https://thecradle.co

More claims of ’Hamas mass rape’ proven false : Report
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/24495
▻http://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/422952f6-fef2-11ee-925b-00163e02c055.webp

Si la fable des viols de masse du Hamas vous intéresse, le Haaretz (via The Cradle) vous explique longuement que rien de tout cela ne tient vraiment debout.

إعلام إسرائيلي: انخفاض حاد وغير متوقع في النشاط الاقتصادي لـ"إسرائيل" بسبب الحرب | الميادين
▻https://www.almayadeen.net/news/economic/إعلام-إسرائيلي--انخفاض-حاد-في-النشاط-الاقتصادي-الإسرائيلي-نه

Mauvais chiffres pour l’économie israélienne...

تحدّثت وسائل إعلام إسرائيلية عن أزمة اقتصادية شديدة في “إسرائيل” نتيجة الحرب على غزة، مشيرة إلى تأثير الحرب على الناتج المحلي وحجم الصادرات والواردات ومعدل البطالة وقيمة الشيكل.

وأفاد الإعلام الإسرائيلي بأنه في نهاية العام 2023، حدث انخفاضٌ حادّ وغير متوقع في النشاط الاقتصادي في “إسرائيل”، مع انخفاضٍ سنوي بنسبة 21% في الناتج المحلي الإجمالي في الفصل الرابع، مقارنةً بالفصل الثالث وأقلّ من التوقعات بانخفاض قدره 20.7%.

وتسلّط البيانات المحدثة التي قدّمها مكتب الإحصاء المركزي الإسرائيلي الضوء على التأثير الأضخم والأكثر مما هو متوقع للحرب على غزة على الاقتصاد الإسرائيلي.

وتسببت الحرب في انخفاضٍ حادّ في الصادرات (22.5%)، والإنفاق الخاص (26.9%)، والاستثمارات في الأصول الثابتة (67.9%) والواردات (42.4%).

وفي المقابل، قفز الإنفاق الحكومي بنسبة 83.7%. كما تم الإعلان عن ارتفاع معدل التضخم إلى 2.7% في آذار/ مارس، وهو أعلى من التوقعات السابقة البالغة 2.5%..

وتشير هذه البيانات إلى تحديات اقتصادية كبيرة تتطلب اهتماماً وتخطيطاً دقيقين لإعادة بناء الاقتصاد المحلي.

كذلك، أفاد الإعلام الإسرائيلي بانهيار الشيكل مقابل العملات الأجنبية، مشيراً إلى أنّ سعر الدولار قفز بنسبة 1.45% مقارنةً بسعر الأمس، وتم تثبيته عند 3.77 شيكل. وارتفع اليورو بنسبة 1.18% وتم تثبيته عند 4.008 شيكل.

Over 13,000 missing in unmarked graves across Gaza
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/24355

Over 13,000 Palestinians have gone missing since the start of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said in a report released on 11 April.

This includes Palestinians trapped under the rubble of buildings destroyed by airstrikes, as well as those who have been forcibly disappeared and detained, or left buried in unmarked mass graves.

In the report, Euro-Med called for “urgent international action to provide specialized teams and equipment to remove the rubble of homes and buildings bombed by Israeli army forces, rescue people trapped under its rubble who may still be alive, and recover thousands of bodies of others who died underneath since the start of the military attack on October 7.”

“This estimate is based on the volume of initial reports of missing persons … It is difficult to estimate the true numbers of missing persons at this stage, given the continuing Israeli military attacks and the siege of many areas in which the Israeli army carries out its operations,” the report added.

MoA - Two Israeli Actions Misfired, Pushed Netanyahoo Into Retreat
▻https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/04/two-israeli-actions-misfired-pushed-netanyahoo-into-retreat-.html#mor

(Très important (J’ai un peu coupé.)

Two Israeli Actions Misfired, Pushed Netanyahoo Into Retreat

Several recent incidents have increased the pressure on Israel to end its war on Gaza.

There are serious signs that the Israeli government, under pressure from the U.S., is now moving towards an intermediate ceasefire state that all sides may be able to live with - at least for a while. The decision to do that however has split the Netanyahoo government and may well end the coalition which supports it.

After six month of operations in Gaza the Israeli government has reached none of its announced aims. Neither is Hamas defeated, nor have the hostages been released. There is no viable plan who, if not Hamas, will in future rule the Gaza strip.

Israeli settlers, who have been living near the Gaza strip and the northern border, are still not willing to return to their homes as the government lacks a plan to guarantee their security.

Pressure on the Israeli government comes from several sides.

The war has been extremely costly for Israel’s economy. The called up reservists have been missing in their work places. The tourism business is down on its knees. Providing for those hundreds of thousands who have fled from their homes is costly.

Large protest have erupted within Israel demanding the return of the hostages.

International criticism of Israel has risen to unprecedented levels. Several UN resolutions have condemned it for its war crimes in Gaza. The International Court of Justice has ruled against it.

Only the support from the United States had allowed Israel to continue. But two recent incidents have jeopardized it.

