Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The South African government lodged an urgent complaint on Monday at the International Court of Justice against the plan announced by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to attack Rafah in southern Gaza, where 1.4 million people, most of them refugees from elsewhere, have been pushed by the Israeli military. So […]
Netherlands Judges Halt Export to Israel of F-35 Parts: “Disproportionate Civilian Casualties including Thousands of Children”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Dutch News reports that an appeals court in The Hague, Netherlands, has ruled that the Dutch government must cease sending spare parts for the F-35 fighter-jet to Israel. The spare parts are technically owned by the U.S., but are kept in storage at Woensdrecht Air Base. The news site quotes […]
Egypt Threatens Netanyahu with End of Camp David Peace Accords if he Invades Rafah
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It is being widely reported based on press leaks that the Egyptian government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has privately threatened Israel. Cairo is said to have warned that the 1978 Camp David Peace Treaty will be suspended “with immediate effect” if the government of Binyamin Netanyahu tries to take […]
Netanyahu Plans to chase 1.4 mn. Refugees from Rafah, then to Invade, as Biden complains, “Over the Top”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that the Israeli army has agreed on a plan prepared for the land invasion of Rafah City in South Gaza. The city is the last refuge for over a million Palestinian refugees pushed out of the northern Gaza Strip by earlier Israeli military operations. […]
As Palestinians continue to Die, the History of their Betrayal by the ‘Free World’ tells us Why (Juan Cole at Scheerpost)
Legendary journalist Bob Scheer interviews Juan Cole at Scheer Intelligence Juan Cole, “As Palestinians continue to die, the history of their betrayal by the ‘Free World’ tells us why” at Scheerpost “You have this exchange of populations, this ethnic cleansing: Jews sent to Israel and Palestinian sent out of Israel. But the Palestinians that were […]
New York Times’ Friedman hits new Low with Animalization of Arabs and Iranians
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Calling people animals is a way to dehumanize them, and probably helps convince individuals that the other people around them approve of treating the animals badly. In ways that aren’t entirely clear, this way of speaking is certainly wrought up with violence and even genocide. Israel’s Defense Minister called the […]
Biden Isolated as 85% of Americans fear wider Mideast War, and 50% say Israel has gone Too Far
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In a new NORC/ AP opinion poll, 50% of Americans say that they believe Israel has gone too far in its war on Gaza. That is up from 40% in November. Even though the US television news networks steadfastly decline to cover the Israeli war on Gaza in a concerted […]
The State of the Middle East Today – Juan Cole
Mohammad A. Khalil interviews Juan Cole on the situation in today’s Middle East. MSU Muslim Studies Program: “The Middle East Today: A Conversation with Professor Juan Cole” (Recorded on 1/31/2024)”
Top 3 Things Biden could Do instead of intensively Bombing Iraq and Syria
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Biden administration launched 85 air strikes on Friday against small bases of the Party of God Brigades (Kata’ib Hizbullah), an Iraqi Shiite militia active in Iraq and Syria. The organization is likely the culprit in Sunday’s drone strike against the Tower 22 US base in the far north of […]