Gaza - Universities Against War

Students and academic personnel at US universities are taking to the streets in favour of the Palestinian victims in Israel's war on Gaza. They are calling for a cutting of military and economic links with Israel in the frame of a genocide that is happening under the eyes of the world.

The protests are even swapping into Europe where students at Paris university Sorbonne are taking to the streets of Paris while similar activities have been reported from Italy as well.

Iranian Attack - The Price Israel Paid for its Defence

The Minister Plenipotentiary [for Trade], Dr. Mongi Badr, an expert in international relations and a member of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Association for the United Nations, said that if Iran continues its attack on Israel as a response to Israel's bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, this will be considered a change in the rules for the countries of the region.

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

وأوضح «منجي» أن بعض صحف إسرائيل أشارت إلى أن تل أبيب أنفقت ما قد يصل لنحو 1.35 مليار دولار، خلال ليلة واحدة من أجل التصدي لهجوم إيران، باستخدام مئات المسيرات والصواريخ الباليستية، وأن التكلفة تشمل فقط التصدي للمسيرات والصواريخ دون إدراج الخسائر الميدانية، والتي أعلن الجيش الإسرائيلي أنها طفيفة وأن كل صاروخ من نظام آرو الذي يستهدف الصواريخ الباليستية يكلف نحو 3.5 مليون دولار، بينما تدفع إسرائيل نحو مليون دولار لكل صاروخ في نظام مقلاع داود الخاص باعتراض صواريخ كروز، إضافة إلى تكاليف تشغيل الطائرات المكلفة باستهداف المسيرات بالإضافة لحدوث ضرر طفيف في قاعدة نفاطيم الجوية في بئر السبع جنوبي إسرائيل

Mongi explained that some Israeli newspapers indicated that Tel Aviv spent what may amount to about 1.35 billion dollars, during one night, in order to confront the Iranian attack, using hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles, and that the cost includes only confronting the drones and missiles without including field losses, which The Israeli army announced that it is minor and that each missile from the Arrow system, which targets ballistic missiles, costs about $3.5 million, while Israel pays about $1 million for each missile in David’s Sling Shot system for intercepting cruise missiles, in addition to the costs of operating the aircraft assigned to target the drones, in addition to causing minor damage at Nafatim Air Base in Beersheba, southern Israel.

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

Mongi added in statements to Al-Watan that Iran's direct attack on Israel for the first time in history would change the rules of the game in the region, especially after the success of a limited number of Iranian missiles in hitting a military airport in the Negev, from which the planes that struck its consulate were launched. As well as another military site, Ramon Airport and the Natim base.

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

The Minister Plenipotentiary explained that the Gulf markets suffered severe losses following the Iranian attack on Israel last night, and the Gulf indices turned red, amid declines exceeding 1% at the opening, while the Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Bahrain stock exchanges are not operating, and the value of the Iranian riyal has decreased against the dollar, international airlines are also suffering from tension in the region.

[Al-Watan, Egypt, on April 15 at 06:00 AM local time]

Iran & Israel - First Direct Confrontation

From now on, the world is going to change !
About 300 hundred drones and rockets of different types were deployed by Iran. Most of them could be intercepted by Israeli and US forces. A military basis in southern Israel and the region of Dimona, hosting Israel's nuclear capabilities, have been targeted.

فيما ذكرت وكالة الأنباء الإيرانية "إيرنا" أنها استهدفت قاعدة جوية إسرائيلية بنجاح في النقب بصواريخ خيبر.
وأضافت الوكالة، أن القاعدة الجوية المستهدفة في النقب كانت منطلقا للهجوم على القنصلية بدمشق

The Iranian news agency IRNA reported that it successfully targeted an Israeli air base in the Negev with Khaybar missiles. The agency added that the targeted air base in the Negev was the starting point for the attack on Iran's consulate in Damascus. [Al-Dostor الدستور published at 09:00 AM local time]

وقال رئيس هيئة الأركان المشتركة اللواء محمد باقري إن “عملية الوعد الصادق نفّذت بنجاح بين ليل أمس وصباح اليوم (الأحد)، وحققت كل أهدافها”

وأشار إلى أن الضربات استهدفت موقعين عسكريين هما “المركز الاستخباري الذي وفّر للصهاينة المعلومات المطلوبة” لقصف القنصلية الإيرانية في دمشق، إضافة إلى “قاعدة نفاطيم التي أقلعت منها طائرات إف-35” لشنّ الضربة في الأول من نيسان/أبريل. وأكد أن الموقعين أصيبا بأضرار بالغة

من جهتها، أكدت اسرائيل “إحباط” الهجوم وأنها اعترضت مع حلفائها، غالبية المسيّرات والصواريخ قبل بلوغها أراضيها. لكنها أقرت بسقوط بعضها وإلحاق أضرار “طفيفة” في القاعدة الجوية الواقعة في النقب

And the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri said “Operation True Promise was carried out successfully between last night and this morning (Sunday), and achieved all its objectives.”

