Tag: perpetual war

Rumors Swirl After Prediction That Trump Will Recognize Palestinian State, Fundamentally Change Balance of Power in Middle East

Could President Donald Trump officially recognize Palestine as an independent state on his trip to the Middle East? That’s what some analysts are predicting as a lively debate rages in the Arab media sphere over just how far the U.S. president will go while abroad.

There had already been some writing on the wall that Trump’s Middle East tour — which includes visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates — was not coming in the midst of a period of unalloyed harmony between the administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hebrew-language Israeli media reported Thursday that “the U.S. president is disappointed with Prime Minister Netanyahu” after he pressured now-former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to sign off on an all-out military action by Israel against Iran.

The Washington Post also reported that, prior to a White House meeting between Trump and Netanyahu in March, Waltz looked to be “engaged in intense coordination with Netanyahu about military options against Iran,” something Trump opposed.

A source said Waltz “wanted to take U.S. policy in a direction Trump wasn’t comfortable with because the U.S. hadn’t attempted a diplomatic solution … It got back to Trump and the president wasn’t happy with it.”

That makes many wonder if Trump will use the occasion to join the 147 U.N. members which consider Palestine to be a legitimate state, albeit with some conditions.

The closest report we’ve seen to something like this comes from an unnamed “Gulf diplomatic source” who talked anonymously with American-based Middle East-centric news outlet The Media Line — who said he felt confident in predicting that outcome.

“President Donald Trump will issue a declaration regarding the State of Palestine and American recognition of it, and that there will be the establishment of a Palestinian state without the presence of Hamas,” he said in an article published Friday evening.

“If an announcement of American recognition of the state of Palestine is made, it will be the most important declaration that will change the balance of power in the Middle East, and more countries will join the Abraham Accords.”

Other sources disagreed — including a former Gulf diplomat willing to go on record, unlike the anonymous source predicting U.S. endorsement of Palestinian statehood.

Ahmed Al-Ibrahim, a former diplomat, said he thought this would be about tariffs and trade.

“I don’t expect it to be about Palestine,” the source said.

Keep reading

Kiev tried to intimidate foreign leaders in Moscow – Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the Ukrainian government of attempting to intimidate foreign leaders who traveled to Moscow for Victory Day celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany.

Putin criticized Kiev for escalating attacks ahead and during Russia’s unilaterally declared ceasefire period, which included numerous drone strikes on multiple regions and five attempted ground incursions into Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions. These actions, he told journalists in the early hours of Sunday, were intended not only to provoke militarily but also to pressure the foreign dignitaries in attendance.

“The Kiev authorities not only rejected our proposal for a ceasefire, but also, as we all saw, they tried to intimidate the leaders of states gathered for the celebrations in Moscow,” Putin said.

Keep reading

Israeli Government Approves Plan for Full Military Occupation of Gaza

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said once the new offensive begins, it will not end until the Strip is ‘conquered’

The Israeli government has approved plans to expand the genocidal war on Gaza that Israeli officials say will lead to the full Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territory.

The plan involves capturing more territory in Gaza, expanding the so-called “buffer zone” where the IDF has demolished virtually every structure, and forcibly displacing Palestinian civilians to move them all to a small area of southern Gaza.

Axios later reported that the Israeli plan involves flattening every single building that remains in Gaza, forcing the entire civilian population into one single area, and pressuring them to leave as part of an ethnic cleansing plan, though it’s unclear what countries are willing to take them.

An Israeli official told Haaretz that the plan is different from previous Israeli military operations because it will lead to “the occupation of territory and a sustained Israeli presence in Gaza.”

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel is “finally going to occupy the Gaza Strip” and that it was “no longer afraid of the word ‘occupation.’”

Keep reading

Why did 30 Met officers kick the door down at a teenage tea and biscuits meeting in a Quaker house?

When six young women gathered in central London to discuss the climate crisis and the war in Gaza, the setting could not have been more appropriate. The building in which they sat was a Quaker meeting house, the home of a movement whose centuries-long history is rooted in protest and a commitment to social justice. On the table were cups of jasmine tea, ginger biscuits and a selection of vegan cheese straws.

But the events that brought this apparently convivial gathering to an abrupt end have sparked protests of a different kind and raised questions about how justice is administered by the UK’s largest and most embattled police force.

Talk among the youth activists that evening had turned to the 1963 Children’s March in Birmingham, Alabama, when a flash of blue light interrupted the chatter. Seconds later up to 30 Metropolitan police officers, some armed with stun guns, smashed down the door of the Grade II-listed building and arrested the young women inside.

