CRY FREEDOM.net
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.
Click here for the
Iran 'Woman, Life, Freedom' section
Updated August 22, 2024
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SPECIAL
REPORTS PALESTINE
FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA - FREE PALESTINE
August
wk3 P3 --
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
Special reports: TRIBUTES TO MOTHERS AND CHILDREN
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July 12, 2024
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August 22 - 20, 2024 and more actual news |
Additional
stories of utmost interest: |
August 20 - 18, 2024 |
June 14, 2024 |
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May 23, 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 22, 2024
<<Three Palestinians killed in Israeli strike on occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have carried out near-daily raids in the territory,
killing more than 600 Palestinians since October.
Three Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air attack on a house
in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian
Ministry of Health says. Reporting from Tulkarem, Al Jazeera's Nida
Ibrahim said on Thursday that the raid was ongoing 12 hours later in the
congested area, with sounds of explosives and gunfire heard and drones
flying above. "People inside the refugee camp say the Israeli army has
set fire to some of the homes and that civil defence teams are not being
allowed in to put out the fires," she said. The aerial attack on
Thursday came as the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said
fighters from its Tulkarem Battalion clashed with Israeli soldiers in
the camp and detonated explosive devices targeting military vehicles.
"Our fighters continue to clash with the occupation forces and we have
achieved direct hits among them," the Qassam Brigades said. The Israeli
military deployed snipers on roofs and sent in bulldozers to destroy
infrastructure. The Quds News Network posted a video of a fire following
the army's ground assault on the camp. The Israeli military said its
aircraft struck <several militants> in Tulkarem as ground forces
searched for buried explosives. Dozens of buildings were destroyed in
the operation and at least one Israeli soldier was wounded. Tulkarem has
been hit hard by Israeli raids, with 90 homes in the area destroyed by
the Israeli army's operations since Israel's war on Gaza started in
October, Al Jazeera's Ibrahim said. Israeli forces also conducted raids
in cities and towns across the West Bank, the Palestinian Wafa news
agency reported, and arrested two teenagers in the town of Deir Ballut
and Tubas city.
A total of 25 Palestinians, including two women and a child, were
arrested overnight and through Thursday morning across the West Bank,
according to Wafa.
The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian
Prisoner's Society (PPS) said in a joint statement that the Israeli
raids were marked by violence and intimidation. Witnesses told PPS that
detainees and their families there threatened and their homes were
damaged.
In the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah, Israeli troops clashed with
Palestinians and deployed tear gas, live rounds and sound bombs. Attacks
in the West Bank have surged since October 7, with Israeli forces
killing more than 600 Palestinians in the occupied territory, including
144 children, while more than 10,000 Palestinians have been arrested. In
a landmark but nonbinding ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
last month declared Israel's continued presence in the occupied
Palestinian territory as unlawful, saying it should come to an end "as
rapidly as possible". Meanwhile, Israeli police arrested four Israeli
settlers accused of taking part in a deadly rampage in the West Bank
village of Jit last week, which drew international condemnation. The
four suspects were being investigated for <terrorism against
Palestinians>, according to a statement from police and the Shin Bet
security service reported by the Reuters news agency.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES>>
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/22/three-palestinians-killed-in-israeli-strike-on-occupied-west-bank
Al Jazeera - August 22, 2024 - By Ali Harb
<<Gaza protesters keep pressure up as Harris-Walz celebrated in Chicago
DNC
Al Jazeera witnesses violent arrest of two hijab-wearing women as
thousands in Chicago rally for Palestinian rights.
Chicago, United States - Chants echoed through the streets around the
United Center in Chicago, where thousands of Democratic delegates and
supporters gathered on Wednesday to officially nominate Kamala Harris as
the party's presidential candidate. "Just like 1968, there's nothing to
celebrate!" the Palestinian rights protesters shouted, highlighting the
parallels they see between this Democratic National Convention in
Chicago and the last time the gathering was held in the Windy City amid
a violent crackdown on anti-Vietnam war protesters. Just as Democratic
candidate Hubert Humphrey lost the 1968 race to Richard Nixon, the
demonstrators are warning Harris that they will not support her unless
she ends the United States' unconditional support for Israel. Wednesday
was the third day of the convention and the third day of the Gaza
protests. "DNC your hands are red, over 40,000 dead," the protesters
chanted as they waved Palestinian flags while marching in the streets.
Police officers dragged a row of bicycles - forming a moving chain - on
the side of the road along the march to keep protesters on the approved
path. Whenever the protest came close to the convention centre, a wall
of dozens of police officers blocked the road leading to the security
perimeter that had been established around the venue.