He pointed out that the strikes targeted two military sites: “the intelligence center that provided the Zionists with the information required” to bomb the Iranian consulate in Damascus, in addition to “the Nafatim base from which F-35 planes took off” to launch the strike on April 1. He confirmed that the two sites were severely damaged.

For its part, Israel confirmed that the attack was “thwarted” and that it, along with its allies, intercepted the majority of the drones and missiles before they reached its territory. But it acknowledged that some of them had fallen and caused “minor” damage to the air base located in the Negev.

[Akhbar Alaan أخبار الآن on April 14, 17:00 local time]

Included videos below were published shortly after the Iranian attack began:

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

Israel - Awaiting Iranian Retaliation

Developing News on April 13 further down !

Latest 13-04 22:00 - Latest 13-04 22:00 - Latest 13-04 22:00

Israeli Military IDF: Iranian drones will take hours to arrive.
Latest 13-04 22:00 - Latest 13-04 22:00 - Latest 13-04 22:00

After bombing an Iranian consulate building in Damascus, thereby killing some high-ranking Iranian commanders, Israel is now awaiting Iran's retaliation. An Israeli army spokesman put it like that: "The coming days are complicated". Israeli cocerns come at the same time when Hezbollah launched 50 rockets at northern Galilee.

The Yemenite paper Al-Ayyam doesn't allow its article from April 12, 2024, to be copied.

Further News of the Day:
Israeli settlers in the occupied Westbank set fire to a Palestinian village, killing one Palestinian and wounding 25. [Al-Jazeera]

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

مع اقتراب رد إيران على إسرائيل.. القصة الكاملة لهجوم القنصلية

تحبس منطقة الشرق الأوسط أنفاسها، ترقبا لهجوم إيراني محتمل للرد على ضربة جوية إسرائيلية طالت قنصليتها في دمشق.

وقد أسفرت الضربة عن مقتل محمد رضا زاهدي أبرز القادة العسكريين الإيرانيين، فهو المسؤول عن فيلق القدس التابع للحرس الثوري في سوريا ولبنان، ورغم أنه ليس الأول الذي يقتل هكذا، لكنه الأرفع بين سلسلة عسكريين إيرانيين استهدفتهم تل أبيب.

وتحدثت تقارير أمريكية عدة، خلال الساعات الماضية، عن تحريك إيران طائرات مسيرة وصواريخ كروز، استعدادا لهجوم انتقامي هو الأكبر ضد إسرائيل, التي لم تعلن مسؤوليتها رسميا عن هجوم القنصلية. 100 مسيرة وعشرات الصواريخ.. سيناريو جنوني لرد إيران على هجوم القنصلية

As Iran's response to Israel approaches...the full story of the consulate attack

The Middle East region is holding its breath, anticipating a possible Iranian attack in response to an Israeli air strike that targeted its consulate in Damascus.

The strike resulted in the killing of Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the most prominent Iranian military leader. He is responsible for the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard in Syria and Lebanon. Although he is not the first to be killed in this way, he is the highest-ranking among a series of Iranian military personnel targeted by Tel Aviv.

During the past hours, several American reports spoke of Iran moving drones and cruise missiles, in preparation for the largest retaliatory attack against Israel, which did not officially claim responsibility for the consulate attack. 100 [guided missiles] and dozens of rockets ... a crazy scenario for Iran's response to the consulate attack.

من كتابة العين الإخبارية • 59 دقيقة
AL-Ain Al-Akhbariya, 59 minutes ago
published on April 13 at 08:00 AM

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

الحرس الإيراني يؤكد سيطرته على سفينة مرتبطة بـ"إسرائيل" (شاهد)

كشفت وكالة الأنباء الإيرانية الرسمية، أن الحرس الثوري سيطر على سفينة "مرتبطة بإسرائيل"، مشيرة إلى أن القوات الإيرانية استخدمت طائرة هليكوبتر اعتلت السفينة وسيطرت عليها

وقالت مصادر إعلامية غربية، إن السفينة المحتجزة ترفع علم البرتغال وتديرها شركة زودياك المملوكة لرجل أعمال إسرائيلي

وكانت هيئة عمليات التجارة البحرية البريطانية السبت، تلقت تقريرا عن استهداف سفينة قبالة السواحل الإماراتية.

ولم تكشف الهيئة عن طبيعة ما جرى للسفينة، أو الهجوم الذي تعرضت له، لكنها قالت في بيان، إن السلطات الإقليمية سيطرت على السفينة على بعد 50 ميلا بحريا شمال شرقي الفجيرة الإماراتية، دون تفاصيل إضافية.

