rights’ Organization Ignores Rampant Killings of Gaza Journalists</span></h2><div class="meta" style="background: rgb(235, 235, 235); border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 15px 10px 22px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="post-info" style="border: 0px; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 492.5px;"></div></div><div class="author" style="background-color: #ebebeb; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">By <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/author/eva-bartlett" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by Eva Bartlett">Eva Bartlett</a></span></div><div class="grDate" style="background-color: #ebebeb; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/reporters-without-shame-top-media-rights-organization-ignores-rampant-killings-gaza-journalists/5850967" target="_blank">Global Research</a>, March 03, 2024</span></div><div class="sourceDate" style="background-color: #ebebeb; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2024/01/09/reporters-without-shame-top-media-rights-organization-ignores-rampant-killings-of-gaza-journalists/" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">In Gaza</a> 9 January 2024</span></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></em></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Gaza-siege-places-journalists-in-danger-400x268.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="400" height="268" src="https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Gaza-siege-places-journalists-in-danger-400x268.png" width="400" /></a></span></em></div><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />At the end of 2023, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans Frontieres, RSF), the international organization ostensibly advocating for freedom of information, released its annual report. The paper massively downplays the widespread and deliberate targeting of Palestinian journalists in the Israel-Gaza war.</span></em><p></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The report’s <a href="https://rsf.org/en/rsf-s-2023-round-45-journalists-killed-line-duty-worldwide-drop-despite-tragedy-gaza" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">announcement</a>, titled, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Round-up: 45 journalists killed in the line of duty worldwide – a drop despite the tragedy in Gaza,”</em> excludes most of the Palestinian journalists killed by Israel in 2023, particularly in the past few months. It claims 16 fewer journalists were killed worldwide in 2023 than in 2022. This doesn’t reflect reality.</span></span></p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; display: flex; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 10px 0px; max-width: 500px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; width: 500px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1721873326589596103" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1721873326589596103&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.globalresearch.ca%2Freporters-without-shame-top-media-rights-organization-ignores-rampant-killings-gaza-journalists%2F5850967&sessionId=029c0e9544b32f3111894b80a3584122c79d3572&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=500px" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 549px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible; width: 500px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The report claims that (as of December 1, 2023), only 13 Palestinian journalists were killed while <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">actively</em> reporting, noting separately that 56 journalists were killed in Gaza, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“if we include journalists killed in circumstances unproven to be related to their duties.”</em></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Other sources put the overall number of Palestinian journalists killed in the enclave much higher. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-56" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">reported</a> on December 1 that 73 journalists and media workers had been killed, citing to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS).</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">While The Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) December 20, 2023 <a href="https://cpj.org/2023/12/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">numbers</a> are lower (at least 61 Palestinian journalists killed since October 7), CPJ at least didn’t disregard dozens of slain Palestinian journalists like RSF did.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In fact, in contrast to RSF’s cheerful <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“things are much better for journalists than previous years”</em> tone, CPJ emphasized that in the first 10 weeks of Israel’s war on Gaza, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“<a href="https://cpj.org/2023/12/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">more journalists</a> have been killed than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year.”</em> It voiced its concern about, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“an apparent <a href="https://cpj.org/2023/12/father-of-al-jazeeras-anas-al-sharif-killed-in-gaza-after-journalist-receives-threats/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">pattern of targeting</a> of journalists and their families by the Israeli military.”</em></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That summary is far more honest, and shocking, than the watered-down RSF report.</span></span></p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; display: flex; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 10px 0px; max-width: 500px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; width: 500px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1744446685923664024" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1744446685923664024&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.globalresearch.ca%2Freporters-without-shame-top-media-rights-organization-ignores-rampant-killings-gaza-journalists%2F5850967&sessionId=029c0e9544b32f3111894b80a3584122c79d3572&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=500px" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 775px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible; width: 500px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It isn’t clear how RSF discerns which circumstances were <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“unproven to be related”</em> to the duties of slain Gazan journalists, nor who is <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“actively reporting”</em> when Gaza is under relentless Israeli bombardment and suffers frequent internet cuts. In fact, given the nonstop Israeli bombing (and sniping) throughout the Strip, it would be nearly impossible to discern whether journalists were reporting (including from their homes) at the time of their death.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">However, in the methodology section near the end of its more detailed <a href="https://rsf.org/sites/default/files/medias/file/2023/12/Bilan_2023_EN_0.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">report</a>, RSF notes it <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“logs a journalist’s death in its press freedom barometer when they are killed in the exercise of their duties or in connection with their status as a journalist.”</em></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Many Palestinian journalists in Gaza have received death threats from officers in the Israeli army precisely due to their status as journalists. And many of those threatened have subsequently been killed, along with family members, when Israeli airstrikes targeted their homes or places of shelter.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We also have the precedent in prior wars (in 2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021) of Israel bombing Gazan media buildings (including one I was in in 2009) with varying severity, damaging and finally <a href="https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2021/05/15/israel-is-deliberately-obliterating-media-buildings-in-gaza-to-cover-up-the-war-crimes-that-will-follow/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">destroying two major media buildings</a> in 2021. This is clearly intended to stop the flow of reports from Gaza under Israeli bombs, and so is the killing of journalists.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On December 15, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate <a href="https://www.pjs.ps/?p=2708" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">criticized</a> the RSF report, going as far as accusing RSF of complicity with Israel’s war crimes against Palestinian journalists through whitewashing.</span></span></p><div class="_magnetRelConrel_89-4" data-widget-id="rel_89-4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="magnet-row-rel_89-4" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="magnet-box-rel_89-4" style="border: 0px; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; width: 966px;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="magnet-text-wrapper-rel_89-4" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="_magnetRelLkrel_89-4" href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/israel-kills-al-jazeera-correspondent-family-days-after-blinken-demands-channel-coverage-toned-down/5838015" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(23, 88, 120) !important; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Israel Kills Al-Jazeera Correspondent’s Family Days After Blinken Demands the Channel’s Coverage be ‘Toned Down’"><span style="font-size: medium;">Israel Kills Al-Jazeera Correspondent’s Family Days After Blinken Demands the Channel’s Coverage be ‘Toned Down’</span></a></div></div></div></div></div></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is the same PJS whose statistics the UN’s OCHA cites, statistics which PJS says are<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> “accurate and based on professional and legal documentation that follows the highest standards in documenting crimes against journalists.”</em> This documentation includes journalists who Israeli airstrikes targeted in their homes, killed precisely because they are journalists.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In <a href="https://rsf.org/en/rsf-s-response-palestinian-journalists-syndicate-allegations-about-annual-round-killed-journalists" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">response</a>, RSF claimed it, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“did not yet have sufficient evidence or indications,”</em> to state that any more than 14 journalists in the Gaza Strip (as of December 23, the date of its response) <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“had been killed in the course of their work or because of it.”</em></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">RSF called the PJS accusations <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“inane,”</em> complaining that they <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“damage our organisation’s image,”</em> and chastised the PSJ to not <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“impugn our motives,”</em> or <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“quarrel”</em> over numbers. “Quarreling over numbers” is a pretty cavalier objection from an organization espousing concern over journalists being targeted.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">At least three journalists were shot dead, at least three killed by an Israeli airstrike on media outlets in central Gaza City, and many more were killed by Israeli airstrikes on “safe” areas – areas south of Wadi Gaza, which Israel had commanded civilians to flee to for their “safety.” In spite of this command, Israeli bombings continued all over the strip, including all the way south to Rafah.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Still many more – in Gaza City, as well as to the north and to the south of it – were killed at home with their families, including <a href="https://cpj.org/data/people/mohammed-abu-hatab/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">one</a> journalist in Khan Younis, killed along with 11 members of his family when an Israeli airstrike targeted his home on November 2. On November 23, a journalist was <a href="https://cpj.org/data/people/mohamed-mouin-ayyash/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">killed</a> in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, along with 20 family members.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Cradle <a href="https://new.thecradle.co/articles/nearly-50-journalists-in-gaza-killed-by-israeli-bombs" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">reported</a> that, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“The Israeli army sent a letter to legacy news outlets, Reuters and AFP.”</em> The letter said, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“The [Israeli Army] is targeting all Hamas military activity throughout Gaza. Under these circumstances, we cannot guarantee your employees’ safety.”</em></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One Israeli bombing of a journalist’s home on November 7 <a href="https://cpj.org/data/people/mohamed-abu-hassira/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">killed</a> him and 42 family members. Like many of his slain colleagues, he was a journalist for Palestinian Authority-run Wafa news. Many of the other murdered journalists worked for: Palestinian Authority-run Palestine TV, independent news agencies, local TV and radio programs, and larger outlets like al Jazeera. Others worked with Hamas-affiliated media and radio. Still others were freelancers.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On November 5, PJS <a href="https://www.liberationnews.org/palestinian-journalists-syndicate-statement-some-of-the-global-medias-unethical-coverage-is-facilitating-genocide-in-gaza/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">reported</a> that at least 20 of the journalists killed (since October 7) <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“were intentionally targeted by strikes on their homes or during their work covering Israel’s attacks.”</em> This tally is already greater than RSF’s reported total of 13 journalists killed at work or because of their work, even though the RSF report covers a period of almost a month more.</span></span></p><h2 class="wp-block-heading" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serifl; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Israel Threatens Journalists, Kills Family Members</span></span></h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Many Gaza journalists <a href="https://twitter.com/QuzmarAnan/status/1738053724759523510" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">report</a> being threatened by the Israeli army. CPJ <a href="https://cpj.org/2023/12/father-of-al-jazeeras-anas-al-sharif-killed-in-gaza-after-journalist-receives-threats/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">noted</a> it is <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“deeply alarmed by the pattern of journalists in Gaza reporting receiving threats, and subsequently, their family members being killed.”</em></span></span></p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; display: flex; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 10px 0px; max-width: 500px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; width: 500px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1738053724759523510" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1738053724759523510&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.globalresearch.ca%2Freporters-without-shame-top-media-rights-organization-ignores-rampant-killings-gaza-journalists%2F5850967&sessionId=029c0e9544b32f3111894b80a3584122c79d3572&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=500px" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 524px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible; width: 500px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One such incident followed a threat to Al-Jazeera Arabic reporter <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Anas Al-Sharif</span>. CPJ <a href="https://cpj.org/2023/12/attacks-arrests-threats-censorship-the-high-risks-of-reporting-the-israel-hamas-war/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">noted</a> he had received multiple phone calls from officers in the Israeli army instructing him to cease coverage and leave northern Gaza. Additionally, he received voice notes on WhatsApp disclosing his location. His 90-year-old father was killed on December 11 by an Israeli airstrike on their home in the Jabalia refugee camp.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On November 13, CPJ <a href="https://cpj.org/2023/12/attacks-arrests-threats-censorship-the-high-risks-of-reporting-the-israel-hamas-war/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">noted</a>, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“eight family members of photojournalist Yasser Qudih were killed when their house in southern Gaza was struck by four missiles. Qudih survived the attack.”</em></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On October 25, an Israel airstrike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of Gaza killed the wife, son, daughter, and grandson of Al-Jazeera’s bureau chief for Gaza, <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Wael Al Dahdouh.</span></span></span></p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; display: flex; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 10px 0px; max-width: 500px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; width: 500px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1740017839887577365" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1740017839887577365&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.globalresearch.ca%2Freporters-without-shame-top-media-rights-organization-ignores-rampant-killings-gaza-journalists%2F5850967&sessionId=029c0e9544b32f3111894b80a3584122c79d3572&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=500px" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 847px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible; width: 500px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The popular young independent journalist, <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Motaz Azaiza</span>, reported receiving multiple threats from anonymous numbers urging him to cease his coverage, CPJ <a href="https://cpj.org/2023/12/attacks-arrests-threats-censorship-the-high-risks-of-reporting-the-israel-hamas-war/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">reported</a>, noting that another Al-Jazeera correspondent, <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Youmna El-Sayed</span>, said her husband received a threatening phone call from a man who identified himself as a member of the IDF and told the family <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“to leave or die.”</em></span></span></p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; display: flex; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 10px 0px; max-width: 500px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; width: 500px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1744610882163011593" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1744610882163011593&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.globalresearch.ca%2Freporters-without-shame-top-media-rights-organization-ignores-rampant-killings-gaza-journalists%2F5850967&sessionId=029c0e9544b32f3111894b80a3584122c79d3572&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=500px" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 393px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible; width: 500px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><h2 class="wp-block-heading" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serifl; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">RSF Bias: Not Only in Palestine</span></span></h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Whereas RSF only reluctantly, as an afterthought, mentioned Palestinian journalists killed in “circumstances unproven to be related to their duties,” in a 2021 <a href="https://rsf.org/en/toll-ten-years-civil-war-journalists-syria" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">report</a> on Syria, it stated, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“at least 300 professional and non-professional journalists have been killed while covering artillery bombardments and airstrikes or murdered by the various parties to the conflict,”</em> since 2011, going on to say, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“this figure could in reality be even higher.”</em></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It cited a <a href="https://sn4hr.org/blog/2020/05/03/54947/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">report</a> by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) claiming the number could be up to 700. While endorsing these numbers, the RSF also gave a caveat, albeit a much meeker one than the one about Gaza journalists: <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Confirming such estimates is not currently possible because of the difficulty of accessing information.”</em></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Aside from reporting numbers it could not confirm, RSF cited a body in no way impartial or credible. As an <a href="https://thegrayzone.com/2019/06/14/syrian-network-for-human-rights-opposition-snhr/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">investigative article</a> noted, the SNHR is <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“based in Qatar… funded by foreign governments and staffed by top opposition leaders,”</em> and <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“has openly clamored for Western military intervention.”</em></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In 2017, Stephen Lendman <a href="https://stephenlendman.org/2017/12/01/reporters-without-borders-opposes-claims-support/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">wrote</a> of RSF’s attempt to shut down a panel sponsored by the Swiss Press Club in which British journalist Vanessa Beeley would be participating. <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“An organization that defends freedom of information is asking me to censor a press conference,”</em> the club’s executive director Guy Mettan said at the time. He refused to cancel the event.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">RSF’s 2023 roundup also didn’t include two Russian journalists killed this year, one by a Ukrainian cluster bomb strike and the other by a Ukrainian drone attack (targeting journalists).</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sputnik <a href="https://en.sputniknews.africa/20231220/reporters-without-borders-fails-to-explain-disregard-of-russian-war-correspondents-deaths-1064222822.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">pursued</a> the matter and reported that RSF, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“refused to give any comments to Sputnik”</em> citing <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“editorial policy.”</em></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Journalist Christelle Neant likewise noted RSF’s glaring omission of the Russian journalists. She <a href="https://www.donbass-insider.com/2023/12/22/for-reporters-without-borders-censorship-is-freedom-of-speech-and-the-death-of-russian-journalists-does-not-count/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">wrote</a> about the body’s funding from various governments, and more notably from regime change agencies: the Open Society foundation, The Ford Foundation, and the National Endowment for Democracy, funded by the US Congress.