The first was Israel’s assassination of seven people who had been working for World Central Kitchen, a U.S. based charity with good connections to Congress. Forty members of Congress, including Nancy Pelosi, have since spoken out against further unconditional support for Israel. The U.S. government under Joe Biden had to acknowledge that. It finally threatened to end its support for the Israeli government.

Following U.S. threats Israel immediately increased the provision of food to the starving population in Gaza:

The Defense Ministry body that coordinates Israeli activity in Palestinian territories said that 322 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the highest one-day total since the beginning of the war.

The second game changing incident was the Israeli attack on an Iranian embassy building in Damascus. A hit on any embassy is a serious crime that concerns all governments in this world. Iran would be fully within its rights to retaliated for such a strike.

The U.S. was extremely concerned over this as any Iranian response might well hit the many U.S. installation in the Middle East and could escalate into a wider war with severe consequences for all sides.

This had to be averted. Iranian media report now that a deal has been made in negotiations between Iran and the U.S. Iran will refrain from a direct attack on Israel if the U.S. guarantees a ceasefire in Gaza:

Iran informed the US that it would refrain from responding to the airstrike in which senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders were killed in Damascus if a ceasefire in Gaza is reached, Jadeh Iran reported on Sunday.

The news outlet cited an anonymous Arab diplomatic source, saying the source spoke to the news outlet two days ago. The source added that “If America succeeds in containing the situation, it will be a great success for the Biden administration and we can build on that.”

The report comes as negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal resume between Israel and Hamas in Cairo and as Israel continues preparations for a possible response to the Damascus airstrike that Syria and Iran blamed on Israel.

For the first time in six months ceasefire negotiations have suddenly become serious:

The state-linked Al-Qahera reported that Qatari and Hamas delegations had left Cairo and were expected to return “within two days to finalize the terms of the agreement.”

US and Israeli delegations were due to leave the Egyptian capital “in the next few hours” and consultations were expected to continue over the next 48 hours, the outlet added.

The report, which was not confirmed by any of the parties in the talks, came after Israeli officials had indicated cautious optimism on the chances for a deal in comments carried by Hebrew-language media, with Jerusalem giving its delegation wider leeway to make concessions toward an agreement.

“This time is different, we are the closest we’ve been in months to a deal,” Channel 12 news quoted a source close to the talks saying.

Yesterday Israel withdrew its last but one brigade from Gaza. Many in Israel interpreted this as an admittance of defeat:

Is this how the war ends? Not with a bang, or even a whimper, but with the IDF pulling its ground forces out of Khan Younis, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant asserting, in defiance of reality, that Hamas has “stopped functioning as a military organization throughout the Gaza Strip,” contradicting himself in the next breath, and clarifying a few hours later?

The radicals in Israel’s government also interpret this as a defeat of their aims. They are threatening to blow up their coalition with Netanyahoo over this:

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich issues a statement calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately convene the security cabinet to discuss the state of the war in Gaza, after the army pulled forces out of the southern Strip.

“The only forum authorized to make significant decisions in war is the full [security] cabinet, but unfortunately this is not how things are happening, and we are seeing decisions being made in the smaller [war] cabinet without approval, without updating the full cabinet, under international pressure that is harming the war’s momentum and our security interests,” he says.

The Netanyahoo government had gotten too cooky. Its army’s attack on U.S. supported charity workers and its attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus finally pushed the U.S. government to withdraw its support for the war.

Without support from the U.S. there is no way for Israel to continue a fight. Netanyahoo had to give up and did so.

We thus may now move towards a new balance of a lesser war which may sustain for a while but which can no be permanent.

The aim of Hamas’ Al Aqsa Flood operation was to shatter the feeling of security and invincibility with he Zionist population of Israel. In has been successful in this.

The Israeli government has yet found no way to compensate for it.

Israel ignored deal to ‘free all civilians’ from Gaza soon after 7 Oct: Qatar
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/24267

“The Israeli and US governments are those who have asked us to prevent a humanitarian crisis and financially support Gazan citizens, as well as employees of the Palestinian Authority, to maintain a sense of stability in the region,” the Qatari official said, adding that Americans and Israelis “were also the ones who asked us to let Hamas leaders stay in Doha, as they would rather have them in Doha than in Tehran or Beirut.”

Qatar is the historic mediator of conflicts between Palestinian resistance forces and Israel.

In this round of war negotiations, Doha officials said that Israel impeded efforts toward the release of the captives in Gaza.

“We approached Israel very soon after 7 October since we were able to agree with Hamas about the release of all civilian hostages,” a senior source close to the Qatari government said.

The source added that Israel took too long to respond.

“We were only answered by Israel on 16 October,” he said, adding that Israel was adamant about conducting a siege on Gaza in an attempt to release the captives on its own and establish deterrence.

According to a Hamas source, Qatar reached out to Israel on 8 October to attempt to mediate a prisoner swap deal between the Palestinian resistance and Israel.

White House authorizes fresh shipment of bombs for Israel
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/24250

The US government this week authorized a new transfer of over 1,000 500-pound MK82 bombs and 1,000 small-diameter bombs to Israel, according to several sources who spoke with CNN.

