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aboriginalnewswire · 6 years

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US-Supported Israel Defence Forces Continue 'Acts of Genocide' Against Indigenous Arab Palestinians Under 'Operation Protective Edge' As the International Community Observes

APNS /North America [08.06.2014] – As the State of Israel began extracting its ground troops from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning in observance of another (72-hour) ceasefire, the SOI and factions representing the Palestinian Nation have committed themselves to negotiations in Cairo, Egypt to discuss terms for an extended truce and the rebuilding of Gaza's crippled infrastructure after hostilities have ended. The SOI says it is willing to compensate the Palestinian population with the rebuilding of the Gaza if Hamas will agree to the total disarmament of the armed resistance; (Source: 'Official: Israel to allow Gaza rebuilding in exchange for disarmament', Ma'an News Agency: Aug. 5th 2014: http://ow.ly/A32mi)

Palestinian Authority (PA) representatives have also met with International Criminal Court (ICC) investigators in a (late) attempt to hold the SOI accountable for war crimes. The PA has said that they wish for a seat in the ICC, in order to help give the 'international' court jurisdiction over the Occupied Palestinian Territories, legally side-stepping the SOI.

One factor that could muddle the negotiations is the international news story of three, 2008 US diplomatic cables (leaked through WikiLeaks) that show the SOI discussing its intention to maintain pressure on the Gaza Strip's economy in an effort to keep it teetering 'on the brink of collapse'. The Norwegian news agency, Aftenposten, which cited the cables, say that the documents clearly show Israeli officials briefing the US Embassy in Tel Aviv on its designation of the entire Gazan region as a 'hostile entity' and its plan to persist in blockading the Gazan community until the Palestinian resistance to Israel, 'breaks'.

As the talks continue, the State of Israel's military offensive against the Palestinian Territories (codenamed: 'Operation Cast Lead') continues to wreak havoc on the Indigenous Arab population of the Gaza Strip as an Israeli-led air strike destroyed yet another UN-operated refugee facility in the southern quarter (Rafah) of the embattled region. Palestinian health officials and International news agencies report that at least 10 Indigenous Arabs had been killed and another three dozen left severely injured after Israel Defence Forces (IDF) shelled the refugee structure (claiming) that the attack was targeting an Hamas outpost lobbing homemade rockets aimed at Israel.

It should be noted here that UN sources have repeatedly made clear that buildings under their control are well known to the Israeli authorities and that the refugee station at Rafah was protecting up to 3,000 homeless, non-combatant, Palestinians. Earlier on the same day, IDF attacks reportedly killed about 30 people in the Gaza wounding some three dozen others.

The Indigenous Arab death tally – as of this writing – according to Palestinian health officials, stands at 1,900, (Gaza Health Ministry: 430 Children Killed; UNICEF Warns of "Tragic Impact" – August 06, 2014 | Democracy Now! http://ow.ly/A2vRk) more than 9,000 injured and at least $7 billion USD worth of infrastructure destruction to the Gaza Strip. The Israel's ministry has confirmed at least 67 IDF personnel lost in active combat, mostly during the OPE ground offensive, including three civilian casualties as a result of Palestinian rocket fire. The NGO American Friends of UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency) has reported (via Twitter) that the total number of displaced in Occupied Gaza now stands at an estimated 475,000 with almost 260,000 Indigenous Arabs seeking food, water and shelter from the violence in 90 UNRWA Palestinian school buildings.

Amidst this, the international NGO Human Rights Watch (HWR) has come forward with evidence that accuses Israel Defence Forces (IDF) personnel of shooting civilians in Khuzaa who were trying to run away after they ordered them out of their homes. The NGO has also begun reporting on an execution-style killing of several Palestinians found heaped upon one another in the toilet of a private residence, (Source: Jesse Rosenfeld, 'Who Is Behind Gaza's Mass Execution?': 08.01.14 - The Daily Beast).

These cases are not being discussed very much with the Hasbara machine working overtime in the background. And Israeli PM 'Bibi' Netanyahu has gone on the defensive, calling the IDF targeting of Palestinian infrastructure and the bombardment of recognised UN facilities in the Gaza, 'justified', laying fault for civilian casualties and widespread destruction upon the leadership of Hamas, (Source: 'Benjamin Netanyahu: Deaths in Gaza justified’ - The Independent: 06 August 2014 http://ow.ly/A2ho5). PM Netanyahu and his Likud faction insists that Hamas militias and rocket teams use residential areas as 'human shields' dismissing the substantial data highlighting the overwhelming human density of Israeli-imposed, Palestinian encampments, (See: 'Demographics of Palestine: Population density' http://ow.ly/A2ADO).

