Tag: Palestinian Authority

“Time to stop singularizing Trump as uniquely evil”

Ms. Cat

As practically everyone on planet Earth must now know, Donald Trump has become the first former US president to be convicted of felonies after leaving office. The response to the outcome of the trial from Democrats and Republicans has been predictably binary. Democrats have been reveling in the outcome and seem to think that the trial’s conclusion has delivered a final blow to Trump’s credibility and, in turn, his chances of winning the upcoming election. Trump’s supporters, on the other hand, are largely condemning the trial as politically motivated “lawfare” waged by the “radical left” in order to derail Trump’s chances of winning the upcoming election, which might end up galvanizing his base.

Trump’s Conviction Papers Over Much Bigger Crimes that He (and Every Other Recent US President) Has Committed in While Office

I can’t stand Trump, but this is why I don’t post about the criminal charges against him. I’d rather see him, and the rest of them, charged for war crimes! Furthermore, I can understand why his supporters, and even foreigners, see it as lawfare.

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

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?

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

RFK Jr.’s ‘Unconditional’ Support for Israel Is Costing His Campaign for President

Ms. Cat

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s staffers keep resigning

Many antiwar Americans were thrilled when Kennedy announced last spring that he’d be running against Joe Biden in this year’s primaries and that he’d hired former Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich to be his campaign manager. But Kucinich quit in the middle of October.

RFK Jr.’s ‘Unconditional’ Support for Israel Is Costing His Campaign for President

Multiple Reports: Hamas Warned Israel Prior to Oct. 7 Attack

Ms. Cat

The scholar Ilan Pappé noted in a recent talk, given after the Oct. 7 attack, that of central importance for all the Palestinians “has been the political prisoners” — with Israel holding many Palestinians without charge while, Pappé notes, the PA was “doing nothing”. He notes, Hamas “warned Israel…we will not sit idle as long as the political prisoners are not going to be released…we will do all we can to abduct Israeli soldiers and citizens so we have something to deal with in order to deal with the most important thing for our society, which are the political prisoners.” Many thanks to Decensored News for video.

Multiple Reports: Hamas Warned Israel Prior to Oct. 7 Attack

Israel: Netanyahu Led Us to Catastrophe. He Must Go.

Ms. Cat

“How could this happen?” we asked one another, neighbors in pajamas suddenly gathered in the not quite safety of the stairwell of our Jerusalem apartment building. Our first air-raid siren of the new war had just sounded. It was early on a holiday morning; I’d heard no news. In a jittery loud voice, a man from across the hall told us about the Hamas invasion of Israel that had just begun.

Netanyahu Led Us to Catastrophe. He Must Go.