International [Arab-Israeli Conflict, v4] Israel Sets Goal of Doubling the Jewish Population on the Golan Heights

Trump Administration Released Dozens of Millions of Dollars to Support Palestinian Security Forces
Funds which had been frozen since the beginning of the year were recently released despite political tensions between D.C. and Ramallah
By Amir Tibon | August 2, 2018

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The Trump administration has decided to release dozens of millions of dollars in security aid to the Palestinian Authority, that had been frozen since the beginning of the year due to the administration's internal review of all American aid to the Palestinians. A State Department official told Haaretz that the money was released because the PA's security forces work in cooperation with Israel against terrorism and violence in the West Bank.

This development, which was first reported on Thursday by NPR, comes after months of increased tension between the PA and the administration. Palestinian President Abbas has been boycotting the Trump administration ever since Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last year. The administration, for its part, has been withholding more than $200 million that were approved by Congress for aid to the Palestinians, because it wants to ensure that the funding "meets our national security interests," according to the State Department.

Recently, however, a large chunk of that money has been released. An American official told Haaretz the released sum is $61 million, while two other sources claimed it was closer to $35 million. A State Department official told Haaretz that "This assistance underpins Palestinian Authority security cooperation with Israel, which remains in force despite recent tensions."

The same official added that "this decision does not in any way prejudge the outcome of our review of other funding streams and programs. It is simply the first decision to emerge from the review, which is ongoing."

Two weeks ago, Haaretz reported that humanitarian groups in the West Bank and Gaza have been preparing to fire employees and shut down projects as a result of the ongoing U.S. Assistance freeze. The same is also true of groups that support Israeli-Palestinian coexistence programs, who relied on American grants for their activities, and are now in danger of shutting down their activities unless the American support for their actions is renewed.

Commenting on the issue, The State Department official added that "The Administration continues to review our assistance to the Palestinians to ensure it is meeting our national security interests, achieving our policy objectives, and providing value to U.S taxpayers. This takes place in the context of a broader, global review".

"As and when the Administration determines that a particular funding stream or project meets those criteria to its satisfaction, we will move forward on the relevant funding and programming, with appropriate congressional notification," he concluded.

 
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This will sicken you: Eyewitness describes hateful act of piracy by Israel against Norwegian boat on mercy mission

This is Dr Swee’s account, word for word.


Events from 29 July when the Israeli Navy stormed the Freedom Flotilla Al-Awda hijacked and diverted it from its intended course to Gaza to Israel...

This report must go viral. Please do what you can to spread its message.

https://www.redressonline.com/2018/...rael-against-norwegian-boat-on-mercy-mission/

This shit is completely out of control, but we are just gonna go ahead and ship off an other 38 billion to these monsters. Yeah, yeah, yeah... Russia.
 
Israel wreaks terror on another harmless mercy ship


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And the list of monstrous crimes against human decency just got even longer

By Stuart Littlewood

How revealing. How ironic.


It is Jeremy Corbyn’s misfortune to be surrounded by witless blabbermouths whose unbridled remarks are a gift to Israel lobby propagandists. And while mainstream media in the UK were, as usual, whipping up an anti-Semitism ruckus orchestrated against the Labour Party leader, Israel was busy committing yet another outrage on the high seas against a humanitarian aid vessel peacefully carrying urgently-needed medical supplies for the desperate citizens of blockaded Gaza....

And according to documents released under a Freedom of Information petition by Gisha, an Israeli law centre, Israel operated “a policy of deliberate reduction” of basic goods in the Gaza Strip. Gisha’s director accused Israel of “paralyzing normal life in Gaza”. The documents confirmed that the siege was not for security reasons but aimed at keeping Gazans at near-starvation level. Since around half the population are growing children, this act of collective punishment has meant that hundreds of thousands are undernourished.

And the civilized world stands idly by.

MADNESS!
 
Palestinian Officials: Israel, Egypt Advancing Gaza Deal Behind Abbas' Back
By Jack Khoury | Aug 06, 2018​

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Hamas senior Ismail Haniyeh shakes hands with his deputy Saleh Arouri upon his arrival in Gaza from Cairo, Egypt, in Gaza City, August 2, 2018.
Israel and Egypt have been advancing a deal to improve living conditions in the Gaza Strip without involvement by the Palestinian Authority, official sources in Ramallah say.