The US has also ignored this and doubled-down its own defence of the SOI's genocidal actions with Secretary of State John Kerry saying:

'We fully support Israel’s right to defend itself and the fact that it was under attack by rockets, by tunnels, and it had to take action against Hamas. Hamas has behaved in the most unbelievably shocking manner of engaging in this activity. And yes, there has been horrible collateral damage as a result of that, which is why the United States worked very, very hard with our partners in the region, with Israel, with Egyptians, with the Palestinian Authority, with President Abbas, to try to move towards a ceasefire'. (Source: Democracy Now! : Aug. 6th, 2014 : http://ow.ly/A2xtE)

The hasbara effect continued when Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel also defended the SOI and the actions of the IDF in an full-page advert entitled; 'Jews rejected child sacrifice 3,500 years ago. Now it's Hamas' turn' - (pdf) where he states: 'I call upon President Obama and the leaders of the world to condemn Hamas' use of children as human shields', which helped to set the framing of the discourse away from IDF atrocities during OPE, back towards the Indigenous victims. Zionist blogger Yochanan Gordon went so far as to post an editorial titled: 'When Genocide is Permissible' on August 1, 2014 (the post has since been removed, but an archived page is still available here) and deputy speaker of the Knesset, Likud MK Moshe Feiglin, has openly called for the SOI to pursue OPE until the Gaza Strip is 'reconquered' and has called for the IDF to erect tent cities (reservations) for Indigenous Palestinians somewhere along the Sinai until, 'relevant emigration destinations are determined': (Source: The Times of Israel: Aug. 5th, 2014 http://ow.ly/A2OSX).

Conversely, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called the last IDF attack on the UN in Gaza a 'moral outrage' and a 'criminal act' and requested that the Israeli government and military officials responsible for authorising OPE be held to account without specifying how this would happen or under what conditions. (See: 'Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Adopted by Resolution 260 (III) A of the United Nations General Assembly on December 9th 1948') This is a chilling repeat of his earlier condemnations of similar acts of gross IDF violence against UN outposts in the Occupied Territories during 'Operation Cast Lead' in 2009; ('Ban “appalled” by Gaza's damage', BBC, Tuesday, 20 January 2009: http://ow.ly/zVClJ).

This past Thursday, Navi Pillay – the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – slammed the July 30th attack by the IDF, raised the issue of UN facilities trying to protect Palestinians and pointed out the intentional targeting of what remains of the Gaza's meagre infrastructure. The commissioner also emphasised the increasing number of juvenile casualties citing (at the time) the loss of more than 250 Indigenous Palestinian youths and babies. (Source: 'Pillay condemns continuing attacks on civilians in Gaza', UN News Service: http://is.gd/prSVzB)

'Under international law, humanitarian relief personnel and objects used for relief operations – this would include UNRWA schools in Gaza being used as shelters – must be respected and protected', Pillay said. 'An attack against humanitarian relief personnel and objects used exclusively for relief operations, is a violation of international humanitarian law and may amount to a war crime'. (UN News – July 31st, 2014)

Others have followed suit in announcing their condemnation of the SOI's official policy of broad, 'collective punishment' against civilian lives, infrastructure and Indigenous Palestinian political independence. In Europe, UK Foreign Office minister, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, has resigned, saying Britain’s policy on the crisis in Gaza is 'morally indefensible'. Surprisingly, the minister did so publicly by announcing her resignation via Twitter stating: 'I can no longer support Govt policy on #Gaza' and that: '...British government can only play a constructive role in solving the Middle East crisis if it is an honest broker and at the moment I do not think it is.'

