Palestine New Year 2024

Last Update on January 12, 2024

South Africa that lived through the experience of an Apartheid regime for decades
is now going to try Israel for the actual genocide of the Palestinian people as the
ultima ratio of an Apartheid regime that has lasted longer than since Oct. 7, 2023,
the day of an unexpected Hamas attack. South Africa is therefore expected to go
back in time to the very foundation of the State of Israel and which would bring up
a case of suppression of a people that had been expelled from its homeland long
before violence escalated to the actual level. [Videos: Al-Jazeera/BBC on Jan. 11]

أعلنت وزارة الصحة في قطاع غزة في بيان اليوم الجمعة إن 23708 فلسطينيين على الأقل لقوا حتفهم
وأصيب 60005 آخرين في الغارات الإسرائيلية على قطاع غزة منذ السابع من أكتوبر
وقالت الوزارة إن نحو 151 فلسطينيا قتلوا وأصيب 248 خلال الساعات الأربع والعشرين الماضية

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced in a statement on Friday
that at least 23,708 Palestinians have been killed and 60,005 injured in Israeli
raids on the Gaza Strip since October 7. Some 151 Palestinians were killed
and 248 wounded in the past 24 hours, the ministry said. [MENAFN, Middle
East and North Africa Financial Network, publisher: Al-Bawaba, on Jan. 12]

Editor of Israel's Newspaper Haaretz
Condemns Netanyahu's Government

Gideon Levy in an interview with DemocracyNow.org two months ago.
The member of Haaretz editorial board has also accused Israel's army
of indiscriminate killing in Gaza, live on Israeli TV only three days ago.

Ofer Cassif, far-left member of Israel's parliament Knesseth declared his support
of South Africa accusing Israel for genocide at the International Court of Justice.
Malaysia, Turkey and Bolivia recently joined South Africa in its appeal to the ICJ.
[Hindustan Times on Jan. 8, 2024]

Major Mossad Activities
- Successful or Foiled -

Turkish police detained 33 people suspected of spying for Israel's Mossad intelligence service and of targeting foreigners living in Turkey, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday (January 2).

Police raided 57 locations in eight provinces as part of an investigation - dubbed "Operation Mole" - launched by the Istanbul prosecutor's counter-terrorism bureau and the MIT intelligence agency, Yerlikaya said.

He said on social media platform X that the suspects were believed to be aiming to identify, monitor, assault and kidnap foreign nationals living in Turkey. The state-run Anadolu news agency said authorities were seeking 13 others.

Last month, Turkish officials warned Israel of "serious consequences" if it tried to hunt down members of the militant group Hamas living outside Palestinian territories, including in Turkey. President Tayyip Erdogan warned that would be a mistake.
[Times & Sunday Times on Jan. 2, 2024]

Hamas says its deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri has been killed in
an explosion in the Lebanese capital Beirut which is infuriating
Lebanon's government. - News Report and Political Analysis.
[Channel 4, British TV station, on Jan. 2, 2024]


ماذا تعرف عن الشهيد الأقرع الذي اغتيل رفقة العاروري؟
كان وقع خبر استشهاد القيادي البارز في كتائب القسام، عزام الأقرع صادما على عائلته ورفاقه، وهو الذي نجح على مدار 35 عاما من الإفلات، رغم المطاردة المستمرة من قبل قوات الاحتلال وأجهزته الاستخبارية.يعد الأقرع الذي يبلغ 54 عاما من العمر أحد أبرز قيادات كتائب القسام في الساحات الخارجية، لا سيما لبنان التي عاش أكثر من نصف حياته فيها، بعد أن نفاه الاحتلال خارج بلدته الأصلية قبلان عام 1992، إبان حملة الملاحقة التي تعرضت لها قيادة حركة حماس آنذلك، وجرى إبعاد المئات إلى منطقة مرج الزهور جنوب لبنان.

What do you know about the martyr Al-Aqra' who was assassinated together with Al-Arouri?
The news of the martyrdom of the prominent leader of the Qassam Brigades, Azzam Al-Aqra, was shocking to his family and comrades, who succeeded over 35 years of escape, despite the continuous pursuit by the occupation forces and his intelligence services.Al-Aqra, 54 years old, is one of the most prominent leaders of the Qassam Brigades in the external arenas, especially Lebanon, where he lived more than half of his life, after the occupation exiled him outside his native town of Qabalan in 1992, during the campaign of persecution against the leadership of Hamas was then deported to the Marj al-Zuhur area in southern Lebanon.
[Beirut Time on Jan. 6, 2024]


The assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a hotel room in Dubai
on 19 January 2010. => The Complete Timeline of a Murder <= in a
31 minutes sequence of videos registered by surveillance cameras.
The Mossad team could be identified and arrested at Dubai airport.
Please note: One member of the killing team is still wearing a single
protection glove while hurriedly leaving Al-Bustan hotel. [The Guardian]

=> Assassination Attempt on Hamas Leader Khaled Meshaal in 1997 <=

On 25 September, 1997, Israel's spy agency attempted to assassinate
Palestinian political leader Khaled Meshaal in Amman, the capital of Jordan.
The brazen attempt on the life of the then 41-year-old head of the Hamas
Political Bureau sparked a diplomatic row which threatened to wreck the
newly-signed peace deal between Jordan and Israel. The crisis ended with
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making a number of humiliating
concessions. [Middle East Monitor 2020]

Independently from the above listed assaults on prominent members of Hamas, Iran's nuclear program was subsequently targeted by Mossad. While Israel's own nuclear arsenal remains an unspoken reality and was never openly contested, Iranian efforts are thoroughly scrutinized by many Western nations. And there have been press reports about Mossad operations that were intended to prevent Iran from reaching their goal: Four assassinations of nuclear scientists in Iran, accomplished since 2010, and several sophisticated activities to destroy Iran's ability to produce weapons-grade Uranium.

The last killing of an Iranian scientist is dating back to November 2020 when top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated in a sophisticated hit led by a Mossad team. The team reportedly deployed a computerized machine gun using artificial intelligence, required no on-site operatives, took less than a minute, and did not injure anyone else, including the scientist’s wife who was with him at the time. [Times of Israel in September 2021]

Germany's Rigid Policy

Organized by the United Palestinian National Committee, nearly 1,200 protesters held a solidarity demonstration at Adenauerplatz [Adenauer Square in Berlin]. They decried Germany's stance on Israel, with crowd chanting slogans such as "Shame on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz" and "Shame on (Foreign Minister) Annalena Baerbock".