According to a senior Palestinian official, an Israeli official visited Qatar during the visit of Egypt's intelligence chief, General Abbas Kamel, to Washington, in an attempt to push the proposal forth.

The Palestinian official said that the proposal being promoted in Jerusalem and in Cairo put the United Nations responsible for promoting the projects while the Egyptians would be involved in the evaluation and supervision over the projects. The funding, he said, would come mainly from the Gulf States, including Qatar, with additional funding from the European Union and the United States. A reported $650 million would be invested in projects, without direct involvement by Hamas or the PA.

Hamas has not yet officially responded to the proposal, but senior figures in the organization are sending a positive message, noting that an improvement in the situation is expected, although there is fear that the proposal's collapse is still possible.

According to a Hamas official, the most likely option currently on the table does not include a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation. According to him, "Gaza is on the verge of total collapse, also because of the sanctions the PA has placed on the Strip, so Hamas wouldn't think twice before accepting a proposal that would ease the Gazan population's suffering and give true relief by lifting the siege, even if there was a political price to pay."

The official told Haaretz that there are three possible scenarios for Gaza: a full confrontation with Israel, a long-term cease-fire that would include reconciliation based on prisoner exchange and lifting of the blockade and the scenario currently on the table, which has cease-fire as a first stage with prisoner exchange as the next stage and significant easing of the siege and the final stage, leading to a long-term cease-fire, but not internal Palestinian reconciliation.

Members of the Hamas political bureau continued a series of meetings Sunday discussing the Egyptian-led efforts for a cease-fire with Israel. No final decision was reached.

Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine criticized Hamas for working towards a cease-fire without national Palestinian agreement, thereby serving Israel and the United States' plan to sever the Gaza Strip from the West Bank.

In light of the criticism, Hamas initiated a meeting with representatives of the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, including Fatah. Senior Hamas figure Husam Badran, who recently arrived from Qatar with the delegation of Hamas' international leadership, said that the meeting was intended to coordinate positions and to ensure broad national consensus for any proposal that would be presented.

An activist in one of the factions who participated in the meeting told Haaretz that Hamas representatives spoke in general terms without discussing details, which have yet to be agreed upon.

Fatah's criticism of Hamas indicates that there is no expectation that the Palestinian government will return to the Gaza Strip, at least in the first stage, and that the PA will likely be a remote partner, working primarily with the United Nations.

An Egyptian source told Haaretz that Cairo still prefers a plan in which the PA is directly involved. Therefore, it is possible that the publications in recent days regardinng a proposal bypassing the PA were intended to exert pressure on the parties to promote reconciliation.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas has presented 14 objections that could derail the whole process.

The London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported on Tuesday that the Egyptians submitted a position paper following the PA's reservations to the proposal. The position paper suggested the Palestinian government ministers would return to the Gaza Strip and manage their offices fully. Within five weeks, according to the paper, internal security arrangement between the sides would be coordinated in Cairo. In order to implement the provisions of the Cairo reconciliation agreement, a joint Fatah-Hamas committee will be set up. The committee will oversee transferring the payment collection mechanism and the legal system to the PA in return for paying salaries to government bureaucrats in the Strip, including officers nominated by Hamas.

A delegation of Islamic Jihad senior officials is set to visit Moscow for meetings with senior Russian officials. In June, Moscow hosted a Hamas delegation.

Cairo rejects funding from Qatar because of the diplomatic conflict between the two countries.

Two main proposals are under discussion – one presented by Egypt and the other by United Nations special Mideast envoy Nickolay Mladenov. The Egyptian proposal gives high priority to internal Palestinian reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah; to exchanges of prisoners and of bodies of soldiers, with Israel; and to an agreement for a long-term cease-fire, to last from five to seven years, with the first step being a cease-fire within days of signing the accord.

 
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Palestinian Rocket Barrage From Gaza Draws Israeli Strikes
By Jonathan Ferziger , Saud Abu Ramadan , and David Wainer | August 8, 2018

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Gaza Strip rocket squads kept up their bombardment of southern Israel on Thursday, triggering waves of Israeli airstrikes against Hamas military installations as the sides alternated between talk of a cease-fire and warnings of all-out war.

Hamas said Thursday afternoon that the current round of fighting had ended -- though a rocket landed a few minutes later in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Gaza, for the first time since the sides warred in 2014. Israel’s security cabinet was meeting Thursday afternoon amid warnings that a larger operation in Gaza was under consideration.