A police helicopter hovered above the protest throughout. Jinan Chehade,
one of the activists leading the chants, agreed that Wednesday's protest
had been the largest of the 2024 convention. "The turnout is amazing,
and it's a reflection of our call for justice and how big the
Palestinian movement in Chicago is," Chehade told Al Jazeera. The
protesters expressed anger and pain through their chants and posters
over the war on Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 40,000
Palestinians in the past 10 months. But the demonstration remained
peaceful.
Al Jazeera witnessed police officers violently arrest two young women at
a transit station. As the demonstration snaked through the street
leading to the Damen transit station, several journalists and some
demonstrators rushed to the elevated train platform that overlooks the
road to take aerial footage of the crowd. Law enforcement agents
reminded people that photography was prohibited at the station, but
their orders were largely ignored as journalists and protesters,
including many professional photographers, continued to snap pictures.
Police officers, however, singled out two women wearing the hijab and
after a brief exchange, they wrestled them to the ground and handcuffed
them. Demonstrators gathered around the police officers and chanted,
"Let them go". Meanwhile, more law enforcement agents showed up at the
scene to escort the two women and arresting officers out of the station.
Officers did not respond to multiple questions by Al Jazeera on why the
two visibly Muslim women were arrested out of more than two dozen people
taking photos on the platform. The Chicago Police Department also did
not immediately return a request for comment. More protests are
scheduled on Thursday when the convention is set to conclude with Harris
accepting the Democratic nomination. Chicago is home to one the largest
Palestinian communities in the US. Lizette Garza, a social justice
activist, said people of various backgrounds in the city were "grieving"
for the atrocities in Gaza alongside Palestinians. "It's really
important for Chicago particularly as a liberal city to represent and to
be antiwar when our families and communities are hurting so much," Garza
told Al Jazeera.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA>>
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/22/theres-nothing-to-celebrate-gaza-protests-continue-around-dnc
Hayat Halimi
Jinha - Womens News Agency - August 21 , 2024 - by IKHLAS Al-HAMROUNI
<<Tunisian activist: We should make the voice of Palestinian women heard
"We should make the voice of Palestinian women heard all around the
world," said Tunisian human rights activist Hayat Halimi, calling on the
international community and organizations to take an urgent action to
support Palestinian women.
Tunisia- Israel has attacked the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023,
killing and injuring thousands, including women and children as
Palestinians have been suffering from a humanitarian crisis.
'Women suffer more than men in Palestine'
Hayat Halimi, a Tunisian human rights activist and member of the
Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights, has supported the cause
of Palestine since her childhood. "Whenever I watch the news, I see how
Palestinians are subjected to discrimination. Palestinian women resist
the lack of food, water and shelter, the hot and cold weather. They are
also openly killed and displaced while losing their children. Women
suffer more than men in Palestine. Women are always the victims of wars
and conflicts due to gender discrimination. This discrimination becomes
obvious when talking about the feminization of poverty, unemployment,
marginalization and violence. Women are subjected to all forms of
violence in all facets of life."
'What is going on is considered normal'
Hayat Halimi criticizes the silence of the international community and
organizations against what is going on in the Gaza Strip. "The
international community and human rights organizations have failed to
support the cause of Palestine and Palestinian women. Unfortunately,
what is going on in the Gaza Strip is considered 'normal'. The whole
world must take an urgent action to protect Palestinians, especially
Palestinian women, and end rights violations committed against them.
Despite the international silence, feminist organizations and movements
do their best to support Palestinian women. Tunisian human rights
activists always defend the rights of Palestinian women; however, the
voice of Tunisian women is insufficient to stop the massacres committed
against Palestinian women."
'We should make the voice of Palestinian women heard all around the
world'
When Israel started attacking the Gaza Strip, some Tunisian and Arab
organizations took immediate action to protect Palestinian women, Hayat
Halimi said. "However, they have limited means to protect and support
all Palestinian women. Some international organizations that supposedly
protect human rights have just chanted slogans instead of taking an
urgent action against the crimes committed against Palestinians. Despite
everything, we, as women’s organizations, should make the voice of
Palestinian women heard all around the world to protect them." >>
Source incl. video:
https://jinhaagency.com/en/actual/tunisian-activist-we-should-make-the-voice-of-palestinian-women-heard-35563?page=1
At least 40,223 Palestinians killed
Jinha - Womens News Agency - August 21 , 2024
<<At least 40,223 Palestinians killed in Gaza since Oct.7
At least 40,223 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the
Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, the Gaza's health ministry said in a
statement on Wednesday.
News Center- Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have entered their 320th
day. At least 40,223 Palestinian have been killed and 92,981 others
injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7,2023, the
Gaza's health ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
At least 50 Palestinians were killed and 124 others injured in the last
24 hours, the ministry added, stressing that there are many bodies under
rubble and the civil defense crews cannot reach them due to ongoing
Israeli attacks.