The participants later held a march on Kurfurstendamm, one of Berlin's most famous avenues, while shouting pro-Palestinian slogans. Along with a large Palestinian flag, the protesters also carried signs, some of which read: "Cease-fire now" and "stop the genocide".

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly said that Israel's security is non-negotiable, and in the current conflict with Hamas, Germany “has only one place,” and that is “firmly at the side of Israel."

.................

A recent poll revealed that the German government's pro-Israel stance on the Gaza conflict is seemingly not supported by the public. Some 43% of those surveyed said that Germany should stay out of the conflict, and only 34% said they agree with the view that Germany bears special responsibility for Israel due to its Nazi past.
[Yeni Safak, Turkey, on Dec. 31]

Palestine - An Alarming Development

An opinion poll proves increasing support for Hamas organization
in the occupied Westbank where Hamas used to be in opposition
to the Palestinian administration of Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah.
[Deutsche Welle, German National Radio, on Dec. 31]

Far-right Israeli minister calls for resettlement of Gaza after the war
saying this is a beautiful land to be rebuilt by and for Israeli settlers
after Palestinian emigration. [Al-Jazeera on Dec. 31]

Israel - Judicial Chaos and Accusation of Genocide

Israel's High Court strikes down Netanyahu's judicial reform law
[TRT World, Turkey, on Jan. 2, 2024]


巴勒斯坦加沙地带卫生部门12月31日说，以军过去24小时对加沙地带的袭击共造成150人死亡。自10月7日巴以新一轮冲突爆发以来，以军在加沙地带的军事行动已造成约2.1万人死亡、5.6万余人受伤。

The Palestinian Gaza Strip health department said on December 31 that Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours resulted in a total of 150 deaths. Since the outbreak of a new round of conflict between Palestine and Israel on October 7, Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip have resulted in approximately 21,000 deaths and more than 56,000 injuries.
[Youth Net 青年网 on Dec. 31]

Sultan Barakat, a professor of public policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, says that the genocide case filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice [ICJ] will be “the most important instrument of international pressure against Israel”.

“The way that South Africa has addressed this issue is that they are purely focused on the fact that Israel, by December 29 when the case was filed, has murdered more than 20,000 civilians without achieving any clear goal, in that they seem to be pursuing a genocide against the Palestinian people and specifically within Gaza,” Barakat said.

The ICJ works slightly differently from the International Criminal Court [ICC] in that its mandate covers all the state members of the United Nations, Barakat explained.

“And Israel for them it’s very important to be recognised as a state. This is the only country in the world that talks about the right to exist, [whereas] every other state is comfortable within their own foundation.”
[Al-Jazeera,Qatar, on Jan. 2, 2024]

...............................................

A Palestinian Christmas 2023عـيــد الـمـيـلاد الـفـلـسـطيـني

Christmas Eve - Deadliest Day in Gaza War

Israel on Monday Dec. 25 intensified its attack in Gaza, killing more than 100 people at Maghazi refugee camp, with Palestinian authorities saying some 250 Palestinians have been killed over the past 24 hours. Christmas Eve in Gaza was also marred by heavy bombardments from the Israeli military in its continued fight against Hamas which led to the levelling of buildings and injuries to over 500 people. With temperatures dropping and poor weather conditions, Palestinian refugees are struggling to keep themselves warm during the winter season. The New York Times reported on Sunday Dec. 24 that frigid winter conditions combined with rain have left tents utterly useless, with many seen only with thin blankets to keep themselves warm.
[Arirang, South Korea's National TV on December 25]

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Voices from Mainland China:

加沙地区城市巷战：哈马斯的坚韧与以色列的挑战

2023-12-23 20:37 发布于：福建省

加沙地区的城市巷战正在持续剧烈地展开，以色列军队面临着一场持久而激烈的冲突。哈马斯武装组织展现出出色的战术和顽强的意志，与实力强大的以色列军队形成对抗，充分展示了自制武器在战场上的实战能力。这场血腥残酷、紧张氛围弥漫的城市巷战使整个中东局势变得更加复杂。

Urban street fighting in Gaza: Hamas's tenacity versus Israel's challenge
2023-12-23 20:37 Posted in: Fujian Province

Urban street fighting in Gaza continues to rage, and the Israeli army faces a protracted and fierce conflict. The Hamas militant group has demonstrated excellent tactics and tenacious will to confront the powerful Israeli army, fully demonstrating the actual combat capabilities of homemade weapons on the battlefield. This bloody, brutal, tense urban street battle has further complicated the situation in the Middle East as a whole.
............

在当前紧张局势下，以色列与哈马斯之间的战斗所面临的挑战与困境仍待解决。只有通过各方的共同努力，包括内外部的协调合作，才能为该地区带来和平与稳定。我们期待双方能以理智和务实的态度达成长久的解决方案，让无辜民众远离战争阴影。

In the current tense situation, the challenges and dilemmas of the fighting between Israel and Hamas remain to be resolved. Peace and stability can be brought to the region only through the joint efforts of all parties, including internal and external coordination. We hope that both sides will reach a lasting solution in a rational and pragmatic manner to keep innocent people out of the shadow of war.

[搜狐 on Dec. 23]

..................................

水淹加沙城！
以色列向哈马斯隧道灌水，这是最后一场豪赌

《华尔街日报》援引美国官员的话称，以色列军方已经开始用海水淹没加沙地带巴勒斯坦伊斯兰抵抗运动（哈马斯）庞大的隧道网络。以色列军方尚未回应这一报道，表示对隧道的攻击属于机密行动。根据以色列军方的最新统计，加沙地带仍有135名人质被扣押，目前尚不清楚他们是否在隧道内。

在被问及“淹没计划”时，美国总统拜登只表示对于隧道中的人质情况“不确定”。此外，专家担心用海水淹没加沙地带的地下隧道可能给已经面临水源严重挑战的加沙地区带来额外的潜在危险。

因此，目前以色列用海水淹没哈马斯隧道是在耗尽各种选择后做出的绝望选择。由于以色列军方之前并未采用过淹没方法，该计划的有效性仍有待观察。他们可能会遇到巨大困难：首先是缺乏关于隧道细节以及海水如何流入的信息，以及哈马斯隧道中可能存在排水设施的可能性，使评估淹没效果变得困难。

其次是哈马斯隧道并非完全相互连接，以色列军方不太可能将所有隧道都淹没。第三是加沙地带位于沙漠环境中，地质条件独特，哈马斯隧道可能具有固有的渗透性。一些海水可能渗入土壤，可能引发加沙的地质灾害，并影响淹没的有效性。最后是哈马斯隧道的垂直井（出入口）众多且隐蔽。当哈马斯隧道被淹没时，他们可能会提前或在遭遇淹没后通过不同的垂直井逃脱。

Flooding Gaza City !
Israel poured water into the Hamas tunnel, and this was the last big show bet

The Wall Street Journal quoted U.S. officials as saying that the Israeli military has begun flooding the vast network of tunnels of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip with seawater. The Israeli military has not responded to the report, saying the attack on the tunnel was a classified operation. According to the latest Israeli military counts, 135 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, and it is unclear whether they are inside the tunnels.

