(2020-04-05). Prominent Hezbollah commander killed in Lebanon. yenisafak.com A prominent Hezbollah commander, Muhammad Ali Yunis, was killed by unknown gunmen on Sunday morning in southern Lebanon, Iranian and Lebanese media reported.The Iranian semi-official Fars news agency reported that the slain commander was "responsible for tracking spies and collaborators".It also said that so far there is "no additional information on how he was killed".Some Lebanese media outlets close to the Hezbollah group said that Yunis was pursuing a suspect when he was ambushed by three cars in the Zoutar area.Opposition Lebanese media said Israeli intelligence agency Mossad is behind the assassination.No…
(2020-04-05). Israeli police detain Jerusalem governor. yenisafak.com Israeli police on Sunday detained Jerusalem Governor Adnan Ghaith.A video released by the Jerusalem-based Wadi Hilweh Information Center showed police forcefully detaining Ghaith from his home in Jerusalem's neighborhood of Silwan.Ghaith has been detained several times in recent months.The reason behind the detention remains unclear and the Israeli police have yet to issue an official statement.Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Mideast conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem
(2020-04-05). Coronavirus tally rises in several Arab countries. yenisafak.com Health authorities in several Arab countries confirmed new cases and deaths from the novel coronavirus on Sunday.The Lebanese Health Ministry recorded a new fatality, raising the death toll to 18, while seven people tested positive for the virus, bringing the total to 527.In Morocco, the Health Ministry said the death toll has risen to 66 after seven deaths were recorded.The number of confirmed cases climbed to 960 with another 41 cases recorded.In Iraq, health authorities recorded one death, bringing the death toll to 57, and a total of 908 cases after 18 more cases were confirmed.The Palestinian government, for…
(2020-04-05). Olive branches handed out on 'Holy Week' in near-deserted Jerusalem. yenisafak.com One of the friars used a loud-hailer in the streets of the walled Old City to summon people to their front doors and windows, where they received branches and blessings.The beginning of the Holy Week leading to Easter, Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem. Scripture speaks of his supporters scattering palm fronds in his path, an act often replicated today with branches of other native trees.Jerusalem's churches, like Muslim and Jewish places of worship, are closed to the public. That has prompted the faithful to find alternatives to group prayer in a month in which the festivals of Passover, Easte…
(2020-04-04). Palestinian Governor of East Jerusalem Issues a Passover Warning. imemc.org The Palestinian Authority's (PA) Governorate for the internationally-recognized occupied East Jerusalem, issued a warning on Saturday, for Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, southern West Bank. The governorate's warning comes ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover, in the context of the rapidly-spreading coronavirus, in many Israeli areas. The governorate warned …
(2020-04-04). Israeli Forces Injure Dozens of Palestinians in Kufur Qaddoum. imemc.org A Palestinian youth was injured when Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian citizens, while dozens of Palestinians choked on tear gas in Kufur Qaddoum village, in the northern West Bank district of Qalqilia on Friday, the Palestinian Information Center reported. Morad Eshteiwi, the coordinator of the Popular Committee against the …
(2020-04-04). Armed Israeli Settlers Storm Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. imemc.org Israeli colonial settlers, on Saturday, stormed the Palestinian neighborhood of Wadi Alrababa in Silwan village in the internationally-recognized occupied city of East Jerusalem, southern West Bank. Local media outlets and witnesses said that about 25 armed colonial settlers stormed the neighborhood and embarked on provocative actions towards local unarmed Palestinian …
(2020-04-04). 'We Will Not Sit Back and Let Transit Workers Be Treated Like Cannon Fodder'. thenation.com 'We Will Not Sit Back and Let Transit Workers Be Treated Like Cannon Fodder'
(2020-04-03). Tunisia Leads the Way: New Report Exposes Israel's False Democracy. counterpunch.org 
Tunisia is the Middle East's greatest success story, according to the findings of the V-Dem Annual Democracy Report 2019. One of the world's most regarded annual reports on democracy and good governance, the V-Dem Report is produced by the V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) Institute at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. While Tunisians can be
(2020-04-03). Gaza's New Conflict: COVID-19. counterpunch.org 
At a time when everyone was celebrating the arrival of a new decade, a rare once-in-a-100-year event took the world by surprise: a major global pandemic named COVID-19. Governments around the world struggled to fight the virus, taking extreme measures to contain it with nearly one billion people now living in confinement. At first, Palestinians
(2020-04-03). WAFA: "10 Detainees At Ofer Embark On Hunger Strike" imemc.org RAMALLAH, Thursday, April 2, 2020 (WAFA) — Ten Palestinian political prisoners at Ofer detention camp, southwest of Ramallah, embarked today on an open-ended hunger strike in protest against the ongoing solitary confinement of two fellow prisoners, as well as against Israel's failure to provide the conditions to prevent a high …
(2020-04-03). PLO official Decries Israeli Actions Amidst Spread of Coronavirus. imemc.org Member of Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Dr. Hanan Ashrawi denounced on Friday, Israel's actions which she described as hampering Palestinian efforts, underway, to fight the Coronavirus (COVID-19). | In a statement released Friday, the high-ranking Palestinian official, Dr.
