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CRY FREEDOM.net
formerly known as
Women's Liberation Front
MORE INSIGHT MORE LIFE
Welcome to cryfreedom.net,
formerly known as Womens
Liberation Front.
A website
that hopes to draw and keeps your attention for both the global 21th. century 3rd. feminist revolution as well
as especially for the Zan, Zendegi, Azadi uprising in Iran and the
struggles of our sisters in other parts of the Middle East. This online magazine
that started December 2019 will
be published every week. Thank you for your time and interest.
Gino d'Artali
indept investigative
journalist
radical feminist and women's rights activist
'WOMEN, LIFE, FREEDOM'
You are now at the section on what is happening in the rest of the Middle
east
(Updates
August 20, 2024)
Click here for the
Iran 'Woman, Life, Freedom' section
Updated August 16, 2024
For the 'Women's Arab Spring 1.2' Revolt
news
click here
Updated August 16, 2024
CLICK HERE ON HOW TO READ
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SPECIAL
REPORTS PALESTINE
FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA - FREE PALESTINE
August
wk3 bis2 -- August
wk3bis -- August
wk3 P4 --
August wk3 P3 --
August wk3 P2 --
August
wk3 -- August
2 P2 -- August
wk2 -- August
wk1 P2 --
August wk1 --
Click here for an overview by week in 2024
When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi
figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da
qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so
called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali.
Al Jazeera - August 20, 2024
<<Hamas accuses US of 'buying time for Israel' in Gaza ceasefire talks
Blinken visits Egypt, and will head to Qatar as the US pushes Hamas to
agree to an amended deal that allows Israel to keep troops in Gaza.
Hamas has said a ceasefire deal must result in a permanent end to
Israel’s war on Gaza, accusing the United States of "merely buying time
for Israel to continue its genocide" by proposing an amended accord. As
the Palestinian group revealed details of Israel’s new conditions, it
urged the world to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to
sign the deal proposed by US President Joe Biden on May 31 and backed by
the United Nations Security Council on June 11. "The Israelis have
retreated from issues included in Biden's proposal. Netanyahu's talk
about agreeing to an updated proposal indicates that the US
administration has failed to convince him to accept the previous
agreement," Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera on Monday.
On Tuesday, Biden said Hamas was <backing away> from the deal agreed to
by Israel. <It's still in play, but you can't predict,> he said while
leaving the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. <Israel says they
can work it out ... Hamas is now backing away.>
Hamas reacted to Biden's comments, saying they were "misleading",
stressing that it was eager to reach a deal but the new provisions
contradict the earlier framework. By shifting the terms, the US is
showing "blind bias" towards Israel and acquiescing to its demands,
Hamas said, enabling it to "commit more crimes against defenseless
civilians, in pursuit of the goals of exterminating and displacing our
people".
'Bridging proposal'
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Tel Aviv on Monday that he
had <a very constructive meeting> with Netanyahu, who <confirmed to me
that Israel accepts the bridging proposal>. <This is a decisive moment -
probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the [Israeli]
hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path
to enduring peace and security,> Blinken said. The Israeli military said
on Tuesday that it had recovered the bodies of six captives from Khan
Younis in southern Gaza.
The US put forward the latest proposal last week after new talks in
Qatar's capital Doha.
Hamas said the new proposal meets Netanyahu's conditions, including his
refusal of a ceasefire and a complete troop withdrawal from Gaza, and
his insistence on keeping control of the Netzarim Corridor, which
separates the north and the south of the enclave, the Rafah border
crossing and the Philadelphi Corridor that borders Egypt. Blinken
visited Egypt's Mediterranean city of El Alamein on Tuesday for talks
with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at his summer palace. El-Sisi
warned him of the risk of Israel's war on Gaza expanding regionally in a
way "difficult to imagine" and emphasised that "the time has come to end
the ongoing war", according to a statement issued by the Egyptian
presidency. "The ceasefire in Gaza must be the beginning of broader
international recognition of the Palestinian state and the
implementation of the two-state solution, as this is the basic guarantor
of stability in the region," el-Sisi said, according to the statement.
