(2021-05-01). Were Humanity's Oldest Monumental Religious Sites Erected in NW Saudi Arabia? 1,000 'Rectangles' Older than Stonehenge. juancole.com 
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — ( Hugh Thomas and a team of Australian researchers have just published a groundbreaking article in the journaly Antiquity describing their research into the mysterious "Rectangles" (mustatƒ´l) dotting Northwest Arabia. This region lies due south of Israel-Palestine and Jordan. Rectangles. h/t 'Antiquity.' The Rectangles date from roughly 7,500 years before …
(2021-05-01). Were Humanity's Oldest Monumental Religious Sites Erected in NW Saudi Arabia? 1,000 'Rectangles' Older than Stonehenge. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — Hugh Thomas and a team of Australian researchers have just published a groundbreaking article in the journal Antiquity describing their research into the mysterious "Rectangles" (mustatƒ´l) dotting Northwest Arabia. This region lies due south of Israel-Palestine and Jordan. Rectangles. h/t 'Antiquity.' The Rectangles date from roughly 7,500 years before present, …
(2021-05-01). Bottom-up Politics: Grassroots Activism Behind Pro-Palestine Shift in the US. commondreams.org Grassroots activism is behind the pro-Palestine shift in the US, writes Ramzy Baroud. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/grassroos-activism-pro-palestine-shift.jpg …
(2021-05-01). Palestinian uprising beats back Israeli terrorism in East Jerusalem. liberationnews.org 
On April 22, members of Lehava, an Israeli version of the KKK, led a violent rampage of around 300 through East Jerusalem and tried to enter the old city via the Damascus Gate.
(2021-05-01). Canceling the Palestinian Elections Is Patronizing, Unjust—and Dangerous. orinocotribune.com 
By Muhammad Shehada — Apr 26, 2021 | Israel and the Biden administration back the superannuated, autocratic Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' attempts to walk back his decision to hold elections later this month. But canceling the vote has catastrophic risks. | No one really thought Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would set a date for general elections, after 15 years of indefinite procrastination. | But his formal decree last January surprised and puzzled Palestinians and observers alike, not least when the big three threats to the status quo—Trump's unconstrained assault on the Pales…
(2021-05-01). Palestinians Called Israel an Apartheid State Decades ago. orinocotribune.com 
By Asa Winstanley — Apr 28, 2021 | In 1965, Syrian-Palestinian academic and diplomat Fayez Sayegh wrote a It is a model of clarity and precision. The fact that most of what it explai…
(2021-05-01). A Brief History of Israeli Interventionism in Lebanon. dissidentvoice.org 
Israel has a long-standing interest in Lebanon. These interests have periodically manifested themselves in bloody attacks against the small Arab state. Two important sources on the Zionist plans for Lebanon are the diary of Moshe Sharett, who was the Prime Minster of Israel in 1954-1955 and who was considered a "soft Zionist", and Livia Rokach's "Israel's …
(2021-05-01). Syrian Army To Storm Town On Separation Line With Israel — Reports. southfront.org 
Illustrative image | The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is preparing to storm the town of Umm Batnah that is located in al-Quneitra countryside, near the separation of forces line with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Syrian sources reported on May 1. | The decision to launch an operation inside the town was taken following a fierce attack on a checkpoint of government forces. | The checkpoint, which is located near Umm Batnah, was attacked by unidentified gunmen late on April 30. A number of Syrian service members were re…
(2021-05-01). Israel Warns Of War With Iran If Nuclear Deal Result Unsatisfactory. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On April 29th, Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said that war could begin with Iran, if the results of the US-Iran negotiations on the Nuclear Deal are not satisfactory for Tel Aviv."A bad deal will send the region spiralling into war." | "Anyone seeking short-term benefits should be mindful of the longer-term," he said. "Israel will not allow Iran to attain nuclear arms. Iran has no immunity anywhere. Our plan…
(2021-05-01). Dozens killed in crush at Israeli religious festival. wsws.org Despite warnings from Israeli health officials that the mass celebrations could become a super spreader event, the authorities allowed the event to go ahead. It was the largest gathering since the start of the pandemic.
(2021-05-01). Israeli security forces arrest Palestinian journalist Alaa al-Rimawi in Ramallah: Must disclose his Location, Charges. juancole.com ( Committee to Protect Journalists) — Israeli authorities should immediately make public any charges against Palestinian journalist Alaa al-Rimawi and disclose where he is being held, or release him unconditionally at once, the Committee to Protect Journalists said last week Early on the morning of April 21, a group of about 12 Israeli soldiers raided …
(2021-05-01). Bombshell Report Claims Netanyahu, Mossad Chief Cohen Exploited Mentally Disturbed Billionaire. sputniknews.com Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial continues as the PM attempts to form a new government following the March elections. He's accused of a range of crimes including breach of trust, pay-to-play corruption, and bribery. Among the individuals accused of involvement is James Packer, a well-known Australian businessman.
