As a result of the Saudi and Israeli positions, “Riyadh and Washington hope a more modest defense pact could be sealed before President Joe Biden leaves the White House in January,” according to the Saudi and western sources.
Archiv: Westasien („Naher / Mittlerer Osten“) / West Asia („Near / Middle East“)
Saudi Arabia abandons pursuit of US defence treaty over Israel stalemate
In a drive to get a wide-ranging mutual security treaty over the line earlier this year, Riyadh softened its position on Palestinian statehood, telling Washington that a public commitment from Israel to a two-state solution could be enough for the Gulf kingdom to normalise relations.
But with public anger in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East at fever pitch over Israel‘s military actions in Gaza, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has again made recognition of Israel conditional on it taking concrete steps to create a Palestinian state, two Saudi and three Western sources said.
Bundestag verlängert Irak-Einsatz der Bundeswehr
Der Bundestag hat das Mandat für den Einsatz deutscher Soldaten im Irak um weitere 15 Monate verlängert. Für die Fortsetzung stimmte eine deutliche Mehrheit von 539 der anwesenden Abgeordneten (Nein: 93, Enthaltung: 2), wie das Präsidium nach namentlicher Abstimmung verkündete.
War on Gaza: Israel wants to finish the job Washington started after 9/11
In 2007, former Nato commander Wesley Clark recounted a meeting at the Pentagon shortly after the US invasion of Afghanistan. An officer told him: “We are going to attack and destroy the governments in seven countries in five years. We’re going to start with Iraq, and then we’re going to move to Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran.”
Clark added of the neoconservatives: “They wanted us to destabilise the Middle East, turn it upside down, make it under our control.”
As I documented in my 2008 book Israel and the Clash of Civilisations, Israel was supposed to carry out a central chunk of Washington’s post-Iraq plan, starting with its war on Lebanon in 2006. Israel’s attack there was supposed to drag in Syria and Iran, giving the US a pretext to expand the war.
This was what the US secretary of state of the time, Condoleezza Rice, meant when she spoke of the “birth pangs of a new Middle East”.
The plan went awry largely because Israel got bogged down in phase one, in Lebanon. It blitzed cities like Beirut with US-supplied bombs, but its soldiers struggled against Hezbollah in a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
The West subsequently found other ways to deal with Syria and Libya.
Israel steps up its battles with the United Nations
Netanyahu has issued statements essentially calling for regime change in both Lebanon and Iran, while Israel’s boosters in the United States see in its expanding wars an opportunity to “remake” the political map of the Middle East.
The coming US-Saudi nuclear deal: Keep it honest
(January 5, 2024)
In 1988, the Central Intelligence Agency did discover that Riyadh bought SS-2 medium-range missiles from China but only after the deal was sealed. In 2003, when China exported DF-21 ballistic missiles to the Kingdom, the CIA again found out and was even allowed to verify the missiles were not nuclear-capable, but only after the missiles were delivered.
Several years later, when intelligence finally leaked out that China secretly built missile factories for the Saudis, the Trump administration was mum on whether there was an intelligence failure and allowed speculation that it had blessed the transaction. Then, in 2020, when US intelligence confirmed China was helping the Kingdom mill uranium domestically, it did so, again only after the mining and milling were well underway.
This track record of studied inadvertence, then, brings us to the next worry: MBS wants Washington to green-light the Kingdom enriching uranium…
Normalization for Proliferation? The Saudi Nuclear Strategy and the Price of Peace with Israel
(March 19, 2023)
In general, the Saudis wish to present themselves as Iran’s equals, and if Iran can enrich uranium, say the Saudis, then so can we. In addition, the Saudis want to keep all their nuclear options open, even if they are not intending to work on the development of nuclear weapons immediately.
Appendix to letter of October 2, 2024 re: American physicians observations from the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023
This appendix complements the letter sent to President Joseph R. Biden, Vice President Kamala D. Harris, and others on October 2, 2024 by 99 American healthcare workers who have served in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.