One of the six, 18-year-old Zahra Ali, was held in a cell for 17 hours. Another was “rear stacked”, hands cuffed behind her back and held against the wall in what she described as an hour-long ordeal. Phones were seized and laptops bagged as evidence.

The raid, described as “intelligence-led”, was targeting the protest group Youth Demand. The members in attendance were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. Five remain under investigation.

Six weeks on, the operation has drawn criticism from religious groups, politicians and activists. The need for such a severe course of action, meted out in a place of worship, remains a concern, not least for those who were targeted.

“I was the last one to be taken into custody,” said Ali, the youngest of the six women. “I got to the station about 10pm-ish and I had to wait two hours to be booked in. I was taken to a freezing cold cell for hours. I wasn’t allowed a personal call. I didn’t get to speak to my solicitor until he came in person.

“We saw the blue lights a second before they marched in. We were just a bunch of young people talking about our government, about protesting, and they arrested us for that.

“I think had they rung the bell we would have let them in, obviously … They didn’t have to raid us. It’s six young women in a room, in a place that we hired, that we publicly advertised, and they could have just sat in and listened to us. I don’t really see any conspiracy in that.”

Keep reading

Trump Announces US-Mediated ‘Full and Immediate Ceasefire’ Between Warring Nuclear Powers India and Pakistan

The situation between warring neighbors (and nuclear powers) India and Pakistan seemed to be devolving into an open war, as the two countries targeted military bases and exchanged missile and drone attacks.

This military conflict arose after a deadly terrorist attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region, raising concerns of a full-blown military confrontation between the two nations that have Historically had a tumultuous relationship, marked by multiple conflicts since their partition in 1947.

But the efforts by the US Donald J. Trump administration have made a difference: after a full night of negotiations mediated by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a ceasefire has been achieved.

Keep reading

Students uncover Chinese espionage at Stanford University

Students at Stanford University have allegedly uncovered a pattern of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempting to gain sensitive information about American research.

CCP agents reportedly impersonate students at the university to gain trust from students and staff and steal information as part of a “nontraditional collection effort,” while others are already connected with Chinese nationals studying in the U.S., according to The Stanford Review. The report states that several Chinese students studying at Stanford are currently acting as spies for the CCP.

Those affiliated with the CCP attempt to gain access to sensitive STEM research, particularly AI, as well as gather intel into U.S. research on China, the Review reported.

In one instance, a Chinese agent impersonated a student at the university and attempted to pressure a Stanford student, who was involved in “sensitive research on China,” into flying to Beijing, the Review found. The man advised the student to limit her trip to between 24 to 144 hours “to avoid visa scrutiny by authorities” and tried to keep communications solely on a CCP-monitored app.

After the student tipped off authorities, it was revealed the man had apparently been impersonating a Stanford student for years and had targeted multiple students, mainly women focused on China-related research, the Review said.

One “China expert” who spoke to the Stanford Review claimed that several of the university’s Chinese students are actively reporting information back to the CCP. More than 1,000 Chinese nationals study at Stanford.

“Many Chinese [nationals] have handlers; they [CCP] want to know everything that’s going on at Stanford,” one unnamed Chinese national attending Stanford told the Review. “This is a very normal thing. They just relay the information they have.”

In 2020, Stanford student researcher and Chinese national Chen Song was indicted for attempting to conceal her affiliation with the Chinese military. During her time in the U.S., the student allegedly sent multiple updates on her research in medical science to Chinese government officials.

Despite her crime carrying the penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, Song’s charges were dropped under the Biden administration over technicalities stemming from a visa application question.

Keep reading

Dying in ‘Hell’: The fate of Palestinian medics jailed by Israel

The head of orthopaedics at Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital was working at the al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza in December when he and other medics were arrested by the Israeli army for, they said, “national security reasons”.

Four months later, Ofer Prison guards dragged Al-Bursh and dumped him in the prison yard, naked from the waist down, bleeding and unable to stand, according to a statement provided by Israeli human rights organisation, HaMoked.

Recognising him, some of the other prisoners carried Al-Bursh to a nearby room, and he died moments later.

Dr Al-Bursh had become a fixture in the lives of many through the video diaries he posted before his arrest.

His videos showed him with his colleagues, digging mass graves in the al-Shifa yard to bury people because Israel would not let their bodies be taken to a cemetery, operating on the injured and the dying with little or no equipment, and waiting together for the Israeli assault on a hospital where thousands had sought safety.

The assault came in mid-November when, in scenes captured by Dr Al-Bursh, the Israeli army ordered al-Shifa, its patients, staff and approximately 50,000 displaced people sheltering in the compound to vacate.

Dr Al-Bursh made his way to the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza where he worked until that too came under fire in November and he moved to Al-Awda Hospital.