When asked about the "submersion plan", US President Joe Biden only said that he was "uncertain" about the situation of the hostages in the tunnel. In addition, experts are concerned that flooding the Gaza Strip's underground tunnels with seawater could create additional potential hazards for Gaza, which is already facing serious water challenges.

It is therefore that current Israeli flooding of the Hamas tunnels with sea water is nothing more but a desperate choice after exhausting all options. Since the Israeli military has not previously used the method of submergence, the effectiveness of this plan remains to be seen. The [Israeli army] might encounter great difficulties: First, the lack of information about the details of the tunnels and how the sea water flows, as well as the possibility of drainage facilities in the Hamas tunnels making it difficult to assess the effect of inundation.

A second [difficulty] is that the Hamas tunnels are not fully interconnected, and it is unlikely that Israel's military will flood all of them. A third [problem] is that the Gaza Strip is located in a desert environment with unique geological conditions, and Hamas tunnels may be inherently permeable. Some seawater may seep into the soil, potentially triggering a geological hazard in Gaza and affecting the effectiveness of inundation. Finally, the vertical shafts (entrances and exits) of the Hamas tunnel are numerous and hidden. When a Hamas tunnel is flooded, they may have escaped earlier or through a different vertical shaft after encountering a flood.

[腾讯网 on Dec. 21]

Latest death toll of the Gaza conflict,
data published by BBC on Dec. 21:

Counting the dead is a challenge in any war zone, and doctors in Gaza say the death toll is likely to be significantly higher, as it does not include bodies buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings or those not taken to hospitals. [Quotation from BBC on December 21]

=> Related Blogspot: Gaza Poetry to Overcome a Nightmare <=

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From Bethlehem - Merry Christmas 2023عـيـــــد الـمـيــــلاد فـي بـيـــــت لـحـــــم

Article completed on December 14 :

Bethlehem [Arab.: bait lakhm] بـيــــت لـحــــم Arabic: House of Meat - Hebrew: House of Bread

Latest body count on Dec. 9, 2023: Palestinian death toll reached 17.487 including 7.729 children, 5.153 women according to the Gaza Health Ministry compared with 1.200 Israelis perished on October 7 according to Israeli stats. [about 1.150 according to Al-Jazeera]

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.


Recording of the declaration in Aramaic (Isaric dialect),
the language Jesus from Nazareth would have used:

Transcript: Yàlidïn ìnon čol-ènašëya čwaþ χeḁrrëya we šàwyëya va ǧurča we va zìdqëya. Bìyìzvədun yal χuešaba we yal þeḁrþa, we koyìsˀərun χàd ləwaþ χàd va ruχa di àχuþa.

Aramaic is a Semitic language which was the lingua franca of the Near East for a time comprising 1.400 years, i.e. from the 7th century BC until the 7th century AD, when it was widely replaced by Arabic, another Semitic language. Classical or Imperial Aramaic was the official language of the Persian, Babylonian and Assyrian empires, and it spread as far as Greece and the Indus valley.

At biblical times, Aramaic was the language of the ordinary people of Jerusalem and appears in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. At the time of Jesus it existed side by side with biblical Hebrew which should have been preferred by the gentry of Jerusalem, the Pharisees and Sadducees. Today, Aramaic is still used as a liturgical language by Christian communities in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, and is spoken by small numbers of people in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Armenia and Georgia.

Christmas song in Arabic, performed by Fairuz فــيــروز,
a Christian Lebanese and a famous artist in the Arab world.

Christmas hymns from the Syriac and Maronite rites
تـراتـيل ميـلادـية من الـطـقوس السريانـيّة والمـارونـيّة
provided by the Lebanese Maronite Order. These are
religious chants sung in Aramaic and some in Arabic.


Jesus from Nazareth is being seen by followers of the Islamic belief as one of the Prophets or messengers of Allah, and there is a remarkable Sura quoting Jesus when naming his successor as the next messenger of Allah. Serious Christian theologists have stumbled on a related text included in the Bible and come to a similar conclusion, however by some complicated deduction which I would like to spare you:

And 'remember' when Jesus, son of Mary, said, “O children of Israel! I am truly Allah’s messenger to you, confirming the Torah which came before me, and giving good news of a messenger after me whose name will be Aḥmad.” Yet when the Prophet came to them with clear proofs, they said, “This is pure magic.”

[Qur'an 61.6 - The Qur'an sample above is shown in fully-vocalized Arabic and represents the writing already used in the 8th century when Arabic was fully developed to preserve the 'holy book'.]

The name of 'Ahmed' is likely to be mixed up with 'Mohamed', hinting at the Prophet of Islam. Both forenames are widely used in Islamic communities and have something in common which is characteristic for Semitic languages. Semitic idioms are based on an alphabet mainly consisting of consonants. Vocals, especially the short ones, are usually not included in the writing of Arabic, Aramaic and biblical Hebrew, while the root of a word consists of three consonants. Such, there is not much difference in the writing of two names closely related to each other: احـمـد Ahmad
مـحـمـد Mohamed
Additional consonants can be added to the root and short vowels might change according to word meaning and grammatic rules.

..................................

'Bilingual' Israel

As to Arabic and its predecessor Aramaic, both languages have been used by peoples and tribes who came from the same region or the same state.

Israel, however is being regarded as 'bilingual': Modern Hebrew and Arabic should be used side by side.In fact, the Palestinians do what they always have done, they are speaking their regional dialect of Arabic. Some of them, in direct contact with Jews have adopted Hebrew as well.

On the other hand, modern Hebrew is being used by a certain percentage of educated Jews as an everyday language. That idiom has been developed on the the basis of biblical hebrew, still used in religious rites, and avoids the shortcomings of its predecessor by applying rules to identify vowels. However, those speaking modern Hebrew belong to a mixed community of people coming from all parts of Europe and the Near East and belonging to all kinds of races and tribes.

