Daily Archives: August 23, 2020

2020-08-23: News Headlines

Ramzy Baroud (2020-08-23). 'Palestine is Still the Issue': UN Vote Exposes, Isolates Canada. zcomm.org Recent events at the United Nations have exposed the true nature of Canada's global position, particularly in the matter of its blind and unconditional support for Israel…

yenisafak (2020-08-23). Austrian leaders condemn attack against Jewish community in Graz. yenisafak.com Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and other senior government politicians said they were shocked over an attack on a Jewish community leader in the southern city of Graz on Saturday, and ordered tighter security at Jewish institutions around Austria.An unknown assailant attacked the Graz Jewish community's president, Elie Rosen, with a wooden club on the premises of their synagogue, which was twice targeted by acts of vandalism in the past week, the community said in a statement late on Saturday.Rosen took shelter in his car and was unhurt. The attacker then fled, according to the statement.Police in Styria, the…

_____ (2020-08-22). Israel Cuts Fuel, Gaza Goes Dark. popularresistance.org The Gaza Strip's only power plant shut down on Tuesday after Israel stopped the transfer of fuel to the territory. | The halting of fuel transfers is among a series of collective punishment measures Israel has imposed on Gaza. | Israel has claimed the measures are a response to incendiary balloons released from Gaza. The launching of such balloons by some Palestinians is, in reality, a symbolic effort to draw attention to the deteriorating situation in Gaza, long subject to an Israeli siege. | Although incendiary balloons caused several fires in Israel, "no injuries or damage have been reported," according to The…

Michael Arria (2020-08-22). New York lawmakers denounce DSA as antisemitic after group challenges junkets to Israel. mronline.org At the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) convention in 2017, the group endorsed the BDS movement by an overwhelming majority. That resolution asserted that "socialists have a responsibility to side with the oppressed and are committed to their unconditional liberation."

Kathy Durkin (2020-08-22). Global campaign frees Mahmoud Nawajaa. workers.org Mahmoud Nawajaa is free! An international campaign pressured Israel to release the general coordinator of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement from detention. Armed Israeli forces charged into Nawajaa's home near Ramallah in occupied Palestine on July 30 and brutally seized him. He was illegally held without charges until . . . |

RT (2020-08-22). Board of Britain's biggest Muslim charity resigns over posts calling Hamas 'great men' and Israel 'Zionist enemy'. rt.com The entire board of the biggest Muslim charity in Britain is set to resign following anti-Semitic social media posts by its director, who was already a replacement for a trustee who had also resigned over controversial comments. | Almoutaz Tayara, the board director of the charity Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) based in Birmingham, had posted on his Facebook page in 2014 and 2015 a cartoon that depicted former US president Barack Obama wearing the Star of David with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Assad of Syria on his lap, saying, "Death to America!" | Other posts called leaders of the Palestinian milit…

yenisafak (2020-08-22). Palestine, Azerbaijan hail Turkey's natural gas find. yenisafak.com Palestine and Azerbaijan congratulated Turkey on Saturday for the discovery of major natural gas reserves in the Black Sea.Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call, Turkey's Communications Directorate said in a statement.He hailed Turkey's success as Palestine's success, while Erdogan reiterated Ankara's support for the Palestinian cause.The two leaders also discussed bilateral ties and regional developments, the statement said.Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov phoned his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to congratulate him on the sig…

sputniknews (2020-08-22). Officer Wounded During Protest March in Jerusalem, 7 People Detained, Police Say. sputniknews.com TEL AVIV (Sputnik) – Seven protesters were detained during an anti-government march in Jerusalem; one law enforcement officer was injured, according to Israeli police.

WSWS (2020-08-21). Israel launches airstrikes against Gaza and threatens war. wsws.org Israel is preparing for war on the besieged Palestinian enclave, even as it ups the ante against Hezbollah in Lebanon and its primary target, Iran.