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">RSF’s notorious funders explain why it cherry picks or inflates its reports. The borderless organization has lines it won’t cross. It reports a grain of truth but otherwise whitewashes the crimes of Israel and Washington.</span></span></p><p class="has-large-font-size" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Additional Notes:</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On December 19, freelance journalist <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Adel Zorob</span> <a href="https://cpj.org/2024/01/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">was killed</a> in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Rafah, southern Gaza, along with 25 family members.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On <a href="https://t.me/PalestineResist/24510" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">December 30</a>, journalist <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jabr Abu Hadrous</span> ascended as a martyr with several of his family members after the IOF bombed his home in Nusseirat camp, central #Gaza, becoming the 106th journalist in Gaza to be martyred since October 7th.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On January 7, 2024, journalist <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hamza Al Dahdouh</span> (son of Al-Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh), was killed in an Israeli drone strike along with freelance journalist <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mustafa Thuraya,</span> according to Al-Jazeera Arabic. They were driving to an assignment in southern Gaza when the strike occurred.</span></span></p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; display: flex; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 10px 0px; max-width: 500px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; width: 500px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1743997154887163964" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-5" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-5&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1743997154887163964&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.globalresearch.ca%2Freporters-without-shame-top-media-rights-organization-ignores-rampant-killings-gaza-journalists%2F5850967&sessionId=029c0e9544b32f3111894b80a3584122c79d3572&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=500px" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 620px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible; width: 500px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">*</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.</span></span></p><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="copyright" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The original source of this article is <a href="https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2024/01/09/reporters-without-shame-top-media-rights-organization-ignores-rampant-killings-of-gaza-journalists/" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">In Gaza</a></span></div></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #362f2d; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: justify;">Copyright ©</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #362f2d; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: justify;"> </span><a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/author/eva-bartlett" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by Eva Bartlett">Eva Bartlett</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #362f2d; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: justify;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #362f2d; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: justify;"> </span><a href="https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2024/01/09/reporters-without-shame-top-media-rights-organization-ignores-rampant-killings-of-gaza-journalists/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">In Gaza</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #362f2d; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: justify;">, 2024</span> </span></p>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-24646453220216258392024-03-05T10:22:00.001+03:002024-03-05T10:22:19.017+03:00 Horrifying New Gaza Study Shows Worst To Come - Without Immediate Ceasefire w/ Zeina Jamaluddine<p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">Horrifying New Gaza Study Shows Worst To Come - Without Immediate Ceasefire w/ Zeina Jamaluddine</span></span></b></p><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3344228845470785440" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 570px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;"> </b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/03/horrifying-new-gaza-study-shows-worst.html" target="_blank">The Common Ills</a></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zzjlHMFkRdk?si=EUZl0UyXyoXmNT_e" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></b></div><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Israel's War on Gaza... Day 149... The LATEST UPDATES (03/03/24)</span></h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-1496140065538709203" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 570px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xfpemh6fwxs?si=ueGF0S4KgvWp5uWQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></b></div><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-88988991768309350282024-03-02T22:02:00.000+03:002024-03-02T22:05:23.015+03:00Israelis Want Netanyahu Out, but No Freedom for Palestinians. Netanyahu Wants to Exterminate All Resistance<p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serifl;">Israelis Want Netanyahu Out, but No Freedom for Palestinians. Netanyahu Wants to Exterminate All Resistance</span></span></b></p><div class="meta" style="background: rgb(235, 235, 235); border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 15px 10px 22px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">By </span><a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/author/steven-sahiounie" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by Steven Sahiounie">Steven Sahiounie</a><div class="post-info" style="border: 0px; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 492.5px;"></div></div><div class="grDate" style="background-color: #ebebeb; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Global Research, March 01, 2024</span></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Israelis are in the <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">streets protesting against their government</a>. Their grievances are many, and the <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">protesters</a> might be standing shoulder to shoulder with a fellow Israeli citizen, but have very different reasons for coming out on cold February nights.</span></em></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d2wtzzziJP0" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Israel anti-govt protests: Demonstrators call for an early election" width="690"></iframe></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mounted <a href="https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/politics/1708804650-police-deploy-water-hose-to-deter-protesters-in-tel-aviv" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Israeli security services have used water cannons</a>, and batons against protesters, and many have been arrested for something that in a democratic country should be tolerated, and admired as a basic right. On Saturday night in Tel Aviv, the police arrested 21 persons protesting.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The biggest group of protesters are angry that the Netanyahu government has not done more to secure the release of the hostages who are held captive in Gaza. With the number of hostages killed by Israeli bombing in Gaza growing, the families and supporters of the hostages want an immediate release of the hostages, and they know that requires negotiations with Hamas. But, Netanyahu has rejected the hostage release deal presented by the US through <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Secretary of State Antony Blinken</span>.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Their slogan is “Choose the lives of our loved ones”.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Many of the protesters have focused their wrath of <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/25/israelis-take-no-heed-of-global-anger-but-contempt-for-benjamin-netanyahu-growing" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu</a></span>, who they view as a convicted corrupt politician, who is prolonging the war in order to save himself from jail. This group are pro-democracy and the protests, in which 719 were arrested, prior to the October 7 attack are fresh in their mind. From January to October 2023, large-scale protests took place across Israel in response to the government’s push for a wide-ranging judicial reform which would strip democracy from Israel through the subversion of the Supreme Court. This pro-democracy group are calling for the immediate resignation of Netanyahu.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Their slogan is “You are in charge; you are guilty”.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The last group of the protesters are the <a href="https://www.economist.com/1843/2023/10/26/the-war-schizophrenia-of-israels-peaceniks" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">‘peaceniks’, who want an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. </a> This group of protesters is the smallest, and are mainly leftist, educated, open-minded people who care about the international standing of Israel and value human rights for all. They want to live in peace alongside their Arab neighbors, and they want to enjoy the respect of the international community, and shed the current image of <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2023-12-31/ty-article/.premium/the-legitimization-of-evil-will-remain-with-israelis-long-after-the-war-in-gaza-ends/0000018c-bc16-d45c-a98e-bf5e854b0000" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Israel as a pariah state</a>. These people should find common ground with the US; however, the US government has supported the Israeli occupation.</span></span></p><div class="_magnetRelConrel_89-4" data-widget-id="rel_89-4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="magnet-row-rel_89-4" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="magnet-box-rel_89-4" style="border: 0px; direction: ltr; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; width: 966px;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="magnet-text-wrapper-rel_89-4" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Read More</b><span style="font-weight: inherit;"> : <a class="_magnetRelLkrel_89-4" href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/gaza-strikes-back-another-911-pearl-harbor/5836435" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(23, 88, 120) !important; font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Gaza Strikes Back. It’s Another 9/11 or Pearl Harbor but Who Actually Did What to Whom? “This Was More Likely a False Flag Operation”"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gaza Strikes Back. It’s Another 9/11 or Pearl Harbor but Who Actually Did What to Whom? “This Was More Likely a False Flag Operation”</span></a></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Their slogan is “It’s time to wake up”.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Even though there are deep divisions and discontent within Israel, Netanyahu seems to not be concerned about addressing the grievances of the Israeli citizens. He pushes on with his war, fueled by his extremist partners, such as Ben Givir and Smotrich, who hold him on a short leash, reminding him constantly that if he should make deals with Hamas, or even allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, they will pull out of the government, and Netanyahu will be on his way to jail.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Across the US and UK there were mass protests beginning in the early days of Israel’s response to the October 7 attack by Hamas. This overwhelming international response in support of the Palestinians in Gaza encouraged South Africa to appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/25/israelis-take-no-heed-of-global-anger-but-contempt-for-benjamin-netanyahu-growing" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The mass global pressure has not phased most Israelis.</a> A recent survey conducted by Tel Aviv University showed that more than half of the Jewish Israelis surveyed thought Israel was using the right amount of force in Gaza, with another 43% that said it had not used enough.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In another recent survey by the <a href="https://en.idi.org.il/articles/52976" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Israel Democracy Institute (</a>IDI), a majority of Jewish Israelis opposed a political agreement to end the war, and two-thirds opposed humanitarian aid to Gaza. In the same survey, only 39% of all Israelis, think there is a high or very high likelihood of “absolute victory”, as the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has promised.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After about five months of war, Israelis see that Hamas has not been destroyed and is still fighting, and this adds to their distrust and lack of confidence in their government. Instead of rallying around the flag during a war, the Israelis are out in the streets in the thousands asking for the end of Netanyahu and his radical partners.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The protests have spread to Jerusalem, Netanyahu’s official residence, Netanyahu’s private home in Caesarea, and beyond.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Israelis have become self-isolated, and their media is focused only on the suffering of the Israelis who were attacked on October 7. The Israeli news media focuses on personal stories of those killed, and the survivors.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The international response to the Netanyahu government’s brutal attacks on Gaza, killing about 29,000 mainly women and children so far, are met by Israeli anger. Israelis feel their own suffering much more acutely, and many feel that Jews are superior, and none Jews are not humans. Some feel the ‘world’ is against them, just as their ancestors were persecuted across Europe. There is a national paranoia taking hold.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another question in the IDI survey was<a href="https://en.idi.org.il/articles/52976" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">: Should Israel agree in principle to the establishment of a Palestinian state? Around two-thirds of Jewish respondents (63%) oppose this</a>, in contrast to the international call for the two-state solution coming from the US as well the majority of the UN member states. This demonstrates a huge Israeli citizen disconnect. They think of themselves as part of the ‘free’ world, and exposing western values, and yet they find the notion of allowing their neighbors to live in freedom and enjoy human rights absurd. The Israelis like to call their country ‘democratic’ and yet they are not able to recognize that Gaza is an open-air concentration camp. They feel that Jews own the word ‘genocide’ from their ancestor’s experience in Europe.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On Friday, <a href="https://socialistworker.co.uk/palestine-2023/binyamin-netanyahu-unveils-israels-plan-for-gaza/" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Netnayahu released a one-page document</a> which outlines his plan to run Gaza as a permanent concentration camp. He can do that because he knows<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> President Joe Biden</span> and the US Congress will never stop sending money and weapons to Israel.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The plan says, “Israel will have security control over the entire area west of Jordan,” which includes all of the areas which were to be part of the Palestinian state as recognized by the UN.</span> The plan says Israel will continue its 17-year siege on Gaza, and will control local policing and the teachings of schools and mosques.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To carry out such a plan, <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Netanyahu has to exterminate all resistance, and he hopes to do that by a ground offensive on Rafah, planned to begin as early as 10 March.</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A UN report issued last week, says there is evidence of Israeli soldiers arbitrarily executing Palestinian women, and they have seen “credible allegations” that <a href="https://socialistworker.co.uk/palestine-2023/binyamin-netanyahu-unveils-israels-plan-for-gaza/" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Palestinian women and girls have been raped, while in Israeli detention.</a></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://socialistworker.co.uk/palestine-2023/binyamin-netanyahu-unveils-israels-plan-for-gaza/" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Reem Alsalem</span>,</a> the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, said</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“We might not know for a long time what the actual number of victims are.”</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Palestinian women detained by Israeli soldiers in Gaza were kept in a cage in the rain and cold, without food earlier this month.</span></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“We are particularly distressed by reports that Palestinian women and girls in detention have also been subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers,” the UN panel members said.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Adding insult to injury, Israeli soldiers took photos of the naked women in Gaza, and posted them on social media. This is a form of humiliation encouraged by Jewish extremists, who feel non-Jewish women are not humans.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://socialistworker.co.uk/palestine-2023/binyamin-netanyahu-unveils-israels-plan-for-gaza/" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Christopher Lockyear</a>, secretary general Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres), spoke to the UN security council on February 22.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“We are appalled by the willingness of the United States to use its powers as a permanent council member to obstruct efforts to adopt the most evident of resolutions—one demanding an immediate and sustained ceasefire, “said Lockyear.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He added,</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“The humanitarian response in Gaza today is an illusion—a convenient illusion that perpetuates a narrative that this war is being waged in line with international laws. Calls for more humanitarian assistance have echoed across this Chamber. Yet in Gaza we have less and less each day—less space, less medicine, less food, less water, less safety. “</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">*</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.mideastdiscourse.com/2024/02/29/israelis-want-netanyahu-out-but-no-freedom-for-palestinians/" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mideast Discourse</a>.</span></em></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Steven Sahiounie</span> is a two-time award-winning journalist. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.</span></em></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Featured image is from MD</span></em></span></p><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="copyright" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The original source of this article is Global Research</span></div><div class="copyright" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright © <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/author/steven-sahiounie" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by Steven Sahiounie">Steven Sahiounie</a>, Global Research, 2024</span></div></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-7756312154853309782024-03-02T20:55:00.001+03:002024-03-02T20:55:40.384+03:00An Open Letter to the Women of the Congressional Progressive Caucus<p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serifl;">An Open Letter to the Women of the Congressional Progressive Caucus</span></span></b></p><div class="author" style="background-color: #ebebeb; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">By <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/author/codepink" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by CODEPINK">CODEPINK</a></span></div><div class="grDate" style="background-color: #ebebeb; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/open-letter-women-congressional-progressive-caucus/5851065" target="_blank">Global Researc</a>h</span></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/newFile-6-400x267.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="400" height="267" src="https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/newFile-6-400x267.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Dear Women of the Congressional Progressive Caucus,</div></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We, the undersigned, are writing to you because although you are part of a progressive caucus, you have yet to do the most bare minimum progressive act: call for a ceasefire in Gaza. 26 women in this committee already have—it’s time for the 24 of you to join them.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">March 8 is International Women’s Day, a fitting reminder of the thousands of women in Gaza who are being slaughtered, clearly abandoned by women like you who hold positions of power and privilege yet refuse to call for a ceasefire. Many of you will use the discussion of reproductive justice in the US as an opportunity to say you stand with women. Many of you will release statements about IWD, citing your membership to the Congressional Progressive Caucus as evidence of your commitment to progressive advocacy for women, but your inaction tells us the truth. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Your words mean nothing when you fail to center the women of Gaza, who need our attention the most right now. You lose credibility when you fail to demand an end to Israel’s genocide campaign. What is more anti-feminist and less progressive than war? Since the start of Israel’s most recent bombardment, miscarriages in Gaza have gone up 300%. Women are forced to undergo C-sections without anesthesia. Israeli soldiers in the Tal al Zaatar area of Gaza shot at and bulldozed over pregnant women carrying white flags. What significant action have you taken to stop this genocide? None. We will not allow you to continue virtue signaling by simply being part of this caucus. We demand consistency.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This IWD, we call on you to reject traditional Western and colonial “feminist” narratives that have long perpetuated war, occupation, and genocide! War-mongering fuels the oppression, mistreatment, and murder of women around the world. The struggle for reproductive justice and Palestinian liberation are deeply intertwined feminist issues.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Be a real feminist and call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Reproductive justice starts there.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Towards peace and liberation,</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">CODEPINK staff, chapters, volunteers, and supporters</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">CODEPINK, along with Mothers and Daughters Against Genocide, will be in the halls of congress on March 8, International Women’s Day, delivering the letter to the specified progressive caucus members. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">*</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles. </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Featured image: Some of the wounded at al-Shifa hospital (Gaza Health Ministry)</span></em></span></p><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="copyright" style="border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The original source of this article is Global Research</span></div><div class="copyright" style="border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright © <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/author/codepink" style="border: 0px; color: #3b4d81; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by CODEPINK">CODEPINK</a>, Global Research, 2024</span></div><div class="copyright" style="border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="copyright" style="border: 0px; color: #362f2d; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="copyright" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;">Read </span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #362f2d; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">more</span></span></b></div></div></div><div class="copyright" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #362f2d; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"> </span><a class="_magnetRelLkrel_89-4" href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/conspirators-for-the-constitution-when-anti-government-speech-becomes-sedition/5820829" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(23, 88, 120) !important; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Conspirators for the Constitution: When Anti-Government Speech Becomes Sedition">Conspirators for the Constitution: When Anti-Government Speech Becomes Sedition</a></div></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-41031522328324702762024-03-01T17:35:00.002+03:002024-03-01T17:35:49.108+03:00 Empire on Fire: Global Fury as Israel's Rafah Invasion Looms<p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">Empire on Fire: Global Fury as Israel's Rafah Invasion Looms</span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/03/empire-on-fire-global-fury-as-israels.html" target="_blank">The Common Ills</a></span></span></p><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-4948774957799030233" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ArJlYsb392o?si=1BzYL6koLcxXQ0q9" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></b><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Israel's War on Gaza... Day 146... The LATEST UPDATES (02/29/24)</span></h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-2448706424028145836" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jnqK5AFJMfo?si=X2P4wcWK8NLAp5g_" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></b><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Israel Just MASSACRED Starving Palestinians Trying To Get Flour</span></h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-2090719412917763749" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wH0XV-ucBmc?si=aJToj5MTUpKenWOM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></b><div style="clear: both; font-size: 13.2px;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px;"></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-30145847829076831952024-03-01T17:26:00.000+03:002024-03-01T17:28:07.810+03:00Iraq snapshot Thursday, February 29, 2024<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Iraq snapshot</span></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Common Ills</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thursday, February 29, 2024. Marianne's back in, Joe's slow on the uptake, Junior steps on more corpses as he tries to climb the political ladder, the 30,000 mark has been passed in Gaza and much more.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We start in the US with major campaign news. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKaEeTz0qVk&t=2s" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Marianne Williamson announced yesterday</a> that "as of today, I am unsuspending my campaign for president of the United States." </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The moment is important for a number of reasons. First, if you suspend you campaign, you can start it back up. Something Ron DeSantis reminds himself daily as he waits to see Donald Trump convicted. So it's teachable. Second it also shows the need for something more. Marianne suspended her campaign. And then we ended up with Michigan's primary this week which was noteworthy for a number of reasons including that despite having suspended her campaign on February 7th, this week she still got 3% of the vote. She beat the forgettable and unlikable Dean Phillips who was still in the race. She didn't campaign, she did do meet-and-greet, buy ad time, phone bank, media, you name it. And she beat Dean Phillips giving it presumably his best shot.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is a hunger for something more and there is a need to push the Democratic Party presidential candidate -- whomever that may be -- to fight for the American people. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yesterday, her campaign <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKaEeTz0qVk&t=2s" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">released a video</a> of her explaining why she was unsuspending. You can also read that at <a href="https://marianne2024.com/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">her website</a>:</span></div><div><p class="copy" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">As of today, I am unsuspending my Presidential campaign.</span></b></p><p class="copy" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">All of us have noticed America’s political dynamics are moving in a disturbing direction. Donald Trump’s power is on the incline, and President Biden’s is on the decline. More and more people are saying the quiet part out loud: that despite the fact that the President deserves credit for many of his accomplishments, he is clearly a weak candidate to defeat Donald Trump in 2024.</span></b></p><p class="copy" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I, however, am not. My ability to arouse in Americans the angels of our better nature is the most powerful antidote to Trump’s dark and authoritarian vision.</span></b></p><p class="copy" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I suspended my campaign because we were losing the horse race. But there is something much bigger than the horse race that’s at stake here. In the words of Mohammed Ali, ‘When the mission is right, the odds don’t matter.”</span></b></p><p class="copy" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">We cannot sit idly by while the D.C. political class sleepwalks this country into disaster. Too many have followed the directives of the status quo for too long, but we are awakening now. We are ready to act, to take the wheel of history into our hands and turn it in another direction.</span></b></p><p class="copy" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">We need a President who stands for a new beginning in America, and whether I can help do that as President or in some other way, unsuspending the campaign is a necessary next step.</span></b></p><p class="copy" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">We will win on the promise of restoring America’s middle class and waging peace both domestically and internationally. From #MedicareForAll to #CeasefireNow in exchange for the hostages, from tuition free college and tech school to a guaranteed living wage, from waging peace to repudiating America’s forever war machine, from subsidized child care to ending America’s War on Drugs, our platform is the winning one.</span></b></p><p class="copy" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I will respond to the cult-like personality of Donald Trump with a light-filled vision of hope and possibility. We will become once again a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” at a time when corporate interests have taken Washington hostage.</span></b></p><p class="copy" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I hope you are as moved by this vision as I am. You have supported the campaign before, and I hope you feel moved to support it again.</span></b></p><p class="copy" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">We must rise to the occasion like never before; so much is riding on what we do now. Even if the most I can do is influence the President, that in itself is a goal worth striving for. For those of us who are deeply committed to Trump not returning to the White House, it’s imperative that we do everything possible to help mount a winning campaign in 2024.</span></b></p><p class="copy" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I hope you will help me do this. There is no time to waste. Please give generously so we can restart the engines and race to the top.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">They also released the video below that gets to why she is running and why you should care.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OzggH8WADpw?si=rjH82wMoJM6VSLJL" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Marianne Williamson: I'm Marianne Williamson and when I was growing up, America had a vibrant middle class. The average American worker had decent benefits, could afford a home, could afford a car, could afford a yearly vacation, could afford for one member of the couple to stay home if they wished and could afford to send their kids to college. But over the last fifty years, there's been a massive transfer of wealth to the tune of 50 trillion dollars from the bottom 90% of Americans to the the top 1% -- decimating America's middle class. We all owe President Biden a debt of gratitude for defeating President Trump in 2020. But with the things that they're going to be throwing at us in 2024? We need to submit to the American people an agenda of fundamental economic reform: universal healthcare, tuition-free colleges at state colleges and universities, higher education including tech schools, paternity and maternity leave, free child care and a guaranteed living wage. These are things that are considered moderate positions in every other advanced democracy . But in the United States, people have been trained to expect too little. The American people have been played. What the Democratic Party should do is to truly return to the principles of Franklin Delano Roosevelt -- not just alleviate their suffering but offer them genuine economic reform, not just help people survive in an unjust system, the Democratic Party should end an unjust system. Washington DC, with a few brave exceptions, is filled with two major categories of leaders: Those who don't even care about all the suffering that is going on out there and those who do not have the moral courage to fix it. Let me in there, I will.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That's a powerful message and she's speaking to us. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I don't know a kind way to say this so let's not try to pretty it up: Who the hell is Junior speaking to?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My phone hasn't stopped ringing since the e-mail his campaign sent out late yesterday afternoon "Let’s send a powerful message" (afternoon my time -- PST). </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Marianne just spoke about the needs of the American people.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bobby Kennedy Junior can't do that. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Junior yammered away for over 1600 words and the only time "you" were mentioned was to beg for money.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What did he offer instead?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">More attempts to climb on top of the shoulders of his father and the late President John F. Kennedy. For variety, he threw two more men in the mix -- Martin Luther King Jr. -- mentioned only in passing -- and Malcolm X. The last one, that was the most offensive. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Right now, as you read this, you're in the world and you're trying to learn and grow. Some people stop. Junior stopped growing long ago. Which is why he offers the Whitest and most insulting take on Malcolm X you could imagine. I can remember when, in the 80s, his take began to become a dominant take. Articles and books appeared. It was a different take than the spit-on-Malcolm take that was so popular among many. But I don't know that it was a better take. At least when the enemy spits on you, they realize you're a force -- even in death -- to be reckoned with. The new Malcolm was more like a child who returned from a journey and was petted on the head. That's 'history' in Junior's warped mind.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In fairness, it's history he was 'taught.' Lucy Hughes-Hallett wrote an excellent book entitled CLEOPATRA: HISTORIES, DREAMS AND DISTORTIONS. The 1990 book is a must read for critical thinkers and traces how history is flexible and how in one time period one thing is emphasized and in another it's something else. Same person: Cleopatra. But the history and the stories a society tells itself change over time. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bobby's become fixated on the last century and that's becoming ever more clear. It's the 21st century and he can't cope with it. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And it's bad enough that Junior keeps trying to pretend he can speak for his father (who does have eight other living children) and his uncle but now he's trying to speak for MLK and Malcolm as well? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"What's next?" a friend asked over the phone, "His donation plea where he channels the ghost of Kitty Genovese?" </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Exactly. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He's useless as THE DAILY SHOW made clear this week. </span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/chuGDDdJLbk?si=p_fHSq7aQk3f1K0E" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Back to the real world, the Michigan primary was important this week. Let's note <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/28/michigan_2024_primary_uncommitted_biden_gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">this from yesterday's DEMOCRACY NOW!</a></span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fsZkS0GiWP0?si=DxTpusYw4QZdwJ-4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: We begin today’s show in Michigan, where President Joe Biden won the Democratic primary Tuesday but faced a significant backlash over his support for Israel’s assault on Gaza. Biden won about 81% of the vote, but over 100,000 voters, or more than 13%, cast their ballots for “uncommitted.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In recent weeks, the group Listen to Michigan urged Democrats to vote “uncommitted” to pressure Biden to call on Israel to end its assault on Gaza. Organizers of the campaign had said they were hoping for 10,000 “uncommitted” votes, pointing to Donald Trump’s win of less than 11,000 votes in 2016, to show the significance of that number. Tuesday’s vote shows they got 10 times that amount.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Michigan is the first major battleground state in the general election to hold its primary. It’s also home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the country. Top White House officials visited Michigan earlier this month to meet with Arab and Muslim leaders after a number of them refused to meet with Biden’s campaign manager.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The movement to vote “uncommitted” will likely spread to other states. Organizers of the movement are holding a call with supporters in Minnesota, which will vote next week, and Washington state, which holds its primary March 12th.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">For more, we’re joined by two guests. James Zogby is president of the Arab American Institute. His new <a href="https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2024/02/28/why-the-usa-continues-to-fail-the-arab-world/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">opinion piece</a> for <em>Pakistan Today</em> is titled “Why the <span class="caps">USA</span> Continues to Fail the Arab World.” He’s joining us from Utica, New York. We’re also joined by former Democratic Congressmember from Michigan Andy Levin. He’s joining us from Southfield, Michigan.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">We welcome you both to <em>Democracy Now!</em> You’re a former congressmember, Andy Levin. You’re also a former synagogue president. Talk about this “uncommitted” campaign. For every six votes President Biden got yesterday in the primary, “uncommitted” got one. Talk about the organizing effort and what message that you hope that those who supported “uncommitted,” like yourself, sent to President Biden.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">ANDY</span> <span class="caps">LEVIN</span>: Well, good morning, Amy and everyone. I don’t have much of a voice left, so sorry about that.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">It was really an incredible thing, Amy. You know, I’ve been organizing for peace for 40 years, and I’ve rarely seen such an organic and authentic movement come together in, as you say, just three weeks. And we got over 100,000 people to vote “uncommitted.” This was something that grew up out of the Arab American and larger Muslim communities in Michigan, but it had great power among progressives, among Jewish people, Christians, Muslims, people of other faiths, people of no faith. College campuses were aflame about this.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And the idea was that Michigan has this “uncommitted” box on our ballot, because, remember, this is a presidential primary, and some other states do the same thing. You’re voting to send delegates to a convention, so you could vote to send delegates “uncommitted.” And, in fact, we won so many votes, I believe we will send at least one delegate from two congressional districts: the 6th District, represented by Debbie Dingell, and the 12th District, represented by Rashida Tlaib.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I think the significance of this, Amy, is that the president’s people, and maybe the president himself, there’s a danger that they see this as sort of like a political problem: “We need to send surrogates. We need better messaging. People just need to realize what a disaster Trump would be, which, of course, we can never let him get near the White House again. So they’ll come around all of this.” No. This is war. This is the killing of tens of thousands of innocent people, leveling whole neighborhoods, most of the Gaza Strip. We don’t just want you to use a better message.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The message from us to the president yesterday was: You must change course. You must change course for the sake of your political reelection and because it’s the right and necessary thing to do from every point of view, including U.S. national security interests, for God’s sake. The message to the president is: Stop treating what Bibi Netanyahu says as the boundary of the possible. You’ve got to move towards an immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to this carnage, free all the hostages, free political prisoners among the Palestinians, including leading longtime prisoners who — if you don’t like Hamas, free Marwan Barghouti, who’s been in prison for so long, whom many Palestinians might support to change the situation there. So, we really need actual change in policy, and I think we sent that message strongly last night.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JUAN</span> GONZÁLEZ: Andy Levin, I wanted to ask you — I was particularly struck by the turnout. The Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said this was a record turnout on Tuesday for a presidential primary. Compared to, for instance, South Carolina, where only 4% of Democrats voted in the primary, here we had over, it looks like, 50%? Could you explain this issue of turnout, as well?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">ANDY</span> <span class="caps">LEVIN</span>: Well, one thing is that there were more — quite a greater number of Republicans voting, or people voting in the Republican primary than the Democratic primary. That’s also something that’s not great for President Biden. But there was some sense of a contest on that side, right? Even though we all know that Nikki Haley was going to trail by a wide margin.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">But it is remarkable, Juan. Think about it. We have an incumbent Democratic president running for reelection. We all know he’s going to be the nominee. Most Democrats feel like maybe he’s done a really great job in other areas. Personally, I was really proud to serve with him in the 117th Congress. I’m proud of the Investing in America agenda that we passed, having some, at least a semblance of, industrial policy in America for the first time in many decades, and on and on. But what’s remarkable is that this 100,000-plus people who voted “uncommitted,” almost all of them, Juan, wouldn’t have showed up but for this. They’re mad at the president. They would have stayed home.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And our message was: Wait a minute. That would be a disaster if you stayed home. He won’t get the message. He won’t understand. Come out and express your rage. Shake your fist at the president and say, “Look,” for most of them, “I voted for you in 2020. I’m really mad at you right now, and I have to tell you.” So, that, I think, juiced turnout.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And look at East Lansing, where Michigan State University is. Look at Ann Arbor, where the University of Michigan is. It’s not just Dearborn and Hamtramck, with our incredible, beautiful concentration of Arab American and other Muslim voters. It’s also young people across the state and progressives across the state who said, “We’re your base. We want to win in November. In order to win, we want peace now.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Andy Levin, the last time we talked to you, you were a congressmember. You were running for reelection. <span class="caps">AIPAC</span>, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, had invested millions in Democratic primaries to defeat progressives who supported Palestine. You were one of those they were trying to defeat. You’re a self-described Zionist who supports a two-state solution. But earlier, before that primary, a former president of <span class="caps">AIPAC</span> described you as “arguably the most corrosive member of Congress to the U.S.-Israel relationship.” Can you talk about what happened to you then? You lost that election. But do you see your point of view being embraced much both in Michigan and around the country in a way that <span class="caps">AIPAC</span> never imagined?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">ANDY</span> <span class="caps">LEVIN</span>: I do, Amy. I mean, basically, they spent millions of dollars of dark money. They raised a huge amount of so-called hard money for my opponent in that primary, who basically toed the <span class="caps">AIPAC</span> line completely. And now they say they’re going to spend $100 million in 2022, and evidently they’ve already raised $44 million to take out progressives in Democratic primaries. And much of their money is coming from Republican billionaires, who don’t have any place in a Democratic primary. And shame on us, as Democrats, if we continue to allow Democratic candidates to take Republican money in Democratic primaries.