The authorization was reportedly issued on 1 April, hours before the Israeli army bombed a humanitarian convoy three consecutive times in the Gaza Strip, killing seven foreign aid workers.

Global outrage followed this attack, which came after more than 190 aid workers in Gaza and the West Bank had already been killed in nearly six months of a genocidal war waged by Tel Aviv. Moreover, 14,500 children and over 9,000 women have been massacred by the Israeli army since October.

Despite constant reports in western media about “frustrations” and “anger” within the White House over the brutality unleashed in Gaza, US President Joe Biden has clearly stated that military assistance for Israel has no red lines.

Last week, the White House gave the green light for the sale of 50 F-15 fighter jets to Israel, in a deal expected to be worth more than $18 billion. While the warplanes are not expected to arrive in Israel until 2029, the deal comes at a time when Tel Aviv has markedly increased its provocations against Iran and is threatening to “expand” the war against Lebanon.

Since 7 October, Washington has quietly made more than 100 foreign military sales to Israel without congressional approval.

الداخلية بغزة : اعتقال قيادة القوة الأمنية التي شكّلها ماجد فرج ويجري التحقيق مع أفرادها | رأي اليوم
▻https://www.raialyoum.com/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%ae%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a8%d8%ba%d8%b2%d8%a9

Le calvaire des habitants de Gaza continue. Selon Rai al-yom, quelques centaines de membres des services spéciaux de l’Autorité palestinienne seraient infiltrés à Gaza, avec l’accord des Israéliens, pour « organiser » la distribution d’aides dans le nord de Gaza et, surtout, contribuer à la mise au pas du Hamas.

نشرت مصادر فلسطينية نقلا عن وزارة الداخلية بغزة ان قوة امنية تابعة لرئيس الاستخبارات التابعة للسلطة الفلسطينية “اللواء ماجد فرج” جرى اعتقالها في غزة وتقول المعلومات إلى أن القوة قوامها مئات وأُعد كشف بها من قِبل ماجد فرج ورُفع للاحتلال.
واكدت وزارة الداخلية في غزة دخول قوة أمنية مشبوهة مع شاحنات الهلال الأحمر المصري، وتتهم مدير مخابرات السلطة الفلسطينية ماجد فرج.
وقالت الوزارة إن المعلومات الأولية تشير الى ان القوة قوامها مئات وأعد كشف بها من قبل ماجد فرج ورفع للاحتلال.
وأكدت الوزارة اعتقال قيادة القوة الأمنية التي شكلها ماجد فرج وجاري التحقيق معهم.
وكانت تحدثت مصادر عن قيام مجموعة مسلحة تابعة لجهاز المخابرات الفلسطينية في رام الله بقيادة ماجد فرج، بالمشاركة في تأمين دخول المساعدات إلى شمال قطاع غزة، وذلك لأول مرة امس السبت.
أشارت الوزارة إلى أن القوة الأمنية دخلت إلى منطقة شمال غزة، بتأمين من جهاز الشاباك الإسرائيلي وجيش الاحتلال.
ووفق المصادر فإن مدير المخابرات ماجد فرج قد قام بتشكيل قوة أمنية مسلحة، وقد شاركت بإذن من اسرائيل مساء السبت لأول مرة في حماية المساعدات التي وصلت مفرق الكويت جنوب مدينة غزة، بحسب ما قالت وكالة الأناضول.
في سياق متصل، بيّن مسؤول في وزارة الداخلية بغزة لقناة الأقصى، أن القوة الأمنية دخلت أمس مع شاحنات الهلال المصري، وجرى تنسيق أعمالها بشكل كامل مع قوات الاحتلال. ولفت إلى أن “اللواء ماجد فرج أدار عمل القوة بطريقة أمنية مخادعة، وضلل فيها الفصائل والعشائر الفلسطينية”، مضيفا أن “الجانب المصري أبلغ هيئة المعابر بعدم علمه بالقوة الأمنية، التي تسلمت الشاحنات المصرية، وأخلى المسؤولية الكاملة عنها”.
ونفى مسؤول بالسلطة الفلسطينية هذا الاتهام الذي وجهته وزارة الداخلية في القطاع الذي تديره حماس.
وقال مسؤول بالسلطة الفلسطينية في رام الله بالضفة الغربية المحتلة في بيان “بيان ما يسمى بوزارة داخلية حماس حول دخول المساعدات إلى قطاع غزة أمس لا أساس له من الصحة وسنستمر في تقديم كل ما يلزم لإغاثة شعبنا”.

White House eases sanctions on violent Israeli settlers
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/24153

http://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/23f3b454-edf2-11ee-a75d-00163e02c055.jpeg

Même sur les sanctions à l’encontre des colons les plus violents, les USA reculent !

The US has dramatically softened the sanctions it imposed on seven violent Israeli settlers by allowing them to use their accounts at Israeli banks, Israel Hayom reported on 29 March. The move makes the US sanctions, which allegedly were meant to punish the settlers for violent acts against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, essentially meaningless.

The US Treasury sent a letter to Israel’s finance ministry clarifying that Israel is not required to prevent the sanctioned settlers from making routine use of their bank accounts.