The intense condemnation of the SOI has also extended beyond the usual borders of Anglophone political and economic influence to include the South American Indigenous states of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru and Brazil which have all recalled their ambassadors as their governments officially condemned the attacks. Venezuela and most notably Bolivia – which has officially listed Israel as a 'Terrorist State' (See: 'Bolivia Government Officially Lists The State of Israel As a Terrorist Nation', APNS Dispatch: http://is.gd/XVW78I). Both nations have identified OPE as an act of genocide against Indigenous Arabs and have called for universal condemnation of the SOI. Venezuela has demanded a special hearing of the Human Rights Council (HRC) to end the invasion of the Gaza in an official statement. Argentina and Uruguay have decided to leave their embassy staff in place, although they did enter into a joint statement with other S. American states strongly decrying the violence as 'disproportionate', (Source: Weekly News Update on the Americas: WNU #1229: 3 More Nations Recall Israel Envoys http://ow.ly/A2pfu).

Legendary revolutionary Cuban leader Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz compared the SOI's OPE invasion into Palestinian Territory and its historic abuse of Indigenous Arabs is a 'genocide' that he said was being wilfully assisted by the United States. He also suggested that it is clear to the world that the US is now 'unable to control' its Mid-East client-state:

'I think that a new and disgusting form of fascism is emerging with considerable force at this moment in human history': ('Holocausto Palestino en Gaza', Granma: 5 de agosto de 2014: http://ow.ly/A34TY)

The Caribbean Communist nation hasn't had a diplomatic relationship with the SOI since 1973 when Cuba officially voiced its objection to Israel's questionable treatment of Indigenous Arab Palestinians.

To date, US government spokespersons have only expressed official condemnation about the attacks against UN structures saying that the Obama administration is, 'appalled' by the 'disgraceful shelling' and asked (nicely) that the IDF (please) consider the risk of harm to non-combatants. (Source: zeenews.india – 08.04.2014) US State Dept. spokesperson Jen Psaki also raised the possibility of an investigation into the spate of IDF attacks on recognised UN facilities without providing any details.

But despite these statements, the US government has also quietly stepped-up its long-standing tradition of providing military assistance to Israel (seemingly) in tacit support of OPE. And Pentagon officials have now confirmed rumours of munition transfers being quietly released to the IDF since the beginning of OPE (Source: 'U.S. Has Sold Ammunition to Israel Since Start of Gaza Conflict' - ABC News: Jul 30, 2014: http://ow.ly/zX2zK) from its (1 billion USD) War Reserve Stockpile Ammunition-Israel (WRSA-I) caché maintained by the US military within the SOI, (Sources: Tikkun Magazine – July 31, 2014: http://ow.ly/zVw99 / ABC News – Jul 15, 2014: http://ow.ly/zX33l).

It is important to remember here that the SOI began 'Operation Protective Edge' against the (elected) Hamas government on July, 8th following a false-flag propaganda manoeuvre that fed the international public deliberate misinformation about the abduction and murder of three Israeli settlers in the West Bank by a (claimed) column of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) operating within Palestinian territory; (Source: 'Jihadist group takes credit for teens' killings', The Times of Israel: July 3, 2014: http://is.gd/jRCmam). Although Israeli Prime Minister 'Bibi' Netanyahu repeatedly insisted that Hamas was directly responsible for the killings – the moral justification for beginning OPE – it has since been revealed that SOI intelligence authorities knew from the very start that the murders were not connected to, nor ordered by the Palestinian (Hamas) government, (Source: 'J.J. Goldberg - 'How Politics and Lies Triggered an Unintended War in Gaza' – Forward.com, July 10, 2014: http://ow.ly/zX3d9).

It is also known that the Shabak enacted an immediate gag order (d-notice) that allowed resentment against the Indigenous Arab population within Israel and the Occupied Territories to fester based upon this false information. And there is good reason to suspect that the revenge murder of a young Palestinian – Mohammed Abu Khdeir, (who was burned alive by his assailants) by several racist Israelis in East Jerusalem was due to this propaganda pressure.

And oddly enough, an outspoken Mossad agent had actually predicted such an abduction scenario just weeks before it actually happened; (See: 'Mossad chief's chillingly prescient kidnap prophecy' - By Barak Ravi, Haaretz: 15.06.14 http://ow.ly/zXcMn).