Another Palestinian journalist killed
Palestinian journalist Hamza Abdul Rahman Murtaja was killed in an
Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza City, the Government Media Office
in Gaza reported on Tuesday. Hamza Abdul Rahman Murtaja, a photographer
and journalist working for several media outlets, was killed alongside
at least ten people after an Israeli airstrike targeted the Mustafa
Hafez School in Gaza City, where displaced people were seeking shelter,
the media office said. "The martyrdom of journalist Hamza Abdul Rahman
Murtaja brings the number of journalists who have been martyred to 170
journalists since the beginning of the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza
Strip."
Latest evacuation orders by Israel
The Israeli army has issued evacuation orders since October 13, 2023. On
Saturday, the Israeli army ordered civilians to evacuate Al-Mawasi,
previously designated a <safe zone> by the Israeli military. The Israeli
army has issued a new evacuation order for several neighborhoods in Deir
el-Balah, a densely populated city in central Gaza. Avichay Adraee, the
Israel Defense Forces' Arabic-language spokesperson, announced on X that
certain areas in the southern part of the city are a <dangerous combat
zone>, urging citizens to move westward immediately. According to UN
data, 9 out of 10 people living in Gaza have been forced to flee due to
Israeli attacks.>>
Source:
https://jinhaagency.com/en/actual/at-least-87-people-executed-in-iran-after-presidential-elections-in-june-35565
Le Monde - August 20, 2024
<<'Time is of the essence' in Gaza as Blinken returns to Washington
without a truce
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Israel has accepted a
proposal by the US to bridge the gaps between the two sides and urged
Hamas to follow suit. Media reports however quoted Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying his government would insist on
keeping control.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his ninth visit to the Middle
East since the war in Gaza began without securing any major breakthrough
for a cease-fire deal, warning on Tuesday, August 20, that "time is of
the essence" even as Hamas and Israel signaled that challenges remain.
After meetings in fellow mediating countries Egypt and Qatar, Blinken
said that because Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge gaps with the
militant group, the focus turns to doing everything possible to "get
Hamas on board" and ensure both sides agree to key details on
implementation.
"Our message is simple. It's clear and it's urgent," he told reporters
before leaving Qatar. "We need to get a cease-fire and hostage agreement
over the finish line, and we need to do it now. Time is of the essence."
There has been added urgency after the recent targeted killings of
militant leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah in Iran and Lebanon, both
attributed to Israel, and vows of retaliation that have sparked fears of
a wider regional war.
Few details have been released about the so-called bridging proposal put
forth by the US, Egypt and Qatar. Blinken said it is "very clear on the
schedule and the locations of (Israeli military) withdrawals from Gaza."
Hamas earlier Tuesday called the latest proposal a reversal of what it
had agreed to, accusing the US of acquiescing to new conditions from
Israel. There was no immediate US response to that. Blinken's comments
on ending his latest Israel-Hamas peace mission were notably bare of the
optimism that Biden administration officials expressed going into his
trip, and earlier.
The upbeat tone through much of the spring and summer - with US
officials at times describing a cease-fire and hostage deal as nearer
than ever – reflected necessary messaging, at least in part, said
Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security
Initiative at the Atlantic Council's Middle East Program. "If they don't
project optimism then it won't create... even the potential for
sufficient momentum to keep things going," Panikoff said. Americans have
little alternative to continuing to push Israel and Hamas to agree to a
negotiated end to fighting, but it's fundamentally about Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who helped
mastermind the October 7 attacks, Panikoff said. And they are "the two
people that have been, frankly, most skeptical from the beginning" about
making peace.
Le Monde with AFP>>
Source:
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/08/20/blinken-says-time-is-of-the-essence-for-gaza-truce-as-he-returns-to-washington_6718996_4.html
BBC - August 20, 2024 - By Robert Greenall
<<US criticises Israeli PM's 'maximalist' ceasefire stance
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) had a three-hour meeting
with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday
A senior US administration official has pushed back at reported comments
by Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing the Israeli prime minister of making "maximalist
statements" that are "not constructive to getting a ceasefire deal
across the finish line". It comes in the midst of an intense round of
regional diplomacy by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as
Washington tries to drive forward progress on a ceasefire and hostage
release deal.
On Monday, Mr Blinken had talks lasting three hours with the Israeli
leader in Jerusalem. He later said Mr Netanyahu had accepted
Washington's so-called "bridging proposal" aimed at trying to solve
sticking points and bring Israel and Hamas closer to a deal.
Six hostages' bodies retrieved from Gaza tunnels, says IDF
According to an Israeli media report, Mr Netanyahu later told a meeting
of hostage families that he <convinced> Mr Blinken that the deal must
see Israeli troops remaining in areas of Gaza he described as <strategic
military and political assets>, including along the southern border with
Egypt.
The reported comments appear to have irritated the US administration.