Earlier this month, The Atlantic magazine had referred to the sanctions as President Biden’s “doomsday option” against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his religious settler supporters.

However, according to Israel Hayom, the US announcement empties sanctions against the settlers of any practical content since freezing the bank accounts of the seven men was the only step that affected them in any practical way.

The sanctions continue to prevent the settlers from doing any financial transactions with US banks or traveling to the US, but as far as is known, they do not own assets in the US and have no intention of traveling there.

The US Treasury letter comes two weeks after Finance Minister Smotrich announced that he would not renew the Israeli state’s agreement to compensate banks in Israel that maintain relations with financial entities linked to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Israel Hayom reported that Smotrich refused to renew his signature on a document that protects from lawsuits to the Israeli banks, Discount and Hapoalim, which have financial ties with Palestinian banks.

Without this protection, the Israeli banks were expected to sever ties with the Palestinian banks, fearing that they would be exposed to international lawsuits on the charge of transferring funds to terrorists.

Since the PA’s economy depends on the relationship with Israel, this meant an immediate freeze of economic activity in the occupied West Bank, which is under PA control.

Israel Hayom added that the White House softened the sanctions on the settlers in response to Smotrich’s threat.

However, it is unclear if the sanctions were meant to punish the settlers or Prime Minister Netanyahu in any significant way.

Hiding the ’ratio’ : Israel conceals 200+ troop deaths on Lebanon front
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/24127

http://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/33dcf1c4-ed33-11ee-bd36-00163e02c055.jpeg

Des chiffres (invérifiables mais crédibles) sur les pertes israéliennes sur le front Nord.

israéliennes

Since 8 October, more than 230 Israeli soldiers have been killed by Hezbollah fighters in cross-border operations against the occupation state, according to field data obtained by The Cradle.

This suggests that the Lebanese resistance has achieved parity in the number of forces killed by both sides during the past six months of military clashes.

This feat is as significant as it is impressive, given that “relatively poorly armed and usually outnumbered popular resistance forces never achieve a 1:1 ratio against high-tech, heavily weaponized colonialist and neo-colonialist forces,” as noted by one analyst in the aftermath of Israel’s 2006 war on Lebanon.

Hezbollah’s new ’targets ratio’

While Hezbollah honors the martyrdoms of its fallen fighters by disclosing both name and number, the Israeli military tightly controls its casualty information flow, masking the true extent of its losses and downplaying the significance of crucial Israeli installations struck by Hezbollah drones and missiles in the country’s northern front.

Recent reports suggest 258 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since 8 October, while Israel has claimed only 10 fatalities among its forces - a highly improbable figure given Hezbollah’s extensive dissemination of war footage showing its Israeli troop targeting operations.

In comparison, during Israel’s 2006 war on Lebanon, which lasted only 34 days, Hezbollah’s losses are estimated to be around 250 dead fighters versus Israel’s declared 121 troops deaths, although that number is believed to be significantly higher. Ten Israeli deaths on the Lebanese border after six months of ferocious clashes makes little sense in this context.

Arab ’cannon fodder’ and foreign mercenaries

Tel Aviv adds to this “fog of war” by employing Bedouin and Druze troops on its frontlines to make concealing army deaths easier.

For instance, Israel provides a “material allowance” to the families of soldiers from the Bedouin “Qasasi al-Athar” unit, which is deployed to a number of Israel’s borders - Lebanon, Gaza, Egypt - with a focus on preventing cross-border infiltrations, particularly during times of conflict.

Field estimates indicate that the largest number of Israeli deaths occurred in the ranks of this unit.

In recent years, Israel has launched a series of military propaganda campaigns to showcase the diversity in its ranks. Deputy Army Spokesman “Captain Ayla,” an Arab Jew, organized a 2020 tour at the Lebanese–Palestinian border with a Qasasi al-Athar unit officer named Ali Falah, who works within the Northern Brigade, to highlight the perilous nature of their work at point zero.

It seems that the Israeli military employs the same strategies – paying off the families of dead Bedouin troops – with soldiers from the Arab Druze community, who are part of individual formations and battalions or so-called ’local defense’ in villages near the Lebanese border.

For instance, 70 percent of the 299th Battalion, which is stationed in the Hurfaish area – four kilometers from the Lebanese border – are members of the Druze community. The battalion has incurred casualties on the deadly front, but Israel has only reported one loss to date.

As with many armies facing decline, mercenaries have become a fixture within the ranks of the Israeli armed forces and are active in the combat units of the Israeli army. Many of these enlisted during the Gaza aggression and have been subsequently deployed to the border with Lebanon.

Despite the active involvement of mercenaries, their deaths often go unacknowledged, and their bodies are quietly repatriated without official recognition as fallen soldiers. Evidence suggests that a significant number of them have perished on the border frontlines.

(...) Ratio: quality over depth

In exchange for obscuring its losses, the occupation army seeks to project an image of strength by launching air force raids deep inside Lebanon. These are intended to deter Hezbollah, along with threats by top Israeli officials, such as Chief of Staff and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, who proclaimed in November: “What we’re doing in Gaza, we can also do in Beirut.”