“Hamas is taking two million Palestinians hostage,” Israeli Housing Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters Thursday. “Whatever is needed to do in order to defend our citizens and soldiers will be done, no matter what the price will be in Gaza.”

The conflict heated up Wednesday night, a day after two Hamas commandos were killed by Israeli tank fire in disputed circumstances. Before the flareup, Hamas, which rules the 40-kilometer-long sliver of land, was examining a truce proposal sponsored by Egypt and the United Nations to curtail four months of border confrontations.

Heating Up

Hamas was embarrassed by talk that it was willing to agree to a “cheap” cease-fire, so it attacked vigorously to impress the Palestinian population, Gaza-based political analyst Akram Atallah said.

“Before Hamas reaches any truce agreement, it wants to increase its military credits to end the conflict with a big victory and a military draw with Israel,” Atallah said.

More than 180 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel, the army said. About 30 were downed by Israel’s Iron Dome missile interception system and others fell in open areas, the army said.

Hamas officials said three Palestinians, including a baby, were killed in the Israeli strikes, whose targets included an underwater tunnel militants dug to infiltrate Israel and a factory for making tunneling parts, according to the military. Israeli army spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said seven Israelis were wounded by Hamas shelling.

Public Pressure


Ehud Yaari, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told reporters Hamas is still intent on reaching a cease-fire accord. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S. and European Union.

“We have here a game in which both parties are trying to reach an understanding but are being swept into a sort of escalation,” Yaari said. Tensions may continue to rise “partly because of public pressure in Israel, partly because you can’t tell people in the south they can go on like this.”

Military spokesman Conricus said Israel had ground troops ready to be deployed and could evacuate communities near the Gaza border if necessary.

“There’s some irony in the disparity between reports of negotiations, the attempts to deescalate the situation, and then on the other hand seeing this Hamas behavior and its decision to target Israeli civilians, knowing that when they fire at our civilians we must respond,” Conricus said. “It’s counterproductive from a Gaza perspective, I think.”

 
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Palestinian Rocket Barrage From Gaza Draws Israeli Strikes
By Jonathan Ferziger , Saud Abu Ramadan , and David Wainer | August 8, 2018

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Gaza Strip rocket squads kept up their bombardment of southern Israel on Thursday, triggering waves of Israeli airstrikes against Hamas military installations as the sides alternated between talk of a cease-fire and warnings of all-out war.

Hamas said Thursday afternoon that the current round of fighting had ended -- though a rocket landed a few minutes later in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Gaza, for the first time since the sides warred in 2014. Israel’s security cabinet was meeting Thursday afternoon amid warnings that a larger operation in Gaza was under consideration.

“Hamas is taking two million Palestinians hostage,” Israeli Housing Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters Thursday. “Whatever is needed to do in order to defend our citizens and soldiers will be done, no matter what the price will be in Gaza.”

The conflict heated up Wednesday night, a day after two Hamas commandos were killed by Israeli tank fire in disputed circumstances. Before the flareup, Hamas, which rules the 40-kilometer-long sliver of land, was examining a truce proposal sponsored by Egypt and the United Nations to curtail four months of border confrontations.

Heating Up

Hamas was embarrassed by talk that it was willing to agree to a “cheap” cease-fire, so it attacked vigorously to impress the Palestinian population, Gaza-based political analyst Akram Atallah said.

“Before Hamas reaches any truce agreement, it wants to increase its military credits to end the conflict with a big victory and a military draw with Israel,” Atallah said.

More than 180 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel, the army said. About 30 were downed by Israel’s Iron Dome missile interception system and others fell in open areas, the army said.

Hamas officials said three Palestinians, including a baby, were killed in the Israeli strikes, whose targets included an underwater tunnel militants dug to infiltrate Israel and a factory for making tunneling parts, according to the military. Israeli army spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said seven Israelis were wounded by Hamas shelling.

Public Pressure


Ehud Yaari, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told reporters Hamas is still intent on reaching a cease-fire accord. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S. and European Union.

“We have here a game in which both parties are trying to reach an understanding but are being swept into a sort of escalation,” Yaari said. Tensions may continue to rise “partly because of public pressure in Israel, partly because you can’t tell people in the south they can go on like this.”

