Escalation In Palestine
The already tense situations in Palestine escalated today:
Israeli police firing tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians at a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site on Monday, the latest in a series of confrontations that threatened to push the contested city toward wider conflict.In an apparent attempt to avoid further confrontation, Israeli authorities changed the planned route of a march by ultranationalist Jews through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. The marchers were ordered to avoid the area and sent on a different route circumventing the Muslim Quarter on their way to the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray.
But tensions remained high after Monday morning’s violence.
More than a dozen tear gas canisters and stun grenades landed in the Al-Aqsa Mosque [video], one of Islam’s holiest sites, as police and protesters faced off inside the walled compound that surrounds it, said an Associated Press photographer at the scene. Smoke rose in front of the mosque and the iconic golden-domed shrine on the site, and rocks littered the nearby plaza. Inside one area of the compound, shoes and debris lay scattered over ornate carpets.
More than 305 Palestinians were hurt, including 228 who went to hospitals and clinics for treatment, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Seven of the injured were in serious condition.
At the al-Aqsa mosque, Palestinian youth gathered sponge rounds,
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This afternoon the Al-Qassem brigade in Gaza gave an ultimatum to the Israeli occupiers to leave the al-Aqsa compound and to release prisoners. An hour later missiles were fired from Gaza towards Jerusalem. Additionally an anti-tank missile was fired against an Israeli army jeep (vid) near the Gaza border. Later on more missile volleys were fired by other resistance groups against targets near Gaza.
The Israeli army canceled the start of a large scale maneuver it had planned to run the next 30 days. That maneuver was seen as a preparation for an all out attack on Hezbullah in Lebanon. Yesterday Hezbullah had announced a general mobilization of its forces to deter a potential surprise attack. The Israeli troops are now on alarm for a potential escalation within Israel and Gaza.
After four elections Israel still has no new government. Prime Minister Netanyahoo is on trial for corruption. A larger war that can be spun into a victory could help him to avoid a judgment and gain votes for the likely soon coming next election.
Posted by b on May 10, 2021 at 15:56 UTC | Permalink
next page »thanks b... this unresolved dynamic seems insurmountable given the state of leadership in the world today.. the concept of zionism seems like a dead end to me.. it looks like we are reaching the dead end of it the further we go into the future..
Posted by: james | May 10 2021 16:08 utc | 2
on this topic mondoweiss is always a good resource.. https://mondoweiss.net/
Posted by: james | May 10 2021 16:11 utc | 3
Occupied Palestine is fractured and more destabilized than at any point in its short history, ravaged by COVID, and in economic and political dire straights. The populous ought to be terrified at the prospect of ANY future war; the situation is really that tenuous. As with South Africa, the Zionists have dug their pit from which there's only one way out, but no politician has the courage to point to that path. Apartheid has a Black Hole-like affect on society that will draw it ever deeper into the mire. The future darkens ominously.
karlof1 @5:
As with South Africa, the Zionists have dug their pit from which there's only one way out, but no politician has the courage to point to that path.
Well, certainly not as long as the Zionists believe that the only way out is some combination of slow genocide and "transfer."
Posted by: corvo | May 10 2021 16:44 utc | 5
Thanks for the posting b
Yes, Occupied Palestine is the existential nut to crack if humanity is to evolve past this barbarism phase.
I compare barbarism to monotheistic religions which I believe to be an accurate description. Monotheistic religions continue to exist because they provide tacit support for the sickest monotheistic religion of all, God of Mammon/global private finance.
Is our world in the West going to continue to be run as a closet monotheistic and totalitarian cult or is civilization going to rise from the ashes of Western empire?
Stay tuned. It is just getting interesting but so sad for the victims of barbaristic perfidy
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 10 2021 16:45 utc | 6
FOX news coverage ... "clashes in Jerusalem between rock throwing Palestinians and Israelis near a holy site"
No need to mention that the holy site was Al-Aqsa Mosque a functioning mosque as opposed to the proposed site of the 3rd temple.
I suppose we should all be glad that the MSM has not started to say ... 'clashes between Iranian militants and Israeli ... ' but I'm not going to rule that out for the future.
Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | May 10 2021 17:14 utc | 7
A larger war means the end of Israel by: anti-zionist @ 1 <=may mean a complete ME Sunni to Shite power reset.. a return to rule of law; Syria, Iran and Russia could end up joining the fireworks? Does this explain why the USA troops are leaving Afghanistan?
Israelis would do well to avoid a confrontation with Hezbullah in Lebanon. If Hezbullah engages a missile siege, Israelis will have no safe place to hide. Saudis in Yemen and in the SW of Saudi Arabia are experiencing defeat after defeat by the AnsarAllah I did not realize until recently that a large part of what should have been Yemen was deceptively craved out and given to Saudi Arabia in 1980s. Who knows more about that.. ? Apparently the oil rich land was given to the Saudi ?
Thank B.. drones and unrest are changing the middle east.
Posted by: snake | May 10 2021 17:14 utc | 8
There was also an UAV drone attack on civilians and one militant in Gaza. 9 dead, (including 3 children) at last account.
At Al Aqsa, the IDF forced the medics and wounded palestinians in the clinic (part of Al Aqsa compound) to leave and then welded the doors shut. They then (tried to?) arrest several wounded palestinians. There were settlers who THEN entered the compound, protected by the IDF.
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I doubt that any of you saw those items mentioned anywhere in the MSM. Until free speech is restored to the west - the situation in Israel will only get worse. No accountability.
This is probably all organised by the extremists in Israel to "justify" some coming action on Al Aqsa. (Closure for Muslims?) prior to a complete takeover. Even at the beginning of Ramadan, Muslims worshippers were being prevented from accessing the Mosque itself.
Posted by: Stonebird | May 10 2021 17:15 utc | 9
There are two news items of interest connected to the greater problem of overall peace for the Persian Gulf Region published today, both of which suggest the Soleimani/Iraq Peace initiative is alive and well. Here Martin Jay informs us:
"The cavalier young Saudi Prince’s actions in recent weeks have taken everyone by surprise as he has boldly taken it upon himself to build bridges with Qatar, bring Turkey completely in from the cold and – amazingly – agree to talks brokered by Iraq aimed at sketching out a peace treaty of sorts [with Iran]."
