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Category: War

Safe zones: Israel’s technologies of genocide

Safe zones: Israel’s technologies of genocide

Nicola Perugini writes: “This evacuation is for your own safety,” the Israeli military declared on October 13, when it ordered 1.1 million Palestinians in northern Gaza to leave their homes. Thousands heeded the warning and headed south, only to be bombed along the way and upon arrival. The massive evacuation order was only the inauguration of an array of announcements and legal technologies developed by the Israeli military and its legal team in order to organise the violence against the…

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Inside Israel’s torture camp for Gaza detainees

Inside Israel’s torture camp for Gaza detainees

+972 Magazine and Local Call report: In early December, images circulated worldwide showing dozens of Palestinian men in the city of Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, who were stripped to their underwear, kneeling or sitting hunched over, then blindfolded and put into the back of Israeli military trucks like cattle. The vast majority of these detainees were civilians with no affiliation to Hamas, Israeli security officials later confirmed, and the men were taken away by the army without…

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‘He’s breathing’: My two hours under Gaza’s rubble after an Israeli strike

‘He’s breathing’: My two hours under Gaza’s rubble after an Israeli strike

Mohammed R Mhawish writes: On the morning that the unthinkable happened, my father was holding the radio close, hoping the news bulletin might bring some kind of relief such as news of a ceasefire. My mother was attempting to strike a reassuring tone following another long and sleepless night in our family home in central Gaza City. “I am hopeful today shall pass peacefully, or at least be anything unlike last night,” she told us. That morning – December 7…

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Why is Biden risking a new regional war in the Middle East?

Why is Biden risking a new regional war in the Middle East?

Jeet Heer writes: The Biden administration, under fire for an increasingly unpopular policy of near-unconditional support for the Israeli government as it indiscriminately bombs civilians in Gaza, has resorted to the transparently desperate measure of claiming credit for keeping a terrible situation from getting even worse. The White House line on the Middle East is that Biden, behind closed doors, has used his close ties with Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent potentially reckless escalation that would have led to an even…

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The war in Gaza may widen. The Biden admin is getting ready for it

The war in Gaza may widen. The Biden admin is getting ready for it

Politico reports: Biden administration officials are drawing up plans for the U.S. to respond to what they’re increasingly concerned could expand from a war in Gaza to a wider, protracted regional conflict. Four officials familiar with the matter, including a senior administration official, described internal conversations about scenarios that could potentially draw the U.S. into another Middle East war. All were granted anonymity to speak about sensitive, ongoing national security discussions. The military is drafting plans to hit back at…

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Arab and Muslim Americans weren’t happy with Biden before Gaza war. Now they’re enraged

Arab and Muslim Americans weren’t happy with Biden before Gaza war. Now they’re enraged

Bishara A. Bahbah writes: In the key swing state of Michigan Arab and Muslim voters have been watching closely – and with growing rage – U.S. President Joe Biden’s one-sided support of Israel in a war they say is not being waged just against Hamas, but against Palestinians living in Gaza. These voters who helped him win in 2020 could now help tip the support against Biden, potentially costing him re-election. Michigan is home to the largest population of Arab…

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The promise and risk of South Africa’s case against Israel

The promise and risk of South Africa’s case against Israel

Alaa Hachem and Oona A. Hathaway write: The war in Gaza has now reached the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In the closing days of 2023, South Africa filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel before the ICJ. South Africa alleges that Israel’s conduct in Gaza violates its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide both by committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and by failing to prevent it, including by failing to…

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Stakes high as South Africa brings claim of genocidal intent against Israel

Stakes high as South Africa brings claim of genocidal intent against Israel

Patrick Wintour writes: South Africa’s request for an interim measure by the international court of justice to prevent Israel from committing acts of potential genocide – primarily by calling for a halt to combat operations – has suddenly taken on an urgency and relevance that seemed implausible a fortnight ago. Crack legal teams are being assembled, countries are issuing statements in support of South Africa, and Israel has said it will defend itself in court, reversing a decades-old policy of…

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Biden campaign staff protest against his approach to Israel-Hamas war, call for ceasefire

Biden campaign staff protest against his approach to Israel-Hamas war, call for ceasefire