"We saw the prime minister's comments, specifically on some of these
items," said the senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"We're certainly not going to negotiate in public but what I can say is
that the only thing Secretary Blinken and the United States are
convinced of is the need for getting a ceasefire proposal across the
finish line. We fully expect that... if Hamas were also to also accept
this bridging proposal, discussions will continue on some of the more
technical... details. I would also just add that maximalist statements
like this are not constructive to getting a ceasefire deal across the
finish line and they certainly risk the ability of implementing level,
working level and technical talks to be able to move forward when both
parties agree to a bridging proposal."
The senior official's remarks followed Tuesday's round of talks between
Mr Blinken and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the coastal
city of El-Alamein. Egyptian officials are said to be strongly opposed
to the idea of Israeli troops remaining along Egypt's border in Gaza.
Following his stop in Egypt, Mr Blinken travelled on to Qatar for
further talks in Doha - the last stop on his Middle East tour. The BBC
has been travelling with the secretary of state and asked him about the
conversation shortly before he left Doha. He revealed for the first time
that the American bridging proposal included a "detailed plan" about
Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. "The agreement is very clear on the
schedule and locations of IDF [Israel Defense Forces] withdrawals from
Gaza and Israel has agreed to that," said Mr Blinken. Asked by the BBC
whether Mr Netanyahu's reported claim that the Israeli leader had
"convinced" Mr Blinken to keep troops in Gaza, he said: "I can't speak
to what he's quoted as saying, I can just speak to what I heard from him
directly yesterday [Monday] when we spent three hours together," he
said. "[That included] Israel's endorsement of the bridging proposal and
thus the detailed plan. And that plan among other things includes a very
clear schedule and locations for withdrawals."
Asked whether the proposal was for a "full withdrawal", Mr Blinken said
he would not comment on the details of the plan. Hamas said the latest
ceasefire proposals constituted "a coup" against what had been agreed
upon in earlier negotiations, and reiterated its wish that a ceasefire
plan for Gaza be based on where talks were in July rather than any new
rounds of negotiations.>>
Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6ynq1jwdqo
Al Jazeera - August 20, 2024 - By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
<<Canada refuses to comment on US sale of Canadian-made weapons to
Israel
Rights advocates say Canada is not being transparent and has failed to
take danger of arms exports to Israel seriously.
Montreal, Canada - Canada has refused to comment on a planned United
States sale of Canadian-made weapons to Israel, after news of the deal
drew rebuke from rights advocates who argue the arms will help fuel
Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians. In a brief statement
to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, a spokesman for Canada's foreign affairs
department, Global Affairs Canada, said it "will not speculate on a
possible Foreign Military Sale by the United States". "Since January
8th, the Government of Canada has not approved new arms export permits
to Israel, and this remains the federal government's approach," it said.
Canada announced earlier this year that it would not authorise new
export permits for weapons to Israel amid mass protests over the
country's war in the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,000
Palestinians over nearly 11 months.
But rights advocates quickly noted that Canada has not revoked existing
arms export permits, nor would the prohibition affect Canadian weapons
and components that first go to the US before they are shipped to
Israel. Those transfers to the US are difficult to track because of a
decades-old preferential trade relationship that allows the North
American neighbours to more easily exchange military weapons and related
components.
Last Tuesday, the US's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)
announced that a company based in the Canadian province of Quebec would
be the main contractor in a possible deal to send $61.1m in munitions to
Israel. The company, called General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical
Systems Inc, is set to supply tens of thousands of "M933A1 120mm High
Explosive Mortar Cartridges and related equipment", the agency said in a
statement. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2026. Michael Bueckert,
vice president of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME),
an advocacy group, told Al Jazeera that the Canadian government "has a
responsibility" to stop the shipment. "If Canada is going to knowingly
allow weapons to be transferred to Israel while it claims to be stopping
this sort of thing, it just destroys their entire credibility," he said.
Bueckert added that, with experts accusing Israel of committing
"genocide" in Gaza, it also "shows that they’re more interested in
public relations than taking action to prevent complicity in genocide".
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), another advocacy group,
also urged Canada to prevent the transfer.