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">But here’s the situation. This avalanche of mostly dark money coming to try to interfere with Democratic primaries is running into a tsunami of upset by Democratic base voters who say, “The Jewish people deserve self-determination. What about the Palestinian people? And, in fact, there is no peace and security for the Jewish people in the Holy Land unless and until we realize the political and human rights of the Palestinian people. And we have to love each other. We have to support each other. We have to find a way to live together.” And, yes, this is a huge rebuke to that point of view that we must support the Israeli government no matter what they do.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I mean, why are we letting Bibi Netanyahu set the boundary of the possible? This man has never been for a just peace for one day in his life. He has actively opposed Palestinian self-determination his whole career. Like some other people we know, he’s fighting to stay in office so that he doesn’t go to jail. I mean, come on. You can support the people of Israel and the people of Palestine without supporting these horrible policies and this horrible war.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I mean, you know, think of the average — I think of myself, Amy, 40 years ago, when I was a college student. And if I read what <em>The New York Times</em> reported, for example, that the U.S. was supplying 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, and the <span class="caps">IDF</span> was dropping them not just on densely populated areas but on places where they had told the Palestinians to flee, and then, at the end of the article, “By the way, we’ve sent 5,000 more of one type of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel since October,” that Andy Levin 40 years ago is not unlike college students and other young people all around Michigan’s campuses and working people, saying, “Whoa! This is unacceptable.” And we showed the president that we don’t accept it yesterday.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JUAN</span> GONZÁLEZ: Yeah, I’d to bring in James Zogby to the conversation, get your reaction to the vote in Michigan, and also whether you think that this “uncommitted” movement could spread across the country, especially now as we head into Super Tuesday on March 5th.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JAMES</span> <span class="caps">ZOGBY</span>: Well, look, number one, I want to thank Andy Levin for his leadership. He made an enormous difference here, and we’re so pleased to be partnering, as we were, in this campaign.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Secondly, I think, message sent. A hundred-plus thousand “uncommitted” votes, much larger than anyone anticipated, makes a point: President Biden, you ignore this vote at your risk.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And thirdly, I think, there, frankly, is not a need to go any further. And I think that it’s very clear. We can extrapolate from the rest of the states what the turnout would be in November if we ignore this issue and continue to ignore this issue, not only, as the congressman said, with the Arab American vote, but with young voters, Black voters. We’ve done polling. My brother John has done polling on this among American voters, not just Arab American voters. The impact that the Gaza war is having on voters under 29, the impact it’s having on Black, Latino and Asian voters, who are core to the Democratic coalition, is very clear.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">We just wanted to make a point in Michigan. It was the place to make the point. But, frankly, it can also be read in Virginia. It can be read in Georgia. It can be read in Pennsylvania. You ignore this war, and you continue to offer nothing but anodyne, “Well, we’re really with you, and we feel bad, too, and we’re paying attention and working every day,” that does not cut it at this point. There is genocide unfolding. People want it to end. The president either is going to have to act decisively to end it, or it’s going to have an impact in November.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And as the congressman said it, as the organizers of this movement have been very clear, this is not the abandon Biden movement. This is the, for God’s sake, shape up or you might lose in November Biden movement. And the fact is, is that the president has to listen and change. It’s going to be too late for some. The fact that 30,000 have already died, that famine is on the way, that genocide has continued is going to mean a lot of people are going to say, “I can’t do this. I just can’t do it.” But if there’s to be any effort at all made to bring some voters back, something dramatic has to happen and change from the White House to say, “Let’s give him another shot.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">But, frankly, right now we’re having trouble finding that message. And I think Michigan sends a very strong signal, that doesn’t have to be repeated anywhere else. Look, when I saw the Emerson College poll out the day before this vote, I said, “Message sent.” They had 11%. We got a little — you know, we did a little better than that. They said youth vote was voting “uncommitted.” We did that. We showed that. In college towns across the state, we won. “Uncommitted” won in Dearborn. It beat Joe Biden. “Uncommitted” won in Hamtramck. It beat Joe Biden. Those are the two concentrations of Arab American voters. The president needs to pay attention. And I hope he does. And, you know, I hope he does in a way that is decisive and clear and actually turns the corner.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JUAN</span> GONZÁLEZ: And, James Zogby, of course, in Michigan, the participation of elected officials like Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and other local Michigan officials did have an impact on that vote. Do you see other Democratic Party officials in other states following that lead?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JAMES</span> <span class="caps">ZOGBY</span>: Well, look, we’ve already seen city councils in 70 cities do this. And that number is growing. There is, not just among Arab American, like — you know, we saw a lot of that in Michigan. We also saw Black officials. We saw progressive Jewish officials. And as important as Rashida was, Andy Levin was an important message sender here that this is a broader movement for justice. And let’s not forget that. City councilwoman in Detroit came out just a couple of days before the vote, saying, “I am with 'uncommitted.'” That’s important, having Black elected officials, Arab American elected officials, progressive Jewish elected officials saying, “We want this to end, and we want President Biden to make a difference.” That’s important.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And so, yeah, I think this is going to have a sort of an effect across the country. And we don’t need to do it in other states. We just don’t, because the message is very clear. Number one, you know in Michigan there’s no way to create an electoral map that you win in November. But, number two, we can extrapolate what happens in Michigan and say, “Hmm, it’s going to happen in Virginia. It’s going to happen in Georgia. You’re going to lose youth vote, Black vote, Arab American vote. And you don’t win Pennsylvania if that’s the case.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">So, I think, you know, I’ve been doing this for a long, long time, and I know that these voter groups have to have a reason to turn out. I think what was important about this — and, Congressman, I thank you and others for it — was that you gave people a reason to turn out. These “uncommitted” voters would not have turned out, and they would not turn out again in November, if they didn’t have a reason to turn out. We gave them a reason with “uncommitted.” Joe Biden’s got to give them a reason in November.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: And talk, Jim Zogby, about the other states. Talk about Minnesota and other states who are now, apparently, adopting this “uncommitted” vote. But in Michigan, what’s different — right? — is it’s actually printed on the ballot. And I think you can also add — I mean, most people didn’t — they talked about Dean Phillips, but Marianne Williamson, who suspended her campaign, came in third, and she was the one Democrat for a ceasefire. So you could probably add her votes to the “uncommitted” votes.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JAMES</span> <span class="caps">ZOGBY</span>: [inaudible], for example, the Arab community said, “Let’s back Marianne Williamson, even though she dropped out,” because she’s on the ballot and there is no other option. Look, let me say, I’m not going to discourage anybody from trying to do it in other states. I just — like I said, I don’t think you need to. And I would rather have energy focused on city council resolutions and getting people to sign on to ceasefire resolutions across the board.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">There is a — I did the Palestine statehood resolutions in 1988 with Jesse Jackson. We passed them in 11 states. We got to the national convention, had the first-ever debate from the podium on a minority plank. After that, everybody continued doing it, but without Jesse in the mix, we never had the momentum to carry it through.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">We had a number of ideal things come together in Michigan: a huge concentration of Arab Americans, the support of elected officials, local elected officials, mayors, state reps, etc., city council people. We also had Congressman Levin, who was great on college campuses in terms of mobilizing and bringing people forward, and a great collection of organizers and a budget to make it happen. We’re not going to have that in Minnesota. We’re not going to have that in other states. And so, I don’t want to see people set up for failure. And so, I think you take what happened in Michigan, you extrapolate it to your state, you send the message to President Biden: “It happened here. It can happen elsewhere.” There’s no need to try to replicate what can’t be automatically replicated, given the ideal composition of forces in Michigan that made this happen.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And so, I, frankly, think — I don’t know what’s going to happen in other states, but I don’t want to take a defeat in Minnesota, because it’s not even on the damn ballot, and say, “Oh, look, it’s” — and give the other side a crowing rights. They’re going to try whatever they can do to crow and say we really didn’t — “They didn’t accomplish anything, because 81% still voted for Joe Biden.” Well, of course 81 voted for Joe Biden. But that’s not going to mean November, because in the Emerson poll, Joe Biden is losing by two points. Eleven percent “uncommitted,” and Joe Biden loses by two points, hmm, does that — DMFI, Democratic Majority for Israel, don’t you get what that means? That means that you need that 11% to come to your side in order to put you over the top. We can say that in every state without having to go through this whole process, especially when it’s not even on the ballot and you can’t really get the same outcome you get in Michigan.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: We’re going to end with Andy Levin. You come from a political dynasty. Your uncle was the late senator who headed the Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin, I’m sure a close friend of President Biden; your father a congressman, as well, Sandy Levin. What do you think they would say at this point about this movement, about this demand and grassroots organizing?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">ANDY</span> <span class="caps">LEVIN</span>: Well, Amy, Uncle Carl passed away, as you know, several years ago. My dad is 92 and going strong. And he is really proud of what I’m doing. He, you know, was involved in helping Soviet Jews flee to Israel. You know, he supported U.S. policy for a two-state solution forever. But I think he understands that there is no way now, after 54 years of occupation and things going in the wrong direction, there’s no way forward unless the president of the United States steps up and leads much more strongly as a peacemaker.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And, look, I’m going to end on a hopeful note. Joe Biden, with this long history of chairing the Foreign Relations Committee in the Senate — and, you know, he says he’s known all the Israeli leaders, all the Palestinian leaders. You’ve got to step up, Mr. President, and now end this carnage and lead a diplomatic effort, not a military effort, to end this conflict. It can be done. You’ve got to step up and do it, both because it’s the right thing to do and because your politics depend on it. As Jim Zogby said, the other states are fine. Michigan is a must-win state. Minnesota isn’t, you know, for example. He’s going to win Minnesota anyway, I think. But you’ve got to win Michigan to put the Electoral College math together. And I think it’s just going to be hard to do unless you change course. So let’s get going.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Well, clearly, President Biden is hearing people. When he was with Seth Meyers the other night, the late-night comic, in an ice cream store, as he was licking his mint chip ice cream, a reporter asked a question about a ceasefire, and he said, yes, he thinks it’s going to happen on Monday. That surprised both Israel and Hamas. We’ll see what happens. But it was on the eve of the Michigan primary that he said that. Andy Levin, I want to thank you for being with us, former Democratic congressmember from Michigan, and James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/29/thursday-briefing-joe-biden-israel-gaza-war-michigan-voting" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">At THE GUARDIAN, Nimo Omer writes</a>:</span></div><div><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Over the next two newsletters I’ll look at very two different elections that are thousands of miles apart but similarly fractured by the war in Gaza. Today we will be in a midwestern state in the US, and tomorrow we’ll be in a small town in the north of England. Stay tuned.</span></b></p><div id="sign-in-gate"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><gu-island config="{"renderingTarget":"Web","darkModeAvailable":false}" data-island-status="hydrated" deferuntil="visible" name="SignInGateSelector" priority="feature" props="{"contentType":"Article","sectionId":"world","tags":[{"id":"world/series/first-edition","type":"Series","title":"First Edition newsletter"},{"id":"world/series/guardian-morning-briefing","type":"Series","title":"Guardian morning briefing"},{"id":"campaign/email/morning-briefing","type":"Campaign","title":"First Edition (newsletter signup)"},{"id":"world/world","type":"Keyword","title":"World news"},{"id":"us-news/joebiden","type":"Keyword","title":"Joe Biden"},{"id":"us-news/michigan","type":"Keyword","title":"Michigan"},{"id":"us-news/us-news","type":"Keyword","title":"US news"},{"id":"us-news/democrats","type":"Keyword","title":"Democrats"},{"id":"us-news/us-elections-2024","type":"Keyword","title":"US elections 2024"},{"id":"type/article","type":"Type","title":"Article"},{"id":"tone/newsletter-tone","type":"Tone","title":"Newsletters"},{"id":"tone/news","type":"Tone","title":"News"},{"id":"profile/nimo-omer","type":"Contributor","title":"Nimo Omer","bylineImageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/04/11/Nimo-Omer.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d9ef57729024fc40d89d1045f70dc35d","bylineLargeImageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/04/19/Nimo-Omer,_L.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a4b0d09d332df8f5a704ffb6d789b477"},{"id":"tracking/commissioningdesk/newsletters","type":"Tracking","title":"Newsletters"}],"isPaidContent":false,"isPreview":false,"host":"https://www.theguardian.com","pageId":"world/2024/feb/29/thursday-briefing-joe-biden-israel-gaza-war-michigan-voting","idUrl":"https://profile.theguardian.com","switches":{"prebidAppnexusUkRow":true,"externalVideoEmbeds":true,"abSignInGateMainVariant":true,"lightbox":true,"ophanNext":true,"commercialMetrics":true,"prebidTrustx":true,"scAdFreeBanner":false,"adaptiveSite":true,"prebidPermutiveAudience":true,"compareVariantDecision":false,"enableSentryReporting":true,"lazyLoadContainers":true,"ampArticleSwitch":true,"remarketing":true,"articleEndSlot":true,"keyEventsCarousel":true,"registerWithPhone":false,"targeting":true,"remoteHeader":true,"slotBodyEnd":true,"prebidImproveDigitalSkins":true,"ampPrebidOzone":true,"extendedMostPopularFronts":true,"emailInlineInFooter":true,"showNewPrivacyWordingOnEmailSignupEmbeds":true,"prebidAnalytics":true,"extendedMostPopular":true,"ampContentAbTesting":false,"prebidCriteo":true,"okta":false,"imrWorldwide":true,"acast":true,"automaticFilters":true,"twitterUwt":true,"prebidAppnexusInvcode":true,"ampPrebidPubmatic":true,"a9HeaderBidding":true,"prebidAppnexus":true,"enableDiscussionSwitch":true,"prebidXaxis":true,"stickyVideos":true,"interactiveFullHeaderSwitch":true,"discussionAllPageSize":true,"prebidUserSync":true,"audioOnwardJourneySwitch":true,"brazeTaylorReport":false,"callouts":true,"sentinelLogger":true,"geoMostPopular":true,"weAreHiring":false,"relatedContent":true,"thirdPartyEmbedTracking":true,"prebidOzone":true,"ampLiveblogSwitch":true,"ampAmazon":true,"prebidAdYouLike":true,"mostViewedFronts":true,"discussionInApps":false,"optOutAdvertising":true,"abSignInGateMainControl":true,"headerTopNav":true,"googleSearch":true,"brazeSwitch":true,"darkModeInApps":true,"prebidKargo":true,"consentManagement":true,"crosswordMobileBanner":true,"personaliseSignInGateAfterCheckout":true,"redplanetForAus":true,"prebidSonobi":true,"idProfileNavigation":true,"confiantAdVerification":true,"discussionAllowAnonymousRecommendsSwitch":false,"dcrTagPages":true,"permutive":true,"comscore":true,"ampPrebidCriteo":true,"abMpuWhenNoEpic":false,"newsletterOnwards":false,"youtubeIma":true,"webFonts":true,"prebidImproveDigital":true,"ophan":true,"crosswordSvgThumbnails":true,"prebidTriplelift":true,"weather":true,"disableAmpTest":true,"prebidPubmatic":true,"serverShareCounts":false,"autoRefresh":true,"enhanceTweets":true,"prebidIndexExchange":true,"prebidOpenx":true,"prebidHeaderBidding":true,"mobileDiscussionAds":true,"idCookieRefresh":true,"discussionPageSize":true,"smartAppBanner":false,"boostGaUserTimingFidelity":false,"historyTags":true,"brazeContentCards":true,"surveys":true,"remoteBanner":true,"emailSignupRecaptcha":true,"prebidSmart":true,"shouldLoadGoogletag":true,"inizio":true}}"></gu-island></span></b></div><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Normally, an uncontested Democratic primary race with an incumbent president running is not big news. But in Michigan a group of relentless grassroots activists turned what was supposed to be an uneventful election into a symbol of the dissatisfaction and anger at <a data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/joebiden" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Joe Biden</a> over his continued support of Israel in the war in Gaza.</span></b></p><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Though the president has sharpened <a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/14/biden-netanyahu-israel-gaza-advice" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">his criticism</a> of Israel’s military response, the damage, in the minds of many voters, has been done. <a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/20/us-vetoes-un-resolution-ceasefire-israel-gaza#:~:text=The%20US%20has%20vetoed%20a,forward%20on%20Tuesday%20by%20Algeria." style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Vetoing</a> the latest UN security council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire and supplying military aid to Israel has earned Biden the stark moniker of “genocide Joe”, a reference to the <a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/26/how-south-africas-genocide-case-against-israel-played-out-in-the-hague" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">allegations</a> made by South Africa that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel has strongly denied.</span></b></p><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The campaign, Listen to Michigan, started just a few weeks before the primary election, urging the public not to vote for Biden and instead vote uncommitted, to pressure the president to support an immediate and permanent ceasefire. They were more effective than even they had hoped, with the uncommitted movement receiving more than <a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/27/biden-wins-michigan-primary-election" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">100,000 votes</a>. Though Biden still won by 80%, the uncommitted movement has rattled the White House, as they wonder if this is a sign of what is to come in the run up to the November general elections.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This morning, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-02-29-2024-f9b5a62a80d8b83eac4946d3c85af58b" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Wafaa Shurafa and Kareem Chehayeb (AP) report</a>, "Israeli troops fired on a crowd of Palestinians waiting for aid in Gaza City on Thursday, witnesses said. More than 100 people were killed, bringing the death toll since the start of the <span class="LinkEnhancement"><a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war" rel="noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Israel-Hamas war</a></span> to more than 30,000, according to health officials." The horrors in that single sentence. The assault continues, the death toll is now over 30,000 and those in need were fired on by Israeli forces. It's horrific. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Link"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Link">And it's never ending and Joe Biden's not demanding a cease-fire. We need Marianne in this race now more than ever -- see Betty's "</span><a href="http://thomasfriedmanisagreatman.blogspot.com/2024/02/all-in-for-marianne.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">All in for Marianne</a><span class="Link">" and Revecca's "</span><a href="http://sexandpoliticsandscreedsandattitude.blogspot.com/2024/02/we-need-to-find-our-way-maybe-mariannes.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">we need to find our way - maybe marianne's the answer</a><span class="Link">." Of the 30,000, </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/29/middleeast/gaza-death-toll-30000-israel-war-hnk-intl/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="byline__name">Rob Picheta</span> and Abeer Salman (CNN) report</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div><span class="Link"><span style="font-size: medium;"><p class="paragraph inline-placeholder" data-analytics-observe="off" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clt6pxqee00033b6hfdrs2srj@published" style="text-align: left;"><b>The towering figure underscores a horrific, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/10/middleeast/khan-younis-devastation/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">months-long ordeal</a> for Palestinians inside the strip, during which Israel’s bombing and ground campaigns have displaced the vast majority of the population and created a dire humanitarian crisis.