"Iran is holding talks with Saudi Arabia to resolve the issues standing in the way of normal relations between the two countries, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has said in the first public acknowledgement of the talks by Tehran.
"'De-escalation of tensions between the two Muslim countries in the Persian Gulf region is in the interest of both nations and the region', Khatibzadeh stated.
"The ministry's press secretary added that Tehran is using its 'best efforts' for talks to resolve the issues between the two nations. Khatibzadeh's statement follows a previous refusal by Iran to acknowledge the talks were taking place. Not long before the announcement by Tehran, the Saudi Foreign Ministry's head of policy planning, Rayed Krimly, shared with Reuters that Iran and Saudi Arabia are engaged in negotiations to reduce tensions in the region."
I've suspected for over a year that backchannel talks between the Saudis and Iranians were occurring, and now both have admitted to having formal talks that hopefully will go well beyond the mere reestablishment of formal relations. I would expect a positive announcement of sorts prior to the Iranian election. The overall HOPE proposal is key to expelling the Outlaw US Empire from the region that is Iran's #1 policy goal. While Biden and Company have realized they have no more bones to throw into the region as their cupboard is bare.
The U$A could end the Israeli genocide tomorrow if it wanted to, but, due to the incessant pro-Israeli propaganda here it won't.
What the Israeli govt. is doing to the Palestinians, is what the U$A did to it's indigenous people, herding them into ghettos,(reservations), so they can steal their lands.
And, dumb ass Americans are to entranced by their I-phones to see anything but pro-Zionist propaganda..
Posted by: vetinLA | May 10 2021 18:01 utc | 11
The zionists are accelerating the events..provocations like the siege of Al Aqsa mosque has only one aim:escalate and kill Palestinians first and occupy more land second..The guilty silence of the arab nations is deafining today.
Posted by: LuBa | May 10 2021 18:21 utc | 12
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57055014
as if the UN still meant anything
Posted by: Mina | May 10 2021 18:39 utc | 13
karlof1 | May 10 2021 17:20 utc | 11
As quoted by M. Jay "The cavalier young Saudi Prince’s actions in recent weeks have taken everyone by surprise as he has boldly taken it upon himself to build bridges with Qatar, bring Turkey completely in from the cold and – amazingly – agree to talks brokered by Iraq aimed at sketching out a peace treaty of sorts [with Iran]
Turkey has now blocked both the Euphrates and the Tigris. As well as several small rivers into the Hasaka area - all in Syria. Syria now has a drought, and I presume will be forced to do something about it's water supplies being cut off. At the moment the SAA are cleaning up the desert areas of ISIS, near Palmyra.
The SDF (Kurds) are being attacked by ISIS, inside the eastern Syrian US controlled area. (Controlled? well, they steal the oil and wheat and have about 19 different "bases". Some of which may be smallish).
The Israelis bomb tankers into Syria as they want a war, with anyone they can.
*******
Peace on earth and goodwill to all men (and all the others - even if they are CIA candidates).
****
Once upon a time I read that WWIII was scheduled to start on the 15th May, next saturday. (Although I can't remember who said that). Close enough.
Posted by: Stonebird | May 10 2021 19:07 utc | 14
Stonebird @16--
I agree with you over Jay's remark about Turkey. Erdogan and thus Turkey will remain a problem as long as he holds power. Getting the Gulf states to agree to a Collective Peace IMO is a requirement for dealing with Turkey and Occupied Palestine. Plus we need to understand the declining "weight" of the Outlaw US Empire in the region versus the rise of Russia's and China's combined weight, which will continue to decrease and increase as time moves forward. Perhaps I'm more of an optimist on this overall issue since Iran was able to fend-off the Outlaw US Empire's attempts to goad it into a kneejerk response which resulted in changing the region's dynamics. Yes, the tragedy continues, but the tide's turning.
@ Stonebird | May 10 2021 19:07 utc | 16 with the reporting and sentiments....thanks
I agree with and want to repeat your
*******
Peace on earth and goodwill to all men (and all the others - even if they are CIA candidates).
****
At 72 I am glad to see this civilization war happening before I am gone but am saddened by the suffering inherent in it.
IMO, WWIII has been going on since the end of WWII but has been in the closet, so to speak.
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 10 2021 19:34 utc | 16
When you see what Mammon worshipers are up to in the Middle East & beyond you start to apprehend, in the bigger picture, the last two centuries of History.
Posted by: nietzsche1510 | May 10 2021 20:04 utc | 17
It was only last Friday on Al Quds day that Grand Ayatollah Khamenei spoke to Arab youth in Arabic encouraging resistance as the only venue to peace and victory, he said years ago Palestinians were fighting the Zionist aggressor with throwing stone, today ( thanks to Islamic republic of Iran’s support) they are fighting the Zionist baby killer occupiers throwing missiles at them. World has changed so is fighting methods.
Posted by: Kooshy | May 10 2021 20:07 utc | 18
karlof1 | May 10 2021 19:30 utc | 17
I must admit that one of the major problems in the ME is Erdogan. The more I read, the more he seems to be the wannabee king pin. All the countries around him are being screwed by his expansionism. It is clear that the US is playing him for all it can. Even Russia is seeing that he is "nicely oiled", just to keep him quiet. (Gassing him is the alternative?). I no longer think that it is about "Turkey" as a country, but just another nouveau dictator using his countrymen to further his personal ambitions. (a la Napoleon)
He has gone from a "possible" convert to the Russian side, to the other side via the US. If the Chinese were there, he would become "pro-BRI" for a while. He is getting more untrustworthy by each move.
A situation where Turks carry out patrols with Russians and at the same time, cut off Syrian water, supporter of Muslims (Palestinians/Al Aqsa), and now talks are (possibly) resuming for buying the F-35 from the US - All that just cannot be "sustainable".
*****
psychohistorian | May 10 2021 19:34 utc | 18
Hi youngster. I clock in at 78.
"- this civilization war happening before I am gone but am saddened by the suffering inherent in it."
It is all so unnecessary. No one "needs" war.
