The World Knows Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza
This article was originally posted 6/12/24 but was deleted probably by mistake.
Original article by Ramzy Baroud republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
And no amount of Israeli or U.S. government propaganda will change that.
The ongoing war and genocide in Gaza is unprecedented. Nothing that Israel and its supporters can say or do will avoid the historical accountability of the extermination of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
The above assertion is critical, both for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine and achieving Palestinian freedom. This is why.
In all past wars and adjoining war crimes, Israel managed to push the reset button in its relationship with occupied Palestinians.
Following each war, the Israeli hasbara, propaganda machine, would start – utilizing the always-willing western mainstream media – to paint Palestinians in a negative light and to present Israel, a country that is supposedly in a permanent state of self-defense, as the victim, or even the lone defender of western civilization.
This campaign is always paralleled with the whitewashing of Israel in popular entertainment, from Hollywood movies to TV sit-coms, to magazine covers with such titles as “Gorgeous Photos Capture The Unseen Lives Of Female Soldiers In Israel”.
Generally, Western politicians of varied ideologies, along with intellectuals, news talking heads and church leaders all praise, in tandem, the miracle that is Israel.
At the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war in October 2023, for example, British playwright Tom Stoppard said that “before we take up a position on what’s happening now, we should consider whether this is a fight over territory or a struggle between civilization and barbarism.” He, of course, leaned towards the latter.
This Israeli tactic always includes the demonization of Palestinians as well, where the victim becomes the ‘terrorist’ and those under siege become the besiegers. This last claim, in particular, was expressed in the words of former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright who said, in an interview with NBC in August 2000, that “the Israelis feel under siege from the Palestinian rock throwers and the various gangs that have been roaming around.”
Why will those same Israeli tactics fail this time? Indeed, they will fail, not due to Israel’s lack of trying. In fact, Israel is already bracing for the fight of a lifetime.
One new tactic that Israel is already employing in ‘friendly’ countries, like the United States, is the passing of laws to block the mere conversation on the Israeli genocide in Gaza, so that it will have exclusive access to the American public.
On November 14, the US House of Representatives passed two bills: H.R.6408 and H.R.9495. The latter, in particular, aimed at giving the Treasury Secretary the authorization to revoke an organization’s tax-exempt status and decide when the designation would end.
Now, there can be no reset buttons. Rather, the global momentum of Palestine’s liberation will accelerate in the coming months and years.
Once these bills pass the Senate and are approved by the president, the most democratic and peaceful expressions of rejecting the Israeli occupation of Palestine and demanding sensible US foreign policy will be equated to a direct violation of the law and, in some cases, to terrorism – as defined by the Department of Treasury, at the behest of the pro-Israeli lobby.
But even these desperate attempts will not quell the anger or distract from the conversation, for the following reasons:
One, not only did Israel commit genocide in the Gaza Strip, but this genocide and extermination are being investigated and are acknowledged by the world’s largest legal institutions, namely the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Two, unlike previous investigations, for example, the Goldstone Report probing the 2008-09 war on Gaza, the international community has already taken some practical steps to hold Israeli war criminals accountable, including an arrest warrant issued on November 21 against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Three, those who routinely come to Israel’s defense, the US and other Western governments, are now directly clashing with the very international law they helped articulate after World War II, depriving them of any credibility as ‘neutral’ parties in this conflict.
For example, Biden said that the warrants were “outrageous” while the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs claimed that Netanyahu and other ministers enjoy immunity since Israel is not a party to the ICC.
Four, despite the inherent bias of western media, Palestinian journalists, isolated and killed in large numbers, managed to communicate the genocide to the rest of the world, making it impossible for Israel to hide its crimes.
Five, the impact of the Israeli genocide on Gaza has already penetrated the various layers of public opinion, unprecedented in history.
Typically, the conversation on Palestine is confined to specific strata of society, reaching academics, social justice activists and other groups interested in politics and global issues.
Today, ordinary people have been made aware of the conversation, to the extent that it is widely believed that anger over Gaza has contributed in determining the outcome of the latest US elections.
