Tag: military occupation

$320 million US pier collapses in Gaza, drifts to Ashdod (Video)

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)4 Comments
Source

Strong waves have swept away a section of the American floating pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip, heading towards the shores of Ashdod, as per Israeli media.

$320 million US pier collapses in Gaza, drifts to Ashdod (Video)

Related:

U.S. ‘Floating Pier’ for Gaza Damaged by Choppy Seas

Four boats stabilizing the $320 million structure detached, U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for military operations in the Middle East, said Saturday. Two of them floated northward, eventually landing on the beach in Ashdod, Israel, it said. Two others are now anchored on the beach near the pier, the military said, adding that the dock is still operational despite the damage. It said that no U.S. military personnel would enter Gaza.

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The damage to the dock is only the latest setback in the U.S.’s attempt to deliver aid via the sea for the first time since the war began in October. Shipments at the floating pier began this month and are expected to scale up. Roughly 820 tons of aid were delivered through the floating dock in its first week, the U.S. government’s official international development arm USAID said, a number that is about 20% below the Pentagon’s initial target.


Separately, three U.S. troops were injured on the pier this week in accidents, the Pentagon said, including one seriously. No U.S. troops were injured during Saturday’s incident, the U.S. military said.

With Al-Qassam and Al-Quds Brigades, four other armed Palestinian factions are fighting Israel in Gaza

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

To support Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and despite any ideological or political differences, thousands of fighters from four other Palestinian factions have been fighting against the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza since last October.

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“Currently, we are all facing the same catastrophe(…) The Israeli enemy does not differentiate between a Palestinian who follows Fatah and another who belongs to Hamas. For him, everyone is a target. The Israelis want to eradicate the Palestinian people, without exception,” the officials said.

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“Although the Al-Qassam Brigades and the Al-Quds Brigades are the strongest on the ground, fighters from other factions joining the fight has created a balance not only on the field but also politically, especially since Israel has always bragged since the beginning of its war that it is only fighting Hamas, which it described as similar to ISIS, to justify its crimes against all the Palestinian people,” Wasef Erekat, a Ramallah-based Palestinian military expert, told TNA.

“The presence of diversity in the fighters’ ideological and political backgrounds and tactics in confronting the Israeli occupation prevents Israel from being able to commit even more crimes against the Palestinians and debunks their claim that they are only fighting ‘extremists’ and Hamas,” Erekat said.

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“Israel and the United States have long tried to stamp out Palestinian armed resistance and hold Hamas fully responsible for the 7 October attack. They ignored the violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza for decades and considered the 7 October attack a ‘crime against humanity’ and mobilised international and, unfortunately, some of the Arab opinion against Hamas,” remarked Iyad al-Qarra, a Gaza-based Palestinian analyst. 

With Al-Qassam and Al-Quds Brigades, four other armed Palestinian factions are fighting Israel in Gaza

Related:

Not Only Hamas: Eight Factions at War With Israel in Gaza

Regarding the ‘Belligerents’ in the Israel–Hamas war and Hamas in Syria

The Palestinians’ inalienable right to resist

Why doesn’t Amnesty recognize Palestinians’ right to resist?

China tells ICJ: Palestinians have the right to use ‘armed force’ against Israel

As US Aid Shipments Begin, Gaza Pier Denounced as ‘PR Move’

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

As US Aid Shipments Begin, Gaza Pier Denounced as ‘PR Move’

Related:

Hamas rejects US floating pier for Gaza aid as publicity stunt

Biden Offers to Turn U.S. Military Personnel Into Saudi Royal Bodyguards

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

President Joe Biden has made a habit of putting the interest of foreign governments before that of the American people. Like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

Biden Offers to Turn U.S. Military Personnel Into Saudi Royal Bodyguards by Doug Bandow

Flashback (has he forgotten?):

[2019] American Soldiers Are Not Bodyguards for Saudi Royals by Doug Bandow

President Donald Trump believes in America First except when it comes to the Saudi royal family. Then it is Saudi Arabia first.

Why Is Arab Media Silent About the Uyghur Separatists Supporting “Israel”?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

We no longer hear much about the Uyghur issue, which Arab and international media outlets often promoted as a narrative to tarnish the reputation of the Chinese government and pressure it. This issue has always been framed through the lens of “generality” implying that “China is persecuting Muslims within its borders,” which is certainly not true, since the Uyghurs are not the only Muslim ethnic group in China; there are ten Muslim ethnicities in China.

Why Is Arab Media Silent About the Uyghur Separatists Supporting “Israel”?

Palestine Land Day 2024 will have a very different feel about it

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

We are approaching the 48th commemoration of Palestine Land Day, and there is no doubt that 30 March will have very different feel about it this year, with the Palestinians in Gaza being killed and starved in defense of their land against the brutal Zionist military offensive over almost six months, during which the Gaza Strip has been systematically destroyed. Civilian infrastructure has been targeted by Israel, including homes, hospitals, schools, places of worship and governmental and non-government institutions. UNRWA buildings have also been targeted and destroyed. In every practical sense of the word, Gaza is uninhabitable.