Posted by: Stonebird | May 10 2021 20:24 utc | 19
stonebird @ 21. your assessment is very near, which in the case of erdogan, says a great deal. if msb & qatar come to some agreement & russia continues to return & reclaim syria to syria...erdogan's dreams will increasingly be dissolved. leaving him i suppose ever closer to biden's last straw hope of setting the mena & afghanistan ablaze with head choppers & bioweapons. if erdogan awakens & swings to the bri he will have to forego the stolen oil revenue & the hope of becoming a sultan in favour of prosperity for his country & people rather than himself & family. i don't imagine putin or xi view him with trust. nonetheless turkey's location means it is pivotal. thank you for your posts, much appreciated.
Posted by: emersonreturn | May 10 2021 20:39 utc | 20
"Israel's" Ramadan provocations at al-Aqsa Mosque has paid finally off.
According to Al Jazeera, "Israel" has responded to Palestinian retaliation to Jewish violence with airstrikes which have killed 20 Palestinians.
Bibi will be delighted!
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 10 2021 20:42 utc | 21
@ Stonebird | May 10 2021 20:24 utc | 21 who wrote
"
It is all so unnecessary. No one "needs" war.
"
The global financial elite need war to stay in power and the monotheistic religions have been complicit almost all along the way about killing non-believers.
War in not just unnecessary, it is a condemnation of our species ability to adapt
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 10 2021 20:47 utc | 22
emersonreturn | May 10 2021 20:39 utc | 22
I had overlooked one of his family businesses. Oil from syria. Now worth up to $9 million a month? Perhaps not all for his family as others have their fingers in the pie, including the US military.
*****
psychohistorian | May 10 2021 19:34 utc | 18
I had forgotten about an OT and "it's nearly wartime again".
The US is using the cover of their extensive military exercises, to increase arms on the Russian border. Four massive US cargo planes crept into Estonia overnight. Probably either missiles to hit St. Petersburg, or Aegis ready radar systems. Or even both. They were "watched over" by a fifth plane from the UK, flying along the coastline, nearest to Russia.
Posted by: Stonebird | May 10 2021 21:03 utc | 23
@ Stonebird | May 10 2021 21:03 utc | 25 who wrote about more war drum beating movements
Thanks for that but I continue to believe that it will be a country like Iran or Syria that will neuter empire with the MAD backing of Russia/China.
I expect that empire has and continues to be told very clearly that any "attack" will be viewed as requiring MAD level response. They can spend trillions huffing and puffing as we have seen but empire is not getting a war on to its benefit and all the plates of war are wobbling, with some of them out of empire narrative or physical control.
Sure looks like things are coming to a head to me. I keep thinking how stupid it is for Occupied Palestine to have nukes close enough to their sacred religious locations to make those site unusable for centuries if used....but stupid is what stupid does and I wrote earlier that our species ability to evolve beyond private finance barbarism is the core war being fought.....we will see if selfish is also part of the barbarism being exhibited if we go extinct.
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 10 2021 21:25 utc | 24
comments like psychohistorian's @ 7 are totally irrelevant. nobody's giving up their religion cuz you say they are stupid, whether you are right or not. people only fight at all cuz they are "stupid".
Zionism is a great litmus test. someone like Bernie, AOC, etc., etc., etc., they can say a lot of things, blabbing on about human rights and this and that. Same thing increasingly in Britain, France, Germania, etc. these nations are no less viciously anti-semitic than ever, but they are as touchy as ever about colonialist endeavors being criticized.
Israel is a European colonialist experiment. so saying FUCK THE ZIONIST STATE is a huge deal. btw, the IDF seems to be very "woke". i'm sure Hamas appreciates how enlightened they are. but there must be something amiss after Joss Whedon, supposedly, threatens in some vague way the career of IDF pinup supermodel and horrible actor Wonder Woman. (what did he say? "with you as lead, this series is dead?") these capitalist pigs are nothing if not whiny little privileged brats. look! they invented tobacco, cuz there was literally nothing here, until Columbus showed up. did they also invent tobacco addiction, too? for most of the world, certainly.
Posted by: jason | May 10 2021 21:30 utc | 25
I have no sympathy for the muzzies. They have frequent fits of hysterics and cause trouble everywhere they live and in every country they migrate to. They have committed terrorist acts ranging from the United States to Europe to the Middle East to India and all the way across (and all over) Asia from Russia to China to Southeast Asia and as far east as the Philippines.
Was there ever a more noxious, poisonous, nasty people? Anybody who takes the side of a Muslim for any reason is wasting his time, whether it's the Palestinians or any other Muslim. Siding with them is like keeping a pet rattlesnake that will bite you at some point.
Posted by: Anon | May 10 2021 23:27 utc | 26
The grass is growing taller and taller. 'Mow the lawn' operation has to occur once every few years.
Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | May 10 2021 23:48 utc | 27
Here is a great article originally published by the Swiss journal 'Current Concerns', but now mysteriously missing from its web archive, very hard hitting:
https://www.thornwalker.com/ditch/snieg_conc1.htm
This explains the motivation and the disgusting political philosophy of zionism and why zionists want endless wars. This article is as relevant today as when it was first published.
Posted by: Paul | May 11 2021 0:27 utc | 28
Posted by: Anon | May 10 2021 23:27 utc | 28
Piss off, Hasbara trolls ruin every website they are permitted to post to. But that is what they are paid to do.
Posted by: Paul | May 11 2021 0:35 utc | 29
Here are some shocking recent photos of the results of these zionist war criminals:
https://ppost24.com/post/1134/death-toll-in-gaza-rises-to-20-including-9-children
Zionists have caused death, misery and destruction ever since they imposed themselves on the Middle East.
As the parasite always kills the host, they have bankrupted the US too.
Posted by: Paul | May 11 2021 0:58 utc | 30
Exactly like Modi worshippers who claim that Indian Muslims have no right to exist, because "they had a country made for them", the zios believe that Palestinians don't have any right to exist. Some of them pretend otherwise, - like the Hasbaraganda that talks about Arab parties (never Palestinian parties) - but they are all of the same mind under the surface. They don't believe in the Judaic god, zionism was atheist and fascist from the start, but they're more than happy to invoke him to provide a rationale for their occupation. And now with vermin like the Jordanian toad and the Saudi Barbarian headchopper falling over themselves to "normalise relations", the zionist nazis don't see any reason any longer to pretend.
Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | May 11 2021 1:12 utc | 31
@Paul 31
I don't think he's a Hasbarat. Hasbaraganda operates from a handbook - available online - and instructions are given to pretend humility and concern for the "Arabs" (the word "Palestinians" is avoided), and they are ultimately claimed to be responsible for the situation because of their choice of leaders, etc, which compels the zios to "reluctantly act" to "protect themselves". [email protected] is just some semiliterate racist, probably American from the "rattlesnake " reference.
Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | May 11 2021 1:18 utc | 32
It's not just Bibi Netanyahu who is on trial for corruption. Wife Sara is also on trial for corruption. (See this example of how she misused public funds in the past.) She is said to have a lot of influence over her husband and the decisions he makes. The people surrounding him and giving him advice are said to have been chosen by his wife.
Even those unlovely Adelsons (back in 2019) were shocked at the amount of influence Sara Netanyahu had over Bibi. The Adelsons seemed intimidated and even frightened of her as well whenever they met. The Netanyahus clearly are a dysfunctional and sociopathic couple.
One might say that the Israeli political scene provided fertile ground for such a couple to have come to power but the Netanyahus have been in power for so long (over 11 years at least?) that they have shaped Israeli politics to revolve around them. A system that was already corrupt and dysfunctional has become even more so to the point it is no longer worth saving.
Posted by: Jen | May 11 2021 1:27 utc | 33
Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | May 11 2021 1:18 utc | 34
Hasbara trolls are not all on the pay roll, some spew their hatred for free. Many come from the US.
They also denigrate muslims as part of their tactics. They like to pretend their war crimes are really about some religious war rather than about the theft of land. They destroy the credibility of every website that allows them to post.
Here are some more recent war crimes, no skyrockets here:
http://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/124397
Even medical workers are attacked.
Posted by: Paul | May 11 2021 1:50 utc | 34
the tradition at moa so far as i understand it is to ignore trolls... and of course this one was very obvious!
Posted by: james | May 11 2021 2:24 utc | 35
@36 Paul
Thanks for all of your posts in this thread.
One day, presumably, the US will have an opportunity to look back from a high-altitude view and see what the parasite did to it. It's very difficult to address in today's language of discussion the concepts you raise, because the tribe has nullified practically all words that could be useful for reasoning in these matters. This irony will also prove deadly, I suspect.
The actors in the Middle East such as Iran and Hezbollah are essentially the only ones able to speak in clear words about the occupation of Palestine by imperial force, and the settlement of that territory by Eastern Europeans under a contrived Biblical destiny.
Plainly put, while we in the west all remain constrained for words to speak of these things, the actually oppressed peoples will clear the air for us.
This is one of the unintended consequences that occur always to evil actions. Israel and the forces that manifest it have made it now impossible for the west to reason a way forward, since all discussion is essentially forbidden. Therefore, its wake-up and ultimate disposition must come from a blow of huge and primordial force, with no words to soften it.
Posted by: Grieved | May 11 2021 2:41 utc | 36
@4 "Tragic events in East Jerusalem and why the international community is silent."
More to the point, why are Turkey and Egypt silent?
Posted by: imo | May 11 2021 2:49 utc | 37
Looking at the irony that Israel has created for us, I wanted to expand a little on evil.
Evil arises only from ignorance, and this is why evil is always the stupid choice - and why, even in its cunning, it always makes the stupid choice.
Patrick Armstrong illustrated this in his latest, wonderful explanation of how Russia finally learned not to take the short-term gain, because it always cultivates a worse long-term situation. Russia gained wisdom, and made better choices that will clear the air in the future in a less calamitous way. This is also very Taoist, which one could call the practical embodiment of natural wisdom.
Evil is always the stupid choice, as we see with Israel in the irony it creates: evil forbids us to discuss and understand, and perhaps even to solve, the torment it insists upon - and so it must be solved directly now, by natural consequences.
A benevolent universe gives us wisdom to figure these things out, but unseeing ignorance blocks this avenue, rejecting the free gift and insisting upon the costly redress.
The only reason we can't despair at this ignorance is that its natural consequences will always follow, over time. The air will be cleared, even if we perish in the clearing. And what does this matter, so long as the air becomes clear?
Posted by: Grieved | May 11 2021 3:00 utc | 38
Is this this end of Netanyahu? Biden and the jewish democrats want him out. Will these events play in favor of Netanyahu or against him. Since Netanyahu's protector, Donald Trump has gone، the Biden administration has been looking for ways to get rid of him and return to the two states solution that Trump and his genius son in law had tried to dump. The Israelis are deeply divided and incapable of having a government. The religious extremists that are behind the settlements are the root of Jewish Israel. It is the Jewish religion that holds these emigrants from variety of culture together. Without the religion this country falls a part and this is happening now.
Posted by: Virgil | May 11 2021 3:43 utc | 39
@Virgil 41
I think the so called two states solution is a dead duck. It was deliberately killed the moment the zios were permitted to set up their illegal settlements in Occupied Palestine's West Bank and Gaza. The whole idea of the lip service to the "two state solution" was to reduce Palestine to a Bantustan which would provide cheap labour to the zios but have no sovereignty, no authority, no freedom of any kind.
I remember the zio gatekeeper propagandist Uri Avnery (a "peace activist" who cheered the destruction of Libya and screamed for an invasion of Syria) claim that multi ethnic countries were impossible and that Arabs and Jews couldn't possibly live together, which is why the Palestinians should be "given their own state" with the settlements remaining but token compensatory territory offered elsewhere. That is typical zio thinking. In fact the two state Bantustan solution is the only thing that can save the zionist entity. A single country with Palestinians given equal rights would immediately destroy the ziofascist system beyond recovery, and vermin like Avnery were extremely conscious of that.
Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | May 11 2021 4:25 utc | 40
if someone asked me where hell on earth is, i know the first place i would point to..
Posted by: james | May 11 2021 4:28 utc | 41
@Grieved 40
I am still waiting for Armstrong to answer my questions from yesterthread, which my girlfriend put to him on VK. I would also challenge Mr Armstrong to put his thesis before the family of the boy droned by the Nazis last month in Donetsk and see what she has to say.
No, I am not a cheerleader of Putinist regime restraint.
Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | May 11 2021 4:29 utc | 42
@40 Grieved
I wonder if it's really Russia that has learned that lesson and not just Putin.
Posted by: m | May 11 2021 5:39 utc | 44
Somebody needs to turn Israel into a parking lot.
One and done. Take out Israel and things get a lot less complicated in the MENA
Posted by: Cadence calls | May 11 2021 6:09 utc | 45
@ Cadence calls
Iran is up to the task.
We are seeing another run of Babylon/Persia conquering Israel.
History repeats so many times, it's hardly a coincidence.
Posted by: Smith | May 11 2021 7:24 utc | 46
Posted by: Grieved | May 11 2021 2:41 utc | 38
Thank you too for your excellent posts, your insight, awareness and your philosophical wisdom.
Unfortunately, the saying 'you cant educate idiots' comes to mind. If only.
Posted by: Paul | May 11 2021 10:28 utc | 47
karlof1 @ 5
Occupied Palestine is fractured and more destabilized than at any point in its short history, ravaged by COVID, and in economic and political dire straights
Curious comment. Current events would suggest that among the people solidarity is at a high point. Resistance against the apartheid regime seems to be escalating very methodically, and a third intifada could be imminent. Certainly their variety of missiles is larger than ever, their friends are ready, and everyone's awareness of of an ever weakening Israel is palpable.
And NO, they are not ravaged by COVID. For crying out loud, the average age in Palestine is about 20.
Posted by: john | May 11 2021 11:06 utc | 48
Well, look, if there is any silver lining to this it is that the Izzies will find it very, very difficult to play the victim this time around, thanks to the unsavory actions and - in particular - their appalling attitude.
Posted by: Yeah, Right | May 11 2021 11:14 utc | 49
@41 Virgil I suspect you are incorrect about what it means to be Jewish.
My vague understanding (I am not Jewish) is that is an ethnic identity, it is not a religious identity.
So you aren't Jewish because you practice Judaism (doing that is an optional-extra).
Instead, it is more correct to say that Judaism is "the religion of the Jews". Sort of like a membership badge, only intangible.
You can certainly renounce Judaism and still be a Jew (for example, there are many notable Jews who are atheist).
Very different from being a Muslim. You can be a Muslim without being an Arab; there are millions who are not.
Very different from being an Arab. You can be an Arab without being a Muslim; there are many Christian Arab communities.
So while the question "who is a Jew?" is a difficult one to answer, that answer certainly isn't going to be "someone whose religion is Judaism".
Plenty of people have tried that trick, only to have a Rabbi say "Not so fast, sunshine".
Posted by: Yeah, Right | May 11 2021 11:32 utc | 51
Israelis will win and then lose I watched Rep. Waltz from FL on FOX and the playbook was on full display.
He was outraged at the Biden Admin for coddling the PLA for giving them 'unconditional aid' and hence giving away all of our leverage to stop their vicious rocket and balloon attacks. This is from a man who supports unconditional Israeli aid. He reiterated the meme of how the PLA teaches their children to hate Jews as if this was phase 1 in their Jihad to exterminate the Jews.
No mention that the IDF 1. was evicting several families with multi-generational residence in Jerusalem. 2. The tear gas attack INSIDE Al Aqsa, 3. the numerous and ongoing ban on fishing in the Mediterranean.
Since Michael Waltz represents mainstream Congressional thinking, this is what I mean by Israel will win. They will lose because Waltz demonstrates that they have no friends, only sycophants who will indulge their worst behavior. A real friend would pull them back from the ledges once in a while.
Will God protect Israel? The Book says, yes, at least from obliteration but that doesn't mean that God won't judge Israel and the U.S. for bad behavior.
Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | May 11 2021 11:44 utc | 52
"Jewish" is a matter of descent or conversion.
My son is "Jewish" because he has a Jewish mother, if he wants to be.
Neither he nor I care about that. She cares, but not much, or she never
would have gotten involved with me.
"Judaism" is the religion, and like most religions it has lots of varieties.
They remind me of the Protestants actually, same exclusivist, authoritarian,
schismatic mindset. "There can be only one!" and then they fight over which one
of them it is.
"Protestant" is the opposite of "Catholic" and that's no accident.
"Arab" is a linguisitc category something like native speaker of Arabic.
Thus you have "Arabs" of all racial and lots of ethnic categories.
Being Jewish is a lot more "exclusive".`
Being Arab is not exclusive although they get into wars with each other too.
War doesn't seem to be an ethnic or racial trait.
Posted by: Bemildred | May 11 2021 11:57 utc | 53
Posted by: Yeah, Right | May 11 2021 11:32 utc | 53
My very precise understanding of what it means to be Jewish is that it is a cabal, not a religion or even an ethnic group.
You'll be cured of the notion that it's an ethnic group as soon as you get an Ethiopian Jew, A Yemeni Jew, A Chinese Kaifeng jew and a Khazar into the same room and realise you've been had.
If I take you at your word that one can renounce Jewdaism and still remain a Jew, that is even more evidence on the pile that it is neither an ethnicity nor a religion.
It is a Cabal.
Posted by: Arch Bungle | May 11 2021 12:02 utc | 54
I have no doubt Pfizer was particularly interested in the deal with Israel because it has one of the most diverse genetic population in the world. On top of that they have been after DNA research for many years to "prove" some of their claims... to no avail.
Posted by: Tom2 | May 11 2021 12:07 utc | 55
@56 Arch Bungle Not so sure I agree.
An ethnicity is whatever it defines itself to be. Its only criteria is that the members of that ethnic group get to choose who are in the club, and who isn't. People who are outside that ethnic group don't have a say either on who is included, or why, or who is excluded, and why.
That's why I could practice the rites and rituals of Judaism until the cows come home and it won't make a scrap of difference; I won't be Jewish unless/until a Rabbi gives me the nod.
By contrast, simply practicing the Muslim faith makes you a Muslim. There is nobody who has the right to say that you aren't.
Posted by: Yeah, Right | May 11 2021 12:44 utc | 56
@56 "If I take you at your word that one can renounce Jewdaism and still remain a Jew"
Uri Avnery was very insistent that he was an atheist. But he was definitely Jewish, and there would not have been a single person in Israel who would have disagreed.
" that is even more evidence on the pile that it is neither an ethnicity nor a religion."