Having already established a ’kill ratio’ in this war, it is suggested that Hezbollah may be aiming to establish a new ’qualitative ratio’ in its fight with Israel. This involves Hezbollah carefully selecting qualitative targets such as Israeli barracks and command centers – rather than merely matching Israel’s ’depth strikes’ in Lebanon – to deter the enemy and achieve its objectives.

To counter Israel’s depth approach, Hezbollah has reframed the equation: it has prioritized ’qualitative Israeli targets’ over mere geographical distance. This strategic shift was noted in the aftermath of Israel’s attack on the southern suburb of Beirut to assassinate Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau.

In response, the Lebanese resistance targeted a significant and sensitive site near the border – the Meron multi-mission air surveillance base – dealing a substantial blow to its functionality.

Hezbollah’s strategic maneuvers have placed Tel Aviv in a difficult predicament. The resistance’s evolving tactics disrupt the occupation army’s operations, causing confusion and threatening to escalate strikes on quality targets in the event that the war expands.

Strikes targeting specific installations – such as the volley of over 100 rockets against strategic sites in the Golan Heights in return for an Israeli attack on Baalbeck earlier this month – carry profound security implications for Israel.

Hezbollah’s deliberate and rapid retaliation underscores its readiness to confront any incursions into sensitive territories, rewrite the rules of engagement at will, and maintain the delicate balance of power along the border.

(...)

’Israel’ eyes private military contractors for bizarre US pier in Gaza | Al Mayadeen English
▻https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--eyes-private-military-contractors-for-bizarre-us-pi

A propos du « port provisoire » au large de Gaza :
1) Des milices privées pour éviter d’avoir à mettre des soldats US auu sol
2) (dans l’autre doc), les élus US ne sont pas convaincus et posent des questions...

1)

“Israel” is considering using international Private Military Companies (PMCs) to secure the soon-to-be-established American dock in the Gaza Strip, US officials told NBC News.

According to sources at the American network, Israeli officials have discussed the idea with senior officials from Joe Biden’s administration in recent weeks. After airdropping minimal amounts of aid to residents of the Gaza Strip, the Biden administration moved to establish a temporary dock on the coast of central Gaza. Taking a step closer to a direct military presence in Palestine, the United States is taking another controversial step to deliver aid to hungry Gazans instead of pressuring “Israel” to allow the necessary aid through the available land crossings.
No US boots in Gaza

(...) However, a former US official and two current US officials told NBC News a different story from what Biden had promised. In fact, “Israel” had already approached several security companies, suggesting to US officials that other countries pay the “hefty” price of the private military contractors.

Only “some” US officials have expressed resistance to the idea of PMCs landing in the Gaza Strip, particularly if those contractors were of American nationality.

The Israeli government declined to comment on NBC’s remarks, while the US administration did not respond to requests for comment.
(...)

Hence, here comes the role of PMC members and what the US describes as Palestinian “partners” in the besieged territory.

An attainable solution to the issue would be cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). However, the Biden administration decided to cut its funds and ties to the largest international organization in the Gaza Strip.

According to the two US officials that NBC News spoke to, “The US is also considering using Palestinian security providers in Gaza to help with aid distribution.”

“The officials refused to elaborate on who these providers are, other than to say there are groups and factions in Gaza that are separate from Hamas and could help,” NBC News explained.

To sum up, US and Israeli officials seek to employ foreign PMCs and Palestinian militants not affiliated with the Resistance to manage one of the most unusual aid delivery methods in recent history.

This is despite the fact that a senior Biden administration official admitted to the American network that “truck deliveries continue to be the most efficient way to get large amounts of aid into Gaza,” with only “Israel” impeding such deliveries.

2) ▻https://thecradle.co/articles/us-lawmakers-question-white-house-plan-to-build-gaza-port

“Starving civilians rushing the causeway. Israeli shells hitting American soldiers. Hamas terrorists firing on U.S. military boats. These are the potential scenarios U.S. officials are grappling with after President Joe Biden ordered the military to build a pier to help deliver aid to Gaza,” Politico wrote.

“I’m trying to get more details about the concept of operations,” Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, said. “In particular, one of my concerns is security for this operation. Because if the U.S. military is seen to be building and operating it, I think it puts it at greater risk.”

Congressman Mike Rogers, a Republican from Alabama, said it was unclear how the plan would work and whether it would make a difference. The Pentagon estimates it will take up to 60 days to build the port while starvation and famine are quickly spreading in Gaza.

“I’ve been briefed on what they’re doing, but the things nobody can answer are who’s going to provide the security, who’s going to provide the drivers, and who’s going to load and unload stuff?” Rogers said, adding “this is moving really fast and nobody can explain how it’s gonna work.”

According to Politico, the plan involves two parts: a floating pier 5 to 8 kilometers from the shore and a 550-meter floating causeway, which will be anchored to the beach.

Larger ships are expected to unload aid onto the pier. Smaller US boats will then transport the aid to the causeway, where it will be moved to trucks that will distribute it into Gaza.

