2020-03-20: News Headlines

Gareth Porter (2020-03-20). Pompeo and Netanyahu paved a path to war with Iran, and they're pushing Trump again. thegrayzone.com Though it narrowly averted war with Iran this January, the Trump administration is still pushing for all-out military conflict. The…

RT (2020-03-20). Coronavirus transforms routine flight into private jet for unsuspecting passenger (VIDEO). rt.com A man from Argentina traveling from Tel-Aviv to Barcelona was stunned to find out that he'd hired himself an entire jet for the price of a single ticket. The coronavirus panic saw him ending up the only passenger aboard. | Earlier this week, Ilan, an Orthodox Jew from Argentina, arrived at Ben Gurion Airport with his luggage, only to learn that Israeli El Al Airlines had canceled his flight as part of the country's harsh Covid-19 travel restrictions. | But the 21-year-old didn't give up that easily as he went searching for other options at the almost empty airport. His persistence was rewarded as he was able t…

Jewish Voice for Peace (2020-03-20). COVID-19 Will Devastate Gaza Unless the Blockade Is Lifted Now. globalresearch.ca It's difficult enough to be in the U.S. during the COVID-19 outbreak. And when I think about the conditions in Gaza, I'm absolutely terrified for the Palestinians trapped there. | As of today, Israeli officials have only allowed 200 testing kits …

Middle East Eye (2020-03-20). Israeli MP Presents Bills to Annex Jordan Valley, Impose Death Penalty on Palestinians. globalresearch.ca A right-wing Israeli parliamentarian submitted two bills to the Knesset on Wednesday seeking to permanently annex the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea and the Hebron desert in the occupied West Bank to Israel, as well as impose the death …

Onyema Greg Chido-Amajuoyi, Israel Agaku, Chinemerem Onwuliri, Sanjay Shete (2020-03-20). [Correspondence] Industry-sponsored antismoking advertisements in low-income countries. thelancet.com Beginning in November, 2017, for the first time in history, the USA's biggest tobacco companies sponsored antismoking advertising campaigns that ran in the USA for an entire year. This unprecedented event was the result of a landmark ruling by US district judge Gladys Kessler, who—having found the tobacco industry guilty of intentionally misleading the general public about the dangers of tobacco—instructed the industry to make corrective statements via widespread advertising campaigns.1 Despite intensive lobbying efforts by the tobacco industry to sway legislative agenda, Judge Kessler's verdict and t…

yenisafak (2020-03-20). Four Arab countries report new coronavirus cases. yenisafak.com Authorities in Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon and Tunisia on Friday reported new cases of the coronavirus."A new case has been diagnosed in a Palestinian citizen from Salfit province (North) who came from Pakistan, bringing the number of cases to 48," Palestine's Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said.In Kuwait, the Health Ministry said that 11 new cases of the virus were reported, increasing the total number of cases in the country to 159.Lebanon's Health Ministry reported 14 new cases, confirming the total cases to 163.In Tunisia, the total number of cases rose to 54 as 15 new cases were recorded.The global death toll f…

teleSUR (2020-03-19). US and Israel Seek to Monopolize Arms Sales in Iraq. telesurenglish.net Iraq said on Wednesday that U.S. and Israeli arms companies are pressuring the country not to buy military equipment from other states, local media reported. | RELATED: | "Companies and businessmen from both countries want Iraq not to buy weapons from other developed countries," Badr al-Ziyadi, a member of the Security and Defense Committee of the Iraqi Parliament, said Wednesday. | According to al-Ziyadi, recently "a d…

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-19). Israeli Troops abduct a Number of Palestinian Youth in the West Bank. imemc.org Israeli troops abducted, before dawn on Thursday, three Palestinian youth in the West Bank refugee camp of Deheishe, located near the city of Bethlehem. Local Palestinian security sources confirmed that Israeli army forces abducted Yousef Albal'awi, 19, Ramez Allaham, 22 and Mustafa Hasanat, 22, after the soldiers broke into, vandalized …

PCHR (2020-03-19). PCHR Demands Provision of Health and Humanitarian Standards at Gaza Strip COVID-19 Quarantine Centers. imemc.org The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is closely monitoring the precautionary measures adopted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in the Gaza Strip in the face of Coronavirus (COVID-19), including the medical exam procedures and quarantine policies for Palestinians returning from abroad via Rafah and Beit Hanoun "Erez" Crossings, …

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-18). Senior PLO Member: "Israeli Policy of Home Demolition Is A War Crime" imemc.org Tayseer Khaled, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization(PLO), said this week that Israeli policy of Palestinian homes' demolition constitutes a war crime, an act of collective punishment that violates International Law. Khaled's remarks came in the backdrop of a recent United Nations' report on the humanitarian situation in …