You have logical grounds for the latter, but not for the former.
Are you sure you aren't just confusing the word "racial" for "ethnic"? Because it certainly sounds like it.
"It is a Cabal."
That's a huge stretch, because in "western" parlance a Cabal tends to be a denotation for a society, and particularly one where all the members share a nefarious goal.
Again, are you sure you aren't conflating "Zionism" with "Jews"?
Posted by: Yeah, Right | May 11 2021 13:05 utc | 57
@55 Bemildred I don't necessary disagree with anything you wrote.
To me the issue turns on these points:
Is a "Protestant" defined by their religious beliefs? I say "yes".
Is a "Catholic" defined by their religious beliefs? Again, "yes".
Is a "Muslim" defined by their religious beliefs? Again, "yes".
Is an "Arab" defined by their religious beliefs? An emphatic "no".
But here is the crunch: is the "Jews" defined by their religious beliefs?
I'd say "no", because you can be an atheist and still be Jewish.
The same is not true of "Protestant" - you can't be a "Protestant atheist".
Same with Catholic - a "Catholic atheist" is a contradiction in terms.
Same with Muslim - there is no such thing as a "Muslim atheist".
Jews simply aren't defined by their religion but, rather, they have defined a religion for themselves.
Posted by: Yeah, Right | May 11 2021 13:21 utc | 58
No mention in the post of the fact that after announcing elections for May, Abbas had to cancel them because Israel did not want the Palestinians of al Quds al Sharqiyya to participate in them?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Palestinian_legislative_election
Posted by: Mina | May 11 2021 13:26 utc | 59
this halibut is good enough for Jehovah.
for many people, what it means to be a Jew is the same thing as being a Brit or French or an asshole (="American", one from the US): loyalty to the national gov't. such loyalty has replaced worship of Pharaoh or Caesar, but it's the same thing. thus the particular religious identification (e.g., Jew) is always subsumed under the larger category: nationalist. the Protestant fear of a Catholic's supposedly divided loyalties (Rome or DC?) is one example, b/c what God wants is you to give your Catholic loyalty to Uncle Same and baptize it with Protestant b.s.
the idea that an attack upon a gov't equals an attack on a religion or ethnic group is fascist. inherently fascist. kind of astonishing to watch capitalists inflame nationalist tensions across the globe. and quite disappointing to read someone as generally astute as Patrick Cockburn (at Counterpunch today, no i'm not linking that crap) endorsing the left's embrace of nationalism in order to rescue nationalism from the right. cuz what the left needs is its own Napoleon.
curious that as the UN Human rights declarations et al are being declared, the Israeli constitution is also being written. how does that happen? "never again" becomes the rallying cry for a perpetual Palestinian nightmare that ends one place: محرقة muhraqa. (thanks goog).
Posted by: jason | May 11 2021 14:24 utc | 60
Here I thought I was the only one who thought the timing was both suspect and beneficial to the loathsome Netanyahu.
Posted by: Old and Grumpy | May 11 2021 14:44 utc | 61
the #1, 2 and 3 allies of the US are Israel, Saudi Arabia and Britain. (I mean in public rhetoric. In reality, Mexico and Canada are of course more important.) every parent/teacher type tells a kid: birds of a feather become foul together.
but let's not learn anything from the US unwavering alliance with these brutes. as far as a strategy of consciousness-raising, emphasis upon the US-Saudi alliance (now with more Bushies and Clintons than ever!) might be a better starting point with people, esp in the US, than the US-Israel alliance. cuz if there's one religious group whose poisonous influence upon society is vast and deep, it's Zionism's twin: evangelicalism.
i grew up in this garbage, evangelicalism. it's the state religion, a Gnostic Mithraism w/ christiany lingo. Gnostic in that, like Plato, the ideal is more real than the real and so what we do to the body (the earth, etc) is quite, ahem, immaterial. However, since such gnostic crap is crap, reality requires a psychological transaction to occur to compensate for all the animal killing, earth stomping busyness of business running 24/7/365. thus, evangelicals constantly bathing themselves in the blood. maybe similar things occur in other sects (eating the body and blood?) but i'm less familiar w/how the Catholic, Orthodox, etc. perform their role, the same role in the end, of washing Pilate's hands for him, of draping the wolves in the sheep's woven wool (weaving being women's work, cuz capitalism is theft from women.)
Posted by: jason | May 11 2021 14:48 utc | 62
There was a session in UNSC regrading Al-Aqsa, USA prevented issuing a joint statement.
The draft proposed by Norway, supported by Tunisia, China.
Posted by: arata | May 11 2021 16:00 utc | 63
Bin Saw has sent his brother Khalid to Iraq, today, who met and discussed with Iraqi Prime minister Khazemi, President Barham Saleh as well as Speaker of parliament Halbousi, regarding bilateral ties as well as about Iran.
Posted by: arata | May 11 2021 16:10 utc | 64
Posted by: Yeah, Right | May 11 2021 13:21 utc | 60
Thank for your thoughtful response.
I don't find myself compelled to disagree with any or your statements either. I think in the USA it is very common to think you get to make up your own identity as you go along. In other places you may not be alllowed to do that. Even here, it is only for the over-classes. If you are poor, you are nobody here, of no account. Your identity is not important.
I think it is a mistake to trifle too carelessly with such things as identity.
Posted by: Bemildred | May 11 2021 16:16 utc | 65
https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/iran-and-the-gcc-prospects-for-a-grand-reconciliation/
Posted by: Mina | May 11 2021 16:19 utc | 66
See Caitlin Johnstone's article today
The Israel Narrative Is Crumbling Because Of Phone Cameras And The Internet
I would post the link but....
Posted by: ld | May 11 2021 16:20 utc | 67
. The Israël-Yemenite-Babilonian-Persian-Judaic-Palestine-Phoenician Hettitic heptangle (seven sides) is mired in interesting and important pattern of replays of a West Asian pattern that has been repating itself over and over again since the Middle Bronze Age flourishing of states and statelets in East Asia and around the East and Central shores of The Mediterranian sea. -- "Plus ca change, plus ce reste la meme chose!"
.