والثلاثاء، قال قائد القوة البحرية في الحرس الثوري الإيراني، إن الوجود الإسرائيلي في الإمارات يمثل تهديدا لطهران وإنها قد تغلق مضيق هرمز في حال الضرورة، وتقع الفجيرة على الجانب الشرقي من مضيق هرمز.

Iranian Guards confirm seizure of Israel-linked ship (Witness)

The official Iranian news agency revealed that the Revolutionary Guards took control of a ship "linked to Israel," noting that Iranian forces used a helicopter that boarded and took control of the ship. Western media sources said the seized ship was Portugal-flagged and operated by Zodiac, owned by an Israeli businessman.

On Saturday, Britain's Maritime Trade Operations Authority received a report that a ship had been targeted off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The authority did not disclose the nature of what happened to the ship or the attack it suffered, but said in a statement that regional authorities had taken control of the ship 50 nautical miles northeast of Fujairah, without further details. On Tuesday, the commander of the naval force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that the Israeli presence in the UAE posed a threat to Tehran and that it could close the Strait of Hormuz if necessary, as Fujairah is located on the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz.

[Arabi 21, London, on April 13, 11:00 AM]

@ Ukraine - Russian_Missile_Defense @

@ The following information is based on Chinese media information from the day before:

@ Last year, a Storm Shadow missile launched by Ukraine fell into the Russian-occupied territory with almost no damage and was picked up by the Russian army as a trophy. The reason was not clear at the time. Now photos taken by the Russian Navy show that, It may have been shot down by the armor close-in defense system (Pantsir-M).

Navy Recognition reported that the Storm Shadow missile was targeting a military target near the coast of Crimea. However, the Pantsir-M close-in defense system of the light frigate Taifun detected it early, intercepted it and destroyed it.

Pantsir-M System

The Taifun belongs to Project 22800 and the Black Widow Class (Karakurt Class). This is a light frigate with a displacement of 860 tons. It has 4 ultra-small phased array radars (unknown shape and number) and 3D radars. It is known as "The world's smallest Aegis warship."

Its firepower is also quite powerful. It has a vertical launch system and can launch Kalibr-NK cruise missiles and may also launch P-800 "Oniks" supersonic anti-ship missiles. For short-range defense, they installed the maritime type "Pantsir-M" (CIWS Pantsir-M) after the Russo-Ukrainian War, which has proven its effectiveness in recent incidents.

Oleg Ryazantsev, general manager of the Russian State-owned Military Complex (NPO), said that this shooting down incident should be the first actual combat demonstration of the Pantsir system.

The Armor system is a hybrid missile-quick artillery close-in defense system. Eight missiles can intercept air targets at a distance of 20 kilometers. Two 30mm cannons can destroy air targets within 4 kilometers. The gun's rate of fire is as high as 10,000 rounds per minute, which significantly improves the ship's survivability. @

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

Another article from the same day deals with new activities regarding the cooperation between North Korea and Russia:

North Korea's official media KCNA established a new category on its website on the 9th, "DPRK-Russia Friendly Relations Ushering in a Historical Turning Point." This category published a total of 148 articles, including the April 2019 summit between leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. talks, as well as a delegation sent by the Ministry of Education to visit Russia on the 6th of this month.

The South Korean media "Joongang Ilbo" analyzed that it is rare for the Korean Central News Agency, the window for North Korea to express its position to the outside world, to create a new category focusing on North Korea's relations with a specific country. The Korean Central News Agency has previously disclosed the visit of Sergei Naryshkin, director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), to Pyongyang from March 25 to 27. It is also very inappropriate to publicly report the foreign visits of the leaders of the intelligence agency in a secret form. Ordinary.

Analysis pointed out that the KCNA was intended to demonstrate the friendly relations between North Korea and Russia that include all-round cooperation in the fields of military, tourism, culture and other fields, and to pave the way for President Putin's future visit to North Korea.

..........

Regarding the timing of his visit to North Korea, the Kremlin has recently stated that it is very unlikely that Putin will visit North Korea before the Russian presidential election in March, so the visit may be scheduled shortly after his trip to China. Putin is expected to make his first overseas trip during his fifth term in May and hold leadership talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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

US based visitor statistics. Data traffic passing through Hong Kong and Singapore nodes
is not included and has been detected otherwise. Such data are leading to the assumption
of an increasing traffic to PR China, based on certain characteristics of client systems.

Visitor statistics recorded by a European provider
for the same period of time on April 12, 2024.

European providers are recording additional data traffic
which is passing through different global internet nodes.
Clients <= US provider <=> European provider => Clients
My article on that subject: Riding the Internet Backbone

Data request from a Zürich client (Switzerland) handled by
an internet node in Virginia (USA, Area of Washington DC).