(2020-04-03). PCHR: Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (26 March — 1 April 2020). imemc.org Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) 26 March — 1 April 2020 Summary Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued to violate Palestinians' human rights and commit crimes against civilians and their properties, conducting raids into Palestinian cities without regard to the state of emergency declared across the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) …
(2020-04-03). Israeli Police Abducts Palestinian Minister Of Jerusalem Affairs. imemc.org (Please See Update: After his release on the same day: Jerusalem Minister:…
(2020-04-03). Jerusalem Minister: "I Was Forced To Wear A Dirty Mask, With Signs Of Dried Blood On It" imemc.org Shortly after his release from the al-Maskobiyya interrogation facility in occupied Jerusalem, the Palestinian Government Minister of Jerusalem, Fadi al-Hadmi, said that the soldiers violently searched his home, and used dogs to inflict maximum damage, in addition to forcing him to wear a dirty mask that had signs of dried …
(2020-04-02). New Reports Place Israel Among World's 25 "Declining Democracies" mintpressnews.com 
Both Freedom House and V-DEM's Annual Democracy Report shows Israel is experiencing a precipitous decline in democracy. Thought that would hardly be surprising to the 2 million Arab citizens that live there.
(2020-04-02). UN Official Calls for Assisting the Palestinian Government in Fight against Coronavirus. imemc.org United Nations' Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace, Nickolay Mladenov, called on Thursday for helping the Palestinian Authority fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19). In a new statement, reported by local media outlets, Mladenov urged key international donor countries to promptly aid the Palestinian Authority, voicing concerns amidst the rapid spread …
(2020-04-02). How the Joint List Got it All Wrong for ever Believing Benny Gantz. dissidentvoice.org Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party, abandoned the central plank of his platform at the weekend — that he would never sit in a coalition with Benjamin Netanyahu, who has led Israel continuously for the past 11 years. A former military general, Gantz justified his dramatic change of course under cover of …
(2020-04-02). Israel Puts Forth a Condition for Aiding Gaza Over Coronavirus. imemc.org Palestinian media reports, citing Israeli sources, reported on Thursday that the Israeli government put forth a condition for shipping medical aid to the besieged Gaza Strip, for fighting the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Sources said that Israeli Defense Minister, Naftali Bennett, was quoted during a press briefing in Tel-Aviv, as saying …
(2020-04-02). 'People Should Not Be Forced to Put Their Lives on the Line to Vote'. thenation.com 'People Should Not Be Forced to Put Their Lives on the Line to Vote'
(2020-03-31). Remembering Theresa Halasa: Revered Veteran of the Palestinian Resistance. mintpressnews.com 
Amman, Jordan — "I didn't join the Palestinian resistance because I experienced suffering, I joined out of a sense of patriotism," Theresa Halasa, a revered veteran of the Palestinian resistance said this in an In 1972, Halasa was one of four Palestinians who hijacked a Belgian Sabena airliner en route to Tel-Aviv. The objective was to keep the passengers hostage until the Israeli government agreed to release Pal…
(2020-03-31). Palestinians face two enemies: Occupation and pandemic. greenleft.org.au 
The number…
(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."
(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 …