</b></p><p class="paragraph inline-placeholder" data-analytics-observe="off" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clt75actl00033b6hlmpnflqg@published" style="text-align: left;"><b>In all, 30,035 people have been killed so far, the ministry said Thursday, adding that the number of injured is over 70,000. </b></p></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Link">30,000. </span>Gaza remains under assault. Day 146 of the assault in the wave that began in October. <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/12/the-view-from-washington-let-the-killing-in-gaza-continue/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out</a>, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." <a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">CNN has explained</a>, "The Gaza Strip is '<a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/h_6b422f2abd54d7a1e3c9c9321c1dd103" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the most dangerous place</a>' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/gaza-strip-is-the-most-dangerous-place-to-be-a-child-unicef-105520385?id=105348620" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ABC NEWS quotes</a> UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna125877" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">NBC NEWS notes</a>, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-bidens-standing-hits-new-lows-israel-hamas-war-rcna125251" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">according to the latest national NBC News poll</a>. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/conditions-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out</a>, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-genocide-lawsuit" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">condemned</a> the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2024/01/gender-alert-the-gendered-impact-of-the-crisis-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">United Nations Women noted</a>, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." As noted earlier in the snapshot, the death toll now stands at 30,035 with over 70,000 injured and thousands missing. Months ago, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-11-21-2023-8db6dafbe39830c907f7c2db258c9875" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">AP noted</a>, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/7/israel_propaganda_gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained</a> on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:</span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1754491459145765059" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1754491459145765059&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F2024%2F02%2Firaq-snapshot_5.html&sessionId=8f0fa1745619dea84d27d8781eb3a286b6bb0ce3&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 416px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And the area itself? <a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-gaza-israel-bombing-destruction-hamas-reconstruction-f299a28410b70ee05dd764df97d8d3a0" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Isabele Debre (AP) reveals</a>, "Israel’s <span class="LinkEnhancement"><a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war" rel="noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">military offensive</a></span> has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells." <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/world/gaza-destruction-ukraine-iraq-vietnam-2776016" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports</a>, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/gaza-strip-map-attacks-damage/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">new study of satellite imagery</a> by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of <a href="https://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-intolerable-humanitarian-situation-gaza-cannot-continue" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">45 per cent of housing</a> destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War." </span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> If the bombs and the bullets don't kill you in Gaza, there's still starvation. <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/28/children-die-of-malnutrition-in-gaza-hospitals-health-ministry" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ALJAZEERA reports</a>:</span></div><div><p class="p1" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Six children have died from dehydration and malnutrition at hospitals in northern Gaza, the Health Ministry in the besieged Palestinian territory has said, as the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave worsens.</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Two children died at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the ministry said on Wednesday. Earlier it reported that four children died at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, while seven others remained in critical condition.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna141090" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Larissa Gao (NBC NEWS) reports</a>, "Reports that at least six more children in northern Gaza have died of dehydration and malnutrition are 'horrendous,' the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said on X today. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency also called for 'unimpeded access' across the enclave and an immediate cease-fire." <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/defunding-unrwa-us-genocide" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">At COMMON DREAMS, Phyllis Bennis addresses this topic</a>:</span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> Earlier this year, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s actions in <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Gaza</a> <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/26/1227078791/icj-israel-genocide-gaza-palestinians-south-africa" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">plausibly constitute genocide</a>. The world’s most influential judicial body ordered Israel to stop killing civilians and to admit more humanitarian aid.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Unfortunately, Israel was <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/02/26/israel-not-complying-world-court-order-genocide-case" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">having none of it</a>. Israel’s killings have continued, with <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/25/gaza-death-toll-set-to-pass-30000-as-israel-prepares-assault-on-rafah" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">over 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza now dead</a> and tens of thousands more at risk of dying from <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/28/at-least-576000-people-in-gaza-one-step-away-from-famine-un-says" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">hunger and disease</a>. <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/28/at-least-576000-people-in-gaza-one-step-away-from-famine-un-says" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Precious little aid</a> is getting in.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And worse, the U.S. has joined Israel’s efforts to incapacitate Gaza’s most important relief agency.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Just hours after the Court’s decision was announced, Israel alleged that 12 Gazan employees of the UN’s Relief Works Agency (UNRWA)—the primary body responsible for providing humanitarian support to <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/palestine" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Palestine</a> refugees—were Hamas members connected to the October 7 attacks.</span></b></p><p class="pull-quote" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Defunding the agency further undermines Palestinians’ access to water, food, medicine, shelter, and fuel.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">For more than half a century UNRWA has provided all the services in Gaza that would ordinarily be provided by a government. Most of Gaza’s doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, and street sweepers are UNRWA employees. Without UNRWA, all the other U.N. agencies and nonprofits would be unable to carry out their crucial work in the region.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">UNRWA employs thousands of people in Gaza. Israel’s claim about 12 of them was dubious—and <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/22/us-intelligence-unrwa-hamas" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the country’s government offered no evidence for it</a>.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In fact, the names of all UNRWA employees had been <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/why-donors-should-not-suspend-aid-unrwa" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">provided to Israel earlier in the year</a> for vetting and no concerns were raised. But just in case, UNRWA immediately announced it was <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/26/middleeast/unrwa-fires-staff-members-october-7-attacks-intl/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">firing the named employees</a> (minus two who’d been killed). And <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/4449083-un-review-unrwa-neutrality-allegations-staff-ties-hamas/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the U.N. launched</a> two separate investigations.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Instead of waiting for these investigations to play out, <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/30/biden-gaza-food-aid-hamas-civilians-strategy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the Biden administration immediately cut</a> its entire aid allocation to UNRWA, despite the agency’s irreplaceable role in getting desperately needed aid into Gaza. Many key U.S. allies followed suit, and <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://truthout.org/articles/senate-passes-bill-to-defund-unrwa-as-israel-assaults-last-safe-place-in-gaza/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the U.S. Senate voted to explicitly bar UNRWA</a> from receiving future humanitarian aid.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Some in Washington suggested they might redirect UNRWA funds to organizations like <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-suspending-unrwa-funding-us-aims-to-send-aid-to-other-groups-operating-in-gaza/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">UNICEF and the World Food Program</a>, but UNICEF and WFP together have less than 70 staff on the ground in Gaza—UNRWA has over 13,000. U.S. officials themselves had admitted earlier that UNRWA was <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2024-02-13/ty-article/.premium/u-s-senate-passes-massive-aid-bill-for-ukraine-israel-but-path-ahead-unclear/0000018d-a281-d8e9-a3bf-f3a182000000" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">“the only game in town”</a> in terms of getting any significant aid into Gaza.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://theconversation.com/cutting-unrwas-funding-will-have-dire-humanitarian-consequences-222586" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">The impact of these cuts</a> on the already threatened lives of 2.3 million displaced Gazans—as well as millions more Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria—can hardly be overstated. Defunding the agency further undermines Palestinians’ access to water, food, medicine, shelter, and fuel—and alongside ongoing U.S. military support for Israel, makes Washington complicit in genocide.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Thousands of Palestinians—especially babies, children, pregnant women, and the elderly—will die as a result of these cuts. And the millions of Palestinian refugees throughout the region will lose the only international agency in the U.N. system that’s mandated to protect their rights, including their right to return someday to their homes in what’s now Israel.</b> </span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As we wind down. Aaron Bushnell. He took his own life on Sunday to protest the assault on Gaza. That is news. It needs to be noted and we did note it. Some of you are e-mailing asking what I think about it? I really haven't. I've noted it here but refrained from offering personal thoughts. Clearly, he weighed his decision. Clearly, it's sad when anyone takes their own life. Clearly, as well, sometimes, in the world we live in, there is no choice involved in suicide. Conditions, lack of access and opportunities, and realities being what they are, a person is forced into that decision. It is news, his action was news, and we covered it. Some of you don't want to hear about it in the snapshot anymore and I can understand and that's why I'm putting this at the bottom so you could read the above before bailing. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I don't know him and I don't know his friends or family. I won't try to speak for him and I am bothered that others have. So I can understand why some of you are sensitive to the coverage -- any coverage -- of this. When I learned Monday that a group was organizing some sort of 'memorial' for this weekend, I found that sad and distasteful. That may be for others but it's not for me. It feels like someone trying to use the death to promote themselves. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This same group, by the way, was egging on a US veteran to kill himself a few years back. You may remember that and remember that we called them out for it. Tomas Young did not end up taking his own life. He died of natural causes. It was his decision to make but, it became clear if you paid attention, that he was moving away from taking his own life -- but people weren't paying attention to Tomas, they just saw the headlines and the news coverage to come and kept pushing suicide as a political protest to Bully Boy Bush. That's why we called it out. When he initially announced his decision, that was his decision and I believe we covered it here as that. But, again, it became obvious that he was moving away from that decision despite various 'personalities' -- including a 'rocker' as well as the elderly girlies -- demanding that it happen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If there's a news development, we will certainly note it but I do understand that for many of you -- for various reasons -- this is a topic you'd prefer we close the book on now that it's been covered here. Heard and respected.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-70493002578069272822024-02-26T20:51:00.004+03:002024-02-26T20:51:45.466+03:00 UNRWA Funding, Explained: Why the US CUT Donations for Humanitarian Aid in Gaza [WEB EXCLUSIVE]<p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/02/unrwa-funding-explained-why-us-cut.html" style="color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">UNRWA Funding, Explained: Why the US CUT Donations for Humanitarian Aid in Gaza [WEB EXCLUSIVE]</span></a></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/02/unrwa-funding-explained-why-us-cut.html" target="_blank">The Common Ills</a></p><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-4078454319809163703" itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4RCRQ3QvRD0?si=lc62QQYnKgbl9LfC" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></b><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/02/jewish-woman-says-most-antisemitic.html" style="color: #ff9900; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Jewish Woman Says Most Antisemitic College Experience Came From Zionists</span></a></h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5891407460973574663" itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 570px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oBdvniHmRqw?si=gF_409g9Pe2umtRd" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></b><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-align: left;"></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-69979227853353027362024-02-26T20:48:00.004+03:002024-02-26T20:48:46.647+03:00Iraq snapshot Monday, February 26, 2024.<p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/02/iraq-snapshot_0389705138.html" style="color: #cc6611; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;">Iraq snapshot</a></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Common Ills</a></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Monday, February 26, 2024. Aaron Bushnell of the US Air Force set himself on fire in DC in front of the Israeli Embassy, calls grow to vote "uncommitted" in Michigan's upcoming Democratic Party presidential primary, the death toll in Gaza gets closer to 30,000 (it's probably passed it long ago but we're talking about the official death toll which does not account for those who have been listed as missing for months now), and much more.</span></p><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the US, President Joe Biden still can't come to the aid of the Palestinians. More and more people just can't stomach anymore of the killing. Aaron Bushnell was one such person.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1762091490015379807" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=e30%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1762091490015379807&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F&sessionId=970d4d657e1f16c322633440d902d5b24b0a84c4&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 708px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yesterday reports emerged about the actions Aaron took. <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israeli-embassy-air-force-member-sets-himself-on-fire/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jordan Freiman (CBS NEWS) reported</a>, "An active-duty U.S. Air Force member is in critical condition after he set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, officials said. The man set himself on fire around 1 p.m. ET and both the U.S. Secret Service and Metropolitan Police Department responded, the agencies said." <span class="Link"><a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-us-embassy-fire-c49922e38d51727af736e60e3bb21dd5" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Didi Tang and Michael Balsamo (AP) added</a>, "</span>Law enforcement officials believe the man started a livestream, set his phone down and then doused himself in accelerant and ignited the flames. At one point, he said he 'will no longer be complicit in genocide,' the person said. " And <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/26/us-airman-sets-self-on-fire-in-protest-over-israels-genocide-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ALJAZEERA noted</a>, "In December, a protester set herself on fire outside the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta. A Palestinian flag was found at the scene, and the act was believed to be one of 'extreme political protest'." <a href="https://time.com/6821425/israel-embassy-air-force-protest-fire-self-immolation-aaron-bushnell-latest-updates/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Chad De Guzman (TIME) became the first reporter at a US outlet to name Aaron</a>, "The burn victim, who identified himself in video of the incident as 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell, reportedly succumbed to his injuries on Sunday night, according to independent journalist <a href="https://twitter.com/taliaotg/status/1761956302543016071" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Talia Jane</a>, who posted on social media that she is in contact with Bushnell’s family and friends." </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhHFQpv3J2A" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">MIDDLE EAST EYE has posted the video</a>. As he walks up to the embassy, he explains what has led to this. He then pours gasoline on himself and then sets himself on fire. Here are his final words.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Aaron Bushnell: I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I'm about to engage in an extreme act of protest. But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers is not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal. Free Palestine. Free Palestine! Free Palestine! Free Palestine!</span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1761979317779824767" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=e30%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1761979317779824767&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F&sessionId=970d4d657e1f16c322633440d902d5b24b0a84c4&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 672px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1762052244986294593" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=e30%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1762052244986294593&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F&sessionId=970d4d657e1f16c322633440d902d5b24b0a84c4&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 854px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1762096513138696609" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=e30%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1762096513138696609&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F&sessionId=970d4d657e1f16c322633440d902d5b24b0a84c4&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 321px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1762096185139929595" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=e30%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1762096185139929595&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F&sessionId=970d4d657e1f16c322633440d902d5b24b0a84c4&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 653px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gaza remains under assault. Day 143 of the assault in the wave that began in October. <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/12/the-view-from-washington-let-the-killing-in-gaza-continue/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out</a>, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." <a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">CNN has explained</a>, "The Gaza Strip is '<a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/h_6b422f2abd54d7a1e3c9c9321c1dd103" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the most dangerous place</a>' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/gaza-strip-is-the-most-dangerous-place-to-be-a-child-unicef-105520385?id=105348620" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ABC NEWS quotes</a> UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna125877" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">NBC NEWS notes</a>, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-bidens-standing-hits-new-lows-israel-hamas-war-rcna125251" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">according to the latest national NBC News poll</a>. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/conditions-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out</a>, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-genocide-lawsuit" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">condemned</a> the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2024/01/gender-alert-the-gendered-impact-of-the-crisis-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">United Nations Women noted</a>, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna140444" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">NBC NEWS notes</a>, "More than 29,700 people have been killed in Gaza <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-orders-rafah-evacuation-ground-invasion-netanyahu-gaza-war-rcna137863" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">since the war began</a>, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 69,800 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead." Months ago, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-11-21-2023-8db6dafbe39830c907f7c2db258c9875" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">AP noted</a>, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/7/israel_propaganda_gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained</a> on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:</span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1754491459145765059" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1754491459145765059&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F2024%2F02%2Firaq-snapshot_5.html&sessionId=8f0fa1745619dea84d27d8781eb3a286b6bb0ce3&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 416px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And the area itself? <a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-gaza-israel-bombing-destruction-hamas-reconstruction-f299a28410b70ee05dd764df97d8d3a0" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Isabele Debre (AP) reveals</a>, "Israel’s <span class="LinkEnhancement"><a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war" rel="noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">military offensive</a></span> has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells." <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/world/gaza-destruction-ukraine-iraq-vietnam-2776016" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports</a>, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/gaza-strip-map-attacks-damage/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">new study of satellite imagery</a> by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of <a href="https://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-intolerable-humanitarian-situation-gaza-cannot-continue" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">45 per cent of housing</a> destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War." </span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/02/25/biden-gaza-israel-arab-democrat-voters" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Samuel Robinson and Andrew Solender (AXIOS) report</a>:</span></div><div><span data-schema="smart-brevity"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><p style="text-align: left;">Michigan activists want to shock and shame the Biden campaign in the state's Tuesday primary to take seriously the risk of losing the support of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/04/michigan-arab-american-voters-biden-israel" data-vars-content-id="dc5d9de4-a54c-4bdf-ae65-2f4097c98e3f" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-headline="Arab Americans in Michigan could deliver Biden's first blow" data-vars-item="in_content_link" data-vars-link-text="Muslim and Arab Americans" data-vars-sub-category="story" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/04/michigan-arab-american-voters-biden-israel" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">Muslim and Arab Americans</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Why it matters: The war in Gaza has hurt President Biden's support among <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-click-url="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/muslim-voters-michigan-biden-trump-2020_n_5fa41369c5b6f1e97fe77a1f" data-vars-content-id="dc5d9de4-a54c-4bdf-ae65-2f4097c98e3f" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-headline="Arab Americans in Michigan could deliver Biden's first blow" data-vars-item="in_content_link" data-vars-link-text="the same voters" data-vars-sub-category="story" href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/muslim-voters-michigan-biden-trump-2020_n_5fa41369c5b6f1e97fe77a1f" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the same voters</a> who were crucial to him flipping the state from Trump in 2020.</p></span></b></span><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Activists want voters to back "uncommitted" instead of Biden.</span></b></p><ul style="line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Biden has lost the community "at a fundamental level," says Abbas Alawieh, a spokesperson for the Listen to Michigan campaign, during Israel's military strikes — described as <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-click-url="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-bombs-destruction-death-toll-scope-419488c511f83c85baea22458472a796" data-vars-content-id="dc5d9de4-a54c-4bdf-ae65-2f4097c98e3f" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-headline="Arab Americans in Michigan could deliver Biden's first blow" data-vars-item="in_content_link" data-vars-link-text="the most destructive in recent history" data-vars-sub-category="story" href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-bombs-destruction-death-toll-scope-419488c511f83c85baea22458472a796" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the most destructive in recent history</a>.</span></b></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"[T]his is a warning to Biden like, get your s--t together or you're going to lose," said Adam Abusalah, a Dearborn native who worked on Biden's 2020 campaign and is also pushing an "uncommitted" vote.</span></b></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Local Arab American leaders <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-click-url="https://apnews.com/article/biden-campaign-arab-american-support-israel-michigan-cf331a82f907fe70e22d5f0aa6d7346e" data-vars-content-id="dc5d9de4-a54c-4bdf-ae65-2f4097c98e3f" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-headline="Arab Americans in Michigan could deliver Biden's first blow" data-vars-item="in_content_link" data-vars-link-text="refused to meet" data-vars-sub-category="story" href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-campaign-arab-american-support-israel-michigan-cf331a82f907fe70e22d5f0aa6d7346e" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">refused to meet</a> with a top Biden campaign adviser last month.</span></b></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/25/michigan-gretchen-whitmer-biden-israel-gaza-war" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Sam Levine (GUARDIAN) reports</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat who is the only Palestinian-American serving in Congress, <a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/18/rashida-tlaib-joe-biden-michigan-democratic-primary" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">urged Democrats last week</a> to vote “uncommitted” in Michigan’s 27 February primary.</span></b></p><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“We don’t want a country that supports war and bombs and destruction. We want to support life. We want to stand up for every single life killed in Gaza … This is the way you can raise our voices. Don’t make us even more invisible. Right now, we feel completely neglected and just unseen by our government,” she said in a video posted to her Twitter account. “If you want us to be louder, then come here and vote uncommitted.”</span></b></p><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Tlaib’s sister, Layla Elabed, is the campaign manager for <a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.listentomichigan.com/supporters" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Listen to Michigan</a>, the group that has been leading the effort to get people to vote uncommitted. The group has the support of 30 elected officials across south-east Michigan, including Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, which has a large Arab American population.</span></b></p><p class="dcr-4cudl2" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“Biden must earn our vote through a dramatic change in policy,” the group says on its website. “President Biden has been a successful candidate in the past by representing a broad coalition, but right now he’s not representing the vast majority of <a data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/democrats" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Democrats</a> who want a ceasefire and an end to his funding of Israel’s war in Gaza.”</span></b></p></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/beto-o-rourke-uncommitted-biden-michigan" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Joe Queally (COMMON DREAMS) reports</a>: </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke became the latest high-profile member of the party to back the push for Michigan voters to tick the "uncommitted" box on the primary ballot next week as a way to protest President Joe Biden's unconditional support of Israel's unyielding assault on the people of <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Gaza</a>.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"I do think it makes sense for those who want to see this administration do more, or do a better job, to exert that political pressure and get the president's attention and the attention of those on his campaign so that the United States does better," said the former congressman who has run for both president and the U.S. Senate.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In an <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://michiganadvance.com/2024/02/24/beto-orourke-supports-uncommitted-campaign-in-michigans-tuesday-presidential-primary/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">interview</a> with the <em>Michigan Advance</em> on Friday, O'Rourke explained that he was partly influenced by a recent <em>New York Times</em> op-ed by Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud which <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/opinion/biden-dearborn-michigan-gaza.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">argued</a> that "no amount of landmark legislation" passed by the Biden administration "can outweigh the more than 100,000 people killed, wounded, or missing in Gaza. The scales of justice will not allow it."</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">O'Rourke said he agrees "with the aims and the goals" of the <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/michigan-officials-uncommitted" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">grassroots </a><a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/michigan-officials-uncommitted" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">campaign</a> in Michigan that is urging Democrats to use Tuesday's primary contest, in which Biden faces no real opponent, as a way to express the deep frustration many voters in the state are feeling over the carnage in Gaza.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"We should have a ceasefire, there should be a return of each [and] every single one of those hostages [taken by Hamas], there should be an end to this war and there should be a negotiated solution to Palestinian statehood," O’Rourke told the news outlet. "All of that needs to happen, and I share the concern that the United States is not doing close to enough to bring those things to pass."</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Polls have <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/americans-want-cease-fire-new-poll/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">shown</a> a strong majority of Democratic voters support an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, something Biden has steadfastly refused. Disagreement with the administration's policy is especially high among younger voters as well as the Arab American and Muslim Americans who represent a sizeable bloc of Michigan voters.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sunday night on CBS, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-doctor-on-gaza-devastation-from-israel-hamas-war-60-minutes-transcript/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">60 MINUTES addressed</a> the humanitarian crisis:</span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">When the terrorist group Hamas unleashed its barbaric attack inside Israel last October, the response by the Israeli government was swift.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Israel launched thousands of troops, tanks and more than 45,000 bombs into Gaza, decimating entire cities.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health says more than 29,000 people have been killed and nearly 2 million displaced - numbers many in the Israeli press and the United Nations are reporting.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Israel has barred journalists from independently accessing the Gaza strip, defying the long-standing precedent of allowing reporters into war zones.</span></b></p><p><span class="sc-d63d5cd8-3 faMHro" data-testid="byline-name"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Aid workers say a "catastrophic" <span class="link"><a data-invalid-url-rewritten-http="" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doctor-aid-workers-describe-gaza-devastation-60-minutes/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">humanitarian crisis is unfolding</a></span> in Gaza, but reporting on it has been challenging.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">So we asked aid workers, including two Americans – to share their view from inside Gaza over the last 142 days.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">A warning -- it is difficult to watch.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">This was the scene at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza in late January.</span></b></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I_xwnBNW_BI?si=_5-a7LiEUDfMC0ow" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This morning, Human Rights Watch issued the following:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The <a href="https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/north-africa/israel/palestine" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Israeli</a> government has failed to comply with at least one measure in the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/01/26/gaza-world-court-orders-israel-prevent-genocide" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">legally binding order</a> from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in South Africa’s genocide case, Human Rights Watch said today. Citing warnings about “catastrophic conditions” in Gaza, the court <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-00-en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">ordered</a> Israel on January 26, 2024, to “take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian aid,” and to report back on its compliance to the specific measures “within one month.”</span></b></div><div><div class="mb-8 md:mb-14"><div class="article-body article-body--contained rich-text mx-auto"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">One month later, however, Israel continues to obstruct the provision of basic services and the entry and distribution within Gaza of fuel and lifesaving aid, acts of <span aria-label="Explain glossary term collective punishment" class="onomasticon onomasticon-cursor-default" data-once="enable_tooltips" data-tooltip="Collective punishment in international law describes any form of sanction that is imposed on targeted individuals or groups for actions they did not personally commit. For example, an entire group of people is punished for alleged actions committed by members of the group." tabindex="0" title="collective punishment">collective punishment</span> that amount to <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/18/israel-unlawful-gaza-blockade-deadly-children" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">war crimes</a> and include <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/18/israel-starvation-used-weapon-war-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">the use of starvation of civilians as a weapon of war</a>. Fewer trucks have entered Gaza and fewer aid missions have been permitted to reach northern Gaza in the several weeks since the ruling than in the weeks preceding it, according to <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-140" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs</a> (OCHA).</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“The Israeli government is starving Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, putting them in even more peril than before the World Court’s binding order,” said <a href="https://www.hrw.org/about/people/omar-shakir" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Omar Shakir,</a> Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch. “The Israeli government has simply ignored the court’s ruling, and in some ways even intensified its repression, including further blocking lifesaving aid.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Other countries should use all forms of leverage, including sanctions and embargoes, to press the Israeli government to comply with the court’s binding orders in the genocide case, Human Rights Watch said.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Human Rights Watch <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/18/israel-starvation-used-weapon-war-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">found</a> in December 2023 that Israeli authorities are using starvation as a weapon of war. Pursuant a policy set out by Israeli officials and carried out by Israeli forces, the Israeli authorities are deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food, and fuel, willfully impeding humanitarian assistance, apparently razing agricultural areas, and depriving the civilian population of objects indispensable to its survival.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Israeli authorities have kept its supply of electricity for Gaza <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-122-0" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">shut off</a> since the October 7 Hamas-led attacks. After initially cutting the entire supply of water that Israel provides to Gaza via three pipelines, Israel resumed piping on two of its three lines. However, due to the cuts and widespread destruction to <a href="https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-101-enarhe" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">water infrastructure</a> amid unrelenting Israeli air and ground operations, only <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/gaza-strip-brink-public-health-catastrophe-health-and-wash-clusters-reassert-calls-immediate-long-lasting-ceasefire" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">one of those lines remained</a> operational at only 47 percent capacity as of February 20. Officials at the Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility told Human Rights Watch on February 20 that Israeli authorities have obstructed efforts to repair the water infrastructure.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">According to data published by OCHA and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-140" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">daily average</a> number of trucks entering Gaza with food, aid, and medicine dropped by more than a third in the weeks following the ICJ ruling: 93 trucks between January 27 and February 21, 2024, compared to 147 trucks between January 1 and 26, and only <a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiZTVkYmEwNmMtZWYxNy00ODhlLWI2ZjctNjIzMzQ5OGQxNzY5IiwidCI6IjI2MmY2YTQxLTIwZTktNDE0MC04ZDNlLWZkZjVlZWNiNDE1NyIsImMiOjl9&pageName=ReportSection3306863add46319dc574" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">57</a> between February 9 and 21. A <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/snapshot-deprivation-humanitarian-aid-gaza-strip-january-2024" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">survey</a> of impediments to the entry of aid faced by 24 humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza between January 26 and February 15 pointed to a lack of transparency around how aid trucks can enter Gaza, delays and denials at Israeli crossings and inspection points, and concerns about safety of trucks.</span></b></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">By comparison, an <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-war-inflicts-catastrophic-damage-infrastructure-economy-2023-11-17/#:~:text=On%20average%20500%20trucks%20of,21." rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">average of 500 trucks of food and goods</a> entered Gaza each day before the escalation in hostilities in October, during which time 1.2 million people in Gaza were estimated to be <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/world-cannot-stand-starvation-used-weapon-war-gaza" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">facing acute food insecurity</a><u>,</u> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/25/un-report-80-per-cent-of-gaza-inhabitants-relied-on-international-aid-before-war" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">80 percent of Gaza’s population</a> were reliant on humanitarian aid amid Israel's more than <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/06/14/gaza-israels-open-air-prison-15" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">16-year-long unlawful closure</a>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: left;">High-ranking Israeli officials have articulated a policy to deprive civilians of food, water, and fuel, as Human Rights Watch <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/18/israel-starvation-used-weapon-war-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">has documented</a>. The Israeli government spokesperson <a href="https://twitter.com/EylonALevy/status/1744051926453346699" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a><u> </u>more recently that there are “no limits” to aid entering Gaza, outside of security. Some Israeli officials <a href="https://twitter.com/EylonALevy/status/1760357301855175020?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">blame</a> the UN for distribution delays and <a href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2463496/middle-east" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">accuse</a> Hamas of diverting aid or Gaza police for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/world/middleeast/gaza-aid-convoys-ambush.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">failing to secure convoys</a>.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Israeli government cannot shift blame to evade responsibility, Human Rights Watch said. As the occupying power, Israel is obliged to provide for the welfare of the occupied population and ensure that the humanitarian needs of Gaza’s population are met. The Israeli human rights group Gisha <a href="https://gisha.org/UserFiles/File/letters/Letter_Israel_must_provide_for_all_needs_northern_Gaza_English.pdf?mc_cid=04f1429477" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">challenged</a> the Israeli government’s claims that it is not obstructing entry or distribution of aid and also found that it is not complying with the ICJ order.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Israeli authorities have also obstructed the aid that enters Gaza from reaching areas in the north. The <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/snapshot-deprivation-humanitarian-aid-gaza-strip-january-2024" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">survey</a> of humanitarian organizations found that “almost no aid is distributed beyond Rafah,” Gaza’s southernmost governorate. On February 20, the World Food Programme <a href="https://www.wfp.org/news/un-food-agency-pauses-deliveries-north-gaza" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">paused deliveries of lifesaving food</a> to the north, citing lack of safety and security. Israeli forces struck a <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146192" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">food convoy</a> on February 5, the UN <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146192" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a> and CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/21/middleeast/un-food-convoy-gaza-israel-strike-cmd-intl/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">documented</a>.