The Arabs and Adolf Hitler - own report -

Urban Arabs are following some of the same trends people in the West are following. As an example, the reading of books has already given way to electronic entertainment to a great extent.

Nevertheless, there are still many opportunities to buy printed media in a densely populated city like Amman, the capital of Jordan. On my way to the touristic sights there, I found booksellers offering each and every kind of literature one could imagine.

When I gave a closer look at the bookshelves, however, I was really astonished to find three different newcomers dealing with a man whose book My Combat كفاحي is still a no-go for readers in his own country where its reprinting is forbidden and access to it is only granted for academic research: Adolf Hitler, the German 'Führer' who once had triggered off World War II, seems to have become really popular in Jordan and in other countries of the Arab sphere probably as well.

Marx - Hitler - Atatürk

Some guy I met, told me: "I would even invite Hitler into my home." This was somebody who had already told me that his relatives are still living in the Westbank of river Jordan and had allegedly been badly treated under Israeli occupation.

Another Arab put it that way: "The Holy Quran has it that Jews are eating pigs and monkeys. Maybe that has formed their character." He thereby remembered Israeli remarks about the Palestinian attackers of October 7, 2023, being considered by Israel as 'human animals'. By quoting the Holy Quran, he referred to a metaphor used in Sura 6:60 and which mentions the transformation of big wrongdoers into pigs and monkeys on behalf of Allah. Shortly before, we spoke about food and diet during Ramadan. At least "any human being is what he/she is eating" (German proverb).

While 70% of Jordan's population can be regarded as being of Palestinian origin, including high-ranking members of government and the Royal Court, there is much potential for an anti-Israeli attitude, even though most Jordanian citizens are rather peaceful and friendly according to my limited individual experience.

As Hitler's extermination of six million European Jews had led to a mass immigration of Jews into Palestine, already starting around 1938, existing problems between Arabs and Jews in the region intensified and led to a civil war that finally resulted in Israel's declaration of independence and the wars that followed.

Therefore and in a certain way, Hitler was at the starting point of an Israeli-Palestinian conflict where Jews changed from the victims of persecution to the initiators of a genocide and which could even lead to the decline and fall of Israel.

Syrian Refugees to Europe - own report -

On April 1st, international media reported about 240 migrants from Syria having reached the coast of Cyprus.

On that very day, I happened to pass a giant camp for Syrian refugees in the Jordanian governorate of al-Azraq. Alongside Highway 30 and in the middle of a desert, I met with the disturbing view of an extended area covered by tents that are currently hosting some 40.000 refugees from Syria. My driver told me there was another still larger camp in Zaaria, hosting another 80.000 refugees. When checking the facts, I learned that these are indeed the official numbers for 2024 as published by UNHCR, the United Nations Refugees Organisation.

Azraq Camp is neighbouring the Syrian border which is only some 50 km away and near to the historic site of Azraq Castle. Azraq and Zaaria, however, don't host the total of Syrian refugees, as less than 20 percent of such refugees should be currently living in such camps.

Therefore, the European Union should consider themselves lucky not to be flooded by further Syrian refugees when they are now saying that 240 migrants starting on their boats from Beirut was the biggest group of refugees up to now from Syria.

Russia - Terrorist Attack on Moscow Concert Hall

UPDATE added on March 24

Morning News on March 23:
ارتفاع عدد قتلى هجوم قرب موسكو إلى 93 شخصا [أهل مصر] ................................ الإمارات تدين هجوم موسكو "الإرهابي" وتعلن تضامنها مع روسيا [الإمارات]
Death toll from attack near Moscow rises to 93 [Ahl Masr - People of Egypt]................................ UAE condemns Moscow's 'terrorist' attack, declares solidarity with Russia [UAE7]

140 dead and 120 wounded (March 24) in Russia's worst terrorist attack
in 20 years, when militants stormed a Moscow concert hall on March 22.
Clad in camouflage uniforms they opened fire on visitors with automatic
weapons and hand grenades.
According to Western media, the Islamic State ISIS assumed responsibility
for that operation as early as March 22.

The United States collected intelligence in March that Islamic State-Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, the branch of the group based in Afghanistan, had been planning an attack on Moscow, according to officials. ISIS members have been active in Russia, one U.S. official said.
.....
“ISIS-K has been fixated on Russia for the past two years,” frequently criticizing President Vladimir V. Putin in its propaganda, said Colin P. Clarke, a counterterrorism analyst at the Soufan Group, a security consulting firm based in New York. “ISIS-K accuses the Kremlin of having Muslim blood in its hands, referencing Moscow’s interventions in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Syria.”