But it is unclear how the causeway will be anchored to the shore, as US soldiers will be forbidden from setting foot on Gazan soil.

Other US officials say the effort to build the port is redundant, as Morocco has opened a land corridor to deliver aid by truck.

“So if [Morocco’s] going to start rolling trucks in today or tomorrow, like very immediately, then why are we even building this pier?” a US official asked.

Further, a US-based charity, World Central Kitchen, is building a landing jetty in Gaza to receive aid sent this week by ship from Cyprus.

This raises questions about the true purpose of building the pier. Palestinians fear Israel will use it not to deliver aid to Gaza but to forcibly expel the strip’s 2.3 million residents.

Israel turns back aid truck over medical scissors
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/23860
▻http://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/8ed81a46-e085-11ee-a6c2-00163e02c055.webp

Un camion d’aide pour Gaza refoulé par les Israéliens parce qu’il contenait des ciseaux médicaux...

Israel turned back a truck loaded with humanitarian aid for Gaza because it contained scissors used in children’s medical kits, UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini reported on the social media site X on 11 March.

He stated further that medical scissors have now been added to a long list of banned items the Israeli Authorities classify as “for dual use” – both military and civilian.

The banned list includes several essential and lifesaving items, from anesthetics, solar lights, oxygen cylinders, and ventilators to water-cleaning tablets, cancer medicines, and maternity kits.

Earlier this month, CNN reported that the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli agency that controls humanitarian aid access to Gaza, has imposed arbitrary and contradictory criteria when determining whether to let aid in. The findings were based on interviews with more than two dozen humanitarian and government officials.

CNN reported further that the items most frequently rejected by the Israelis include anesthetics and anesthesia machines, oxygen cylinders, ventilators, and water filtration systems.

Other items for which COGAT has prevented delivery to Gaza include dates, sleeping bags, medicines to treat cancer, water purification tablets, and maternity kits.

“It is perfectly engineered chaos,” said one CNN source, adding that over 15,000 tons of their relief supplies await Israeli approval to enter Gaza.

Israeli army morale plummets over ’lasting victory’ in Gaza : Report
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/23670

A propos du bilan des pertes israéliennes à Gaza. (Quant à savoir quelque chose sur celles qui ont lieu dans le nord, c’est encore plus obscur...)

Israel claims only 242 soldiers have lost their lives in Gaza since the start of the ground invasion, plus an extra 300 during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October. However, in December, Hebrew media revealed that hospital records contradicted the army’s claims about the number of casualties, as Tel Aviv was reportedly undercounting by half.

Moreover, the official numbers of wounded only included soldiers in the army, excluding wounded security personnel such as special reconnaissance fighters and members of SWAT units, the police, Border Police, Shin Bet, and emergency and rescue units like Magen David Adom.

“The human losses announced by the security establishment are usually binding on hundreds of media institutions, and these are allowed to work basically according to this rule. The death toll always comes from one source, and no one questions it," The Cradle’s Palestine Correspondent reported last year.

Will Egypt accept Palestinian displacement in exchange for debt relief ?
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/23603

Effacement de la dette égyptiene (ou partie d’entre elle) contre « solution » au problème des Palestiniens de Gaza. Bon article, pas très gai...

(...)
There is little doubt that the mass displacement of Palestinians poses a threat to Egypt’s national security in the long term. Still, the Saudis and Emiratis appear to be prioritizing this Israeli objective, and so Egypt faces a dilemma:

Either continue to reject displacement or accept a mass exodus to Sinai – even temporarily – in exchange for economic incentives that include offsetting a major part of its accumulated debt, which also threatens the Egyptian economy significantly and, by extension, its social cohesion.

Cairo has been complicit in Israel’s blockade of Gaza since 2007 and has played an active role in countering Palestinian resistance by flooding tunnels connecting the Strip to Sinai.

The critical role played by Saudi Arabia and Egypt in shaping post-war Gaza cannot be overstated. Riyadh’s embrace of normalization sets a dangerous precedent, fulfilling a long-held US–Israeli desire to integrate the occupation state into West Asia – to the detriment of Palestine.

This shift in dynamics represents a concerted effort to sideline the Palestinian cause in favor of broader regional political and economic guarantees from Washington. Speaking at this year’s Munich Security Conference, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there is an “extraordinary opportunity” in the coming months for the recognition of Israel among Arab states:

Virtually every Arab country now genuinely wants to integrate Israel into the region to normalize relations … to provide security commitments and assurances so that Israel can feel more safe.

It seems clear that Riyadh decided, from the beginning of the Gaza war, to prepare the internal environment for the post-Gaza phase, that is, the phase of normalization and settlement. Saudi Arabia insisted on not postponing any festival or celebration, prevented participating artists from showing sympathy for the Palestinians, punished those who sympathized with the martyrs of Gaza from a Saudi platform, and even banned the wearing of the Palestinian Kufiyyeh at Mawsim al-Riyadh, a state-funded annual festival.