Military spokesman Conricus said Israel had ground troops ready to be deployed and could evacuate communities near the Gaza border if necessary.

“There’s some irony in the disparity between reports of negotiations, the attempts to deescalate the situation, and then on the other hand seeing this Hamas behavior and its decision to target Israeli civilians, knowing that when they fire at our civilians we must respond,” Conricus said. “It’s counterproductive from a Gaza perspective, I think.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ll-palestinian-medic-at-gaza-protest-official
Another piss poor title from you?

It should read:
The Israeli occupation that includes the dehumanization of the native people who have lived under on ongoing war crime for generations draws Palestinian Rocket Barrage From Gaza
 
This is pretty cool:

Flotilla Sails from Gaza to Break Israeli Siege
TEHRAN (FNA)- A group of Palestinian fishing boats that sailed off the shore of Gaza to challenge an Israeli naval blockade of the coastal enclave drew warning shots from the Israeli navy.

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http://en.farsnews.com/imgrep.aspx?nn=13970521000380
 
U.S yanks $200 million in economic aid from Gaza and West Bank
By Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY | Aug. 24, 2018

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WASHINGTON – The Trump administration will revoke more than $200 million in economic aid for the West Bank and Gaza, the State Department announced Friday.

The move came after a State Department review examining whether the funding was in “U.S. national interests” and of value to American taxpayers. In a terse announcement, the State Department said it would redirect the $200 million to “high-priority projects elsewhere.”

“This decision takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza’s citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation,” the State Department notice said.

The move drew immediate fire from Democrats in Congress, who said it would roil an already volatile part of the world and undermine U.S. efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“After a year and eight months in office, President Trump has yet to announce anything remotely resembling a coherent policy to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” said Sen Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“Inhabitants of Gaza are already suffering severe hardships under the tyranny of Hamas and border restrictions imposed by Israel,” Leahy said. “It is the Palestinian people, virtual prisoners in an increasingly volatile conflict, who will most directly suffer the consequences of this callous and ill-advised attempt to respond to Israel’s security concerns.”

Most U.S. aid to the Palestinians goes toward health care, education, economic development, and infrastructure improvements

The withdrawal of economic aid to the Palestinians comes as the Trump administration is preparing to unveil a highly anticipated Middle East peace plan – an effort that appears to be faltering even before it gets off the ground.

One contentious element of that plan would reportedly tie economic development for Gaza and the West Bank to significant concessions from the Palestinians, including giving permanent control of Jerusalem to the Israelis.

The Trump administration already has frosty a relationship with Palestinian leaders, who see the president as biased towards Israel. The rapport deteriorated significantly after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December and moved the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv in May.

The Palestinian Authority and its President Mahmoud Abbas broke off contact with the U.S. after the Jerusalem announcement.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...00-million-aid-gaza-and-west-bank/1088489002/
 
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US to end all funding to UN agency for Palestinian refugees
By Clare Foran and Elise Labott, CNN | August 31, 2018

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Palestinian demonstrators hold an effigy depicting US President Donald Trump to be burnt during a protest against US aid cuts, outside the United Nations' offices, Gaza, Feb. 11, 2018.

The Trump administration has decided to end all funding to the United Nations agency tasked with supporting Palestinian refugees and call for a large reduction in the number of Palestinians considered to be refugees, a senior administration official and a regional diplomat briefed on the decision have told CNN.

A formal announcement with respect to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, known as UNRWA, is expected in the next few weeks. The administration is expected to criticize the way the organization operates.

Foreign Policy first reported the Trump administration's decision to end funding for the UN agency. The United States has for long been the biggest individual donor to UNRWA, established by the UN General Assembly in 1949. It donated more than $350 million to the agency in 2017, but had already moved to withhold planned contributions this year.

The administration official told CNN the decision was made at a meeting between Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a White House senior adviser, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, but that US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley had also been pushing for the move.

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on the decision.

UNRWA offers educational, health and social services across the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon to registered Palestinian refugees. The agency educates about 500,000 children in nearly 700 schools and its doctors see more than 9 million patients in nearly 150 primary health clinics every year.

A senior administration official criticized the agency in a statement to CNN earlier this month, saying that it "has perpetuated and exacerbated the refugee crisis and must be changed so the Palestinian people can reach their full potential."