As there is no 'Semitic race' like there is no 'Arian race', both expressions being promoted at the times of the holocaust but lacking any scientific evidence,there should be no consistent Jewish race either.

Even though members of the Jewish diaspora are being regarded as the descendants of historic tribes originating from Palestine, they had been uprooted in their homeland for some reason and were scattered all over Europe where they suffered a changing fate as outsiders within closed regional societies. The distinction between Sephardim (from Portugal and Spain), Ashkenazi (from Western Europe) and Mizrahim (from the Middle East) is therefore nothing more but an indicator for their main locations of settlement, while being entirely different from their historic predecessors after a process of delocation lasting some 2.000 years and the steady need to cope with new realities.

Therefore, modern Hebrew is the language of the descendants of a mixed population, united by religion and/or nationalist loyalism to their State of Israel, and which had been planted 75 years ago on the ground of an Arab people. The new settlers, however, failed in finding some kind of modus vivendi with the 'indigenous people' on the basis of equality. And here we are today ......

Statistics:
The current population of Israel is 9,2 million as of December 2023.
About 2 million are considered as native speakers of Literary Arabic.
About 5 million are regarded as native speakers of modern Hebrew.
However, 9 million Israelis are being considered as having at least
some basic knowledge of modern Hebrew. Editor's Remark: When
IDF invaded Gaza in November / December 2023, they declared
having deployed 'Arabic speaking Israeli soldiers' in the process.

............................

I was raised and educated at a time, when there was much sympathy for the lucky survivors of German concentration camps, and nobody earnestly contested their wish to settle in Palestine where they could hope for a new beginning.

What we didn't realize at the time was the fact that founding a new state for different people was closely related with the concept of replacing the original inhabitants, the Palestinian Arabs, by reducing their civil rights and confiscating or destroying their dwellings. It must have been clear to Ben Gourion and his co-founders from the beginning: This would not be a morally clean process. And it wasn't. When I visited Israel after the war of Yom Kippur, I met with two entirely different generations of Israeli citizens: The survivors of the holocaust, friendly people to speak with, and their young descendants of my age who never had made the experience of their ancestors, yet showing a militant attitude towards the Arabs whom they regarded as human waste that must be kept under control by an 'invincible' Israeli army and Israel's 'world-famous' secret service.

The catastrophe of forced Jewish settlement (An-Nakba) in the late 1940ies was covered up by some kind of 'brain washing' in Israel's presentation abroad, in combination with a long-standing German taboo regarding any criticism of questionable activities whatsoever, especially when it comes to Israel's => policy of illegal settlements in the Westbank. Another typical example is Israel's treatment of => Günther Grass, German laureate of the Nobel Prize for Literature, and who dared to respectfully critisize Israel on the subject of military upgrading their army with German submarines. This was leading to his public evaluation as an 'antisemite' and 'persona non grata'.

This time, however, it is different. The world is mourning at least 20.000 Palestinians, comprising many children and women, who became the victims of a modern genocide that brought Israel nothing more than one single hostage freed from Hamas by IDF while three further hostages were accidentally shot by Israel's army. Furthermore, 2.000 Israeli soldiers have been disabled during the invasion of Gaza [Al-Jazeera / BBC in December 2023].

Even tedious negotiations between Israel and Hamas, both sides employing diplomatic channels, finally proved to be more successful.

...........................

Jews seem to have their difficulties with Christmas.
In a question on the Rabbi Phone, somebody asks
if he were allowed to attend a Christmas party of
his company, fearing to loose his job if he doesn't.
The Rabbi allows his participation in general, but
not without a stern warning against what he calls
"villageous sky activities" and which should mean
praying in front of a Christmas manger marked by
the 'Star of Bethlehem'. He should eat kosher food
and refrain from drinking too much, thus avoiding
to get his brain caught by the company. And of
course no wrong entertainment !

Hybrid Warfare and Artificial Intelligence

TV Screenshot of the Day:
Christian Celebrations 2023
عيد الميلاد في الضفة الغربية

By the way, this is authentic and not generated by artificial intelligence !

.............................

In today's world, the shape and nature of war have undergone profound changes. It has evolved from traditional competition in military power to today's comprehensive contest of political, economic and social power. After World War II, the rapid development of information technology, big data, artificial intelligence and other technologies has made the trend of world multipolarity, economic globalization and cultural diversification increasingly obvious. In this era of change and continuity, hybrid warfare theory emerged as the times require, providing us with a new perspective for understanding and dealing with modern warfare.
..................

总之，混合战争理论的提出，为我们理解和应对现代战争提供了新的思路。在这个充满变革和连续性的时代，我们需要关注各种力量的综合运用，制定合理的战略规划，灵活运用战术，同时重视信息战的作用，才能在战争中取得优势。

在这个AI技术飞速发展并日益渗透到我们生活各方面的时代，了解和掌握AI不再是选项，而是必需，越早体验AI越能掌握主动权。 "简单AI"为用户提供免费、低门槛的AI工具体验，不需要专业的知识就可以创造出有创意的作品。

In short, the proposal of hybrid warfare theory provides us with new ideas for understanding and dealing with modern warfare. In this era of change and continuity, we need to pay attention to the comprehensive use of various forces, formulate reasonable strategic plans, use tactics flexibly, and pay attention to the role of information warfare in order to gain an advantage in war.

In this era where AI technology is developing rapidly and increasingly penetrating into all aspects of our lives, understanding and mastering AI is no longer an option, but a necessity. The sooner you experience AI, the more you can take the initiative. "Simple AI" provides users with a free, low-threshold AI tool experience that allows them to create creative works without requiring professional knowledge.