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Between February 1 and 15, Israeli authorities <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-124" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">only facilitated</a> 2 of 21 planned missions to deliver fuel to the north of the Wadi Gaza area in central Gaza and none of the 16 planned fuel delivery or assessment missions to water and wastewater pumping stations in the north. <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-123" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Fewer than 20 percent of planned missions</a> to deliver fuel and undertake assessments north of Wadi Gaza have been facilitated between January 1 and February 15, as compared with <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-98" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">86 percent of missions</a> planned between October and December, according to OCHA.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“Israel’s ground forces are able to reach all parts of Gaza, so Israeli authorities clearly have the capacity to ensure that aid reaches all of Gaza,” Shakir said.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Since the ICJ order, Israeli authorities have also apparently destroyed the offices of at least <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/snapshot-deprivation-humanitarian-aid-gaza-strip-january-2024" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">two humanitarian organizations</a> in Gaza and taken steps to <a href="https://twitter.com/TalalAlhaj/status/1760713081594720279/photo/2" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">undermine the work of UNRWA</a>, the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/01/31/gaza-suspending-unrwa-aid-risks-hastening-famine" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">largest provider</a> of humanitarian aid in Gaza, which <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/snapshot-deprivation-humanitarian-aid-gaza-strip-january-2024" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">more than half</a> of other humanitarian organizations rely on to facilitate their operations. The head of UNWRA, Philippe Lazarini, <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/letter-commissioner-general-president-general-assembly" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a> in a February 22 <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/letter-commissioner-general-president-general-assembly" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">letter </a>to the UN General Assembly president that the agency has reached a “breaking point” due to multiple government suspensions of funding and Israel’s campaign to shut the agency down.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, <a href="https://x.com/bezalelsm/status/1757457717206134790?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a> on February 13 that he had blocked a US-funded flour shipment to Gaza, because it was going to UNRWA. Israel has <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/world/unrwa-funding-gaza-suspended/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">alleged</a> that at least 12 of the agency’s 30,000 employees participated in the October 7 attacks, which the UN is investigating.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In late December, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a multi-partner initiative that regularly publishes information on the scale and severity of food insecurity and malnutrition globally, <a href="https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1156749/?iso3=PSE" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">concluded</a> that over 90 percent of Gaza’s population is at crisis level of acute food insecurity or worse. The IPC said that virtually all Palestinians in Gaza are skipping meals every day while many adults go hungry so children can eat, and that the population faced famine if current conditions persisted. “This is the highest share of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity that the IPC initiative has ever classified for any given area or country,” the group said.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">On February 19, The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) <a href="https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/childrens-lives-threatened-rising-malnutrition-gaza-strip" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">found</a> that 90 percent of children under age 2 and 95 percent of pregnant and breastfeeding women face “severe food poverty.” On February 22, Save the Children <a href="https://www.savethechildren.net/news/gaza-families-forced-forage-food-left-rats-11-million-children-face-starvation" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a> families in Gaza “are forced to forage for scraps of food left by rats and eating leaves out of desperation to survive,” noting that “all 1.1 million children in Gaza [are] facing starvation.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In response to a <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240212-wri-01-00-en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">request by South Africa</a> for additional provisional measures following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s order for Israeli authorities to explore a possible plan to <a href="https://x.com/bezalelsm/status/1757457717206134790?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">evacuate Rafah</a> ahead of a ground incursion, the ICJ <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240216-pre-01-00-en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a> that the “perilous situation demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures” throughout Gaza – but not new measures – and highlighted Israel’s duty to ensure “the safety and security of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Beyond enabling the provision of basic services and aid, the measures in the ICJ’s binding order require Israel to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and prevent and punish incitement to commit genocide. The ICJ issued these measures “to protect the rights claimed by South Africa that the Court has found to be plausible,” including “the right of the Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide.” Although South Africa asked the court in its oral arguments during <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/01/10/world-court-hear-genocide-case-against-israel" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">January hearings on the provisional measures</a> to make any report it ordered public, the court did not indicate that it has done so.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Between January 26 and February 23, more than 3,400 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, according to figures from Gaza’s <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-125" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Health Ministry</a> compiled by OCHA.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">South Africa’s case against Israel for genocide is distinct from the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/02/16/world-court-review-57-year-israeli-occupation" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">proceedings</a> on the legal consequences of Israel’s 57-year-occupation, which began at the ICJ on February 19.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>“Israel’s blatant disregard for the World Court’s order poses a direct challenge to the rules-based international order,” Shakir said. “Failure to ensure Israel’s compliance puts the lives of millions of Palestinians at risk and threatens to undermine the institutions charged with ensuring respect for international law and the system that ensures civilian protection worldwide.” </b> </span></p></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /></div></div></div></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226041205039573399.post-55526683789886899002024-02-21T22:13:00.001+03:002024-02-21T22:13:18.237+03:00Iraq snapshot Wednesday, February 21, 2024.<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2024/02/iraq-snapshot_0562775115.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Iraq snapshot</span></a></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Common Ills</a></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Wednesday, February 21, 2024. For the third time, the US government vetoes a cease-fire, CNN reports on a War Crime with documented evidence, and much more.</span></p><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">England's Prince William may have joined the call for a cease-fire but the US government hasn't. </span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KVvqRi8M9oY?si=h_snwYjTVwzPe6pK" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As the BBC notes, the US government vetoed the resolution. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/un-israel-palestinians-gaza-ceasefire-resolution-vote-350c86ef261bf1a00a2515cf22764de5" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Edith M Lederer (AP) explains</a>, "The United States on Tuesday vetoed an Arab-backed and widely supported U.N. resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in the embattled Gaza Strip, saying it would interfere with negotiations on a deal to free hostages abducted in Israel." 13 nations voted in favor of the cease-fire. The US voted against it. And the UK?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Apparently unconcerned that the future kind of England -- William -- is calling for a cease-fire -- unconcerned despite his father's health scare -- they decided to abstain. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">At the UN, the UK stood with the US. In England this morning, most Brits are expressing agreement with William.</span></div><div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 560px; width: 560px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1760279119042859291" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1760279119042859291&lang=en&maxWidth=560px&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F&sessionId=49afca7f1d87ae6d1fad98fe92f640da85fc16ae&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 2px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 560px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Prince William is not the only official in England calling for a cease-fire. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-68346129" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">BBC NEWS reports</a> that the Laobur Party is as well:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><section class="sc-4e574cd-0 bhtqwj" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe" style="text-align: left;"><b class="sc-7dcfb11b-0 kVRnKf"><span style="font-size: medium;">Labour has called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza for the first time since the outbreak of the conflict in October.</span></b></p></section><section class="sc-4e574cd-0 bhtqwj" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The move comes after days of party debate on how to vote in Parliament on an SNP motion calling for a ceasefire.</span></b></p></section><section class="sc-4e574cd-0 bhtqwj" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Ten Labour frontbenchers quit in order to vote for the SNP's previous call for a ceasefire in November.</span></b></p></section><section class="sc-4e574cd-0 bhtqwj" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said Labour had shifted because the situation in Gaza had "evolved".</span></b></p></section></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On the vote at the United Nations, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/20/us-vetoes-un-resolution-ceasefire-israel-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Julian Borger (GUARDIAN) notes</a>, "Washington was widely lambasted for using its veto again at a time when nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2 million people are under threat of famine." <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/20/u-s-vetoes-gaza-ceasefire-resolution-00142229" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Mona Zhang (POLITICO) adds</a>, "Meanwhile, Arab states are weighing their next steps and considering bringing some version of the vetoed Algerian resolution to the floor of the U.N. General Assembly." <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/21/world-condemns-uss-latest-un-security-council-veto-on-gaza-ceasefire" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ALJAZEERA reminds</a> that this was the US' third veto of a cease-fire at the UN Security Council and:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">France’s UN envoy Nicolas de Riviere expressed regret that the resolution “could not be adopted, given the disastrous situation” in Gaza.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">De Riviere added that France, which voted for the resolution, would continue to work towards all captives being released and for a ceasefire to be “implemented immediately”.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-fundraiser-israel" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">At COMMON DREAMS, Julia Conley reports</a>:</span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Hours after his ambassador to the United Nations vetoed the third cease-fire resolution to be proposed at the U.N. Security Council since Israel began its U.S.-backed bombardment of <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Gaza</a> in October, President Joe Biden was scheduled to attend a high-dollar fundraiser at the home of an influential pro-Israel billionaire on Tuesday.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Tickets for the event hosted in Los Angeles by media mogul Haim Saban <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://deadline.com/2024/02/biden-fundraising-los-angeles-haim-saban-1235831530/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">started</a> at $3,300 and cost as much as $250,000. Other exclusive fundraising events for Biden, who is seeking reelection in November, have been disrupted in recent months by protesters demanding that the U.S. end its support for Israel, which has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Co-hosts of the fundraiser include attorney Cliff and Leslie Gilbert-Lurie, whose <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://deadline.com/2024/02/biden-fundraising-los-angeles-haim-saban-1235831530/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">own event</a> in November was marked by <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-protesters-heckle-fundraiser-1845569" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">demands</a> for a cease-fire from people in a crowd as Vice President Kamala Harris spoke. Demonstrators also displayed fake blood at the Gilbert-Luries' home.<br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Nicole Mutchnik, a vice chair of the Anti-Defamation League, is also a co-host of Tuesday's event. Mutchnik's staunchly pro-Israel organization has frequently accused pro-Palestinian rights groups of anti-Jewish sentiment, equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism.<br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Jewish-led Palestinian rights group IfNotNow pointed out that Saban has been quoted as suggesting the U.S. should "scrutinize" Muslims "to get them to admit they are or they're not terrorists."</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But the US government's refusal to call for a cease-fire isn't just about money and greed. <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/andy-ogles-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jake Johnson (COMMON DREAMS) makes that clear</a> in his reporting on the words of a member of Congress:</span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee said Tuesday that "we should kill 'em all" after an activist pressed him to respond to atrocities that the U.S.-backed Israeli military is committing against Palestinians in <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Gaza</a>, including children.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"I've seen the footage of shredded children's bodies," the activist told Ogles. "That's my taxpayer dollars that are going to bomb those kids."</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>"You know what? So, I think we should kill 'em all, if that makes you feel better," Ogles responded. "Hamas and the Palestinians have been attacking Israel for 20 years. It's time to pay the piper."</b> </span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tennessee trash. Whomever dropped it in DC, can you come pick it up? The country doesn't need him.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As the US veto continues to outrage, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/21/middleeast/un-food-convoy-gaza-israel-strike-cmd-intl/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="byline__name">Katie Polglase</span> and Muhammad Darwish (CNN) report</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><div class="source inline-placeholder" data-article-gutter="true" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/source/instances/clsuk63qr001fivpahr1298pl@published"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><cite class="source__cite"></cite></span></b></div><p class="paragraph inline-placeholder" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clsuk8j8800073b6hx8gkk8fz@published" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></b></p><p class="paragraph inline-placeholder" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clsuk8j8800073b6hx8gkk8fz@published" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Israeli forces fired on a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-02-05-24/h_cb28c9762353d6b31a6dc2a6be971b11" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">United Nations convoy</a> carrying vital food supplies in central Gaza on February 5, before ultimately blocking the trucks from progressing to the northern part of the territory, where Palestinians are on the verge of famine, according to documents shared exclusively by the UN and CNN’s own analysis.</span></b></p><p class="paragraph inline-placeholder" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clsuk8j8800093b6hvk29axt3@published" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">CNN has seen correspondence between the UN and the Israeli military that show the convoy’s route was agreed upon by both parties prior to the strike. According to an internal incident report compiled by UNRWA, the main UN relief agency in Gaza, which was also seen by CNN, the truck was one of 10 in a convoy sitting stationary at an IDF holding point when it was fired upon.</span></b></p><p class="paragraph inline-placeholder" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clsuk8j88000a3b6hfgl2cwak@published" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">No one in the convoy was hurt, but much of its contents – mainly wheat flour desperately needed to bake bread – were destroyed. Tracing the strike offers a window into the major challenges that humanitarian efforts face in <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/11/middleeast/why-only-a-trickle-of-aid-is-getting-into-gaza-mime-intl/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">getting aid to Gaza’s</a> more than 2 million people – nearly 85% of whom are internally displaced – amid Israel’s nearly five-month bombardment of the strip.</span></b></p><p class="paragraph inline-placeholder" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clsuk8j88000b3b6hwlldt24m@published" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>“A convoy that had food on it, heading to the northern parts of the Gaza Strip. That convoy on its way in what we call the middle areas, it got hit. One of the trucks carrying supplies was hit by Israeli naval fire,” Juliette Touma, global director of communications for UNRWA, told CNN.</b> </span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">War Crimes.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gaza remains under assault. Day 138 of the assault in the wave that began in October. <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/12/the-view-from-washington-let-the-killing-in-gaza-continue/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out</a>, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." <a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/index.html" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">CNN has explained</a>, "The Gaza Strip is '<a href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-22-23/h_6b422f2abd54d7a1e3c9c9321c1dd103" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the most dangerous place</a>' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/gaza-strip-is-the-most-dangerous-place-to-be-a-child-unicef-105520385?id=105348620" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ABC NEWS quotes</a> UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna125877" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">NBC NEWS notes</a>, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-bidens-standing-hits-new-lows-israel-hamas-war-rcna125251" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">according to the latest national NBC News poll</a>. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/conditions-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out</a>, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-genocide-lawsuit" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">condemned</a> the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2024/01/gender-alert-the-gendered-impact-of-the-crisis-in-gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">United Nations Women noted</a>, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/21/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-ceasefire-veto-a-new-low-as-hunger-spreads" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">ALJAZEERA notes</a>, "At least 29,313 people have been killed and 69,333 wounded in Israel’s attacks on Gaza since October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported." Months ago, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-11-21-2023-8db6dafbe39830c907f7c2db258c9875" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">AP noted</a>, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/7/israel_propaganda_gaza" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained</a> on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1754491459145765059" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1754491459145765059&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F2024%2F02%2Firaq-snapshot_5.html&sessionId=8f0fa1745619dea84d27d8781eb3a286b6bb0ce3&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 416px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And the area itself? <a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-gaza-israel-bombing-destruction-hamas-reconstruction-f299a28410b70ee05dd764df97d8d3a0" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Isabele Debre (AP) reveals</a>, "Israel’s <span class="LinkEnhancement"><a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war" rel="noopener" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">military offensive</a></span> has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells." <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/world/gaza-destruction-ukraine-iraq-vietnam-2776016" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports</a>, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/gaza-strip-map-attacks-damage/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">new study of satellite imagery</a> by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of <a href="https://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-intolerable-humanitarian-situation-gaza-cannot-continue" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">45 per cent of housing</a> destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War." <br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This morning, Cindy McCain, <span class="css-1qaijid r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0 r-poiln3" style="text-overflow: unset;"> Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme, Tweets:</span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1760211554778091713" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1760211554778091713&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fthecommonills.blogspot.com%2F&sessionId=49afca7f1d87ae6d1fad98fe92f640da85fc16ae&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 947px; position: static; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The conditions get worse and worse. A cease-fire? That would have allowed the delivery of aid. But Joe Biden had to go soak up big bucks from corrupt donors and hope he can buy his way into a second term after his actions make clear that he doesn't deserve one.