Saudi Arabia’s meticulous plan to relegate the Palestinian issue to the annals of history comprises five strategic steps:

First, insulate domestic affairs from Gaza’s turmoil. Second, promote the two-state solution as a precursor to normalization with Israel. Third, coerce other Arab countries into following suit while isolating dissenting voices. Fourth, facilitate the displacement of Palestinians, both in the short and long term, by leveraging soft power incentives and economic inducements. In December, the French newspaper Le Monde leaked a controversial Saudi–French proposal to end the Gaza war by displacing Hamas leaders and members to Algeria.

Fifth, the kingdom seeks to foster economic ties with Israel to integrate it as a normal part of West Asia.

The success of Riyadh’s plan hinges on the compliance of key stakeholders Israel and Egypt, whose approval is paramount for normalization and the execution of Palestinian displacement.

Closing the file on the Palestinian cause and forging ties with Tel Aviv is an ambition the Saudis share with the UAE in pursuit of economic and political gains. Despite official Arab declarations rebuffing displacement plans, behind-the-scenes maneuvers suggest a different reality, one that veers towards the gradual dissolution of the Palestinian cause.

Saudis and Emiratis buy Egypt’s sovereignty

Riyadh’s sudden eagerness to bolster economic ties with Cairo is palpable. With unprecedented directives from both governments, mutual investments are set to soar, with Saudi Arabia aiming to ramp up trade to $100 billion.

Recent collaborations include a $4 billion deal with Saudi-listed ACWA Power for the Green Hydrogen project. Moreover, strategic initiatives like the memorandum of understanding between the Egyptian Ministry of Military Production and the Saudi General Authority for Military Industries and agreements in petroleum and mineral resources signal deepening economic integration.

Ongoing negotiations between Cairo and Abu Dhabi to develop a substantial tract of land along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, potentially valued at $22 billion, could be a game-changer for Egypt’s beleaguered economy.

According to the CBE report, the proposed contract’s value encompasses a significant portion of the Egyptian government’s external debt due in 2024, totaling $29.229 billion. This includes interest payments totaling $6.312 billion and debt installments amounting to $22.917 billion.

Economic lifeline or political liability?

There is no doubt that the Saudi–Emirati interest in investing in Egypt is mainly driven by these two countries’ fears of Egypt’s economic collapse, which could destabilize a key, friendly Arab state in the region.

But information has surfaced that the two Gulf states’ offers to Egypt now tie the displacement of Gazans to a proposal to alleviate Cairo’s staggering debt burden. The reported US offer to wipe out $160 billion of Egyptian debt in exchange for hosting 100,000 Gazan refugees has a dangerous historical precedent. In 1991, Washington forgave Egypt’s debt in return for its support of the US-led coalition against Iraq.

Egypt’s monumental national debt ranks second globally in risk of default after Ukraine. Notably, Arab countries hold a significant portion of Egypt’s debt, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE alone accounting for approximately 20.3 percent.

Egypt’s looming economic collapse is not in the interest of either the Persian Gulf’s Arab states or their US ally due to the country’s strategic significance in the Arab world and North Africa – hence, the resolution of the Palestinian issue emerges as a shared priority among Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the US.

The latter states’ normalization efforts align with their broader geopolitical strategies aimed at containing Iran and neutralizing the Axis of Resistance. Despite Saudi Arabia’s rhetoric endorsing normalization in exchange for Palestinian rights, its actions during the Gaza war confirm that Riyadh has, since day one, been working to sideline the Palestinian cause and inhibit any positive engagement with it.

In the long term, the establishment of a Palestinian state poses a threat to efforts aimed at permanently extinguishing the Palestinian issue. Thus, the prospect of displacing Palestinians to Egypt, despite the formidable obstacles, remains a viable strategy for Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Illegal West Bank settlements broke record in 2023: Report
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/23345

http://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/35916014-cc1c-11ee-9dca-00163e02c055.jpeg

Jusqu’ici, tout va bien...

According to Israeli watchdog NGO Peace Now, Israeli settlers set up a record-breaking 26 illegal outposts in the occupied West Bank in 2023.

The settlements lack official recognition from the Israeli government, with approximately 10 of these being set up following the outbreak of the war on 7 October.

The report added that the surge in illegal settlement construction is correlated with the Jewish supremacist policies of the current Israeli government.

Peace Now says Israeli police consistently allow “settlers to establish outposts unhindered,” the majority of whom never face legal consequences.

More than 500,000 Israelis reside in settlements in the occupied West Bank, living among approximately three million Palestinians in the area.

Autre toute petite subtile différence : je n’ai pour l’instant vu rigoureusement aucun article, aucun hommage, aucune proposition de Prix Nobel, aucun appel aux dons, pour les « casques blancs » palestiniens.

مؤشرات قوية على عودة حركة “حماس” العنيدة للسيطرة على مدينة غزة.. تنشر ضباطاً وتدفع رواتب موظفين ومخطط إسرائيل فشل | رأي اليوم
▻https://www.raialyoum.com/%d9%85%d8%a4%d8%b4%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d9%82%d9%88%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%b9%d9%8

Les Israéliens partis, l’administration du Hamas, dont certains membres ont été payés (en dollars) reprend pied à Gaza City.