[New York Times on March 22]

The founder of ISIS-K allegedly met with Taliban leaders in Jalalabad, Eastern Afghanistan, on Friday March 22, day of the Moscow assault. Information should have been available to Russian authorities the next day.
Editor's Note: The language used in ,both, the X post and the quoted article is 'Dari' or 'Afghan Persian'. The text has been counterchecked by me, and the English translation given seems to be reliable. The quoted article is referring to the term of 'Khorasan', the historic term for a Greater Persia comprising Afghanistan and which is allegedly preferred by the Tajiks of Central Asia for nostalgia and nationalism.
خراسان : دليلى براى ادامه جنك با طالبان نداريم
Khorasan: We have no reason to continue fighting the Taliban.
The above photo should be showing the Taliban governor of Nangarhar province
together with other Afghan or ISIS leaders in a scene of mutual brotherhood.
It could be the reminder of an earlier reconciliation between different groups.

Inside the Islamic State of Afghanistan, home of ISIS-K under Taliban rule.

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

Russia - The Day After Putin's Reelection

Breaking News Update on March 22 added below:

朝鲜在俄罗斯对乌克兰的战事中持续提供支援。申源湜2月曾表示，朝鲜去年7月起已陆续运送约6700个货柜至俄罗斯。他周一更新数字，表示朝鲜至今已运送7000多个货柜至俄罗斯。

North Korea continues to provide support to Russia in its war in Ukraine. [South Korean defense minister] Shin Yuan-shik said in February that North Korea had successively shipped about 6,700 containers to Russia since July last year. He updated the figures on Monday, saying that North Korea has shipped more than 7,000 containers to Russia so far.

[东方 Online on March 19]

Chinese Opinion

First of all, in Yanan’s view [亚男视界], Putin’s declaration that Russia is ready for nuclear war has sent two major signals. First, even if Russia does not launch a nuclear war, it does not mean that its nuclear weapons have completely lost their use. Putin said this to prevent NATO from "jumping over the wall" and actually sending troops to Ukraine and causing a head-on conflict with Russia. Secondly, Putin is telling the truth. If Russia is really at the point of life and death, for example, if the United States and the West end the war, then Russia will have to show off its nuclear weapons. After all, at that critical moment, the Russian side is likely to have the idea that in the worst case, they will die together. Of course, judging from the ammunition currently obtained by Russia from North Korea, Russia has not yet reached the stage of using nuclear weapons.

Secondly, the United States and the West must now be worried about the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian frontline. If, as the West says, North Korea has more artillery shells to aid Russia than the entire Europe combined, then compared to the Ukrainian army’s stretched artillery shell reserves, North Korea helping Russia will allow Russia to breathe a long sigh of relief. Next, the Russian army may fight harder and harder. What’s even more ironic is that the United States and the West hoped to defeat Russia under the guise of supporting Ukraine. However, in the end, Ukraine received less and less assistance and even risked becoming an “abandoned child”. This reflects the U.S. The selfishness of the West and their fundamental unreliability.

[腾讯 on March 15]

Most recent video on Putin's intentions
produced by above quoted commentator
[亚男视界] from her website on March 19:
普京暗示北约下场或引爆三战，北约野心勃勃，中国亮出3招应对
Putin hinted that NATO might end up in or detonate World War III,
NATO is ambitious, and China has shown 3 ways to deal with it.

Breaking News on March 22

At least 40 dead and 100 wounded in Russia's worst terrorist attack
in 20 years, when militants massacred a Moscow concert hall tonite
where armed men clad in camouflage uniforms opened fire on visitors.
According to Western media, the Islamic State IS already assumed
responsibility for that operation.

Adage of Reason

Last Update on March 16.
Videos expressing opinion
on the Palestinian issue ...

Opinion on the Palestinian Issue

Sami Al-Arian, director of the Centre for Islamic and Global Affairs, has told Al Jazeera that
it is a “very sad moment” in Gaza as Ramadan begins without a ceasefire and for many on
the brink of famine. - “Unfortunately, Israel doesn't see the Palestinians as human beings;
they say they are ‘human animals’.

US Senator Bernie Sanders: “Netanyahu’s right wing government is blocking the borders
and preventing the massive amount of aid that needs to get through from getting through
and people are dying as a result. That is in violation of American law. We should stop
funding Netanyahu’s war machine.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the
USA, on March 14 for the first time called for the Israeli government to hold an election,
calling it the "only way" to determine Israel's path forward after its war with Hamas.

Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara highlights the complicity of
Western leaders, portraying them as "useful idiots" for supporting Netanyahu's
genocidal war in Gaza.

Jews for a Ceasefire - Al-Jazeera looks at whether there is a shift
within the Jewish community against Israel’s actions and policies.