What is also in amplified debate is the actual objective of these latest Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip (Hamas territory) since the killing of the settlers – the base rationale behind OPE – took place in the (PLO dominated) West Bank? Some have speculated that the ultimate goal is to dismantle the new Palestinian Unity Government (PLO/Hamas) and there is good reason to suspect this; (See: 'Israel's Operation Protective Edge: Why now?', middleeastmonitor.com: July 21st, 2014 http://ow.ly/A2Zef: 21). But as we have mentioned in previous dispatches, some petroleum and economic analysts have suggested that the real aim behind OPE is to secure Palestinian petroleum sources for the SOI and International energy firms: (See: 'IDF's Gaza assault is to control Palestinian gas, avert Israeli energy crisis', theguardian.com – Wed. 9th July, 2014 – and – 'Oil in Palestine: A gurgle of hope' | The Economist Mar 20th 2014: http://ow.ly/A2Jy3).

Independent political analysts Professor Michel Chossudovsky and Felicity Arbuthnot have both addressed this issue in detailed articles for globalresearch.ca. One titled; 'War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza’s Offshore Gas Fields' and first published in 2009 by Prof. Chossudovsky, pointed out that one year after the end of 'Operation Cast Lead', the SOI made public the 'discovery' of natural gas in the Levantine Basin, or as the Israeli press termed it, just 'off the coast of Israel'; (See: 'Gas Deposits Off Israel and Gaza Opening Vision of Joint Ventures' - New York Times http://ow.ly/A2Je7 Sept. 15th, 2000) and articulates the following information:

'British Gas (BG Group) and its partner, the Athens based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC) owned by Lebanon’s Sabbagh and Koury families, were granted oil and gas exploration rights in a 25 year agreement signed in November 1999 with the Palestinian Authority. The rights to the offshore gas field are respectively British Gas (60 percent); Consolidated Contractors (CCC) (30 percent); and the Investment Fund of the Palestinian Authority (10 percent). (Haaretz, October 21, 2007). The PA-BG-CCC agreement includes field development and the construction of a gas pipeline.(Middle East Economic Digest, Jan 5, 2001). The BG licence covers the entire Gazan offshore marine area, which is contiguous to several Israeli offshore gas facilities. (See Map below). It should be noted that 60 percent of the gas reserves along the Gaza-Israel coastline belong to Palestine.' (emphasis mine.)

Ms. Arbuthnot's later analysis appeared in Global Research on Dec. 30th, 2013 where she discussed the back-room deal making and international political fault lines involved in the capitalist exploitation of the natural resource:

'Israel is set to become a major exporter of gas and some oil, if all goes to plan. The giant Leviathan natural gas field, in the eastern Mediterranean, discovered in December 2010, is widely described as “off the coast of Israel.” At the time the gas field was: “ … the most prominent field ever found in the sub-explored area of the Levantine Basin, which covers about 83,000 square kilometres of the eastern Mediterranean region.” (i) Coupled with Tamar field, in the same location, discovered in 2009, the prospects are for an energy bonanza for Israel, for Houston, Texas based Noble Energy and partners Delek Drilling, Avner Oil Exploration and Ratio Oil Exploration. Also involved is Perth, Australia-based Woodside Petroleum, which has signed a memorandum of understanding for a thirty percent stake in the project, in negotiations which have been described as “up and down.” There is currently speculation that Woodside might pull out of the deal: “ …since the original plans to refrigerate the gas for export were pursued when relations between Israel and Turkey were strained. That has changed, more recently, which has opened the door for gas to be piped to Turkey'. – 'Israel: Gas, Oil and Trouble in the Levant – 2013'. (emphasis mine.)

Prof. Chossudovsky in particular has connected the timing of large-scale IDF incursions as a military cover for the industrial exploitation of Indigenous Palestine's natural petroleum resources. Further speculation along these lines also hint that the SOI's stated goal of eliminating the Hamas wing of the Palestine Unity Government would facilitate this agenda as they would certainly continue to bargain for more equitable terms. Or perhaps, the concern on the part of the US and the SOI is that Hamas will at some point simply (and expectedly) claim (with justification) the entire Levantine Basin petroleum reserve as Palestinian Territorial property. A situation that will likely keep this crisis going until something breaks. Or until the oil flows.