The statement followed a Foreign Policy report in early August that revealed leaked emails in which Kushner pressed fellow officials to engage in "an honest and sincere effort to disrupt UNRWA."
In January this year, the United States said it would withhold $65 million, from an initial installment of $125 million it was expected to hand over to UNRWA at the start of the year. The US said it wanted UNRWA to reform and believed other countries should increase the amounts they contributed to the agency.

'Right of return'

Removal of Palestinians' refugee status would effectively mean they would lose the "right of return" to homes that are now in Israel and reclaim lost property -- a move that would have enormous significance for the approximately 5.3 million Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA.

During the Arab-Israeli War of 1948/49, which followed the establishment of the State of Israel, about 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from or fled their homes, a period the Palestinians call "Nakba," meaning catastrophe.

Most Palestinians consider the right of return to be an inalienable right of the Palestinian people. It has long been considered what is called a "final status" issue in peace talks, an acknowledgment that it is among the toughest areas for Israelis and Palestinians to reach agreement.

This would be the second final status issue that the US President has sought to take off the table, the first being Jerusalem.

For decades, US policy was to avoid declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel in the absence of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, as the Palestinians also claim Jerusalem as their capital and its final status was supposed to be left to negotiations. But Trump upended that policy in December when he recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Anat Berko, an Israeli lawmaker with the governing Likud party, told CNN she supported the US move on UNRWA and said she hoped other countries would follow suit.

"An end to UNRWA will bring an end to the 'refugee forever' status. We cannot solve any conflict with this definition of refugees. Humanitarian aid -- yes. But UNRWA -- no," Berko said.

Al-Awda, a Florida-based NGO that advocates for the right of return, talks of the "fundamental, inalienable, historical, legal, individual and collective rights of all Palestinian refugees to return to their original towns, villages and lands anywhere in Palestine from which they were expelled."

Israeli media outlets have reported concerns in some quarters that serious cuts to UNRWA's budget could exacerbate tensions on the ground in the Palestinian territories and, by impacting the provision of basic public services, strengthen the hand of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

US orders cut in West Bank, Gaza aid

News that the Trump administration will end all funding to UNRWA comes on the heels of Trump ordering the United States to cut $200 million in aid to Palestinians.
CNN reported last week that the President directed the State Department to withdraw $200 million in aid that was originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza, according to a senior State Department official.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters Tuesday that a review ordered by Trump earlier this year of US assistance to the Palestinians had established that that money "is not in the best interests of the US national interest and also at this time does not provide value to the US taxpayer."

Ahmad Shami, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, accused the Trump administration in a statement earlier this week of seeking to strip millions of Palestinians of their refugee status on top of cutting aid funds.

"After using humanitarian aid to blackmail and pressure the Palestinian leadership to submit to the empty plan known as 'the deal of the century,' the Trump administration plans to commit an immoral scandal against Palestinian refugees by giving itself the right to abolish the historical rights of Palestinian refugees without any legitimacy," he said.

"This is a clear looting of our humanity leading to more chaos in the region."

Shami called on the international community to "stop the gambling schema of Trump and Netanyahu to endorse colonization, apartheid, and denial of Palestinian fundamental rights."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has frequently said the work done by UNRWA should be picked up by the UN's main refugee agency, the UNHCR.

Netanyahu told foreign journalists in January: "The perpetuation of the dream of bringing the descendants of refugees back to Jaffa is what sustains this conflict. UNRWA is part of the problem, not part of the solution."

Jaffa was one of the largest Arab towns in British Mandate Palestine that would become part of Israel in 1948.

But Chris Gunness, spokesman for UNRWA, told CNN that the UN agency fundamentally rejected Netanyahu's criticism.

"It is not UNRWA that perpetuates the conflict, it is the conflict that perpetuates UNRWA; it is the failure of the political parties through negotiations to produce an overall peace agreement and thereby resolve the refugee crisis," said Gunness. "That is what makes UNRWA's existence necessary."

UNRWA schools open

Pierre Krähenbühl, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, said this week that the agency's 711 schools in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were opening on time for their 526,000 students despite its current "unprecedented" $217 million deficit.

"For decades, donors have recognized that UNRWA is a force multiplier for stability in one of the most the volatile regions around the world," he wrote in an op-ed on the UNRWA website.

Krähenbühl noted the "regrettable" decision by the Trump administration early this year to cut its planned funding to UNRWA, but also paid tribute to the "strong solidarity" shown by the broader international community whose increased or new donations had gone some way to filling the gap.