عكس السير
من أوائل المؤسسات الإعلامية الخاصة في سوريا
" قليل من الحيادية ... كثير من المصداقية "

Akas Al-Sir (Reverse Traffic) on March 13:
One of the first privately owned media in Syria, their
adage being: "Some neutrality ..... Much reliability".

Founded in 2006, Akas Al-Sir is currently at the top of the most
followed news sites in Syria, according to international statistics.

Israeli Atrocities - Dilemma for Biden

- Riding the Internet Backbone -
Notice on new visitor statistics
and related article added below:

For the Biden administration, the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict has become an important issue dividing Democratic voters. In previous elections, American Jewish voters tend to support the Democratic Party. The political donations provided by pro-Israel groups to the Democratic Party far exceed their contributions to the Republican Party, almost twice as much as the latter. However, as the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip escalates, many young voters and ethnic minorities who originally supported the Democratic Party have become increasingly dissatisfied and strongly demand that the Biden administration put pressure on Israel to achieve an early ceasefire. During the primary campaign, Biden was already feeling pressure from progressive forces to do something without offending pro-Israel groups and appease the anger of other supporters.

对拜登政府而言，当下的巴以冲突已经成为分化民主党选民的一个重要问题。在历年大选中，美国犹太选民都更倾向于支持民主党，亲以色列团体为民主党提供的政治献金，也远远超过其为共和党提供的捐助，几乎是后者的两倍。然而，随着加沙地带人道主义危机的升级，很多原本支持民主党的年轻选民和少数族裔，已经变得越来越不满，强烈要求拜登政府向以色列施压，早日实现停火。在初选中，拜登已经感受到了来自进步力量的压力，必须在不得罪亲以色列团体的前提下做点什么，平息其他支持者的愤怒。

Therefore, the Biden administration came up with the current idea of "passing a knife with one hand and a band-aid with the other hand". An important decision that Biden will announce in his State of the Union address is to use US military engineers to build a floating dock near the port of Gaza City. The US military does not need to land but works on ships to complete the construction of the dock, thus opening up a channel for transporting relief supplies from the sea to the Gaza Strip. Earlier this month, the US military, with the assistance of Jordan, airdropped aid supplies to Gaza. However, the delivery cost of military transport aircraft is high, the accuracy is poor, and more importantly, the carrying capacity is limited. Compared with the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, it is a drop in the bucket.

于是，拜登政府想出了现在这样的“一手递刀子，一手送创口贴”的主意。拜登要在国情咨文里宣布的一项重要决定就是，要由美军方工程师出手，在加沙城就港口附近修建浮动码头。美军不需要登陆而是在船只上作业，完成码头的建设工作，从而打通从海上向加沙地带输送救援物资的通道。本月初，美军曾在约旦的协助下，向加沙空投援助物资。但军用运输机投递的成本高、精度差，更重要的是搭载能力有限，相对于加沙地带的人道主义危机而言，是杯水车薪。

[腾讯网 on March 8]

According to multiple foreign sources, although this round of negotiations ended inconclusively, Hamas and Israel will continue to communicate indirectly. Many senior U.S. officials blamed Hamas for the failure to reach a ceasefire agreement, saying it was because the latter refused to release elderly and sick Israeli detainees.

Hamas responded that the United States and Israel have a cooperative relationship, and the United States' rhetoric confuses right and wrong. It is Israel that has been hindering efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement. Israel did not attend this round of negotiations, allegedly because Hamas refused to provide a complete list of Israeli detainees who are still alive.

In this round of negotiations, neither Hamas nor Israel made concessions on key issues: Hamas said it would not release Israeli personnel before a long-term ceasefire agreement was reached; Israel insisted that it would not release Hamas until it completely eliminated it. The military operation will not end. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on the 7th that Israel will continue to advance military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian security sources revealed that the next round of negotiations is scheduled to begin on the 10th of this month.

According to the Associated Press, the mediator's previous hope that Palestine and Israel would reach a ceasefire agreement before Ramadan may not be realized.

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

'starvation tactics'

According to [UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael] Fakhri, Israel banned small fishing boats from the Gaza Strip and destroyed fishing boats, fishing houses and other facilities. Since the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in October last year, about 80% of the Gaza Strip’s fisheries have been damaged. Not a single ship in the main port of Gaza City, located in the northern Gaza Strip and on the Mediterranean Sea, was spared, and all were destroyed by the Israeli army.

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

Adding fuel to the flames of the Palestinian-Israeli situation, the Israeli Civil Administration's High Planning Committee approved on the 6th the construction of 3,426 new housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The Palestinian Wafa News Agency reported on the 6th that Palestinian Presidential Spokesperson Abu Rudeina said that Palestine strongly condemns Israel’s move and believes that this approach will not bring security to any party.