Ali Salam (2020-03-18). Members of US Congress Call for Action Against Israeli Policy of Forced Displacement. imemc.org A letter signed by 64 members of the US Congress on Tuesday addressed to Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, urged the Trump administration to oppose Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank, and to reject further US funding, Palestine News Network reported. The letter stated, "We are …

Ali Salam (2020-03-18). PHOTOS: Using Humble Means, Besieged Gaza Prepares for the Coronavirus. imemc.org By Palestine Chronicle Staff Despite its limited resources, the Gaza Health Ministry and international aid agencies operating in the besieged Gaza Strip, are taking precautionary measures to protect the Palestinians in the Strip from the Coronavirus COVID-19 disease. Palestinian photojournalist Fawzi Mahmoud visited the Al-Shati refugee camp, located on the …

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-18). Israeli Forces Abduct 7 Palestinian Civilians in Pre-Dawn Raids in West Bank. imemc.org Israeli soldiers on Tuesday before dawn abducted eight Palestinians from different areas in the West Bank. According to the Palestinian Prisoner Society(PPS), Israeli troops stormed both Awarta and Beita villages of Nablus District, in northern West Bank, and abducted two Palestinian young men, Mojahed Awwad and Sameh Barakat. In a …

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-18). Updated: "Israeli Soldiers Abduct Ten Palestinian In West Bank" imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, earlier Wednesday, at least ten Palestinians from their homes in several parts of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported. In the central West Bank city of Ramallah, a squadron of Israeli soldiers invaded a town in the Ramallah district and abducted six …

Staff (2020-03-17). 475 lawyers demand Israel Bar Association rescind effort to intervene in Int'l Criminal Court deliberations on 'Situation in Palestine'. imemc.org By The Legal Center For Arab Minority Rights In Israel — Aadalah: Lawyers: IBA move, pushed through in a hasty and underhanded manner, is strictly political in motive and is seemingly intended to advocate Israeli government positions entrenching occupation.

Staff (2020-03-17). Headlines for March 17, 2020. democracynow.org More Countries Enact Travel Bans, Isolation Measures, as Coronavirus Cases Top 183,000 , U.S. Braces for Spread of Coronavirus as Trump Lauds Gov't Response Despite Severe Lack of Testing, Stock Market Plummets as Trump Acknowledges Economy "May" Be Headed Toward Recession , Fire Kills Young Girl at Refugee Camp in Lesbos, Netanyahu Rival Benny Gantz Asked to Form New Government , U.S. to Pull Out of Several Iraqi Bases After Recent Attacks | , Mitch McConnell Urging Conservative Judges to Retire While GOP Still Holds Senate & Presidency, Gunman Kills 5 People at Missouri Gas Station | , Maryland Senate Passes Bi…

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-17). Due to Corona, Israel to Let Palestinian Workers Stay in Workplaces. imemc.org Israeli Minister of Defense, Naftali Bennett, decided on Tuesday to let many thousands of Palestinian workers, working inside Israel, to stay for several weeks in Israel. Bennett's statement, reported by Israeli media, suggested that Palestinian workers, who work in the various sectors with recruitment by Israeli contractors, can stay for …

Delilah Boxstein (2020-03-17). The Coronavirus Outbreak is Revealing the Appalling Conditions Faced by Palestinians in Israeli Prisons. mintpressnews.com "Ailing prisoners traveled three days in a metal van tied to metal chairs with feet and hands cuffed. They don't have access to food or a toilet as they spend hours picking up other sick prisoners. Most sick inmates won't even go to Ramleh [Hospial] because they know how excruciating the journey can be."

Rami Almeghari (2020-03-17). Israeli Troops Detain Palestinian Residents in the West Bank. imemc.org Israeli army troops reportedly detained earlier on Tuesday, seven Palestinian residents from different areas in the West Bank. According to the Palestinian Detainees Club Forum in Ramallah city, Israeli occupation troops stormed both Awarta and Beita villages of Nablus city, arresting two Palestinian young men, Mojahed Awwad and Sameh Barakat. …

Middle East Eye (2020-02-07). Russia Says Israel Used Civilian Plane as Human Shield During Syria Strikes. theantimedia.com Russia accused Israel of "making a total mockery of the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians."

CounterSpin (2020-01-31). Omar Baddar on Israel/Palestine 'Peace' Plan, Rainey Reitman on Greenwald Persecution. fair.org MP3 Link This week on CounterSpin: It is strange to think that you could create a plan to shape the relationship between two entities, in consultation with one but not the other, and then not just declare it, yourself, a "win-win," but also say to the unconsulted party, "You better take it, or else." Yet …