The German government pledged Friday to increase significantly its funding to UNRWA, Reuters news agency reported, adding that German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had made clear that other nations would also need to step in to meet the existing shortfall.

The United States in 2016 agreed to a new 10-year military aid package for Israel worth $38 billion over 10 years, according to congressional and administration sources. That was an increase on an approximately $30 billion decade-long deal that expires this year.

 
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US to end all funding to UN agency for Palestinian refugees
By Clare Foran and Elise Labott, CNN | August 31, 2018

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Palestinian demonstrators hold an effigy depicting US President Donald Trump to be burnt during a protest against US aid cuts, outside the United Nations' offices, Gaza, Feb. 11, 2018.
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Palestinian President: U.S. Cutting Aid to Refugees ‘Not a Part of the Solution’

After the Trump administration cut $200 million of U.N. aid meant to aid Palestinian refugees, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the actions of the U.S. were “not a part of the solution.”

“Such a punishment will not succeed to change the fact that the United States no longer has a role in the region,” spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah told Reuters.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called the action a “grave escalation against the Palestinian people” that “aims to wipe out the right of return.”

On Friday, the U.S. announced that it would not be providing hundreds of millions in aid to the UNRWA over concerns of who they considered to be a “Palestinian refugee,” which calls into question the claims that Palestinians have on contested lands in Israel.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert called the practices of the UNRWA a “irredeemably flawed operation,” and told Reuters that the U.S. would only reconsider giving again if the agency changed their “way of doing business.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pales...ng-aid-to-refugees-not-a-part-of-the-solution
 
The US shouldn't be funding terrorists. Something the Obama regime never figured out.
 
It drives me crazy that I can't figure this out.

It can't be money. We have a lot more. It's not politics because most of us are sick of it.

Trump talked against Israel before he was voted in, and then changed his tune once elected.

There has to be something we can't see and it has to be big.
 
Trump Administration To Close PLO Office In D.C.
By Merrit Kennedy | September 10, 2018

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The Trump administration says it is closing the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington, D.C., effectively shuttering the Palestinian diplomatic mission to the U.S.

"We have permitted the PLO office to conduct operations that support the objective of achieving a lasting, comprehensive peace between Israelis and the Palestinians," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement Monday.

"However, the PLO has not taken steps to advance the start of direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel," she added.

Husam Zomlot, the head of the Palestinian delegation to the U.S., said that they are "not surprised."

"Such a reckless act confirms that the administration is blindly executing Israel's 'wish list,' which starts with shutting down Palestinian diplomatic representation in the US," he said in a statement.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat described the decision as "yet another affirmation of the Trump Administration's policy to collectively punish the Palestinian people." He vowed to "protect the rights of our citizens living in the United States to access their consular services."

The PLO has been calling on the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into actions by Israel.

In her statement, Nauert called the decision consistent with concerns about "Palestinian attempts to prompt an investigation of Israel by the International Criminal Court."

The closure is part of a series of steps the U.S. has taken that have been blows to the Palestinians.

In May, the U.S. officially moved its embassy to Jerusalem. As NPR's Bill Chappell reported, Jerusalem is "a city that is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians, and the status of which has long been regarded by America's biggest allies as an issue best resolved in multilateral peace talks." The U.S. also officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The U.S. also has cut off major sources of aid to the Palestinians, freezing most of the $251 million earmarked for Palestinians this year after Palestinian officials protested the recognition of Jerusalem, NPR's Daniel Estrin has reported. Additionally, the Trump administration has "withheld $300 million to the United Nations agency that cares for Palestinian refugees."

https://www.npr.org/2018/09/10/6463...lestine-liberation-organization-office-in-d-c
 
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This former Knesset member is correct on how to resolve the conflict.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/a...ccords-were-doomed-by-their-ambiguity/570226/

"Being ambiguous about the simple fact that NEITHER side is going to have the entirety of the land does no one any favors. Israelis cannot build settlements all over the West Bank, and Palestinians cannot settle inside Israel in the name of return."

To get there, the parties need to approach the negotiations not as a marriage, but as a divorce. Serious peacemakers need to let go of vague and nebulous concepts such as “trust” and “confidence building,” and behave more like harsh divorce attorneys who spell out every detail.
 