Hussein Haridy, Egypt's former assistant foreign minister, told Al
Jazeera before the two met that Egypt opposes the Israeli aim of
maintaining control over the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphi
Corridor. "Egypt has always rejected the permanent Israeli military
presence in the Philadelphi Corridor as well as Israeli control over
Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing," Haridy said. "This remains the
Egyptian position."
Heading to Qatar
Blinken will next head to a meeting in Doha with Qatar's emir, Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Egypt and Qatar are working alongside the US to broker a truce in the
10-month Gaza conflict.
The Biden framework would freeze fighting for an initial six weeks while
Israeli captives are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli
jails and humanitarian aid enters Gaza.
Netanyahu said on Monday that negotiators were aiming to <release a
maximum number of living hostages> in the first phase of any ceasefire.
On Tuesday, at least 12 people were killed in an Israeli military strike
on the Mustafa Hafez school in western Gaza City, according to civil
defence authorities in the enclave. Reporting from Deir el-Balah in
central Gaza, Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum said the
school-turned-shelter "served as a last resort" for displaced
Palestinians, and civil defence said it was housing 700 people.
At least 40,173 people have been killed and 92,857 wounded in Israel's
war on Gaza, according to the enclave's Ministry of Health. An estimated
1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on
October 7 and more than 200 were taken captive.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES and read more here
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/20/hamas-accuses-us-of-buying-time-for-israel-in-gaza-ceasefire-talks
BBC - August 20, 2024
<<Israel accepts 'bridging proposal' for ceasefire deal - Blinken
US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken met with Israeli PM Benjamin
Netanyahu on Monday
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to an American "bridging proposal" for a
ceasefire deal in Gaza.
It is now up to Hamas to agree, Mr Blinken added.
The pair met in Tel Aviv for talks that Mr Netanyahu has described as
"positive", with his office adding that he had reiterated his commitment
to an American proposal on the release of the hostages still held by
Hamas, which took into account Israel’s security needs.
Mr Blinken had earlier warned this was "maybe the last opportunity" to
secure a ceasefire agreement, as the US hopes to push a deal over the
finish line.
The Americans hope that could happen perhaps as soon as this time next
week, but that level of optimism is not shared by the Israeli leadership
or Hamas.
Each accuses the other of obstinate cynicism, and blocking a deal.
Speaking in Tel Aviv after the talks, Mr Blinken described "the fierce
urgency" of progressing towards a truce and hostage release deal.
"We're never giving up", he added, saying more delays could mean more
hostages could die and further obstacles could hamper any agreement.
The US secretary of state will now travel on to Egypt and then Qatar, to
try and drive forward progress on a deal.
Mr Netanyahu reportedly told Mr Blinken that he planned to send a
negotiating team to Cairo later this week for a new round of talks with
Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators.
Meanwhile, reports from Gaza speak of a worsening humanitarian situation
amid continuing Israeli military activity.
Israel said its aircraft and troops had killed “eliminated dozens of
terrorists” over the past day and destroyed Hamas compounds and a tunnel
network where rockets and missiles were found.
Palestinian media reported that six people had been killed in an Israeli
air strike near an internet access point near the southern city of Khan
Younis on Monday, and that another four were killed in a strike on a car
in Gaza City, in the north.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in
response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October,
during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
More than 40,130 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according
to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
A deal agreed in November saw Hamas release 105 of the hostages during a
week-long ceasefire in return for some 240 Palestinian prisoners in
Israeli jails. Israel says 111 hostages are still being held, 39 of whom
are presumed dead.
Risk of regional war hangs over Gaza ceasefire talks
Lebanese hold their breath as mediators scramble to avert all-out war
Mr Blinken was in Israel on Monday for a series of talks with key
Israeli leaders.
After one meeting - with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant - a large crowd
of protesters outside could be heard chanting "SOS USA, hostage deal
now" and "Blinken we trust you, bring them home". Some were holding
pictures of hostages.
That sense of urgency was in Mr Blinken's messages was clear.
“This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last
opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put
everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” he said
before talks with President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.