Yousef Alhelou (2020-08-21). Israel's Blockade of 2 Million Palestinians in Gaza is making it Uninhabitable. zcomm.org Gantz, Netanyahu and others know for sure that Gazans have nothing to lose as life is unbearable under the ongoing 14-year siege, while peace on Israeli terms is a mirage…

Juan Cole (2020-08-21). In Further War Crime, Israelis cut Electricity to Gaza, Idling 50,000 Factory Workers. zcomm.org Source: Informed Comment The government of far right Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu cut off fuel for the sole power plant in the Gaza Strip, a small Palestinian territory surrounded on three sides by and blockaded by Israel. As a result, on Monday the Gaza Strip's sole power plant went dark, Al Jazeera reports. The

Eric A. Gordon (2020-08-21). Democratic outreach to Jewish voters cites rising anti-Semitism under Trump. peoplesworld.org One afternoon breakout session of the Democratic National Convention that took place on the afternoon of August 18, the first full day of the quadrennial nomination ritual, addressed the Jewish American community in support of the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris ticket. A reported 2000 viewers had registered for this livestreamed two-hour-plus session. The Jewish American vote …

Jonathan Cook (2020-08-21). How Israel Wages War on Palestinian History. counterpunch.org When the Palestinian actor Mohammed Bakri made a documentary about Jenin in 2002 — filming immediately after the Israeli army had completed rampaging through the West Bank city, leaving death and destruction in its wake — he chose an unusual narrator for the opening scene: a mute Palestinian youth. Jenin had been sealed off from

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-21). Palestine burning in fire of Zionist regime's impudence. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 21 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that innocent Palestine is still burning in the fire of the Zionist regime's impudence and incursion and the treason of certain Arab rulers.

Ramzy Baroud, Romana Rubeo (2020-08-21). 'Palestine is Still the Issue': UN Vote Exposes, Isolates Canada. commondreams.org Protesters hold a giant Palestinian flag as they walk across University Avenue during a demonstration in Toronto, Canada, December 9, 2017. (Photo by Giordano Ciampini/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/palestinecanada.jpg

Ramzy Baroud and Romana Rubeo (2020-08-21). "Palestine is Still the Issue": UN Vote Exposes, Isolates Canada. dissidentvoice.org The notion that 'Canada is better', especially when compared with US foreign policy, has persisted for many years. Recent events at the United Nations have, however, exposed the true nature of Canada's global position, particularly in the matter of its blind and unconditional support for Israel. On June 17, Canada lost its second bid for …

Ramzy Baroud (2020-08-21). A UN Vote Exposed Canada's Blind and Unconditional Support for Israel. mintpressnews.com While Canada's support for Israel is, to a certain extent, consistent with Canada's own colonial past and present interventionist foreign policy, the Canadian people and the international community remain major obstacles, challenging the toxic affinity between Ottawa and Tel Aviv.

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-08-20). The Assassination of Yasser Arafat was Ordered by The Israeli Cabinet: "We will Choose the Right Way and the Right Time to Kill Arafat." globalresearch.ca First published on November 19, 2013. | Author's Note | Who killed Hariri, Who killed Arafat? | According to the August 18, 2020 verdict by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in The Hague Salim Ayyash was found guilty of killing Prime Minister …

sputniknews (2020-08-20). Videos: IDF Strikes Northern Gaza After Iron Dome Intercepts Rockets Bound for Israel. sputniknews.com Israeli aircraft on Friday local time struck targets in the city of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip after the Iron Dome air defense system intercepted rockets bound for Israel.