(…)
In total it is likely that 62,413 people have died of starvation and its compilations in Gaza from October 7, 2023 to September 30, 2024. Most of these will have been young children.
As long as aid agencies and public health experts are denied entry to Gaza the true
numbers cannot be known. However, if these estimates are accurate they will approximately match the projected estimates of 85,750 total (direct and indirect) excess deaths in Gaza by August 2024 under the epidemics and military escalation scenarios published by a joint project from Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. This is the population-adjusted equivalent of 13.3 million deaths and 26.6 million injuries in the United States.
The Human Toll: Indirect Deaths from War in Gaza and the West Bank, October 7, 2023 Forward
Figure 1: Direct Deaths from Violence Reported in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank
(Oct. 7, 2023 – Oct. 1, 2024)
Israeli Fatalities in Israel 1,200
Israeli Fatalities in Gaza 34
Israeli Fatalities in West Bank 339
Palestinian Fatalities in Gaza 41,615
Palestinian Fatalities in West Bank 693
Palestinians Missing/Estimated Dead Underthe Rubble 10,000
Total > 53,887
(…)
Figure 2: Estimates of Indirect Deaths in Gaza (Oct. 7, 2023 – Sept. 30, 2024)15
Estimated Deaths from Starvation 62,413
Estimated Deaths from Lack of Access to Care for Chronic Diseases 5,000
Estimated Deaths from Infectious Diseases, Maternal/Neonatal Deaths, and Others ?
Total > 67,413
United States Spending on Israel’s Military Operations and Related U.S. Operations in the Region, October 7, 2023 – September 30, 2024
Figure 1: U.S. Military Aid to Israel from October 7, 2023 to September 2024 (in millions of dollars)
Foreign Military Financing $6,8009
Missile Defense $4,500
Missile Defense (Iron Beam) $1,200
Enhancing Artillery Production $1,000
Replenishing Arms Delivered to Israel from U.S. Stocks $4,400
TOTAL $17.9 billion
Never Let Your Government Tell You Who Your Enemies Are
Our real enemies are in Washington and London and Tel Aviv. In Berlin and Paris and Canberra. In secretive government agencies in the state of Virginia, and in imperial propaganda institutions in New York and Hollywood.
The Middle East Is Always At War Because The West Keeps Pushing It That Way
I hate when people say “Bah the middle east has always been at war, it’s just how they are.” No you asshole, it’s been at war because of western interventionism and Israel.
Secretary-General‘s remarks to the Security Council – on the situation in the Middle East [as delivered]
Madame President, Excellencies,
The raging fires in the Middle East are fast becoming an inferno.
Exactly one week ago, I briefed the Security Council about the alarming situation in Lebanon.
Since then, things have gone from bad to much, much worse….
Barred From Israel, UN Chief Warns Middle East ‚Fast Becoming an Inferno‘
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday reiterated his urgent call for an end to violence and a diplomatic resolution in the Middle East shortly after Israel‘s foreign minister declared that the U.N. chief was barred from entering the country, a move that drew international condemnation.
„The raging fires in the Middle East are fast becoming an inferno,“ Guterres told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, denouncing Israel‘s „relentless airstrikes across Lebanon,“ devastation of the Gaza Strip, and obstruction of a cease-fire agreement that could pull the region back from the brink of all-out war.
Israel calls on residents to evacuate over 20 areas in south Lebanon
The Israeli military on Tuesday called on residents in more than 20 areas of southern Lebanon to evacuate, hours after saying it launched ground raids across the border.
U.S. downplays talk of Iraq withdrawal, says troops will stay in Syria
(September 27, 2024)
The announcement, coming two weeks after the Iraqi government said it had reached a deal with the Biden administration to remove most U.S. troops over the next two years, underscored Washington’s hesitancy to telegraph its military movements at a time of extreme volatility in the Middle East. But it also sowed confusion over the eventual end state of the Pentagon presence in the country.