"Any decision otherwise would render the Government's earlier weapon
permits ban to become moot," its CEO, Stephen Brown, said in a statement
on Tuesday. On Monday, the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP)
issued a statement publicly opposing the sale, saying it was "horrified"
to learn of Canada’s involvement. "Canada must not be fuelling the
ongoing genocide in Gaza with Canadian-made weapons," said Heather
McPherson, a Canadian parliament member and foreign affairs critic for
the NDP. "By refusing to end arms sales to Israel, including by allowing
loopholes to send weapons through the United States, Canada could
potentially be complicit in war crimes." General Dynamics Ordnance and
Tactical Systems Inc, the Canada-based company involved in the sale, did
not immediately respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment. Legal
experts have said Canada is flouting its obligations under international
law to prohibit weapons transfers to countries when there is a serious
risk the equipment could be used in human rights violations. For
instance, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) - a United Nations pact to which
Canada is a signatory - bans transfers if states have knowledge the arms
could be used in genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other
violations of international law. The UN's top court, the International
Court of Justice (ICJ), has already said there is a "plausible" risk
that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Rights
groups have also documented scores of Israeli military attacks against
Palestinian civilians, journalists and humanitarian aid workers across
the enclave since the war began. Against that backdrop, in March, a
group of Palestinian Canadians and human rights lawyers sued Canada over
exports of military equipment to Israel. "We are seeking to hold Canada
to its own standards and to its international legal obligations," Henry
Off, a board member for Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights
(CLAIHR), one of the groups involved in the case, told Al Jazeera at the
time. "We don't want the Canadian government to be contributing to the
mass starvation and bombardment of Gaza." But as Israel's war in Gaza
drags on, rights advocates have urged the government to also close the
"loopholes" that allow the country to send weapons to the US with less
oversight and fewer reporting requirements. Bueckert said the Canadian
government has failed to take the concerns of its citizens seriously -
or take real action to address their calls to end weapons shipments to
Israel. "I think they've really been very dismissive and condescending
towards the concerns that Canadians have about the very real and
dangerous transfer of military goods to Israel," Bueckert told Al
Jazeera.
"I think in general Canada is not taking seriously the legal
consequences for its complicity in genocide."
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA>>
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/20/canada-refuses-to-comment-on-us-sale-of-canadian-made-weapons-to-israel
Al Jazeera - August 20, 2024 - By Mat Nashed
<<What is the Gaza ceasefire 'bridging proposal' and will it work?
US calls on Hamas to accept ceasefire 'bridging proposal', but the
Palestinian group says it only serves the Israelis. The United States's
top diplomat wrapped up his visit to Israel on Monday with a message for
those pleading for an end to the war in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony
Blinken said that he consulted with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, who - the American official said - had accepted a "bridging
proposal" for a ceasefire in Gaza. The proposal ostensibly aims to
bridge unresolved disputes between Israel and the Palestinian group
Hamas in order to end the violence in Gaza, where Israel has killed more
than 40,000 people and uprooted nearly the entire 2.3 million population
during the last 10 months.
Israel's devastating war on Gaza began shortly after a Hamas-led attack
on southern Israel on October 7, in which an estimated 1,139 people were
killed and more than 250 taken captive.
Despite continuous efforts this year to bring about a ceasefire, and
even after a proposal announced by US President Joe Biden that he said
was supported by Israel and has publicly been backed by Hamas, the US
has now been forced to announce the bridging proposal. Hamas has
rejected the proposal, calling it an attempt by the US to buy time "for
Israel to continue its genocide", and urged a return to the previous
proposal. With Blinken travelling the Middle East, and a new potential
round of talks in Cairo this week, let’s take a closer look at the
latest proposal, and what the dispute between Israel and Hamas now
centres on.
Permanent ceasefire?
Israel doesn't want a permanent ceasefire, despite engaging in
<ceasefire> talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to reserve the right to resume
attacks on Gaza after Israeli captives have been retrieved. This fits
with a longstanding Israeli military doctrine of carrying out
<preemptive attacks> in occupied Palestinian territory to ostensibly
weaken the threat coming from Palestinian fighters, as it often does in
the occupied West Bank. <Most Israelis can't argue with what Netanyahu
wants to do, which is to destroy Hamas, despite those being empty words
that have no meaning,> said Ori Goldberg, an Israeli commentator on
political affairs. However, Israel's own security brass has said that
Netanyahu’s stated goal of completely destroying Hamas is impossible and
amounts to <throwing sand in the eyes of the [Israeli] public>. Even
Netanyahu's defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has rubbished the idea of a
<total victory> against Hamas.
Back in July, Hamas expressed willing to sign a temporary ceasefire and
then indirectly continue talks that would eventually lead to a permanent
one.
Netanyahu, however, has continued to add conditions and has proved
unwilling to compromise.
Troop withdrawals
Hamas is calling for the departure of all Israeli troops from Gaza,
beginning with a withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor, a name used
for the land that separates the enclave from Egypt. Netanyahu, however,
insists that Israeli troops must remain in the corridor - and other
locations in the enclave - to preserve Israeli security and derail the
smuggling of weapons to Hamas. That, Hamas says, is a departure from the
ceasefire proposal backed by Biden in May, which the Americans said at
the time Israel had agreed to. Secretary of State Blinken has tried to
talk Netanyahu into watering down his new condition - which is also
vehemently opposed by Egypt - by agreeing to keep a minimal number of
soldiers in the Philadelphi corridor, according to Hugh Lovatt, an
expert on Israel-Palestine for the European Council for Foreign
Relations (ECFR). "It seems, from my view, the US is accepting the
latest Israeli conditions, but trying to water them down to some
extent," said Lovatt. "This [proposal] is basically a bridge between the
US and Israel and not Israel and Hamas," he added.