[新浪科技 on March 9 (local time)]

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Starting on March 2024, internet traffic to the blueprinteditor site seems to have been diverted to the already described south-east Asian internet hub of Singapore. From there, an increased internet traffic to my site simultaneously resulted in small Singapore dominating my country list.

=> Riding the Internet Backbone <=

Axis of Resistance in Gaza - Activity in Feb 2024Chances of a Truce between Hamas and Israel

A Palestinian Media Comment
on a Possible Truce has been
added below on Mar 4, 2024

Watch the speech of Abu Hamza, spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades, on the 148th day of the Israeli war on Gaza.

شاهد كلمة أبو حمزة الناطق باسم سرايا القدس في اليوم 148 من حرب إسرائيلي على غزة

Abu Hamza, spokesman for the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, said that a few days earlier, they had killed and shredded all members of an Israeli force in the Zeitoun neighborhood.

قال أبو حمزة الناطق باسم سرايا القدس، الذراع العسكرية لحركة الجهاد الإسلامي إنهم أوقعوا قبل أيام جميع أفراد قوة إسرائيلية في حي الزيتون قتلى وأشلاء

Video Quotation Insert:
Spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades: We continue our steadfastness in front of the Zionist war machine and the clear war of extermination.

الناطق باسم سرايا القددس: نواصل ثباتنا امام آلة الحرب الصهيونية و حرب الإبادة الواضحة


Please Note:
Information on military proceedings and progress of the so-called 'Axis of Resistance' in Gaza, included in this blogspot, cannot be independently confirmed. The authenticity of the above video, however, seems to have been verified by voice comparison. It is presented by 'Al-Jazeera', the state-owned TV station in Qatar and which can be regarded as a usually reliable source.

This information comes at a time when urgent need for troops has become an item of public discussion in Israel. As some orthodox Jews are violently insisiting on their right to refrain from military service, plans to treat them as ordinary citizens when it comes to the drawing of troops now divide public opinion in Israel. [German TV]


Extensive listing of Resistance Operations in Feb 2024,
followed by a summary of important events:

[الميادين, pro-Iranian news center in Lebanon, on 2nd March]

On the Chances of a Possible Truce between Hamas & Israel

Everyone is anticipating the outcome of the new round of negotiations between Hamas and Israel in Cairo, on which hopes of reaching a truce before Ramadan are pinned, and while positive signs loom on the horizon with the pressure exerted by Washington on Netanyahu on the one hand, coinciding with pressure from Doha on Hamas leaders on the other, it can be said that the Gaza Strip is close to getting out of the bottleneck.......

أمد/ الجميع في ترقب لما ستسفر عنه الجولة الجديدة من المفاوضات بين حماس واسرائيل في القاهرة والتي تعلق عليها الآمال في التوصل الى هدنة قبل شهر رمضان، وفيما تلوح المؤشرات الإيجابية في الأفق مع وجود ضغط تمارسه واشنطن على نتنياهو من جهة يتزامن معه ضغط من الدوحة على قادة حماس من جهة أخرى فإنه يمكن القول أن قطاع غزة يقترب من الخروج من عنق الزجاجة
......

It is too early to talk about the future of Gaza and the form and content of the government that will control things, but there are suggestions that the PA has already begun to prepare for the post-war phase and that Moscow's meeting between Palestinian factions may be the last chance for Hamas to ensure its survival in the Palestinian political scene under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which will enable it to withdraw from the rule of Gaza by saving face rather than saying that it has been defeated.

من السابق لأوانه الحديث عن مستقبل غزة وعن شكل ومضمون الحكومة التي ستتولى ضبط الأمور، لكن ثمة هنالك ايحاءات تشير الى أن السلطة الفلسطينية قد بدأت فعليا في الاستعداد لمرحلة ما بعد الحرب وأن لقاء موسكو ما بين الفصائل الفلسطينية قد يكون آخر فرصة لحماس لضمان بقاءها في المشهد السياسي الفلسطيني تحت مظلة منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية وهو ما سيمكنها من الانسحاب من حكم غزة بحفظ ماء الوجه بدل أن يقال أنها هزمت

[AMAD, Palestinian news site, allegedly opposed to Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas and run from Cairo, on March 3, 2024]

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

On Palestinian Resistance in the West Bank

On the Rhetoric of Resistance in the West Bank

The first conclusion reached by Israel's security community, namely the army of military analysts and former officials in the security establishment, from the resistance operation carried out near the "leader checkpoint" in Jerusalem on February 22 (*), was to acknowledge that all the so-called "preventive offensive measures" carried out by the Israeli army and security services in the West Bank in recent times had failed miserably. These measures include daily raids across the West Bank, confiscation of weapons, killing of hundreds of Palestinians, arresting thousands, reinforcing IDF forces on the ground, and carrying out punitive steps against families of resistance fighters with a focus on home demolitions.
(*) Editor: Three Palestinians had opened fire at motorists near an Israeli checkpoint in the occupied West Bank near Jerusalem on February 22, killing one person and wounding five.