– –

Further Notes:

Joshua Norman 'WikiLeaks: Israel Intentionally Kept Gaza on Brink of Economic Collapse', CBS News (Jan. 5th, 2011) http://ow.ly/A367w

David Wurmser, 'The Geopolitics of Israel’s Offshore Gas Reserves', (April 4, 2013) http://ow.ly/A37JW

Al Shawa Petroleum & Gaza Company: Private Company Information - Businessweek http://ow.ly/A37L3

'Israel shells UN school in #Gaza' - Middle East - Al Jazeera English (17 Jan 2009) http://ow.ly/zVkDk

Sam Hamad, 'Operation Protective Edge: Reading between the lines', middleeastmonitor.com (July 16th, 2014) http://ow.ly/A31gk

[globalsecurity.org] – Operation Protective Edge http://ow.ly/A31ES

A. Kofi [w/ sources] -- APNS [2014-08-07 07:17:32]

– – Aboriginal News Group (ANG) ang-newswire.blogspot

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stopkingobama · 7 years

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Trump Calls for Middle East to ‘Take the Lead’ in Fighting Terrorism

Photo: Donald Trump/Twitter

Near the birthplace of Islam, President Donald Trump called for an alliance of Muslim-Arab nations to combat Islamic terrorism in his first major international address.

“Our goal is a coalition of nations who share the aim of stamping out extremism and providing our children a hopeful future that does honor to God,” Trump said in speaking to the Arab-Islamic-American Summit in Riyadh.

Trump, who spoke for about 35 minutes to more than 50 leaders of Muslim-majority countries, also announced many Middle Eastern countries were signing an agreement to prevent terrorism financing by establishing the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center, co-chaired by the United States and Saudi Arabia. Trump also participated in the opening of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh.

Trump talked about the 9/11 attacks and the Boston bombing in the United States, and noted terrorist attacks across the world. He said some estimates show 95 percent of victims of terrorism are Muslims.

“In sheer numbers, the deadliest toll has been exacted on the innocent people of Arab, Muslim, and Middle Eastern nations,” Trump said. “They have borne the brunt of the killings and the worst of the destruction in this wave of fanatical violence.”

In a departure of sorts from both previous administrations, Trump struck a noninterventionist tone, asserting the U.S. does not want to “lecture” Middle Eastern countries, but he also called for the countries of the region to “take the lead” in fighting terrorism.

Trump didn’t use the term “radical Islam,” which he criticized the Obama administration for not using, but he clearly identified Islamic terrorism.

“There is still much work to be done. That means honestly confronting the crisis of Islamist extremism and the Islamists and the Islamic terror of all kinds. We must stop what they are doing to inspire, because they do nothing to inspire but kill, and we are having a very profound effect if you look at what has happened recently,” Trump said. “It means standing together against the murder of innocent Muslims, the oppression of women, the persecution of Jews, and the slaughter of Christians.”

Saudi Arabia was the first stop in Trump’s first international trip that will include a stop in Israel, at the Vatican in Rome—covering the three major religions of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Afterward, Trump will meet with European allies at Group of Seven and NATO gatherings.

Trump seemed to have a very cordial meeting with Saudi King Salman, and the two nations struck an arms deal. Before Trump spoke, Salman said his nation is committed to combating terrorism regardless of religion or sect. He also reiterated that Islam was a religion of peace and criticized Iran.

Trump also criticized Iran for providing “safe harbor, financial backing, social standing for recruitment.” President Barack Obama’s administration led a multilateral nuclear deal with Iranian regime, but during the speech, Trump called for peaceful nations to “isolate” Iran.

Trump talked about “principled realism,” seemingly referencing the strong interventionist policy of the previous Republican administration, which he criticized during his campaign.

“We are not here to lecture—we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship. Instead, we are here to offer partnership—based on shared interests and values—to pursue a better future for us all,” Trump said.

“We will make decisions based on real-world outcomes—not inflexible ideology,” he continued. “We will be guided by the lessons of experience, not the confines of rigid thinking and, wherever possible, we will seek gradual reforms—not sudden intervention. We must seek partners, not perfection and to make allies of all who share our goals.”

But, the president stressed the Arab world must take ownership of the region, as he added:

Terrorism has spread across the world. But the path to peace begins right here, on this ancient soil, in this sacred land. America is prepared to stand with you—in pursuit of shared interests and common security … But the nations of the Middle East cannot wait for American power to crush this enemy for them. The nations of the Middle East will have to decide what kind of future they want for themselves, for their countries, and for their children.

Trump stressed the clash was not between faiths.

“Every time a terrorist murders an innocent person, and falsely invokes the name of God, it should be an insult to every person of faith,” Trump said.