[搜狐 on 1st December]

Example for a video generation using artificial intelligence AI

War on Ukraine - Russia Received N-Korean Weapons

Last UPDATE added on December 3:

Ukrainian secret services are said to be behind the double attack in Buryatia in Russia's far east, 4000 miles from Moscow. A 50 tanker train, filled with diesel and aviation fuel, was reportedly targeted in what Russia has branded a "terrorist attack".
	A second blast then rocked another train nearby, leaving four tanks burnt out and fuel spewing out. On Wednesday night, Ukraine attacked the same cross-country railway line at the ten-mile-long Severomuysky Tunnel, which cut off Russia's main link to China.
A 41-wagon goods train - including three tankers filled with aviation fuel - was reportedly destroyed. A Kyiv source told The Sun that the blasts had “paralysed” Russia’s Baikal-Amur Mainline which runs for 2,700 miles from central Russia to its Sea of Japan east coast. The two bombings are the deepest behind enemy lines of any Ukrainian sabotage attacks so far. The Baikal-Amur Mainline is used for munitions from North Korea and China to supply Putin’s invading forces in Ukraine, Kyiv claims. The Irish SUN Northern Ireland edition of 'The SUN', London, on 1st December 2023 俄最长铁路隧道被炸毁？乌克兰宣布负责，暗示“给中国的警告” Russia's Longest Railway Tunnel Blown Up? Ukraine Declares Responsibility, Hints at "Warning to China" No.1 Military Intelligence on December 3, 2023

美国国防部发布最新调查报告，称截止至2023年10月，朝鲜已经向俄罗斯提供了超过1000个集装箱规模的武器弹药。其中一部分弹药如152毫米炮弹、122毫米火箭弹均已有相关照片影像披露。
但五角大楼认为在这些常规弹药之外，朝鲜很可能还向俄罗斯提供了KN-23战术弹道导弹。一句话，这些来自东方的强援规模和等级，恐怕要比所有人想象中的还要大。

毕竟朝鲜的KN-23战术弹道导弹在2019年首次曝光后，就以其酷似伊斯坎德尔-M的外形赢得了“金斯坎德尔”的昵称。而且和其他主要用于威慑美日的中远程导弹相比，KN-23作为朝军对韩主力导弹，其产量也比前者高出一大截。这既使得朝军可以进一步发展该型导弹的火车发射版以及固定发射井发射版，也让其有相对充足的产能与库存供应俄罗斯。

再考虑到俄罗斯或其他外部势力很可能为朝鲜提供了包括导弹原材料在内的一系列资源的情况下，资源充足、手头还有现成生产线的朝鲜在生产“金斯坎德尔”导弹时的产能会比俄罗斯生产伊斯坎德尔-M还要高，也并不是什么奇怪的事。
可以说，以美国为首的西方国家集团除非能够在物理层面上摧毁朝鲜的军工生产能力，否则俄罗斯很难陷入到所谓的“弹药短缺”困境中。而乌克兰面临的军事压力也将随着时间的推移越来越大，越来越难以扭转已经倾转的胜利天平。

The U.S. Department of Defense released its latest investigative report, saying that as of October 2023, North Korea has provided Russia with more than 1,000 containers of weapons and ammunition. Some of the munitions, such as 152mm artillery shells and 122mm rockets, have been disclosed in relevant photographs and images. But the Pentagon believes that in addition to these conventional munitions, North Korea is likely to have supplied Russia with KN-23 tactical ballistic missiles. In a word, the scale and level of these strong reinforcements from the east are probably even larger than everyone imagined.

After all, North Korea's KN-23 tactical ballistic missile was first revealed in 2019 and earned the nickname 'Kimskander' for its Iskander-M look. Moreover, compared with other medium- and long-range missiles mainly used to deter the United States and Japan, the KN-23, as the main missile of the North Korean army against South Korea, is also produced at much higher numbers than the former. This not only allows the North Korean military to further develop the train-launched version of this type of missile and the fixed-silo launch version, but also allows it to have relatively sufficient production capacity and inventory to supply Russia.

Considering that Russia or other external powers are likely to provide North Korea with a range of resources, including raw materials for missiles, it is not surprising that North Korea, with its abundant resources and ready-made production lines, will produce 'Kimskander' missiles more than Russia produces Iskander-M. It can be said that unless the bloc of Western countries, led by the United States, can physically destroy the military-industrial production capacity of the DPRK, it will be difficult for Russia to get into the so-called "ammunition shortage" dilemma. And the military pressure on Ukraine will also increase over time, and it will become increasingly difficult to reverse the already tilted balance of victory.

[腾讯 on Nov.27]

Some days earlier, on November 24, the delivery of North Korean weapons to Russia became a subject of the regular press conference held by China's Foreign Ministry:

法国谴责朝鲜向俄罗斯提供武器 — 【中国】外交部回应
France condemned supply of weapons to Russia by DPRK
[China's] Foreign Ministry responded
On November 24, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning held a regular press conference. A reporter asked: The French Foreign Ministry once again condemned the DPRK for supplying weapons to Russia. Now, what is China's position on this incident? Mao Ning said that regarding the cooperation between Russia and the DPRK, this is a matter between Russia and the DPRK as two sovereign states. On the Ukraine crisis, China's position is very clear and consistent.

[腾讯 on Nov.24]

The KN-23 is estimated to carry a 500 kg warhead to 450 km or a reduced payload to 690 km. According to analysts, the missile measures approximately 7.5 m in length, 0.95 m in diameter, and weighs 3415 kg in total.

These specifications are roughly comparable to both the Russian Iskander-M and S-Korean Hyunmoo-2B SRBMs. Like its contemporaries, the KN-23 appears to conduct a 'pull-up' maneuver in its terminal phase of flight, obviously to ensure it would be hard to intercept. Moreover, the missiles’ ranges are similar; the Iskander-M is reportedly capable of reaching ~700km ranges in reduced-payload configurations. Given these similarities, several analysts speculate that the KN-23 was constructed with foreign assistance. [Western military source]

..........................................

Satellite photographed the White House,
North Korea formed a nuclear deterrent against the US,
Kim Jong-un praised it, and the US protested in the Security Council
卫星拍下白宫，朝鲜对美形成核威慑，金正恩点赞，美在安理会抗议
Only recently, the DPRK successfully launched the Wanlijing-1 reconnaissance satellite into space with the Maxima-1 carrier rocket and began commissioning the satellite. It is expected that it will not be long before the DPRK's Wanlijing-1 reconnaissance satellite will officially enter the mission implementation stage. Out of their hostile attitude toward the DPRK, the United States, South Korea, and other countries have always been skeptical about the capability of the Wanlijing reconnaissance satellite, and they have even claimed to the outside world that the Wanlijing reconnaissance satellite has not entered the predetermined orbit at all, and that the satellite is about to "be annihilated in the vast universe." DPRK = Democratic People's Republic of Korea

However, North Korea has slapped the United States and South Korea and other countries in the face with a series of practical actions. According to a report by the Observer Network on Nov. 28, after releasing photos of the US military Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, the DPRK released a number of photos taken by the Wanlijing reconnaissance satellite. Whether it is the White House, the Pentagon, and other important political places in the United States, the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia, and the Newport News shipyard, which is specially used for the construction of aircraft carriers, all have a full view of the DPRK's Wanlijing-1 reconnaissance satellite. In one photo, people can also clearly see the latest situation of the five aircraft carriers of the United States and Britain at the port of berth.
......................