. The main new factor that 'ils grande fabbrii' (the master smiths) have sent out from their smithies is the sending off of Turkic and Germanic populations from Europe to colonize the hills of Galillee, Judea. Samaria, Israël and the costal lands of the early Iron Age tribes called the Philistenians (plus the Arabic nomads's areas in the النقب, an-Naqb (Negev) deserts as a very dry martini desert.)
.
. During the late 1970s, the German weekly quality lief Der Spiegel brought interesing analyses of place names in ancient Kna'an and compared them with the same set of places with similar names in Arabia south of Medina and in North and South Yeman: Amazing matchings! These corresponding matches pointed to a theory that the first Hebrew invasion of the lands between the Mediterranian swamp coasts of the Crethi and Pleti (now the 'hoi polloi' folks of Tel-Avivian and Ashdod Cities) and present-day Jordan with place names in Southwest Arabia and also all over The Horn of Africa peninsula and highlands truly are astonishing.
.
. Note also that already then these lands in Arabia Felix were already much more of a distant foreign trade stop-over and depot than Ur, Babylon or Niniveh. Just like Tel Aviv, City of London and Wall Street denizens of our days.
.
. Full circle! This circus can only end happy when the present Zionist state gets reduced to those Palestinian neighborhoods and communes/municipalities that already had a Jewish majority in 1946. And if the Jews in The state of Ozraël long for what the Bible says was there ancestral homeland, then they ought to depart sofurt for the desert between Quvait and Basra -- or be thankful to Stalin for having given them a real bleak homeland in the land bloving over with Laks (Salmon) and caviar and beehives in Birobidjan.
תיצפ אש
.
Posted by: Theo Oros אש תיצפ | May 11 2021 16:21 utc | 68
Once one has the issues understood, then one can pour on the emotional blackmail -
And it's obvious you haven't understood the issues entirely.
Posted by: Mann Friedman | May 11 2021 16:28 utc | 69
Posted by: Yeah, Right | May 11 2021 13:21 utc | 60
I will add that one thing that Catholicism and Islam share is that they are open to everybody, no chosen people, except them of course, the believers. I think it was no accident the Pope visited al Sistani for example.
Posted by: Bemildred | May 11 2021 16:30 utc | 70
it seems to me the problem is with zionism insisting on jews moving to israel because it is their ''homeland''... add the mythos around the bible which has to be taken literally because that is what fundamentalists do and you have a whack doodle of christians thinking this idea makes sense too.. it doesn't and it never did... supporting zionism is essentially insane, but people have a right to believe in their insane ideas even if they can't convince everyone of them...
usa state dept briefing from yesterday is informative for anyone who is trying to read the insanity coming from the usa dept spokespeople... i am sure today's will be just as insane, but always good to know what insane people think.. i will share it when it becomes available..
Department Press Briefing – May 10, 2021
Posted by: james | May 11 2021 16:43 utc | 71
@6 --Well, certainly not as long as the Zionists believe that the only way out is some combination of slow genocide and "transfer."
Yes, it's the ongoing process of removing the Palestinians from Palestine. They have had the power to do it since 1948; only lacking the political power. Their power to do so was jumpstarted by the 1967 War -- an LBJ creation. One by one Israel/U.S. have been removing the impediments to that power: Egypt, Iraq, Syria. Now Iran is now the last to try to stop them. This is why the Biden team is insisting Iran give up its missile defenses.
Posted by: Ronald | May 11 2021 16:49 utc | 72
The current Saudi-Iranian approach doesn`t really surprise me. When you can turn Wahabism into something pro-Israel then you can certainly turn Wahabism into something pro-Shia as well.
The question is what happens when MbS takes another nip at the [alcohol-free] champagne.
Posted by: m | May 11 2021 17:23 utc | 73
Mr. m
No - Wahabi Arabs hate Shia Muslims - that is firm.
Posted by: fyi | May 11 2021 17:38 utc | 74
Currently, the Palestinians use the Israeli Sheqel. Why?
They need to learn from America and issue their local currency. Remember, the American revolution and our colonies issuing their own money.
If the Palestinians want freedom then they need to create their sovereign CURRENCY and drive their freedom & prosperity. The current system will by default choke them.
There is no sovereignty without monetary sovereignty. Is your nation monetarily SOVEREIGN or captured suzerainty?
Posted by: Max | May 11 2021 17:44 utc | 75
The problem is always the same since the Nakba has started and it is zionism(and its friend$).As long as there is a zionist on this earth we must expect the worst.And now compared to the past there is indifference on the part of the countries that should intervene in Ocuppied Palestine.
Posted by: LuBa | May 11 2021 17:49 utc | 76
Elijah J. Magnier @ejmalrai 16:47 UTC · May 11, 2021 #BreakingNews: #Israel is bombing Hanadi tower along the #Gaza coast. The Palestinian resistance warned Israel that any bombing of civilian towers will be met by a similar bombing in Tel Aviv to residential areas with new missiles never used before.There is a serious escalation
The Hanadi tower, a civilian apartment building, just collapsed (video).
Tel Aviv will be attacked in about 12 minutes.
Mr. Yeah, Right
Fundamentally, both Catholicism and Shia Islam are predicated on the need to interpret their sacred texts. That is intimately associated with the respect for Religious Authority and Tradition as the needed ingredients for such interoperations.
That Authority is based on this in Catholicism: "On you, Peter (Stone), I shall build my church.".
In Shia Islam, it is based on two hadiths of the Prophet on Imam Ali's Spiritual Authority as Supreme Interpreter of the Quran as well as Imam Ali's Political Authority to lead Muslims.
Both religions have emotional and mystical practices as well as philosophical and rationalistic components.
They share Love for the Holy Family (different in each case).
The re-emergence of Jesus at the End of Times is common in both religions.
What is currently going on in the Middle East is this:
The Judeo-Christians, Jews, and Calvinists of Islam are fighting to destroy the Catholics of Islam.
Posted by: fyi | May 11 2021 17:52 utc | 78
Mr. Leith
Today's news from Iran was that 7 terrorists (almost certainly all Sunni Kurds) were killed in the border area near city of Salmaas.
2 guardsmen were also killed by them.
17 days earlier, 3 terrorists (in this case Deobandi Baluchis) were killed in Baluchistan.
Yet they keep on coming.