(2021-04-30). At Least 44 Dead After Crush And Stampede At Israeli Religious Festival (VIDEO). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | In the early hours of April 30th, at least 44 people were crushed to death in a stampede at an over-crowded religious bonfire festival in Israel. | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as a "heavy disaster". | The stampede happened as tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews thronged to the Galilee tomb of 2nd-century sage Rabbi Shim Bar Yochai for annual Lag B'Omer commemorations that include all-night prayer, mystical songs and dance. | Witnesses said people were asphyxiated or t…
(2021-04-30). At Least 44 Dead After Crush And Stampede At Israeli Religious Festival (VIDEO). southfront.org Click to see full-size image | In the early hours of April 30th, at least 44 people were crushed to death when crush took place and a stampede broke out at an over-crowded religious bonfire festival in Israel. | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as a "heavy disaster". | The stampede happened as tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews thronged to the Galilee tomb of 2nd-century sage Rabbi Shim Bar Yochai for annual Lag B'Omer commemorations that include all-night prayer, mystical songs and dance. | Witnesses…
(2021-04-30). Documenting a century of resistance in Palestine. greenleft.org.au Alex Salmon reviews a new book documenting one hundred years of war and resistance.
(2021-04-30). "A Threshold Crossed": Israel Is Guilty of Apartheid, Human Rights Watch Says for First Time. democracynow.org 
A major new report by Human Rights Watch says for the first time that Israel is committing crimes of apartheid and persecution in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The international human rights group says Israeli authorities dispossessed, confined and forcibly separated Palestinians. "For years, prominent voices have warned that apartheid lurked just around the corner. But it's very clear that that threshold has been crossed," says Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch. "It's time for the international community to recognize the reality on the ground for what it is — aparthei…
(2021-04-30). Bottom-up Politics: Grassroots Activism Drive Pro-Palestine Shift in the US. counterpunch.org 
At a recent virtual J Street Conference, US Senators, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren broke yet another political taboo when they expressed willingness to leverage US military aid as a way to pressure Israel to respect Palestinian human rights. Sanders believes that the US "must be willing to bring real pressure to bear, including restricting
(2021-04-30). Human Rights Watch Confirms Israel Is an Apartheid State. strategic-culture.org 
By Craig MURRAY | The forthright branding of Israel
(2021-04-30). Extremism is on the Rise in Israel. counterpunch.org 
After neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville, North Carolina, and then President Donald Trump responded by saying there were "good people on both sides," people who abhor white supremacism stood up, took notice, and condemned the marchers. Anti-racists would be wise to do the same about the far-right march that took place last week in Jerusalem. The
(2021-04-30). Eviction: No Easter in Occupied Jerusalem. counterpunch.org 
For over a week now Muslim Palestinians have not been allowed to celebrate the Iftar (breaking the Ramadan fast at dusk) at Jerusalem's Damascus Gate, as they have done in the past. They have also been denied access to the Al Aqsa mosque and its compound. So much for religious freedom in "The only Democracy in the Middle East."
(2021-04-30). Headlines for April 30, 2021. democracynow.org India COVID Cases Continue to Soar as Arundhati Roy Decries "Crime Against Humanity", Deaths Soar in Latin America; Brazil COVID Death Toll Tops 400,000, 44 Ultra-Orthordox Jews Die in Stampede at Religious Site, Abbas Postpones Palestinian Elections, USAID Watchdog Criticizes Trump's Politicization of Aid to Venezuela, Thousands Flee into Thailand as Burmese Junta Launches Airstrikes Near Border, Florida Approves Sweeping Voter Suppression Bill, West Virginia, Florida & Texas Bills Target Trans Youth, Biden Vows to Close Private Detention Centers in Response to Georgia Protesters, Right-Wing Extremists Face New…
(2021-04-30). Zionist forces raid Palestinians in occupied lands. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 30 (MNA) — Israeli forces re-attacked a rally of Palestinians in Bab al-Amoud area of occupied lands and territories and arrested a number of them.
(2021-04-30). How the US is shielding Israel from Apartheid charges and itself from complicity charges. juancole.com ( Middle East Monitor) — The Palestinians mentioned apartheid in connection with Israel long before B'Tselem used the description. Now it is the turn of Human Rights Watch (HRW) to — rightfully, if belatedly — accuse Israel of apartheid in its latest report titled A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and …
(2021-04-30). Israel: Mourning Day After Stampede Declared on Sunday. telesurenglish.net Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Friday a national mourning day to be held next Sunday after the deadly stampede in North Israel that killed 44 people and left 150 injured. | RELATED: | On Friday, over 100,000 pilgrims from across the country collapsed during the Lag BaOmer religious festival in Mount Meron as they stumbled upon each other in a narrow pathway designed for merely 10,000 people. | Israel: Photo, Funerals…
(2021-04-30). Right-Wing Extremism Is on the Rise in Israel. commondreams.org "We would be wise in the aftermath of last week's 'death to Arabs' march in Jerusalem to also speak out against Kahanism in Israel." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/israel-2.jpg …
(2021-04-30). Human Rights Watch declares Israel has crossed apartheid threshold. wsws.org HRW draws on years of human rights documentation, case studies and a review of government planning documents, statements by officials and other sources. It documents a catalogue of Israeli abuses committed against the Palestinians.
(2021-04-30). Middle East coordinator calls for new and timely‚ÄØPalestinian election‚ÄØdate‚ÄØ. news.un.org After…