He added it is a “battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life, and decent people of all religions.”

“This is a battle between good and evil,” he added.

“Religious leaders must make this absolutely clear: Barbarism will deliver you no glory—piety to evil will bring you no dignity,” Trump said. “If you choose the path of terror, your life will be empty, your life will be brief, and your soul will be condemned.”

Trump also spoke about how driving out terrorist can restore the Middle East to greatness of its past.

The true toll of ISIS, if you look at what is happening, al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, and so many others, must be counted not only in the number of dead, it also must be counted in the generations of vanished dreams. The Middle East is rich with natural beauty, lively cultures, and massive amounts of historic treasures. It should increasingly become one of the great global centers of commerce and opportunity. This region should not be a place from which refugees flee, but to which newcomers flock.

Editor’s Note: A quote from President Trump about a region and refugees has been corrected in this article.

Fred Lucas, The Daily Signal

#Foreign Policy #Middle East #radical Islam #Saudi Arabia #terrorism #trump #Big Government #Donald Trump #Terrorism

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allianceforisraeladvocacy-blog · 5 years

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Rabbi Shmuley: Trump Should Dump the Failed Two-state Solution

For just about as long as there have been efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, calls for a two-state solution have choked the global conversation. Many have come to believe that there’s no other way to achieve peace.

Suddenly, though, it seems those aren’t the only voices in the room.

First, Israelis heard Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vow days before a general election that Israel would be extending its sovereignty over all of Area C, which constitutes the bulk of Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”), and which would serve to hold those lands firmly under Israeli security control.

More surprising than Netanyahu’s remarks was the fact that the United States didn’t condemn them. While prior administrations made the two-state solution a staple of their Middle East policies, President Donald Trump, elected as a businessman to find new solutions to age-old problems, seems to have a different vision.

Asked whether Netanyahu’s pledge to annex Area C would interfere with the administration’s peace plan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded with a simple “I don’t.”

Other administration officials have also chimed in with their own suggestions that America’s strategy in achieving regional peace is about to get a facelift. Addressing the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman urged Israelis to seize the chance to sign a deal under this administration, and not one that “may not understand the need for Israel to maintain overriding security control over Judea and Samaria and a permanent defense-position in the Jordan Valley.”

Then, just this past week, Trump’s Chief Middle-East negotiator, my friend Jason Greenblatt, noted that it was “unhelpful” to use the term “two-state solution” in peace-talks, since both sides understood the term so differently.

It may have been Pompeo himself who gave the greatest indicator when he told CNN that Trump’s peace plan would “put forward a vision that has ideas that are new, that are different, that are unique, that tries to reframe and reshape what’s been an intractable problem.”

The truth is it isn’t hard to understand why the Trump administration might depart from the traditional notion of peace-by-two-states; it’s simply a non-solution. They’re trying to achieve peace; yet, every step taken in the direction of a two-states has brought bloodshed and conflict, terror and war.

That last fact is also simply understood.

Think about it: every step taken toward the establishment of a state involves forking over massive amounts of land, money, resources, and legitimacy to whomever is going to be leading that state.

When the leader of such a state is a Mandela or a Gandhi, it usually isn’t a problem. Men of peace deserve all of these things. When, however, it’s a Mugabe, a Ghadaffi, or, an Arafat, the exchange is bound to tally itself in blood.

For the Palestinians, tragically, those with the highest political profile are usually those with the most Jewish lives notched on their surging resumes of terror. Men like these shouldn’t be trusted to roam the streets, let alone exercise the powerful reigns of a state.

Yasser Arafat — with whom Israel signed the Oslo accords in 1993, laying out the base-work for a Palestinian State — was not for a moment in his life concerned with achieving peace. He spent most of his first sixty-four years directing terrorist operations against Israeli civilians. By the time he joined a now infamous three-way handshake with President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin on the White House lawn, Arafat had personally ordered the murder of hundreds of innocent Jewish civilians in countless terrorist and rocket attacks.

Afterwards, Arafat continued to wreak violence upon his partners in “peace,” orchestrating the murder of nearly one thousand Israelis in the Second Intifada, even being caught red-handed importing Iranian weapons on a freight ship called Karina A. Amidst all that murder, he managed also to amass an investment empire estimated by Time magazine to have been worth three billion dollars.