Palestine Land Day 2024 will have a very different feel about it

Who is Mohammad Mustafa, the new prime minister of the Palestinian Authority?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Who is Mohammad Mustafa, the new prime minister of the Palestinian Authority?

Mohammad Mustafa is taking over the role in a move seen as an attempt to appease U.S. demands for reform so that the Palestinian Authority could govern Gaza in a postwar era.

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Mustafa also has ties to the United States. He received a master’s degree and a Ph.D. at Washington, D.C.’s George Washington University. He previously worked for the World Bank as well.

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The White House’s National Security Council said it welcomed the appointment of Mustafa as prime minister, according to spokesperson Adrienne Watson.

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A majority of Palestinians are still not supportive of this governmental body. A recent study from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that nearly 60% of Palestinians want the Palestinian Authority dissolved and that 88% want Abbas to resign.

…In his announcement of the appointment, Abbas asked Mustafa to create plans to reunite the administration of the West Bank and Gaza, reform the government and address corruption.

Related:

Who is Mohammad Mustafa, the Palestinian Prime Minister-designate?

Throughout his tenure in Palestine, Dr. Mustafa has been a driving force behind the establishment and launch of numerous leading companies and investment funds, including the Palestinian Telecommunications Company Paltel, the Palestinian National Mobile Company in 2008, the Ammar Real Estate and Tourism Investment Company in 2009, Ammar Al-Quds in 2018, the Rasmala Palestinian Equity Fund in 2011, the Palestinian Leasing Company for Islamic Finance in 2013, Aswaaq Asset Management Company in 2014, focusing on Palestinian stock markets, Masdar Company for Natural Resource Development and Infrastructure Projects in 2015, and Palestine Power Generation.

In his public roles, Dr. Mustafa has participated in key organizations such as the World Economic Forum and served as Governor of Palestine at the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development in Kuwait. He led the Ministerial Committee at the Donors’ Conference for the Reconstruction of Gaza in Cairo in 2014. Additionally, he is a member of the boards of trustees of the Institute for Palestine Studies and the Yasser Arafat Foundation.

The Gaza Maritime Route Was Netanyahu’s Idea, Maritime Aid Corridor Will Advance the Overthrow of Hamas, & When Will US boots be on the Ground in Gaza?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Diplomatic source to ‘Post’: Gaza maritime route was Netanyahu’s idea

According to the source, on October 22, two weeks following the war’s outbreak, Netanyahu discussed with President Biden the concept of “delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza via the sea, contingent on an Israeli inspection in Cyprus.”

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Years before the Gaza war, Israel Katz, now the Foreign Minister, had drawn up plans for a maritime route via Cyprus involving a floating island.

The project was never executed. But he revived it after the war began on October 7. 

Related:

Gallant: Maritime Aid Corridor Will Advance Overthrow of Hamas

“The process is designed to facilitate aid directly to civilians and in this way, it advances [our goal] of overthrowing Hamas’ rule in Gaza,” the minister said.

“We will facilitate aid via the maritime route that is coordinated with the United States (security and humanitarian aspects), with the assistance of the United Arab Emirates on the civilian side,” he said. “It will include the appropriate inspections in Cyprus, and the goods will be brought by international organizations with American assistance.”

Air, sea, and land: When will US boots be on the ground in Gaza? Authored by Yonah Jeremy Bob*

Then suddenly, last Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced that the US would also supply maritime aid to Gaza, including building a makeshift artificial port off the coast.

This already imposes a long-term US military footprint in Israeli-Gaza territorial waters rather than a “mere” series of fly-throughs.

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How hard would it be for a small complement of US Marines accompanying the aid deliveries to travel a kilometer or so into Gaza and to place themselves squarely in the middle of where Israel does not want them?

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Moreover, US forces have been and are already on the ground.

US generals and counter-terror experts have been in and out of Israel since the start of the war, including visits to Gaza.

There are also a variety of US military personnel regularly in Israel on military and intelligence exchange programs.

US attempts to reform the PA

Speaking of intelligence, multiple times when a decision was made to try to improve and reform the Palestinian Authority security forces, it was the CIA and US special forces who came to the West Bank and Gaza to help train and prepare these forces.

It seems quite likely that the Jewish state, at some point, will ask Washington to perform the same service again in Gaza.

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A broader version could involve a US-led peacekeeping force handling internal Gaza security for an indefinite period until enough Gazan Palestinians disconnected from Hamas can be convinced that taking on this role will not lead to them being slaughtered later by a resurgent Hamas.

From this perspective, the question about US forces on the ground in Gaza seems less of an if than it does a when, how many, and under more or less coordinated circumstances with Israel.

*Yonah Jeremy Bob was raised in Baltimore and graduated from Columbia University and Boston University Law School, respectively. He previously worked for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israeli Military International Law Division, and the Israeli Justice Ministry. – Wikipedia