109 killed in Israeli air strikes on Sunday: Lebanese health ministry
The Lebanese health ministry has reported that Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed at least 109 individuals and left 364 others wounded across the country.
Turkey excludes $2.5 bln Russian S-400 missiles from new air defense system project
(August 9, 2024)
In an earlier statement in 2020 to CNN Türk, Russian Ambassador to Turkey Alexei Yerkhov said, ‘Whether [the system] is used or not is a decision for the country that owns it. Turkey purchased the product they wanted from us. The owner of this system is Turkey. It is entirely dependent on what Turkey decides. Whether you go to the beach with it, carry potatoes or mount a machine gun on it for war, keeping it in the ‘garage’ is your right.”
Erdogan: Turkey to produce S-500s with Russia after S-400 deal
(May 19, 2019)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey and Russia would jointly produce S-500 defence systems after Ankara’s controversial purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Moscow.
Turkish president condemns Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, calls for global action
Erdogan criticized the international community for enabling Israel‘s actions, saying that as Tel Aviv continues to receive „weapons and ammunition support from its backers,“ it becomes „increasingly reckless, defying all humanity, humanitarian values, and international law.“
He stressed that Israel‘s „politics of madness,“ already seen in Gaza and Ramallah, must not be allowed to spread to Lebanon and other countries in the region.
„No person of conscience can accept, justify, or deem such a massacre legitimate,“ he said.
Russia sees military coordination with Israel on Syria continuing
(February 26, 2022)
Following the 2015 Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war, Israel set up a „deconfliction mechanism“ with the big power to prevent them clashing inadvertently during Israeli strikes against Iranian deployments and arms transfers in the neighbouring Arab state.
„Our military officials discuss the practical issues of this substantively on a daily basis. This mechanism has proven to be useful and will continue to work,“ the Russian embassy in Israel said in a statement.
Russia condemns Israeli attacks on Lebanon
(September 24, 2024)
„Indiscriminate Israeli strikes on residential areas under the pretext that Hezbollah weapons are being stored there led to massive civilian casualties and significant destruction of civilian infrastructure,“ Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
Citing the Lebanese Health Ministry, Zakharova said that at least 492 people, including around 150 women and children, were killed by Israel’s „armed aggression“ on Monday.
Lebanon’s caretaker PM calls for national unity amid threats
In a statement during an emergency cabinet session, Mikati urged the Lebanese people to demonstrate national responsibility in such a way as to preserve national unity and solidarity, explaining that Lebanon’s unity has been its strongest weapon in face of the Israeli enemy’s criminal schemes and attempts to spread division.
More than 1,000 Lebanese people killed in Israeli strikes in less than two weeks
Israeli airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon have killed at least 1,030 people – including 156 women and 87 children – in less than two weeks, according to Lebanon‘s Health Ministry. For more information, Yuka Royer interviews Ettie Higgins, Deputy Representative at UNICEF, in Beirut, Lebanon.
AP images offer a close-up look at the smoldering site of Nasrallah’s assassination
Onlookers at the site Sunday clambered over large slabs of concrete, surrounded by high piles of twisted metal and wreckage. Several craters, likely used by rescuers to penetrate under the site of the explosion were visible, some of them apparently up to 30 meters (100 feet) deep.
A few Hezbollah workers were using a bulldozer to excavate around one of the craters, some of them apparently dug by rescuers to reach the dead. State security and investigators were nowhere to be seen.
Biden Didn’t “Fail” To Get A Ceasefire; He Never Tried
(September 21, 2024)
He could have ended it with a phone call. The killing continued because he and his handlers wanted it to.
Israeli strike hit 500 metres from Beirut airport buildings, security source says
An Israeli strike hit an industrial area 500 metres from Beirut airport buildings, a security source told Reuters, saying it was the closest strike yet to the airport.