If North Korea's satellite launch really uses Russian technology, then the United States, South Korea, and other countries should not be too surprised by results achieved by the Wanlijing-1 military reconnaissance satellite, because Russia has always been a power in the aerospace field. In any case, after the Wanlijing-1 military reconnaissance satellite officially begins to carry out its scheduled tasks, the DPRK's national defense level and intelligence gathering level will be greatly enhanced. With satellites as "eyes", the "fists" of the DPRK can hit farther.

Recently, the DPRK successfully test-fired the most advanced Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile which was launched at a large elevation angle, rose at an altitude of 6,648.4 km, and flew at a distance of 1,001.2 km, accurately landing in the target waters in the high seas of the Sea of Japan. Theoretically, North Korea's Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile can already hit the U.S. mainland. North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, has made it clear that there will be more satellite launches in the coming days. It is not difficult to imagine that after North Korea has more military satellites, countries such as the United States and South Korea will feel more pressure.

It is worth mentioning that at the same time that the DPRK released its latest satellite photos, the DPRK and the United States had a rare direct public confrontation in the Security Council. US Representative [Linda] Thomas-Greenfield strongly condemned North Korea's satellite launch, saying it was in response to US bilateral and trilateral "defensive conventional military exercises," as reported on November 28. DPRK representative Kim Sung pointed out sharply at the Security Council that the United States is threatening the DPRK with nuclear weapons, and that there is no country in the world that is in such a severe security environment as the DPRK, and that the DPRK has the right to develop and master the same weapons system.

[腾讯 on Nov.28.]
The article has been rewritten on Nov.29 under the following title:
朝鲜卫星飞过美国，宣称拍到白宫五角大楼，美在安理会抗议无效
North Korean satellite flew over the United States, claims to
have photographed the White House and the Pentagon, while
the United States protested in the Security Council to no avail.
A new satellite target mentioned was Rome, the capital of Italy.
The aspect of nuclear deterrence by N-Korea has been restricted
to the debate between US and DPRK in the UN Security Council.

Video report about first Hwasong-18 test-launch in North Korea.
The video was provided by Arirang, South Korea's national TV.
Date of broadcast: July 13, 2023

.....................................................

Ghaza - Poetry to Overcome a Nightmare

I recently found fresh poetry about Ghaza written in French. Palestinian poetry seems to have a long tradition in France, beginning with Mahmoud Darwish, the famous Palestinian writer and who had been translated and published in France and Germany. The recent outbreak of hostilities in the frame of a long-standing conflict between the State of Israel and Hamas, the dominant party in Ghaza, has given new impetus to the writing of poems related to Ghaza. Now, a weekend session dedicated to the poetry of Ghaza, has been embedded in this year's Week of the Arabic Language in Paris. Organised by the Arabic speaking community of Paris and IMA (*) as its cultural center, this event is the annual reminder of an outstanding semitic language serving, both, religious and worldly purposes. => (*) IMA = Institut du Monde Arabe

Aussi, l’ennemi la hait-il, tant et tant d’elle il a peur qu’il ira bien jusqu’au meurtre, jusqu’au crime par noyades sous la mer, et sous les sables et dans les baquets de sang !

As well, the enemy hates her, so much as he is afraid of her, willing to go so far as to murder, to the crime of drowning her in the sea, and under the sands and in tubs of blood !

Mahmoud Darwish - Le Silence de Ghaza - The Silence of Ghaza
In his famous poem, Darwish speaks of the Palestinian resistance
in Ghaza during the first years of the occupation (i.e. 1967-1974).
Here is my English version of some text lines. - Wolfgang Wiesner

Les Samedis de la Poésie - Décembre 16, 2023, à L'Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris.

Israel - Hamas Prisoner Swap - First Prisoners Freed

UPDATE added on Nov. 26:

Asharq Al-Awsat الشرق الاوسط, The Middle East, on Nov. 25

و حرّرت كتائب القسام والمقاومة الفلسطينية في غزة 39 أسيرة وأسيراً قاصراً من سجون الاحتلال، ضمن الدفعة الأولى من اتفاق الهدنة وصفقة التبادل مع أسرى مستوطنين، والذي بدأ أمس، ويستمر أربعة أيام

ووصلت الأسيرات الفلسطينيات والأسرى الأطفال المفرج عنهم من سجن "عوفر" إلى بلدة بيتونيا، غربي رام الله في الضفة الغربية، وسط استقبال شعبي حاشد للأسيرات والأسرى، الذين أطلقوا هتافات للمقاومة وغزة، بينما رفعت الأسيرات شارات النصر

وشهد قطاع غزّة احتفالات عارمة بصفقة الأسرى بعد تحرير الدفعة الأولى منهم

وبعد ساعاتٍ على سريان الهدنة الموقتة بين الاحتلال الإسرائيلي والمقاومة في غزّة، أمس الجمعة، بدأت تتعالى انتقادات داخل كيان الاحتلال لعدم تحقيق الأهداف المُعلنة للحرب على قطاع غزّة، حيث قالت وسائل إعلامٍ إسرائيلية إنّه من "الناحية العملانية فإنّ الجيش الإسرائيلي يخسر"، مؤكّدةً وجود مجموعة من "المشكلات التي لا تنتهي" في مواجهة القوات الإسرائيلية في غزة خلال الهدنة

اقرأ أيضاً: في تحدٍّ للاحتلال.. عشرات آلاف الفلسطينيين يعودون من جنوبيّ القطاع إلى شماليّه

The Qassam Brigades and the Palestinian resistance in Gaza freed 39 female prisoners and minors from the occupation prisons, as part of the first batch of the truce agreement and the exchange deal with settler prisoners, which began yesterday, and lasts four days.

The Palestinian prisoners and child prisoners released from Ofer prison arrived in the town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah in the West Bank, amid a mass popular reception for all prisoners while chanting slogans for the resistance and Gaza. Prisoners raised victory badges.

The Gaza Strip witnessed massive celebrations of the prisoner deal after the first batch of them was freed.

Hours after the temporary truce between the Israeli occupation and the resistance in Gaza, on Friday, criticism began to rise within the occupation entity for not achieving the declared goals of the war on the Gaza Strip, as Israeli media said that "operationally, the Israeli army is losing", stressing the existence of a set of "endless problems" in the face of Israeli forces in Gaza during the truce.