_____ (2020-08-20). Global South Calls For Sanctions On Apartheid Israel. popularresistance.org Israel's decades-old regime of apartheid and theft of Palestinian land is continuing unabated. Reports that Israel is "suspending" formal annexation are a smokescreen for continued colonisation and piecemeal ethnic cleansing of Indigenous Palestinians. | Around the world, advocates for justice are pushing back.The Global South response, initiated by South African civil society, brings together notable figures, intellectuals, policy makers, civil society leaders and experts from Africa, Latin America and Asia, in a joint effort to promote lawful sanctions on Israel to end its decades-old oppression of the Palestin…

Samia Nasir Khoury (2020-08-20). Woe to the Powerless! Once Again Palestinians Are Paying the Price. counterpunch.org During this century, 2020 seems like a year we would like to remove from our memory. With life being toppled upside down for everybody all over the world due to the Corona Pandemic, forces of evil still find a way to strike again and again We hardly got over the shock of the explosion in

RT (2020-08-20). Arms in the air? UAE-Israel peace deal kickstarts long-stalled F-35 purchase from Washington. rt.com The UAE-Israeli peace deal could sprout into a lucrative arms contract, as the UAE's foreign minister said it had removed the obstacles for purchasing F-35 fighters from the US. Washington said such a deal is already under review. | Formal normalization of ties with Tel Aviv should remove "any hurdle" in the path of the potential new arms deal with the US, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said Thursday. | "We have legitimate requests … We ought to get them … the whole idea of a state of belligerency or war with Israel no longer exists," Gargash told the NATO-sponsored pro-war Atl…

Stephen Lendman (2020-08-20). The Hariri Assassination: Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Verdict. Fake Justice on Behalf of Israel. globalresearch.ca In May 2007, Security Council Resolution 1757 established the STL "on the outskirts of the Hague." | Ten SC members voted "yes," none "no," Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia, and Qatar abstaining. | Five judges were involved in proceedings, Judge David Re…

Rannie Amiri (2020-08-20). The Hariri Assassination: Israel 's Fingerprints. globalresearch.ca This incisive article by Rannie Amiri focussing on Israel's spy ring in Lebanon was first published by Global Research on July 23, 2010. The article also addresses the role of the UN sponsored Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) | Is it …

Manal Tamimi (2020-08-20). A bullet lodged next to my son's heart. zcomm.org I have lived my entire life under Israeli occupation. Generations of my family have fought against Israel's violent apartheid…

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-20). Israeli regime biggest threat to region: Nasrallah. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (MNA) — Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement Hassan Nasrallah said that the Israeli regime is the biggest threat to the West Asia (Middle East) region.

_____ (2020-08-20). It's Not Happening: The Mainstream Media Is the Enabler of American Dysfunction. strategic-culture.org Has anyone seen anywhere in the mainstream media a serious discussion of Israel's possible role in the Beirut bombing? I am not suggested an evidence-free indictment of Israel but rather just a review of Israel's possible motive and a consideration of its capability to carry out such an attack without having to directly do it itself with one of its bombs or missiles. Given the Jewish state's unrelenting hostility towards Hezbollah and its repeated violations of Lebanese territory and airspace, it would seem to me that it would at least merit a sentence or two in the New York Times or Washington Post. | Or how abo…

yenisafak (2020-08-20). Palestinian dies after being shot, detained by Israeli army. yenisafak.com A Palestinian youth who was shot and taken away by Israeli soldiers succumbed to his injuries on Thursday.Mohammad Haziz was among three Palestinians shot by Israeli forces near the Deir Abu Meshal village, close to Ramallah in the central West Bank.The Palestinian Red Crescent said earlier on Thursday it had taken two wounded youths to hospitals in Ramallah, while a third injured person was detained by Israeli forces.Emad Zahran, head of Deir Abu Meshal's local council, told Anadolu Agency that Haziz's family was informed of his death by the Israeli army hours after he was detained."Mohammad was detained at dawn…

yenisafak (2020-08-20). Palestinian rights paramount over Israel: Pakistan. yenisafak.com Pakistan won't accept Israel until Palestinians are granted their rights, the country's president told the parliament Thursday. | "We cannot accept Israel until Palestinians are given their rights as envisaged by Pakistan's founder Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah," said President Arif Alvi, applauding Prime Minister Imran Khan for "taking a clear position on the issue". | Prime Minister Khan in an interview last Tuesday night had said: "Our stand about Israel is very clear. It is the same that the founder of nation, Quaid-i-Azam, had. We cannot recognize Israel until Palestinians get their right, which should b…

