Press TV reports: Israeli troops have abducted 8 Palestinian civilians during a raid on a village near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, witnesses say. The eight Palestinian civilians where kidnapped on Wednesday by Israeli troops in the village of Zboba near Jenin. Villagers told local media that Israeli troops invaded their village and conducted house to house search for a number of hours. Soldiers forced a curfew on
Watch this amazing interview of Israeli spokesman Mark Regev by Channel Four: Clearly – Mr. Regev has no idea of the damage his efforts are doing to the reputation of his country. But then, there is no such thing as an intelligent racist, and since most Israelis are racists….
Ha’aretz reports: The Military Censor is applying strict restrictions preventing the media from identifying officers who participated in the Gaza Strip fighting and information about them that may be used in legal proceedings against them abroad. There is growing concern at the Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Justice that Israeli officers will be singled out in a massive wave of suits for alleged human rights violations. The new instructions
Following the unilateral ceasefires of the Israelis and Hamas, it appears that the war in Gaza is over, at least for a (probably short) while, and this begs the question: who won? Predictably, both sides claim victory. Most pundits seem to lean towards saying that Israel won a victory, but not a complete one. Some say that Hamas fought better than expected and that it deserves high praise for not
Al-Manar reports: This unilateral ceasefire does not foresee a withdrawal” by the Israeli army,” Hamas’s representative in Lebanon Oussama Hamdan said Saturday. He stressed the resistance group will fight on if Israel orders a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza. “As long as it remains in Gaza, resistance and confrontation will continue,” he said. Speaking at a conference in Beirut, also attended by European representatives supporting the Palestinians, Hamdan added that Israel’s
by Gilad Atzmon for Palestine Think Tank Haaretz reported today that IDF Senior officials “believe that Israel should strive to reach an immediate cease-fire with Hamas, and not expand its offensive against the Palestinian Islamist group in Gaza.” This shouldn’t take us by great surprise. Though Israel has proved beyond doubt that it is rather capable of conducting large-scale genocide, it also proved that its military forces do not have
Since the beginning of the Israeli assault on Gaza, Ha’aretz has done a fairly decent job covering the war; its analytical pieces are, in particular, often interesting and well written. But today, spurred no doubt by a need to publish some feel-good fluff for its readers, Ha’aretz published a truly ridiculous piece called In pictures: Tens of thousands attend pro-Israel rallies in Europe, NY. This short piece is accompanied by
Fars News Agency reports: Israeli forces have arrested Iran’s Al-Alam News Network’s correspondent reporting from the occupied Palestinian territory. The man’s lawyer said the Palestinian was also suspected of passing confidential information to unauthorized persons – “a very harsh security offense” – but gave no further details. Khadr Shahine, who reported for Iran’s state-owned Arabic language Al-Alam television station, violated the censorship rules when he reported the beginning of Israel’s
by Gilad Atzmon for Palestine Think Tank Communicating with Israelis may leave one bewildered. Even now when the Israeli Air Force is practicing murder in broad daylight of hundreds of civilians, elderly persons, women and children, the Israeli people manage to convince themselves that they are the real victims in this violent saga. Those who are familiar intimately with Israeli people realise that they are completely uninformed about the roots
There is an interesting idea being floated around by the Iranian government and other circles. The idea is to sue Israel and/or Israeli leader for war crimes, crimes against humanity and even genocide. Sounds silly? Think again. It all began when the government of Iran asked the ICC to issue warrants for the arrest of Israeli leaders. Soon thereafter a US professor, Francis Anthony Boyle, has offered the Iranian President
To its great credit, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has expressed many doubts about the rationale behind the Israeli assault on Gaza from the very first day of the operation. Today Haaretz published two analytical reports which are very interesting. The first one, entitled Operation Cast Lead in Gaza is entering its problematic phase ,and the second one, entitled Hamas is hoping for an IDF ground operation, are both strongly implying
Many pro-Israeli commentators are making statements about how the IDF has learned the lessons of the 2006 war against Hezbollah and how the mistakes which were then committed by the Israelis would not be repeated today. Sounds good, but it also makes me wonder what exactly they are referring to? Let’s take a closer look at the two main aspects of the 2006 war and see whether they are really
(Click on images for higher resolution)
Israel’s lack of options – sympathy with the devil? After weeks of rumors, speculations and not so veiled threats, Israel has finally begun its assault on the Gaza strip. Predictably, it began with F-16 airstrikes at “Hamas targets” and, equally predictably, the hospitals in Gaza are filling up with many casualties (190+ killed and many more wounded). Actually, this is the “least-bad” strategy for Israel as it makes it possible
al-Manar reports: Israeli Army Gets Green Light for Gaza Operation The Israeli defense establishment is currently preparing for a military move against Hamas targets in Gaza after it received the green light Wednesday from the Israeli Cabinet. During a cabinet meeting about the situation in and outside the Gaza Strip, a senior Israeli occupation army officer gave ministers in attendance an overview of the potential retaliatory moves that the defense
Al-Manar reports: Action to end the inhumane Gaza siege has started from Lebanon… Lebanon, the country of Resistance and patriotism, raised on Friday the voice in response to Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s call, expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people amid a “suspicious” Arab and international calm. On Monday, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah called upon all Arabs and Muslims to start actions against the siege. His eminence
Press TV reports: The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, has announced the cessation of the six-month-old ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip. “The calm, which was reached with Egyptian sponsorship on June 19 and expires on December 19, is finished because the enemy did not abide by its obligations. The calm is over,” Hamas official, Ayman Taha, said on Thursday. The announcement raises the prospect of an escalation in cross-border
Israel has a long history of ‘spitting’ at the United Nations. From the 1996 and 2006 Israeli artillery assaults on the UN position in Qana, Lebanon, to the refusal to let a UN investigate the Jenin massacre, the Israelis have never been shy about showing their utter contempt for international law (or any kind of law, for that matter) and the United Nations. This time, it is an American Jew
After a lengthy break from making interviews, I am finally returning to this aspect of my work with what I consider one of the most interesting interviews I ever made. One of my readers (thanks RC!) pointed me to the website and work of Robert Tucker, truly an immensely interesting and courageous person whom I consider to be the living proof of the fact that no amount of propaganda and
By Grant F. Smith for “Dissident Voice” via Information Clearing House According to the Jerusalem Post, the US Department of Treasury’s new Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) unit is going after the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. TFI targeted the company and 18 affiliates for their alleged effort to “facilitate the transport of cargo for UN Designated proliferators.” TFI further charges it “falsifies documents and uses deceptive schemes to