If the Jews would just all die the Palestinians wouldn’t have a problem with them
Until Israel is ready to make that small concession there will be conflict
 
Syria blames Israel for 'attack on Damascus airport'
16.09.2018

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Israel launched missiles at a target near the Syrian capital of Damascus, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on Sunday.

"Our air defenses responded to an Israeli missile attack on Damascus international airport and shot down a number of hostile missiles," said a military source cited by Syria's SANA news agency.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an independent war monitor that relies on a network of on-the-ground sources, said the missiles had targeted an arms depot near the airport, likely used by Iranian forces or the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

History of attacks

An Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokeswoman said Israel does not comment on reports by foreign media.

However, it would not be the first time Israel has targeted assets on Syrian soil. Earlier this month, an Israeli official said the IDF has hit more than 200 Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria.

Iranian troops and Hezbollah fighters march alongside Syrian troops. Iran is major supporter of the Lebanese militant group and is accused of supplying the Shiite militants with arms and missiles. Israel has repeatedly said it would target any militant assistance to Hezbollah.

Ceasefire on the table

The incident near Damascus airport comes as Turkey reached out to Russia and Iran — both major supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime — to prevent a Damascus-led offensive in the Idlib province.

Although Turkey, which has supported rebels in Syria, failed to secure a ceasefire agreement, regime warplanes have let up on an aerial campaign in the region.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country was in contact several countries as well as "all actors in Syria" to secure a ceasefire in Idlib.

More than 300,000 people have died and millions more displaced since 2011, when a crackdown on peaceful protesters calling for Assad to step down evolved into a multifaceted conflict that has drawn in global powers, regional players and non-state actors.

https://www.dw.com/en/syria-blames-israel-for-attack-on-damascus-airport/a-45504188
 
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Hezbollah defies Israel, says it has 'precision missiles'
AFPSeptember 20, 2018



Beirut (AFP) - Lebanon's Hezbollah said Thursday it had acquired "precision missiles" despite extensive efforts by neighbour and foe Israel to prevent the Shiite movement developing this capability.

"It has been done. The resistance now owns precision missiles" as part of its weaponry, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address during the key Shiite commemoration of Ashura.

Israel this month acknowledged carrying out more than 200 strikes over the past 18 months in war-torn Syria, where Hezbollah fights alongside Israel's arch-foe and Shiite powerhouse Iran in support of the Damascus regime.

Israel has said it is working to stop Iran from entrenching itself military there and to keep Hezbollah from acquiring sophisticated arms.

"Attempts in Syria to block the way towards this (missile) capability" have failed, Nasrallah said.

"If Israel imposes a war on Lebanon, it will face a fate that it never would have expected."

Israel has fought several conflicts against Hezbollah, the last in 2006.

The Israeli military believes Hezbollah has between 100,000 and 120,000 short-range missiles and rockets, as well as several hundred longer-range missiles.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Nasrallah should not think twice but "at least 20 times" before deciding whether to attack Israel.

"If he seeks conflict with us, he will receive a blow he cannot even imagine," Netanyahu said in a statement.

- Iran's 'dangerous deadline' -

Late Monday, an Israeli raid hit Syria's coastal province of Latakia to prevent what it said were deliveries of materials for advanced weaponry to Hezbollah.

The same evening Syrian air defences downed a Russian military plane by mistake, killing all 15 on board.

Russia backs Syria's government militarily and it was the worst case of friendly fire between the two allies since Moscow intervened in the conflict in 2015.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu said his country was "determined to stop Iranian military entrenchment in Syria, and the attempts by Iran, which calls for the destruction of Israel, to transfer to Hezbollah lethal weaponry (to be used) against Israel".

Nasrallah accused the Israelis of trying to kill him "day and night". He has lived in a secret location for decades and rarely appears in public.

The Hezbollah chief also reiterated his support for Iran, after the United States withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal in May.

Washington reimposed sanctions on the Islamic republic last month, and a new round of even harsher sanctions targeting Iran's vital oil sector is set to go into effect in early November.

"It is our duty today to stand by Iran, who in a few weeks' time will face a dangerous deadline -- the start of American sanctions," he said.

Nasrallah accused the United States of "going to all the world's capitals in a bid to besiege" Iran, as Washington seeks support for its measures against the country.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/hezbollah-defies-israel-says-precision-missiles-115453988.html
 
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