“I'm here as part of an intensive diplomatic effort on President Biden's
instructions to try to get this agreement to the line and ultimately
over the line,” he added. “It is time for everyone to get to ‘yes’ and
to not look for any excuses to say ‘no’.”
Speaking alongside him, President Herzog blamed what he called “the
refusal of Hamas to move forward” with a deal.
Mr Blinken then had a three-hour meeting in Jerusalem with Mr Netanyahu,
whose office said was “positive and was held in a good atmosphere”.
“The prime minister reiterated Israel's commitment to the current
American proposal on the release of our hostages, which takes into
account Israel's security needs, which he strongly insists on,” a brief
statement added.
On Sunday, the prime minister accused Hamas of being “completely
obstinate” and insisted that “pressure needs to be directed” at the
group - which Israel, the US and other countries proscribe as a
terrorist organisation.
A Qatar-based member of Hamas’s political bureau told the BBC on Monday
that it was “still interested” in reaching a deal, although he said it
would not be participating in the Cairo meetings.
“We agreed a deal [through mediators] on 2 July... and therefore we
don't need a new round of negotiations or to discuss the new demands of
Benjamin Netanyahu,” Basem Naim said.
“We have shown maximum flexibility and positivity and the other party
has understood this as a weakness and met it with more force - he is not
interested in reaching a ceasefire, only in flaring up the region... and
serving his own personal political interests."
The US is holding out hope that in the coming days, it can bridge the
gaps on a ceasefire deal.
However, that deadline is being imposed by Washington, rather than the
warring parties. And the Israeli prime minister and the leaders of Hamas
do not seem to feel that same sense of urgency.
Their statements last night were very defiant, sticking to their
positions and digging in.
On Tuesday, Mr Blinken will fly from Israel to Egypt, which has been an
important mediator along with Qatar and is able to pass messages
directly to Hamas.
The mediators announced last Friday that they had presented “a proposal
that narrows the gaps between the parties” and was consistent with the
principles set out by President Joe Biden on 31 May, which would run in
three phases:
• The first would include a "full and complete ceasefire" lasting six
weeks, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of
Gaza, and the exchange of some of the hostages - including women, the
elderly and the sick or wounded - for Palestinian prisoners held in
Israel
• The second phase would involve the release of all other living
hostages and a "permanent end to hostilities"
• The third would see the start of a major reconstruction plan for Gaza
and the return of dead hostages' remains
The Americans have not provided details about bridging proposal, but
major differences are said to remain on issues including Israel’s
continuing military presence in Gaza, the rights of displaced
Palestinians to move freely from north to south and the number and
identity of Palestinian prisoners who’d be released from Israeli jails
in exchange for Israeli hostages.
Brett McGurk, one of the Biden administration’s key envoys in the
region, has been working with the Egyptians over the past couple of
weeks to address the sticking point of the Philadelphi corridor, a strip
of land that runs along Gaza’s border with Egypt.
Mr Netanyahu says he insists that Israel will remain present there to
stop smuggling and Hamas rearming. Hamas says it simply means continued
Israeli occupation and therefore not a stop to the war.>>
Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y3xzex72no
Le Monde - August 20, 2024 - By Samuel Forey (Jerusalem, correspondent)
<<After Tel Aviv bombing, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad threaten
further attacks in Israel
The claim of a powerful explosion on Sunday raised the specter of
suicide bombings, while numerous attacks have been committed on Israel's
territory since the massacre on October 7, 2023.
Former Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal (left) alongside Islamic Jihad leader
Ziad Al-Nakhala as they receive condolences for Ismail Haniyeh, the
Hamas leader assassinated in Iran, on July 31, in Doha, Qatar, on August
2, 2024.
A middle-aged man with short hair and the glasses of a diligent student
in jeans and a t-shirt walked quietly down Lehi Street in Tel Aviv on
Sunday, August 18, a blue backpack slung over his shoulders. The evening
was calm, despite the expectation of the outcome of negotiations that
could lead to a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but also of possible
reprisals by Iran and Hezbollah after the targeted assassinations
committed by Israel in Tehran and Beirut, at the end of July – including
the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, originally from
Gaza.