Politico reports: A group of aides hired to reelect President Joe Biden is breaking with him on the conflict between Israel and Hamas. In a letter first shared with West Wing Playbook, 17 current Biden campaign staffers called directly on the president to push for a permanent ceasefire in the monthslong conflict. “As your staff, we believe it is both a moral and electoral imperative for you to publicly call for a cessation of violence,” the staffers wrote in the…

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Israel PM’s wife Sara Netanyahu accuses Gaza hostage families of ‘helping Hamas’

Israel PM’s wife Sara Netanyahu accuses Gaza hostage families of ‘helping Hamas’

The New Arab reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife Sara criticised relatives of hostages in Gaza for “helping Hamas” while accompanying her husband during a meeting with the families on Tuesday, Israeli media reported. Sara Netanyahu told the families of hostages that their public statements critical of her husband’s handling of the war and securing the return of their loved ones was helping Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, according to Israel’s Channel 12. This reportedly provoked angry responses from the…

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Israeli officials’ calls for ‘voluntary’ migration of Palestinians alarm human rights experts

Israeli officials’ calls for ‘voluntary’ migration of Palestinians alarm human rights experts

HuffPost reports: As the reported death toll of the Israeli invasion of Gaza tops 22,000, senior Israeli politicians have grown more explicit in their goal for the Palestinian enclave: the movement of a large number of Gazans out of Gaza entirely. The rhetoric has garnered charges of ethnic cleansing and forced displacement, and a rare rebuke from U.S. officials. But there are no signs of the calls losing steam within Israel. “What needs to be done in the Gaza Strip…

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Ethnic cleansing: Israel in talks with Congo and other countries on Gaza ‘voluntary’ migration plan

Ethnic cleansing: Israel in talks with Congo and other countries on Gaza ‘voluntary’ migration plan

The Times of Israel reports: The “voluntary” resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza is slowly becoming a key official policy of the government, with a senior official saying that Israel has held talks with several countries for their potential absorption. Zman Israel, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew sister site, has learned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is conducting secret contacts for accepting thousands of immigrants from Gaza with Congo, in addition to other nations. “Congo will be willing to take…

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Gaza is starving

Gaza is starving

Isaac Chotiner writes: Last month, a United Nations report on hunger described a catastrophic situation in Gaza, where more than ninety per cent of the population has been facing “acute food insecurity,” and where “virtually all households are skipping meals every day.” Much of Gaza is at risk of famine in the next several months. Parents have been going without food to insure that their kids have at least something to eat; where food is available, moreover, prices have skyrocketed,…

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Israeli public figures accuse judiciary of ignoring incitement to genocide in Gaza

Israeli public figures accuse judiciary of ignoring incitement to genocide in Gaza

The Guardian reports: A group of prominent Israelis has accused the country’s judicial authorities of ignoring “extensive and blatant” incitement to genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza by influential public figures. In a letter to the attorney general and state prosecutors, they demand action to stop the normalisation of language that breaks both Israeli and international law. “For the first time that we can remember, the explicit calls to commit atrocious crimes, as stated, against millions of civilians have turned…

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Whoever is behind Kerman bombing risks igniting regional war

Whoever is behind Kerman bombing risks igniting regional war

Julian Borger writes: It is still unclear who is responsible for the double bombing of a crowd in the south-eastern Iranian city of Kerman but whoever is behind the outrage is clearly willing to risk igniting a regional war. In Washington, officials have been pointing towards the possible role of Islamic State or some affiliated Sunni extremist group, and away from the partnership of Israel and the secular Iranian rebel group, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MeK), who have reportedly been behind previous…

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Bernie Sanders calls on Congress to block funding for Israel’s ‘immoral’ war

Bernie Sanders calls on Congress to block funding for Israel’s ‘immoral’ war

The Guardian reports: Bernie Sanders, the progressive senator of Vermont, issued a statement Tuesday calling on Congress to block additional funding to Israel amid the war in Gaza, where more than 22,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks after Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October. “While we recognize that Hamas’ barbaric terrorist attack began this war, we must also recognize that Israel’s military response has been grossly disproportionate, immoral and in violation of international law,” Sanders…

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