Right of return
Israel has insisted on screening all Palestinians for weapons before
allowing them to return to their homes in northern Gaza, a condition
that is regarded by Palestinians as a pretext to be used to block
families from returning to areas where they have been forcefully and
deliberately displaced.
Israel has said that it aims to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping
in the north. Hamas, on the other hand, says Palestinians should have
total freedom of movement and that Israeli forces must withdraw in order
to guarantee the safety of people in the Strip, tens of thousands of
whom have been killed by Israeli forces. The call for an unimpeded
return to the north is particularly sensitive for Palestinians, who have
been repeatedly expelled from their lands since the creation of Israel
in 1948.
Back then, some 750,000 Palestinians were uprooted by Zionist militias –
a period Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe. About 70
percent of Gaza's population are from refugee families that had fled
their homes in other parts of Palestine during the Nakba.
Captive exchange
On Tuesday, Israeli families of the captives in Gaza met Netanyahu to
gauge the likelihood of a ceasefire. After the meeting, one of them told
local reporters that the prime minister is <not sure there will be a
deal>. A ceasefire would, in theory, involve three phases, in which all
Israeli captives are released in exchange for a certain number of
Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Hamas wants a deal, but will not
release captives unless Netanyahu agrees to withdraw troops from Gaza.
Netanyahu's new ceasefire conditions, however, make the release of
Israeli captives look increasingly unlikely. "I think the Americans are
playing to Netanyahu's tune here," Lovatt, from ECFR, told Al Jazeera.
“The Americans are not just endorsing his conditionalities – that have
potential to torpedo the deal - but they are letting him off the hook to
do that."
Humanitarian aid
Palestinians in Gaza are starving and in desperate need of food and
medical aid.
Several UN agencies, as well as the US and other Western countries have
repeatedly called on Israel to scale up aid to beleaguered civilians.
The International Court of Justice also issued Israel a binding order to
do so back in January. The Israelis have often ignored these calls.
Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said that it may
even be <justified> for his country to starve 2 million Palestinians to
death, but that the world won't allow it. Hamas, however, accuses Israel
and the US of de-facto conditioning the scaling up of life-saving aid
for hundreds of thousands of people on a ceasefire deal. "The Israeli
occupation and the US administration are explicitly using the policy of
starvation and food denial against civilians in the Gaza Strip, as a
means of political pressure, and this constitutes a war crime and a
crime against humanity," Hamas said in a news release.
Are we running out of time?
Short answer: Yes.
On Tuesday, Israel retrieved the bodies of six dead captives in Gaza,
raising questions about how many left are still alive. The captives,
said the Israeli army, were found in a tunnel in Khan Younis following
what it described as a <complex operation>. There was no information
about how they died. Palestinians in Gaza, meanwhile, continue to pay
the price of Israel's devastating war, which many critics say amounts to
a campaign of cruel collective punishment. Most recently, on Tuesday,
Israel struck Mustafa Hafez School in Gaza City, killing 12
Palestinians, according to local rescue workers. Israel has fired at
multiple schools sheltering thousands of displaced people in recent
days, including an attack that killed more than 100 Palestinians on
August 10. After the attack, rescue workers found that many of the
corpses were dismembered or reduced to fragments of flesh that they
collected the body parts in rubbish bags.
"The longer that time drags on, the less likely Israeli hostages are to
remain alive. And obviously, without a ceasefire, thousands of more
Palestinians will continue to die," Lovatt said.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA>>
Source:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/20/explainer-what-does-the-bridging-ceasefire-proposal-consist-of
Al Jazeera - August 20, 2024
<<Young children among those killed in Israeli air strike on Gaza market
Video from the immediate aftermath of an Israeli air strike on a market
in Deir el-Balah, Gaza shows young children on the ground covered in
blood and not moving. The strike killed at least nine people and injured
ten others.>>
Watch video here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/8/20/young-children-among-those-killed-in-israeli-air-strike-on-gaza-market
Al Jazeera - August 20, 2024
<<Israel strikes market and school in Gaza, killing at least 20
Palestinians
At least eight killed in Deir el-Balah market, hours after yet another
school targeted by Israeli forces, killing at least 12 displaced
Palestinians.