The source said the area hit was full of car repair garages.
The boss of Lebanon‘s national carrier Middle East Airlines Mohammad al-Hout said the airport was operating normally.
Israeli army hacks into Beirut Airport control tower, threatens Iranian civilian plane
The Israeli army on Saturday hacked into the control tower of Beirut‘s Rafic Hariri International Airport, issuing threats against an Iranian civilian aircraft attempting to land, according to official sources.
The Lebanese Ministry of Transport instructed airport authorities to prevent the Iranian plane from entering Lebanese airspace following Israeli threats to target the aircraft if it landed at the airport.
Over thirty in Lebanon killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday
Around one million Lebanese have also been displaced, according to Nasser Yassin, the minister coordinating Lebanon‘s crisis response.
Lebanon has a total population of around 5.5 million people.
Israeli troops on Lebanon border say they’re ready for ground invasion
Before Israel and Hezbollah’s last war, in 2006, parents came to the border to bid their sons goodbye. In October, rows of tanks formed in southern Israel before invading the Gaza Strip.
Statement from President Joe Biden on the Death of Hassan Nasrallah
Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror. His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.
The strike that killed Nasrallah took place in the broader context of the conflict that began with Hamas’s massacre on October 7, 2023. Nasrallah, the next day, made the fateful decision to join hands with Hamas and open what he called a “northern front” against Israel.
The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups. Just yesterday, I directed my Secretary of Defense to further enhance the defense posture of U.S. military forces in the Middle East region to deter aggression and reduce the risk of a broader regional war.
President Biden says Nasrallah killing is ‘justice’ for victims of Hezbollah
President Biden called the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah “a measure of justice” for his victims – and said that the US “fully supports” Israel’s move to defend itself against the Iran-backed terror group.
“Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror,” Biden, 81, said in a statement released by the White House Saturday afternoon.
At least 1,640 Lebanese killed by Israel since 8 October: Report
Among those killed by Israeli strikes are 104 children and 194 women. Additionally, 41 health and ambulance workers have been killed and 111 others have been injured since the onset of the war.
Netanyahu violating state sovereignty with complicity of US, Europe: French MP
“Appalled by the scale of the ongoing massacre in Lebanon,” Jean-Luc Melenchon, a left-wing French politician and a former Member of the European Parliament, said in a post on X.
“Netanyahu is violating the sovereignty of states throughout the region with the complicity of Europe and the USA. The genocide in Gaza is spreading without limits.”
Dramatic footage shows strike and explosions in Beirut
Video shows the moment Israeli strikes hit Choueifat, an area on the outskirts of Beirut, in the early hours of Saturday.
Published 2:41 AM GMT+2, September 28, 2024
‘Not justifiable attacking densely populated areas – but world does nothing’
Commenting on the Israeli claims of killing Nasrallah, military and security analyst Elijah Magnier has told Al Jazeera that the focus should be “on the several buildings that all disappeared under the ground, with all their inhabitants,” as a result of the Israeli air attack on Friday.
“It’s absolutely considered a war crime and a crime against humanity – and it’s not in any way considered a collateral damage,” he told Al Jazeera.
“The percentage of the people who are killed in such a populated and dense area – it’s not justifiable,” Magnier said.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in Beirut strike, group confirms
The statement did not mention who would succeed Nasrallah or how the group would respond to the assassination of its long-time leader.
According to analysts, the man widely regarded as Nasrallah‘s heir, Hashem Safieddine, was still alive after Friday‘s attack.
Israel targets Hezbollah command near Beirut as Lebanon death toll tops 700
(September 27, 2024)
The Israeli military struck Hezbollah‘s central command in the southern Beirut suburbs on Friday, with Israeli TV reporting that Hamas chief Hassan Nasrallah was the focus of the strikes. The latest bombardment came as the death toll from Israeli strikes inside Lebanon surpassed 700 since Monday, according to the health minister.