In Africa, the growing political and public interest in the Palestinian struggle have re-enlivened the spirit of anti-colonial, liberation struggles on the continent, bringing many countries, from South Africa to Algeria, back to the frontlines of global solidarity.
No amount of Israeli propaganda, unjust laws, unfair categorizations of Palestinians or the hardly-clad models of the IDF, will ever succeed in reversing these realities.
Now, there can be no reset buttons. Rather, the global momentum of Palestine’s liberation will accelerate in the coming months and years.
The price exacted from the Palestinian people for this earth-shattering moment has been high and painful, but the history of all national liberation struggles, Palestine included, demonstrates that the price for freedom is always high.
Original article by Ramzy Baroud republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Israel has violated Lebanon ceasefire on 129 occasions
This article was originally posted 6/12/24 but was deleted probably by mistake.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241205-israel-has-violated-lebanon-ceasefire-on-129-occasions
The Israeli army continues to violate the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah in Lebanon, with 12 new violations on Wednesday, bringing the total to 129 since the agreement began a week ago, according to data from the National News Agency.
Local sources reported today that occupation army bulldozers constructed earth barriers on the road between Shebaa and Birkat Al-Naqqar, protected by Merkava tanks, with the aim of preventing the Lebanese army from reaching a previously-occupied position. This move comes a day after the Lebanese army redeployed to three locations on the western edge of the town of Shebaa, after withdrawing from this area about two months ago towards the Janam axis north of the town. As part of its escalation, the Israeli army today blew up houses in the Al-Harsh area in the town of Yaroun, in Bint Jbeil District.
Moreover, Lebanese civil defence teams in Naqoura were subjected to Israeli artillery shelling this afternoon while they were working to remove the rubble and search for victims of earlier bombing, according to the official Lebanese News Agency, which explained that Israeli forces detonated a booby-trapped drone near the teams, which prompted them to withdraw.
In a new statement, the Israeli army announced today that it has imposed a ban on the residents of 62 villages in southern Lebanon returning to their homes or moving south from a line that passes around these villages, in a move that constitutes a clear violation of international law and the right of civilians to return to their homes.
This comes amid Lebanese reports indicating a possible visit to Beirut by US envoy Amos Hochstein, who played a pivotal mediation role to follow up on the launch of the five-party ceasefire monitoring mechanism. Such a visit would come after warnings that delaying the activation of the mechanism may give Israel an opportunity to achieve what it did not achieve during the war.
The Lebanese army announced today that its units will carry out operations between 10:00am and 4:00pm to detonate unexploded ordnance left over from the Israeli invasion. The army statement indicated that the explosions will take place in the Qlaila-Tyre and Arnoun-Nabatieh fields, in addition to the Shabriha-Tyre area and the outskirts of Ras Baalbek.
READ: Lebanon Prime Minister meets France military delegation in ceasefire oversight committee
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241205-israel-has-violated-lebanon-ceasefire-on-129-occasions
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US use of ‘Hague Invasion Act’ to threaten ICC sparks backlash
This article was originally posted 6/12/24 but was deleted probably by mistake.
US officials have sparked controversy by invoking the so-called “Hague Invasion Act” in response to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, Anadolu Agency reports.
Matthew Hoh, Associate Director of the Eisenhower Media Network – a group of former US military, intelligence and national security officials that provides analysis of Washington’s foreign policy — criticised the threats for Anadolu, highlighting their implications for international law.
Hoh reflected on the origins of the act and its renewed relevance following the decision by the ICC.
The 2002 law, officially titled the “American Service-Members’ Protection Act,” was enacted during President George W. Bush’s administration to shield the US and its allied nationals from ICC prosecution.
Known informally as the “Hague Invasion Act”, it authorises the US to use all means, including force, to protect its nationals from ICC jurisdiction.
Hoh explained that the legislation was originally designed to block ICC investigations into potential US war crimes.