Arafat may have died in 2004, but policies antithetical to peace have continued to thrive in the Palestinian Authority. They still teach hatred in their schools, name parks and competitions after the most horrendous terrorists, and pay out a large chunk of their annual budget to convicted terrorists and their families.

As for the alternative to Arafat’s hateful Fatah party, there’s only the even-more hateful and bloodthirsty Hamas. In the wake of the Oslo accords, Hamas responded to Israel’s overtures of peace with a years-long spree of suicide bombings. Somehow, even they got their hands on something of a state in the enclave of Gaza. As expected, they’ve been warring with Israel ever since, using the millions of Palestinian under their control as human shields over their command centers and missile-sites that betray a one-track-minded Jew-killing agenda.

The Middle East can hardly contend with another failed state. The Jewish people, finally safe in their own land, certainly shouldn’t be forced to.

Now, thanks to President Trump, it seems that the five decades-old peace process might be in for a change.

Such change, moreover, couldn’t have come at a more fitting time.

This week, Jews around the world celebrated the festival of Passover. Passover, boiled down, is a time of transitions. In Israel, it comes just at the start of spring: the weather warms, the rivers run full, and budding blossoms turn the landscape green.

It’s also a time we celebrate not only our current state of freedom, but more precisely, our exodus from a state of slavery. It’s a time of celebrate the flux inherent in maturation; a time of turning the page, of starting a new chapter.

For the Jews leaving Egypt, that new chapter marked the beginning of the gradual return to the land of their forefathers in Israel. For the Jews of Israel today, that’s a chapter already completed.

What lies ahead is the formulation of plan that allows Jews to remain in Israel, safely and in peace in our eternal and unquestionable Jewish homeland.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, “America’s Rabbi,” whom the Washington Post calls “the most famous Rabbi in America” is the international best-selling author of 32 books including his new book, Lust for Love, co-authored with Pamela Anderson. Follow him on Twitter @RabbiShmuley.

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cleopatrarps · 6 years

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Israeli forces kill two Palestinians near border as Gaza buries dead

GAZA-ISRAEL BORDER (Reuters) – Palestinians buried the dead on Tuesday from the bloodiest day in Gaza in years, after Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians near the Gaza-Israel border during demonstrations against the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.

Israeli forces shot dead two more Palestinians on Tuesday, although protests were quieter than the previous day. It appeared that many protesters had gone to mourning tents rather than back to the scene of Monday’s bloodshed. Mourners marched through the strip, waving Palestinian flags and calling for revenge.

“With souls and blood we redeem you martyrs,” they shouted.

Hundreds marched in the funeral of eight-month-old Leila al-Ghandour, whose body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag.

“Let her stay with me, it is too early for her to go,” her mother cried, pressing the baby’s body to her chest. The family said she died of inhaling tear gas.

At Gaza’s hospitals, families crowded the halls and spilled out of rooms as patients awaited treatment. Bassem Ibrahim, who said he was shot in the leg by Israeli troops, said at one stage he had feared losing the limb because of the delays.

“There are not many doctors. They are unable to see everyone, with all the injuries,” said Ibrahim, 23. “The number was unbelievable and they did not have time.”

On the Israeli side of the border, Israeli sharpshooters took up positions to stop any attempted breach of the fence should demonstrations break out again. Tanks were also deployed.

But if the violence tapered off, it still had a forceful impact internationally, with countries criticizing both the Israeli use of deadly force and the U.S. decision to open its new embassy at a ceremony attended by President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Turkey expelled Israel’s ambassador, and Israel expelled the Turkish consul-general in Jerusalem. President Tayyip Erdogan exchanged heated words on Twitter with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Palestinians summoned home their representative in Washington, citing the embassy decision.

Netanyahu blamed Hamas for provoking the violence. “They’re pushing civilians – women, children – into the line of fire with a view of getting casualties. We try to minimize casualties. They’re trying to incur casualties in order to put pressure on Israel, which is horrible,” Netanyahu told CBS News.

The United States echoed that charge, with State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert saying the United States regretted all loss of life but blaming “the misery that is faced by people in Gaza” on Hamas. She said Hamas used the U.S. embassy move “as an excuse to rile people up and to encourage violence.”

“We have seen how Hamas continues to incite violence,” she told a briefing. “The activities that are taking place there … would certainly stop if violent protests were to stop.”