At least 20 more Palestinians have been killed in another deadly day in
Gaza after Israeli forces targeted a busy market and a school sheltering
the displaced people. At least eight Palestinians were killed on Tuesday
in an Israeli attack on a crowded market in Deir el-Balah in central
Gaza, according to an Al Jazeera correspondent on the scene, who said
the number of the dead could rise. "This area is close to the market,
it's a very busy street. It has a lot of traffic and that's why there
are a lot of casualties," Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary said. She said many
children were injured in the attack that hit an area less than a
kilometre (0.6 miles) away from the Al-Aqsa Hospital, where most of the
injured were brought. "There are at least 10 Palestinians, including
children, still in the ICU," Khoudary said, adding that many of them are
in critical condition. "Most of those who were wounded were children. We
saw them in the hospital in the corridors lying on the ground, covered
in blood and waiting for doctors." The attack on the market came hours
after another Israeli attack targeted a school in the west of Gaza City,
killing 12 people and wounding many others. Emergency crews were
searching for survivors, with dozens of people still believed to be
buried under the rubble after the school building collapsed. "Our crews
retrieved 12 martyrs from the Mustafa Hafiz school, which was bombed by
the Israeli occupation west of Gaza City," Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson
for Gaza's civil defence agency, told the AFP news agency earlier on
Tuesday.
About 700 displaced Palestinians were sheltering in the school,
according to civil defence authorities.
The wounded were taken to al-Alhi Arab Hospital in Gaza City.
The Israeli army claimed it targeted a command centre used by
Palestinian fighters in the school – a claim it has repeatedly made
while targeting Gaza's schools without providing any evidence to back
it. Israel has systematically targeted civilian facilities, including
schools, hospitals, and places of worship, amid its continuing offensive
on the Gaza Strip, despite a United Nations Security Council resolution
demanding an immediate ceasefire.
The Israeli onslaught on Gaza has killed more than 40,173 Palestinians,
mostly women and children, and injured another 92,857 since October 7,
according to local health authorities.
Also on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting
fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as part of the latest diplomatic
mission to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, even as Hamas and Israel
signalled that challenges remain. In a statement, Palestinian armed
group Hamas accused the United States of shifting the terms of the
ceasefire negotiations and showing "blind bias" towards Israel. Hamas
said Blinken's claim that it is backing away from a deal is "misleading"
and that it remains committed to the US and UN-backed ceasefire
framework put forward in June. "Biden's proposal states that Israel
would entirely retreat in two phases and a complete ceasefire, whereas
the Israeli demands include only a temporary ceasefire for six weeks,"
senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES>>
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/20/israel-strikes-market-and-school-in-gaza-killing-at-least-20-palestinians
Al Jazeera - August 20, 2024 - By Ali Harb
<<'Empty words': Advocates say Biden's Gaza ceasefire nod at DNC falls
short
US president says Palestinian rights demonstrators outside the party
convention in Chicago 'have a point'.
US President Joe Biden gives the keynote address on day one of the
Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago,
Illinois, on Chicago, Illinois - United States President Joe Biden's
send-off speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago was
often interrupted by adoring chants of <Thank you, Joe.> But outside the
convention halls on Monday, thousands of protesters held signs accusing
Biden of war crimes and referring to him as "Genocide Joe" in response
to his support for Israel's war in Gaza. Biden paid a nod to the
protesters in his address, saying that they 'have a point'. "A lot of
innocent people are being killed on both sides," he said. "We're working
around the clock, my secretary of state, 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."
For many Palestinian rights supporters, though, Biden's statement fell
short of the change they seek, especially as Washington continues to
provide Israel with the weapons and bombs that are killing dozens of
Palestinians daily. To Sabrene Odeh, an 'uncommitted' delegate from
Washington state, Biden's words were not enough to allay her concerns
about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. "What's going to be enough is an
arms embargo [on Israel] and a ceasefire," Odeh told Al Jazeera after
the first night of the convention. "To be quite honest with you, Biden
has given us nothing but empty words for the last 10 months," she said.
"Words are not enough any more from President Biden. We need to see
action." Odeh added that it was "illogical" for Biden to call for a
ceasefire while arming Israel. It is "impossible to advocate for a
permanent, immediate ceasefire and send those same perpetrators of the
genocide arms to continue" the war, she said. Other activists echoed her
concerns. Eva Borgwardt, a national spokesperson for IfNotNow, a
youth-led, progressive Jewish group, also called out Biden's remarks,
referencing the apparent contradiction between his words and deeds.
"It's deeply disingenuous for President Biden to say that the protesters
'have a point' after approving $20bn in weapons sales to Israel just
last week. President Biden cannot claim to be 'working around the clock'
for a ceasefire while sending fighter jets to [Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin] Netanyahu to continue the war," Borgwardt told Al Jazeera in a
statement. Biden's speech on Monday capped the first night of the
convention, a four-day event designed to celebrate and promote the
candidacy of the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala
Harris, ahead of November's election.
But the atrocities in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 40,000
Palestinians, are looming over the event's party-like atmosphere.