Posted by: fyi | May 11 2021 18:14 utc | 79
Posted by: b | May 11 2021 17:49 utc | 79
Appears that you are correct--
Posted by: arby | May 11 2021 18:17 utc | 80
@b | May 11 2021 17:49 utc | 79
Tel Aviv will be attacked in about 12 minutes.
Videos are systematically being scrubbed from the internet, including the one you linked to.
As you know, censorship is not a good idea.
Posted by: Norwegian | May 11 2021 18:18 utc | 81
Posted by: Norwegian | May 11 2021 18:18 utc | 83
The video of the building falling down is still up.
Posted by: arby | May 11 2021 18:23 utc | 82
Several videos of both siodes shown here--
lots of booms and Aluha Akbars
Posted by: arby | May 11 2021 18:26 utc | 83
@arby | May 11 2021 18:23 utc | 84
If you mean https://twitter.com/Partisangirl/status/1392171507221098498
It does not work here, I have tried from multiple computers.
Posted by: Norwegian | May 11 2021 18:30 utc | 84
Thanks for the updates from b and MoA barflies
The shit show of empire may be faltering but who knows where all the global alliances will end up.
Mr. Market is noticing today.....or, should I say, seeming to notice the heat in the kitchen.
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 11 2021 18:32 utc | 85
Norwegian, just clicked on your link and it worked fine for me.
Posted by: arby | May 11 2021 18:33 utc | 86
Norwegian @86:
Your link and the one posted by b @79 both work for me.
Posted by: corvo | May 11 2021 18:34 utc | 87
@corvo | May 11 2021 18:34 utc | 89
Still does not work here. I have yet to see a single image or video from Gaza today. Everything else seems to work. Something is blocking from here.
Posted by: Norwegian | May 11 2021 18:43 utc | 88
I can see an earlier video of a Hamas attack via PressTV, but that is the only one I have been able to get to work.
All links to twitter appear not to work. Even RT links only to Twitter, they should know better.
Ok, a youtube link via Sputnik works, but no twitter links from there work either.
Posted by: Norwegian | May 11 2021 18:55 utc | 89
@ norwegian... it is interesting those videos are blocked where you are.. it would be interesting to find out why this is and just how it is being applied.. thanks.
Posted by: james | May 11 2021 19:12 utc | 90
Posted by: Max | May 11 2021 17:44 utc | 77
Currently, the Palestinians use the Israeli Sheqel. Why?
Because they are confined to tiny, disjointed enclaves. Because Israel has shown much creativity in locking down every aspect of the Palestinian daily life, tearing up fields and denying access to farmland or fishing grounds, burning olive groves, restricting access to water and energy, and on and on. In essence, Israelis control every single element entering the territories save for air and sunshine. But you can be sure they are working on that as well.
Posted by: robin | May 11 2021 19:16 utc | 91
@james | May 11 2021 19:12 utc | 92
I switched off Wifi on my phone and tried via 4G mobile network. No go, no twitter links work. Looks like I am not the only one https://istheservicedown.com/problems/twitter/map
So those images and videos are unreachable since links are almost exclusively via Twitter.
Posted by: Norwegian | May 11 2021 19:21 utc | 92
@ norwegian... they are coming thru in canada... twitter has too much influence.. there needs to be alternative platforms for sharing this type of info..
Posted by: james | May 11 2021 19:36 utc | 93
"Currently, the Palestinians use the Israeli Sheqel. Why?"
Because they don't have access to cigarettes.
Lucy's are only available to non-Palestinian, felons locked up in Prisons and are too good to waste on them.
Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | May 11 2021 20:15 utc | 94
US Blocks UN Security Council Statement Condemning Jerusalem Violence and Looming Evictions.
14 out of 15 UN Security Council members supported the statement
Posted by: lulu | May 11 2021 20:35 utc | 95
I can't get twitter through b's link, but otherwise OK. (from sources further abroad)
First the parano; You have the US Nuclear sub now in Tromso, plus demos against it. The Russian are intercepting more and more airplanes on their coastline, the US has moved "something" into Estonia which could be for IT warfare, or information suppression.
Non parano; it's all due to Elon Musk who is a bit miffed that someone has identified mushrooms on Mars (3-8mm), and he was not consulted first. (well, maybe).
It is always the question whether information blockages are personal, or general
*****
The Israelis are now saying they will destroy 7 high rise appartement buildings, claiming that Hamas has put missile stockpiles underneath them,
It is not going as expected for Israel. ie. Eilat-Ashdod oil pipeline hit by Hamas rocket fire, plus vid of a petrol (?) tank on fire. Another report; that Ashdod Port has been closed down.
Assassinations in Gaza have also been reported.
Posted by: Stonebird | May 11 2021 20:45 utc | 96
@BarakRavid 3:03 PM · May 10 2021
The Biden administration appointed envoys for Iran, Libya, Horn of Africa and Yemen. Huge crisis in Jerusalem and Gaza and no U.S. envoy for Israel-Palestine. No ambassador to Israel and no consul general in Jerusalem for the Palestinians. This doesn't make any sense(ht ZHedge)
Feature (not a bug) so that USA could pretend:
- an inability to act; and
- the markarky that Zionist Biden is no friend to Israel.
!!
Posted by: Jackrabbit | May 11 2021 20:57 utc | 97
[email protected]
Try this for a sky view of an about 100 rocket barrage (all together) being fired from Gaza, and reply by "Iron Dome". Each Iron dome rocket costs about $40'000-$50'000. Uncle SAM will be asked for a contribution very soon at this rate. (Common News item but impressive)
https://twitter.com/A7_Mirza/status/1392220575783923712
Oh, and the IDF have invaded the Al Aqsa Mosque again a few moments ago.
Posted by: Stonebird | May 11 2021 21:00 utc | 98
Twitter links just started to work again here after several hours of being non-functional. I can now see the videos.
Clearly, to depend on only twitter for reporting is a bad idea.
Posted by: Norwegian | May 11 2021 21:02 utc | 99
[email protected], thank you for your updates. i've wondered if you have any ideas on lavrov's chat with Palestinian FM. what if any connection it may've had.
Posted by: emersonreturn | May 11 2021 21:28 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
A larger war means the end of Israel
Posted by: anti-zionist | May 10 2021 16:01 utc | 1