For six weeks, Palestinians have been holding Gaza border demonstrations demanding access to family land or homes lost to Israel when it was founded in the 1948 Middle East war. Israel rejects that demand, fearing it would deprive the state of its Jewish majority.

Palestinian medical officials say 107 Gazans have now been killed since the start of the protests and nearly 11,000 people wounded, about 3,500 of them by live fire. Israeli officials dispute those numbers. No Israeli casualties have been reported.

Palestinian leaders have called Monday’s events a massacre, and the Israeli tactic of using live fire against the protesters has drawn worldwide concern and condemnation.

The United Nations Security Council met to discuss the situation.

Israel has said it is acting in self-defense to protect its borders and communities. Its main ally, the United States, has backed that stance. Hamas, which rules Gaza and opposes Israel’s existence, denies instigating violence.

The Israeli military said at least 24 of those killed on Monday were “terrorists with documented terror background” and most of them were active operatives of Hamas.

The Islamic Jihad militant group posted portraits of three uniformed members whom it said were killed when they took part as non-combatants in the protests, and the Hamas-led interior ministry posted pictures of 10 of its security men killed in the protests whom it said were unarmed and monitoring the crowds.

May 15 is traditionally the day Palestinians mark the “Nakba”, or Catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were driven from their homes in violence culminating in war between the newly created Jewish state and its Arab neighbors in 1948.

More than 2 million people are crammed into the Gaza Strip, more than two-thirds of them refugees. Citing security concerns, Israel and Egypt maintain tight curbs on the enclave, deepening economic hardship and raising humanitarian concerns.

A senior Israeli commander said that of the 60 Gazans killed on Monday, 14 were carrying out attacks and 14 others were militants.

He also said Palestinians protesters were using hundreds of pipe bombs, grenades and fire-bombs. Militants had opened fire on Israeli troops and tried to set off explosives by the fence.

Many casualties were caused by Palestinians carrying devices that went off prematurely,” he said.

In Geneva, the U.N. human rights office condemned what it called the “appalling deadly violence” by Israeli forces.

A Palestinian demonstrator holds a sling during a protest marking the 70th anniversary of Nakba, near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, near Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank May 15, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said Israel had a right to defend its borders according to international law, but lethal force must only be used a last resort, and was not justified by Palestinians approaching the Gaza fence.

The U.N. rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Michael Lynk, said Israel’s use of force may amount to a war crime.

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Many shops in East Jerusalem were shut throughout the day following a call by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for a general strike across the Palestinian Territories. A 70-second siren was sounded in the occupied West Bank in commemoration of the Nakba.

Most Gaza protesters stay around tent camps but groups have ventured closer to the border fence, rolling burning tyres and throwing stones. Some have flown kites carrying containers of petrol that spread fires on the Israeli side.

On Tuesday the number of protesters gathered at the frontier was estimated by the Israeli army at 4,000, well down on Monday.

Monday’s protests were fueled by the opening ceremony for the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem following its relocation from Tel Aviv. The move fulfilled a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump, who in December recognized the city as Israel’s capital.

Palestinians envision East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel regards all of Jerusalem, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and which it later annexed, as its “eternal and indivisible capital”.

Most countries say the status of Jerusalem – a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians – should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal.

Netanyahu on Monday praised Trump but Palestinians have said the United States can no longer serve as an honest broker in any peace process. Talks aimed at finding a two-state solution to the conflict have been frozen since 2014.

Trump said on Monday he remained committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. His administration says it has nearly completed a new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.

Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the Gaza violence. Hamas denied instigating it but the White House backed Netanyahu, saying Hamas “intentionally and cynically” provoked this response.

The United States on Monday blocked a Kuwait-drafted U.N. Security Council statement that would have expressed “outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians” and called for an independent investigation, U.N. diplomats said.

In the British parliament, junior foreign office minister Alistair Burt said the United States needed to show more understanding about the causes of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Hamas’ role in the violence must be investigated, he added.

Additional reporting by Stephen Farrell and Lesley Wroughton; Writing by Maayan Lubell, Jeffrey Heller, Ori Lewis and Peter Graff; Editing by William Maclean and James Dalgleish

The post Israeli forces kill two Palestinians near border as Gaza buries dead appeared first on World The News.

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