There are dozens of 'uncommitted' delegates at the convention, elected
by the hundreds of thousands of Americans who cast protest votes in the
Democratic primaries to show opposition to Biden's backing of Israel.
'Misleading'
Jonathan Simonds, a 29-year-old uncommitted delegate from Hawaii, told
Al Jazeera on Monday that more and more young Americans are outraged by
US support for Israel. Simonds, like other supporters of the
'uncommitted' movement, explained he is in Chicago to demand a ceasefire
and US arms embargo against Israel. "The thing that we can do is we can
stop sending the bombs. We can stop sending weapons," he said. Biden and
Harris have acknowledged that anger at various points in the
presidential campaign. After meeting with Netanyahu in July, for
instance, Harris pledged not to be "silent" in the face of Palestinian
"suffering". "We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies," she
said in a July 25 news briefing.
But experts say that the Democrats may ignore the antiwar protesters at
their own peril. If Harris alienates younger voters and progressives, it
could cost her the presidential race. Hanieh Jodat, a political
strategist, explained that Biden's remarks on Monday are likely to fall
flat, as they failed to quash the criticisms he and Harris have faced.
"The actions of this administration are a glaring contradiction to
Biden's claims on stage about addressing the genocide in Gaza. Just days
after approving a $20bn arms deal to Israel - fuelling the very violence
he condemned - he stood before us, speaking of peace and humanitarian
efforts," Jodat told Al Jazeera. "This disconnect between his rhetoric
and reality is not just misleading. It's dangerous." The Biden
administration has blocked three United Nations Security Council draft
resolutions that would have called for a ceasefire in Gaza. The US also
approved $14bn in additional military aid to Israel. While Secretary of
State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East to advance a ceasefire deal
between Hamas and Israel, Palestinian rights advocates say the US should
pressure Israel to stop bombing Gaza immediately.
Hatem Abudayyeh, spokesperson for the Coalition to March on the DNC,
which has been organising protests around the convention, said Biden's
comments represent a "slight shift" in narrative due to pressure from
activists. "But at the same time, we don’t think he’s trying to end the
war on the Palestinian people of Gaza because if he were, it would be
very easy: Demand that Israel stop the genocide now, and if it doesn't,
implement an arms embargo and stop sending all aid and weapons,"
Abudayyeh told Al Jazeera. "We're tired of him and Kamala both only
paying lip service to stopping Israel's terrorism against our people."
Demonstrators protest against Biden's support of Israel's war of Gaza
with signs that read: "Democrats fund the genocide of Palestinians" and
"Genocide Joe's legacy: The Butcher of Gaza."
................
Still, Palestinian rights advocates say the issue of US support for
Israel will extend beyond the convention - and even beyond the November
elections. The issue, they emphasise, is not about votes. It's about
Palestinian lives.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA and read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/20/empty-words-advocates-say-bidens-gaza-ceasefire-nod-at-dnc-falls-short
Israel targets children in Gaza
Jinha - Womens News Agency - August 20 , 2024
<<Israel targets children in Gaza
More than 16,480 Palestinian children have been killed in Israeli
attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7,2023, Ismail al-Thawabteh,
head of the Government Media Office in Gaza, said in a statement on
Monday.
News Center- Israeli forces targeted the Ash Shati' camp in the west of
Gaza City, the Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City, and al-Mawasi
area of Khan Younis, Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the civil defense
agency in Gaza, said in a written statement on Monday.
Eight Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Ash Shati’ camp and
four in Israeli attacks on the Tuffah neighborhood and 12 Palestinians,
including a baby and one woman, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on
different areas of Khan Younis, the statement said.
At least 16,480 Palestinian children killed
At least 16,480 Palestinian children, including 115 babies, have been
killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023,
Ismail al-Thawabteh, head of the Government Media Office in Gaza, said
in a statement on Monday.
35 Palestinian children have died from malnutrition and dehydration due
to Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, he added, stressing that at least
3,500 children in Gaza are facing the risk of death due to the lack of
food and malnutrition under Israeli restrictions on the delivery of food
into Gaza.
13,500 displaced Palestinians affected by the latest Israeli evacuation
order
Some 13,500 displaced Palestinians across 18 sites have been affected by
the latest Israeli evacuation order on Saturday, Stéphane Dujarric,
Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said in a press briefing on
Monday.
"That order encompasses the entire Al Maghazi Refugee Camp, and several
other neighbourhoods located in Deir al Balah area of Gaza. Initial
mapping indicates that the areas newly placed under evacuation orders
include five school buildings; 14 water, sanitation and health
facilities; and 10 health sites, including 2 primary health care centres
and 5 medical points."
Since October 2023, 86 per cent of the Gaza Strip, about 314 square
kilometers, has been placed under evacuation orders, Stephane Dujarric
added.>>
Source:
https://jinhaagency.com/en/actual/israel-targets-children-in-gaza-35558?page=1
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