War

By Juan Cole A new element entered the current Gaza war on Thursday, as Israel shelled a UN school full of displaced persons taking refuge there and large protests broke out in the Palestinian West Bank. The shelling of the UNRWA school, which killed 15 and injured 200, was a war crime. The UN had […]

Apartheid

The World Asks: Is Israel Targeting Civilians in Gaza?

contributors

By Luisa Gandolfo via The Conversation When the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, accused Hamas of using “telegenically dead Palestinians for their cause”, he overlooked an element of the conflict that could not be skewed for the viewing public: the damage to Gaza’s infrastructure. Since the start of Operation Protective Edge 15 days ago, approximately […]

Apartheid

Gaza: Inside Israel’s massacre at al-Shujayeh: “I can’t Believe I Survived”

contributors

By Mohammed Suliman via al-Akhbar “A massacre, a massacre!” were the words my brother, who works as a doctor at Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital, said as he yelled over the phone urging me to come to Gaza’s main hospital immediately. “Come witness the massacre,” he said. At first light, as I readied myself to go to […]

Apartheid

Gaza: The Israeli Army’s Unlawful Targeting Practices are bad for Children

contributors

By Bill Van Esveld, Human Rights Watch The Israel Defense Force has an answer to the shelling yesterday that killed four children near the Gaza City port. At a media briefing yesterday, an IDF official reportedly said the attack had targeted an “identified Hamas structure,” and that Israeli forces had misidentified the boys as “fleeing […]

Apartheid

Gaza: Families destroyed by Israel’s bombs

contributors

By: Orouba Othman His whole life passed before his eyes like a film uncut by memory. He dived into the rubble of his home, hoping to find something to defeat the idea of his family’s death. But death is always stronger and here, the smell of blood fills the air. Gaza – He calls them […]

Israel Lobby

Gaza’s Children Trapped by Israeli Airstrikes, Naval Bombardment, over 20 Dead

contributors

By Sarah Lazare As the human rights crisis grows more acute in this besieged strip, the number of dead and injured children continues to rise As Israeli fighter jets, attack helicopters, and armed drones continue to pummel Gaza for a fourth day, children—who comprise half of the population of this besieged strip—face mounting wounds and […]

Apartheid

Israel’s Groundhog Day: Reverse Snowballs and the Horror of Lawn-Mowing

Juan Cole

by Juan Cole A horrible video is circulating on social media, of a Palestinian father in Gaza who is bringing a toy to his four year old son, only to find once he enters his home that his son’s head has been crushed by Israeli shrapnel. That is the face of Israel’s current military operation […]

Counter-Terrorism

Not Serious re: Terrorism: GOP House Cut out funding for al-Qaeda, Iraq Records & Research

Juan Cole

Representatives on the Hill talk a good game about going back into Iraq or pursuing a global war on terror, but they aren’t actually very interested in all that. Exhibit A: they’ve applied the same austerity to the Conflict Records Research Center as they did to the working poor and Veterans on food stamps. This […]

Iraq

Shiite Volunteers: Asset for Iraqi Army or Drawback?

contributors

By Daoud al-Ali | Baghdad | niqash | Volunteers on the streets of Baghdad who have responded to the call to defend Iraq. Thousands of Shiites have volunteered to fight Sunni extremists in Iraq. But in the clashes between extremist groups and volunteers, the illegal Shiite militia groups are proving by far the best fighters […]