According to a former official in the Military Intelligence Division (AMAN), intelligence coverage of the West Bank territory is no longer sufficient. .....................................................

عن بلاغة المقاومة في الضفة الغربية

تمثّل أول استنتاج خلُص إليه الوسط الأمني في إسرائيل، والمقصود جيش المحلّلين العسكريين والمسؤولين السابقين في المؤسّسة الأمنية، من عملية المقاومة التي نفّذت بالقرب من "حاجز الزعيم" العسكري في القدس يوم 22 فبراير/ شباط الحالي، في الإقرار بأن كل ما يوصف بأنه "إجراءات هجومية وقائيّة" يقوم بها الجيش الإسرائيلي والأجهزة الأمنيّة في أراضي الضفة الغربيّة في الآونة الأخيرة قد مُنيت بالفشل الذريع. وتشمل هذه الإجراءات مداهماتٍ يوميةً في شتى أرجاء الضفة، ومصادرة أسلحة، وقتل مئات الفلسطينيين، واعتقال آلاف منهم، وتعزيز قوات الجيش الإسرائيلي في الميدان، وتنفيذ خطوات عقابية بحق أسر المقاومين مع التركيز على هدم المنازل

وبموجب ما يؤكّد مسؤولٌ سابق بشعبة الاستخبارات العسكرية (أمان)، لم تعد التغطية الاستخباراتية لأراضي الضفة كافية ......................................................

In recent years, the term "comfortable occupation" has begun to be used in Israel, and some considered that it may turn into a political reality if two things continue: First, there is no real opposition to this occupation and in general to the rule of the Israeli right, which is in a state of Catholic marriage between the extreme right and the Charedi [i.e. the orthodox Jews], while the dominant element in the performance of parties trying to stand against the policy of that right is [simultaneously] trying to turn into an extension of that right [alliance], an expression of [them] drowning in illusions and deception. This would succeed in attracting the masses of centrist and right-wing parties to their ranks, thanks to their social attitudes associated with an acceptance of the occupation. Second, there is no heavy political and material price for this occupation and its settlement practices. There is no doubt that the rhetoric of the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank now lies in putting an end to the second thing.

بدأ في إسرائيل، في الأعوام الأخيرة، استخدام مصطلح "الاحتلال المريح"، واعتبر بعضهم أنه قد يتحوّل إلى صيرورة في الواقع السياسي في حال استمرار أمرين: الأول، انعدام وجود معارضة حقيقية لهذا الاحتلال وعموماً لحُكم اليمين الإسرائيلي الموجود في حالة زواج كاثوليكي مع اليمين المتطرّف والحريدي، في حين أن العنصر الطاغي على أداء الأحزاب التي تحاول أن تقف على الضدّ من سياسة هذا اليمين محاولة التحوّل إلى ملحق لهذا اليمين، تعبيراً عن الغرق في الأوهام وخداع النفس بأن من شأن ذلك أن ينجح في جذب جماهير أحزاب الوسط واليمين إلى صفوفها، بفضل مواقفها الاجتماعية المترافقة مع قبولها بالاحتلال. الثاني، عدم جباية ثمن باهظ سياسيّاً ومادّياً جرّاء هذا الاحتلال وممارساته الاستيطانية. ولا شك في أن بلاغة المقاومة الفلسطينية في الضفة كامنة الآن في وضعها حدًّا للأمر الثاني

[العربي الجديد on Feb. 28]

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Politically speaking, tribal nationalism [patriotism] always insists that its own people
are surrounded by " a world of enemies " - " one against all " - and that a fundamental
difference exists between this people and all others. It claims its people to be unique,
individual, incompatible with all others, and denies theoretically the very possibility of
a common mankind long before it is used to destroy the humanity of man.

Hannah Arendt, a Jewish activist who became famous for her
book describing the Elements and Reasons of Totalitarianism.

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HISTORY - The Punic Wars

For centuries during the pre-Christian era, two major powers in the Mediterranean Sea area vied for supremacy – the Roman Republic, with its capital in Rome, Italy, and the city of Carthage located in what is now Tunisia. The so-called Punic Wars in 264, 218 and 149 BC between Rome and Carthage involved a total of 43 years of warfare, leading to the final victory of Rome and the total destruction of Carthage.

"The great Carthage fought three wars. It was still mighty after the first, still habitable after the second. It was no longer to be found after the third."

- Bertolt Brecht - (1898-1956), a famous German playwright and anti-fascist, in an open letter to German artists and writers, published in 1951 and distributed at a large scale. From there, his stance on the Punic Wars became often quoted at a time when memories of World War II were still fresh.