Suddenly, at number 97 Lehi Street, a powerful explosion pulverized the
man carrying the bag and echoed down the street, slightly injuring a
passerby. An attack or a settling of scores? The Israeli police and the
Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence service, considered it "terror
attack involving a powerful explosive device." Later, Hamas and
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in a joint statement, claimed responsibility
for "Sunday night's suicide attack in Tel Aviv," although the assailant
appears to have missed, the bomb having exploded in a deserted street.
But the statement came with a threat: "Suicide bombings in the occupied
interior [the expression used by Hamas to designate Israel] will return
to the forefront, as long as the occupation's massacres, displacement of
civilians, and the continuation of the assassination policy continue."
In other words: Attacks of this kind will continue as long as the war in
Gaza lasts, and the systematic targeting of cadres of Palestinian armed
groups, in the enclave or elsewhere, continues.
Regarding the Tel Aviv explosion, Israeli police speculate that a nearby
synagogue may have been the attacker's target. Despite the absence of
specific warnings of future attacks, police presence has been stepped up
in the city. At this stage of the investigation, many details are still
missing, in particular about the background of the explosives carrier,
who has no known criminal or terrorist history; he has left no testimony
as to why he did it, contrary to the usual modus operandi. A senior
police officer told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that the device was
"unlike anything we've seen for years in our district."
The failed attack raises the specter of the numerous suicide attacks of
the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. During that decade, nearly half
of the 1,200 or so people killed were in suicide attacks, according to
researcher Yoram Schweitzer, head of terrorism and low-intensity
conflict at the Institute for National Security Studies, an Israeli
think tank.>>
Read more here:
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/08/20/after-tel-aviv-bombing-hamas-and-palestinian-islamic-jihad-threaten-further-attacks-in-israel_6718720_4.html
France 25 - August 19, 2024
<<Gaza protesters briefly breach fence at Democratic National Convention
Protesters against Israel's war in Gaza briefly breached the security
fence at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday, hours
before US President Joe Biden gave a tearful farewell speech including
praise for Vice President Kamala Harris, the party's nominee. Biden
addressed protesters' concerns in his speech, highlighting the tensions
within the party over the conflict. Protesters against Israel's war in
Gaza briefly breached the outer security fence of the Democratic
convention in Chicago Monday, hours before US President Joe Biden passed
the torch to new nominee Kamala Harris. Biden did not directly address
the security lapse in his hour-long speech, but he said <those
protesters out in the street, they have a point. A lot of innocent
people are being killed, on both sides> of the Israel-Hamas conflict. A
small group of around 100 demonstrators broke off from a larger march
involving thousands of people and targeted the metal barriers
surrounding the United Center on the first day of the Democratic Party's
gathering. Police in blue helmets with shields and carrying black batons
prevented them from getting to the inner cordon. One demonstrator clad
in black was carried out by their arms and legs by several officers, an
AFP correspondent saw. Protest groups have called for mass
demonstrations throughout the week against the Biden-Harris
administration's support for Israel's war on Hamas following the
Palestinian militant group's deadly October 7 attacks. Chicago police
said in a statement that protesters <breached a portion of anti-scale
fencing along the Democratic National Convention's outer perimeter. Law
enforcement personnel were immediately on-scene and contained the
situation. At no point was the inner perimeter breached, and there was
no threat to any protectees,> police said. Police later advanced on a
park near the convention center to clear it of demonstrators.
Chants of "Free Palestine" and "Let's March" continued as about half a
dozen holdout activists, one wearing a pink gas mask, began to leave.
