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
by ‘Lenin’ for Lenin’s Tomb The news is that Israel has banned Arab parties from standing in the upcoming elections: Parliament spokesman Giora Pordes said the election committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of the motion, accusing the country’s Arab parties of incitement, supporting terrorist groups and refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist. This can’t be a complete surprise since a) there are many Israeli politicians who would like the
Press TV reports: In a speech from Damascus, Khaled Meshaal, Hamas’ political leader spoke on the events arising from Israel’s ongoing 15-day raid on the Gaza Strip: The edited text of the Saturday televised address follows: The Zionists wanted to impose a humiliating defeat on us because the only obstacle to confront them is resistance, especially in the Gaza Strip. Perhaps the Zionists, because of the difference between the resistance
by Amal Saad-Ghorayeb for The Electronic Intifada While Israel fervently attempts to terrorize the Palestinians into submission in Gaza, many observers have started to wonder why Hizballah has refrained from stepping in militarily to assist its brothers-in-arms, Hamas. Such musings fail to take account of the constraints on Hizballah’s room for action, as well as the circumstances under which Hizballah would ignore such constraints. The question that should be posed
Al-Manar reports: On the 15th day of Israel’s onslaught on the Gaza Strip, the Zionist entity killed more than 806 Palestinians and injured more than 3150 others, yet the goal to break the will of the people and the resistance has been futile. The Israel occupation army has been stunned by the Palestinian resistance’s fighting techniques, capabilities and determination. On Saturday morning, the Quds Brigades, the military wing of the
by Uri Avnery NEARLY SEVENTY YEARS ago, in the course of World War II, a heinous crime was committed in the city of Leningrad. For more than a thousand days, a gang of extremists called “the Red Army” held the millions of the town’s inhabitants hostage and provoked retaliation from the German Wehrmacht from inside the population centers. The Germans had no alternative but to bomb and shell the population
by Richard Silverstein for the Guardian The hasbara brigade strikes again! You always hear about Israeli attempts at media manipulation. Everyone knows it’s going on but usually the process happens through cyber insurgents like those involved with Giyus (and its media monitoring software, Megaphone). Now, we know that the Israeli foreign ministry itself is orchestrating propaganda efforts designed to flood news websites with pro-Israel arguments and information. A reader of
The speech delivered by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on the tenth night of Muharram in the central council held in Sayyed Ashuhadaa (pbuh) Compound in Rweiss – Beirut Southern Suburbs. On this blessed night – the tenth night of Muharram – the night of determination, decision taking and will, I like to tackle first the real background and the general conclusion we sum from all our previous speeches
I seek refuge with Allah from the cursed devil. In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World and peace be on our Master and Prophet – the Seal of the Prophets – Abi Al Qassem Mohammad bin Abdullah and on his pure and chaste Household and chosen companions and on all prophets and messengers. Peace be on you O
A selected part from the speech delivered by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during Ashura’s central council in Sayyed Ashuhadaa (pbuh) Compound in Rweiss – Beirut Southern Suburbs. Muharram 8, 1430 During July War, some Arabs showed up to say that we are adventurers and that what does Hezbollah possess? It has nothing compared to Israel. That’s true. What do we own compared to Israel? What we had –
Press TV is reporting that their offices and the Alalam offices have been bombed by the Israeli Air Force. The Iranian reporters are now hidden underground under the attacked building. They are still reporting life (though without any video at this time).
Al-Jazeera has just reported that the al-Jazeera’s bureau Amman chief was assaulted today by Jordanian riot police. According to al-Jazeera he was beat up by 10 riot cops after he told them that shouting curses during prayer was inappropriate. According to al-Jazeera the reporter has been evacuated to a hospital in Amman while bleeding from his head.
It is only proper that UNSCR 1860 and Mahmoud Abbas would vanish into nothingness on the same day: UNSCR 1860 was rejected by both Israel and Hamas, and Abbas’ term as President of the Palestinan Authority expired today. This is all good news, really. Now that these irrelevancies have been set aside the clock will be ticking louder and louder for the Israeli war on Gaza and each passing day
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
The Jerusalem Post reports: AIPAC on Thursday praised a bipartisan US Senate resolution which expressed support for Israel in its fight against terrorism. The resolution, which was sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, “conveys America’s unequivocal and steadfast support for Israel’s right to self-defense,” according to a statement from the pro-Israel lobby group. Reid was quoted in the statement as telling the Senate
al-Manar reports: A senior Iranian politician met Hamas politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal in Damascus on Wednesday as the Palestinian Islamic resistance group is studying an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Ali Larijani, speaker of parliament and one of the major figures in the Islamic Republic, met Mashaal and several high level officials from Hamas at the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, witnesses said. The meeting
Venezuelanalysis reports: Contradicting recent reports about the program’s discontinuation, the U.S.-based and Venezuelan-owned CITGO Petroleum Corporation confirmed the continuation of its U.S. heating oil program, said CITGO CEO Alejandro Granado during a press conference here today with Citizens Energy Chairman Joseph P. Kennedy II. “Our flagship social program, the CITGO-Venezuela Heating Oil Program will continue. This decision is the result of a strong commitment and a big effort on the
By Gary Brecher for Exiled online What’s going on in Gaza now is pretty easy to understand if you think a little bit about the way military trends have been going in the past century-but you also have to be willing to take a cold look at how wars work these days, when there’s no such thing as those “purely military” wars you WW II freaks dream about. (There never
Various sources are reporting that Israel is considering “accepting the principles” of a ceasefire plan backed by the USA and Egypt. Get this: the plan does not even *mention* Hamas by name and it would be the PA (Abbas’ Fatah) which would sign the plan on the Palestinian side. Yes, you read that correctly. Let me repeat: The Palestinian franchise of the Shin Bet a.k.a. the “Palestinian authority” would sign
Press TV reports: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered the Israeli ambassador to leave the country in a move meant to show solidarity with the besieged Gazans, The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the government “has decided to expel the Israeli ambassador and part of the personnel of the Israeli embassy” to protest Israel’s hostilities against the Palestinians in Gaza, AP reported. Chavez had earlier condemned the