أفادت وكالة “أسوشيتد برس”، نقلاً عن سكان وقيادي كبير في “حماس”، بأن الحركة بدأت في الظهور مرة أخرى داخل مناطق في مدينة غزة، بعد انسحاب الجزء الأكبر من القوات الإسرائيلية منها قبل شهر، كما نشرت ضباط شرطة تابعين لها، ودفعت رواتباً لبعض موظفيها المدنيين في المدينة خلال الأيام الأخيرة.
وذكرت الوكالة الأميركية أن إشارات عودة الحركة للظهور مجدداً إلى مدينة غزة تؤكد مدى قدرة “حماس” على الصمود، رغم الحرب التي تشنها إسرائيل منذ 4 أشهر على القطاع، جواً وبحراً وبراً، بدعوى عزمها على تدمير وسحق الحركة التي تحكم القطاع منذ عام 2007.
وفي الأيام الأخيرة، جددت القوات الإسرائيلية ضرباتها في الأجزاء الغربية والشمالية الغربية من مدينة غزة، بما في ذلك المناطق التي وردت تقارير بأن الحركة توزع رواتب الموظفين فيها.
وقال أربعة من سكان مدينة غزة لوكالة “أسوشيتد برس” إنه في الأيام الأخيرة، انتشر ضباط شرطة يرتدون الزي الرسمي وملابس مدنية، بالقرب من مقر الشرطة والمكاتب الحكومية الأخرى، بما في ذلك مستشفى الشفاء، الأكبر في القطاع.
وذكر أحد سكان مدينة غزة للوكالة، أن ابن عمه تلقى أموالاً من مكتب مؤقت لحماس تم إنشاؤه لتوزيع 200 دولار على موظفين حكوميين، بما في ذلك ضباط الشرطة وعمال البلدية.
وأضافوا أنهم رأوا عودة موظفي الخدمة المدنية، كما أشاروا إلى وقوع غارات جوية إسرائيلية بالقرب من هذه المكاتب المؤقتة.
وذكر مسؤول في “حماس” لـ”أسوشيتد برس”، أن عودة الشرطة تمثل محاولة لاستعادة النظام في المدينة المدمرة، وذلك بعدما سحبت إسرائيل عدداً كبيراً من قواتها من شمال غزة الشهر الماضي.

Yemenis ditch UAE–Saudi coalition for Gaza
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/21629

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The Gaza war and renewed US–UK strikes on Yemen are shattering what remains of the UAE–Saudi-led coalition. Now Yemenis of all stripes are flocking to embrace the Sanaa government and its resistance stance.

Les Etats-Unis décident de négocier avec l’Irak une sortie programmée de leurs troupes
▻https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2024/01/26/irak-washington-decide-de-negocier-avec-bagdad-une-sortie-programmee-de-ses-

https://img.lemde.fr/2024/01/20/0/0/2400/1600/1440/960/60/0/3adee03_5397545-01-06.jpg

En attendant il faut s’attendre à un « surge » d’activité de « l’état islamique » (contre les civils irakiens bien sûr, pas les troupes étasuniennes) avant le départ des Étasuniens.

(Sans surprise on ne note aucune action dudit état contre l’état sioniste)

Israel’s bloodcurdling ‘poison policy’ to replace Palestinians with Jewish settlers
▻https://thecradle.co/article-view/26684/Israel’s bloodcurdling ‘poison policy’ to replace Palestinians with Jewish settlers

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Again, the newly-released papers starkly demonstrate this to be a deliberate deception. The trail begins in January 1971, when the cabinet of then-Israeli prime minister Golda Meir met to discuss the forthcoming construction of settlements. The need for unfailing public secrecy about what was about to happen was considered paramount. At the start of the summit, the premier requested:

“Before we move forward with our discussion, there’s something I’d like to ask. It was our habit that for anything that has to do with settlements, outposts, land expropriations, and so on, we simply do and do not talk [about it]…Lately, this … has broken down, and I’m asking ministers for the sake of our homeland to hold back, talk less, and do as much as possible. But the main thing, as much as possible, is to talk less.”

Proposed bill grants Ben Gvir authority to detain Israeli citizens without charges
▻https://thecradle.co/article-view/25910/Proposed bill grants Ben Gvir authority to detain Israeli citizens without charges

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According to a report by The Times of Israel, Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, is set to introduce a new bill to the Knesset that would grant him the authority to take action against Israeli citizens who have yet to be criminally charged.

This includes ratifying sentences and expanding on administrative detention mechanisms that are typically used against ‘terror’ suspects.

Ben Gvir’s proposal would also allow him to impose renewable detention orders against Israeli citizens for up to six months and restrict their movements, including international travel and access to employment, without clear-cut evidence or file charges.

According to Hebrew Channel 12, the bill was filed by Knesset lawmaker Zvika Fogel. He immediately introduced the proposal to the National Security Committee, allowing him to skip several preliminary steps, such as avoiding a confrontation with Tel Aviv’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who would raise objections to the proposal of the far-right minister and leader of the Religious Zionist Party.

Under the bill’s guidelines, the detention mechanisms can be used against anyone Ben Gvir deems as a threat to national security, even without the existence of sufficient evidence.