Israel

( Middle East Monitor ) – Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir vowed on 26 August to build a synagogue inside the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa, the Muslim holy site known as Al-Haram Al-Sharif. As a representation of Israel’s powerful religious Zionist class in the government and society at large, Ben-Gvir has been candid regarding […]

Dissent

Why Biden must cut Netanyahu off: His Policies are Destroying Gaza, Killing Hostages, and Widening the War to the West Bank

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – With the enormous weekend demonstrations in Israel, and Monday’s general strike called for by the Histadrut, the massive collective of trade unions in Israel; the pressure for PM Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu to resign is dramatically escalating. By demanding that Bibi negotiate a deal to release the remaining […]

Featured

Massive Demonstrations, National Strike in Israel as Crowds blame PM Netanyahu for deaths of Hostages

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Basil Maghrebi at the Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that tens of thousands of Israelis participated on Sunday evening in massive demonstrations unprecedented since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack, especially in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. They were demanding a deal of the exchange of hostages that would lead to […]

Iran

Is Iran’s anti-Israel and -American Rhetoric all Bark and no Bite?

Shahram Akbarzadeh

(The Conversation) – On August 27, Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, told the newly elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and his cabinet that talking to the enemy may be useful. In a thinly veiled reference to Iran’s engagement with the international community – and specifically the United States – Khamenei […]

Featured

Israeli PM Netanyahu says Recovering Hostages not a Priority, Occupies Philadelphi Corridor Instead

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Bilal Daher of the Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports on Thursday evening’s knock-down, drag-out fight between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the cabinet meeting, which ended in a vehement shouting match. The heated discussion was leaked to an Israeli television news channel. Some […]

Israel

“Wipe it off the Face of the Earth!” Israel’s War on the United Nations and International Law

Ramzy Baroud

( Middle East Monitor ) – Departing Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, has clearly had an unpleasant experience at the world’s largest international institution. In an interview published in the Israeli newspaper Maariv on 20 August, the disgruntled envoy said that, “The UN building should be closed and wiped off from the […]

Hizbullah

Israel and Hezbollah step Back from War, but for how Long? All eyes are now on Iran’s next Move

The Conversation

By Ian Parmeter, Australian National University | – (The Conversation) – For weeks, Israel had been anticipating a major attack from Hezbollah in retaliation for its killing of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Lebanon at the end of July. In the early hours of Sunday, that attack finally came – and Israel was apparently ready. […]

Food Insecurity

Yemen: Israeli Port Attack Possible War Crime: Retaliatory July Strike on Hodeidah Threatens Food, Aid, Electricity Supply

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – The Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah port on the evening of July 20, 2024, were an apparently unlawful indiscriminate or disproportionate attack on civilians that could have a long-term impact on millions of Yemenis who rely on the port for food and humanitarian aid, Human Rights Watch said today. The […]

Economy

Gaza War, Lack of Palestinian Labor, drives Contraction of Israeli GDP, with 46K Businesses Shuttered

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing his total war on Gaza is not only inflicting untold misery on thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza but is also hurting the economic well-being of Israelis. According to the Israeli newspaper Arab 48, the Israeli economy’s gross domestic product per capita […]