There he was arrested and entered a prison system that Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem describes as “Hell”.

Israel often detains healthcare workers like Dr Al-Bursh, holding them in horrific conditions for “investigation”.

Keep reading

Controversial Aid Plan For Gaza Revealed In New Document, Includes American CEOs & Banks

The organization set to administer Israel’s controversial plan to take control of humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza will use private contractors to secure hubs where Palestinians will receive 1,750 kcal meals that will cost donors a little more than a dollar each.

Details about the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) strategy for Gaza are laid out in a 14-page document circulating amongst aid organizations working on Gaza and seen by Middle East Eye.

The hitherto unknown nonprofit, which was registered in Switzerland in February, has been touted as the umbrella body that will seemingly take over humanitarian operations in Gaza while inviting NGOs to “take advantage” of its “logistics, security and transparency frameworks”.

The pitch-like document offers detailed information about how the foundation, largely led by Americans and involving a mix of disaster relief, security and financial experts, will operate and how it is organized, though some details appear yet to be finalized. The document is undated.

The new details have emerged as UN agencies and international aid organizations, which have roundly rejected the plan that GHF would administer, reportedly coming under pressure from the US government to participate. Earlier this week, Amnesty Switzerland raised concerns that, based on the information available, GHF could be risking contributing to international crimes through its services. 

The Israeli operation appears to already be underway. Israel security cabinet approved its plan on Sunday with satellite evidence emerging on Wednesday suggesting that work has already begun to build the humanitarian hubs from which aid will be distributed.

Keep reading

US Moves on Greenland? Danish PM Complains Greenland Is Reportedly Being Spied On, While Pentagon May Shift Artic Island To Same Military Command Overseeing Homeland Security

A couple of seemingly unrelated reports may be signaling an intensifying move from the US towards the Danish Arctic territory of Greenland, sending Euro-Globalists into a panic.

To begin with, Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, came out today (9) to complain that ‘you cannot spy against an ally’ after the WSJ reported that the US has ‘stepped up intelligence gathering on Greenland’.

Associated Press reported:

“Frederiksen’s comments Friday are the latest in the spat between Denmark, Greenland and the United States because Trump seeks to annex the strategic Arctic island. Denmark and Greenland insist that the mineral-rich island is not for sale, while Trump has not ruled out taking it by military force even though Denmark is a NATO ally.”

Yesterday (8), Frederiksen summoned the top American diplomat in the country, Jennifer Hall Godfrey, demanding an explanation following the Wall Street Journal report.

Intelligence agency heads are investigating Greenland’s independence movement, as well as the local sentiment about U.S. resource extraction.

“’Cooperation about defense and deterrence and security in the northern part of Europe is getting more and more important’, Frederiksen said. ‘Of course, you cannot spy against an ally.’

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, in comments to Greenland newspaper Sermitsiaq, said the reports of espionage are unacceptable and disrespectful.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Friday there is ‘no question’ that the pressure Denmark and Greenland are under ‘doesn’t feel right’.”

Tulsi Gabbard’s office warned that she had already made three ‘criminal referrals’ to the Justice Department over intelligence community leaks.

“’The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed of aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the President by politicizing and leaking classified information’, Gabbard wrote. ‘They are breaking the law and undermining our nation’s security and democracy. Those who leak classified information will be found and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law’.”

Keep reading

REPORT: Israeli Officials “Shocked” over Trump’s Houthi Truce – Trump Reportedly Upset with Netanyahu for Trying to Get U.S. involved in Military Conflict with Iran Ahead of Nuclear Talks and Visit to Middle East

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are seemingly at odds amid a U.S. truce with Houthis in Yemen and the President seeking to peacefully negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran without plunging the United States into another endless war. 

According to Axios, Trump met with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in private on Thursday to discuss upcoming nuclear talks with Iran and Israel’s Gaza campaign. Dremer also met with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Trump is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates on Monday, as Steve Witkoff is expected to hold nuclear talks with Iran on Sunday. Trump reportedly does not plan to visit Israel despite efforts by Israeli officials to host Trump for a visit.

This comes as the U.S. entered a cease-fire with the Houthis this week after stopping their threat against global shipping in the Red Sea and deterring Iranian lethal support to the Houthis. This development left Israeli officials “shocked,” according to an unnamed Israeli official.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, Trump announced on Tuesday that the U.S. “will stop the bombing” against the Houthis in Yemen after the Houthis told the U.S. that “they don’t want to fight anymore,” said Trump. Per the truce, neither side will attack the other, including U.S. vessels in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.

He further teased a major announcement that he will make before he departs for the Middle East next week. “We’re gonna have a very, very big announcement to make, like, as big as it gets,” the President said.

Keep reading