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna139713" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">NBC NEWS notes</a>, "The World Food Program is pausing the delivery of food to northern Gaza until conditions are safe, saying its drivers were shot at and faced looting and beating. The agency said this decision would add to the 'unprecedented desperation' in Gaza, after earlier warning the enclave is at risk of famine. UNICEF warned yesterday that Gaza faced an <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-centrists-unveil-bipartisan-border-aid-deal-ukraine-israel-rcna139071" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">'explosion' in child deaths</a> due to malnutrition and illness." This morning, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/feb/21/middle-east-crisis-live-israel-gaza-palestine-lebanon-un-the-hague" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">THE GUARDIAN notes</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Also Wednesday, the aid group Doctors Without Borders said that two people were killed when a shelter housing staff in the Gaza Strip was struck during an Israeli operation in an area where Palestinians have been told to seek shelter.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“While details are still emerging, ambulance crews have now reached the site, where at least two family members of our colleagues have been killed and six people wounded. We are horrified by what has taken place,” the group said in a post on social media.</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="wpds-c-PJLV"><div class="dib items-center" data-qa="author-byline"><span class="left"><div class="dib font-xxs" data-cy="name-with-optional-link" data-qa="name-with-optional-link" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="wpds-c-cNdzuP" data-qa="attribution-text"></span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/21/israel-hamas-war-news-gaza-palestine/" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Kelsey Ables and Niha Masih (WASHINGTON POST) report</a>:</span></div></span></div></span></div><div><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, is holding the third day of hearings Wednesday into the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices “in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” Dozens of countries are expected to present oral arguments during the hearings, which span six days, and deal with questions of Israeli control over the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. While the proceedings are not directly about the war in Gaza, they could intensify pressure on Israel over its military campaign there.</span></b></p></div><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Palestinian officials offered impassioned remarks on Monday, with one arguing that “successive Israeli governments have given the Palestinian people only three options: displacement, subjugation or death.” Israel said it does not recognize the legitimacy of the hearings and will not attend. The United States is slated to speak Wednesday.</span></b></p></div><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Here’s what to know.</span></b></p></div><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body"></div><p class="PJLV italic font-light mb-md font-copy left" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">This is an excerpt from a full story.</span></b></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For more on the International Court of Justice, let's note <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/20/icj_palestine_ahmed_abofoul" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">yesterday's DEMOCRACY NOW!</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3t2LmlN0YIo?si=CR7D1KYbiFVRVY2i" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><div class="text"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: This is <em>Democracy Now!</em>, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">We go now to The Hague, where the International Court of Justice is holding a six-day hearing as over 50 countries are testifying against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. It’s the largest-ever participation in the World Court’s history.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said Monday, quote, “The genocide underway in Gaza is a result of decades of impunity and inaction.” Riyad Mansour, Palestinian envoy to the U.N., delivered emotional testimony Monday.</span></b></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">RIYAD</span> <span class="caps">MANSOUR</span>: The state of Palestine appeals to this court to guide the international community in upholding international law, ending injustice and achieving a just and lasting peace, to guide us towards a future in which Palestinian children are treated as children, not as demographic threat, in which the identity of the group to which we belong does not diminish the human rights to which we are all entitled, a future in which no Palestinian and no Israelis is killed, a future in which two states live side by side in peace and security. The Palestinian people only demand respect for their rights. They ask for nothing more. They cannot accept nothing less and nothing else. The future of freedom, justice and peace can begin here and now.</span></b></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: That was Palestine’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, addressing the International Court of Justice Monday. Earlier today, South African Ambassador Vusi Madonsela addressed the court.</span></b></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">VUSI</span> <span class="caps">MADONSELA</span>: The inordinate delay in achieving a fair and just settlement has resulted in an unending cycle of violence. A clear legal characterization of the nature of Israel’s regime over the Palestinian people can only assist in remedying the ongoing delay in achieving a just settlement. … We, as South Africans, sense, see, hear and feel to our core the inhumane discriminatory policies and practices of the Israeli regime as an even more extreme form of the apartheid that was institutionalized against Black people in my country.</span></b></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: For more, we’re joined from The Hague, where the <span class="caps">ICJ</span> hearing is taking place, by Ahmed Abofoul, legal research and advocacy officer at the Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq. He contributed to their advisory opinion on the case.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Welcome back to <em>Democracy Now!</em> It’s great to have you with us. This is historic, what’s taking place right now, Ahmed, at the International Court of Justice. More than half the world’s countries are participating in this. Talk about the significance of this. And although we just played the South African envoy’s comments, this is not to be confused with that other case, the South Africa bringing the case around genocide against Israel in the court, that just happened a few weeks ago.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AHMED</span> <span class="caps">ABOFOUL</span>: Sure. Well, first of all, thank you for having me again, Amy, and congratulations on <em>Democracy Now!</em>’s 28th anniversary. In this dystopian age of misinformation and biased media, especially in the West, we value your work, and we congratulate you and hope your viewers will continue to support your important work.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">You’re absolutely right, Amy. This is a historical moment. For over 57 years, Israel has been perpetuating its occupation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, dominating every aspect of their lives and maintaining this occupation to further facilitate and impose this apartheid regime, imposed on the Palestinian people as a whole. One of the important features of this occupation is that it is colonial in nature. So, it’s combined with the continued, unabated building of settlements and the theft of land and the demographic manipulation and engineering of the Occupied Palestinian Territory in an attempt to empty it from its Indigenous people — a very common feature of colonial regimes and projects trying to steal the land without the people.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">This is a historical moment, Amy, because this is, as you mentioned, the most — the case with the most interest by states in the history of the advisory opinion procedure before the court. And it shows you that the world has something to say about this occupation.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The whole body of occupation — of the law of occupation shows us that occupation was not intended to last that long. Occupation is temporary in nature. But the way Israel perpetuated the occupation shows that Israel is not interested in ending that occupation, but it actually needs that occupation to further implement its strategy to acquire more land by force with as least Palestinians as possible.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And therefore, the premise of this case, I think there are three main legal arguments that Israel is violating what we call international law, peremptory norms from which no derogation is permitted. So, the first norm that Israel is violating is the acquisition of territory by force or the threat of the use of force. The second is Israel’s violations of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, which is also a peremptory norm. And the imposition of regime of racial discrimination and demographic manipulation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and beyond, that is a regime of apartheid imposed on the Palestinian people as a whole, denying them their unalienable rights, including Palestinian refugees, who continue to be denied their right to return to their homes and villages.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">So, this is an important moment, where for the first time we would have the principal organ of the United Nations telling us the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation. And it will be extremely difficult for Israel’s allies after that to justify Israel’s actions in any way possible. Israel has been instrumentalizing the rules of international humanitarian law, the body of law that governs the situation of occupation, to further its settler-colonial project in Palestine. I think after this decision, which I have no doubt that the court will decide that Israel’s occupation is illegal, it will be very difficult to support Israel and its policies by Israel’s allies, including the U.S. So, all eyes on the U.S. and how it will react to this important ruling.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JUAN</span> GONZÁLEZ: And, Ahmed Abofoul, I wanted to ask you: For those who are not familiar with these international legal bodies, could you briefly summarize the difference between the International Court of Justice proceedings and the separate case that South Africa filed, the complaint of genocide at the International Criminal Court [<i>sic</i>] against Israel, especially in terms of the jurisdiction or the powers of the court to have any direct effect on Israel’s actions?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AHMED</span> <span class="caps">ABOFOUL</span>: Yes, absolutely. I think you meant South Africa’s genocide case before the very same court, the International Court of Justice, and these are two different proceedings. The International Court of Justice can look into advisory proceedings, where any organ of the United Nations can ask the court to provide a legal opinion on what the court thinks of a certain matter. Usually such rulings are nonbinding for states, but they are of particular importance as they guide the whole United Nations and the member states in how to approach a certain matter or a certain question.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The other type of procedure is contentious cases, where states take each other to court when they have a disagreement on a matter of international law, so, for example, a disagreement on the interpretation of a particular convention to which both are parties and have accepted the court’s jurisdiction. And that’s exactly what South Africa did in the genocide case against Israel on the interpretation of the Genocide Convention, where it took Israel to court. So it’s a case between South Africa and Israel, while in the advisory opinion proceeding, there are no two parties. There is only the court that is deciding on the matter of question. And all states around the world are invited to provide their written statements, their oral interventions, to tell the court what is their position, what is their interpretation of the law on that particular matter, because international law is made by the practices of these states and what states around the world have accepted to be customary international law and have accepted to be the common interpretation of international law.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">So, the law on occupation, as I said, is clear that occupation was not intended to last that long and is temporary in nature, but it didn’t set any time limit in which occupation has to end. So, that’s how Israel has been perpetuating this, often described as, prolonged occupation — it’s the longest occupation in modern history — claiming, under the mutual security pretext, that it needs to continue its control and needs to continue its domination of the Palestinian people and its violations of the peremptory norms.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">JUAN</span> GONZÁLEZ: And what is the role of the public in these cases? Is there any?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AHMED</span> <span class="caps">ABOFOUL</span>: Of course, of course, absolutely. The public, you know, don’t have a standing in procedure, or, like, civil society organizations, for example, like the one I’m proudly associated with — that is, Al-Haq — can always submit to the court, but these submissions are not part of the proceedings. They are available at the seating of the court for states participating in the proceedings, but also for judges to read them and consult them. And we have already published a position paper outlining the key legal arguments in this case and our view on how the court should approach this case.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">But if you’ll allow me, these rulings are usually of particular importance to be used after, so how, for example, the state in question will utilize this ruling in its diplomatic efforts, whether taking this ruling to the General Assembly to adopt a resolution to the same effect, or perhaps to the Security Council, although there will always be the U.S. veto. So, what comes after that decision, I think, is also of particular importance.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And historically, the <span class="caps">ICJ</span> cases have served in a way to provide guidance on what international law says and how states should behave. Obviously, not always the states have listened to such rulings, or they tried to disobey them. But, for example, in the situation in South Africa and the ruling on the illegal presence of South African apartheid in Namibia, it served and it created momentum for the mobilization on the ground which eventually led to the end of that regime. So, hopefully, this advisory opinion is also another step forward to ending Israel’s settler-colonial and apartheid regime imposed on the Palestinian people as a whole.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Can you talk, Ahmed Abofoul, about the response of the court? This is when it was run by Joan Donoghue, and important to point out. She came out of the State Department. She’s the head of the International Court of Justice. But she is no longer the head of the Court of Justice, but it was under her and it was her reading of the preliminary decision around South Africa bringing its genocide case to the court. If you can talk about who’s the new head of the court? And then I want to ask you about what just happened in Israel in the Knesset, voting not to expel Ofer Cassif, the lawmaker who’s a member of the Hadash party supporting the genocide case against Israel at the <span class="caps">ICJ</span>. I just wanted to play a clip of the Knesset member, Cassif, <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/1/12/ofer_cassif_israel_genocide_case_icj" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">speaking</a> to <i>Democracy Now!</i> about facing expulsion, which didn’t happen.</span></b></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">OFER</span> <span class="caps">CASSIF</span>: They want me and my friends to shut up. They don’t want us to raise our voice against any kind of violence, because, as I said a million times, as someone who continuously for years object and oppose the Israeli occupation and siege against the Palestinian people, we said, I said, explicitly, that even the crimes of the siege and the occupation cannot and will never justify the massacre committed by Hamas. We added that the massacre, the criminal massacre by Hamas, cannot justify the massacre and assault of Israel on Gaza, in which around 30,000 people are already dead, were killed. The vast majority, more than 70%, are innocent civilians, around 10,000 children.</span></b></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: So, that’s a member of the Knesset, who remains so because they lost the vote to expel him, Ofer Cassif. And if you can respond to the new president, Nawaf Salam, who’s replacing Joan Donoghue?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AHMED</span> <span class="caps">ABOFOUL</span>: Yeah. Well, as you said, Judge Nawaf Salam, who’s a Lebanese judge, he has been a member of the court since February 2018 and newly elected as president of the court since 6th of February, 2024. He is now the president of the court.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">But if you’ll allow me, whether him or the American judge, judges before the <span class="caps">ICJ</span>, they don’t serve as agents of their state of nationality. They serve as independent judges who provide their personal views about international law and the interpretation of international law, after hearing the positions of the states. So, it’s not — it is not, in a way, usual to presume that because of the nationality of the president of the court, that the position would be aligned with the foreign policy of the state of that judge. That is not the case, whether American or Lebanese or any other nationality of the president of the court. It is presumed, and the presumption is of their professional, you know, way of work and deliver on their mandate in accordance with the law.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">As to the voting to expel Ofer, the member of Knesset, it also — in my view, it shows you how radicalized Israeli society has become. So, even the very tiny minority that you have, where Israeli Knesset members are calling for the end of the occupation, are calling for the bare minimum of human decency — that is, a ceasefire — the rest of Knesset members, from the Israeli members, are mostly against that, and such tiny minority of those who call for Palestinian rights are often attacked. And as you said, there was an attempt to even remove him from the Knesset.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And I think it’s very telling to see also how supportive Israeli society has been in the genocide against the Gaza Strip. Amy, we need not to forget that right before the war, the Israeli society mobilized hundreds of thousands in the streets because of Netanyahu’s plan to, you know, attack the judiciary or to minimize their authority in reviewing government’s decision. But when it comes to Palestinians who are being oppressed, who are only a few meters away, the Israeli society somehow is unable to mobilize or call for the end of the occupation. So, in a way, it seems that the Israeli society has been radicalized into believing that for them to enjoy the privileges of this apartheid regime, they don’t mind the Palestinians being oppressed.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And unfortunately, the foreign policy of states that claim to be friends to Israel, I think, have contributed profoundly to such radicalization, simply because they’ve been ensuring impunity for Israel and Israeli war criminals who have been committing crimes for the past decades. So, I think, in a way, the reason that we have such extreme government at the moment, one of the most extreme and right-wing in the history of Israel, which has ministers who are proudly self-described as Islamophobic and homophobes and fascists and racist ministers, like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, is a result of — in my view, of the U.S. and European foreign policy ensuring that Israel enjoys an exceptional treatment, that Israel is untouchable. It enjoys prevailing impunity where Israel can commit crimes, but no one is held accountable.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Ahmed, I’m so sorry that, well, when we last spoke, you had already lost some 60 members of your family. Born and raised in Gaza, you are. And I wanted just to ask, in this 30 seconds, about Benny Gantz’s comments, part of the war council, saying if the hostages are not home by Ramadan, which is like March 10th, the fighting will continue everywhere, including Rafah.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AHMED</span> <span class="caps">ABOFOUL</span>: Yeah, well, it shows you also the character and the behavior of Israel. Israel is behaving like a pariah, is behaving like a rogue state, is not listening to anyone, is not listening to its closest allies.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Israel needs to have the humility to understand that the Palestine people are a free people, are not colonial subjects. They’re entitled to their rights. And Israel at some point will need to sit and listen with seriousness and consideration to the aspiration of the Palestinian people. The Palestinian people, Amy, are not asking for a favor. They’re asking for their unalienable basic human rights. And I think the world for long has misunderstood the Palestinians. We’re not even asking. We’re demanding those rights. We’re entitled to those rights, regardless of what Israel think about that.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="caps">AMY</span> <span class="caps">GOODMAN</span>: Ahmed Abofoul, we want to thank you for being with us, legal research and advocacy officer at the Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq, speaking to us from The Hague.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Next up, <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/20/dr_irfan_galaria_gaza_hospital" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">we turn to a surgeon who’s just returned from Gaza, wrote an <em>L.A. Times</em> op-ed headlined “I’m an American doctor who went to Gaza. What I saw wasn’t war — it was annihilation</a>.” Back in 20 seconds.</span></b></p></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /></div></div>خالد الجفريhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741620821103160983noreply@blogger.com0