Author: Steven Sahiounie

The past month saw escalating Israeli violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, in Jerusalem and inside Israel. By Linah Alsaafin and Zena Al Tahhan Ramallah, occupied West Bank – Over the past month, the world’s attention has been almost exclusively focused on what is often described as the Israel-Hamas war. More than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army in the besieged Gaza Strip since October 7 by heavy aerial and artillery bombardments – more than 4,000 children and 2,550 women. Some 24,800 others, including 10,000 children, have been injured, and 1.5 million people – some 60 percent of the population…

Anger is growing, even as US administration holds meetings with advocates and announces anti-Islamophobia strategy. By Ali Harb Washington, DC – The front page came with a full-width photo of United States President Joe Biden and a stark message: “He lost our votes”, written in thick red letters. That was the main headline for last week’s Arab American News, a bilingual weekly publication out of Dearborn, Michigan, catering to the area’s large Arabic-speaking population. But as Biden campaigns for reelection in 2024, the newspaper’s headline serves as a bellwether for his prospects among Arab and Muslim American voters — and how his overtures to…

Will diplomatic pressure force the US and Israel’s other Western allies to reconsider their support for the war? Israel’s bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip has entered its second month. More than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to authorities in Gaza, and large swathes of the territory have been reduced to rubble. As public anger grows around the world over the soaring death toll and a growing humanitarian crisis, Israel is facing a diplomatic backlash. South Africa and Bolivia have severed relations with it, and several other countries are recalling their ambassadors and embassy staff. This is seriously setting…

On the streets of the besieged Strip, there appears to be little appetite for a Palestinian Authority government, despite Abbas’s suggestion that the PA might be open to returning to Gaza. By Ruwaida Amer and Mohammed R Mhawish Gaza Strip – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said Israel would govern the security of the Gaza Strip for an “indefinite period” after the ongoing war, in comments that came amid a growing debate over what the besieged strip might look like after the war. Israel and its biggest ally, the United States, have insisted that Hamas – currently in power in Gaza – cannot be…

Many more children have been killed in Gaza every day compared with Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iraq and other conflict zones. By far. By Sarah Shamim In late October, the international nonprofit Save the Children reported that the number of children killed in the Gaza Strip over three weeks of Israel’s bombardment had surpassed the annual number of children killed in global conflict zones every year since 2019. Since then, the number of tiny bodies wrapped in white shrouds and surrounded by grieving family members has only grown as Israel has also launched a ground offensive, adding artillery fire to the destruction unleashed…

The United Nations says the enclave’s health, sanitation, water and food services are nearing the ‘breaking point’. By Marium Ali and Alia Chughtai Israel’s intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip, one of the world’s most densely populated areas, has caused the deaths of 10,328 Palestinians, including 4,237 children, since the war started on October 7. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel in the same period. The Ministry of Health in Gaza said the number of people wounded has increased to 25,965. On October 9, the Israeli military announced a total blockade of the already besieged enclave, including a ban on…

National Security Council spokesperson says US President Joe Biden believes a ‘reoccupation by Israeli forces of Gaza is not the the right thing to do’. US President Joe Biden does not support an Israeli military occupation of the Gaza Strip after the Israel-Hamas war ends, a White House spokesman has said. Biden believes “a reoccupation by Israeli forces of Gaza is not the right thing to do”, the White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, told reporters on Tuesday. The comments come a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that Israel would take control of security in Gaza…

By Ted Regencia and Lyndal Rowlands Source: Al Jazeera

Maria Zakharova stressed that such statements by Israeli officials shed light on the true reasons why Tel Aviv was opposing the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East MOSCOW, November 7. /TASS/. The suggestion by Israel’s heritage minister of a nuclear strike on the Gaza Strip has raised numerous questions, including whether Israel possesses nuclear weapons, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Solovyov Live television. “It raised a huge number of questions. The number one question is, did we hear an official declaration that [Israel] has nuclear weapons? Consequently, the next questions that everyone had were: Where are…

Top stories from the Russian press on Tuesday, November 7th MOSCOW, November 7. /TASS/. Widespread pro-Palestine protests may compel the US and EU to force Israel’s hand toward accepting a ceasefire; US Secretary of State Antony Blinken came back virtually empty-handed from his latest Middle East tour aimed at tamping down the Gaza crisis; and the EU may jettison its unanimous voting rule, stripping member states of their veto power. These stories topped Tuesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia. Izvestia: Pro-Palestine protests may compel US, EU to force Israel’s hand toward ceasefire Protests in support of Palestine, which have engulfed European…