Read also: In defiance of the occupation... Tens of thousands of Palestinians return from the southern Gaza Strip to the north.

[Al-Mayadeen الميادين, pan-Arabist TV in Beirut, considered as pro-Hezbollah, on Nov. 25]

..........................................

Unusual proceedings of my blog incited me to scrutinize what was happening.
It was obvious that my blog has been "frozen" for a period of some days without
any statistical ups and downs of the baseline describing a very low activity of
visitors. Beginning with a sudden and harsh decrease of views on Nov. 19, this
was followed by a period of mere inactivity and which was unexpected in the frame
of my latest blogspot, the gist of which didn't even reach the mass media of my
country, although it has been confirmed by many foreign sources and let to fierce
official repercussions in Israel .....

H@uthis dancing on h;jacked ship

Israel - Hamas Prisoner Exchange Deal

Death toll of Palestinians: 14.850
Israeli deaths since Oct. 7: 1.300
[Source: Al-Ain العين, Abu Dhabi, Nov. 24]

The Palestinian Hamas movement said on Wednesday [Nov. 22] that it had agreed with Israel to stop all forms of fighting in Gaza for 4 days.

This came as part of an agreement under which Hamas would release 50 women and children held by it in exchange for Israel releasing 150 Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons.
وجاء ذلك ضمن اتفاق ستطلق حماس بموجبه سراح 50 امرأة وطفلا تحتجزهم لديها مقابل إفراج إسرائيل عن 150 امرأة وطفلا فلسطينيا محتجزين في السجون الإسرائيلية

The statement added that the agreement, which was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, will allow hundreds of trucks of humanitarian aid, medicines and fuel to enter all areas of the Gaza Strip.

The statement said that during the four-day truce, air traffic will stop completely in the southern Gaza Strip and will stop for six hours, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time in the northern Gaza Strip

[Irem News, Abu Dhabi, on Nov. 22]
'Irem News' has been most recently marked as a 'potentially dangerous site'
because of an 'expired certificate'. Daily news can be collected anyway. By the
way, it would be fine to hear about the percentage of children among ordinary
prisoners in Israel. For the Hamas release, some western source mentioned a
ratio of 60% children among the kidnapped group of 50 individuals. [Editor]

Headlines:
نتنياهو: إطلاق حماس كل 10 محتجزين
إضافيين سيؤدي ليوم آخر من وقف القتال

ستطلق حماس بموجب الاتفاق سراح 50 امرأة وطفلا تحتجزهم لديها مقابل إفراج إسرائيل عن 150 امرأة وطفلا فلسطينيا محتجزين في السجون الإسرائيلية

Daily News:
الوكالة الفلسطينية: مقتل 5 في طولكرم بالضفة الغربية في غارة إسرائيلية بطائرة مسيّرة

Headlines:
Netanyahu: Hamas release of 10 more detainees
will lead to another day of cessation of fighting.

Under the deal, Hamas will release 50 women and children it is holding in exchange for Israel releasing 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails.

Daily News:
Palestinian Agency: 5 killed in Tulkarm in the West Bank in an Israeli drone strike.

[Al-Arabiya on Nov. 22]

Terrorist Attack on Free Media

H@uthi H;jacked Israel; Cargo Sh;p
Breaking News UPDATE for November 20:
Israeli cargo ship hijacked by Yemenite Houthi rebels
=> Houthi hijackers produced video of the incident !
=> Ship owner is politically connected Israeli billionaire !

Israel - Hamas - Prisoner Exchange at Hand

Breaking News UPDATE:
Israeli cargo ship hijacked by Yemenite Houthi rebels
=> Houthi hijackers produced video of the incident !

وأعرب رئيس الوزراء القطري عن "ثقته بأن اتفاقا بشأن صفقة التبادل بين إسرائيل وحماس بات قريبا

ولفت إلى أن "هناك تحديات بسيطة ضمن المفاوضات، وهي لوجستية وعملية وليست جوهرية، ويمكن تذليلها

The Qatari Prime Minister expressed his "confidence that an agreement on the exchange deal between Israel and Hamas is near."

He pointed out that "there are simple challenges within the negotiations, which are logistical and practical, not fundamental, and they can be overcome."

The above information has been given on a joint press conference in the capital Doha, together with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, according to what was reported by the Qatar News Agency. Information was transmitted, as well, by the Israeli government that informed families of abductees after their march of protest on Jerusalem.

[Al-Quds Press on Nov. 20]

..............................



The 'Galaxy Leader', owned by an Israeli businessman, was hijacked in the Red Sea on its way to India. 25 hostages were taken. The Yemenite Army acknowledges responsibility. This comes in a series of guided missile launches targeting Israel. Missiles have been intercepted so far by US navy ships in the region. [Al-Jazeera, Arabic TV, on Nov. 19 and other sources]

The 2002-built vessel’s last signal was at 1136 GMT on November 18, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, with media reports there were 22 crew on board, none from Israel.

Galaxy Leader is owned by Tel Aviv-based Ray Shipping Ltd, which operates a fleet of 65 pure car and truck carriers, according to shipping databases and its website.

The beneficial owners are Rami Ungar and Yael Ungar. According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, the company is the one of the world’s largest providers of car carrier tonnage.

According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, Abraham (Rami) Ungar is one of Israel’s richest individuals, with a total net worth of over $2 billion.

He is an international shipping mogul and one of the country’s biggest motor vehicle importers. He has also had a history of close ties to right-wing Israeli politicians.

Israel's Failure in Policing Palestine

- UPDATE added below on Nov. 19 -
The death toll of Palestinians surpassed 13.000
The count of wounded is about 32.500
[Algérie 3, Arabic TV, Nov. 19 evening news]

آمال التهدئة تنتكس في غزة مع تجاوز حصيلة الضحايا 12 ألف قتيل

Hopes of calm relapse in Gaza as death toll surpasses 12.000.

[Asharq Al-Awsat on Nov. 18]

	مشاهد يدمى لها القلب.. أهالي غزة يقيمون صلاة الجنازة على أحبائهم أمام المستشفى الإندونيسي Scenes that make the heart bleed. Gaza residents hold funeral prayers for their loved ones in front of the Indonesian Hospital [i.e. Gaza City] [Euronews on Nov. 18]

Israel Failed in Gaza Offensive to "Minimize Civilian Casualties"
[Hindustan Times, India, on Nov. 18]


تطالب بإطلاق سراح ذويهم.. مسيرة عائلات المختطفين تصل مقر نتانياهو
Demanding the release of their families. Families of Abductees' March reaches Netanyahu Headquarters ....
[Al-Hurra on Nov. 18]


Hamas Propaganda Video quoted by Hindustan Times on Nov. 18.