Lisa Newcomb, staff writer (2020-08-20). 'Big Mistake': Progressives Slam Biden Campaign for Dismissal of Muslim-American Advocate Linda Sarsour. commondreams.org "Weaponizing the charge of 'anti-Semitism' to silence criticism of Israel is despicable," said activist Ady Barkan. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/getty-sarsour.jpg

sputniknews (2020-08-19). Israeli Defense Tanks Attack Hamas Posts in Gaza Strip. sputniknews.com Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks attacked Hamas posts in the Gaza Strip on Thursday local time.

Kathryn Shihadah (2020-08-19). Among this Week's Victims of Israeli State Violence: A Disabled Elderly Palestinian Man. mintpressnews.com The week is not yet over but already Palestinians multiple Palestinian families are making funeral arrangements and planning hospital visits. The following are three stories — one death and two injuries. Each story raises many questions, more than there is space to fully answer, but there remains a benefit in asking. | A sixty-year-old disabled man is shot: | On Monday, a sixty-year-old Palestinian man approached an Israeli checkpoint on foot, not in the pedestrian section, but in the area of the checkpoint designated for vehicles. Israeli guards shouted at him to stop, but he kept walking "suspicio…

Joyce Chediac (2020-08-19). UAE- Israel 'peace' deal is a dagger aimed at Palestinians. liberationnews.org By Joyce Chediac On Aug 13, Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to end decades of hostility and normalize relations. The agreement was brokered by, and announced by President Trump, who called it, "a significant step towards building a more peaceful, secure and prosperous Middle East." Nothing could be further from the truth. This …

Karin Leukefeld (2020-08-19). After explosion, imperialists pressure Lebanon; Iran, China send aid. workers.org From jungewelt.de, Aug. 18. The author has been covering Syrian, Lebanon and Palestine for progressive German-language publications for decades. Translation by John Catalinotto. It was only last January — in response to the street protests — that the technocratic government of the engineer and former university professor Hassan Diab was . . . |

South Front (2020-08-19). Video: Rain of Rockets Hits US Forces in Iraq. Israeli-UAE Peace Deal Crumbles Days after Its Announcement. globalresearch.ca As it was expected, the 'historic' UAE-Israeli peace deal did not contribute to the stability in the Middle East. Instead, the situation has been slowly, but steadily moving towards a larger confrontation in the region. | Immediately after the announcement of …

Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich (2020-08-19). The Hariri Assassination Verdict. The Geopolitical Implications. globalresearch.ca On February 14, 2005, an explosion rocked Beirut killing and injuring hundred of people chief among them the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafik al-Hariri. The West was quick to blame Hezbollah and Syria. In 2006, Israel and its …

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-19). Gantz calls for imposition of arms embargo on Iran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) — Israeli regime's war minister Benny Gantz has emphasized his country's desire to see an international arms embargo imposed on Iran.

sputniknews (2020-08-19). 'There Will Be Peace': Trump Predicts Saudi Arabia, Iran Will Join UAE-Israel Deal. sputniknews.com US President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday he believes Saudi Arabia will be the next country to join the recent peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He said once enough nations join, so will Iran, and "there will be peace."

yenisafak (2020-08-19). Dozens of Jewish settlers storm Al-Aqsa complex. yenisafak.com Dozens of Jewish settlers forced their way into Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on Wednesday, according to an official with the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. "Ninety-eight Jewish settlers have entered the compound since the morning, accompanied by Israeli police," the official told Anadolu Agency.He said the settlers entered through the compound's al-Mugharbah Gate, while more settlers are expected to enter the complex during the day to perform their rituals.Al-Aqsa represents the world's third-holiest site for Muslims, while Jews refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Je…