OPINION: The US President is authorised to invade The Hague if any Israeli is held by the ICC
The ICC’s past investigations into US personnel in Afghanistan drew similar threats, with the US imposing sanctions on the Court and its officials.
He said the law resurfaced in the American Congress after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
‘Decision-makers within the US are doing to hasten the end of the US Empire’
Hoh criticised the US response as an overreach to protect Israel.
“The US has, within its own law, the authorisation to use military force against institutions like the ICC,” he said. “Certainly this action […] contravenes the US’ own stated desires, its own slogans [..]. that it believes in such things as international law.”
Hoh also noted the broader implications of the US’ confrontational approach toward the ICC.
“By doing this, by reacting this way to the International Criminal Court and by requiring its allies to do so, it is giving more credence, more validity, more reason for alternative institutions, alternative mechanisms, alternative alliances to grow and expand against the American Empire,” he said. “Decision-makers within the US are doing to hasten the end of the US Empire.”
Double standards in the US approach to the ICC have drawn further scrutiny. Hoh pointed out the stark contrast in US reactions to ICC warrants against Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and Netanyahu.
“When the ICC issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, the Americans across the board, political class, media class, military class, so on and so forth, were excited about that development and they were very pleased to see the arrest warrants,” he said.
When it comes to Israel, the response is different, he noted.
Hoh said the West sees international law as a tool not to be used against those in power. He argued it is there to be used against those in the “developing world, those who do not have power, those who are not within the upper levels in the imperial world order.”
He added that international law is meant to keep people other than “white people” in check, to keep nations out of power and under the subjugation of the existing world order.
READ: US Senator threatens military action against ICC after Netanyahu arrest warrant
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Billionaire Jeff Bezos Wants to ‘Help’ Trump Gut Regulations
This article was originally posted 6/12/24 but was deleted probably by mistake.
Original article by Jessica Corbett republished form Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
“Shockingly another one of the richest guys on Earth wants to defund our government and scrap regulations.”
Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Wednesday expressed his optimism about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s next term and suggested he would “help” the Republican gut regulations.
“If we’re talking about Trump, I think it’s very interesting, I’m actually very optimistic this time around… I’m very hopeful about this—he seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation,” Bezos told The New York Times‘ Andrew Ross Sorkin during the newspaper’s DealBook Summit.
“And my point of view, if I can help him do that, I’m gonna help him, because we do have too much regulation in this country. This country is so set up to grow,” he continued, suggesting that regulatory cuts would solve the nation’s economic problems.
After complaining about the burden of regulations, Bezos added, “I’m very optimistic that President Trump is serious about this regulatory agenda and I think he has a good chance of succeeding.”
The comments came during a discussion about Bezos’ ownership of The Washington Post, which also addressed the billionaire’s recent controversial decisions to block the newspaper’s drafted endorsement of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and have it stop endorsing presidential candidates.
Bezos said Wednesday that he is “very proud” of the move, that the Post “is going to continue to cover all presidents very aggressively,” and the decision did not result from fears about Trump targeting his companies.
As Inc. reported Thursday: “Trump had railed against Bezos and his companies, including Amazon and The Washington Post, during his first term. In 2019, Amazon argued in a court case that Trump’s bias against the company harmed its chances of winning a $10 billion Pentagon contract. The Biden administration later pursued a contract with both Amazon and Microsoft.”
Bezos owns Blue Origin, an aerospace company and a competitor to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Musk—the world’s richest person, followed by Bezos, according to the Bloomberg and Forbes trackers—has been appointed to lead Trump’s forthcoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy.
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Bezos’ remarks at the Times summit led Fortune‘s Brooke Seipel to suggest that he may be the next billionaire to join DOGE.
Musk and Ramaswamy headed to Capitol Hill on Thursday to speak with GOP lawmakers about their plans for the government.
“Despite its name, the Department of Government Efficiency is neither a department nor part of the government, which frees Musk and Ramaswamy from having to go through the typical ethics and background checks required for federal employment,” The Associated Press noted. “They said they will not be paid for their work.”
Original article by Jessica Corbett republished form Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
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