ألمح جنرال إسرائيلي متقاعد إلى أن الأداء الذي أظهره الجيش بشأن معالجة أنفاق حماس في غزة حتى الآن "ينذر بأنه من الصعب تدمير القوة العسكرية للحركة"، وقال إن إسرائيل لا تمتلك تصورًا عن اليوم التالي للحرب في غزة

A retired Israeli general (*) hinted that the military's performance on the treatment of Hamas tunnels in Gaza so far "is foreshadowing that it will be difficult to destroy the group's military power," and said Israel had no idea of the day after the war in Gaza.

(*) = Gadi Shamni, a major general from the reserve forces, quoted by Israeli media.

[Iram, Abu Dhabi, on Nov. 19]

A Palestinian State - Summit of Arabic & Islamic Leaders

Important UPDATE on Nov. 14
Female Israeli soldier captive
allegedly died in Israeli air raid

Calling on the Security Council to impose a cessation of aggression
Summit: A “comprehensive solution” is required that guarantees the
unity of Ghaza and the West Bank as “land for the Palestinian state".

الرياض - وكالات: طالب قادة الدول العربية والإسلامية، أمس، بـ"حل شامل" يضمن وحدة غزة والضفة الغربية "أرضا للدولة الفلسطينية"، خلال قمة مشتركة لزعماء الجامعة العربية ومنظمة التعاون الإسلامي في الرياض. وجاء في البيان الختامي المشترك أنّ القمة "ترفض أي طروحات تكرس فصل غزة عن الضفة الغربية بما فيها القدس الشرقية والتأكيد على أن أي مقاربة مستقبلية لغزة يجب أن تكون في سياق العمل على حل شامل يضمن وحدة غزة والضفة الغربية أرضا للدولة الفلسطينية التي يجب أن تتجسد حرة مستقلة ذات سيادة وعاصمتها القدس الشرقية على خطوط 4 حزيران 1967

Riyadh - Agencies: Yesterday [i.e. Nov. 11], leaders of Arab and Islamic countries called for a “comprehensive solution” that guarantees the unity of Ghaza and the West Bank, “land of the Palestinian state,” during a joint summit of leaders of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Riyadh.

The joint final statement stated that the summit “rejects any proposals that would establish the separation of Ghaza from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and emphasizes that any future approach to Ghaza must be in the context of working on a comprehensive solution that guarantees the unity of Ghaza and the West Bank as the territory of the Palestinian state, which must be embodied in a free state.” Independent, sovereign, with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the lines of June 4, 1967

[Al-Ayyam, Palestine, on Nov. 12]

The official spokesman for the Palestinian Presidency , Nabil Abu Rudeina, confirmed that Israeli attempts to separate the Ghaza Strip from the West Bank will fail, and this will not be allowed, regardless of the continuing pressures and threats. He said in a statement today, Sunday, that Ghaza is an integral part of the Palestinian territories, and it is the responsibility of the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO], stressing that security and stability in the region and the world will not be achieved except by ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, which includes the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Ghaza Strip.

[Jordan ZAD, Amman, on Nov. 12]

............................................

The Al-Qassam Brigades notified that a 19 year old female Israeli soldier captive, 'Fauul Azai Marek Assiani فاؤول أزاي مارك أسياني' from 'Modiein موديعين', originally coming from Morocco, the number of her identity card being 214179293, allegedly died in an Israeli air raid on Ghaza. Additional remarks made by the captive:
"All of Ghaza is being bombarded with missiles." "We are afraid that we will die from the missiles."

[Al-Maqar, Jordanian electronic newspaper founded in 2012. Article published on Nov. 13]

...........................................

Here is some personal opinion published at the University of Toronto.
I republished part of it in order to give a hand in its distribution. It's all
about anti-fascism, anti-semitism and freedom of thoughtful speech:

Opinion: Blockading media on Palestine is a
bombardment against freedom of expression

In response to Hamas’ October 7 attack, Israel destroyed Gaza’s Al-Watan Tower, which housed several media outlets and telecom service providers that supplied internet access, thus leading to an internet outage. On October 27, after a continued onslaught of Israeli air strikes, Ghaza’s already delicate connectivity was further snuffed out as Israel began its ground operations. And, between the drafting and publication of this article, on November 5, Gaza lost communication another time as Israeli troops encircled Ghaza City.

..........




The blockade of communication severely interferes with journalistic processes. With no safe spaces to do their job while struggling against internet outages, Palestinian media have been largely fronted by Ghazan journalists reporting from the ground on platforms such as Instagram. Among others, journalists Motaz Azaiza, Plestia Alaqad, and Bisan Owda have caught the attention of international viewers.

However, even the voices of journalists on social media seem to be stifled by media giants. Users are accusing Instagram, owned by Meta, of suppressing viewership on pro-Palestinian posts, removing these posts, or even ‘shadowbanning’ — obscuring content without official notification — Palestinian content creators. Yet, the October attacks are not the first time that media giants have shown prejudice against pro-Palestinian content. Meta published an internal review which showed that their 2021 policies had an “adverse impact“ on the "rights of Palestinian users to freedom of expression” and that there was an over-enforcement of Arabic content.

In an interview, Mariam El-Rayes, a Palestinian student at U of T, told me that users are not seeing her Instagram stories when she posts about Palestine. When she posted random images in between her stories about Palestine to increase the chances of her stories being visible to her followers — a method known as an ‘algorithm break’ — she discovered something strange. She provided screenshots to show there was a significantly higher number of views on her ‘algorithm break’ stories than on her previous stories about Palestine — 32 versus 51 views — despite the fact that the stories were all public and that Instagram stories must be viewed in the chronological order of posting.

Accusations of platforms suppressing Palestinian news have led people to find ways to trick the algorithm, including posting ‘algorithm breaks’ as above or adjusting keywords, like ‘P@lestine’ or ‘Isr*el’, to avoid triggering censorship. The media siege can only serve to compound the humanitarian siege in Ghaza, smothering the news before it can reach an international audience.

Responding to user complaints, Meta released a statement clarifying that “Hamas is designated by the US government as both a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. It is also designated under Meta’s Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy. This means Hamas is banned from our platforms, and we remove praise and substantive support of them… while continuing to allow social and political discourse — such as news reporting, human rights related issues, or academic, neutral and condemning discussion.”


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