The Gaza war has been a hugely divisive issue for the Democratic Party
ahead of the November 5 election. It has threatened to alienate Muslim
and Arab-American voters, once a reliable Democratic voting bloc,
particularly in key battleground states. Biden, in his speech, said his
administration will keep working to <bring peace and security to the
Middle East. We're working around the clock... to prevent a wider war
and reunite hostages with their families, and surge humanitarian health
and food assistance into Gaza now, to end the civilian suffering of the
Palestinian people, and finally, finally, finally deliver a ceasefire
and end this war.>
(AFP)>>
Source:
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20240819-democrats-kick-off-chicago-convention-pro-palestinian-groups-rally-outside-kamala-harris
Al Jazeera - August 19, 2024
<<Aid worker deaths soared after Israel launched latest war on Gaza: UN
UN office warns that a record number of aid workers were killed in 2023
and fears further grim milestones could be set as wars rage. More than
half of the 280 aid workers killed worldwide in 2023 died during the
first three months of Israel's war on Gaza, according to the United
Nations. The rise in deaths, mainly due to Israeli air attacks in Gaza
between October and December last year, represents a 137 percent
increase compared with 2022, when 118 aid workers were killed. The UN's
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on
Monday that aid workers were killed in 33 countries in 2023, the
"deadliest year on record for the global humanitarian community". But
this year "may be on track for an even deadlier outcome", OCHA warned,
with 172 aid workers killed so far this year as of August 7. Marking
World Humanitarian Day, leaders of humanitarian organisations are
sending a joint letter to UN General Assembly member states, calling for
an end to attacks on civilians, enhanced protection for aid workers, and
accountability for those responsible.
Violence in Sudan and South Sudan has contributed to the death toll,
both in 2023 and in 2024, said the UN. Meanwhile, several humanitarian
workers continue to be detained in Yemen. The UN's acting emergency
relief coordinator, Joyce Msuya, said in a statement that "the
normalisation of violence against aid workers and the lack of
accountability are unacceptable, unconscionable and enormously harmful
for aid operations everywhere".
She demanded in a statement that "people in power act to end violations
against civilians and the impunity with which these heinous attacks are
committed".
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has said 207 of its staff
members have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war in
October last year.
"We demand an end to impunity so that perpetrators face justice," said
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, said on X: "In Gaza, there have
been way too many of them since the war started 10 months ago. At least
289 aid workers including 207 UNRWA team members and 885 health workers
lost."
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/19/un-reports-gaza-war-caused-major-spike-in-aid-worker-deaths-in-2023
Le Monde - August 18, 2024
<<Palestinian militants claim Tel Aviv bombing, threaten more attacks
Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they were Israeli security and emergency
responders work at the site of a bomb blast in Tel Aviv, Israel August
18, 2024. Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad on Monday, August
19, claimed responsibility for a bombing in Tel Aviv, calling it a
"suicide operation" and threatening more attacks in Israel as the Gaza
war drags on. Israeli police earlier said the late Sunday blast in
Israel's commercial hub was a <terror attack> that prompted heightened
alert. The force had reported that one person - who Israeli media said
was the suspected assailant - was killed, and another wounded. The armed
wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have both fought against Israeli
forces in the Gaza Strip, said in a joint statement that they "carried
out the suicide operation that took place Sunday evening in the city of
Tel Aviv." The groups threatened to carry out more such attacks in
Israel "as long as the occupation's massacres, the displacement of
civilians and the policy of assassinations continue." The police said
Sunday's blast <was a terror attack involving the explosion of a
powerful explosive.> <As a result of the explosion, a passerby was
moderately injured,> the police said, adding that authorities had
ordered <an increase in alert levels and extensive searches throughout
the greater Tel Aviv area.>
It occurred shortly after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived
in Tel Aviv to push for a ceasefire in Gaza as fears grow of a wider,
regional conflagration after more than 10 months of war, triggered by
Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.
Le Monde with AFP>>
Read more here:
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/08/19/palestinian-militants-claim-tel-aviv-bombing-threaten-more-attacks_6718321_4.html
France 25 - August 18, 2024
<<Gaza ceasefire negotiations 'doomed to fail', experts says
Ongoing ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are "doomed to fail
from the start", said Gilbert Achcar, professor of Development Studies
and International Relations at The School of Oriental and African
Studies. Pointing to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his
government, Achcar said Israel has no intention to end the war in
Gaza.>>
Source incl. video:
https://www.france24.com/en/video/20240818-gaza-ceasefire-negotiations-doomed-to-fail-experts-says
Women's
Liberation Front 2019/cryfreedom.net 2024
